snugglesandpages's reviews
250 reviews

Warning: unpopular opinion below.. 😜

This book.... It made me feel a lot of things, but I can't in good conscious say, they were positive feelings. Now this could just be because I am still fairly green when it comes to the Romance genre, but under all the sexy time stuff - there were some real unhealthy issues at play 

I hoped for so much more from Tate than 300 pages of her pining over a man who, time and time again, tells her he isn't emotionally available and limits their "contact" to whenever he wants her body. I felt ashamed for Tate and the way she diminished her own self-worth. A bit more of an insight into Tate as a person and her life at the hospital, in class, with her friends... anything beyond being a doormat for Miles, would have gone a long way to redeeming her character. 

As for Miles, geeeez. So many things...
Chapters told from the 17-18yr old Miles's POV were extremely alarming to me and awkward to read. 
His past trauma was utterly heartbreaking but he comes across as extremely possessive and that made it hard for me to connect with him. 

OK - so that's it... Rant done.

J.P,  you’ve done it again! 

Tell Me Lies is a fast-paced and explosive psychological thriller with a prologue that is guaranteed to knock your socks off. 

Margot Scott is a successful Psychologist with a picture-perfect life. She has a nice house in the suburbs, a husband and two teenage kids. Only Margot has a history of crossing ethical boundaries with her clients and when her family’s lives are violently threatened, Margo becomes convinced one of her clients is behind it all… 

The story opens on a busy Melbourne train platform where Margot approaches one of her clients and shoves him in front of the oncoming train. In the 200ish suspense-driven pages to follow, we are taken back to the month prior to the incident where we meet a few of Margot’s clients during the course of their therapy sessions. We quickly realise that all her clients tell lies, and nothing and no one is what it seems. 

Truthfully, for a Psychologist of such prestige, I felt that Margot displayed such reckless and armature behaviour, but that is exactly the point right? A character that is so sensibly flawed and human. It all made sense in the end though, when J.P delivered another perfectly executed mic-drop ending that had me reanalysing everything I had just read. 

If you’re looking for a short thrilling read that packs a punch, this is the book for you. I’m sure you will devour it in one sitting.

So, truth; I am kinda fascinated by Cults in general, so when this underrated gem came up as a recommendation on my Libby App, I reserved a copy quick smart and dug in without knowing another more than what the title portrayed

Told from multiple POVs, The Cult proved to be a creepy pulse-racing thriller that spans two timelines, intertwining from past to present. 

Past -  Love is 6 when we first meet her and her family in the countryside commune led by Uncle Saviour. As time passes, what was once a self-sufficient and peaceful community soon evolves into something much more sinister when Uncle's Saviours announces his mission to help them all achieve Eternal Life. As Love ages and becomes more involved in the community, she sets her sights on becoming Queen and will do anything to make Uncle Savior happy. 

Present - When Lily and her husband wake to find their kids, 7yr old Greg and 10yr old Hannah are not in their beds, panic sets in. DI Ottoline is called in to head up the investigation, but she is still haunted by her last missing child case which remains unsolved. Frustrated by the lack of action, Lily takes it upon herself to find her children and she will stop at nothing until she does.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one, it certainly satisfied a certain guilty pleasure. Abby did a great job at bringing Love and Uncle Saviour to life, it was unnerving at times. I enjoyed Lily's POV as well but I think I would have liked it a bit more without the police procedural (DI Ottoline) aspects. 

If you're into stories centred around Cults (be honest, who isn't intrigued by them?) then I highly recommend you give this one a read.

I can't believe I waited so long to read this beautiful masterpiece! 

I truly had no idea what to expect from Evelyn Hugo, other than a story about a woman who had a crazy amount of marriages in her lifetime. 
I am so glad there was so much more to it than that and so much more to her! 

The character development in this story is second to none. I am still trying to convince myself that Evelyn Hugo is in fact a fictional character, she felt to real.. So human. Which of course is a true testament to TJR and her phenomenal writing. 👏

This is a story that will stay with you... 
It is one that will make you feel every emotion, be satisfied with the end, yet still yearn to know more.. 
Even if historical fiction is not your thing.. Read it.
Thank me later.

