Review: The Cousins by Karen M McManus

On November 3, 2021November 2, 2021 By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

The Storys are the envy of their neighbours: owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence:
You know what you did.
They never hear from her again.
Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother’s resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who’s been such an enigma their entire lives.
This entire family is built on secrets, right? It’s the Story legacy.
This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. But some secrets are better left alone.

I’ve been a fan of Karen M McManus for a long time, but I do prefer her standalone work to One of Us is Lying. Up until now Two Can Keep a Secret has been my favourite book by her, but it might just about be beaten by The Cousins. She is definitely an auto-buy author for me and I’m so glad I finally picked this one up! It feels like it’s been a while since I read a YA thriller and this one was such a quick read and so entertaining.

I enjoyed the dynamic between the 3 cousins who had never met before, and the setting of Gull Cove Island was so much fun and felt like the perfect environment for the family murder-mystery we had going on. I just wish I’d read this one in summer!

You gotta shoot your shot when it comes…

At first, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t like one of the cousins, and since this is a multiple point of view story I thought that I may not enjoy all of the perspectives. However, as the story went on I did sympathise with all of the main characters and feel like having several POV worked well. The way the author uncovered secrets about the family kept me on the edge of my seat and I wanted to read on to find out what was going to happen.

The writing was so addictive and easy to read and I sped through this despite not having much time to read. Once I picked this book up, I couldn’t put it down and just wanted to keep reading. The only negative is that I expected more murder! Having read books by McManus before, I did go into this expecting more graphic content. However, the focus on more of a family drama was still fun to read about and was written really well. The fact the 3 main characters didn’t know each other before the story began gave an extra layer of secrets and lies that were super interesting to uncover.

Who knows if you’ll get another chance?

Karen M McManus is definitely going to still be an auto-buy author for me and I’m glad I picked this one up as it was so entertaining to read!

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

On November 2, 2021November 8, 2021 By Beth JonesIn Book Review4 Comments

Goodreads | Waterstones

This is what he remembers, as he sits by the ocean at the end of the lane:
A dead man on the back seat of the car, and warm milk at the farmhouse.
An ancient little girl, and an old woman who saw the moon being made.
A beautiful housekeeper with a monstrous smile.
And dark forces woken that were best left undisturbed.
They are memories hard to believe, waiting at the edge of things. The recollections of a man who thought he was lost but is now, perhaps, remembering a time when he was saved…

This was my first Neil Gaiman book, and I’ve been recommended it more than once by friends and colleagues! After booking to see the West End play, I knew I wanted to finally pick it up before seeing it on stage. I finally picked it up the other night, just days before the play, and ended up finishing it in just one evening.

I read the beautiful illustrated edition with artwork by Elise Hurst and it fit the book so well. Hurst has done a beautiful job of creating haunting, dark, shadowy illustrations that compliment the scenes perfectly.

Grown-ups don’t look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they’re big and thoughtless and they always know what they’re doing. Inside, they look just like they always have.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Gaiman, having not read anything of his before, but I knew it would be whimsical and dark. However, I found this book a lot more grounded than I expected, with more of a real life focus and magical elements, than a complete fantasy world.

I loved the writing and found it emotive but so easy to read. I flew through this book and easily read 100 pages in 45 minutes, which is very fast for me! This illustrated copy is around 80 pages longer than other editions, and I definitely feel like the artwork helped break up the reading experience and therefore made me speed through even faster. I just found that once I picked it up, I didn’t want to put it down!

Like they did when they were your age. Truth is, there aren’t any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.

Overall, I feel like this one was a great one to choose as an introduction to Gaiman, and I’m excited to pick up another. Which do you think I should pick up next?

