I Read New & Unreleased Thriller Books...One Was 5⭐️, One Was 2⭐️ 👀

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Order, order. I've got a reading update for you.

[00:00:04]>> Since I've carried on reading, I'm really starting to dislike the book and the direction it's going in. Oh my god, it is even better. I I've got tears in my eyes. Am I okay? I'm being so dramatic here. You know, when you're like, it's making your eye twitch. I was like, I can't do this anymore. But I don't know. I I just feel like something is missing. I'm currently on page 230 and I hate to say it, but I'm actually a bit bored now. Hello, my friends.

[00:00:32]Welcome or welcome back to my channel.

[00:00:33]If you're new here, my name's Karly, and this week I'm going to be reading some thriller books. So, I'm going to be reading two unreleased thriller books and one newly released thriller book.

[00:00:45]And we're going to see if I can find a new favorite, I guess. So, in this video, I'm going to be reading It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Juwel. I don't think it needs any other introduction apart from the fact that it's a Lisa Juul book. I have been reading Lisa Jules's books for years and years and years. I absolutely love her and I love her books. So, I'm very excited to dive into this one. I'm also going to be reading Dissection of a Murder by Joe Murray. This one actually releases at the beginning of May. I was very lucky to win a copy of this in a giveaway that was being hosted over on Instagram. And I also won, let me show you, the gavvel.

[00:01:24]Oh, this is so funny. So, I'm sure this will make an appearance in the rest of the vlog. The gavvel kind of gives away the fact that it is a legal/cortroom thriller. I have seen nothing but incredible reviews for this book. I love a courtroom thriller, so I'm very excited to dive into this one as well.

[00:01:42]And I'm also going to be reading It's Not What You Think by Cla Mintosh, which is a newly released book. I'm sure this was released last month in March, I believe. Now, I've got mixed feelings going into this book, but I'm going to go into it with an open mind. I will talk more in depth later on in the video when I do come to read it. But I've seen very mixed reviews and also I haven't been a huge fan of the marketing campaign behind this book, but I thought it would be a good one to read for this reading vlog to kind of get my reactions as I'm reading it. So yeah, those are the books that are on the menu this week. I'm going to start with a Lisa Jewel book. I've got some bits and bobs to be getting on with today, so I'll catch up with you later on when I'm ready to start it. Hello, my friends. I feel like I haven't done a reading vlog for ages. I feel like I haven't filmed one for a couple of weeks. I am all settled down in my bed. And do you know the nicest thing? It is currently 700 p.m.

[00:02:40]7:00 p.m. and it's still light. How lush is that? So, I'm 7:00 p.m. and I'm in my bed ready to read. I have had such a busy day today. Oh my god. I have spent the whole day sorting out my bookshelves. What started initially as let's see if we can fit one more bookshelf into my book room ended up being take all of the books off every single bookcase and rearrange them all.

[00:03:06]So it's taken me nearly the whole day to do and I'm absolutely exhausted. So I I don't even know how much reading I'm going to be able to get done before I start falling asleep and dropping the books on my face. But books book on my face. I've got my usual reading snacks.

[00:03:22]my sweet and salted popcorn, a caramel Kit Kat, and an apple. So, yeah, I'm going to settle down now and get a couple of chapters read, and I'll update you when I've got anything to update you with, I guess. I just thought I'd give you a little update. I am only that far into it. 37 pages on chapter 8. And so far, I'm really enjoying it. I feel like Lisa Juel is very good at setting the scene. So, so far we've had the whole lost dog and Jane returning the dog to its owner and then I don't know, she feels like something is a little bit off with him. As always, this is going to be a spoiler-free reading vlog, so I'm not going to give away any spoilers. Like Jane is talking about becoming a private investigator because she wants to look into this guy because I don't know.

[00:04:09]Yeah, like I said, something is a little bit off with him. And when she returned the dog, she saw a woman. A woman standing in the background and she looked oh, I don't know. I think she was like giving her a side glance or something. She looked worried and anxious. So yeah, so far so good. I'm going to read a little bit more now and then I'll probably update you tomorrow morning. Hello everyone. I have got a little Lisa Jewel update for you. So last night I got 141 pages into it and I am still very much enjoying it. It is definitely giving mystery vibes. I'm not sure I would class it as a thriller. I'm not necessarily thrilled, but there's definitely the element of suspense.

