bee
The Test was thought-provoking and interesting book that explored the complexities of human morality, especially in the context of immigration and social hierarchy.
While I enjoyed the book, I do believe that the concept would be better suited in a longer novel because my brain is needing answers. I needed something... more?
I can see in other reviews that people say that the author has other works that are worth the read so I definitely think I'll check them out.
“I am not so concerned about myself. Everybody has to die sometimes, and all I want is to go with dignity.”
Freedom is a Constant Struggle is a book that has been on my radar for one of the longest times and I am so happy that I took the time to finally pick it up. This collection of interviews and speeches by Angela Y. Davis concerning serious topics was first published in 2015 and sadly these issues are still prevalent in the year, 2023. It highlights the connections between the Black Freedom movement, the occupation of Palestine, the apartheid of South Africa and other injustices that have and are still happening throughout the world.
This was a truly eye-opening read and I recommend it to anyone who is wanting to educate themselves or learn something more about these serious topics. Freedom is something that many still do not have and change will not happen unless we are all willing to bring freedom and justice to all.
“In Palestine death is sudden, instant, constant, happens in between breaths.”
This was such a beautiful and memorable collection of poetry written by Mohammed El-Kurd narrating his experiences growing up living under the Israeli government's army. While, I have only recently discovered and began to understand the true beauty that is poetry, I believe this has to be one of the best that I have read. Rifqa makes you feel such strong emotions and I highly recommend everyone to take the time and pick this up.
I am forever praying for a free Palestine.
There are some books that you read and you just know they are going to be special and something that you carry with you always. This is one of them.
When my friend recommended this Orbiting Jupiter to me they had expressed that it ruined their life and I decided that was a good enough reason to pick it up to see if it was worth the pain and... Yeah, it really is.
I instantly fell in love with these characters. It takes a lot for me to grow attached to characters, especially in such a short book but I knew within the first few chapters that I wanted to keep them in my pockets, away from any harm or hardship.
I was an absolute mess reading this and I fully believe that I am owed compensation from Alli for recommending this to me.
This was a beautiful and thoughtful story.
I will definitely think about this book for a very long time and check out this author's other works.
I can't express how excited I was when I realised the main character was nonbinary. I honestly don't think I have read a book like this where one of them is nonbinary and it honestly made my heart very happy.
This was such a short and fun read and I am so excited to begin the rest of the series. I have feeling these characters are going to become special to me
I knew from the minute I first laid my eyes on this book and read the description that it was going to be a beautiful read that I had to pick it up. I am so happy to say I was right.
Song For The Living and The Dead is a moving and beautiful book that follows the lives of a Palestinian-Lebanese family and their struggles as their family is continuously displaced from their homes due to the aggression of the occupation of the Israeli army.
This book portrayed the reality of the generational trauma that has been an integral consequence of the Nakba and the ongoing bombardments carried out on Palestine by the US-funded settler colony that is Israel. It explores the devastating truth that Palestinians are treated like prisoners with no rights in their own country and the discrimination that they face daily because of where they and/or their family was born.
This is such an important read, especially in today's time as the world witnesses Israel commit atrocities against Palestine once again by displacing millions, killing thousands and contributing to the genocide that Israel has been perpetrating for the past 75+ years.
I can't wait to read more from this author.
As the year nearly ends I am trying to mark down all the books that I have completed this year so this is why my review isn't long or detailed.
Okay I'll be honest... there were some moments when I was reading this book that I sat there and thought “what am i reading?”
I could say many things but I think I'm going to end this by saying I hate men
As the year nearly ends I am trying to mark down all the books that I have completed this year so this is why my review isn't long or detailed.
This was an interesting and fast paced read that followed journalist, Nellie Bly as she gets herself admitted into an asylum. It was horrible to read about how patients were treated by the staff of people who were supposed to take care of them at their most vulnerable.
It was eye-opening how easy it was for a woman to be admitted and declared ‘insane'
This is a great read if you want to start dipping your toes into the nonfiction genre or if you need to find some short reads to get closer to your reading goal!
“Why is my humanity only seen or cared about when I share the ways in which I have been victimized and violated?”
