Teaser Tuesday: Slayer by Kiersten White

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.


This week my teaser comes from Buffy the Vampire inspired/spin off Slayer by Kiersten White. I am the most humongous fan of Buffy and have watched every episode of the show multiple times so I was ridiculously excited to get this book from NetGalley at the end of last week. I’m only around 20% in and am just so happy to be back in this world I’m pretty much just fangirling rather than paying any attention to the story.


My Teaser

“Didn’t you notice that day the sky burst open and there were earthquakes and tsunamis and stuff?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Global warming.”

loc 330 Slayer by Kiersten White


BlurbSlayer (Slayer, #1)

Into every generation a Slayer is born…

Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. It’s hard to be when you grow up at the Watcher’s Academy, which is a bit different from your average boarding school. Here teens are trained as guides for Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness. But while Nina’s mother is a prominent member of the Watcher’s Council, Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle. Instead she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as the school medic.

Until the day Nina’s life changes forever.

Thanks to Buffy, the famous (and infamous) Slayer that Nina’s father died protecting, Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period.

As Nina hones her skills with her Watcher-in-training, Leo, there’s plenty to keep her occupied: a monster fighting ring, a demon who eats happiness, a shadowy figure that keeps popping up in Nina’s dreams…

But it’s not until bodies start turning up that Nina’s new powers will truly be tested—because someone she loves might be next.

One thing is clear: Being Chosen is easy. Making choices is hard.

Review: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

The Belles (The Belles #1)This got off to a bit of a slow start for me but there is some wonderful world building and an intriguing story that’s so full of twists and turns that you can’t help but end up completely hooked. I just wish I could have connected a little more to main character Camellia but I have high hopes for the sequel.

THE BLURB

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orléans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie—that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision.

With the future of Orléans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide—save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles—or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.


MY REVIEW

How important do you consider appearances? Is there some little thing you’d change about your appearance if you could? Would you be willing to put up with a little pain to do it? What if the way you looked determined your place in society? I know it already does to an extent, but if you lived in a society where position and power were determined solely by how you looked how far would you be willing to go and where would you stop?

These are the questions at the center of the Belles where how you look is much more important than who you are or what you do. This is a world where everyone is born grey, grey skin, grey hair and red eyes however if you have enough money you can change this with a little help from one of the Belles. The Belles have the power to make you look exactly how you want in a matter of moments but as the saying goes “beauty is only skin deep” and in this world where everyone can look how they want appearances are most definitely deceptive.

This is a book with a lot of hype around it so I will confess I was a little nervous going in particularly when it didn’t immediately grab me in the way it seemed to do so many others. There have been a number of reviews saying how they loved it from the very first page and how it hooked them straight away but I’m afraid that didn’t really happen for me. It may just have been the mood I was in but while the world Clayton creates is vivid and beautiful there was something very cold and a little superficial about it.

I’m not sure this was helped by my inability to connect with main character Camellia or if I’m honest with any of the Belles in the beginning. This obsession with beauty and their need to be the best at creating it so they can land the coveted spot as favorite really rubbed me the wrong way. And Camellia, who claims to love her “sisters” so much and want the best for them comes across as the most ruthlessly ambitious of them all.

First impressions are however not always correct and appearances aren’t always what they seem, and in this book nothing is truly what it seems. With every character presenting the face they want the world to see (literally) it’s difficult to tell who anyone really is and it soon becomes clear that life in the palace is not exactly what Camellia thought it would be. She’s promised a new and exciting life but instead finds herself worked to exhaustion, under constant scrutiny from the press who’re on the hunt for a scandal and caught up in a political power play that could put her life in danger. Add to this the fact that her most important customer is an evil tyrant and a bully (with a pretty face) and there’s something she’s not being told about how the Belles came to be and what happens to them when they’re no longer able to work and you have a very intriguing and engaging story.

There are more than a few twists and turns in this story, some I predicted some I did not, and once it got going I found it an incredibly addictive read. I may not have liked Camellia initially and having finished it I’m still not sure I do (she frustrated me too much) but I did like the way her character developed over the story and I loved the way certain relationships developed and changed. There were a couple of characters who surprised me in the best possible way and a couple I wish the author had developed a little bit further. I do however love a real villain and this story definitely has some truly evil ones (if you’re going to be bad be really bad, I think).

