WWW Wednesdays #275 – July 1st

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m finally reading my second Spanish read of the year and pending Masa Crítica Argentina title: Entre Senderos De Lavanda by Mariela Giménez. It sounds like an interesting mix of mystery and romance and I hope it will be as good as the stunning cover! I’ve also started my upcoming blog tour read The Big Chill by Doug Johnstone, as I always like keeping a title on hand on my kindle whenever I’m not feeling like reading in Spanish and/or handling a physical copy.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. Hinton Hollow Death Trip by Will Carver (4/5 stars) REVIEW 14/07
Look out for my full review during my stop of the blog tour!!

2. The Love Story Of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey (4/5 stars) REVIEW 06/07
I admit that I was sold as soon as I saw the comparison to A Man Called Ove and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. I adored both books and its characters, and I just knew I HAD to meet Missy Carmichael to see if she could win me over too. The Love Story Of Missy Carmichael turned out to be both charming and heartbreaking at the same time. While I confess that it took me some time to warm up to Missy, once I did I found myself to be completely under her spell. I loved seeing Missy develop and blossom over time, and if you are craving a heartfelt contemporary with well developed characters and don’t mind shedding a tear or two, this debut is an excellent choice.

3. Good Girl Bad Girl by Michael Robotham (4/5 stars) REVIEW 11/07
I’ve been meaning to try this author for quite some time now, and being approved for an ARC of the Cyrus Haven sequel was the perfect excuse to finally do so. Good Girl Bad Girl is without doubt an engaging as well as twisted start of this series. Recommended if you like a good crime thriller with a psychology angle and don’t mind things getting pretty dark and twisted in points.

4. When She Was Good by Michael Robotham (3,5/5 stars) REVIEW 16/07
The first book kind of left me wanting to know how things would continue with Cyrus and Evie, and this sequel will without doubt explore more of Evie’s past. I have to be honest here and say I felt that the plot and plot twists ended up crossing the boundary of credibility for me and some of the twists were just too over the top to be believable. Sure, if you like plenty of action and a whole lot of dark twists and shocking details you will be in for a treat, but I don’t think this sequel was as good as my first meeting with Cyrus and Evie.

5. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James (4,5/5 stars) REVIEW 11/07
I’ve heard nothing but great things about this title and it turned out to be just as good as I hoped it would be! The perfect mix of paranormal mystery and crime thriller that had me racing through the pages. I loved the dual POV, with its clever use of twists to keep you in the dark and only slowly reveal what Viv discovered in the past as well as what Carly finds out in the present. Creepy, ominous and oh so engaging!

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I’m probably picking up another 20 Books Of Summer title next: Fruit Of The Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras. I’ve been wanting to read it for ages now! I also want to read The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel ASAP. Then it’s back to ARCs with an August blog tour read: Lies Lies Lies by Adele Parks. My latest TBR jar pick is still Broken Hearts, Fences And Other Things To Mend by Katie Finn, which I’m planning on reading some time this month.

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YVO’S SHORTIES #170 – Nothing Important Happened Today & Let Me Go #20BooksOfSummer

Time for another round of Yvo’s Shorties! This time around a double dose of thriller sequels… Surprisingly, Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver didn’t work for me as well as I thought it would, especially since I was completely blown away by the first book. My last meeting with Archie and Gretchen in Let Me Go by Chelsea Cain was more successful though, although it’s once again not my favorite of the series.

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Title: Nothing Important Happened Today
(Detective Sergeant Pace #2)
Author: Will Carver
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime
First published: September 14th 2019
Publisher: Orenda Books
Finished reading: June 15th 2020
Pages: 300

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk.”

