nigmatillium

Random stuff for the first three paragraphs.

I watched the film made after this book and all I could think after watching it was 'the book has to be so much better' and I had this impulse to put the book I am currently reading on hold and read this one. So I logged into my online library account and started listening to it. And I was right, the book is so much better.

Now, I listened to it at something like 1.75x speed because I both wanted to get back to my other book and also just wanted the confirmation that Never Let Me Go is as good as I guessed it would be. And, well, third, because when I already know what's going to happen in a book I can't read it like I would without knowing anything at all (I am the type of reader who doesn't even check out the synopsis, I go by author and genre alone, sometimes only genre).

I previously only read two other books by Kazuo Ishiguro and I liked both of them. I had also planned to read some more of his books so this was a perfect opportunity.

I enjoyed the book, I think it's amazing how one can come up with an idea like this, but also how unsurprising it feels. Would humans do something like this? Definitely, I have no doubt that if they could, some of them would jump at the chance.

Kathy's story is both heartbreaking and not. What happens is unfair, certainly, but she's resigned. Maybe resigned is not the right word, she simply doesn't know anything else. She was brought up into a certain reality, it's been ingrained into her, and the others, that this is what they are supposed to do. Which is not incorrect, technically, but it is also not right.

I understand why none of them rise any serious questions, why they don't try and escape, but at the same time I'm wondering why not a single one of them tried to escape, out of all the students. There sure should have been someone to at least try it. But if someone did, would Kathy hear of it? And the truth is we don't know how well thought and controlled the whole programme is.

I'm not surprised at the lack of 'is it ethical or not' discussion. Again, Kathy, and the others, simply don't know enough to ask these questions. And since they don't know, who was in the right here? Miss Emily or Miss Lucy? Which way would have been better?

There are so many questions left after reading the book, and it also made such an impression on me, it sneaked into my dreams at night. Never Let Me Go sure is a thought provoking book and that makes it a great book to me.

Even before I started reading the sequel of 'Aftermath' I had a feeling I would drop it. I managed to read three chapters, but this book really missed the spot.

There are no flashbacks and I thought that would be a good thing, but instead I got even more tell, not show.

I have mixed feelings about Chase being friends with Austin and Cam. While I'm glad they became friends, the friendship felt forced.

What I also didn't like in these three chapters were Remy's supposedly addiction to drugs (not actually an addiction because he only did drugs on weekends...) and how Chase's first reaction, when seeing a tired, clearly troubled Remy on the run in only his underwear, was to drool over him instead of helping him.

I also didn't like how Chase's employee was portrayed (forgot her name). Both her and Remy were objectified and I really didn't enjoy reading that. I can read objectifying but context is very important, here it really wasn't appropriate or relevant.

I thought I might pick up this book again because the pairing, the idea of the pairing, seemed interesting, but I don't think I will find anything I can enjoy so much as to justify what I didn't like.

I really don't know how to write a review to this book so I'll just make a list of what I liked and what I didn't like.

Liked

• The main characters. I liked their personalities, I unironically liked Cam's swearing and also Austin's growth.

• The relationship between the main characters. I liked how things evolved between them.

• I loved that Austin took matters into his own hands.

Disliked

• The flashbacks. In the first half of the book all the flashbacks followed the same pattern and I feared that would be the case for the entire story, but to my relief, later they read smoother.

• The flashbacks, part two. Also in the first half of the book, due to the nature of how the flashbacks were introduced, I would have preferred them to not be chronologically.

• The flashbacks, part three. There were just too many flashbacks, no room left to properly tell about Austin and Cam.

• Austin's ex. I didn't like her, but I also don't approve of Austin's actions. They both were awful to each other.

• More tell than show.

I am completely judging a book by its cover. I postponed reading this book for so long simply because I don't like the cover. I don't like the models (they definitely don't fit with my image of the main characters after having read the book) and I don't like the colour scheme either. But I did read it, and I loved it.

I liked Dallin (interesting name, first time I come across it), he took no shit and he was hilarious when dealing with awful customers. That boy does not know how to back off—and very good for him! William was frustrating sometimes, I completely get Dallin's point of view, but I absolutely loved him. He's frustrating in an endearing way. I didn't even know that was possible. I also think William should get an official diagnosis of some sorts, because it looks to me like he's on the spectrum. I might be wrong, but from my limited knowledge, he sure seems like it.

