Review: First One Missing by Tammy Cohen

First One Missing by Tammy Cohen

My Rating:


I received a free copy of First One Missing from the publisher in return for an honest review.

First One Missing was somewhat of a mediocre read for me. I wasn't drawn into the story. The writing was good and the premise was great but there was something missing. I felt like I was reading it from the sidelines and it prevented me from getting inside the minds of the characters in the book.

The characters were well fleshed out but I feel that too much time was spent on the parents and families and because of this I found it lacked in other areas. The tension and mystery wasn't really there and although we got the odd peek into the the mind of the killer, it wasn't enough. The sections where it concentrated on the killer were the best parts in my opinion and although seeing inside his head was uncomfortable the book needed more of this. I found the story to be more about the grieving and after effects of the families rather than the psychological fear aspect of the situation or the twisted mind and reasoning of the killer.   I know there was a reason to concentrate on the families but at the same time I feel this is where that missing something comes into play for me. There wasn't enough time spent working towards that particular twist.

That being said, it wasn't a bad read. It held my attention for the most part and it had a few twists, although I had worked out the twists before they occurred, but it lacked the psychological aspect and the on the edge of your seat tension that I look for in books of this genre.


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Review: Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale David Duchovny

Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale David Duchovny

My Rating:


I received a free copy of Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale from the publisher in return for an honest review.

This is one that ended up on my did not finish pile. I just couldn't do it. I felt like I was being lectured under the guise of bad pop culture references, awful satire, ridiculous puns, and phrases that contain words(?) like "cray cray", "totes", "bae" and every other modern phrase that irritates the hell out of me.

The writing style is inconsistent. The author changes style constantly, jumping between telling a story, to something along the lines of a screen play, to then breaking the fourth wall. The whole thing is just odd, irritating and makes no sense. It's full of rants about politics, religion and animal rights and welfare, disguised as what I believe is supposed to be humour. And I understand it's supposed to be a book for all ages? I wouldn't subject an adult to this book let alone a child.

I have to wonder, had this been written by anyone else, in other words someone who's not a "celebrity", would it have been published at all?

Not recommended.


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Review: Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton

Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton

My Rating:


I received a free copy of Little Black Lies from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Little Black Lies is a story told in three parts, each part telling the same story from a different viewpoint. The book has many great characters but it revolves around the characters of Catrin, Rachel and Callum. Each character is well rounded and complex and I did enjoy experiencing the story from each point of view. However, I began to get a bit fed up when it came to how much the author described the setting, environment and such.

The story is set in the Falkland Islands and the author initially does a wonderful job setting the scene with the descriptions of the harsh landscape, the wildlife and so on, and when reading the first section, Catrins viewpoint, I was happy to read about the scenery etc. But on reaching Rachels and Callums viewpoints I felt like it was repeated all over again. I found myself skimming and then totally skipping the scene setting as it started to feel like filler, I had been there and read it already several times.

The further into the book I got, the lower my rating started to slip. I was initially enjoying it but by the time I got halfway through the second characters story I was skipping the sections I mentioned above regarding the scenery etc, and on reading Callums story, the third section, I found that I was losing interest and had to force myself not to just give up on finishing the book.

The last quarter of the book just totally killed it, it was a disaster. The whole three different confessions thing, in fact the whole situation in the police station had no credibility at all. It came across as some kind spoof rather than a serious situation, the case would have been laughed out of the courts. And that last paragraph, what the heck? That was the nail in the coffin for me.

Not one I would recommend.


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Review: The Silver Witch by Paula Brackston

The Silver Witch by Paula Brackston

My Rating:


I received a free copy of The Silver Witch from the publisher in return for an honest review.

They say you should never judge a book by it's cover. But that cover, I just couldn't resist it, it's gorgeous. I'm really glad that I took the risk.

Having previously read The Midnight Witch by Paula Brackston I was a little apprehensive about reading The Silver Witch. I found The Midnight Witch to be too slow for my liking, I got bored and lost interest and it ended up in my DNF pile.

There are two main female characters in the story, both in different timelines. I have to stay I enjoyed the earlier timeline much more than the present day one.

Tilda's story, the present day one, was a very slow burner, it wasn't moving fast enough and really didn't pick up until the very end when things got interesting. There was a lot missing that would have perhaps drawn me to the character more. Considering the link between the two timelines (trying not to give spoilers) she was rather singular and I would have liked to have known her better, understood the who and why of her own history in relation to the storyline. I didn't feel the connection and she just seemed to take it for granted without asking or researching the specific link. I felt like I was told her side of the story rather than being shown.

