Welcome to Litsy!

#flatlayfriday

Another umbrella-in-the-way flatlay day!

Red 💄👠❤️💃

This build up had me lulled into a feeling that the ending would be a let down. Not so. I did not see it coming at all.

An afternoon in warm baths, jacuzzi and hammam... I am feeling very lazy, so a new book might help

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm starting 2024 with a great first book!!!
This novel was anxious and very compelling, I wanted to know what was going on between Hen and Junior, what about those beetles.. I knew there was a plot twist waiting to explode at the end, and even if I had many theories and predictions, I didn't see THAT coming!!!
The ending was perfect *chef kiss*

This is my last book for 2023 (and the first for 2024 🎉🥳🎆🎊)
The cover is just gorgeous!!! 🤩

And yes, I'm reading it before the movie (I think it will be available in Italy next week..)

I thought this was excellent! I could feel myself waiting, tense for the real story to show itself, and it didn‘t disappoint me. I loved what it had to say about marriage and relationships. How one person doesn‘t feel seen or heard. I loved the ending. I saw the movie the day after I finished the book and I loved that too. The ending was different but for once it didn‘t annoy me as I could appreciate how this new ending added a whole new spin ⬇️

💀💀💀

Reid shows us a near future that holds just enough strange possibility to turn simple domestic life into a slow burn Twilight Zone.

I liked this a lot, but not quite as much as his 2016 debut thriller, ‘I‘m Thinking of Ending Things‘. 😱

2¾⭐
This is another book with subtle elements and impressions that were mostly lost on me...sadly because of this, it didn‘t work for me. It was super slow...and I would‘ve never finished it if it had been any longer. It takes place in the near future but yet it had no science fiction-type aspects. If you‘re thinking of reading or listening to this you probably shouldn‘t go by my feelings alone because there are plenty who really liked this.

@AmyG Thank you so much! I came home to this and it made my night. Thank you!!!

I love the way Iain Reid‘s mind works. I knew where this was going, but I still loved it. I hope he writes more.
#MarvellousMarch book 2 @Andrew65

This was a so-so up until the twist at the end. Very sparse writing style, flew through this one!

+16pts for #MerryReaders #WinterGames

Popped up as a suggestion and it was short. Had decent reviews so I‘m gonna give it a try. #litsy

Today was full of errands, but I managed to finish this #audiobook. While Jacques Roy does an excellent job of narrating, I didn‘t find this story as compelling as Reid‘s other book I‘m Thinking of Ending Things. There wasn‘t enough material for a novel. It would‘ve made a much better short story. The twist at the end wasn‘t what I was expecting. I think the book is an interesting commentary on marriage. 2.5⭐️🎧

#bookspinbingo #freespace

I finished one of my #screamathonswap gifts from @4thhouseontheleft 😃

Again I‘m not sure this book should be classified as horror—it‘s a sci-fi psychological thriller where not much really happens in the way of plot, but tension does build nicely throughout. Unfortunately, I figured out the ending way too early, so it lost something there. Still, it was a short read that kept my attention.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks again, Alisia!

#screamathon

Ok today was ridiculously busy with work and appointments and away-game volleyball for my girl... I only had time for audiodriving, but by golly I‘m not going to start failing the photo challenge on day 1. 😜

Here are my physical books to choose from for my #SpookyTBR... I also have 4 scary galleys, a couple of library ebooks, and a whole bunch of scary audiobooks to select from.

Hooray for October and scary books!😱

#screamathonphotochallenge

Both @Erofan and @CareBear tagged me for the #7days7covers challenge... here's day one!
This book was amazing!!! And the cover drew me in right away - something about the slightly disjointed typography really brought the intrigue!

“There's a strange man upstairs with my wife while I'm down here, washing dishes with one arm.“

It's safe to say I'm really enjoying this book, even though I don't quite know what's coming next 😻

#Foe #cats #catsoflitsy #currentlyreading #currentpicks #novel #fiction #cover

Although the ginge looks bored, I can assure you, I'm really intrigued by this novel so far. The opening chapters have been cloaked in mystery, and I'm not sure who to trust (unreliable narrator? unreliable everybody??) Excited to find out whether Junior will leave or not... #cats #catsoflitsy #foe #novel #currentlyreading #review #fiction

So I really liked this big yet short story. I figured out what was going on from the beginning, but as the story progressed, I kept second-guessing myself. I listened to this one on audio as well, and it was very engrosing. Would highly recommend! 🤔👌🏻👏🏻🙌🏻

#TBRtemptation post 3! This has made some Top of 2018 lists, and Goodreads Choice nominee. Junior and Henrietta are low-key husband and wife. They live in quiet relative isolation in the near future. One day a man shows up. Junior‘s been selected through some kind of lottery to go on an adventure wry far from home. The man assures Henrietta that she won‘t remain alone though. Tension builds throughout. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

A interesting book, very odd 5/5

I started to read and just couldn't stop, brilliant book. Should have guessed the ending but I was so engrossed I didn't have time to think. Excellent.

Random Dollar store find!
I read an ARC for this last year and really enjoyed it so I'm thrilled to have a hard copy for my collection. I love cheap books!

I wonder where this is going..kinda weird so far. #readingwithdogs #jackthedorkie #dogsoflitsy

#AprilWrapUp #AprilStats

It has been another good month. I read 14 books, am on track with my challenges and read some real good ones. No 5 star reads (they are sparce) but the ones above were 4 or 4,5 stars. It is notabele that three of the five are thrillers, a genre I used to like but that I found lately almost always disappointing. These three were real suspenseful though.

Ooh, such a good read. I couldn‘t stop reading, had to know what was going on with Junior and Hen since a visitor arrived at their house in a dystopian, rural and almost deserted environment. The visitor announced that Junior was longlisted for a journey to an Installation in space. You feel something isn‘t right but what is it? It takes this book to figure that out. It‘s weird and scary but man, does it deliver!

#ATY2019 Speculative fiction

Have you ever read an ending that made you want to restart the whole book and read it again..? That‘s FOE. I feel like I have reader‘s whiplash from being shaken around so much by Iain Reid.. Five Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SUSPENSE, SUSPENSE, SUSPENSE
I was on a rollercoaster of questions the entire book. LOOOOVED.

“We don‘t get visitors. Not out here. We never have.

I‘m not sure I would‘ve enjoyed this in print, but it was a solid #audiobook. The lack of world building made more sense orally. I dug the Twilight Zone vibe -even the predictable ending.

Life is busy and stressful. Sometimes you‘ve just got to pick an audiobook because it‘s short.

Foe has the atmosphere of an old episode of The Twilight Zone, with something unsettling lying beneath the story we‘re reading. Thanks for the #NewYearWhoDis recommendation, @candority It‘s another 👍🏼!

I thought this would be wildly creepy but the writing wasn‘t great. The entirety is full of clunky dialogue broken up by minimal internal dialogue from Junior, the MC. Terrence is a terribly awkward visitor and Hen, Junior‘s wife, refuses talk to him about much of anything thus using up a lot of page space to go nowhere. There is zero world building apart from brief descriptions & though I felt uneasy throughout the big twist was a flop for me.

Another #newyearwhodis hold finally came in. January may be over, but I‘m gonna to finish the list from @candority

Day two of no school, as the roads are still, apparently, a mess. I can‘t find a picture to adequately convey what I mean, so check out this video. It‘s crazy.
https://youtu.be/ElFYEBTEM8o
Another day of reading. #bummer

3 star!

Ooh! This was deliciously eerie and strange! Like a book version of an episode of Black Mirror. I couldn‘t put it down. It was my first Reid book, and I‘ll definitely be seeking out more by him. The book is a clever way to dive deep into questions of relationships, how well you can actually know someone, and how much of what you think you know is actually your projection of who you want or expect them to be.

It‘s not a terrible book, but it was my least favorite that I read (and finished) this year. There is another book that I didn‘t finish, but I don‘t think I can label it worst in case it did get better later. I just didn‘t care enough to find out. Like I said, Foe isn‘t terrible, but I‘m not recommending it to anyone. It was very slow and predictable for me. It felt like reading an episode of Black Mirror.
#worstreads #worstreads2018

Whoa. This book got into my head even more than I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and that's saying something. It is similarly propulsive, disturbing, and ultimately mind-blowing. And it would make a really, really good movie, if done right. There were scenes that were so very visual. I'm just blown away all over again by Reid's writing, his ability to make stories with almost no action feel like a white-knuckle thrill ride.

I have a special place in my heart for "I'm Thinking of Ending Things". It had the most surprising ending. Reid is a master at keeping an air of mystery and giving nothing away until he wants to. "I'm Thinking of Ending Things" elicited not only an emotional reaction from me but a physical one as well. It was gut wrenching. I had a sense of unease the more I read, and by the end of it I had tears in my eyes. Very much looking forward to "Foe".

This was just okay for me. It felt repetitive at times and I just couldn‘t get into it. I will say that I didn‘t figure out the twist at the end, although maybe if I had been more invested in the story I would have. 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Starting this tonight!

I quite enjoyed this book... even if I found it a tad repetitive at some points. What I thought at first was a plot hole actually turned into a twist that I wasn't expecting... so that was fun! I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for some of this author's other works!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow, this was so well written but I'm not sure it was a good story 🤔 I mean not a lot happened and there were a lot of questions left unanswered, yet I still really liked it. #goodreadsgiveaway

Hmmm...this one left me more puzzled than I wanted. The premise was strong, but I found it quite confusing at times. I actually don‘t want to go back and figured out what I missed, because I don‘t think I care that much.

A little horror for this Sunday before Halloween.