Dark Places, a review

I’d heard Connor Stompanto raving about Dark Places by Gillian Flynn so I was excited to start this one! But… it turns out that me and Connor have some very different reading tastes. I hated this book.

I really should’ve DNF’d this book after around the 100 page mark. I was just… bored. We follow a woman who is learning that her traumatic childhood experience didn’t happen exactly how she thought she remembered.

There was pretty much no character development despite massive changes in what should’ve been the main characters entire life view. Her entire life was a lie. And yet she didn’t really change as a person at all.

As I said, this should’ve been a DNF, but I kept pushing through and finished the book. This was a bit of a lesson to me. I’m really bad with not DNFing books when I should because the FOMO (fear of missing out) is too strong! But often when I want to DNF a book but don’t, I really wouldn’t have missed anything at all! This was definitely one of those times and I’ve DNF’d a few more times since.

So let’s get into the CAWPILE ratings:

Characters: 5

Atmosphere:4

Writing: 5

Plot: 5

Intrigue: 3

Logic: 4

Enjoyment: 4

Which overall gives a score of 4.29 which is a 2 star rating. Is anyone surprised?? I didn’t think so.

This has actually put me off reading any other Gillian Flynn books in the future which is such a pity as I’ve heard amazing things, but I just don’t care about trying these when I have so many other books on my tbr!

Have you read Dark Places? Or any other Gillian Flynn books? Let me know what you thought!!!

June 2021 Reading Wrap Up

Things worked out pretty well for me this month! I managed to read every book that was on my tbr, as well as one extra book and I had 2 days to spare! I could’ve added another book at the end of the month but I thought I would give myself a bit of a break for a couple days.

Let’s get into the mini wrap ups!

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn coming in at 421 pages was my first read of the month. And wow. What a shite way to start the month! I was tempted to DNF this after 50 pages, and for some reason I pushed myself through the entirety of this despite wanting to DNF it (Did Not Finish) and I ended up giving it 2*s. What a waste of my time (and a realisation that I’m not very good at DNFing books)

Something a little more positive was 175 pages of Armadeddon Outta Here by Derek Landy which I just read certain short stories of. I read up to the point before Mortal Coil to bring myself up to date with the plotline so far and I’m excited to read more of these when I carry on with the series!

Another great read was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen which was 329 pages of amazingness! I gave this 5*s and I really didn’t expect that! I was expecting this to be just fine, one that I was just gunna read through because it’s a classic and it’s interesting. But I ended up adoring this book so much, it gave me such a cosy vibe and I was just so happy reading it!

The wonderful Olivia Savanah from Olivia’s Catastrophe gifted by Pet by Akwaeke Emezi and I’m so glad that I read it this month because it was AMAZING!! This was 205 pages of wonder and I of course gave it 5*s. I adore Emezi’s writing, they’re just fantastic and I’m so excited to read more from them in the future. This is a YA book I’ll be recommending to absolutely everyone. Honestly I need to just sit down with my thoughts because it’s just a massive jumble of wonderment!

Touch by Claire North is one that I should probably not have read with the world situation right now. I did still enjoy this 426 page book, and although I’ve not ran it through CAWPILE yet I’m anticipating it being a 4* read, but there was one major downfall. I don’t want to go into the specifics cause spoilers, but I’m sure you can guess. A book based on touch isn’t the best one to read and empathise with in a world where we don’t touch anyone. I’ll need to re-read this in the future where the hustle and bustle of a commute doesn’t feel so alien.

Mortal Coil by Derek Landy was my Skulduggery re-read for the month so of course I loved it. Coming in at 572 pages it’s my biggest read of the month and so much happens in this one! So much that I don’t like! But we’re making so much progress and it was so fun to discuss this with Bekka as we read it.

I finally read a thriller I didn’t hate this month with Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan. 344 pages long, this is definitely an interesting one. There are some controversial sections that I need to think more about, but from a pure enjoyment level this was one that I was engaged ith, actively reacting to, and I’m glad I finally picked it up!

The last book on my actual tbr for the month was Apocalypse Kings by Derek Landy, a short story released for World Book Day this year. I only read it the first time a few months ago but I wanted to re-read it in the chronological spot. I only read 80 pages rather than the full 100ish because those last 20 are the first chapters of book 1 and I’ve read that twice this year already!

And last but no where near least for books I finished… The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris which was 393 pages of intrigue and I really enjoyed it! This took a twist that was so much fun to read and I loved reading from a grey character. I was discussing this with Kashay from Shay with the Hobbies on YouTube as I went through so that was a lot of fun being able to voice message her blow by blow through the book! I’m not sure of my rating yet as I like to give books a bit of time before I run them through CAWPILE, but I’m guessing probably 4*s.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is still going strong, and me and Olivia Savannah are around 70% of the way through this tome and we’re loving it! Of course I still can’t talk about the content cause spoilers, but ooooh I’m really enjoying this reading experience still!

