Lullaby by Leïla Slimani Review

Title – Lullaby

Author – Leïla Slimani and translated by Sam Taylor

Publisher / Published – Faber and Faber / July 2018

Genre – Fiction, thriller, mystery, Contemporary

Pages – 224

Summary from Goodreads
When Myriam, a mother and brilliant French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to return to work, she and her husband are forced to look for a caretaker for their two young children. They are thrilled to find Louise: the perfect nanny right from the start. Louise sings to the children, cleans the family’s beautiful apartment in Paris’s upscale tenth arrondissement, stays late whenever asked, and hosts enviable kiddie parties. But as the couple and the nanny become more dependent on each other, jealousy, resentment, and frustrations mount, shattering the idyllic tableau.

My Thoughts

4 out of 5 Stars

Well this had me hooked. The beginning was eventful and instantly pulled you in. Lullaby starts by describing an awful event committed by Louise, the main character and then the story goes back, where we follow Louise on a downward spiral leading up to the event and what happens shortly after. It was quite captivating reading about Louise and her life but was also sad as her mind unravelled.

At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy the book as the translation came across a bit clunky however I got past that and the plot kept me eager to read on.

Onto the characters, I could not stand the children’s parents, they were self-centred, complained so much and thought they were better than everyone else.

Louise was a captivating character and like I said before it was sad watching her mind slowly unravel as the story went on. However I couldn’t feel sorry for her or sympathise with her because of the horrendous thing she did. Unfortunately for Louise no one paid enough attention to notice she needed help, and in the end it was too late.

This was a solid book, with a captivating plot and I highly recommend people to read it.

December Wrap Up 2018

So December has been another quick month for me and also quite a successful read month. I read a total of 8 books this month, which include:

• The Horse and His Boy by C.S Lewis – 4 Stars – 175 Pages
• The Curious case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald – 3 Stars – 56 Pages
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman – 5 Stars – 162 Pages
• Prince Caspian by C.S Lewis – 4 Stars – 240 Pages
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – 5 Stars – 144 Pages
• Never Kiss A Man in a Christmas Jumper by Debbie Johnson – 3 Stars – 186 Pages
• House Swap by Rebecca Fleet – 4 Stars – 304 Pages
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling – 5 Stars – 607 Pages

So there you have all the books I read in December. I also just met my Goodreads goal after I had to lower it but for 2019 my goal is 90 books and I’m determined that I won’t be lowering my goal !

What is your 2019 reading goal?

Mad Love by Paul Dini and Pat Cadigan Review

Title – Mad Love

Authors – Paul Dini and Pat Cadigan

Published/Publisher – November 2018 / Titan Books

Genre – Fantasy, Super heroes, DC Comics, Science Fiction, Media Tie in

Pages – 336

Summary from Goodreads

Dr. Harleen Quinzel grew up in an abusive household with a criminal and became a psychologist to deal with her own broken family. At Arkham Asylum, she attempted to treat the Joker and instead fell hopelessly in love with him, helping him escape and becoming a member of his organization. Quinzel became Harley Quinn, a bizarre contradiction of violence and mercy. She blames Batman for her inability to maintain a stable relationship with the arch-villain, and that causes her to have an abiding hatred for the hero, who she seeks to kill. Upon capture she becomes a violent inmate at Belle Reve Penitentiary, and is assigned to the group of government-maintained super villains known as the Suicide Squad.

My Thoughts

5 out of 5 Stars

This was fantastic, I adored this book so much. Harley Quinn is one of my favourite villains so when I was offered this book from the publisher I immediately said yes. Also this cover is simply gorgeous.

This story is the origins of Harley Quinn. The story begins when Harleen Quinzel is seven and then we follow the events that led to her meeting the Joker and becoming Harley Quinn.

I adored Harley Quinn in this story, she was such a strong character. I couldn’t put this book down and I had to keep reading.

As usual I’m not going into too much detail about the plot so I don’t spoil it, I will say however it is very well written.

This book is a must read for any fans of Harley and DC Comics, and I must read the others in the series aswell.

Bookish Naughty or Nice Tag

Hey Guys, so I have a tag for you all. I was tagged by Misty over at mistys book space. I’m really excited to do this tag and I enjoyed answering all the questions.

So the rules :

• Tag and link the person who tagged you.
• Tag and link me/this post ( Jenn ) (If you would be so kind, I love reading your answers!)
• Tick/cross off the ones you’ve done.
• Tag another 10 people.

Onto the questions:

1. Received an ARC and not reviewed it. ✔

• I am guilty of this, I request ARC’s and get so excited but then I find it hard to get them all read. However I do plan on tackling my ARC’s in the new year.

2. Have less than 60% feedback on Netgalley. ✔

• Well my feedback ratio is only 16% I know it’s embarrassing. A lot of books I’ve got to review on it I requested on it when I first joined and then I took a break but I’ve finaly got back into it and I’m hoping to get my ration back up next year.