★★★★★
4.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

On October 31, 2021October 28, 2021 By Beth JonesIn Book Review5 Comments

Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor in London, is summoned to Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, and to sort through her papers before returning to London. It is here that Kipps first sees the woman in black and begins to gain an impression of the mystery surrounding her. From the funeral he travels to Eel Marsh House and sees the woman again; he also hears the terrifying sounds on the marsh.
Despite Kipps’s experiences he resolves to spend the night at the house and fulfil his professional duty. It is this night at Eel Marsh House that contains the greatest horror for Kipps. Kipps later discovers the reasons behind the hauntings at Eel Marsh House. The book ends with the woman in black exacting a final, terrible revenge.

I’m not a big horror reader, but my boyfriend Mark told me this is one of the only books that has ever scared him and made me want to pick it up as well! I thought it was the perfect time of year to dive into this one and I read the entire book in an evening – I couldn’t put it down. I read it by candlelight in the bath and it just added to the scary atmosphere of this book – I loved it.

The plot of this book was super interesting and honestly made it difficult to put down. We follow Arthur, who at the start of this book is reflecting on an experience he had when he was younger, and decides to write down the story instead of telling it out loud. Around 40 pages in, we start to be told that very story and here, things get spooky…

At the age of 23, Arthur was sent to sort out Eel Marsh House after the woman who owns it passes away. He works as a solicitor and travels away from his home in London to take care of the house. This whole story was so eerie and full of atmosphere, and the writing showed it off beautifully. There is so many aspects of this book that work together to make it spine-chilling – the weather, the isolated location of the house, the Victorian Gothic feel of the writing.

This one did send chills down my spine and I was definitely spooked out in places. Overall, I was just super impressed with this one and it was such an enjoyable read despite the creepiness!

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: Weathering With You (#2) by Makoto Shinkai

On October 29, 2021November 2, 2021 By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

Goodreads | Waterstones

Hodaka has finally started to feel like he’s found his place in Tokyo with Hina and Nagi, but his sunny days won’t last forever.
The Sunshine Girl powers are beginning to take their toll on Hina, putting her in danger of disappearing into the skies. And as the rain returns and Tokyo’s weather starts to intensify, an incident from Hodaka’s recent past closes in on him. He’ll have to fight to survive and keep the light of his life from fading out, but can he change the sad fate that awaits the Weather Maiden?

I recently managed to pick up the second and third books in the Weathering With You manga and decided to carry on with the series as part of my Spoopathon TBR. I love both the Weathering With You and Your Name films by Makoto Shinkai and I love finding out how they translate to manga and light novels.

This volume is the middle in the series of just 3 books and encompasses the sadder part of the story. I couldn’t help but find myself a little emotional at the end! If I’d have been reading this story for the first time without knowing the story prior to reading, I imagine I wouldn’t have been able to put this one down and it does end on such a cliffhanger!

Again, I love the artwork but it does work so well for the manga as it reflects the anime so well. Although it is naturally difficult for me to judge this one as I love the film so much, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: Bridge of Souls (#3) by V.E. Schwab

On October 28, 2021October 28, 2021 By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

Goodreads | Waterstones

Where there are ghosts, Cassidy Blake follows … unless it’s the other way around?
Cass thinks she might have this ghost-hunting thing down. After all, she and her ghost best friend, Jacob, have survived two haunted cities while travelling for her parents’ TV show.
But nothing can prepare Cass for New Orleans, which wears all of its hauntings on its sleeve. In a city of ghost tours and tombs, raucous music and all kinds of magic, Cass could get lost in all the colourful, grisly local legends. And the city’s biggest surprise is a foe Cass never expected to face: a servant of Death itself.

I’ve read this whole series with Alex from Alex’s Books on YouTube, and I’ve had so much fun! Neither of us had read the final book in the trilogy, Bridge of Souls before, and were super excited to finish off the series. I honestly believe this one was my favourite in the series and the adventures of Cassidy and Jacob get more entertaining and heartfelt with every book.

All of these books score 10 points for atmosphere, and this one was no different. I loved the setting of New Orleans and I feel like V.E. Schwab has written all of these books so visually. Just as with Edinburgh in City of Bones and Paris in Tunnel of Bones, I could picture New Orleans perfectly, especially the French Quarter.

