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| 1662516274
| 9781662516276
| B0CTL2MN9T
| 4.19
| 31
| unknown
| Dec 03, 2024
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it was amazing
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My Rating: 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ great new series by a great author!! Piper Danes is a GAL - guardian ad litem and works with vulnerable youths, just as she once My Rating: 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ great new series by a great author!! Piper Danes is a GAL - guardian ad litem and works with vulnerable youths, just as she once was. Her GAL gave her hope when she needed it most and now she is committed to helping others. Her first case is a gruesome one, Sophie Grace is 15 and the sole survivor of the murder of her whole family. Pipe teams up with the formidable Judge Hope Dawson and Detective Lazarus Holloway. As they delve into a sinister world of a killer things get worse than they could imagine and lead to a serial killer known only as The Creeper. Piper will put it all on the line to keep Sophie Grace safe - but will she end up risking more than she bargained for? I was really excited when I saw this book, I really like Victor Methos and his legal thrillers. This one is quite a bit darker than I was expecting and I was pleasantly surprised by it. The writing is great and the story is banging right from the start. I really liked all the characters as well. Piper is determined and a bit shy, Judge Dawson is odd and powerful but sure of herself and Detective Holloway skirts the line between good and bad like only a Vegas cop can. I thought I had it all figured out but I didn’t even though we know who the killer is… the legal battle is actually one of the best bits of this whole novel. I was really into it and you can tell that the author is a lawyer and knows his stuff. He writes the courtroom so well and the defence attorney was brutal in her pursuit to win while knowingly trying to get a killer off a charge. I can just imagine it really does play out like this. I had a few edge of my seat moments and I really blasted through it. I am pretty confident that Methos has set this up as a new series and I am really excited about that. I will absolutely be reading the next in line. I do suspect though that these will be best read in order. I was really wrapped up in the writing - here excerpt of one that pulled on my heartstrings…. Then they spotted a chew toy in the corner and dashed toward it. One of them managed to sink its teeth into it, and the other one bumped into the first, emitting a playful bark, trying to assert dominance, which made Sophie giggle. Her laughter was soft and sweet but evoked sadness in Piper. Sophie gently rubbed Bruiser’s head and whispered, “You’re alone just like me, aren’t you?” Suddenly, the young teen lowered her head over the puppy, clutching it tightly. She closed her eyes in an attempt to hold back tears, but the sobs overtook her, and she couldn’t stop them. As Sophie wept, Piper joined her on the floor and wrapped one arm around the girl, and they sat with Sophie crying and the puppies wrestling. Ahhh I’m not crying you are!!! There are some funny bits in this one as well and I really just was here for the whole thing. It might not be a traditional 5 stars for others but I had no complaints. Any minor issues can be put down to it being a fiction police procedural/legal thriller and nothing is perfect but I really loved it and was actually disappointed when it finished. I would also recommend his other books particularly A Killer's Wife. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley and Victor Methos for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. ...more |
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Jun 03, 2024
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Jun 09, 2024
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May 31, 2024
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| 163910951X
| 9781639109517
| 163910951X
| 3.35
| 110
| Aug 06, 2024
| Aug 06, 2024
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did not like it
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My Rating: 1⭐️ this was just everything I never wanted!! I am not going to do a synopsis wrap up… and I am going to try to keep this spoiler free, but My Rating: 1⭐️ this was just everything I never wanted!! I am not going to do a synopsis wrap up… and I am going to try to keep this spoiler free, but it annoyed me so much. The best part of this book was my super fun Buddy Read with Lit with Leigh on Storygraph, we are in two very different time zones and could read together and have a laugh ...more |
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May 09, 2024
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May 13, 2024
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May 09, 2024
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| 1644284359
| 9781644284353
| 1644284359
| 4.59
| 22
| unknown
| Jun 11, 2024
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May 06, 2024
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| 1625570856
| 9781625570857
| 1625570856
| 4.04
| 26
| unknown
| May 17, 2024
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it was amazing
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My Rating: 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this one, it made me feel all the things!!! This is a collection of stories depicting love and loss and suffering My Rating: 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this one, it made me feel all the things!!! This is a collection of stories depicting love and loss and suffering, how people deserve second chances and how not everyone gets a happy ending. America’s city scars, sewers, alleyways and bars are the landscape for these tales. It is a collection of the human condition through the lens of damaged survivors as they learn to love through small acts of kindness, given and received. First up I want to say that this wont be for everyone, you will also need to mind your trigger warnings. These stories are by no means happy, they as stated above are drawn from traumatic events and sadness. Major TW for Miscarriage, SA, Addiction and many others. I really enjoyed this collection, the author opens with some raw information on her own journey of mental health, addition and exploration of finding her way back to herself and to happiness which I found really helped me understand how she wrote these sad stories so beautifully, that is not to say that these are all reflective of her own situation I can’t imagine they are but I would guess that she has met many of these characters by different names in her life and I really liked the realism that gave each story. They are raw and real and they are sad. Which is exactly how life is. I am not going to break down every individual story because they are all short and they are all worth reading. Some are a bit weird and some are downright depressing… but I love me some dark and sad because as I said that is all part of life. Things cannot and definitely are not happy all the time. I found myself with some tears in my eyes throughout this book which does not happen very often and that is one of the main reasons I have 5 starred this. It is just so real. The writing is really excellent as well and for a debut book I am super impressed. I will be keeping an eye out for this author again… I do hope she does some more work similar to this or a full length novel with some of this looking for happiness in the sewer themes. I think some really important issues were touched on and I normally don’t read for social justice issues I like to keep my views on those things out of my hobby but this was done so well that it didn’t feel like a political agenda in anyway it just was … and it just is the human condition at its most vulnerable and I really enjoyed that. If you read this and you say to me, why did you give this 5 stars when you gave X 5 stars they are so different and I didn’t like X or Y or whatever… well this is a different 5 stars. This is a short story collection Lit Fic 5 stars and it ticks my personal boxes. The writing was excellent, I felt sad and happy and amused… I got teary which is hard to do to me so it was a definite factor and I personally love reading sad stories that don’t always get a happy ending… or don’t always get the ending you are hoping for. Because to me that is real life… life is not all running into the sunset with the person you wanted to run off with… and that is sad… but its so damn real that this book really highlighted the flaws that live and breathe in ourselves and our world. Ooooh Karly thats deep… So… overall, if you like the stressy and depressy but very very real and relatable (and often times close to home if you suffer, have suffered or know those that do) then this might be for you. The writing is fantastic Emily can sure tell a tale. But if you are thinking wow this seems like it will make me feel shit and I don’t like that… then please skip it and please mind your TWs as I said before. I want to thank Emily Jon Tobias for an amazing story and Black Lawrence Press and NetGalley for my Advanced Reader Copy for an honest review. I really loved this story and cannot wait to read more by this author. Oh and PS: there is a reader guide at the back to use for your own journalling or book club and I thought that was really cool. It’s not done like others I have seen before and I really liked it. Also this is only 190 pages and is short…it took me a bit longer to read as I was thinking about the stories long after… and I am also on holidays so have been doing other things ...more |
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1
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Apr 11, 2024
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Apr 15, 2024
