bookswithlydscl's Reviews (639)

A powerful story with an important message. Should be required reading for teenagers.

 Updated to 4.5* as even now, a few weeks, later this book has stayed with me and I keep thinking about the imagery and worlds built. 

A magical pawnshop that not everyone can find that allows those who need it to rid themselves of regret at choices made. Hana is set to inherit the shop from her father but on handover day she wakes up to find it ransacked and her father and a pawned choice have disappeared.

What follows is a Ghibli-esque adventurous romantic fantasy that is a story of choices, love, family, loss and enlightenment. 

I found this book to be a floating ethereal beauty that has careful and intricate world building and delivers an Alice In Wonderland sense of confusion, magic, awe and discovery. It takes its time to get going despite having an element of jumping from quest to quest but for me it all clicked at around 60% and I couldn't stop reading through to the end.

There are so many elements that work - The romance is well balanced and exactly what I want in a book (doesn't take over everything and no spice) and I have to go back to the world building again. The use of traditional Japanese culture to create this fantasy world was beautiful and breath taking and a wonderfully unique setting for the story.

This is one that I want to come back to again in the future and I think fantasy fans who are looking for something a little different will enjoy this addition to the genre.

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

3.5* rounded up to 4.
Potential Spoiler







I loved the last cuentista and the closing 'twist' linking it to that story pushed this up for me. Otherwise it was a safe 3 for the most part.
Oppressive, dystopian middle grade sci-fi- it's certainly got a lot of heavy themes for books directed at the age group and the slow start may not work for a lot of readers. I love world building but felt it really was a little too slow and we could have got the story moving before the 30/40% mark.
However it is beautifully done and the themes and ideas presented are outstanding, especially for a story aimed at younger readers.
I hear there will be a third book for this 'universe' which I eagerly wait for even if I can't quite say i loved this story ad much as book 1.

A lovely mix of poetry, prose, and fiction. Wish there'd been a few more older essays but there were some very impactful modern ones as well.

Really solid MG and I think will appeal to young readers who love an adventure story

4.5*

This is a sketchbook of a novel from anonymous cult Youtube personality 'Uketsu'. Four interconnected stories tied together by eerie and unsettling sketches that gives us a mysterious, intriguing, twisty and utterly absorbing read.

Some of the marketing leads with this being horror but I feel that this is a classic mystery thriller with a horrific concept behind it.

Don't be put off by the abrupt end to a couple of the stories, the pay off at the end tying everything together is fantastic giving us as readers a highly satisfying close for what is an overall gripping reading experience.

New readers to translated Japanese mysteries will like enjoy this more contemporary, and what I felt, highly accessible, introduction to the genre. Go along with the more odd short story style and you'll be richly rewarded.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press | Pushkin Vertigo for a digital review copy of "Strange Pictures" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

3.25* overall

This is a joint review for the Ebook and Audiobook of Helle's Hound:

4* audiobook
2.75* for the book overall

I was so excited to see that Torben Helle was coming back after the highly enjoyable 'Helle & Death' last year. Unfortunately 'Helle's Hound' didn't live up to the first book for me. 

In this latest mystery for Torben, friend and mentor Dame Charlotte Lazerton is dead, found at the foot of her staircase partially eaten by her Irish wolfhound, Mortimer. Torben believes it's suspicious, the police, aside of one one Nordic Noir fan, don't, so it's up to Torben and Leyla to try and prove that it's murder.

This was overall a fun read but sadly was too long and winding and very slow to get going. It was also unevenly paced The final quarter of the book came at you like a train of information which, after the slow pace of much of the rest of the book, felt like an overload, especially as there were too many characters involved who weren't fully fleshed out for me. All of these points and what I felt was an overall unsatisfying conclusion means that sadly this one wasn't the win I hoped for. 

For the audiobook, I felt that Gunnar Cauthery did a really good job with the narration. He really characterised our Torben and Leyla and their budding romance really helped break through the monotony of the bulk of the middle section of the book. He also brought out the humour of the narrative which I thoroughly enjoyed. He wasn't able to help break out the more minor characters as much as was needed to make them become proper characters but I feel that is because there were too many people involved with too few distinguishing features.

The audiobook was also really well edited and produced but was let down by the story not being as enjoyable for me.

This series has a lot of potential. The cosy scandi/nordic noir mystery set up is really appealing to me. I much preferred the tightly plotted, limited cast and isolated setting of Book 1 and hope we return to a similar style for Book 3 (if we're due another instalment).

Thank you to NetGalley and Serpent's Tail / Viper / Profile Books | Viper for a digital review copy of "Helle's Hound" and Profile Books Audio | Viper for a review copy of the Audiobook, both in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

This is a difficult one - I liked it and didn't at the same. Undeniably clever and twisty, extremely intriguing but the final quarter required a massive suspension of disbelief and didn't work with the rest of the book.

Odd, clever, pulled me in but also kept me on the periphery as I didn't care for any of the characters - though Jem grew on me after about 60%. I just don't know how I feel overall so sticking to 3*

This one didn't click with me quite as much as the others and I didn't enjoy it quite as much. A minor blip in the series.

Much like the first part of this duology, Kamusari Tales Told At Night is a gentle and lighthearted book. Told in mini stories with several threads running through, it won't be hugely memorable for me I don't think but was a lovely way to spend a few hours.