2018/08/31

2018/08/30

BOOK HAUL:
AUGUST

We're properly moving into fall now, folks, and I am so excited! This summer has been hot and long and I'm ready for chilly Sunday mornings, snuggling up in blankets and drinking copious amounts of hot chocolate.

I also better step up my reading game if I'm going to get through all these books I keep buying and here are the ones I just couldn't resist this month!













(affiliate links)

I hope you've all had a lovely August, and that you're as excited as me that autumn is finally here!
SHARE:

2018/08/29

BOOK REVIEW:
THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 BY RUTH WARE

Title: The Woman in Cabin 10
Author: Ruth Ware
Published: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 352
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
A travel journalist is sent on assignment on a luxury cruise and everything is going well until one night she thinks she sees a woman being thrown overboard, but when she raises the alarm, no one believes her.


Review:
This was a pretty enjoyable read and it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.

I think the setting of this is really good and it's the kind of mystery where everyone involved are in a confined space (the boat) which reminds me a little of Murder on the Orient Express; you know it has to be one of them. The journey also takes us up the Norwegian coast which for me is obviously kind of cool.

I do think that this is one of those books where the plot is the important part and I don't think the characters were particularly well developed. The main character is extremely similar to other unreliable narrators I've read in similar stories (like in The Girl on the Train). There isn't a lot that makes anyone stand out, they're all a bit typical.

While I was reading this though, I was very entertained even if it is lacking in some areas. It's definitely worth the read if you enjoy mysteries and thrillers.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
SHARE:

2018/08/28

BRITISH LIBRARY CRIME CLASSICS:
ANTIDOTE TO VENOM



How cool are these covers? I love the colors of this edition of Antidote to Venom by Freeman Wills Crofts.
SHARE:

2018/08/27

BOOK REVIEW:
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD BY HARPER LEE

Title: To Kill A Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Published: 1960
Language: English
Pages: 307
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
Set in the Deep South in the 1930's, we follow a young girl whose father is a lawyer who is defending a black man accused of raping a white woman.


Review:
What an fantastic book this is. I am aware it's a part of many a students curriculum in the world and for good reason.

There is a lot going on in this story. On the surface, we have this story of a young, lively girl trying to find her place and whose father she desperately admires, but beneath that are all these layers discussing race, class, justice and history. The characters are wonderful and I immediately felt like I was there with them. It's written in quite a humble way and doesn't overdo it trying to get its message across.

Although I really enjoyed seeing the story from Scout (the young girl), I do wish we could have gotten closer to some parts of the stories she just couldn't take us. I would've loved to see more from the perspective of her father, the man he was defending and the people on his side of the fence. I think there's a lot there that we're missing out on.

This is a classic for a reason and well worth the read for anyone who likes literary and historical fiction. If you didn't read it in school, you're missing out and should give it a go, it's worth it.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
SHARE:

2018/08/26

2018/08/25

BOOK REVIEW:
THE FADE OUT: ACT ONE BY ED BRUBAKER

Title: The Fade Out: Act One
Author: Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips (Illustrator), Elizabeth Breitweiser (Coloring)
Published: 2015
Language: English
Pages: 120
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
Set in the golden era of Hollywood, a writer wakes up after a night on the town to find an actress dead, but can't remember what happened to her.


Review:
This was pretty good, although I don't find myself completely sucked in.

I think the artwork in this is amazing; it's captured that noir feeling so incredibly well and the colors and the darkness of it is fantastic. I also love the setting of old Hollywood and I feel like this captures the era amazingly.

I think this volume is very much setup for what I imagine comes next and we're introduced to a lot of characters, some of which I found to be very similar to one another. You're introduced to a mystery but that's not the focal point of this volume, which I think is a bit of a shame. The whole thing just feels a little bit too short.

I know there are only three volumes in this series, so I might pick up the next two at some point, but for now, I'm not wholly convinced on the story. It might be worth reading just for the art though.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
SHARE:

2018/08/24

2018/08/22

BOOK REVIEW:
IN THE DAYS OF RAIN BY REBECCA STOTT

Title: In the Days of Rain: A Daughter, A Father, A Cult
Author: Rebecca Stott
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 400
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
In this memoir, the author explores her relationship with her father, her upbringing in a fundamentalist Christian cult and her family eventually breaking away from everything they've ever known.


Review:
I can never resist a book about a cult, I have to admit, and this one was really interesting.

I think this is written in a really interesting way; the story varies between being quite straight-forward and almost distant to being deeply personal and emotional. The parts that were a bit more dry, like the exploration of the history of the cult, were to me not as intriguing, but the stories of the author growing up and reading about her family was incredibly fascinating.

One thing I thought was particularly interesting in this was how you get to follow a faith becoming a cult, how that might happen and how people get caught up in it. I also thought it was both absorbing and incredibly sad to read how the doctrine of the cult affected the authors young mind; can you imagine spending your time preparing, at the age of five or six, for the End of Days, thinking that since you're probably not good enough to be picked among the select few, you'll have to stay behind and take care of your siblings without your parents? That's horrible.

Although it's not a perfect book, I love that we get to peek behind the curtain of this world and get to know some of the people there. It's a very interesting look at religion, humanity and family.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
SHARE:

2018/08/21

2018/08/20

BOOK REVIEW:
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN BY PATRICIA HIGHSMITH

Title: Strangers on a Train
Author: Patricia Highsmith
Published: 1950
Language: English
Pages: 256
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
In this classic noir, two strangers meet on a train and one of them has a brilliant plan, one involving murder, that ends up trapping them both in a nightmare.


Review:
I've wanted to read this book for ages and I'm glad that I did, although I don't find myself completely blown away, I must admit.

The premise for this book is excellent and it has this great classic noir feel to it. It's gritty, tense and dark. I really loved the theme of duality in this story, which is shown both in the way the two main characters are opposites as well as in how people can have this duality within themselves.

I think the characters are interesting enough, but I did find myself getting kind of frustrated with them towards the end. I think maybe this is because the novel is a tad too long and it drags out a little. Towards the middle, it gets a little repetitive.

I think it's an interesting book to read if you enjoy noir mysteries and character studies, but it's not the best book in this genre I've read.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
SHARE:

2018/08/19

2018/08/18

BOOK REVIEW:
TIN MAN BY SARAH WINMAN

Title: Tin Man
Author: Sarah Winman
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 208
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
This is the story of two boys who meet when they're twelve and become best friends, and then the relationship grows into something more, but then we fast forward a decade into the future and one of the men now has a wife and the other one is nowhere to be found.


Review:
This was a lovely and heart wrenching.

This book is beautifully written and there's a tenderness to the writing that's really special. It's a relatively short book, but there is still so much going on and so much to digest. It's an incredibly emotional story and there are a lot of layers to it, even though there's isn't a whole lot of plot going on here. It's more about the people and it brings up important issues like homosexuality and AIDS, and I think the way it delves into this topic feels genuine, which makes it powerful.

There's something about the characters that just instantly drew me in, and I think the author captures everyone's inner lives incredibly well. You can really feel what they feel, both the happiness and the sadness, and it captures unrequited love is such a realistic way.

It's a really touching book and one I think will stay with me for quite a while. I would highly recommend it if you enjoy literary fiction and love stories (albeit sad ones).
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
SHARE:
© The Book Castle | All rights reserved.
Blogger Template Created by pipdig