bookswithlydscl's Reviews (639)

Another highly readable installment

3.75* - completely readable, really solid opener to a new series but I just didn't quite love it as much as I thought I was going to. Will read book 2 when it comes as I really like that it's a different vibe to Thursday Murder Club 

4.5* - it's Cher, what else can I say!

Much preferred this to Good Samaritans - but then a cult trope is almost always a win!

3.5* - ultimately I prefer the ballet but am so glad I read this finally

This one was so accurate about living with anxiety and also dealing with grief. As always very touching and relatable.

This will either work for you or it won't. For me it did. It's an on the nose satire that's shocking, sharp, intriguing and darkly humourous.
I loved the fast paced mystery, the historical element that is so relevant even today and how very silly it was at times whilst also being so deadly serious.

Really enjoyed this one, this series has definitely found its rhythm and is working well for me now

Nosy and interfering Maggie Burkhardt has a nasty habit of getting involved in other people's business. A habit that caused her to have to flee a stay in the Alps and relocate to the Royal Karnak Hotel in Luxor, Egypt. But it appears she hasn't learnt her lesson and this time she seems to have met her match in eight year old Otto.

I went into this book not knowing much and what I found was a very strange, White Lotus-esque set up with a grand but crumbling hotel filled with demanding guests and the put upon staff forced to provide service to them.

It was, quite frankly a pretty insane and wild ride of a read and one that unfortunately I didn't enjoy as much as I hoped I would. There's a trend it feels at the moment to pack your cast with wholly unlikeable characters and that's what I found here. It's a trope I don't love as whilst I don't mind bad behaviour, I struggle to enjoy a read when I dislike the main character(s) as much as I did here.

If that's something that you enjoy and you like strange and twisting thrillers then I would recommend this to you because whilst it didn't hit the mark for me I think it's more to do with my reading tastes than anything related to the writing for this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | The Borough Press for this digital review copy of "HAVOC" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

This collection of dark, funny updated retellings of 7 classic and familiar fairy tales with a more female focus is a fantastic collection for young adult readers giving them a new perspective for navigating everyday challenges without being too dissimilar to the original tales.

I really enjoyed how each story had a little twist to its ending and how its heroines weren't the traditional dainty girls of yore but were a little rough around the edges with foibles and quirks that most young readers will be able to identify with.

Not all the stories are truly memorable but the collection is more hit than miss and the Rumpelstiltskin and Hansel and Gretel tales were favourites as they felt truly fresh and with endings that really stuck with me.

A great option for that younger reader in your life!

Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press | Pushkin Children's Books for this digital review copy of "Girls" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.