Death will come for us again, one way or another.

The characters are such a joy to read about and I love the friendship Cassidy has with Jacob, who is a ghost. This made for an interesting part of the story as we found out more about their dynamic. I even got a little teary and emotional at the end of the book. I also love how Lara has remained a friend throughout this entire series!

This was another one day read for me, as all of these books have been. I read each one on audio and physical format, and this one was no different. I love the writing in all of these and found each hard to put down. All of these books have been creepy, but this one was by far the creepiest. I love the level these books have achieved in being just scary enough to still be very enjoyable to read, with just the right amount of chills.

We can’t live in fear of it. That’s no way to live at all.

I wish there was going to be more books in this series as I’d definitely read more about their adventures, but we shall see!

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

ARC Review: Medusa by Jessie Burton

On October 25, 2021October 24, 2021 By Beth JonesIn Book Review5 Comments

Goodreads | Waterstones

Exiled to a far-flung island by the whims of the gods, Medusa has little company except the snakes that adorn her head instead of hair. But when a charmed, beautiful boy called Perseus arrives on the island, her lonely existence is disrupted with the force of a supernova, unleashing desire, love and betrayal…

Thank you to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve recently become really interested in Greek mythology, which is something I haven’t read much of growing up or know much about. I’ve read a few Greek mythology inspired books recently and sadly haven’t enjoyed them very much (Circe and Lore). This was the perfect level of mythology for me, which read more like a myth or fairytale than literary fiction or fast paced fantasy. Burton has written this to be aimed at young adults, which I really liked. It’s also interspersed with beautiful artwork by Olivia Lomenech Gill which compliment the story beautifully.

I love the way we see Medusa in this story. It’s told from her point of view and paints her as the victim of the story rather than the villain, as we know from the original myth. I really liked Medusa as a character and the relationship between her and her sisters. The setting of the island felt so visual too, and I could picture the book well.

There is some really important and beautiful messages throughout this book, focussing on acceptance and owning who you are even through your darkest times. This was such an amazing way to reclaim Medusa’s story and I loved the feminist messages behind it.

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

On October 24, 2021October 23, 2021 By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

Goodreads | Waterstones

Finnmark, Norway, 1617. Twenty-year-old Maren Magnusdatter stands on the craggy coast, watching the sea break into a sudden and reckless storm. Forty fishermen, including her brother and father, are drowned and left broken on the rocks below. With the menfolk wiped out, the women of the tiny Arctic town of Vardø must fend for themselves.
Three years later, a sinister figure arrives. Absalom Cornet comes from Scotland, where he burned witches in the northern isles. He brings with him his young Norwegian wife, Ursa, who is both heady with her husband’s authority and terrified by it. In Vardø, and in Maren, Ursa sees something she has never seen before: independent women. But Absalom sees only a place untouched by God, and flooded with a mighty evil.
As Maren and Ursa are drawn to one another in ways that surprise them both, the island begins to close in on them, with Absalom’s iron rule threatening Vardø’s very existence.

I don’t read or enjoy much historical fiction, so I was definitely a little hesitant going into this one. But I really like Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s other work, and I’ve heard great things about this book. I ended up reading this one as part of a buddy read with some friends, which was really nice and definitely made me finally pick this one up! I’ve had this one since the hardback release, and it’s been a long time coming.

Firstly, I’m really glad I picked this one up in autumn. The book itself is quite bleak and it fit the season so well. I started reading this one while it was raining heavily outside and the atmosphere felt so perfect. We start this book with the women of the island losing all of their men to the sea, which I found such a fascinating premise to the book, especially in the historical context.

Many of them seem past caring what is true or not, only desperate for some reason,

I quickly found myself really liking the characters and the fact this one follows predominantly women as they find their own independence. We follow Maren, who has always lived on the island, and Ursa, who moves to the island with her husband from mainland Norway. Having these two perspectives gave the perfect amount of contrast to the story and kept me interested in both of their stories, and I loved their growing friendship.

