Take a photo of a barcode or cover
stuckinthebook's Reviews (248)
I was kindly sent a beautiful advanced copy of The Husbands by Flatiron Books (Macmillan) and it’s definitely been one proof that I’ve been waiting to pick up the next time I was in the mood for a thriller. I didn’t really know what I was going into before starting it which is always nice, but as soon as I heard it being compared to The Stepford Wives, I was in!
Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too... but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder?
When the Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, an exclusive suburban neighbourhood, Nora meets a group of high-powered women--a tech CEO, a neurosurgeon, an award-winning therapist, a bestselling author--with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident's wrongful death case, she is pulled into the lives of the women there. She finds the air is different in Dynasty Ranch. The women aren't hanging on by a thread.
But as the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having-it-all. One that's worth killing for. Calling to mind a Stepford Wives gender-swap, The Husbands imagines a world where the burden of the "second shift" is equally shared--and what it may take to get there.
For a thriller, it definitely took me longer than usual to read as it did take a while to get going. I found there to be lots of added running commentary alongside the actual story, but I guess that was to help the reader understand the protagonist, Nora, and the pressure she was under both at home and work.
As the story progresses, the uneasy feeling in my stomach was getting stronger and stronger and I started to suspect that something wasn't quite right but I just didn't know what. I also began to feel more and more sorry for Nora, as well as starting to really understand the difference between what mums and what dads do. Nora thought she was in an equal parent partnership, yet the more time she spent with the high-flying women who lived at Dynasty Ranch, she soon began to realise just how much mothers can typically end up doing more for the children and the house. The fact that Nora’s husband justified his behaviour by saying he had work commitments when Nora had the same (if not more) pressure from work, was really eye-opening to me and in fact, scared the hell out of me!
Yet, I really liked Nora and I did at one point really feel sorry for her husband too. In fact, the characters were so brilliantly executed, I could really imagine each different character and the area in which they lived in too.
Although the characters and the plotline were fantastic, I was a bit confused by the ending and I don't think it had the full desired effect that the author had hoped for but I still really enjoyed it and it was a different sort of thriller to what I'm used to! It was in fact a ‘feminist thriller’ which I learned about for the first time after reading which is basically a thriller that challenges the status quo and delves into the exploration of the inner lives of women, within a backdrop of psychological crime. So definitely a genre I want to explore more of…
READ THIS IF :
Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too... but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder?
When the Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, an exclusive suburban neighbourhood, Nora meets a group of high-powered women--a tech CEO, a neurosurgeon, an award-winning therapist, a bestselling author--with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident's wrongful death case, she is pulled into the lives of the women there. She finds the air is different in Dynasty Ranch. The women aren't hanging on by a thread.
But as the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having-it-all. One that's worth killing for. Calling to mind a Stepford Wives gender-swap, The Husbands imagines a world where the burden of the "second shift" is equally shared--and what it may take to get there.
For a thriller, it definitely took me longer than usual to read as it did take a while to get going. I found there to be lots of added running commentary alongside the actual story, but I guess that was to help the reader understand the protagonist, Nora, and the pressure she was under both at home and work.
As the story progresses, the uneasy feeling in my stomach was getting stronger and stronger and I started to suspect that something wasn't quite right but I just didn't know what. I also began to feel more and more sorry for Nora, as well as starting to really understand the difference between what mums and what dads do. Nora thought she was in an equal parent partnership, yet the more time she spent with the high-flying women who lived at Dynasty Ranch, she soon began to realise just how much mothers can typically end up doing more for the children and the house. The fact that Nora’s husband justified his behaviour by saying he had work commitments when Nora had the same (if not more) pressure from work, was really eye-opening to me and in fact, scared the hell out of me!
Yet, I really liked Nora and I did at one point really feel sorry for her husband too. In fact, the characters were so brilliantly executed, I could really imagine each different character and the area in which they lived in too.
Although the characters and the plotline were fantastic, I was a bit confused by the ending and I don't think it had the full desired effect that the author had hoped for but I still really enjoyed it and it was a different sort of thriller to what I'm used to! It was in fact a ‘feminist thriller’ which I learned about for the first time after reading which is basically a thriller that challenges the status quo and delves into the exploration of the inner lives of women, within a backdrop of psychological crime. So definitely a genre I want to explore more of…
READ THIS IF :
I read my first Elif Shafak novel last year which was 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World and I absolutely fell in love with the way she writes. So when I found out that she had another book out this year, I had to get my hands on a copy. And you bet, as soon as it arrived, I didn’t waste any time in starting it.
The Island of Missing Trees is a story about two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he’s searching for lost love.
Years later, a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited - her only connection to her family’s troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world.
