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.

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.

Like A Brother by Nathanael Lessore

Kindle     Audiobook     Paperback

⭐ out of 5

It's been a while since I read and reviewed my last children's book but this first paragraph will still be the same as the last one, which says that each book I read and review starts off with the full 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.  The most common reason for an otherwise 5 star book becoming a 4 star book is through the use of copyrighted and/or trademarked brands potentially without permission.  There has been one book so far that has had the star rapidly replaced thanks to a magic little sentence right at the back saying that the author had gained permission to use the brand name - it's only happened once so far in the hundreds of books that I've read and reviewed so far, but I'm always hopeful that it'll happen again and I'd love to read that magic little sentence again.

I was pre-approved by the publisher to read and review an ARC of this book a month before it was published.

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

The buying information says that this book is for "11 years and up" and is 336 pages long which is too long for a middle-grade book unless it's a sci-fi or fantasy book, so the first star is already wobbly before I've even opened the book.  It also says that it's a "teen comedy" but 11 year olds aren't teenagers and I already don't know if this is a middle-grade or teen book!

I'm at the end of the second chapter and there have already been a couple of word choices that an 11 year old wouldn't understand and a mis-placed capitalisation that should have been picked up waaaay before the publisher put it into pre-publication circulation so the first star is already coming off at the end of the first page.

And now, on page 3, we've got two English football teams named, so the second star is already coming off... will I make it to the end of the first chapter without removing the third star??

I think the author is as confused about the ages of his characters as I am because they've just become teenagers, but the author hasn't said how long ago that was... was it this year?  Last year?  Longer than that?  According to my Kindle, I'm 2% of the way through the book and the utter confusion is making me take the third star off... there's 98% to go and only one star left before it officially becomes a DNF for me.

Less than a paragraph later and the author has used two celebrity names/brands which I can't see them giving permission for, so at only 2% and less than a chapter I'm removing the final star and declaring it another DNF unfortunately.

One & Only by Maurene Goo

 Kindle    Audiobook     Hardcover     Paperback

⭐ out of 5

Each book I've read in the last few years I've always started the review off in the same way:  each book I read and review starts off with the full heart of 5 stars and I'm forever hopeful that they will all still be firmly in place by the time I finish the book.  I'm not shy about removing stars if I feel it necessary though, but I always give my reasons within the review - stars don't just vanish.

The author is American, so I'll try and remember not to comment on the missing u's and reading dollars instead of pounds... I just hope she hasn't used any American brands that I've never heard of and any she *has* used are with permission!

It's one of my longer books at just over 300 pages, so I hope the author has written it so that I don't forget what I've already read when I stop for meals and to go to bed etc, 'cos I'm guessing it'll be a 2-day book maybe?

The first star is coming off already and I haven't even read the first word of the book yet!  On my Kindle, the cover of the book is in quarters over the first four pages and there's no way for me to skip past it.  The first page of the story is just as bad because it's got the letter D on the first two lines under the number 11 then the first word is missing it's first letter.  Unless it rapidly improves it'll be a DNF before I even get to the second chapter!!

The second sentence on the first page, the word "lilac" has been repeated after the full stop without a space.  The font is emboldened throughout the first page too, so that's the second star coming off and I'm already getting a headache after reading 2 sentences!!

Oh dear, I'm on the third page and the author has used an American brand that I've heard of, so the next star is wobbly already.  I wanna give this book and author a fair chance though, so unless it's repeated several times, the star is clinging on by its fingernails right now.

And now a fashion designer that I've heard of (and I've heard of barely any fashion designers, so that's saying something!)... I'm giving the author one more chance before the star comes off.

And there it goes after the use of a name of a multi-national, probabbly world-widely famous spreadsheet programme.  I've given the author and book 3 chances which I think is very fair of me, but there have been 3 star losses within the first chapter, so there's only one left to go before it becomes another DNF unfortunately.

Oh boy.  There are all kinds of mistakes, especially the bold font throughout and the extra letters and repeated words fairly frequently.  It could just be my Kindle (although other books are fine on it) but my eyes are aching and getting strained which my optician has recently said to avoid, so the final star is coming off and it's another DNF before the end of the first chapter and at only 2% of the book unfortunately.

Before the Leaves Fall by Clare O'Dea

Kindle     Paperback

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other more recent book reviews, you'll already have seen that I start the first paragraph of in the same way, by saying that every book I read and review, starts off with the full support 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 and that trademark and copyright are the usual reason for removing a star from an otherwise 5 star book.  I've rapidly replaced a star twice when there's been a magic little sentence either right at the start or right at the end of the book and I'm more than happy to do it again if that sentence is there.

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

It's a relatively short book at only 169 pages and it sounds like it could be a bit of a sad book too, but I'm hoping it'll give me an insight into what people are going through when they make the choice to have an assisted death.

The first chapter has introduced me to Ruedi and I'm already enjoying it after only one chapter... one question though, do they use francs in Switzerland instead of Euros?  I though it was only the French who used francs before the Euro was introduced!

I'm up to chapter 3 at page 16 and I'm really enjoying it so far.  It'll break my heart before the end though, 'cos I'm already starting to feel heartbroken for some of the characters!

Time for lunch before I start sobbing my heart out uncontrollably now I think.