I found myself really enjoying the setting and although it makes the book feel very contained, it doesn’t necessarily feel limited. The writing was beautiful and portrayed the story well, and although this book does have quite a few harrowing and bleak scenes, they don’t feel unnecessary and they are there to push the plot forward. I must admit I did occasionally find the plot quite slow and not as engaging as I wanted sometimes. It took me just under a week to read this one, which felt like quite a while for a 350 page book.

some order to the rearrangement of their lives, even if it is brought about by a lie.

Overall, this one was really enjoyable in places, but the writing did let it down in others.

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: Tunnel of Bones (#2) by V.E. Schwab

On October 22, 2021 By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

Goodreads | Waterstones

Trouble is haunting Cassidy Blake . . . even more than usual.
She (plus her ghost best friend, Jacob, of course) are in Paris, where Cass’s parents are filming their TV show about the world’s most haunted cities. Sure, it’s fun eating croissants and seeing the Eiffel Tower, but there’s true ghostly danger lurking beneath Paris, in the creepy underground Catacombs.
When Cass accidentally awakens a frighteningly strong spirit, she must rely on her still-growing skills as a ghosthunter — and turn to friends both old and new to help her unravel a mystery. But time is running out, and the spirit is only growing stronger.
And if Cass fails, the force she’s unleashed could haunt the city forever.

I’m reading this series alongside Alex as part of the readalong we’re currently hosting, #ghostsalong. If you want to find out more, our announcement video is linked below and we’ll be starting the last book, Bridge of Souls on Monday!

Although I’d read City of Ghosts before, it was my first time reading Tunnel of Bones and this book is such a great addition to the series. We continue following 12 year old Cassidy Blake and her parents as they travel around the world filming a paranormal TV show. But there’s a bit of a twist – Cassidy can see ghosts and draw back the veil to the other side. Her best friend, Jacob, is also a ghost and travels with them.

In this book, we visit Paris, which I loved and made for such an amazing atmospheric setting. One of my favourite aspects of these books is the atmosphere, which make you feel so involved and enveloped in the story. I once again listened to most of this book on audio and read the end in physical format, and loved it all.

What you can’t see is always scarier than what you can.

Cassidy is such a fun character to follow but isn’t without her own moral dilemmas which I find so interesting and gives a great dynamic to the story. Considering these books are middle grade/young YA, there is so much depth to these stories. This book is even creepier than the first story and the poltergeist we follow seriously gave me chills. While listening to this while I was running, I couldn’t help but looking behind me a couple of times.

The writing is so easy to read and compelling but doesn’t feel shallow at all. Schwab does such an amazing job of keeping you on the edge of your seat and making you want to read more. I continued to love the characters and enjoyed finding out more about them. I was also happy to see some of the characters returning from Edinburgh in book 1.

Your eyes play tricks on you, filling in the shadows, making shapes.

This was such an enjoyable addition to the series and I’m so excited to read Bridge of Souls!

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: Vampires Never Get Old by Various Authors

On October 19, 2021October 18, 2021 By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

Goodreads | Waterstones

In this delicious new collection, you’ll find stories about lurking vampires of social media, rebellious vampires hungry for more than just blood, eager vampires coming out―and going out for their first kill―and other bold, breathtaking, dangerous, dreamy, eerie, iconic, powerful creatures of the night.
Welcome to the evolution of the vampire―and a revolution on the page.
Vampires Never Get Old includes stories by authors both bestselling and acclaimed, including Samira Ahmed, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, Tessa Gratton, Heidi Heilig, Julie Murphy, Mark Oshiro, Rebecca Roanhorse, Laura Ruby, Victoria “V. E.” Schwab, and Kayla Whaley.