I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the book. It broke my heart whilst at the same time, filling it with love, passion and empathy. Again, I found myself reading about a time in history that we are never taught about and shockingly I never knew about through the power of Elif’s writing.
I've actually visited Cyprus once before and I'm really ashamed that I never knew about the country's shocking history of civil war until now. The way Elif writes is so beautifully poetic it's like you want to grab onto every word and just hold it in the palm of your hand for a while, staring at it, mesmerised by the sheer beauty of what you're reading.
I loved every single character but I felt sorry for Kostas’ daughter, Ada, because she had grown up in England, not knowing a single thing about her culture or history because it was too painful for her parents to talk about. It also made me feel really sad for the children we have in our schools right now not knowing/understanding a single thing about their culture/country yet are having to learn about the economic policies of British/American political parties during the 20th century.
I also loved that we get the point of view from the fig tree (weird, I know but stick with it). Through the fig tree's narration, we learn about the importance of nature and the effect of climate change. Elif’s research was superb and she excellently depicted, through the fig tree, how every tree and every living creature has a purpose and how human actions have caused/are causing thousands of animals and plants huge distress. Yet, we only care about our own power and existence and at a time when the need to change our ways to help the environment is as important than ever, I found this part of the story to be as motivating as it was heart-breaking in understanding how humans have badly treated this planet for so long.
Overall, I thought it was a truly beautiful novel and it deserves every single star out of five. It’s definitely safe to say that Elif Shafak can not write a bad book.
READ THIS IF :
The Island of Missing Trees is a story about two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he’s searching for lost love.
Years later, a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited - her only connection to her family’s troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world.
I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the book. It broke my heart whilst at the same time, filling it with love, passion and empathy. Again, I found myself reading about a time in history that we are never taught about and shockingly I never knew about through the power of Elif’s writing.
I've actually visited Cyprus once before and I'm really ashamed that I never knew about the country's shocking history of civil war until now. The way Elif writes is so beautifully poetic it's like you want to grab onto every word and just hold it in the palm of your hand for a while, staring at it, mesmerised by the sheer beauty of what you're reading.
I loved every single character but I felt sorry for Kostas’ daughter, Ada, because she had grown up in England, not knowing a single thing about her culture or history because it was too painful for her parents to talk about. It also made me feel really sad for the children we have in our schools right now not knowing/understanding a single thing about their culture/country yet are having to learn about the economic policies of British/American political parties during the 20th century.
I also loved that we get the point of view from the fig tree (weird, I know but stick with it). Through the fig tree's narration, we learn about the importance of nature and the effect of climate change. Elif’s research was superb and she excellently depicted, through the fig tree, how every tree and every living creature has a purpose and how human actions have caused/are causing thousands of animals and plants huge distress. Yet, we only care about our own power and existence and at a time when the need to change our ways to help the environment is as important than ever, I found this part of the story to be as motivating as it was heart-breaking in understanding how humans have badly treated this planet for so long.
Overall, I thought it was a truly beautiful novel and it deserves every single star out of five. It’s definitely safe to say that Elif Shafak can not write a bad book.
READ THIS IF :
April is kind, pretty, and relatively normal - yet she can't seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she's found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry.
If only April could be more like Gretel. Gretel is exactly what men want - she's a regular everyday manic pixie dream girl next door with no problems. The problem is, Gretel isn't real. And April is now claiming to be her.
As soon as April starts 'being' Gretel, dating becomes much more fun - especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua. Finally, April is the one in control, but can she control her own feelings? And as she and Joshua grow closer, how long will she be able to keep pretending?
You know a book is going to be up my street when the first sentence reads ‘I hate men’. I buckled myself in and was excited about what was to come. Yet although I did enjoy elements of the story, it wasn’t an easy read and Holly Bourne’s social commentary on the treatment and expectations of women was actually really quite depressing to read/realise.
I really liked the main character, April, though and although she was struggling with overcoming what her ex-boyfriend did to her, and being constantly let down by the men around her/who she dates, I thought there were also some quite humorous moments. I also really liked that April, a rape surviour herself, worked at a charity that helped other women and men who had suffered abuse or were confused about whether what their partner was doing to them was right. I thought that was a really touching detail for Holly to add in and how this particular job affected our main character April.
It was heartbreaking to read how simple things that I take for granted in my relationship can remind someone else of their awful past experiences and how their trust in anyone is really broken. I think being ‘Gretel’ allowed April to behave in such a way that she thought was her being different but in fact allowed her to learn how to cope/heal.
I also loved how the book took a turn at the end and flipped the narrative to explain that it's not just women who can act crazy during the dating process and men have their struggles and trust issues too. I think the journey that the main character goes through is such an eye-opening read and the explorations in how women date/love was especially interesting and made me question why we always seem to settle for less when we know deep down that we deserve.
