One Sentence Book Round Up

If you follow me on Instagram, you might be aware that, this September, I took part in the #Read22forRefugees challenge hosted by @Martha_is_reading and @e.f.paterson - a reading challenge associated with the number 22 to raise money for Refugee Action. I set myself the lofty challenge of reading 22 books in 22 days, a feat I only just squeezed in! So, here's my reading list, and a one sentence review of each book I read, plus my overall rating.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A good book overall with an interesting mystery, but maybe a little boring for me.

✩✩✩

Here Is The Beehive by Sarah Crosson

Beautiful and lyrical, this story covers grief well through gorgeous prose.

✩✩✩✩

Imposter by L.J. Ross

A great start to the Dr Alexander Gregory series, clever and unexpected, and full of twists!

✩✩✩✩✩

Hysteria by L.J. Ross

Good follow up to Imposter, a little less interesting, but still with a brilliant ending.

✩✩✩✩

Bedlam by L.J. Ross

A little more far fetched than both Imposter and Hysteria, but exciting non the less.

✩✩✩✩

Don't Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri

An excellent nonfiction read combining the history of Black hair and Dabiri's own personal experiences.

✩✩✩✩

Total Blackout by Alex Shaw*

A solid thriller with a good plot idea, but very slow to start and a little confusing.

✩✩✩

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

Haunting, creepy, and absolutely unputdownable, with mini cliffhangers throughout to keep the reader completely hooked.

✩✩✩✩1/2

Closed for Winter by Jorn Lier Horst

Boring, slow, and too complicated for me, with far too many characters.

✩✩

The Easton Falls Massacre: Bigfoot's Revenge by Holly Rae Garcia & Ryan Prentice Garcia*

Incredibly detailed storytelling focusing on the impact of humanity on nature, but very gory in parts.

✩✩✩

No Place to Die by Neil Broadfoot

Good thriller, brilliant plot, but a little slow to really kick off.

✩✩✩✩

Hermit by S.R. White*

A really interesting take on a police murder mystery, mainly following the interrogation rather than the investigation, and incredibly well written.

✩✩✩✩1/2

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A brilliant classic and it was really interesting to make the parallels between what was written and what is happening now.

✩✩✩✩

Teacher's Dead by Benjamin Zephaniah

An intriguing plot, but I didn't like the way this was written as the main character seemed a little all over the place.

✩✩✩

Truth of the Matter by Jamie Beck*

I was expecting a predictable romance, but got so much more depth from this beautifully written story about a mother's relationship with her daughter and ex-husband.

✩✩✩✩

The Other People by C.J. Tudor

Incredibly mysterious paranormal tale, told fantastically by Tudor, and completely unputdownable.

✩✩✩✩✩

The Haunted by Gabriel Bergmoser

A gory and totally different horror/thriller set in the wilderness of Australia, this book kept me on my toes.

✩✩✩✩1/2

Taken by Lisa Stone

A solid idea for a story in the kidnapping of a mother's little girl, but not very engaging - I wanted to know what happened, but only because I loved Kelsey and her daughter Leila.

✩✩✩

A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark

An interesting fantastical novella set in alternative 1912 Cairo, that's engaging and mysterious.

✩✩✩✩

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark

A great follow up to A Dead Djinn in Cairo, equally mysterious and such detailed storytelling!

✩✩✩✩

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

A classic that made me feel a lot of emotions, but didn't quite hit the mark, and described fishing in fairly graphic detail.

✩✩✩

Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter

Although highly recommended, this missed the mark for me - it was slow, and I wasn't all that engaged with it.

✩✩

Let me know if you fancy reading any of these, and if you have any good one sentence reviews!

*Anything with an asterix was an Advance Reader Copy (ARC)