What a read this is. Once I started it I was hooked! Events are relived over & over again but with some small changes, by the same characters, & the MC starts to remember snippets from the previous missions. It's a story that gradually builds as the reader begins to work out some of what may be happening & therefore a review cannot say too much in case the plot is revealed. 4🌟

#20in4

I‘ve missed the previous couple of readathons so glad to have noticed this one on time. Goal is to finally crack #20in4 (20 hours over 4 days).

@Andrew65

This is an absolutely captivating book. There's so much information here but it's written in such a way that it rarely becomes academically dry to read. The author steers away from the more well-known personalities such as Calamity Jane (who is briefly mentioned but just the once) & concentrates on the everyday life of ordinary women. 5🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Little, Brown Book Group UK/Virago, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This fascinating read puts Ireland & Britain of the 1920s into context, i.e. The Irish War of Independence & the Irish Civil War which followed. The author gives detailed biographies for both Wilson & his assailants to ascertain what led up to the assassination & the wars that followed. I think the author does a great job of examining the evidence whilst keeping a balanced approach. 4🌟

#NetGalley

Mack is the only survivor from the day her father turned family annihilator, & years later, enters a contest to play Hide-n-Seek in an abandoned amusement park for a week. Last one standing gets the prize money.

I thought this would perhaps be a 'serial killer stalking the group' type thriller but the story is actually a little more involved than that. The first half is great but it seems to flag a little in the middle, so I rate this 4🌟

This is the sixth book in a series but the first one that I have read, & it mainly works as a standalone. Although it was an interesting enough read & the plot was quite good, I have no desire to read the previous books as the characters just didn't appeal to me that much. For me to commit to a series there usually has to be some kind of wow factor & I just didn't feel that here. 3⭐

#NetGalley

The narration is alternately from Noelle & Daniel's pov, giving the reader a look into both the characters. Noelle is an MC who is quite engaging & easy to root for, but Daniel is a bit of 'bad boyfriend' cliché. No animals were harmed in the story though, which is always a good thing. I rate this a solid 3⭐ stars as it was fast-paced, with several twists & turns, but there is nothing about it that really stands out.

#NetGalley

I've read quite a few good but not great books recently, so I was absolutely thrilled to read an absolute belter. It starts off slow - so slow I almost quit at 17% - but when it takes off, it becomes a rollercoaster of emotions & plot twists. I won't lie, at times I found Jen a bit annoying, but that was far outweighed by the author's skill in weaving all the plots points together. 4.5🌟

#NetGalley

I was all for giving this book 4+ stars as it grabbed my attention from the outset. The story was intriguing, fast-paced & looked to be barreling along to a gripping conclusion - but then, for me, it went wrong. Because I enjoyed reading it for most of the book, I'm rating this 3.5🌟

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

#NetGalley

5 strangers receive a mysterious text telling them that a loved one is in danger & the only way to save them is to “play The Game“. If they don't follow the instructions, their loved ones will die.

I was intrigued by the synopsis, & although the concept is great, I was expecting more of a contest-type game. I thought it was a gripping read, but overall, I feel it was a bit of a mixed bag but worth reading if you enjoy tense thrillers. 3⭐

A holiday goes tragically wrong when one of the teenagers disappears during a game of Hide-and-Seek.

I'm really torn about this book. On the one hand, it's well-written & I flew through it in under 24 hours, but there's supposed to be just a year between Millie (15) & Kat (16), but the others treat Millie as if she's a 10-year-old. The ending had me going “NOooo“ - I had to read it twice. 4🌟

#NetGalley

This was a fast-moving story line with bodies dropping left, right & center. There's a romance plot simmering in the background between Veronica & her manager, Hunter, & we get 2 pets for the price of 1 with Veronica's lovable cat, Winston, & Finn's sweet dog, Gracie. I rather enjoyed it & but I did manage to work out whodunnit. 4🌟

I received an advance review copy for free via BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm a big fan of offbeat main characters that struggle with a darker side, so I was interested in seeing where Michael Monroe led the reader. The case itself was interesting but Monroe is difficult to like. I also didn't find the romantic relationship very convincing as there was zero chemistry between the two characters. 3⭐

My thanks to publishers, Bloodhound Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.