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Apr 10, 2024
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| 0008625824
| 9780008625825
| 0008625824
| 4.40
| 2,620
| Aug 20, 2024
| Jun 20, 2024
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liked it
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My Rating: 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ I am deep in this series, and I love it… but I had some issues!!! Will and Sara have finally tied the knot, and are about to embark My Rating: 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ I am deep in this series, and I love it… but I had some issues!!! Will and Sara have finally tied the knot, and are about to embark on their honeymoon. It is not a surprise that while they are there something gruesome happens and they stumble upon the recently murdered Mercy McAlpine. Mercy is their host at the scenic lodge/cabins they are staying at for their honeymoon and Sara and Will are shocked to learn no one in particular seems bothered by Mercy’s brutal demise and everyone has a reason to want her dead. Ok, so I will start with a bit of a disclaimer - this is Karin Slaughter so its brutal, there are TWs of all shapes and sizes and if you read her books then really its actually not too bad… but… if you don’t regularly read her books then be warned. I will also say this is the 12th book in the series and if you are the kind of person to go … Karly I don’t give a shit I am jumping in at 12 then go for it…but you might find some of the long lasting storyline hard to follow. With that said… here we go. So I am a big fan of this series and its predecessor the Grant County Series as well I have read every book with these characters and I am not ashamed to say that I think I am so deep in now I have to see where its going…. However I was a bit let down by this one. It wasn’t baaad it just wasn’t up to Slaughters usual standard… IN MY OPINION… don’t shoot me if you disagree. As per usual it is a long novel and KS does take a year and a half to get to the point BUT she always does this… its totally on brand and I guess by this point I am expecting it. I did find that there were quite a few too many descriptions of the scenery (this is one of my least fave things to read about in thrillers unless you are building ambiance… but scenery for the sake of it… lets get on with the story please) and I think there was some unnecessary recapping and meandering as I said above, its book 12 if you are jumping in at this point then thats on you as a reader, for us old fans we don’t need to be reminded of the bleeding obvious… but again it didn’t ruin it. I will start by saying what I did really like though, I really like Faith, I think she is fast becoming my fave character of the series, shes funny and has grit and a lot of personality. I can imagine her in my minds eye and I want to meet her. I like how Slaughter writes her character and I like how she’s not perfect but shes loyal AF! I am glad that Sara and Will finally got their shit together and got married the will they won’t they was killing me… and the Angie storyline has been done to death if you ask me. So that was a really good point for me. I liked the flash back letters, that was one of my favourite parts of the book, they were by no means easy to read but thats what they were intended for and I liked that Mercy wrote to her son every year on the same day to give him an update… good or bad. For me some of the things that annoyed me or irked me were the sickly over the top way Sara and Will carry on with each other. I get it they are super mad in love AND on their honeymoon but Sara calling Will my love in every other sentence was too much…. I realise this is part of their story and how they are with each other… but Will is so puppy dogged by Sara and Sara is so hyper aware that she love Will but has this power over him she shouldn’t use to her advantage… It just doesn’t feel natural. I still love them together but it felt a bit wooden in this story for me. Maybe its a me issue… I didn’t realise when I picked this up (and it still wouldn’t have stopped me reading it) that it was a “locked room” mystery style book. I have found out two things about myself this year… I don’t like locked room mystery style books much and I really don’t like books that compare themselves to Agatha Christie, this book doesn’t do the second thing but I thought I would put it out there anyway. But the constant was it this person… was it that person… no this person has a secret they definitely killed her BUT WAIT its got to be that person… and it was a circular calamity of events to finally get to the big twist … I GET IT this is part of the charm… and red herrings about, I do get it… but KS took that too the next level with this one. It was just all a bit too many things, too many secrets and too much of everything… just chill please. My other main gripe with this book was the sheer amount of mentions of the trails at the lodge… lets take the rope trail, no we will take widows whatever trail, or that trail etc etc… again it was a circular round and round of trails. I was sick and tired of hearing about the lodge. I get that it was supposed to be one of the main characters in and of itself but I wanted to hear more about the people and the murder and the baddies…. This is where Faith and I are besties… I ALSO hate nature like she does… so reading about mud, and stink and mosquitoes and horses… well I was over it. I did like the book but I didn’t love it… it definitely wasn’t the strongest in the series by a long shot and while I would still recommend to fans of the series I was a bit let down. It was under 500 pages which is a wow factor for KS but it still felt like it was 800 and I still think it was 100 too long… thats just my opinion. I am sure those of you who love this series will love this one too and I am sure you will all do a bit raspberry in my direction and honestly I hope you do love it… maybe the locked room style was what did me in… I am going to go into minor spoilers so don’t read further if the TWs I am going to mention will spoil the story for you… I am also a bit disturbed by the amount of incest that KS puts in her books, this is a common thread and maybe its that part of the country and its actually wide spread or maybe its a shock factor thing… but I honestly am super grossed out by it. Again I realise this is the point of putting it in a thriller but it was jammed in there alongside every other shocking thing and I just don’t think it was necessary OR if you think it was then it needed to be alluded to along the way… so we can prepare… there wasn’t enough warning for this… Again, the amount of r@pe in these books is horrendous and I realise its a very real very horrific issue that absolutely has a place in thrillers, but I felt that in this book they were thrown in for shock value as well. When we get to Gabbie’s storyline I was open mouthed at the BAM THIS HAPPENED and we wont mention it again… there was no real lead in… and then it was THIS HAPPENED, THIS IS HOW IT WAS DEALT WITH and then nothing… without completely spoiling the book I can’t say more… and maybe its just me but I feel like while these things are definitely part of thrillers it can be handled a little more tactfully in places… and if its not then there has to be more to the story than just shock. I do not think I have read a single KS book without r@pe and usually multiples… I am not saying we shouldn’t put it in thrillers it just seem really over the top in these novels. Minor spoilers over… Either way for all my ranting I am glad I read it… I liked it…didn’t love it and I look forward to the next one. Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Karin Slaughter and NetGalley for an advanced copy for my honest review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 29, 2024
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Mar 31, 2024
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Mar 28, 2024
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Hardcover
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| 1496748700
| 9781496748706
| 1496748700
| 4.02
| 265
| Jul 23, 2024
| Jul 23, 2024
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not set
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not set
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Feb 27, 2024
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Hardcover
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| B0CRF14GH1
| 4.26
| 19,375
| Mar 22, 2024
| Mar 22, 2024
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really liked it