The writing is pretty wonderful and while I did think there was maybe a little too much going on at times the world building and the descriptions are incredible. It is the first in a series and I feel like I should warn you it does leave you hanging at the end (I’m gonna have to read the next book aren’t I) but it’s a great story and I think the next one just might be even better.

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy. This in no way affected my review (which is now ridiculously late).

My 2019 Bookish (and personal) Goals

So we’re well into 2019 and these are long overdue but I decided that rather than post some overly optimistic goals at the very start of the year I’d wait a week or two and see which ones stuck 🙂

2018 was a fantastic bookish year for me but I have to confess I failed miserably with pretty much every goal I set for myself last year. Given this, there’s arguably not much point in setting new goals (I don’t exactly beat myself up if I don’t achieve them) but I do find it useful to reflect on what I have achieved and think about what I want to do. I might fail again but it does at least give me a little bit of motivation for the next few weeks 12 months.

Read More »

Review: The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

The Hunting Party


THE BLURB

Everyone’s invited…everyone’s a suspect…

For fans of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a shivery, atmospheric, page-turning novel of psychological suspense in the tradition of Agatha Christie, in which a group of old college friends are snowed in at a hunting lodge . . . and murder and mayhem ensue.

All of them are friends. One of them is a killer.

During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.

They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.

Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.

The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps.

Now one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it.

Keep your friends close, the old adage goes. But just how close is too close?


MY REVIEW

One of my favourite tropes in the thriller/mystery genre has always been (and probably will always be) the group of people stranded in a remote location with a killer in their midst. There’s just something so primal about it, both in terms of the way the characters when under threat revert to their base urges (fight or flight) and the genuine chills it gives me as a reader. I have always found this idea of being trapped with no way of getting help a bit terrifying and who doesn’t love a few chills in this kind of story.

Needless to say as soon as I discovered The Hunting Party was about a group of old friends snowed in at a hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands with a killer among them I knew I had to read it (and not just because of the Highland setting).

So did it deliver? Well yes and no. It’s very well written and as a character study, absolutely wonderful but I felt it was a little lacking in the creepiness and tension I so badly wanted. I did really love the way in which the author portrayed the friendship dynamics within the group and the ways in which they’ve changed since they first met (well most of them) at University. They are not the same people now and despite the best efforts of some, have grown apart (and grown up) and lost the closeness they once had. They may think they know each other well but how well can you really know someone, even if they were once your closest friend.

What makes this an even better read is that these characters are for the most part, deliciously horrid. Interested primarily in appearance and position, they are self centered, vain, bullying and nasty. They may have been friends at some point (although I have my doubts) but now they’re more like competitors, trying to outdo each other with their successes. There are also more than a few secrets and grudges being held.

It’s safe to say there wasn’t a single one of them I liked. There was the odd aspect of certain characters that I could relate to or recognize in myself and I did have some sympathy for the poor lodge manager and gamekeeper who had to look after them (and had some secrets of their own) but most of my enjoyment came from watching these nasty people tear each other apart.

Where I felt a little let down however was in the murder mystery. It lacks the tension and the chills it needs to make it a truly thrilling and unputdownable read and I think this is due in part to the format. There are dual timelines running throughout, the first starting right after the discovery of one of the guests bodies (we don’t know which one), and the other a few days before as the party make their way up to the lodge. I personally was not a fan of this approach as I never felt truly in the moment and consequently there was no sense of danger.

There is definitely some mystery to it and it does keep you guessing, firstly which of these horrible people has met a sticky end and then who was behind it and why, but there was none of the killer in our midst tension from the party I was hoping for. This is probably in a large part due to the post murder events being told from the pov of Heather, the lodge manager, with the other guests (the party) barely featuring. I also found it a little silly the way in which the identity of the victim was concealed from the reader, with the author avoiding even gender pronouns so as not to reveal whether it was a man or woman.

All of these criticisms are probably starting to make you think I didn’t enjoy it but I really did. It may not have been exactly the story I was expecting to read but I genuinely enjoy character studies of unpleasant people. There’s just something fascinating about not knowing what someone will do next and Foley has created some well rounded and believably nasty characters.

