savage_book_review's reviews
265 reviews

This wasn't previously on my TBR list, but the author was mentioned in connection with my work's book club and I wanted to get it off my mind. I didn't go in with high expectations as it's not usually the sort of book I'd enjoy, but I was pleasantly surprised by how easy I found this to read and the feelings it evoked.

Told from the point of view of Griet, the writing somehow flows beautifully despite her limited world view and lack of self-confidence. You are absolutely seeing the world through her eyes; the actions of certain characters and the reasons for them remain shrouded in mystery, with your only insight being Griet's thoughts about them. The undertones of jealousy on the part of Catherina and Cornelia are strong, but there's no real hard and fast reasoning for it, especial on Cornelia's part. To me, she just comes across as a bit of a sociopath!

Likewise, you experience Griet's feelings incredibly deeply, even though she cannot always clearly explain or name them, even to herself. I wouldn't say it's a comfortable read; there are so many moments within the story that have potentially dark undertones, and the various characters' treatment of Griet is questionable at best. Even throughout the development of Griet's working relationship with Vermeer, the writing gives a sense that something is just 'off' about the whole thing. It's cleverly framed around a sense of infatuation from Griet's part, but at the same time Vermeer's actions aren't painted as being 'rose-tinted' by that infatuation. Instead, there are moments that suggest something more sinister on his part, even though they could have a perfectly innocent explanation. I was expecting it to be a case of when he did something to her, rather than if. 

The story itself is quite pedestrian - there are no real sudden shocks or gripping action sequences, and yet it keeps you reading with very little effort. It also keeps you guessing throughout; there are several examples of moments where you clearly expect something to happen but the author takes the road less travelled instead. The ending is quite satisfying, but there are several threads left loose, which I would have liked more exploration of. 

While this is never going to make a list of my favourite books and I doubt I would read it again, I don't regret spending the time on it. It may not be my style, but I can appreciate that it's a very well written piece and absolutely deserving of praise.

Frances has found some semblance of peace at last. She loves her husband dearly, her sons are her pride and joy, and for the most part her worries about being denounced as a witch are over. But there's a new favourite at the Court of James I, out to claim as much power and wealth as he can by any means necessary.

Tracy Borman is a wonderful writer, and over the course of the series it does seem that her style and ease with fiction has improved greatly. The book is well paced, the story ebbs and flows well and the main characters are well established by this point, making the whole thing a very comfortable read. Seeing Frances able to be a little more herself was lovely, and the scenes with her growing family are so heartwarming, as are the moments where she's able to take the time to be with her husband. 

At the same time, there are darker scenes that contrast starkly, but are pitched very well to give the reader the sense of shock, unease or disgust, without being overpowering. A lot of these of course include the villain of the piece, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. Again, he's very well drawn; egotistical, smarmy and just generally unpleasant, and yet he reflects reality by drawing you in anyway. 

However, I'm just not sure this book was actually needed in the series. Where Frances was at the centre of the action in the first book, by this stage it's more like we're seeing the events at Court through her eyes. She's the centre of the story, but it's not actually about her. There are a few nice moments of redemption and closing the loop, but otherwise I wouldn't say there's a massive amount of action for her. In particular, the ending is more of a whimper than a bang and I was left feeling a little disappointed by it. 

Overall, while I liked the ending of the first book and the fact that it left the story open for more, I think it works better as a standalone. This concluding chapter just doesn't inspire the same feels. It's s good read, but I never found myself desperate to get back to it, or even that bothered if I got to pick it up.

First and foremost, this IS NOT a book about Anne Frank. She isn't even mentioned. Not once. This book tells the story of Gerard Kremer Sr, who was a caretaker at a building across the way from 263 Prinsengracht. Now, in and of itself, his story is another one of those fascinating tales of bravery and selflessness that deserves to be told - a normal man who takes extraordinary chances to aid the Dutch resistance and Jews in hiding during WW2. This is the only reason I haven't just given this book a 1 star rating. He, like so many others, deserves recognition and I find it incredibly sad that his own son wouldn't think to advertise the book as him standing up and proudly declaring that this is his father's story.

Yes, there is a proposal in here as to who may have been the person to betray the occupants of the Secret Annexe. But it is not central to the story by any means. The office building and Annexe are mentioned in passing a couple of times, but no-one in Kremer's story has any direct relationship or contact with Anne or the other occupants, or even truly knows they exist. The deeply cynical part of me believes that invoking Anne's name is something of a marketing ploy to sell more copies, which I find deeply annoying and disrespectful.