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My Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ this was good… I enjoyed it and had trouble putting it down!!! A merciless wilderness. A harrowing attack. A desperate escape. When My Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ this was good… I enjoyed it and had trouble putting it down!!! A merciless wilderness. A harrowing attack. A desperate escape. When a tragic accident sidelines Miley’s dreams of Olympic gold, she takes a summer job at a mountain lodge. The Frank Church Wilderness is remote, but it’s the perfect place for Miley to train and recover. Local lore about a staffer who died years ago doesn’t scare her… but it should. Miley’s plans take a terrifying detour when she’s abducted by off the grid preppers who have nightmarish plans for her. She is trapped in a remote cabin with no way of escape… that is until there is… Can Miley make it out alive?? Inspired by true events. So I really love this author this is only the third full length book of hers I have read and my experience with her last one was a bit disappointing, I wanted to love it so my rating was generous but this one I did really enjoy. The suspense was real and it was back with a vengeance. The story really sucked me in right away and I was intrigued about the inspiration… which I am not gonna lie is terrifying. Noelle can write and she can write scary so well done …. I was on the edge of my proverbial seat with this one… the events that led to Miley’s abduction and then the description of her damaged feet, her capture and the shackles… ugh I felt for her every step of the way. Miley isn’t super easy to like but you gotta feel for her even leading up to her abduction… she has clearly been through some stuff but it is not all revealed straight away and I liked that… you can pretty much guess what happened in the accident and shes tortured by it every day so shes sassy and rude…but I get it. I would probably be rude and bitchy too if I was carrying that much guilt around like luggage with me as well. I think her character development was amazing and I realise its only based on true events but I can only imagine the horror the real girl went through and I applaud her tenacity. This story was unique…. I really enjoyed it. The changing POV are always a winner for me… I really liked Brent a lot what a good guy… everyone should have a Brent in their life. AND Wes… poor overlooked Wes. I liked the way the events were brought together and the past merged with the present… it truly is a terrifying thing to think you can be living your life and then snatched up only to feel like you will never be seen again…. I hope I never have to truly know what that feels like… because the way the author describes it is f*cking scary enough thank you very much… a true testament to her writing. Overall, I really enjoyed this… it was thrilling and it was edge of my seat. It was back to the Run on Red style that I loved. I know know all my friends liked Run on Red… but I really did so if you did too I think this one will be for you. I want to thank Dynamite Books, NetGalley and Noelle W. Ihli for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I am glad I have stuck with this author cause we can’t like every single book someone writes but I really do enjoy her style. Thank you. I also really love the extra short stories you get to get some insight into another character… this was no exception… I got a little free story after I had finished this and I really liked that as well. Once its available to review on GoodReads I will pop up a short review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 16, 2024
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Mar 19, 2024
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Feb 25, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 1804367346
| 9781804367346
| B0CJTRS68V
| 4.14
| 200
| Mar 21, 2024
| Mar 21, 2024
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None
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0
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not set
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not set
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Feb 09, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 1804366528
| 9781804366523
| B0CS93P7NX
| 4.58
| 146
| unknown
| Jul 11, 2024
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really liked it
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My Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ great start to a new series from an awesome author!!! The signs are unmistakable. The dog halts, his nose up - nostrils quivering. My Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ great start to a new series from an awesome author!!! The signs are unmistakable. The dog halts, his nose up - nostrils quivering. Every inch of him poised. Moss has a scent. When a hand is found in Gallows Wood, PC Lucy Halliday and her specialist search dog Moss must find the rest of the body. Like every case since her husbands disappearance Lucy wonders if this will bring her closer to the truth. With a new DI, Jack Ellis on the job, Lucy struggles to stay out of the case and out of the way. But she is hiding things too… she has more to the story than she is letting on. Everyone in this story has a secret and no one wants to be found out!! First of all thank you to my good friend Lit with Leigh for the fun Buddy Read, Leigh I did think that you were going to blast past me (you did for a bit there) and I was going to be left in the dust - but in the end we finished almost at the same time. Buddy reads on StoryGraph are super fun and I loved this one!! I recently (thanks to Leigh again), read all of Louisa Scarr’s Butler and West series and I wish it was still going - I adored those books and will live in hope that LS is going to bring them back to us. But in the meantime as soon as I saw this book was up on NetGalley I hit request immediately!! I wont lie it took me a bit to get into this one, I was worried the cute dog was going to bother me - now before you all throw rotten apples at me, I don’t have anything against dogs but I wanted a thriller not a cute mystery with a cute dog - I needn’t have worried this got pretty dark in places. AND the dog was adorable which I loved btw!! But it still took me a bit to get into it because it wasn’t Butler and West - perhaps if I hadn’t binge read all 5 of those in May it wouldn’t have been an issue ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 14, 2024
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Jun 15, 2024
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Jan 30, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 1761188704
| 9781761188701
| B0CRCV87W6
| 3.60
| 1,427
| Mar 2024
| Mar 26, 2024
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liked it
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My Rating: 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ good but not great… also had to know how it ended!!! She wonders if the have discovered her missing yet. Has it broken in the news? My Rating: 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ good but not great… also had to know how it ended!!! She wonders if the have discovered her missing yet. Has it broken in the news? Who has been assigned to cover her story? Have they started spooling through her social media and pulling out photographs? Constructing a narrative about who she is and what possible reason any person has to kidnap or (lets be frank) kill her? Kate Delaney has made a huge mistake… one that may just cost her, her life. Thank you to Allen & Unwin AU, NetGalley and Louise Milligan for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. I requested this one ages ago and was shocked when I got approved so I started it straight away. I really liked the synopsis and couldn’t wait to dive in…. I did not realise this was set in Australia. Don’t ask me why but as an Australian you would think I would like to support Australian authors but usually no… I do not… not that I don’t like to I just usually dont vibe with their thrillers. So I was a little dubious going in considering some of the places and are familiar to me … but I liked the way the chapters were set up each one had a title and it was relevant to the storyline and some of the references were so Aussie or super familiar to me and things that I enjoyed as a kid… made it more enjoyable. The thought of the Famous Five makes her start thinking about Enid Blyton foods and how it was another thing she and Liam had bonded over, as they had both devoured the now comically politically incorrect books as children. They both agreed that no one described food like Enid Blyton, from mouth-watering to the comically retro. Baked potatoes simply dripping with butter. Cold tongue and tomato sandwiches. Potted meats. Blancmange. New scones. Strawberries and cream. Treacle. Her stomach starts rumbling again. She could murder a baked potato simply dripping in butter right now. FAMOUS FIVE WAS MY FAVOURITE as a kid…. Also honourable mention to the Faraway Tree what a trip. Having said that… I still landed on a 3. I will say that I think a lot of people will love this… perhaps some of the overseas audience will struggle with some of the Australian references but I think you will cope - google will help you. Honestly this was mostly enjoyable but I found it lacked some depth… there was a lot of story but it wasn’t thrilling I didn’t feel like I was stressed and this actually should have been a stressful tale. A woman is assaulted, kidnapped and kept… but… it was too flippant. It was supposed to be at times but I think it managed to be so flippant that it was too much so… there wasn’t enough tension and to be quite frank there was just too much storyline about Liam. Kate’s boyfriend who to me was sweet and all but such a massive pussy. I just couldn’t deal with the amount this guy cried… sure… call me a bitch and thats ok.. and I know i know his gf is missing but I needed more action. For the amount of dialogue this guy took up I wanted an action man not a cry baby who couldn’t handle being called chicken by Kate’s best friend… come on pal you have bigger things to worry about other than some endearing nickname cause she is stressed. Liam bugged me… I wanted them to break up at the end… I wanted him to bugger off or also get kidnapped and not brought back. Kate’s character was so strong and independent and this guy was the super nice guy that cried and loved hipster things… ugh it just icked me out. Also for a story about Kate we didn’t get to know her that well… we didn’t really get much dialogue from when she was kidnapped and how she was feeling… I dunno I just felt like there were a lot of useless backstories when the stuff happening was rather supposed to be more stressful. I only felt really stressed right at the very very end… and then it abruptly ended… it was a let down. Did I hate it absolutely not… I liked it.. but I didn’t love it. Overall - if you like the sound of it give it a go but if you are expecting a wild ride… then you might only get halfway there… there are some really harrowing things that happen in this one but are kind of glossed over… I get that we are Australian but even some of the stuff that happened in this book Aussies aren’t going to gloss over… ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 07, 2024
