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Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf
“But life, like Scrabble, is like that—you get the rack you get, and you just have to figure out how to make do.” Queen of the Tiles is an entertaining mystery romp that belongs to that subgenre of YA books that combines a whodunnit type of storyline with the kind of teen dynamics at play…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, anxiety, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, Contemporary, female authors, friendships, games, gossip & scandals, GRIEF, Hanna Alkaf, lgbtq+ side, light reads, Malaysia, Malaysian author, murder mystery, Muslim rep, My reviews, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, non-binary side characters, published in 2022, Queen of the Tiles, read in 2022, reading, trauma, whodunnit, YOUNG ADULT -
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
“That’s the problem with summoning demons, you see. Sooner or later somebody else raises them against you.” Readers who enjoyed Stuart Turton’s previous novel will probably find The Devil and the Dark Water to be a far more captivating read than I did. While I personally was not enamoured by The Seven Deaths of Evelyn…
17th century, 2.5 STARS, 3rd pov, British author, cat and mouse, curses, DETECTIVE, HISTORICAL FICTION, Indonesia, ISLAND, male authors, MURDER, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, netgalley, Netherlands, published in 2020, read in 2020, sea, ship, Stuart Turton, SUSPENSE, The Devil and the Dark Water, THRILLER, voyage -
Crossings by Alex Landragin
Alex Landragin has written an ambitious tale, one that begins with the following line: “I didn’t write this book. I stole it.”This prologue, written by a bookbinder, tells us of how this manuscript has come to be in his hands. The manuscript in question comprises three seemingly separate books: ‘The Education of a Monster’ written…
18th century, 19TH CENTURY, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, adventure, Alex Landragin, books about books, books about writers, Charles Baudelaire, Crossings, FRANCE, French Armenian Australian author, HISTORICAL FICTION, interconnected stories, interesting structure, ISLAND, MAGICAL REALISM, male authors, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, on a ship, plot over character, published in 2020, read in 2020, ROMANCE, sea, star-crossed lovers, story within a story, travel, voyage, Walter Benjamin, WWII -
The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi — book review
The Eighth Detective is not quite the “thrilling, wildly inventive nesting doll of a mystery” it’d be promised to be. I approached this novel hoping for something in the realms of Anthony Horowitz. Sadly, The Eighth Detective seems closer to The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, in that both novels are hellbent on ‘confusing’ the…
2 STARS, Adult, Alex Pavesi, arc, books about books, books about writers, BOOKS ON WRITING, Contemporary, CRIME, DETECTIVE, golden age detective fiction, male authors, murder mystery, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, netgalley, published in 2020, read in 2020, short stories, story within a story, SUSPENSE, The Eighth Detective, unnamed country, whodunnit -
A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier — book review
“One thing was for sure: This Christmas was going to be anything but boring.” A Castle in the Clouds is the book equivalent of cotton candy. Fluffy, sickly sweet, and somewhat insubstantial. Nevertheless, with its Clue meets Scooby Doo story this latest novel by Kerstin Gier makes for an entertaining, if silly, read. A Castle…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, A Castle in the Clouds, adventure, Christmas reads, Contemporary, drama, female authors, German, german author, hotel, HUMOR, Kerstin Gier, missing jewels, mountains, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, PUBLISHED IN 2017, read in 2020, ROMANCE, Switzerland, TRANSLATED FICTION, uplifting reads, WINTER, winter reads, YOUNG ADULT -
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton — book review
Whodunnits, Agatha Christie, mysteries, and puzzles are all favourites of mine…so I was pretty excited to read The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle as it promised to combine all of these things together. “I suddenly have the sense of taking part in a play in which everybody knows their lines but me.” With a fascinating…
1930S, 1st pov, 2.5 STARS, 20th century, action, AGATHA CHRISTIE, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Books that take place in a single day, British author, confusing for the sake of being confusing, CRIME, DETECTIVE, england, Groundhog Day, HISTORICAL FICTION, lgbtq+ side, manor/big house, morality, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, published in 2018, read in 2020, SPECULATIVE FICTION, Stuart Turton, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, whodunnit, why the hype -
Winterhouse by Ben Guterson — book review
“She was good at all sorts of puzzles—word searches, hangman, acrostics, cryptograms, any puzzle with words.” Although I am not part of Winterhouse’s target audience, I do enjoy reading the occasional book aimed towards younger readers as they can be quite uplifting and entertaining reads. In fact, I picked Winterhouse up hoping for a light…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Ben Guterson, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Chloe Bristol, FANTASY, friendships, ghosts/spirits, holidays, hotel, illustrated books, male authors, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, orphans, published in 2018, read in 2020, WINTER, winter reads, Winterhouse -
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton — book review
“A person’s fortune always changes in the telling of it.” Turns out that reading The Luminaries was a phenomenal waste of my time. Eleanor Catton writes well, and the concept behind her novel had the potential of being interesting, but on the whole The Luminaries seems to be little more than a dull rehash of…
1860s, 19TH CENTURY, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, astrology, big books, bombastic style, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, BOOKWORM, CRIME, drama, Eleanor Catton, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, Hokitika, ISLAND, LITERARY FICTION, man booker winner, murder mystery, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, new zealand, New Zealand author, prostitution, published in 2013, READ IN 2019, REVIEW, sensation fiction, ship, The Luminaries -
The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz — book review
For the most part The House of Silk was an entertaining read. Horowitz captures the essence of the dynamic between Sherlock Holmes and Watson so that readers will find his portrayal of these two famous characters to be all too familiar. As per usual Horowitz also cleverly combines more than one mystery together, throwing in…
1890s, 19TH CENTURY, 1st pov, 3.25 stars, abuse, Adult, Anthony Horowitz, BOOK REVIEW, British author, CRIME, DETECTIVE, england, HISTORICAL FICTION, HOLMES AND WATSON, LONDON, male authors, murder mystery, mystery puzzle, private investigator, published in 2011, READ IN 2019, RETELLINGS, sherlock holmes, sherlockiana, the house of silk, VICTORIAN, whodunnit -
The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón — book review
After finishing The Angel’s Game I was eager to start The Prisoner of Heaven as I was hoping that we could see how unreliable a narrator David was. Tonally The Prisoner of Heaven is closer to the first book in this series, yet its short length and fast plot-line seemed more in a line with…
1950s, 20th century, 3.25 stars, Adult, Barcelona, BOOK REVIEWS, books about books, BOOKS ON WRITING, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, GOTHIC, HUMOR, male authors, MELODRAMA, modern gothic, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, READ IN 2019, ROMANCE, spain, spanish author, The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, The Prisoner of Heaven
luce [is reading] 