Lucy Clark: One of the Girls
It was supposed to be the perfect weekend away. Six very different women travel to a sun-soaked Greek island for a bachelorette trip, to celebrate Lexi’s upcoming wedding. From the glorious ocean views to the quaint tavernas and whitewashed streets, the vacation seems too good to be true. But dangerous undercurrents run beneath the sunset swims and midnight cocktails – because each of the women is hiding a secret. Someone is determined to make sure that Lexi’s marriage never happens – and that one of them doesn’t leave the island alive.
I really wanted this book to be a 5 star because I love a good thriller/mystery on a Greek island, summer vibes and all that. But the book started really slow and I found the beginning really boring! But it picks up later, somewhere in the middle. Told in multiple points of view from each of the women was a great way to develop the plot. The six friends have all secrets to hide and as we learn about each of the characters and their circumstances are revealed, we find that they are linked in some way and that causes the death over the cliffs are into the sea – which is revealed at the beginning. Because we don’t know who it is, I kept turning pages just to find out. I loved the end, it was unexpected and tense until the last chapter.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
tim weaver: The blackbird
Just before the crash, Cate and Aiden Gascoigne are recorded on CCTV, laughing and happy. Then their car plunges into a ninety-foot ravine. Within seconds, the vehicle is an inferno – and the Gascoignes are trapped inside. But when fire crews arrive, they find something impossible: The vehicle is empty. Cate and Aiden have vanished. And only missing persons investigator David Raker can solve the mystery . . .
The Blackbird is the 11th Book in the David Raker series by Tim Weaver, and he never seems to disappoint. You don’t have to read previous books because there is enough of information about Raker’s story so the reader can understand what is going on. From the first chapter, I was intrigued, couldn’t figure out how this can be possible. How could two people caught in a devastating road traffic accident just disappear? And why? And was it even an accident? All of these questions! There are lots of threads to the story, that seem to be unconnected until they all come together in a completely brilliant way. And theres a cliff hanger at the end that will definitely entice you into reading the next book in the series.If you are the kind of reader who tries to solve the mystery alongside the detective, you will love this. I didn’t have a clue whodunnit until the big reveal. The Blackbird is fabulous – twisty and extremely clever – one of my favourite reads this year!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Clare Pooley: The people on platform 5
Every day Iona, a larger-than-life magazine advice columnist, travels the ten stops from Hampton Court to Waterloo Station by train, accompanied by her dog, Lulu. Every day she sees the same people, whom she knows only by nickname: Impossibly-Pretty-Constant-Reader and Terribly-Lonely-Teenager. Of course, they never speak. Seasoned commuters never do. Then one morning, the man she calls Smart-But-Sexist-Manspreader chokes on a grape right in front of her. He’d have died were it not for the timely intervention of Sanjay, a nurse, who gives him the Heimlich maneuver. This single event starts a chain reaction, and an eclectic group of people with almost nothing in common except their commute discover that a chance encounter can blossom into much more.
Another heartwarming book by Clare Pooley! The writing is brilliant and so witty that I got engrossed in the plot straight away. Each main character is so well written and so likeable but Iona deserves a special mention! I wish I can bring her to life so she can be my best friend and life coach. This book covered so many themes, amongst them ageism, homophobia, cancer, bullying, depression but each one was worked into the story so well and weaved into each of the characters that I just had to keep turning pages! This is a great book to pick up if you’re in a slump and after something with characters you’ll want to be friends with!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Emily Henry: You and me on Vacation
12 SUMMERS AGO: Poppy and Alex meet. They hate each other, and are pretty confident they’ll never speak again. 11 SUMMERS AGO: They’re forced to share a ride home from college and by the end of it a friendship is formed. And a pact: every year, one vacation together. 10 SUMMERS AGO: Alex discovers his fear of flying on the way to Vancouver.
Poppy holds his hand the whole way. 7 SUMMERS AGO: They get far too drunk and narrowly avoid getting matching tattoos in New Orleans. 2 SUMMERS AGO: It all goes wrong. THIS SUMMER: Poppy asks Alex to join her on one last trip. A trip that will determine the rest of their lives.
There was so much hype about this book but in my opinion, it didn’t live up to it! Don’t get me wrong, it was ok but just ok. The story was cute, the writing was well done, the dialogue was super witty, and the characters were original! It’s a good book if you don’t mind, disorienting time jumps, a frustrating lack of communication, and a best friends-to-lovers story that takes ages to materialise. I didn’t like the flashbacks of their travels through the years, they were so long and I glazed over them (which is… a lot of the book). Each trip felt like another summer in where they don’t go for it and the lack of progress started to stall my reading experience. I feel it would be much more interesting if the book started 12 years ago and just moved forward, there would be more tension. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a light summer read.
⭐⭐⭐
mark edwards: no place to run
Two years ago, on a trip to Seattle to visit her brother Aidan, fifteen-year-old Scarlett vanished into thin air. After years of false leads and dead ends, Aidan has almost given up hope. But then a woman sees a girl running for her life across a forest clearing in Northern California. She is convinced the girl is the missing Scarlett. But could it really be her?Heading south, Aidan finds a fire-ravaged town covered in missing-teenager posters. The locals seem afraid, the sheriff won’t answer any questions and it looks like another dead end – until a chance meeting with returned local Lana gives Aidan his first clue. But as they piece together what happened, Lana and Aidan make deadly enemies. Enemies willing to do anything to silence them – and to protect the terrible truth about what is really going on in the forest…
No Place to Run started off strong, it was tense, creepy and interesting, usual Mark Edwards.There was lots going on in this book – what starts off as a brother looking for his missing sister, quickly adds kidnapping, human trafficking, missing persons, corruption, cults and crime. The story had two-time frames, the present day and the past, two years ago. It’s also told from several perspectives. The first part had me glued to the pages but then midway it slowed way down. In fact, I really struggled to finish it to the end. I love this author and I really wanted to like this book but I didn’t like the direction it went. Maybe some people interested in subject of ecoterrorism will like it but this wasn’t for me.
⭐⭐⭐
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