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Feb 10, 2024
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Jan 15, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 0349145792
| 9780349145792
| 0349145792
| 4.11
| 281
| unknown
| Jul 18, 2024
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did not like it
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My Rating: 1⭐️ not my cup of tea at all… Very Disappointed!!! NetGalley Synopsis Forget what you think you know… You know Penny Coyne. The little old My Rating: 1⭐️ not my cup of tea at all… Very Disappointed!!! NetGalley Synopsis Forget what you think you know… You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a twinset and tweed. You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes. Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation. It will end with a rabbit hole that goes so deep, Johnny and Penny might just come to question not just whodunnit, but whether they want to know the answer. *A cross-genre hybrid of Agatha Christie and Michael Connelly. Well I should have read that last line a little closer… a cross-genre hybrid of Agatha Christie… I could have saved myself the trouble. I have never read anything that is Agatha Christie adjacent or similar that I have enjoyed… I believe its just not for me… this was no different. And to be honest I haven’t read anything from Michael Connelly but the bits that were from Hawkes perspective I think were likely more his style and that was ok… but the Penny ones… talk about snore fest for me… Now what I will say is this was CLEVER I really didn’t know how the author was going to intersect the two stories that were not even running in the same country let alone with the same characters but honestly that was clever and excellent writing. There is no doubt about it that Brookmyre is talented… however…. The story just dragged on and on and on and on… this is nearly 500 pages and ALOT is happening but it felt like it was all happening underwater, in slow motion trapped in mud… come on… I shouldn’t feel bored by a story that has two stories multi POV and multi-countries with multi-mysteries. I wasn’t a fan of Penny… I thought she was whatever… I mean good on her shes a little old lady that can solve mysteries… but she was kind of a nothing to me… and she was boring. Johnny was a bit better but again very stereotypical and ME MAN YOU WOMAN kind of dude… whatever cause that doesn’t particularly bother me except again I was still bored… either way for me this was a huge miss. I am disappointed too cause I loved the sound of it… but I will make sure I never pick up another book that is “like” Agatha Christie cause I never ever Vibe with them. I think maybe one day I may read an actual Agatha Christie to see if I actually like her work… but anything that is LIKE it… definitely not for me. I would prefer it to be the actual famous author and go… yeah thats not for me… cause now its put me off her writing before I have even given her a chance. So… we shall see. Either way… I am keeping this short… its one star.. I am positive lots of people will like this… but I did not. Thank you to Abacus, NetGalley and the author for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 28, 2024
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Mar 04, 2024
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Dec 21, 2023
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Hardcover
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| B0CKL974FR
| 3.92
| 1,311
| Mar 27, 2024
| Mar 27, 2024
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it was amazing
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My Rating: 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ not blow you out of space 5stars but I really enjoyed the writing and characters!! Trainee psychiatrist Doctor Hannah Wright, th My Rating: 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ not blow you out of space 5stars but I really enjoyed the writing and characters!! Trainee psychiatrist Doctor Hannah Wright, thought she had seen everything in the Emergency Room… that is until she joins the team at Menzies Hospital in the psychiatric ward. Hannah is a country girl who has trauma in her own past that she is dealing with… or avoiding dealing with. The Glass House is full of characters and not all of them are the patients. Hannah and her coworkers are dealing with the bizarre, the devastating, the hilarious and just plain weird sides to mental health. All each trying to find their own place in the world, dealing with their own trauma and their own issues. So… this is my first book of the year and you can see that I am kicking off with five stars. I would like to very upfront say that anyone who reads my reviews for the thrillers will not find that here. This is a lit fic book and very character driven. It wont be for everyone and even if it is for you it might not be five stars. I have taken a week to think about my review and for me the more I think about this book the more I liked it. It is set in Australia (I am Australian), and while I normally avoid Australian novels just because I like to get away in books… I think this one worked so well for me because it was centred around Mental Health, and the system we have here in Australia. The author is an Australian psychiatrist as well and she knows her stuff. You can tell this stuff is based of lived experience and having had some lived experience (different to the author) myself it was all very accurate and familiar. I really liked how raw and real it was. I liked the characters… there was no one that blew me away but again this book wasn’t intended (in my opinion) to do that… but they each had a part to play. The writing is very nuanced… sometimes you don’t know why or what you are reading about … until you realise the author has tied it in so nicely that you may not have even noticed that you didn’t quite know what was going on initially. I liked not having my hand held especially for a topic that is so easily misunderstood… it would have been easy for the author to spew out medical jargon and do a play by play of this is this and this means that… but she didn’t have to at all. Her writing style allowed us to follow along in the stories that presented themselves and at all times I knew where it was going… or I found out. Something that I liked but others may not is that there is no definitive ending to this novel, for me that makes sense, because it wasn’t over… it will never be over. It is the days in the lives of the workers, the patients and the families of those working and living with mental health… that doesn’t end. What I did love and wasn’t expecting was the tie in that the author managed to do with all the cases… I won’t go into it in depth because it will ruin it for those that wish to read it but… I really enjoyed how it very subtlety showed us what was going on throughout the book that we as the reader would and could not have been aware of… that was actually my favourite part. I liked Hannah, and that she like all of us is flawed… and that she haunted in her own right and own way by the things that she carries with her in her life. Each of the characters have their own thing… and we learn about them throughout. I also like the authors inclusivity, there were characters from other cultures, minority groups and walks of life, all of which I felt were really well represented and written but it also wasn’t shoved in our face and explained to us in a condescending way… I enjoyed reading about their lives and struggles without it being because I’m XYZ… or because I’m from here or there… it was all very clear why these things were a very real and raw issue but you didn’t have the author shoving her own agenda down our throats it was a very nice way to represent and include people. Overall, I think if you like Lit Fic and the subject matter is interesting to you give it a go. It is very well written I really enjoyed it. Far more than I was expecting to… I certainly didn’t go into this thinking it would be a 5 star read… but I actually was quite disappointed when it ended although I think it ended the best way it could have. I will be going and looking for more work by this author. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Hackett Australia for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 30, 2023
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Jan 02, 2024
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Dec 17, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 0802162568
| 9780802162564
| 0802162568
| 3.56
| 262
| Mar 05, 2024
| Mar 05, 2024
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really liked it