Overall I would recommend this to anyone who likes a more character focused mystery and doesn’t mind it not being action packed or chilling.

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy. All views are my own.

WWW Wednesday: 9th January 2019

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

WWW Wednesday

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently ReadingFallen Angel

Not sure why but I seem to be in the mood for crime and thriller books at the moment so when my request for Chris Brookmyre’s latest novel Fallen Angel was approved on NetGalley I couldn’t resist jumping straight in. I’m currently around a third of the way through and very much enjoying it.

On audio, my hold on The Diviners finally came in so I’ve started listening to it again. It’s been a couple of months since I last listened to it so I ended up jumping back a little to remind myself what was happening but starting to make some progress again. I really must make an effort to spend more time listening to it before it returns itself again.


Recently Finished

I haven’t done a WWW post since before Christmas so I’ve included pretty much everything I’ve read since mid December. Have to admit I wasn’t in the mood for anything too serious over the holiday period (I was ill, my central heating packed in and it was the holidays) so there’s an abnormally large number of books with shirtless men on the cover on my list but I needed something to heat me up 😉 And they fit some challenges I was doing.

The Christmas Sisters: The perfect feel-good and romantic read to curl up with this winter!An English Bride In Scotland (Highland Brides, #1)Sixth Grave on the Edge (Charley Davidson, #6)Seventh Grave and No Body (Charley Davidson, #7)

  • The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan (4 stars) – This was more family drama than romance but it was a really enjoyable and emotional read. You can read my full review here.
  • An English Bride in Scotland by Lyndsay Sands (3 stars) – The first book by Sands I’ve managed to finish and it was a pretty good read, although given I’m struggling to remember what happened in the story, it must not be an especially memorable one.
  • Sixth Grave on the Edge by Darynda Jones (4 stars) – There seemed to be a lot of different stories mixed together this time around rather than one big mystery to be solved but the romance, which has been my main niggle in this series, is much improved.
  • Seventh Grave & No Body by Darynda Jones (4.5 stars) – Think this may be my fave in the series so far. Loving how the characters are developing and while the focus is more on the grim reaper side than the PI again it feels a bit more cohesive.

Captive (Lace Underground, #1)RoomiesA Place in the Sun

  • Captive by Tess Oliver (3 stars) – A very problematic storyline but an incredibly addictive read. This is one of those stories I feel like I shouldn’t have enjoyed (but I kinda did). Not sure I’ll be continuing on with the trilogy though.
  • Roomies by Christina Lauren (4 stars) – I love the whole fake relationship that might be real trope so I was always going to love this story and it’s especially good as it’s set in a theatre
  • A Place in the Sun by R.S. Grey (3.5 stars) – I didn’t realise when I started this it was kind of a sequel to the first Summer Games book but it can easily be read as a standalone. Like all of Grey’s books it’s an enjoyable and quick read. Didn’t feel much of a spark in the romance but the Italian setting was wonderful.

The Glass WomanVerityCold-Hearted Rake (The Ravenels, #1)

  • The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea (???) – My review will probably be going up next week (if I manage to write it up) so I’m not rating just yet. It is however a wonderfully atmospheric read and one I definitely recommend if you like historical mysteries with a little bit of witchcraft and superstition in the mix.
  • Verity by Colleen Hoover (3.5 stars) – Something a bit different from CoHo and while I do love her writing and found this an engaging story it didn’t really wow me. I kind of wish she’d pushed things a little further or put a real twist into this mystery.
  • Cold Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas (3 stars) – I think I’ve been reading too many historical romances as they’re all starting to get a bit samey. This is still an enjoyable read (and I read it in one sitting) but nothing really stood out about it and I found myself more interested in the secondary characters than the leads.

Reading Next

I foolishly decided it was a good idea to grab the thirteenth and final book in the Charley Davidson series from NetGalley (it was Read Now) despite only having read the first seven so I think I’m going to try and read book eight next (they’re addictive and easy reads so it’s not exactly a hardship). After that I’m kind of tempted to return to my reading life of crime with Steve Cavanagh’s new book Twisted before jumping into a new romance from Sophie Kinsella 🙂

Eighth Grave After Dark (Charley Davidson, #8)TwistedI Owe You One

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below. I am still having issues with my phone at the moment (the battery dies if I use wifi/data for more than 10 mins) so I will apologise in advance for my delay in responding.

