2019 Reading Challenge | Books 6-10 Round-Up

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was setting myself a reading challenge for this year. I am still powering through and recently finished books six to ten so I'm back with another round-up. If you missed my first round-up post you can read it here. Also, if you'd like to add me as a friend on Goodreads, you can do so here.

You by Caroline Kepnes - 4/5

Blurb:
"When aspiring writer Guinevere Beck strides into the bookstore when Joe works, he is instantly smitten.

But there's more to Joe than Beck realises and much more to Beck than her perfect facade. And the obsessive relationship quickly spirals into a whirlwind of deadly consequences..." 

Review:
I absolutely loved the Netflix adaptation of You so of course I was going to jump on the bandwagon and read it as soon as possible. 

I felt that it was so much better than the show. I loved the crudeness, the pop culture references and I think the timeline and "relationship" between Joe and Beck is better. It's written very well, especially the long sentences with no punctuation when Joe is starting to stress out. It made me feel stressed reading it!

If you enjoyed the TV show, you need to give the book a read too!

Normal People by Sally Rooney - 4/5

Blurb:
"Marianne is the young, affluent, intellectual wallflower; Connell is the boy everyone likes, shadowed by his family's reputation and poverty. Unlikely friends, and later lovers, their small town beginnings in rural Ireland are swiftly eclipsed by the headly worlds of student Dublin. Gradually their intense, mismatched love becomes a battleground of power, class, and the falsehoods they choose to believe." 

Review:
I enjoyed this book but given the hype and awards that it's won, I expected to like it more than I actually did.

It's an easy read about the relationship between Marianne and Connell from the end of school and through university. They are just two (I'm cringing at using the title of the book) normal people so I feel like a lot of people could resonate, at least with some of it.

I was a bit let down by the ending and felt like there was more to give. I wouldn't shout from the rooftops that it is the best book ever written but it's definitely worth a read.

The Magic Touch by Kelly Florentia - 1/5 

Blurb:
"Once bitten, twice shy Emma King is in no rush to join Harry's bustling, big, fat Greek Cypriot family and become Mrs Georgiades. So it comes as no surprise when, after plenty of Dutch courage, his proposal of marriage at a family gathering is met with rejection.

Emma doesn't need a piece of paper to prove how much they love each other. They're solid - unbreakable. After all, Harry's a loving and loyal partner whom she trusts implicitly. But when she accidentally stumbles across a flirtatious text message on Harry's mobile phone from a female colleague alarm bells start going off in her head. 

Overcome with suspicion and an impending fear of losing the love of her life, Emma goes on a mission to get to the bottom of his secret affair with the help of her best friend Ola, her ninety-three year old neighbour Alistair, and Harry's sister-in-law's app 'The Magic Touch'. Because no one is going to snatch Harry from her - no one!" 

Review:
I don't like giving such a low rating but I need to be honest with how I feel about a book after reading. 

This isn't a genre I'd usually pick but I won a copy and I'm trying to be open minded with this reading challenge so I thought I'd give it a try.

I felt like it was far too cliché and cheesy and I anticipated so much of it. It had a lot of eye rolly unbelievable moments too. Not one for me, I'm afraid.

Good Samaritans by Will Carver - 5/5

Blurb:
"One crossed wire, three dead bodies and six bottles of bleach...

Seth Beauman can't sleep. He stays up late, calling strangers from his phonebook, hoping to make a connection, while his wife, Maeve, sleeps upstairs. A crossed wire finds a suicidal Hadley Serf on the phone to Seth, thinking she's talking to The Samaritans.

But a seemingly harmless, late-night hobby turns into something more for Seth and for Hadley, and soon their late-night talks are turning into day-time meet ups. And then this dysfunctional love story turns into something altogether darker, when Seth brings Hadley home...

And someone is watching..."

Review:
What a fantastic writer. Such a dark and twisted book following Seth, a man who can't sleep and phones random numbers hoping for a connection, his wife Maeve, Hadley Serf who ends up accepting Seth's call and Ant, a man who works for the Samaritans.

All of this is tied together with killings where the women are bleached, wrapped in plastic and dumped. But who's doing it?

Absolutely brilliant and so well written.

Tick Tock by Mel Sherratt - 4/5

Blurb:
"TICK...

In the city of Stoke, a teenage girl is murdered in the middle of the day, her lifeless body abandoned in a field behind her school.

TOCK...

Two days later, a young mother is abducted. She's discovered strangled and dumped in a local park.

TIME'S UP...

DS Grace Allendale and her team are brought in to investigate, but with a bold killer, no leads and nothing to connect the victims, the case seems hopeless. It's only when a third woman is targeted that a sinister pattern emerges. A dangerous mind is behind these attacks, and Grace realises that the clock is ticking...

Can they catch the killer before another young woman dies?" 

Review:
I really enjoyed 'Hush Hush', the first book in this series so I was eager to see how this book would hold up and I think it's even better!

You are instantly gripped by a couple of murders in the first chapters, then it's full of twists and turns. It was great to see more of DS Grace Allendale and her now fully fledged relationship with journalist Simon.

I read Hush Hush quite a while ago so I liked that there were little reminders of what happened in that book. It's probably okay to read this as a standalone if you haven't read the first book but I definitely recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for the ARC. Tick Tock will be published on 2nd May 2019.

Have you read anything good lately that you would recommend?