Category: Review

Review: A Whole New World

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As Old As Time is the first in a series of retellings of Disney classics. In this version Aladdin never summoned the Genie, instead Jafar uses his first two wishes to become the Sultan and the world’s most powerful sorcerer. Aladdin and Jasmine must then work together with the Street Rats and people of Agrabah to defeat Jafar before he makes his final wish and becomes unstoppable.

I wanted to like this book. I love retellings in which we find out more about characters we think we now, particularly ones explore those characters motivations and back story to present them in a different light. That doesn’t happen in this book. Jafar is a one-dimensional villain Aladdin is still the hero.

The first 25% of the book is exactly the same as the Disney film, even using some of the same lines. The story doesn’t get much any better after this, following the stereotypical let’s overthrow the government/dictator storyline, but with none of the depth that makes us care about the characters.

If you want a retelling of Aladdin focussing on Jafar’s story I would recommend watching Starkid’s Twisted on youtube. This is a moving and hillarious retelling of Aladdin with a misunderstood Jafar. Otherwise just watch the Disney film.

Review: Murder Games

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His victims appear to be total strangers. The only clue that links the crimes is the playing card left behind at each scene that hints at the next target.

The killer, known in the tabloids as the Dealer, is baiting cops into a deadly guessing game that has the city on edge. Elizabeth Needham, the tenacious detective in charge of the case, turns to an unlikely ally – Dylan Reinhart, a brilliant professor whose book was found along with the first playing card.

As the public frenzy over the Dealer reaches a fever pitch, Dylan and Elizabeth must connect the clues to discover what the victims have in common – before the Dealer runs through his entire deck.

I watched the first episode of the TV adaptation last year when it aired and didn’t enjoy it, but I did think that the plot was interesting and would have been better in the book. A year later I finally read the book, and I was right, it is much better.

The book gets straight into the story and I was immediately hooked. I read the entire book in one evening.

I loved the characters in this book, particularly Dylan, and I liked finding out more about him as the book went on. His relationship with Tracy was particularly adorable and made the character more likeable.

The plot in this book is really interesting. There’s a lot going on, but everything adds to the story, and keeps going to the last page of the book. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for an easy to read mystery. This would be a good rainy day read, an enjoyable read but doesn’t require a lot of concentration.

My rating: 4 stars. I don’t know that I’ll try the TV show again, but I’m looking forward to book two.

Review: Nine Perfect Strangers

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The retreat at health-and-wellness resort Tranquillum House promises total transformation.
Nine stressed city dwellers are keen to drop their literal and mental baggage, and absorb the meditative ambience while enjoying their hot stone massages.
Miles from anywhere, without cars or phones, they have no way to reach the outside world. Just time to think about themselves, and get to know each other.
Watching over them is the resort’s director, a woman on a mission. But quite a different one from any the guests might have imagined.
For behind the retreat’s glamorous facade lies a dark agenda.
These nine perfect strangers have no idea what’s about to hit them . . .

This is the first book I’ve read by Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies is still on my TBR list, and I really liked it. This had mixed reviews so going in with no expectations may have helped.

When I started reading this the idea of a retreat sounded quite nice, but I quickly changed my mind. The daily blood tests and five day ‘Transformative Silence’ were enough to put me off.

As the blurb was quite vague I was expecting a murder mystery before I started the book. The plot starts like a typical whodunnit, nine people arrive at a location with no means of contacting the outside world. What’s actually going on is much more sinister.

There is a sense early on in the book that something is not quite right with the retreat, but you’re not sure what. This builds up the tension in the book as you try to guess what’s going on behind the scenes. There are hints that the leaders of the retreat have plans that aren’t being shared with the guests, but I wasn’t expecting it to go much deeper than this.I certainly wouldn’t have guessed what was actually going on.

My rating: 3.5 stars, and I’m planning to move Big Little Lies further up my TBR list.

Review: The Passengers

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Self-drive cars are mandatory in the UK and roads are safer than ever before. Eight passengers get into their vehicles, which are then hacked and set on a collision course.
Libby has been selected to be a member of a secret jury who determine whether any road accidents are the fault of the car or human error, and it’s never been the fault of the car. The jury, along with the public must choose which passenger should survive. Each passenger has ten minutes to convince the jurors and the public to vote for them, but they all have something to hide.