I really liked the way their relationship developed. It was a bumpy road and I understood both of them, the way they acted and how they managed things. Maybe they didn't always make the best choices and maybe they overreacted sometimes, but once they got to talking, the talking was good.

So the characters were great, and the plot was really good. I sometimes find myself thinking about something I want to read in a book and I think about it maybe for a few days, maybe for months before finding a book featuring the exact thing I was thinking about. Anyway, this time I was thinking about the whole eye contact thing in BDSM novels. Usually the Doms enforce this not making eye contact rule when in role and I really wanted something that didn't have that. It seems so odd for someone to not look in their partner's eyes, especially when there's love involved. So this is it, this is the first BDSM novel so far where the Dom explicitly said they don't enforce the no eye contact rule. Of course, there were other novels where the Doms were not as strict, but none that actually said it. I was so glad, 'Two Steps Back' instantly got a step up. Cover? Pffft, who cares?

Maybe there is room for improvement here and there, but the novel kept me interested from start to finish and I really liked the characters. And, really, I think I said this before, but I'm going to say it again, Lyn Gala is a great, versatile writer.

I really, really tried, but I cannot properly read this book. I thought of all the reasons why I should read this, some of which are: it's short / it's something new to me / I really want to see how Florence will deal with it—all to no avail. The most interesting part for me was the bit about Marjorie, Edward's mother. I was way more interested in what happened to her than the plot of the book.

I was still curious about the outcome so I jumped pages and read small parts, but I struggled with half a book for days. I did reach the last page, more or less, and for that reason I mark it as read and not dropped. It still remains that I really couldn't get into the story, relate to any of the characters, or enjoy the book even a little.

[Audiobook narrated by Simon Stanhope, from the 1856 version of the text, narration which does not include the frame story.]

What a short, anxiety inducing story. I would have liked it to be more intense, but I liked the premise. I liked how everything leading to the intrigue was so reasonable. I can find no fault in the main character's actions following his winning, he did everything right. I also liked the conclusion, it made sense. What I'm saying is this short story is very well written and it's really good.

I was a little sceptical about this book, didn't think I would like it. I mean, it's a John Grisham book and the main character is not a lawyer? None of the side characters either? I wasn't convinced I should read it, but I thought it might be an interesting change. And, oh, it was!

Skipping Christmas sounds like a great thing to do, I was cheering for Luther and Nora, what a terrific idea! Spending the holidays away from the madness, relaxing, enjoying yourself, it sounded so good. What followed was a really funny story, I enjoyed it and I had a blast reading it. Like usual when it comes to John Grisham (leaving aside that this is not a legal thriller) I liked how real Luther and Nora's relationship felt. How natural the conversations flew, how they felt like actual people. John Grisham manages to have actual people in his books and I don't know how he does it. Now, after reading some of the other reviews, I agree the main characters and the side characters weren't the best kind of people, that's not my point, good or bad, they felt real.

About the plot, yeah, improvements could be made here and there, but I think the book reached its goal, meaning to point out the wasteful spending during the holidays. I really liked that. I see why other readers might not like this story and I actually tend to agree with the negative comments, but ultimately I enjoyed it. I mean, I don't go into reading a Christmas story without expecting a bunch of clichés, but they can be written well or not, and this one's really good. And funny.

[Audiobook, but I have no clue who it was narrated by because there was no name mentioned in the narration or the description.]

I was quite excited when I saw mystery under the book's genre, but the story was underwhelming. At first I was curious, excited about who the stranger was and what business he had in the village, maybe with the villagers or the village itself. Don't know where I got the idea this was also a horror so I was making up all kinds of scenarios, more or less.

The plot is pretty simple, straight forward, it's easy to figure out what was going on and that's why Anna annoyed me. She really was so dumb. A few times I wondered why she did things the way she did them. She didn't have a plan or the faintest idea of what was going on, she didn't formulate a single thought on the matter. At some point she was referred to as a 'clever girl' in the book, but she was so far from clever I almost couldn't believe it.

The climax was rushed, but I can't say I didn't like it. I don't think that part was as obvious as the rest of the plot. And it goes without saying that Dave was a douche (I'm referring to what he said to Anna, not the other stuff).

I can't help but be curious about the characters, though. I would have liked some background on Dave and more details on his craft. A sort of origin story so to say.

