The Death Sculptor by Chris Carter

 

4/5 stars

Detective Robert Hunter is part of an elite murder investigation team in LA when he gets a call one day about a grisly murder. A district attorney has been killed despite being terminally ill and weeks from death. Yet this isn't an ordinary murder. He has been brutalised with limbs chopped off and used to make a grotesque sculpture, but what does it mean?

This was a gripping, fast-paced novel and the characters were interesting but I did have issues. The author was obsessed with describing everyone... Well everyone female. I don't care if the female bartender has a messy bun, or that the random in the bar has obviously artificial breasts, or that the victim's daughter is five foot five. None of this is relevant to the plot.

My other big issue was the plotting itself. The killer reveal was suitably tense but it did raise questions about things that happened earlier in the novel. There was a scene where the killer poses as a certain trade but I can't imagine it panning out as is but no disguise was ever mentioned.

Elements read as a debut novel rather than the author's fourth but I did enjoy it and seeing how things unfolded and the clues revealing themselves.

Steff Out x

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree

 

Ebook provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

5/5 stars

The prequel to Legends and Lattes showing orc Viv's early life at the beginning of her mercenary career.

Viv's enthusiasm to get the job done maybe without thinking too much about it leads to her getting a nasty leg injury which results in her group leaving her to recover in Murk, a dismal little seaside town.

On her explorations Viv comes across Fern and her dilapidated inherited bookshop. Fern loves the place but customers are very thin on the ground and Viv takes it upon herself to help once Fern's book recommendation inspires her that is...

An excellent and diverse cast of characters: Viv is an orc, Fern is a rattkin, we also have a dwarf, a gnome and some other beings. Each character is written so well with a distinct personality and I loved the way they all came together.

If I had one criticism it's that the "big finale" took a while to come and was over a little too quickly. I also wanted more of the end!

Steff Out x

So Thrilled For You by Holly Bourne

 

Ebook provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

4/5 stars

Four best friends meet up for a baby shower on the hottest day of the year, a baby shower that ends in a horrific fire.

Charlotte who is struggling with infertility has organised the shower for Nicki who is hating being the centre of attention, especially considering one of the guests Charlotte invited for her... Lauren has already had her baby and is secretly struggling following a traumatic birth and Steffi is happily child free by choice and her career is taking off. Everyone has their secrets and tensions are simmering.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this and the way everything was revealed slowly but it frustrated me that these women have been best friends since university yet they don't talk properly about anything. The characters were really well developed but I did want more from the ending.

Steff Out x 

Tea You at the Altar by Rebecca Thorne

 

Ebook provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

5/5 stars

Book 3 in the Tomes and Tea quartet and Kianthe and Reyna are deep into wedding planning when news arrives from tyrannical Queen Tillaine's spymaster Locke. She has a secret half sister who could be eligible for the throne! He also knows where she is and plans are afoot to bring her to town. But things are never that easy...

I love these books, I love this world, the writing style is nice and easy to follow but doesn't talk down to the reader. The representation is impeccable, we have our lead lesbians, we have characters who are bi or gay, one of our new characters in this edition is AroAce, we have multiple non-binary characters (would like a bit more pronoun variety, someone using neo-pronouns for example) including that rarity of an AMAB non-binary character - so many people just see non-binary as woman-lite so I was glad to see Rebecca bucking that trend. The characters are all so well-written and have distinct personalities and I love the secondary (tertiary?) plot with the dragons!

I'm looking forward to book 4 but I'm also sad that it'll be the last one but rest assured I'll look forward to reading whatever else Rebecca writes in the future!

Steff Out x 

Girl A by Abigail Dean

 

Paperback read but ebook previously provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

3/5 stars

I initially rated this at 4 stars but then reevaluated and edited it to 3 stars after reading some reviews on Goodreads. I guess I got caught up in the drama and was looking through rose-tinted glasses but reading other reviews (not always recommended) helped me see more clearly.

Girl A is Lex Gracie. She escaped her house of horrors aged 15. She and her siblings were starved and chained by their Father. Their Mother did nothing to help. Now Mother has died and Lex wants to turn their old house into a community centre but she needs her siblings signatures.

So when I first finished it I was caught up in how compelling the story and the writing were and how everything just flowed. Abigail Dean has a very easy, readable writing style.

But after some thought I realised there are just too many plot holes. Ethan's involvement, Gabriel's sight, the full story of the cake, the end of Lex's relationship (apparently fertility related but never explained), everyone's reluctance for her to attend the wedding. The twist was a little obvious and then that ending?? Very abrupt, very confusing.

This book frustrated me on the whole because I can see the potential it had to be so much better.

Steff Out x 

After Life by Gayle Forman

 

Ebook provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

3/5 stars 

It's a normal day when Amber cycles home until she walks into the house and her mother screams at her. Because Amber died 7 years ago yet somehow she's back and everything has changed.

This was a really interesting look at how grief affects people and how far-reaching it can be and how many people one death can connect. Told in multiple POV from the many people Amber's death has affected.

I really liked the concept and the way the characters were written even if I wasn't fond of the character themself - Casey was a good example for this, she wasn't a likable person but she felt real.

There were also a couple of side plots that I didn't quite understand the point of or where they came frome. One was an incident when Amber was a child and the other was the breakdown of Amber's mum and aunt's relationship, that was never really explained. I think on the whole it could have done with being a little longer to round some of this stuff out.

Steff Out x 

The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune

 

Hardback bought by myself but ebook previously provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

5/5 stars

Nate has lost his parents in a murder/suicide. Not that he's had much to do with them since they basically disowned him for being gay. Now he's also lost his job so he decides to use his only inheritance from his parents - his dad's truck and their holiday cabin in the mountains - and get away for a while.

When he gets there however he finds the cabin occupied by a giant hulking army guy and a little girl around 9 years old. Alex, who prefers to shoot first and ask questions later, and Artemis Darth Vader, who is not quite normal, however she is obsessed with western novels and bacon.

Yet another stunning novel by TJ. Tightly plotted with characters that are so easy to love and to root for and yet another brilliant example of found family! This was so visually written I can imagine being a fantastic movie, hey Hollywood can you get on that?

Steff Out x