You can’t put Vivian in a box, boxes have too many sharp edges, she’d prefer to be in a circle! Thank you to Borough Press for kindly gifting me a copy of #Eggshells by Caitriona Lally.
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#bookreview
The best way I can think of to describe this book is “It’s like Eleanor Oliphant minus the depth and darkness”. An entertaining and, at times funny, read. Ideal maybe if you’re looking for some lighter fiction 🤷🏾♀️, a reminder that we should all be a little more accepting of each other. However, I found myself wanting more from this one, there seemed to be no narrative arc, like everything took place on one level, so when it ended I was bit like “huh, okay, so what was the point”. I know that sounds terrible, but in Vivian there’s this great character, now take me on a purposeful journey with her!
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One things for certain, I love quirky characters and Vivian certainly is that, and at times, I found her very endearing. I enjoyed the myth/folklore element, but ultimately I was left wanting....
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#bookstagram#bibliophile#booklover#bookaddict#bookworm#booknerd#alwaysreading#bookish#bookobsessed#fortheloveofbooks#bookaholic#bookgeek#avidreader#bookaccount#booksofig#bookphotography#bookblogger#bookcommunity#fictionbooks#readersofig
Continuing on from yesterday’s post about exciting books to come, here’s three I grabbed at the @penguinukbooks x @sofadotcom event I attended last month.
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1. Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton, coming Jan 2020. A school is under siege. Three hours is 180 minutes or 10,800 seconds. It is an eternity waiting for news. Or a countdown to something terrible.
2. Keeper by Jessica Moor, coming March 2020. A literary thriller. He’s been looking in the windows again, messing with the cameras, leaving notes. It’s suppose to be a refuge, but death got inside.
3. All The Rage by Cara Hunter, coming Dec 2019. The fourth instalment in the police procedural, DI Fawley series. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, I have the third on my tbr, and now I’m set with the fourth too!
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QOTD: What end of 2019/2020 books are on your radar (and should be on mine)??
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#newbooks #bookhaul #alltherage #carahunter #keeper #jessicamoor #threehours #rosamundlupton #crimefiction #crimefictionbooks #psychologicalthriller #policeprocedural #bookflatlay #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookaccount #bookcommunity #booksbooksbooks #bookworm #bookish #bookobsessed #bookishlove
Welcome to #Quercus2020, and what a bright future of books to come!! I attended @quercusbooks ‘Word of Mouth Bestsellers Evening’ and wow, have they got some great sounding books coming next year!!
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1. Six Wicked Reasons by Jo Spain, coming Jan 2020. I didn’t even read the synopsis, I just know I LOVED her last book, Dirty Little Secrets, so this one is essential reading!
2. Highfire by Eoin Colfer, coming Jan 2020. Fantasy, dragons, swamps, sold lol!
3. Dear Child by Romy Hausmann, coming May 2020. Translated from the German, this thriller starts where others end - very intriguing!
4. The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer by Joel Dicker, coming May 2020. This one just called out to my #crimefiction loving heart!
5. True Story by Kate Reed Petty, coming June 2020. A campus novel, psych thriller, horror story & crime noir all in one!!!!
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Bonus: A sample of I Am Not Your Baby Mother by Candice Brathwaite, coming May 2020. I am so ready for this book about what it’s like to be a black mother! As a black mother myself, I’m so ready to relate to this book lol!
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My blind date with a book pick was Home Grown: How Domestic Violence Turns Men Into Terrorists by Joan Smith, out now! A tough topic but I’m very interested in the content!!
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Which of these most grabs your attention???
Book 15 of my #mynonfiction19 was Skint Estate by Cash Carraway.
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As it says on the cover, this is Cash’s memoir of poverty, motherhood and survival. Stripping, being a single mother, poverty, housing crisis, benefits, council estates and more!
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I must admit, I struggled with this one in the beginning, not because of the content, but because of the writing style. Cash is very clear that this is her story and she’s going to tell it her way, in her style. And I can’t fault her for that, so it’s an entirely subjective view when I say I felt like parts of the book could have been written differently, at times it read a little as though Cash was purposely being raw (for want of a better word), but instead of being impactful/hard-hitting, I just thought “you could have said that differently and it would have been just as, if not more, effective”.
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I thought the second half of the book was much better, it had that ‘readability factor’ the first half was missing (imo). However, the content and ‘the message’ were spot on, the rage, I felt that - both in the book and in my life. Let me tell you, living in a hostel is no joke, being a single mother on the poverty line is no joke, the rage at trying to do better and feeling like the system is working against you is no joke! I’m at the start of my career now, and my son is the light of my life, and I see positive things our future, but the road wasn’t paved with roses!
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I hope this book causes some people to check their privilege, and see the flaws in ‘the system’ but most importantly, I hope it makes people a little kinder, a little less judgemental because Cash has spoken up, but some people haven’t found their voice yet so you don’t know their struggles. As Jadakiss said “We all in the game, just different levels. Dealing with the same hell, just different devils.”
As the leaves fall, he's coming for you. . .
Fans of Nordic Noir and crime thrillers, have you read The Chestnut Man? If not, you absolutely should!!
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One October morning in a quiet suburb, the police make a terrible discovery. A young woman is found brutally murdered with one of her hands missing. Above her hangs a small doll made of chestnuts.
Examining the doll, Forensics are shocked to find a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, kidnapped and murdered a year ago.
Can a new killer be the key to an old crime?
And will his spree be over when winter arrives - or is he only just getting started?
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I flew through this one, with its short chapters, it’s dark, atmospheric - the perfect mix of police procedural and crime thriller. I liked both lead investigators, and I’m really hoping it’s the first in a series 🤞🏾. It is going to be a Netflix series, which I’ll be watching for sure!
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#TheChestnutMan is @criminallygoodbookclub September pick, so if you have read it, join the discussion on Sunday on the #bookclub account. #cgbookclub
Do you have a favourite thing about #bookstagram?
I love the readalongs, book clubs, and buddy reads! I tend to overcommit every month because I love discussing books with likeminded people. I’ve got my monthly King readalong group, and @criminallygoodbookclub is my heart, my crime book club which I run with @b00ksinparadise, we’re in our third year now, and it’s been so much fun!
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I love to dip in and out of other #bookclubs so when @northernlightsreads announced If You Want to Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais as their September book, I called on one of my buddy read besties, Beth - @bibliobeth, and we read it together. So many discussion worthy points in this one! Thanks for an awesome buddy read, Beth! And I’m looking forward to the @northernlightsreads discussion.
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#ifyouwanttomakegodlaugh #biancamarais #bookclubsofinstagram #northernlightsreads #buddyread #bookcommunity #vscoreads #readersofinstagram #readmore #booknerdigans #goodreads #allthebooks #bookgeek #bibliophile #bookgram #readinglife #ilovereading #bookandcoffee #bookblogger
