Liz Loves Books.Com.

Brilliant. Simply brilliant. Heart stopping, so emotional - this one caused all the feels.

Full review to follow nearer publication in July.

I read this cover to cover yesterday in a big gulp of a read. Clever, absorbing, noir psychological drama with a fascinating main character and a beautifully constructed plot that holds you enthralled.

One to watch next year without a doubt at which point I shall surely be talking more about it.

Brilliant stuff. Setting, story, characters, all of it. And a beautifully emotionally resonant ending. Full review for the blog tour soon.

Hmm.

This is one of those moments where I need to be honest and don't really want to be because I LOVED this authors first book - The Couple Next Door - and enthused about it so would love to keep up that level of support but for me, A Stranger in the House was just another predictable psychological thriller of the dime a dozen kind you see everywhere. Boy I'm so sick of characters with either a drug problem that fogs their thoughts or some random amnesia as a plot device to hide the reveals that are pretty obvious anyway. Its tired and over used now and whilst I'm not saying NEVER use it a novel that relies on it entirely tends to fall flat for me these days.

Now having said that the writing is still excellent, I love the way Shari Lapena twists her language to tell her stories. I am not put off reading future books at ALL especially considering how truly great I thought The Couple Next Door was. It was solely the plot in this one that wore me out. It genuinely felt like I'd read it before, and beautiful as the writing was, I just knew the end as soon as I started and whilst I engaged with some of the characters I didn't find them as compelling as the ones from the previous book, not because of them so much but because I felt I knew everything about them already.

Its still a good read if you like the genre - I would not want to put anyone else off at ALL, this is very subjective. I'll look forward to Shari Lapena's next book. Its not you its me!

This book was insane for all the right reasons – I banged through it, once you meet Alvie Knightly you won’t want to turn your back on her, no way!

Mad is a whole pile of fun, sexy, sassy, murderous and intensely funny at times, I sat there reading it giggling away to myself I’m fairly sure people around me thought I might be mad. What? Sssh…

Anyway, Alvie has a twin. She hates her twin. Alvie is also a bit crap at life but kind of takes it all in her stride. Off she goes to visit her sister in Italy, her sister with the gorgeous husband, tons of cash and beautiful home, a baby and the life Alvie feels she should be living. When circumstances turn slightly, well, mad, Alvie seizes her chance to step into those high high heels.

This novel cracks along with frenetic, addictive style, beautifully descriptive in hot and heavy fashion, the author sets the scene, pops Alvie into it and off we go on a purely brilliant ride. Alvie has no filtered thoughts, finds she has a violent streak, observes life with a wittily intelligent outlook and manages to get into a whole load of trouble, using only her intuitive impulses to keep herself out of the danger zone. It is highly entertaining, first page to last, also quite bloody, gorgeously racy and beautifully provocative. I loved it.

So glad this is a trilogy. Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know. I’m in it all the way. Bring on book 2.

Alvina Knightly: Uncensored. Unhinged. Unforgettable.

Yep – you got that right.

Highly Recommended.

I loved this whilst being inordinately disturbed by it – you know those times where you read something or watch something and it plays on your mind for days even weeks afterwards, leaving you feeling slightly perturbed for no reason you can put your finger on. I’m a fan of books that do that – means they really have gotten under your skin.

‘Who is the third who walks always beside you?’

Yes. That.

So with “The White Road” then, Sarah Lotz gives us a kind of a ghost story, with an edge of horror and a side of creepy “look behind you” vibe. Simon is not particularly likeable and falls into things – after a caving expedition goes awry he finds himself somewhat of a You Tube superstar. Trying to cash in on that his friend sends him off to climb Everest – the narrative jumps between Simon and Juliet, a previous climber, its not until much later that their two stories come together.

Sarah Lotz as she always does writes with an atmospheric, darkly twisted tone that just gets right to the heart of things. I shivered my way through this, I was living on that mountain with Simon and with Juliet – I couldn’t look away and the night in between the two days I read this over was full of those weirdly incoherent dreams that you only half remember when you awake. For me, that’s clever, beautiful writing right there.

I don’t want to talk about the actual plot much – there are many levels I could dissect for you but let’s not do that – Just know that if you are a fan of creepy, intense and  authentic feeling stories then The White Road will tick every box for you. The author walks the line between the real and the imagined so beautifully, the mythology that she builds The White Road from – the third man factor – is enough to make you nervous to begin with. The tension and the sense of unease build inexorably over the course of the storytelling, the setting is wild and uncontrollable and that comes across brilliantly. By the end, an end that haunts, I was so involved that it was hard to leave behind.

The White Road is chilling, in more ways than one, it is also intelligent, wonderfully written and has an enigmatic, mysterious other sense about it that will dig deep into your consciousness. From the opening claustrophobic and downright scary set up to the strangely even more claustrophobic mountain, you will get hook line and sinkered into this one – when a novel literally heightens all your senses as you read it you know you’ve got a good one.

