Hi friends, I’m so happy to have you here on my blog and on this JOURNEY of judging my old blog posts with me! Today is something a little less judge-y of past me, we’re actually revisiting a TTT post where I picked some extraordinary book titles.
I’ve decided I want to redo it with some books I’ve read more recently so here it is! You can also view the original post here.
I’m a real sucker for a one word title, something about them just grabs me…
I’ve had to go down the middle with the rating on this book, there were some parts I loved and others that just made me think ” why am I still reading this?????” and to be honest, I was really disappointed with this book overall 😦
This book could have been so much better on the atmosphere front, it had the PERFECT setting to make it atmospheric and creepy and I just felt it didn’t capitalise enough on that… It was set in the middle of the mountains, where no one could reach them due to a snowstorm at a hotel with all of that history?! It was the perfect chance to set a super eerie scene, but it just felt flat.
I did find it to be quite intriguing though, the author worked well to craft together the different elements of the story in just the right way to keep you on your toes. Which also lent itself to the writing, I found the writing was really easy to read and it flowed well. It definitely didn’t feel like a chore to read!
And the characters I had a real soft spot for… I think they were the best part of the book for me. Just something about them drew me to them, especially Elin – I really wanted her to succeed and crack the case.
However, the plot…The plot was good but there was a little bit too much going on and in turn this made me feel that the actual sanatorium aspect was forgotten about and not utilised correctly, as I’ve said before. I also felt some of the storylines were a bit OTT and the ending just wildly annoyed me – I won’t say too much as I don’t want to give anything away.
On the whole, I feel really split about this book as it certainly had aspects that made me want to rate it 5 stars, but others that made me wish I’d not bothered wasting my time reading it…
OKAY, can someone please tell me why I waited so damn long to pick up this book, I’m so disappointed in myself I could have been obsessed with this book for much longer than I have been!!!
Immediately, I was in love with Vincent, like it’s just an unwritten rule with these books that I am instantly obsessed with the main male character and he was no exception. Written to be utterly charming and sounding devastatingly handsome I was hooked straight away, and the whole gentleman vibe he had going on… SWOON.
Moving away to the other characters now, we had Kate who leads the story and I was just as obsessed with her, to be honest, she had everything you could want from a strong female lead, she seemed so badass! I loved how the other characters were written into the story too, they were all really well written and they ALL added value to the story.
I also really enjoyed the writing, it had me swooning at points because I love a good old obsessed lover boy (aka Vincent) and the whole scene setting that the author laid out was done perfectly. I really felt like I was on the streets of Paris.
And plot wise, sure it was the same as every other supernatural romance but I felt the setting of this one set it apart from the rest. Plus the way the author worked to include the other characters and not just make it a romance story, I felt it stood out a lil from the crowd.
Oh and I saw so many reviews saying we “don’t need another Edward and Bella/Twilight book” but honestly I can’t get enough of those kinds of stories, so this book was top notch for me!
On the whole, I absolutely loved this book and I cannot wait to do a reread.
TRIGGER WARNING – Discussion of sexual assault, revenge porn and suicide are all within this story. I won’t be discussing them within this review but please take care of yourself and avoid this book if you feel these topics may be triggering for you.
Oh my god I am fuming. I really really enjoyed this book right up to the ending and then it just got completely ruined and I wanted to violently LAUNCH it out of the window – as you can tell, I’m annoyed with this one.
The ending seems a silly place to start but just roll with it… The ending was what made me hate this book. Whilst it didn’t leave me with a shit tonne of questions, it certainly left me feeling let down and like I’d wasted my time reading it.
But to the things I did enjoy from this story… The characters were the absolute HIGHLIGHT of this story for me, they were so cleverly crafted and well written, and they complimented each other throughout the story. The book was mostly written from Immi’s POV, who I found to be really interesting, it was a refreshing perspective of hers, and occasional chapters narrated by Dex, who I also enjoyed reading the story through his eyes.
I also felt like the book had a really good atmosphere, the whole idea of the community living space and the “pranks” and the secrecy really brought this entire book to life.
And whilst I did enjoy the plot, until the ending as I said above, I did think there were story lines that were woven in at the beginning and then never picked up again or completed and it really disappointed me, it felt like a waste of time to include them and made me feel like a bit of the intrigue we felt was just because the author led us on a wild goose chase.
On the same vein, I found the plot to be a bit difficult to keep up with too, it felt at points like it got lost in the story.
