duskk_novels's reviews
50 reviews

5/5 🤍 This book was just heartache after heartache. It follows the story of a young beekeeper, his blind wife and their journey escaping war-torn Syria. But it is not just the war in their homeland they were escaping from, but also the devastating violence, loss and trauma that followed them wherever they went.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo explores the depths of loss and especially the abilities of the human mind. How it processes loss, deals with and responds to it to allow a person to survive. It shines a light on the fragility of the human mind as well as its resilience. 

War stories are one of my favourite genres and this is definitely one I will never stop recommending. It's heartbreaking, tragic and at the same time educational, unveiling the hardships that war victims face and the battle they continue to fight even when they're not standing on a battle ground. 

Lvov, 1943, a cold city perched on polish borders. Where the dead are decaying on the ground, fires are consuming streets whole and the Nazis are massacring every Jew they can find.  Man, woman, child

However, a warren of survivors have evaded the hell above by escaping 6 feet below. Into Lvov's rat-infested, flooded, freezing sewers, teeming with sewage, storm-water and human remains. And their only help? An ex-criminal working for the Nazis - their only light in their infernal darkness

Through multiple, mind-numbing POVs (including one from a 7 year old child) and haunting imagery, we relive how these survivors spent every harrowing moment battling with the nightmares that surfaced from hell. From grenades, smoke bombs, washed-up corpses to unrelenting floods and even murder

These pages preserve the unfathomable, powerful history of 7 survivors whose unyielding faith and endurance withstood the maelstrom of WW2

I loved this from start to end. A terrifying, extraordinary survival story that unveiled the extent of human kindness as well as cruelty. A traumatising historical non-fiction focusing on the power of humans and all they can endure

At times, the settings contained vague explanations that were hard to visualise and comprehend. Some paragraphs jumped to new topics quickly which impeded the emotional flow of the writing. Although a more descriptive prose would have been appreciated, this only occurred a few times and didn't affect the overall experience of the novel 

For historical/true crime fans, this one is perfect

A soul-shattering, tragic story following two women under the Taliban's rule, enduring the most unimaginable pain, loss, and abuse whilst Kabul's streets are loud with soldiers and gunfire. Mariam, married to a man 15 years older faces endless abandonment and abuse until 20 years later, war forces Laila, a 14-year-old to move into the unhappy household where the loss and pain only seem to multiply. Despite their anguish, these two women form an unbreakable bond and find consolation in each other as they continue to face life and the hell accompanying it. 

This is a moving and intense tale depicting the brutality faced by Afghan women in their household and under the Taliban. A harrowing portrayal of a wounded country with its damaged people and the irreparable losses that arise from war. Hosseini’s deep writing style and powerful messages has woven together a story of friendship, love, heroism, and tragedy to unveil the unforgiving tumult faced by women and the justice they deserve. These are the grievances unspoken, the burdens gone unprotested, and the destiny suffered as a result of humanity’s failure to protect its women. 

I loved every word of this book. I felt every emotion and misery along with Mariam and Laila and was deeply affected by the series of events that unfolded. This was intense and unforgettable, but an honest portrayal of the reality of the world and the evil residing within it. Hosseini’s beautiful world-building, characters and storyline has made this one of my favourite war stories. My favourite was undoubtedly Laila. This girl has faced unfathomable loss and cruelty but despite this, faced life with an unyielding heroism that made her so admirable. She withstood every daunting obstacle including losing her soulmate to live the life she suffered for. Her love story with Tariq was my favourite element of the book. Their love survived wars and lifetimes apart and rekindled so unexpectedly. I have never seen such indestructible love in a story before.  

My heart breaks for the women of Afghanistan and I pray for their peace and protection. I recommend this book with every fiber of my being. 

The songs of heroes are unsung and the battles among men are silenced. Finally, in this devastating Greek mythology retelling, the women's voices are heard and the pain they endure is echoed. 

This story focuses on the young mortal, Ariadne and the continuous betrayal and abandonment she endures at the hands of men. No matter how hard she loves and how deep her sacrifices,  she is ridiculed and left forgotten even by her love, Theseus. The Minotaur Slayer, the King and Hero of Athens who promised her the world but instead, set hers alight and watched it burn.

The book follows the women in Ariadne's family, and we see how their misery and downfall not only serve as sickening entertainment for the men, but used to destroy them, body and soul. 

