Book Review | 1st Case by James Patterson

A massive thank you to Penguin Random House South Africa for the review copy of 1st Case by James Patterson! I am so grateful for this book to add to my crime and investigation novels!

Published: July 2020
Pages: 321
Pace: Fast
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Adventure Fiction

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I have no idea why I waited so long to read this book. As you can see it was published more than a year ago. But boy, am I glad that I’ve now read it. To give you some insight, I literally read this book in one day because I just could not put it down.

Here is the blurb for the book:

A young tech genius is thrown in at the deep end on her first case with the FBI in a gripping new stand-alone from the world’s bestselling thriller writer A young tech genius is offered the opportunity of a lifetime… one that could end hers. When Angela Hoot is kicked off her graduate programme at MIT for hacking into the computer of a fellow student, she fears she’s blown her chances of a glittering career. Angela is wrong: instead, she’s offered a dream internship with the FBI. She jumps at the chance, and is thrown straight into her first case at a house in the Boston suburbs where a family of five have been brutally murdered. As Angela struggles to come to terms with the harsh reality of her new job, a phone is found that could hold the secrets of this mass murder – if Angela is able to uncover them.

This book was absolutely perfect. Maybe it was all the stars aligning in the sense that I was in the right mood and in the right head space and I was hungry for a good novel, but this was everything I enjoy in a good crime and mystery novel. I thought the characters were so well written, the story line moved quickly and was so fascinating. I mean who can be bored by hackers and murder plots with hackers? It was something so new to me but at the same time I could see how it could really happen.

The protagonist, Angela, was an awesome character. I really enjoyed her story and her relationship with her mentor. As unrealistic as it is that, as a brand new addition to the FBI, she gets thrown straight into a murder investigation of a family of five, I guess once we got going, it was just absolutely addictive. I had to know what was going to happen next. I had to see if they would figure out who was behind the murders and why. It was an absolute ride!

I’ve read one or two of James Patterson’s other books, like the Midwife Murders, but I enjoyed this book so much more. It had a good pace. It was well written and flowed nicely. I connected with the characters and wanted to know what would happen to them. Even losing one of the characters was something I felt. So it was just so good! The chapters are nice and short and so that makes for easier reading as well. Like I said before, I think all the stars were aligned and this was the perfect read for this particular moment in my life. And I am grateful for that!

Do yourself a favour and read this book! Especially if you are in the mood for a quick but awesome crime and investigation mystery novel. The suspense aspect of this book was so well done as well! You won’t be disappointed!

To add it to your TBR on Goodreads, click here.

To buy yourself a copy, click here.

Until next time! 😊
Chevonn

Book Review | The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

This was one of those highly anticipated books I was super excited to receive from Penguin Random House South Africa. I am utterly grateful for the review copy. I’ve really jumped on this Young Adult train and I am really enjoying all the new Young Adult stuff coming out. So it’s no wonder this one got me so excited! 🤩

Published: January 2021
Pages: 337
Pace: Medium
Genre: Mystery, Young Adult, Thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

So what happens is that there are three cousins whose parents are the children of a super wealthy lady who one day just disowned them and sent them each a note saying “You know what you did!” and that’s it. So it has been 20 years since the kids of the wealthy lady were disinherited when all of a sudden, the grandchildren each get a letter from grandma inviting them to come and spend the summer working on her island. Each cousin’s family has their own little story and their hope around the visit to the island.

Once the kids get to the island, all the fun starts. The people on the island are all so invested in the story of the rich lady who has disowned her kids that the arrival of the grandchildren sparks so much interest. And then the cousins have to start to navigate the island and figure out why their grandma has asked them to come – is she going to explain what happened, is she going to leave the inheritance to them, is this all some crazy joke, what is actually going on?

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was entertaining. I thought the characters were fun and unique. I especially enjoyed Milly – she was my favourite. I enjoyed watching their relationships develop (since they didn’t really know each other before then) and obviously the best part is always watching the story unfold. And man, what a story it was. I must say that I kind of expected the ending but not exactly the same way it actually happened. It was mysterious and a little creepy at times but overall a page-turner.