Everyone involved, including Jayne & Dr Stephen (who is a bit of a creeper), has their own secrets which may or may not be relevant. I flew through this book in a few hours & really enjoyed reading it with its twists & turns - some of which I guessed correctly but not all. I thought the ending may have been a little too neat but it's a minor quibble. 4🌟

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

I thought both MCs were easy to empathise with & I found myself becoming invested in what had happened. The story line is well written & there are several twists & turns, even if the actual resolution is pretty much what I expected. Overall it kept my interest well & I enjoyed reading it - 4.5🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Little, Brown Book Group UK / Sphere, for the opportunity to read an ARC. #NetGalley

I thought it was going to be a thriller about who committed the bombing, but it was about more than that. The author covers some weighty subjects: homophobia, historic child abuse, & a person's right to die with dignity. The ending is also rather abrupt, but overall, I did like the book enough to download one of the earlier books in the series. 3.5🌟

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

The Vanishing Triangle refers to an area in Ireland from where eight young women vanished into thin air never to be seen again. I thought this was a riveting read. It's not a book where the author solves the cold cases, McGowan admits that early on, it's a book which looks at the social issues in Ireland & Northern Ireland at the time. 4🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Amazon Publishing UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC. #NetGalley

This book looks at 19 myths which have persisted about Hitler & examines the evidence for each one. I thought it was well-researched & considered some intriguing perspectives, but I found the writing style a little dry & stilted at times, therefore I rate this 3⭐

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Pen & Sword/Frontline Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC. #NetGalley

I thought this was a really good read, & I enjoyed it. The tension is kept up all the way through & the final part of the puzzle in the epilogue is a nice touch though. The MC is a little too timid at times, but understandable considering what she has been through. Overall, I would recommend this if you like uncomplicated thrillers.
4🌟

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

I thought the first ten or so chapters were engaging & kept the attention well, but when it started to devolve more into a 'shoot-em up' ending, it became a little generic. Overall it was an entertaining read in its genre, but will I remember it in detail in 10 years? Not sure, but if it doesn't make you give smart cars a wider berth & side-eye your toaster, you haven't been paying attention. 3⭐

Finally got around to reading this one folks, & it's...OK. I wasn't blown away by it as I found the characters all a bit hard to like or empathise with. The female characters especially are very thinly drawn, & there's quite a bit of casual cruelty (treatment of animals, etc). To me, the author is trying to say a lot about censorship, apathy, & the dumbing down of standards, but it gets lost in the overly florid writing style. 2.5⭐

I found it a really interesting read, & I have a list of films I now want to watch. The book is quite lengthy, but the chapters are fairly short which breaks up a subject which can be quite heavy at times. There are some graphic descriptions of murders here, some of which involve children, so be warned. At times the chapters seemed to end abruptly or felt incomplete in some way - I would have liked a little more indepth analysis. 3.5🌟

A humorous look at the life of Miranda Hart from the subject herself, covering everything from Christmas with the family, to beach holidays, to dating. I couldn't help but be reminded of some of my own youthful experiences as a tall girl & culturally we seem to be of a similar period. Like her sitcom, I found that the book began to wear out its welcome rather quickly as, for me, Miranda is rather too daft to laugh at at times. 3⭐

The plot is quite good but there are one or two scenes which are quite graphic with violence & sexual assault. I thought the ending was a bit confusing to be honest & I'm not quite sure what the author was getting at, but overall it was a read which is a slightly different take on the usual crime thrillers. 3⭐

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Land of Oz LLC, for the opportunity to read an ARC. #NetGalley

In the words of Villanelle - “This is so BOOORRRINNG!“. DNF

I thought the storyline itself was well done, there's lots of twists & turns with each of the characters involved in the disappearance, but I felt that here Saul was a bit of blank for an MC. He really didn't seem to have any personality, same with Blue, & to be quite honest the story would have worked just as well without them. 4🌟 for the twisty-turny plot.