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My rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ really enjoyable, great writing had the stressy depressy vibes from the get go!! The Casey brothers are estranged and have been fo My rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ really enjoyable, great writing had the stressy depressy vibes from the get go!! The Casey brothers are estranged and have been for 3 decades, so much water under the bridge and secrets they wish they could forget. Time does not heal all wounds because now Ambrose and Cale must confront the violence of their past as they find out the pond where some unthinkable things happened is going be dredged… Lily Rowe, the contractor in charge of the dredge has a host of her own demons that are connected to the Casey brothers, what she doesn’t know is that dredging that pond is going to bring up more than she bargained for. Ok, debut novel done right!!! I really loved this, not quite 5 stars but it really packed a punch and in under 300 pages as well which is really a good sign of good writing. I really love that sparse prose, the nuanced meanings and ability to trust your reader is going to understand where you are headed with a story without spelling it out in a million words or more for them like a dear diary entry. Brendan Flaherty has done a great job of all those things, he managed to develop some stories and characters that had really done it tough without using all the pages of the world to do it. I liked the heavy vibe of this book. You can feel it from the opening pages that its going to really pinch your heartstrings. What I also like is that this was a little bit different its told from mostly the brother’s perspectives and how they deal with their emotions, trauma (or not) and have built a life on top of their lies and regrets. We do get to hear from Lily as well but she is secondary and I think its nice to have some well developed MMC’s who are trying to figure it out without taking down everyone around them. By no means are they they good guys…but I think in a story like this everyone is the good guy and the bad guy (well except for the actual bad bad guys)…. Its a story of we all have faults and how do we handle ourselves as kids and into adulthood. Its a story of loss and love and perhaps how things don’t always work out how you hoped they would, how your hero isn’t as invincible as you would have liked and dreams just sometimes do not come true. This is not a thriller, I am not sure if it’s marketed that way but its not, its stressy and depressy and its character driven. You get multiple POV and multiple timelines but for those that like these clearly spelt out they are not… but for me I found them very easy to decipher… it was not necessary for headings of who was who because it was clear to me. But if you need that then perhaps this isn’t for you. Overall I don’t have any complaints, I would liken this novel to Beneath Cruel Waters, similar vibes (very different story) but also that grit and grimy on the land and sad AF storyline. I really loved that book and it’s no surprise that I enjoyed this so much. I think if you like a character driven, emotion fuelled novel then give this a try it isn’t very long and it is very well done in my humble opinion. Thank you to NetGalley, Atlantic Monthly Press and the author for an ARC of this debut novel in exchange for my honest review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 06, 2024
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Jan 06, 2024
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Oct 27, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1405961627
| 9781405961622
| B0CKX563FX
| 4.06
| 27,117
| May 07, 2024
| May 09, 2024
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did not like it
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My Rating: 1⭐️ total let down, the ending ripped the stars away for me!!! GoodReads Synopsis I guess you’re probably wondering about the next girl. Beca My Rating: 1⭐️ total let down, the ending ripped the stars away for me!!! GoodReads Synopsis I guess you’re probably wondering about the next girl. Because there’s always a next girl, right? A girl waiting to be taken. To be swept away. I’ll tell you about her. Its been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun lost her sister, and shes been searching for signs of closure through other missing girls ever since. Happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work. Until one day, local teenager Elli Black is found in Washington State woods. Two years after her disappearance, shes an echo of herself, but alive. But something’s not right about this girl. Where has she been, and who is she protecting? Chelsey has to find out. For herself, her sister and before the next girl is taken. Ok, the premise is on point… kidnapped girls, detective with similar pain, new missing girls… something not right… ticks all the boxes and screams trapped POV if you ask me (I am sick ok what can I say). I was pretty happy for a while… but as you can see from my rating.. I became extremely unhappy at some point… let’s explore… Good points - I was approved for a Penguin ARC which after this review I am sure wont happen again… but I gotta be honest. Initially the writing was fairly good.. I wouldn’t say brilliant or masterpiece absolutely not but it was fine. It read well felt like it was going to be entertaining. Was there evidence that this could be a social mouthpiece for certain political or social justice agenda’s… Yes! Was I going to let that stop me read my shiny new Penguin ARC… No I was not. So I closed my eyes and screamed LALALALALALLAA I can’t hear you to some of the nonsense things I read… they were so childishly written it was hard to take some of the real and serious issues seriously… so yeah anyway I ignored it… let it go the keep got those ones… I didn’t like the MC, Chelsey much, she seemed selfish and up herself… but I don’t care about liking all the characters but I can see why her co-workers weren’t a fan. Hang on… this is the good points section. There was the POV from multiple parties which as you know is my favourite type of book, it was all solidly one timeline no jumping just memories but the POV was from the captured Ellie Black and Chelsey. The POVs are not titled but it is simple to figure out who is who since one was trapped and kidnapped with very bad things happening to her so… thats simple. The POV of Ellie gave us a trapped POV which as I said above is one of my fave types.. this did not last the entire book but it was sick and twisted and I loved it. Definite thriller material… I would not last in this scenario at all… kudos to the author for that horror show well played. Sadly, the rest of it was choppy, and poorly written. Another book that kind of went off the rails at 50% writing wise. I mean it was doing ok… but then it just boarded on childish and play by play the entire time. Sally went to the store, she looked around, she saw her friend, she waved to her friend. They talked for a while. Sally smiled and thought to herself I am a dumbass… that kind of writing. And the story was unfolding quite ok but then BAM we had a huge plot twist and while I kind of saw it coming… it just gave me eye roll city. I was like seriously why!!! I am not going to spoil it of course but honestly come on… I despise the kind of twist we got… pure shock and no thought in my opinion. Then of course there is a final showdown isn’t there always… and that was the kicker for me. All the blinders came flying off… all the things I was looking the other way to were punching me in the face repeatedly and I was eye rolling until I fell out of bed dizzy. The big twisty twist near the end was cringe… I hated it. You have to remember at this point I have had six yes SIX 1 or 2 star books in a row… that is death by shit book and this then took a turn from the generous 3 straight into 1 star territory I almost wrote a letter to the Prime Minister to let him know I would no longer be reading until forever… Nevertheless this was a bullshit ending… I wasn’t happy. I think some people are going to love this. I mean the reviews that are on NetGalley and GR so far are really positive not 42 pages long like mine but they are 4 or 5 stars so I do think this will be popular. I think BookTok fans and the mainstream readers should definitely check it out especially if you love a social justice moment with a simple easy read. For those of you (Leigh, Carol and anyone with similar taste in books to me) don’t do it… this will not be for you… Thank you to Penguin, NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I wish I liked this more!! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 28, 2023
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Oct 31, 2023
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Oct 26, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 1915523052
| 9781915523051
| B0C1YBYQSZ
| 3.45
| 362
| Jan 09, 2024
| Jan 02, 2024
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liked it
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My Rating: 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was good… but not great! When you wake up without your memories, who can you really trust? Scientist Iris Henderson chose to be h My Rating: 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was good… but not great! When you wake up without your memories, who can you really trust? Scientist Iris Henderson chose to be her own first test-subject in a ground breaking experimental therapy. A piece of technology is placed into her brain to assist with trauma, helping heal from the emotional damage it was doing to her and bring her peace. The trouble is Iris has lost her memories altogether and she cannot fathom whys he would sign away her consent to this type of experimental treatment and everyone around her cannot be trusted… or so she thinks. Ok, so I liked it but I didn’t love it. It was a bit confusing and I am fine with that but some of it to me was pointless misdirection and some of it was so so so repetitive. We got to hear about Iris nearly blacking out or actually blacking out from disobeying the implant for what felt like a hundred times… I was getting a bit irritated with that. I did like the writing and I did like the premise but overall this one was a meh for me. I think that it was a bit of a cop out with the twist and the reason for the implant. And there was a real ominous feel to it that fell really flat for me… and then kind of when nowhere. Some really creepy shit could have happened but I think they really missed the mark on it. Some storyline’s were introduced and not fully discovered and others were too drawn out. Like I said it was super repetitive in places and we read all about their house and how suffocating it was but there was little to no explanation to why… now I get the nuance of what she was talking about but why keep mentioning over and over and over again if you aren’t going to give it a little more substance. I felt like there were a lot of things like this in the book that had a half measure applied to them only to really go nowhere. I don’t really have much more to add as I don’t want to spoil the book for people. The sci-fi type AI angle was good… it could have been better as well because there was a lot of ambiguity and while I normally really like that it was just a bit confusing and ended up being a non event. I did keep drifting off which is never a good sign… initially I put it down to me being tired but honestly I think I was a little bored. Overall, I don’t really have anyone to recommend this too… not with all my heart. If you like the sound of the premise then give it a go its not super long and like I said its not a bad book…just not a great book. Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Datura Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 17, 2023
