Cover design by Richard Bravery
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
My rating: 1 .5 of 5 stars
Series: Thursday Murder Club (Book #1)
Genre: Murder Mystery
Pages: 355 pages (Hardback edition)
Published: 3rd September 2020 by Penguin (UK) and Pamela Dorman Books (US)
The Thursday Murder Club is a very light-hearted murder mystery novel with zero suspense.
“If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.”
Long Chills and Case Dough by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Mystery, Detective noir
Pages: 67 pages (ebook edition)
Published: 19th December 2023 by Dragonsteel
If The Sunlit Man was the final book to end the Year of Sanderson, Long Chills and Case Dough is the epilogue to it. …
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received an advance digital copy of this novel from the publisher, Tor Books, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I think I found my favorite book of the year.
Starling House was my most anticipated book of 2023. Which is saying something, as there were so many excellent books published this year. But Harrow’s debut, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, is my favorite standalone novel of all time, so my expectations were sky high. Those expectations could have set me up for failure. They didn’t. While the two novels couldn’t be more different, Starling House is just as powerful and beautiful as The Ten Thousand Doors of January. It just has much sharper teeth. …
Death Note Short Stories by Tsugumi Ohba
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: Death Note
Genre: Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 226 pages (Paperback)
Published: 10th May 2022 by VIZ
A parting gift to fans of Death Note, even if some of the stories were fillers or too short.
Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba (Story) and Takeshi Obata (Art) is one of my favorite manga/anime of all time. I have reread and rewatched Death Note plenty of times. When I knew there was a Death Note Short Stories, I instantly ordered the book without thinking. And upon the arrival of Death Note Short Stories, I did what any sane man would do in the presence of a Death Note. Open it immediately. Then read it non-stop to its completion. …
Hello all, and welcome back to my monthly wrap-up. As real-life work pressures crank up for the final quarter of year, I found myself reading a bit slower for the month of September. It’s also getting harder and harder for me to even come up with short reviews. Thankfully, I was still able to write a bit more for the Book of the Months, as it felt right to do so. And yes, it’s Books of the Month as there were two which both scored 5-stars and earned a spot amongst my favourite books.
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
Hi everyone! The month of August had been incredible, and not only from the perspective of the great reads that I had as you will see from the ratings of the books below.
What made this month phenomenal for me was The Sandman TV adaptation on Netflix, which is now one of my all favourite adaptations of all-time. It’s been almost a full month since its release on 5th August, and I’m still obsessed with the show ( and especially with Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, King of Dreams and Nightmares, etc etc). I loved the audiobook which came out a couple of years ago, but I’ve to say TV show was better. It was as faithful an adaptation as it could be to fit the medium, and I personally found that the changes that were made served the story better in current times. I also couldn’t believe that I would ever say I found a better Morpheus than James McAvoy, but Tom Sturridge was simply sublime and beyond perfect for this role. I’ve rewatched the entire show at least once, and Morpheus’ scenes countless times.
I could keep rambling on and on about The Sandman, and perhaps I might write a post about it later this year. For now, let’s get back to my bookish monthly wrap-up shall we?
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I received an audio copy of this novel from the publisher, Harper Audio, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but that’s what initially drew me to Pandora. While not yet officially available in the US, it’s been out in the UK since January of 2022, and I had read some mixed reviews about it. But something about it still called to me, and when the audio became available to request on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance. I’m incredibly glad that I did, because this story was incredible, and I actually don’t know that I would have enjoyed it quite so much in any other format. …
Hi everyone, can’t believe that I’m back for another monthly wrap-up so soon. I’ve been getting back in the groove with some high/epic fantasy books in July, although I did feel a need to switch gears a bit after reading a pretty darn big one, which was none other than the massive sixth book in the Wheel of Time series.
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
Hello everyone! I did wonder if I should keep up with my monthly wrap-up for June or do a half-year recap of best books read so far. I decided with stick with the wrap-up in the end as I thought my Books of the Month will end up being on the half-year list anyway.
I can’t believe half of 2022 had passed by already. Hope that all of you have been reading great books so far this year. Before I start, can I just say that Stranger Things Season 4 was absolutely phenomenal! I still can’t stop thinking about it, and that ending.
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
Hello all! Welcome back to my monthly wrap-up.
Amazingly, I found my Book of the Month for May right at the very beginning of the month, but that’s not to say that the books that came after that were not good. Most of them were great reads (in fact, only one book disappointed me), and I’m happy to say that the series conclusion that I was looking forward to delivered very satisfactorily. I did start to feel a slight burn-out from reading almost non-stop fantasy (albeit mostly Middle Grade) and ended the month with two crime/mystery thrillers.
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.