Let the Right Book In

When Daniel Sempere is a young boy, his father brings him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and tells him he can choose whichever book he likes. The book that Daniel chooses, The Shadow of the Wind, ignites his passion for literature and unravelling the fate of this book and its author. “Few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart.” I’ve been blankly staring at my review post for the last 10 minutes - I think a tumbleweed actually blew by. I really don’t know where to begin or how to even put into words how absolutely incredible this book is.  When I finished this book, I just sat and cried. Not because of the outcome or the fate of our characters, but because this story was over and I’d never get to experience this for the first time again. And that’s how you know you’ve read a special book! It’s so easy to get swept up in this story and the intimacy of getting to know a range of characters throughout numerous stage

In their new house, Coraline opens a door that leads to an other world with her other mother and other father, where things seem a little too good to be true... “It is astonishing just how much of what we are can be tied to the bed we wake up in in the morning and it is astonishing how fragile that can be.” First of all, where the hell does Gaiman get off thinking this book is acceptable for children?! 29 year old me was certifiably creeped out by that scene in the cellar! Younger me, who was a huge wimp, would have been paralysed with fear reading this one! That’s not to say I won’t force this one upon my future kiddos... I also loved Gaiman's introduction at the start of the book, explaining how he started writing it for one of his daughters - but it was put to the side - and so he ended up finishing it for another daughter before she got too old to appreciate it (or rather, provide a child's opinion on it). I absolutely LOVED this book. I just adored the conce

A collection of 18 weird and unsettling tales! “Sometimes, things are meant to be lost. There are things you aren’t supposed to go looking for.” *sigh* This was disappointing for me. I had heard such great things about this collection but stories that are very ambiguous and unclear are just not to my personal taste... but if those kind of stories do appeal to you, then I would highly recommend this one! I’m a sucker for beautifully quotable writing in books, and if it was a case of me physically highlighting the sentences or sections that took my breath away, about 85% of this book would be covered in bright pink highlighter (that’s my fave highlighter colour) DeMeester’s writing has to be some of the most atmospheric and stunningly haunting prose I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. I was floored at times! It just kills me that so many of the stories bored the life out of me. Beautiful writing can only take me so far, I do need some kind of plot that I can

Two sisters, Ana and Rachel, view their trip to Thailand as way to mend their relationship. However, after becoming stranded on an island with no food or supplies, it quickly becomes a fight for survival. "From out of the shadows it came." Holy hell, this book was GREAT. It has all the components needed for a fantastic horror novel: great writing, likeable characters (and not so likeable ones too), some well-executed humour, and most important of all... parts that left my skin crawling!! The start, in particular, was hilarious. Our protagonist, Ana, reminds me a little of myself - her self-deprecating sense of humour and her general attitudes towards life. But, like a lot of old-school horror movies/books, the humour dwindles out to make way for the SHEER TERROR (but don’t fret, there’s still some laughs along the way) And the ending itself was PERFECTION! Sodergren really brings the scares here, one scene in particular left me feeling quite unnerved. The

A single drop of blood causes Rose McClendon to come to the realisation that her husband might actually kill her. So she ups and leaves him, setting off to a new city... "It ain't the blows we're dealt that matter, but the ones we survive." I always get really excited for the King novels where the main protagonist is a female as I've a pretty good track record with them - Lisey's Story, Dolores Claiborne, Gerald's Game etc. I'm pretty sure these were all 5 star reads for me! So I had high expectations for Rose Madder, but unfortunately we just didn't click *sad face* My main complaint is the character of Norman, Rose's husband. He's a piece of shit - that much is apparent from the very first page - but as the story progressed, his character became more of a caricature for me? It all became very over the top and exaggerated. I didn't need all the biting... It was enough for me to know that he was an abusive husband - I alre

Journalist Camille Preaker is sent back to her hometown, where one girl has been brutally murdered and another one is missing. "I just think some women aren't made to be mothers. And some women aren't made to be daughters." Dark and twisty and fucked up characters are my FAVE, and Gillian Flynn seems to be the absolute queen of creating them. Although one of the issues with having such car crashes for human beings in your stories is that you often don't have a character who you really root for or relate to. Usually I like having this sort of character in my books, but sometimes reading a book just for the sake of getting engrossed in the storyline and disentangling all the threads running throughout is all you need! Also known as… the perfect poolside read - which this was for me. I'm a huge fan of Flynn's writing. Some of her descriptions and prose really wow-ed me. One woman she described as having "hips like antlers" in the way t

Patrick Bateman is handsome, well educated, intelligent. He works by day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement the one he was born with. His nights he spends in ways we cannot begin to fathom. "I've forgotten who I had lunch with earlier, and even more important, where." Where to begin... first of all, let me preface this review by giving a trigger warning for almost every possible trigger you can think of: rape, animal abuse, torture... this book is not for the faint of heart! This book stands head and shoulders above the rest as the most disturbing book I've ever read. But, I absolutely loved it. Not because of how disturbing it was (although I did find that mostly entertaining), but because I've never laughed out loud so much whilst reading a book. I LOVED getting inside Bateman's head, a true glimpse into the mind of a psychopath. He is severely deluded, shallow, neurotic... and yet I could happily read about his beauty routine a