Tash
Not quite the right book for my mood, but still enjoyed it much more than I thought I would (the blurb skimread I did didn't give me much of an idea!)
Written really well, and I especially liked the way each different chapter was started. Went by quickly in sittings - 40 mins whizzed by as I was sucked into the story - but it was a sad tale. The characters had believable personalities and I did feel for them all. Would check out more of the author's books!
Disappointing! I thought this had so much promise, but it fell very flat for me. It was fast-paced and had a good first 1/4-1/3 and I did want to see where it went. BUT! It was super surface-level, and the characters' stories were passed over too quickly to be developed properly and what was the ending!? Really thought it was going somewhere exciting and there were so many possible ways it could go, and yet it didn't. It went nowhere. Shame! Wonder if the film will work better, or if it'll expand any of the lost plot lines.
Fell a little flat for me, and not sure why! It had everything going for it: great setting, good premise and loads of research into witches of the past, fun characters and mysteries but something didn't quite work for me. Possibly slight lack of romance? Or something about Essie? I'm not sure. That said, I think it will be perfect for some and I am still looking forward to reading Hex and the City!
Found this a bit strange and did feel like I was dragging myself though second half/once Zachary was grown up. It was a shame other characters weren't given much time as felt they were interesting! More so than Abel and most of the Constantinople bits . It felt at times like things were a little too quick and easy (such as the end bit) but the author's descriptions were fantastic.
Lovely cover and the note showed how much research was in there - I feel it almost could have been two books!
Enjoyable! I love country music so wanted to read this when I saw it in the supermarket, and found the audio on Borrowboax.
It definitely felt like Dolly Parton had a big part in the writing as not much of a mysterious thriller like other Patterson ones! The character she voiced felt just like her in real life, though. The other actors were good too. The plot was easy to guess from the start so nothing there, and the end was a bit lacking in tension. But, a nice easy read! And fun to have a full cast involved on the audiobook.
Really liked the language/imagery Natasha Brown used, and all the topics she tackles in so few pages (ans in a new way). Really interesting and would be good for discussion.
The stream of consciousness/ narrator commentary style did lose my interest a bit but I'm not a huge fan of that style (bit like the Rachel Cusk I've read). Literary fiction doesn't always work for me, but a reread/discussion with friends would probably bump my rating up as it is an interesting debut.
I would recommend people read it, and I would probably come back to it in the future, but I don't think reading it with Kindle formatting quite worked (or while on holiday, in smaller chunks!).
Super quick, fast-paced read that's well-written and with an awesome cover!
I've read a couple of books using a similar plot with the protagonist publishing a stolen book, but this was still a fresh take, with much more focus/analysis on racism and the whole publishing industry. Raises interesting questions and feels very current with references and everything else.
Sometimes it felt a bit rushed in parts (I guess the thriller sections, which I wasn't expecting) and didn't love the ending, but generally really good so I'd recommend. I want to read Babel next!
Fast-paced novella. Read in one sitting and hadn't noticed the time go past at all! I liked Gwendy and was happy to visit Castle Rock - it has gotten me in the mood to go back to Stephen King. Not quite as dark as I thought it would be, but that's not a criticism as it certainly touched on dark things. Short and sweet! Looking forward to picking up the next two.
Bit of a tricky one. When I finished it, I was quite disappointed with the ending as it just sort of stopped, and felt a bit flat after a slow, nothing-y story. But, the more I think about it, and the more it pops back into my mind, I think it was actually, probably quite good and Bob's story quite unextrodinary in the best way. I'd recommend if looking for an easy and uneventful but sort of hopeful and quite weird story.
A fantastic, thorough look at the Sacklers and opiod epidemic. I knew only the bare bones of this all before reading it and thought this would be a challenging and heavy audiobook - wrong! It was easy to follow and interestingly laid out so I never felt overwhelmed or numbed by names or dates etc, and each stat had an impact showing how many had been misled by false claims and advertising. It was hugely hard to hear how many lives had been affected and ruined by the drugs, and how unaffected the Sacklers have been throughout, and will likely remain that way while they attempt to distance and lie to themselves.
Will absolutely be reading more from the author, and hope he continues to write more investigative pieces like this.
Funny and light read with some nice nuggets of wisdom and early comedy/life stories. Felt both honest and a bit disjointed at times (and maybe like she was trying to find things to write about, but that's only if I'm being really picky...). All that to one side, I thought it was a good read and I enjoyed finding out more about her!
A really hard read, but very good. A lot of trigger warnings in this book and it did not hold back in showing a very real and raw portrait of Charlie struggling, but that was no bad thing.
I liked the structure of the book very much, and felt the characters were full of emotion and personality. It was a very intense read, due to the subjects it covered, but I didn't feel it was too much. However I took a short break away for a few days as I needed to catch my breath before the end, then it immediately made me cry in the last 100 pages or so as I felt for Charlie so much, and all the characters by that point too.
Reading the author's note was important and interesting as well. I'll definitely pick up her other books and also return to ‘Girl, Interrupted' again as I started it earlier this year and reading this makes me want to finish it.
Somewhere between 3/3.25 depending on my mood.
Think many people would like it (probably people in my bookclub! Looking forward to hearing their thoughts) but this was not entirely for me. I don't think it was particularly creepy or horror as the “baddies” didn't get enough time for me to feel actually creeped out by them, but I tend to read a lot of those sort of books so perhaps I'm a bit numb to it.
Struggled through the first 50 or so pages and then it picked up pace. The ending felt rushed and I wanted to know more about Marinus. His descriptions were good and the concept was very cool, but felt characters lacked a bit of substance. I'm not sure I'll read his other work - I couldn't watch much of Cloud Atlas when it came out, so maybe I best avoid!