And those are the books I read in June! For my page count it totalled at 2943, so just under 3000. Not the best reading month that I’ve had but I’m not mad! I’ve read some books that I absolutely adored and I’m so glad that I was able to finally cross them off of my list! Definitely keep a look out for full reviews of all of these coming out in the coming months!

What’s the best book (or three) that you read last month? Have you read any of these? Let me know!

Do you DNF?

DNF – Did Not Finish, to put a book down before you read until the last page and never pick it up again.

It’s something that a lot of us can struggle with! Especially for us who make content online cause we feel like we need to read to the end to be able to properly talk about the book! I had thought that I was fine DNFing books. Reader, I am not.

I was reading Dark Places by Gillian Flynn recently, and I was bored as all hell. So bored. I skipped to the end to read what happened!!! And yet I couldn’t bring myself to DNF the damn thing. I kept thinking about how would I mark it in my bullet journal? Would I then have failed my tbr if it was a DNF? Does it still count as reading it? And so I read all the way to the end.

I will say that the end section was better than the 300 pages before it, but I still gave the book a lowwww 2*s and I probably would’ve been better off just not finishing it at all!

But I couldn’t bring myself to do it! Why not?!?! I really don’t know. It’s something I’m going to have to get better at cause I don’t want to read books I don’t like!

Let me know your DNFing tips!!

June TBR 2021!

Something a little different for my blog! I show my tbr’s on my channel and on my bookstagram (to be read, the pile of books I want to read that month) but I don’t tend to show them here! I think that’s mainly cause I don’t want to have to go through the hassle of editing the post #lazy so I’ve decided to just try out text post versions. No book covers. Nothing fancy. But here is my tbr!

To start with the “obvious” (if you follow me) I’ll be continuing to read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy this month (I’m reading a chapter a day with Olivia from Olivia’s Catastrophe and we’re really enjoying it!!). Hopefully we’ll hit book Eleven next month!

As I’m taking part in the Buzzwordathon hosted by Kayla from Booksandlala I’ll be reading Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan, this is a thriller following a woman who receives a letter from someone claiming to be a girl who went missing 20 years ago. I’m hoping that cause this is a thriller it’ll be a nice quick read!

Each month I’m also taking part in the Dead Famous Read-a-long hosted by Hannah at LadetteM along with Bekka from the Comic Book Sanctury, Aly from the Chaotic Reader and Emma from EmmaNovella. We’ve reached book 5 in the Skulduggery Pleasant series which is Mortal Coil by Derek Landy. This series follows a young Irish girl who discovers magic via a talking skeleton detective and goes on to join him in saving the day! This is one of my favourite series and I’ve read every single book that’s published so these are all re-reads for me! I also want to re-read Apocalypse Kings which is a novella which only came out this year for World Book Day. Of course I only read it for the first time recently but this is where it chronologically sits so I want to pop it in here!

Then whilst filming my tbr I picked out my tbr jar pick for the month, which turned out to be Dark Places by Gillian Flynn! This follows a girl who’s family were all brutally murdered leaving just her and her brother. Her evidence put him behind bars but there are people who think he was innocent. I’ve never read any Flynn before so I’m hoping for good things!

Now finally onto the 3 “random” books on my tbr!

First up is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen! I actually own 2 copies of this. One is a standard book, but one is a more magazine format, and although they have the same illustrations the magazine ones are coloured. I’m not sure which copy I’m going to pick up, and considering I measure page count I’m not sure which one I’ll be using for that either. But either way I’m wanting to read the book this month.

Then we have Pet by Akwaeke Emezi which was gifted to me by the lovely Olivia (mentioned above). This follows a young girl who was raised in a world where monsters have been defeated, but then Pet appears. But are they a monster? Or are they protecting the city from the real monsters? I loved Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi so I’m super excited to read more from this author!

Last but by no means least, Touch by Claire North is the final book on my tbr for June. The synopsis on this one is pretty sparse. With one touch she can take over your body for however long she wants. And that’s who we’re following! I’ve read 2 books by North so far and adored them both so I’m really excited for this one and I hope it’ll be a quick read!

And there you have it! My June tbr! I’ve been trying to be nicer to myself lately so if I don’t manage to complete the tbr then it’s not the end of the world. I will read my War and Peace chapters each day, and I will aim to read my tbr jar pick, the Skulduggery book (but only Mortal Coil, Apocalypse Kings doesn’t matter so much) and the buzzwordathon book. And Pet. Just cause I want to. But the rest would just be bonus books. We’ll see how I do, fingers crossed!!

