Review: The Hating Game

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this in one sitting and loved it! This was a perfect romantic comedy and I enjoyed every second of it.

This book follows two Executive Assistants, Lucy and Josh. After a company merger, their bosses became Co-CEOs and from the start, Lucy and Josh have a hatred and rivalry for each other. Of course, as these stories go, the hatred has a chance to blossom into something completely opposite.

This book made me laugh out loud at times and also tear up at times. I couldn't get enough of these characters and the story. I do think that anyone who enjoys romance would love this book.

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Review: Three Dark Crowns

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great start to a series!
I really enjoyed this one. I read some reviews of people that seemed to find the first half half of this book lacking in plot and boring. I really did feel the opposite.
What I will say about this book is that is mostly character driven. Also, since this is the first in a series (I'm not sure how many books there will be), there was a great deal of world building as well as character introductions. There really isn't a whole lot of action until the last 50 pages or so.

This book follows three sisters (three POVs) who are triplets Each was born to be queen and each was born with one of three magical abilities. Katherine was born a poisoner able to ingest and create poisons. Arsinoe was born a naturalist which gives the ability to control anything living in nature. Mirabella is an elemental which means she can control the 4 elements. When these three sisters turn 16, they engage in a battle to the death for the sole right to the crown.

I really enjoyed getting to know these three girls. I grew to care about them and love them as characters. In addition to these three, there are also some great side characters which I really enjoyed. Based on the way this first book ended, I think the second book will be more action packed.

This was a great book overall which I could not put down. I fully enjoyed it and highly recommend it for fantasy lovers.

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Review: The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a very weird book and parts of it were quite chilling.

This book is about a young woman named Eleanor who is invited to stay at a large mansion called Hill House by a Dr. Montague. The doctor is a professor who is writing a book about the supernatural. The house itself is described in detail with Gothic architecture and has a reputation for being haunted. There is a backstory of tragedies that are associated with the house. The other invited guests include Theodora who is more of free spirit, Luke who is to inherit the house, and Mrs. Dudley who is the housekeeper/cook. As the days progress, many strange things start happening in the house including noises and writings on the wall. Eleanor also feels a strange connection to the house.

All we have in this book is Eleanor's point of view and there are questions as to her reliability. We are forced to view reality from her eyes and there are clues that it may be quite skewed. As for Shirley Jackson's writing, there are many beautiful passages with very detailed descriptions that allow you to see what is being described. However, there was also repetition of certain phrases that threw me off at times. I found it a little jarring.

This is not your classic horror story. There are no manifestations of ghosts or vampires or the like. This is more about the house itself and the house becomes a character in its own right. This book is more of a suspenseful mystery. What I found lacking were explanations and I found it hard to connect to the main character. A lot is left open to interpretation. However, there were times that I found myself completely creeped out with the hairs standing up on the back of my arm. This is definitely a good read for October.

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Review: Nevernight

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow! This book was amazing and very dark.
I do want to start by giving a warning. Nevernight is very dark and very graphic. It has extremely mature content and I wouldn't recommend this for young readers.
Having said that, I absolutely loved this book. Nevernight follows Mia who wants to be an assassin and avenge the wrongs done to her family. There is a school that caters to creating assassins but it very secret and a person wishing to go to this school must pass several tests including murder.
In her quest to find this school, Mia teams up with another possible candidate named Tric who has his own reasons for wanting to become an assassin.
Like I said before, this book is dark and thus has dark humor. It also switches between the present and the past where you get to see the events that led Mia to the person she is today. When Mia gets to the school, she is one of 26 candidates, all of which are already murderers including herself. She must outsmart at least 22 of the others in order to secure her spot as an assassin at the end.
Nevernight was dark and thrilling and full of intrigue and mystery. I cannot wait to see if there is a sequel as there is still much to be explored in this world.

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The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great start to a series! I decided to pick this up for the October season and it did live up to its creepy synopsis. This follow a dream demon that has the power to make a person live in a perpetual nightmare. In some cases, the dreams might not even be horrific but you lose all reality and live only in your dreams. This volume took a lot of twists and turns with some really creepy scenes. I did enjoy this and it definitely suits the Halloween vibe.

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Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dark Matter was an amazing science fiction and the first book I read by this author. It kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

This book follows Jason Dessen, a middle aged, happily married father who teaches physics at a local university. While walking through his home town, Jason is attacked and wakes up to a different world that the one in which he built his life. In this world, Jason is an acclaimed scientist and is unmarried with no children. So the book follows Jason as he experiences what life might have been if he had taken a different road and made different choices. Despite this, the book follows Jason's desperate attempts to find out what is going on and whether he can make it back to the family he loves so much.

Dark Matter was an amazing sci-fi thriller with so many twists and turns. This book explores so many different themes and really explores the thoughts around string theory. I loved every minute of this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves science fiction.

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