bookswithlydscl's Reviews (639)

This was pure cosy magical realism with a lovely premise about finding family, home and belonging. I love that there's not really a romance storyline to this, instead it's about finding truth and breaking a curse to be able to create a future. There are a few repetitive elements and I would love to have had more in the story about the periphery characters of the town but when I finished it I immediately said "well that was lovely" and I think that's just the most apt way to sum up this story. Gentle storytelling that moves quickly and makes for an easy, relaxing read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this digital review copy of "The Warbler" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

3.75* 

I was so intrigued by the premise of this book and loved the idea of a book within a book with sci-fi elements and for the most part I was really satisfied with what I found.

This is definitely sci-fi lite and felt much more literary and family drama focused (which if you've read any other books with Nigerian families will feel very familiar). I thought the writing was fantastic and I loved the slower character focused build up in the first half. We have events happen but they feel natural and well paced and I loved the quasi future elements (the self-driving cars, the exoskeleton) mixed in with the 'Rusted Robots' book excerpts.

It really was building up to be a high 4* read for me but I felt that the story took an abrupt turn with the introduction of the space launch prospect and it just didn't feel as grounded in reality as the rest of the book had been to that point. The pace then ramped up so that the careful story telling of the first half turned about face as we raced to the end which felt a little too abrupt for me. 

Don't go into this expecting a true science fiction novel and you will be more likely to enjoy it. Thankfully I'd seen some reviews highlighting that so went into it with the right level of expectation and I really did like it, I just ended up not loving it overall as much as I hoped to.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group | Gollancz for this digital review copy of "Death of the Author" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Solid but won't be particularly memorable for me

on the nose, nothing subtle about this whatsoever but that helps make it a co pletely wild ride. Extremely timely and truly horrific at points. Enjoyed this one

3.5 but rounded up for the final chapter of book 7.

Not a fan of stories that have a predominant focus on infidelity- makes it very difficult to feel any kind of connection or empathy for those involved.

Much like Middlemarch I did spend a decent amount of this wondering what the heck the point of most of it was. Far too long but Maggie Gyllenhaal and 2+ speed on the audiobook didn't make it feel as daunting.

A talking cat, a book about books, cosy translated fiction - checks all the way.

3.5* rounded up

The premise for this book had me hooked instantly - a group of crime writers being picked off one by one at an isolated retreat hosted by a mysterious and reclusive author. It had vibes of Christie, and Cluedo and and I had high hopes going in. Overall I wasn't disappointed but I didn't quite love this as much as hoped. The game elements, the books within books and the slow burn unfolding of what a disastrous situation the writers found themselves in worked really well for me but the group of characters themselves didn't click and I found the number of perspectives at the start to be a little confusing. Once the group reduced down I definitely found myself swept up on the ride especially as the pace picked up around the same time (around the 50% mark).

An ambitious debut with some classic crime hallmarks this wasn't quite the full blown hit I'd hoped for but I enjoyed it, I loved the style and the writing worked really well overall for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Bantam for this digital review copy of "You Are Fatally Invited" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

3.5*

Overall really enjoyed - inhaled the audiobook and will continue the series when book 2 comes out but didn't quite get up to loved it.