Unfortunately, there's not much to redeem the book either. The writing comes across like a pre-teen's creative writing assignment; while it gets the point across, the phrasing is stilted and simplistic, with lots of repetition and childish descriptions. Now, this can be forgiven if the author wrote the book in English despite the fact that it's not his first language, although of this is the case I do wonder where on earth the proof-reader and editor was on the day the manuscript was turned in. Alternatively, if what I was listening to was an English translation from a Dutch original, I'm guessing it's an almost literal translation and, again, perhaps those who worked on the book behind the scenes could have used a bit of a prod to make significant improvements. 

It almost comes across as being a book for children, but at the same time I genuinely can't tell who this book is aimed at. There are moments that seem to call for strong language where the exclamations are watered down and the flow of the text has the feel of a book you'd sit and read aloud to or with a child who's starting to learn about WW2. But then in other sections the swearing does come out and suddenly it's not a book for young children at all!

It's written in a 'fact as fiction' style - the events described are all true, but it's written in a the form of a novel. I can see why it was done in this way - it's a personal story and, while it would probably only merit a page or two in a non-fiction tome, by presenting it as a story so many more little details can be included to flesh out the people involved and give you insights into their thoughts and feelings. The writing does severely let it down, but you do get that personal touch of a son honouring his father within the pages. 

I was also not a huge fan of the narration on this. The narrator was very clear and had a good voice to listen to, but there were odd pauses throughout, it didn't sound to me like he had a good grasp on pronunciation of Dutch and German words (he could say them, but was very much an English person trying to wrap his tongue round them rather than projecting confidence like a native), and overall it just didn't work for me. 

Personally, I would retitle the book and rework the narrative to make sure that Gerard's story is the one readers are thinking about, rather than have them effectively skimming the book until they find the (non-existent) mention of Anne. 

Interesting, but very disappointing.

The last of the Never After series available on the Audible Plus catalogue until the end of this week, and it's definitely a case of saving the best until last. 

The narrators of this were spot on for the characters, and they were both engaging and easy to listen to. They suited the characters they were playing, and neither made any major changes when giving voices to other characters - it's certainly less 'acted' than the others in the series, and as a result works so much better. The male performance has also vastly increased my liking of Julian as a character - he may now be my favourite leading man of the series!

They also brought the story to life very well. I was able to more readily engage with the storyline and get more out out of it than I was from my initial read (although I admit that might be down to the fact I had read all of the books in very quick succession, whereas the audios force you to slow your pace). I am pretty confident that this audio will allow me to enjoy the physical book more the next time I pick it up, which I don't necessarily think is the case with the others in the series. 

I also like the fact that this one has the extended epilogue included - the rest don't (but fortunately I have the ebook versions of them).

Out of all four books I've listened to from the series, this is the audio I'd buy without hesitation. Definitely deserves an increased rating from the first read!

Again, please see my previous review of this book for full thoughts, but I'm currently listening to the audio versions as they're about to disappear from the Audible Plus catalogue.

Thus far, this book has had the best narrators of the series. Both voices finally match the characters perfectly, and their inflections and changes in tone to give voice to other characters are all strong enough to stand out, but not so over the top that they ruin the mood. I'd STILL like to see them voice the lines of their character in their opposing chapters; I just think it makes sense! But the performances were good enough in this one that I wasn't as bothered.

The audio does make the story feel slower in pace than the physical read, and overall it does seem like there is less action (but there is plenty of 'action' 😉) in this one, so there are moments where it is easy to zone out. But then, that's good when you're using the books to relax! And it's definitely an easy listen.

I guess I'm not as drawn to this one as the 'good boy/bad girl' dynamic isn't my favourite (I prefer the other way around). But still, the characterisation is good and I like the way it doesn't feel too stereotypical or trope-y, while still playing off of those things.

One more to go (Crossed isn't on the freebie list, sadly...)!

I reviewed this book last year, but have listened to the audiobook as it's about to drop off of the Audible Plus catalogue. My thoughts on the story haven't changed; while I don't think it's the best written of the series, overall I think Tristan and Sara are my favourite pair from the Never After world.

