Evangeline, E.A. Gottschalk – A Review.

Evangeline by E.A. Gottschalk.

Synopsis… “Angeline Gottschalk, bullied in school and abused on the farm, is hiding a dark and terrifying secret– one buried so deep that not even she knows the truth. That secret is Evangeline, the homicidal twin “sister” who narrates this extraordinary memoir of a teenaged serial killer out for revenge and living her dream in the American Heartland.”

Overall rating 3 out of 5 stars.

My review…

This book was so different to anything I had read before, and I’m airing on the side of caution with my rating…

The opening lines to Evangeline were certainly different and grabbed my attention as soon as I read them, I was hooked on wanting to know what was going on.

At first I was kind of put off by the sarcastic tone that our dear Evangeline was talking to us in but as I got deeper into the story I found myself really rooting for her and I really learnt to love her way of narrating.

The book itself was intense. Evangeline was a lot to take in, and had some dark themes that added the shock factor to this book – which at points for me did make it feel over the top and as though the author was trying to cram too much in.

The actual murdering parts I did find difficult to read, not because they were gross or disgusting, more so that Evangeline took so few precautions it was a wonder she wasn’t caught the first time around.

Towards the end my interest did start to wane a little bit but it was soon picked back up with the shock twists that we were treated to and they definitely redeemed some of the ill feelings I may have towards other aspects of this book.

I did enjoy this book on the whole but certain aspects just really frustrated me with how easy it could have been to improve them!

Until next time, Em xxx

Taken: Captive Romance, Esme Devlin – A Review. [SPOILERS].

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! I’m here with a review of a free Kindle romance book that I downloaded – Taken: Captive Romance by Esme Devlin. 

On the whole, I thought this book was the perfect balance of intriguing, romantic and slightly dangerous, all wrapped up into a tasty little book. However, it did have a lot of potential that I felt wasn’t unlocked.

I really like Sofia, our main female lead, she had a certain spirit about her that made her likeable. But, I wish her background and earlier life was expanded upon it felt like we had to rely on our imagination quite a lot to explain the situation.

The same with our alpha male, Julian, there was so much unresolved potential in terms of who he is, why he was “entitled” to Sofia. 

The story itself was where the book was let down, it was highly intriguing but I feel it just threw us in at the deep end and didn’t expand upon why Sofia was taken, the links she had from a previous life and any of her or Julian’s background.

The author certainly didn’t shy away from the romance aspect though, and the one thing I will say is it was very well done! It took a while to get to that point, but the tension was built up the closer we got, and then went off like an explosion!

Taken: A Captive Romance was good, I enjoyed it and it’s definitely something I’d reread whilst sat around a pool in the sun. I do wish the plot went deeper though, as it all seemed very superficial and like the author didn’t move past the first layer.

Em xxx

The Lost War (Eidyn #1), Justin Lee Anderson – A Review. [SPOILERS].

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! As you can see I’m reviewing The Lost War (Eidyn #1) by Justin Lee Anderson. Eeeek I’m so excited to share this review with you all, I loved this book SO MUCH.

While I did consider putting this book down to begin with I’m so glad I didn’t, I loved it and if I could rate it higher than 5 stars I would…

Everything from the characters, to the setting, to the powers and mythology and legends behind them was excellent, I cannot praise this book enough.

I got so swept up in the relationship between Aranok and Allandria, I thought they complimented each other perfectly and I loved how accepting Allandria was of his abilities and powers.

Whilst the book was focused mainly on Aranok, it was after all his mission, at no point did we feel like the other characters were forgotten about or not included. In fact, I particularly enjoyed how Anderson would have scenes focusing solely on our other characters, it really helped to break up the book and tell the story from different POV.

Between Samily, Allandria and Nirea we were certainly not short of some badass females to get behind too!

The story itself was impeccably written and I loved the different aspects that Anderson pulled through into the book. It had powers, zombie type aspects, deceit, lies and the mother of all TWISTS.

I did not expect that ending at all, and I think that’s what I enjoyed most about this book, the ending was so crazy that it was perfect. I could kind of see where it was going but only once the author wanted us to, literally right before he revealed it himself.

There were so many layers to this book and I’m so glad that I stuck with it and continued reading as I really enjoyed it!

Em xxx

The Night Stalker, Robert Bryndza – A Review. [SPOILERS].

Hey everyone, how is it going?! I’m back again with a review of The Night Stalker by Robert Bryndza. 