Right… I’m still not sure what happened here, but somehow I didn’t actually enjoy this one? Trust me, I’m still flabbergasted myself, because I recently read the first book and it blew me away completely… And I fully expected to have a repeat experience with the sequel. I still don’t understand how, but somehow the writing style this time around just didn’t do it for me. While I can’t deny Nothing Important Happened Today should be applauded for its sheer originality, and the plot itself is ingenious with its mix of third person, collective first person, the introduction manual and detective Pace’s POV, I sadly wasn’t able to connect to the writing style at all this time around. The short sentences, the constant switches in POV, the you, you, you, you… While I have to stress once again just how unique this book is, sadly unique this time around just wasn’t my cup of tea. Was it simply the wrong time for me to pick up this sequel? Maybe. But I’m having a feeling that at least part of the writing style wouldn’t have worked for me at any moment in time. And no, my less than positive reaction wasn’t due to the sheer twistedness of Nothing Important Happened Today, the mass suicide element nor the fact that this is basically partly a manual on how to start your own cult and kill as many people as possible. No, those elements my twisted mind actually did appreciate and a lot at that. It wasn’t the late and not as noticeable appearance of detective Pace either, as the main story itself will keep you more than busy and deserves the spotlight. I really do believe that the only reason this story didn’t work is simply that the writing style and me clashed horribly, which in a way I still don’t understand after my love for Good Samaritans. Fingers crossed this was a blip though and book three will manage to blow me away again!

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Title: Let Me Go
(Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell #6)
Author: Chelsea Cain
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime
First published: August 13th 2020
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Finished reading: June 17th 2020
Pages: 368

“This was one of the things that Gretchen had taught him – his instincts, always so reliable when it came to crime, could fail him when it came to people.”

This is already my final journey with Archie and Sheridan… After neglecting the series for years, I’ve finally stepped up my game and read the final four books in record time. I know that technically the author promised more books were yet to come, but as it’s been seven years since book six was published I don’t think that will happen any time soon. That said, while Let Me Go is not my favorite of the series and not as strong as the first books, it was without doubt still a thrilling read. I’ve grown close to the characters and it’s been great meeting up with them in what is without doubt another dangerous and shocking ride. What initially seems more like a mafia vibe kind of read, soon gives us another dose of that serial killer element and of course Gretchen will make her appearance once again. These books are engaging and if you don’t mind things getting dark, gory and sexual in points and love a good serial killer thriller with a twist, Let Me Go is without doubt another hit. I would definitely recommend reading these books in order though, because you will be missing out on the dynamics and history between the characters otherwise.

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WWW Wednesdays #274 – June 24th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently reading upcoming blog tour read Hinton Hollow Death Trip by Will Carver and I’m definitely curious to see how I will react to this story after a surprising experience with book two. I’ll also be starting The Love Story Of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey as I’m in need of a little break from thrillers next…

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. Let Me Go by Chelsea Cain (4/5 stars) REVIEW 28/06
This is already my final journey with Archie and Sheridan… After neglecting the series for years, I’ve finally stepped up my game and read the final four books in record time. I know that technically the author promised more books were yet to come, but as it’s been seven years since book six was published I don’t think that will happen any time soon. That said, while Let Me Go is not my favorite of the series and not as strong as the first books, it was without doubt still a thrilling read.

2. The Ten Thousand Doors Of January by Alix E. Harrow (5/5 stars) REVIEW 30/06
What an absolutely stunning and breathtaking read! I don’t even know where and how to start explaining this beauty of a story, as The Ten Thousand Doors Of January is one of those books where you should go in blind in the first place to fully explore and capture its magic. This story is complex, this story is stunningly written, this story fits so cleverly together once you have all the pieces… It’s an absolute masterpiece I cannot recommend enough.

3. The Heatwave by Katerina Diamond (3/5 stars) REVIEW 26/06
I admit that I was curious as soon as I read the blurb, and after seeing the first positive reviews I couldn’t resist requesting a copy. The Heatwave is not a bad read, but somehow it didn’t manage to convince me in the end… I found part of the plot quite cliche, especially the flashbacks were slowgoing and I thought the final reveals were a bit over the top and didn’t match the pace and intensity of the rest of the story? Either that or it’s time for me to take a little break from psychological thrillers, as I somehow didn’t enjoy this story as much as I thought I would.

