Book Review / Connections in Death by JD Robb

In this gritty and gripping new audiobook in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, Eve Dallas fights to save the innocent—and serve justice to the guilty—on the streets of New York.

Homicide cop Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband, Roarke, are building a brand-new school and youth shelter. They know that the hard life can lead kids toward dangerous crossroads—and with this new project, they hope to nudge a few more of them onto the right path. For expert help, they hire child psychologist Dr. Rochelle Pickering—whose own brother pulled himself out of a spiral of addiction and crime with Rochelle’s support.

Lyle is living with Rochelle while he gets his life together, and he’s thrilled to hear about his sister’s new job offer. But within hours, triumph is followed by tragedy. Returning from a celebratory dinner with her boyfriend, she finds Lyle dead with a syringe in his lap, and Eve’s investigation confirms that this wasn’t just another OD. After all his work to get clean, Lyle’s been pumped full of poison—and a neighbor with a peephole reports seeing a scruffy, pink-haired girl fleeing the scene.

Now Eve and Roarke must venture into the gang territory where Lyle used to run, and the ugly underground world of tattoo parlors and strip joints where everyone has taken a wrong turn somewhere. They both believe in giving people a second chance. Maybe even a third or fourth. But as far as they’re concerned, whoever gave the order on Lyle Pickering’s murder has run out of chances…

Published:     4th February 2019
Publisher:  Piatkus Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 48, In Death
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

MY REVIEW

I cannot tell you how good it was to delve into another instalment in this series.  It almost feels like coming home, in a weird murderous detective problem solving kind of way...

The best thing about this novel and this series as a whole are the characters.  Although I have not started from book 1 yet I have read quite a lot later on in this series to know these characters well and fondly.  You have, of course, the main character Eve Dallas and Rourke and all the people that Eve works with and alongside who come up in nearly every novel.  Not only do you get a laid back, slow paced thriller that keeps you on your toes but you also get a 'slice of life' view of Eve Dallas' world as this novel goes along.  With each novel, we see a little bit more and more of her life and her colleagues, friends and family and see her character grow as each novel comes along.  That is what I love the best.

Of course, the actual plot of this book was interesting also!  I have to admit that I am not normally one for picking up stories about gang crimes and murders etc but because of this particular story and the characters in it, it made it so much more interest for me to read.  There are quite a few twists and turns here, which is something I absolutely love in a novel, that will definitely keep you on your toes and despite the fact that I had guessed pretty much what was going on pretty early on I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this next instalment.

Can't wait for the next one now!

Book Review / The Runaway Jury by John Grisham

Every jury has a leader, and the verdict belongs to him. In Biloxi, Mississippi, a landmark tobacco trial with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake begins routinely, then swerves mysteriously off course.

The jury is behaving strangely, and at least one juror is convinced he's being watched. Soon they have to be sequestered. Then a tip from an anonymous young woman suggests she is able to predict the jurors' increasingly odd behavior.

Is the jury somehow being manipulated, or even controlled? If so, by whom? And, more importantly, why?






Published:     First Published in 1996
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Bought

MY REVIEW

Just as I had predicted when I first picked up this book, I loved it.  This was one of those thrillers that even though it had been written quite a number of years before it still stands up today.   As I work my way through reading John Grisham's novels, this being the latest read, this is one of my favourites so far.  It is one of those thrillers that, for me, was not fast paced or massively action backed but more laid back but full of twists and turns.  This more laid back thriller style matched perfectly with what was happening in the story and certainly made me sit back, relax and enjoy the ride, taking as long as I wanted with no need to hurry along.

I have to say that with this novel it is better to go into this not really knowing a great deal, only knowing the basics such as there is a trial and the jury is the main focus of it.   You certainly have a very small handful of main characters and a handful of other characters that form the 'background' to what is happening.  Even though I suspected what was going on, I still was rooting for a lot of the characters, even though maybe you were not supposed to!

A slow paced thriller with twists and turns all the way through you won't want to miss...

Series Review / The Immortals by Alyson Noel

The first book in Alyson Noël's extraordinary new Immortals series. Enter an enchanting new world, where true love never dies...