I did like the writing and narration, so there's that. I'm sure the book was great when it was published—as it should be—but for me right now it didn't work out. Still a good little read.

Overall I enjoyed this book, but there are parts I didn't quite like. But before I get into that, this is my first E. M. Lindsey book so I was unfamiliar with the writing style. No one ever mentions it (or I don't see any of the reviews that do), but most books are written in past tense, are they not? Here we have both past tense and present tense and while I really don't like the mixing of the two because it's usually done very badly, this time it actually made sense. However, because I kept going from present tense to past tense and vice-versa the book felt slower paced than it actually was. The story felt like dragging at times.

About the story itself, I half worried that this might be the first book of a series because I got invested into it and I would have wanted to read the sequel despite not being a fan of the writing (also, the book needs some editing). It's not so much that I liked the story, but it was something new to me. Meaning the sugar daddy plot. I think I read something that had a similar situation before, but not quite.

I think I liked the main characters, but I couldn't quite connect with them. I think that's part because of the verb tenses. I don't know, the writing style sure made me put in more effort than necessary while reading this. The more time passes between me reading the book and writing this review (which is one day) the less I like it. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something off. There was some angst, but the story read too calm, too smooth sailing, too obvious. Even the conflict was so overused I was resigned while reading it, but also a bit disappointed.

What I did appreciate in this book was that the main characters actually stuck to what they decided for a while and not cave in after a few weeks like usually happens. That was weirdly refreshing. The whole period wasn't detailed, but I don't imagine there's much to write about so maybe it's for the best. But I do have a bit of mixed feelings about it. On one hand, if in this format I felt the book was dragging, then that would have slowed things even more. On the other hand it might have added to the angst.

I'm not sure I want to try another E. M. Lindsey book, but at the same time I would have read if there would have been a sequel to this one. I might have also dropped it, though. As happy as this story tried to be, it makes me feel the opposite. It gave me a very short lasting high and now I feel almost bitter. 'Heartbeat Repeating' is sadly not a book that makes me feel good things after reading it.

I really want to rate this one five stars, but I can't. I loved Devan and Jonty just as much as I did in 'The Making of Jonty Bloom', they were great together, and I really like the way they trust each other, how they talk to each other and, in 'Jonty's Christmas', how they don't get huffy and upset when the other tries to help by talking to people.

I also liked how Barbara Elsborg made them feel less like a fixer, something that I think most of the books I read with this kind of behaviour got wrong. Actually, I encounter in Barbara Elsborg's books a lot of things that really bother me in others and that is only proof that Barbara Elborg writes so well. It's very important the way things are displayed. The characters don't come across as something they are not, as they push when they should take a step back.

That being said, I still wasn't crazy about it. I appreciated people not instantly agreeing with what was being said to them, but thinking about it and reaching their own conclusions. Sometimes you really do need someone from outside to point out what's wrong, but I find that when that happens, it rarely produces an effect so quickly. People just won't get it and agree with the outsider so fast, it takes more than just a couple of hours and usually more than just one person talking to them about whatever the issue is.

I'm not sure how I feel about Devan's family. His father was okay, his mother was mean with no reason (and I really dislike that she only changed her attitude when she found out about Jonty's childhood), Ellen was fake with showing kindness to Jonty when everyone was present then badmouthing him by his back, Venice was mostly absent, Griff sucked, but I guess it's good he finally got to see how wrong he was, and I'm worried, warry, hmm about Cato. I want to like Cato, but I'm afraid he's going to be too similar to Jonty, have a too similar sense of humour and that's something only Jonty can make work. I guess I'll see once I read 'Reinventing Cato'.

About Denny, I like that Jonty reconnected with her and I hope to get a peek into their relationship. She seemed genuine, actually wanting to know her brother and I'm happy Jonty has at least one family member getting to know him and care about him the way he deserves. I really want it to work out.

But before that, I believe we have to take a trip to Russia, so off we go.

I like Trevor Noah. I randomly watched him a while ago and I thought he was really funny, so I watched some more and I really liked him, but I can't say I'm a fan. I don't follow him and I just found out he's hosting a show after I started reading this book. It's also unusual for me to read this book, I attempted reading memoirs before, but I couldn't get into them, so when I saw this book and thought 'yeah, I want to read that' it was uncharacteristic.

