kishab's reviews
301 reviews

Told through three interwoven narratives, I Died on a Tuesday is fast-paced and kept me hooked—I read it all in one sitting. While some storylines were much more compelling than others, and not all the characters were particularly likeable, the structure had potential. It did feel a bit long at times, with certain overlaps between the narratives seeming more for complexity’s sake than actual impact. By the end, I was left a little confused—I wasn’t entirely sure what was true or how the title really tied it all together. Still, it’s an intriguing read that fans of layered thrillers might enjoy.

Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday Canada for this e-ARC that I chose to read and review 

This book is set in a small kingdom ruled by magical royals. The magic workers keep the village safe in exchange for taking a "small" portion of the villagers hearts, supposedly with no ill-effect. When Foss gets her heart snagged by the only male magic worker she follows him and begins to uncover secrets about how safe the magic workers really keep the kingdom.

I wouldn't say this is slow paced, but its more of a gentle pace that lends to the coziness of the story. The atmosphere and is described so vividly I could really see it playing out as if it was a studio Ghibli film. Cornelius, the talking cat, was my favourite character, but all of the characters are very likeable (unless they were intentionally supposed to be unlikeable). Overall, its a charming and comforting listen. I think the only downside to me was that the main character really emphasized how unlikeable and homely she was, and I could have done with a little more growth on her part earlier on in the story.

 

Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media for this ALC that I chose to listen to and review

Gruesome in the best way, Victorian Psycho is a sharp, blood-soaked thriller that doesn’t hold back. The writing style is unique, with the main character frequently breaking the fourth wall—not in a cringy way, but in a way that makes the madness feel even more intimate. At first, it seems like there’s no real method to the chaos, but as the story unfolds, the reasoning behind it all becomes clear and I did not see it coming. With plenty of on-page violence and gore, this book is not for the faint of heart, but at just over 200 pages, it’s a quick, compulsive read. I couldn’t put it down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Liveright Publishing for this e-ARC that I chose to review.

This was a surprise hit for me! The entire book details the rise and fall of an MLM and how easy it is for intelligent women to be sucked in and taken advantage of. I like how the book was funny but also highlighted the dark side of MLMs. Every character in the book was realistic, I felt like I instantly knew some of the characters. The writing style made it easy to read and although I guessed the murder mystery aspect it was still really enjoyable to see how it unfolded. I would highly recommend reading for a fun time 

Thanks to Netgalley and Quirk Books for this e-ARC that I chose to read and review

I really loved the first book in this series and to be honest I was a little let down by this follow up. This is no means saying it’s a bad book, it’s just missing that spark that the first book had. The mystery elements are well thought out and it has a very interesting ending/twist. The humour and foreshadowing was all very well done, I think maybe I just preferred some of the side characters from book one. This is a really fun cruise ship mystery, I loved the locked room aspects and the development of the relationships with some unexpected characters. I also particularly enjoyed the nod to a certain bodyguard from book one. This one could almost be a standalone because it doesn’t actually give away the details from the first book, but I would still recommend reading in order. 

Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media for this ALC that I chose to listen to and review. 

This is such a great, action packed book, I read the whole thing in one sitting. We follow Lily Wong, a Chinese-Norwegian woman who is following her dream of becoming a modern day female ninja. She’s basically the ninja version of Batman, using her martial arts skills to help women in danger and out of abusive situations. The storyline and mystery elements were super interesting, and the writing is so good and reads super fast. I would definitely check out the trigger warnings but overall this  was a really really fun read. I’m definitely invested enough to continue the series.

Thanks to Datura and Netgalley for this e-ARC that I chose to read and review. 

After the first book I hate to admit it, but this was kind of a let down. It was like watching a car crash, so bad but you can't look away. Diem was annoying in the first book but I could overlook it but in this was she was just unbearable. I had to take a bit of a break in the middle of the book because I couldn’t stand it anymore. I think I only persevered because I wanted to see more of Luther. There's slow burn and then there’s... this. I don't need to read two full books just to get that they've built trust and are obviously going tot end up together, but I especially don't need two books of Henri planning to kind while Diem's just like "this is fine." I read this for the promise of romance but the fantasy elements were just average, right until the last 5%. I'm all for a last minute twist/cliff hanger but it really was a lot to get through and almost not enough payoff. Not even Prince Luther could redeem this for me. I’ll still continue reading the series because of the cliff hanger and I'm still trying to redeem the series but it's mostly out of spite now (and for Luther, who is in no way a perfect character but the only highlight left for me)

 

Thanks to Atria Books, NetGalley and Penn Cole for this e-ARC that I chose to read and review

I'm not usually a romance reader, romantasy is usually as close as I can get, but every once in a while (usually once a year) there’s a romance book that slips into my TBR and makes me rethink my genre choices. This reminds me a lot of You, Again which is the only other romance book I've really enjoyed. I found both characters relatable, and I really didn't have to suspend my disbelief too much which is usually my problem with romance. Nor did it make me feel bad about myself because the characters were too much or made me sad. I thought it was the perfect mix of lighthearted and funny while having good character and plot development. The relationship was really interesting and it had me giggling and kicking my feet. I feel like this would also make a really good audiobook. Overall I would highly recommend this one

 

Thanks to NetGalley, Forever and Erin Connor for this e-ARC that I chose to read and review

This is billed as top chef meets knives out and it really intrigued me since I love both. I didn't really feel like it was a locked room mystery but it was close. I also didn't feel like the cooking aspect was super relevant to the story. It was there to include recipes and a setting but didn't contribute to the story as much as I would have expected. The mystery aspect was really interesting, I kind of predicted the solution but it all panned out in an unexpected way which was interesting. There were a lot of characters but we didn't get a full view of them since most of them were just here to be additional suspects. I felt there were a few loose ends that weren't wrapped up but I wasn't so invested that I felt let down by this. Overall it was a fun read and the mystery aspect was good but don't go in expecting a lot of character development.

 

Thanks to Netgalley, Orlando Murrin and Kensington Publishing and RB media

At first I found this a little confusing, there were a lot of characters and different POV's that were introduced early and it took me a while to figure out where we were going. But oh man, once we got going we really got going. The twists and turns in this were wild and I so, so, enjoyed the story. I stayed up way too late to finish the book, I could not put it down. We get so many different storylines and the way they all come together is so interesting. Each story/timeline was fully wrapped up and there were no lose ends hanging at the end, it was such a satisfying read! The ending felt a little abrupt but other than that I thought this was really entertaining and well done

 

Thanks to Netgalley, Tom Ryan and Atlantic Press for this e-ARC that I chose to read and review