Only Ever Yours - Louise O'Neill

I rated this book 6/10

frieda and isabel have been best friends their whole lives.

Now, aged sixteen and in their final year at the School, they expect to be selected as companions - wives to wealthy and powerful men. The alternative - life as a concubine - is too horrible to contemplate.

But as the intensity of the final year takes hold, the pressure to remain perfect becomes almost unbearable. isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty - her only asset - in peril.

A re-worked YA Handmaid's Tale.

Surprisingly relevant. The comparisons that I could make between O'Neill's creation and our own world are shockingly close.

'Only Ever Yours' turns a magnifying glass onto a world in which celebrity magazines draw rings around a woman who has a touch of cellulite. It satirises the waxing regimes, the plastic surgery, hair dye, laser treatments, weight loss pills, marriage traditions, fashion trends and reality shows that women find themselves sucked into. It turns a mirror on a world in which women are constantly asked "So when are you having children?" as soon as they reach their twenties.

The book also touches briefly on the idea that young men are not supposed to discuss emotions, thoughts or feelings with other people.

Dramatic, bleak and quick to read - "Only Ever Yours" is YA dystopia; a re-worked 'Handmaid's Tale' that throws up feminist issues with no holds barred.

Available at Waterstones.com

Tampa - Alissa Nutting

I rated this book 8/10
First published September 2013

Celeste Price is an eighth-grade English teacher in suburban Tampa. She is attractive. She drives a red Corvette. Her husband, Ford, is rich, square-jawed and devoted to her. But Celeste has a secret. She has a singular sexual obsession - fourteen-year-old boys. It is a craving she pursues with sociopathic meticulousness and forethought.

Within weeks of her first term at a new school, Celeste has lured the charmingly modest Jack Patrick into her web - car rides after dark, rendezvous at Jack's house while his single father works the late shift, and body-slamming encounters in Celeste's empty classroom between periods. It is bliss.

With crackling, stampeding, rampantly sexualized prose, Tampa is a grand, satirical, serio-comic examination of desire and a scorching literary debut.

Horrific, vulgar and completely fascinating...

An absolute horror of a read that is all the more effective because it is written in first person perspective through the eyes of the most cold and calculated woman I've ever stumbled across in a novel. Celeste is a complete sociopath and has no understanding of the effects that her behaviour has on other people - it doesn't even enter her thoughts at any point in the book. Celeste exists only to satisfy her own desires - and the book spares no graphic detail in how she goes about this.

A lot more shocking than expected, Tampa is often compared to Lolita. Except for the subject matter being about an adult attracted to minors, there are no other sticking points. Tampa wrecks your head entirely, leaves you no room to sympathise with Celeste at all, and leads you into a car crash of a tale. There's no subtlety and this won't be a timeless classic on everybody's 'must read' list.

Absorbing and repulsive at once, Alissa Nutting's style is big and bold and doesn't hold back.

Available in Waterstones

Burnt Tongues - Chuck Palahniuk

I rated this book 8/10
First published in July 2014

Burnt Tongues is a collection of transgressive stories selected by a rigorous nomination and vetting process and hand-selected by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, as the best of The Cult workshop, his official fan website.

These stories run the gamut from horrific and fantastic to humorous and touching, but each leaves a lasting impression.

Some may say even a scar.

Quick, sick and addictive tales...

A collection of twisted short stories, collated and edited by Chuck Palahniuk. As expected, anything that Palahniuk puts his name to is going to be dark, disturbing and should be approached with caution!

This book is nowhere near as disgusting as 'Haunted' by the man himself, but the stories all have the ability to make you recoil in horror. At one point (somewhere near the middle) I had to put the book down for a few hours and collect myself (I think it involved a chicken satay stick...). There were one or two more tame additions that allowed time to breathe - and one story near the end I skipped altogether because it just wasn't interesting. The last tale is as good as the first, and will definitely leave a lasting impression!

Chuck Palahniuk's introduction was very interesting, in particular the quote "Young people want mirrors. Older people want art." The more I think about his comments on reading and re-reading, and growing to love the impression of a book that you didn't enjoy when you actually read it; the more I believe his comments to be true.

