2020/09/30

UPCOMING RELEASES:
OCTOBER

It's spooky season and it's time to look at some great looking books coming out this month!

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
1st
I loved the book Convenience Store Woman by Murata, so I'm so excited to see she's coming out with another book in English! This sounds like a ride and we meet a woman both in her childhood and when she's an adult and we explore the darkness and magic of her wild summers in her years of growing up.

Troy by Stephen Fry
29th
This is the third (and final as far as I'm aware) book in Stephen Frys series of retelling Greek myths and I loved both previous book so I'm super excited about this one, which explores The Siege of Troy!

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman
6th
If any of you have read and loved Practical Magic, you'll be excited about this book which takes a look at the matriarch of the Owens family, Maria. I'm really excited about this one!

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
6th
From the author of The 7 Death fo Evelyn Hardcastle, we've got an exciting new book! This is set in 1634 and the world's greatest detective is being transported to Amsterdam for a crime he may or may not have committed and his best friend is determined to prove his innocence. It seems like there's a lot of weird and unexplainable stuff going on this story, which is very intriguing.

The Searcher by Tana French
6th
Set in a remote rural village in Ireland, an old retired detective has plans to fix up a cottage he's bought and wander the mountains, but then a boy from the village seeks him out for help with his missing brother. 
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2020/09/29

PENGUIN ENGLISH LIBRARY:
THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU

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 beautiful and intricately designed The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells!
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2020/09/27

BOOK HAUL:
SEPTEMBER

S P O N S O R E D  :  T W O  B O O K S  S E N T  F O R  F R E E
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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Autumn is in full swing and since this is my favorite time of year, I'd say it has definitely helped lift my spirits over the past few weeks! This year has been so stressful and weird, but having fall come around with its coziness and its beauty has been lovely.

September also always bring about my birthday which was nice; I went out for a lovely dinner with my sister and one of my best friends and it was great! We ate, laughed and had a good time, and what more can one really ask for.

I've also got a wonderful stack of books this month! Autumn always gives me a renewed sense of wanting to read everything I can get my hands on.














( 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  f o r  f r e e )
*Kongeriket by Jo Nesbø (English edition here)

Wish you all a lovely day!
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2020/09/26

BOOK REVIEW:
THE STRINGS OF MURDER BY OSCAR DE MURIEL

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 Strings of Murder
Author: Oscar de Muriel
Published: 2015
Language: English
Pages: 407
Rating: 4/5

This is the first book in the Frey & McGrey series.


Summary:
Set in Edinburgh in 1888, Scotland Yard dispatches an inspector to investigate the mysterious murder of a violinist and finds himself partnered up with a superstitious and odd Scot.


Review:
I can't believe I've left this book sitting unread on my shelves for so long because this was so much fun!

I absolutely adore the time period and the setting of this; it's set at the height of the Jack the Ripper panic and historical Edinburgh is portrayed with great atmosphere. Our main characters are pretty interesting; we've got an insufferable uppity Englishman who loves working as an investigator because he feels it gives him purpose, despite what his family thinks of it, and we've got a slightly violent and chaotic Scot with a tragic backstory who isn't beyond truly believing in ghosts. They make quite an interesting and extremely entertaining pair.

The book is a bit over the top and on the verge of being ridiculous at times but it felt self aware enough to lean into it for just the perfect amount. Our main characters go about roaring and swearing at each other for the whole duration and even though it's a bit much, it just kind of works anyway.

The mystery in here was also incredibly intriguing and I was glued to the page. It's the perfect mix of so many things; murders in locked rooms, a cursed violin with possible ties to the devil and bodysnatching from graveyards, all mixed together with a dose of the occult.

The writing may not be perfect and it's not a very literary novel (I don't think everything needs to be), but this still made for a very exciting and entertaining story. It was just really fun to read and I will definitely be getting a copy of the next book in this series.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2020/09/25

2020/09/23

BOOK REVIEW:
THE SATAPUR MOONSTONE BY SUJATA MASSEY

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 Satapur Moonstone
Author: Sujata Massey
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 384
Rating: 3/5

This is the second book in the Perveen Mistry series.


Summary:
Set in India in the 1920's, Perveen Mistry, one of India's first female lawyers, is called on to travel to the remote Satapur region to help settle a dispute within a royal family.


Review:
I adored the first book in this series (The Widows of Malabar Hill) and although I don't think this second novel quite lives up to the first, I enjoyed this one as well.

I do still love the time period this is set in, as well as the setting; it was fun to move out of Bombay a little bit and be introduced to this remote place and getting to see both palaces and villages. There's a lot of atmosphere being built up just by describing the setting and I thought that was fantastic. I like how this story discusses women and the many restrictions that were put on them during this time and I thought revisiting Perveen was great, I love reading about her.

