May 2021 – Portable Magic

Posted on May 31, 2021 by Hermione

Wrap Up #May2021

Hi guys! I hope all of you have had a very nice weekend. Well, this month I read 5 books in which 4 of them were in English and one of them were in French. (Actually, I have read 6 books but I haven’t had time to post it just yet…).

Let’s get started right away!

English Books

May, 3rd 2021

The Talisman by Stephen King

The Talisman: Amazon.co.uk: King, Stephen, Straub, Peter, Bettison, Edward: 9781409103868: Books — Source: Amazon.co.uk

My ratings: 4.7/5

I really liked this book. I think my dad bought this book very long ago and I found it stored in a box upstairs with other books. If there is one thing I don’t understand is HOW ON EARTH do people manage to buy books and not read them right away.🤷‍♀️

Would I recommend this? Well, yes if you are in the mood to read books of around 700+ pages and if you like fantasy of course!

Read the full review over here

May, 19th, 2021

Before I Die by Jackie Morrissey

Before I Die: A psychological thriller full of twists and turns by Jackie Morrissey — Source: Goodreads

My ratings: 4.3/5

It was an enjoyable book which will keep you wanting for more but the characters were a little problematic. Maureen and Alva were a little annoying and the only person who wasn’t annoying at all was Micheal and for this reason, he was my favourite character.

Would I recommend this? Perhaps… but it is more of a yes than a no. But I woud tell you to go for it because it had a very good mystery and a great atmosphere.

Read the full review over here

May, 25th 2021

The Whispering House by Elizabeth Brooks

My ratings: 3.7/5

It was a nice book but again I think the character’s where a little too vague. I didn’t understand Freya very well and sometimes it feels like you don’t really feel certain emotions towards the characters and I didn’t really understand the ending but of course, this is just my opinion. The setting and the atmosphere was breathtaking. I just wish I could have visited Bryne Hall…

Would I recommend this? Well, I am not very sure about this one but maybe..

Read the full review over here

May, 28th 2021

The House Guest by Mark Edwards

My ratings: 4.6/5

I am still at awe at how much I enjoyed this book! It is really about ordinary people who come across terryfing events! The characters where just so interesting and the plot was so marvelous I actually finished the book in one day!

Would I recommend this? Well, YES! To everyone wh likes stories about ordinary people who have to find their way into secret cults to save their loved ones no matter what and having to overcome people who they barely even know about and much more powerful than them.

Read the full review over here

French Books

May, 9th, 2021

L’ennemi Sans Visage

Mes notes: 4.5/5

J’ai lu ce livre deux fois. Ce livre appartient à ma mère et elle ne l’a jamais lu. Vraiment! Comment peux t-il que qulqu’un achète un livre et ne le lit jamais??

Est-ce que je recommenderais ceci? Bon, pour les gens qui aime le suspense et le mystère bien sur!

Read the full review over here

What I am actually reading

(or rather just finished reading but not admitting it)

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

What I think I will read next

Fable by Adrienne Young and Namesake by Adrienne Young

Fable (Fable, #1) by Adrienne Young — Source: Goodreads

Namesake (Fable, #2) by Adrienne Young — Source: Goodreads

It took me FOREVER to write this post. Haha!

~Hermione

Posted on May 27, 2021May 27, 2021 by Hermione · 1 Comment

The House Guest-A Book Review

Hey everybody! I am sooooo excited for this post/review. I can’t believe how much I loved this book! I finished it in a single day!

Title: The House Guest

Author: Mark Edwards

Genre: Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Mystery

Publishing Date/Publisher: June 3, 2020/Thomas & Mercer

Adam and his girlfriend, Ruth are house-sitting for their friends, Jack and Mona who have gone on retreat to Mexico.

One stormy night, a woman knocks on the door drenched from head to toe in rainwater. She claims to be Eden, a friend of Jack and Mona’s. Seeing her state and believing her word, Adam lets her in and proposes that she stays with them since Mona and Jack are coming home soon.

Adam, Ruth and Eden soon get along very well till it almost seems like Eden isn’t such a stranger after all…

One night, Adam discovers a grey-bearded man staring at them through the window…Trying to shake off that feeling, Adam feels that they are being followed. Why? He has no idea.

It isn’t long enough before Adam, Ruth and Eden become seriously drunk. The next day, when Adam wakes up, Ruth and Eden are gone…

When Mona and Jack come back from Mexico, they don’t seem very disturbed by Ruth’s sudden disappearance since they are sure that Ruth will come back and to Adam’s astonishment, none of them know any Eden.

Now all alone and nobody to believe him, Adam is determined to find Ruth. Anything could have happened in a drunk night. He cannot help feeling a little guilty…He shouldn’t have invited Eden into the house…she was just a complete stranger.