There are A LOT of trigger warnings that come with this book so just to warn you that this book discusses sexual abuse, rape and suicide.
READ THIS IF :
If only April could be more like Gretel. Gretel is exactly what men want - she's a regular everyday manic pixie dream girl next door with no problems. The problem is, Gretel isn't real. And April is now claiming to be her.
As soon as April starts 'being' Gretel, dating becomes much more fun - especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua. Finally, April is the one in control, but can she control her own feelings? And as she and Joshua grow closer, how long will she be able to keep pretending?
You know a book is going to be up my street when the first sentence reads ‘I hate men’. I buckled myself in and was excited about what was to come. Yet although I did enjoy elements of the story, it wasn’t an easy read and Holly Bourne’s social commentary on the treatment and expectations of women was actually really quite depressing to read/realise.
I really liked the main character, April, though and although she was struggling with overcoming what her ex-boyfriend did to her, and being constantly let down by the men around her/who she dates, I thought there were also some quite humorous moments. I also really liked that April, a rape surviour herself, worked at a charity that helped other women and men who had suffered abuse or were confused about whether what their partner was doing to them was right. I thought that was a really touching detail for Holly to add in and how this particular job affected our main character April.
It was heartbreaking to read how simple things that I take for granted in my relationship can remind someone else of their awful past experiences and how their trust in anyone is really broken. I think being ‘Gretel’ allowed April to behave in such a way that she thought was her being different but in fact allowed her to learn how to cope/heal.
I also loved how the book took a turn at the end and flipped the narrative to explain that it's not just women who can act crazy during the dating process and men have their struggles and trust issues too. I think the journey that the main character goes through is such an eye-opening read and the explorations in how women date/love was especially interesting and made me question why we always seem to settle for less when we know deep down that we deserve.
There are A LOT of trigger warnings that come with this book so just to warn you that this book discusses sexual abuse, rape and suicide.
READ THIS IF :
I actually took the brave step and decided to listen to the audiobook version of this book through the BorrowBox app which is in partnership with my local library. I was recommended the audiobook version of Matt Haig’s The Humans by a book club friend who said it was fantastic, yet I was a bit nervous as I’m never really that great at following audiobooks as I tend to zone out on all the important bits. Yet, I can proudly say that I managed to listen all the way through and I’m glad I did as this was one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to in a long time.
After an 'incident' one wet Friday night where he is found walking naked through the streets of Cambridge, Professor Andrew Martin is not feeling quite himself. Food sickens him. Clothes confound him. Even his loving wife and teenage son are repulsive to him. He feels lost amongst an alien species and hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton, and he's a dog.
Who is he really? And what could make someone change their mind about the human race . . . ?
I found that the main character (the alien) was so refreshing to read. The first few chapters reminded me of creative writing in school when you would have to explain something as if you are explaining it to an alien - and that’s exactly what Matt Haig did but did excellently with what it means to be human.
I had multiple existential crises during the book though to be fair and it made me realise that we are just a tiny insignificant feature of this planet but I won’t go into much more detail because I don’t want my review to end up giving you an existential crisis too.
I went into this book thinking it was perhaps a children’s novel but I was far from wrong as there were certainly adult scenes and scenes of violence which even to this day shock me that they featured. I think the story development was excellent and even when I thought, surely the book will end here, Matt took it on a different twist which made the ending very emotional and heartfelt.
Like with all of the Matt Haig books I’ve read, I thoroughly loved his humour and how he plays with society and human interactions. I think what is excellent about the way Matt Haig writes, is that his books are easy to follow but equally easy to become obsessed with and The Humans was no exception.
READ THIS IF :
After an 'incident' one wet Friday night where he is found walking naked through the streets of Cambridge, Professor Andrew Martin is not feeling quite himself. Food sickens him. Clothes confound him. Even his loving wife and teenage son are repulsive to him. He feels lost amongst an alien species and hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton, and he's a dog.
Who is he really? And what could make someone change their mind about the human race . . . ?
I found that the main character (the alien) was so refreshing to read. The first few chapters reminded me of creative writing in school when you would have to explain something as if you are explaining it to an alien - and that’s exactly what Matt Haig did but did excellently with what it means to be human.
I had multiple existential crises during the book though to be fair and it made me realise that we are just a tiny insignificant feature of this planet but I won’t go into much more detail because I don’t want my review to end up giving you an existential crisis too.
I went into this book thinking it was perhaps a children’s novel but I was far from wrong as there were certainly adult scenes and scenes of violence which even to this day shock me that they featured. I think the story development was excellent and even when I thought, surely the book will end here, Matt took it on a different twist which made the ending very emotional and heartfelt.
