None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell #BookReview

Celebrating her 45th birthday at her local pub, podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie is also celebrating her 45th birthday. They are, in fact birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for Alix’s series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Alix agrees to a trial interview. Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep digging.

Slowly Alix starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life – and into her home.

Soon she begins to wonder who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?

Alix Summer and Josie Fair meet at the restaurant where they’re both celebrating their birthday. It turns out they’re both 45, born on the same day at the same hospital. It’s karma right? They run into each other again and that’s when Josie proposes that Alix make a podcast about Josie’s life story. She promises she has a story to tell and boy she wasn’t lying.

Josie is the weirdest character I have met of late, with her always wearing denim, her habit of stealing little trinkets from Alix’s house, and not to mention her family situation which seems even weirder. She has a husband who’s in his seventies, a daughter who never leaves her room and lives on baby food, and another daughter who ran away from home when she was 16. What is going on in that house?!

Josie’s story was very addictive to read and it soon escalates into a horrific family dynamic. Alix has her own family drama with her husband Nathan going on benders and not getting home till the morning but that is frankly not nearly as interesting as Josie’s situation. Walter is dead against her sharing her story in this podcast but she decides to do it anyway. Her story is tragic. The only thing is that there was always this unsettling feeling at the back of my mind too because Josie was a little too encroached onto Alix so that didn’t entirely sit right. Going forward there were also little hints that made me wonder. There are Netflix intro scenes set up and interviews with people who know or knew Josie so I knew something bad had happened and it created so much more intrigue and suspense, and I can totally see this turned into a real Netflix series.

The title played on my mind all the time and while it seems to simply give away the plot (which was a bit of a disappointment in advance), Lisa Jewell was still able to have my head spinning with the many shocking and twisty turns in the story. The author also ends the novel on a high note for me that kept me thinking for a while about the characters while I had made up my mind about them for a long time already.

None of This Is True is one disturbing dark ride that spirals totally out of control and you better hold onto your seat while reading this. If there’s one truth I can share with you it’s that I was completely engrossed in this novel. Highly recommended!

I received a free ecopy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley. This is still my honest opinion.

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How to make mini book covers #bookishhobby

I’m back with a DIY project and as far as bookish hobbies go, this is the cutest one yet! I’ve seen plenty of photos on Instagram of little mini book covers and I always wondered how to make these. I have finally found the answer and I’m happy to share it with you. And don’t worry, the good news is that it’s really not all that difficult!

Okay time to start! First, think of some book covers you want to make in advance so you know when you start that you’re not adding another 30 minutes trying to decide. I just picked my last ones that I read and the ones that I’ll be reading in the next few weeks, so not especially favourites. I’m sorry I don’t have lots of photos of the start of the project but I’m talking you through it step by step so it should be clear enough.

Note: The following instructions mention a programme named Canva but you can easily do the same in Word. I tried and tested it and it gives the sames result, only the colours in Canva that you need for the spine are a bit more diverse in shading, and they suggest colours there too based on the colours in the image which is helpful too. I only found out after I had already made this post so I’m giving you my original review.

First, open up the site Canva, make an account or log in and ‘Create a design’ by selecting an A4 document. Make a rectangular ‘shape’ on the page by choosing a square in the ‘element section’ on the left. On the bottom of the page you can increase the percentage of your view and I scaled my view to 120% so that I could fit the covers nicely into the squares at the right time. Now it’s entirely up to you how big or how small you want your covers but as a guideline I set my square at around 70 mm horizontally and 40 mm vertically. You can add the ruler when you go on the top into File – View Settings – Show rulers and guides.

   

Now open another tab and Google the title of the book you want, you want to see a book cover so once you hit enter choose the tab images to see all the covers. You don’t have to go on a website but you can just choose an image, you click on it and when you see it bigger on the right side of your screen you simply right-click on the cover and ‘copy the image‘, then go to the Canva page and paste it.

It’ll be too big but you can change the size when you go to the corner of that cover picture. Make it fit in your square and if you’re happy with it, copy/paste the image again for the other side. You’ll be able to turn it upside down too so that your book cover will look good from all sides. Make sure you have left a little space between the two covers because that’s the spine of your miniature version of the book.

You can change the colour of that spine by simply clicking on your square. It’ll show a color icon next to shape above your page and you can change the color to another one that goes well with your cover.

Time to print these via Share – Download – PDF Print

And we have:

                                           

Now the really fun part starts! What you need is some foam (you can do it with paper too, there are other tutorials I’ve seen that use paper, but my way is so much faster) and glue. Cut out two pieces of the same size as your cover, glue them together with some mod podge (I didn’t find that here so I used the glue I had) and into the booklet and there you have it. Use a minimum of glue (even less than I’m showing here) and spread it out with a piece of paper or cardboard, because it’ll cause the paper to wrinkle if you use too much.