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Dec 21, 2023
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Oct 24, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 9781922863935
| 3.52
| 240
| unknown
| Feb 27, 2024
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did not like it
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My Rating: 1⭐️ synopsis was the most interesting part!!! GoodReads Synopsis Meet the roommates from hell. On her first shift at the halfway house for vi My Rating: 1⭐️ synopsis was the most interesting part!!! GoodReads Synopsis Meet the roommates from hell. On her first shift at the halfway house for violent offenders in Edinburgh - the only job she could get - rebounding Australian expat Lou is taken hostage. For nine hours, the only people who can help her are the residents. But who can Lou trust? The mum-and-dad-killer, the elderly legless rockstar paedophile, the stammering suicide chat room guy or the Armani-suited conman? Well… I took a chance on this one. I was hoping for dark humour and a bit of thrills… I got neither. Lou was the perfect rendition of an unlikeable character, she is selfish, up herself, a terrible friend and completely unaware of her own bad behaviour… and when it looks like shes going to become aware she compartmentalises it into a box in her head labelled… YOLO!!! This would all be fine except there is no real reason for her to behave like this… shes shit to her parents and just blames them when in fact they are lovely. She is shit to her friends… when shes the one that dogs them…and shes a horn bag that gets herself into all kinds of trouble that she basically brings on herself. There are no learn your lesson moments in this book and the author basically explains her behaviour away by telling us a million times that Lou is only 23… oh sorry I didn't realise that at 23 you could just do whatever you wanted to whoever you wanted and go f*ck the consequences. We find out early on that Lou has a married man for a boyfriend who she is essentially sleeping with for the good life… but when that goes pear shaped and shes alienated everyone in her life who disagrees with her life choices shes decides to take the worlds worst job on the other side of the world on a whim. Immediately she starts banging a strangers which is sure to go well… right??? Anyway… I am not going to ruin the whole story for you but you can see a theme here… Lou does not think before she acts but hang on… shes 23 so why should she… YOLO remember. Obviously there are people out there like Lou but honestly they are not nice people just as Lou is not and reading a story full of self centred behaviour grates on you after a while. The story has the potential to be something pretty good… the synopsis could really go wild… and sure it does go a bit wild… but it goes weird wild!! Its not funny like it promises and its not thrilling at all… putting it into the thriller category is just plain wrong. It labours on and on… we go through the motions with Lou and her one dimensional life until we finally get to some action and then it’s gang busters weird…. I dunno it just felt hard to get through. It was a fairly short book and it should have been a quick fun read but I just didn’t enjoy it. The ending…ugh the ending was the worst bit and that is saying something… I really couldn’t stand how it all came to a close I just thought really … all that for … this!!! I am not going to harp on and on… I think this had potential, I think the author can write fine I just wish it was interesting… Overall, this wasn’t for me… I don’t have anyone I can think of to say go and give this a try… I just think for all my GR friends this will be bland and a meh event. I might give the authors more popular book a try as it does have good reviews… but we shall see. Thank you to Affirm Press, NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for my true and honest opinion. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 17, 2023
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Oct 20, 2023
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Oct 17, 2023
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Trade paperback
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1399703595
| 9781399703598
| B0C6GFHKYP
| 3.90
| 950
| Nov 09, 2023
| Nov 09, 2023
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it was ok
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My Rating: 2⭐️⭐️ very generous stars… solid start… fell apart like a cheap suit!! Newly appointed State Pathologist for Ireland, Dr Terry O’Brien has a My Rating: 2⭐️⭐️ very generous stars… solid start… fell apart like a cheap suit!! Newly appointed State Pathologist for Ireland, Dr Terry O’Brien has arrived amid rumours and doubts about her intentions. Terry is caught up in the murder of a local famous podcaster and the boundaries of her role as pathologist and detective begin to blur. The killer sets his sights on Terry, will she be in for more than she bargained for… So, first off I am late to the party for reviewing this one… but here we are. I unfortunately have been let down, and am unhappy to say that while this appears to be the beginning of a series it will likely be my first and last with this author. Let’s begin with the good, the storyline is catchy, and it has promise. I like the fact that the author actually has the same qualifications as the FMC so it was very obvious to me that she knew what she was talking about as a State Pathologist. The facts and the figures lined up and I liked it. The FMC and her BFF Michael had a good friendship, I feel like we could have gotten a little bit more hang time from them and insight into how they became friends etc… but ultimately it was a good pairing. I liked the student Laura she was good but again not fully developed as a character and the problem I have with that is that this is a long book… its almost 400 pages so there is time for the characters to be developed properly. Lastly the MMC and love interest of Terry… I liked him as well… they seem to fit well together, get on etc. BUT again not properly developed only very surface level interactions with he and Terry. Terry on the other hand… I wasn’t a fan… she was a little unlikeable but also mostly just annoying AF, this is not a deal breaker for me but the stuff she was doing was stupid and it was irritating me. When the killer eventually go this hands on her… this isn’t really a spoiler because if you cannot see this being foreshadowed from the get go then … I don’t know what book you are reading, you really think to yourself… this is your fault Terry, you literally did this to yourself. So lets back up a bit… how was the writing you ask…. Well it was REPETITIVE considering we had a bunch of underdeveloped characters and plenty of pages… why the heck were we repeating and repeating the most insane BS throughout the book. Why did we need to read that Terry was here on secondment over and over, why did we need to know that her sister died only to not really even find out what happened, like if you are going to drop that bomb repeatedly then give us more each time… honestly it was really getting to me and by 50% I felt like the book had almost gone no where. Another thing I really didn’t like about this book was that there were some really niche and intricate details the killer did but then completely basic bitch moves like calling himself SaucyJackie in his instagram posts… like come on… Jack the Ripper first of all had nothing to do with this case, second has been done to DEATH… it was unoriginal and boring. But then we went gang busters with the spores of mushrooms being found at the crime scene so Terry could show off… I dunno… it all felt too forced. It was like the author wanted to take the biggest and baddest things and make them all fit in… Ultimately for me it fell flat… but what really irritated me no end was that Terry is the pathologist… she has a job to perform that does not include being a detective. She is told over and over to stay in her lane… but she thinks she knows better than the police so often times she goes off on her own or with the help of Detective McDreamy to try and solve the case… constantly getting herself into trouble. That is the definition of not your job… and being a dumbass. It was not quite citizen gone rouge but she didn’t get fired for meddling … and instead she got kidnapped and then the plot went waaaaaay too far and did waaaay too much… I won’t keep going and do full spoilers but honestly… it was over for me… I was bored and it wasn’t supposed to be that way. I eye rolled my eyes into space!!! Overall, why Karly, I hear you ask, is this not one star… well like I said this is generous… I was having a mildly good time to begin with and its the start of the year … but take that as you will… in a month or a week’s time this could be downgraded… it could already be a 1… with that in mind… would I recommend… nope… not even a little bit sorry. I would normally give book 2 a try but I just found Terry so tiresome that I really don’t care what happens to her.. unless shes going to go to police school and become an actual cop so she can bop around solving crimes… then its a Nah from me!! Many thanks to NetGalley, Hackett Books, Ireland and the author for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 03, 2024