If you are into Young Adult, I reckon you would enjoy this one. And if you are familiar with Karen M. McManus’s writing, you will see more of the same. It’s easy to read and I find it engaging. As mentioned, the bulk of the story is set on a luxury island which is such fun. Just a great, light, mystery read.

If you would like to check it out on Goodreads, click here.

If you would like to get yourself a copy, click here.

Until next time! 😊
Chevonn

Book Review | How To Change by Katy Milkman

I am so grateful to have received a review copy of “How To Change” by Katy Milkman from Penguin Random House South Africa. This year, I’ve been trying to be more intentional about reading books that can help me grow in various areas of my life and this book was no exception. I love the tagline – “The science of getting from where you are to where you want to be.”

Published: June 2021
Pages: 249
Genre: Non-fiction, Psychology, Self-help

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

To be honest, I am always a little intimidated by self-help books because I’ve seemed to develop this idea that they are deathly boring and tedious to read. This year has shown me, to my delight, that it’s quite the opposite! I’ve enjoyed these non-fiction books so so much and I’ve learnt interesting things. I’ve also appreciated the engaging ways in which the information is presented. It takes all the work out of learning and makes it fun!

Katy Milkman’s new book is an exploration of how we can facilitate the change we want to see in our lives and actually follow through on the change instead of ditching it like we normally do because we always run into a time when it becomes too difficult to maintain or we’ve lost the motivation that kick-started our desire to change.

She uses all her studies on behavioural change as well as science and biology to help the reader to truly understand how our minds work and in that way she highlights how it is we can effect lasting change into our lives. We all have areas that we know we need to improve in – losing weight, staying disciplined with our routines, reading more books, spending time on studies or on that project we are working on… Whatever it is for each person, the principles in this book apply.

As an example, Katy explores the times at which people generally set new or major goals. We often associate this with New Years. We all set new year’s goals and then by the third week in January we’ve given up. She was explaining that this happens to people in other instances as well though. For example if there is a major event in our lives, it could also act as a catalyst for major change in our lives – such as a new relationship or a promotion or the death of a loved one. And these moments are powerful in terms of their success for lasting change in our lives. These are the moments that change generally successfully occurs. If we could understand what drives the change in those times, we’ve learnt a skill we can apply at any time.

This book is a nice short read but so interesting and so engaging. I definitely feel richer for having read this book. I encourage anybody who is interested in learning to understand change and how we can really make the most of it and harness it in our lives, it’s worthwhile picking up this book! It’s helped me to see things differently which I really appreciate.

To add it to your list on Goodreads, click here.

To buy yourself a copy, click here.

Until next time! 😊
Chevonn

Book Review | The Fuzz-Fuzz by Jennifer Lindridge

We were lucky enough to receive a review copy of this beautiful children’s book from LAPA and Penguin Random House Publishers. My son loves stories and each new book comes with a bucketload of excitement! It results in a special moment of sharing a new story and that’s so good for the heart and soul.

Published: September 2021
Pages: 32
Genre: Children aged 3-6

The fuzz-fuzz is such a cute story where Jenn and Dev are looking for a literal fuzz-fuzz but can’t find it anywhere. So they go on a journey of looking around and between all kinds of other interesting things like the wallah-wallah bing-bang or the hic-hac-i-just-got-back.

The pages are bright and beautiful. The illustrations are stunning. And as you can tell, the words are a mouthful and result in fits of giggles. The sounds that are made while reading this book are a great delight to the little ears that are listening and it was great fun trying to explain to my son what all of the various things actually were.

The end of the story is really cute and well worth the journey one goes on through the pages. It’s a perfect book for some pre-bedtime entertainment and stretching of the imagination. We absolutely loved it!

Thank you once again to LAPA and Penguin for sending us a copy! We are most grateful and we highly recommend this book to any parent of a little one between the ages of 3 and 6. Reading this together is guaranteed to be a moment of fun and laughter.

To buy a copy for yourself, click here.

Until next time! 😊
Chevonn