liseyp's reviews
1386 reviews

The Maid by Nita Prose

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mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Since Molly’s gran died she’s found it difficult to manage the everyday challenges of understanding people’s tone or meaning. Things which her gran had always interpreted for her. But, at least she could still take pride in her job as a hotel maid. Until the afternoon she found a guest dead in his bed, and everything she thought she knew begins to fall apart around her.
 
It takes a little bit to get used to the pattern of Molly’s narrative. She’s social awkward and her particular neurodiverse traits mean she doesn’t always read the true motivations or feelings of people she’s talking to. That makes an at times unsettling reading experience as you’re both getting insights where Molly has interpreted a situation wrongly, and wondering what the impact of seeing what’s happening through Molly’s eyes has on what we’re being told.
 
The style of writing is very effective in demonstrating Molly’s overly formal and very literal way of interacting with the world, and I enjoyed that as a concept. However, there were times, particularly in the opening chapters, where it felt like there was a lot of repetition. Molly’s initial summary of her day up until discovering the body is then spelled out in her detailed recall of everything that happened while she is waiting for her witness statement to be taken. This worked well to show Molly’s character, but it was also quite dull and off-putting to read as I was still trying to get into the book.
 
Overall it’s a good concept and an interesting read, although I’m not in a rush to try the sequel.
Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

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challenging medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Doctor Who: Eleventh Doctor Tales: Eleventh Doctor Audio Originals by Oli Smith

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adventurous funny fast-paced

4.0

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It starts as a school project, but Pippa’s research into the murder-suicide which rocked her town five years before uncovers darker secrets than she ever could have imagined.
 
I’ve been burned by the over-hyped book trend before. So, I’ll admit I’ve avoided A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder largely because of how it was promoted and who was talking about it. 
 
I had an inkling that would be the case because I read and enjoyed Five Survive by the same author last year. In saying that A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder isn’t my usual crime/fiction read. It’s not as dark or tense as I would normally appeal to me.
 
The main character Pippa is a bit too Nancy Drew. Her naivety and belief that because she’s acting for the right reasons she’s safe, is a little but frustrating. But, that frustration is in keeping with the character, it’s from a sense that she’s built believably and centred in a believable world. So it’s all to the good in terms of what the author has created. And also let’s face it of everyone acted sensibly in thrillers they would be very short as the case would be handed to the professionals long before there was any real danger.
 
Overall I enjoyed this. The plotting was good, the red herrings kept me guessing, the characters were engaging. Well worth a read despite the hype.
D: A Tale of Two Worlds by Michel Faber

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The letter ‘D’ begins to mysteriously disappear from the world. Teenage Dhikilo is the only one who seems to notice. Well her and her former history teacher who appears to have faked his own death and wants Dhikilo to team up with his guide dog to travel to another world and discover where all the letter Ds are going.
 
Strongly influenced by Narnia and Oz this tale of a child becoming the saviour of another world feels very familiar. The land of Liminus being trapped in a neverending winter was a little but too on the nose.
 
Unfortunately for me it just feels like a pale imitation of those stories. All a bit rushed and a bit simplistic. Even the darkness of the tale feels too light. The Gamp and the Magwitches feel like weak villains, nothing to compare to the cruelty of the White Witch.
 
I had high hopes for this, but have been left sadly disappointed.
Auld Acquaintance by Sofia Slater

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

When Millie is invited to an exclusive New Year’s party by an ex-colleague and crush she’s delighted at the opportunity to shake off a bad year with a special occasion. But, the party doesn’t live up to expectations. No crush and the only ex-colleague is one she feels guilty about how they parted. Then people start dying.
 
A short, fast-paced example of the seemingly unconnected strangers trapped together in an isolated location trope. 
 
Millie is a good main character, although she did wear on my nerves at times. There were enough red herrings to make sure everyone was a suspect, and the final resolution was a satisfying one.
 
A good option if you’re looking for a short thriller.
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

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mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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.
 