Highly Recommended.

This is a reread for me, huge fan of the Castor novels so the next little while will be loads of fun while I revisit that world. They are brilliant. So this is less a review and more a "read them - read them all!"

Really enjoyed this – you know I love my modern detective stories but sometimes its nice to read a mystery set in a time when there were no mobile phones or DNA matches or anything really except legwork, good old fashioned common sense and the use of the little grey cells (Yes this is a little bit Christie)

This is my first novel in this series although I have the other one sat in the never ending pile somewhere so will definitely have to dig this out – I was particularly struck by the setting and the atmosphere in The Body in the Ice and I loved how A J Mackenzie (another spot on writing team) wove plenty of humour into the narrative. It made for a fun and compelling read, the mystery elements are spot on and the writing style is easy and immersive. Great for a Sunday afternoon (which was when I read this one pretty much in a single sitting)

The historical elements were great – letters and actual conversations and the team of Hardcastle and Chaytor worked really well, I’ll look forward to going back in time (again) and read their first adventure. This is old school storytelling at its best and whilst I’m not generally a huge fan of Historical fiction there are exceptions to the rule and this is one of them.

Villages and community (loved Amelia) family dynamic and the social strata of the day bring  this novel to life – that with the occasionally Holmes like detection elements and a gorgeously drawn cast of eclectic characters make The Body in the Ice a wonderful read.

Recommended.

This is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series where different authors take on retellings of Shakespeare, presumably to make it more accessible.

In "New Boy" it is Othello that is under the spotlight - Tracy Chevalier moves the action to a school playground and sets it over a single day - the narrative of the play transitions really well to this environment, closed and clique - New Boy "O" arrives at an all white school and meets "Dee" - friendships form, relationships develop then one jealous and destructive lad shatters everything.

I enjoyed this - the author brings a sense of atmosphere, a special kind of tension to the storytelling, if you know the play you'll know things are not going to end well, if you don't then you'll find it utterly gripping. This is not a straightforward plot redevelop, nuances are added to fit in with the setting, the language used is cleverly insightful, casual racism, playground politics all used to great effect.

The claustrophobic school setting makes this work - this is the first of these I have read but if the other authors tackle it as well I'd like to read the others. As a Shakespeare fan I loved seeing this pan out, it was intriguing, emotive and really rather good.

I read this to the end in the hope that something might happen that would encourage me towards books 2 and 3 - but no. It was readable, I didn't hate it hence finishing it but I read so much YA of depth and this one was shallow, predictable and a little simplistic. Also the main character (Luce) didn't really have much too her. She did what girls in this type of YA are supposed to do but with a distinct lack of flair. In fact she was somewhat irritating as were the rest of the cast.

I liked the premise, but the group dynamic was a little too cliche, nothing really happened that you couldn't see coming on page one. The writing is fine, its just not special. I know this series has a lot of fans and I can see why in one way but it wasn't for me. There was a lot of wandering around and filler, a lot of wide eyed angst but little else in the way of substance.

Okish. I have the other two books and they look beautiful (in fact probably one of the stars I give this is for the cover) so maybe they'll encourage me back in one day. But for now I think I'll leave Luce and the rest to their shallow love in.

Ha ha LOVED this. Easy 5* read. Clever plotting, great characters and a spot on "bloody hell" ending. Gruesome too. I rather relished the gruesomeness not sure what that says about me.
Still. Excellent excellent stuff.
Full review closer to publication at request of publisher. Put it on your lists though folks!

Because I am huge fan of Shakespeare and all that entails this book worked for me on every level. I lived this book and loved it. It is a homage to the bard and of course an atmospheric, beautifully layered and indomitably emotional story in its own right.

The comparisons to The Secret History are for once quite valid, but shoot me if you like, I much preferred this. I'm not a fan of Tartt's overly pretentious and self absorbed writing style that lacks any sense of editing, its not that I didn't enjoy The Secret History I did, but it banged on interminably at times taking 5000 words to get as much depth into the action as M L Rio manages here in mere paragraphs. So as a very subjective thing for me this was much better. Plus I should probably say its similarities are less than its differences so any comparisons made are on the surface.

I read it in 4 hours today stopping only for caffeine hits and got entirely caught up in this insular, elite and yes pretentious world of a group of theatre students whose friendship, love and obsession leaks off the stage and into their personal interactions. The author uses Shakespeare both allegorically and practically - the language they speak, the way they form ties, its all beautifully written and stunningly addictive. The last paragraph shot me off my chair, so perfectly clever was it, having been lulled into the ebb and flow of a novel that seemed to be done with me at that point suddenly going ha ha NO now you will think of me always. And I will..

