Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

The rabbit hunter – Lars Kepler

36448430.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: It begins with a nursery rhyme. Nineteen minutes later you die…

The sixth gripping thriller in Lars Kepler’s bestselling series featuring Joona Linna. Perfect for fans of Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo.

There’s a face at the window.
A stranger wearing a mask stands in the shadow of a garden. He’s watching his first victim through the window. He will kill him slowly, make it last – play him a nursery rhyme – make him pay.

A killer in your house.
There’s only one person the police can turn to – ex-Detective Joona Linna – but he’s serving time in a high-security prison. So they offer him a chance to secure his freedom: help superintendent Saga Bauer track down the vicious killer known as The Rabbit Hunter, before he strikes again.

Only one man can stop him.
Soon another three victims have been murdered and Stockholm is in the grip of terror. Joona Linna must catch a disturbed predator, whose trail of destruction leads back to one horrific night of violence – with consequences more terrifying than anyone could have imagined…

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My thoughts: Joona Linna is back in one more of those intense and thrilling books where he is hunting a cold blooded killer out of the ordinary! Old secrets, new promises and a rabbit hunter is what he tries to unravel. And even though I really liked it and I like all the characters, I find that I don’t like this book as much as the others. The reason for that is probably that the whole police investigation alignment is not as prominent as usual and the side characters in the mystery has a much bigger part. It made the old characters fall a little flat and I missed them.

I wouldn’t say that it is a bad book but it is the weakest one in the series in my opinion. It is a little too long and slow in the middle. Some stuff didn’t make sense since the details were not fulfilling but I don’t think they were important for the plot itself so I can ignore it. It still has the same psychological depth, uncomfortable detailed descriptions as always which makes it easy to imagine what is happening and it is certainly terrifying. I did like the history and the old secrets twist but however I did not like the ending. It was a bit confusing but I hope I will get my answers in October when the 7th book in the series has release in Sweden. Will probably be some months before it has a release on English though.

This is the 6th one in the series and they really should be read in order. So you know. I think I have told you that before but one time to many can’t hurt.

Contemporary · Humor/Funny · Romance

Fire & Brimstone – R. L Mathewson

26158415.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: What happens when a Bradford with questionable OCD, a tempter and a reputation for making his employees cry falls for the woman that refuses to accept the fact that he’s fired her and was terrifyingly more of a Bradford than he was?

Well, we can’t share that here, because it would be seriously inappropriate, but we’re sure that you can see where this is leading…

To the altar or a stint in the slammer, either one is possible when it comes to the Neighbor from Hell Series.

Author’s Note: This book along with the rest of the series is intended to make you smile, let you relax and forget the drama and stress that plagues our lives even if its just for a little while. This is a drama free book. My goal is to put a smile on your face and I hope this book does that.

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My thoughts: This is the 8th book in the neighbor from hell series and I have loved pretty much every single one of them I have read. Except this one. It really did not reach the target this time and that is too bad and even makes me a little sad. Since my accident I’m in a lot of pain and don’t sleep well. When I’m not dumping my brain into a random tv show or game on my phone, I try to read. And I really needed some kind of pick me up read that would make me happy and maybe make me feel a little better. I thought that this was the one who would not disappointed me. Unfortunately I was wrong.

The first 30% of the book is pretty funny and good. I am not denying that. There is some good characters and you got to love their reactions and counteractions to each other. Unfortunately it just got to be too much. They kept ranting and same thing happened over and over again. I didn’t fall for the heroin in the same way as I’m usually do and find her kind of annoying a lot of the times. Christopher aka Lucifer certainly has more depth than what meets the eye but that is not really showed in the story either. And there is really no plot either. It’s to loosy floosy with any real goal.

The whole book feel like something pushed out of thin air with nothing but an idea, without love or excitement for the writing of the book itself. It was weirdly written where it was not that easy at all times to know who talks/thinks and suddenly the point of view shifted to other characters from the earlier books. This has never happened before and was total surprise and I actually thought for a while that my eBook was defaulted. It just didn’t make sense at first to be there with Lucifer and Becca and then suddenly you where there with Trevor and Zoe for a whole chapter. Talk about confusing.

