Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann (Author), Anthea Bell (Translator)

Kindle Unlimited Audiobook

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5 stars

I got this book after a recommendation from my wonderful sister-in-law and it's the first book either of us has ever, in almost three decades (at the time of writing), recommended to the other.  I can't remember what genre I asked for recommendations of, but I'm guessing, judging by the description, that it was maybe crime??  I hope it won't be too gruesome!

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know that I start them all off in the same way - by saying that every book I read and review starts off with the full field of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be there by the time I close the back cover.  You'll also know that I'm not shy about removing stars if I feel it necessary, but that I always give my reason(s) for doing so within the review - they don't just vanish.  I'm hoping that this'll be a 5 star review after my SIL's recommendation, but I'm going to read with an open mind and not give the book and author any more chances than I do with a non-recommended book.

Let's get going shall we?

At 347 pages, it's one of the longer ones and I'm really hoping that it won't make me lose any meals or drinks - there's a tick by 'cosy crime' so that should be pretty safe, right?

I've just opened it and it says that it'll take a smidgen under 7 hours to read so, in theory, I'll get it finished at around bedtime tonight... I've learnt that I can usually take that time estimate with a pinch of salt though lol

There have been a lot of character names in the first 16 pages of the book and I've already forgotten most of them, but hopefully most of them will be minor characters.  There have been a few potential lunch losses but the author has handled it well so far which is making me hope that this will be a non-nausea-causing book... I hope I'm not wrong!

I've enjoyed the first chapter and haven't spewed yet, thankfully, but 27 pages seems a bit long for the foreword and first chapter combined to me... maybe this is just how it starts and future chapters will be shorter??

I've just scrolled back in my Kindle and chapter 1 started on page 12, so 15 pages per chapter isn't so bad I guess.

I've skipped so far ahead this morning 'cos it's just not my kinda thing, and now that I've had my lunch, I don't fancy revisiting it again.  I'm sure it's a great book for many people, it's just not my cup of tea unfortunately, so I'm taking a star off for that but leaving the other 4 in place for the moment.  I'll try and find other mysteries before my final decision, but right now, I'm glad I've dipped my toe into the water, but it's not for me right now... maybe in a few years I'll change my mind, but right now in the very early Summer of 2026, it's not gonna be a regular genre for me unfortunately.

The first page of chapter 9 is making me feel like the author has only just discovered the word scone and wants to include it in every sentence... you also don't "dip" scones in jam and cream, you spread both gently over the two horizontal halves with a knife!  I really wanted to like this book, but I don't think the author is from the UK and hasn't done much research into how things actually happen over here!

I'm 2-3 pages into chapter 10 now and it's been, almost entirely, descriptions of the front of the building and especially the door.  I get that the author needs to build the mystery, but this is getting beyond a joke now!

I'm up to chapter 14 on page 188 now and I'm really not enjoying this book... I dunno if it's indicative of the genre or just this particular author's style, but it hasn't "grabbed" me yet and I'm spending most of the time flicking forward unfortunately.

At chapter 19 and less than 100 pages left to get through, I'm starting to see why the time at the start of the book was so short for such a long book - the other readers must have done a lot of skipping forward too.

Skipped all the way to chapter 22 now and I think, despite all the skipping today, I know who did it so I'm determined to read the last 42 pages without skipping forward at all.

Ah right.  The author is a German native so maybe the scone thing was part of her research into Ireland that she liked and wanted to include it in her debut novel?  It's disappointing that I had to skip through so much of it though.  She's obviously kept writing after this book though, which I'm glad about.

Overall, an OK book, just not for me unfortunately.

Crash Into Me by Robinne Lee

Kindle Audiobook Hardcover

⭐ out of 5

I was approved by the publisher to read this book before it was published and, as always, it'll be a brutally  honest review of all the highs and, hopefully very few, lows as I read and feel them.  It's one of the well-known, big publishers that I've read and reviewed for before, so they obviously know what to expect and have prepared the author for my brutal honesty!

If you've read any of my other more recent book reviews, you'll already know that I start each one off in the same way, by saying that each book I read and review starts off with the full five stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover. 

It's almost my bedtime, so I'll start reading tomorrow morning, but I can't wait to get started.

