Month: February 2018

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

The treatment – Mo Hayder

Book Chick1 Comment

647954| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: Midsummer, and in an unassuming house on a quiet residential street on the edge of Brockwell Park in south London, a husband and wife are discovered. Badly dehydrated, they’ve been bound and beaten, the husband is close to death. But worse is to come: their young son is missing.

When DI Jack Caffery of the Met’s AMIT squad is called in to investigate, the similarities to events in his own past make it impossible for him to view this new crime with the necessary detachment. And as Jack digs deeper, as he attempts to hold his own life together in the face of ever more disturbing revelations about both the past and the present, the real nightmare begins…

Untitled

My thoughts: I have very few triggers when it comes to books. I read most of it. I don’t like it all and it can affect me bad mentally, but mostly I can handle it. But the few triggers I do have, are different types of sexual assaults. Specially against kids. I can read a book when the story is that it already has happen and you get to read about it in past tense and preferable not in that much details. Read it happen in present time and aftermath is something I have tough time with and I do my best to avoid those types of books.

So, you can imagine how tough this book was for me. And I didn’t know that it was supposed to be about pedophilia and other sick monsters. Now I’m glad I didn’t know since the book is terrifyingly awesome and if given the choice, maybe I would not have read it. But since I do have read the first book, I should have been a little smarter and foreseen that this would be a big part of the book. Apparently, I’m not that smart.

This book was so much better than the first book and I love the broken dynamic between Jack and Becky and how they, even though all the shit that has happened, not give up. The truth comes out and it just makes them fight harder for them self’s and each other and I love that. Other than that, the book is a typical British crime novel. Some really sick stuff is happening and you get some answers on questions from the first book (So yeah you should read them in order) and it builds something of a series I can see myself continue.

But no, this is not a light read but I do think it’s worth it.

Contemporary · Romance · Suspense

Take the key and lock her up – Lena Diaz

Book Chick1 Comment

22608022.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Lena Diaz returns with another sexy, thrilling Deadly Games novel and the darkest question of all: What do you do when your freedom could cost you your life?

Detective Emily O’Malley just stumbled upon a killer’s lair—and the remains of a woman he kept locked away for years. But this killer isn’t done yet. More women are missing, and all clues point to Devlin Buchanan—the man who seems to know just a little too much. Emily’s instincts are rarely wrong, and now they’re telling her this sexy, mysterious man is hiding something big …

As a trained assassin for EXIT Inc—a top-secret mercenary group posing as an international tour company—Devlin “Devil” Buchanan isn’t afraid to take justice into his own hands. But when the hot new detective on his trail gets too close to the organization and a contract is placed on her life, Devlin does the only thing he can: he turns rogue agent and kidnaps her to save her life.

With EXIT Inc closing in and passions running hot between them, Emily and Devlin must work together to find the missing women and clear both their names before time runs out … and the key to freedom is thrown away.

Untitled

My thoughts: I have not read that much by Diaz. Only this series and this book is the last one (as I understand it) in the series Deadly Games. I loved the first three books and they all got top score by me. These books are old fashion, romantic suspense that makes you want to stay home from work, sit in your reading nook and do nothing but read all day and night. That is how good these books have been. I must, however, say that I was a little disappointed on Diaz with this one. The story is awesome as always but I do not like the ending.

Well, it ended the only way it could have ended and that is fine. I’m satisfied by that. But since this is the last book, it should not have been as many questions (tough small) left for me as a reader. It should not imply that you will get all the answers if you start the series EXIT and then you read the synopsis about the first book in the EXIT series and there is nothing that implies that you will get your answers.

However, if you can ignore that those small questions won’t get any good answers, the book is awesome and I love all the characters. I love the story and I love how strong and fierce (in the right way) the female character is. It is just so good and I can’t say anything other than these books are so worth reading if you are a romantic suspense junky as I am.

Contemporary · Humor/Funny · Romance

Grin & beard it – Penny Reid

Book Chick1 Comment

23337863.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: Sienna Diaz is everyone’s favorite “fat” funny lady. The movie studio executives can’t explain it, but her films are out-grossing all the fit and trim headliners and Hollywood’s most beautiful elite. The simple truth is, everyone loves plus-sized Sienna.

But she has a problem, she can’t read maps and her sense of direction is almost as bad as her comedic timing is stellar. Therefore, when Sienna’s latest starring role takes her to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park she finds herself continually lost while trying to navigate the backroads of Green Valley, Tennessee. Much to her consternation, Sienna’s most frequent savior is a ridiculously handsome, charming, and cheeky Park Ranger by the name of Jethro Winston.

Sienna is accustomed to high levels of man-handsome, so it’s not Jethro’s chiseled features or his perfect physique that make Sienna stutter. It’s his southern charm. And gentlemanly manners. And habit of looking at her too long and too often.

