nigmatillium

Wasn't quite sure I wanted to read this book, but thought I'd give it a go. It started quite slow and wasn't sure if I'll drop it or not, but then it really gripped me and all I wanted to do was keep on reading.

There wasn't much description, especially in the first few chapters, so the author made an amazing job at shaping the characters, showing who they are.

The murder plot was also interesting and I liked the court bits too. But mostly I liked how level headed the characters were, and the lack of unnecessary drama.

Well, the start and the ending were eeeh for me (I'm sure other readers would absolutely love it), but the middle (which is basically the main plot of the book) was great.

First book I'm reading from this author, and I definitely want to check what else is out there.

I enjoyed this book so much. There was no drama, no over the top situations, just two guys getting to know each other and dealing with their jobs. It was such a refreshing read.

While I enjoyed the first book in the series (different pairing) I wasn't actually decided to read this one also, but I'm so glad I picked it up. I don't know what I expected, but definitely not this.

It's a fun book and the action progressed so easily and naturally, I was giddy to keep on reading whenever I could. It's been so long since I read such a book and I got two in a row! I've been spoiled by Lisa Henry and I thank her for it.

It would have been a great idea to read this before the holidays, but oh, well, at least I did get some snow to put me in the holiday spirit.

I especially liked the first story, and slowly lost interest along the way, but I still enjoyed it, it's just that I wasn't in the mood for such a lenghthy audiobook at this time. Still, I really liked it and completed it.

I really have to say that the narrator, Fenella Woolgar, was amazing, loved the way she accurately narrated each character, it was delightful.

I enjoyed the book, liked the main characters and the plot was interesting enough. Actually, at one point I thought, right, I'll read this chapter and then go to bed, but then something happened, and I went well, fk, now I have to keep on reading. So this pretty much sums up what I feel about this book. I'm actually glad I randomly picked it on a whim.

It also helps that I read books by Lisa Henry before and enjoyed them.

The only reason why I don't rate the whole 5 stars is because there were a couple cliches that I came accross in so many books before, it took me a tad out of the mood, but other than that, really enjoyed it.

I managed to finish reading the second book of th Theodore Boone series. The series is great, but my expectations were definitely different. I was waiting for Theo to become an adult and only after reading the second book I thought of looking the series up and found out that he is no older than 14 by the last book in the series.

Still, it is a good read and now I know exactly what I can recommend to kids in case there is ever a need, and it's certainly entertaining for adults too. I did like the first two books, I just want a different kind of entertainment.

It has been a really long time since I read something, so I started this series hoping it would get me very interested and make me want to read all the books right now. I actually took very long to finish the first book in the series. It's not bad, it just didn't grip my attention as much as I was expecting it to. Maybe because Theo is a kid (literally the title) and I find that I enjoy reading about characters closer to my age. But anyway, it is an okay book and I read a few pages out of the next book which got me juuust a tad bit more interested for now.

It took me way too long to read this book, I actually started it a few weeks ago and then I put it on hold around chapter 28. The POV changes at some point which is a big pet peeve of mine with some books and I simply did not feel like picking it up again. Yet, I was really curious to know what exactly happened to Ellie, so I picked it up again as an audiobook.

The book does a great job at setting up the scene, it intrigued me from the first pages. Only that, I would have preferred it without some of the character's own voice. I see why Lisa Jewell made this choice and I would normally say that it's a great idea, but I really didn't care about Noelle enough to know the story from her perspective. I would have much rather had it be told in 3rd person.

About the plot itself, it was really good. I felt so sorry for Ellie and so much contempt for Noelle. In broad lines, I also figured out what happened, like many other readers did, but there were some details I just couldn't figure out and I am glad for that, it kept me engaged in the story.

There are some other things in the book I could have done without, like entire chapters, but it was a good read, overall I can say I enjoyed it.

Oh, this book.

Every single time Ink talked about his past I was so sad. Like seriously sad. I didn't know what he went through and I was curious to find out, but I was also really, really sad. Ink is such a great guy and even before I found out what he was hiding I knew for sure he did not do it. He's so kind and caring he couldn't do anyone harm.