The publisher has taken notice of my previous comments either within reviews or past comments to them and has put in a first sentence saying that the ARC I've got is a proof copy, not a final one, so I won't mark the book down on things like missed pages or SPaG mistakes... if the magic sentence is included too, that could be a second star saved and I haven't even got past the first paragraph yet lol

My first impression of the book from the first two paragraphs is that it seems to be very old language and scene-setting for 2015 - more like the 1800s rather than the 2010's!  Maybe the author likes, reads and appreciates classic literature, but it's very out of place in a 2015 setting!  The author is setting the scene into 2015 but the word choices are very out of place for only a decade ago.  If it was a classic then I would understand it, but it's making the book very hard to understand already unfortunately.  I'm gonna give it another little while to see if the author changes the feel of the language used, but the star is already wobbly unfortunately.

I'm getting confused about the gender of the "I" in this first chapter... I thought they were female at first, then male and now back to female again - I get that the author is trying to set the scene, but they aren't doing a very good job of it so far, unfortunately. I'm gonna give the author one last chance before I remove the first star, but it's not looking like this is gonna be a five star book already, unfortunately.

That first sentence of the book has saved the star 'cos I'm not sure what "Guhd" is supposed to sound like!  The author seems to be attempting to spell the accent and it is seriously affecting my enjoyment of the book already unfortunately.

And now we've got another character, so that's four characters already in the first chapter and I'm already getting confused between them all, so off comes the first star.

And now there's another one at the end of the first chapter so I'm mightily confused about who is who and how they know or don't know each other now!  If the characters had all been spread out throughout the entire book, then it might have been a good read, but I'm already seriously confused about who is who and what their relationship and need to be in the book so early is, so the second star is already wobbly unfortunately.

Oh dear.  The second page has got the brand name of an internationally famous audio technology company so I'm really hoping that magical sentence is at the end of the book otherwise I won't be able to re-attach the second wobbly star!

The second chapter was relatively short but the years are all over the shop already which is confusing me even more and I don't believe that a reader should have to make notes while they're reading a fiction novel but it's already starting to feel like I have to, so the second star is even wobblier now unfortunately.

And there's another brand name of a media company in the third chapter, so the second star is coming off after less than three chapters unfortunately.  Will this already be another DNF?

Up to chapter four now and this book isn't as good as I was hoping for, unfortunately.  Not the worst by any means, but far from what I was hoping for too.

The end of chapter four came out of nowhere and was a totally shocking surprise!  I was tempted to knock another star off for boredom, but I've changed my mind now!

I'm gonna stop reading for the day now and I'll hopefully carry on tomorrow.

Chapters 5 and 6 were, unfortunately, boring, so I'm skipping forward for a while in the hope of getting some less boring bits.  The third star is significantly wobbly already unfortunately.

OK, I've skipped ahead to chapter 9 and the chapters are too long again, unfortunately, so the third star is on the verge of dropping off unfortunately.

And now we've got celebrity names and internationally famous awards talked about, I'm assuming without permission, so the third star is plopping off unfortunately.  Only one star left before it becomes another DNF for me unfortunately.

I rapidly lost count of the number of pages in chapter 13 but it was waaaay too many and could have potentially made for a very late night if I hadn't skipped forward so many pages again.  I've officially given up on this book now so I'm taking the last star off and awarding it a disappointing DNF - I was really looking forward to reading it, but it's been a huge let down the more I've read.  If the author had carried on in the same way as they did at the start of the book, then I might've been willing to finish reading it without taking so many stars off and certainly no skipping forward as much as I have done today.  Overall, a huge disappointment.

Amazon Alexa: Amazon Alexa: Quick Reference Guide by Steve Wright

Kindle Unlimited

⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Every book I've read and reviewed recently has started off with me saying that each book starts off with the full 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they'll all still be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.

I bought my first ever Alexa a few months ago and I've been very limited in what I've asked her to do so far, so I'm hoping that this book will give me a few ideas of things I can ask her to do.  I've already set her up, so I'm really hoping this isn't a book telling me how to do that!

Let's get going shall we?