Don’t get me wrong, there were some truly stand out aspects of this book, and I did really enjoy parts of it, however, I struggled with the plot and the ending and that for me was just really disappointing.
HELLO FRIENDS I’m so so so happy you’re here and reading this post! I thought it was high time I updated my meet the blogger post as A LOT has changed since I last did one of these.
As you’ll see from the title of the post I do class myself as a book hoarder, avid reader, AND fiction obsessed human being, and honestly I always say I have three hobbies when it comes to books… Buying them | Rearranging them on my shelves | Reading them.
I am actually on a book buying ban at the moment because I’m trying to reduce my TBR by half before I purchase anymore, you can see my trials and tribulations of doing this on my twt @WhatEmsReadingX if you fancy a nosey.
ANYWAY, here are just a selection of random facts about me!
I’m only 5ft3″ and as such all of my books stacked up on top of each other TOWERS over me. I last did a photo op with this in like 2021 and I daren’t do it again because I will likely get crushed by books.
ALSO, here is a random face reveal because YE, why not!
I’m a huge football fan (I support Aston Villa for anyone who wants to know).
I’m a Libra, my birthday is October.
The most books I’ve ever had on my TBR was 169, and I felt entirely too overwhelmed by that number.
I have at least 3 fictional boyfs, and in no particular order, these are Edward Cullen | Patch Cipriano | Peeta Mellark. There are probably more that pop up every time I reread an old favourite too so!
I am HIGH KEY OBSESSED with Stranger Things, I cried for a week straight after the season 4 finale.
I have 15+ spotify playlists, organised by genre with super snazzy titles and covers, and then AT LEAST 5 playlists that I call mixtapes for the days I want a bit of everything or I can’t decide what I really want to listen to.
And on the topic of music, my favourite playlist is my IT’S NOT A PHASE MOM one, where it just has pop punk, rock, metal, and classic emo tracks.
I like to organise my bookshelves at least once a month.
I was about 15 when I got my first Kindle and I was in the phase of naming EVERYTHING by using alliteration and so I named it Kevin the Kindle… Every Kindle I’ve had since then has affectionally been named Kevin, even my most recent one.
I used to be SO obsessed with crime thrillers but either as I’ve gotten older I’ve fallen out of love with them or they’re becoming far too easy to predict. I think it’s the latter…
The longest a book has been unread on my shelf is approximately 7 years, it’s IT by Stephen King, it intimidates me and I’m scared to start it because idk if I’ll ever finish it.
I’m a horror film ADDICT and Scream is my all time favourite film, closely followed by (in no particular order) Halloween | The Conjuring | Psycho. And I have to say, I watched Hereditary and I absolutely hated every single second of it.
And there you have a bunch of random facts about me!
This was the sweetest little festive read! I’m so glad that I picked this up around Christmas because it definitely got me into a festive mood.
From the start I was absolutely enamoured by our main (and narrating) character, Suzie, she seemed like such a fun likeable person! Who definitely needed a shove to believe in love and let her heart go. Then we also had Alex, who sounded absolutely gorgeous, Addy who was just so sweet and seemed like the friend we all need and all of our supporting characters – except Heather.
Having this collection of truly lovely characters was enough to warm my heart and make me feel warm and fuzzy inside!
Which, when coupled with the setting, was enough to make me want to kick my feet and giggle soooo! It was set in a lovely snowy little town, with their adorable Christmas traditions and a lil bookstore, it was just so sweet, I absolutely loved the scene setting.
The writing was good enough, nothing to write home about but not terrible, it flowed nicely and encouraged the story along at a good pace. Plus, I didn’t cringe ONCE whilst reading this cheesy romance book so that’s always a win.
And the story was just your standard love story, set apart only by the scene that was set and the fact it focused around the bookstore. I did see a couple of the plot lines coming, but I think they’re quite easy to spot in romance books so it’s not really a criticism. It was just a fun, sweet plot!
It was definitely an entertaining read, a cute Christmas story and one that I’m glad I picked up.
Hi friends, it’s my songs I think fit with book characters post today!
Today’s book character of choice is Gale Hawthorne! I’ve picked a few songs for Gale, personal favourites that I feel really reflect him…
Gif is not mine, all credit to the creator.
First up we have… Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash. It just really reminds me of Gale, like he can’t leave Katniss alone despite the way it’s hurting both of them (mostly Katniss, but leave me alone I have a soft spot for Glae OKAY)
Next (and this is a personal fave) we have… Out Of The Woods by Taylor Swift. They literally met in the woods and spend their time there, not necessarily the song but the title matches perfectly!