This was the first book I’ve read on The Pigeonhole and it was an interesting way to read. It meant that I had to take my time with the book, as it was released in ten parts. This was frustrating at times when there was a cliffhanger and I wanted to read the next chapter straight away. I think if I’d had the entire book I’d have read it in a day.

This book is set in the future where the only cars available are ‘Level 5’, automated self-drive cars, that don’t even have pedals for the passengers to take control. Eight of these ‘unhackable’ cars are hacked, and each passenger told that they will be dead in XX. It’s a really interesting plot idea, as we move closer to a time when driverless cars will be seen on our streets, I think we’ll start to see more books addressing the fears that people have around this.

There’s a lot going on in this book, and it keeps you constantly guessing. As I was reading my opinions on the different passengers was constantly changing as more information about the passengers was revealed. It was clear that as well as the passengers holding things back, the hacker was also controlling what information he revealed to try and manipulate the public’s opinion of the passengers.

Part of what made this book so interesting is that it doesn’t seem farfetched. People engaging with this kind of situation, using social media to vote for who should die, and the mob mentality surrounding it all seem very realistic. Even some of the revelations in the book, around the cars and the government, while surprising, are not unlikely.

I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for a good thriller. Clear your day, get a nice cup of tea and settle in for a good read.

My rating: 5 stars, and I’m going to catch up on the other John Marrs books I haven’t read yet.

Review: In Bloom

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Rhiannon’s fiancé Craig is in jail for the murders she committed, and her ex-lover AJ is dead. Everything is perfect, except for the fact that Rhiannon is pregnant with AJ’s baby, and the baby doesn’t approve of her killing. Forced to move in with Craig’s parents, will Rhiannon manage to curb her killer instincts, or will she give into her urges?

I read Sweetpea a couple of years ago and enjoyed it, and In Bloom keeps a lot of the aspects that worked in the first book. I like the chapters that start with ‘kill lists’, we’ve all had those days when we hate everyone who does X.

Sadly that was one of the few things in this book that I enjoyed. I don’t often see female serial killers in media so I was looking forward to this, but I was left disappointed. It took me almost a week to read this, because I just couldn’t get into it.

This book didn’t really have a plot, and didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. I didn’t feel anything when the book ended, and I couldn’t bring myself to care anymore. I just wanted to be finished, rather than reading because I was enjoying it.

My rating: 2 stars, and I wouldn’t read anymore if the series continued.

Review: Witness

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Ten years ago Rebecca testified against her abusive fiancé, Solomon, and he was locked away for murder. Since then Rebecca has rebuilt her life, she now lives in the Welsh town of Pontyferry with her husband, Sean, and four year old daughter, Lottie. However Solomon has spent the last ten years plotting his revenge. For each year he spent in prison Rebecca must witness a crime, and choose the victim. She only has 30 seconds to give him a name, or it will be someone Rebecca know and cares about. As the crimes become more violent, and the victims closer to home, Rebecca is forced to confront a past she thought she’d left behind.

Witness is the first book I’ve read by Caroline Mitchell and I really enjoyed it.

The majority of the book is told from Rebecca’s point to view, set in the present, and excerpts of her journal from ten years ago when she first met Solomon. Through these flashbacks we learn how Rebecca and Solomon met, and why she’s so scared of him. At first I found it hard to understand Rebecca’s actions, but Mitchell does a wonderful job of expressing Rebecca’s thoughts and fears, making the reader sympathise with her.

Solomon has spent the last ten years meticulously planning his revenge and he’s determined to make Rebecca pay for her betrayal. In the chapters from his point to view we learn how twisted and manipulative his character truly is. What makes Solomon so terrifying are the chapters in which we get a glimpse into his thoughts about Rebecca, and how realistic this is. His thoughts of how Rebecca belongs to him and how he will make her the perfect wife are something we see too often in real life, and never get less disturbing.

My rating: 4 stars
I’ll definitely be reading more books by Caroline Mitchell.

Review: Take Me In

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When a stranger saves their son’s life, Tessa and Marcus owe him everything. After they return home from their holiday they see Dave Jepsom everywhere. He’s at their house, they see him when they’re out. Is he stalking them, and what does he want?