After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact to suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school — but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.

Damen is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head - wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is - or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

Published:     First published in 2009
Publisher:  Griffin
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Books 1 to 6, The Immortals
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

Now, this is a series that I first picked up several years ago but never completed.  I believe I got as far as book 5 when I gave up on the series, as I was no longer interested.  Despite that, this has been one of those book series that has always stayed at the back of my mind, wondering whether if I re-read this series and completed it, would I still feel the same about this series.

For me, this is definitely a series that you should go into without any expectations.  This was fun to read and everything is at face value, nothing really digging deep to think about here.  Although I did find Ever to be very self absorbed at times, I did want to root for her to find her happiness.  That said, as it became clear that there really wasn't any sub plots in this series and the only story to follow is the story of Ever and other characters in this book, I did get a little bit bored by just following her in her trek to find the solution to her problem.  I am deliberately being vague about this as I don't want to spoil the story for those who have not read it and want to read it but let's just say that this story is really only about one thing and that is really what you should expect going in.

This was a really fun series but not one that I would pick up again.  I really enjoyed the writing style and will certainly be picking up more by this author in the future but maybe not any more in this world.

Series Review / A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ...

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever. 

Published:     2015 to 2018 so far...
Publisher:  Bloomsbury
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Books 1, 2, 3 and 3.1
Source:  Bought and Owned

MY REVIEW

I wasn't sure whether to read this series now or wait until it had finished before I picked this up but, honestly, I just could not wait any longer!  I had read A Court of Thorns and Roses when it first came out and loved it and had slowly been collecting the other books in the series but not reading any more.  I can't believe it took me this long to catch up on this series.  Just as a I felt when I read the Throne of Glass series, I was (and still am) thoroughly addicted to this series and Sarah J Maas' writing.

For me, the best part of this series is the romance and drama.  You have Feyre who I see as the main character in this series.  You then have Tamlin who, at the start, I thought was utterly delicious.  I am not going to go into too much detail as I don't want to spoil for those who have not read the series or are only halfway through the series but OMG what a twist in the story line where you have another character who comes in and completely steals the show!!!  My favourite character by a long shot is this other character who is funny, entertaining, inspiring and just the perfect person.

I am now sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next instalment in this series, which I hope will not take too long!!!!!!!

Reading Challenges 2018 and 2019

2018 Reading Challenge Goals

Goodreads 150 Book Challenge - I almost done it!!!  Can't believe it!  Although it has meant that throughout the year I have read smaller and more easy to read books and not the larger more complicated ones that I have fancied picking up from time to time, I have really enjoyed pushing myself to read more than what I would normally.   Even though I didn't quite get to the 150 book mark, I went past the 100 book mark, which is more than I have ever done before.  
Read Your Own Book Challenge - Done it!  Always a goal of mine and like to keep a good balance of reading those books that are on my shelf more than ones I have either just bought or were very kindly sent for my review.  
Big Book Challenge -  Done it!  Although a lot of these are ones that are only just over 400 pages, I am glad that I completed this one bearing in mind by 150 Goodreads challenge above.  

2019 Reading Challenge Goals

Goodreads 100 Book Challenge - Always a staple in my goals.  This year I am only limiting myself to 100 books, which I still think is quite a lot but we'll see how we go.  2019 is going to be the year of reading more complicated and in depth books along with series and stand alone novels that  have been on my shelf or on my wish list for a long time now.  
Read Your Own Book Challenge - Always a goal of mine to make sure that I read from my own shelf and not review books or books that I have only just bought..
Big Book Challenge -  A true staple in my challenges that can often get forgotten.

Read 2 Classics  - I always say that I will get around to those one at some point.  2019 is going to be the year.   I have only set this at 2 because there is 1 hefty book and 1 reasonable size novel that I want to get to this year.  Those are:

Read at least 1 book from the Manbooker Winner List  -  For a long time now I have been wanting to try to read a book that has won the Manbooker Winner List.  I bought the book below a long time ago and it has been sitting on my shelf for ages.  2019 will be the year!!