And this is how it’ll look on my Instagram 🙂

So what do you think of these mini book covers? Cute innit? I’ve seen some bloggers making covers for all the books they read in a year. I’m not going to start such a collection but I’m keeping the ones I made as home deco in a jar.

Oh and as a behind the scenes… this is what I’m working with… or better yet how :-). For full disclosure, Poes did not have any glue on her, it’s a small miracle.

Till next time! Tell me what you think, I’d love to hear if it’s a yay or a nay!

Hack Forward by Key Enigma #EscapeGame #mysterygame #KeyEnigma

First, some info about this hybrid game:

Hack Forward can be played solo or with multiple players (1-6 players), the full game consists of 8 chapters with 8+ hours of gameplay and a hundred challenging puzzles. It is available in multiple languages (EN, ES, DE, FR, IT, PT and in DUTCH) and you or others can replay the game after you completed it.

The storyline: You are hired to investigate a series of cyber attacks and, along with a group of hackers, you must discover the culprit.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME?

Your experience begins once you get the box. Read the instructions carefully, type the game code into your investigator account, and then the fun begins!

The start was easy enough, I typed a secret code that I found in the booklet on the website and someone filled me in about the case. The first task that was set for me was reading through some news articles by clicking through a few sites and visiting a company website and after I had confirmed I had done this I was given instructions to compose an email to a contact person via email (I had to find the name and address myself). Exciting!

This game has 8 different chapters with about an hour gameplay for each. In Chapter 1 I had to visit someone’s social media pages in order to find a password to get into a computer and then watch and find secret codes hidden in several mp4 files on that computer. All of the words found and combined in these mp4 files would give me access to a website. It took me some time and re-watching some of the videos again to discover all the codes but it wasn’t too difficult to achieve. In chapter 2 I was given lots of physical clues to use. Some were quite easy, others (one where I had to think a bit more mathematically; don’t worry each type of puzzle was only used once so no more counting from thereon) requested a hint or 2 (I’m the best at miscalculating things) but it was all great fun.

 

I took a break after each chapter of the game. It is said beforehand that a chapter lasts about one hour but I think I went through some of them a little faster and I spent more time on others. I think their claim of +8 hours of gameplay is therefore quite accurate.

On to the next!

There were several envelopes in the box so the suspense was kept until it was time to open them. I found papers but other – unexpected – things too in the envelopes (which I have no intention in spoiling for you). I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of items and how professional it looked.

There was text but not too much so most of the time is spent actually solving things. I was happy with the guidance I received via their site and I was always able to request several hints or even the solution when typing solution (I never had to do this last one though).

This game was awesome! I’m not actually the best at this sort of adventure although I do love it, but I have no patience to search for an hour how to solve something when I’m stuck and I didn’t need to. I continually made progress and when I really didn’t know how to start with solving something I asked for a clue. I have learned quite a few new apps and techniques while playing this game.

I don’t want to give away too much but I had to insert coordinates on a map, play some oldscool animated computer game, listen to a clip in reverse, make a code appear on a photo by playing with photo settings, manipulate paper with temperature, get into a bank account by delving into ones Instagram, recognize a song, reset someone’s pin code by answering security questions… Don’t be intimidated because you’ll normally know what to do and even when you’re kind of a noob like me with the internet and apps it’s all very doable.

One of the extra perks of this game is that the game can be played more than once and it’s even allowed by the company to give the game to someone else. They can log in with their own username and password combined with the game key and start the game afresh.

My box – part 1 – contained only half of the full game which means the first four chapters, as I didn’t want to take too much of a risk if it wasn’t my cup of tea but looking back I wish I had gone for the full game immediately.

In case you didn’t know already, I highly recommend Hack Forward and it certainly is value for money. If you’re still not sure you can also play a demo of the first chapter on the Key Enigma site. In fact I enjoyed this one so much that I already ordered another box (Calling Card) so you’ll have another review to look out for later this year!

Check out their site for all the different games here

I purchased a game on my own at full price. This is my honest opinion.