Sienna has successfully navigated the labyrinth of Hollywood heart-throbs. But can she traverse the tenuous trails of Tennessee without losing her head? Or worse, her heart?

Untitled

My thoughts: I’m in love. Yes I am. I’m in love with Penny Reid. And even though i’m straight I can totally appreciate beauty. Specially if you have the beautiful gift of writing. Which Reid totally has. And it is so obvious in this book.

I’m that kind of reader who makes faces when I read. I smile, frown, I cry and even look bored if the book is boring. But I do NOT laugh out loud, hardly ever cry so that other notice, gasp or talk to the book and the characters. Do you still follow me here? Okay… but this book started with me laughing out loud. Yes. I was like 4 pages in, it was 06:22 am in the morning and it totally made me laugh and I was hooked there and then. The book is highly funny in this sarcastic, in your face, type of way and I totally love it.

I have read one book by Reid earlier (the first book to this series, this one is the second). And even though I really liked it, I did not LOVE it. Not like I love this one.

The characters is just wonderful and it is nice to really get to know them more. Cletus (who is not the main character in this book) has such a big part and you can’t do anything other than loving him, and looking forward to his own book. Sienna is wonderfully quirky, funny and has like “joke diarrhea” which is funny as hell. Jethro is this dark, brooding type of man who is trying to make amends for his past and make everything right by his family and friends. He is open, funny and lovable if given the chance and him and Sienna really match each other perfectly.

I thought, half way through the book, that some shit would happen and you would get this tense, anguished and mentally exhausted part, but it never came and it was so uplifting that Reid not followed the mainstream way, that seems to be dominating in this types of books. And that just made it all that much better.

Contemporary · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

After The Dark – Cynthia Eden

Book Chick1 Comment

30836269.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Former FBI agent Samantha Dark was one of the most respected profilers in the bureau, an expert on the twisted minds and dark hearts of the most depraved criminals. But when her own former lover turned out to be the serial killer she was hunting, Samantha’s career was destroyed. Blamed for the FBI’s failure on the complex case, Samantha fled Washington, DC, for the quiet anonymity of Alabama.

Now an all-too-familiar killer is hunting once again. She can catch the sadistic assassin, but that means putting her trust in her former partner, Blake Gamble. Ex-military, Blake is tough, protective, precise. With her entire life on the brink, she knows he wants her back in the FBI…and possibly more.

But someone else wants her, too. A threat is waiting in the dark, a killer who has set his sights on the ultimate trophy victim—Samantha.

Untitled

My thoughts: I don’t know if I just had to high hopes or what not for this book, but no matter what the reason, I was not happy with the result. It is so repetitive. Yeah I get it that the characters want something or need something but do you have to keep thinking it, saying it and be angry if you don’t get it and keep it on a loop even after you get it. It destroyed the story. Specially since the story could have been good, even though you get to know the truth early on.

I still liked the book enough to give it a two star. It is still not positive but since the story was intriguing even though no suspense or excitement, I got through it. It is an average read. Not something I would recommend to friends if they not specifically requested something in this line. However Eden has done a great job with capture a killer’s mind and the law enforcement work and even if the whole story was predictable, it still was somewhat entertaining.

But I didn’t like the character’s dynamic to each outer. Someone who do not trust someone, don’t just show up the next day and have complete and utterly trust in that person. And the relationship between Gamble and Dark just didn’t feel real at all and quite forced. There was nothing with it that I liked and that makes me a little sad.

So, to conclude it all, I liked the story even though it was predictable and you got to know it all already in the beginning. I did however don’t like the characters and the general dynamic in the story. Probably had higher hopes for the book, than what I should have had.

Monthly summary

January Summary

Book ChickLeave a comment

January has come and gone and what a reading month. 11 books I have read and the middle rating of is up at 3,8. Normaly I’m around 3,2 so my choice of books this month has been great. 😀

Favorite book this month: Trying to decide between Blood Harvest or Spotless and I think this months favorite is Blood Harvest by Sharon J. Bolton.

Least favorite book this month: I will choose War’s unwomanly face – Svetlana Alexievich because of the broken up structure, that I did not like in the book.

Number of physical books: 2
Number of e-books: 7
Number of audiobooks: 2
Total pages: 3761
Female authors: 8
Male authors: 3
Four of these authors was also new to me.