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Jan 06, 2024
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Oct 16, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 4.32
| 2,687
| Jun 26, 2024
| Jun 26, 2024
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really liked it
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My Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ love this series even when its a bit OTT and wild!! Some memories are buried for a reason… The most painful of Evie Cormac’s memor My Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ love this series even when its a bit OTT and wild!! Some memories are buried for a reason… The most painful of Evie Cormac’s memories have been locked away, ever since she was held a prisoner as a child - a child whose rescue captured hearts and headlines. Forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven’s mission is to guide her to something near normality. But today, on a Lincolnshire beach, seventeen bodies wash up in front of them. There is only one survivor, with two women missing. And Evie’s nightmares come roaring back… Whatever happened all those years ago lies at the core of this new tragedy. Because these deaths are no accident. The same dark forces are reaching out, dragging her back into the storm. Evie must now call upon Cyrus’s unique skills, and her own, in their search for the missing pieces of this complex and haunting puzzle. But will that be enough to save them? And who will pay for the past? Ok first up…. I have been a fan of this series from the start, way back when Evie was Angel Face… and if you too have been a fan waiting for this book I think you will like it. If you are new here… and you haven’t read the books prior … this might be a bit meh… or a bit confusing.. there is a long story at play here and I do recommend reading from the start. Having said that I did have some issues with this book…. BUT as a fan I overlooked almost all of them because I love this series… so take that as you will because if you read it and go WTF KARLY WHY 4 STARS… well… you were warned. Now… I couldn’t put this down, its been ages since I’ve read a book that I kept thinking about while I was at work and couldn’t wait to get back to it. Its easy to read, told from Cyrus and Evie’s POV alternatively throughout which I love. I liked hearing this story play out in the interactions and inner monologues of both Cyrus and Evie. I felt that Cyrus was a little less of a know it all asshole in this book… Evie of course was not but thats all part of her charm… or lack thereof. I think Michael Robotham skirted the edges of “woke” really well.. he mentioned a few things here and there that I thought were done really well… and it enhanced rather than took away from the story. I also did like the secondary characters but I missed Lenny… she is one of my favourites. This is a pretty far fetched tale… there are a lot of things that happen where if you don’t suspend your disbelief you will be rolling you eyes until you are dizzy… but knowing that up front I was all fine with it.. I threw it out the window and lent hard into this one. There are some plot holes… when I was thinking back I was like what happened to… or what about… but again… I don’t actually care … I read it and loved it… I will definitely be reading the next one. I really liked the ending I thought it was a really nice way to find out more information that we have been waiting for since book 1 and I really enjoyed that. I think Cyrus and Evie’s relationship is questionable but I think they too skirt the edges of what is appropriate and honestly… I am not going to complain about it because as I said I love this series and I don’t mind. I did knock one star off just because it did get a little toooo far fetched in places and I thought 5 stars was super generous but I enjoyed it… I was so excited when I got approved by NetGalley that I abandoned what I was reading immediately and dove into it head first. Overall, if you love this author or this series… definitely read it. If you haven’t the first idea about either then read the synopsis and some other reviews first. If you like mysteries where you need to throw your disbelief into the sea then again pick this up.. however I don’t recommend starting part way through I highly recommend starting at the start… book 1 and 2 were also by far my fave in this series so far. Although this was close behind it… Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 05, 2024
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Mar 07, 2024
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Oct 12, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 1250863791
| 9781250863799
| 1250863791
| 3.81
| 15,266
| May 28, 2024
| May 28, 2024
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it was ok
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My Rating: 2⭐️⭐️ sitting out here on outlier island… very meh for me!! Ali and Ryan are high school sweethearts out at lovers lane the last night of sc My Rating: 2⭐️⭐️ sitting out here on outlier island… very meh for me!! Ali and Ryan are high school sweethearts out at lovers lane the last night of school. It’s all young love and fun until someone smashes Ryan over the head leaving him for dead and kidnaps Ali only for no one to ever see her again. There are secrets and lies and five years later is Ryan about to crack the case wide open and who is that going to put in danger. Alrighty, at the time of writing this review (7 April 2024) this has a Goodreads rating of 4.26 with 763 ratings… quite popular. Those reviews are most positive and people seem to love it… however, for me this was what I can only describe as meh! It started strong and I thought it was going to be for me. I knew it would be a chuck your disbelief out the window kind of story and that was true… but it just didn’t do it for me. What I did like was the alternating POVs I do love changes in timelines and the parts of the book and the POV changes.. that always is a winner. The short chapters were awesome I loved that and it did go quite quickly. So all of that was positive. It was set up as a winner… Everything else however just fell flat… I felt like the writing style was very hand holdy (or as Lit With Leigh would say Close Caption) I didn’t feel like there was much in the way of letting the reader work out what was happening through nuance and imagination. Especially the Epilogue which was probably the worst part of this book. I think the author was trying to make this story exciting and that definitely came through but to do this he put so much into the story that there was TOO MUCH in there… I get why … it was intersecting storyline’s so we could go oooh that twist… which was ok… the twist midway made me raise an eyebrow with interest but it wasn’t that far removed from what was happening so it was quite believable for the story. In terms of the ending twist… I guessed it… which is fine… I didn’t care about that… but it didn’t leave much left to get excited about. It just got really boring sorry to say… there were all these characters and none of them (except for maybe Poppy and Michael) were that interesting. I wasn’t really rooting for anyone, I didn’t really care what happened to any of them… and really I was kind of glad it was over. As I said earlier that epilogue … ugh… I didn’t like it. And if we were going to get a wrap up of some chracters why not others… I dunno I just really didn’t care by the end. I have been putting off reading this authors books because I have head they can go a bit wild which I don’t mind sometimes but also have to be in the mood for it. I was ready to roll … and it was just kind of boring. Overall, I am on outlier island with my review… I suspect most people will love this, most people are already loving this. So if you love this author and are thinking oh how disappointing… ignore me and read it anyway. I think this will be a super popular mainstream popcorn thriller and most people will enjoy it… it just wasn’t really for me. Thank you to Head of Zeus/Aries, NeGalley and Alex Finlay for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 03, 2024
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Apr 06, 2024
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Oct 12, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 0802162827
| 9780802162823
| 0802162827
| 3.60
| 241
| Apr 02, 2024
| Apr 02, 2024
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did not like it
