thereadingmum's reviews
775 reviews

My main issue with this was the multiple shipwrecks before the main event. I suppose it's meant to show the pull of the sea on Crusoe so that it's almost like an addiction, but the female in me is just thinking how can he so idiotic? 

I sort of enjoyed the large middle bit where he finds a way of life stranded on a seemingly desserted island. It also doesn't make sense to me that it takes him YEARS to find out that it isn't actually desserted. However, I also think I was too distracted while reading this to give it its full due. Thus I have padded my rating slightly. Am I going to give it another go though? Unlikely.

On the surface, this is not a book I thought would be on my 5⭐  list. It's not a typical novel for one thing. The short chapters are like short stories with the same characters. They don't even all follow a short story format, with a few being almost like anecdotes. Yet they are cohesive in the most amazing way. 

I simply fell in love with the narrator, her lover and partner in life, Antman and their scruffy little dog Fleabag. I learned about how interconnected Australian Aboriginal culture is and their strong values of family and respect. There was some sadness and anger but it wasn't overpowering or the main themes. It was ultimately a story of hope and love and acceptance of others and ourselves. This is what made it perfect for me and a gem that I will pick up again at some point. 

Short review: Yeah....nah.

So this is touted as an Agatha Christie tribute mixed in with Crazy Rich Asians and White Lotus (which I ahd to look up). I do see lashings of each. However, the end result is not as palatable as it should be. Firstly, it took way to long to set up the scene and get to the first murder. Secondly, I didn't enjoy that emphasis on wealth. Christie does a much better job of it so that it is there but not obtrusive or obnoxious, which is was both here. Also she always gives fair play to the characters who are not wealthy. Thirdly, the spiritual and supernatural aspect was just plain weird. A sentient pendulum dubbed "Pendy" really doesn't do it for me. 

Lastly, this is the second book in a few months where the killing of despicable people is moralised as acceptable. I don't agree and this doesn't sit well with me nor do I condone promoting it. 

Favel Parrett seems to have the perfect little novel format down pat. 

Her prose is not bombastic, or overly lyrical, it is poignant in its simplicity and packs such an emotional punch without any flourishes or technical detail. Each chapter is like a perfectly formed, golden bun filled with a burst of flavour that leaves a wonderful aftertaste. 

This is a story about twin girls, separated by a hate and reunited by love. It's also about two young cousins observing and loving their grandparents. It is about family and finding a place in a foreign land and in a home that has become foreign. 

 Hokay so I put on my fun-loving hat and dived into this one fully expecting lots of drama, cheesy romance and hair-blowing-in-the-wind type scenes.

And there was a lot of that so it definitely fit those boots. The first few chapters were great and I actually found the writing good and the atmosphere creepily tingly in a good way with the howling, sweaty wood-chopping and ghostly washed up ships with mascerated corpses. There was a fair amount of eye rolling, but that was it for the repetitive phrases. 

My main issues were the characters, the big battle scene and tame 🌶️ level. I'm very glad the female characters weren't drop dead gorgeous and tiny but somehow super powerful/skillful. Street's women are strong and obviously so with broad shoulders and bulging muscles, but also flawed. However, I just didn't feel the proper build of chemistry between Mersey and Golde🤷🏻‍♀️and I just couldn't connect with them or any of the other characters. The big battle scene felt truncated and a bit of an anticlimax for me. 

I think I am comparing this to Fathomfolk, same genre, that I read just before this and which I enjoyed a lot more. So I don't think it's just my grumpy👵🏼persona peeking out. I was also a bit confused and perhaps could have done with reading A Curse of Salt, which would have helped set up the world more.

However, it was still a fun and easy read and I am always grateful for the opportunity to read outside of my comfort zone. 

I rated this based on what it is meant to be - a fun, romantasy, and not on what I personally enjoy most.

You know what Dame Murdoch did really well? The tortured male. I find it fascinating that all the main characters of the books I've read so far are male. Her style is very much internal dialogue from 2nd person POV so her books are not easy reads. They are not going to get you out of a reading slump and unless you are trapped in a prison cell with nothing else to do, it is highly unlikely you are going to finish any of her books in one day or even two. 

