Edinburgh Dusk by Carole Lawrence My rating: 5 of 5 stars I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.Detective Inspector Hamilton is back. I was very excited to have been approved to read an ARC of this and promptly decided to put my schoolwork on hold until I had finished reading it, which only took about two days. Once you start this story, you won’t stop until the last page.DI Hamilton is just as introverted and unsociable as ever. Always quick with a cheeky remark and ready to solve another case. I was glad the story also included most of the…
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The Clockmaker’s Daughter
The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton My rating: 1 of 5 stars I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.Kate Morton used to be one of my all-time favourite authors. During the time I was reading her first three books, I was not to be disturbed. I was enchanted and pulled into her skilled way of storytelling. Sadly, with her fourth book, The Secret Keeper, I began to notice a change in her writing style. This continued with The Lake House and now with her most recent publication The Clockmaker’s Daughter. I missed her old way of telling a rich story…
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Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge My rating: 4 of 5 stars A required reading for my zombie/vampire seminar, this was my second time reading this poem; however, I can’t remember when or where I had first come across it. I can vaguely remember someone in a class-setting talking about the mariner and facilitating some sort of discussion, but the details elude me, which really bothers me.Anyway, I think I have always preferred Coleridge to Shelley or Byron. I appreciate his skill for creating an eerie mood in his poems that is just perfect for what he is trying to accomplish.The poem itself isn’t my favourite, but…
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The Death of Halpin Frayser
The Death of Halpin Frayser by Ambrose Bierce My rating: 4 of 5 stars Another required reading for my zombie/vampire seminar.For some reason this story reminded me of the movie “The Labyrinth” with David Bowie. It could be because I had recently watched it and it was still fresh in my memory, but I assume it had something to do with the dream like sequence in the story. It’s that almost fantastic and otherworldly always reminds me a bit of classic 80’s fantasy movies. Although, this story had quite a bit of blood in it, so I would suggest not reading it whilst eating.The writing was quite nonchalant with a…
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It
It by Stephen King My rating: 3 of 5 stars ***********Warning: Contains Spoilers************** I feel like I have accomplished a rite of passage by finishing Stephen King’s It. I did it! It took me over a year to do so, with long breaks in between reading it, but I can honestly say that I have read it from beginning to end. I must apologize for this unusual review, which will contain spoilers. Normally, I refrain from discussing a book and strictly stick to only providing an opinion on it, but I pretty much spent a year of my life reading it, so much happens in it and it is so…
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The Castle of Otranto
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was my first assigned reading for my Zombie/Vampire in literature graduate seminar and half the time I was chuckling and the other half I could feel goosebumps rising up my arms.The prince reminded me of the Queen of Hearts from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, constantly shouting “off with their heads”, while the other characters only took him half seriously and dealt with the conflicts in the story.The story in itself was rather spooky with perfectly placed eerie details, including the general feel of knights and chivalry and the Gothic atmosphere.Overall, widely considered the first English Gothic…
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Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Richest Duck in the World
Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Richest Duck in the World by Don Rosa My rating: 5 of 5 stars A great conclusion to the narration of Uncle Scrooge’s life story. It was funny. It was sad. It contained adventure and intrigue. I appreciated and marvelled over the art work especially in this volume, which focused even more in the fine details in the background that gave a little extra dose of humour.
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The Doll House
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…
