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sony08's reviews
650 reviews
My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Anna Walsh is back and slightly broken again. Back in Ireland, not knowing what to do with her life after leaving behind her high-flying job in New York, her apartment and her last boyfriend. Anna feels lost, not able to cope with the stress of her PR job anymore and sad from her amicable and very friendly breakup with Angelo. Suddenly she is not sure what to do.
When a job comes up to work for friends Brigit and Colm to save their luxury country retreat build and reputation with the local residents of a small town, Anna is thrown into the intricate world of new friends, small town gossip and the go-boy Joye – blast from the past she is not sure she is ready for.
But as they face each new crisis together, their friendship blossoms once again and there is hope for finally being together. But trust is earned and that seems nearly impossible for both of them.
I love the Walsh family - all the sisters and their different characters, so liking Anna was not a problem. Joye on the other side I struggled with a little bit – I found him weak and controlling - everything was down to him and his decisions. But one person I disliked completely? Jacqui – she is the worst friend I could possibly imagine – unsupportive, selfish, always the victim. For that – the book lost a star as I was just not interested in that relationship at all – I get it, but for me reading Anna and Jacqui’s past was enough – any future for them was not something I even wanted to read about and I think the book would have been better without it – at least for me.
But – bravo Marian – another fabulous book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A much anticipated read and it didn't disappoint. I will gladly read the rest of the trilogy and will very much enjoy it. Not the best ever fantasy book I've read and definitely near the top.
Loved the mind conversations between dragons and riders, the descriptive language was excellent and characters very likable. Pace was absolutely right to keep you going too. I just feel it has something slightly missing and can't put my finger on it, hence the loss of a star.
Loved the mind conversations between dragons and riders, the descriptive language was excellent and characters very likable. Pace was absolutely right to keep you going too. I just feel it has something slightly missing and can't put my finger on it, hence the loss of a star.
HEAR HER SCREAM by Dylan H. Jones
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Valencia is a researcher for a podcast company that specialises in criminal cases where there is a possibility of the wrong person being behind bars for a crime they didn’t commit. Things take on a personal spin when that person is Clyde Domingo – incarcerated for the brutal murder of Jodi – Valencia’s best friend.
Valencia persuades her boss to let her go back to where Jodi was murdered and dig out what she can. And the more she digs, the more she is in danger. She is clearly not wanted there, where there are secrets decades old. Secrets that nobody wants her to know.
This is quite a fast paced, thriller, following couple of timelines. It’s descriptive, twisty and keeps you guessing.
Thank you to NetGalley and
Longbourn by Jo Baker
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I enjoyed the book, rather slower pace and could have been shorter but as a lover of Pride and Prejudice this was a perfect alternative look into the servant's lives.
Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Lovely to listen to Tom tell his story so far in such an honest way.
The Day the Earth Turned Book Four: Spring by Chantelle Atkins
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Fourth and final instalment in the series and what an ending. I just want more – I have all these questions in my head that I need answer to.
The world the author built in this series is one of fear, hope, cruelly and friendships, world full of two sides of a coin. Survival is of the utmost importance, but it needs to be a survival of the future. Some believe Mother Nature has had enough and has finally taken back what’s hers, giving humanity the biggest warning of their generation, killing almost every adult human and passing the world to younger generations in hope they built a new world that lives in harmony with nature.
The last book takes off where we finished, with Reuben at the edge of death, and the Heron kids fighting against David, the only adult alive. But that seems to be the easy part. Next comes the group from London, trying to restore the old world of justice, politics, money and mass farming. And Reuben is the only one who can try and convince them this is not the right path to take.
I absolutely swallowed up this book and thoroughly enjoyed the whole series. It’s one big warning to us all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Physical abuse, Child death, Confinement, and Torture
Dark island by Daniel Aubrey
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I would rate this about 3.75 overall.
The story is great, full of twist, some that are expected, some that are not. The island are described very well, bringing a whole other darkness to the story and making is quite atmospherically.
I struggled with the main character. Freya should be this strong reporter woman with some questionable past and inner demons. She is all that but she also comes across as a spoilt brat sometimes that can only thing of herself and her problems.
I felt sorry for her husband at times. Plus her inner fighting somehow slow the pace of the story sometimes and really, this is a fast-paces story that only develops over a few days.
In summary this is a good book and I would recommended to anyone that enjoys reading dark, fast-paced thrillers.
The story is great, full of twist, some that are expected, some that are not. The island are described very well, bringing a whole other darkness to the story and making is quite atmospherically.
I struggled with the main character. Freya should be this strong reporter woman with some questionable past and inner demons. She is all that but she also comes across as a spoilt brat sometimes that can only thing of herself and her problems.
I felt sorry for her husband at times. Plus her inner fighting somehow slow the pace of the story sometimes and really, this is a fast-paces story that only develops over a few days.
In summary this is a good book and I would recommended to anyone that enjoys reading dark, fast-paced thrillers.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is very different. It's magical, tense, romance, mystery and above it all it's beautiful. The descriptive language in this book is second to none and that's why this is 5 stars for me.
The story is slow, keeping the reading going along a steady as the train that carries the circus. For me that kept the mystery of the dual and the bases of the Night Circus ticking over in the rhythm of the magical clock at the entrance to the circus.
Just beautiful!
The story is slow, keeping the reading going along a steady as the train that carries the circus. For me that kept the mystery of the dual and the bases of the Night Circus ticking over in the rhythm of the magical clock at the entrance to the circus.
Just beautiful!
The Descent by Paul E. Hardisty
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Descent is a prequel/sequel to The Forcing and joins the Ashworth family descendants in The Hope on the coast of Australia. Kweku and his brother Lewis with their families. Their father, The Teacher, has passed away and his sons are carrying on his legacy, transmitting his book The Forcing to the world, to anyone who would listen.
This is how we meet the character Sparkplugs – a woman’s voice through the radio, filling the gaps of the world doom story and how it all happened in the first place. Sparkplug tells the tale of working for The Boss and being privy to all the machinations of world’s richest people, working hard to ensure they survive what is coming.
And then a tragedy occurs, someone wants them to be quiet. Kweku looses most of his family and his little niece his abducted – only bloodied playing cards with Alpha Omega symbols on them are left behind as a clue.
Kweku sets off around the world with his wife Julie and son Leo to find what really happened to the world, his family and to find his niece Becky and bring her home, if there is one left at the end.
This book is amazing – it is a real warning to us regarding our actions against the natural world and should be read by everyone. It is an amazingly woven story of the past and present and is certainly a book that will stay with me for a long time.
This is how we meet the character Sparkplugs – a woman’s voice through the radio, filling the gaps of the world doom story and how it all happened in the first place. Sparkplug tells the tale of working for The Boss and being privy to all the machinations of world’s richest people, working hard to ensure they survive what is coming.
And then a tragedy occurs, someone wants them to be quiet. Kweku looses most of his family and his little niece his abducted – only bloodied playing cards with Alpha Omega symbols on them are left behind as a clue.
Kweku sets off around the world with his wife Julie and son Leo to find what really happened to the world, his family and to find his niece Becky and bring her home, if there is one left at the end.
This book is amazing – it is a real warning to us regarding our actions against the natural world and should be read by everyone. It is an amazingly woven story of the past and present and is certainly a book that will stay with me for a long time.
The Queen's Sorrow by Suzannah Dunn
2.0
I didn't enjoy this as much as The Sixth Wife or Queen of Subtleties. Nothing much really happened and I hoped to read more about Queen Mary not the sundial maker. Even though the scene of London in Mary's reign was portraied quite well it went on for too long with no actual story.