I don't think this is as strong of a story as we saw in the first book though; I felt like this time we didn't get to dig as deep and a lot of the themes in this book are the same as in the first but it sometimes feels like parts of it are watered down versions of what we saw in the first book.

I did still really enjoy this book though and I'm already looking forward to the release of the third book in this series (which hasn't been confirmed yet but I'm hoping there's going to be another one).
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2020/09/22

2020/09/21

2020/09/20

2020/09/19

BOOK REVIEW:
THE RIVER BY PETER HELLER

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 River
Author: Peter Heller
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 272
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
Two friends go canoeing in the wilderness in Northern Canada and while they're there, a wildfire breaks out just as they discover a woman has most likely gone missing in the area.


Review:
This was quite an enjoyable read, but it didn't blow my mind.

I really liked getting to know our main characters in here, learning about their background and their friendship. I also loved the setting and the descriptions of nature and it really felt like I went along with them into the forest. There's a lot of atmosphere in here that I really enjoyed.

For a supposed mystery thriller though, this feels quite slow, especially for the first two thirds. Like I said, I liked the descriptions of the surroundings, but sometimes I felt like we just spent too much time on it and there's even almost an entire chapter just about what they packed in their canoe and I didn't find those parts particularly interesting.

I also wasn't as surprised by how things turned out as I would've liked to be, or I would've at least liked more unpredictable turns along the way, even if we ended up in the same place.

So overall, enjoyable but not amazing.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2020/09/18

2020/09/17

2020/09/16

BOOK REVIEW:
SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE BY IJEOMA OLUO

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: So You Want To Talk About Race
Author: Ijeoma Oluo
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 256
Rating: 5/5


Summary:
In this book, Ijeoma Oluo explores the current racial landscape and how to talk about race and racism.


Review:
This was excellent and I have nothing but good things to say about it.

There's a reason so many people think this book is amazing; it breaks down a complicated and complex issue into pieces and takes a look at each piece, explaining what's going on, why it matters and how to talk about it. It has a conversational writing style that makes it easy to read and easy to understand. There is a lot of information in here, but it doesn't feel overwhelming, which is quite a feat.

I think what makes this book so good is that it's very grounded and we often get personal stories from the author, but the book also builds up to the fact that racism is a structural problem and a really big one. The book does focus mainly on America, but I think most of this is pretty universal and you can learn from it wherever you are and wherever you live.

I can't really say much more than that I would highly recommend it; I think this can be a beneficial and educational read for anyone.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2020/09/15

2020/09/14

BOOK REVIEW:
PRACTICAL MAGIC BY ALICE HOFFMAN

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: Practical Magic
Author: Alice Hoffman
Published: 1995
Language: English
Pages: 278
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
Set in a small town in Massachusetts, we the Owens sisters who grow up as outsiders because the people of the town believe their family are witches.


Review:
This was a very enjoyable read and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it!

What strikes me the most about this book is the atmosphere, the magic and how charming it feels. I really like the lore woven into this story and how we follow several generations of women and sisters. There's something about it that makes me feel kind of nostalgic and I felt like I could really just sit back and get myself lost in this book. It gives me the same kinds of feelings as watching Charmed or Gilmore Girls.

I thought maybe that the magic part of this book and the characters being witches would be a more prominent part of the book, but it does just sort of sits in the background, which I think works, but I would've loved to have just seen more of that. I also would've loved to get to know these mysterious witchy aunts more, who for the most part stay in the background, unnamed until the last thirty pages.

It was definitely an enjoyable read though and I like how it's written, even if it mostly stays very surface level. I enjoyed getting to know our characters, I just loved this magical world it's set in and I enjoyed it very, very much.
PS: I haven't seen the movie (yet).

You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2020/09/12

BOOK REVIEW:
THE QUEEN OF THE TAMBOURINE BY JANE GARDAM

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 Queen of the Tambourine
Author: Jane Gardam
Published: 1991
Language: English
Pages: 226
Rating: 2/5


Summary:
Set in London, a well-meaning woman starts writing letters to a neighbour whose gone missing and no one will tell her what happened.


Review:
Alas, another book I didn't particularly love. I randomly picked this book up for a little project I did and I went in not knowing much and not being familiar with the author. I liked the idea of it though, the blurb made it sound interesting and a little bit mysterious.

I thought this book was perfectly all right; one of the things I like about it is its unreliable narrator and I thought it was interesting to see her slowly but surely descending into madness. I think our main character is interesting in theory, but I found myself not really caring about her or any of the other characters.

There's nothing I can pinpoint in the writing that I didn't like, but nothing I particularly loved about it either. I do think it starts off a little slow, but it does pick after a while. I think my main problem with this book was that because I didn't ever feel particularly invested and I didn't care about the characters, it all felt a bit boring to me. I also very quickly caught on to what was happening so when I got to the reveal at the end, that didn't do much for me.

So overall, just kind of an OK read!
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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