2021/03/28

BOOK HAUL:
MARCH

S P O N S O R E D  :  S O M E  B O O K S  S E N T  B Y  P U B L I S H E R S
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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Spring is finally arriving and how lovely it is! It really brightens the mood that it's getting lighter and greener by the day.

March has been a wholly uneventful month for me, so let's just get straight to showing you the books!


















( a f f l i a t e  l i n k s  +  b o o k s  m a r k e d  *  s e n t  b y  p u b l i s h e r )

Hope you're all having a good weekend!
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2021/03/27

BOOK REVIEW:
THE MITFORD SCANDAL BY JESSICA FELLOWES

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 Mitford Scandal
Author: Jessica Fellowes
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 384
Rating: 3/5

This is the third book in The Mitford Murders series. 


Summary:
In this book, we once again meet our main character, Louisa, who is now the lady's maid of one of the Mitford sisters and is once again thrown into a whirlwind of murder and mystery.


Review:
I really enjoy this series, it's fun, light and very enjoyable and this book was very much that.

Since this is the third book in the series, I'll keep it short; this book has the same wonderful feel as the two other previous books and was lovely to read. I loved the setting in this one and how we got to go all over Europe and I do love reading about the main character and seeing her through everything. 

I don't think the mystery in here was all that impressive though, I will admit. It felt very scattered to me and I wasn't really that intrigued by it until things started coming together at the end, but it takes a long time to get to that point. 

Overall though, I still very much enjoy this series and will definitely read the next one. 
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads

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2021/03/26

#FRIDAYREADS

 

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2021/03/25

2021/03/23

NEW ON MY TBR

 

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2021/03/22

BOOK REVIEW:
KNOW MY NAME BY CHANEL MILLER

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: Know My Name
Author: Chanel Miller
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 384
Rating: 5/5


Summary:
This is the memoir of Chanel Miller, the woman the world knew as Emily Doe in the People v. Turner case, and in it we explore her experience of sexually assaulted on Stanford campus, the aftermath and the subsequent court case.


Review:
I knew that reading this book would be challenging because of the subject, but I was really interested in it because I heard about this case when it was going on and it always infuriated me how it turned out. I remember reading her witness statement that went viral and it was heart-breaking and powerful.

This book is very much that as well. Reading Miller's story was fascinating, gut-wrenching and disturbing, but it's an incredibly well written book and I applaud Miller for being so honest and raw in her sharing. You get such a good sense of how she felt, the waves of emotion and the constant struggle it was just to be able to live through this, but you also get to know the other sides of Miller and how she's both completely engulfed by her trauma and also more than it. 

You can't help but be impressed by the authors bravery of not only going to trial, but to share her story and her name with the world. What I find so striking about this though is how she shares that yes, she's brave, but she's also afraid, confused, hopeful and angry. The book manages to encapsulate all the complexity of what she went through and the system she had to fight, and it's just incredibly impressive.

This is a moving story of trauma, resilience, grief and healing and it's an incredibly personal and insightful look into how we as a society treat the victims of sexual assault and rape. I'd highly recommend it to everyone, it's one of the best books I've read this year.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2021/03/21

SPRING TBR

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2021/03/19

#FRIDAYREADS

 

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2021/03/17

BOOK REVIEW:
LOCK EVERY DOOR BY RILEY SAGER

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: Lock Every Door
Author: Riley Sager
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 384
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
A recently heartbroken and practically homeless woman can't believe her luck when she lands a job as an apartment sitter in a high-profile private building in Manhattan, but soon realises not everything is as it seems when one of her fellow apartment sitters goes missing. 


Review:
I've been meaning to try out some of this authors work for a while and I'm so glad I did!

This was a very enjoyable book and I really liked the setting, the atmosphere and the creepiness of this building. You can tell pretty early on that there's something that's not quite right and it was exciting to find out what was going on. It's a little spooky and suspenseful and I really liked that.

I liked getting to know our main character but I felt she was a little underdeveloped. I'd say this is mostly a plot heavy book though, and when the plot gets going, it's really fun, but it does take a good while for us to get there. There are several parts that felt to me like they dragged, but luckily the ending ended up being very exciting.