Happy Reading ❤

Teaser Tuesday: The Glass Woman

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.


This week my teaser comes from The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea, a book I received from the publisher via NetGalley and which I read last week. It’s a wonderfully creepy mystery set in Iceland in 1686 and makes for a fantastic wintry read.


My Teaser

But life has taught me that darkness resides in every human heart, a tiny smudge of sooty smut on even the whitest of souls. And I must admit that the same stain marks my humanity, as it does the soul of every man and woman.

44% The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea


BlurbThe Glass Woman

1686, ICELAND. AN ISOLATED, WINDSWEPT LAND HAUNTED BY WITCH TRIALS AND STEEPED IN THE ANCIENT SAGAS.

Betrothed unexpectedly to Jón Eiríksson, Rósa is sent to join her new husband in the remote village of Stykkishólmur. Here, the villagers are wary of outsiders.

But Rósa harbours her own suspicions. Her husband buried his first wife alone in the dead of night. He will not talk of it. Instead he gives her a small glass figurine. She does not know what it signifies.
The villagers mistrust them both. Dark threats are whispered. There is an evil here – Rósa can feel it. Is it her husband, the villagers – or the land itself?

Alone and far from home, Rósa sees the darkness coming. She fears she will be its next victim . . .

Review: The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan

The Christmas Sisters: The perfect feel-good and romantic read to curl up with this winter!

This may have be a Christmas themed read but with an engaging story about family relationships that’s packed full of emotion it can easily be read at any time of the year.


THE BLURB

It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree, but who’s around it that matters most.

All Suzanne McBride wants for Christmas is her three daughters happy and at home. But when sisters Posy, Hannah and Beth return to their family home in the Scottish Highlands, old tensions and buried secrets start bubbling to the surface.

Suzanne is determined to create the perfect family Christmas, but the McBrides must all face the past and address some home truths before they can celebrate together . . .


MY REVIEW

I always look forward to a new book from Sarah Morgan and that’s especially true when it’s one of her Christmas themed stories. Similar to her last book, The Christmas Sisters marks a departure from the authors usual romance heavy reads to focus a little more on family relationships. I will confess I do miss the more traditional romances (and Morgan is sooo good at writing them) but I did very much enjoy this and it’s packed full of feels to warm you up in the cold wintry months.

As the title suggests, this is the story of three sisters, Hannah, Beth and Posy, who return to the family home in the Scottish Highlands for the festive season. They are all very different characters but each of them are facing some type of crisis in their lives that they’re hoping a trip home will help them deal with (or hide from).

The story is told from each of the sister’s points of view in addition to that of their mother Suzanne. I have to confess I’m not keen on multiple povs as I always feel more drawn to one than the others and just want the whole thing to be about them but I did enjoy the different perspectives and how distinctive each of the voices were. They are very different characters but each has their own flaws and strengths and it was wonderful to see them develop in a believable way as the story progresses. It’s a mark of the author’s skill that I found my opinions towards them shifting and changing.

I did however find myself most drawn to Hannah’s story and while the other characters do get an equal share of the limelight I never quite became as invested in their stories. I’m not sure what it says about me but there was just something about Hannah I could really relate to and I wanted the book’s focus to be more heavily on her.

It wouldn’t be a Morgan book without a bit of romance and in this one there are a few romantic relationships all at different stages, from shiny new to a long term partnership and friendship. However with multiple couples as well as family relationships in the mix I’m afraid the romance side of the story never really did it for me and I didn’t feel any real spark.

The writing is however wonderful as you would expect and there is a real emotional depth to the story. I laughed and I cried (more than I thought I would and on two separate occasions on the train) and I ended up loving it a lot more than I thought I would.

Overall this has an engaging story and is an emotional read that’s perfect for the Christmas or pretty much any time of the year.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an advance copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley. This has in no way influenced my review.

My Favourite Reads of 2018

I know, I know we’re quite a few days into 2019 so everyone is looking forward to their upcoming reads and posting their bookish resolutions but as is traditional I wanted to do a round up of my favourite reads from 2018. And, rebel that I am, I’m not doing a top 5 or a top 10 but instead I’m making up some award categories and choosing a winner. No prizes for the winners I’m afraid but thank you for writing such incredible books.