However, the narrators were all wrong for the characters in my opinion. The biggest issue for me is that Tristan's narrator has a voice that sounds far too old for the character! When paired with the youthful, saccharine sweet voice of Sara's narrator, this alone detracts greatly from his character. It made it really hard to imagine him as a devastatingly handsome 26 year old dark Prince and kept giving me big age gap, overbearing letch vibes. Sara's voice is probably a bit closer to my expectations, but it felt like it was missing the core of steel that the character has - she almost has the opposite problem of sounding too young. There was also a lot of gasping for breath between sentences, which got on my nerves after a while.

As a whole, it does do a good job at bringing the story to life, and in some respects I think it probably does a better job than the paperback at conveying the build up. But it does also highlight some of the flaws in the writing (I didn't realise the amount of times a character 'tsks' until I listened to this!) which you probably don't notice as prominently when reading a physical copy.

I read this series of books last year (and reviews were posted at the time), but recently found the first four were available as audiobooks as part of my Audible subscription. However, they're being removed in a couple of weeks, so I want to try and get them listened to before then! 

The audio version definitely adds a level to the story in bringing it to life, especially where you have a male narrator reading James' chapters and a female narrator reading Wendy's chapters. However, I still cannot understand why you would hire two narrators for that purpose, and then not have them speak the appropriate lines in the other person's chapter (I.e. have the male read James' speech within Wendy's chapters and vice versa). They don't do badly at putting on the opposite voices, but it just grates on my nerves!

I was less convinced by the voices/accents employed for the secondary characters - the male narrator had an especially tough job given that he's a Brit and most of the secondary characters Americans. I couldn't tell you whether the accent was right for the setting (Brit here), but it was quite harsh and didn't necessarily suit the narrators' natural tone of voice. But equally they managed to bring each character to life throughout with different voices for each and, for the most part, they didn't wander too much. 

There were a couple of places where I felt the narrators could have 'acted' a bit more to get the point across, but generally it was a very enjoyable listen.

The second Robert Hunter thriller, this book sees the star of the Robebery Homicide Division of the LAPD face crime scenes that even he has never seen the like of before. 

I read this book years ago, and it's definitely the one I remembered best of all of the Chris Carter books I have read (about half the series). The murders in this are particularly memorable in their gruesomeness, and definitely set the tone for the series more than 'The Crucifix Killer' in my opinion. It's certainly not for the squeamish, but where you're looking through the eyes of the detective, the descriptions are objective enough for you to see past the gore to the evidentiary value of the bodies, while simultaneously being subjective enough to evoke an emotional reaction from the reader. It's a very well trodden line.

The plot is clearly well thought out and meticulously paced, taking you through the twists and turns of the investigation and keeping the reader engaged throughout. The eventual reveal of the killer and their motives made sense and it was all to easy to understand, and perhaps even sympathise a little. 

I did find the chapters to be a little too short in this one though; for the most part, it still flows well, but on the occasions where you shift from Robert's POV to that of the killer or another character, it's a bit jolting and you don't get a chance to get into their mindset before it's shifted back again. Similarly, a lot of the chapters end with an exclamation from one of the characters at something they've just seen, or another sort of mini-cliffhanger. It's fine at first, but it does get a little repetitive. And when the cliffhanger is resolved on the very next page, it felt a little pointless after the first couple of times.

I also didn't get as much depth from this one. It sticks pretty closely to investigating the case rather than exploring Robert and Garcia's characters in greater detail, which I feel is still necessary at this early point in the series. There are moments where you get more, but not enough. The last scene is a case in point - it felt like a great opportunity to see a little more of the 'real' Robert, but there just wasn't really anything to it and it left me a bit underwhelmed.

There are trigger warnings a-plenty in here; definitely one to read with the lights on!

A succinct insight into the life of Henry VIII's second Queen. Not much more to it than that really! At only 191 pages, this book guides you through the major events of Anne's life with very few frills, but with enough detail to allow the reader to immerse themselves in her world without becoming overwhelmed.

There is plenty of primary source material quoted within, which does add some sense of grounding in reality to this well known story. However, I was a little confused by the choice to present some of the quotes as they appear in the original sources, completed with barely-legible sixteenth century spelling, and yet others appear to have had their spelling modernised. There doesn't appear to have been any particular logic to which items were updated, and so I found it quite difficult to keep having to adjust my expectations. In particular, where the quotes form part of the narrative (as opposed to being set out as a proper extract), it's very jarring to go from modern English to Tudor English and back again in the space of a few words. Where this book feels like it should be an 'introduction' to the topic, in my opinion all of the sources should have been modernised for ease of understanding. 

