Lotte's Shelves

KAREN M. MCMANUS COLLECTION 29/12/22 Over the last month I read 5 books by Karen M McManus (including the sequel to a book I read in 2021) so I thought I would just do one big review. It may go without saying here, but I think I may have a new favourite author! I read "One Of Us Is Next", "Two Can Keep A Secret", "The Cousins", "You'll Be The Death Of Me" and "Nothing More To Tell". They were all very different but Karen's vivid story telling is consistent throughout. I loved "One Of Us Is Next" as it brought back characters from the first book and introduced new ones; I liked the familiarity. "Two Can Keep A Secret" may have been my favourite of the 5 I read. It was kind of 2 mysteries in one and with old secrets cropping up occasionally, it really kept me on my toes. "The Cousins" was very good, one thing I love about Karen's books is the chapters are separated by which character we're fol...

  TOMORROW WILL BE A GOOD DAY BY CAPTAIN TOM MOORE 9/12/22 I don't know how else to describe this book other than "heartwarming". What an amazing man Captain Tom was. His story from early childhood to his 100th birthday was gripping honestly, with his war days being a centre part. I don't want to give too much away of course but I especially loved him talking about his passion for motorcycles, either riding them or fixing them. I also liked some of the more raw moments when he talks about deaths of loved ones and his marriages. He talks in such a positive way, about how things happen for a reason and whatnot. Captain Tom looked onto life is such a wise way it seems and to think about how much changed in his lifetime too, good and bad, it's a really inspiring read. Overall I just want to urge you to read this story.  Thank you and God bless Captain Tom Moore Happy reading! Lotte :) xxx

NEEDFUL THINGS BY STEPHEN KING 20/06/21 I don’t quite know how to begin my review for this book. What I will say to start with, is you’re almost halfway through the book and you realised all that’s happened is a set up of all the characters in the town of Castle Rock, as there’s so many characters with so many stories but it didn’t feel like a slow start at all. Over the course of the story, things do get pieces together one by one. I love the character of Leland Gaunt as he slowly creates more and more carnage, without any of the characters realising until the very end what is going on. It’s hard to talk about this book without giving it away so I just highly recommend you reading it, I don’t think anyone will not like this book (unless you don’t like gruesome content and then maybe you won’t like it, but I still suggest giving it a go anyway!) Happy reading! Lotte :) xxx

LEAP OF FAITH- DANIELLE STEEL 15/03/21 This story was very fast paced which I guess I should have expected since the book is only 256 pages long. The kids in it grow up very fast and even as adults, a lot happens in just one chapter. It’s kind of realistic to real life as life often is fast paced (although 2020 was definitely a slow year for most people). Because it’s so short and so much happens very quickly, it’s a pretty gripping read and I flew through the majority of it in one sitting. The only thing I would at isn’t good about the pace, is that you don’t really have enough time to connect with the characters and then it’s all over. But if you have read or will read this book, you’ll know that the story doesn’t truly start until the end. Happy reading! Lotte :) xxx

HERE COMES 2021! 01/01/21 Hello lovely people! Wow it’s been one heck of a year, hasn’t it? But I feel like it’s been a successful year in terms of reading. I only re-read one book that I’d read before. Other than that, all new books for me! I’d have to say my favourite book of the year was “A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder” by Holly Jackson, closely followed by the sequel “Good Girl, Bad Blood”. I thought I’d make a post to say that I will be continuing the read new books in 2021, however right now, I’m re-reading Harry Potter because I miss it okay? It’s been a few years since I last read it. So I hope you all have a wonderful new year, and I shall see you when I’ve finished Potter. Lots of love, Lotte :) xxx

 A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER - HOLLY JACKSON 13/06/20 Innocent until proven guilty? I really enjoy mystery books like this because it makes you price up the clues and come.up with your own theories as to who did it, as well as following the ones that the characters come up with. And I love when things are suddenly thrown at you, that make your theories impossible. That being said, I've never read a book quite like this one where it's trying to prove innocent the murderer who the police believe was guilty. It's a very interesting concept for a book. I like the way that the pages are set up, some text conversations, some emails, some reports from.the investigation and then sort of "main story" pages where it's more of a narration of the character rather than in first person. It keeps the story very fresh and makes it easier to read. I could not put this book down, if I hadn't had any plans for the day, I definitely would have read this in one sitting! ...

 THE SHOCK OF THE FALL - NATHAN FILER 23/04/20 The writing style of this book is very juvenile, but not in a bad way; it really helps tell the story. I thought at first it was because he was very young, but I think it's mainly something else, which you kind of learn more about as the book goes on, and then fully understand by the end. The story is very intriguing from the get go, you definitely want to read on and learn what happened. What's also quite intriguing is how you have to sort of figure out what's going on through the chapters, and you're not 100% sure what he's talking about, but by the end of the chapter, things get explained or there's a brief statement that makes everything suddenly click into place. This book definitely shows you some truths about mental illness and also dealing with grief, without fully coming out and saying it. It's quite subtle and things happen or something will be said and it'll make you think (especially if there...

 THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY- RACHEL JOYCE 21/03/20 The first thing I want to say about this book, before you even start reading, just look at the font. It's a very satisfying don't to look at. I don't know if anyone finds that interesting but I love it. One of the best things about this story is that it gets started straight away and then you slowly learn more about each character as the story goes on. I think it's a really interesting approach to storytelling. It's the kind of story that makes you feel very sentimental and like you need to go and tell all your loved ones how much you love them. It's a mixed blessing learning things about Harold's past, some are happy but some are really sad. It's confusing because you don't know whether to sympathise with him or not. Something that makes me really sad is about halfway through when he starts getting a lot of publicity for his walk. It takes away the original message if his walk, he's n...

 THE SHINING- STEPHEN KING 05/03/20 Just a disclaimer: On the day of posting this, I have not seen the movie of "The Shining", I knew limited information about it so I have nothing to really compare it to, unlike a lot of books I have previously read where I've seen the films first. That being said, I was slightly disappointed, only because the only thing I knew about it, was that there are twins in a hallway at a hotel and it's really creepy in the film, or something of that extent. But in the book the only mention of the twins is that  used to live there and they got killed. Maybe in the film this is where the creepy bit is? Not sure but anyway, I thought the scary parts were going to involve the girls. I had a surprise with that though. The scary parts were truly terrifying and I can only imagine what they'd be like on a screen. The book has quite a slow start but it's good because it gives you a really insight to the characters (past and present) and a goo...

 ME- ELTON JOHN 03/02/20 I've never really been a fan of Elton John. That's not to say I don't like him; there's a couple of his songs I love, I've always found his dress sense very eccentric and I knew he was an advocate for the LGBT and for AIDS. But I didn't know quite the extent of his charity work or how his life began as a session musician and all of that. I have seen "Rocketman" but there's nothing quite like reading it straight from the person telling the story. If you enjoyed that film, you definitely have to read this autobiography. When he was Reg Dwight, he would collect records but he also would write out charts of the current singles that were out and put them in order and stuff and that sounds like something I would do if I am obsessed with something. So it's a comforting feeling to know that you can have obsessions with things and it's totally normal. That being said, don't get obsessed with drugs kids, that doesn't ...

 CARRIE - STEPHEN KING 21/01/20 I like that the book is based round an event that happens at the prom, but you don't know what happens until the very end, however over time you get more and more details added for you to kind of piece together the story for yourself. So it makes you want to continue reading to find out what happens. The way the book is set out is like a series of police reports and interviews and people telling different stories that all build up to the prom night. And it has an ending that definitely will make you think... It's a very cleverly written book, but do we expect anything less from Stephen King? I found it a fairly easy read. I would pick it up and in half an hour I will have read 30 odd pages. But it was a fun read to. The way King sets a scene will always fascinate me, you always feel like you're actually there in the heat of the action. Carrie is such an iconic story too, so I'm very glad I've read it this early on in the year. It'...

 IN THE TIME WE LOST - CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER 14/01/20 Time lost reading, is time well spent... First book review of the year, I've got to make this good, otherwise you won't continue reading for the rest of the year... Carrie's books are interesting. Even if the subject matter isn't specifically about magic, she always incorporates it in there somehow. Sometimes just the way she describes a scene is magical.  It's very funny how the main character Luna is like the author in so many ways, yet so different at the same time. For example, Carrie would never talk about musicals in such a way as: "People randomly burst into song and dance! Isn't that a tad...unrealistic?" As a big fan of Carrie's, it's interesting to see the little similarities and "Easter eggs" that she puts in there. Without giving much of a spoiler, this book is kind of "Groundhog Day" themed. But it's written in such a clever way, that you don't realise...

RESTARTING THE BLOG 15/03/21   Hello everyone, I hope 2021 is treating you all well, we had a bit of a rough year last year didn't we? And unfortunately it's not all over yet but there is now a small light at the end of this very long tunnel. Fingers crossed for the 21st June hey? I am restarting this blog which was originally named "Fully Booked". Google was being weird with the ads and stuff and wasn't letting me connect to adsense and I didn't know what to do so I'm starting afresh. Of course I’m not doing this for the money, more of a tracking of the books I’ve read but it was frustrating that Adsense wouldn’t work on the old one.  But I shall be reposting all of my book reviews from last year onto this blog as I have now deleted the old one. Happy reading! Lotte :) xxx