#36 Hidden Bodies

Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

The much anticipated sequel to You. I read You last year and it was a breath of fresh air, a psychological thriller about a stalker told from the stalkers point of view. It was hard hitting and action packed, i flew threw it and couldnt wait to pick up this sequel.

Hidden Bodies once again follows Joe Goldberg, who by all definitions is a bit of a psycho. After brutally murdering his ex girlfriend Beck he has moved onto greener pastures and picks up his life in New York to move to LA where he finds new love with Amy Adam who appears to be care free and also off the grid which is very important to Joe as he cannot stalk her constantly online, the way he did with Beck. She is the polar opposite of Beck and their relationship is going well until she disappears....

With You and carried on within Hidden Bodies the main common theme is how much of an ass the protagonist is but he is intentionally written this way. He has no redeeming qualities what so ever, so much so that it makes you feel sorry for him almost.

The new characters were very mismatched, firstly you have Amy, whos quite likeable but quirky for the sake of quirky, she actually gets super annoying after a while. Then theres Love (stupid character name) and her twin brother Forty (another stupid name) they are much of a muchness, quite bland, superficial characters. Love being slightly better than Forty. There was several other characters essential to sub plots but none overly relevant to mention. The introduction of so many new characters made the overall story very disjointed. I didnt find any of them interesting, at all.

There was too much change in this book, it was too full on. He read as a different character, in LA he is written as a sex magnet whereas he was written as creepy when in New York. He was still witty and charismatic but i wasnt sure if the new side of him was written as character development. It was very different from the first book but much more light hearted but unfortunately i didnt enjoy it as much.

This was a slow read for me, it took me over a week to plough through it. it wasnt as captivating as the first book and it felt about 100 pages too long, a lot of chapters read as fillers and were unnecessary to the overall plot. The ending was wonderfully done, the last 50 pages kept me guessing constantly and it really pulled its rating up for me and lessened the disappointment. I really hope this will be a trilogy as the ending didnt feel like a conclusion and i really want to see what happens.

#36 Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

The Man in the High Castle is a story of  a historical alternative reality in which Germany won World War II, it also has slight sci-fi themes embedded. It follows several different characters and their lives after the war. This is set in the USA fifteen years after the end of the war with both Germany and Japan now occupying the country. The west coast is occupied by Japan, the east coast is occupied by Germany and there is a strip not controlled by either nation referred to as the neutral zone. This causes a lot of racial and political tension throughout the book. One element that was particularly interesting to read was that Germany still controlled concentration camps and had moved them into America. 

The three main characters in this book are white Americans who lived in America before the war. The main protagonist is Frank Frink, a man on the brink of being fired. He works for a company that puts together collectible artifacts tying into that is Robert Childan who owns the collectibles shop, he sells to Japanese buyers who are only interested in artifacts directly related to the USA, Then there is Juliana, she lives in the neutral zone or free states as its also known as, as a character she constantly battles with her moral opinion on how the country is run and who and what to believe. 

When Juliana comes into contact with the book 'The Grasshopper Lies Heavy' a controversial story about the alternative history to the alternate history that we are already reading about which details how America won the war. Whats interesting is that each character comes into contact with this book at certain points but the stance and how they intrepid it is completely different. 

I really enjoyed the alternate reality elements of this story and felt that overall the plot and premise was very strong and compelling. The conspiracy and mystery aspect is executed perfectly, extremely detailed and constantly keeps the reader guessing as well as coming up with their own theories. 

The writing style is a bit bizarre, the sentences read very choppy and sometimes this massively interrupts the flow. It made me put the book down on several occasions and i feel if it was a bit more fluid i could have finished it in fewer sittings.

Throughout the story some of the characters become aware that there is two realities one in which Germany won and the other in which America won. This was a very strange thing to read about and felt at times disjointed from the main story. The ending felt incomplete to me, the last 20 or so pages just fell flat for me, i was considering giving it 5 stars before then but leaving the reader without an answer or closure is a huge no no for me so i had to downgrade its star rating. I gave it 4 as credit where its due it was one hell of a read! 

All in all i believe this will be adapted much better to screen than it comes across in literary form. I became very emotionally involved with the story but my main criticism is that it really lacked any kind of character development and the ending was practically non existent. 

#34 The Magicians

The Magicians by Lev Grossman 

The Magicians is a story about Quentin Coldwater, a young man from Brooklyn who has dreams of attending an Ivy League college but when an opportunity arises to attend Brakebills, an elite school for magic then Quentin embarks on 4 years of study to learn magic. He is obsessed with a series he read as a child about a fantasy world (not unlike Narnia) called Fillory, this makes up a large part of the story. The book spans quite a few years (the pacing is done amazingly well) so you get to see Quentin learn magic over a few years an ultimately you get to see what he uses his magic for upon graduating.

Quentin and his friends at Brakebills who are referred to as 'The Physical Kids', they comprise of Alice, Eliot, Josh, Janet and Penny. I really enjoyed these characters but particularly Alice and especially her relationship with Quentin. At times this was so intense it felt like they were real and you knew them, they experience so many highs and lows and every step of the way was wonderfully written. 

