Review: The Last Time I Saw Him

The Last Time I Saw Him by Rachel Abbott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Release Date: 15th August 2024

Trigger Warning: Domestic Abuse, Manipulation, Narcissism

WOULD YOU KEEP A SECRET FOR A STRANGER, IF IT MEANT THE BLOOD WAS ON YOUR HANDS?<./b>

This is the fourth book in the Stephanie King series by Rachel Abbott, which starts with Stephanie King having a weekend away with her mother at a boutique hotel in Cornwall, where she can't help people watching, which leads her to notice some interesting behaviour from some of the guests: Celia; Juliette; Russell; Ellis; and Nadia.

Although Celia, Juliette and Nadia are complete strangers, they have one thing in common they have all been wronged by Ellis Cobain.

Nearly a week later one of the guests, philanthropist Ellis Cobain is found dead, which brings Stephanie King back to the hotel and questioning those she had encountered and noticed the previous weekend.

I do love Rachel Abbott's series as I always feel in safe hands and it's like catching up with old friends, the stories are always gritty, with really well thought out characters, who feel very genuine and real, with the dilemma of what is right and wrong and all those grey areas in-between. I feel torn between rooting for those in the wrong and understanding the need for justice, because sometimes people are pushed to extremes.

This book is no exception, I really felt for the characters in the book and their stories of what they have endured at the hands of Ellis Cobain's manipulation.

With plenty of twists and turns, this fast paced thriller is a rollercoaster of emotions, that made me audibly gasp, cry and root for the characters, even if I didn't particularly like all of them.

Rachel Abbott has this amazing ability to write books on some of the most difficult topics, but does so with care and realism and I think that is why all her books stay with me.

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Review: The Last Time I Saw Him

The Last Time I Saw Him by Rachel Abbott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: How to Solve Your Own Murder

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars

I loved the concept and execution of this story and cannot wait for more in this series.

This was a great read, with some great characters and the plot moved along at a great pace unravelling the story through first person experience and diary entries which was a great way to get clues to solve the mystery, where everyone is a suspect, but also giving good evidence as to why most were not the murderer.

IT was fun to try to guess along as I was reading.

Out 26th March 2024 - Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

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Review: Back to Nature: How to love life - and save it

Back to Nature: How to love life - and save it by Chris Packham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A brilliant book filled with hope on what we can do to help nature, but also filled with up-to-date science and hard to read, but necessary facts about our world.

I bought this book as I wanted to do my bit in my little area of the world to help nature & this has been so helpful.

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Review: Isolation Island

Isolation Island by Louise Minchin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Release Date: 12th September 2024

Ten celebrities, one desolate island off the coast of Scotland to be the home of a new reality survival TV show, the prize of their dreams, what could possibly go wrong?

It quickly becomes apparent to the celebrities once they're left on the island to survive that the production team are not as health and safety conscious as they would all like, raising concerns for their safety the celebrities become paranoid and when a deadly storm hits the island, they feel far from safe, made even worse when one of them is found dead, unsure what is going on the remaining celebrities find out they really are fighting for survival.

I can not give this debut novel enough praise, from the concept, the setting and the characters, told through the perspective of the journalist celebrity on the island, Lauren and her enquiring mind. This is such a well written book, with believable characters, that I honestly felt like I was watching the show play out for real.

It's one of those books that has you gripped from the start and plenty of intrigue, with a good pace throughout that you can't put down, but also don't want to end.

If you like the idea of reality shows with plenty of jeopardy, then this is definitely the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

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Review: Isolation Island

Isolation Island by Louise Minchin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: The World's Favorite Ghost Stories: Ghastly Ghosts, Spooky Spirits, and Other Creepy Tales

The World's Favorite Ghost Stories: Ghastly Ghosts, Spooky Spirits, and Other Creepy Tales by Tony Brueski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Release Date: 20th August 2024
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 as a whole, I would say the stories range from a 3 up to 4.5 for me.

This is a collection of 13 ghost stories from around the world, some are really creepy and unnerving.

These are old tales and some are quite short punchy stories while others are longer and written in old English, so you need to tune yourself into the different types of language of each story.

