Let the Right Book In

An unlikely friendship between two young boys told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. “And that’s the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.” Oh, boy. This one really put me through the wringer. If I wasn’t wanting to batter Amir to death with said book because of his selfish childhood actions, I was sobbing crying on my knees shouting “Why, God? WHY?!” I feel like Hosseini was trying to personally destroy me with my feels. Luckily, I read to feel my feels. Whether that’s excitement, or rage, or tension, or fear, or that moment when you actually feel a pain in your chest and you sincerely hope that your Red Bull addiction hasn’t come back to haunt you and that it’s just an emotional pain deep in your heart. So, yes, Hosseini, you may have broken me, but I loved every minute of it  The characterisation is just another level here. Within merely 30 pages I just knew t...

A man investigates the seemingly unrelated unusual, tragic, and horrific events of his childhood in an attempt to finally understand them. "How far can you go into the woods?" What a strange reading experience I had with this one. As I was reading it I was constantly questioning whether I was actually enjoying it? “Is this it? Where’s the creepiness?” But then during the last quarter or so, when everything started coming together and crazy things were revealed, I started to fully appreciate the creep factor. I looked back on things that weren’t initially unsettling, but with my new insight they quickly became very unsettling!! After I finished I spent hours analysing and talking through theories with @brittreads and I’m STILL thinking about it over a week later, so it has really had an impact on me! It’s the kind of book that would certainly benefit with a reread. I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style though. As far as I’m aware this story started off a...

The Last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, faces three mysterious doors which will lead him to different times within our world. From these, he must draw the three who will accompany him on his journey. "Control the things you can control, maggot. Let everything else take a flying fuck at you and if you must go down, go down with your guns blazing." So it turns out that my memory of the Dark Tower series is pretty patchy - I have forgotten so many details!! However, I could never forget THAT opening scene. One of the best I’ve ever come across - I was so shocked on my first read and it’s just as impactful on the second go around!  The “drawing” of each of the characters is such a blast. Eddie is pretty likeable from the very beginning, he always brings some much-needed comedic relief to what can be a very heavy series at times. The introduction of Detta/Odetta is freakin’ explosive - she’s a firecracker! Although Detta’s dialogue does make feel quite uncomfortable at t...

Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, talented and successful, but she is slowing going under - possibly for the last time. “Because wherever I sat - on the deck of a ship or at a street café in Paris or Bangkok - I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.” Unfortunately I did not fall head over heels in love with The Bell Jar as I had hoped to, but I HAVE fallen for the writing of Sylvia Plath - and even Plath herself. My Pinterest board has recently been covered with her quotes, and I even bought a copy of her unabridged journals following a recommendation from @yleniareads That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy The Bell Jar, I really really liked it, it just wasn’t as life-changing as I had perhaps anticipated. I resonated with Esther in a lot of ways - I lost my father at a young age and, without sounding entirely egotistical, I also have achieved a lot of academic success in my life, which ultimately leads to me expecting more and mo...

Alicia Berenson is in a psychiatric facility following the murder of her husband, but she refuses to utter a word. However a new psychotherapist, Theo, thinks he is the one to finally get her to speak. “Her silence was like a mirror - reflecting yourself back at you. And it was often an ugly sight.” Talk about a twist I didn’t see coming! It’s been a while since a book made me audibly gasp! So I can confidently say that if you’re looking for a psychological thriller that provides twists and turns... this one is worth checking out. You can tell Michaelides has meticulously plotted out the story, there’s lot of little details that become very rewarding and perhaps also little hints as to what is going on. He builds the suspense very slowly, where you know something is wrong but you can’t put your finger on it, until it all comes together in an explosive finale. Very impressive! However, my issue with thrillers (the majority of them anyway) remains the same - once I f...