readwatchdrinkcoffee's Reviews (382)

If there’s one thing we want to learn more about in the Harry Potter world, it’s Quidditch.

Detailing the history and influences of the game, explaining where the Golden Snitch came from, how the Bludgers came into existence, and bringing it into the present day with the different teams, robes and world games, this book brilliantly showcases Rowling’s love for detail.

It’s no wonder this is the most checked-out book in the Hogwarts Library.

The Hogwarts Library is a collection of the popular stories: Quidditch Through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Written by J.K. Rowling, with additional notes from the esteemed Professor Albus Dumbledore, the trilogy of books is an essential collection for any wizard or Muggle home.

If you’re a fan of the Harry Potter franchise, then it’s always exciting to learn more about the history of Hogwarts and everything that it is included. And that’s why you’ll love The Hogwarts Library. All three stories are widely referenced in the original Harry Potter books and provide fun and imaginative content that allow you to step even further into the magical wizarding world.

Also, the collection of books is just simply stunning and will look beautiful on your bookshelf.

Station Eleven is unlike anything I have ever read before. The early descriptions of a snowy night when the world is beginning to collapse after a mysterious flu has become a full-blown pandemic intrigued me instantly. But what follows isn’t just a post-apocalyptic adventure, it’s a real voyage with struggles that are far beyond survival.

Although Station Eleven is about a desolate landscape after a world-wide catastrophe as we follow a number of characters who roam the wastelands and risk everything for humanity, it is in no way like anything that you will have read before. What’s so unique about this book is the focus of arts and theatre, as we follow a performing troupe known as the Traveling Symphony. Technology may not have survived the plague, but Shakespeare certainly did.

Moving forward and backwards in time over a 20 year period between the main character’s early days as a film star and his current experiences, the story comes together through Jeevan’s interactions with the key characters at various points in his life. With striking prose and strongly developed characters, it is the darker moments of the story that keep you on edge, but the complexity of the way that the story intertwines together that will leave you feeling breathless.

It really is a powerful read and a wonderfully-written story that you will not forget quickly.

The fourth book in the Will Trent series, which follows on from the Grant County series, I have only previously read the seventh book in the Will Trent series, Unseen. So, I have gone at this franchise in completely the wrong order, but after enjoying the characters in Unseen so much, I just had to get into another instalment and this is the first one that found its way into my hands.

Whilst I struggled with Unseen because there were so many characters to get used to, I went into Broken having some prior knowledge and understanding of their relationships, so it was much easier to get invested in the story this time around. I especially loved getting to see Sara and Will meet for the first time having read about a more struggling time in their relationship, and I definitely can’t wait to get to know them even more.

There’s still a lot I don’t know about Sara and Lena’s past with this being the earliest book in the Grant County series that I have read, but I understood all of the developments and emotions going on. Slaughter’s stories are so complex, yet each of her books work so well as standalone books, as well.

As a thriller on its own, Broken is the most engaging and well-paced that I have read in a long time. It may not be as gruesome or disturbing as previous instalments, but the mystery will undeniably have you hooked and keep you guessing all the way through. It is also heavier on the forensic side of the investigation so it’s also very interesting to follow the police proceedings more thoroughly.

Slaughter uses brilliant descriptions and I genuinely felt like I needed to change my socks whilst reading this because of the constant rain and mud. As with all of her books, she again delves into some dark themes, exploring issues of mental illness, alcoholism, dyslexia, grief, loss and shame. And this is why her stories are so engaging, because her characters all have relatable issues and it is through their social awkwardnesses that they are drawn together and we are drawn to them.

Having read a few instalments in the Grant County series as well as some of Slaughter’s standalone books, she is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors and I definitely intend to be getting my hands on some of her other books as soon as I can.

I’ve read a few of Karin Slaughter’s books before, two from her Grant County/Will Trent series and a few of her standalone books, and she instantly became one of my favourite authors. So, I decided to start at the beginning with the first book in her Grant County series, Blindsighted.

Having already gotten to know Sara, Jeffrey and Lena a little, it was great to read about how these characters came into being. And because of Slaughter’s excellent narrative, I already felt familiar with the town and the people who live there. Her characters are so well-crafted and her settings are so well described that I instantly felt at home with them, with her books having such a good continuity that the years between each story is made to feel seamless. Still, it was great to see where her series began, and it’s been a fantastic journey to see how certain relationships started off and how certain conflicts were set in motion.

Slaughter is so clever at pacing and plotting her stories that you feel like you’re investigating the case for yourself, trying to figure out who’s behind it all as things slowly progress. But you’ll never guess. Blindsighted is such a multilayered thriller that, while you are given so much detail and context around the characters and the case itself, Slaughter only gives away the minimal when it comes to answers, slowly revealing drops of information piece by piece as everything finally starts to come together.

