I've already called my book of the year, so I guess this one will have to my book of the decade... maybe even the last twenty years. Authentic, utterly gripping and moving as it is horrifying. Thank you Kate Elizabeth Russell for writing this book <3 "Once in a while, a book comes along that consumes your waking hours, unmoors you from your lived reality, grips the very core of you and doesn't let go. My Dark Vanessa is that book." - Esquire. . . .
A Good Man by Ani Katz
It may only be January but I'm calling it… This is my book of the year! Wow, just wow <3 I always worry about writing reviews on books like this, in case I give too much away, but this one on BookPage by Amy Scribner sums it up perfectly. A truly fantastic debut. LB x . . .
Review: You by Caroline Kepnes
Oh em eff gee... Where do I begin with this one? There are no words for how brilliant this book is, so there is part of me that doesn't even want to try and start! My book club and I read the hilariously funny and twisted You by Caroline Kepnes for our meeting in September and I think it is one of my favorite reads to date. I totally fell in love with the anti-hero Joe Goldberg and all of his obsessive, perverted ways. He's just so damn likeable, which is bizarre considering he's a serial killer and a stalker. There are a lot of nods to Bret Easton Ellis throughout the book, and in particular I found echos of Patrick Bateman running throughout Joe's character, especially when it comes . . .
Review: In A Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
2016 has been the year for hen parties for my friends and I... I'm just so glad that none of them have ended up like the one in Ruth Ware's In A Dark Dark Wood! I absolutely love psychological thrillers so when I started reading this fantastic debut I couldn't put it down. It has all the elements of a classic... A creepy setting, a ton of suspense, and some genuinely beautiful writing. The tension that builds right from the first page is addictive, and kept me up until the middle of the night because I had to finish it in one sitting. I won't give anything away, but toxic friends and ghosts from the past are hiding in an isolated house in Northumberland, and they are ready to ruin the hen . . .
Review of A Better Man by Leah McLaren
What if the only way to end your marriage was to become the perfect husband? Wow, what an explosion of mind games this book turned out to be! When I received a copy of A Better Man, I instantly loved the concept of a crafty husband trying to end his marriage by playing Mr. Perfect so that he could screw over the mother of his children financially. Nick was instantly unlikable, but as the story progressed, Maya, his unsuspecting wife, was just as infuriating. At times when I was devouring every last inch of their destructive relationship, I just wanted to dive into the pages and bash their heads together! This is a funny and very sharp portrayal of a doomed marriage, with the odd villain . . .