Review: Swallowed by a secret

Title: Swallowed by a secret

Author: Risa Nyman

Genres: Middle grade/Mystery/Family/Grief

Pages: 198

Goodreads rating: 4.63/5

My rating: 5/5

Synopsys:

One dead father. One lying mother. One giant secret.

12-year-old Rocky’s father dies suddenly, and he learns the “his heart stopped” story he has been told is bogus. Immediately after the funeral, his mother sticks the For-Sale sign in the lawn and whisks them out of town as if living there has become too dangerous. As his trust in his one remaining parent unravels, Rocky is determined to crack the secret about how his father really died.

The road to the truth involves eavesdropping, snooping, and listening to advice from his dead father which sends Rocky on a risky journey to find the truth.

But sometimes it might be better for a secret to stay secret. Will Rocky have to rethink the father he thought he knew?

Review:

First of all, I want to thank Risa, she’s the first author who contacted me on IG after reading my bio, and gently asked me if I want to read her book. I’m grateful for this, it means that my work on bookstagram is seen by someone.

At first, I admit I wasn’t fond of the main character, Rocky, since he was so rude and ungrateful to his mother, but it was also somewhat justified but the tragedy that took away his father.

This book shows perfectly the “famous” stages of grief, and also includes one of the best character development of the MC I have ever seen in a book, even in an “adult” book.

My fave character is Olive, a great side character who easily became best friend with Rocky and helps him in more than a way.

The relationship between the characters is so heartwarming, thanks also to the development and personal growth of Rocky.

Prepare the tissues, because you’ll need them right before the ending. It was so emotional I had to pause my reading and calm myself. But don’t worry, there’s a happy ending.

Read it, you’ll not regret it.

Wrap up: December 2019

Hello readers and Happy New Year!

How was your reading month?

I managed to read 11 books on December, without DNF! It’s a miracle, I know.

What was the last book you’ve read in 2019? Mine was a non-fiction book about murders, so typically me.

As usual, I will include the books that I’ve read in Italian, with the title translated, if possible.

5 Stars:

 

3 books with 5 stars? How this is even possible? The magic of Christmas, I suppose.

The electrical menagerie is so beautiful! I can’t even describe how much I’ve loved it. Go and read it, it’s so underrated!

Arbrook Huxley and the miraculous confection: we are lucky, because the author of The Electrical Menagerie has written a couple of short stories!

The cure for dreaming is another great historical/gothic book written by Cat Winters. For me, she’s the queen of these books genres.

4 stars:

Another short story from the universe of The celestial isles! A celestial quartet shows us a little more about the characters of The electrical menagerie, and it’s free on the author’s site!

The audiobook version of Mary Poppins is a lovely company during the Christmas holidays! I really enjoy it.

3 stars:

Ah, always the special snowflake syndrome! Something that never change, right? Snow like ashes has a beautiful cover, but it was pretty flat for me.

The bank holiday murders is my last book of 2019: a non-fiction book about murders occurs in Whitechapel just before Jack The Ripper began to strike.

2 stars:

The catacombs was a little better than the other two in the series (Suicide forest/island of the dolls), but the plot is basically the same. Also, the main culprit is always the same kind of  “creature”.

I’ve read dozens of yaoi fanfictions with a better plot and better s*x scenes of The magpie lord. Totally not impressed, I won’t finish this series.

1 star:

The only 1 star book is a book about Christmas. Unholy night (that’s the original title) was funny only when Mary or her husband are involved. So, for me, that’s the last book written by Grahame Smith that I read in my life.

 

And that’s was my reading month, how about yours?

Tell me in the comments!

ARC review: All That Remains

Title: All that remains

Author: Sue Black

Genre: nonfiction, biography, medical

Editor: Arcade

Pages: 360

Expected publication: March 5th 2019

Trigger Warning: death, blood, corpses, medical examinations, violence

Add on: Goodreads, Amazon

Goodreads rating: 4,43

My rating: 4,75/5

Summary:

Dame Sue Black is an internationally renowned forensic anthropologist and human anatomist. She has lived her life eye to eye with the Grim Reaper, and she writes vividly about it in this book, which is part primer on the basics of identifying human remains, part frank memoir of a woman whose first paying job as a schoolgirl was to apprentice in a butcher shop, and part no-nonsense but deeply humane introduction to the reality of death in our lives. It is a treat for CSI junkies, murder mystery and thriller readers, and anyone seeking a clear-eyed guide to a subject that touches us all.
Cutting through hype, romanticism, and clichè, she recounts her first dissection; her own first acquaintance with a loved one’s death; the mortal remains in her lab and at burial sites as well as scenes of violence, murder, and criminal dismemberment; and about investigating mass fatalities due to war, accident, or natural disaster, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. She uses key cases to reveal how forensic science has developed and what her work has taught her about human nature.