About The Author

Mark Edwards (Author of Follow You Home)

Mark Edwards is an English author who writes psychological thrillers about very ordinary people who come across terrifying events. His first solo debut novel, The Magpies was published in 2013 and his most recent one, The House Guest was published in 2020. He has also written numerous other books; What You Wish For, Because She Loves Me and The Retreat just naming a few.

My ratings: 4.6/5

This is my very first book from Mark Edwards and it isn’t going to be the last either. It was beyond my expectations really!

Cheers!

Hermione

P.S. Currently reading: The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw;)

Posted on May 24, 2021May 28, 2021 by Hermione · 1 Comment

The Whispering House-A Book Review

Hi! Well, since I am a bit at loss at how to start the first paragraph of this post, I guess I should just start with the review before I start rambling about everything that is happening just to fill up this first paragraph(and this is what I am actually doing right now)🤦‍♀️

Title: The Whispering House

Author: Elizabeth Brooks

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Gothic

Publication Date: August 4, 2020

Freya Lyell is still affected by the death of her big sister, Stella Lyell and hasn’t forgotten the day she went away from home, leaving her and her father, alone.

One day, her and her father go to attend a wedding at Byrne Hall, just a few miles away from where Stella threw herself from the cliffs and died.

As Freya enters the house of the Bryne family, which is out of bounds to all guests, to her absolute horror and shock, she finds a picture of Stella in one of the rooms, that looks like a mosaic with lots of pieces stuck together to form Stella. The mystery is that she has no hands…

Freya falls asleep in the dimly lit room and when she wakes up…the portrait had dissappeared. Freya is sure that she hasn’t imagined the portrait but she begins to doubt if she saw Stella or not.

When she returns home, she is determined to find out about the mystery portrait and for that, she will have to leave her father at home alone. When she reaches Bryne Hall, she meets Diana Bryne, the owner of the house and her son Cory Bryne.

Soon Fraya falls in love with Cory. Deciding to abandon her job in London, she stays at Bryne Hall with Cory who spends his time painting Freya.

Very slowly, as secrets begin to unravel themselves, Fraya learns that Stella DID set foot in this place, because it was Cory who drew that picture of her sister…

Freya begins to suspect Cory and Stella’s murder instead of Stella’s suicide seems like a good idea after all…

About the Author:

Elizabeth Brooks grew up in Chester but she lives with her husband and children on Isle de Man. She started by writing her debut novel, Call of the Curlew in 2018. Her new novel, The Whispering House is set in a manor house, that is, Bryne Hall.

Source of picture: tinhouse.com

My ratings: 3.7/5

The book was really nice. It was eerie. I kinda liked Bryne Hall because I could actually imagine the staircases, the dark rooms, the portraits along the wall. The thing is I couldn’t actually connect with the characters very much (I couldn’t ‘step into Freya’s shoes’) and I think that the aura of mystery should have been greater but otherwise, it was an enjoyable read. There was also many flashbacks of Stella and I think they helped put a lot of sense in the book too.

Would I recommend this book? Well, I think yes, but I don’t really think you HAVE to read it…(if you get what I mean)

Well, have a nice day!

Love, Hermione

Posted on May 19, 2021May 19, 2021 by Hermione · 1 Comment

Before I Die-A Book Review

Hello there! Well, I seriously don’t know what to write in this first paragraph but I can tell you that I immensely enjoyed this book. Well, I’ll tell you more below.

Title: Before I Die

Author: Jackie Morrissey

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense

Publication Date: June 21st 2020

When Maureen gravely injures her ankle, her daughter, Alva is persuaded that her mother cannot take care of herself. Alva appoints a carer, a Spanish woman, Dolores Garcia (much to Maureen’s dismay) who really cannot keep her mouth shut when it comes to gossiping about the other neighbours which really annoys Maureen very much.

Maureen always thought that there was something wrong about Dolores and soon after her suspicions begin to prove right, just a little right…

One Maureen’s friends, Frank, mysteriously dies of a drug overdose. Maureen knows that Frank would never take drugs and her suspicions about Dolores become stronger since Dolores also worked for Frank as carer. Unfortunately, nobody suspects the caring and chatty Dolores, but Frank’s own son, Micheal, who is a drug addict.

Micheal knows hat he didn’t kill his father and Maueen knows that Dolores has something to do with it, even if not everything.

But who would ever believe a drug-addict and an old woman whom Dolores calls senile and confused?

Micheal and Maureen know what is hidden under Dolores mask and to reveal it, they will have to play at Dolores own game. It won’t be easy either because if Dolores finds out, Maureen can be her next victim.