I was expecting, based on Trevor Noah's stand-up, to enjoy this book, but I was not expecting to find things I can relate to. I'm from the other side of the world so being able to relate to some aspects of life in South Africa was quite a surprise.

I liked the narration a lot, I didn't feel at any point that it was being made light of the situations or dramatising them, but simply relating things as they happened. I liked the format a lot too, various things that were properly told about later in the book were mentioned in earlier chapters, before we got the whole picture. I read this book the same way I would listen to someone tell me about their life and I think that was the intended way for this autobiography to be read.

I could go ahead and write about the things I liked, the ones I related to, the ones that made me sad, but then I would do this book no justice. 'Born a Crime' is an experience and I feel like finding out about what's in it by reading a review rather than picking up the book and reading it yourself takes away from how good reading it actually is.

The audiobook, narrated by Trevor Noah himself, is getting a lot of praise too and I agree. I listened to a bit of it and the narration is great, it also helps with unfamiliar words and names that I wouldn't know how to pronounce.

'Born a Crime' is a fantastic book and so worth picking up. Apart from Trevor Noah's life story (which, in a way, is a more his mother's story) we also get a good history lesson.

I was so looking forward to this book, just the title is enough to spark my interest, but unfortunately it didn't work for me. I only reached chapter three, but allow me to say why it didn't work out.

First, the Prologue (I actually don't know if it was called that and I don't feel like checking) went to such an obvious conclusion. I can't tell if that was necessary or not since I dropped the book, but it did make me sad and also made me wonder why do that.

Second, the dialogue was so unnatural, so tedious, especially when Frank recalled one of his former cases. Who says it like that?

Third, do schoolboys not get crushes? The 'schoolgirl with a crush' comment really bothered me. I dislike it so much when these type of expressions are used, what does that mean? That boys don't get crushes? That if they do they are somehow inferior because only schoolgirls gets crushes? Grow up!

Fourth, Aaron has no common sense. He's literally a suspect in a murder case and he's throwing himself at the lead detective in the most forward and rude way. But wait! After carefully planning to 'accidentally' bump into said detective in such detail, down to the amount of coffee that's being spilled on the same detective's coat, he realises how ridiculous he's being. Just like that, in less time than it takes one to snap their fingers. It came out of nowhere and he back-paddled so fast. This man looked Frank up, stalked him online until he found out where he usually gets coffee, then he went all the way to the coffee shop Frank frequents and stalked him in real life just so he would 'accidentally' bump into him. Then nothing. It makes no sense whatsoever.

Fifth, after Frank's gut feeling tells him there's something off with Aaron, that he's hiding something and that he's suspicious as fuck, right after Aaron says 'oops, sorry' he all of a sudden likes the guy. Get some self respect, Frank!

Those are five reasons why I don't continue reading this book and all that in less than three chapters.

I loved this short Halloween story! Who would have thought that reading about planning an event could be so entertaining? And I love that this wasn't just about the event, we got to see Jonty and Devan in their free time, we basically got a week in Jonty and Devan's life and it was great! I had so much fun reading this I feel like hugging the book, let alone the characters.

I was looking forward to seeing everyone and I got them all along with some really funny antics and situations. Serious situations too because it just can't all go without a hiccup.

Describing Jonty as a ray of sunshine doesn't do him justice, he's so great. I did not expect to like this character so much when I started reading the series. And the series gathered some dust too before I finally picked it up.

Devan was great as well, I quite enjoyed his struggle with his own plan, I liked again his relationship with Cato, along with Vigge, and I really liked that everyone seemed to be so close. Well, not quite, but I suppose Jonty and Devan will get to see more of Ru and Jasim and become friends with them too. Ink and Tay were also great, glad they are such good friends to Jonty and Devan.

What else can I say? I loved this side story, everyone was great, Jonty worked so hard and he waited so long, but now he's right where he was supposed to be, in Devan's arms, happy with Devan.

All of the books in this series had been intense, a lot of things happening, but 'Waiting for Ru' had the most surprises. For one, while it gave me a lot of anxiety, it was the least eventful. I mean, no one got stabbed.

Ru was great and I felt so sorry for him to be met with hostility and bullying and I was worried things will escalate to a very dangerous situation. While things were bad, they could have gotten so much worse and I'm glad they didn't. I was worried for Ru and couldn't help but worry about Bela as well. But Bela's so smart, she was a real help.

