Welcome to Litsy!

A little late but my entry for #scarathlondailyprompts #killer
#scarathlon2022 #teammonstermash
@StayCurious @Clwojick

I am nope-ing so hard on this. It some how reads like a man from the 1970s ghost-wrote this as Allende. What the heck is going on? Is it just that this serial killer thriller is way outside Allende‘s usual genre? I chose it for #authoramonth because I thought I‘d try something different from her as she‘s not my favorite. Hah. I guess it was an easy one to check off my list, at any rate! And 15 pts for #wintergames2021!

I think this author normally writes historical fiction but this is a straight up murder mystery / thriller and I liked it very much. A group of socially awkward teens create an online club where they try to solve old murders. When strange murders start happening on one player's home turf, they agree to look into them instead. It's fun. I liked it.

#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

#BookSpinBingo square 5
@TheAromaofBooks

I enjoyed how big of a role Amanda and her fellow true crime sleuths played a part in piecing together the crimes and figuring out that they were committed by the same person. I thought I knew who the killer was until my prime suspect ended up dead, so definitely enjoyed that the killer remained a surprise for me. #AuthorAMonth #BookSpinBingo #WinterGames2021 #MistletoeManiacs +216 pts

First this is a TOTAL departure from what she normally writes. With that said I was captivated. Total page turner. Yes the MC is a teenager and yes she‘s bratty. I know shocking. Serial killer, suspense, and amateur teen sleuths. I know sound like a hot mess but it‘s not. Total page turner as a thriller.

I am posting one book per day from my to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it. Some will be old, some will be new - don't judge me, I have a lot of books.

Day 126th

Join the fun if you want!

#tbrpile

Te Araroa kilometers tramped: 2243.7 of 3005.3

Days on trail: 101

Books completed on trail: 43

My second Allende read. It got pretty bad reviews but I enjoyed it well enough. The way the characters stories were revealed was similar to the other book of hers that I read. #libby

I actually really liked this book. (I‘ve read some scathing reviews.) It was hard for me to put down. Sure, it‘s not like anything else I‘ve ever read by Allende but I don‘t expect authors to turn out the same style every book. Some of the characters are terribly flawed - I‘d even describe the lead character as bratty. But that made her more real for me. I thought this was great popcorn murder mystery. First book of the year logged!

This was not good. It was so homophobic, transphobic, and misogynistic. It reads like it was written 10 years before it was. On top of that it‘s full of plot holes and boring tropes.

#SocialMediaFocus #Booked2019 #29of65 #audiobook

My first Isabel Allende novel and I loved it! A teenage girl in San Francisco runs an online game called Ripper with a small group of friends from across the world and her grandpa. They work to solve real life murders. She never expects her game to impact her life until her mom disappears. I really enjoyed the thorough character development of her writing. 4 1/2 🌟 #MountTBR

Not what I expect from Allende, but it did keep me turning pages.

A group of teenagers belong to an online murder club where they investigate crimes and try to solve them before the police do. A series of disturbing murders hits too close to home and the group scrambles to catch a killer before it‘s too late.

The end is weak, as the killer‘s identity should have been obvious to the super-intuitive healer who spent so much time w/ the killer.

Well, Allende has a great mind, able to build an intricate story using many pieces, and despite lacking a clear focus due to length & a large number of characters, I was entertained.

I was quite invested halfway in, trying to determine the killer‘s identity. The idea of the online Ripper group- of which the daughter (Amanda) of the MC (Indiana) is a part, along with Indiana's father- convening to discuss/solve real murder cases, was VERY cool.

I missed yesterday's #mysterymonday! But I'll do it now anyway bc I wanted to review Ripper which I finished 9/9. I started on my backpacking trip bc I figured it would be gripping enough to keep me hiking. Figured out it would be bad pretty quick, but it was amusing enough for its purpose. Many ppl complain of many back stories and descriptive passages due to their postponing the mystery aspect, but they...(cont. in comments) #awesomeautumnbooks

#jubilantjuly I haven't read this yet, but sounds like #onomatopoeia to me!

#LyricalApril Day 14: #UnderTheBridge - I love all of Allende's novels but haven't gotten around to reading it yet - and that glowing bridge! perfect for today's meme.

#signedsunday
One of the reason's I love Allende is her variety of 'genres' she writes. I waited a while to find a signed hardcover of this novel. #womenintranslation #readdiversebooks

Bailing on this one, for now at least. I just keep finding excuses to read something else. I put it aside to finish The Girl with All the Gifts for the #buddyread in time and I really don't want to pick it up again. So I'm taking the pressure off myself; reading should be something you WANT to do, right?

"From an early age Amanda had been a passionate reader, with all the dangers such a pastime entails."

Here's to dangerous pastimes!

My 9th finished book of 2017.

3.5 ⭐'s #Audiobook ??

Surprising, I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Allende is a fav author of mine & I'd read such mostly negative reviews on this that I figured I'd hate it. But there was such wonderful & rich character relationships here, something that Allende is excellent at developing-that of Amanda & her grandfather for instance, that I could look past the fact that it didn't really feel like a so called "thriller."

#TBRtemptation post! Any Isabel Allende fans here? There's got to be a few, considering she's sold over 50 million copies 😊👍🏻. New library acquisition--though it's been out a couple years, there's a huge up-tick in patron requests for this title. Is there a tv series or film in the works? A San Francisco police family, the mother disappears & the high-school daughter connects it to murders plaguing the city. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

Loved it! Filled with a diverse bunch of characters and beautiful descriptions of San Francisco. Improbable situations, and unrealistic scenarios just made it more enjoyable.

Over half way through and really enjoying it. I like a large assortment of odd characters. Except I have a cat sitting in the window above me whacking me in the head with her tail. She's a bit passive aggressive when I read.

#ReadJanuary
#ThisMonthsTBR

I've already started Ripper. It's only my third Allende novel but I'm amazed at the differences in her books. Take her name from the covers and I would never guess it was her.

I am behind in my posts, so you'll be seeing a lot from me today. 😍#gaminginthelitworld Ripper is the name of the online game Amanda and her pals play unearthing clues and solving murders. One in particular... #octphotochallenge Set in San Francisco's North Beach plus its Allende and, while not her best, I liked it anyway.

"Everything happens simultaneously, she thought to herself; time does not exist, there are no limits in space, we are part of the spiritual whole that embraces all the souls of previous incarnations, the spirits of the past and of the future. We are tiny drops in one great ocean.."

Another prolific author of whom I've read tons. This book was only OK. I like the San Francisco north beach setting however.

I love Isabel Allende's magical realism. This is not like that, instead it's a thriller set in San Francisco. A mother daughter duo uncovers a serial killer terrorizing the city. I loved the strong female characters, but the storyline seemed obvious from the start ( hello a BFF is a navy seal?).