Overall, this was a brilliantly diverse collection of short stories about vampires, tackling the fact most popular vampire stories follow cis, white, male, able-bodied, heterosexual vampires. It takes everything we know and expect from vampire myth and folklore and turns it on its head. I read this an audiobook and I really enjoyed the whole experience. It had a brilliant cast of narrators that changed with the stories and fit the whole book well. I really liked how the editors of this book wrote a short follow up of each of the stories that explained the folklore behind each one.

As this book contains many different stories, I’m going to go through them all separately, but overall I was super impressed with this book!

Seven Nights for Dying by Tessa Gratton ★★★★

This one was such a strong start to the book and I really enjoyed it. We follow a young girl being lured into the world of vampirism and it tackled some super interesting topics. It was sex positive and followed a character who is bi/pan, and also discussed grief, belonging, loss and anger. We follow the main character as she tries to make a decision about whether she wants to become a vampire or not, which also fit the short story well as it focuses on 7 days. I liked the family aspect and if I remember rightly we had a really positive family relationship featuring a single parent!

The Boys From Blood River by Rebecca Roanhorse ★★★

The second story was also strong and I did enjoy it, just not quite as much as the first one. I loved the setting as we follow our main character late at night in a diner where he works, and the whole story reminded me a little bit of The Lost Boys. In this story, there is a legend surrounding a song which mysteriously begins playing on the jukebox at the diner. The legend being that vampires come when the song is sung, and the person who sang the song will then disappear. Again, this story has some really important discussions about grief, loss, race and sexuality, and the only reason I haven’t rated it higher is because I honestly can’t remember as much as I would like about it!

Senior Year Sucks by Julie Murphy ★★★★

I’ve read Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy and really enjoyed it, and I feel like her contemporary approach to a vampire story worked so well in this one. We follow Jolene, who is a fat vampire slayer and I loved her! I really liked that this one was fat positive and sapphic, and also that it followed a vampire slayer rather than the vampire themselves. Again, this one fit the short story narrative really well and left me wanting tor read more by Julie Murphy.

The Boy and The Bell by Heidi Heilig ★★★

I sadly can’t remember this story so well, which is why it has a lower rating. This one, as with many of the other stories, is steeped in vampire folklore and follows a trans boy and the idea of people being buried before they are supposed to. We follow our main character, who is a grave digger trying to learn from the corpses he is digging up, when he starts to hear a bell ringing. I would say that I won’t say more because of spoilers, but honestly I can’t remember much more about the story sadly!

A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire by Samira Ahmed ★★★★★

This story was absolutely brilliant and is no doubt my favourite of the entire collection. It was so well written and creative, and is written in second person addressing ‘you’ as the reader. The idea behind this story is it’s written as a guidebook for newly sired Desi vampires who have been turned against their will by British tourists. It was so funny which is what I loved the most and the writing was so witty. It also has some really interesting and important discussions about Colonial India and taught me a lot! I’ll definitely be checking out more books by this author.

In Kind by Kayla Whaley ★★★★★

Yet another story that I really enjoyed and is a close second favourite after Ahmed’s! This story follows a girl who has been murdered by her father, who believes he killed her out of ‘mercy’. Her body goes missing and instead of being buried, she is turned into a vampire and wants to enact revenge on her father for what happened. I love how this book talked about the main character’s degenerative neuromuscular disorder and that she still uses a wheelchair as a vampire. She talks about how much her disorder is inherent to her identity, and I really liked the discussions broached by this story. I loved it a lot.

Vampires Never Say Die by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker ★★★★

Although this one didn’t quite reach the 5 star level of the previous two, I found it super interesting and really enjoyed it too! This one follows vampires who use Instagram and hide the fact they are vampires. One of these vampires has befriended a human on social media and the human girl decides to throw her a surprise party, but doesn’t know her friend is a vampire. Although I felt a little uncomfortable with the fact the human girl is 15 at the start of this story, I did still really enjoy it and it worked well as a short story.