Evie Porter has secrets and she’s very good at keeping them. The biggest secret is her real name. When in the course of a job she meets a woman who claims to be Evie’s real identity, it triggers a series of events that could mean Evie’s past is catching up to her.
 
I love a good con artist story, and this book does a really good job of gradually peeling back layers of lies and fake identities to reveal who the main character is working for and whether she can stay ahead of the traps they’ve laid. It’s a really good trust no-one book where the characters still remain largely likeable and there are so many options that even if you do guess the identity of the big boss pulling the strings you will doubt yourself right up to the final reveal.
 
Fun, tense and a satisfying ending. Recommended.
Strong Female Character by Fern Brady

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emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Thank you to the author and publisher Octopus Books for access to this as an ebook as part of a blog tour with Random Things Tours. I bought the audiobook too as I wanted to keep reading while walking the dog and doing the housework - it’s that good. This is an honest and voluntary review.
 
Scottish stand-up Fern Brady’s raw and compelling autobiography about her experiences as an autistic woman.
 
Autism is severely under diagnosed in women. I’ve heard this said many, many times, but it’s not until reading this book that I really understood what it meant. Under diagnosis means people being misunderstood and blamed for behaviour that they’re given no support to develop coping strategies for. It means individuals feeling isolated and scared about feelings they cannot control or do not understand. Like permanently living in a country where you do not understand the customs and no one explains them to you.
 
I’m a parent to an autistic teenage boy who, thanks to gender in all likelihood, was diagnosed at a relatively young age. But, it came as a shock to us because he makes eye eye contact and is a very good hugger, those assumptions and stereotypes getting in the way again. While our family’s experience isn’t the same as the author’s, the insight into her internal thought processes are really powerful and helpful on understanding how I can better talk to my son about things that as a neurotypical person I might take for granted.
 
The book is a great blend of facts, backed up by reference points, and how these relate to her real life experiences. My only caution is that for people with no existing experience or knowledge of an autistic spectrum diagnosis, they may make just as many incorrect assumptions about a typical autistic person based on this book as they would based on other media depictions. But, for someone just diagnosed or who has self-diagnosed, or for friends and family members who want a greater insight into the perspective of an autistic person, this is a great read.
The Trials of Marjorie Crowe by C.S. Robertson

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Thank you to the author, publishers Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
 
The village oddity, Marjorie Crowe is tolerated for her twice a day, you can set your clock by her, walks that take her in one door of the pub and straight out through the other. But, one morning she meets the devil in the woods and tolerance is exchanged for harassment and hate.
 
This is such a strong story. Marjorie is a modern witch, in that she practices natural remedies she learned from her grandmother and believes in a power and another sense which guides her. The author skilfully handles these moments so it’s never 100% clear whether there’s something supernatural going on or whether it’s all a very clear understanding of natural occurrences.
 
As Marjorie’s quirks make her the centre of harassment in a village worried about dead and missing teens, the literal witch hunt message is clear. And yet the point never feels laboured. 
 
Marjorie herself is a sympathetic and strong character and serves as a strong centre point to the story. Her empathy for even those who are cruel to her is admirable without seeming false.
 
And above all the plotting is compelling and believable and kept me hooked all the way through.
The Glennmare Girls by Anya Mora

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Thank you to the author, publishers Joffe Books and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
 
A girl is missing from a strange rural all girls school. One of her teachers was injured the same night and has no memory of the past six months. As old friends of his come to the island to help in his recovery they begin to wonder if they really know him or how far he would go.
 
If you find it difficult to suspend your belief, are thrown by clunky exposition and convoluted soap opera-esque plots, walk away now.
 
For two-thirds of the book I was on board with it as an unrealistic but readable thriller. The kind of book that I could read without having to think much more about it. But, the final resolution and the clunkily delivered exposition, of the final third had me rolling my eyes in frustration. And more than once uttering an exasperated expletive at formulaic and forced ‘reveals’.