Any of my followers on Instagram, and those of you who stop by on Sunday’s (what few there are, Love you guys) will know I’ve begun going to the library. I never use my local library for many reasons. I am lazy (books are heavy) there are some strange people who regularly hang out in the library (some may so I am included in that number). And mostly because when I used to go their selection wasn’t the best. It’s still not fantastic, but it has gotten better. I have also been educated (by my mother, a former frequent library user until she realised she was running out of books she wanted to read there) that you can request books for order and reserve books from any of the library branches (and there are a lot of them). I have been thoroughly educated on the merits of library borrowing and now I just have to try and not borrow too many and return them on time so I get no library fees.
Anyway, I am now becoming a library user. I plan to visit once or twice a month. Now, I think each book I borrow deserves a bit of attention here on the blog so I will be doing reviews of each little library haul… or telling you why I didn’t read them. So, without further ado, let’s get reviewing
Published: 28th July 2015
Source: Library
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
My Rating: DNF
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood delivers the first novel in an enthralling new series set amid the shifting dynamics of a Southern family defined by wealth and privilege - and compromised by secrets, deceit, and scandal...
For generations, the Bradford family has worn the mantle of kings of the bourbon capital of the world. Their sustained wealth has afforded them prestige and privilege - as well as a hard-won division of class on their sprawling estate, Easterly. Upstairs, a dynasty that by all appearances plays by the rules of good fortune and good taste. Downstairs, the staff who work tirelessly to maintain the impeccable Bradford facade. And never the twain shall meet.
For Lizzie King, Easterly's head gardener, crossing that divide nearly ruined her life. Falling in love with Tulane, the prodigal son of the bourbon dynasty, was nothing that she intended or wanted - and their bitter breakup only served to prove her instincts were right. Now, after two years of staying away, Tulane is finally coming home again, and he is bringing the past with him. No one will be left unmarked: not Tulane's beautiful and ruthless wife; not his older brother, whose bitterness and bad blood know no bounds; and especially not the iron-fisted Bradford patriarch, a man with few morals, fewer scruples, and many, many terrible secrets. As family tensions - professional and intimately private - ignite, Easterly and all its inhabitants are thrown into the grips of an irrevocable transformation, and only the cunning will survive.
This was an impulse borrow that did not pan out for me. I am the worst for not being in the mood for books when I borrow them and this poor book suffered such a fate. I could have kept it for 2 weeks longer and waited to see if I inspiration struck with it, but I knew it wouldn’t.
I picked this up a couple of times to try reading it and got through the first few chapters, but I just couldn’t get myself into the right frame of mind. Is it a good book? Maybe, but I didn’t spend enough time to discover.
Published: 21st May 2015
Source: Library
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
My Rating:
Ani FaNelli is the woman you love to hate. The woman who has it all. But behind the meticulously crafted façade lies the darkest and most violent of pasts . . .
When a documentary producer invites Ani to tell her side of the chilling and violent incident that took place when she was a teenager, she hopes it will be an opportunity to prove how far she's come since then. She'll even let the production company film her wedding to the wealthy Luke Harrison, the final step in her transformation.
But as the wedding and filming converge, Ani's immaculate façade begins to crack, and she soon realises that there's always a price to pay for perfection.
This book was an uncomfortable read, but also really gripping. There were veiled mentions to an event which changed Ani’s life and how everyone hated her for it, but no mention of what it was. I assumed it was going to be a book similar to Asking For It with a rape and the town favourites being to blame. It was not that books.
The character of Ani is an abrasive one, she is not going to be everyone’s best friend as she is very much a person who wishes to be somebody. Someone who everyone will notice. She is acting in a role and her real character is quite different from who she pretends to be. Ani is basically an onion of a characters. She is a hell of a lot of layers and some of them you will like and others you will hate, but she most certainly felt real.
I’m glad this book didn’t fall into the bracket I’d set for it. Instead it was gripping and mysterious and the twists this plot took was amazing. I didn’t feel wholly satisfied with the ending, but I was so glad Ani had made the decisions she had. This is a book you won’t be expecting. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re in the mood for a contemporary thriller then give it a go.
Published: 14th January 2016
Source: Library
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary
My Rating:
New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Kelley Armstrong delivers us to Rockton, a secret little town in the far north where the hunted go to hide. And where a hunter has now come to play.
Casey Duncan once killed a man and got away with it. Since then she’s become a talented police detective, tethered only to her job, her best friend, Diana, and the occasional evening with her sexy, no-strings-attached ex-con lover, Kurt. But then Diana's abusive ex finds her again, despite all Casey has done to help her disappear. And Casey’s own dark past begins to catch up with her. The two women need to run—and Diana’s heard of a place where they won’t be found, a town especially for people like them…
I loved everything about this book and attribute it all to Danya’s excellent recommendation skills. Her review convinced me to read and it was the book which motivated to go to the library because I was so thrilled mine had a copy! I’m glad for this book, and I’m so glad it was good to make the trip worth it!
What made this book so good then? Well it was gripping. I mean, I literally did not want to put it down. I stayed up way too late reading it and I was exhausted when I got to work the next day, but it was worth it. I had to know what happened next because I suspected about five different people of murder whilst reading because nobody was what they seemed.
The entire concept of an off the grid town is a bit weird, to say the least, but it works. Everything about this book just works. The fact that Casey is such an interesting character in herself definitely helps this fact. I liked her from the first few pages and nothing in the book changed it. Then, you throw in every resident in this off the gird town where everyone has a new identity, a past they don’t wish to talk about, and the fact that some are not even who they are saying they are, well… you’ve got a thriller which will draw you in hook line and sinker.
I can’t properly review this book without spoiling things for you (and trust me, you do not want this spoiled for you) but I can say it was fantastic. It’s a book I didn’t have to even question giving a 5 star rating to. I keep thinking back on this book and love it that bit more. I now need to hunt out more of Armstrong’s book whilst I wait for the next in the series to be published. I’m hoping to get a new favourite author from this, but I’ll let you know how it goes.
***
And there are my library reviews. Sure, one was a flop, but 2 out of 3 isn’t bad. I’ve already got my next haul in so hopefully there’ll be just of many hits to have there too.
Have you read any of these books? Tell me your thoughts. What were the last books you got from the library?
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