I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a short non-fiction book about whales, but also about whales’ relationship with humans.

I enjoyed this but not quite as much as I thought i would - I think I would have liked it to be more focused on whale facts rather than some of the deep thinking that went on about humans and whales. There were times I felt like the author went on a bit of a ramble about different things and also began talking about other animals and experiments that went on (that were interesting but just no specifically about whales aka Peter the dolphin).

I did actually, out of curiosity, put on a Spotify playlist of whale sounds while reading this and i think I may be converted now to a big whale sounds fan because it was so lovely, and relaxing!

This book was short(ish) but did managed to really put in a lot of different topics and discussions within the small book.

I received a free copy of this book from Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review.

Paul Strom seemingly has the perfect life - a wonderful wife, two great kids, a good job and a lovely house. He is about to go on a romantic weekend away with his wife Mia, but he’s actually ready to complete a plan he’s had in action for a while. This weekend, Mia will die.

This was….not very good for me unfortunately. I felt pretty bored reading this. The story was not as gripping or as thrilling as I expected and overall, it just remained dull and bit silly at times as well. The character Paul did come across as a total slimeball for the entirety of the book and he did definitely give me the creeps 100% So job well done there, I guess - though there’s definitely a part of me that feels this book would have done better if the slimeball factor was concealed better. I’ve seen the lunatic trope before and it done better to the point I actually liked the main character (e.g. You by Caroline Kepnes)

There were some points in the book where Paul just talked so weirdly and unrealistically for me, as did Mia. Some of her actions around everything also had me a bit quizzical

Like how did Buck just come to the conclusion of arsenic poisoning?

I definitely would have liked a better conclusion, and epilogue (though in fairness thriller epilogues are something I hardly ever enjoy), as this one fell rather flat. Overall, I just felt a bit bored with this book which is not what you want unfortunately when reading a thriller.

3.5 stars

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Henry, the brother of Alice, ends up in Wonderland, he teams up with The Mad Hatter in an adventure across the magical land. But it’s still being ruled by the ruthless and cruel Red Queen. Can Henry and Hatter work together to bring her down once and for all?

This is a really fun, quirky take on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and I was really pleasantly surprised to throughly enjoy this. I loved the character of Hatter, and I really felt this oddities and even the way he talked and interacted with Henry was a great homage to the character Carroll originally created.

The different parts of Wonderland in this book from the Neutral Woods to the backwards lands were so entertaining and reminded me a little bit of The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. I loved seeing the different parts of Wonderland Henry and Hatter would travel to and the kooky explanations Hatter would give about them. I also throughly enjoyed Hatter’s reactions to some things in our world when he made the trip.

The romance in this was also wonderful, and it was one I wanted to happen from the very start! I also enjoyed seeing a grown-up Alice and her twins Carol and Louis which I felt was a nice little thing put in by the author.

Full video review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taSxlVf-yyc

I received a copy of this book from O'Brien Press in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jazz Bashara is a porter/smuggler on the moon city of Artemis and always eager to make some money. When Jazz is employed for a high risk task, she ends up embroiled in a dangerous situation that leaves two people dead. Now Jazz needs to not only keep herself alive but come up with a plan to save her beloved Artemis from becoming a city run by a killer cartel.

So obviously there’s always going to be particular high expectations when it comes to this book because hello, The Martian is a phenomenal debut novel. This book, in my opinion, is not quite as strong as The Martian but it’s great in its own ways. But I think people going into this looking for another The Martian are going to be sorely disappointed.

The world building in this, for me, was great. I really had a great idea of what Artemis looked like and how it ran. There was a bit of an info dump in the first chapter that left me feeling a bit dizzy, and maybe some of that could have been spread out a bit but I’m pretty confident in how Artemis all works out.

One of the things that Andy Weir does best is the way characters speak to readers in this great conversational tone. It worked for Watney in his Mars Log, and in a way it works for Jazz in this. It definitely feels at times like she’s speaking directly to the reader (or to her penpal!) but Jazz is a very different character, and not quite as likeable. I kept changing my mind about her to be honest, sometimes I liked her and others times I didn’t.

I was a bit disappointed that it seemed like the start of her ‘trouble’ which led to the split from her dad was all down to a stupid guy

The conversations between characters were good, humorous and felt very real, which is something I always need to see. Realistic dialogue is key for me!

I wasn’t crazy about the amount of explanation around the welding and the super smart things Jazz did to explode stuff and fix stuff etc. It was basically just all jumbled words for me and I had no idea what she was on about so it got a bit boring.

Overall, I wasn’t expecting something as amazing as The Martian so I wasn’t disappointed. This book is good in its own right but it’s not the best book I’ve ever read.

4.5 stars

This book is the sequel to A Dog’s Purpose - a wonderful book about a dog called Bailey who lives multiple lives and spends most of them trying to get back to his boy Ethan. In Journey, Bailey is now Buddy and realises his new purpose is looking after Ethan’s granddaughter CJ.

This was another beautiful, emotional book from W Bruce Cameron. Not only was it honest yet witty, it gives those moments which made me look at my dogs and sometimes wonder if they were thought the same things.As always, there are people in this book who drove me mad about how they treated dogs (though not as many in this one as in Purpose). I agree with Bailey/Buddy/Molly/Max that people who don’t like dogs just can’t be trusted.

There were some more serious topics in this one as CJ is going through a lot of troubles when she is younger. Trigger warnings for eating disorders and severe depression/suicidal thoughts. I really felt for Molly/Max in this as they attempted to help CJ but couldn’t quite understand what was wrong.

I loved the little inside look in this book into cancer detection dogs (and how it comes into play later in the book). I think the whole concept is fascinating and just shows how amazing and important dogs are. I also loved seeing Toby become a therapy dog. I have had firsthand experience watching one of my own dogs be a therapy dog for a short while and the type of comfort they can give, so loved seeing this play out with Toby.

The end of this book made me sob like a baby. Doodle dog <3

I received a free copy of this book from Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

Quincy Carpenter is known as a Final Girl after surviving a massacre that killed all of her friends. When one of the three known Final Girls dies in mysterious circumstances, the remaining woman shows up on Quincy’s doorstep. Quincy starts to wonder if there could be someone after the Final Girls, but who could it be?

This was a really highly anticipated book for me, and I’m so glad i got the opportunity to read it at last. This book was creepy, mind-turning, freaky and just crazy all at the same time and i loved seeing how the characters showed every side of themselves - the good and the bad!

I thought this was very well-written and well-crafted. It did start off a little bit slow for me at first but by the middle it began to pick up and then the ending was a good thrill. I do think parts of it could have even been scarier but there were moments in the flashbacks particularly when my heart was in my throat (even though I knew who would and wouldn’t survive!).

This book is definitely one that keeps you questioning the entire time. I had so many ideas about what was going on and while some of them were correct, i ended up continuously second guessing myself and I loved that. Everyone is a little bit unreliable, including Quincy herself.

This is definitely one to give a go, particular for people who do like slasher movies and even for those that don't (like me!).