I have to say I had high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed! I thought The Night Stalker was brilliantly written and a real thriller, it kept me on the edge of my seat. 

We hit the ground running with this book, which I really enjoyed and that quick pace kept up throughout the entire book, something I felt made it feel realistic to the topic at hand. I loved how every page and chapter brought something new to the story, it kept it’s momentum.

 The Night Stalker made me question everything that was written, look at every character we were introduced to with a bit of suspicion and I didn’t trust anyone, Bryndza did an excellent job of building that suspicion, fear and tension. At points I was even questioning our lead detective, I had no idea who it ended up being right up to the last second.

I didn’t warm to the main character, Erika, I thought she was behaving a little bit entitled at points but I feel that only added a bit of reality and grit to the story.

When the killer was revealed halfway through the book I was confused as to why Bryndza did that, but as I continued to read and the story progressed it made sense and it made the book, for me, stand out amongst a sea of others of this genre. 

On the whole, I enjoyed The Night Stalker so much! And I will definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone. 

Em xxx

Schooled, Piper Lawson – A Review. [SPOILERS].

Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog! Today I’m going to review a free Kindle book that I got from the Kindle library, it’s Schooled by Piper Lawson.

Wowwww, where to start?! I read through this book so fast and it left me wanting for more, to keep the story going. I really enjoyed it. 

On the whole, the main storyline of the book was predictable with regards to the whole forbidden love and the best friends brother type thing. But, there were other aspects that made this book so enjoyable, that you could almost look past the overdone forbidden love. 

I particularly loved Lexi and Ava, I thought they were refreshingly brilliant characters, and it was nice that the book was led by females, and how they were striving to reach their goals.

That being said I do think that the author could have done with involving the other female characters more and developed their relationships too. I feel we missed out a little bit on some other interactions. 

 I feel this is the same with the male characters other than Dylan too, we didn’t get to hear much of them or really be introduced to them, which I feel would have added more depth to the story. 

I loved the business idea they had and how their parents seemed against it, it added another angle to the story and helped to bring the characters to life I thought, gave them some drive and purpose behind their ideas.

And as for the smut, wow. The sex aspects were written brilliantly and didn’t feel cheap or overdone.

Schooled by Piper Lawson was a real treat of a book, and even with the small issues I had with it, I did really enjoy this book!

Until next time, Em xxx

The Woman in our House, Andrew Hart – A Review. [SPOILERS].

Hey guys welcome to my blog! Today I’m reviewing The Woman in our House written by Andrew Hart, published June 2019.

If I could sum up this book in one word it would be average. The plotline was fairly original but didn’t really inspire me and at points felt like a slog to read, to the point I skim read parts as I didn’t feel it was relevant to the plot.

The subplot (if it can even be called that) with Josh was pointless in my opinion, it didn’t add any value to the story and that was part of the book I skim read.

I did enjoy how the book was mainly led by Anna and had a strong female presence within it, I felt empowered by the fact she wanted to return to work, the way she wanted to be known as “Anna” and not just Mum. 

I loved the interactions we had with Oaklynn, I felt the author really kept us on our toes with little snippets about her and the way she was behaving with the children and the twist at the end was very well done!

However, I saw the main ending of the book coming from about halfway into it, it was predictable. Without giving too much away, this was really disappointing as I felt we were left with a lot of questions and holes in the story. The ending was rushed and it almost felt like an injustice to the book itself. 

The book itself, the chapters were strange, to say the least. They constantly swapped between characters, at points, they were labelled as to who’s POV we saw it from but then other times we were left guessing. 

On the whole, I just felt The Woman in our House was average, whilst some parts felt original and exciting, others felt like they were rehashed and taken from other similar books on the market. 

Let me know if you’ve read this book and what you thought!

Em xxx

 

It Will Just Be Us, Jo Kaplan – A Review. [SPOILERS].

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! I’m sharing my review of It Will Just Be Us by Jo Kaplan, which I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review on my blog and Netgalley. Publish date: 11th August 2020. 

Overall rating 4 out of 5 stars. 

I had a LOT of thoughts about this book throughout the time I was reading it so if this is a little long I apologise!

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book.

The setting for the book was perfect, it had this amazing gothic feel to it, I can only describe it as the same feeling I got from the Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, eerie but beautiful. Considering the majority of the book took place within the house and its close surroundings, it never once lost those eerie tones and feelings. The literary horror atmosphere was immense and really grabbed me.

