The Guest List : review

Book by Author

*e-ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review!*

SUMMARY
A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the author of The Hunting Party.


The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧ The body

Goodreads' link to the book!
><><

Stars: ✦✦✦✦.5

So as usual, I'll tell 4.5 things I liked about the book and 0.5 thing I didn't like.

So what did I think?

+1 | The idea and premise was immediately intriguing. Honestly the plot got me at Agatha Christie

+1 | The writing with the atmosphere on the island fitting the story perfectly

+1 | The suspense and mystery was executed really well with jumps to the past to pace the story

+0.75 | The ending. Everything made sense in the end, just the way I love in mysteries. Sure there were things that I guessed and saw coming, but I did get to feel surprised as well

+0.75 | The characters. There were many but the main ones were distinct enough. The changing pov made sense for pacing and it made me speed through

-0.5 | The book had some adult themes, and at times I felt like some were just thrown in

Read on lovelies,

S

Opposite Books TAG

Opposite Books Tag

1. First book in your collection/Last book you bought.

- At least one of the very first ones was Elli, which my grandmother used to read me, and I still have it.

- The last book I actually bought myself would be an illustrated Harry Potter book.

2. A cheap book/An expensive book.

- The cheapest ones on my book were free if that counts, and the most expensive is actually the illustrated Harry Potter book which I answered for n.1 even though it was on sale.

3. A book with a male protagonist/One with a female protagonist.

- First female one to come to mind is Cinder, and for male I actually had to think about it and then felt stupid because, again, Harry Potter.

4. A book you read fast/One that took you long to read.

- The Wayward Children series is a super quick one, and classics take me longer to read.

5. Pretty cover/Ugly cover.

- The foil editions of the Hunger Games and then maybe the original covers for The Naturals (very happy they remade them, even though my editions now don't match)

6. A national book/An international book.

- I live in Finland and mainly read English, therefore the latter is basically everything I read. For Finnish books though Pallokala is for some reason the first to pop into my head even though I don't even own it anymore.

7. A thin book/A thick book.

- According to Goodreads the shortest book I own is Winter (827) and the shortest Statistical Probability of Love at first Sight (215).

8. Fiction book/Non-fiction book.

- Cheaper by the Dozen and for non-fiction the Hunger Games.

9. Very (way too) romantic book/Action book.

- The Kiss Quotient (a great romance, but some parts weren't exactly necessary to me) and Renegades.

10. A book that made you happy/One that made you sad.

- We Should Hang Out Some Time for happy and Dear John for sad, like the title already says.

Read on lovelies,

S

Hawk : review

Hawk by James Patterson

*ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review!*

SUMMARY
A story for a new generation of Maximum Ride fans! Max's 17-year-old daughter Hawk is growing up hard and fast in post-apocalyptic New York City . . . until a perilous destiny forces her to take flight.

Goodreads' link to the book!

><><

Firstly I've never read any maximum ride books before, but wanted to give this a go. So if you want to know how it compares, or if it makes justice to the original - read someone else's review.

I think that there would've been plenty of Easter eggs for readers of the original series, but I wasn't confused - even though some things were written as if the reader already knew about it.

In the beginning I really wondered about the target audience and age group, and since the main character, Hawk, is a teen I went with that. When I started reading I agreed, with some "obvs" and even an emoji, in at least the ARC (advanced review copy), but as the book progressed I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe it has to do with the murders and swearing (at least insinuated swearing) - or maybe I'm getting old.

Stars: ✦✦✦✦✧

So as usual, I'll tell 4.0 things I liked about the book and 1.0 thing I didn't like.

+/- 0.5 | Believe-ability, but again taking into consideration the target audience.

+/- 0.5 | Characters, a whole variety (and lots!) of them.
And not to say I was overwhelmed with the amount of characters, but maybe if I'd read the previous books I wouldn't have felt like I needed more from some of them?

+1 | World and world building. Especially since it was a new one to me, I found it quite fascinating.

+1 | Writing, story arch and speed 

+1 | Plot and basically entertainment value. I can definitely see why his books are so popular, I feel like I just flew through it!

Read on lovelies,

S

Turn of the Key : Review

Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

SUMMARY

When she stumbles across the advert, she's looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss: a live-in nanny position, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten by the luxurious 'smart' home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.

What she doesn't know is that she's stepping into a nightmare - one that will end with a child dead and her in a cell awaiting trial for murder.

She knows she's made mistakes. But, she maintains, she's not guilty - at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.

