Tash

Nice conclusion, but it felt a bit like it was a massive story told quite fast. Think it could have been double the length! I have questions... 3.5 or 3.75 so rounded up.

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.

Enjoyable to dip in and out of, and to get some insights into well-known authors' reading/writing inspiration. Very nice to read some talking about my favourite books, and I picked up some very good-sounding suggestions from authors I like/have read as well as some I hadn't! A book about reading is always a comfort and it helps that this book has a lovely cover and format (ribbon!) too.

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! 

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.

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.

Cute! And fast paced. Will definitely pick up the others soon as I can get them at the library. 

A good ending, but it took a long time to get there.... Slow first three-quarters of the book! But I would look at more books by the author, as this had an interesting plot and idea. I wonder if there was many one or two too many characters which slowed things down.

Some very good ones and some less good, but generally enjoyed all of them! (Greased, Marionette Mansion, Honoured Ancestors, Cursed Frame 5; Shiver, Hanging Blimp, Long Dream 4.5; Painter, Used Record, Fashion Model 4*)

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! 

Amazing! Gripping all the way through. Really good characters with realistic personalities (feels like a rarity in the books I've read recently), beautifully described forest (if slightly scary), and a good mystery storyline to follow. 

Was looking forward to this sequel after Before She Disappeared and it definitely didn't disappoint; I think it was better than the first! That said, I really enjoyed both (both 5*) and hope that there'll be a third Frankie Elkin novel soon.

Enjoyable Christmas romance! Lovely Edinburgh setting with a few odd side stories, and a generally sweet story.

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.

Wow.

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.

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!

Very odd! Hard to follow, but I liked one story. One that I keep thinking about but only because not entirely sure what was going on in some bits...

Great book, very in-depth bits on fighting and some military specifics so the research must have been extensive. Really enjoyed following the different characters just as much as in Pillars of the Earth (maybe more), and nice to have history told from those positions on both sides of the war and those at home. Read quicker than I expected!

Really odd book. But once I got stuck in, or read in longer chunks, it was quite a page turner! I'd pick up more from him but now I know it's going to be weird (mostly in a good way). Very cool covers! 

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!

This book confirmed that I love Emily Henry and I think this is my favourite of hers! It is always fun to read stuff with characters in publishing as I can absolutely relate, and these main ones were very funny (I properly laughed out loud at some bits) and I cared about them both. I raced through it as it was very well-written. 

Lovely illustrations, and sweet simple story. Not quite as good as the other moomin books, but the watercolours more than made up for it, and it is still a nice introduction to the quirky, cute characters!

Powerful account of the Holocaust. It doesn't describe the trauma he went through in heavy/great detail, but Night hit me with the day-to-day horrors that Elie endured and his thoughts about them while in the camps, as well as each short moment when something else was taken from him and his life was changed again.

Enjoyable to read a book about running - a first for me since doing more running/training.

Murakami had many useful quips about life and I found his ways to remain optimistic and his motivations behind running (solitude, weight loss and because he wanted to and likes it) very relatable! He writes beautifully and this felt like a conversation with him. I was surprised that the book took me longer to get through than expected but I wanted to really read it and absorb it. 

Quotes I liked:
p.vii (running mantras): Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

p.20: Sometimes, however, this sense of isolation, like acid spilling out of a bottle, can unconsciously eat away at a person's heart and dissolve it. ... It protects me, but at the same time steadily cuts away at me from the inside ... I've had to constantly keep my body in motion, in some cases pushing myself to the limit, in order to heal the loneliness I feel inside and to put it into perspective.

p.51 (on increasing exercise over time): The body is an extremely practical system. You have to let it experience intermittent pain over time, and then the body will get the point.

p.142: Dave Scott wrote that of all the sports man has invented, cycling has got to the most unpleasant of all. [I'm not 100% I agree, but it is a good line nonetheless!]

p.172: 

A well-written mystery! Had my suspicions but enjoyed the ride of finding out who it was at the end, as the characters all felt like they had real personalities and remained separated in my mind (even though there were quite a few to keep track of!). 1/2 star off as one side story seemed a little unnecessary as it wasn't quite fleshed out enough for me - perhaps it will be in the next books. It was nice to read about Devon and the narrator did a good job with accents without them seeming too ridiculous (to my ears, at least!). I'll carry on with this series, and might try out some of her other series now too.