Like with all of the Matt Haig books I’ve read, I thoroughly loved his humour and how he plays with society and human interactions. I think what is excellent about the way Matt Haig writes, is that his books are easy to follow but equally easy to become obsessed with and The Humans was no exception.
READ THIS IF :
I actually came across this book whilst attending a short story event at the Manchester Blackwell's store (one of my favourite bookshops in Manchester by the way). I have to say it was definitely the front cover that got my attention because the artwork is truly beautiful but also the blurb had me hooked, and what I love most about indie bookshops is that you can find absolute gems in there like this one that you've not come across on social media and they leave you completely shocked. So as soon as I bought it, I had to read it!
Basically, the book starts on one ordinary morning, when Laurie's husband Mark vanishes, leaving behind his phone and wallet. For weeks, she tells no one, carrying on her job as a cleaner at the local university, visiting her tricky, dementia-suffering father and holing up in her tower-block flat with a bottle to hand. When she finally reports Mark as missing, the police are suspicious. Why did she take so long? Wasn't she worried about his whereabouts?
It turns out there are many more mysteries in Laurie's account of events, though not just because she glosses over the facts. At the time, she couldn't explain much of her behaviour herself. But as she looks back on the ensuing wreckage—the friendships broken, the wild accusations she made, the one-night stand—she can see more clearly what lay behind it. And if it's not too late, she can see how she might repair the damage and, most of all, forgive herself.
So firstly, what an incredible story. I absolutely LOVED the main character, Laurie. I don't know what's wrong with me but I always tend to really enjoy books with a complicated, non-trustworthy narrator and Laurie is just that. I really feel like this book came to me when I needed it the most. Without getting too personal, the story is very similar in some ways to a personal experience and I think that is probably why I felt as one with the protagonist Laurie. My heart broke when her heart broke. I got angry when she got angry and I felt sad when she felt sad. So although I thought the story was excellent, I think for me, reading this book was a very personal experience because it hit me right where it was hurting.
But less about me and more about the book. The book is set in Northern UK and it was actually so refreshing to recognise the places where the main character was going, having spent most of my life reading about places in London that I had no idea about. I also thought it was incredible that through Laurie, the author explores so many different topics such as grief, poverty and child/parent relationships. I think in her confusion and unreliable narration, we get these little glimpses of a woman trying to keep her life together when the structures around her are just falling apart one by one.
So when I finished the novel, I was also confused. Is it a love story? A thriller? A ghost story? Who knows but it's truly excellent and one that should be added onto your TBR list straightaway and equally one I have no doubt you’ll race through.
READ THIS IF:
Basically, the book starts on one ordinary morning, when Laurie's husband Mark vanishes, leaving behind his phone and wallet. For weeks, she tells no one, carrying on her job as a cleaner at the local university, visiting her tricky, dementia-suffering father and holing up in her tower-block flat with a bottle to hand. When she finally reports Mark as missing, the police are suspicious. Why did she take so long? Wasn't she worried about his whereabouts?
It turns out there are many more mysteries in Laurie's account of events, though not just because she glosses over the facts. At the time, she couldn't explain much of her behaviour herself. But as she looks back on the ensuing wreckage—the friendships broken, the wild accusations she made, the one-night stand—she can see more clearly what lay behind it. And if it's not too late, she can see how she might repair the damage and, most of all, forgive herself.
So firstly, what an incredible story. I absolutely LOVED the main character, Laurie. I don't know what's wrong with me but I always tend to really enjoy books with a complicated, non-trustworthy narrator and Laurie is just that. I really feel like this book came to me when I needed it the most. Without getting too personal, the story is very similar in some ways to a personal experience and I think that is probably why I felt as one with the protagonist Laurie. My heart broke when her heart broke. I got angry when she got angry and I felt sad when she felt sad. So although I thought the story was excellent, I think for me, reading this book was a very personal experience because it hit me right where it was hurting.
But less about me and more about the book. The book is set in Northern UK and it was actually so refreshing to recognise the places where the main character was going, having spent most of my life reading about places in London that I had no idea about. I also thought it was incredible that through Laurie, the author explores so many different topics such as grief, poverty and child/parent relationships. I think in her confusion and unreliable narration, we get these little glimpses of a woman trying to keep her life together when the structures around her are just falling apart one by one.
So when I finished the novel, I was also confused. Is it a love story? A thriller? A ghost story? Who knows but it's truly excellent and one that should be added onto your TBR list straightaway and equally one I have no doubt you’ll race through.
READ THIS IF:
.jpg)
I have been wanting to read this book for so long because Harrow Lake is considered to be such a classic horror/thriller story. And as I’m such a huge fan of the thriller/horror genre, I had to see what all the hype was about. However, I decided to listen to the audiobook as I’m really trying to up my audiobook game and I thought that listening to a horror/thriller book would be like listening to someone tell me a scary story around a campfire… and it did not disappoint.