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

The plot itself is rather good & the fast pace & body count is maintained throughout. I really liked Cara & Griffin, but Jess was just an annoying plot device. I was hoping she would be killed off but no such luck. There are some clichés, but it maintained my interest well enough. The ending made me go “WTH?!“ 3.5🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, HarperCollins UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC. #NetGalley

The world-building is first class, there's lots of LGBTQA+ & minority representation. It should really have been a 4🌟 book, but at times the pace was glacial. There's so much detail (there are footnotes!) that it slows down the pace too much. 3⭐

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Rebellion/Solaris, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.

TW: death, blood, suicide attempt, kidnapping, death, animal death.

1899 NYC, suspected vampire killings - what's not to love? Well the MC for a start. I found her a bit tiresome to be honest. She is supposed to be 18 but acts younger, in some ways she is very naïve. The story itself is rather good, with some darker elements (TW for drug taking, sexual content, & an attempted sexual assault), & the hesitant romance between Tom & Tillie is quite sweet. 3.5🌟

🌟This wasn't quite as spooky a read as I expected, it's more of a suspense read. I wasn't enamored of some of the characters & nowhere takes that long to drive to in the UK. I had a feeling I knew how it was going to go & I was right, but the ending did hold a twist (even if it was a bit rushed overall) 3.5🌟

TW: physical/domestic violence, death.

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

Wow, I was absolutely glued to this & read it in about 4 hours. Tbh Lily's investigation into Adam's death was the least interesting thing in the book, I was far more into their spiralling toxic 'fauxmance'. The man was a grade A a-hole. Things went off the boil a little for me after Adam's death, but it was still a really great read. 4🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Atlantic Books/Corvus, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

The narrative is from Kat's pov, starting with visiting the grave of her first husband, Sam, & recounting what happened since he died. I wasn't keen on Kat at first, & tbh, I nearly gave up reading about 30% of the way through, but the author really pulled it round in the ending of the book. 4🌟

TW: a couple of scenes of animal death/abuse,

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Oneworld Publishing/Point Blank, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This book is the story of the author's journey to bring the case of Frank McGonigle to a close. Frank went missing in the early 80s from Kansas City, Missouri, & it took 9 years for his identity to be matched with that of a John Doe, in South Carolina. Sadly, it seemed that Frank died within a week of leaving home but the case was unsolved for a long time. 3.5🌟

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

I was never a Girls Aloud (British/Irish group) fan - I think I was just that bit too old for their demographic in 2002. It's a strange read, with the feeling you have when Sarah is talking about being positive & hopefully beating her illness, & yet you know it ultimately claimed her life. Yet another person taken from us tragically too young. RIP. 4🌟

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4290769177

Who is the heir of Slytherin? Where is the Chamber of Secrets? What does this mean for Harry & friends?

This second time through the books is going well - I really can't believe I've only read them through once. The only bit I didn't like was Aragog - I have to fast forward that bit in the film. Yuck. 5🌟

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/747560940

This is an interesting, informative read if you have an interest in maritime & naval history. I enjoyed it so much I bought the author's book on historic lighthouses for a future read. 4🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4616995731

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Penguin Press UK, Allen Lane, Particular, Pelican, for the opportunity to read an ARC. #NetGalley

First off, I'm not sure I'd categorise this as a horror. It's a great hook to snag the reader's interest, but Lisa being dead & a ghost (not a spoiler, it's made clear from the start) is almost incidental to most of the book. What it is, is a study of toxic relationships. All those little comments & digs, the gaslighting, the lovebombing. The ending is not quite satisfying enough, although realistic in many ways, so 4🌟