4. The Switch by Beth O’Leary (4/5 stars) REVIEW 30/06
I’ve been eagerly anticipating The Switch after that, especially when I discovered it involved an older main character as well as a life swap element. I must say that I had an excellent time with this story, and she is now officially another of my to-go-to authors when I’m in the mood for the genre. I think I might have enjoyed The Switch even a tiny bit more, mostly due to the focus on the relationship between the three generations of Cotton women and both Eileen’s more specifically.

5. Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson (4,5/5 stars) REVIEW 06/07
I’m a fan of Peter Swanson‘s writing and I’ve been looking forward to dive into Eight Perfect Murders ever since I first heard about it. I love books with bookish elements and I love my crime thriller stories, so the premise of this newest story sounded absolutely fantastic. The structure of the plot is brilliant, the writing engaging, the character development fascinating, the many bookish elements including the bookshop and Nero the cat simply divine… I had heaps of fun reading Eight Perfect Murders!

6. The Collector by John Maher (4/5 stars) BLOG TOUR REVIEW 04/07
Look out for my full review during my stop of the blog tour!!

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

Good Girl Bad Girl by Michael Robotham is the second to last title on my June TBR as well as a book I need to read in preparation for the ARC of the sequel that is due next month. Afterwards I will most likely pick up that same sequel When She Was Good to help further decrease my pending NG ARC pile. This is also the last pending title on my June TBR! After that, I will probably finally start my second Spanish read of the year and pending Masa Crítica Argentina title: Entre Senderos De Lavanda by Mariela Giménez. It sounds like an interesting mix of mystery and romance and I hope it will be as good as the stunning cover! My newest TBR jar pick is still Broken Hearts, Fences And Other Things To Mend by Katie Finn, which I most likely won’t be able to pick up until July.

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WWW Wednesdays #273 – June 17th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently reading Let Me Go by Chelsea Cain so I can cross off another series on my unfinished series list. I know that technically the author promised more books were yet to come, but as it’s been seven years since book six was published I don’t think that will happen any time soon. I was also thinking about starting upcoming blog tour read Hinton Hollow Death Trip by Will Carver, but I might put it on hold until next week so I’m hopefully in a better headspace to enjoy it… And read some non-ARCs instead to reduce the reviewing pressure.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. Kill You Twice by Chelsea Cain (4/5 stars) REVIEW 21/06
Kill You Twice is book number five and marks the return to the spotlight of Archie’s nemesis Gretchen. After being mostly absent in book four, this sequel benefits from her strong presence once again and it has been interesting to see the dynamics between Archie and Gretchen develop further. Kill You Twice is not my favorite of the series though (which might be due to the explicit adult scenes, which are always a turn off for me), but overall I still enjoyed this one.

2. The Bone Jar by S.W. Kane (4/5 stars) BLOG TOUR REVIEW 07/07
Look out for my full review during my stop of the blog tour!!

3. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (4/5 stars) REVIEW 21/06
Wow, what an absolutely breathtaking read! I already fell in love with Elizabeth Acevedo‘s writing last year in With The Fire On High, but The Poet X has completely blown my socks off. Beautifully rendered, raw and simply stunning, The Poet X is simply slam dunk when it comes to poetry and the story itself is completely written in verse. I think the only reason I didn’t give it the full 5 stars is because of the focus on religion, mostly because I have a personal aversion to this element in stories… I know this exploration of religion was mentioned in the blurb, but I confess that I like going in blind and I didn’t investigate before reading this one.

4. The Girl From Widow Hills by Megan Miranda (4/5 stars) BLOG TOUR REVIEW 08/07
Look out for my full review during my stop of the blog tour!!

5. How To Save A Life by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke (3,5/5 stars) REVIEW 29/06
I knew I wanted to read How To Save A Life as soon as I read the blurb and saw the mention of the Groundhog Day element. It reminded me of one of my all time favorite books The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle and I was immediately curious how this element would be developed into the plot. It’s without doubt also the reason this story will stay with me for quite some time! The Groundhog Day element gives the story a surreal touch as well as raising an interesting question as mentioned in the blurb: how far would you go to save the life of someone you love?