I’m still gonna continue the series. Just see this book as an bump in the road and that Mathewson is just human and not even she is flawless. 🙂

Contemporary · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense

The Collector – Nora Roberts

18668066| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: When professional house-sitter Lila Emerson witnesses a murder/suicide from her current apartment-sitting job, life as she knows it takes a dramatic turn. Suddenly, the woman with no permanent ties finds herself almost wishing for one. . . .

Artist Ashton Archer knows his brother isn’t capable of violence—against himself or others. He recruits Lila, the only eyewitness, to help him uncover what happened. Ash longs to paint her as intensely as he hungers to touch her. But their investigation draws them into a rarified circle where priceless antiques are bought, sold, gambled away, and stolen, where what you possess is who you are, and where what you desire becomes a deadly obsession. . . .

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My thoughts: What a utter disappointment this book was. It is sad that I had that “total waste of time” feeling after finishing it. What the heck happened? I should have DNF it and if it wasn’t for the fact that I had to spend 10 (!) hours at the emergency room, I would probably have done it to.

It is the same predictable, old, boring plot as usual, with to much details and information. It was impossible to connect with the characters and it is a long, rambling story with a lot less excitement than there should be. The characters are grey and bland with really no personality, difference or depth. There is no tension in the mystery. Nothing that makes my heart beat extra hard, the adrenaline pump through my system or giving me the feeling of “I need to know more”.

There is predictable and there is predictable. Just need to be clear about that. Because if the story and plot itself is well written and exciting it doesn’t matter to me that the story is predictable. It is the ride there who matters, not the destination. But if the story is boring, unconnectable or in some other ways just not catching me, the easy predictability will just make it worse.

I’m surprised to see that the book have such high score with so many bad reviews on Goodreads. I’m happy that i’m not the only one feeling this way but still sad because it’s Nora Roberts. I’m suppose to like her books. I’m not suppose to force myself thru it an later on describe it as one of 2018 most painfully reads.

Contemporary · Romance · Young, New adult/College

Simon vs. The homo sapiens agenda – Becky Albertalli

19547856.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

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My thoughts: I have been avoiding these cutesy, young adult romances as the vampire avoids sunlight. Not only because they often are to fluffy and angst filled for my taste. But also because they feel to unrealistic and predictable. It is like these teenage movies where you have 75 minutes of “funny” cringe worthy scenes and you still KNOW that the prins and princess will get each other in the end. I can see the charm, I do, and I do watch them sometimes when I don’t have the energy to use my head. At times I only want to be filled with something shallow, where I can remember or forget. Depending on the mood. And I do wish I could enjoy them, as much as so many others do. I feel I miss out a lot but the most of these YA I have tried, I have not enjoyed no matter how much I have tried.

But I did enjoy Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens agenda. It is not specially fun, it has its moments, and it brings up the storm of emotions in a young boys life who knows he is gay, but has yet told anyone. Except Blue. The mysterious, email friend Simon has but don’t know who it is. Blue is also gay and they talk a lot about how it is to still “be in the closet” and the big “coming out” thing. I loved that I could not predict who Blue was until he was revealed and it was a total surprise.

What I liked the most with the book was the day to day life. Simon is a great character. He is deeply developed, funny and sarcastic. He is grounded in the story and who is easy to relate to. I had some trouble the first 50+ pages since there is a lot of characters and it was hard to keep track of who talked when or did what. But as soon as I got used to the way it was written it was much easier and the book was a fast past read.

It is a great book but still a little to light and fluffy for my taste. But then again, YA Romance is not my favorite genre. I did like it and feel that this is a great book for all ages. Now in 2018 the movie on the book, Love Simon, have had a release and of course I want to see it. Haha. I love movies made on books. Usually not as great, “The Book was better”, you know, but still want to see them.

