Where to Start With Thrillers

As the days get shorter and the nights grow colder there's nothing that I love more than grabbing a blanket, making a hot drink and sitting down in front of the fire with a thriller. Over the last couple of years I have really gotten into this genre and now consider it to be one of my favourites and I know I'm not the only one! Thrillers are very popular at the moment and I am constantly asked by both my readers and loved ones where I would recommend starting with this genre. With Halloween approaching I thought that it was the perfect time to create my very own guide on where to start with thrillers for anyone looking for a dark and gritty read.

 The Bestsellers

Sometimes the best place to start is at the top and Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train are bestsellers for good reason, they really are some of the best in the thriller genre. Although different in plot they do have some similarities with their unlikable characters, gripping story line, shocking twists and a missing girl and in my opinion you can't go wrong with either one. Gone Girl was the first thriller that I read and is largely what got me hooked on this genre. Both books also have fantastic movie adaptations that I'd recommend watching after reading.

 The Big Twist

 

One of the things that I love about thrillers are the big twists that you never see coming. I read a lot from this genre and so have gotten to the point where I'm pretty good at guessing where a book is heading but two books that made me gasp out loud in shock were The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Kind Worth Killing. These two books genuinely kept me on my toes and I'd recommend them to anyone who loves books that take a turn for the unexpected.

The Best Villain

 

We all love a good villain and You and Behind Closed Doors offer up two of my favourites. You is actually told from the bad guy's point of view - don't get me wrong, he is a very bad man, but somehow you end up liking him anyway and Behind Closed Doors features a villain that I loathed with an almighty passion, he really is despicable and I physically wanted to punch my book at times because I despised him that much. If you love a good baddie then these two books are for you.

The Page Turner

 

For me, pacing is crucial when it comes to thrillers and two books that get it spot on are The Missing and Distress Signals. In both books the tension is so taut throughout that I physical could not put them down. The twists and turns are expertly placed and the plot revelations are so well timed. If you're looking for a book that will keep you up reading late into the night you can't go wrong with these two.

The Most Sinister

 

Now, if you have a strong stomach and your motto is that the more sick and twisted a story is the better then I would recommend that you check out How I Lost You and Pretty Girls. I'm definitely not someone who gets scared easily when it comes to fiction but both of these books were so dark and messed up that they played on my mind long after I turned the lights out ready to go to sleep. If you think that you can handle them, then I'd certainly recommend these two books for a creepy, sinister read.

 I hope that these recommendations help anyone looking for a good thriller and that they get you as obsessed with the genre as I am!

Review for The Singalong Society for Singletons by Katey Lovell

The Singalong Society for Singletons 
by Katey Lovell 
Publisher: HarperImpulse
Release: 7th October 2016 (e-book)
Genre: Chick-lit, Women’s Fiction
Source: Copy received from the author in exchange for an honest review



Synopsis:

"A charming, feel good novel about the healing powers of friendship…and Frozen!

Monique and Issy are teachers, housemates and lovers of musicals! Their Friday night routine consists of snacks, wine and the Frozen DVD. So when Monique’s boyfriend moves to America for a year and her sister Hope moves in because of her own relationship woes, Friday nights get a new name… ‘The Singalong Society for Singletons’!

It’s a chance to get together, sing along to their favourite tracks from the best-loved West End shows, and forget the worries of work, relationships and love (or lack of it). But when Issy shares the details of their little group further afield, they get some unexpected new members who might just change their opinions on singledom for good…"

Review 
I’ve wanted to read The Singalong Society for Singletons for a long time, when I first heard about it I thought that it sounded like a fun feel good read and I was not disappointed! With this books focus on musicals it brings something new and different to women’s fiction. This warm cosy story is the perfect book to stay inside and snuggle down with this autumn.

The book follows Mon, Issy, Hope, and Connie, four friends who are utterly fed up of the dating scene. As the weather turns colder, the women decide to ditch their Friday nights out on the town in favour of snuggling inside with their favourite musicals, snacks, and wine whilst they sing along to the soundtracks Bridget-Jones-style. For once the drama is playing out onscreen instead of in their love lives and that’s just fine by them – thank you very much. But when Issy invites two handsome men to join their Friday night get togethers, the singalong society for singletons starts to become not-so-single anymore. Can good music and good friends really mend a broken heart? These singletons are about to find out.

