bookswithlydscl's Reviews (639)

I wanted to love this more than I did. The writing is beautiful but it felt too long and too repetitive - would be a 5* novella for me.
Will definitely keep reading more of the author's work though as I loved The Girl Who Drank The Moon and whilst I didn't dislike this it just didn't capture my attention or my heart the way I thought it would.

A 4.25 getting close to a 4.5

I was a little cautious at the start as it felt Very Obvious who the ultimate bad guy would be. But I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the why as well as the how when it all started to unravel.
The story is a modern day version of The Fugitive and much like that film is utterly preposterous but very good fun. I liked our main character, Jack and got pretty invested in seeing how she was going to clear her name.

A light, easy and fun reading thriller with a premise that gets you emotionally invested and enough twists and turns to move the story along quickly.

3.75* rounded up

Lady Swift, Clifford, the Ladies and animal sidekicks are travelling again and this time have set up shop in Venice to experience Carnival. Whilst riding on a Gondola to take in the sights, Eleanor has the unfortunate bad luck to witness a murder which, as we have come to expect and love, leads Ellie down the winding and narrow streets of Venice seeking to uncover secrets and solve the case.

This series is one of my favourite historical 'cosy' mysteries and is reliably fun and (generally) fast paced, and I love the core group of characters! However, with this instalment, whilst the overall mystery was solid with plenty of red herrings, it didn't quite land for me as well as the previous book did which was one of the best in the series. 

I found that the supporting cast of characters/suspects didn't quite gel for me in the way they usually do (though I have to say I did enjoy the very random addition of Kip to the cast) and the story felt like it was missing the verve and vigour that it normally has. This time round we have a lot more descriptions that felt like filler, especially at the start but once the investigation starts properly for our intrepid duo it picks up pace.

Irrespective of these niggles, overall I enjoyed the read as I always do and I eagerly await the next case to come Eleanor and Clifford's way and perhaps we'll get a little bit more Hugh next time!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital review copy of "A Death in Venice" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

A difficult one for me to rate and review. It's an important feminist critique on the lives of women in South Korea from birth to adulthood (motherhood). It is, however, incredibly dry for a large portion with longer chapters (unusual for a novella) that do drag a little.

However, the adulthood section I found I was most engaged in, and then the 2016 chapter makes it all click as you understand and ultimately then forgive the dry narrative style.

As a novella I'm glad to have read it and I feel that it did what it needed with that page count. Any longer and I would have struggled. Rating it ultimately 3.75* but rounding up to four as it has a really important theme and message that will likely resonate with many many women worldwide.

4.5* rounded up for this wonderful collection of interconnected short stories. Only one or two fell a little flat and I found that I connected with the characters and wanted to know more about them and their lives.

4.5*

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton/Hodderscape for a digital review copy of "Floating Hotel" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Described as Grand Budapest Hotel in space and perfect for fans of Becky Chambers I knew I had to read Floating Hotel as soon as I started seeing it 'floating' around social media (sorry) and I'm so glad I did as I loved and enjoyed this book thoroughly.

Told through a series of character focused vignettes, this book gives us an insight into the lives and loves of the staff and guests aboard the majestic Grand Abeona Hotel, the luxurious, though ageing floating hotel of the title. 

There is a background mystery running throughout that comes to the fore at the end of the book, but for the majority of the story this is a gentle, comparably cosy scifi with a lovable band of misfits and rogues who have come together in a found family unit which is one of my favourite tropes in fiction.

The pacing and narrative style may not work for everyone but it's something I enjoyed and which clicked for me and I found Grace Curtis's writing style to be beautifully flowing. I wanted to read on as I got to know the characters and became more aware of the background storyline but I also liked that each chapter was essentially self contained by focusing on  an individual character so I could dip in an out. By about 65% in however I couldn't stop reading as the switch was made to the tenser, more high paced mystery plot.

The sudden turn to the mystery plot so late in the book however was also a bit of a shock to the system and did feel a little truncated, especially the ending which was truly an abrupt ending. Basically, I'm greedy and wanted more detail and development for that side of the story and I wanted more about our characters after everything unfolds so I was left feeling a little dissatisfied - can you tell that I just wanted more! There is an open ending feeling though to the closing of the book with lots of potential for more stories about these characters and their futures so I'm not so secretly hoping that we may get a book two in the future!

Loved this book, not quite a five due to some repetitive scenes, but other than that I found this to be an absorbing, unique, sad, humourous and unsettling read.
It crosses multiple genres - part mystery, magical realism, satire, dystopia, as well as historical and literary fiction. It won't work for everyone but it worked for me, especially the audiobook which is wonderfully narrated by Shivantha Wijesinha.
CW for genocide and murder and mutilation for the historical events that took place in Sri Lanka in the 1980s and early 1990s, and those elements make for truly tough reading. The satire and humour sprinkled throughout help cushion the impact of these scenes a little and the wonderfully human elements, even in the spiritual realm, keep you wanting to read on as you grow attached to these flawed, lovable, infuriating characters.