Take a look at my other reviews:

Crimibox: The Case of the Ashes

The Curious Correspondence Club: Chapter 1: Custodian Keys

Murder Mystery Party Case Files: Underwood Cellars

My top 10 favourite books of 2022

As the year nears its end again, there’s only one post left to publish. I read 67 novels this year and here’s my top 10 of 2022:

• The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
• One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner
• The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill by C.S. Robertson
• The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
• Swear on This Life by Renée Carlino
• The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh
• The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis
• Poisoned at the Priory: The Death of Charles Bravo by Anthony M. Brown
• The IT Girl by Ruth Ware
• The Botanist by M.W. Craven

Looking forward to 2023 there are some books on my wishlist already so here’s my top 5 of my most wanted: 1. Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen, 2. The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (that cover!), 3. The Bleeding by Johana Gustawsson, 4.  The Winners by Fredrik Backman and 5. Black Lake Manor by Guy Morpuss (locked room!). Those last two novels would be new authors for me too so hopefully I’ll love their writing.

I don’t see many changes on the blog for 2023, I’m going to continue reviewing a mix of backlist books and new books. It’s also a dream to reach 3200 followers on Twitter again (I went from 3212 to 3176 again after summer) but we’ll see. I have to be a little more present perhaps and I apologize to my blog friends for not doing a better job of it but work takes up most of my energy and what’s left is spent on reading, writing on my blog and fussing over my little furry companion.

That’s a wrap for 2022! I’d love to hear if we have any top 10 reads in common or what’s on your wishlist.

And finally, I hope you have a wonderful end of year and I wish you a happy and healthy 2023, with many many books to read!

Same book, different cover #22

Happy hump day! I’m here to bring you again 5 new book covers. It’s up to you to pick and choose your favorite one. This is just for fun so there are no wrong answers! OK then, I’ll go first, then it’s up to you:

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Read

      

There’s one cover that stands out for me and that’s cover 3. I love the colours and I appreciate that you don’t see Emma’s face. I like cover 1 (there’s a bookshop in the story) and 5 as well but they would make me pick this novel up and check it out, with the third one I’m already convinced I want it.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

An easy choice for me, I choose cover 2 with the delightful black rose on it. I don’t know why but it seems darker and more ominous to me and I like the contrast between being ‘lucky’ and then that rose which makes it feel quite contradictory.

The Trophy Child by Paula Daly

If I really need to make a choice then I’ll go for cover 1. OK the second one with the house hidden away behind a hedge and a locked gate is mysterious but there’s not enough going on on the cover for me to keep my attention fixed to it, I find myself looking longer at the first one.

The Key to my Heart by Lia Louis

This is such an easy choice, I absolutely love cover 1! It’s just so cute! I love the shade of blue more of the first and also I hate winter (I can’t even remember if this played a role in the story).

For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing

This is the most difficult choice to make. The main character (the psycho) is a man so I don’t really know why there’s a woman on the first cover? I don’t really entirely get the second cover either but I’m still going with cover 2. It has a bit of a rebellious feel to it with the graffiti like title. If anyone has any good insights about these covers do let me know!

So that’s it. Tell me your thoughts! If you can’t get enough, check out Battle Of The Books – #21

Christmas gift ideas for book lovers – edition 2022-2023

If you have a bookworm in the house then you know what to give them. Give them books! Yes they’ll be very happy with books even if they already have enough books in your mind. But OK in case you rather want to give something book related I have got you covered and you can find 10 gift ideas right here for 2023: 

Gift idea 1

Qeeboo Turtle Carry Bookstand (Luxury for Men) (for BE/NL also on Bol.com): 399 EUR

A definite eye-catcher in your interior!

You can choose between a black and white turtle but I love the black one most of all. Dimensions are 40 cm x 58 cm x 93 cm

 

Gift idea 2

Creepy claw bookmark (Amazon)

I saw these creepy claws made of resin on a blogger’s Instagram account. You can find them on Amazon at a variety of different prizes and manufacturers.

Gift idea 3

True Crime Bookmark (Copper And Cardi)

Handmade bookmark for true crime enthusiasts. Do take a look at their t-shirt too which says ‘Only here to establish an alibi’. Unfortunately this is an US Etsy shop so due to custom charges it won’t be possible for me to order. Otherwise I’d certainly have gone for this!

Gift idea 4

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders and other cases (Amazon)

With a 4.7 out of  stars (441 ratings) this certainly captured my attention. I love sleuthing so definitely on my list!

This is not a board game: No dice, no luck, but a challenge to your mental ability. A game of deduction, logic and cunning mysteries; examine the evidence, scour the newspaper for clues and travel around London wherever your instinct leads you. Inside the box: 1 map of London, 10 case booklets, 10 newspapers, 1 directory, 1 rulebook

Become the hero of 10 original Sherlock Holmes adventures and work either alone or with friends to find the truth. Suitable for 1 to 8 players.