The earlier timeline really captured my interest and was by the far the better one in my opinion. I could visualise it better and I felt like I knew Seren, she was a much stronger character and had a lot more substance than Tilda. In regards to the magic side of it, Seren's story made much more sense and was a lot more believable than Tilda's. Tilda's magic just seemed out of the blue which I struggled with.

All in all it was a decent read and I'm glad I took the chance after having not enjoyed the previous book I had tried from this author.



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Review: Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier

Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier

My Rating:


I received a free copy of Wonderland from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Wonderland was a middle of the road read for me. The story was OK but it was lacking atmosphere and suspense. I wasn't scared for any of the characters, the tension just wasn't there for me to care much about the outcome.

The story had a lot of potential, the premise was great but it just didn't draw me in like it should have. The author makes you think you know who is the guilty party and then steers you off in a different direction, which keeps you on your toes to an extent but at the same time it felt predictable. There didn't seem to be much involvement as a reader for me to try and work things out, it felt like I was being handed things, told, rather than being involved and trying to solve the mystery.



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Review: Seize the Night

Seize the Night

My Rating:


I received a free copy of Seize the Night from the publisher in return for an honest review.

I wasn't sure at first how I felt about this collection. Thankfully it wasn't the hugely popular sparkly emo drop dead gorgeous vampires that seem to be the in thing these days, always a huge plus in my book as I hate those, it was full of proper nasty, violent and mean vampires and that's what appealed to me. I think I was expecting old school vampires and that's not really what you'll find here.

There were some really fantastic stories and many were very unique and different. There were many instances where I found myself thinking that the author had been very clever and inventive with their take on vampires but there were also stories that I found rather meh. This is always the case with anthologies though, you're not going to like every story in the collection. Over all this was an enjoyable read and had many new approaches towards vampirism. It was nice to read something fresh and never done before instead of the same old rehashed premise over and over.

Definitely worth a read.


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Review: The Dover Anthology of Cat Stories

 The Dover Anthology of Cat Stories

My Rating:


I received a free copy of The Dover Anthology of Cat Stories from the publisher in return for an honest review.

The Dover Anthology of Cat Stories has a whopping 29 cat tales within it's pages, that's a lot of cat stories and who doesn't love cat stories right?

I have to admit I was rather disappointed with this collection. I did enjoy a couple of the stories but the majority just didn't appeal to me. I love cats and I enjoy reading a good cat story but many of the stories had a very negative view of cats. Add to that the fact that some cats were either injured/killed in many of the stories and you can understand why a cat lover wouldn't find them enjoyable.

Lets be honest, it's cat lovers that a book like this is going to appeal to, so please keep in mind that it's not all unicorns, rainbows and positive happy endings for the poor cats in this collection.

Not one I would recommend.

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Review: Salvage Duncan Ralston

 Salvage by Duncan Ralston

 My Rating:

 I received a free copy of Salvage from the publisher in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed everything about this one. The characters were well fleshed out and real, the interaction and dialogue between them was believable, and the atmosphere really added a lot to the story. The author does a particularly great job of setting the scenes, especially those set around lake. You really get a clear picture in your mind of the dark and murky waters and the horrors that await you in the deep. The lake almost takes on a life of it's own, like it's a whole other character in the book.

The plot has stuck with me, it was original, nicely paced and held my attention from start to end. The story is full of mystery and intrigue with a wonderful creepy feel to it and it's not predictable at all, as many ghost stories tend to be.

If you like ghost stories then Salvage is a must read. Highly recommended.


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Review: Speaking in Bones by Kathy Reichs

Speaking in Bones by Kathy Reichs

My Rating:


I received a free copy of Speaking in Bones from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Speaking in Bones drew me in right from the start and had enough twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. The plot was interesting and I was never really sure where it was going, just when I thought I had things figured out the author threw in something else that had me trying to piece things together all over again.

I particularly liked how each chapter finished on a cliff hanger even though it made it impossible to put down, no more reading just one more chapter before bed. As with previous books, I still found myself feeling frustrated with Tempe's character, she places herself in dangerous situations where she really should know better and I struggle to match this to her intellect and profession.

I used to read every book in this series but I started to lose interest as the later books weren't to the standard of the earlier ones. This one however caught my attention and I'm glad that I grabbed a copy. While it's not as good as the earlier books, it's one that you will want to finish and definitely worth a read.



Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
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