I had such a good time reading this book! I loved the friendships between Mon, Issy, Hope, and Connie, their Friday nights in sounded like so much fun and was something really fresh to read about. I’m a big fan of musicals and loved seeing what the singletons would choose to watch from week to week. There’s a fantastic selection of musicals featured in this book each with a great soundtrack that I would find myself humming along to after I put the book down. This book does a great job of capturing the joy of musicals and made me want to rummage through my DVD collection and pull out all of my old favourites to re-watch.

Like the musicals that the characters in this book are so fond of, The Singalong Society for Singletons was uplifting, celebratory and jovial making it an absolute delight to read. With a likeable cast, a touch of drama, and a will-they-wont-they romance, The Singalong Society for Singletons gets a standing ovation from me.

Before I Let You In Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway!

Hello and welcome to my stop on the Before I Let You In Blog Tour! Today I'm bringing to you my thoughts on this gripping thriller and I have 5 copies of the book up for grabs over on Twitter, so don't miss your chance to win.

Before I Let You In by Jenny Blackhurst 
Publisher: Headline
Release: 28th August 2016
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Source: Bought

Synopsis: 

"Karen is meant to be the one who fixes problems.

It's her job, as a psychiatrist - and it's always been her role as a friend.

But Jessica is different. She should be the patient, the one that Karen helps.

But she knows things about Karen. Her friends, her personal life. Things no patient should know.

And Karen is starting to wonder if she should have let her in . . ."

Review 
Last year I was completely blown away by Blackhurst’s debut novel ‘How I Lost You’ and have been eagerly anticipating another book from this author. Before I Let You In had me just as glued to the pages as its predecessor cementing Jenny Blackhurst as one of my favourite writers of the popular psychological thriller genre.

Before I Let You In follows Karen, a young woman who seems to have it all: a loving boyfriend, good friends and a great job as a psychiatrist. Karen has always been a fixer, so when new patient Jessica comes to see her she’s determined to help.

As Karen gets to know Jessica, she notices an uncanny similarity between their lives. At first she puts it down to coincidence, but then Jessica begins to reveal information about Karen and her two best friends Eleanor and Bea that she couldn’t possibly know. Who is Jessica? And what does she want? As Karen’s own sanity begins to crack as her perfect life crumbles around her, she starts to regret the day she ever let Jessica in.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book is told not only from Karen’s point of view but also from Eleanor, Bea and Jessica’s. The multi narrative gives each chapter a different vantage point on current events within the story and the switching perspective keeps the plot racing forward towards its conclusion. I loved the focus on Karen, Eleanor and Bea’s friendship, the complex and realistically drawn women were my favourite aspect of this book and the dynamic between them reminded me of the relationships I have with my own best friends.

Before I Let You In was one of those books which I thought I had all sussed out but it went in a direction that I wasn’t expecting, which for me is the sign of a cracking thriller. Jenny Blackhurst really is one of the best in her field and fans of ‘How I Lost You’ will not be disappointed with this twisty, sinister tale of friendship and revenge.

Like the sound of Before I Let You In? 

Don't miss your chance to win 1 of 5 copies over on Twitter!

⭐️Giveaway⭐️
Win 1/5 copies of #BeforeILetYouIn by @JennyBlackhurst
Follow @JessHeartsBooks & RT to enter
UK Onlyhttps://t.co/uESCuNi6Xc pic.twitter.com/GZ4K4iG4z8

— 👻 Jess ❤s Spooks 👻 (@JessHeartsBooks) October 5, 2016

 Follow the rest of the blog tour

September Round Up and Book of the Month

Hello everyone! After a month away it's sooo nice to be back and I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into blogging with lots of posts planned for Halloween and Christmas, but first things first, it's time to round off the summer and share what I read in September before moving on to the books I'm looking forward to in October. I also wanted to say, in case you hadn't seen on Twitter, that I have been nominated for Blogger of the Year in the UKYA Blogger Awards! I can't believe it and wanted to thank the authors and publishers who nominated me - I'm chuffed to bits! What great news to start a brand new season of blogging on, hey?

September's Book of the Month is Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

I'm not a great reader of poetry (and by that I mean that I've hardly read any at all) but I was curious about this collection after hearing great things about it online, so I picked it up and had a flick through it whilst I was in a book shop on holiday. One of the poems I came upon actually made me cry right there in the middle of the store so I knew that I just had to get a copy, so I bought it and took it to the beach where I sat and read it overlooking the sea. I literally had some sort of spiritual awakening reading this book. It moved me so deeply and I related to so many of the poems. Whether you're into poetry or not, I would seriously recommend giving this collection a go. I'm confident in saying that every woman will get something out of reading this book.