Review:

After the mini-reviews of 2 nonfiction books about an asylum and murderers, here it is a review of a biography/nonfiction book about death. Well done Diana! I have to say, this book is really fantastic!

I found it on Edelweiss and it was free to download for everyone. If you are interested in the subject (not only death, but anatomy too), you really need to read this book.

“What makes us human? One of my favourite definitions is: Humans belong to the group of conscious beings that are carbon-based, solar system dependent, limited in knowledge, prone to error and mortal.”

Dame Sue Black writes about medical and anatomical things but it’s not difficult to comprehend, and she melts accurately with some dark humour and even memories from her past and her family, so it’s not a book totally focused on death.

In fact, the part that I enjoyed the most is the chapter who explains how the human body is formed when we are a fetus. And alongside with that, I totally enjoyed these medical facts and “rules” (like the rules of 3 for surviving) and I even memorized them!

But please pay attention: it’s not a book suitable for children or sensible readers.

I truly learned a lot about humans, anatomy, death and grief thanks to this book, and thanks to the author too. My mum hopes they translate it in Italian so she can read it too!

So why it wasn’t a full 5 stars rating? Because one chapter is really gross and difficult, and, in my humble opinion, not to be included in a book for masses (It’s a spoiler, if you want to read it, highlight the following phrases): a chapter is dedicated to the best instruments, techniques and locations for dissecting corpses if you want to get rid off of them. I totally understand that this is a book about death and murders too, but I really don’t want to know where is better to cut a leg with a chainsaw, or if the shower is better than the floor to wash away the blood. Seems like a manual for serial killers, and definitely not good to put in a book.

*all the quotes are from the ARC copies. I received a free copy in exchange of an honest review.

This is my Review of the Month for the review collection on LovelyAudiobooks.info

Netflix Movie Review: Errementari

Title: Errementari, The Blacksmith and the Devil.

Director: Paul Urkijo Alijo

Cast: Kandido Uranga, Eneko Sagardoy, Uma Bracaglia

Release Date: 12 October 2018

Genres: fantasy, horror, retelling

Rating: 5/5

Trigger Warning: it’s a horror, so death, Satan, suicide, blood, visions of Hell and Demons.

Plot:

Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil is a re-telling of an ancient fable about a Blacksmith who finds himself battling the Devil. In this story, the Blacksmith has captured the Devil and lives a life of hermit-like seclusion away from the prying eyes of the townsfolk. All is going well until a desperate little girl, Usue, accidentally stumbles across the devil and unknowingly releases him. It is then left to the Blacksmith to reclaim his bounty, but this is easier said than done as he also finds himself at the end of a lynch mob that have come searching for the missing Usue.

Review spoiler free:

You know you have found a good horror movie when you and your dad, who sacrifices himself every time this blogger want to watch a horror movie, at the end of the movie, turn to the other and say simultaneously: that was awesome!!

Errementari is a retelling of a fable, is located in Spain and is written in Basque (but they translated it in italian!): after the artistic prologue we are introduced in a world dark and gloomy, devastated by the war. And we first meet The Blacksmith.

Then we skip 8 years, and we found Usue, a little girl living in the same village as The Blacksmith, and a mysterious stranger who is searching the Blacksmith. But nobody in the village wants to enter the property of the Blacksmith, because it seems an old, crazy and nasty man.

The scene, dark as usual for a Netflix movie, are fascinating: the old village with a forest deep and strange, with twisted trees and fog; the property and the house of The Blacksmith, completely covered with cross; the church of the village, with demons statues.

It’s the perfect setting for Halloween! I’ve loved it!

That was me during the entire movie.

 

 

The plot: I hate when for the first 20/30 minutes of a horror movie nothing happens. But Errementari doesn’t fail, and every minute of the movie is interesting, or sad, or funny. Yes, you hear me right: there are a lot of scenes so funny, and let me say it, it’s all because of Sartael, the demon.

The characters: Sartael is the best. I want a fan club for him. And I want to protect Usue and The Blacksmith, because remember if “Not all tales always have a happy ending”, you can’t judge a person by their appereance.

I want to applaud the make up artist: as a cosplayer I’m so impressed by their work.

As always with a positive review, I’m not sure if this is a “professional” or “convincing” review, but I just want to say this: this is an original movie so well done, with a lot of emotions, perfect for Halloween, and it became one of my favorite horror movie of all the time.