KJK Reads

Rating: 2 Stars Themes: Gothic, Mystery, Suspense, Horror, Supernatural  Thoughts: I struggled with this book but wanted to persevere as I had not read any books by this author (under either her own name Barbara Mertz or her pseudonyms of Barbara Michaels or Elizabeth Peters). With an impressive amount of published books I  thought I’d like to try one and when this copy was available through my local charity bookcase I thought it would be perfect to try.  However, I struggled with continuity of when the book was supposed to be written as it felt very old, turn of the century maybe but then there were references to the Beatles no longer being new music and I was left confused as to when it’s supposed to be. There was nothing I could feel wrong with the plot or story though so I may just not be a fan of the writing style or this particular story.  Favourite Quote: "It is very hard to reverse every rational conviction you have ever held, overnight."

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Regency Romance, Historical Fiction, Romance, Age Gap Thoughts: This is a cute installment into the Bridgerton series with an arguably less problematic male lead than has previously been covered. I loved that Eloise got her own story as I love her self-assured and confident character which wasn’t dampened to find a match. I also loved watching the difficult and combative twins first war and gradually warm up to Eloise and in the end completely accept her as a mother. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Psychological Thriller Thoughts: This feels like a perfect sequel, it answers all the questions we as readers may have had at the end of The Family Remains (such as what happens when they find Birdie or Michael’s  body or how would Phin react to seeing Henry again) while not leaving anything up to interpretation again.  At first I didn’t understand why we were getting chapters from Rachel as she was a different time and wasn’t in the original book but it actually helped answer some questions about when Michael's body was found and created extra suspense at points having to go back in time before we found out what Henry did next.  Favourite Quote: "You find that with children who've shared a childhood trauma: it's like a fine wire that runs between you: you can feel the tug on it from time to time."

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Psychological Fiction, LGBTQ+, Contemporary Fiction, Queer Lit, Romance Thoughts: I struggled with this story as  I found both Jake and Trick (the so-called magnificent sons) somewhat insufferable. Jake is filled with prejudices and hate and instead of figuring out who he is and what it means, he instead spent years taking it out on his baby brother and then expects everyone to just accept him and forget everything while still somewhat using those around him. Trick, on the other hand, seems to accept but dislike Jake at the beginning then spends half the book denying his brother’s identity and taking cheap shots when possible. The parents are also insufferable hypocrites who seemingly love and accept Trick for being who he is (camp and gay) but the tables turn the moment their older son comes out, as if they can only accept one gay child or they need the assurance of bloodlines continuing before the happiness of their children.   Favourite Quote: "...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Holocaust, War, Books about Books Thoughts: This book was an eye opener for me. I didn’t know anything about Block 31, nevermind the fact that a few books actually did survive in Auschwitz. Although I know this book is fiction, it is based on the experiences of the real life Dita Kraus and extra research can be seen too to make it feel realistic and emotive to us as readers.  Favourite Quote: "Throughout history, all dictators, tyrants, and oppressors, whatever their ideology—whether Aryan, African, Asian, Arab, Slav, or any other racial background; whether defenders of popular revolutions, or the privileges of the upper classes, or God’s mandate, or martial law—have had one thing in common: the vicious persecution of the written word. Books are extremely dangerous; they make people think."

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Graphic Novels, Children, 9/11, History Thoughts: This is such a sweet and important short graphic novel. It tackles the experiences of being a minority and being considered to be the spokesperson for one's community alongside the importance of community in how traumatic events are responded to.  It’s a great way to help teach inclusion and tolerance to young children. Favourite Quote: "We were all different, but we were all part of this class. When we study something big, we all have something to say, we all have something to learn."

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Psychological Thriller, Suspense Thoughts: This was a weird book for me. I really struggled to get in to it as the basic premise is a nosey downstairs neighbor inserting herself into a missing persons case convinced she knows more than anyone else because she can hear daily habits from below. It gave very stalker vibes but at the same time Suzie seemed somewhat unstable and an unreliable narrator.  It also conveyed the police as completely incompetent and useless which we not only know is often not the case, especially not in the case of missing middle class white women. The officer contantly hitting on Suzie and disregarding protocol for the woman he has only just met also rang as unrealistic to me.  The book gave us backstory from Emily’s POV as to what led her to London and in some aspects why she acts the way she does which isn't of much use to the story or solving the mystery. It then fails to use her POV to tell what actu...