3. Rated a book on Goodreads and promised a full review was to come on your blog (and never did). ✔

• Yup I’ve done this on quite a few occasions.

4. Folded down the page of a book. ✔

• I’ve done that a lot this year as I have also started annotating my books too.

5. Accidentally spilled on a book ❌

• Finally one that I haven’t done.

6. DNF’ed a book this year. ✔

• Yep I’ve done this a lot this year. There are just so many books I want to read and so little time, so I a book doesn’t grab my attention it’s onto the next one.

7. Bought a book purely because it was pretty with no intention of reading it. ❌

• I have bought books just for the cover but it is always books I want to read eventually.

8. Read whilst you were meant to be doing something else (like homework). ❌

• For this I’m going to say no because I always read because I want to or I have time too.

9. Skim read a book. ✔

• I did this once with a book I wasn’t enjoying but I needed to finish it and only had 50 Pages to go so I just skimmed the last pages.

10. Completely missed your Goodreads goal. ❌

• Nope I usually reach my goal.

11. Borrowed a book and not returned it. ❌

• No way, I’m always checking when my book are due back and if I know I won’t have the books finished I renew them online to get longer with them.

12. Broke a book buying ban. ❌

• Hmmm not really, I always say I should go on one but I never actually go through with it therefore not breaking a ban.

13. Started a review, left it for ages and then forgot what the book was about. ✔

• I’ve done this quite a few times, so what I try and do it write my review once I finish the book, or take notes and write down quoted to help me remember.

14. Wrote in a book you were reading. ✔

• I never used to write in my books but this year I decided to annotate books as I read them because they are my books and I want to be able to go back and look at my thoughts.

15. Finished a book and not added it to your Goodreads. ❌

• Nope I’ve never done this, I’m always checking good reads and updating my progress. I also have the app on my phone for easy access to my Goodreads.

16. Borrowed a book and not returned it to a friend. ❌

• I’ve never borrowed a book from anyone but the library so nope.

17. Dodged someone asking if they can borrow a book. ❌

• Nope, I don’t have anyone that would ask to borrow my books.

18. Broke the spine of someone else’s book. ❌

• Nope I haven’t done this.

19. Took the jacket off a book to protect it and ended up making it more damaged. ❌

• Nope, I take the dust jacket off when I’m reading because it gets annoying and gets in the way, but I haven’t damaged them.

20. Sat on a book accidentally. ❌

• Nope I haven’t done this, I usually have my book within arms reach but I’ve never sat on a book.

I actually thought I would score a whole lot higher than I did so it was a nice surprise that I only got 8.

I tag :

The Wanderlust Reader

Word by Word

Bibliobeth

On The Shelf Reviews

Alicia Reads

Bookish Brooklyn

The Biblio Sanctum

The Opinionated Reader

Nemesis Book Blog

Aurora Librialis

A Blade so Black by L.L McKinney Review

Title – A Blade so Black

Author – L.L Mckinney

Publisher/Published – Titan Books / September 2018

Genre – Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings, Urban Fantasy

Pages – 400

Summary from Goodreads

The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she’s trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew.

Life in real-world Atlanta isn’t always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice’s handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she’ll need to use everything she’s learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head . . . literally.

My Thoughts

5 out of 5 Stars

First of all I’m going to start this by saying how much I adore this cover, it is stunning!

I am a huge fan of anything Alice in Wonderland related so when the publisher offered me a copy I had to say yes.

This was an amazing retelling that I devoured and I just couldn’t get enough. I adored the writing and I thought the plot was awesome. The main character Alice was freaking amazing, a total bad ass and I loved her.

I cant help but rave about this book, I just want to fan girl about it to anyone who will listen. I’m not going to say much more as I don’t want to spoil the book, but there was a part of the book that left me gob smacked and I still can’t quite believe what happened also I need book 2 like now!!

I can’t recommend this highly enough so go read it.

Disclaimer – I was given a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. However this doesn’t affect my thoughts and opinions. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

November 2018 Wrap – Up

Well Folks another month has come and gone so quickly I might add. This has been quite a big month for me, I left a job and started a new one so its been busy and at times over whelming. However I think with all that was going on I managed to read a fair few books, I will say that I reduced my goodreads goal from 100 to 85 which I should be able to manage. So onto the books and the order I read them in:

• Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire – 5 Stars – 169 Pages
• Halcyon by Rio Youers – 4 Stars – 528 Pages
• Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire – 5 Stars – 187 Pages
• Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire – 5 Stars – 174 Pages
• Final Girls by Riley Sager – 5 Stars – 354 Pages
• Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalo – 5 Stars – 337 Pages
• Mad Love by Paul Dini and Pat Cadigan – 5 Stars – 281 Pages
• The Secrets of the Krays by John Dickson – 4 Stars – 256 Pages

There you have all the books I read in November. How many books did you read? What was your favourite/least favourite?

Stay tuned for some reviews that are coming up on my blog and another wrap-up.

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon Review.

Title – Everything Everything.

Author – Nicola Yoon

Publisher/Published – September 2015 / Corgi Childrens

Genre – Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Pages – 310

Summary from Goodreads

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

My Thoughts

5 out of 5 Stars,

Well this was a huge surprise, I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did. Young Adult contemporary/romance is not my go to genre but after this I really want to explore more of this genre.

I found this cute and fluffy and I couldn’t put it down. I read it in two sittings but if I didn’t have to go to work I would have read it all in one go.

I loved the layout of this story, using written chapters, emails, homework and IM’s. It made it easier and faster to read and I found it really quite enjoyable.

I enjoyed the main character Maddy and my heart went out to her especially at the end. I liked personality and she loved books so I could relate to that. Olly was another great character and her treated Maddy so well. For me personally I loved the ending and thought it wrapped up the story well.

All in all an enjoyable read that I couldn’t put down and has made me want to explore the genre more.

Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne Review

Title – Brightly Burning

Author – Alexa Donne

Publisher/Published – Titan Books/June 2018

Genre – Sci – Fi, Retellings, Young Adult, Romance

Pages – 400

Summary from Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Stella Ainsley wants just one thing: to go somewhere—anywhere—else. Her home is a floundering spaceship that offers few prospects, having been orbiting an ice-encased Earth for two hundred years. When a private ship hires her as a governess, Stella jumps at the chance. The captain of the Rochester, nineteen-year-old Hugo Fairfax, is notorious throughout the fleet for being a moody recluse and a drunk. But with Stella he’s kind.

But the Rochester harbors secrets: Stella is certain someone is trying to kill Hugo, and the more she discovers, the more questions she has about his role in a conspiracy threatening the fleet.

My Thoughts

4 out of 5 Stars

This story is a sci-fi retelling of Jane Eyre told in space. I personally haven’t read Jane Eyre but I must say I really enjoyed this story. I love the setting of the story, I loved the fact it was in space as it added another dimension to the tale.

I thought Stella was a great main character, she was ambitious and knows how to get what she wants. I’m usually a bit mixed when it comes to how romance is portrayed in books, however I loved the romance between Stella and Hugo.

The Story was so well written and I couldn’t put it down, I was just excited to know what happened. Overall this was an excellent, well thought out story, with a great setting and characters to match. I would highly recommend this story to you all.

Halcyon by Rio Youers Review

Title – Halcyon

Author – Rio Youers

Publisher / Published – Titan Books/ October 2018

Genre – Fiction / Horror / Thriller

Pages – 528

Summary from Goodreads
HALCYON is the answer for all Americans who want to escape, but paradise isn’t what it seems.

A beautiful island in the middle of Lake Ontario―a self-sustaining community made up of people who want to live without fear, crime, or greed. Halcyon is run by Valerie Kemp, aka Mother Moon, benevolent and altruistic on the outside, but hiding an unimaginable darkness inside. She has dedicated her life to the pursuit of Glam Moon, a place of eternal beauty and healing. And she believes the pathway there can only be found at the end of pleasure.

On the heels of tragedy, Martin Lovegrove moves his family to Halcyon. A couple of months, he tells himself, to retreat from the chaos and grind. He soon begins to suspect there is something beneath Halcyon’s perfect veneer and sets out to discover the truth―however terrible it might be―behind the island and its mysterious founder, Mother Moon.

My Thoughts

4 out of 5 Stars

This was such a good book!! For me the first 100 and so pages were a little slow but oh it picked up and I ended up loving the story. This was a strange story but the author did a great job writing this. After the first 100 or so pages where it goes to Halcyon it was such a captivating read where I couldn’t put the book down because I had to know what happened. The characters were so well written. I really enjoyed Edith and Shirley, I also enjoyed Martins parts. Mother Moon was a strange character and I really wasnt sure about her at first but you can kind of sympathise with her after the horrific things she went through but there were parts of her I didn’t like.

The plot was so well written and it was captivating in the end to the point where I had to keep reading.

Overall I really enjoyed this story and I would highly recommend it to you all.

Disclaimer – I received this book for free from the publishers Titan Books in exchange for a honest review, this does not however affect my opinion.

October 2018 Wrap Up

Well October came and went in a flash. It seems like I blinked and it was almost November. It’s a scary thought that there is only two months left in the year. I didn’t have a great reading month and only managed five books, I’m running really behind on my Goodreads challenge but I’m hoping to catch up as much as possible in the up coming weeks.

So onto the books I did read this month:

• A Blade so Black by L.L McKinney – 5 Stars – 400 Pages.
• Before Her Eyes by Jack Jordan – 4 Stars – 448 Pages.
• Strange Ink by Gary Kemble – 3 Stars – 397 Pages.
• Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan – 5 Stars – 183 Pages.
• Ten Little Girls by Willow Rose – 295 Pages.

So there you have the five books I managed to read. How was your reading month? What was your favourite/least favourite book of the month?

Stay tuned for another wrap up.