It's been a while since I read 'Give Yourself Away' so it took until Jasim told Ru what he'd done that I realised who he was. That was the biggest surprise, I did not expect any of the characters to have any connection to anyone outside the Unfinished Business series. I didn't have any strong feelings about Jasim while reading 'Give Yourself Away', but I did like him a bit, so I'm glad to find out more about him, as unexpected as that might have been.

I liked Leigh and Newt a lot too and I'm curious about them as well. Not so much as how they met as about how they are now. I'm sure established couples have a lot coming at them too. And they seemed so lovely, both as friends to Jasim and Ru, but as a couple as well.

I'm still surprised at how calm this book was compared to the others in the series. Was it really? Or am I just getting used to having the main characters go through misery and pain?

There's surely good things coming for Ru and Jasim and I'm glad they found each other. They have some catching up to do, a lot of firsts coming up for both of them.

I did not expect to like this book of the series as much as I did. I was wary about Cato because I was under the impression he was very similar to Jonty when I met him in the other books, but I was surprised, he was great, I liked him. I liked Vigge too, but I have to say, out of all Barbara Elsborg books I read, the communication is the worse here. And yet, that offers another proof that context and the way something is written is very important. It makes a lot of sense why the communication is not the best here, Vigge has never been in a relationship before, he's clueless to what he's supposed to do. His behaviour was quite realistic.

I really liked, I loved, that Devan and Cato keep so much in touch. Their relationship is great, I am so glad they are so close and that Cato trusts Devan so much. I had no idea I needed that type of relationship in this book, it makes me feel so joyful. I also like a lot that so far Devan and Jonty make an appearance in every book of the series and I'm so glad to find out Jonty met his sister and they got along, really happy for Jonty.

The plot of 'Reinventing Cato' was interesting, it took an unexpected turn after the other books. But I also see there's a stabbing theme going on. In the first chapters I thought 'oh, no, there's going to be a stabbing' and I dreaded it, but when it finally happened, I was surprised. I don't know how to make this sound good, but it was a good stabbing. It didn't feel repetitive or tedious, it was kind of natural. There were other things I thought might happen and I dreaded them happening so I'm glad they did not happen. I definitely liked 'Reinventing Cato' more than I did 'A Long Way Back' and I was not expecting that.

But back to Cato and Vigge. The communication is getting worked on (but let me just say this, Cato was very generous to Vigge, giving him so many chances. After his congratulations on the job I really wanted Cato to text him 'you know what, I did not know about the job until now, but nevermind, I've had it, I'm not pursuing this relationship any further' because his jumping to conclusions then annoyed me. Vigge would have looked for Cato and talk to him if he'd sent a text like that so all good) and they'll get there, but when they were together, getting to know each other, they were so good. I loved them together, they were clearly right for each other and despite everything I'm glad they made it work. And Vigge already learned so much about this relationship thing.

There were a few other things that I really liked in this book, I liked Cato's naughty drawer, and I liked the way he dealt with Max and Louise (was it Louise? L-something), he kept the discussion as civil as he could, he didn't escalate things, he was firm on his position. Well done. Other than that, yeah, great book, really liked it.

I liked that Jonty said in the first book that he'd want to see the glass beach (Ussuri Bay I think it was) and he actually gets to see it in this short story, all thanks to Devan. For some reason I thought they were only going to see the beach, but no, they had a lot of fun and that's great. I liked Jonty and Devan exploring Vladivostok, skating on the frozen sea, experiencing banya, trying all kinds of exciting foods, and making friends.

I wasn't even surprised that Jonty got in trouble, and I liked that he was more worried about ruining the clothes Devan bought for him than him being injured. He's so pure. And Devan is such a good boyfriend, he cares so much about Jonty, loves him so much that he only wants to make him happy, wants to experience things together with him, and worries so much about him. He even looks for solutions to make things that can't work, work, all because Jonty wants something. He's really so good to Jonty and that makes me happy. They are both good to each other, Jonty in return looks for ways to show Devan how much he appreciates and loves him and for ways to make him laugh. This short story was really nice and with both 'Jonty's Christmas' and 'Jonty in Russia' I liked having the gap between the book and its epilogue filled in.

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.

