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Book Review – The Toll by Neil Shusterman

Ok, this year I am going to try my best at keeping on top of book reviews, or at the very least, review every other book. Last year started good but slipped off about halfway.

But, anyway enough about that, it’s time for my review of the FIRST book I read in 2023.

The Toll is the 3^rd book in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy, and for all those who haven’t heard of this series, it is a dystopian novel set in the future where all major issues have been have solved such as world hunger, poverty, crime, illness and natural death. This was partly due to what we know today as the cloud and what they now call the Thunderhead. Think AI with a crazy smart brain and processing power we cannot even begin to fathom. Thunderhead has solved all problems using technology called Nanites, which are implemented into your body and can help control mood swings and certain tendencies such as the urge to kill or injure someone as well as control the population. This is how the Thunderhead has eradicated all crime.

Book Review- How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent

Have you ever judged a book by it’s title? I won’t lie I saw this title on netgalley and requested it straight away. I only read the blurb after requesting. It just sounded like a funny read and I’m glad I did. Thanks to Netgalley for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have always been into thrillers and Crime shows and this book is basically the female, less serious, more comedic equivalent of Dexter.

Book Review – Women Like Us by Amanda Prowse

I am on a roll, not only did you get a review today but here’s another one…

I first came across this author way back in 2015 when I read a Christmas book called The Christmas Café. I wasn’t a part of Bookstagram or any reading community, but I remember really enjoying it , but back then I never thought of seeking out more of her titles. Fast forward 6 years later to February 2021 and I find another of her books on Netgalley, An Ordinary Life which I read and loved. I then read several other titles by her, each one an absolute gem of a read.

Then one year later in February 2022 I had the absolute honour of interviewing her with Holly as part of our podcast, Speaking LITerally. She was an amazing guest and so inspirational, plus we had so much fun, it felt more like a friendly girly chat than an interview. So, when I saw she was bringing out her memoirs I had to read it, having already heard a small part of her past from our chat.

Book Review – Olympus and the Orbs by CT Ortega

It has been a while but finally, I have another review for you and this time from one of my favourite indie authors, CT Ortega. This is the penultimate book of the Warfare of the Gods series, and I was very excited to jump in, having read Asgard and the Hunt a while ago which set the scene for what is sure to be an epic final 2 books.

We jump straight into the action where book 3 finished which I won’t go into too much detail about to avoid spoilers. However, Bastet is on a mission to rescue her sister from Ishtar who has her own much bigger mission and plan for the entirety of Saggilmut.

Book Review – The Way of Dragons by CT Ortega

This review is way overdue as I read it in the summer but it is also one which has stuck with me through the last few months.

I won’t deny it, I am a big fan of Ortega’s work, he was the first author we interviewed on our podcast and I have read all his novels including standalones such as One Will Die and his Warfare of the Gods series in which the first one is called The Writer and The Throne, which is superb!!

This is CT Ortega’s most recent standalone and this time we travel to China where we follow Lei, a young boy who’s mother is very ill after being attacked by the gang, the Xiee.

After the traditional medicine doesn’t work and his mother gets worse he hears of an ancient herb which could not only cure his mother but also rescue the town from the ongoing drought it is having. However, the only way to find this herb is Tau, which is he must find his own way.

Top October Releases

How are we nearly at the end of September already? These months just keep going faster and it’s hard to keep up.

Ok so first things first I did miss September’s anticipated reads, but in my defence, holidays and illness got in the way. However we are about to go into one of the best months of the year, yes that’s right, Spooky season. Although sadly not really any spooky books on here, you can bet i will be reading a few horrors and spooky books this October. So without further ado here are my anticipated reads for books releasing in October 2022!!

Book Review- Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard

Its time for another Netgalley review. I read Catherine Ryan Howard’s last novel, 56 days back in March as part of buddy read and so when I saw she had a new one out I couldn’t resist.

Thanks to Netgalley for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Whereas 56 days was tech companies and lockdowns, this time we delve into the glamorous (or in this case not so glamorous) world of show business.

Book Review – Dead Water by C.A Fletcher

After a summer of romance, fantasy and light hearted books I decided it was time for a change of pace. Thanks for netgalley for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb

A water-borne blight hits a remote community on a small island on the edge of the Northern Atlantic. The islanders are a strange mix, some island-born, some seeking a slower life away from the modern world. All have their own secrets, some much darker than others. Rumour says the illness may be a water-borne neural infection from the shellfish farm, a case of mass hysteria – or even a long-buried curse – but when ferry service fails, inconvenience grows into nightmarish ordeal as the outwardly harmonious fabric of the community is unnervingly torn apart.

Book Review – The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

You know how sometimes, you need a book to thoroughly absorb you, to escape into reading for a bit? Just me? Well, I read this in June, and I was going through a rough time so I knew I wanted an epic fantasy, something I could truly become absorbed into and forget about the real world for a bit, and let me tell you, this book completely ticked all those boxes and then some.

The Priory of the Orange Tree is about kingdoms at war because of religion and their beliefs. The main opposing sides are the East and the West. But, there is one fear which most kingdoms all worry about, and that is the return of the Nameless One. Over a thousand years ago he rose and destroyed kingdoms and created what was called the Age of Grief. Generations later and the fear has returned to the world.

Book Review- The Daughter of Dr Moreau by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

I saw this book and curiosity got the better of me. A few months ago I read the Island of Dr moreau by HG Wells which I thoroughly enjoyed. So, when I read that Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, the author of Mexican Gothic which I also enjoyed was continuing Wells’ world I couldn’t help but give it a try.

Thanks to netgalley for gifting me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.