And finally we have… Somewhere Only We Know by Keane. Mostly because they have their own little spot in the woods and at the start of the story before we learn that Gale is a bit of a prick (I could still fix him tho) it’s kinda sweet.
You can see the playlist this song is from here – pov ur in luv.
I usually find it easier to write a review where I felt negatively towards a book but this one is really stumping me, I wanted to phrase it so that didn’t come across like I was just being judgy and picking faults, so here goes nothing!
First of all, the characters… I started off by feeling quite sorry for Jessica, she was our lead character in the story and it sounded like she had quite a rough time of things, oh was I wrong! As the story progressed Jessica became more and more of a truly unlikable character and I found it really hard to muster up any kind of positive feeling for her. As for the other characters within the story they just felt flat and 2D, as if they weren’t given the same thought as our star narrator…
And then the writing, I mean don’t get me wrong the actual writing was good, I couldn’t find a fault. But the way the book was physically written… With the police officers section dropped in at random points in a completely different font?! It just did not work for me and I found it to be quite distracting. It just really broke up the flow of the story and didn’t sit right with me.
As for the plot, I’m really in two minds about it, even now a week or so after finishing reading the book. I can definitely appreciate the effort that the author put into the story and crafting such a complex book, but at the same time that made it feel like there was too much going on. There were just a few too many twists and turns that were intent on wrapping you so far up in their web that you wouldn’t be able to tell if they even made sense or not.
Oh the ending, oh gosh the ending. I really was disappointed and to be honest a little bit angry that I read and wasted all my time reading this book for that ending?! It was shit. I can’t phrase that nicely, it was rubbish.
It felt as though all logic went out of the window with this one, and whilst I appreciate it’s a book and anything can go because it’s fiction it still felt illogical and unrealistic. There were one too many crazily concocted twists that just didn’t make sense or weren’t properly explained for one book.
On the whole, I was hugely disappointed with this one and I have a confession… I gave it away to the charity shop!
Hi friends, it’s my songs I think fit with book characters post today!
Today’s book character of choice is Peeta Mellark! I have actually chosen 3 songs for Peeta, just because I couldn’t pick between them all!
Gif is not mine, all credit to the creator.
First up we have… What A Man Gotta Do by Jonas Brothers, I just think this song screams Peeta, he’s just overwhelmingly obsessed with Katniss, it makes me think of him every time I hear it.
Then we have Yellow by Coldplay. This song makes me cry (side note sorry haha) and I just think it fits perfectly with his whole vibe.
You can see the playlist this song is from here – it’s a MIXTAPE.
Lastly, and this is my fave on the list! We have Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen. I just feel like Peeta is crazy in love and this song fits so wonderfully with his character.
Oh my god, I am OBSESSED with this book cover by the way. No don’t get me wrong the book itself did feel quite long at points and it did drop off a little but on the whole, I really enjoyed reading this one.
To begin with, I immediately loved Patricia Campbell, our leading lady and the absolute STAR of this book. I cannot give you a straight reason why I love her so much, I just do, she was just the woman that we needed to take us through this story.
And as a group of characters, they were truly excellent, everyone complimented each other and I loved the whole Stepford wife/perfect housewife vibe that was given off. OH, and I was strangely attracted to James Harris so that was cute too.
Atmosphere wise it definitely felt tense and the extra little moments with someone on the roof or the thought of a shadow passing by just made it feel a little more eerie. The only way I can describe it is it’s like being wrapped in a blanket, it starts off gently wrapped around you, but as time goes on someone is wrapping it tighter and tighter until you can’t breathe… And then the fear seeps in.
The one thing I did notice though was that it wasn’t very intriguing, I think my enjoyment of the characters and the nerves this book put in me encouraged me to keep reading more so.
Moving onto the plot I did really enjoy it, the idea of the book club was super fun! However, it did get lost at points and there were times I found myself wondering what the actual story was. Near the end, though it did pick back up again and got better, although I did feel like the ding didn’t do the rest of the book justice.
And while I did compare the writing to a lazy river, it had this way of just sweeping you up and pulling you along with it. I will also admit I said it felt a bit of a slow burn but at the same time like so much had happened, to the point it got quite hard to remember everything that had gone on and I found myself having to flick back a few times.
On the whole though, I did really enjoy my read of this book and I am low key obsessed with the cover so there’s that too.
What Em's Reading 