OK, it's official... 
Call me a convert 🙌 I LOVED this book!!!,🥰

💭 Thoughts: What I loved most about this book were the witty banter and intelligent writing style. It was so easy to read that once I got started, I was over 200 pages in before I realised I was neglecting parent duties in the background 😂🙈

The fake dating, grumpy to sunshine trope is all new to me, but I actually found myself laughing out loud a few times, which surprised me. While there were a few moments it felt like the story was perhaps drawn out a little, I still really enjoyed the paced development of the relationship between Olive and Adam. 

The Love Hypothesis has really ignited an interest in the Romance genre for me, which is something I never thought I'd really say (write? 🤔) as I am a thriller girl through and through, but here I am, dreaming about Henry Cavill playing Adam in a movie someday 😂

Lucy Foley has absolutely nailed the setup of a dark, suspense driven whodunnit it mystery... I felt like I was unravelling a perfectly curated game of Cludo, which is by far my fav board game ever. 🕵️

📖 Jess needs to quickly escape from her life in London and heads to Paris to crash with her journalist brother, Ben. While on her way to Paris, Ben leaves her a voice note to say he will be awake and waiting to let her into the building when she arrives. Only when she does, Ben isn't there...

When the neighbours start acting suspiciously and Jess's concerns for her brother's whereabouts are ignored, she starts digging into Ben's life. She soon comes to realise that there is so much about her brother that she didn't know, and that nothing and none in the apartment building is as it seems. 
 
What are they hiding? 
Who can she trust?
Where is Ben? 

💭Thoughts:
The Paris Apartment is told from the multiple POV's of Jess and some of the key residents of the apartment building, providing us with glimpses into their lives and the secrets they are hiding. 

One of my favourite aspects of this book is the way the Apartment building became a character in and of itself. As Jess explores the hidden corners of the building, a lurking sense of intrigue remained throughout the story. Someone is always watching...

The midway reveal had me absolutely stunned, I had not been expecting that at all 👏. The suspense and tension continued to boil as Jess uncovers more of the apartment's kept secrets, making for a page-turning conclusion. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this e-ARC copy of the Paris Apartment

Guys... Seriously.. This book!!! 🤯
I was 100% hooked from the very first page! 

Told from a dual POV, In The Clearing is a cult based psychological thriller set in Melbourne Australia with all the trimmings of a kickass 5 star read. 

Amy is a teenage girl living in The Clearing with Her "Mother" and all her brothers and sisters. Life here is all she has ever known but when her new sister arrives, Amy finds herself questioning whether life on the outside is really as bad as she has been led to believe. 

Freya is a single mum who is good at pretending to be normal. Terrified by her ex and haunted by the memories of the child she lost, Freya lives in her fortress by the river and is fiercely protective of her son, Billy. When news breaks of a little girl's abduction, Freya's paranoia goes into overdrive and she becomes convinced something bad is about to happen. 

Thoughts:
Now, if the culty vibes alone aren't enough to draw you in, the unnerving suspense will certainly have you turning those pages luckity split. It is such a well written and easy read that while you may pick some of the twists ahead of time, the final reveals are sure to blow your mind. 

Had I started reading earlier in the day, I would have absolutely devoured In The Clearing in one day.  It wasn't until later that I realised it is based on a true story. 

I highly recommend you give this one a read, & I'm really looking fw to getting stuck into Pomare's recent release, The Last Guests.

I had such high expectations for this book after reading early reviews and learning it has already been picked up for a series adaptation. 

At the age of 12, Chloe Davis' world is turned upside-down when her father is convicted of murdering six teenage girls during the Summer of '99. 20 years later, Chloe is a Psychologist with her own practice and has channelled her childhood trauma into helping others. When the upcoming Anniversary of her father's crimes brings about a nosey reporter, a patient goes missing and Chloe finds herself fighting an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. 

Final Thoughts: 
Full disclosure, I had the ending of this one pegged fairly early on.. But! that doesn't at all mean I didn't thoroughly enjoy the unravelling experience, because there were definitely moments I was second-guessing my hypothesis 🤔
 
A Flicker in the Dark is a fantastic debut for Stacey Willingham, it's well written with a slow burn (in my opinion) and the storyline of a serial killer's daughter is certainly an intriguing one. I will definitely be checking out her future releases and the series adaptation as well.