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Novella, Race, British Literature, Fiction Thoughts: This is such a different book to what I have previously read. It reads like an essay in the lived experience of a Black Woman in London but the experiences are written as the woman is living them and jumping about to the relevant pieces at the time.  Favourite Quote: "Transcends race, they say of exceptional, dead black people. As if that relentless overcoming, when taken to the limit, as time stretches on to infinity, itself overcomes even limits, even infinity, even this place."

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Adult Fiction Thoughts: This was a good and often misleading mystery. I was definitely fooled into believing it was someone else who hurt Grace, and there definitely were a few possible perpetrators. The actual perpetrator being Taylor makes so much sense as its explained out with the human dynamics and developing characters showing how she could have felt the need to do it.  Favourite Quote: "I’m talking about kids, Mrs. H. Terrible, dreadful, blasted awful kids. They've all got a darkness inside them. They've all got the capacity for evil. Give them free range over a piece of territory, like that out there, and you’ve got Lord of the Flies. You cannot afford to take your eye off the ball for a second. Not for even a second..."

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Regency Romance, Historical Fiction, Romance, Friends to Lovers Thoughts: I loved this, after seeing her slow burning love over the past 3 books I was so happy to see Penelope finally get her happily ever after with Colin. Although his constant references to his feelings as they can’t be because it’s Penelope, it was sweet to see his feelings deepen and him start to understand what exactly it was he feels for her.  Favourite Quote: "She tried to remind herself that beauty was only skin deep, but that didn't offer any helpful excuses when she was berating herself for never knowing what to say to people. There was nothing more depressing than an ugly girl with no personality."

Rating:  5 Stars Themes: Classics, Young Adult, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Mystery Thoughts: Such a sweet book. It takes us on a journey of the life of a young Autistic boy and how he views life through how he investigates the death of a neighbours dog and how he handles the revelations he (often accidentally) uncovers. I think more people should read this to help better understand the thought processes of others unlike themselves and increase tolerance as, like Christopher says “this is stupid because everyone has learning difficulties”, and we all have different needs but are all still important and valuable people.  Favourite Quote: "All the other children at my school are stupid. Except I'm not meant to call them stupid, even though that is what they are. I'm meant to say that they have learning difficulties or that they have special needs. But this is stupid because everyone has learning difficulties because learning to speak French or understanding relativity is diffi...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Feminism, Sociology, Politics, Social Justice Thoughts: This book can (and should) bring out the angry Feminist in anyone. As a psychologist with sociology classes mixed in to my degree, I already had a good base understanding and did recognise quite a few of the topics mentioned. Also as a female spoonie the section on medical experiences is alongside that of my own, explaining it and also proving to me they’re still not learning.  Favourite Quote: "It's not always easy to convince someone a need exists, if they don't have that need themselves."

Rating: 2 Stars Themes: Cozy Mystery, Murder Mystery, Crime, Detective Thoughts: I was sorely disappointed with this book, I was gifted this so I had high hopes with it, moreso when I saw it’s part of a series but it didn’t live up to my expectations. The mystery element seemed to drag at some areas and felt slow. After persevering and getting to the end what had actually happened to Caroline was even more disappointing.  Favourite Quote: "They had been lucky, though, luckier than most to find and fill the years with each other. Especially growing up as young women in a time when their relationship had been frowned upon and having children together was out of the question."

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Historical Fiction, Military Fiction, War, Family, Young Adult Thoughts: This is a really saddeningly sweet story about a young boy in the trenches of the first world war. The flashbacks and out of sequence gives an unnerving feel but also somewhat puts us in the feeling of reminiscence and terror that Tommo must have been feeling.  Favourite Quote: "Tonight, I want very much to believe that there’s a heaven, that death is not a full stop, and that we will all see one another again."

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Holocaust, History, Memoir, War Thoughts: This was a really good insight into the experiences of Witold Pilecki as a resistance infiltrator into Auschwitz and also those of the political prisoners interned in the early days of the camp and its growth process.  Favourite Quote: "So long as the prisoners could believe in the greater good, they were not defeated. Witold's men perished in many terrible ways, but they did so with a dignity that Nazism failed to destroy."