The Doll House by Phoebe Morgan My rating: 2 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review.I guess with this book began my search for new contemporary adult mystery/thriller stories; something I could read and get lost in when I’m not in the mood for YA, cozy murder mystery or fantasy. I was excited and happy to have been approved to read a book that already had such a great reputation. Sadly, this was also not the end of said search.I couldn’t relate to the protagonist at all. She was in a place in her life that I will never be…
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The Simplicity of Cozy
The Simplicity of Cozy: Hygge, Lagom & the Energy of Everyday Pleasures by Melissa Alvarez My rating: 1 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review.The biggest difficulty I had with this book was the formatting of the file I was given; the entire text was just one big blob of words, starting with the publisher’s information. I kept flipping back and forth, trying to find the start of the actual book part. It was very confusing.The book itself begins with a description of the various ideas of “cozy” in different cultures, then it switches abruptly to an exercise for the…
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Save the Date
Save the Date by Morgan Matson My rating: 2 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review.This was incredibly detailed and it took me more effort to stay focused on the story than any book I have read since “The Counsel of Elrond” in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. Sorry, but that chapter took me a month to get through; I kept falling asleep and the same was happening with this story (not that I’m trying to compare classic fantasy literature with contemporary young adult fiction).I found the protagonist to be rather entitled and self-centred. There isn’t really much else…
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The Cheerleaders
The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas My rating: 5 of 5 stars I don’t know how I came to know about this story, but I immediately put a hold on it at the library and couldn’t wait to read it. I finished it in 2 days.Truth be told, regardless of what the synopsis promised the reader, I was still expecting a tongue-in-cheek, high-school serial killer sort of story like Scream Queens, which it certainly was not.The characters, with their secret agendas and equally suspicious motivations, were well thought out and created. The main character, with her own share of emotional turmoil and hardship, was highly intriguing to follow on her path…
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Ultimate Phantomias 22
Lustiges Taschenbuch Ultimate Phantomias 22: Die Chronik eines Superhelden by Walt Disney My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have probably already mentioned this before, but growing up reading Donald Duck comics I wasn’t a fan of the Phantomias stories. Now I almost prefer them to regular Donald Duck stories. I was lucky enough for my grandmother, who still lives in Germany, to offer me to send the newest edition of the Ultimate Phantomias and I read it in one sitting, enjoying every story. One story, Zwist im Urlaubsparadies, I remember reading in a different comic book, I think the theme was summer vacation, but other than that they were…
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Witch: A Doyle Witch Cozy Mystery
Witch: A Doyle Witch Cozy Mystery by Kirsten Weiss My rating: 1 of 5 stars I received this ARC from Red Coat Publishing and the author in exchange for an honest review.A few months ago I read another of the author’s books called Deja Moo part of the A Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum series and it turned out it wasn’t really my cup of tea. Naturally, I was a bit hesitant reading another of the author’s stories. Sadly, my intuition wasn’t wrong. Before I continue, I have to say that this is the first book in The Witches of Doyle series I have read.The characters seemed overdrawn and even exaggerated.…
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Girl at the Grave
Girl at the Grave by Teri Bailey Black My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review.I have to start out by saying I couldn’t read this story during my commute, because I got so invested in it that one time I only made it home through sheer muscle memory. At one point I found myself on a bus and only hoped it went to my destination.What a journey this story was! If I remember correctly, one of my favourite authors wrote a review on Girl at the Grave and I immediately had to read it. I was so…
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To Catch A Witch
To Catch a Witch by Heather Blake My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review.Heather Blake is back and I am beyond excited! Well, I don’t know if she ever left, but it felt like an eternity since the last Wishcraft story and I am very glad I got to read her newest book during the blistering heat in the middle of summer.I am absolutely not joking. The welcomed break from the heat and humidity even if only imagined was bliss. The author’s skill at describing the beautiful scenery that has been the backdrop of this wonderful cozy…
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Frankenstein
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley My rating: 2 of 5 stars Part of BBC’s “100 Stories that shaped the World” list, I thought it would be fun to keep track of all the works I have read that are listed.Frankenstein was required reading for three of my courses; once during my undergraduate years and twice during my graduate program. I read it twice and went through the text the third time just skim reading it to remind myself of anything I may have forgotten.Truth be told, reading Frankenstein the first time had me on the edge of my seat, I was invested in the story and just waiting for the…
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Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe My rating: 3 of 5 stars Part of BBC’s “100 Stories that shaped the World” list, I thought it would be fun to keep track of all the works I have read that are listed.It was required reading for my postcolonial literature (PoCo Lit) course I took 8 years ago. I don’t remember much of the actual story, only that the course in general was not one of my favourite and postcolonial literature appears to be not my forte.It was an interesting story, but I believe the whole subject matter of postcolonialism always makes me rather sad and sometimes even makes my stomach turn…