However, you can't say nothing happens. There is always a fairly dramatic plot with some twisting and turning. That said, I found that I needed to listen to this on audio at 1.5x the speed because with my current life situation, I don't have the patience or luxury to brood over this book leisurely for a few weeks, which is what it deserves. I did enjoy it, but not as much as some of her other work. 

Wow. Just wow. Reading this was like a master class in what a psychological thriller should be. None of the theatrics or flash of modern thrillers. Just pure mind-f*#king fear dripped in increasing volume as the novel progresses. 

It deviates from Christie's usual oevre, which I would class as decidedly cosy murder mystery. There is still the big, isolated house and the closed group of suspects, but right from the start, every single person apart from the first victim, are suspects right up to the very end. 

I guessed the rough solution about three quarters in as it was the only viable solution. However, I didn't know who the culprit was until the second last chapter, before the reveal. As such, I was kept at the edge of my seat to the end of my one-day reading of this perfect novel. 

I just hope I forget enough of it in a few years so I can read it all over again and be amazed again.

I was totally sucked in by the cover and the mermaid angle. A few chapters in I was questioning my choice. But then I decidedly shrugged off my cynical old lady mentality and made myself open to the drama of young adult fantasy. 

Nami is your typical impetuous, unthinking young water dragon who gets "banished" to the capital city for trying to steal her unborn siblings manifest as a dragon pearl, the symbol of the fathomfolk's subjugation to the humans. In Tiankawi, she gets drawn into the wrong crowd by a man, of course, and finds out the hard way, that thinking first is the better option. 

Nami is balanced by the straight-edged Mira who happens to be her older brother's girlfriend. The world building isn't super detailed, but detailed enough for me and easy to understand right away, important in this sort of book where you want to get stuck into the action and drama straight away without having to wonder who's fighting who and why. 

It's not the most sophisticated writing, but it is good and not annoying with those repeated phrases that YA writers love to employ. There isn't a lot of spice, but that's ok for me. I also liked how the end was complete enough to give satisfaction with just a few hints of what is to come. 

I heard about this book at the beginning of the year and chose it to feature in my book subscription box immediately. I am happy to report my faith in Catherine McKinnon's work is absolutely founded. 

"It is now, in the middle of this thought, that a light, brighter than the sun, shatters the sky, and in that moment, for as far as the eye can see, all life vanishes."

We follow six point of views over the same time period in three different locations. Each person is crafted so well that I had no problem distinguishing or remembering their story. Lotte and Virgil are a nurse and soldier reunited in Papa New Guinea, bound by a past that split them apart years ago. Yet the feelings, buried resurface in the tragedy of war, helping each of them to cling to hope. Robert Oppenheimer and his wife Kitty are the only real historical figures. Their story is about their relationship and posits their feelings about what they were doing at Los Alamos. Mim is one of hundreds of scientists who were working at the site at that time. She is young, enthusiastic and brings out that campus society quality to the situation. Lastly, we get a glimpse into the life of Hiroko, a mother of two daughters in Myajima, trying to survive while her husband is fighting the emperor's war in an unknown land.

Oddly, I've been reluctant to watch Oppenheimer. It seems very male to me. Perhaps because the focus has been on the actors throughout its hype. Here, with the spotlight on two female characters, the story is much more than just building a weapon of mass destruction, or even one of the best and worst scientific breakthroughs. 

It is rare for a book to reel me in so completely right from the start. It is rare for a book to combine a powerful story, excellent writing and wonderful characters. There are no real monsters or bad guys here because war is both ugly and beautiful. 

The only reason I didn't give this five stars is that I will not read it again. A perfect book for me makes me want to read it all over again, if not right away, then at some point in the future.

I don't understand why publishers allow authors to narrate their own books when they do not have the talent for it. It's just painful. And such a shame because the story and characters were really engaging.