Quentin as a protagonist is selfish, self centered and carries a huge sense of self entitlement, he doesnt even have that many redeeming qualities but this is what makes him such a great and controversial character. You see him change from a boy to a man (he Neville Longbottoms hard during the years). I also thought Eliot and Josh were great side line characters although you dont get too much in this book about them, its all about Alice and Quentin. I really hope that the next book has more about them in it. 

Where do i even begin with this? The premise of this book is everything i typically dont like yet i loved it. The world building is second to none. The characters are diverse and relateable. The book is so action packed even for 550 pages, it keeps you guessing and drives you to carry on with the trilogy. It reads like Harry Potter condensed into one book with a little bit of Narnia thrown in to shake things up. You really get to see what the students endure each year, not dissimilar to HP. 

The most intense part of the story for me is when Q plays a practical joke on one of his professors and the shit really hits the fan. I dont want to say too much in the hopes of keeping this as spoiler free as possible but its possibly the best part of the book for me. 

People who enjoyed HP but who are looking for a more mature version with adult content such as strong language, violence and sex then this is definitely the story for you. I gave it 4 stars based on the world building and plot. 

#33 An Ember in the Ashes

 An Ember in the Ashes By Sabaa Tahir

Original read: March 2016 (2 stars)
Reread: September 2019 (4 stars)

An Ember in the Ashes is a debut novel within the fantasy genre. It follows 2 protagonists Elias and Laia (pretentious character names that have too many vowels!) they are from opposite ends of the spectrum, Elias is a trained fighter and Laia is a scholar, the lowest class with society. When Laia's brother Darin (another stupid name) is taken and arrested for treason Laia embarks on a journey to find 'The Resistance' in order to break her brother out of jail, ultimately she must spy in order to build trust within The Resistance. Elais' story was slightly more interesting, in the beginning he is days away from graduation after years and years of training and he wishes to sneak away and leave the academy that hes part of, the penalty for abandoning if caught is death. 

This story is said to be inspired by ancient Rome which in theory i was really excited about and i did enjoy the world building but it didn't encompass anything Roman really. Upon rereading i did enjoy it a lot more and found the audiobook much more engaging than reading it physically. The beginning was a bit slow and it did take a while to get into but the tension was built slowly and by halfway through i was pretty obsessed and finished it within 2 and a bit days. 

Laia is tiny bit bland in the beginning, her decision making is very questionable but her character growth is well done and she does redeem herself by the end. Elais was the main thing that kept me reading, his back story was interesting and i enjoyed how conflicted he was throughout. When i first read this in 2016 i wasnt really into fantasy and read a lot of contemporary at that point but 3 years later and i pretty much exclusively read fantasy with a few thrillers thrown in the mix. I reread this as its my friend Kirstys fav so shout out to Kirsty for getting me to give this one another go! I now fully get the hype!

For me Helene was a stand out character, she was strong, independent and bad ass. She was everything a leading lady should be and in comparison Laia really fell down. Laia's role as a rebel was probably my least favorite aspect of the novel. Not only was she absolutely dreadful at it, but the rebels seemed shocked to find Laia hurt on a number of occasions. Things like this was worthy of an eyebrow raise because Laia was attempting to spy on the most dangerous person in the story, The Commandant, knowing that their previous spies were tortured and killed. So why are Laia's bruises a surprise?

All in all Sabaa's writing was indeed phenomenal, really well done for a debut and the ending has left me wanting more. World building is a really important fact for me, but there is another one that is more important in my opinion: Characters. I’ve said many times now that the characters can be the most influential factor on my enjoyment for a book. I’ve fallen in love with some books because of this, and the same applies to some books I’ve hated. The characters were well written even if Laia was a bit annoying Elias really made up for it! 

“Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after. Such moments are tests of courage, of strength."

#32 Winter

Winter by Marissa Meyer

(The Lunar Chronicles #4)

i read the first 3 books in this series Cinder, Scarlet and Cress in early 2014 so i have been waiting a long time for this finale! Initial thoughts were holy shit 824 pages, what a beast. About half way through i was glad that it was so long as i was not ready to be done with it.

This story follows Princess Winter who is our villain Queen Levana's step daughter. Winter is a young girl (age not disclosed) id guess around 16 or 17. When her father died Levana swears to him that she will look after and protect Winter. As Winter becomes a young woman Levana feels threatened by her beauty, so much so that she glamours her into cutting her own face. Winter refuses to use her Lunar gift of manipulating people and she doesnt use her glamour to hide her scars as a direct result of this she has lunar sickness which causes hallucinations and general madness.

In this final installment the gang (Cinder, Kai, Iko, Scarlet, Wolf, Cress and Thorne) decide to fight back and dethrone Levana to ensure Selene (Cinder) gains her rightful throne. As Kai is set to marry Levana in order to sign a peace treaty between Earth and Luna and secure the antidote to cure Letumosis, an earthen disease created by Levana. Cinder forms a plan to rage a war from the outer sectors of Luna and to ultimately overthrow Levana.

