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Good morning! I hope you are all having a great October so far and enjoying all those Autumn/Halloween activities. Curling up with a book and a cuppa on a rainy Autumn day is one of my favourite things to do so I have plenty of reviews for you! I hope you enjoy these, let me know if you have read any of hem and what you thought!

Yellowface*

by Rebecca F Kuang

The Blurb

What would you steal for successes: 

her face?

her name?

her skin? 

Athena Liu is a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody.

Who wants stories by basic white girls anyway?

But now Athena is dead. And June has her unfinished manuscript…

A darkly funny literary thriller from the New York Times bestselling author.

What I Thought

This book is full of hideous people… and I couldn’t put it down! I haven’t read any of Rebecca Kuang’s books before, but this is apparently a new direction for her writing and she really nails it.

June Hayward (or Juniper Song as she later renames herself to appear racially ambiguous) is our main character. An author living in the shadow of her hugely successful ‘friend’ from college, June is not doing well and struggling in most areas of life. Her fortunes start to change however, when said ‘friend’ dies in a tragic accident and June gets her hands on her latest, unfinished manuscript.

Forced, and not in a subtle way, to confront our own prejudices, this book is sometimes un comfortable to read, but I could not stop reading. June is not a likeable character, but then neither are the people around her in the publishing world. The only problem I had with this one was a feeling the ending was a bit rushed, however the book overall was not spoilt for me.

A timely, original, dark and often brutal look at the publishing world and prejudice – if this is not on your TBR you need to add it now!

Buy ‘Yellowface’

The Good Girl’s Guide To Murder

by Holly Jackson

The Blurb

The New York Times number one best-selling YA crime thriller that everyone is talking about! 

The Winner of the British Book Award’s Children’s Book of the Year 2020

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the crime, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying, Gone Girl, We Were Liars and Riverdale

Holly Jackson started writing stories from a young age, completing her first (poor) attempt at a novel aged 15. She lives in London and aside from reading and writing, she enjoys playing video games and watching true-crime documentaries so she can pretend to be a detective. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is her first novel. You can follow Holly on Twitter and Instagram @HoJay92 

What I Thought

Another ‘TikTok made me do it’ book – i got this one on Audible and really enjoyed the listen.

Pip was a likable main character and her project about a local crime case for school, leads her on a path she never expected. I didn’t feel at first like the book sucked me straight in. I wasn’t rushing to listen at every opportunity, but the more I got into it, the more invested I became.

The Audible production of this book was great and I would recommend, however I think a physical read would be enjoyable too. There are two more books in this series and while it wasn’t a five star read for me, I did enjoy it and do want to check out the rest of the trilogy.

Buy ‘The Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’

Murder In The Family*

by Cara Hunter

The Blurb

IT WAS A CASE THAT GRIPPED THE NATION

LUKE RYDER’S MURDER HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED

In October 2003, Luke Ryder was found dead in the garden of the family home in London, leaving behind a wealthy older widow and three stepchildren. Nobody saw anything.

Now, secrets will be revealed – live on camera.

Years later a group of experts re-examine the evidence on Infamous, a true-crime show – with shocking results. Does the team know more than they’ve been letting on?

Or does the truth lie closer to home?

Can you solve the case before they do?

The truth will blow your mind.

What I Thought

This was a new author for me but I have heard great things about the series she has previously published.

This book has been all over BookTok due to the unique presentation – the ‘chapters’ are in fact episodes of a TV true crime documentary style series, looking at a 20 year old unsolved case. The idea is that the reader tries to piece together the clues and solve the crime as they read.

I enjoyed the concept – it was a different and interesting read. As a big true crime fan I enjoyed the case and the different aspects the author included, such as the TV critic’s review of each episode and the comment threads.

However, I didn’t feel it was a huge surprise at the end – I know the idea was for us as a reader to solve the case – but I found it somewhat obvious from the start. This didn’t especially take away from the book, I still enjoyed the read, especially as it was quite a quick one and there were some interesting twists and turns.

I didn’t dislike it but it wasn’t my favourite read of the year. I really liked the concept though and it will make a great TV show which I have seen the rights have been purchased for. I will check out more from this author in the future for sure.