6. Someone’s Listening by Seraphina Nova Glass (4/5 stars) BLOG TOUR REVIEW 24/07
Look out for my full review during my stop of the blog tour!!

7. Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver (3/5 stars) REVIEW 20/06
Right… I’m not sure what happened here, but somehow I didn’t actually enjoy this one? I’m still flabbergasted myself, because the first book blew me away and I fully expected to have a repeat experience with the sequel… But somehow the writing style this time around didn’t do it for me. And no, my less than positive reaction wasn’t even due to the sheer twistedness, the mass suicide element and the fact that it’s basically partly a manual on how to start your own fact cult and kill as many people as possible. That part my twisted mind actually did appreciate. xD

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I’ll be taking a little break from thrillers next with my third 20 Books Of Summer title The Switch by Beth O’Leary… I really enjoyed The Flatshare last year, so I have high hopes for this one. I also want to read Good Girl Bad Girl by Michael Robotham, which would be 20 Books Of Summer title number four as well as a book I need to read in preparation for the ARC of the sequel that is due next month. Afterwards I will most likely pick up that same sequel When She Was Good to help further decrease my pending NG ARC pile. My newest TBR jar pick is still Broken Hearts, Fences And Other Things To Mend by Katie Finn, which I most likely won’t be able to pick up until July.

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BOOK REVIEW: Good Samaritans – by Will Carver @Orendabooks

Title: Good Samaritans
(Detective Sergeant Pace #1)
Author: Will Carver
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime
First published: September 15th 2018
Publisher: Orenda Books
Finished reading: April 27th 2020
Pages: 318

“Because it won’t make your skin sparkle like it does your toilet basin. It will burn. It will blister. You will bleed. It will hurt like hell.

Unless you’re already dead.”

So… Guess who has been struck by an Orenda book hangover once again and has been unable to put a word on paper for over a week now? Oh yes, Good Samaritans hit me hard and hit straight in the ‘flabbergasted’ bullseye. I’ve had a copy of this first book of what I already know will be a favorite series on my shelves for a little over a year now, and to be honest I’ve been saving it for rainy days as I already had that feeling I would love it. Why? Not only has it that Orenda guarantee, but fellow bloggers have loved this story (and its sequel) and their reviews convinced me I would too. After struggling with recent reads and feeling a little desperate to find a story that would completely blow my socks off again, I turned to my Orenda backlist and decided it was time to pick up Good Samaritans. And boy, I just couldn’t have picked better!

I’m still not sure where to begin my review even after letting more than a week pass, but let’s start with the basics. Good Samaritans is dark, sexy and utterly disturbing; it’s a complex and well written story that grabbed me from the start and was basically pitch black and twisted to the core. I guess that this alone is already enough to convince you that you need this book in your life (at least for me it is, but then again I like my stories black as night and seriously twisted)… But in case you need more convincing, let’s see which elements I loved more closely. It’s basically the whole book from start to finish, but let’s narrow it down… First off all I was blown away by the writing, which is simply splendid and bowled me over from page one. I knew I was now a fan of Will Carver‘s writing from the very first chapter, and that is something that doesn’t happen every day.

I also loved the plot and the sheer complexity of it all. We have multiple POVs to deal with, giving this story a multi-dimentional and rich feel. It really enhanced the reading experience for me and the structure was used to build the suspense, keep things from you while anticipating others in an absolutely brilliant way. You have not one, but multiple twisted characters to follow and Good Samaritans does an excellent job keeping you on your toes as you try to discover how everything fits together. The different characters are sublimely developed, they felt realistic and they made for a fascinating as well as seriously disturbed cast of characters… The best possible bunch if you like your thrillers pitch black and without sugar like myself.