After reading Fairest, a novella that details why Levana turned into the evil dictator we know and love, i couldnt help but feel sorry for her. All she ever wanted was to be regarded as beautiful and to be queen. Her older sister Channery (Cinders mum) manipulates Levana into putting her hand in the fire resulting in her having quite severe burns in which she uses her glamour to constantly hide. Levana becomes bitter and sets out to become queen no matter what, when she kills Selene in order to eliminate a heir to the throne she becomes queen by default. Chaos and rebellion ensues.

I am very fond of the friendships and romantic relationships between each of the characters, particularly Cress and Carswell Thorne which i have enjoyed from the previous book. The introduction of Winter was masterfully crafted and her romantic interest Jacin was perfect, i loved the dynamic between them. I usually detest books with too much romance but these books are so subtle with it, its really well done.

The ending felt a little rushed and i was left with a gaping hole in my heart knowing that this was the final book and id never know what became of the characters or the relationship between Earth and Luna!

I gave this book 4 stars based on the abrupt ending but ultimately it was rather faultless! 

#31 Dangerous Girls

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

This book is a YA thriller centering around an intricate friendship group that go to Aruba over spring break. The story mainly follows Elise, Anna and Tate. Elise and Anna are best friends and Tate is Annas boyfriend. When Elise is brutally murdered towards the end of the holiday Anna and Tate are immediately in the firing line as the main suspects in her murder,

I really enjoyed the layout of this book as the chapters are split into before the holiday, during the holiday and the trial. It ever so slowly reveals more information allowing the reader to bring about their own conclusions of what happened. It goes into detail about Anna and Elise's friendship as well as the jealousy of the others in the friendship group and how this would play into the overall plot.

The main things i liked about this was how gripping and fast paced it is, i couldnt put it down and felt that although it was YA it lived up to some of the other adult thrillers ive read such as Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. The writing wasnt overly descriptive which is one of my pet hates in YA and it was a good length (388 pages), it flowed really nicely but the ending seemed a little rushed and i would have liked more detail of what actually happened in the end, it was glossed over intentionally which i did not appreciate. From looking online this book isnt that well known which is surprising as it was extremely well written and deserves more popularity.

A few things i disliked, the ending. Without going into too much detail to avoid spoilers, id heard that there was a big twist, i waited in anticipation and not only did i not like it but it brought this book from a solid 4 star rating to a 3. Also a few of the characters are pointless page fillers, the friendship group was rather small but to only focus on 3 characters in a mystery thriller seems silly, surely if you want the reader to guess who killed her you would provide background and potential motive for each character which this really lacked.

I saw on Goodreads that there is a sequel to this and as much as i didnt like the ending, i really need a sequel to this! from what ive read it doesnt follow the same characters but the plots are similar with the possibility of a few linked characters from the first book? Im not sure as the synopsis is raher vague.

Overall this was utterly gripping and the time jumps worked really well, each section was interesting and really developed the overall story, there was times when i had to stop myself from glancing down the page to read it faster and find out what was going to happen,
although i didnt care for the twist i still really enjoyed this.

#30 Night Film

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

This book is a mystery/psychological thriller set in New York that follows washed up investigative journalist Scott McGrath as he looks into the mysterious death of 24 year old Ashley Cordova. Ashley was the daughter of reclusive horror movie director Stanislas Cordova who has been off the grid since 1977. Scott has been in trouble in the past for writing slanderous stories about Stanislas and the dark and disturbing films he makes.These slanderous stories tainted Scotts reputation and he was no longer as highly regarded within the media profession.

When Ashleys death is ruled as a suicide Scott decides to look into it, not only because he deems it suspicious but because of his aberrant fascination with the Cordova family and the redemption he seeks after his career was ruined by them. Scott then begins an investigation in order to find out what happened to her. Scott teams up with Nora and Hopper and the three of them try to uncover who Stanislas is. Nora is a 19 year old aspiring actress who basically forces Scott into allowing her to be his side kick after promising him information on Ashley. Hopper is a drug addict/alcoholic with a difficult past whose intentions on finding out what happened to Ashley arent really discussed.

Scott was by and large a decent protagonist,his character was quite flawed yet realistic. Nora, i found to be really irritating but i think she was written this way purposely, she was a bit of a stereotype and didnt grow on me at all.

This book is just over 600 pages and is filled with news and web articles, police files along with clues that they find on the way. The visual aid really adds to the story and keeps the reader guessing. I think without these snippets i may have gotten a little bored and it is a little tedious in parts. 600 pages is a lot and the story remained gripping throughout. One of my favorite elements was the mystique surrounding Stanislas and the underground cult following he gained, that alone made for some interesting reading.

This book was marketed as a horror story and i really failed to see any element of horror incorporated, it was rather disappointing. The characters also lacked a little for me, i enjoyed the story surrounding the Cordova's but Nora and Hopper really bored me. There was many times where i found the dialogue when they were questioning people to be dull and unnecessary and it really dragged out the chapters.

The ending was a pleasant surprise, it was satisfying which you dont normally get with a thriller/mystery story. It wasnt rushed and flowed really well and seems to fit in well with the rest of the story.