If you like the bizarre fiction that Palahniuk throws at us, then you're going to like the short works that he's pulled together for us here too.

Available at Waterstones

Boy in the Tower - Polly Ho-Yen

I rated this book 10/10...

Ade loves living at the top of a tower block. From his window, he feels like he can see the whole world stretching out beneath him. His mum doesn’t really like looking outside – but it’s going outside that she hates. She’s happier sleeping all day inside their tower, where it’s safe.

But one day, other tower blocks on the estate start falling down around them and strange, menacing plants begin to appear. Now their tower isn’t safe anymore. Ade and his mum are trapped and there’s no way out . . .

A strange, scary thriller for kids that grown ups will love too.

I've been raving about this book since I finished it a couple of weeks back. It's a thrilling, scary kids book with a sci-fi edge to it; but is more about the personal experiences of Ade. Ade finds his life is shaken up by the strange occurrences that are happening in his town. Buildings are falling down and killing the people inside them, and nobody really knows why. 

But things get much worse for Ade, when he realises that his mum is going through some tough personal issues of her own and can't bring herself to even look out of their tower block window, let alone leave and escape the city through the front door. And still the buildings around them fall, and it will be their turn soon!

It's this exploration of his mum's difficulties that make 'Boy in the Tower' work on multiple levels. I know that many adults have read and enjoyed this book alongside their children, because they draw a completely different message from the text than the kids do.

'Boy in the Tower' is a fast and gripping read about a brave young boy facing some massive challenges. I'd recommend it both for (brave) 9-12 year olds and parents alike. And that ending! My heart was in my throat!

Available at Waterstones

The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton

I rated this book 7/10

On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. She has come from the country to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later does Johannes appear and present her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in unexpected ways...

I felt like I really had to read this, and maybe that's where this book fell down for me straight away. It's not my usual style, but I'd heard enough about it to be coaxed into picking it up the other day and got stuck straight in.

It starts well enough; the pages turn and the plot unfolds quickly - I never really felt connected to the main protagonist, Nella in any way shape or form at the beginning, and to me the author struggles to have Nella's character develop in a rather rushed and strained manner. I didn't have any sympathy for her towards the end either, she just didn't seem to have much personality. The secondary characters are Jessie's real strength, feeling a little less forced and a lot more well rounded despite their shifty secret-keeping.

And the Miniaturist - this is the bit that gets me - so central to the theme of the book but could have been left out completely! In fact, if the Miniaturist and everything about it had been left out of this novel I think I would have been more absorbed by it; I think the plot would have been more credible and nothing much about it would have had to change. The Miniaturist had no real effect on any of the events as they unfolded and there was no real explanation for it either. This to me is a major fail.

If I ignore the 'Miniaturist' element (how could I!?!) then Jessie's book is very readable. It's dark and twisted and sheds light on the lives of women during the 1600s in Amsterdam. It's the perfect winter read - cold and heartless and heartbreaking. There isn't much hope or light between the pages, but if you like your books to be gritty, centred on strong women and steeped in history then this might be for you.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North

I rated this book 4/10

No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes.

Until now.

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. ‘I nearly missed you, Doctor August,’ she says. ‘I need to send a message.’

At last! After five months I have finally finished this book! I've finished so many other books in between it in that time, but I had to keep putting Harry August down.

Don't get me wrong, the concept is fascinating - but I just found myself analysing all of the flaws in North's plan every time I settled down to read it.

Surely - if a group of people lived their lives over and over throughout the course of time, and changed their actions each time they lived, ALL events throughout history and the future would be changed each time they died and were re-born. And so these people could not put bets on race winners (for example) knowing the outcome in advance, because everything has a knock on effect and everything would be changed each time round. The politicians, presidents, political leaders would never be the same people; the wars would never have the same outcome.

And what if these people had children?

And why would these people not want to use their knowledge to gain some kind of power, considering they were essentially hundreds of years old and infinitely more wise?

I was trying to figure out how all of this could work; maybe I missed something. But it completely wrecked my head.

And so I am over the moon that I have finished it - some of it was alright and some of it a bit dull. Harry himself wasn't that interesting, his antagonist being a little more so. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this to anyone - but if somebody asked me about it I would probably tell them that it might be worth a read.

Catholic Guilt - Irvine Welsh

I rated this book 3/10

A short story, and the first one that I finished in audio book format. It's a typically shocking tale from Irvine Welsh, full of bad language and x-rated themes. I think that he build up was pretty good; nothing special, but the ending lacked any real power or twist (which I personally look for in a short story).

If, like me, you're into bizarre books that are very dark and vulgar then go for it, it's not Irvine Welsh's greatest piece, but it might be worth a read. If you're not fond of foul language, graphic sex and gore - then stay away!

The Bees - Laline Paull

I rated this book 9/10

The Handmaid's Tale meets The Hunger Games in this brilliantly imagined debut set in an ancient culture where only the queen may breed and deformity means death.

Thrilling, suspenseful and spectacularly imaginative, The Bees gives us a dazzling young heroine and will change forever the way you look at the world outside your window.

Escape into a bizarre dystopian thriller based entirely on the life cycle of a bee. Flora is born a sanitation worker, the lowest on the hierarchy within the hive. This beautifully written novel follows her advance through the ranks. It's strange; unlike anything I've read before - such a simple idea so well executed.

I like the way that Paull captures the suffocating and claustrophobic feel of the hive, the bees living in such close proximity, as one body made from many. It has a hypnotic feel to it at times, and is easy to draw up the sights and smells that she describes throughout.

I'll admit that it was really weird at first, and I needed a few chapters to get used to the narrative, but soon enough I was absorbed and couldn't put it down. I think that this is set to be a big hit in paperback in the springtime.

Definitely worth a read.

The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris

I rated this 10/10

I understand now (though I haven't seen it) why the film adaptation of this book is raved about so much. After reading The Red Dragon, I wasn't expecting too much from this second book in the series, but I loved it and I can't believe it took me so long to bump this up to the top of my reading pile. I stumbled across this battered old copy on one of my parent's many bookshelves, and have since relocated it to my own. I intend to keep it - I don't think that they will mind...

Harris has the most fascinating writing style, and this is mostly shared with us through the character of Lecter. Lecter is absolutely terrifying and captivating at once, ruthless and intelligent, and one of the greatest characters I have stumbled across. A real pleasure to read around; blurring the lines between the notorious criminal and the insightful protagonist.

At the same time, Harris presents us with a handful of really strong female characters without losing any of the hard hitting action and without resorting to stereotypes. I really admire him for this - Harris is a brilliant author and I will be picking up the rest of this series, and watching the films soon!

Diary - Chuck Palahniuk

I rated this 7/10

Misty Wilmot has had it. Once a promising young artist, she’s now stuck on an island ruined by tourism, drinking too much and working as a waitress in a hotel. Her husband, a contractor, is in a coma after a suicide attempt, but that doesn’t stop his clients from threatening Misty with lawsuits over a series of vile messages they’ve found on the walls of houses he remodeled.

Suddenly, though, Misty finds her artistic talent returning as she begins a period of compulsive painting. Inspired but confused by this burst of creativity, she soon finds herself a pawn in a larger conspiracy that threatens to cost hundreds of lives. 

What a read!

I liked the tension and the build up and the absurdity of this book. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the overly gruesome 'Haunted' but I was hypnotised by it and it was keeping me glued to the pages.

Blaze - Richard Bachman

I rated this 8/10

He's got a plan.
But he hasn't a clue...

Clayton Blaisdell's capers are strictly small time until he meets George Rackley. With Blaze's brawn and George's brains, they pull off a hundred successful cons. Then George plans the one big score every small timer dreams of: kidnapping the infant heir to a family fortune.

A fabulously tense account of a big 'dummy' who finds himself in the wrong situations with the wrong people.

I love the way that Stephen King weaves Blaze's past with his present to give an all round view of his life and his quite soft natured personality. There wasn't a character in the book that fell flat, they were all so well written and three dimensional.

I really found myself connecting with Blaze despite his wrongdoings, and rooting for him to be happy though I knew this could never happen. I wasn't quite sure about the voice of George in Blaze's head however, I feel that Blaze seemed to be magically aware of things that he wouldn't have otherwise known.

King is the master of building tension and character, and Blaze is no exception. Definitely worth a read, and I will be reading more and more by him.

Thinner - Richard Bachman

I rated this 8/10

Thinner; a supernatural thriller by Richard Bachman (AKA Stephen King). This provided me with some really addictive reading, the build up of suspense throughout is pretty special. We are introduced to Billy, who we quickly discover has been momentarily distracted from driving by his frisky wife. During this lapse of concentration, Billy manages to run over a gypsy's wife (or his daughter, as we find out later) who steps out into the road from between two parked cars. Billy leaves the courtroom later on after getting away with the accident scott free, and the old gypsy man curses him, simply with the word 'Thinner'.

"But I'm telling you Billy, you can't lose almost twenty pounds in two weeks just by exercising." - p31

And this is where the tale cranks up - Billy finds himself battling against time and enlisting a friend (Ginelli, my favourite character) to find the old gypsy before he dies a slow and painful death from seemingly inexplicable malnutrition. Along the way he questions his own life, his morals and the people that he loves before the book cuts off with a mind boggling ending!

Ginelli aside, 'Thinner' hasn't got a single likeable protagonist in it, and yet it kept me gripped right through to the last sentence. The characters are cold, aloof, self involved - but written with a depth and understanding that makes them wholly believable and well rounded. The book is easy to read, quick and engrossing - certainly one to pick up if you like bizarre plotlines and want something that isn't going to be a challenging read.  This is the perfect escape for the daily commute.

The Psychopath Test - Jon Ronson

This is a story about madness.

Rated 9/10

This is a story about madness. It all starts when journalist Jon Ronson is contacted by a leading neurologist. She and several colleagues have recently received a cryptically puzzling book in the mail, and Jon is challenged to solve the mystery behind it. As he searches for the answer, Jon soon finds himself, unexpectedly, on an utterly compelling and often unbelievable adventure into the world of madness.

My Thoughts: Jon Ronson has quickly become one of my favourite writers. His style is witty, interesting and tongue in cheek. I love the observations that he makes and the quirks from people that he picks up on. I love that his reporting style is a little gung-ho - not a huge amount of planning seems to be in place (at least that's how it comes across). And he's not afraid to rub people up the wrong way sometimes. 

Another brilliant read that I would highly recommend. I'm looking for yet more from Ronson, and can see myself with the full set of his books on my shelves fairly soon.

Lost At Sea - Jon Ronson

A young man called Bill
stands in the shadows behind
a curtain at a converted
paintworks factory in Bristol,
now a TV studio.

Rated 10/10

"The New York Times"-bestselling author of "The Psychopath Test," Jon Ronson writes about the dark, uncanny sides of humanity with clarity and humor. "Lost at Sea "reveals how deep our collective craziness lies, even in the most mundane circumstances. 

Reviewed on my iPhone. 

My thoughts: I had barely reached page 30 and had already been taken behind the scenes of Deal or No Deal and met the worlds most advanced humanoid robots!

This is a book of articles packed with so many interesting people, and Ronson's dry wit and sarcasm that had me thoroughly entertained. I love Ronson's writing style, and I am currently seeking out more of his books for my upcoming holiday.

There have been other less favourable reviews about Ronson not doing research and just showing up to interview people on a whim. I actually quite admire this approach - it makes each article a lot more personal and we can see his own viewpoints based on his observations. Whether we agree with them or not is a different matter; we could always do our own extensive research if the cold hard facts meant that much to us.

Readers should remember that a lot of Ronson's own feelings and emotions come through - it is of course going to be biased. I think that this gives the writing a touch of personal honesty and a bit of an insight into Ronson himself too. I find this connection important in anything I read, whether non fiction or otherwise.

This has actually inspired me to perhaps explore my own passion for writing and perhaps taking this love down a route that I haven't yet explored. Real people provide the most interesting of stories at times, and it takes the right kind of writer to get the best (or worst) out of them. 


An enjoyable and thought provoking collection!

Haunted - Chuck Palahniuk

"This was supposed to be
a writers' retreat, it was
supposed to be safe."

Rated 9/10

Haunted is a novel made up of stories: twenty-three of the most horrifying, hilarious, mind-blowing, stomach-churning tales you'll ever encounter. 

My Thoughts: Wow! I'm fairly insensitive to any kind of blood, guts and bodily fluids, but I still found myself wanting to read this from between my fingers at times...

I asked my fellow bookseller to recommend me something that would make me think "What kind of sick person could think up something like this!?!" (think Halfhead/Stuart MacBride, Genesis/Karin Slaughter, Perfume/Patrick Suskind) - and she told me that this one fitted my brief exactly. She was spot on.

Some of the stories within the book were fantastic and left me wanting more of it - they're stuck in my head now and I can't get them out - some were so bizarre that I couldn't follow them (hence no 10th star). The characters were a mixed bag, mostly disconnected and unrelateable, but I did find myself rooting for one or two of them, which was a little disturbing in itself. I really did like the penultimate tale 'Obsolete' - it was one of the chapters that is now ingrained into my head.

I already read 'Snuff' by Palahnuik a while back, but now I think Choke and Fight Club are going onto my ever expanding Book(et) list.

Halfhead - Stuart B. MacBride

"There's blood everywhere."

Rated 9.2/10 (Awesome!)

There are worse things than the death penalty...

My Thoughts: The first sentence had me hooked and pretty much set the theme up for the whole novel in an instant. A really dark and gritty sci-fi read with plenty of shocking gore and a racing plotline. I couldn't tear my eyes from the pages.

I had the privilege of a quick exchange of Tweets with Mr MacBride as I was reading this on the train to work:



                 Me ‏@Gemininski

Reading Halfhead by @stuartmacbride and wondering why I've never picked this up before. It's ace!

Expand

27 NovStuart MacBride ‏@StuartMacBride

@Gemininski Phew! That was a worry. Some people absolutely loathe it. Glad you're not one of them.

Expand

28 NovMe ‏@Gemininski

@StuartMacBride not at all! Though I do worry in parts that someone is looking over my shoulder at what I'm reading and backing away slowly.

And I did indeed find myself shielding the odd page from commuters who found themselves within reading distance. There are some pretty sickening scenes in there, and one particularly that I had to stop reading for a moment to take a deep breath and continue on. The strong dystopia element satisfied me, and I only wish that the book could have delved a little further into it, and into the whole concept behind the halfhead.

I love to be kept in suspense when reading. I love to be shocked. I love vivid characters that I actually care for and plenty of action... This book covered all bases. I want more!

An epic sci-fi/crime thriller that is something that little bit different. 

Theme: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Style: 4/5

Overall: 9.2/10

The Birthing House - Christopher Ransom

Conrad Harrison found the last
home he would ever know by
driving the wrong way out of Chicago
with a ghost in his car.

Rated 3.6/10 (readable)

The scariest novel since Stephen King's The Shining, The Birthing House grips from the first line to the terrifying final twist.

My Thoughts: A very strange read, but car crash writing that I could not put down. The characters are typical larger than life beings, not well written at all; and it basically comes down to the usual ghostly tale - man is all on his own in a brand new home - man sees strange goings on - man manages to completely ignore them and get on with life inside the haunted house. It's choc full of cliches -> pretty useless dogs, a young helpless girl and lots of sex for the sake of sex.

The subject matter of the hauntings is highly disturbing and confusing, and the main character also begins to get more and more deranged. You can never quite tell if it's the house that's haunted or his psychological state, but you can tell that he is not normal right from the very beginning, and there are a few passages that have you wondering about his sanity from the word go.

There are also some parts of this book that don't tie up, or seem to be a little pointless. Some of the characters are irrational - particularly the main character's wife Jo, who didn't feel real at all; and quite a few scenes come across as disjointed, unfinished or out of place. I'm still not sure as to what the Birthing House was actually meant to be back in the day, but I'm settling on a cult of some kind. There are so many questions left unanswered, (why didn't the dog get pregnant?!?! being one of them) and when I reflected on the book after finishing, I realised that there were so many loose ends that I couldn't remember them all!

All in all however, this is a very addictive read. A book that you just can't help but plough your way through despite all of the errors and insensitivity. Although the bare bones of the book are nothing out of the ordinary, it's the (patchy) padding round the outside that make it readable. If you're looking for something completely bizarre and you have a very open mind - this one might be for you! 

Those of a nervous disposition, new parents and pregnant ladies - keep your hands off!

Theme: 3/5
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 1/5
Setting: 2/5
Style: 1/5

Overall: 3.6/10

Perfume: Patrick Suskind

"In eighteenth-century France
there lived a man who was one
of the most gifted and abominable
personages in an era that knew
no lack of gifted and abominable
personages."

Rated 8.4/10  (brilliant)

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the protagonist of Patrick Suskind’s début novel is arguably one of the most extraordinary characters in contemporary fiction. This extraordinariness, which lies in his unprecedented and enviable power of smell, is an evident manifestation of the author’s creative genius and is responsible for the immense readability of this novel. 

My Thoughts: Wow! Well, I'd heard that this was a brilliant read by quite a few people and it sounded gruesome and horrific; something that would interest me, so I picked it up. 

In short, this is one of the strangest books I've ever read.

It's actually written really well, and I love that it kept me hooked right to the end simply because the concept was inspiring - the settings were vivid, and the characters were horrible! I loved that Suskind opens us up to the idea of scent and how important and under-rated it is to us. There wasn't as much action in it as I expected to come across, but it was interesting all the same. It captured settings through scent in a way that I've never found myself thinking about before. 

I love the power that Grenouille possesses and I love the way that Suskind writes him. I sympathised with Grenouille despite everything, and yet I couldn't like him in any way. He's a cold character but we know the reasoning behind it and we accept it. He has no endearing qualities for the reader to grasp, and he has no endearing qualities for other characters to grasp either. Brilliant!

We are also on a journey with a murderer, and there are very few authors that can write successfully on that basis. The fact that it is set in the 1700's is a huge bonus, as I love stepping back in time and surrounding myself with a way of life that differs so much to my own. I felt the urge to visit Baldini's store in particular. 

The ending of this book is completely bizarre and was probably the element that threw me off a little bit, and also the fact that it offered less action than I expected. I wanted this to be full on gore and horror - but it wasn't and it did drag in places. However, it was dark and gritty and beautifully written.

Theme: 5/5
I loved the concept of this novel and the originality of it.

Plot: 3/5
I needed more action and felt that the ending wasn't quite fitting.

Characters: 4/5
The characters were brilliantly written - especially Grenouille.

Setting: 5/5
A perfect setting.

Style: 4/5
I loved Suskind's style.

Overall: 8.4/10

Transition - Iain Banks

Date Read: October 2011

There is a world that hangs suspended between triumph & catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall & the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism & global financial collapse. Such a world requires a firm hand, a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organization with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence & numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers?

My Thoughts: A very tricky read to follow - specially if your head is all over the place anyway (as mine was). You really need to focus on this one, but it pays off big time. I became glued to it. told from different character's perspectives, at different times, in different worlds. Sex, drugs and humour lace the pages.

Find time for this sci-fi classic; and space on your bookshelf.

I RATED IT 7/10

Heartshaped Box - Joe Hill

Date Read: May 2011

Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre: a cookbook for cannibals...a used hangman's noose...a snuff film. An aging death-metal rock god, his taste for the unnatural is as widely known to his legions of fans as the notorious excesses of his youth. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, an item for sale on the Internet, a thing so terribly strange, Jude cant help but reach for his wallet...

My Thoughts: A brilliant modern ghost story that had me hooked. It was ever so slightly awkward around the edges, but drew me in - and although it didn't really scare me at all (nothing to do with the book, I'm just not easily frightened), it was chilling and pretty tightly written.

I didn't find myself liking the characters at all, but the pages were turning and it's definitely worth a read. Not my usual choice when it comes to books as I'm not particularly bothered with ghosts so much, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I RATED IT 8/10