UPCOMING RELEASES: DECEMBER

It's time to look at some exciting new books coming out in the last month of the year!

The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters

10th

This is a supernatural thriller about a group of women who were obsessed with the macabre and serial killers in their youth and banded together in what they called The Dead Girls Club and this obsession got one of them killed. Then, thirty years later, secrets the other girls have kept since that night come bubbling to the surface.

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid

31st

This is a contemporary fiction novel exploring race and privilege and it's about a young black babysitter and her well-intentioned employer who connects in a way that surprises them both. 

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

30th

This is a mystery thriller about a woman whose husband has two other wives and none of them know each other until one of them strikes up a friendship with the other without her knowing they're both married to the same man and then... mystery and drama ensues.

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

3rd

What drew me to this one is that the story is set in New Zealand, and it's about this woman who returns after having been gone for eight years and meets a newly arrived detective and helps him in a missing persons case.

#FRIDAYREADS

BOOK HAUL: NOVEMBER

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

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Weird how the fact that we're almost in the last month of the year always catches me off guard, but here we are! November is almost over and it's been so rainy here this month, so much so that it's actually getting a little depressing (and this is coming from someone who generally really likes rain). We had about three days of snow early in the month but it's all gone now.

The days are also getting shorter and it's getting darker and darker each day, so hopefully it'll slow a little bit soon to brighten everything up a little bit! Snow also always helps with getting into the festive spirit.

Anyways, that's enough of this months weather report. To the books!

( a f f i l i a t e  l i n k s )

Doom Rolled in Glitter by Leena Norms

Heksen by Camilla Läckerg (English edition here)

Poems To Live Your Life By by Chris Riddell

Isen by John Kåre Raake

Toil & Trouble edited by Jessica Spotswood & Tess Sharpe

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

Fierce Fairytales and Other Stories To Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill

The Virago Book of Witches edited by Shahrukh Husain

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

I hope you're all doing well and that you're having a good day!

BOOK REVIEW: ANOTHER DAY IN THE DEATH OF AMERICA BY GARY YOUNGE

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

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Title: Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives
Author: Gary Younge
Published: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 267
Rating: 3/5

Summary:
In this book, Gary Younge chose a random day and took a look at all the children and teens who lost their lives due to guns in America during those 24 hours.

Review:
I kind of wish I had read this book right when it came out instead of putting it off until now, because I feel like I've been exposed to so many other stories since then which made this have less of an impact than perhaps it would've a few years ago.

I do think the topic that this book explores is extremely interesting. It's heartbreaking to see the impact such accessibility of guns and the culture around it has and the fact that all of the people we meet in this book who died are so young makes it even worse. It's infuriating that these kinds of deaths cause next to no outrage because they've become so common.

Personally though, there was something about the way this is written that didn't quite... it wasn't quite there for me. I felt like everything got a little repetitive after a while, some parts felt a little dry and I didn't quite feel like I really got to know the people we met; a lot of them bleed into each other a little bit. I also think the discussions in this book felt a little simpler than I wanted and I felt like it could've dug a little deeper into the issue.

I think this can serve as a good introduction to this topic though, so if you haven't read a lot or know that much about it, it would probably be worth the read. For me though, I don't know if I really feel like I got that much from it.

You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads

BOOK REVIEW: UNNATURAL CAUSES BY RICHARD SHEPHERD

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

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Title: Unnatural Causes: The Life and Many Deaths of Britain's Top Pathologist
Author: Richard Shepherd
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 442
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
In this book, Dr Shepherd recounts his life and experience with working as a forensic pathologist, taking a look at some of the many cases he handled and how working with the dead affected him and his personal life.

Review:
This was an absolutely fascinating read.

I bought this book mostly because I thought it was a true crime book, and it is in part, but it's also very much a memoir. It worked out really well though; I really liked reading about both his life and his career. I especially enjoyed reading about the forensic science and to see how the field has evolved throughout his life. Although reading about the dead and cutting them up to peer inside obviously has something grim about it, I felt like it was handled respectfully and thoughtfully.

The writing in this feels honest and it's a very accessible read. The author opens up about life among all this death and how it affected him in ways he didn't want to face; that part felt especially emotional and raw.

There are some rather gruesome aspects to this book, which is not surprising, but overall I found it incredibly fascinating and I feel like I got to learn a lot about this profession and what it's like for people to face all of this on a daily basis.