An amended and fuller review will follow when I'm on the blog tour but this is going to be a novel I return to again and again. For its rich language, its incredibly divisive characters and its beautiful tribute to the work of Shakespeare, a man who formed the basis of a whole lot of our pop culture language use today. For me it was spot on perfect

Heart breaking and heart stopping in equal measure.

Review closer to publication. But this following on from Try Not To Breathe puts Holly Seddon right up there on the must read list. Genuinely clever and beautifully written psychological drama. Proper writing innit ;)

Wow I loved The Mayfly. More than I expected to (always a good thing) and that is probably down to the completely compelling characters (Charlie Priest my newest book crush) and the rest (Georgie my newest girl crush) plus the brilliantly horrific plot which does get right under your skin. **slight shudder**

I won’t give anything away but the story fairly rocks along, whilst at the same time fleshing out (so to speak) the characters, digging them into your consciousness so when bad things happen to them you are all discombobulated – and bad things do happen. Boy do they.

I like to find new crime fiction that has a different spin to put on things – what James Hazel does here is give you all the elements of a decent crime thriller with added oomph. Charlie Priest really is no ordinary lawyer – I’ll let you find out why for yourselves – but it adds a brilliantly intriguing twist on things that allows for some really meaningful moments in a plot full of layered depth. Also, his family is kind of weird – in the best reading way, I loved them. Even the one that I should probably be wary of.

I loved the past/present elements that all fused together ultimately, I really had no idea where this was going to end up, another reason for enjoying it thoroughly – I like the unpredictable not a lot get me that way these days. Even if I’d worked out every nuance though I would still have loved it – the characters are so fascinating, their relationships in our infancy of knowing them here are cleverly addictive – can’t wait for more now. Really. If the next book in the series is as good then its heading straight onto the must buy list.

Occasionally horrifically shiver inducing, never less than irresistible, The Mayfly is really top notch. Intelligently constructed, characters to die for and a truly sterling opening to what I hope will be a long running series. Charlie Priest. Remember the name.

I love this part.

Highly Recommended.

I read Confessions from this author and loved it, a one sitting read and Penance was another one sitting read. It was strange and dark, occasionally heart breaking and beautifully done. Translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel I was immediately hooked in to this tale of a group of children caught up in the horrific murder of one of their friends, a sinister threat from the girls mother and how that affected them growing up..

Penance is less a murder mystery and more a character drama – the murder, and the mothers emotionally charged “threat” setting off a chain of life events for the 4 girls and indeed for the mother herself. Each girl tells her tale, about that day and about their lives after, all of them in one way or another end up paying that “Penance” that was demanded of them at a young and impressionable age. Kenae Minato really delves into personality here, taking us on a twisted, atmospheric journey through the lives of these characters, whose realities differ so much but all are tied into a seemingly unbreakable bond to that one event.

The cultural aspects are equally involving, as I read I got a real sense of both the differences and the similarities between life in Japan and life here – there are different expectations, different society rules and hierarchy, but people are people everywhere. Grief, love, trauma, those things have no borders and I was struck by how beautifully the author managed to portray the feelings, the passion, the core heart of everyone we meet within the pages.

Utterly riveting, everything in Penance hovers underneath the surface, the decisions made, the actions taken, all informed by the past at differing levels. The plotting is taut and extraordinarily clever, its not until you come to the end of Penance and look back at it that you understand fully the complete tragedy. Because Penance is a tragedy, almost Shakespearean in nature, I devoured every word of it with a shivery intensity.

Absolutely Highly Recommended.

Based on a true story really wasn't for me. But I should make it clear that in this case it is most definitely the story rather than the writing quality that was my issue. I actually rather loved the way Delphine De Vigan writes so I'll hopefully read some more from her in the future.

This is about this book though.

Problem being this has been done before and honestly? In my opinion better. The mysterious meeting of two minds, an ongoing friendship developing that becomes toxic or perhaps mutually destructive, with an ambiguous open ended maybe whatever finale that supposedly leaves the reader in a whirl but honestly, left me slightly flat. The lilting beautiful prose is what held me in the novel not the telling of the tale.

And seriously I'm sorry but you know there probably are people out there in the world who have not yet seen the intensely brilliant "The Usual Suspects" but have always intended to do so, who may decide to read this novel. The author lays out the ending of The Usual Suspects in full, including the final scenes in that movie (which DID leave me in a whirl and is cleverly, insanely excellent) thereby giving away all its secrets and even some of the nuances. Why???? Why would you DO that. It irritated me beyond all reason - LUCKILY I have seen that movie, no spoiler for me. I believe it was to make comparisons to how the character in "Based on a True Story" was feeling but you know sorry this was no Usual Suspects and this character is no Kayser Soze. No. Just no.

2* for the beautiful writing but you can keep the rest.