The Last Dog on Earth: Adrian Walker review

The Last Dog on Earth

By: Adrian Walker
Rating: 3 Star

Adrian Walker's debut novel 'The End of the World Running Club' was one of my favourite books of 2016 so I was delighted to get an early copy of his new title 'The Last Dog on Earth' for review via NetGalley.

The Last Dog on Earth is set in London in the not too distant future.

Its main characters are Lineker, the faithful and world-weary dog and former electrician Reginald. They live together in a nearly deserted London.

See You in the Cosmos: Jack Cheng review

See You in the Cosmos

By: Jack Cheng
Rating: 4 Star



Alex Petroski is a space-obsessed eleven year old who narrates his story via a series of recordings on his iPod.

He plans to launch this into space on a rocket so that aliens can one day learn what life is like on Earth.

His faithful companion is his dog Carl Sagan (named after the famous astronomer) and they are about to embark on the adventure of their lives, covering Colorado, Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Los Angeles.

Spoils: Brian Van Reet review

Spoils

By: Brian Van Reet
Rating: 5 Star

Spoils is the debut novel from author Brian Van Reet.

The story is set in the early stages of the Gulf War in 2003. The plot centres around US Specialist Soldier Cassandra Wigheard and her deployment in Iraq. During her deployment, Cassandra is captured by mujahideen fighters and held hostage.

Written in Bones: James Oswald review

Written in Bones

By: James Oswald
Rating: 3 Star

Written in Bones opens dramatically with the gruesome murder of Bill Chalmers, an ex-policeman turned drug kingpin who is found dead high up in a tree in the Meadows, Edinburgh.

Detective Inspector McLean is called in to investigate the murder and the more immediate question of how the body ended up being dropped from the sky.

Stealing Snow: review

Stealing Snow

By: Danielle Paige

Rating: 2 Star

17-year-old snow has been incarcerated in the Whittaker Secure Mental institute for most of her life. 

The regime there is bleak, routine, and full of anguish for Snow as she is kept away from her one true sole mate Bale (who is also a patient there).

Holding: Graham Norton review

Holding

By: Graham Norton
Rating: 4 Star

Holding is Graham Norton's first fiction novel. It is a classic murder mystery set in a sleepy Irish village called Duneen.

The Easy Way Out: Steven Amsterdam review

The Easy Way Out

By: Steven Amsterdam
Rating: 3.5 Star

Evan is a palliative care nurse and a registered, legal, suicide assistant. For patients that want to end their lives, Evan and team provide a service to assist.

The Girl in the Box Series (The Girl in the Box #1-3): Robert J. Crane review

The Girl in the Box Series (The Girl in the Box #1-3)

By Robert J. Crane

Rating: 3 Star

The 3 books included in this trilogy are:

1. Alone

2. Untouched

3. Soulless

The Girl in the Box series is currently Free on Amazon and has gathered a huge number of 4 and 5-star reviews on there (2,394 in September 2016).

The series focuses on Sienna Nealon, a 17-year-old girl who has been brought up by a mother who never lets her out of the house or let her see anyone from the outside world.

If that horrific upbringing weren't enough to deal with, Sienna also discovers she is a 'meta-human' with a number of powers that she has to learn how to control.

Promise You Won't Tell?: John Locke review

Promise You Won't Tell?

By John Locke
Rating: 3 Star

Promise You Won't Tell is a fiction novel by bestselling author John Locke. It is number 2 in the Dani Ripper series after 'Call Me'.

Introducing NetGalley - for all you book lovers out there

Love books?

I have been using a website called NetGalley for a while now and just wanted to write a quick post to introduce it for anyone who hasn't discovered it yet.

Nevernight: Jay Kristoff review

Nevernight

by Jay Kristoff
Rating: 4 Star

Nevernight is set in a world that rarely sees darkness, mainly due to its 3 Suns.

It's a world of political skullduggery (I haven't used that word in ages), assassins, magic, a shadow in the form of a Cat called Mister Kindly, and a young girl called Mia Corvere who is forced to witness her father's execution.

On that day, Mia swore to avenge the 3 people who had plotted against her and her family.

The Hummingbird's Cage: Tamara Dietrich review

The Hummingbird's Cage

by Tamara Dietrich
Rating: 4 Star

Joanna and Jim seem to be the perfect couple.

He is a respected deputy sheriff and she appears to be a happy, contented wife. Living in Wheeler, New Mexico, US together they have a young daughter called Laurel.

However, behind closed doors Jim is a violent monster. Joanna bears the mental and physical scars from years of his abuse and now lives in constant fear of both her and Laurel's life.

Will a stranger's unexpected offer finally provide a means of escape?

A Boy Made of Blocks: Keith Stuart review

A Boy Made of Blocks

By Keith Stuart

Rating: 4 Star

I have read several books recently which have featured very human, very flawed, and very complex heroic characters. 

Set in Bristol, the plot of A Boy Made of Blocks starts just as a family is beginning to fall apart. 

The Undying (The Undying Series): Nathan Reid review

The Undying

By Nathan Reid

Rating: 3 Star

Jeanie and Ben arrive in Paris just in time to celebrate the New Year with their friends. Unfortunately, things soon start to go very wrong with earthquakes, fireballs raining from the sky, and massive devastation spreading across the city. 

Black-Eyed Susans: Julia Heaberlin review

Black-Eyed Susans

By Julia Heaberlin
Rating: 4 Star

A sixteen year old Tessa Cartwright is found in a mass grave in a field in Texas covered by wild flowers called Black-Eyed Susans.

After her miraculous rescue, she is labelled in the media and her local town as 'the lucky one'. Tessa was the only 'susan girl' to have survived the killer.

The Girl Who Broke the Rules: Marnie Richies review

The Girl Who Broke The Rules

by Marnie Richies

Rating: 3 Star

I first picked up this book thinking that it was another in the Stieg Larrson series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 

The Girl Who Broke The Rules by Marinie Richies is not connected with Larrson, but I fans of Larrson may well enjoy this novel as it has many similar aspects, a crazed killer, a dedicated detective, and fast-flowing pace.

Whispers in the Mist: Lisa Alber review

Whispers in the Mist

by Lisa Alber

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Whispers in the Mist is a crime thriller based in the small village of 'Lisfenora' in County Clare, Ireland.

The story takes place during the village's world famous matchmaking festival, (which Lisa Alber seems to have based on the actual festival held in Lisdoonnarva).

Brood X: Michael Phillip Cash review

Brood X: A Firsthand Account of the Great Cicada Invasion 

by Michael Phillip Cash

Rating: 4 Star

Michael Phillip Cash

Brood X is the 3rd book I have read by Michael Phillip Cash and each one has been remarkably different which I found really refreshing.

Brook X is a horror-genre novel set in the United States which starts in the midst of a deadly Cicada invasion. Billions of the insects have descended on the US and have cut off electric, water supplies, mobile phone service and the entire food supply.

The End of the World Running Club: Adrian J. Walker review

The End of the World Running Club

by Adrian J. Walker

Rating: 5 Star

I have read a lot of apocalyptic thrillers in my time, and this one by Adrian Walker is easily one of my newest favourites.

Bloodlines: Lynn Lipinski review

Bloodlines

Lynn Lipinski review

Rating: 3.5 Star

After being fired from his job at the zoo of Tulsa, recovering alcoholic Zane Clearwater drowns his sorrow with too much alcohol and cough syrup.

When he awakes, Zane has no memory of the previous evening and then learns that his mother has just been killed in a fire at their home.