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

Stalker – Lars Kepler

22554261| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: The police receive a video clip of a woman in a window and reason that someone must have been standing in the garden just outside her house to be able to film her. The next day the woman is found dead in her home, the vicious violence of the scene shocks even the most seasoned investigators. A few days later, another clip is sent anonymously to the police, but there’s no way of identifying the woman before she too falls victim to a brutal attack. When he finds her, the woman’s husband is so traumatized by the violent scene that, in a state of panic, he starts cleaning the house. He even washes the blood from his wife’s body and puts her to bed, as if nothing is the matter. He may have seen a vital clue but is in such an extreme state of shock, and seems to be suffering from short-term memory loss that the police cannot usefully question him. Criminal psychiatrist and hypnotist Erik Maria Bark is called in hypnotize the man in order to unlock his memories of the murder scene. But what Dr Bark uncovers in his sessions with the dead woman’s husband make him decide to lie to the police.

It becomes clear that the case cannot be solved without the help of Detective Joona Linna, the man who’s been missing for more than a year and has been presumed dead.

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My thoughts: Lars Kepler, the married duo who writes under that name, has done it again. With Stalker we yet again meet Joona Linna and all the loose threads from the earlier books are finally tied together. Even though the series is about Joona Linna, he has a lot smaller part in this book than usual. Here it is Erik Maria Bark who stands in the headlight and the character you get to follow the most. He is awesome and I have always liked him so it was great to get to know him even more.

I really like the stalker plot where as a woman, it even was a little frighting for me and with its graphic content, gave me the chills.  I found it somewhat of a paranoid thriller and I’m happy that I don’t live on the first floor (even though I curse those stairs everyday). And I Still checked my windows and doors a little extra, just in case. Not that I’m in any danger of being stalked, but it just felt better you know. Funny how books can have such  big impact on the everyday life. Anyway, I liked the plot and it is well written as always. I wouldn’t say that Stalker is my favorite in the series but it isn’t the worst either.

There is a lot of plot twists and one was really surprising and I did not see that coming. I should have and I kick myself for not doing that and it is great work by Kepler to fool me. I’m not easily fooled. Just saying! And this series is not a stand alone and you should read them in order, just to really understand some huge things that are not deeply explained.

A solid thriller with a solid and somewhat frightening plot and I give it four stars. Loses a star because it is a little too long. With almost 700 pages I felt somethings could have been edited out to make the flow more smoothly. And there is a lot of characters and even though I’m Swedish and doesn’t have a problem with the names, I still forgot sometime who was who.

Fantasy/Paranormal · Fiction/Science Fiction · Young, New adult/College

Red Rising – Pierce Brown

15839976.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: “I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.”

“I live for you,” I say sadly.

Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.

Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies… even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

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My thoughts: I can honestly say that I have no idea how to review Red Rising. How am I supposed to put words on all my feelings of happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, hate, joy, love, and fear without it ending up a blubbering mess? This book have it all, good, bad and it is so, soo clever written that even though it landed on a three star rating from me, I can’t stop thinking about it.

At heart, the book has a very good and clever plot, even though it is a somewhat “milked” theme by now. But I really liked the whole “low, hard and poor life, fighting for the future of their children, corrupted governments, protagonist finds out the truth, kicks ass and fights for what’s right, tries to get to the top and stop the evil of this world” plot. And it works extra good in this book since the main protagonist, Darrow, is a good guy but he does so much bad and horrible things that you at the same time as you love him, you hate him to. And he is so real and authentic in a way I cant describe. He hates what he is forced to do and he struggles a lot with sorrow and feelings of missing. He is a young guy with a hard life who gets it even harder and you can actually see him grow as a person throughout the book.

