Death by Book Avalanche

I got swallowed up in the hype with this one, a friend wouldn't let it go until I agreed to take this out of the library. It's not my usual type of read so I didn't want to buy it. I'm glad I agreed to pick this one up as I did enjoy it. It wasn't as 'amazing' as it was made out to be but it was a humorous page-turner. The MC was a bit annoying and whiny, she also put herself into some situations that were a bit far-fetched but I liked the other characters. Unfortunately, the library doesn't have the second instalment and I'm not going to buy it so I'm not sure if I'll get to read the rest. I'm pretty sure there's about 15 books so far in this series, that's a bit too much of a challenge for me.

This book is very difficult to review as too much detail would spoil the plot. All I can really say is that this was one of the most bizarre and confusing books I have ever read. You're just going to have to read it...

✵✵✵ 2.5 Mediocre Stars

This was a fairly entertaining book overall but I found it so slow to start. I must admit I did struggle a bit in the beginning as not a lot happened.
I got swept up in the hype when it came to this book so I couldn't resist giving it a go. It has often been compared to [b:Gone Girl|19288043|Gone Girl|Gillian Flynn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397056917s/19288043.jpg|13306276] however, Gone Girl it is not. It doesn't have the same break-neck speed and the characters are somewhat lacking.
The main character got on my nerves immensely...I got tired of her acting like a wet lettuce all of the time. That aside I found the plot to be ok and the twists ok but that's all this book was to me really...ok.

Review to follow...

Review to follow...

⚠⚠⚠⚠⚠ 5 'It Could Be You' Stars

This book totally messed with my head! I loved it!

I'll admit it's a strange one and I haven't read anything like it before so to me it's definitely original. It's also very creepy and very tense. The author is great at building tension, it starts from the very first page and doesn't let you go until the end...even then you'll be thinking about it with your night-light on.
It's pretty scary to think this kind of thing happens in real life...talk about nightmare neighbours.

Review to follow...

Review to follow...

14th April 2015 - currently free on Amazon

I received this ebook for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

If I read this book not knowing that this was the author's first book I never would have guessed. The writing is fantastic! You can really see the huge amount of time and effort that was put into writing this novel.
I read this quite a while ago now but it still sticks with me, for me that's a sign of a great book!
As a member of an alternative subculture this book really appealed to me and was a very original idea. There's so many aspects to this book, so many twists and turns and events that will get into your head and really make you think.
I really liked all of the characters and would love to see how the story continues.
Its hard to say much without spoiling anything so all I'm going to say is read this book!

Review to follow...

Review to follow...

2 Star Rating

Unfortunately I was quite disappointed with this one as it could have been so much better. I knew it was going to be a short read but definitely not as short as that! Most of the pages weren't anything to do with the main 'story'.
This was just one scene (yummy but not very exciting) which left a lot to be desired. There wasn't much of a story, little to no depth to the characters and ultimately a poor climax.
This would have great potential as a full length novel though.

✪✪✪ 3 Star Rating ✪✪✪

I just had to read this one as I fell in love with the front cover, it looked great so I expected a great story.

I had a love/hate relationship with this book, there were bits that were so good I wanted to shout from the rooftops but there were also parts that were so bad I wanted to run to a dark corner and cry.

The bits I loved

1. The suspense - Oh my life and soul I thought my heart was going to give out! That tension was fantastic! The way the author wrote the action scenes were great, the extra long description filled build ups which make you sweat and then straight into the action. The action was always really good with a nice bit of gore and clever tactics...very well done!

2. The dog - You have to have a dog in there somewhere, I love dogs! If the dog survives then that's extra points from me, I just want the animals to be ok...f*ck anyone else!

3. The Unconsecrated - Very well described, I liked the idea of 'The Fast One' and yeah I know they're Zombies...but I like Zombies.

The bits I hated

1. Mary! Mary! Aaaaand...Mary! - Oh what a pain in the ass! I did not like the MC one little bit. She was incredibly selfish, self centred and just plain rude. She was willing to step on anybody to get her own way. Everything was...love, love, love, OMG Mary I love you!
Mary: *Like I give a shit! I just wanna go to the Beach!*
People whom she supposedly loved were dropping like flies around her but oh well that's one less person in the way of her ocean filled dreams.
I'm sorry but I just hoped for this...



2. Lack of character development - Actually, there was none. I still know nothing about the other characters, it's like they were just there to show how 'amazing' Mary really was. I so wanted at least one of the other characters to take centre stage for a while, just so I could see things from a different perspective...but no.

3. Lack of story building - So...why? When? Who? What? Did they live? Die? How did the dog get across the rope the second time?
Why the gates? The fences? Why are there Unconsecrated? What is the Sisterhood all about? What are they hiding? How did this all happen? WTF is Mary's problem?
Ok...so I know there's a second book and I've heard that it doesn't even carry the story on, if that is true I think I'm gonna scream. So many questions!

2 and a half star rating rounded up.

I love reading books about dogs as I just love animals and I find most of the stories heartwarming and inspirational.
This was an ok read, I did enjoy parts of it but in other parts it grated on me...quite a lot.
From reading the book's description you know it's going to be a very emotional read and at the start of the book you are made aware of the death of Muffin. This means that throughout the whole book you are awaiting the inevitable which, for me, left me a bit emotionally detatched as I was continually expecting that bomb to be dropped at any moment.
The constantly shifting timeline made this book somewhat difficult to read as it just made it a bit of a mess, it felt like it wasn't planned or thought out very well and it definitely lacked structure. Another problem for me was the author's relationship to Muffin, I was constantly questioning it. In some parts Muffin is the back bone of the family but in other parts Muffin is referred to as 'The Dog', that, to me, seems a bit cold towards a much loved family pet. I added a star just because I enjoy reading about animals and Muffin sounded like a wonderful companion.

A short story written by the King...I had to read it.
Short, punchy, shocking and unexpected, a good read!