Death by Book Avalanche

Hello, my name is Roxanne and I live in sunny Cornwall, UK. I have a very large passion for reading and have done so since I was really little, so you will very rarely see me without a book nearby. I enjoy all sorts of books...Horrors, Mysteries, Thrillers, Erotica, GLBT, Romance, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Fantasy and Sci-Fi...there really isn't much that I won't read.

 

I love animals! I have two beautiful dogs, Eli and Loki which are Husky/Border Collie cross.

 

As well as reading I love to surf the internet, talk about books, write about books, go to gigs, draw, listen to music and spend time with my family.

 

Feel free to add me as a friend as I enjoy meeting new people, discussing books and comparing reviews.

 

Not all of the books I have read are listed on my profile due to a Facebook app, that I used before Booklikes, crashed and I lost everything...I saved as much as I could :)

 

My Star Ratings System

 

★ - Painful, a struggle, didn't like it at all.

★★ - Not really my thing, could be greatly improved...Meh!

★★★ - It's OK but I've definitely read better.

★★★★ - I really like you <3

★★★★★ - LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

 

 

Reading list

 

 

You can find my Goodreads profile here and my Leafmarks profile here.

Her Last Breath

Her Last Breath - Linda Castillo OMG OMG OMG...

Review to follow

Maisy's Bathtime

Maisy's Bathtime - Lucy Cousins My daughter loves to read any book about bathtime as she loves to play in the bath. This is a really cute and brightly coloured book for children aged 3+.
...Maisy's friend randomly turning up and getting in the bath with Maisy was a little weird though...

Maisy Goes to the Museum: A Maisy First Experience Book

Maisy Goes to the Museum: A Maisy First Experience Book - Lucy Cousins A fun little book about a trip to the Museum. My daughter didn't enjoy this one as much as the other Maisy books we have read, I think that may be because of the words used. Many of the words were long and complicated for a toddler so she lost interest. Also, the sentences were quite disjointed. Another thing that could be a problem is that not all Museums will offer your child everything that is in this book which may lead to disappointment. Other than the above issues, the book is nice and bright and has some really good illustrations.

No Sanctuary

No Sanctuary - Richard Laymon I am a big fan of Laymon and have been for a number of years. I have read most of his work and have enjoyed them all. I did enjoy this story, however, I did feel that this was one of his weaker works. It sort of lacked that Laymon intensity. If you enjoy cheesy B-movie horrors and thrillers then I would say you would enjoy this book...and all other Laymon books as well thinking about it.
I thought the combination of the two stories written side by side would of come to a very explosive crash but they kind of just touched, gave eachother a pat on the back and then wondered off.
Overall, weaker than I expected but still a good paced read to pass the time. Plus it's Laymon...you have to read it.

Maisy Tidies Up. Lucy Cousins

Maisy Tidies Up. Lucy Cousins - Lucy Cousins Bright, colourful and with simple words, Maisy is a winner when it comes to young children. Hopefully, if I read this enough times my daughter will help me to tidy up...

Maisy Dresses Up

Maisy Dresses Up - Lucy Cousins Children love to dress up!

Maisy Drives the Bus

Maisy Drives the Bus - Lucy Cousins My daughter just loves Maisy at the moment. She also loves buses so this book is a winner.

Maisy Goes Shopping

Maisy Goes Shopping - Lucy Cousins A nice and simple brightly coloured book that children will love. My daughter loves to go shopping so this book was a winner.

Room on the Broom

Room on the Broom - Axel Scheffler, Julia Donaldson Great pictures, excellent rhyming and a brilliant story for children. One of my favourites.

In the Bath. Leslie Patricelli

In the Bath. Leslie Patricelli - Leslie Patricelli This is a little board book showing a baby's bath time routine. Really nice illustrations but very little words, maybe 2-3 a page. Great for really young children.

Zom-B

Zom-B - Darren Shan ★★★★ 4 Stars

I must admit that I am a fan of Darren Shan, I've been reading his work on and off for many years. I also like a good zombie book. I didn't expect some of the elements that were in this book, mainly the abuse and the racism. I love a book to be hard hitting and thought provoking and I felt this book succeeded in both. I would not recommend this book for younger readers though as Darren Shan does not hold back in his descriptions. The ending in my opinion was a little bit weak, hence a four star rating instead of a five but I will have to read the next one to see how it continues. I thought the twist in it was very clever, good ol' sneaky Darren Shan. I had to re-read the page to check I actually read it right. You got me haha!

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson 4 Stars ☆☆☆☆

This book had me hooked right from the beginning and I really struggled to put it down. There were a couple reasons though why I felt I couldn't give it the full 5 stars. The book was quite short, which I didn't think would be a problem, but this meant that the story didn't go as deep as I would of really liked it to. I felt like it just lacked something. The other reason was the constant shifting between the main story and inserted 'fairytales'. I did find this element to the story quite distracting.
Other than the above issues, this was a very compelling read about a young girl trying to find herself whilst caught up within an extremely religious community.

The Text

The Text - Claire Douglas 3 Stars ☆☆☆

I must admit I do like a good short story every so often and there really are some gems out there. I thought the idea behind 'The Text' was very clever and interesting but I must admit that the story just fell a bit flat for me. Maybe such a short length didn't suit this type of book as there was so much that could of been explored. This, however, will not put me off from reading anymore work by Claire Douglas.

The New Hunger (Warm Bodies, #0.5)

The New Hunger (Warm Bodies, #0.5) - Isaac Marion Review to follow...

The God Delusion

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins ✪✪✪✪✪ 5 stars

This was an intense and very thought provoking read. It's anything but light and Dawkins certainly likes to pack a punch.
I imagine with this one that Dawkins is perhaps already preaching to the converted though as I think they are the only ones that would consider picking this one up.
I was not raised in a religious family but I did attend a Church of England school, looking back on it now after reading this book I can see the brainwashing in full force.
Dawkins makes numerous fantastic arguments against the existence of God and why religion is ultimately 'evil' and at times truly 'laughable'.
If you are sitting on the fence and not sure which way to go when it comes to your faith then definitely read this book.

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The Satanic Bible

The Satanic Bible - Anton Szandor LaVey ✪✪✪✪ 4 Stars

One look at the title and front cover of this book and one might be like 'ooooh shock horror'...but it's really not like that. This book isn't about worshipping Satan, or any deity, it is about worshipping yourself. It actually makes a really good self help book when it comes to accepting and believing in yourself. Instead of being spiritual based it focusing more on the physical being, the enjoyment of the flesh and the enjoyment of the here and now.
The only reason I dropped a star was because it contradicted itself about half way through. It was made clear that this wasn't about Satan worship but then it went on to give us pages of rituals, spells and numerous hail satans. Although I found these very interesting it lead the whole book into a different direction away from the self which I thought was the whole purpose.
I am not a religious person and I picked this one up due to curiousity, I'm glad I did.

Currently reading

How Not To Disappear by Clare Furniss
Visual CBT: An Illustrated Guide to Understanding Cognitive Behavioural Therapy by Avy Joseph
Progress: 7/346pages
Free Yourself From Fears with NLP: Overcoming Anxiety and Living Without Worry by Joseph O'Connor
The Death Cure (Maze Runner, #3) by James Dashner