Book: Wrong Place Wrong Time Author: Gillian McAllister Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Time Travel, Romance Fiction Pages: 370 Pace: Medium to Fast-Paced Source:Amazon Format: Paperback
Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Synopsis:
A lawyer with a loving husband and a happy teenage son sounds like a picture-perfect family. But one autumn night past midnight, as she waits up for her son to come home she witnesses him kill a stranger. Why on earth would he do such a thing? She doesn’t know who this stranger is and why on earth her son killed him. All she knows is that her son is now in police custody and although she is a lawyer she has no idea how to help him. In despair, she falls asleep that night feeling helpless with a lot of questions swirling in her mind. But then when she wakes up it’s yesterday. And every day thereafter she takes a step into the past. Giving her a chance to find out what she has been missing all this time and the tiniest clue that will set things straight in the present. Anything that will prevent her son from becoming a murderer.
Book Review:
A time loop that never gets boring, a mystery that keeps you on the edge, and a romance that makes your heart melt. “Wrong Place Wrong Time,” by Gillian McAllister is everything I wanted in a time travel book. This book also dives deep into the joys, sorrows, and constant guilt of parenthood, but focuses more on the guilt a mother feels while raising her child. It revolves around a family that is light-hearted and deeply loving, but what lies beneath all of it is what Jen must find out as she travels to the past slowly uncovering and observing both strangers and her family. Throughout the book, McAllister has intelligently woven the mystery within her chosen timeline. Going backwards to stop a murder in the future is an interesting concept and McAllister wrote this story in a way that makes sense because she ensures that the significance of all the details she has mentioned form a connection to the puzzle pieces involved in this mystery.
Who Should Read This Book:
I loved reading this book!!! I was able to understand and empathize with the characters in this book, while being able to create my own theories on why Jen’s son murdered someone. If you enjoy mysteries, thrillers, and time travel books then this book is a must read for you. And a dash of good romance is always appreciated so that’s a bonus in this book.
I hope you enjoyed reading this review!!!
Please let me know what your thoughts are on this book in the comment section below.
What happens when you mix vodka with magic? A curse on your horrible ex-boyfriend. Nine years ago, a heartbroken witch, Vivienne Jones, cursed her ex boyfriend after he broke her heart. Of course she didn’t actually mean him any real harm, just a couple of bad hair days is all. Now when Rhys Penhallow, also a witch, has to return back to Graves Glen, Georgia, as a descendant of the town’s ancestors, everything goes wrong the moment he enters the town. When things get chaotic during the fall festival, Vivi realizes her silly Ex Hex may not be as harmless as she thought. To save Graves Glen from further chaos Vivi and Rhys must work together to undo the curse.
BOOK THOUGHTS:
“There’s no really good timing for this kind of thing, is there? Finding your person? It just kind of happens when it happens. Or so they say.” – Erin Sterling, The Ex Hex
Vivi and Rhys have charming chemistry throughout this novel. The back and forth bickering yet still being able to work as a team and finding each other irresistible all at the same time. This is an enemies to lovers and second chance romance trope. Probably more second chance than enemies to lovers but you get a bit of both of these tropes.
This book is perfect for spooky season! Or as Esther Fung said, this book is for, “girlies who love halloween but don’t want to be too scared to go pee at 3 am.” I’m glad I saw this book on Esther’s insta page and gave this book a chance. Listening to this book took me to a world similar to halloweentown, except this one was focused more on romance.
The supporting characters were memorable. Usually in romance books the main leads are the main focus and the rest of the characters blur into the background. However, the supporting characters in, “The Ex Hex,” were written really well by Erin Sterling. Vivi’s cousin and aunt, Rhys’s dad and brother, the cafe owner/employee, and the ghost were all well written in this book. Their roles were short but memorable.
I’m not the biggest fan of spice in books but this book had just the right amount. So if you like spice in books but not too much that it’s overbearing on the plot then you will like this book. The romance between Vivi and Rhys was nontoxic and their communication was quite cute.
“The Ex Hex,” is a fast-paced read or listen. I listened to this book at a speed of 1.5 to 1.75. I enjoyed listening to this book. it brought back feelings from the Halloweentown Movies, and I just loved the chemistry between Vivi and Rhys.
I hope you enjoyed reading this review!!!
Please let me know what your thoughts are on this book in the comment section below.
Book: The Midnight Library Author: Matt Haig Genre: Fantasy Fiction & Magical Realism Pages: 288 Pace: Medium-Paced Source:Amazon Format: Paperback
Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.
Review:
Hello readers!!
Plot:
TW:Suicide, Self-Harm
Nora is unhappy with her current state of life. A series of unfortunate events leads her to a point where she no longer wishes to live. Her attempt to end her life brings her to the midnight library. The midnight library is filled with books containing infinite possibilities and variations of how Nora’s life could have turned out. As she goes through these possibilities she learns more about the rewards and consequences of each decision she could have made. In search of a life of happiness, success, and satisfaction, will Nora find her best life?
BOOK THOUGHTS:
“Life is strange. How we live it all at once. In a straight line. But really that is not the whole picture. Because life isn’t simply made of the things we do, but the things we don’t do too. And every moment of our life is a … kind of a turning.”
The Main Character:
There were a lot of positive messages in this book along with some interesting insights about life and what it means to live a “good,” “meaningful,” or “fulfilling” life. Every decision we make, especially the small ones, leads us to the life we are living now, and if we wanted to change that course all we must do is make a different decision. However, there are consequences to these decisions as well. Nora doesn’t want to live because she is unhappy with her current state of life. Throughout the book, I felt like she was whining instead of working towards changing the course of her life. I had a difficult time relating to her and the circumstances she was in and I never once caught myself rooting for her happy ending.
Supporting Characters:
The supporting characters in this book were underdeveloped and there wasn’t much opportunity to understand the circumstances or complexities of the supporting characters. The character I was least annoyed with was Ash, but even with him, I felt as if the author did not provide enough dialogue or information for me to fall in love with this character or at least empathize with and like him a bit more.
Romance & Empathy:
The romance in this book felt non-existent. I know this isn’t romance fiction, but there was a love story in this book. I have always believed that most stories have a love story even if it might be playing in the background and is presented in a very subtle manner. The love story can act as a tool or strategy for the reader to fall in love with the characters or lead them to root for their happy ending. But in this book, love or emotional attachment seemed more like a statement than an emotion that is felt.
The Hype:
I went into this book with high expectations because the rating on Goodreads and Amazon were 4+ stars, however, I couldn’t quite understand how several readers were able to finish this book in the first place. Once I was halfway through this book I had a difficult time getting through this book. As I progressed through this book, I realized that it seems to be written for a certain event, a period where almost everyone was going through similar unfortunate events that lead them to question their life. “The Midnight Library,” by Matt Haig was published 2 years ago in August 2020, which was amid the pandemic. During the pandemic, many people were questioning their life choices and many came face to face with their mental health issues as well, therefore, this book would have been a great comfort during that period.
Is this book worth the read?
For me, it wasn’t worth the read. I enjoyed How to Stop Time by Matt Haig because he successfully depicted the journey through historic events of an immortal being and I had been able to empathize with the characters as well. The Midnight Library was too long and unnecessarily descriptive. I understood the intent of the story and there were some great life quotes as well, however, it wasn’t enough to keep me hooked throughout this book. Read this book if you want to explore the concept of how it would feel to live your various potential lives. But be ready for a lot of repetition. I think this book would have been a great healing read during the pandemic, but at this time I felt detached from the plot and the characters.
I hope you enjoyed reading this review!!!
Please let me know what your thoughts are on this book in the comment section below.
Book: Where the Crawdads Sing Author: Delia Owens Genre: Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery, Romance Pages: 400 Pace: Medium-Paced Source:Amazon Format: Kindle + Audiobook
Rating:
★★★ 3/5
Review:
Hello readers!!
Plot:
“Where the Crawdads Sing,” by Delia Owens is a murder mystery romance set in mid to late 1900s. Kya, also known as the marsh girl, was abandoned by her family. She learned how to survive in the marsh on her own and gradually found ways to become independent and financially secure. When one of her ex-lovers is found dead the evidence and circumstances lead to Kya becoming the prime suspect in the murder case. This is a story about surviving in nature at all costs.
TW: Domestic abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, racism
BOOK THOUGHTS:
“I wasn’t aware that words could hold so much. I didn’t know a sentence could be so full.”
“Where the Crawdads Sing,” is a book about surviving as an outsider. People don’t know much about Kya other than the fact she lives in the marsh. This leads to the formation of several unpleasant rumors about her, which adversely affect her life leading her to grow up in a lonely environment.
I gave this book three stars because it didn’t live up to the hype around it. My expectations were high when I started this book, and yet I had a hard time getting through the first half of the book. The second half of the book was fast-paced but not as interesting as I had anticipated it to be. The courtroom drama felt “bland” and far too simple and easy. This could be because I usually read or watch a lot mysteries and courtroom dramas, therefore the mystery in this book did not appeal as much to me.