You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads

BOOK GIFT GUIDE: 2019 EDITION

BOOK REVIEW: THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL BY ANNE BRONTË

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

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Title: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Author: Anne Brontë
Published: 1848
Language: English
Pages: 524
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
Running away from a disastrous marriage, a woman moves in to Wildfell Hall and struggles for independence.

Review:
After having read books by both Charlotte and Emily Brontë, I felt like I should read something by Anne as well and I'm so glad I did; this was fantastic!

I was surprised by how hard-hitting some of the things in this book were; it deals with female independence, alcoholism and abuse in a much more straight forward way than a lot of other classics. I sometimes find older books skirt around these issues or they get really vague (probably because those things were terribly shocking back in the day) but this felt like it faced it a little more head on.

I really loved reading about the characters in here, I thought they were fascinating, and I especially loved when we got to read from the perspective of our female protagonist. I didn't find the language all that difficult to deal with, as I sometimes do with classics, although I did think the story definitely dragged in some parts and there were moments were I felt like this book was just too long.

Overall though, I very much enjoyed this! Definitely worth picking up if you think the storyline sounds intriguing.

You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads

#FRIDAYREADS

WINTER TBR

BOOK REVIEW: ASKING FOR IT BY KATE HARDING

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

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Title: Asking For It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture and What We Can Do About It
Author: Kate Harding
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 261
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
This takes a look at rape culture in America, what it is and what can be done about it.

Review:
This book obviously deals with a difficult topic to read about, so I can't really say I enjoyed this book, but it was very informative, even if most of it were not news to me.

The book spends a lot of time basically explaining what rape is, which you'd think would be pretty darn obvious, but to a lot of people, apparently it isn't. It was disheartening to read some of the people in positions of power in America express thoughts about individual cases or just "how things work" in general. The tone in some parts of this book is angry and sarcastic, which I think suited it, because why wouldn't you be.

The whole book is completely unflinching in how rape is never the victim's fault, which is how it should be. It takes a look at areas of society where people are not educated enough and the devastating consequences that has. I will say, there were several points in this book where I felt like what was said was almost too obvious - like doesn't everyone know this? - but I realise that is a naive thought, because clearly a lot of people don't.

I think this is a book well worth reading for basically anyone. It has some parts that are pretty graphic though, so beware of that.

You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads

NEW ON MY TBR

BOOK REVIEW: MELMOTH BY SARAH PERRY

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

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Title: Melmoth
Author: Sarah Perry
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 304
Rating: 2/5

Summary:
Set in Prague, an Englishwoman living there comes across the legend of Melmoth the Witness and she starts getting the sense that she's being followed... and then suddenly, one of her friends disappears.

Review:
You may know that this author wrote The Essex Serpent which I read a few years ago and adored. I had high hopes for this book because of that, but I was sadly a little disappointed with this.

The writing in this is undeniably gorgeous and creates a really bleak, eerie and amazing atmosphere. The setting of Prague is brought to life and you get a good sense of the history of the city. The whole story has a wonderfully gothic feel to it. I liked reading about the characters in here, but now that I've finished the book, they do feel a very forgettable.

My biggest problem with this book was that I honestly found it to be... boring. There were definitely parts that really had me hooked but then a lot of the stuff in between those bits felt tedious and uninteresting. I love the idea of Melmoth and her constantly watching and she's the one who I feel is supposed to hold all of the threads of this story together and she doesn't quite make it.

So I can't say I'm not a little let down by this. I just wasn't that into it.

You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads

NOVEMBER WRAP UP PART I

BOOK REVIEW: THE TELL-TALE HEART BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

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Title: The Tell-Tale Heart
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Published: 1843
Language: English
Pages: 48
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
This little volume contains three famous stories by Poe; The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher and The Cask of Amantillado.

Review:
This was actually a reread for me, as I have read these stories before, just not in this edition.

I really enjoy the stories and poetry of Poe and so I rereading the stories in here was very enjoyable. I really like the writing, the atmosphere and just overall find stories like these really compelling. These stories manage to be incredibly dramatic in such a short space, which I really like when I'm in the mood for it.

I don't have much more to say really! It was short, spooky and entertaining. Perfect to read on a cold, windy night.

You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads

#FRIDAYREADS

NONFICTION ON BOOKTUBE TAG

PENGUIN ENGLISH LIBRARY: MELMOTH THE WANDERER

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

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The intriguing Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin.