allmyprettybooks-new

A brief synopsis from the publisher: The Labyrinth of the Spirits is an electrifying tale of passion, intrigue and adventure. Within its haunting pages Carlos Ruiz Zafón masterfully weaves together plots and subplots in an intricate and intensely imagined homage to books, the art of storytelling and that magical bridge between literature and our lives. I took a long time to read and properly engage with this book. Perhaps because I knew it would be the last in a long and beautiful series, but also because I felt the timing was wrong the first time around. This long and enchanting novel weaves together the threads from all the previous in the quadrilogy (which began of course, with Shadow of the Wind). It does so beautifully, and in a hugely satisfying manner. Carlos Ruiz Zafon remains (and likely, always will be) one of my favourite authors and a master story-teller. Reviewed by Amanda Kennedy on 31/08/2020. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is

'Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices... Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?' The Midnight Library is the life-affirming, feel-good book you didn't know you needed! Usually books of this type are not on my reading list, but the title, fantastic premise and beautiful cover were enough to persuade me to give this book a chance. Pleasantly surprised I was indeed to realise that I rather enjoyed it, being the type of story with simple yet reassuring prose which feels like a warm hug. It became a treat to read over a few evenings with a warm drink before bed, leaning in to the exploits of protagonist Nora while making mental parallels if her life-choice regrets with my own. If Matt Haig had hoped to help readers feel that "yes, life's actua

Having just finished reading The Betrayals, I feel as though in a daze. It was such a wonderful, well-crafted and brilliant tale of "alternate" historical fiction which I couldn't put down.  The setting is that of a boarding school, presumably in an alternate reality of 1930's England, where for the first time a female has been appointed Magister Ludi where previously only men have been allowed to study the Grand Jeu - a spiritual game combining philosophy, mathematics, music and literature. There are flashbacks to a decade previous, where the schools' two brightest students, initially rivals, slowly begin to form an allegiance. Yet there is tragedy, in more forms than one, which change the course of their lives forever, and the ghostly voice of a little girl who haunts the halls.  There's so much to enjoy in this finely-tuned novel: politics, religious persecution, the role of women in society, the meaning of friendship and love, and above all, betrayals. I

A brief synopsis from the Goodreads page: Fourteen years ago, the police caged a notorious serial killer who abducted and butchered two victims every February. He was safe behind bars. Wasn't he? But then another body is discovered, and soon enough, the race is on to catch the real killer. Neuropsychologist Kyra Sullivan fights to use a new technology that accesses the minds of the witnesses, working with the police to uncover the truth. Will Kyra discover the person behind the murders, and if so, at what cost? And how far will she go to ensure justice is served? Much of the marketing describes Witness X as “Silence of the Lambs meets Blade Runner”, and while I agree should this excellent novel be translated to film, that is indeed how I would expect it to present. However, in it’s written form, I found that description rather misleading. Perhaps that is because this literary style is unlike anything else I’ve previously read..? The setting is in the near future, where the brilli