I'm Afraid of Men was such a great and thoughtful read that helped shine a light on topics surrounding gender, identity and trauma. I thought it was extremely powerful how the author focused on her own experiences, which are some that sadly many people share as well.
This was a fast, informative read that I think everyone should pick up.
I had such great fun reading this.
I felt like I couldn't put this book down and I found myself invested in finding out the truth behind the past and the truth behind the events occurring in the present. I loved having to try work out whether certain events were happening or if they were only happening inside James' head. There's something so fun about reading about an unreliable narrator or a possible unreliable one.
I would love to check out another work by this author and I can't wait to see what comes next.
Thank you to Netgalley and Inkubator Books for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Locked Door was my second time reading from this author and I can now say that I have definitely become a Freida McFadden truther and will be devouring everything she writes.
This gave me everything that I look for in a good Thriller. Suspense, characters that feel unreliable — including the main character and plot twists at every turn.
I can't wait to read more of her books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
“When you have a purpose that doesn't involve hurting someone else, it changes the way you walk.”
It will never cease to amaze me when I read a book that is under 200 pages but manages to have such a powerful and impactful message behind it in just a small amount of pages.
I mentioned in my review for Open Water that as white people we will never understand how it feels to be in the shoes of Bipoc. I think Riot Baby gave another great light to shine on some of the issues that they face due to racism, systematic racism, police brutality and many more.
Riot Baby might be a quick read but there are so many things to enjoy and love about it.
I am slowly trying to finish the twisted series and what I will say is that Twisted Games was a lot of fun to read. I am such a sucker for the bodyguard trope so I knew this was going to be right up my alley.
From what I've read of Ana's works so far, her writing serves as a great form of escapism and a palate cleanser if you have been reading some particularly heavy or intense books. Just some good old fashion kicking my feet romance vibes.
Rhys and Bridget are the superior twisted couple and I think this is going to be my favourite book of the series.
I am not ashamed to admit that I enjoy reading about a female character roaming around killing horrible and evil men. I think we should see more of that in books actually because I am 100% supportive of it, I don't know what anyone says.
I loved how suspenseful this was and how I didn't want to put the book down because I felt like I just had to find out what was going to happen. The twists and turns that left me guessing and gasping until the very last page.
This was such an easy, quick read and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to attempt to get into the Thriller genre.
Thank you to Netgalley and Ashman Books for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was the first book that I have read by Kristi Rose and I am so happy to say that it won't be the last.
Camp Murder Club gave me One of Us Is Lying vibes and I loved it. I really enjoyed being able to follow along with the characters as they tried to find out who the killer was. I saw in someone's review that this book reminded them of The Breakfast Club with how all the characters were different on the surface but discovered how similar and alike they were underneath and I really loved that comparison.
Though there were moments where the book felt like it wasn't realistic, I found Camp Murder Club to be entertaining and fun read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Puzzle House follows six strangers who arrive at the home of a renounced Puzzle Master for the reading of his will, only to discover that they are now apart of a puzzle themselves. The prize? Their life.
I went into this book with the hopes that it'll be like the horror movies that surround escape rooms. The book wasn't exactly what I was hoping for but I still got all the great horror elements that make it a fantastic read.
This was a fast-paced and entertaining read. There were so many twists and turns that left me hanging onto the next page. The puzzles in the house were not the only ones that the characters needed to solve as their pasts and secrets were entwined with the house too. I loved that the atmosphere of the book made me feel as if I were one of the people in the house.
This is a great book to pick up if you want to get out of a slump or if you want to try to get more into the genre.
Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I think you can't truly write a review on something that is like this. This isn't a work of fiction or something that someone has decided to write just for fun. This isn't just a memoir of one person.
This is the story that shines a light on not just one voice but multiple voices that have been lost in the shadow of an evil man. They deserve to be heard. They deserve to be remembered.
I think it's important to note that this also showed how invalidating and harmful it is to the victims that the media and public continue after all these years to push the narrative of Bundy being handsome and using his good looks to seduce his victims. He needs to stop being glorified and the focus needs to go back on those he harmed.
This was an easy and eye-opening read. I truly am so proud of the strength it would've taken to write this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Independent Publishers Group for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
“People who are considered normal enjoy putting those who aren't on trial.”