I'm up to page 3 and in those pages, the author has gone from saying that Alexa is "more than just a speaker" on the first page to saying that she *is* just a speaker on page 3... the first star is already coming off for being so confused already and waffling on selling me and other readers the device that we've already got and advertising his mailing list on the first page too!

Apparently Alexa can "Open the Door, Switch on the Light or Play Music" but the author doesn't tell you that those things have to be connected smart devices!  I can't just ask my Echo Dot to open the door or adjust my central heating because neither of those are connected smart devices for me!  The second star is coming off only a page after I removed the first star... this isn't looking good!

At last!  Page 5 has given 5 I can ask my Alexa device, underneath the image that is too small for me to comfortably read - it's only taken 5 pages lol

I've got a lot more requests that I can give my Echo now, thankfully, so the stars are stable atm.

I'm now up to page 31 and I've found loads of things that I can ask Alexa to do, which I was hoping for and is exactly what I wanted.

Just finished reading it and it was more like 8 hours than 1 hour but I've got loads of things to say to Alexa now, which will hopefully keep me going for a while lol

Princess Kate's Brother: James Middleton by 1-Hour Royals

Kindle Unlimited
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know how I start them all off.  Every book starts with the full palace of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will still be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.  You'll also know that I'm not shy about removing stars if I feel it necessary but I always give my reason(s) for taking them off within the review - they don't just disappear.

Let's get going with the reading and reviewing shall we?

I've just finished reading the first two chapters of the book and it's breaking my heart that James wasn't given the opportunities to shine or the support to succeed in his education.  I can't help thinking that if he'd been assessed, diagnosed and supported while he was still at school, he could have achieved success in his own right.

It's reading like poor James couldn't escape and relax and be a "normal" youth, even before Catherine became a potential royal!  It makes me wonder how the reporters would feel if it was done to them too!

Just finished and it reads like James found the right person for him and that he's comfortable with who he is now that he's a husband and dad... WTG James!

Further Confessions of a GP by Benjamin Daniels

Kindle Unlimited     Audiobook     Paperback

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

All of my more recent book reviews have started in the same way - by saying that each book I read and review starts off with the full surgery of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be stitched firmly into place by the time I close the back cover.  I'm not shy about removing stars but I always give my reason(s) for doing so within the review, they don't just vanish into thin air.

I've really enjoyed each of the other books I've read in the "Confessions of" series and I'm really hoping that this book is up there with the rest of the series too.

Let's get going shall we?

Well, no spoilers, but after the first chapter I'm relieved that I didn't start reading just before or just after eating lol

Oh deary me... there's been a very brief mention of a trademarked chocolate bar, so the first star is already wobbly so early on in the book.  It's clinging on for dear life right now, but it's currently like jelly.

I'm up to page 17 already and I'm loving this book so far.  As long as there are no more trademarked or copyrighted mentions, this is already shaping up to be a 5 star book!

There's been a mention of a famous children's film and I'm not sure how copyright and trademarks work on those, so the star is still clinging on, but only just now.

Up to page 41 now so I'm steaming through this book this morning and loving every word again!

Nooo!!  At page 53, the first (and hopefully only) star is coming off for the use of a distance learning university, potentially without permission.  I always hate it when I have to remove a star for copyright or trademark infringement in an otherwise very much 5 star book but I've gotta be fair to all the other books I've read and take the book down to four stars.  The good thing is though, that it's the only star I'll remove for this reason, so the author can quite easily use trademarks and copyrights to his heart's content now!  lol

Those poor nurses and cheeky Mr Lorenzo lol

Page 65 and a good place to stop to go and make my lunch I reckon.

I don't envy the doctor on the appointment that ended on page 104!  lol

I'm immensely glad that I didn't live in a time where they treated an STI with mercury!!

I'm stopping reading for the day at page 135 and hoping to start again tomorrow... it's another one of those "shoulda been 5 stars books" 'cos the words are incredibly absorbing, but the dratted use of those copyrighted and trademarked things meant that the star had to come off this morning otherwise it just wouldn't have been fair on other books that I've read and reviewed.