The poem that made me cry in public

Read in September
89.) I Let You Go by Clare MacKintosh (4.5*)
90.) Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan (4*)
91.) Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (5*)
92.) Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (5*)
93.) Super Awkward by Beth Garrod (DNF)
94.) Cell 7 by Kerry Drewery (4*)
95.) Before I Let You In by Jenny Blackhurst (4*)
96.) Liar Liar by M.J. Arlidge (4.5*)
97.) Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (5*)

Monthly Book Awards
Best Plot: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Best Writing: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Best Cover: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Best Characters: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Best Ending: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Best Romance: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Best Friendship: Before I Let You In by Jenny Blackhurst
Most un-put-down-able: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
Most Memorable: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Best Moral: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Top 3 Most Recommended Books: Milk and Honey, Crooked Kingdom, Empire of Storms

Books I’m Looking Forward to Being Released in October 
The Midnight Star by Marie Lu
Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland
Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens
Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan
Christmas Under a Starlit Sky by Holly Martin
Lizzie's Christmas Escape by Christie Barlow
Not Just For Christmas by Alex Brown
Comfort and Joy by Cathy Bramley
The Singalong Society for Singletons by Katey Lovell
Killing Kate by Alex Lake
Tell Me No Lies by Lisa Hall

 What was your favourite book of September? 

 And what are you looking forward to reading in October?

Crooked Kingdom Blog Tour: Matthias

Hello everyone, today I am breaking my hiatus to bring to you a special Crooked Kingdom blog tour post! I am a HUGE fan of all of Leigh Bardugo's books, but Six of Crows has to be my favourite and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel on the 27th September. If like me you are counting down the days, hours, and minutes until Crooked Kingdom is released then I have just the thing to whet your appetite, especially for all you Matthias fans out there!

Artwork by Kevin Wada

Leigh Bardugo on Matthias 
If anyone out there is an Avatar: The Last Airbender fan, I like to think of Matthias as my giant Scandinavian Zuko. He has such clear ideas about honor and duty and what makes a soldier, and Nina turns all of those notions on their heads. In Crooked Kingdom, it's time for Matthias to figure out who he is now that he isn't a witchhunter anymore and I did love watching him struggle.




 Six Reasons to Love Matthias
1.) He puts on a tough exterior but underneath it all he is really a precious cinnamon roll

“Kaz leaned back. "What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?" 
"Knife to the throat?" asked Inej. 
"Gun to the back?" said Jesper. 
"Poison in his cup?" suggested Nina. 
"You're all horrible," said Matthias." 

2.) Seriously

“Jesper knocking his head against the hull and cast his eyes heavenward. "Fine. But if Pekka Rollins kills us all, I'm going to get Wylan's ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost." 

Brekker's lips quirked. "I'll just hire Matthias' ghost to kick your ghost's ass." 

"My ghost won't associate with your ghost," Matthias said primly, and then wondered if the sea air was rotting his brain.” 

3.)  He goes on a real journey throughout Six of Crows

“Nina, you taught me to be something better. They could be taught, too.”

“They fear you as I once feared you,” he said. “As you once feared me. We are all someone’s monster, Nina.” 

4.) And falls hard for Nina

“Stay,” she panted. Tears leaked from her eyes. “Stay till the end.” 

“And after,” he said. “And always.” 

“I want to feel safe again. I want to go home to Ravka.” 

“Then I’ll take you there. We’ll set fire to raisins or whatever you heathens do for fun.” 

“Zealot,” she said weakly. 

“Witch.” 

“Barbarian."

“Nina,” he whispered, “little red bird. Don’t go.”

5.) He is also the cause of some incredibly steamy moments

"She knew she shouldn’t speak, but she couldn’t help herself. “And what did you do, Matthias? What did you do to me in your dreams?” 

The ship listed gently. The lanterns swayed. His eyes were blue fire. “Everything,” he said, as he turned to go. “Everything."

6.) I just ship them so hard okay!?

“Jer molle pe oonet. Enel mörd je nej afva trohem verretn.” 

Nina swallowed hard. She remembered those words and what they truly meant. I have been made to protect you. Only in death will I be kept from this oath. It was the vow of the drüskelle to Fjerda. And now it was Matthias’ promise to her. 


*Sighs* isn't Matthias just the best?

Before you go make sure that you're in with the chance to win a special Crooked Kingdom prize pack full of US AND UK swag (including the coveted Crooked Kingdom socks) by commenting on all 12 blog posts by 11:59pm EST Monday, 3 October 2016.