Tag: Books

Review: ‘Strangers From Hell’ K-drama (2019)

“It’s better to say what you want…and act how you’d like…rather than bottling it all up within yourself. That’s more human, don’t you think?” – Seo Moon-jo

I was looking for a mystery and a crime drama, and I had this drama at the back of my mind, so I decided to watch it, and I literally had no idea what this drama was all about, because based on the description, one can’t say what the drama is about. However, I just finished watching it and let me tell you my mind is not in the right place at the moment. Let’s just begin with the review, and I will explain it. So the drama is about a young man, Yoon Jong-woo, who recently moved to Seoul because of his job. But he has no place to live and finds every dorm room so expensive until he stumbled upon the advertisement of a dorm room available at a cheaper place at Eden Residence. However, the Eden residence is a very creepy place with other residents who are very bizarre and suspicious.

Let’s begin with the character of Yoon Jong-woo, played by Si-wan Yim. At first, when I saw him, I knew he had been dealing with a lot, and the boy was fed up. With such creepy residents he shares the restroom and kitchen with, his girlfriend is not listening to him, and his boss/friend just bragged about how he got him the job. I feel so pitiful for him and only him in the drama; the residents really brought the hell out of him. He also realises that people who are close to him are also not far away from good. But can we really talk about his acting? It’s mind-blowing.

Then we have the main character of the drama, who actually is a psychopath named Seo Moon-jo, played by Lee Dong-wook. The acting of his is incredible, he truly looked like a psychopath even when he pretended not to be. Just his standing brings creepiness to the scene. His laugh and smile are literally enough to show how big a psychopath he is. His talks were like another level of riddles. His and Yoon Jong-woo’s chemistry is incredible. I loved watching them, especially when Seo Moon-jo uses words like “babe” to annoy Yoon Jong-woo. We can actually see he was obsessed with Jong-woo, loved it.

Then we have the other residents, and let me tell you, without them doing any action or saying any dialogue, just them standing brings so much creepiness to the scene. I think when they do actions, it’s like ewww, but when they just stand in the corner of the room and smile, that legit knocks my breath away.

There is no character in the show except the police officer, So Jung-hwa, who is not suspicious or evil. The plot is incredible, it’s basically about a psychopath who unaliving people for fun and doesn’t regret it. The setting is fantastic, the hallway of the residence and the small, cramped room really brought another creepiness to the drama. The cinematography is top-notch, which really hooks me to the screen.

What I didn’t like was that the action was not in-depth, and only in the last three episodes did I feel the intensity of the drama. I felt that something was missing. I loved watching Yoon Jong-woo’s flashbacks and how much he has kept inside him, but still, I felt something was missing.

The ending, if you are a horror watcher, you will see it coming, and it’s so good.

I recommend it if you want to watch a drama with a psychopath vibe.

You don’t think you fit in here, do you?

“I’m Different from these people.”

But you’re also kind of anxious. – Seo Moon Jo to Yoon Jong-woo.

Total Episodes: 10

My Rating: 7/10 (Please check the trigger warnings)

Genre: Horror, Psychological, Thriller

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: The Only One Left by Riley Sager

I think this is my first five-star thriller, and I have been waiting to write this review. The book has been stuck in my mind since last week, and I can’t wait to share it with you all. I never thought I would find a five-star thriller, but here I am. The Only One Left, another book by Riley Sager, I think he has become my favourite thriller writer, because the first book I read, The House Across the Lake, was a 4.5-star for me. This book follows the story of a caregiver, Kit McDeere, who gets an assignment to look after Lenora Hope, who lives at a house situated on a cliff. Lenora Hope is not an ordinary person but someone who has unalived her whole family.

Let’s start with the plot; it is everything I wanted in a thriller. There is a twist at every point, and it’s also horror, which makes this book thrilling and mind-blowing from start to finish. I was unable to get any twists right because when twists happened, I was shaken to the core. The storyline is so twisty, it felt at first that the story was going to be dragged, but what twist upon twist was just pouring. There are not many characters, as well as the setting is just one gothic mansion, but the writer did an incredible job by not just repeating the same thing again and again, but added a twist in almost every chapter.

The setting is definitely creepy, plus the mansion is on the cliff, so it makes the book more intimidating. The character of Kit is one of my favourites; she is actually a mind-blowing person for a thriller. The way she got tangled with Lenora Hope was chilling to watch. Lenora Hope is a character you can’t describe without a spoiler unless you have read the book. The characters are very complex, which made it hard for me to guess the twist, and I didn’t get it at all. I was not thinking about it; it just appeared when Kit found out I was shocked with her.

The ending is so beautiful, it is such an irony to write this about a thriller book, but believe me, when I read the last chapter, I was smiling because it was so heartwarming. I don’t think so, I haven’t read any thriller where the ending is so beautiful.

There is everything that I loved about this book, from its plotline to its characters. If you want to take any suggestion, please take this one.

Rating: 5/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: No Exit by Taylor Adams

Another thriller I picked up was “No Exit” by Taylor Adams. The blurb seemed interesting; however, the book is totally different from what I expected. It’s more intense than a mystery. The book is about Darby Thorne, a college student who gets very badly stranded by a blizzard at a highway rest stop in the middle of nowhere. She is not alone but with four complete strangers, and she has to spend the night with them. Then she discovers that one of the parked cars has a little girl locked inside, and the story gets intense.

OMG, this book is so intense, there is literally no time to breathe in between, nor for Darby, and none for the readers. I felt that this book had a lot of potholes, and the only thing that kept me on the edge was the intensity of Darby running to save her life. Just like any typical thriller character, Darby was an absolute idiot at the beginning. At first, I thought she might be using her brain, but no, my assumption was wrong.

She is with four strangers and she is guessing by their clothes who is good and who is bad, which should never be done because clothes tell nothing, nor do the good behaviour that strangers pretend to have. The second, the stranger started being good with Darby, I knew it was a huge red flag, but Darby didn’t see it. I was so confused throughout the book about whether I should be mad at Darby for sharing everything with the stranger or pray that she survives.

The culprit was revealed very early, according to me, and then the plot twist happened, and I was expecting it after reading so many thrillers. The book is totally about Darby and the girl running away from the culprit and surviving the blizzard. So many times they could have been saved; however, the situation made it worse.

I can guarantee you that throughout the whole book, you are going to scream at Darby to save her life and be out of the situation, as well as pray that she doesn’t get caught. The plot is all about the chase between Darby and the culprit, and it’s too intense; I could feel Darby breathing for her life.

If you are expecting that this thriller is all bout mystery and plot twists, then this book might not be for you, but if you are expecting crazy chase and intense fight, then please go ahead.

Rating: 3/5(please check trigger warnings)

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

The amount of time I have heard people talk about this book, especially the middle plot twist, is what made me pick this book right away. The thriller book I am talking about is I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh. This book is about a mother, Jenna Gray, who, in a tragic accident, lost her son, Jacob. She is not able to cope with being in a house filled with memories of her son, so she decided to move to a small cottage on the Welsh coast. At the beginning, she started feeling better; however, suddenly her haunting past secrets seemed to follow her there.

The book is divided into two parts as well as two points of view. One, we have Jenna’s point of view from the first person and then the detective working on the case from the third person. I won’t lie, it took me some time to get the hang of different pov’s. I can’t really talk about the characters as there are spoilers pretty much in it. But the characters are not what we expect them to be, and it’s obvious that it’s a thriller book.

I went into this book thinking something absolutely different, and you might as well, but OMG, the middle plot twist. What was even that? I don’t think anyone could get it because it is so distinct and extraordinary. The plot twist happened so randomly that I read that again and again in order to understand what happened. There are many suspects which make it impossible to guess the plot twist. The plot is definitely confusing as there are two points of view, and the author did a great job of adding elements in a way that we can’t get the plot twist.

The storyline, as I said, is something totally different because I felt it was mostly romance, with thriller being a sub-genre. I think that the book was a little long, as most of the time there was just romance and not any thriller. I had to make sure that I was reading a thriller, not a romance book. Some detective parts felt unnecessary as they mostly focused on romance rather than solving the case.

The plot twists and the story are pretty good for a thriller book, as it gave me a headache, but the romance part killed it for me because I felt that it was unnecessary at some point, which made the book feel long. But the plot twists are really good, so maybe give it a try.