[00:04:52]There's definitely the what's going on, and I'm very intrigued to find out the mystery surrounding all of these different characters. Now, what I will say, one slight negative at the moment is there are a lot of characters to keep track of. I feel like I'm just getting to grips with the story and then we get another different character and their POV. Now, I can already start to see links between some of them, but I don't know. I just don't like a lot of characters in a book because it's just too much for my tiny little brain to keep track of. But that's my only negative at the moment. I Oh, do you know what? I just feel like I'm being reunited with an old friend.

[00:05:36]Whenever I read a Lisa Jewel book, I just love her writing so much. There's just there's just something about her writing. It is very easy to read, isn't it? It's so descriptive. Did I say this last night? This is my problem when I film reading vlogs because I do it over a couple of days. I always forget what I've already said. But yeah, her writing is just so descriptive. She really sets the scene and helps you to imagine exactly like what's going on in the story. Does that make sense? So, yeah, 141 pages in. How long is the book? It's over 400 pages. I'm trying not to give myself spoilers. 416 pages. So, I'm I'm over a quarter of the way through. I'm hoping tonight I can get a good chunk of this read. And obviously, I will update you either later on or tomorrow, like once I've read a chunk of it. But yeah, so far I'm enjoying it and I'm intrigued enough to carry on and I want to know where it's going to go. but it's not blowing me away just yet, but obviously I am only 141 pages into it. So, yeah, I will probably catch up with you all a little bit later. Hello, my friends. I am just settling down to carry on reading this. I've only got I haven't got long really of reading tonight.

[00:06:52]Maybe about an hour, hour and a half.

[00:06:54]I've had some baking to do tonight. For anybody that is new to my channel, that's my job. I make cakes. I run my own cake business and I've got some cakes going out tomorrow. So, I had to bake those tonight. And I've also just finished this on audio. I'm going off on a tangent as usual, but I only had 11% left after doing all my cakey stuff of the audio book. So, I I've just been sat in bed with my headphones on like an absolute psychopath, staring into the abyss while I finish that. I really enjoyed this, by the way. I will go into more det Oh, the TV's making me go all funny colors. I will go into more detail on this when I do my reading wrap-up, but yeah, really enjoyed that. So, yeah, I've got, like I said, about an hour, hour and a half worth of reading to do tonight. I usually try to go to sleep at about 10:00. I'm an early bird. Oh, I've gone blue. I'm an early bird cuz I'm always up early in the morning. So, yeah, I'm going to get a little bit of reading done now and I'll try and update you after I finish this evening. But if not, I'll update you tomorrow. Right, I know this is probably the most unflattering angle ever, and I've got about 27 chins, but I'm too lazy to get up. I'm currently on page 230, and I hate to say it, but I'm actually a bit bored now. I don't know. It's just not gripping me. Like I said earlier, there's there's too many characters.

[00:08:17]There's far too much going on, and I don't know. I'm just I'm just getting to a stage where I'm actually not all that interested. Oh, I bloody hate to say it. I hate to say it because it is a Lisa Jewel book. But I am going to carry on reading it just because I want to see it through so that I can give my full opinion on it. Do you know what I mean? But at the moment, I'm just it's just not giving me anything. So yeah, that's a little bit of a disappointing update, but I I don't know. I may read a little bit more now.

[00:08:51]I've got I don't know, another half an hour or so before my eyeballs are going to start closing. And yeah, I may take you to work with me tomorrow if I can.

[00:09:00]If I've got time, I'll show you the cakes I've got going out tomorrow. And yeah, I'll catch up with you all tomorrow. Hello, my friends. I have got a little bit of an update for you. I read I think I got to nearly like page 300 last night. I've got just over a 100 pages left and I'm still just finding the whole thing very weird. I do feel like the pacing has picked up a bit and I am more interested now to find out what's going on. And I know I said that I love the way she writes her characters and the detail and everything, but I don't know. I I just feel like something is missing at the moment. Now, I've got some work to do today. I'm going to crack on with my cakes. I've got a cake going out in an hour and a half that I just need to finish and box up. I'll show you that when it's all done. It's like a little mini cake with matching cupcakes and a cute little gift box. And then I've got another cake going up this afternoon. So, I'll show you some bits and bobs behind the scenes. You can see my little bowl of buttercream behind me, but there I've been up early icing my cakes this morning. So, yeah, I'm hoping to finish it this evening. And I'm actually hoping I can start dissection of a Murder by Joe Murray tonight as well. So yeah, I best get cracking and ice me cake. Right, I was just going to show you like a before and after of the cake and then I thought why not just decorate it and show you while I'm decorating it. But that is the before.