When I read A Time to Kill many years ago it didn't occur to me that I would get to love the genre so much and that Jake Brigance would become such a dear character to me. I started the year with Sycamore Row and as soon as I finished reading it I was already excited for A Time for Mercy. Before I forget, let me just say that I love the fact that the second book is not titled A Time [something]. I have no idea what went behind that decision, maybe there wasn't a plan for a third book back in 2013, but either way, I love that the titles don't all follow the same pattern.

In A Time for Mercy Jake Brigance faces new challenges. He's stuck with defending an obviously guilty client and there's just no way of getting out of it. Who would do it if not him? The book kept me turning page after page, wanting to see what's going to happen next. It also raised some unexpected and interesting topics, it made me angry at some of the characters, it made me curious about some of the other characters' choices and reasoning.

The most pressing topic, of course, is that of the capital punishment, a controversial subject already, and with complications in this book. I had already made my decision from the start on what the verdict for Drew should be, but I was also able to put myself in the shoes of the other side throughout the book. I can definitely see why someone would be for or against it in this case, but one side is wrong.

Besides that, there's also the issue of what happened before the murder, of the different impact the victim had on his family, co-workers, on his girlfriend and her kids. Surely none of that can be ignored. Or can it? What is to be taken into account and what not? The book does a very good job at showing all the sides of the story and all the different opinions on what is right and what is wrong.

A Time for Mercy is fuel for a few very good debates starting with, obviously, the issue of capital punishment, then on what the other characters might have done wrong, on what would be the right way to deal with everything that followed, and other topics that don't necessarily relate to the actual trial such as abortion vs adoption and the blue wall of silence. It certainly made me put into perspective a few things and while I do hold most of the same opinions, I have a new angle on others. (I love these kind of books.)

I cannot think of a better pair for Jake than Carla. She is his rock, they fit together so well, and Jake Brigance wouldn't be Jake Brigance without her. Carla is his friend, his confidante, and yes, he can rely on Harry Rex and Lucien, and they can offer good advice and support, but not even close to the way Carla can. She is a vital part of everything that's happening and nothing would be the same without her.

At the same time, during this trial Jake has been alienated by the community and I am a little pissed about it, about their inability and, to some extent, refusal to understand his position. But I am happy for Lucien, for his insight. I feel like Jake grew up a little in this book, he's on his way to becoming a truly fearless and unstoppable lawyer.

That's why there has to be another book in the works featuring Jake Brigance. I will not believe anyone saying there is not, not even John Grisham himself. I am fairly certain we are going to get another book judging by how it ended (there's no cliff hanger, just, I don't know, everything that happened, there is a lot more of Jake Brigance, there are more stories to be told), but it might take a while so I am going to be very glad that there are plenty of other John Grisham books that I can read meanwhile.

I admit it now, I am a fan of John Grisham so I might be biased. I didn't read as many of his books as I would like to, not yet at least, but every time I pick one up I know I'm in for a good time. 'The Guardians' is no exception. I liked it from the very start.

There are a few things I really, really liked about this book.

01. Post. The main character of the story is awesome. Post is a good man, he is determined to do justice for the wrongly imprisoned people he represents and he is so good at it. At first I didn't think much of him, I tended to view him as a regular guy, but Post is so much more than that. He is fierce and he doesn't back away. Truly amazing character.

02. The book is narrated from Post's point of view, but sometimes it shifts to other characters. However, I never felt like it shifts at all. It is so beautifully written I was impressed. Very good job! (To be completely fair, I did feel the change at some point in one of the chapters, but it was so brief I didn't mind it.)

03. I loved the reasoning behind every action and the way it was explained. I also liked the way Post addresses the people he's talking to. There are a lot of other rather subtle things in his and the other characters' behaviours that I enjoyed so, so much.

I cannot find any flaw to this book. It is realistic, it is beautifully written and, as always when it comes to John Grisham, it was a delight to read.

I am so glad I put this book on hold while I read the first one, because the references to the first book would have absolutely not been enough for me. I also specified this in my review to ‘Two Girls Down', I first got my hands on this book, can't remember how it caught my attention, and while I read the first few chapters it became clear to me this was a sequel so I looked it up and, yes, there it was. That being said, I strongly recommend reading the first book beforehand because otherwise you really can't get the whole picture.

I loved Vega and Cap just as much reading ‘The Janes' and I loved the way they advanced, so to say, their relationship. There is absolute trust between them, and I really like how one of them could say the most random, ludicrous thing and the other would have their back no question asked. They make a great team, they did from day one, but as they get to work and know each other more, they're working even better.