Some perps have mistakenly believed that if the body of the victim(s) was never found, then they couldn't be tried for murder. A small collection of historic cases are examined here, including the infamous Acid Bath Murderer, & a cabin steward who was convicted of murdering a glamorous actress onboard ship & disposing of her body out of the cabin porthole. 3⭐

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

The main character, Elspeth, was an average heroine. She was definitely better than most of the other characters who were various shades of misogynist, lecher, & peeping tom, but I found myself not really caring if anyone made it out alive. I did like the ambiguous opening ending though. It's very graphic & gory as one would expect, & there is also some elements of sexual assault, & exploitation, even brief necrophilia, so be warned. 2⭐

This was an intriguing premise, & it had the potential to be widened out considerably. The ending is also left fairly open. I felt that the abrupt turn for two characters into a teacher/student relationship added nothing to the story & felt wrong.

I liked the fact it showed that fear & anger can turn humans into the monsters they fear. 3⭐

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

For the story to work it requires a hefty amount of suspending of disbelief from the reader. There are no real surprises plot-wise, readers will be able to spot the killer & other liars fairly easily. An undemanding read. 3⭐

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4291236729

The book started off quite well & I was rather impressed with the whole set-up until about quarter of the way in, when the MC Jodie became an annoyance rather than someone I could root for. I really did not like her. It is well-written & the plot flows nicely, so I would be interested in reading further books from the author. 3⭐

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

The synopsis looked fascinating & it turned out to be an engaging & informative read - for the most part. My one criticism is the repeated (but usually brief) mentioning of animals being killed, sometimes purposefully, but at other times just because they were an inconvenience. I had to take a star off as it rather marred my enjoyment of certain chapters. 4🌟

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

Kelman is not a likeable MC at first, but as the story progresses the reader gradually warms to him & his former colleagues, Anushka & Norm. You have to suspend your disbelief at bit that three comparative amateurs could stumble upon the machinations behind a highly organised kidnapping, but it is a gripping read. 4🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Orion Publishing Group, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I don't usually read a lot of romantic fiction, & I must have missed it on the synopsis, but actually it turned out to be an entertaining read. It definitely gave me Romancing the Stone kind of vibes; gutsy leading lady, easy on the eye leading man, & several bad guys chasing them. 3.5🌟

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

#NetGalley

The book is meticulously researched, & the author strives to show the differing experiences of white women to those of BIPOC communities. I think the author has captured accurately the 'three steps forward & two steps back dance' that has dogged the advancement of women's rights & equality since the beginning. 4🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Yale University Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC. #NetGalley

I missed the last few readathons, so glad I caught this one before it started. I am at the mercy of a bad tinnitus spike at the minute so my goal is just to get through as many of my ARCs as possible - I think I have 11 to read by the end of the month.

#MarvellousMarch @Andrew65

I found it to be very well-written. Margo is particularly easy to empathise with, & I thought her tentative romance with Austin didn't overwhelm the focus of the story. I have to say that I found the twist ending entirely predictable. It didn't spoil my reading experience, but I had to knock half a star off my original rating for being too predictable, 3.5🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Avon Books UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

The reader sees what is happening from several pov: Jess/Brendan, Khalila, Wolfe, & Morgan. Everyone else is reeling from what they see as Jess's betrayal of Wolfe, but Jess does have a plan, albeit a deadly one. Parts of this did read a little as it if was being padded out a little too much, & it possibly could have been completed in 4 books rather than 5, but it manages to hold the attention most of the time. 3.5🌟

OK, now this was an unsettling read, but it wasn't as creepy as I anticipated. It started off v slowly, but gathered pace once Alice reached the house. The story unfolds from Alice's pov in the present, with occasional chapters from the pov of Verity, a girl with a younger brother, Hugh. The relevance of Verity & Hugh slowly becomes clearer, & although I did guess who was behind it all, there was a further twist which I didn't see coming. 3.5🌟