I understood Tay, I understood him blaming Jonty for what happened, but I was also glad he knew it wasn't Jonty's fault. And I also found myself—along with Tay and Jonty—asking what if Tay would have come out sooner, what if he would have confessed to Jonty that he felt the same. I think they would have really worked out as a couple, and maybe there's always going to be that 'what if' between them, but they are really great friends first of all. And I'm really glad they are such great friends.

Besides me being sad about Ink's background, I was also anxious about what type of crap is going to rain down on both Ink and Tay and I'm actually kind of disappointed Ink didn't have his steak. Well, I'm sure he eventually did, along with other things he missed out on, but, man, that would have been a great steak.

The plot is nuts and I'm amazed how it all makes sense, starting with Tay's coming out and to the conclusion of the book. There is so much going on—no surprise there—and I should be used to it by now. Well, parts of the plot are far fetched and exaggerated, but there was just so much feeling I didn't notice or mind it while reading.

I do have one negative-ish thing to say. And I don't know how to phrase it. It's about the sex. The sex is great, but about the switching in the bedroom. Which is also great, but it always has this explanation of 'to show him I trust him'. Why is that the ultimate proof of trust? I don't get it. I don't mind it as much when the trust is implied, but when it's laid out in the narration it feels wrong somehow. Just let them enjoy sex whichever way they want to, I can think of at least five better ways one can show trust. And this is not something I encountered only in Barbara Elsborg's books, but I keep seeing it more often.

I am still sad about the book, there was a lot of sadness, but there was also a lot of hope and, as I assumed would happen, I found out who Ru is (only that for some reason I was expecting to find out about him in the next book) and I'm really curious about him. But before that, I need to find out what Cato's deal is.

Reading the title of the book along with the series name, I thought this was a spy story, some exciting police business at least, some investigation, detective work, guns, bad guys, stuff like that. ‘The Making of Jonty Bloom' was nowhere close to what I was expecting. I might have expected something like that because the last Barbara Elsborg book I read featured some of those things.

I am not at all disappointed I didn't get that, don't get me wrong. I loved this book, I loved Jonty and I loved Devan and I want to write this review then go right back to continuing reading the series.

Barbara Elsborg is definitely one of my favourite authors, I don't have a neat ordered list, but her books are not a miss with me, so far at least. All of her characters are unique and the plots are amazing. Barbara Elsborg makes up some really intriguing and entertaining story lines and manages to keep me glued to her books. Here, in ‘The Making of Jonty Bloom', I wanted to both keep reading, see what's happening next and thread carefully because I was worried about what might happen next.

While the plot made me worry, I had no doubt about Devan and Jonty, they were clearly made for each other, I loved seeing them together, although they sure took their sweet time. I so wanted to finally see them get on with it, and when it finally happened it was great.

I usually lean more towards one of the main characters, but here I loved both of them just as much. And I loved the way they talked openly, honestly, and about everything. How they simply asked if there was something they wanted to know, how good listeners they both were and how they learned so much about one another just by paying attention. They started great and kept being great and they were great together.

Needless to say Brad made me anxious for a good portion of the book. I was expecting him to pop up almost every page and that was not fun. Griff sucked, Ravi sucked, everyone else was okay. Ish. I'm still debating about Willis, Alan, and the sous-chef, and I'm not convinced about half of the parents either, the other half sucked. Felt sorry for Tay, and the lady from the salon opposite the laundrette was cool.

I think I covered most of what I wanted to say (although I am wondering what's the deal with the parents. I see it's common in Barbara Elsborg's books for the parents to be awful) and I'm off to check out the next of Jonty's adventures.

I wasn't exactly in the mood for this book and I would have set it aside, to be read at a later time, but I saw it is really short, so I thought why not. And the book was quite endearing, in a weird way.

What I liked the most about it is the writing style. There are so many writing styles and somehow I seem to stumble upon some really good ones lately-and I love that for myself. I have no doubt that Mieko Kawakami is a very skilled writer just by reading this short story. She managed to write precisely like I'd imagine a pre-teen to write. The description was all over the place and it felt so right. The main character's own voice came through so naturally. At the same time some parts of the book were pretty intense too.

While I enjoyed the book, I also have some curiosities about it. I have some questions that got no answer and I'm curious about both the main character and Ms Ice Sandwich. But, well, overall it was quite a nice read.