Marley
Suffers a teensy bit from “Gary Stu Chosen One” syndrome but man that last 1/3rd was incredible! EXCELLENT use of foreshadowing and callbacks to scenes that happened waaaayyy at the beginning of the book. Annoyed I've got to wait probably at least a year for the second one
A very good balance between fun and darkness, lighthearted but also deep and intense at times. I found the lore very intriguing and wish it would have been fleshed out even more. The characters felt very real and I even got genuinely angry at some of them, while truly feeling for others. Overall a really entertaining and well-written take on a murder-mystery, almost redefining the genre.
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
I thought I'd get my personal finances in check and check out this book but apparently you can't get rich AND want to prevent suffering in others.
If you're chronically and/or mentally ill or are neurodivergent in any way, this book is not for you. The bottom line is “do whatever it takes to reach your target even if it literally almost kills you”.
This guy makes himself out to be superhuman and wears his self-inflicted injuries and near-death experiences like badges of honour.
This book is like a hug between a front and back cover. I love picking it up every so often and just opening it on a random page. It's just very wholesome and touching and moving and.. ..well, loving. Absolutely adore this book.
A very smooth read and very enthralling story, though I do hope the author gets a better editor in the future, as there are many instances where words are missing from sentences.
A window into a world I am not part of, but which very much exists in the world I AM part of.
This is a study of what happens when people act before they think—which is how most people are when it comes to romance—and whether or not that's actually a bad thing. The characters are very recognisable, it's easy enough to put myself in their position and see the world the way they do.
Each chapter shows a countdown to something, which adds a layer of mystery to this frankly excellent debut novel!
including a non-binary character is lovely, if they hadn't already been dead before the story even starts, rendering the mention of their identity entirely irrelevant. Would have loved if the step-child instead had been non-binary. this is my second Jack Jordan book and he's two-for-two for having the “bad guys” be foreigners.. which, as a foreigner in the UK, does feel a little uncomfortable.
Would have given 5 stars if the book wasn't infested with the word “rtrd” and its derivatives.
The sentences, while not only too long, but also too fond of commas, such like this, struggle to reach their, also kind of convoluted, conclusions.
The whole book is written like this. Thanks the stars it's only 83 pages and the page size is small while the font size is relatively big. An average of 5 sentences fit on a single page.
Content, when you actually find it between all the commas, itself is well-researched and the sources invite further reading.
I do enjoy Dan Brown's writing, which I know is a bit of a faux-pas in the reading community, at least the ones I've been involved in. It's just one of those authors I can just sit down with, turn some of my brain off, and just enjoy an adventure with some mysticism sprinkled in. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Dan Brown found a formula, and reuses it ad infinitum, and honestly? I don't mind that. I have ADHD, some reliability here and there is nice ;)
The villain character is empty, boring, just exists because the story needed a villain. He's just a gross despicable dude I absolutely DREADED having to go back to after spending some time with the “good guys”. The villain literally only exists in conflict scenes. He has zero background or personality.
The diversity representation is fantastic, none of it is tokenised or used as a plot device. They're just characteristics of characters, that's it, it was so refreshing!!
Not entirely sure why the author is so obsessed with the gender binary; “he or she”, “him or her”, “male or female, it was hard to tell with the hoodie”, “man or woman, it was too dark to tell”. Just say “them”, “they”, “person”, “figure” etc, it's 2023.
Quite a bit of fatphobia as well, and an unnecessary rape scene that literally just existed for shock value.
Completely chilling in every sense of the word, the relentless pace and plot twists of varying impacts mixed with an excellent use of mini-cliffhangers makes this an absolute page turner and in terms of story and atmosphere possibly the best thriller I've read this year.
I read it because I'm a bookseller, one of my sections is spirituality, and this book is stocked there. I didn't think I'd like it all that much but it surprised me! It's got some profound moments and some beautifully phrased ideas.
Has all the elements a magical adventure story should have, with layers that make it absolutely worth reading as an adult.