Harrow Lake follows the story of Lola Nox, the daughter of a celebrated horror filmmaker, who believes nothing can scare her. But when her father is brutally attacked in their New York apartment, she's quickly packed off to live with a grandmother she's never met in Harrow Lake, the eerie town where her father's most iconic horror movie was shot. The locals are weirdly obsessed with the film that put their town on the map--and there are strange disappearances, which the police seem determined to explain away.
And there's someone--or some thing--stalking her every move. The more Lola discovers about the town, the more terrifying it becomes. Because Lola's got secrets of her own. And if she can't find a way out of Harrow Lake, they might just be the death of her.
So this story really has it all. A creepy monster, a haunted doll, a deranged grandmother, a missing, mentally unstable mother with an unclear motive for leaving, an egotistical film director as a father and an unsympathetic brute as her father’s aide. I absolutely loved the mix of characters that our protagonist meets during her stay in the creepy Harrow Lake. Some I liked and some I knew couldn’t be fully trusted.
There were also so many different components to the story that it made it SO interesting when they all came together at the end and how Kat Ellis excellently wound them all together to reveal the truth about what really happened to our main character’s mother. Alongside the Mr Jitters story (a truly terrifying tale about a man who got stuck under a landslide and feeds on the Harrow Lake town folk who dare to go in search of him) there is also a great story about a child whose childhood has been scarred by the unexplained disappearance of her mother and the distant and confusing love (if you can call it that) she receives from her father and the effect that has had on the person she has become. She consistently finds herself in dangerous situations because she is so desperate to find out the truth about her mother’s story. It was really sad in some parts that the refusal to tell Lola the truth about her mother was so detrimental in her developing into an adult and how that trauma shaped her understanding/memory of profound events in her life.
Overall I really enjoyed it and I thought it was the classic horror and thriller at its best. I would actually recommend the audiobook version too as it made the story so much scarier and creepier, so much so that as I was walking around my local park listening to it, I was constantly on edge! A classic horror read!
READ THIS IF :
Harrow Lake follows the story of Lola Nox, the daughter of a celebrated horror filmmaker, who believes nothing can scare her. But when her father is brutally attacked in their New York apartment, she's quickly packed off to live with a grandmother she's never met in Harrow Lake, the eerie town where her father's most iconic horror movie was shot. The locals are weirdly obsessed with the film that put their town on the map--and there are strange disappearances, which the police seem determined to explain away.
And there's someone--or some thing--stalking her every move. The more Lola discovers about the town, the more terrifying it becomes. Because Lola's got secrets of her own. And if she can't find a way out of Harrow Lake, they might just be the death of her.
So this story really has it all. A creepy monster, a haunted doll, a deranged grandmother, a missing, mentally unstable mother with an unclear motive for leaving, an egotistical film director as a father and an unsympathetic brute as her father’s aide. I absolutely loved the mix of characters that our protagonist meets during her stay in the creepy Harrow Lake. Some I liked and some I knew couldn’t be fully trusted.
There were also so many different components to the story that it made it SO interesting when they all came together at the end and how Kat Ellis excellently wound them all together to reveal the truth about what really happened to our main character’s mother. Alongside the Mr Jitters story (a truly terrifying tale about a man who got stuck under a landslide and feeds on the Harrow Lake town folk who dare to go in search of him) there is also a great story about a child whose childhood has been scarred by the unexplained disappearance of her mother and the distant and confusing love (if you can call it that) she receives from her father and the effect that has had on the person she has become. She consistently finds herself in dangerous situations because she is so desperate to find out the truth about her mother’s story. It was really sad in some parts that the refusal to tell Lola the truth about her mother was so detrimental in her developing into an adult and how that trauma shaped her understanding/memory of profound events in her life.
Overall I really enjoyed it and I thought it was the classic horror and thriller at its best. I would actually recommend the audiobook version too as it made the story so much scarier and creepier, so much so that as I was walking around my local park listening to it, I was constantly on edge! A classic horror read!
READ THIS IF :
I received my copy of The Wolf Den in my October LoveMyRead (https://lovemyread.com/) subscription box and I was so ecstatic about finally receiving my copy because I had seen this book everywhere in the months beforehand and I had even seen some fantastic window displays in Waterstones stores across the country. So I really hoped it lived up to my very high expectations...
Sold by her mother. Enslaved in Pompeii's brothel. Determined to survive. Her name is Amara. Amara was once a beloved daughter, until her father's death plunged her family into penury. Now she is a slave in Pompeii's infamous brothel, owned by a man she despises. Sharp, clever and resourceful, Amara is forced to hide her talents. For as a she-wolf, her only value lies in the desire she can stir in others. But Amara's spirit is far from broken.