I think this is the perfect book for anyone who has felt like they needed to change just to fit the mould that society has made for them.
I think I chose to read this at the perfect time as a twenty-three-year-old who is trying to learn how to navigate through life. As an autistic person, this book spoke to me in the way of always feeling like a person on the outside looking in. The constant feeling that something is wrong with you because you know you act and see things differently than others is overwhelming and I believe it was the same for Keiko.
This was a quick, easy read and I enjoyed it.
The Wife You Know follows widower, Luke Driskell who hadn't planned to fall in love as fast as he had with his new wife, Ashley and stepdaughter, Joy. Everything seems to be going great until his wife lands in the hospital after heroically saving all the children at a daycare centre, causing her to be the centre of attention by the nation's media stations. The next morning, Luke discovers that his wife and stepdaughter have vanished. As he attempts to locate them, Luke begins to unravel the lies that surround his new wife and stepdaughter. Ashley and Joy aren't their real names and he isn't the only person searching for them.
This book was fantastically paced and I was hooked from the very first page. I loved feeling like I was investigating the mystery alongside Luke. I feel like this would be a great movie.
While trying to avoid giving spoilers in my review, I do wish I was able to get some closure surrounding the people that were to cause of the disappearance and lies told by Ashley. I understand why there wasn't but now I'm left thinking about the what-ifs and the scenarios of what will happen after the events of the books have taken place.
However, I think this is a fantastic Thriller and I can't wait to read more by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Frosty Proximity follows Kara who is left stranded for the holidays after her plans to travel home are scrapped due to a snowstorm. Her client, Peter, feeling apologetic invites her to spend Chanukah with his family. This was a fast, heart-warming holiday-themed book. I loved the characters and what they each brought to the story.
I would've loved it if the romance between Kara and Peter was more detailed. I wanted to have tiny moments that lead up to their relationship being just clients to more so that it would feel more authentic to me.
However, this is such a great book to pick up if you're in a reading slump and you want something short and sweet. It's also a great book to read if you need an easy read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
“Sometimes people do exactly what you think they're going to do, and they still manage to disappoint you.”
I have been wanting to read a book by Freida McFadden for the longest time because I have always heard so many good things about her books.
The Inmate was a fast-paced, suspenseful mystery that had me hooked from the very first page. There were never-ending twists and turns from beginning to end. It was fantastic.
What I think I loved the most was that the main character annoyed me. Let me explain this so it makes sense... have you ever watched a slasher or a horror movie and screamed at your television that the character is stupid because they keep making dumb decisions? That's what I mean by this. It made me feel like I was watching a slasher film and I loved that.
This has me excited to check out her other books!
“We're all lucky, not because every thing works out, but we get to wake up in the morning and take chances and make mistakes and keep trying not to.”
The Lucky List is a fantastic sapphic romance that centres around grief, loss, self-acceptance and coming to terms with your identity. I loved She Gets The Girl so I went into this with high expectations and I am so glad that it didn't disappoint.
I think this book will leave a significant mark on people who have experienced the loss of a loved one. I know it certainly left one on me. I loved how authentic it felt. It was almost like you could feel the pain flowing from the pages and the characters and that's something that truly resonated with me.
The slow burn of the romance between Emily and Blake was beautiful and I loved that it was a slow burn because I feel like if it had been faster paced it would've lost something. Dealing with grief is slow and we can't expect finding love with someone can help mend that so I appreciated that it took its time and it helped the readers savour Emily's journey of acceptance with her loss and her relationship with her sexuality.
This was a great read!
The Troop is the first book of Nick Cutter's that I have ever picked up and I can now happily say it won't be the last.
This gave me everything that I could possibly need for a great horror novel. It was tense, gory and had me squirming. When I say squirming, that is an understatement but it's the best way to explain how I felt without spoiling anything.
The characters were also fantastically written and they each brought something unique to the story. Some had me rooting for them, some had me hoping they would be the next victim... I had great fun and I was on the edge of my seat from the very first chapter.
And the ending?? THE ENDING??
I want to give a quick shoutout to Alli for inspiring me to pick this up. I always trust your judgement and this didn't steer me wrong.
I would recommend looking up the trigger and content warnings for this book if you're going to decide to pick it up.
I can't wait to check out more by this author!