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liseyp's reviews
1386 reviews
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Vin is the lowest member of her thieving crew. The voice in her head reminds her of the warnings from the brother who abandoned her to trust no one. But, to survive on the streets she can’t be alone so she hopes that her ‘luck’ will keep her safe by keeping her useful. Then she meets Kelsier and is drawn into his plan to overturn the Final Empire.
I can be hit or miss with fantasy. I’m here for the world-building, but hate it when the reader is expected to understand complex rules and magics with little context. I like relationships (platonic or romantic) that build and draw you in, but struggle with the kind of fantasy where the fantasy elements are secondary to an enemies to lovers or similar trope.
So starting a new fantasy novel is a bit of a moment for me. But, having re-read Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings back to back I wanted something with a similar character focus and immersive storytelling vibe. All of the BookTok recommendations were shouting Brandon Sanderson, but I was still apprehensive.
It took all of three pages for me to be convinced.
This is exactly the kind of fantasy fiction I love. It doesn’t try too hard to be fantasy, it’s a fantastic story first and the fantastical elements are just part of that story. And, it remains immensely readable. Great characters, doesn’t feel exploitative. This is a series I’m excited to continue.
The Kellerby Code by Jonny Sweet
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to the author, publishers Faber & Faber and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
Edward is desperate to fit in. He’s not as wealthy as the people he goes to university with and so he tries to ingratiate himself with them by acts of service. Even post-university he’s still running errands just to make himself feel like he belongs in a group with Robert and Stanza. And, when Robert wants his help with taking care of a personal problem, Edward’s desperation to belong has sinister consequences.
With elements of The Great Gatsby and The Talented Mr Ripley crossed with You, there’s a very particular tone to this book. It was a tone I didn’t really get along with. Very classist overtones with a cast of thoroughly unlikeable narcissists. The main character, Edward also didn’t strike enough of a contrast for me. While pitiable at times, he wasn’t ever likeable. I wasn’t cheering him on, I wasn’t shocked at what he did or thought about doing, I just largely wanted to reach the end.
Still See You Everywhere by Lisa Gardner
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What We Did In The Storm by Tina Baker
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to the author, publisher Viper, and online book club The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this. This is an honest and voluntary review.
Island life seems idyllic, but there’s darkness behind the doors of the island pub and shop. Time share holidayers and residents alike have dark secrets which spill over into jealousy and violence leaving one death and injuries behind.
Tina Baker is great at creating characters who have unlikable traits, but which are still sympathetic. The complexities of family dynamics, marriages and socially unsuitable relationships are all explored.
The central mystery of which of the women who you meet in the book were the ones who were attacked and who is missing isn’t really the plot line that drives the book. It’s will Kit and Hannah stay together in the face of the opposition from his mother and a family friend who think the son of a wealthy family and the barmaid with a reputation are an unsuitable match. It’s will Thor act on his increasingly dark fantasies. It’s will Christie and Sam save their toxic marriage. Will Nurse Kelly ever keep patient confidentiality for more than five minutes. And is it rumour or reality that’s provided the motive for whatever happened to the missing woman?
Great for anyone who likes multi character relationship dramas with an edge of mystery/thriller context.
Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to the author, publisher Headline, and online book club The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this. This is an honest and voluntary review.
As the 10 year anniversary of Phoebe Dean’s death approaches the truth surrounding the night she died and the legacy it has left in the town begins to unravel.
A dark, complex story. The tone reminded me of both We Begin at the End and Tall Bones. Sins of the past revisited on the young who are let down by the adults who should be supporting them.
It’s always difficult to read a book where the characters are largely unlikable. June, who loses her mother at the start of the book, and is reunited with her older brother who went missing around the time Phoebe died, is the closest thing to a sympathetic character. But, I didn’t really feel that I got to know her as she remained confused and conflicted.
I wonder if it may have worked better if we had seen life for the group of main characters before things fell apart. There are references to rifts between families in generations before that added to conflict, but no explanation is given of this nor do we see its impact in anything but a third hand reference.
The reader is expected to do quite a lot of the work in providing the context for this small town life. If I hadn’t read other books or watched TV shows that talked about the importance of sports and the idolatry of high school sports stars in American small towns the book would have made even less sense to me.
In saying all of that the writing style is beautiful. I’d just like to see a bit more time spent on character development and plot.
Every Move You Make by C.L. Taylor
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Best Way to Bury Your Husband by Alexia Casale
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Thank you to the author, publishers Bantam and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
Cassie lives a quiet but comfortable life, working in a bookshop and sharing an apartment with her best friend. But, when a regular customer dies leaving her a small unassuming book called The Book of Doors, she enters a world of adventure and wonder the likes of which she never imagined.
A fantastic idea, and a wonderfully inventive world I was happy to get lost in.
While I’m always intrigued by stories about the magic of books I’ve rarely found them to deliver on my expectations. The Book of Doors is that rare exception.
There are places where the story could be tighter, the occasional character that could be more developed, and some plot lines that could have been explored more to fully deliver. And, yet I wouldn’t have this book any other way than it is.
From the very first pages it grabbed me with it’s warmth. The sense of wonder in what the world could be. In all the very best ways it reminded me of The Neverending Story and The Box of Delights. That sense of a childlike immersion in a world of magic. Although The Book of Doors can also be brutal. There are some death scenes which are quite full-on and really stand out against that initial sense of wonder. And, yet that contrast absolutely works.
I look forward to more from this author.
Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to the author, publishers HarperCollins and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
Mourning the loss of her best friend who died before they started at the college they had chosen together, Margot is struggling to fit in. Then Lucy, charismatic, life of the party, offers her the last room in a shared house, out of nowhere. And, under Lucy’s influence Margot begins to live the life her best friend Eliza had always wanted for them. But, there’s a reason people say to be careful what you wish for.
There are many directions the plot of this story could go. So, many hints and suspicious behaviour. And, Margot gives off strong unreliable narrator vibes.
Starting with the knowledge that someone from Margot’s group of college friends and neighbours is dead and another is missing the story flips between the aftermath of that, the time at college leading up to it, and the year before with the events leading up to the death of Margot’s best friend.
I’ve read plenty of those time jump books and it’s often a good plot device to build up tension. But, I for me it didn’t really deliver for this book. With all time phases being told just from Margot’s perspective, I didn’t get to know any of the other characters really well, so felt distanced from their part of the story. And, my interest in the book suffered as a result. I kept finding my attention wandering.
It’s a reasonable thriller, I just feel like it could have been tighter, tenser and creepier, and I’m left a bit disappointed because it wasn’t.