It’s not easy to review a book that has so many layers. This book follows the very ordinary day-to-day lives of a family but it is far from ordinary in itself.

It covers very complex family dynamics, issues with race and gender identity. Brit Bennett wrote all of this beautifully and has an amazing way with words.

I think the book was very raw and honest, showing how easily relationships can be made and broken. The fine line between protecting people you love and lying to them and how blurry that can become when you think you’re doing the right thing.

It’s hard to discuss without including spoilers and I think that everyone will come out of reading this with entirely different interpretations and focal points. For me, it was absolutely the family experience.

I will no doubt make edits to this review as I continue to digest it all but I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

Thank you to Tandem Collective UK and Dialogue books for a gifted copy as part of #thevanishinghalfreadalong on Instagram.

3.5 stars! This one was such an easy read with Gossip Girl X The Breakfast Club vibes about it.

I found the first half really slow burning. The second half really kicked off though and then I couldn’t put it down. I loved the ending too, I just liked how everything tied up! If it had been quicker to kick off, this would have been a 4 star for me.

The characters were typical high school kids so at times a bit annoying but obviously, that’s to be expected! Overall, they weren’t that bad and actually pretty enjoyable to read about the further into the book I got.

I do think that Simon deserved more of a story though and I would have liked to know a bit more about him. A lot was covered in basically a couple of pages and some more understanding and empathy from the other characters would have been nice.

This one was an interesting story! The pace was average and stayed that way throughout, which kept me engaged with the book throughout rather than flick between really fast or really slow paced.

I liked that there weren’t too many POV. 3 was the perfect amount and just enough to keep me guessing but without being unable to follow what was going on.

The characters we focus on, Saffyre, Owen and Cate are strong and likeable characters. They all have complex histories which lead them to the decisions they make in the present. The commonality between them all though really is their loneliness and need for something more that they’re not quite able to grasp. I also thought that the character development was strong for all three and loved their outcomes!

I think really it was just missing some suspense for me. I didn’t really feel much atmosphere and while the book was really easy to read and kept me engaged, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat rushing through the pages as fast as I could.

Thank you very much to Century, Random House UK and NetGalley for this e-ARC in engage for an honest review!

This is a slow burning thriller but a very, very easy read and it didn’t take me long to get through it at all. Following a really interesting and mysterious prologue, there are 2 timelines to follow, the past from the POV of Luke (a young boy in a care home) and the present from the POV of Wren (a probation officer),

I honestly couldn’t get along with the characters, the plot kept me engaged but I just didn’t like them. I found Wren annoying and unprofessional, as with any crime thriller, the character prioritises their work over family but she was just not a good person in my opinion.
I also found Luke to me a nightmare and despite his good intentions, I didn’t like him one bit.

The plot was really engaging, kept me on my toes despite the speed. I did guess a key point very early on but there was a lot more that I didn’t guess but which in my opinion, were more minor in the storyline.

So all things considered this was a pretty good book BUT I did guess a major plot line and that’s subsequently dragged my rating down. I don’t like to be able to guess a plot line, I want it to be so woven into the story that I can’t figure it out and all my guesses are wrong. Likewise, I really like character driven novels so when I can’t connect with them, it’s harder to enjoy it.

I did think that it wrapped up really nicely and definitely enjoyed it, well worth a read and hopefully, not as easily figured out as it was for me!

Thank you to Serpents Tail/Viper Books and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Marrow is an incredibly immersive story and gripped me from the beginning. It even comes with its own playlist which I used to accompany some of my reading and it really did add atmosphere! The only reason I didn’t use it throughout was because I do most my reading late at night.

The book perfectly depicts life, loss and love - platonic and romantic. How we are bound together with those we love and how those bonds are strengthened or broken.

Part 1 was very fast paced and had me on the edge of my chair. It really gripped you into the story, especially with the inclusion of a baddie that you love to hate. I could only compare them to Scar from the Lion King because that’s who I thought of but maybe that’s just me!

There were a few parts where I would have liked a bit more detail and explanation. I’m not sure if this was done to keep the intrigue and leave room to expand in the next book, I couldn’t tell. However, it would have been nice to just get a bit more.

Overall, it was a brilliant book with loveable characters that you really invest yourself in and want to root for! It was a beautiful way of thinking about things and I’m really looking forward to where the story will take the reader next.

I really enjoyed this one! I thought I was very easy to follow and very cleverly written.

The references to classic murder mysteries do act as spoilers for those books but this book clearly warns you that that’s what will happen. So if you have any intention to read the other books mentioned, I’d avoid going further into the book because the plot will be revealed

The narrator was an interesting character and one I doubted the reliability of increasingly throughout. Even just from the first chapter, I was dubious.

It wasn’t the most enthralling book but it was a good story and definitely had a lot to like about it!

Review to come soon as part of my upcoming tour stop!