One wonderful thing about the book, is that there will be a story in here for everyone (maybe even several). A great collection of spooky tales for those who enjoy a good scary story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

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Review: The World's Favorite Ghost Stories: Ghastly Ghosts, Spooky Spirits, and Other Creepy Tales

The World's Favorite Ghost Stories: Ghastly Ghosts, Spooky Spirits, and Other Creepy Tales by Tony Brueski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Night Guest

The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Guilty by Definition

Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Release: 15th August 2024

Where do I start with this one, I had high hopes for this book, being a Susie Dent fan and was intrigued how she would weave her magic with words into a novel.

I loved it, Susie has created a wonderful world of characters that fits her own world so perfectly, I didn't want to leave and say goodbye to the characters and I actually feel like I learned so much about language from this novel too.

The story centres around the Clarendon English Dictionary receiving cryptic letters to a ten year old puzzle, the disappearance of one of the lexicographers sister Charlie and the clues that Martha (Charlie's sister), Alex, Zoe and Simon must decipher to find out the mystery of what happened to Charlie all those years ago.

Susie Dent obviously knows words, but the way she weaves the history and meaning of them into this magnificent mystery is just wonderful, it's a world I happily immersed myself in and didn't want to leave.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

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Review: The Murders in Great Diddling

The Murders in Great Diddling by Katarina Bivald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Published: 13th August 2024

What a lovely cosy mystery this one is I would rate 3.75 out of 5 Stars

Set in the small, rundown village of Great Diddling in which the villagers are suspicious of outsiders, an author Berit Gardner moves there to write her manuscript, but as the deadline draws closer and still no ideas are coming to Berit, until there's a murder. Of course Berit then throws herself into the investigation as she can feel there is a story that needs to be told, she just need to figure out what that story is and of course who the murderer is.

This is a book full of heart and grit with loveable characters, with great personalities and overly ambitious ideas.

I listened to the audio book version of this and the narrator Helen Lloyd did a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life and conveying their personalities through her narration.

If you want to curl up and listen or read a good cosy mystery, with great wit and wonderful characters this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

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Review: The Way Through the Woods: The Green Witch’s Guide to Navigating Life’s Ups and Downs

The Way Through the Woods: The Green Witch’s Guide to Navigating Life’s Ups and Downs by Rebecca Beattie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Release Date: 14th August 2024

I really liked this book and the wisdom it offered, it is a lovely book with a great writing style which is accessible to all. I think this is a book that you can really savour with time to process before moving on. As a novice I found it really insightful.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

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Review: The Way Through the Woods: The Green Witch’s Guide to Navigating Life’s Ups and Downs

The Way Through the Woods: The Green Witch’s Guide to Navigating Life’s Ups and Downs by Rebecca Beattie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book and the wisdom it offered, it is a lovely book with a great writing style which is accessible to all. I think this is a book that you can really savour with time to process before moving on. As a novice I found it really insightful.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

View all my reviews

Review: The Way Through the Woods: The Green Witch’s Guide to Navigating Life’s Ups and Downs

The Way Through the Woods: The Green Witch’s Guide to Navigating Life’s Ups and Downs by Rebecca Beattie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



View all my reviews

Review: Guilty by Definition

Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Release: 15th August 2024

Where do I start with this one, I had high hopes for this book, being a Susie Dent fan and was intrigued how she would weave her magic with words into a novel.

I loved it, Susie has created a wonderful world of characters that fits her own world so perfectly, I didn't want to leave and say goodbye to the characters and I actually feel like I learned so much about language from this novel too.

The story centres around the Clarendon English Dictionary receiving cryptic letters to a ten year old puzzle, the disappearance of one of the lexicographers sister Charlie and the clues that Martha (Charlie's sister), Alex, Zoe and Simon must decipher to find out the mystery of what happened to Charlie all those years ago.

Susie Dent obviously knows words, but the way she weaves the history and meaning of them into this magnificent mystery is just wonderful, it's a world I happily immersed myself in and didn't want to leave.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Reviews also published on:
Instagram || Coffee and Kindle Blog || The StoryGraph || Amazon
Happy to make friends on all socials

View all my reviews

Review: The Murders in Great Diddling

The Murders in Great Diddling by Katarina Bivald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Published: 13th August 2024

What a lovely cosy mystery this one is I would rate 3.75 out of 5 Stars

Set in the small, rundown village of Great Diddling in which the villagers are suspicious of outsiders, an author Berit Gardner moves there to write her manuscript, but as the deadline draws closer and still no ideas are coming to Berit, until there's a murder. Of course Berit then throws herself into the investigation as she can feel there is a story that needs to be told, she just need to figure out what that story is and of course who the murderer is.