Ariadne refuses to the let the world suppress her pain and never lets the agony endured by women be forgotten. A war has waged between Perseus and her corrupted husband Dionysus in Argos where his hunger for power consumes him whole. We see Ariadne turn her every loss, sacrifice and hardship into unyelinding strength to finally end the war waged by corrupted gods and arrogant men. To end the war that has already stolen the dignity and sanity of multiple innocent women.

With its beautiful language and magical imagery, this is my favourite Greek mythology retelling. Behind the triumphs of heroes, are the sacrifices of women and this book is a testimony to that. 

PS: Ariadne's admirable courage made her my favourite character. She embodied the exploitation of women but also their unyeiliding resilience. 

4/5 ♡
No doubt one of the most maddest things I've ever read.

A disturbing crime-thriller set in the 1700s where the sickening atrocities of the slave trade are destroying lives by the second. Murder and manipulation lies in the bleeding heart of Deptfort where the secrets are just as dangerous as the people. 

A body has been found. Tad Archer, found hanging on a hook on the ports of Deptford. It seems like just another dead body but really, the devastating truths this person knew, formed that gash that slit his throat.

Now it's up to his closest friend, Captain Henry Corsham to hunt down his killer and uncover the secrets that died along with Archer. Secrets that would have brought down the slave trade and burnt it to ashes. 

A devastating, traumatising page-turner that kept me hooked from start to finish. This one was rich in mystery, betrayals and secrets that left me mind-blown. The level of inhumanity and evil in this book was unbelievable. 

Short chapters with a terrific writing style which left me not wanting to put the book down. A crazy murder mystery and crime thriller and I loved every page of it. I was honestly gripped throughout and had theories of my own about who the killer might be. I loved the story and it also educated me on the history of the slave trade and the disgusting cruelty that came with it. This story is perfect for crime and history fans and I will never stop recommending this book. 

I didn't give this book five stars because of only one thing. Whilst the ending was absolutely jaw dropping and one I never saw coming, I felt like it could have been better. Because the buildup and the tension was perfect, I kinda expected the ending to be more jaw dropping and more shocking than it was 🤣 also I feel like my theory was better than the actual ending of the book 🤭🤭 I wouldn't say the ending was underwhelming. It still has a shock factor to it, I was just epecting a bit more of the unexpected 😂 but still, a wonderful book that I need to reread soon ♡

Two sisters with a world’s distance between them. One ravaged by war and inhumanity. These two women could not be more different. Vianne Mauriac, an adoring mother who’d sacrifice anything for her family. And Isabelle Rossignol whose passion and rage could burn the earth to ashes

Despite their differences, they are bound by loss and grief. Its 1939 and the war-torn, wounded France have finally relented to the invading Nazis and their insatiable barbarism. Scarred and burdened with their torment, the sisters turn their agony into lethal acts of rebellion. With Vianne hiding Jewish children under her roof, distributing anti-Nazi propaganda and Isabelle scaling forbidden territories to save the lives of foreign pilots

This story conveys the war waged against women during this time whilst unveiling their unbreakable strength and resilience. The Nightingale is a testimony to the atrocities that women were reckoned with and the reality that wars are never confined to the battlefields. With a powerful, moving prose, beautiful worldbuilding and a soul-crushing series of events, this was an absolute masterpiece

I am in love with Isabelle. Her daring, unyielding nature and unimaginable courage made her my favourite character. She embodied the power of women and their mounting fearlessness 

All readers need this. An astonishing, captivating historical fiction with incredible characters that I cannot recommend enough

PS: Isabelle Rossignol, you are one badass mf ♡

A skull-shattering, bone-chilling account unveiling the world's most gruesome unsolved murders. This book uncovers the gory details of 21 unsolved murders including essential evidence within the cases and images of real-life crime scenes that will for sure leave your blood running cold.

Each case describes the horrific circumstances in which murder victims were found and exposes the mysterious theories surrounding each of them. Through this book, you will see the unimaginable lengths that human evil can scale and a series of deadly secrets uncoiling to reveal the most monstrous of mankind. Lies, cults, witchcraft, satanism.. this doesn't even scratch the surface of the mountain that is inhumanity.

A haunting but educational insight into some of the world's notorious murders. Simply-written with short chapters and citations, I definitely recommend this book to all fans of true-crime, historical and crimal fiction/ non-fiction.

My favourite cases to read about:

>The Tylenol Murders

>The Shark-Arm Case

>The Zodiac Killer

WARNINGS:

Not for the faint-hearted.

Details of SA, physical and mental torture, mental illnesses, drugs etc