Rating: 3/5(please check trigger warnings)

Side Note: I just want to clarify that this is entirely my opinion; you are free to love this book, and I am free to give my opinion on this book. I would be very happy if you loved this book, but please do not take this review to heart; it is okay to have different tastes. Thank You.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: Confessions by Kanae Minato

I just watched a recommendation for this book, and the synopsis was so intriguing that I immediately read it. This was originally written in Japanese and then translated into English. When I tell you, my mind went crazy after reading this, because it’s truly a psychological thriller. Yuko Moriguchi is a single mom of a four-year-old girl, Manami. She is her everything until an accident took Manami away from her. But Yuko knows it was not an accident, but her pupils killed her daughter, and now she is out for revenge.

The book is from many points of view, which makes it very interesting for me. When I say it’s revenge, it doesn’t mean physical harm, but mental harm. Yuko is one of the best characters because she took her revenge in such an interesting way without any physical torture, but mental torture. I was shocked on every page because the book is written very clearly and simply. The character tells the story in a letter or lecture manner, and OMG, it’s phenomenal.

The plot is simple about the incident of the child, and the people who are related to it are talking about the same. However, it’s very unique and unexpected because revenge is all about the mental and psychological way, which I loved.

I went into this book thinking something else and more like a detective vibe, however, it’s all psychological. My head was spinning the whole time I was reading this book, and the plot twists made it more intriguing. There are many characters; however, I do not want to spoil anything, that’s why I am just talking about Yuko. The book talks about mental issues and how they relate to the incident, and it’s so freaking interesting. I don’t think so, I have read such a unique book in my life.

I highly recommend it, please just read it.

Rating: 4.5/5(please check trigger warnings)

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

I picked this book after seeing so many positive reviews about the plot twist, and I was having a hard time finding a good thriller. In this book, we get to read the mystery behind people disappearing. First, Shelby Tebow went missing, and not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanished without any trace. Now, after 11 years, Delilah returns shockingly, and now everyone wants to know what happened, but nobody is ready for it.

Let’s start with the plot, and to be honest, it’s heartbreaking and really sad at the beginning, but as we move on with the story, the thriller aspect emerges. The writer did an incredible job of confusing the reader about who the culprit might be, as she introduced numerous characters and their connections to the victim. Because of this, I was not able to guess what the plot twist was. The story is different and fast-paced. I liked that it was not at all confusing, and everything ultimately made sense.

Now talking about the plot twist, I won’t lie, it was jaw-dropping, but not thrilling. The writer has added numerous characters and their plot lines, which would have made more sense; however, the plot twist was so random that I couldn’t digest it within the context of the book’s story. The plot twist definitely needs to be unexpected; however, in this book, I felt that it didn’t fit, it was so random that it made me dumbfounded. It was out of the box because there was not at all a hint about what the plot twist was from the beginning; it came out of nowhere. It was like another chapter, and boom, we got to know what exactly happened. I just felt that how the story started and the suspense the author added in the book didn’t tie up with the plot twist; it just didn’t fit. There could be more interesting plot twists that could have happened given the characters the author has created.

There are many characters in the book, and I have so many suspects; however, as I said, there is no hint about the plot twist, so it did shock me. There are many characters, and it doesn’t really focus on one, like we have the past story from Meredith’s point of view and the present story from her neighbour, Kate and her son, Leo.

I just wish the writer had used one of the other characters that she introduced in the book as the main part of the story, rather than such a random one.

The book is fast-paced and really easy to read, so I recommend it.

Rating: 3/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

I came straight after reading the book to write my review because I felt insane about what I just read minutes ago. This book is insane, and my head is spinning at a high rate. The book follows the story of Alix Summer, a famous podcaster and a woman named Josie Fair whose past is full of pain. Josie and Alix share the same birthday, and Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcast and comes up with a plan that she might be a good subject for Alix’s podcast.

Let’s start with the character of Alix. I can’t believe she is a famous podcaster who interviews so many people and can’t even tell how a person is. I found Alix’s character to be so unrealistic that I hated her; she was the reason why things turned out that way in the end. She is such a famous podcaster and has a family, and she is so okay with inviting a random lady she met by accident just a few days ago to her house and letting her stay as well. I wanted to throw the book at her because she meets so many people and can’t tell a person’s nature, that’s impossible. Definitely the dumb character in the thriller I hate, and guess what, she is also the main character. She is to blame for everything, by the way.

Josie, what a character! She is someone who will gaslight and manipulate people so easily, but only a naive person like Alix, the famous podcaster, will believe it. The author has not exactly gone into her mind, but very simply, through her talks, we get to know her character. Then, too, her character was intense to read. The end was unexpected, actually, that’s more like the plot twist. We might think Josie is the main character, but no, it’s Alix as she gets tangled in her own mess she created, and she can’t even clean that up ever.

The plot is excellent. I won’t say there are any plot twists because it’s very clear what is happening. I think it’s more frustrating to see Alix’s character and realise how dumb she could be given her profession. The book is very fast-paced, and I read it in less than 24 hours. The second half of the book was pretty intense and thrilling.

The book is more like a warning than a thriller about how we should never trust a stranger and not bring them home if we have a family, because we never know what that stranger can do, and it can lead to a forever loss like what happened to Alix.

There are no plot twists, everything is clear as water; however, the last ending, OMG, is what made my mind go spinning because wow. It was definitely unexpected, and in a thriller, we never trust any person, no matter what, and that’s what the ending says.

I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 4/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: The Hypnotist’s Love Story By Liane Moriarty

I will start by saying that this book is deceitful. It was one of the few books that gave me such a headache that I wanted to beat my head against the wall. I just seriously wanted this book to be finished as quickly as possible, and I wished I had DNF this book, but as I was early in my reading journey, I thought I needed to finish every book I picked up. The book follows the story of Ellen O’Farrel, a hypnotherapist who works out of the strange beachfront home she inherited from her grandparents. Her professional life is going well, but she can’t say the same about her personal life. Until she meets a young man named Patrick, who is handsome and single. But Patrick has a stalker, his ex-girlfriend, Sasha, who won’t leave him alone, and now Ellen wants to meet Sasha.

Honestly, when I read the blurb, I thought it would be a thriller; however, the whole book, I was waiting to read a plot twist, and legit nothing happened. What was this book? I think I was definitely getting hypnotised because of how long this book was, and I was going in circles. The same thing was getting repetitive, and I was over it. The character of Ellen was written really well. She was someone who got really intrigued by things that normal people would want to stay away from. Sasha is a stalker of Ellen’s boyfriend, and Ellen wants to know everything about Sasha rather than her boyfriend.

Then we have the perspective of Sasha, again, the writer did an incredible job portraying her character. Her actions were kind of nutty, however, as a reader, I did get sympathetic towards her as I got to see in depth what happened to her and her situation. Patrick was kind of an illogical character as he didn’t do much about the situation with Sasha. If he handled the situation well, maybe it would be better for everyone else.

I have to say the writer’s writing was really hypnotising. The book and the story are very unique, but I wish there was more depth to the plot. As the book was super long, it got me frustrated to just continue reading it without seeing any dramatic structure to the plot, as the blurb says it will. The plotline would be excellent if there were plot twists and more drama in the book.

The blurb is deceitful; that’s all I am going to say.

Rating: 2/5

Side Note: I just want to clarify that this is entirely my opinion; you are free to love this book, and I am free to give my opinion on this book. I would be very happy if you loved this book, but please do not take this review to heart; it is okay to have different tastes. Thank You.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: The Right Move (Windy City Series #2) by Liz Tomforde

“Sometimes the quietest love is the loudest.” – Ryan Shay.

I disliked the first book so much, but I heard that it would get better from so many reviews, so I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I can’t believe there is so much difference between protagonists written by the same author. Ryan Shay is the newest Captain of the Devils, Chicago’s NBA Team, and the last thing he wants is a distraction like Indy Ivers, his sister’s best friend. Indy has nowhere to go, and her best friend has the craziest idea to let her stay at her brother’s place. Ryan and Indy are polar opposites, but there is a spark…

Ryan Shay healed this series for me. I liked him so much because of the way he was. I liked that whatever happened to him, he didn’t turn worse, but handled it really well. What happened to him was so out of the box, I was not expecting it, but it shows he was the green flag from the start. He is caring and lovable, a male lead hard to find. He is a standard book boyfriend who knows what his girls want; he is a perfect act of service to exist.

Indy Ivers’ character was amazing. I found her amusing, and her thoughts always made me laugh. I liked that she was so understanding about living with Ryan rather than being arrogant about it. I liked that I did not see any arrogance in this book. She is beautiful inside and outside, I liked how confident she is in herself.

The chemistry is really great too. The bickering and the tension, and I liked that there was nothing forced between them, but it came naturally. His care for her was enduring, and her understanding of him is what we call an understanding couple.

Just like the first book, there is nothing about basketball in the book, which was disappointing. The last part was okay, so basically, both talked about each other’s flaws, and still, they had a misunderstanding about the same. I hated it to the core. The ending, to be honest, I had enough with this book. At the 75% mark, I had enough because that would be the perfect ending, but no, the remaining 25% was just a misunderstanding of things that they had already talked about. I think the biggest complaint of mine from this series is that it is too long, and I get bored.

In the end, I found the book all over the place, and my interest went below zero. The plot was nice and definitely out of the box. But I don’t know why stars need to take instructions about how to live their personal life from the team that didn’t sit right with me. According to me, it was really good in the beginning, but again, in the end, I wanted to get over it quickly. Because I got bored, there is nothing that I remember and would highly recommend. My biggest pet peeve is long chapters and long books, especially in romance. Maybe that is the reason I liked it, but just not much.

Give it a try if you want. Will say Ryan Shay is the ultimate book boyfriend.

“His quiet love. It’s always the loudest.” – Indy Ivers.

Rating: 3/5

Side Note: I just want to clarify that this is entirely my opinion; you are free to love this book, and I am free to give my opinion on this book. I would be very happy if you loved this book, but please do not take this review to heart; it is okay to have different tastes. Thank You.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: Mile High (Windy City Series #1) by Liz Tomforde

Okay, every single thing that I have heard about this book screams for me to not read it at all. However, I thought how bad it could be and trust me when I say it was…(no words). I never thought I could ever dislike any book the way I dislike this one. The book follows the story of Stevie, a flight attendant who gets a new job working for the most egotistical and self-righteous diva in the NHL. She meets the hockey player, Zander, who is a huge playboy and a narcissist. Both hate each other, but can’t say the same about the attraction between them.

Let’s start with the character of Stevie. Did I hate her? No, but did I love her? No. In the beginning, I thought she would be a strong character with a curvy body and bold personality, but I was so wrong. She would have been such a great female lead, but she gave in so fast, and the reason for it is that I can’t even write it here because it was so embarrassing when I read it. I wanted to see her passion and her bold personality, but I was so disappointed. I liked that the author did a great job of portraying her insecurities with her body, but there is nothing else about her that I would call interesting.

Now, let’s talk about Zander. Sigh. What a character! I disliked him the second he was introduced. He thought Stevie wanted his autograph, which was not the case and got offended. Hello??? I hate male leads who try to be over-smart and absolutely annoying for no reason. In the first half of the book, he was giving me pick-me energy (side eye). The way he talked about his previous partners, I was not having it, and then his back story came, and that made me want to bang my head against the wall because apparently, it was a PR stunt?!?!

Then the storyline, what was it? I never knew I would ever read a book with this kind of storyline. The first shocking thing was that there was no mention of hockey at all. Where is the part about competition???? I couldn’t vibe with the storyline at all. I found a lot of potholes. Also, the storyline was kind of muh! Especially the PR stunt from Zander’s agent. Their interaction felt so forced. I hated their first interaction because I felt that the author kind of forced them to interact.

Another thing is that a contemporary romance being 600 pages blows my mind because there would definitely be a third-act break-up that I despise. In this book, there was and at 28%, a lot happened so I knew it would bore me to death and then I DNFed it.

Even though I have DNFed this book, I have heard that the series gets too good, so I am definitely going to give this author and this series another chance.

Rating: …

Side Note: I just want to clarify that this is entirely my opinion; you are free to love this book, and I am free to give my opinion on this book. I would be very happy if you loved this book, but please do not take this review to heart; it is okay to have different tastes. Thank You.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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