My ratings: 4.3/5

Well, I really liked the book and the characters as well, but I had a teeny problem with Maureen and Alva though. Maureen would rarely get furious with her daughter and I would just egg on Maureen to do something. Alva was a little stubborn and annoying at some times becuase she wouldn’t even believe her own mom. I mean how could Dolores poison her mind to such an extent that she began calling her mom irrational! Apart from those the book was overall very interesting. Maureen and Micheal’s friendship was like the sweetest thing. Micheal really liked Maureen and it was like Micheal was Maureen grandson.

I would recommend this book to any one who likes fast-paced stories and wierd friendships.

Haha!!

About the Author:

Jackie Morrisey lives in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin, where she lives with her husband, three children, and her two dogs. The Irish author of Before I Die has also written many short stories and is also the winner of the Molly Keane award in 2004.

Hope you found a new book to read. (again, you HAVE to read this book)

Love, Hermione

Posted on May 9, 2021 by Hermione · 1 Comment

L’Ennemi Sans Visage(If Looks Could Kill)- Critique du Livre

Titre: L’ennemi sans Visage

Auteur: Heather Graham

Genre: Fiction, Suspense

Date de Publication: Décembre, 12, 1997

Lainie Adair a été poignardée chez elle. Le meurtrier reste encore un mystère mais on a comme suspect, Harry Nore, qui a été trouvé avec l’arme du crime.

Personne n’oublia l’évènement tragique de la star. Pour Madison Adair, sa vie a pratiquement changé. Depuis le jour où sa mère est morte, elle a commencé à avoir des rêves. Ils n’ étaient pas si fréquents, un peu rare, mais Madison avait un don, un don qui lui permettra de voir des meurtres en direct de l’oeil du victime dans ses rêves .

Les choses commençaient a s’empirer pour Madison, quand un tueur en série commença à séduire les jeunes femmes et à les tuer. Les rêves de Madison deviennent de plus en plus fréquents au point qu’elle ne les supportent plus. Les meurtres lui faisait revivre l’assassinat de sa mère et de son impuissance d’aider la police avec ses rêves. Elle sentait que quelqu’un proche d’elle cours un grave danger mais elle ignore qui…

…Le tueur aime les jeunes femmes, belles et rousses, comme elle.

Mes notes:

Bon Weekend! (D’ACCORD aujourd’hui c’est Dimanche…)

Bonne Journée alors!

-Hermione

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Hermione · 1 Comment

The Talisman-A Book Review

I read this book like AGES ago. Okay that’s not true, just kidding. But I did read this back in April and I was like, well, maybe I’ll just review it later or something…So here it is!

Here It Is Season 6 GIF by Friends - Find & Share on GIPHY — Source: Giphy

Title: The Talisman

Authors: Peter Straub, Stephen King

Genre: Fantasy

Publication Date: November, 1984

Jack Sawyer is a boy of 12 years old. He lives with his mother, Lily Cavanaugh, a very famous actress who is suffering from cancer.

To Jack, life seems quite slow-paced since his mother and he have just recently moved to New Hampshire in a hotel called Alhambra. All there is to do is to stroll on the beach and watch the seagulls flying above the sea.

This is the place where Jack makes his second best-friend, Speedy and old black man who works as a janitor in an old amusement park. Jack and Speedy become very good friends that it looks like they have been friends for years.

One day, Speedy brings Jack to his office and apart from all the pictures of nude girls cut from men’s magazines, only one stands out, a picture of a place that sorta looks like Africa. Speedy tells Jack about this place, which he calls the Territories and Jack tells Speedy about his Daydreams. The Territories as Speedy describes is a place is a world parallel to our world but relatively smaller in size. Speedy tells Jack about what Twinners are and Lily Cavanaugh’s Twinner, Laura DeLoessian, the Queen of the Territories. Speedy tells Jack about a crystal, The Talisman which he will have to try to get in order to save his mother and if he does, well, the Queen will be saved too and all will be well. Jack knows that this task isn’t chocolate cake and it will be very difficult as he will have to go West… probably come face to face with Morgan of Orris himself, the ruler of the Outposts, cross the Blasted Lands and well if he ever got out of there alive maybe he will be able to get to the Talisman somehow.

My ratings: 4/7

The fact that you can actually feel in the place of the characters makes it amazing. All the characters are well developed so you can picture them clearly. It is really amazing somehow how people can make a story so long, interesting and so magical with just a simple theme like a journey to save my mother! It is a must-read. I would recommend it to all people who love fantasy, strange worlds, daring adventures and of course magic.

I also learned that there is a sequel to this book, it is called Black House and still by Stephen King and Peter Straub. I would definitely read it someday!

Have you ever read this book? What do you think of it? Make sure to tell me in the comments below!

~Hermione🤍

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