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The Island of Missing Trees – Elif Shafak (AUDIOBOOK) – 14.11.23

This book is told from two points of view in alternating chapters – Ada, a teenage girl who is mortified when she has a loud breakdown/outburst at school on the first anniversary of her mother’s death (at first I thought, oh no, another annoying young adult protagonist, but I got past that when I gotContinue reading “The Island of Missing Trees – Elif Shafak (AUDIOBOOK) – 14.11.23”

Everything I Never Told You – Celeste Ng (AUDIOBOOK) – 06.11.23

Wow! I love Celeste Ng’s writing – so beautiful. While this book is very much written from the perspective of experiencing bigotry as a Chinese American and/or a mixed race couple (ethnic Chinese and white American) in the 1970s there is so much about the family dynamics in the book which would resonate, I thinkContinue reading “Everything I Never Told You – Celeste Ng (AUDIOBOOK) – 06.11.23”

Salem’s Lot – Stephen King (AUDIOBOOK) – 02.11.23

I have read/listened to a lot of Stephen King books recently, and I’ve very much enjoyed the experience. Mostly I’ve listened to his more recent works, and many reviewers claim the older stuff is better, so I checked out Salem’s Lot, written, I think in 1970. Stephen King himself gave an introduction to the audiobook,Continue reading “Salem’s Lot – Stephen King (AUDIOBOOK) – 02.11.23”

The Girl Who Broke the Sea – A. Connors – 31.10.23

Near the beginning of this book I was starting to regret reading yet another YA book about a fraught teenage girl acting out, but… very quickly I became gripped by the story and actually by the end of the book I loved it. Lily is a teenage girl who comes with her mother to aContinue reading “The Girl Who Broke the Sea – A. Connors – 31.10.23”

Red Dwarf: Better Than Life (Audiobook) – Grant Naylor (Author), Chris Barrie (Narrator) – 26.10.23

I had really enjoyed listening to the first Red Dwarf audiobook, so when this one also came up as the audible daily deal I bought it. It was fine, quite fun to listen to, but not as good, in my opinion, as the first one. Chris Barrie’s narration was once again excellent though.

A Song of Comfortable Chairs (No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Book 23) – Alexander McCall Smith – 27.10.23

There was a time when I was excited by a new No 1 Ladies Detective agency book, but I think I’m just getting a little tired of the same old same old nature of these stories. In this novel very little happened and it felt like a rehashing of the old sentiments of the seriesContinue reading “A Song of Comfortable Chairs (No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Book 23) – Alexander McCall Smith – 27.10.23”

If It Bleeds (AUDIOBOOK) – Stephen King – 23.10.23

I listened to this collection of short stories because I love the Holly Gibney books, and one of these stories features her (it’s a sequel to The Outsider, and since I read it after Holly, I’ve got my chronology a bit off!). I actually thought all the stories were very strong and affecting and thoughtContinue reading “If It Bleeds (AUDIOBOOK) – Stephen King – 23.10.23”

Holly (AUDIOBOOK) – Stephen King – 17.10.23

I’m still on my Stephen King Holly Gibney odyssey, and this is one of my favourite so far. SPOILER ALERT – don’t read this review if you haven’t read the other books in the series yet. Holly is still reeling from the death of her partner Bill Hodges, and has to come to terms withContinue reading “Holly (AUDIOBOOK) – Stephen King – 17.10.23”

Forged: An Alex Verus Novel – Benedict Jacka – 16.10.23 Risen – An Alex Verus Novel – Benedict Jacka – 20.10.23

In the last two books of the Alex Verus series the excitement really ramps up. Alex started as a mild and meek kind of character who tried to do the right thing but kept getting caught up in things that pushed him into dangerous and morally questionable scenarios. I often felt like he was constantlyContinue reading “Forged: An Alex Verus Novel – Benedict Jacka – 16.10.23 Risen – An Alex Verus Novel – Benedict Jacka – 20.10.23”

The Outsider (Audiobook) – Stephen King (Author), Will Patton (Narrator) – 15.10.23

I’m really enjoying reading/listening to the Stephen King Holly Gibney books. This one starts with a small town police officer investigating a horrible child murder where the DNA of a local well loved baseball little league coach is all over the crime scene, but he also has a rock solid alibi for the time ofContinue reading “The Outsider (Audiobook) – Stephen King (Author), Will Patton (Narrator) – 15.10.23”