I also found the writing to be quite dry. Given that Anne Boleyn is one of my favourite people to read about, and the fact this book is so short, I found it incredibly difficult to get through more than 40 pages at a time without feeling like I was about to fall asleep. Yes, Anne is the subject of innumerable books and her story has been told countless times, but in most cases the authors still manage to find a way to bring her to life in their pages, or find some angle of exploration that brings a new sense of her to the reader. In this case though, it felt like more of a straight regurgitation of facts and I felt so far removed from the 'character' at the centre of it all that there was just nothing to cling onto.

Coupled with that was the increasing frustration I felt at the continual repetition. There are many cases throughout the book where the author will set out a point or a turn of phrase, and then within a few sentences will repeat the same sentiment almost verbatim. For example, on page 141 she states "... she cannot have foreseen the rapidity of her fall...". Then, on page 143, only a couple of paragraphs later you find the phrase "... she can never have imagined the speed with which she would fall." I'm not sure whether it's a case of the author trying to hit a word count by padding out the writing, or if it just needs a really thorough edit. 

Strangely, I also found the layout of this book off-putting. Although it was published in 2009, the font and general format of the text feels incredibly old fashioned. The text size is very small, which made it harder to concentrate on, the top and bottom margins are very tight to the page, and the line spacing is also very tight, so at a glance you are presented with quite the wall of text on each page. It's not something that normally bothers me, but in this case it compounded the other issues I was having. 

There is nothing wrong with the information contained in here, but there are many, many better alternative reads to obtain it. One for the book swap pile, I'm afraid.

Ariel is now Queen of the Seas but remains voiceless, Ursula having won the day, killed Triton and married Prince Eric herself. But when a little bird tells her that her father might still be alive and in Ursula's clutches, Ariel must brave heading back into the Dry World to free him. Her wuest quickly becomes about more than saving one merman though, when she sees just what's happened to Eric and his kingdom at Ursula's tentacles...

I will admit, I think I've only seen the Little Mermaid once, and it was a very, very long time ago. It's not a Disney story that ever really inspired me (despite its links to Greek myth!), and Ariel just doesn't rank highly as a Disney Princess IMO. As a result, I appreciate that I don't have the best grasp of the story to understand what has been twisted, or the draw to the characters that would make this a must-read. So I can only really judge the book on its own merits.

I'm just not sure that any element of this story really hit the nail on the head. None of the characters felt like they related in any way to their screen counterparts; they've only aged five years (the blink of a eye in a mer lifespan), but Ariel doesn't have any real drive, Flounder and Sebastian aren't the light relief and Ursula is more of a bored and spiteful princess than the evil sea witch we know. I'd argue that the secondary human characters were the best drawn, but even then you aren't given a whole lot to play with. As a result, I didn't really care about their roles within the story or the jeopardy they faced.

The storyline itself was also pretty weak. Given the length of the book, I was expecting far more than a glorified treasure hunt. There is a severe lack of gripping moments, whether action, romance, darkness or otherwise. The story just plods along, not really doing very much to keep the reader's engagement, and at various points there were sudden shifts that seemed to come from no-where - I'm thinking Eric and Ursula's private dinner scene for one. These could have been far more integral to the story, and far more colourful to give the narrative tempo. The conclusion is lukewarm at best, with Ursula's comeuppance being quite pedestrian and the 'reveal' being fairly predictable. 

I'm also not entirely sure how this qualifies as a 'twisted' tale. Yes, it's taken away the happily ever after from the film and it's not a happy story, but I was expecting something much darker. I appreciate it was never going to be one of Emily McIntire's Never After stories (the reveal of book 6's title and inspiration yesterday is what had me reaching for this book from my TBR pile), but even so it could have gotten away with more. This illustrates another issue; I could not tell you what age group this book is pitched at. It's clearly not meant for the same age group as the film, but equally there's nothing in here that really makes a grab for those who remember Disney fondly from their childhood, however long ago that might be. It feels like the brief might have been lost along the way with this one. 

Another one for the book swap shelf at work, I think.