So without further ado the winners are…..Read More »

WWW Wednesday: 19th December 2018

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

WWW Wednesday

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently ReadingThe Christmas Sisters: The perfect feel-good and romantic read to curl up with this winter!

Holidays are coming so I’m getting in the festive spirit by reading The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan (and listening to Aussie Christmas Carols – why am I only discovering these now?). I do love Sarah Morgan’s writing, it’s just so easy to sink into, so I’ve only been reading since Monday and am already well past the halfway mark. It is a little more family drama than romance (I love Morgan’s romances) so it’s probably not going to be my favourite book from her but it’s an enjoyable story.


Recently Finished

The Devil Aspect

Only one book finished this week but The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell was a good one. It’s a horror story set in Czechoslovakia in 1935 and is told from two point of views. The first is a young psychiatrist Viktor who has a new job treating six of the country’s most feared serial killers. The second is a detective based in Prague who is on the hunt for a new serial killer known as Leather Apron. I found it quite a slow read (hence only one book finished) as there’s a lot of detail and history (something I always struggle with) but I did like the mystery and investigation. It’s not out till March so I do unfortunately need to hold off on a review but if you’re a fan of Silence of the Lamb type stories I think you’ll enjoy.


Reading Next

Only three days of work left and then the reading binge can begin 🙂 I’m not entirely sure what I’ll be reading but I’d like to still keep clearing my Netgalley shelf, read some of my physical books (that are too heavy to carry around), and catch up on the odd guilty pleasure book so probably some of the following.

VerityDaisy Jones and The SixA Place in the SunSixth Grave on the Edge (Charley Davidson, #6)Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7)Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below. I am having issues with my phone at the moment (the battery dies if I use wifi/data for more than 10 mins) so I may be a little slow responding but I’ll get there.

Happy Reading and (if you celebrate it) a Merry Christmas ❤

Teaser Tuesday: 18th December 2018

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.


It’s only a week till Christmas so for this weeks teaser I’ve gone for historical horror The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell. This was a NetGalley pick which I actually finished over the weekend and very much enjoyed. It’s set in and around Prague in the 1930’s so there’s lots of historical detail, a little bit of psychology and a few gory murders so, you know, nice and festive 🙂


My Teaser

Novotny knew only too well that suspicion was a stain to darken one man’s career, lighten another’s. These were times of uncertainty, where the future constantly changed shape; times such as these tended to bring out cold opportunism in the ambitious and the young.

39% The Devil Aspect


BlurbThe Devil Aspect

A terrifying novel set in Czechoslovakia in 1935, in which a brilliant young psychiatrist takes his new post at an asylum for the criminally insane that houses only six inmates–the country’s most depraved murderers–while, in Prague, a detective struggles to understand a brutal serial killer who has spread fear through the city, and who may have ties to the asylum 

In 1935, Viktor Kosarek, a psychiatrist newly trained by Carl Jung, arrives at the infamous Hrad Orlu Asylum for the Criminally Insane. The state-of-the-art facility is located in a medieval mountaintop castle outside of Prague, though the site is infamous for concealing dark secrets going back many generations. The asylum houses the country’s six most treacherous killers–known to the staff as The Woodcutter, The Clown, The Glass Collector, The Vegetarian, The Sciomancer, and The Demon–and Viktor hopes to use a new medical technique to prove that these patients share a common archetype of evil, a phenomenon known as The Devil Aspect. As he begins to learn the stunning secrets of these patients, five men and one woman, Viktor must face the disturbing possibility that these six may share another dark truth.

Meanwhile, in Prague, fear grips the city as a phantom serial killer emerges in the dark alleys. Police investigator Lukas Smolak, desperate to locate the culprit (dubbed Leather Apron in the newspapers), realizes that the killer is imitating the most notorious serial killer from a century earlier–London’s Jack the Ripper. Smolak turns to the doctors at Hrad Orlu for their expertise with the psychotic criminal mind, though he worries that Leather Apron might have some connection to the six inmates in the asylum.
Steeped in the folklore of Eastern Europe, and set in the shadow of Nazi darkness erupting just beyond the Czech border, this stylishly written, tightly coiled, richly imagined novel is propulsively entertaining, and impossible to put down.