By day, she walks the streets with her fellow she-wolves, finding comfort in the laughter and dreams they share. For the streets of Pompeii are alive with opportunity. Out here, even the lowest slave can secure a reversal in fortune. Amara has learnt that everything in this city has its price. But how much is her freedom going to cost her? Set in Pompeii's lupanar (brothel), The Wolf Den reimagines the lives of women who have long been overlooked.
I absolutely fell in love with the main character and narrator, Amara. I thought she was so well developed and an excellent protagonist. My heart broke for her because of how she ended up in the Pompeii brothel but I also admired her because she didn’t let her situation defeat her. She remained as determined as ever and played/used men’s desires and emotions to her advantage.
Out of all the women at the brothel, Amara came from a very well-esteemed background as she was the daughter of a Greek doctor. I definitely think that this education allowed her to understand her situation more and work with people to get what she wanted. Yet, there were also moments where I didn’t agree with what she was doing and perhaps saw her in a different light...and I think that made my love for Amara even stronger. It was as if Amara had to become as deceitful and mischievous as her owner and prostitute master, Felix, in order to keep herself safe, sane and hopefully free.
Friendship was also a huge theme in the book and the power of sisterhood meant that all the prostitutes had each other’s back. I admired that each woman understood (or at least tried to understand) each other’s struggles and backgrounds to help make the days manageable. I think as the protagonist, we see Amara's allegiance to the brothel sisterhood get put to the test and ultimately, should she get the freedom and the life she so desires, she will have to say goodbye to the women who have helped her through some of the darkest moments. So is her freedom really everything she wants?
The story ends with some unclear events and unanswered questions so I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here. Each character also has a well-deserved place in my heart so I am beyond thrilled to hear that the author, Elodie Harper, has decided to make this a trilogy! Bring on the next book...
READ THIS IF:
Sold by her mother. Enslaved in Pompeii's brothel. Determined to survive. Her name is Amara. Amara was once a beloved daughter, until her father's death plunged her family into penury. Now she is a slave in Pompeii's infamous brothel, owned by a man she despises. Sharp, clever and resourceful, Amara is forced to hide her talents. For as a she-wolf, her only value lies in the desire she can stir in others. But Amara's spirit is far from broken.
By day, she walks the streets with her fellow she-wolves, finding comfort in the laughter and dreams they share. For the streets of Pompeii are alive with opportunity. Out here, even the lowest slave can secure a reversal in fortune. Amara has learnt that everything in this city has its price. But how much is her freedom going to cost her? Set in Pompeii's lupanar (brothel), The Wolf Den reimagines the lives of women who have long been overlooked.
I absolutely fell in love with the main character and narrator, Amara. I thought she was so well developed and an excellent protagonist. My heart broke for her because of how she ended up in the Pompeii brothel but I also admired her because she didn’t let her situation defeat her. She remained as determined as ever and played/used men’s desires and emotions to her advantage.
Out of all the women at the brothel, Amara came from a very well-esteemed background as she was the daughter of a Greek doctor. I definitely think that this education allowed her to understand her situation more and work with people to get what she wanted. Yet, there were also moments where I didn’t agree with what she was doing and perhaps saw her in a different light...and I think that made my love for Amara even stronger. It was as if Amara had to become as deceitful and mischievous as her owner and prostitute master, Felix, in order to keep herself safe, sane and hopefully free.
Friendship was also a huge theme in the book and the power of sisterhood meant that all the prostitutes had each other’s back. I admired that each woman understood (or at least tried to understand) each other’s struggles and backgrounds to help make the days manageable. I think as the protagonist, we see Amara's allegiance to the brothel sisterhood get put to the test and ultimately, should she get the freedom and the life she so desires, she will have to say goodbye to the women who have helped her through some of the darkest moments. So is her freedom really everything she wants?
The story ends with some unclear events and unanswered questions so I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here. Each character also has a well-deserved place in my heart so I am beyond thrilled to hear that the author, Elodie Harper, has decided to make this a trilogy! Bring on the next book...
READ THIS IF:
I have been wanting to read a Grady Hendrix book for so long but I made myself wait until the spooky season so I could fully celebrate the holiday in style. It was a toss up between this book and Grady’s other novel, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires but as this book was picked for me by Eva at Eva’s Book Corner for my 2021 TBR, I decided to tick this one off my list.
The book follows best friends Abby and Gretchen who have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act differently. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behaviour start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favourite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?
I thought the book had a really great set of characters who made me feel like I’d just stepped into a teenage girl friendship group and was with them watching events as they transpired. I really loved that the book was set in high school, as it allowed the main characters to seem like they were living in some sort of nightmare which all the adults didn’t believe. I think Grady excellently used the high school setting to depict the ongoing battle of good vs. evil, and I found that it gave me all the Stranger Things feels.
