The Doll Funeral | 
I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 92
#BooksToRead #TBRPile #TBRMountain
pan🌳🌳This was a whole lot of meh for me. I don't really remember how this book got on my tbr list. Probably from one of those listsicles (that I love) on bookish sites that I follow. The story wasn't cohesive and I didn't like any of the characters. I kept reading because I was curious as to how it would turn out but it was really disappointing.
so-soConfusing and hard to get into. Nearly didn't finish it but it had random good moments that kept me plodding through it.
Look what I won from @DebinHawaii 's blog. If you love a good book and food pairing (and who doesn't?) check it out here:
kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com
Thank you so much, Deb! 😘😘😘
pick75 ~ The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer (Kindle edition📱) ~ Started: 26.07.17 ~ Finished: 31.07.17
Rating: 4/5📚
pickBetween a pick and so-so here - rounded up because this was pretty creepy in a few places. Ruby has a strange birthmark and a stranger friend called Shadow. She searches for her parents while trying to get away from her abusive adoptive father. She runs away and lives for a time with some other children in the forest, but not everything is what it seems. This is a pretty good mystery/ghost story. On audio, narration is also very good.
#TBRtemptation post 3! Great cover. Ruby lives with Barbara and Mick. They're not her parents, but she listens to them. She has bruises & a black eye. She won't tell them about Shadow, the chrysalis boy, the Wasp Lady, or the woman hanging upside down who had death crawl out of her. She hunts lost souls and for her real family. Called eerie, unsettling, and wonderfully descriptive are how reviewers describe its prose. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎
pickAlthough it's tagged as a psychological suspense thriller on Amazon, it's more a family drama with a mystery & some magical realism woven in. Kate Hammer writes beautifully with fantasy & fairy tale elements. Alternating times & perspectives of 13-year-old Ruby (1983) & Anna, her mother (1970). My review & a recipe for Bruschetta with Celery & Beans + GIVEAWAY (US & Canada) for a copy of the book on the blog, link to post👇🏻
Some nights (homemade) hummus & root veggie chips make the best dinner.😋🍽 Although I promise I didn't eat all of this--I needed it pretty for some blog photos.😆Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Very Lemony Hummus is actually pretty bright & balanced & not too lemony. Here with an #ARC from my weekend reading stack for a blog book tour review next week. #wildfridaynight
#LitsyPartyofOne Tonight's reading snack is garlic hummus with Terra Chips and grape tomatoes. It is yum--though I may need to go digging for chocolate later. 🍫❤️ Checking out today's #bookmail then it's going on the #TBR stack for a while since I don't review it for a book tour until mid-August. I'm switching from reading to television soon for The Great British Baking Show. Yep, it's a #wildfridaynight here. 😆👍📚
pickBeautiful | Moving | Melancholy
Set in the Forest of Dean this novel weaves the woodland landscape into the story to give an enchanting fairytale feel.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#thedollfuneral #katehamer #faberbooks
The premise grabs me: an adolescent who discovers her parents aren't actually her biological parents leaves home to find her true family. I'm going to give it a try, though magical realism is more miss than hit with me. @Melvillehouse
pickI don't really know how to explain this book. It's part ghost story, part family drama, part mystery.... there is a lot to The Doll Funeral. It's weird and sad, but also hopeful and happy. You never quite know where the story is going. I think The Doll Funeral is the first book I've read this year that I couldn't put down. It's an oddly inspiring book, and I adored it.
panMagical realism is a delicate balance of the fantastical and the mundane, particularly when there are serious real issues involved (abuse/mental illness/adoption). Here the balance is all wrong. The serious elements are just cheapened by the supernatural and deeply silly plot. The children and their isolated situation read like a pale imitation of Shirley Jackson without the psychologically convincing chills. The book darts are a #blameitonlitsy!
I arrived at the chemist before it opened so I went into my local indie to "browse" while I waited. Oh dear, oh dear... But I did get a free tote bag so it balances out right?