Talking about the previously mentioned characters… I just loved that we didn’t just have one clear bad guy, but instead a selection of excellently and realistically developed disturbing personalities that each have their secrets and issues. Sure, we have the serial killer, but his identity is made less important as we have more than one suspect at first and later more than one character turned to the dark side to follow. Furthermore, Good Samaritans offers us both sides of the story,with POVs featuring victims, our new lead detective sergeant Pace and the more twisted individuals alike. This gives us a more complete picture of the whole situation as well as really enriching what is already a fantastic story.

Another thing that stands out is that while this book is the first Detective Sergeant Pace book, he doesn’t seem all that present during most of the story. Instead, the focus is mostly on the dark side and this definitely gave the story its unique feel. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before, but I loved how each POV had its own tone and it was really easy to spot which character was currently featured by the writing style and tone alone. I liked how Pace was represented and I will definitely be looking forward to see more of him in the future.

There are a lot of different and dark elements in play in Good Samaritans, including mental health issues, suicide, OCD and a healthy dose of violence. On top of that, you will also find a surprising amount of steamy scenes included too… Turning this story into something so essentially dark and sensual that it almost makes you feel naughty for reading it. And guess who was more than ready to misbehave? Oh yes, Good Samaritans was an instant favorite and blew me away completely from start to finish. Dark and simply glorious; if you think you can handle it, this book in an absolute must-read.

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WWW Wednesdays #266 – April 29th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently reading The One-In-A-Million Boy by Monica Wood as I was craving another dose of contemporary… With the speed I’m reading right now, I’ll probably ended up finishing it before this post goes live haha. I’m also starting (finally!) Pet Sematary by Stephen King, a title I’ve been wanting to read for a while and decided to pick up so I can watch the movie afterwards.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon (2/5 stars) REVIEW 03/05
I really enjoyed When Dimple Met Rishi back when I read it, and I’ve been wanting to try more of Sandhya Menon‘s books ever since. I was craving a cute contemporary, so I decided to pick up From Twinkle, With Love on a whim as I thought it would be exactly the story I needed at the time. I guess I was wrong! Between the high school cliches, love square, despicable behavior of Twinkle and the writing sounding too forced, I really struggled reaching that final page… Oh yes, From Twinkle, With Love definitely didn’t have that spark for me.

2. The Creak On The Stairs by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir (4,5/5 stars) BLOG TOUR REVIEW 09/05
Look out for my review during my stop of the blog tour next month!!

3. Danny The Champion Of The World by Roald Dahl (3,5/5 stars) NO REVIEW
I won’t be writing a full review for Danny The Champion Of The World… I’ve been slowly going through the books of one of my favorite childhood authors, Roald Dahl, rereading old favorites as well as some stories I missed when I was little. I did read Danny The Champion Of The World a couple times when I was little, and although it’s not my favorite I remember still enjoying the story quite a lot. It’s not as fantastical as some of his other stories, but I liked the relationship between father and son and the ‘secret’ and creative poaching ideas. It’s definitely a fun story for kids to read.

4. The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide (2/5 stars) REVIEW 08/05
I’ve been curious about this title ever since I finished The Travelling Cat Chronicles last year and saw it recommended under similar Japanese fiction titles… I think it’s no secret that I’m a huge catlover, so I was looking forward to dive into some cat infused fiction again. It’s easy to say that I ended up to be quite quite disappointed by The Guest Cat instead.

5. Good Samaritans by Will Carver (5/5 stars) REVIEW 05/05
It had been a while since my last 5 star read, and I really needed a story to completely blow my socks off again… I turned to my Orenda backlist and I couldn’t have picked better! Good Samaritans is dark, sexy and utterly disturbing; a complex and well written story that grabbed me from the start and was pitch black and twisted to the core. Say hello to a new favorite! I just can’t wait to read the sequel now.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

May is around the corner which means I need to focus on my ARCs again… I’m planning on reading my three remaining May ARCs next. First up is Swipe Right by Stephie Chapman, and then it’s two blog tour reads with Ash Mountain by Helen Fitzgerald and This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf. I will also read my latest TBR jar pick Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight somewhere in between.

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