I also really enjoyed all the cult horror film references and how every chapter was excellently named after an iconic 80s song. Halfway through the book, I actually searched on Spotify to see if anyone had made a playlist of all the songs and I’m happy to report that there are lots to choose from!
On a deeper level, I think it was interesting that through the genre of classic horror, Grady Hendrix explored quite important topics such as class divide, scholarships, teenage relationships, rape, church and religion. He didn’t have to take that stance but I admire his bravery in using cult horror tropes to explore how hard it is to be a teenager sometimes, as well as using the typical American education system as a great tool for exploration.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and it’s short chapters, humour and classic horror elements meant that I was hooked from the start and absolutely flew through the story. I would love to see it being made into a film or series some day, and to be quite honest, I’m shocked it hasn’t already been adapted.
READ THIS IF:
The book follows best friends Abby and Gretchen who have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act differently. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behaviour start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favourite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?
I thought the book had a really great set of characters who made me feel like I’d just stepped into a teenage girl friendship group and was with them watching events as they transpired. I really loved that the book was set in high school, as it allowed the main characters to seem like they were living in some sort of nightmare which all the adults didn’t believe. I think Grady excellently used the high school setting to depict the ongoing battle of good vs. evil, and I found that it gave me all the Stranger Things feels.
I also really enjoyed all the cult horror film references and how every chapter was excellently named after an iconic 80s song. Halfway through the book, I actually searched on Spotify to see if anyone had made a playlist of all the songs and I’m happy to report that there are lots to choose from!
On a deeper level, I think it was interesting that through the genre of classic horror, Grady Hendrix explored quite important topics such as class divide, scholarships, teenage relationships, rape, church and religion. He didn’t have to take that stance but I admire his bravery in using cult horror tropes to explore how hard it is to be a teenager sometimes, as well as using the typical American education system as a great tool for exploration.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and it’s short chapters, humour and classic horror elements meant that I was hooked from the start and absolutely flew through the story. I would love to see it being made into a film or series some day, and to be quite honest, I’m shocked it hasn’t already been adapted.
READ THIS IF:
I’m a huge fan of Bella Mackie not just because of her previous book ‘Jog On’ but because of her amazing Instagram posts, cute dog pictures and running snaps. So when I heard that she was writing her first ever fiction novel, I made it a priority to go grab a copy.
When Grace Bernard discovers her absentee millionaire father has rejected her dying mother’s pleas for help, she vows revenge, and sets about to kill every member of his family. Readers have a front row seat as Grace picks off the family one by one – and the result is as and gruesome as it is entertaining in this wickedly dark romp about class, family, love… and murder.
But then Grace is imprisoned for a murder she didn’t commit and we are given exclusive access to her side of the story.
The book is written in sort of diary/letter format as Grace is writing her side of the story as a sort of testimony to what she has done and why. So Grace starts from the beginning and takes us through every murder she has committed but alongside this, Bella Mackie serves us some incredible and rather very funny social commentary. The rich and wealthy characters in the novel are amusingly over-the-top and basically just go through their lives causing absolute destruction to everyone around them without a care in the world and that sort of social commentary was witty and playful.
Although the topic is quite obviously quite dark but the book didn’t seem that dark to me, I think the funny moments really lightened up the dark moments. I found it a little bit like a modern day American Psycho as our main character, Grace Bernard, doesn’t ever really feel anything about the murders she commits. I suppose because she’s so focused on her revenge and so fuelled by anger and hurt that the thoughts about whether what she is doing is right. But I suppose because she’s thought about these moments in such great detail, she knows she’ll probably never be caught.
Overall I really enjoyed the book and each death was kind of told a bit like the deaths in an Agatha Christie novel! The chapters are really long though so I had to go against my usual way of reading where I stop reading at the end of a chapter. I guess the chapters were really long because there was quite a lot of background detail which I’d argue wasn’t necessarily needed but it helped me to understand Grace even more and to know why she did what she did. I just dread to think what Bella’s google search history included whilst she was writing this book…
READ THIS IF:
When Grace Bernard discovers her absentee millionaire father has rejected her dying mother’s pleas for help, she vows revenge, and sets about to kill every member of his family. Readers have a front row seat as Grace picks off the family one by one – and the result is as and gruesome as it is entertaining in this wickedly dark romp about class, family, love… and murder.
But then Grace is imprisoned for a murder she didn’t commit and we are given exclusive access to her side of the story.
The book is written in sort of diary/letter format as Grace is writing her side of the story as a sort of testimony to what she has done and why. So Grace starts from the beginning and takes us through every murder she has committed but alongside this, Bella Mackie serves us some incredible and rather very funny social commentary. The rich and wealthy characters in the novel are amusingly over-the-top and basically just go through their lives causing absolute destruction to everyone around them without a care in the world and that sort of social commentary was witty and playful.
