Heart-Stopping, Soul-Wrenching (A Favourite Collection)

So it’s been quite a while since I posted in this beautiful community or even completed a book for that matter. I thought it was the hustle and bustle of trying to get settled in school but I realised and told my friend, Steve, that it was probably a book block of some kind. So no, in almost a month, if not more, I haven’t finished a single book. I have started, yes. But I just don’t get to finish. Maybe it’s because I haven’t stumbled on a page-turning book yet, I don’t know.

However, I stumbled on some of my favourite books a week ago and skimmed through them, and in a few cases, even stopping to read, I reminded myself of why these books are some of my absolute favourite books. They were all page-turners for me. Books that I didn’t or rather, couldn’t stop till I got to the end. So, I’ll be presenting five of these books now. And some other time, I’ll review another.

Catherine Coulter’s Night Shadow

Night Shadow is a beautiful book about a woman and her stepkids who get entangled in the life of her rakish, roguish and proudly bachelored(for lack of a better expression) cousin-in-law. I know it seems kind of complicated but it’s really not. I’m not exactly a fan of books that have kids featured in them, but a book like Night Shadow changed my opinion a lot because the kids were adorable, smart and quite discerning for their age in a way that wasn’t unrealistic at all.

Am I a sucker for dangerously witty guys? Yes, I am to the very end. And I’m glad I wasn’t disappointed with the male lead who left me swooning with his comebacks that weren’t sleazy at all. _{for the most part.} It’s a book you’re bound to enjoy for a lot of reasons.

Nora Roberts’ Genuine Lies

I’m presenting two of Nora’s books and this is the first of them. I don’t think it would be anything but fact if I say that this woman made the childhood of a lot of us, book lovers. But skipping that, I’ll go straight to the book. Genuine Lies is a part of the set of Bantam Books. The whole set is common for its use of oxymoron. So there’s Hot Ice, Sacred Sins, that kind of stuff.

Now Genuine Lies is a mystery book that talks about Eve’s exposure of the secret lives of all the people she’d met in her career in the movie industry. A lot is going on in the book but it flows sequentially from one part to the next. All the scintillating details of the people in her past and her mysterious death brings us to the search of who exactly is her killer since quite frankly, a lot of people wanted her dead. It’s a book that I can boldly say that you’re doing yourself a great disservice if you haven’t read it yet.

Wilbur Smith’s Hungry As The Sea

This book is special to me cause of its history. It’s one of the books I’d sneaked out of the crevices of my Dad’s study. It looked boring. The cover page _{and no, what you see above wasn’t the cover.} But then I started reading the book and I was hooked from chapter one.

The name is exactly what it implies. Ironically, the essence of this name starts from the middle when they are actually at sea. It highlights the firm grip the people of your past can have over you. So much so that when you think you’ve gotten over them, they make their way and twist themselves back into your life in the most unpleasant ways. Of course, this is just one of the themes in the story cause it’s quite vast. But it’s beautiful and it’s right for anyone who has yearned to understand the immense beauty and danger the sea holds.

Peckham and Valenti’s Zodiac Academy

This book is one of the series I read at the beginning of this year. This is the 6th in the series. I think I’ve mentioned it in passing in one of my reviews but I’m adding it now cause of the humour in it. It did have an exceptional storyline, albeit not so pleasant since the bad guys seemed to triumph a lot.

But I love me a witty tale. I can’t read a book for more than five seconds without taking note of whether or not it's devoid of humour, and if it is, I’ll be out in a flash. The exemplary use of wit, puns, and sarcasm, all mixed up into an exquisite brew is the major reason Zodiac Academy made it on this list today. A must-read.

And Finally,

Nora Roberts’ Divine Evil

Now if there’s one thing that’s common to Nora’s books, it’s the fact that you can’t read one and remain the same. Did I remain the same after reading this book, I don’t think so. Yes, it did leave my 13-year-old mind more than a little traumatized. But it’s a beautiful type of trauma. That’s what Nora’s books elicit.

Divine Evil explores a secret society, one so dark and their deeds beyond decadent. Will I say it has a moral lesson? I don’t know, maybe run when you see a slaughtered cat on your front door? Lol. But I think it taught me to trust undoubtedly in my instincts. And I did, from that very moment. If you’re not scared of the unconventional and maybe a little dark, you would love this one.

So there you have it guys. Five soul-gripping tales that would have you at the edge of your seat. I loved every one of them. And I hope you do too.

Jhymi🖤

_{Images are screenshots from my e-library.}