Kiki’s Epeolatry

  Two people have a meet cute in an elevator. One a romance novelist who is struggling to write her next book and the other a hopeless-romantic actor.  Unromance follows the story of two people making a pact, trying out love tropes in the hopes of helping with writers block and to help destroy the idea of what romance is. But as you can imagine had dire consequences for both parties. When first ordering this book I was taken mostly by the cover. It is reminiscent of the days of the 2000s romcoms such as How to Lose a Guy in 10 days. And this somewhat comes up in conversation during the book itself. I just wish I cared for the writing more.  I think this is the problem with contemporary romance books these days, it is more about what has been than what is fresh and different. The idea behind the book as well as the book cover itself felt like a marketing ploy which sadly I did fall for. The chemistry of both characters feel very flat and I didn’t particularly like the endi...

  I’ve been following Ashley Poston’s work for a while. At first it was the comic con series back in 2020 when she first became known to me during COVID. After I read the series I forgot about her for a while. It was only when I went into my local Waterstones to pick up The Dead Romantics she came back under my radar. She is now one of my must buys if a new book comes out. Her take of the romantic genre has always been fresh and interesting with some form of magical realism. A Novel Love Story follows our heroine Elsy, otherwise referred to as Eileen. Unlucky in love she struggles to try new things. Instead, she is comforted by her favourite book series by her favourite author, Rachel Flowers. On her way to a cabin retreat by herself, she finds her car broken down in a town that is somewhat familiar to her favourite book series. I’m not going to lie, compared to Poston’s earlier novels this book took some time for me to get into. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve had to...

  Booktok. One of the most exciting community spaces for a reader in the past five years. A place where there is a big online community giving insight into old and new releases. Reviewers who are receptive to their audience and you don't have to be 'somebody'. This is no branded bookclub. It is a place for all people with different tastes come together to share what they truly love. Books. I have to be honest, I have also been a fly on the wall. Using their recommendations many a time for myself or as research to help someone else in their favourite genre. It can be a great tool. But there are times where I have thought that I was giving into the book version of 'fast fashion'. But what do I mean by 'fast fashion' exactly? Well, have you been watching recently? Especially in the romantasy space where plots have been subverted to a simple trope. One huge example that I tend to see is 'how much spice is there?' I get it. You want certain things to make...

  REVIEW So we are back in the world of the Beast Hunters for a sophomore instalment where we see Ara, Khendric and Topper back on another adventure. But this time with a difference. Instead of the world building from the previous book, we get to delve into a mystery with darkness starting to make pace in the background. We meet new characters, some good and some not so much. Not only do we have the overarching themes of beasts but also political intrigue and secretive plots. It is far more intricate than the previous instalment where the characters are making decisive and confident choices. Especially for our fave apprentice, Ara. If you want to get away from the current world affairs, this book will serve as an escape from reality.  What these last two books do remind me of however, is a tv show. Why I say this is because it felt kind of episodic but they both have reinvented themselves with different themes. I found this to be quite good actually. This is because it feels l...

 Hello! So, I know that it has been some time since I was last writing to you all. But I saw an email the other day and it really got me that I couldn’t not share my thoughts on it.  As we all know it’s that time of year again. The fairy lights are beginning to twinkle, the days and nights are getting darker and colder and we are all starting to look ahead to the next year. But what comes before next year? Well, the Goodreads Book Choice Awards of course. One of the biggest events in a bookworm’s calendar. But personally, I think the whole thing is an insult to the whole book community. Obviously, when I was younger I didn’t think any different to most bookworms. However, I have come to realise that it isn’t necessarily what is the best book of the year but rather a popularity contest. More so now than ever with the insurgence of ‘BookTok’. Honestly, I don’t think we will ever get a book worthy of the title ever again. It has become a pure vanity project. Take me back to the T...

I genuinely cannot remember the last time I picked up a book. It has been an overwhelmingly difficult time. But Forgive or Forget is the antidote I needed. It is quick-paced, thought-provoking and thrilling at the same time. And to top it off, it’s less than 300 pages. We follow the main character Alice, as the story weaves from the past to the present. Her motives and why she did the things she had done.  I must admit I wasn’t too sure of Alice at the beginning. Where we first see her and how she had to reintegrate into society. But the more the story progressed, I felt like I understood her and was cheerleading as a reader.  Friends, when you get the end of this book it feels like a whirlwind. The best kind. It was probably one of the best endings ever.  Everything about this book is unforced and flows so easily. I’m so glad that I have had the privledge to read and review this book. Thank you to LiterallyPR. I started this book as a non-believer, now I’m a convert. Rat...

SYNOPSIS Ben hears noises in his basement and witnesses weird goings-on in his local park. His eight-year-old daughter Imogen starts receiving messages from someone claiming to be her missing mother. And then there is Mr Jones —the man who haunts the imaginations of the children at Imogen’s school. But they are just stories, surely? Ben soon develops a creeping suspicion that someone is out to kidnap his daughter. Are his fears real or a result of his own stress-induced paranoia? REVIEW One of the main ideas that I have taken away from this book is how mind-bending and dark it is. It keeps you guessing until the very end. It keeps you up at night thinking about who the culprit must be, just like the main character, Ben. It questions your own sanity and how certain questions keep popping up in your head, such as who is Mr Jones? why is he doing these things? how can he be stopped? It is a never-ending cycle of trying to figure out what is going on the more that you progress into the boo...

  REVIEW Set in the height of wartime Emma is a qualified nurse who has moved to Singapore with her husband, Ernest and chronicles her life as she enters into a period of unease throughout the world. I have read a few books by Blackthorn, most as you probably would be able to see from this blog, but Emma’s Tapestry is wholly different from what I have read before. I enjoyed it immensely from the historical aspects of the world war to the Spanish Influenza. If you are a history buff maybe you should pick up this book and have a try. You might be pleasantly surprised of the effort of detail. One thing I did like about this tale is Emma herself. She has faced so much with a awful husband and her family background which wouldn’t have been welcoming of the time  , you can’t help but to admire her tenacity. What I love is the links of culture to the story itself, there are many things that I have learnt from this book. It is a history lesson of the things that we must remember and h...