Buy ‘Murder In The Family’

The Flat Share

by Beth O’Leary

The Blurb

Tiffy and Leon share a flat
Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met…

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…

What I Thought

This book has been on my TBR for ages and it was about time to get round to reading it – so I decided to listen to the Audible version.

This was a great decision – although I think I would have enjoyed the physical read just as much! Tiffy and Leon are two main characters you really warm to and want the best for, and there are some great side characters too.

I am not the biggest fan or romance books, although I do enjoy them to break up the tension when I have read a few heavy thrillers in a row and this was great for that. While there is always a happy ending in these types of book, this one doesn’t follow the normal pattern and there are some really big story lines in there – emotional abuse in a relationship being quite a big part of the story. The author handles these topics well and we still get the happy and funny moments throughout which I liked. I enjoyed the addition of he author interview at the end, where she discussed her inspiration for the book among other things.

My Mum has watched the TV series and really enjoyed it and now I have read the book I will too – but I highly recommend the read if you haven’t already. I have a copy of the book to giveaway and will be doing this on my TikTok so head over there to check it out if you fancy a freebie from me!

Buy ‘The Flat Share’

The Homemaker *

by Miranda Rijks

The Blurb

Maria always wanted a family. Now she’s found one.

Imogen has never been so busy – she’s juggling two jobs, has a young family and now she’s pregnant again.

Enter Maria, the perfect housekeeper. Hard working and capable, she seems like the ideal solution to Imogen’s chaotic life. But Maria isn’t at all what she seems – she has a sinister agenda of her own.

Little by little, she installs herself at the heart of Imogen’s family – doing the school run, cooking meals, caring for Imogen’s little girl.

But once she has won the family’s trust, Maria starts to do some digging. And discovers that Imogen has been keeping a terrible secret, a secret which Maria threatens to reveal unless Imogen starts to run this home the way Maria sees fit.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Imogen has no choice but to comply.

A terrible mistake. Because as the full scale of Maria’s horrifying plan becomes apparent, Imogen realises that everything she holds dear – her marriage, her family, her friends – all may fall victim to The Homemaker.

The Homemaker – the chilling psychological thriller from the best-selling author of The Visitors and What She Knew.

What I Thought

If you have followed my book reviews for a while you will know I am a huge Miranda Rijks fan and I couldn’t wait to get into this one!

I did enjoy the book, but it wasn’t my favourite from her. I don’t know whether it is because I normally really enjoy her books and so expect more, but this one left me feeling a bit flat.

I did race through it and wanted to keep reading – I really enjoy the pace she sets and this is something Rijks does really well in all her books. I felt however, that I spotted some plot holes in this one, making the whole thing seem implausible and taking away that element of ‘it could happen’ which obviously usually heightens the anxiety while reading. Maria was a menacing character and I liked the character of Imogen – who you root for despite her flaws and imperfections which make her more realistic.

As I said, I still enjoyed the read overall but unless you have already read her other books, I would start with those and not this one.

Buy ‘The Homemaker’

Disturbing True Crime Stories to Keep You Up All Night

by David Woods 

The Blurb

What happened to 26 year old Cynthia Martinez Perez? On Saturday July 15th, 2017, Cynthia Perez went to a quinceañera and never made it home… she had just turned 26 years old a few days before and decided to meet with a friend at a bar after the quinceañera to celebrate her birthday. There, Cynthia left the bar with two hispanic males and was never seen again. Police have identified one of the men as then 30 year old Jaime Alvarez Olivera and he is currently on the run. Where is Cynthia Martinez Perez?

What I Thought

I picked this up for free on Stuff Your Kindle day and it is available for free on Kindle Unlimited.

It was a quick read that only took me a couple of nights to get through. I didn’t feel it was the best book but as a true crime fan, I did enjoy the fact that the cases covered were less well known. Some of them are still unsolved with people missing and the police not seeming to take much interest in following up, which is shocking.

A short, snappy read with a few less-known cases which I enjoyed, but not the greatest true crime read, appearing more like a script for a podcast or TikTok style video.

Buy ‘True Crime Stories To Keep You Up All Night’

I hope you have enjoyed my reviews this month – Yellowface was definitely a highlight and my top recommendation! I’d love to hear your opinions if you have read any of these, pleaae let me know in the comments!

Take care and happy reading,

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