Bestiary by Laura Ruby ★★1/2

Unfortunately, the stories took a bit of a dip for me as we get towards the end. In this one, we follow a girl who lives in a zoo and has a bond with the animals who live there. This one really fell flat for me and overall, just felt like it wasn’t really going anywhere or that anything really happened. Some of it was entertaining and I liked the themes of capitalism, but I just found there wasn’t as much to enjoy.

Mirrors, Windows and Selfies by Mark Oshiro ★★1/2

I found this one also fell a little flat and was by far the longest story. It honestly felt like it went on forever, but simultaneously had little to no real focus. We follow a young Latino man who is born as a vampire and has been controlled by his parents all his life. Throughout the story, he is trying to find out more about himself, including what he looks like. Although again, we follow some interesting themes of control, isolation and loneliness, and I did find the format (Tumblr posts) interesting, it fell flat. I also had a slight problem with the narrator or tone of writing (hard to pinpoint as I listened to the audio!) sounding very overenthusiastic and therefore inauthentic.

The House of Black Sapphires by Dhonielle Clayton ★★★

Things did start to look up again here with the final two stories, and even though this was far from perfect I definitely enjoyed it more than the previous two. In this story, we follow a Black family who are forced to move around and run an apothecary shop. This one is definitely 10 points for atmosphere and I really enjoyed reading about the relationship of the sisters, but I still found the plot disappointing and something didn’t quite click.

First Kill by V.E. Schwab ★★★★

The final story and one I was most looking forward to was First Kill by V.E. Schwab. And although this one didn’t make it to 5 stars or become my favourite, I did really enjoy it and can definitely see the potential for the Netflix adaptation that is in the making! Without saying too much and spoiling the story, we have two teenage girls who have crushes on one another and there is some real sapphic angst. I really enjoyed it!

Overall….

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

On October 18, 2021 By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

Goodreads | Waterstones

In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.
But when the Eastwood sisters–James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna–join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.
There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I’ve been looking forward to this one for so long and I’ve been saving it for autumn to be able to read it. However, this one did really let me down and I just didn’t click with it in the way I wanted to. I quickly realised when I started reading that something was just off for me. I buddy read this one with Alex and she pointed out that this one is told in third person present tense and was struggling with it too, which I think was my problem. It just made me feel disconnected from the story.

We follow 3 sisters who join the suffragists of New Salem and are also witches themselves. This one just sounds great – feminist and witchy, what more could I want? But I actually found myself being constantly mixed up between the sisters and found kind of lost throughout the story.

Every woman draws a circle around herself.

I did enjoy aspects of this book and found it better once I sat down to read big chunks of it at a time. I think part of my problem is that I couldn’t help but compare this to other books which I love, such as Erin Morgenstern’s books. I just couldn’t connect to the writing and it felt like such a long book at just over 500 pages. I constantly felt like the story was too long and I could summarise a lot of the plot in much less than I would want to.

I liked the idea and themes behind this so much and really wanted to like it – the themes of feminism and women’s rights made for an interesting plot. The fact we have women claiming their power is amazing and I loved the historical context too. Parts of the plot were also really entertaining and page turning, but most of it fell flat.

Sometimes she has to be the only thing inside it.

It’s so upsetting when you just really want to love a book but it doesn’t quite live up to expectations and that’s sadly exactly what happened with this book for me! I would definitely say if it sounds like something you’d like then please do give it a go as it has a lot of 5 star reviews, it just wasn’t quite for me.

★★★
3 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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The Books are Everywhere

Category: Book Review

Review: The Cousins by Karen M McManus

Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Review: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Review: Weathering With You (#2) by Makoto Shinkai

Review: Bridge of Souls (#3) by V.E. Schwab

ARC Review: Medusa by Jessie Burton

Review: The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Review: Tunnel of Bones (#2) by V.E. Schwab

Review: Vampires Never Get Old by Various Authors

Review: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow