Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Here the world is all the world may be A powerful blend of historical fiction and fantasy, Kay delivers a great story about loss and honour. This story is about Shen Tai who, after spending two years in mourning over the death of his father burying the bones and being haunted...

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Review - Small Favor by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Hell’s bells, this series just keeps on getting better and better!! During a blizzard in Chicago, yellow page advertising wizard Harry Dresden is summoned by the queen of Winter, Mab, who calls in a favour she is owed. The Denarians are back and they are the main foes in...

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Blog tour - Faithless by Kjell Ola Dahl

Faithless blog tour Fans of Nordic Noir will love this. This is book seven in the Oslo Detective series. Since the series was written in Dahl’s native Norwegian, the whole series hasn’t been translated into English as yet. Thankfully, this book also works as a standalone so there is no need to...

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Review - Kokoro by Keith Yatsuhashi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was much better than the first book in the series, but it still had some problems. The story takes place on another world similar to Earth, called Higo and centres around two almighty weapons called mah-zhins (think huge iron-man type thing). One member of the royal...

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Review - Kojiki by Keith Yatsuhashi

My rating: 2 of 5 stars What more can you ask for with a book with magic god-like figures, each with a super cool guardian in the shape of a dragon, or thunderbird? How about tell me why I should care? There is very little that is relatable in this book. We only have one 'human' in this book. The...

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Review - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars What can I say about this amazing book that hasn’t already been said? I think The Guardian said it best – “To Kill a Mockingbird will never stop being a good book, and it will never stop inspiring good people.” The story is told from the point of view of Scout (Jean-Louise...

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Review - Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie My rating: 4 of 5 stars Vengeance first, questions later. A terrific, action packed romp with a vengeance. This book is all about revenge. It follows Monza as she is betrayed very badly and then plots her course to get revenge on all those present at the time...

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Review - Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman My rating: 5 of 5 stars What a fantastic retelling of Norse Myths. It features such characters as Odin, Thor and Loki along with a host of other lesser known gods and characters. Gaiman does his best to stick to the source material and not stray too far from the...

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Why...listening to audiobooks isn't cheating

Audiobooks have made a huge difference to the publishing industry. You only need to look at the emphasis publishers have put on creating a memorable audio productions recently to see this. Never mind the fact that users downloaded 2 billion hours’ worth of audiobooks from audible in 2016 alone. That...

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Review - Paranoia by Joseph Finder

Paranoia by Joseph Finder My rating: 4 of 5 stars A fantastic read by the master of suspense. The story follows a coasting through life, Adam Cassidy who pulls a stunt at his work and expects to get fired for it. Instead, he gets pulled into a world of corporate espionage and is forced to become...

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Review - A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick My rating: 4 of 5 stars God, how dark it is here, and totally silent. Nothing but me lives in this vacuum… Philip K. Dick’s darkly atmospheric novel about drug culture and how drugs affect society is a well written, impactful story. It’s a very realistic view...

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Review - Ruin by John Gwynne

Ruin by John Gwynne My rating: 5 of 5 stars I think I just read the best fantasy book I’ve ever read. This series has it all, great characters, immersive world, action scenes to die for (literally sometimes) and some amazing twists and turns in terms of plot. You know a series does well when...

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Review - Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines

Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines My rating: 4 of 5 stars A comic book-esque slobberknocker! The story picks up two years on from the events of the previous book, as the US army arrives at the superheroes base, the Mount. The story centres on the mysterious Project Krypton, which I can’t really talk...

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Review - Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter

Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter My rating: 4 of 5 stars A terrific read, bursting full with feelings A Grief is the Thing with Feathers is the moving story of a widowed father and his sons after they lose their mother. It deals mostly with the huge amounts of grief that would follow...

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Review - The House by Simon Lelic

The House by Simon Lelic My rating: 5 of 5 stars But that was a mistake. Because someone has just been murdered. Right outside their back door Utterly riveting, cunningly written and bursting full of character. The book follows Jack and Syd as they buy their first house, which is a strange deal...

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Review - Distant Echo by Val McDermid

The Distant Echo by Val McDermid My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was my first Val McDermid book and it certainly won't be my last! McDermid delivers a fantastic crime / mystery story set in my homeland of Fife, Scotland and she does a great job for presenting the different areas of Fife exactly how...

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Review - Luna Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald

Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald My rating: 5 of 5 stars Seize your enemy’s fallen weapon and turn it against them. I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. What a fantastic read. The first book, Luna New Moon, was great and this is even better. As I mentioned in my review...

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Review - Luna New Moon by Ian McDonald

Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald My rating: 4 of 5 stars The moon has a cold heart. For me, this was a frustratingly great read which should have received a full five stars. However, due to the many, many mistakes I had to lower my rating. Hailed the “Game of Domes”, the story follows one of the...

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Review - The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum My rating: 4 of 5 stars All hail the king of horror. No one makes me squeamish quite like Ketchum. To my horror, half way through the book I realised that it’s loosely based on the true story of the tragic Sylvia Likens. The story is about two teenage girls who...

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Physical reaction to books

Have you ever been that scared of a book that you’ve dropped your kindle in fright, on the train, in front of lots of people? I’ve been there. I was so wrapped up in the story that I forgot my surroundings and what more can you ask for from a book? Thankfully for my fellow rail users, I don’t throw...

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Review - The Falls by Ian Rankin

The Falls by Ian Rankin My rating: 4 of 5 stars A terrific cop thriller full of Scottish heart The only other Rebus book I’ve read is the first in the series, Knots and Crosses. I gave it a three star rating at the time and said that I wouldn’t be reading further into the series. That was unfair...

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Review - The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi My rating: 4 of 5 stars A rip-roaring story with a huge dilemma at its center. Scalzi delivers yet again! The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi is part of a new sequence (I can’t find details on how many books it will comprise of but I hope it’s lots!), which...

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Reading habits tag

Reading habits I’ve been inspired to do this tag after reading @Bill_Khaemba do it on his blog page. Do you have a certain place at home for reading? Either on my couch or in my bed, although I’m not that particular and I will read anywhere, anytime I get the chance. Bookmark or random piece...

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Book Dare - Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James

Book dare – 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James Rating = 2 stars I’m surprised to be giving this two stars instead of the one star rating I thought I’d give. Don’t get me wrong, the writing is awful but it does have a simple enough story to be interesting. There is also good back and forth between...

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Review - Emperors blades by Brian Staveley

A Shael-spawned good book! Synopsis Follow two sons and daughter (occasionally) as they lead their different kind of lives. Overview – 4 stars A well written fantasy tale which had me hooked from the start. Although there isn't much in here that's overly original (what is original in fantasy...

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Review - The raven and other poems by Edgar Allan Poe

Be nothing which thou art not. Overview 4/5 stars I don't read much of any poetry. Apart from poems I've read for school (way back when), this is my first book of poetry I've ever read. I will be reading more poetry from now on as I thoroughly enjoyed this. Poe is well known for the Raven, which...

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Review - On Writing by Stephen King

The master shares his recommendations for all writers, they should pay attention Overview – 4 stars I found this book to be more interesting than I thought it would be. There's a lot of King’s personal thoughts about his experiences in the writing business, and what made him a writer in the first...

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Review - Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett takes the mick out of ancient Egyptians, hilarity follows Overview Pyramids gets a solid 4 star rating. I rarely have a physical reaction when I'm reading but I was chuckling on the train to this one…hopefully not too loudly! This has turned me from a fan to a Pratchett fanboy. Structure Pyramids...

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