But then there is other things. There is a big part of the book that was sooo boring. I mean, “start to think about something else while reading” boring. Even “start skimming to the good parts” boring. Almost DNF boring! And I can’t really tell you why either since it are a big part of the plot and the books story. But I felt it somewhat unrealistic (even though we are in the future and on Mars) and it was quite hard to wrap my mind around a lot of it. I think I understand the purpose, it is just the ways that perplexes me and the performance is tedious and uninteresting. The ending was great though and now I’m more open to continue the series, than I was earlier on in the book.

It certainly has taken my emotions and thoughts on a roller coaster but I’m happy that I finally read it. The last thing I want to say is that, If we ever going to move to Mars, build a new civilization and all that. This is how I see in my mind it will be. The rich people always wins and rides the backs of the poor. Things will never change. Yes. I’m that pessimistic!

Fantasy/Paranormal · Fiction/Science Fiction · Thriller/Horror

Brilliance – Marcus Sakey

23299555.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called “brilliants,” and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in – and betray his own kind.

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My thoughts: With its highly cliché content, generic story and with a complete lack of original ideas from the author, it is sad how this novel has been raised and praised in the bookish community. The original idea of it all is pretty cool and something I could love since I’m a total “superpower” buff. But this is just a lame version of x-men. Without the cool powers, the sexy suits and expensive toys. But still the corrupt governments, the terrorists, the two sides against each other and the family conflicts are the same story that we have been fed for like 20 years now.

It is even more sad how Sakey have focused more on the style of the book than the content itself. Written it “ready” for the movie business and it is almost like he wants to flip us off with a highly obscene gesture. I feel the book is written like a screenplay, ready for Hollywood, not the bookshelf’s. It feels like he did not care about the book itself but only hoped on the possibility to get an Hollywood movie contract to bring in the money and fame. There is no real character development and the male protagonist is a boring, apathetic, grey guy with no real emotions and the total lack of self-confidence to use his own head.

I actually gave this book a two star rating at first but now after I have had the time to sleep on it and really think about the book, I feel that it is not fair, and lower it to a one star rating. Why you may ask? Well it is as simple as that the book did not give me anything. It was highly predictable and nothing surprised me. It was not funny nor exciting. I did not like the characters, the plot or the way it was written. This will probably be a movie in the future ( oh wait, it is actually already in development according to IMDB) and I’m not that interested to even see it. So that’s that. Let’s move one shall we?

Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Shiver – Karen Robards

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Goodreads synopsis: Samantha Jones is the best damn repo woman on the books. The streetwalkers, the drug pushers, the bands of looking-for-trouble punks haunting the mean streets at midnight don’t intimidate her. These are her people. The guy she finds bound and bloodied in the trunk of a flashy new BMW is a different breed entirely.

Daniel Panterro knows he hasn’t seen the last of the vicious drug runners who kidnapped him from protective custody and left him for dead. His only recourse is to take his pretty savior and her four-year-old son hostage and force her to help him. With ruthless killers stalking their trail, Sam must trust this handsome, menacing stranger. But as she relinquishes control, she feels an unmistakable desire. What is the price of falling in love with a man who operates on the edge of danger—her heart, her life . . . or both?

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My thoughts: It took me a really long time to start reading this one. I kept seeing reviews where other “complained” about how bad the characters were and how Robards don’t have diversity in her way of building characters and plots. But I must say, I think this is one of my favorites so far.

I often find that a romantic suspense is to unrealistic for my taste. Either the plot is not believable and quite thin or the whole romantic part of it is forced and hard to not cringe or laugh at since it so often not realistic. I know it is fiction and often it is not supposed to be realistic, but that is just not the way I like it. Personally. But this book is great.

The plot seems realistic. I really like Samantha. You can really feel how much she hates her life and how she struggles and fights for her son. And when it all happen, the bad guys, the running and the fighting, it is just great. Believable, true and exciting. (Except the end part.) I fell and it captivated me, and that is just the way I like it. I love that the romantic part took some time, some build up and it was hot, hot and hot. I really liked the dynamic between the characters and how diverse they were. I do not feel at all that it is the same thing with a different plot.

Now I do not read a lot of Robards. I do believe that, if I had read several after each other, I would probably feel the same way as many of the other reviews.