I didn’t enjoy this book. I really liked the premise, but I just didn’t connect with the story.

The story alternates chapters from Tessa’s and Marcus’ point of view, but neither of the characters are likeable. They’re thankful to Dave at first, but they soon begin to resent him and suspect he’s not as nice as he seems. The parents don’t want to be reminded that they failed to protect their child, and Dave’s presence serves as a reminder of this. Without the references to the fact that something terrible was going to happen, all of Dave’s actions would seem perfectly innocent.

The ‘twist ending’ was predictable, and was dragged out far longer than necessary. It seemed like it was going to be revealed several times, only for the chapter to end. I assume this was to try to build suspense, but instead it felt annoying. The story came to a sudden end shortly after and felt unfinished.

My rating: 2 stars.
I didn’t enjoy Lie To Me either, so I think this will be my last Sabine Durrant book.

Review: I Thought I Knew You

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Jules and Holly have been best friends since university. When Jules’s daughter Saffie accuses Holly’s son Saul of rape, their relationship is pushed to breaking point.

I Thought I Knew You alternates between Jules and Holly’s point of view. Jules believes her daughter, but Holly is convinced that Saul could never do something like this. The story shows the deepening divide between the two characters, as both are desperate to protect their child.

My immediate instinct in this was to believe Saffie, but as the book progressed I began to doubt parts of her story and I wasn’t sure who to believe. There was clearly more to the story and my mind went through several possibilities, as I tried to fit the pieces together.

I wasn’t sure how I felt after finishing this book. It brought up a lot of emotions, but it is definitely a worthwhile read.

My rating: 3.5 stars

Review: Lost Boy

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Once I was young, and young forever and always, until I wasn’t. Once I loved a boy called Peter Pan.
Peter will tell you that this story isn’t the truth, but Peter lies. I loved him, we all loved him, but he lies, for Peter wants always to be that shining sun that we all revolve around. He’ll do anything to be that sun.
Peter will say I’m a villain, that I wronged him, that I was never his friend.
But I told you already. Peter lies.
This is what really happened.

Lost Boy, Christina Henry

I really enjoy story re-tellings from the point of view of the ‘villain’, explaining why they’re really misunderstood. Lost Boy is told from the point of view of Jamie, when he’s one of Peter’s lost boys, explaining how and why he became Peter’s enemy, Captain Hook.

From the very start of this book, it’s obvious that Peter is the real villain of the story. We see how Jamie cares about all of the boys, while Peter sees them as toys, there to entertain him and be discarded. If boys have to die so that Peter can have his fun, Peter can always get more from the other place.

These boys will never grow up because they’ll never have the chance to.

Jamie has been on the island for years with Peter, he was the first lost boy, but throughout the story we see Jamie become slowly disillusioned with Peter and Neverland, ageing as he does. Through Peter’s impulsive actions and indifference to the lives of the boys he ‘rescues’ we see Jamie’s love for Peter slowly turn to hatred and gain an understanding of Captain Hook.

Henry’s version of Peter doesn’t contradict the Peter created by J.M. Barrie, or the version we see in the Disney film. It’s very easy to see Peter’s actions in these as selfish and uncaring, rather than those of the kind hero we thought.

My rating: 4 stars

Review: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

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Aiden Bishop will relive the day that Evelyn Hardcastle is murdered eight times, each time in the body of a different party guest. If Aiden doesn’t solve the murder by the end of the eighth day he will have to start all over again, with no memory of his previous attempts.

I feel like I’m a bit late to the party with this book, but I finally got a copy from the library.

I’m glad a got a physical copy of this book, rather than an ebook, as I love books with maps inside the cover, and I really liked the pages with the invitations.

As I’d seen quite a bit about this book before reading it, I had some ideas going in of what the story would be. I expected that there would be some kind of build up or explanation to explain how Aiden got there, but there’s no build up and we start with Aiden as one of the party guests, not knowing what is going on. We discover what is happening, and what the rules are, as Aiden does.

The plot is so much more complex than I was expecting. This isn’t a beach read, this is a book that you need to give your full attention to and it quickly sucks you in. There are lots of twists and I never managed to guess the ending.

I think this book would work really well as a TV special, rather than a movie, with one day as one episode (roughly).

My rating: 5 stars