However, I did not enjoy ‘The Janes' as much as I did ‘Two Girls Down'. The plot was, again, constructed very well, I didn't encounter a single lucky coincidence here either, but I feel like it took a turn to the mainstream. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it just made me not enjoy part of the book that much. Also, the detectives in San Diego are not nearly as good as the ones in Denville, in my humble opinion. I might have disliked some of the cops in Denville at first, but once they got their hands on a suspect they did their jobs flawlessly, I was impressed while reading. The ones in San Diego were not as solid. And I might have missed Nell a bit. Just a tad.

Back to what I liked, apart from the two main characters and, yes, the plot, it was the first and last chapter of the book, specifically the storytelling. The narrative style Louisa Luna used here has a name, which I don't know right now, but it is a narrative style I like a lot.

I want to know more about Vega and Cap and what other cases they might work on. There were a few things in this novel that made me curious about what comes next for both of them. Meanwhile, I might take a look at what else Louise Luna wrote.

I don't know how I got my hands on the second book of this series. I did not know it was part of a series, but after I read a bit, something kept nagging me to look it up, and sure enough, there it was. It didn't take long for me to get the first book as well and start reading. I was very curious about Vega and Cap's background.

I enjoyed the book very much, I instantly liked Alice Vega, she's a very determined, no bullshit type of person, and she really gets shit done. She's also very good at her job. I can't remember in detail other books in the genre that I read, but I think this is the one book where lucky coincidences just don't happen. There's not even a trace of luck, the plot is very well constructed, all of the characters are capable and there's no unnecessary pettiness or unnecessary drama.

Unfortunately my reading circumstances were all over the place with this book and I might not have given it the attention it deserved. I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about who the culprit was, although I did have a few ideas. I also didn't focus on the mystery plot as much as I did on Vega. She was really great, I liked everything about her, and I want to know more about her. I am also very curious about how things will develop between her and Cap.

Because I started reading the second book first, I know (along with everyone who read the synopsis) that Vega (I keep wanting to write Alice, but I liked so much how everyone apart from Nell called her Vega) and Cap will work yet another case together. I liked their relationship so much. They didn't click instantly, they also didn't dislike each other instantly. They learned how to work together, they had their differences, they talked about issues. In a few words, their relationship developed very naturally. And I loved that.

Since I mentioned Nell, I must say she was great. I can't say I read a lot of teenagers in books, but Nell was one of a kind teenager, and she has such a great relationship with her dad.

When it comes to detective books, this one's definitely in my top three.

Looking at my reading list there's no doubt I like Josh Lanyon. The mystery with a hint (and sometimes a little bit more) of romance is just right for me, so I am ready to lose myself in any of Josh Lanyon's books. I enjoy the mystery so much and Josh Lanyon has a way of keeping the reader engaged and looking for clues while at the same time giving us the perfect amount of romance that doesn't feel forced and doesn't take away from the mystery. What's there not to like?

Unfortunately, even with that great recipe for a book, this time it missed the spot.

I enjoyed the serial killer line of the story, and I loved when things got very complicated. I also liked both Adam and Rob and I think they made a great pair. My interest piqued more when I saw Tucker mentioned, whom I know from 'All's Fair' series. If I remember correctly, Adam has been mentioned in the series too...

After a quick look, Adam had indeed been mentioned in the last novel, 'Fair Chance', of 'All's Fair' series.

First here, so we know Adam and Tucker had already broken up when Adam worked the Conway case.

Even if Tucker had inexplicably, unbelievably decided they were through, he would have called the minute he learned of the shooting. It was just the way he was built. He had called his ex, Adam, when Adam had come under administrative fire for botching a kidnapping case. He would certainly call Elliot to make sure he was okay.

And second here, but this part is more relevant to 'All's Fair' than 'Winter Kill'.

He was not the only one to recognize this fact. He’d had a message on his answering machine from Adam, Tucker’s ex in Oregon, offering whatever help and support Elliot needed. Adam had not offered condolences, but how long before the sympathy calls started?

I tried to figure out the timeline here, but I'm not sure. I think they are close, 'Fair Chance' is set somewhere in September, so my guess is that 'All's Fair' series ended before 'Winter Kill' started. Or they overlapped for a bit.

Enough of a tangent, let's get back to our story.

