Welcome to Litsy!

I thought Vonny & Seth were written sympathetically even when they make questionable decisions. There were plenty of twists & turns to keep the plot moving along. There is quite a lot of graphic violence in the book, & the prologue is rather shocking & briefly involves animals - I wish I had been forewarned. 4🌟

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Head of Zeus, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4423001593

I loved Bring Me Back by the author, but this one is very disappointing. The writing style is still up to par, but the main character was irritatingly passive, & the plot was so obvious, I figured it all out after 2 chapters & only read to the end to see if I was right about everything. 2⭐

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2043867137

656 points #WinterGames2021 #MistletoeManiacs #TBRReads

An intriguing & clever fictional explanation for the true-life disappearance of Agatha Christie, who went missing for 10 days in 1926. I see that this book received mixed reviews, but I rather enjoyed it. I've had this on my shelf for several years, & now wished I had read it earlier. I rate it 3.5🌟

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2253237763

896 pts

#WinterGames2021 #MistletoeManiacs #TBRReads

I do so look forward to a new Riley Sager book & this one is a belter of a read. It starts off quite slowly, but as things pick up, the tension mounts, & I found myself flying through the final 40% of the book. It requires a hefty suspense of disbelief -but if you can do that, the twists keep on coming, & you won't be disappointed. 5🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Nero starts off wanting to avoid becoming like his formidable mother who poisoned her way through husbands & to power with abandon, but he is gradually seduced (in more ways than one - eek!) to Agrippina's way of thinking. When he becomes Emperor he tries to throw off her influence & a battle of wills begins. It was a good read but there was just something missing for me so I rate it 3.5🌟

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2185384671

This is a really intriguing set-up; I really enjoyed the 1920s flavour with the speakeasies, jazz, & flapper dresses, alongside the steampunk aspects of 'mechanika' (androids) & dirigibles. It's an ambitious cross between sci-fi & fantasy, & it works for the most part. 4🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Head of Zeus / Ad Astra, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4379340679

1056 pts

Basically what it says on the tin: 12 YA short stories of romance set around Christmas. It was a challenging read for me as I don't usually read straightforward romance books, as I'm pretty much romance-averse. It was OK - a mix of modern romance & one or two examples of older, darker mythology (Krampus). Not something I would have usually chosen to read but it made a change. 2⭐

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4376138008

5236 pts

This has gotten some wide-ranging reviews, but it caught my interest enough in the first few chapters to finish it. Most of the book is quite good, tension is built up as revelations about the school, its staff, & the pupils are slowly revealed, but the conclusion throws it all away for me. After finishing the book, I was left thinking “Really?!“. I would have said it was a solid 3.5 right up until the end, & I have to drop it to an average 3⭐

I was looking forward to this one due to the synopsis, but it was a little disappointing. Neither Cara or Michael are particularly nice people, & the twist was pretty easy to work out too. Overall, it isn't a bad read but it could have been better. 3⭐

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Inkubator, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4335429113