📚Top Ten Tuesday – Books I want to be stranded with📚

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week we are discussing books that we want to be stranded with on a desert island! I have quite a few for this so I’ve managed to narrow it down to 5 with extensive reasons as to why I want to bring these with me.

1 – IT by Stephen King. I’ve chosen to bring this one with me because to be honest I have been trying to read this book for about 4 years now and I just for whatever reason cannot. And I thought, hey, I’m stuck on a desert island with absolutely NO REASON not to read this book, so why not take it with you and actually read it!

2 – The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. This is one of my ALL TIME FAVOURITE books in the whole entire universe, one I never get tired of reading, so of course it’s in my bag when they decide to drop me off at some random island and leave me there forever.

3 – The PJO series by Rick Riordan. I will never get bored of reading these books, they bring so much joy and light to my life. They are perfect for when you need to give yourself a happiness boost! Plus, the chapter headings alone are enough to give you those laughs that keep going until you’re crying, which is a reason enough for me to bring these with me.

4 – Wicked series by Piper Lawson. Ya girl is stranded for fucks sake, I need something to keep me entertained and bring some excitement to my life!

5 – How to Survive on a Deserted Island by Tim O’Shei. Now I haven’t read this one (as I don’t plan on ever getting stuck on an island) but the title alone is enough to make me want to bring it along, if nothing else it will give me something to read when I’ve gotten through the rest of my books haha.

And there are my 5 books I will be taking with me when the aliens decide to transport me to the nearest deserted island!

Until next time, Em xxx

Top Ten Tuesday – Authors I’ve read the most books by📚

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Hey guys welcome back to my blog! It’s Tuesday (7th July already?!) which means it is time for Top Ten Tuesday! Currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and is a weekly post, born out of the want to bring us bookish people together!

This weeks topic is top 10 authors that I’ve read the most books by, but I’ve decided to do as many as I can, I might get to 10 (or I might not) I’m going to look back through my Goodreads and total my reviews for certain authors haha.

1 – J K Rowling. I’ve read all 7 Harry Potter books, the 3 Hogwarts Library books and The Casual Vacancy.

2 – Stephenie Meyer. I’ve read the 4 Twilight saga books and The Host and I will be reading Midnight Sun when it’s released. (WOOOOOP!)

3 – Thomas Harris. I have read all 4 of the Hannibal Lecter book series.

5 – Roald Dahl. I’ve read his 15 book collection, numerous times! I still have the boxset in the loft, a bit battered and faded but I’m saving them for when I have my own little ones!

6 – Dan Brown. I have just (as in the start of June) completed Origin which means I have read every book of his!

7 – Rick Riordan. I’ve read the first 5 of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, I want to do a reread at some point but the other books on my TBR list will screech at me if I do that lmao.

8 – Piper Lawson. I’ve read 4 of her books so far and enjoyed every single one, they were all amazing.

9 – Stephen King. I’ve lost count now of how many books of his I’ve read, I had ones from before I started blogging and using Goodreads too.

10 – Adam Nevill. Someone I didn’t find until the last year or so but so far I’ve enjoyed!

That was easier than I thought actually to find 10 authors I’ve read multiple books of, here was me thinking I’d struggle. Let me know if you’re taking part in TTT so I can check out your post too.

Em xxx

Top Ten Tuesday turns 10🎉🎊

Hello everyone! It is Tuesday today which means it’s time for Top Ten Tuesday… Today is a special one as TTT is 10, so we have a celebration post! Our brief for today is that we could pick any previous TTT post and redo or update it, we can be as creative as we like…

Top Ten Tuesday is currently hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl and is a weekly post, that was born from the want to bring us bookish people together and those of us who love a good list (me😂)

I have decided to post my top ten fave books I’ve ever reviewed, the original post was first ten books so I’ve decided to switch it up a bit and share my fave reviews instead!

If you click on the book titles you can see the original review I posted too.

1 – Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. I picked this one because it was the first ever book review I posted, and while I’ve certainly come a long way since then it reminds me of when I started out.

2 – Inferno by Dan Brown. This book literally planned an entire holiday for me and even though I only rated it 4 stars it still made such an impact on my life.

3 – Mirror Mirror by Anthony M Strong. I reviewed this 1 star, BUT, it’s my first ever bad review of a book so I had to include it!

4 – The Perfect Couple by Jackie Kabler. I really enjoyed reading this book and it’s definitely one that will be on my reread list, which is why I’ve included it.

5 – Die, My Love by Zoe Blake and 6 others. This was the first anthology I’d read and it was amazing. I’ve included it because I want more people to know about this book, it was SO GOOD.