I'm regretting opening the packet of sweets at the start of the first chapter of the day lol

Poor Danni.  I can see it from both points of view, but that chapter really sounded like she'd hit rock bottom and having her kids back would encourage her to keep on climbing back out of the pit.  I can also see it from the doctors point of view though and he has to look after Danni but also think about what is best for her children's future too.

Page 175 now, so just under 100 pages left to read this afternoon and I'm enjoying every word again!

At page 229 now and it seems to be the end of the book, other than the humourous "notes" bit that was so much appreciated in the first book and the page count on my Kindle says that there are 43 pages left to read.  I think I'm remembering rightly that other books in this series have been adverts for other books in the "Confessions of..." series so we'll have to see if it's the same in this book too.

I was wrong, I'm sorry, there were just a couple of pages of humourous notes and now there are more tales from the doctor... I thought 40 pages of notes were maybe a bit long! lol 

Now *that's* the ending I was expecting to the book lol

Another very very good book and another "shoulda been 5 stars" one too.

Magic Uncorked by Annabel Chase

Kindle Unlimited Audiobook Paperback
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews from the last few years, you'll already know how I always start all of my book reviews: by saying that each book I read and review starts off with the full membership of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.  You'll also know that I'm not shy about removing stars if I deem it necessary, but I always give my reason(s) within the review - they don't just disappear.

I loved the description of this book and I'm really hoping it'll give me a warm, fuzzy hug as I devour each page, so let's get going shall we?

Just finished the first chapter and really enjoyed it... could this be a 5 star book in the making already??

Oh dear.  A well-known video website has just been mentioned, so in fairness to other books that I've read and reviewed, the first star is unfortunately starting to wobble slightly.

And now there's a famous alcohol mentioned too, so one more mention of a Trademarked or even copyrighted item and the first star plops off unfortunately.

The end of chapter 2 came out of nowhere!  No spoilers, but is this maybe the kinda time to reach for the tissues already??

I was wrong, I'm sorry, the four female main characters has turned the potential for tears into respectful humour.  There have been mentions of the same trademarked items, but the star is already wobbly because of them, so it's not coming off for the repeated use.

At page 69, the first star is coming off for the use of a trademarked shopping channel on the television, so this is now, unfortunately, a 4 star book.

I'm up to chapter 9 on page 100 and the last chapter was a great one!  I'm not so sure that illegal drugs (at least they're illegal in the UK, I haven't got the faint foggiest clue about the rest of the world) should be included and the author has used some stereotypical language about what she *thinks* witches are like, rather than doing some basic research into real witches and Wiccans, but I guess the author is using the childhood image of a witch rather than a realistic Wiccan.

Chapter 12 is up next and this is a truly great book - the author is really in their stride now and I'm loving every word!

What a way to finish the book... I've barely looked away from the pages since lunchtime and my belly and throat are wondering what's going on lol  It's just about readable in one day... as long as you do pretty much nothing else lol

The Intercessors by D. L. Norris

Kindle Hardback Paperback

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Each book that I read and review starts off with the full 5 stars and I'm forever hopeful that they will all still be firmly routed in place by the time I close the back cover.

Going by the cover alone, it looks like this book is gonna be a pretty spiritual book maybe?  The description got me hooked and I hope it's a positive book to read!

Let's get going shall we?

It's been a bit of a slow start, but maybe that's intentional?  Maybe the author doesn't want the reader to rush through without thinking about every word that they read?  It's been a really good read so far and I'm really enjoying it... have I already, potentially, got a 5 star book on my hands??

I'm 13% of the way through and have yet to find a single negative thing to say, which is always a relief!

Up to 33% now and I'm still loving every word!  I've just finished reading the chapter at 34% and I have to admit that I'm feeling a touch emotional that things worked out so well for them but it also made me wish that I could have been offered that same lifeline or even just recognition while my late husband was alive!

At 51% I'm stopping for lunch... this book, IMNSHO is worth every penny!

Back now and I'm glad I waited until after lunch to read the next chapter 'cos I'm in floods of tears now!

Oh dear.  The author has used the name of a famous criminal and I'm not sure if that's legal or not, but it can't be safe, surely??

What a great end to a terrific book!  Just the right mix of heartbreak and positivity.  The last chapter was perfect to end the book on too.

Definitely worthy of the full 5 stars.