What do you want to read in June? Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!!

My stupidly large August TBR! Aaand, my last catch up post!

I have definitely set the bar a little toooo high this month! So I’m likely to not manage all of these, but at least I’m aiming high… right? This should also be my last “catch up” post after the hecticness of the readathons and my Gran coming to visit. Fingers crossed I can stay up to date from now on! Also, I’m not going to be including the remainder of my BookTubeAThon tbr (which continued into the beginning of August), if you’d like to see that tbr then click here, and my wrap up for that is here!

Finally, into the tbr!

Of Blood Exhausted by Jemahl Evans

This one doesn’t have any cover art as yet, as I am reading it as a beta reader. I keep putting it off as it feels like a bit of a daunting challenge (and it’s on my laptop which is just awkward). But hopefully, placing it within my tbr will encourage me to actually get to it! It is the 3rd book in the Blandford Candy series (link to book #1 here) which I adore and go on about frequently! I really am so excited to get to it! Just a little daunted!

King of the Seven Lakes by A. B. Endacott (Legends of the Godskissed Continent #2)

I absolutely fell in love with Queendom of the Seven Lakes, book one in the series (link here!), and am so pleased that the series is continuing on (book 3 is already out! I need to read, read, read!). This is an amazing fantasy series, with great character and world development and this should be such a good read!

Aaru by David Meredith (The Aaru Cycle #1)

I was sent a copy of this self-published book by the author, and the dystopian synopsis really intrigues me. I’m hoping that I really enjoy this, as there is already a sequel out and I can jump into it!

The Mystery of the Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah (New Hercule Poirot Mysteries #3)

I got this book to review from NetGalley, and although I haven’t read much from her, I really love Agatha Christie’s writing so I’m hoping that Sophie Hannah can match it! Many of Christie’s books could be read individually so I’m hoping that I won’t be at too much of a disadvantage having not read the first two books.

Shattered by Teri Terry (Slated #3)

I’m finally getting round to finishing this series!! I started it so many years ago and am so ready to see the conclusion, although I’m 100% not ready for it to end! I’ve loved the first two books in this series so this should be a good one!

The Universe Between Us by Jane C. Esther

A book I acquired through NetGalley that I should’ve read a long time ago. I don’t remember what it’s about, I’m assuming it’s a Sci-Fi. I hope I enjoy it but only time will tell.

 

The Orchard by Anne Frasier/Theresa Weir

Another book I got through NetGalley that looked interesting. This is an autobiography of fighting for love and changing her life dramatically. I don’t actually know of the author but she has written fiction so I am expecting it to flow well and be interesting!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #1)

Does this need an explanation? No, I’ve not read it yet. Yes, this is my first time through it. I really hope that I enjoy this! The hype is intense for this book so fingers crossed!

 

Sabriel by Garth Nix (Abhorsen #1)

Another well known YA book that many have read, although this one is a little older! I only bought this relatively recently, so it’s not toooo bad… right? Again, hoping I enjoy this one!

 

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking #1)

There seems to be a bit of a theme going on here… another older YA book that so many people have read. I intend to join their numbers!

 

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Booksandlala (in her older videos) goes on about Gillian Flynn so much that I had to pick up a couple of her books! This is the one that has the most intriguing synopsis to me so it’s up first!

 

The Empathy Problem by Gavin Extence

Look at how pretty this cover is! This was a total cover buy, along with The Universe Versus Alex Woods, but I absolutely loved that book and the synopsis sounds really interesting so I’m expecting to really enjoy this one!

Truth Sister by Phil Gilvin

I got this book as an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy – pre-publishing with a few minor tweaks to be made to the finished book) at NYALitFest (see my haul here!) and at the time it wasn’t on Goodreads and there was no date on my copy so I didn’t know when it came out. Fast forward months later and it turns out it was released on the 1st July so I need to get reading! This is a novel that, as far as I can tell from the synopsis, revolves around a matriarchy with a severe class system, knowledge, and corruption. Should be a good one!

The Time Travel Handbook by Wyllie, Acton and Goldblatt

I already started reading this during the 7in7readathon (vlog here) and I’m really enjoying it. It’s essentially a travel guide to 18 historical events, both very recent history (the fall of the Berlin wall) and ancient history (such as the eruption of Vesuvius) and is written in a really engaging and interesting way. Excited to finish it!

And that’s it! Fourteen books! Like I said I probably won’t get around to all of them but I can try! I’ll be going off to a different University next month to start a Masters so I probably won’t have too much free time, hence the massive reading goal for my last month of freedom for another year! Let’s see how much I manage!