Review of Doors by Daniel Brako

Cover links to amazon

Description (from NetGalley)

David Druas is a successful psychologist, with a thriving practice. When he encounters Hans Werner, a client who sees imaginary doors, life takes a dark and unexpected turn.

After trying to unravel the delusion, David also notices mysterious doors. Scattered throughout the city, they lead to beautiful, terrifying and dangerous new worlds. But are they real?

When Hans Werner is murdered, the evidence identifies David as the killer. Forced to become a fugitive, he struggles to escape the deepening nightmare that threatens to overwhelm him.

As the police close in, it becomes apparent that the doors are concealing a dark and tangled truth. The question is: can David unlock their secrets before his time and sanity run out?

My Review

Doors is a really intriguing and interesting story. The book is not heavily bogged down in description but I could clearly visualise all the worlds the main character encountered throughout the story. The pace was just right and kept me reading along well after bed time. I do feel that some areas were skimmed over a little too much and a bit more could be made of it, but then again, I liked the shortness of it. There was no messing about, it was straight to the point and engaging.

The way the book ended I believe there is the possibility of a sequel, if that is the case I would definitely be interested in reading it.

I give Doors a very strong 3 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating System:

1 star: I will never post a 1 star review because this means it was so bad I couldn't finish it, and I don't won't publicly rate a book I haven't read all the way through.

2 stars: I may have liked the story but it was badly written or it may have been a boring story well written. Something about it kept me reading but I didn't enjoy it.

3 stars: A good, enjoyable read. If the description appeals to you I'd recommend reading it.

4 stars: A really good book that I thoroughly enjoyed and may even read again. I will want to read other books by the same author. Highly recommend.

5 stars: Reserved for books that blew me away and whose characters I can't get out of my head. These are books that I will definitely read again, possibly several times. If I read an e-book version I may even have to go buy a hard copy for my shelves. Why are you still here? Go read this book right now.

7th Sunday Check-In - #ROW80

I am still taking time off for personal reasons, but I am trying to keep up with the blog when I can and I am still on target with the 750word challenge. I have read another book from my review list and am half way through the next.

Whenever I have had a spare moment I have been going through the plot for my current wip and trying to work out the kinks. I have restarted it so many times and always get stuck at the same point, so I have given myself till the end of the month to figure out how to make it work. If I haven't solved it by then, it will be going in a drawer until I have one of those magical 'aha' moments (probably in the middle of another wip!).

How about you? How did you get on this week? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you. And remember, if you want to visit others in the #ROW80 blog hop you can use the links below.

Weekly Inspirations #25

Image from Animal Talk

Here are my favourite links from the past two weeks. Have a great weekend.

Here's How Maria Popova of Brain Pickings Writes: http://www.copyblogger.com/how-maria-popova-writes/ …

Pan to Take It All In http://buff.ly/15ZP22D  via @LiveWriteThrive

15 Cats That Should Be Superheroes http://buff.ly/13ThAZR 

Bookshelf Porn - StumbleUpon http://buff.ly/1446CwT  Wow, I want them all!!!!

There's a reason dogs are mans best friend - StumbleUpon http://buff.ly/1d0uatv  Love these

Improving Cause and Effect http://buff.ly/16WV4xI  via @mooderino

25 Steps to Being a Traditionally Published Author: Lazy Bastard Edition http://buff.ly/18K9KkV  via @ChuckWendig

When To Show Character Emotions & When to Tell http://buff.ly/16cFPOJ  via @JodyHedlund

Why Saying "I'm Too Busy" Is Just an Excuse http://buff.ly/150OWIQ  via @JodyHedlund

10 Ways Plot Structure Influences Character Arc http://buff.ly/16yAFjG  via @KMWeiland

Review of The Wrong Girl by C.J. Archer

Description (from Amazon)

Image links to amazon.co.uk

It's customary for Gothic romance novels to include a mysterious girl locked in the attic. Hannah Smith just wishes she wasn't that girl. As a narcoleptic and the companion to an earl's daughter with a strange affliction of her own, Hannah knows she's lucky to have a roof over her head and food in her belly when so many orphans starve on the streets. Yet freedom is something Hannah longs for. She did not, however, want her freedom to arrive in the form of kidnapping.