While the book was very entertaining I have questions about the murderers. There's a lot to be said about their motivation, their modus operandi, the way they selected their victims. I am not a fan of how they've been dealt with by the author. It was too convenient, I would have liked some questioning at least. Everything leading up to the conclusion was great, but the conclusion was too abrupt.

About Adam and Rob, I think them two is the part I'm most okay with. They are both adults, they talked things through, and they reached a conclusion. My issue comes with the Epilogue. It really didn't feel like an Epilogue to me, but more like another chapter. In an Epilogue I would have expected to see something from, I don't know, a few weeks or months after the conclusion of the book. Luckily, Josh Lanyon spoils us with Codas so I sort of got the kind of Epilogue I wanted. That being said, I still would have liked a more complete conclusion.

Ugh, where do I start? The book started off pretty well, got me interested. It seemed to be a fun read and I did enjoy most of it, until the last three chapters when I almost seriously thought about dropping it. But, well, only three chapters to go so I went ahead.

We have an unlikely pair here, Hunter, a military man, and Randall, an astrophysicist. Right from the start Hunter rubbed me the wrong way. I couldn't say why because he hits a lot of the things I like in a character, but he felt kind of... slimy. As I advanced I started liking him more, though, and there was no off feeling about him, so that's good. Randall was fine, I thought he was fun at first, but as I read, I got to not like him very much. He was this pretty great guy until he wasn't. I have no idea what happened there, but things shifted a little to the left and all of a sudden Randall was acting dumb. No, he was plain stupid, and Hunter owed him an apology for some mysterious reason. On top of that, what started like an interesting fresh book turned into a heap of clichés one on top of the other. Going through the last few chapters was a struggle, it all went downhill really hard after the 'I don't recognise you anymore' line.

The book also felt a little rushed and there was no actual plot development or character development or any kind of development. The whole thing happens over the span of a long weekend (who even throws a wedding weekend? Just how loaded are these people?) so the relationship didn't even begin to get deeper, yet the main characters went through all kinds of emotions (supposedly, because none of those really reached me). It kind of reminded me of those short parody films that go through a whole relationship, from first date to break-up. Not sure that was an emotion the authors wanted to evoke.

So yeah, what started promising turned into a cringe fest for me. And don't get me started on how cheesy it got or about all the stereotypes. Or about whatever the side characters were doing, or not doing.

I really tried, this is the fifth book I read from Annabeth Albert and out of those five I really only enjoyed two. More like one and a half. Needless to say I'm probably going to skip any other books from this author.

It's decided, I like Ada Maria Soto very much. This is only the second (well, third) book I read from this author, but between 'His Quiet Agent' and this, I made up my mind. I'm already wondering which of her other books should I pick up next. But until then, let's talk about 'Whistle Blowing'.

As usual I did not read the synopsis before reading the book, but I skipped the letter at the start of the book as well. I read it last and for once I was pleasantly surprised I wouldn't have gotten any kinds of spoilers and my expectations wouldn't have run wild if I would have read it first (I think it was a book by Lisa Henry where I mentioned I would have had certain expectation if I would have read the letter beforehand).

It's been a while since I was this glued to a book, I pretty much started reading and didn't let it out of my hands until I was done. Granted, it is a rather short book at around 170 pages, but still.

Right, about the book. 'Whistle Blowing' was intense from start to finish. I did not see anything of what followed coming. When Sebastian entered the bathroom I was full on expecting him to find Daren having sex with some stranger, not find him in a pool of his own blood on the bathroom floor. And I was really worried until Sebastian revealed he was an ex-Navy medic.

I liked both Sebastian and Daren. Sebastian because he did everything right, he was responsible and attentive and he had a heart bigger than the moon. And I liked Daren because despite being a spoiled rich kid, he tried to do the right thing, he was in no way stupid or dumb, and he knew what had to be done, never complaining about anything.

What I also liked a lot about this story was that most of it happened in one place, which is Sebastian's house. I don't know what's about limited spaces that I like so much. It sure is a challenge to make the story entertaining, if anything.

I also liked the side characters, especially Rachael. She was one tough lady and I fear for anyone who dares cross her—I'm joking, whoever does it deserves whatever is coming.

All in all, I enjoyed the story a lot. I would have liked if it would have been a bit longer or if I would have at least gotten an Epilogue—I really would have liked an Epilogue—but I really can't complain, I loved it.