8658911Blood Harvest – Sharon J. Bolton
Settings: Heptonclough, United Kingdom Pages: 576 Published: 2011
Genres: Mystery, thriller, crime, fiction, paranormal
My rating: 5/5
Links: Review
On the chase – Katie Ruggle34006761
Settings: Colorado, USA. Pages: 339 Published: 2017
Genres: Romantic suspense, contemporary.
My rating: 4/5
Links: Review
Book 2 in Rocky Mountain K9 unit.
30197979Spotless – Camilla Monk
Settings: All over the world Pages: 334 Published: 2016
Genres: Romantic suspense, contemporary, mystery, funny, humor.
My rating: 5/5
Links: Review
Book 1 in Spotless.
114184Blue Smoke – Nora Roberts
Settings: Baltimore, Maryland, USA Pages: 440 Published: 2006
Genres: Romantic, suspense, Mystery, fiction.
My rating: 4/5
Links: Review
4025275

War’s unwomanly face – Svetlana Alexievich
Settings: Europe Pages: 447 Published: 1985
Genres: Non-fictions, war, military
My rating: 3/5
Links: Review
33297557Intensity – Dean Koontz
Settings: USA Pages: 384 Published: 1987
Genres: Horror, suspense, thriller, fiction, mystery
My rating: 4/5
Links: Review
100915The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
Settings: London, England and Narnia Pages: 220 Published: 1950
Genres: Young adult, classics, fantasy, fiction.
My rating: 3/5
Links: Review
Book 2 in The chronicles of Narnia.
Dark Horse – Jessica Gadziala35228953.jpg
Settings: New York, USA Pages: 227 Published: 2017
Genres: Contemporary, romance.
My rating: 4/5
Links: Review
Book 3 in Dark series.
37551431To keep a secret – M. M. Wedin
Settings: – Pages: 43 Published: 2017
Genres: Thriller, Horror
My rating: 2/5
Links: Review
This is an copy I got from the author against n honest review.
26038790Fear University – Meg Collett
Settings: Kodiak, Alaska, USA Pages: 343 Published: 2015
Genres: Paranormal, fantasy, romance, young adult
My rating: 4/5
Links: Review
Book 1 in Fear University
 12024990Assasin’s code – Jonathan Maberry
Settings: Mostly middle east. Pages: 422 Published: 2008
Genres: Science fiction, horror, thriller.
My rating: 4/5
Links: Review
Book 4 in Joe Ledger series.

 

Fiction/Science Fiction · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Assassin’s code – Jonathan Maberry

Book Chick2 Comments

12024990| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: In ASSASSIN’S CODE, the fourth book in New York Timesbestselling author Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger series, Joe Ledger and the DMS go on a relentless chase to stop an ancient order of killers from plunging the entire world into Holy War.

When Joe Ledger and Echo Team rescue a group of American college kids held hostage in Iran,the Iranian government then asks them to help find six nuclear bombs planted in the Mideast oil fields. These stolen WMDs will lead Joe and Echo Team into hidden vaults of forbidden knowledge, mass-murder, betrayal, and a brotherhood of genetically-engineered killers with a thirst for blood.

Accompanied by the beautiful assassin called Violin, Joe follows a series of clues to find the Book of Shadows, which contains a horrifying truth that threatens to shatter his entire worldview.

They say the truth will set you free…
Not this time.

The secrets of the Assassin’s Code will set the world ablaze.

Untitled

My thoughts: Dear Mr Maberry.

You broke me! You broke me to the moon and back and then you put me together with scotch tape and hot glue. Blood seeping trough the wounds, glistening in the night as I lay and think about Joe Ledger and his life. And then I read the last sentence in this book and it is all better again. Almost! So please, do not fuck it up. (Yeah I know you already have written like 6 more books after this one but I can still Wish because that guy need some happiness.)

If I ever was one of those people who wrote letters to musicians, actors, authors, serial killers or what not, this is probably how I would start a letter to Jonathan Maberry. After every book about Joe Ledger, I have felt a little broken, a little hurt but at the same time had this good, warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest. Maberry takes his readers on an exquisite ride through out the horrors of real life mix with the horror of the historical, fantasy, conspiracy tales and mad science. As a child I loved books like Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Dracula by Bram Stoker and every other “supernatural” book my little hands could get. This is just an modern view of old tales in a more exciting form. There to entertain, not to teach and with twist you would not be able to foresee.

I have not written an official review on any of Maberrys books before but they pretty much go the same. The story is phenomenal. The imagination and execution of the story is one of the greatest. This is not generally a genre I read much in and even less if there is not more of an Romantic suspense/horror type of book. Mostly because I often feel a get bored. Long descriptions, not enough dialog and so on is not always the best. But I do not get bored by this books. It is terrifying, exciting and lovable. And you as an reader are there with the characters. There have not yet been a full 5 star rated book (but The King of Plagues was pretty close) and that is because every time I feel i’m missing something. But I cant figure out what.

chapter.PNGJonathan Maberry is also a king on writhing short chapters with a punch and a total effect to wake your curiosity. This picture is the first chapter from the book “The King of Plagues” and I wrote this on my Instagram (this was before I created The Book Chick).

insta

And it is perfect for those of you who read by chapters and goes like “Just one more chapter” late in the night. 😉