Gift idea 5

Library Fragrance Discovery Set by Ellis Brooklyn (Liberty London)

If you really want to surprise your partner, you might want to consider giving this vegan and cruelty-free box of 8 mini-perfume samples with a bookish theme: West, Fawn, Fable, Myth, Raven, Rives, Prose and Sci Fi (36 EUR – EU delivery amounts to 8 EUR including additional tax and duties)

Gift idea 6

A Bookish Neck Tie 

If your man likes to read, or you just want to transfer a little bit of your passion onto him and while you can’t get him into a bookish t-shirt in this lifetime then maybe he’d still be ok wearing a bookish tie (win-win right). There are 624 results or 11 pages to choose from on Zazzle (on Zazzle.com but there’s also a BE site). I chose the Author’s Book Genre Neck Tie

Or what about this classy ‘Book’ tie on Amazon UK? 

Gift idea 7

Bookish Mug (Society 6) – around 14 USD

One can never have enough mugs. I’ve been looking for a back-up mug for a while now and I haven’t found the perfect size that I want but I do like the look of these.

For the lovers of the Golden Age: Agatha Christie, for the classy minimalists: Bookish heart, for the gentle souls: Drink Tea, Read Books, Be Happy, and then there’s that one for those that can’t get enough of pink things: I Read Past My Bedtime

    

Gift idea 8

Key ring (The Literary Gift Shop)

It doesn’t always have to be a big gift to make someone happy.  

Gift idea 9

I Read Past My Bedtime (Society 6; US)

I love everything pink so I’m happy to share that the artist Socoart has 54 products with this design, ranging from beach towels in this pretty pink to duvet covers in all sizes, to throw blankets and laptop sleeves. It’s difficult to choose, I like everything, but I’m going for the duvet cover if I can choose anything!

   

Gift idea 10

An Escape Room in A Box from Key Enigma

I’m saving the best for last. Key Enigma has 11 Escape Room games to choose from and prices vary but these three here are all under 50 EUR with The Butterfly Curse only 25 EUR if you want to try one before committing to a bigger box.

I couldn’t help it but I chose Hack Forward – although only Part 1 (at the moment it seems you can’t purchase part 1, 2 and 3 separately). I’ve only played the first chapter but I can tell you it’s been really great so far. I’ll do a full review when I complete the entire mission of course but I can already recommend it. If you purchase the full box of Hack Forward at 45,90€ you get more than 8 hours of game and there are 100+ puzzles. 

Hack Forward is an escape game that mixes puzzles, narrative, and technology to immerse you in a challenging experience so carefully designed that it may be impossible for you to distinguish reality from fiction. A box full of mysteries and enigmas will reach your hands. With the materials, codes, and clues hidden inside, you must use your ingenuity and match the objects to solve the case.

I hope you found some inspiration and I wish you all the bookish gifts you had in mind this year. If you need more inspiration, you can also take a look at my gift ideas of the previous years: gifts for the year 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018.

Same book, different cover #21

Happy hump day! I’m here to bring you again 5 new book covers. It’s up to you to pick and choose your favorite one. This is just for fun so there are no wrong answers! OK then, I’ll go first, then it’s up to you:

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

 

I choose cover 2 which looks even better when you hold it in your hands. It sparkles when you hold it in the light and I love the blended colours. The first cover is too dark for me.

The Cactus by Sarah Haywood

I don’t like the style in general of covers 3 and 4 so I’m attracted to covers 2 and 5. I like both of them but I’ll go with cover 2 because it’s something different than the covers I’m used to seeing and I still like it 🙂

Cross her Heart by Sarah Pinborough

   

I loved this book and I’m going with the cover that I have which is cover 3. The first one makes me think of a type of Lizzie Borden story 🙂

The Red Ribbon by Lucy Adlington

I choose cover 1. Maybe the third one states more clearly that it is a story of friendship but the first one makes it clear that it is a war story entwined with sewing and that there’s a special meaning about a red ribbon in the story. (the red ribbon symbolised hope and was a gift from one girl to the other…. when you know that it was forbidden to withold supplies, such a small item – the only thing there of vibrant colour in a sea of grey – was very precious).

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

It’s unlikely for me not to choose a cover that has pink on it but yes I’m choosing cover 1 over the second one. That gold isn’t only much prettier to look at but it also fits the story and who April was, she was the golden girl who drank champagne, had money and was the center of attention.

So that’s it. Tell me your thoughts! If you can’t get enough, check out Battle Of The Books – #20

Same book, different cover #20

Happy hump day! I’m here to bring you again 5 new book covers. It’s up to you to pick and choose your favorite one. This is just for fun so there are no wrong answers! OK then, I’ll go first, then it’s up to you:

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

I choose cover 2 because I really like how she added the Eiffel tower on the cover. I’ve seen enough buildings and windows but the second one is the one you can even recognize from a distance.

