amyleighreads

The Project Review

July 26, 2021July 25, 2021by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

*SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS*

Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died in a tragic car accident, her sister Bea joined the elusive community called The Unity Project, leaving Lo to fend for herself. Desperate not to lose the only family she has left, Lo has spent the last six years trying to reconnect with Bea, only to be met with radio silence.

I loved the format of the book, the time jumps from the past to the present. It really established depth to the story and enabled me to form a connection to both sisters. The pace was pretty consistent and there were definitely some well places twists and turns throughout to keep me engaged and wanting to read more.

I honestly wouldn’t say that either sister is particularly likeable. Since we get more from Lo’s perspective I definitely formed more of a connection to her but I can sympathise with what Bea had to go through. Both girls fall under the spell of Lev and end up both forming a relationship with him. Bea’s I can understand more because she was in a very vulnerable state when he seen her and then thinking he saved her sister from death I can see how she would be more susceptible to him. But Lo and the way she enters the Unity Project was just strange. She has spent the last 6 years campaigning against these people and trying to find her sister and then forgets all of that and sleeps with Lev? Sure when she finds out about her niece and the fact that Bea left without her would be a reason to be angry with her sister but does she forget she’s only hearing from one side and it’s the alleged cult.

Lo really goes through a journey of self discovery and realisation throughout the course of the plot but there are just so many decisions she makes that are questionable to me. And for that reason it brought me out the story a lot and made me think why… I guess it really just reinforces how influential Lev was and how all these people are tortured and emotionally manipulated by him for all these years yet still love and revere him.

This was a rollercoaster ride for sure. I had no idea how the story was going to play out but went in a very different direction than what I was predicting in my mind. So I was constantly shocked and surprised and on the edge of my seat throughout the read. The ending was a little rushed in my opinion and I felt like this final scene at the river was being built up and then is just skipped right over and we are told what is happened instead of shown. I would of liked to know for sure how Lo survived and what happened in the water but I guess it’s just not to be.

⭐️3/5 stars A fascinating read, I was just expecting something more…

Reviews

Survive the Night Review

July 23, 2021July 23, 2021by amyleighreads2 Comments

*SPOILERS BELOW*

Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons for wanting to get away. For Charlie, it’s guilt and grief over the murder of her best friend, who became the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer. For Josh, it’s to help care for his sick father. Or so he says. Like the Hitchcock heroine she’s named after, Charlie has her doubts. There’s something suspicious about Josh, from the holes in his story about his father to how he doesn’t seem to want Charlie to see inside the car’s trunk.

I sympathised with Charlie throughout the course of the book. I honestly can’t imagine what she has gone through, losing her parents and then having your best friend murdered. It is just so tragic and I can see why she would choose to flee and want to go back home to recuperate, especially after we find out she tried to kill herself. She just makes a few choices in this book that just didn’t sit right with me, and I get that she couldn’t really trust her own mind but there were I feel various times when she was with Josh that she could of escaped before her epiphany in the diner.

Of course we are immediately told to be untrusting of Josh and I for sure thought he was the killer. He really played on Charlie’s fragile state of mind in the car and really did a good job convincing her and the reader that he was the one who did it. The flashback as well I feel really reinforced the idea in my mind that he was the Campus Killer.

I know that grief takes many forms but I think that its quite despicable that Maddy’s family would blame Charlie and abuse her on the phone the way they did. Obviously given the twist where we find out who’s behind the whole hostage situation that Maddy’s family isn’t capable of making sound decisions. It was definitely surprising when we find out that Marge is in on the whole thing but then once she tells Charlie who she is I was more disgusted that she would stoop to that level. The fact that she would maim and torture a twenty year old girl in order to force her to conjure an image in her mind really displays just how far some people are willing to go to find the truth, especially when they have nothing left to lose.

The format of the book with the time being displayed as almost a countdown was a great way to keep me invested and eager to read on. There are several twists in the story that I didn’t see coming at all and happened at just the right intervals of the plot to keep the pace consistently fast. This was entertaining, gripping and had me on the edge of my seat throughout!

⭐️4/5 stars Riley Sager has done it again for me!

Bookshelf Book Tag

July 22, 2021July 22, 2021by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

I’ve seen this tag floating around the blogosphere and had to give it a go!

I have three bookshelves!

Between 280-290 books

Right now it’s in complete chaos!

The oldest book that I’ve personally owned is probably my paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

The newest book on my shelves would be Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss

The shortest book is probably Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Fantasy for sure!!!

I’ve posted pics of my shelves before but I haven’t done an in depth tour of my collection

I got the 18th book on shelves which is Starsight by Brandon Sanderson the second book in the Skyward series. This was a great continuation to this series. Brandon Sanderson really took the foundations that he laid down in Skyward and continued to build depth and layers to the story that is just so entertaining and enthralling to read!

No I don’t like decorations on my shelves I like to let the books speak for themselves!

Reviews

The Maidens Review

July 21, 2021July 21, 2021by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek Tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens.

I felt sorry for Mariana for the majority of this book. When we learn about her life and how much death there has been in her family and how she has overcome it all only to be thrown into the midst of these tragic events would trigger anyone. I love how mostly calm and collected she is, instead of reacting she will stop and think about why she is feeling this way and what the other person has said to elicit these feeling, which as a therapist made sense. But then she sort of devolves throughout the course of the book and leans into her anger and is more prone to outbursts, like when she punched Edward in the face.

We are led to believe right from the start that Edward was the killer so naturally I didn’t believe it. I was thinking it was more along the lines of Fred being the killer simply because the way he was introduced was so random and then he was just always around. Sure he was interested in the murders and was attracted to Mariana but the whole prediction thing was a little strange. Then Morris seemed like the next likely out of the male characters to potentially be the killer, but then again it just seemed too obvious so I really had no idea.

I can definitely say I was surprised that Zoe would be able to pull it off. But then there were signs all throughout the book when Zoe would talk about Sebastien and I found it odd how almost accusatory she would speak to Mariana about it, especially when she would throw his death in her face and wish he was here instead of her. I remember thinking how weird for a niece to speak about her uncle who isn’t even her blood. I also found the fact that Zoe would just use Mariana’s first name and wouldn’t call her Aunt or Aunty, even though Mariana would call her niece often. I honestly didn’t even think they were related for the first half of the book, I just thought she was a random girl they adopted.

I liked how Alex Michaelides called back to his previous book and integrated those characters into this book. It honestly made me want to reread The Silent Patient and connect the dots once again. I liked this book, it was intriguing, mysterious and I loved the college setting. I was constantly on edge and surprised at every turn.

⭐️4/5 stars This was unpredictable, weird and pretty fast paced!

Top Ten Tuesdays

Books I read in One Sitting

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021by amyleighreads17 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is books I read in one sitting. Since I’m a pretty quick reader its quite easy for me to finish a book in one sitting, especially if its under 300 pages, so for today these were the first 10 books that came to mind when I went back through my recent reads.

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo