The Snakes | 
Happy Chinese year of the Snake 2025!
It‘s the best year in the Chinese cycle😉.
One of my current small annoyances, is that I keep seeing “year of the snake” in reference to Trump. This is wrong. The snake is seen as a positive in Chinese culture🐍.
panI really hated this. Firstly, because it fooled me into thinking it had an interesting storyline with, maybe, I don't know, a point. And secondly, because it inflicted upon me against my will the most senseless, unsatisfying and gruesomely gratuitous ending that left me feeling dirty and depressed.
So cross I didn't DNF.
Bailed at 50%. Wasn‘t checking any of my boxes.
Day 1 of #marchmadness and #middlegrademarch was a success! I had to cram in as many books as possible before I start my stretch of 6 overnight shifts tomorrow. My favourites of the bunch were Cold, The Wild Robot, and The Flamingo. Just starting the tagged audiobook.
Our ginger gal, Gertie needed an upgrade!! Checking out her new log. She's so pretty 😍
Is there a #snakesoflitsy 🤔
Edit - OMG 😲 there actually is 😁🐍
pickA surprise ending!
I didn't anticipate the end st all, it really accelerated in the last 80 pages or so, changed tactic in some ways.
I liked the characters, the subtle ways they revealed parts of themselves. An odd story in many ways, yet riveting.
This is a riveting read. Only started last night and finding it hard to put down!
Dysfunctional family who are brought together unexpectedly and then it all seems to go to pot...
Iola thank you so much for this beautiful book! I have like maybe two signed copies in my collection so this is extra special. I appreciate you and your kindness 🖤🐍🥰
So yeah - I got an extra copy of Snakes totally by accident (clicking too quickly 😑). It‘s first edition & signed - however the reviews for this are all over the place... if there‘s interest I can do a giveaway 😁 comment if you‘re interested.
They were mothers. They had crossed into a place of mortal danger and beauty. P259
pickI love Sadie Jones - like Maggie O‘Farrell and Kate Atkinson, I‘ll read anything she writes - and I loved this. Family, grief, money and greed, a bit of horror in there too. Great writing and page-turningly compelling. Just what I needed.
so-so“The Snakes” is a compelling family drama about the hidden secrets of one dysfunctional family. If you‘re into a slow burning read, this is for you!
My full review is up on my blog now 📚
Still travelling. Solid page turner. Wholly misleading about the number of snakes.
pickI had a hard time putting this one down. My feelings were mixed regarding the ending, but it was probably the most honest depiction of real life. Family drama, narcissistic parents, and how easily one choice can ruin everything. It‘s interesting how it‘s not usually the greedy who suffer the consequences. What makes someone a good person isn‘t always as simple as it seems.
A fun final last week, only got to 65k steps, so off my target but had my first ever swim in Lake Windermere and read three books - loved the tagged including the controversial ending!
Thanks so much @wanderinglynn for organising us in #bfc.
Congrats to all participants!
pick3.5/5🐍. “Attention taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer.” Bea and Dan travel to France after deciding to take a 3 month holiday. Dan is unaware that Bea is worth millions, but she refuses to use it. While in France they travel to a hotel being run by her brother Alex. A tragedy breaks Bea‘s life wide open. The story examines family, love, and money and what people will do for it. Would recommend.
A perfect way to start the week The Snake by Sadie Jones love the cover rave reviews yay book mail,
pickThis was a devastating but oh so beautifully written novel. I loved it.
pickOkay, friends, if you want something that is a total beach read -- family dysfunction, a marriage challenged, tragic death, decaying French hotel -- but with a slightly literary style, I highly recommend The Snakes by Sadie Jones. Just finished it this morning and OHEMGEE. I'm practically shaking. Read it in two days because it's that compulsively terribly irresistible.
If you like your endings wrapped up in a tidy little bow, this book is not for you. After a sudden death in the family, an heiress who rejects her parents and their money questions the ways that wealth has shaped who she is. Good writing and characters. It‘s a 3.5/5.
Finally got the app working again. I missed you, Littens!
I was about to read this ARC because it sounds wonderfully eerie, but Cecil has other ideas.
#catsoflitsy
bailed