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

 

This is a difficult choice to make. The second one is the creepiest but I’m always hesitant about creepy books so in the end I choose cover 1. This one also fits best with the black and orange cover of Behind Her Eyes that I already have.

Ellie and the Harp Maker by Hazel Prior

 

I choose cover 1 but I’m not sure I can explain why I’m choosing the first one over the second. It just gives me a warmer vibe?

The Chain by Adrian McKinty

I’m certain of my choice, I love the second cover! I want black to be the dominant colour. It’s the hardback version, whereas the third one is the paperback copy. Also, have you seen the cover of his next novel The Island? It’s also a black cover with red letters and white shadows so I love that he chose the same style for his next book.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

 

In anticipation of his new novel, here’s one of his most memorable books. The cover that scares me the most is the second one, that luminous green feels very ghostly, so cover 2!

So that’s it. Tell me your thoughts! If you can’t get enough, check out Battle Of The Books – #19

Same book, different cover #19

Happy hump day! I’m here to bring you again 5 new book covers (ok I was so fired up I even added an extra one so you get 6 book choices this time). It’s up to you to pick and choose your favorite cover. This is just for fun so there are no wrong answers! OK then, I’ll go first, then it’s up to you:

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

I choose cover 1. It’s still on the fun side with the female character turning her back on him but looking over her shoulder, so there’s the title but at the same time you see some possible flirting too, which captures what this book will be about really well. The other cover has more of a negative feel to it.

He Started It by Samantha Downing

 

The first cover feels like a movie cover so it’s obvious I go for cover 2. I’m normally not a fan of faces on covers but they picked the right person for this one. Her stare keeps my eyes on it.

What Might Have Been by Holly Miller

 

The most difficult one! I think I’d ultimately go for cover 1 because it’s so nice to look at but I do love the contrast in the second cover which gives a glimpse of the two different lives she’ll lead in the book.

True Crime Story by Joseph Knox

 

Ah cover 1 of course. The pink is the most obvious reason but I also like that there’s a photo of a person on the cover, it gives it a more realistic touch to it.

You’ll Be The Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

This one’s very easy. Cover 1 looks so much better. I love that many of her books have the same lay-out too. The second cover doesn’t really do anything for me.

So that’s it. Tell me your thoughts! If you can’t get enough, check out the previous book battle #18

Murder Mystery Party Case Files: Underwood Cellars #murdermysterygame

For all the super sleuths out there, the new Murder Mystery Party Case Files has arrived and there is a murder to be solved!  Perfect for individuals or as a great dinner party game, the Cary Underwood cold case has been reopened and it is down to the team to solve the murder. With over 50 pieces of evidence, and hints and conclusions online, the case will take a true detective’s mind.

I chose the Underwood Cellars mystery because it had a 4.5 star rating (on 1.042 reviews) and it came at a fair price too of only 14.95 £ (+4.18 £ for international shipping). The box that arrived is a sturdy one and I loved the design, it’s not just any box but it looks like an actual file folder.

 

What’s more, when I opened it I found over 50 pieces of evidence in two different folders:

There were polaroids of the suspects and several other normal photos, newspaper articles, witness statements, written letters, the detective’s notebook, even the timeline… I loved how much the dossier included and the variety of documents.

So I started to read everything. The goal was to list the suspects and add 1) motive, 2) means, and 3) opportunity. If I had all three then I would find the killer. And so I read about this Napa Valley wine maker, his brother, his business partner, his secretary, his wife, his foreman and one of his friends. One of them had taken his life and tried to cover it up.

To be honest, I had only read the Missing Person File and I already had my eyes set on one of the suspects. So when I read the Murder Investigation File I tried to keep this in mind and see if there were other things that fit and they did. Overall I didn’t find it so difficult to find the identity of the killer, and of the 6 possibilities 3 people fell off my list quite soon already. When you only hear once from them in a witness statement and the others don’t speak of them either, how are they supposed to be real suspects then?

I did find the motive was kept very simple and I did miss some extra drama and intrigue between the different characters, like mistresses who had affairs with different men and then tension and jealousy between them… I didn’t feel much ’emotion’ coming off any of the characters and it’s all quite straight-lined, there are no complications. I know, I read too many stories, right?

All in all I enjoyed this but I missed some extra game play, you’re done when you’ve read everything (I did take notes too so that I saw the important points in the statements) and you decide on a name. All you have to do then is check the solution on a private site (and there are a few clues too to get there if you need them), where they confirmed my suspicion, my suspect was in fact GUILTY. They also list all the clues (5 or 6) for you to have come to that conclusion.