The crime at the centre of the story is another brutal and gruesome set of murders which keep you nail-bitingly gripped. The observations of the investigation are interesting and insightful (with Slaughter having a background in Forensics), whilst the gruesome and occasionally extreme violence constantly takes you aback. It’s certainly a dark and gritty thriller, and the intensity and suspense never lets up, as every chapter leaves you wanting to read more.

Not only is there an intriguing mystery to follow at the centre of the story, but what I enjoy most about Slaughter’s work is that her books are so character-driven at the same time. There’s a lot of emotion involved between Jeffrey and Sara and their relationship is explored incredibly well, adding a real personal touch to the story as we are made to feel the pressures of living in a small town. We also learn a lot about Sara’s past in this instalment, allowing the reader to engage with her early on as we begin to understand her mindset. This is obviously a huge turning point for Lena’s character, too, and I’m eager to see how she changes going into book two as her life takes a huge turning point in this one.

Not only was this the first book in Slaughter’s Grant County series, but it was also her debut novel, and for that she deserves all the credit she gets. Her writing is always flawless and this first book is just as impressive as her later works. I can’t wait to continue the series.

If you want a new thriller/detective mystery to get into, or you’re feeling bored by the genre and want something new, then Slaughter’s books are a must-read. They don’t necessarily have to be read in order as they all work as standalone books, but you do get to understand the various relationships better if you start at the beginning. Whatever you choose to do, just make sure this author is on your bookshelf.

I thought I was going to love this. I like reading things about "honest parenting" - anything that reassures me that I'm not the only mother muttering FFS around the house all day long. And in a world now full of potty training, Peppa Pig, and a toddler who refuses to eat his vegetables, I could write a book myself about the reasons why Mummy swears. But they weren't the same as Gill's.

Maybe it's because the children in Why Mummy Swears are older than my two, or maybe it's because the book is more about the mother and her first-world problems than just her parenting life, but I just couldn't get on with this book. Of course there were elements of it that I could relate to, but they were very sparse and there wasn't enough on them.

I thought this diary-style book was going to be more about parenting woes, not about the life of a woman on a quest to find her dream job and follow her passions. Good for her, but that wasn't what I was here for. I couldn't even enjoy the scenes involving the writer's altercations with her husband. I have the same frustrations daily, but there was so much resentment between the two that I just found it awkward.

Sadly, I just couldn't find the humour in this. I may be a stressed-out working-from-home mum, but I definitely don't have the same kinds of pressures that this writer does. I thought that because we both swear a lot, we were bound to get on, but that wasn't the case.

Why did I decide to read Shakespeare? I forgot how much hard work he is. But after finally getting through the complicated language, reading it alongside a synopsis and reading up on different interpretations, it's hard not to appreciate Shakespeare's genius.

There are so famous lines in this classic play that, even though I didn't study this book at school, I still felt familiar with the text. There are many standout conversations and themes of life and death, and how can you not love a character like Hamlet? He's moody and over-emotional, and I think we can all relate to that. However, I do agree that Ophelia is massively underused. However, I recently watched the Ophelia film starring Daisy Ridley and I appreciate that adaptation even more now, finally giving Ophelia her own story in all of this.

I love how there are always so many different ways to interpret Shakespeare's plays, and whilst I found this one difficult to read as it is, the characters really stood out, all the same.

Set in a mental asylum, The Other Girl is exactly what you want from its synopsis and cover: it’s an atmospheric and immersive mystery with dark undertones and investing characters.

Told through three timelines – Then, Now, and Before – the stories come together to reveal truths about both the past and present. And although there are three of them, the story never feels too confusing or overwhelming. It develops slowly which some readers may not enjoy, but I was intrigued throughout.

I enjoyed the final twist which is played in brilliantly, but most of all I love the ideas that Major researched into to build her story around. The concept of reincarnation is really interesting and handled well, not being too preachy or too ambiguous, and suited the setting and time period perfectly.

I felt so much sympathy for Edith which is what kept me so gripped. Declan is also really likeable, but the only thing that I didn’t like about the story was the possible romantic connection between the two of them. I recently read The Silent Patient, and having the doctor feel attracted to his patient because of her naivety just leaves me feeling a little uncomfortable.

I would have much preferred it if Declan was just passionate about his job and wanted to do the right thing. Obviously he was feeling this too, but the comments on her beauty should have been irrelevant. This was only a very small feature in the story, though, so it was easy to let slide.

Eerie with its paranormal elements, The Other Girl is a well-developed story and intelligently written. As a debut novel, I’m certainly impressed and will be sure to look out for more from C.D. Major in the future.