If I’m going to complain I do have a couple of things to mention and they are the reason to why I did not give the book five stars. First of is Tyler. He is supposed to be four, soon five years old, but he is written so much older. More like seven or eight. It kept messing with my head and I actually had to remind myself all the time that he is only four. The other thing is how shallow Marco/Trey/Danny is. He is so focus on Sam’s “beauty” and thin body, and it gets tiresome in the end. And the third is that when they crash in the mountains, it is just too easy. It is snow, cold and they have freaking crashed, but no, they just stomp back down without a word of pain or cold. Miner details but stuff like that can drive me crazy.

Fantasy/Paranormal · Fiction/Science Fiction

The name of the wind – Patrick Rothfuss

186074.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet’s hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

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My thoughts: First I want to say that I’m not a reader who reads much fantasy, especially high/epic fantasy and was somewhat concerned that I would not like the book due to the genre it belonged, but I actually found it not as high as I had foreseen. I would say it is a more of a softer kind of fantasy in my opinion. Assassin’s apprentice by Robin Hobb, for an example, I see as a more heavier than this book. So I was quiet surprised. The second I want to comment is about the writing. O, MY, God what a great work of art this book is. The writing is so well done that it is almost like singing in my head. The flow is easy, wonderful and captivating. I have never read anything as smooth as this before in my life. It is truly a work of art and I do now understand now why it took Rothfuss so many years to write the book. And the third thing is, that I did not fall in love, as so many others have and that makes me really sad. Really, really sad!

I didn’t get all those fuzzy feelings that so many others have from this book and it drives me crazy that I can’t pinpoint exactly why. Because it is certainly not bad. Even far from it. But I had such trouble to stay connected with it. When I put the book down, I had trouble picking it up again. When I eventually did pick it up, I read page after page and had trouble putting it down. Do you see my dilemma here? It was like I loved the book while reading, but when I didn’t I was ready to start something else. Something different. Something new. It did not put it’s claws in me. And I do think the reason for it is because it was somewhat uneven in speed and plot. There were a lot of storytelling and happenings and I do see that them are vital to the story, but for me I think it bored me a little.

I’m however a little in love with the character Kvothe. Or almost all the characters really. Rothfuss has made a great job with building them to that high standard that they are. They all have their own quirks and you can actually feel them. Kvothe is an intelligent, quick-witted, sharp-tongued and clever character that, in this book, starts telling his story of how he became who he is for Devan, who is kind of a story collector. Kvothe tells the story about his child hood, his family and years on the road as an entertainer. He tells about his friends and how he came to be who he is. And there is a lot of characters in this story. But some stay with you a little extra than others. For like an example, Elodin who is hilarious or Ambrose, who is a HUGE dick by the way, and even though I hate him, I could not see the story without him. I was also not overly fond of Denna in the beginning. I found her shallow, cruel and kind of self-centered but she did grew on me later on, even though I cant say I love her now. I got to understand her better and find her a lot more complex than first thought. Then we have Bast. Oh I love him. And Devi. Okay, I loved most of the characters.

I did get the description that this book is “Like Harry Potter for adults.” Well…. NO. The only thing I would be able to compare to the Harry Potter series is that Kvothe studies at a “magic” school, but it is not a magic, magic school. Hard to explain. But this is so far from Harry Potter you can come, and in some ways actually better but in others, not. What I can say though is that the book is complex beyond anything I have ever read and I think it is one of those who everybody should read.

Everyday things

And that’s why my “do not buy more books” ban, doesn’t work!

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Stupid bookdepository.com has a up to 50% off sale and of course I needed to take a look. Only a look because I am on a “no buy books” ban, but hey, you see how that went. Did find some good books to a great price. And even tough Liar Liar by M.J Arlidge, not was included in the sale, it was finally in stock again and got to join the others in my basket. Well thank you so much BD for informing me about this opportunity by email. 😉 God, I never learn do I??

Have you bought anything from the sale?