Book Review: The Cairo Diary by Maxime Chattam

Read from June 21 to July 01, 2016

"British-occupied Cairo, 1928: " Several young children have disappeared and were then found, horribly mutilated, in the tombs just outside the city. Panic is spreading among the locals after a cloaked giant is sighted. Has a ghoul from "One Thousand and One Nights" been brought to life? British inspector Jeremy Matheson follows the trail of the monster, which takes him into the depths of underground Cairo as well as deep into his own tortured past.
"Mont-Saint-Michel, 2005: " Marion has taken refuge in the wind-swept and remote monastery located on a spit of land on the west coast of France. In the wake of a scandal, caused by her own revelations, that is now reverberating through the French capital, she has been spirited away from Paris and brought here by the Secret Service for her own protection. When she finds a diary dating from 1928 in the monastery library, penned by Jeremy Matheson and hidden inside the jacket of an Edgar Allen Poe book, she is inexorably pulled into the past as she is being watched, and taunting notes and riddles urge her to give back what is not hers. . .

The Cairo Diary had an interesting plot behind it and I was truly caught up in the mystery of the moment. But at the same time not everything made sense to me.

I'm not a big fan of Marion since I found her actions too frustrating at times. I wasn't interested in her story at all really and I feel the author drew out her part of the story for too long.

I found 1920s Cairo more interesting than the Mount Saint Michel time period. The ghul was very interesting honestly and the whole noma thing intrigued me a lot! Haha! The ghul was the star of the story for me! Haha!

Overall, I'm not a big fan of this story. I found it too messy when it comes to details and I found it really hard to finish off reading it!

my Goodreads review

Book Review: You Belong To Me by Mary Higgins Clark

Read from June 18 to 21, 2016

When Dr. Susan Chandler decides to use her daily radio talk show to explore the phenomenon of women who disappear and are later found to have become victims of killers who prey on the lonely and insecure, she has no idea that she is exposing herself—and those closest to her—to the very terror that she hopes to warn others against.Susan sets out to determine who is responsible for an attempt on the life of a woman who called in to the show offering information on the mysterious disappearance from a cruise ship, years before, of Regina Clausen, a wealthy investment advisor. Soon Susan finds herself in a race against time, for not only does the killer stalk these lonely women, but he seems intent on eliminating anyone who can possibly further Susan’s investigation.As her search intensifies, Susan finds herself confronted with the realization that one of the men who have become important figures in her life might actually be the killer. And as she gets closer to uncovering his identity, she realizes almost too late that the hunter has become the hunted. Is she the next one marked for murder?

Picking up this book, I had high hopes since Mary Higgins Clark is a name I've heard and seen oftentimes in bookstores. I was thrilled at the mystery that boggled the characters in this story and I loved the psychological aspect of it but there were a few things that threw me off a bit.

First of all, I found the beginning of the story to be a bit of a bore. I loved the plot line and such but there was so much happening and hardly enough scenes with the main characters taking place.

I think Don Richards should have had more scenes. He seemed like a pretty important character to warrant some. Susan should have had more background. It's like there was a lot of plot-focus but maybe not enough character-focus.

I didn't feel the excitement that usually comes with reading a good mystery until I was past the first half of this story. Only then did I "eat up" the pages trying to make it to the end.

However, I loved Clark's plot line here and the plot twists were amazing! I would definitely pick up more of her books from now on!

my Goodreads review

Book Review: Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes

Read from June 13 to 18, 2016

Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money. So with the help of his friend Preston and his girlfriend, Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something, and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn't think twice about it. But then Preston never comes home. And the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead to Preston's body.Terrifying clues that point to Max as the killer…

Honestly, I didn't think I'll love this book as much as I did once I was done with it! It felt really good to read a pretty awesome mystery thriller after so long.

I loved everything about this book except for a few loopholes that I found very confusing and unbelievable, but the end result had me loving it anyway! I loved the character and I loved the plot. I loved Stokes' writing as well. I'm definitely picking up more of her books the next time I visit a bookstore! :D

my Goodreads review

Book Review: The Tuesday Blade by Bob Ottuman

Read from February 18 to 21, 2016

"The handles were eggshell-white pearl and the days of the week were hand-lettered on each one. She lifted out the Tuesday razor and snapped the case closed.."Glory-Ann had the kind of body that men wanted badly. That made her a highly saleable commodity.She still bore the scars of the time that young hoodlum charged the hometown guys a nickel each for her in the back of a car.When she came to New York City in search of the swinging singles scene, the pimps marked her down as a natural. But Glory-Ann had a razor in her lovely hand and she was through with being anybody's victim...

So, The Tuesday Blade had a good plot line. I liked how Gloria's past influenced and I loved the character of Sergeant DeMario.

But there were some stuff that I did not like at all too. First, the writing style is pretty confusing most of the time. There was too much dialogue with not enough description. Sometimes it was like reading a character's lines in a play.

Also, the ending seemed to lack something. There was no climatic moment in any part of the book and the end of the book just sort of petered out.

I wish there had been more DeMario in the story and that there'd been more of a connection between characters and reader. The only way I can briefly describe is that it was an okay book but it lacked that 'boom!'

my Goodreads review

Book Review: The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman & Chris Riddell

Read on February 21, 2016

A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish. On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents.

The Sleeper and the Spindle has got to be one of the most gorgeous books on my shelves! Riddell's illustrations are just absolute perfection and beauty! Can't get enough of them!

I loved this fairytale retelling! Gaiman flawlessly twined the two fairytales into one and I'm very satisfied with what it's turned up to be.

The only reason why this book ended up with 4 stars and not 5 is because I'm not too happy with the ending. It sort of just ended too abrupt for me. I feel like there should have been a bit more there!

my Goodreads review