Although the topic is quite obviously quite dark but the book didn’t seem that dark to me, I think the funny moments really lightened up the dark moments. I found it a little bit like a modern day American Psycho as our main character, Grace Bernard, doesn’t ever really feel anything about the murders she commits. I suppose because she’s so focused on her revenge and so fuelled by anger and hurt that the thoughts about whether what she is doing is right. But I suppose because she’s thought about these moments in such great detail, she knows she’ll probably never be caught.
Overall I really enjoyed the book and each death was kind of told a bit like the deaths in an Agatha Christie novel! The chapters are really long though so I had to go against my usual way of reading where I stop reading at the end of a chapter. I guess the chapters were really long because there was quite a lot of background detail which I’d argue wasn’t necessarily needed but it helped me to understand Grace even more and to know why she did what she did. I just dread to think what Bella’s google search history included whilst she was writing this book…
READ THIS IF:
The Haunting Season: Ghostly Tales for Long Winter Nights
Imogen Hermes Gowar, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Elizabeth Macneal, Andrew Michael Hurley, Jess Kidd, Bridget Collins, Laura Purcell, Sara Collins, Natasha Pulley
If you are part of the book twitter community, this is a book that you have no doubt seen a lot of posts about and rightly so, because this book is the perfect winter companion in my eyes and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy!
Winter, with its unsettling blend of the cosy and the sinister, has long been a popular time for gathering by the bright flame of a candle, or the warm crackling of a fire, and swapping stories of ghosts and strange happenings.
Now eight bestselling, award-winning authors - master storytellers of the sinister and the macabre - bring this time-honoured tradition to vivid life in a spellbinding collection of new and original haunted tales.
From a bustling Covent Garden Christmas market to the frosty moors of Yorkshire, from a country estate with a dreadful secret, to a London mansion where a beautiful girl lies frozen in death, these are stories to make your hair stand on end, send shivers down your spine and to serve as your indispensable companion to the long nights of winter.
So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of The Haunting Season...
I found the stories in this short story collection to be genuinely scary. Each story featured a different type of supernatural element and they all seemed to all be set in the 19th century(?) which added to the dark, spooky aesthetic which the book created.
I really enjoyed the fact that each story also had a sort of ‘moral’ to the story which always became evident towards the end. Saying that, I think the tale I most enjoyed was the one written by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (author of The Mercies) because the story was not only terrifying but based on a true journal entry by a woman who was placed in a psychiatric hospital, as well as raising awareness for psychotic depression, which Kiran herself suffered from.
I also really enjoyed the Lily Wilt story which is about the ghost of a young woman manipulating a young man to bring her back from the dead. The story, albeit not as scary as the other, was actually humorous in its portrayal of men being manipulated by a beautiful, young woman to do the unthinkable just by the power of her beauty.
Yet, now I’ve started thinking about picking my favourite story, it has reminded me how equally brilliant each story is so if you want me to pick my favourite, you’re going to have to read it yourself and decide for me. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.
READ THIS IF :
Winter, with its unsettling blend of the cosy and the sinister, has long been a popular time for gathering by the bright flame of a candle, or the warm crackling of a fire, and swapping stories of ghosts and strange happenings.
Now eight bestselling, award-winning authors - master storytellers of the sinister and the macabre - bring this time-honoured tradition to vivid life in a spellbinding collection of new and original haunted tales.
From a bustling Covent Garden Christmas market to the frosty moors of Yorkshire, from a country estate with a dreadful secret, to a London mansion where a beautiful girl lies frozen in death, these are stories to make your hair stand on end, send shivers down your spine and to serve as your indispensable companion to the long nights of winter.
So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of The Haunting Season...
I found the stories in this short story collection to be genuinely scary. Each story featured a different type of supernatural element and they all seemed to all be set in the 19th century(?) which added to the dark, spooky aesthetic which the book created.
I really enjoyed the fact that each story also had a sort of ‘moral’ to the story which always became evident towards the end. Saying that, I think the tale I most enjoyed was the one written by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (author of The Mercies) because the story was not only terrifying but based on a true journal entry by a woman who was placed in a psychiatric hospital, as well as raising awareness for psychotic depression, which Kiran herself suffered from.
I also really enjoyed the Lily Wilt story which is about the ghost of a young woman manipulating a young man to bring her back from the dead. The story, albeit not as scary as the other, was actually humorous in its portrayal of men being manipulated by a beautiful, young woman to do the unthinkable just by the power of her beauty.
Yet, now I’ve started thinking about picking my favourite story, it has reminded me how equally brilliant each story is so if you want me to pick my favourite, you’re going to have to read it yourself and decide for me. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.
READ THIS IF :