Goodreads' link to the book!
><><

I heard about it from Kayla @BooksAndLala, and was immediately intrigued when I heard what it's about!
So what did I think?

Stars: ✦✦✦✦.5

So as usual, I'll tell 4.5 things I liked about the book and 0.5 thing I didn't like.

+1 | The writing. Though done through letters to a lawyer,  I kept forgetting it. That's how immersed I was in the story telling. Also everything written is intertwined and for a reason, like a classic Agatha Christie

+0.75/-0.25 | The characters, an array of different characters. Keep in mind that the main character isn't exactly one you'd root for

+1 | The atmosphere. Partly due to writing, partly characters, but mostly the way things are planned out and happen. The pacing was also so well executed

+1 | Plot twists galore. And not just the basic who-done-it, but also even the fact that we don't know who dies for so long. Then there's the characters, reasons, meanings...

+0.75/-0.25 | The ending. It was wonderfully done, and I also think what happened was told brilliantly. But I would've loved to know a bit more after the end. Then again I enjoyed speculating myself.
Also the feeling of realization and thinking back with the thoughts of how did I not see that - that's the good one.

Read on lovelies,

S

Read This Quarter I

What I read this quarter, Quarter I

January, February and March

- - -
1. Book Love          Non-fiction graphic novel ✦✦✦✦✧
2. Meremaid's Voice Returns in This One          poetry REVIEWED ✦✦✦✧✧
3. Paddingtonista 16.50 (16:50 From Paddington)          audiobook ✦✦✦✧✧
- - -
4. Kuolema niilillä (Death on the Nile)          audiobook ✦✦✦.75✧
5. Lukitut ovet (Turn of the Key)          audiobook REVIEWED ✦✦✦✦.5

Statistics:

Author:

         100 % female

Genre:

         20 % graphic novel,

         20 % poetry,

         60 % crime

Pages:

       1 193 p

Format:

         60 % audio books,

         40 % physical books

Average:

         3.65

*For more info check my Goodreads: link*

Read on lovelies,

S

Ultimate YA books Tier List Maker

The "Ultimate YA books Tier List Maker" has been going around the internet for a while now, and as a list lover, I just want to jump on the bandwagon.

I changed the tiers around a bit for my liking, and wanted to do this in three steps:

1st round: rank them based on how you feel

2nd round: rank them based on your star ratings

3rd round: compare to the cumulative average rankings

Because the thing is, some of these books I've read ages ago - and even if I loved them then, maybe I don't think so highly of them anymore when compared to others? I guess we shall see

ROUND 1:
>> It looks more like a linear growth than the bell curve I was hoping for

 >> Starting from the bottom:
- In bad tier everything is 1-2 stars except Eleanor and Park, Every Day, All the Bright Places and Looking for Alaska are 3 stars
- In okay tier everything is from 3,5-4 stars with Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Shatter Me and The Book Thief being 3 stars and Three Dark Crowns being 2,5
- In good tier everything is again between 3,5-4
- In great tier everything is between 4-4,5
- In best tier everything is between 4,5-5

ROUND 2:
 >> Actually quite a bit of moving things around with everything staying put or shifting up or down by 1, except ACoTaR by 2

ROUND 3:

  >> Now this is different with Anna and the French Kiss, The Wrath and the Dawn, Percy Jackson moving the most
And then all the other books I haven't read, from which Cruel Prince, Darker Shade of Magic and Simon vs the Homosapien Agenda are the top rated ones

Link to the TierMaker list here: https://tiermaker.com/create/ultimate-ya-books-series-155444

Not sure who the creator is, but here's the first one I saw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfmCUZVRLMA

Read on lovelies,

S

The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One : Review

The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One by Amanda Lovelace

SUMMARY
The third and final installment in her "women are some kind of magic" series.

Goodreads' link to the book!

My review of the first two: link

><><

Stars: ✦✦✦✧✧

So what did I think?

It's no secret that I don't tend to read poetry - that is I think I've ever read a handful. And even though I didn't love the first two, I wanted to continue on to the third installment - which even though I didn't love either I'm glad I read.

Maybe I don't read poetry because only a few within the book really get to me, but the ones that do are really impactful. This is why I feel funny giving this a star rating, because there were some hits and some misses. And poetry as a whole is so dependent of the reader, so even though I didn't give it the best rating I'd still recommend you to try it.

For my favorite poems (and quotes) you can check my Goodreads quote list (link)

+1 | It also included poetry from other guest authors!


> I would caution you when reading them, there are some trigger warnings on the very first page.

Read on lovelies,

S