Taken by handsome Jack Langley to a place known as Freak House, she finds herself under the same roof as a mad scientist, his niece, a mute servant and Jack, a fire starter with a mysterious past. They assure Hannah she is not a prisoner and that they want to help her. The problem is, they think she's the earl's daughter. What will they do when they discover they took the wrong girl?

My Review

I really liked this book. Not least for some of the beautiful descriptions peppered throughout with a very light touch. Such short description that tell you so much and put you right there. Here are a couple of my favourites:

"The sun, however, still shone on Windamere's facade, bathing it in a golden glow it didn't deserve."

"The trees near the house swayed drunkenly."

"He moved close and skimmed his hand over Clover's neck, toward my knee. He didn't look away, and I certainly couldn't. I was caught in his presence as securely as the ruins in the vines."

One of the main 'twists' wasn't really a twist at all and was pretty predictable, but at the same time it was fun waiting for the penny to drop. The pacing felt just right for the story being told and I found it hard to put down. 

The characters were all really well fleshed out and likeable and there is still plenty left to find out about them which is always a plus for a series. There are quite a few questions left unanswered at the end of this book and normally that would annoy me. Not so with this one, it just has me eagerly awaiting the second instalment.

The author very cleverly mentioned a character from a previous series that has now prompted me to add that to my TBR pile too, along with anything else she has written. If you like paranormal romance, I highly recommend this book.

I give The Wrong Girl 4 out of 5.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating System:

1 star: I will never post a 1 star review because this means it was so bad I couldn't finish it, and I don't won't publicly rate a book I haven't read all the way through.

2 stars: I may have liked the story but it was badly written or it may have been a boring story well written. Something about it kept me reading but I didn't enjoy it.

3 stars: A good, enjoyable read. If the description appeals to you I'd recommend reading it.

4 stars: A really good book that I thoroughly enjoyed and may even read again. I will want to read other books by the same author. Highly recommend.

5 stars: Reserved for books that blew me away and whose characters I can't get out of my head. These are books that I will definitely read again, possibly several times. If I read an e-book version I may even have to go buy a hard copy for my shelves. Why are you still here? Go read this book right now.

6th Sunday Check-In - #ROW80

I don't really have a great deal to report this week. I have been keeping up with my 750words challenge and still haven't missed a day this month, and I have read another book from my review list. Other than that though, I have had to take the week off for personal reasons. I am hoping to get back into the swing of things as soon as possible.

How about you? How did you get on this week? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you. And remember, if you want to visit others in the #ROW80 blog hop you can use the links below.

Turning Days Out Into Story Ideas

"People always want to know: Where do I get my ideas? They're everywhere. I'm inspired by people and things around me." Gwendolyn Brooks

These past few weeks I have been making the most of the summer holidays and having lots of family days out. Although this has taken time away from my writing in terms of words on the page, it has helped me come up with so many new story ideas I don't know what to do with them all.

As an example, a trip to local lead mine gave me the idea for a murder taking place there. The section of mine that we went in had a constant flow of water running through it (about 6 inches/15cm). This water flows out of the mine and is channeled down to the washing floor, where young boys had the job or washing and sorting the rocks and picking out the galena (mineral form of lead). I suddenly had an image of the blood from a murder victim washing out of the mine and over these rocks where the boys were working. 

We also took a walk along the forest trail behind the mine and came upon a derelict 17th century cottage (see image). I have about ten different stories I want to write that are set in this house, ranging from a witch's tale, to one about a group of teenagers staying here for a dare.

So far, every day out that we have had has led to a new idea (not all of them involving murder), inspired by the places and buildings and the stories they hold, as well as the people we met.

If you haven't done it already, think about the last day out that you had and mine it (pun intended) for ideas. I can guarantee that no matter what genre you write in, there will be a story in there somewhere. Don't believe me? Leave a comment telling me about your last day out and the genre you prefer to write (unless you have no preference), and I'll help you find the story.

5th Sunday Check-In - #ROW80

This week I had some really good feedback on one of the stories I wrote last month and it has really spurred me on and given me a little confidence boost. I am also discovering that the more short stories I write, the more ideas I have. In fact, I am struggling to keep up with them and now have quite a big file of fleshed out ideas just waiting for their turn to be written.