Overall, this was a good and enjoyable mystery thriller and I'll definitely be trying out some of Sager's other books!
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2021/03/15

BOOK REVIEW:
THE SURVIVORS BY JANE HARPER

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 Survivors
Author: Jane Harper
Published: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 384
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
A man returns to his small home town in Tasmania to visit his parents and is faced with the guilt and grief he's carried for the past twelve years as the body of a young woman is found on the beach and long-kept secrets emerge.


Review:
If you know me at all, you'll know I'm a huge fan of Jane Harper's work, so I've been excited to read this book since I heard it was coming out. True to Harper's style, this was a great read.

I absolutely love the setting of this book and getting to know this small town and the people living in it. I really liked getting to know our characters, they're all really well done. One of the things I love so much about this authors books is how she creates atmosphere in her novels and in this one, it's no different; it's just fantastic. 

I loved how we're trying to solve two mysteries at once; one is what really happened all those years ago and the other is the current mystery of the murder on the beach. One of the things I love so much about small town mysteries is that you know it has to be one of them, and it's so fun to try and find out who it is. It was hard to figure out and kept me guessing, and I really liked the suspense. 

This is a slow burning mystery for sure, so if you don't like that kind of thing, this may not be for you. If you don't mind though and you like small towns, great settings and mysteries in tight knitted communities though, this is a great one. 
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2021/03/14

2021/03/13

BOOK REVIEW:
XX BY ANGELA CHADWICK

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: XX
Author: Angela Chadwick
Published: 2018
Language: English 
Pages: 384
Rating: 2/5


Summary:
A new science breakthrough allows ovum to ovum fertilisation and a couple signs up for the first human trial, allowing them to carry a child that is both of their genetic offspring.


Review:
I was really interested in this book because I generally love dystopian novels, especially when they have feminist tones, and although I think the idea of this story is excellent, the execution is less so.

I think the themes this book discusses are interesting and there are several thought provoking scenes in here. I also like how the book portrays how most things are never really black and white, there's nuance to most things and it's important to take that into consideration.

Although the concept of this story is interesting, I was much less invested in the story than I thought I was going to be. I didn't love the way any of the characters were written, I think sometimes it gets a little repetitive and there were parts that felt dragged out. I was also a little disappointed because I think this book had a lot of potential for really digging deep into several topics and it didn't feel like it ever truly did.

I do think that claiming this book is "a pacy dystopian thriller" is incorrect. There are dystopian tendencies in this story, but it's not outright dystopia (it's set in our world, in our time, but with this slight modification). It's not particularly thrillery either, and it's not fast paced; it actually felt kind of slow to me.

I also felt like the ending came about very abruptly and left a lot of loose threads (some of which were the things in the story I was most interested in and I was dying to find out more about, and then we never do). So in conclusion, I think this was just kind of OK. Maybe I went into it with the wrong expectations and that's what threw me off, but it just did not end up being as interesting as I'd hoped. 
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2021/03/12

#FRIDAYREADS

 


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2021/03/10

BOOK REVIEW:
HOOD FEMINISM BY MIKKI KENDALL

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: Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot
Author: Mikki Kendall
Published: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 288
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
This is a collection of essays, exploring the problem with mainstream white feminism, how women of color and basic, fundamental needs are too often left out of the conversation and why intersectionality is important to the movement.


Review:
This was a great and educational read, just like I thought it would be. 

I think this is a great lesson in intersectional feminism. It systematically unpacks a lot of the problems with what mainstream feminism generally focuses on, and how important it is to shift that focus to things a lot of us take for granted. 

I really liked the way the author mixes personal stories into these essays and how she makes a lot of her points, although I did notice that in some of the essays we veer off course in the middle a little bit, before bringing it back around. It is a difficult book to read in parts, not because of the writing, but because if you let it, the book will make you look at yourself a little closer and challenge you, which is important.

I think if you want to educate yourself on intersectionality and becoming a better person to be around, this is a fantastic read and I'd really recommend it. 
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2021/03/09

NEW ON MY TBR

 

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