Three Women feels like a significant read as it really gets you thinking about your own body and sexual experiences, which I think is really important. Our sexual desires aren’t something that many of us feel we can openly discuss as–I believe–it is still seen as unacceptable for women to be so open about their needs and experiences. We are still so harshly criticised by others–both men and women–so it’s encouraging to read the story of three women who feel able to do so.

But I think your liking of this book depends on your understanding of what it’s about. It’s certainly not what I thought it was going to be. Firstly, I didn’t realise that this was a non-fiction book when I bought it. But that doesn’t necessarily matter because it reads like fiction, although you can tell that the stories are very personal. However, that does diminish the journalistic qualities and therefore doesn’t hit you with a powerful message as it could have done.

That being said, it’s much easier to read this way. The message is still there, but it’s subtle. Instead of using these three women as a showcase of experience, it turns them into relatable characters that many–but not all–women will identify with in one way or another. Because of that, I admire what Taddeo is trying to achieve, especially as there is no judgement involved.

Three Women, instead, is an honest look at the power–or sometimes lack of–that we have with our bodies, about how they make us feel and how everything psychological can manifest in how we use them. As she says, our desire has such a power over us that it’s about time we recognised the force that it has and feel more open to discuss it.

It certainly got me thinking about how sex can determine how I personally feel about myself, especially during my younger years. Sometimes, sex would fill a gap, making me feel fulfilled, desired, and complete. But without it, I can feel empty, unwanted, and almost like I don’t exist at times. I am by no means saying that this is the right or even a healthy attitude to have, but sometimes we use our bodies when we’re down just so that we can feel in control of something. Other times, we are made to feel like we’ve lost power when somebody else takes that control away from us by making us feel differently about our relationship with ourselves. I didn’t realise before reading this just how much my emotions have reflected on my attitude towards my body at that time, but now I see that there has often been the link there.

Obviously I can’t speak for every woman, but this book definitely got me thinking. I think because I related to each of these women in some way, I found it very engaging. And that’s what I loved about it, even if it wasn’t a fictional story of passion and lust that I thought it was going to be. But not all sexual experiences are good ones. Rather, it’s a book about how important our sex lives are to us and how it’s time that we felt free to admit to our desires, fetishes, and needs without the fear of being scrutinized.

But I can also see why many don’t feel the same way about it. It only represents a very small minority of women and I did hope for a better range of experiences. My main criticism is that while all three of these women are open about their sexual needs, they are all still controlled by a man’s actions. I think it would have been great if there was an additional narrative that explored the life of a woman more in control, owning her body more, and whose life hadn’t been negatively affected by a man. Maybe even a fifth story, too, about a woman whose desire didn’t rule her life, as I’m sure it’s not the case for everybody.

Although I did connect with the story, the book didn’t quite have the impact I thought it was going to have in the end. It certainly opens up some discussions, but I think the reason it feels like fiction is because it doesn’t have enough to say, nor does it give a good enough representation of women in general. Nevertheless, Taddeo’s writing is beautifully descriptive and she tells these three women’s stories respectfully, there just needed to be more of a balance.

In between reading heavy thrillers and psychological mysteries, this is exactly what I needed this week. The Flatshare is a light-hearted, funny, and charming story filled with genuine and deep emotions. It’s a very engaging story that excels because of the fantastic chemistry between its two narrators.

Told through two perspectives – Tiffy’s detailed and excitable narration set aside Leon’s to-the-point thought-process – what I loved most about this story was how these two very different people come together as they begin to help each other out of their slumps. It’s something I can relate to so my heart warmed more the closer that they got.

I found myself laughing out loud on a few occasions and smiled throughout. Tiffy and Leon are such lovely characters. You really get to know them and fall in love with them, as you look forward to them finally meeting and hopefully hitting it off. Most of all, they feel very authentic so it’s a story that’s very easy to like.

The Flatshare is also an incredibly sexy book. Beth O’Leary certainly steams up the room with her well-described sex scenes (or near sex scenes, in most cases) and doesn’t hesitate to linger on the details, all the while managing to avoid them feeling awkward or rushed over.

There are some darker themes amongst the contemporary romance, as well, including gaslighting, stalking, abuse, and wrongful convictions, but it’s balanced perfectly as it would be in real-life, not letting either storyline get in the way of the other. But they aren’t blurred over either. O’Leary brilliantly but sensitively explores how damaging abusive relationships can be, but also creates great supporting characters who are there for support.

Even if you’re not a fan of romance, this is a book that I’m certain you will enjoy. It’s real, it’s emotionally-driven, and I’m really going to miss Tiffy and Leon now that I’m finished reading it.