The 750word.com challenge for August is going really well so far and I haven't missed a day yet. It used to take me about 30 minutes to complete, but now it takes me half that. So, even on those days when my brain feels fried and I really don't want to write, I can just tell myself I only need to do 15 minutes and then I can stop and do something else. More often than not, I find that once those 15 minutes are done my brain is warmed up and I actually want to do more.

I am slowly catching up on my reading as well and have read another one and a half books this week.

How about you? How did you get on this week? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you. And remember, if you want to visit others in the #ROW80 blog hop you can use the links below.

Weekly Inspirations #24

Image from Animal Talk

Here are my favourite links from the past week. Have a great weekend.

Creating Aha Moments in Your Novel by Pulling Back http://buff.ly/13x3mxB  via @LiveWriteThrive

An Important Technique for Adding Momentum to a Slow Plot http://buff.ly/17z28PM  via @JodyHedlund

Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors: When Not to Give an Interesting Character a POV http://buff.ly/19eMv6R  via @KMWeiland

Yes, Virginia, You Can Totally Force Art http://buff.ly/197mp2c  via @ChuckWendig

The Importance of Knowing Our Audience and Genre http://buff.ly/17BnOLf  via @elizabethscraig

Review of Unraveled by S.X. Bradley

Cover links to amazon

Description (from amazon)

Sixteen year old math whiz, Autumn, spends her days reading about serial killers and dreaming of becoming an FBI Profiler. She never dreams her first case will be so personal. Her world is shattered when she comes home from school and discovers her murdered sister’s body on the living room floor. When the initial evidence points to a burglary gone wrong, Autumn challenges the police’s theory because of the personal nature of the crime. Thinking that finding the killer will bring her family back together, she conducts her own investigation using her affinity for math and forensics, but her plan backfires and her obsession with the case further splinters her family.

When her investigation reveals the killer is someone she knows, Autumn offers herself up as bait and sets a dangerous trap to unmask his true nature and to obtain a confession for her sister’s murder.

14+ for brief violence

My Review

For the most part I really enjoyed this YA Murder Mystery, it was quite fast paced and the developing romance was really sweet, it also makes a nice change to have such an intelligent main character. 

That being said there were a few elements that pulled me out of the story. At times I felt the language was too formal for a group of teenagers (no matter how intelligent), and the constant references to Autumn's amazing math's skills became a little annoying after a while, making her came across as quite pretentious. These are all issues that could be fixed during editing.

This is the author's debut novel and overall I think she shows a great deal of promise and I wouldn't hesitate to read more of her work in the future.


I give Unraveled 3 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating System:

1 star: I will never post a 1 star review because this means it was so bad I couldn't finish it, and I don't won't publicly rate a book I haven't read all the way through.

2 star: I may have liked the story but it was badly written or it may have been a boring story well written. Something about it kept me reading but I didn't enjoy it.

3 star: A good, enjoyable read. If the description appeals to you I'd recommend reading it.

4 star: A really good book that I thoroughly enjoyed and may even read again. I will want to read other books by the same author. Highly recommend.

5 star: Reserved for books that blew me away and whose characters I can't get out of my head. These are books that I will definitely read again, possibly several times. If I read an e-book version I may even have to go buy a hard copy for my shelves. Why are you still here? Go read this book right now.

4th Sunday Check-In - #ROW80

I am not as far ahead with my goals as I would have liked at this stage, but given all of the family stuff that I have had going on I am relatively pleased with my progress.

• Take part in Camp NaNo during July and write at least 20 pieces of flash fiction or 10,000 words. - I have 11 stories ready for second drafting and the foundations laid for 15 more, and my word count was 6,184.
• I will spend Aug editing the pieces I have written and either submitting them to magazines or putting together my own collection. - Not started yet
• Read and review 11 books. - Only one and a half so far, with all the family stuff going on I've barely had a minute to myself.
• Work through the kinks in my WIP and progress with that, or finally lay it rest and start work on another novel. - Not started yet.

On top of this I have added another goal for August.

• Complete the 750words.com challenge for the month (use the site to write a minimum of 750 words a day). - Completed every day so far

How about you? How did you get on this week? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you. And remember, if you want to visit others in the #ROW80 blog hop you can use the links below.