bookswithlydscl's Reviews (639)

A rising 3.5* - was 3/3.25* for the majority of the book going up to 3.5* for the final third.

Clearly a middle book - wide and expansive, clearly setting up for the final book in the trilogy. It felt too big compared to the story of book 1. Too many characters to care about and lacking the bond of the found family that made book 1 more memorable. I found the book, up to 65% to be a bit dull but from then onwards it found its feet and picked up pace and had a good closing for book 2 in a trilogy - appropriately satisfying whilst showing us what we're in for in book 3. 

4.25*

This was another heart warming read from Satoshi Yagisawa and followed on well from the original story. Whilst not quite as instantly charming as DATMB it still hit the cosy contemporary vibe I was after and the final third of the story was what raised it up for me, it truly was a beautifully touching piece of writing and a wonderful piece of translation work by Eric Ozawa.

The story is much more a series of linked vignettes this time, rather than being a clear part one and part two like in the first book. I particularly liked the Tomu and Takano piece and of course the final third. In the vein of cosy fiction nothing truly happens in the story, until that final section and even then it's about the beauty of family, love, loss and time passing. The book as a whole is a love letter to books and reading, and this time much more about finding books and finding comfort in stories.

Overall, despite being generally melancholic in tone, this is a gentle and enjoyable sequel. It's a short and quick read, with a setting and characters beautifully brought to life. I feel like Takako and Satoru's stories have been told and finished and it's a fitting ending to our visits to the Morisaki Bookshop.

Thank you to Bonnier Books UK and Netgalley for inviting me to read an eArc of "More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

What can I say other than to kick off with a bold and loud - I Loved This.

I am a self-proclaimed 'Tudor Nerd' and Anne Boleyn is one of the queens I have always been fascinated by, and so, despite how I've felt about some aspects of the main novels of The HMRC Trilogy so far, I knew I needed to read this novella, about the founding of Her Majesty's Royal Coven, as soon as I heard about.

Honestly this is my favourite part of the HMRC world and sits head and shoulders above the core books for me. I just can't help it when you've got a strong set of female characters, intrigue, magics, traitorous actions and it's all woven around one of the most well known periods of British history in novella form. Don't get me wrong, I know it's tired - all the speculation about Anne Boleyn and witchcraft, but I love that this is went wholeheartedly into answering - WHAT IF SHE WAS A WITCH THOUGH?

I loved the interweaving of known historical figures and their perceived personalities, like Jane Rochford where everything in the history books shows her to be an untrustworthy and selfish figure who was so ambitious it was to the detriment of those around her. Obviously we're lacking nuance as there's no 1st hand texts remaining but her characterisation in this sits with what information we do have. Anne's personality and actions reads how I picture Anne in real life (and how Claire Foy portrays her in Wolf Hall) and I love her for it and for those who know the ins and outs of Elizabeth's household, much like me, I'm sure that Grace's conclusion will have you cheering.

For those familiar with the HMRC series we've still got all the bits that are known and loved -  highly effective magic scenes, love in various forms and we've got feminist commentary which is much more even-handed and nuanced than I found in Her Majesty's Royal Cover, but this time it's all set against the backdrop of iconic British history with some core historical female figures.

Yes of course this book isn't perfect, for me some of the language use felt a little too modern and was a bit jarring when I came across it but overall this did what it needed to with the right amount of story, detail, characterisation and world building. It could obviously have been made a full novel if it was looking at the rest of the Tudor period (and I would have loved that too) but this was Anne and her ladies' story so this novella format was perfect and comes highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | HarperVoyager for a digital review copy of "Queen B" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

The Last Final Girl walked so that Jade Daniels could run.

Not the most easily accessible book - the structure takes some getting used to and I think the audiobook really helped me get it (it's written in a multi-pov fluid screenplay style that is pure chaos and very abstract much like the story). But what is clear is that this is a love letter to horror and slasher movies and having seen a lot of the films/characters mentioned really helped me get into the story more.

I'll definitely need to listen to it again though, I feel like I missed some bits and I need to do the horror character / actor name scavenger hunt to try and pin book character name inspirations!

Not quite a 4 as some of the middle section was a little repetitive - probably could have lost 25-50 pages and not lost anything from the story.

Besides that - generally tightly plotted, tense, and absorbing. I do love that you generally know what you're getting with a Megan Miranda thriller, and this time the small town setting was particularly evocative and effective. I liked the story a lot and Hazel, though not particularly memorable, made for a good general main character for the action to revolve around. Caden and Gage were a little one-dimensional, and the Jamie storyline kind of disappeared once it was resolved - no real closure despite all the build up, which was a little disappointing.

Felt that MM sticked the landing for the overall story better than a number of her other books, but as always, it wraps up just a little too quickly once the main secrets are revealed. 

This had made me want to re-read my first MM book again (The Last To Vanish) as I didn't appreciate the MM style at the time and it also had a very effective and claustrophobic small town with an outsider main character trying to uncover town and family secrets.

Enjoyed this, liked the gothic setting and the fungus element was truly horrific (a different use to how SMG uses fungus in Mexican Gothic) but it didn't fully grab me.

An effective family drama dressed up as a Werewolf horror onnthe surface.

As always with SGJ the story is not the story so whilst yes Werewolves are the primary attention grabbing hook it's so much more than that. 

And irrespective of anything, these are not Twilight Werewolves.

A suitably spooky Middle Grade Boarding School mystery.
Spooky goings on with a couple of scenes that gave me the creeps. A great series opener, think Malory Towers with ghosts.