6 – Camp Leanpe by Timothy R Baldwin. I’ve included this one because it reminded of the Goosebumps series I used to read as a child, so it was one of my favourites to review, it was like going into a time machine!

7 – Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I don’t know why I put off reading this book for so long because it was amazing and by far one of my favourites to review, I felt like I couldn’t get my words typed fast enough to share the review.

8 – Goosebumps by R L Stine. I mean of course I’ve included this one, I literally got in a time machine and went back to my childhood!

9 – Death Warrant by Will Pearson. This is the only none fiction book on my list and I’ve included it because it was my third book after I’d DNFR the 2 previous, and it really got me out of a slump.

10 – Hannibal book series by Thomas Harris. Technically this is 4 books in this review, but Hannibal is one of my all time favourite book series and I had to include it, as they were my favourite reviews to write.

Happy 10th birthday to Top Ten Tuesday too, originally from The Broke and the Bookish back in June 2010 it moved over to Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018 and it has been there ever since. I can’t even begin to imagine how many posts there has been in its 10 year history!

As always, let me know if you’re taking part and I will check out your post too.

Em xxx

Hannibal Book Series, Thomas Harris – A Review. [SPOILERS]

ALOHA fellow bookworms💛 I’m back again with a Hannibal review and this time I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the series as a whole.

I not long along finished all 4 Thomas Harris novels in the space of a month, I’ve reviewed each individual novel (links below) and this is my review of the series: 5 out of 5 stars.

These books are incredible. The writing, how it surrounds you, makes you feel as though you are in the novel, alongside the characters, how each character is introduced and then interwoven.

Thomas Harris’s writing is immersive. You feel surrounded by the novel, as the chapters play out in front of you, you feel as though you’re with Starling as she visits Dr Lecter, or you’re with Will Graham as he enters the victim’s homes.

Reviews can be read here:

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

Red Dragon, Thomas Harris – A Review. [SPOILERS]

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

Hannibal, Thomas – A Review. [SPOILERS]

I will definitely be re-reading these in the future! Have you read Thomas Harris’s novels? Let me know what you thought in the comments!

Em xx

Hannibal, Thomas – A Review. [SPOILERS]

Hello my lovely bookworms! I am BAAAACK and with a review of my 4th book in May, which also marks the end of me finishing the Hannibal series!

Overall rating – 5 out of 5 stars. 

This was my first time reading this and I was certainly not disappointed, Harris’s writing is incredible. Some of the scenes (particularly where Mason is describing what he’s going to do to Lecter) were like watching it being played out it was that vivid…

Moving between the US where our much loved character Clarice Starling is facing difficulties in the FBI, to Florence where we meet Dr Lecter posing as Dr Fell, Pazzi and his wife, to Mason and Margot in the US – every character is beautifully woven into the story. 

Harris’s writing makes you feel as though you are inside the novel, with writing so vivid you can almost hear the squeal of the pigs.

And the ending, WOW. I knew up to about halfway through what happened, so after that I was completely clueless and I was SHOOK. Thomas Harris did it again with another absolutely incredible novel.

Have you read Hannibal? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

E 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

Red Dragon, Thomas Harris – A Review. [SPOILERS]

Aloha bookworms! How are we all today?! I am PUMPED cos I have just finished Red Dragon, I’m 2 books down already in May!

So, I’ve just completed Red Dragon by Thomas Harris and my overall rating is: 5 out of 5 stars. Absolutely. Bloody. Brilliant.

Branded as the novel that launched Hannibal Lecter and his legacy of evil this book does NOT disappoint. It gripped me completely, every chapter was a cliff hanger making you want to read on. Harris’s writing makes your pulse pound.

The introduction of Will Graham in this novel is nothing short of perfect, he’s already interlinked with the story which erases the need for a lengthy introduction, allowing the book to move at speed, but we also learn enough about him as we go through the book to form a picture of him. And Harris’s writing of Dolarhyde – just wow. Just reading about him makes my skin crawl! You feel as though he’s there, in the shadows watching you whilst you read. 

The book balances perfectly with introducing us to Crawford, Graham and the rest of the FBI and investigating team (without dragging it out and trying to fill space), with Dolarhyde’s hideous crimes (that are described in such detail your skin is crawling – see Freddy Lounds death GRIM) and the introduction of Lecter.

The high points for me, are those featuring Lecter. His character is so well thought out and carefully written, you almost want to like him, for his polite ways, his intellect, until BAM Harris reminds you that he’s a murderer in a secure physiatric hospital,  a testament to Harris’s writing.

This is the second time I’ve read this book and I bloody loved it both times. It’s one of my favourite books of all time and I can’t wait to carry on with the series!

Have you read Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon? What did you think? Let me know in the comments.

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