Possibly one of my favourite parts was the idea that the house was ever growing, and towards the end, I felt like we were getting lost in the house, it was a really creepy feel and got me all in a tizzy.

The characters, I loved Sam and Elizabeth so much, I thought they were excellent characters and their interactions were so well written. However, I wish we had a bit more expansion on Elizabeth’s husband and their Mom, they didn’t seem to have much backstory, which I feel would have lent itself to the story.

Once or twice, I did feel a little lost and confused with the storyline and as though there were too many aspects to it. However, once we hit the last few chapters it all made sense and I loved how the ending brought everything together and tied up some of the larger loose ends of the plot.

And I certainly did NOT expect that ending! I haven’t been shocked like this by a book for a very long time and I will certainly remember this book for a long time to come.

If you’ve read It Will Just Be Us let me know so we can discuss it!

Em xxx

Deception Point, Dan Brown – A Review. [SPOILERS]

Hello, my lovelies! I am BACK and ready with another review for my latest read.

I have recently finished Deception Point by Dan Brown – one of my favourite authors of all time! My overall rating of this book is: 4 out of 5 stars. 

As always, I was in awe of Dan Brown’s writing, the scene is set so well that you feel as though you are with NASA whilst they’re making their “discovery” and you become so engrossed with the characters that you feel their fear…

But, I just didn’t enjoy the storyline. I’m all for conspiracy theories, but really? I guessed right from the start that the meteor was placed there and then it just ruined it for me.

On the whole I enjoyed the book itself, down to Brown’s writing but the storyline itself just wasn’t for me.

Have you read Deception Point? Let me know what you thought in the comments! Em xx

The Silence of the Lambs, Thomas Harris – A Review. [SPOILERS].

How ya doing fellow bookworms? I hope you’ve all had a lovely weekend! I am here to say that I have finished The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris and WHEW, 3 books down in May and ready to start Hannibal tonight. But before I do here’s my review!

Overall rating 5 out of 5 stars. 

This is my favourite Thomas Harris book, every time I read this I cannot put it down until I’ve finished… It is nothing short of amazing. 

The Silence of the Lambs scares me, which with a book I find is a very difficult thing to do, you’re relying on the way people are imaging the book in their head, but wowzers, when Dr Lecter escapes? I think my heart rate reached new heights. And don’t even get me started on when Clarice enters Gumb’s house, CREEPY AF. For me, scaring someone with a book is an extremely difficult thing to do, but Thomas Harris seems to manage perfectly.

We also get to see Hannibal Lecter again, this time interacting with a female, Clarice Starling. It’s an interesting dynamic that Thomas Harris portrays, with Lecter and Starling, you almost forget he’s a criminal locked away in a secure psychiatric hospital, and like in Red Dragon, you want to like him for his polite and intellectual ways!

An absolutely brilliant novel, that I will read over and over again. Bravo Thomas Harris. 

Have you read The Silence of the Lambs? Let me what you thought in the comments below!

Em xx

Hannibal Rising, Thomas Harris – A Review. [SPOILERS]

Good evening my lovlies! Here is my first review of May – although it’s meant to be Spring in the UK and I’m pretty sure it’s tipping down and it’s about 5 degrees 😦

ANYWAY! I am back with a review of Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris, which I completed approximately 5 minutes ago? Woop first May read complete. But now I’m concerned about how ANYTHING is going to top what I have just read🤯🤯🤯

Overall rating – 4.5 out of 5. 

Wow, I mean, I am literally speechless, I knew Thomas Harris was an impeccable writer but I am shook.

Harris’s writing in Hannibal Rising is nauseating at points, but in an exciting and thrilling way, you don’t want to connect with Hannibal Lecter but you can’t help but feel sorry for a young boy torn from his home, watching his parents die and then as we find out later in the book (though it was pretty clear all the way through) forced to eat his sister by his captors – it’s all seriously fucked up.

The book made you side with Hannibal when it came to retribution but what thrilled me the most with this book is the detail that not only went into the actual scenes where Hannibal committed the murder but the background too, not a stone was left unturned and I feel it’s an excellent insight into Hannibal Lecter.

The highlight of the book for me was this quote:

“The little boy Hannibal died in 1945 out there in the snow trying to save his sister. His heart died with Mischa. What is he now? There’s not a word for it yet. For lack of a better word, we’ll call him a monster.”

A truly exceptional read, I had extremely high expectations when I started this book and I wasn’t disappointed at all. Bravo Thomas Harris.

Have you read Hannibal Rising? Or any of the other books? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Em xx