There were two Black American characters in this book, husband and wife, who were refered to as Jumpin and Mabel, respectively. Before I analyze anything I want you to know that my knowledge on Black American history is limited to a history course I took in University a couple years ago and any alternative research I may have done to self-educate myself. While reading (and listening) to this book what stood out to me was the way the Black American’s speach and dialogue differed from the rest of the characters in the book. I didn’t catch this as racisim right off the bat but it did make me feel quite uncomfortable and it made me question the reasoning behind it. I understand that the author may have wanted to represent the times while still having Kya as the main focus of this book, however, I wonder if it was necessary to portray these two characters in the manner Owens did. Was it necessary that they spoke differently from the rest of the characters? Was it necessary to keep these characters in the “shadows” eventhough Jumpin and Mabel’s roles were highly significant in this book? I could be reading into this more or less than I should be but I felt like it was important to mention the discomfort it caused me. If I missed something or misread something please let me know in the comments below.
My favorite characters:
Jumpin and Tate were my favorite characters in this book. Jumpin was a kind, supportive, and strong character. I admired how he helped Kya and had her back many times in this book knowing well how difficult it must have been for him to do so becuase of everything that was going on for Black Americans around 1950s and 1960s (I only mentioned these two decades because these are the two decades that were mentioned the most throughout the book). The book didn’t mention much about the segreation and what Jumpin and Mabel were going through during these times other than an instance where Kya defended Jumpin. Tate was really sweet and kind and I loved how he always suggested and adviced oppertunites to Kya that would make her more independant and successful in life. He was her number one fan. There were a couple of things that bothered me about him including the age gap between him and Kya when they became intimate with each other and how he left her as well. Overall, both of these characters looked out for Kya and supported her throughout the book.
Is this book worth the read?
It depends. It depends on the genre you enjoy reading, if you don’t read a lot of mystery then this could be a nice introduction and a way to ease you into it. If your curious about how Kya survives in the marsh and want to learn more about nature through her eyes you may find this to be an interesting read. However, I wouldn’t reccomend this book to readers who are familiar with mysteries and thrillers and typically enjoy reading books that keep you at the edge, because this book failed to do that for me. I liked the writing style of this book, but the flipping back and forth in time confused me a bit especially when I was listening to the book instead of reading it. This book may be worth the read for some readers but might be a waste of time for others. I would reccomend making the decision based on what genres you usually prefer to read.
FAVORITE QUOTES:
“Unworthy boys make a lot of noise.”
“If anyone would understand loneliness, the moon would.”
“Faces change with life’s toll, but eyes remain a window to what was…”
– Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing
I hope you enjoyed reading this review!!!
Please let me know what your thoughts are on this book in the comment section below.
I am finally beginning Project 50. I created the notion template a month ago to track my progress over the 50 days, but I will be starting the project officially today. I’ve been scared to take on this challenge because consistency in self-improvement is not my strongest pursuit. I hope once I complete this project I am able to continue it after the 50 days as well. As I’m getting older and moving towards my late 20s (I’m 26 lol) I have come to the realization that I can’t treat my body poorly and expect it to give me the best results. It’s time for me to build healthier habits.
For 50 days you set a few rules or guidelines for yourself which you would like to follow consistently through these days. You carve out time for yourself to improve yourself and build healthy habits.
Rules:
Wake up before 8 A.M.
Do your morning routine: 1h no distractions
Exercise for 1h a day
Read 10 pages a day
Dedicate 1 h towards a new skill
follow a healthy diet
Track your daily progress in a journal
My Altered Guidelines:
Wake up before 8 A.M.
Do my morning routine: 1h no distractions- Hygiene- Skincare – Gratitude Journal – Pray
Exercise 1h a day
Read 20 pages a day
Dedicate 1 h towards a new skill- Learning languages (Korean, Japanese, Punjabi)- Digital Art Practice – Creating Notion Templates
Follow a Healthy Diet- Balanced diet (80-20 Rule) – Be in a calorie deficit – Drink over 1L of water
Track my daily progress in a journal- Journal- Film a Tiktok/Insta Reel Daily
Why I’m taking on this challenge:
My number one reason for doing this challenge is to build and implement healthy habits into my life. Taking care of my health, excess weight, procrastinating habits, activity level, and developing new skills are things I can do to ensure I’m not stuck in a rut. To constantly evolve one must consistently work on themselves. Beginning the Project 50 challenge is my way of kickstarting the process to build and maintain healthy habits in my life.
LunaLuminous 