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My Rating: 1⭐️ this completely punked me!!! The police are calling him Merkury. He’s a killer who seems to choose his victims at random. There is no ev My Rating: 1⭐️ this completely punked me!!! The police are calling him Merkury. He’s a killer who seems to choose his victims at random. There is no evidence and no witnesses… except for one. Kate Summerlin was eleven years old, when she climbed out her bedroom window and wandered into the woods to look at the lake. Kate comes across the body of a young woman who she thinks is sleeping… but Kate soon realises the woman is dead. Before she can react he hears a voice say - Don’t Turn Around. Now, Kate is 29 she is a successful true-crime writer, but she has a secret from that night. She didn’t tell the police the whole truth of the night she spoke to the serial killer Merkury. Now he’s back and her search for Merkury is leading her down a dark and dangerous path… WOW so upfront this book started out pretty good.. the premise was juicy and the writing wasn’t bad. Short sharp sentences, not too long paragraphs mostly pretty good. I feel like I was being lured into a false sense of security because… this book went south really quickly and it never recovered. Why did I continue… this is a NetGalley book so I wanted to read to review, also I thought surely when I find out the killer it will be worthwhile… NO!! It was not. What an epic and utter let down. There were a lot of things I had an issue with… the beginning kind of meandered but I can handle that while we get to know people and the things that make them tick… thats fine… but we flipped and flopped around for a good while. When we finally get into Kate’s juicy story its clear that we have things being held back from us again… which is fine. But to get to a point, any point well what a struggle fest. The blurb states that Kate is a successful True-Crime writer… I have no evidence to support that after reading this book… from my recollection she had written one maybe two books (she is pretty dirt poor) and she is struggling with writers block and not really willing to write about the one true crime (her own involvement) that everyone wants to hear about… We also start to go down a weird path where Kate has some deep seated issues… so that was kind of interesting she has some weird sexual fantasies (nothing that will put readers off) and it seems she’s self destructive… but this behaviour really quickly dissipates when the intent for it is used for fodder in an action packed halfway mark. That behaviour is never explored again… we never really find out if and how she overcomes it or why she decided to behave this way to begin with… it’s quite a massive plot hole. Another thing with this book is Kate is your classic citizen gone rouge like so rouge you want to slap her into next week and tell her to butt out of police business. She literally gets in the way, obstructs justice, with holds evidence and basically acts like a complete twat… so you think surely this is to write her next book…NAHHHH still got writers block bro… all good I will just play fake detective and carry on like a twit for no apparent reason. I am not going to get into spoilers… but I am going to allude to some things … so if you think that might spoil this book for you… then I suggest skipping on…… Back to the middle of the book literally at 50% I thought we were having the final showdown… I was like this is weird the book went quick. Checked my kindle nope not even close… but there was an epic action packed full on over the top ridiculous “event” that happens and you are left going… wow really… surely thats not related to the story… and while it is, kind of… it really isn’t. Without spoilers it’s difficult to explain but I was kind of dumbfounded by why we needed this amount of diversion. I did soon find out… The biggest kick in the nuts moment for me was when we have the first reveal of who the killer is (not the actual reveal) but the first unveiling … OH MY GOD WHAT A F*CKING COP OUT… I am sorry but this was the worst. At this point I wanted to King Kong my way to the top of a building and throw my kindle into the river!!! I was so angry… but I though well perhaps this can be redeemed… NO IT CAN’T. So I am going to stop there on the killer front… any more and it will be full blown spoiler territory but if you read this and HATE the direction this took please comment and tell me… cause I am MAD… if you don’t care about spoilers and want to know why I’m so mad… well just ask. The writing also took a massive nosedive and we went into basic territory and while the beginning was meh at least the writing was keeping me going… I don’t know who say hang on … I am going to hand this over to someone else… but that was a bad idea… I could keep going… but I am cutting myself off… Overall, I have no one I would recommend this too, I just really didn’t like it… there were so many other ways this could of gone without it doing what it did…but essentially the “twist” ruined it forever… but there are so many other reasons for me not to enjoy this. I do really hope others have a better experience and I think the writer can write… I just wish he kept it together for the whole book. Thank you to NetGalley, Atlantic Monthly Press and the author for an advanced copy and I am sorry I didn’t like this more but this is my honest opinion. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 14, 2023
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Oct 16, 2023
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Oct 10, 2023
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Hardcover
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my rating |
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| 4.19
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it was amazing
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Jun 09, 2024
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May 31, 2024
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| 3.35
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did not like it
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May 13, 2024
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May 09, 2024
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| 4.59
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not set
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May 06, 2024
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| 4.04
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it was amazing
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Apr 15, 2024
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Apr 10, 2024
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| 4.40
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liked it
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Mar 31, 2024
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Mar 28, 2024
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| 4.02
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not set
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Feb 27, 2024
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| 4.26
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really liked it
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Mar 19, 2024
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Feb 25, 2024
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| 4.14
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not set
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Feb 09, 2024
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| 4.58
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really liked it
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Jun 15, 2024
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Jan 30, 2024
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| 3.60
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liked it
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Feb 10, 2024
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Jan 15, 2024
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| 4.11
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did not like it
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Mar 04, 2024
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Dec 21, 2023
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| 3.92
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it was amazing
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Jan 02, 2024
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Dec 17, 2023
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| 3.56
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really liked it
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Jan 06, 2024
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Oct 27, 2023
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| 4.06
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did not like it
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Oct 31, 2023
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Oct 26, 2023
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| 3.45
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liked it
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Dec 21, 2023
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Oct 24, 2023
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| 3.52
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did not like it
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Oct 20, 2023
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Oct 17, 2023
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| 3.90
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it was ok
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Jan 06, 2024
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Oct 16, 2023
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| 4.32
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really liked it
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Mar 07, 2024
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Oct 12, 2023
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| 3.81
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it was ok
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Apr 06, 2024
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Oct 12, 2023
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| 3.60
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did not like it
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Oct 16, 2023
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Oct 10, 2023
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