Back now and I'm intending to read one more chapter before I stop for my physio then I'll spend the rest of the afternoon reading until I head to bed.

Up to chapter 4 and the next chapters seem to sound like an emotional rollercoaster, so I'm gonna stop there and let my lunch go down a bit before I start sobbing.  This is a truly incredible book so far and I've only read 19 pages!

I'm starting to get to know two of the characters through chapter 4 but I'm gonna stop commenting on every chapter otherwise this book will never get read and this review will never end!  Only the bigger points I want to make starting from now.

Up to chapter 21 now and the huge paragraphs of italics is very hard to read and kinda takes some of the pleasure out of what I'm trying to read... still five stars, but only just now.

There have been potential brand name mentions that I'm not sure of, so that and the blocks of italics mean that the first star is heart-breakingly coming off at chapter 21.

Just finished reading and I'm in floods of tears, but it was a perfect ending to a pretty-much perfect book.  One of those "shoulda been 5 stars" books again.

Duckling by Eve Ainsworth

Kindle     Paperback
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Each book I read and review starts off with the full body of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be firmly stuck in place by the time I close the back cover.  I'm never shy about removing stars if I feel it necessary, but I always give my reasons within the review - they don't just plop off.

Apparently this book is "A gripping, emotional, life-affirming story you'll want to recommend to a friend" and it's a 4.3 star story from 224 reviews, so it's got a lot to live up to!

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

The first chapter was good... I'll never remember the four characters that I've already been introduced to though lol

Chapter 2 was good... I'm ever so slowly starting to get to know the main character, her new neighbours and I've kinda been introduced to her boss and dad too.  I'm thinking that there might be an opportunity for friendship and fun with her neighbours, maybe a bit of romantic interest and possibly grief with her dad too, but I hope I'm wrong about that last one.

Chapter 3 has got me slightly worried, but this review is already starting to get a bit long, so, like my other reviews, I'll only comment on the big things now.

There have been a few mentions of a famous international burger bar and now their logo, so in fairness to other books I've read, the first star is coming off on page 73 and I'm really hoping that's the only one.

I'm about a third of the way through the book already, so now, at chapter 7, seems like a good point to go and make my lunch.

The end of chapter 7 was better than I was dreading, but I'm starting to get worried/angry/frustrated at Cassie now!

I'm almost half way now and am I about to find out more about Lucy's dad??

Gonna read one more chapter and hopefully that'll take me to tea-time, then I can spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with my nose in this great book.

Oooh!  I wonder what Lucy's secret is?  Will I find out before bedtime tonight or will it tantalise me until tomorrow??

Back until lunchtime and I hope I find out what Lucy's secret is soon!

Chapter 12 and I still don't know Lucy's secret, but maybe we are closer to finding Cassie??

Up to page 229 and time for lunch methinks.  There's about 160 pages to go and I've got so many questions for the author to answer and I hope it's a happy ending too... and I'm thinking it'll be a tear-jerker judging by the subtitle too, what with it promising to be "A gripping, emotional, life-affirming story".

With about 120 pages to go, the stakes have suddenly ramped up even higher!  How on earth is the author going to tie the lose ends up without rushing through it all?!

Page 272 and things are finally falling into place... my heart is thumping and I'm really hope this won't be a sad ending to a great book.

It's been a busy couple of days since I last picked up this book so it'll be a challenge to see if my memory churns into action when I pick it up again.  I'm really hoping there isn't anything sob-worthy before lunch so that I don't feel too emotional to eat!

The spelling of Lucy's name in that text has got me on edge... will this be bad news?  Has something happened to Cassie?  There's still half an hour before lunch so I'm gonna read one more chapter then make it methinks.

Chapter 21 is making me think we're going international now, but we can't be with less than 70 pages to go, surely?!

Oh.

My.

Goddess.

I've just finished the book and the tears are streaming down my face in stonking huge great waves.

Definitely worth waiting for.

Welcome to Amanda's new blog!

Amanda has been a bookworm since childhood and she's now in her late 40's but still has that same passion for books.

This blog will have all of the reviews of books she's read so that she can keep them all together.  There could and probably will be all sorts of book reviews on here because she reads most books.

There will occasionally be ARC and DRC reviews of books that haven't been released at the time of the review.

Every book will be rated in the same way - up to 5 stars and the first paragraph always being an explanation that stars don't just disappear, each star loss is explained.

This blog has been started on 21st January 2026 so each book that I read after that will be on here.

There will be children's, grown-up's and adult books but I'll try not to swear.  There will be fiction and non-fiction and all the types within each of those.  I want to try and read a couple of cozy thriller and cozy horror books to see if they give me nightmares like their non-cozy equivalents do. 

I started to read a book a couple of days ago, but the text was too tiny to read, even with my nose almost touching the screen so I gave it a one star review and let the publisher know why.  That got corrected within hours but there were now numbers at the start/end of every line so I took a few photos and sent them to the publisher who fixed it by the close of business yesterday (20th January 2026) so I'm gonna try and read it again today.  It's a long book with over 300 pages so it'll take a few days, but that will be the first review and I'm hoping the last one with so many niggles to sort out.

Please sit back and relax as you get to know me through each review that I post on here.