Review: Winterset Hollow

Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Narrated by Alex Wyndham
Presented by Hodder & Stoughton Audio

Just as good second time around, and the audio was fantastic!!

I really love this book, and it was so much fun revisiting it in audio format.

Yes, I love the homicidal animals, but there's also a lot of depth to the story with important themes penetrating deeper than the surface horror.

My original thoughts can be found HERE so this will just be a review for the audio version and my thoughts on a second reading.

I love that this is a story of belonging, and of connections. Friendship is big, and I liked being able to appreciate these things even more on a second read. Yes, it's a horror story, but it's not horror for horror's sake.

I was surprised by the choice of narrator at first, but it perfectly suited the story and I found it to be an entertaining performance that sucked me right in. No distractions while listening to this one - I wanted to catch every single word. The characters were well defined by voice, and there was just the right amount of urgency and drama as it was needed.

This really cemented my love for this story, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's the perfect blend of cute fairytail and slasher horror.

Horror fans should get a kick out of this truly original offering.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: Batman: Under the Red Hood

Batman: Under the Red Hood by Judd Winick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Definitely well worth a read.

This is the Red Hood origin story - find out what exactly happened to make him the blood-thirsty anti-hero we know and love.

It's a mystery with plenty of action, as Red Hood begins taking out drug pushers and hitting every level of the Black Mask crime syndicate. Unlike Batman, he's okay killing men who are responsible for vile acts.

I really enjoyed this story and it's a must-read in the Bat family history. Plenty of the classic crime-hunting you know and love in a Batman story, but we've got an edge here with this in-between guy who's not afraid to take a little revenge.

Highly recommend for Batman fans wanting more of the pinnacle moments.

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Review: Beautiful Ugly

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Definitely went in a direction I wasn't expecting.

An author's wife goes missing, and a year later his chronic writer's block sees him retreat to a secluded island to try and finish his book. But not everything on this island is as it seems ...

A fun start but I must confess, I did not like Grady from the beginning. He struck me as arrogant and petulant, but I suppose that was the point. As strange things begin to happen, you kind of feel like he deserves it a bit, so it's an interesting perspective. He definitely rubbed me the wrong way!

The pace is solid, with plenty of strange occurrences and moments that keep you guessing. Characters are unique, though they're relatively familiar.

I think its weakness lies in its conclusion, as it all seemed a little far-fetched to me. I wanted better explanations, and this let me down.

Still, a twisty thriller that will keep you guessing, and an easy read. Crime fans should still enjoy it.

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Review: Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Why, WHY is this terrible book beloved???

Firstly, let me be clear. I perfectly understand that everyone being horrible was the point. I'm not an idiot. I also don't totally hate the notion of a love story between two despicable people (see second star).

For me, my biggest issue was how long and pointless it began to feel.

This book was constantly advertised to me as the pinnacle of gothic romance - an epic love story for the ages. But there was nothing epic here at all - it's two people who love each other but hate everyone around them and make themselves, each other, and everyone else miserable.

It's also twice as long as it needs to be, with the second part really being a sad echo of the first. Again, I can see the intention to have this be a clever redux with small yet significant differences, but that didn't mean I enjoyed reading all the same boring happenings again.

Not to mention that I couldn't understand a damn word out of Joseph's mouth.

There is some small pleasure in loathing these characters, and that also contributes to the second star I offer. I don't believe a book that focuses entirely on despicable people is necessarily bad. For me, the real crime was just in how dull the thing was. It essentially amounts to 300-odd pages of mean name-calling and metaphorical hair-pulling. There are numerous treks back and forth between the properties, wandering the moors, etc. but there's very little to note beyond births, deaths and general horridness.

Credit where credit is due - there are some truly despicable acts that do entertain with their scandalous nature. But on the whole, not nearly enough to make this book stand out for that reason, either.

I don't know how much sense this will make, but if lukewarm dishwater were a book, this would be it.

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Review: Bring Up the Bodies

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well and truly hooked on this history, now! Brilliant, despite being so intimidating.

This is not an easy series, but it is incredibly rewarding. No matter how much effort I put into this review, it won't do it justice.

Mantel's writing will leave you scratching your head at times, but the richness of this story is, to me, unparalleled.

This second volume in the series sees the fall of Anne Boleyn, heavily instrumented by Thomas Cromwell. The man is a master of manipulation and here we get to see him really shine, with all his scheming and fingers on the pulse of everything.

It was much easier diving into this one, being already familiar with the writing style, but I still found I needed to have a clear head while reading because any word missed obscures any further meanings. Every word of this book seems essential, even when discussing something seemingly trivial.

I'll be real - I couldn't tell you half of the events that transpired in this book. I was swept up in semi-understanding, appreciating all the little moments as they related to the bigger picture. I think this is the kind of series that would be enhanced by a re-read, with more details sinking in on a second pass. As it was, I really enjoyed it but will freely confess that I really only understood about 80% of it. The politics are A LOT.

This is not light fare, but is fascinating both in content and delivery. I'm really enjoying learning about this period of history in such detail, and I'm oblivious of enough of it that I'm curious as to how the series will conclude.

A book for the deep thinkers and great appreciators of historical fiction; for those who love challenging wordplay and richly developed characters. Not one for those who want a fast pace, but absolutely worthwhile for those who don't mind lingering in a particular period and mulling over the intricate details.

Read as part of the Wolf Crawl slow read with Footnotes & Tangents

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Review: The Cinnamon Bun Book Store

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

THIS IS NOT A COSY BOOKSHOP BOOK!

This is romance 100% and the cover is a CON.

I thought this would be a cute lil mystery about books, with a side of soft romance.

WRONG.

This is explicit and made me more uncomfortable than Sarah J Maas ever did.

Cute loser librarian uses hot playboy for fun summer, explicit sexual activity ensues.

There is no mystery, no clue chasing - no dead bodies or anything! What the heck!

I was fooled by the cover and I've never blushed harder. Goodness.

So yeah I guess if you like romance this'll get your rocks off but if you want a cosy bookish mystery bring some pearls to clutch.

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Review: Days at the Torunka Café

Days at the Torunka Café by Satoshi Yagisawa
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Bit of a nothing book - sweet, simple, but nothing particularly gripping. A cosy little slice-of-life fare.

The story is divided into a few smaller stories, all centred around the titular cafe. They're pieces of lives that allow us to get to know a couple characters for a brief period of time, before moving on.

It was sweet enough a read but mostly forgettable. Moments that mostly make you think about life and whether you're making the most of it.

This is another book that was outside my usual, and I don't think I'd bother with a sequel. It was okay but just not enough to drive interest or stand out as unique.

Perhaps one for readers who want to slow down and remember to not let life pass by too quickly.

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