This is a book full of heart and grit with loveable characters, with great personalities and overly ambitious ideas.

I listened to the audio book version of this and the narrator Helen Lloyd did a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life and conveying their personalities through her narration.

If you want to curl up and listen or read a good cosy mystery, with great wit and wonderful characters this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Reviews also published on:
Instagram || Coffee and Kindle Blog || The StoryGraph || Amazon
Happy to make friends on all socials

View all my reviews

Review: Guilty by Definition

Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: You Shouldn't Be Here

You Shouldn't Be Here by Lauren Thoman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story centres around East Henderson, Pennsylvania and the strange goings on where people just disappear, but no one will talk about it.

Angie has lived here all her life and starts to find life interesting when she hears a ghost, but no one will believe her and she can't figure out what the ghost wants.

Madelyn moves here to start her teaching job, she also hopes to find out what happened to her cousin, who has mysteriously disappeared but in doing so comes across more than she bargains for.

What a brilliant mystery, with some great twists and turns. The characters are adorable, I really loved them and was invested in finding out what was going on with them.

I love the use of articles, emails, clips, etc at the beginning of each chapter to give a little more insight into the plot and the two points of view from Angie and Madelyn and their experiences.

It is quite dark in places and as the trigger warning mentions, the book does cover some difficult situations, but I think it is handled very well and is needed for the plot to enhance characterisation.
I really enjoyed immersing myself in this world and was a little sad when it ended.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Reviews also published on:
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Review: You Shouldn't Be Here

You Shouldn't Be Here by Lauren Thoman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story centres around East Henderson, Pennsylvania and the strange goings on where people just disappear, but no one will talk about it.

Angie has lived here all her life and starts to find life interesting when she hears a ghost, but no one will believe her and she can't figure out what the ghost wants.

Madelyn moves here to start her teaching job, she also hopes to find out what happened to her cousin, who has mysteriously disappeared but in doing so comes across more than she bargains for.

What a brilliant mystery, with some great twists and turns. The characters are adorable, I really loved them and was invested in finding out what was going on with them.

I love the use of articles, emails, clips, etc at the beginning of each chapter to give a little more insight into the plot and the two points of view from Angie and Madelyn and their experiences.

It is quite dark in places and as the trigger warning mentions, the book does cover some difficult situations, but I think it is handled very well and is needed for the plot to enhance characterisation.
I really enjoyed immersing myself in this world and was a little sad when it ended.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Reviews also published on:
Instagram || Coffee and Kindle Blog || The StoryGraph || Amazon
Happy to make friends on all socials

View all my reviews

Review: You Shouldn't Be Here

You Shouldn't Be Here by Lauren Thoman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story centres around East Henderson, Pennsylvania and the strange goings on where people just disappear, but no one will talk about it.

Angie has lived here all her life and starts to find life interesting when she hears a ghost, but no one will believe her and she can't figure out what the ghost wants.

Madelyn moves here to start her teaching job, she also hopes to find out what happened to her cousin, who has mysteriously disappeared but in doing so comes across more than she bargains for.

What a brilliant mystery, with some great twists and turns. The characters are adorable, I really loved them and was invested in finding out what was going on with them.

I love the use of articles, emails, clips, etc at the beginning of each chapter to give a little more insight into the plot and the two points of view from Angie and Madelyn and their experiences.

It is quite dark in places and as the trigger warning mentions, the book does cover some difficult situations, but I think it is handled very well and is needed for the plot to enhance characterisation.
I really enjoyed immersing myself in this world and was a little sad when it ended.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Reviews also published on:
Instagram || Coffee and Kindle Blog || The StoryGraph || Amazon
Happy to make friends on all socials

View all my reviews

Review: You Shouldn't Be Here

You Shouldn't Be Here by Lauren Thoman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Will post review tomorrow once I've had time to process the book

View all my reviews