[00:10:26]So it's like a mini 5 in round cake that's chilled so it doesn't mark on the paper. And then the five matching cupcakes.

[00:10:36]So, they were freshly baked first thing this morning. So, first of all, I'm going to put her name in the middle, Carrie. So, this is just made from a fondant disc. I don't know if you're going to find this really boring, mind.

[00:10:48]So, you'll have to let me know if you don't want me to do stuff like this in the future because I totally get it.

[00:10:55]Like, you're here for book stuff, aren't you? Although, I was thinking, you know, like I don't know, food for thought for the future. I could possibly if I work out my camera angles like angle the camera so it's on me and I can talk to you while I'm doing like while I'm decorating cakes and talk to you about books at the same time. I don't know if that's way too much um multitasking because I can't talk much while I'm decorating already. I'm like I need to concentrate. It's not too bad for these cuz I can do these with my eyes closed. But with like um you know like big cakes and big like piped heart cakes, I I just can't do it. I need to concentrate.

[00:11:44]But I can listen to audio books which is really weird. So this is just to cream.

[00:11:51]So, she wanted a pink and neutral color scheme.

[00:11:57]Put some sprinkles on. I always empty them into a bowl first to make it easier to get them out cuz the jars they come in, I can't get any fat fingers in them.

[00:12:13]So, that's the cake. I always make sure I put the sprinkles on while the buttercream is wet because as soon as it starts firming up, the sprinkles just fall off.

[00:12:23]And then, right, I've got one that's got a fondant disc going on it. So, I'm going to put that there to match the top of the cake. I'll do these two like this.

[00:12:43]I'm hoping this is all in focus to be honest because this is very last minute of me as usual.

[00:12:53]So, I'm going to put some more sprinkles on.

[00:13:06]Also, just some little chocolate hearts.

[00:13:08]So, this is just white chocolate that I've precolled that in there. And then I've got this Got a bit of cake decorating going on.

[00:13:18]This giant nozzle here with an empty piping bag. And I'm just going to pipe those three colors I've just used into the same piping bag. So, you kind of get like a a mixed color effect.

[00:13:32]I'll show you what I mean.

[00:13:34]And you have to test it on a spare cupcake.

[00:13:42]All three colors in the same swirl.

[00:13:51]More sprinkles there cuz there's a little fondant top I got going on the top of that one. A happy birthday desk going over there.

[00:14:04]Just need to press it down.

[00:14:06]And then a number 50 going on the end for there.

[00:14:12]And then finish with a spritz of glitter. Edible glitter. Obviously, I'm not just putting like craft glitter on my cakes.

[00:14:21]And that is the after.

[00:14:24]And my customer will be picking that up in about an hour. So that's going to go back in the fridge to chill ready for her to pick it up.

[00:14:39]Order, order, I've got a reading update for you.

[00:14:43]Honestly, can't you even cope? So, in case you're thinking, Carly, what the bloody hell are you doing? I mean, you're probably thinking that every time you watch any of my videos, this is the book that I'm currently reading now.

[00:14:56]I'll update you properly cuz I finished the Lisa Jewel book, but I won it as part of a giveaway. It's a courtroom thriller drama. Don't really know yet.

[00:15:04]And I won a bloody gavel to go with it.

[00:15:08]And when I realized I'd won the gavvel, I was like, I'm going to have to use this in every single one of my videos.

[00:15:13]So, this is the gavl's first outing. And I feel like I'm going to be insufferable with this. Just think of all the possibilities.

[00:15:21]Order. Order. I'm going to take it to book club, I think, for when people start getting rowdy and not listening to me. Anyway, I finished the Lisa Jewel book over the weekend. So, we are now Monday and I think I last updated the vlog on Saturday very randomly with a little video of the cake that I decorated and then I went ghost. So, that was very rude of me. Um, I don't really know what to say about this to be honest because I'm not sure I've got much from it. And I hate to say it because I absolutely love Lisa Jewel.

[00:15:58]I've met her. She is the loveliest human being, but I just I don't know. I I don't think I enjoyed this. Let me just rewind now.

[00:16:09]So, I don't even know if I've told you what the book is about. This is what I do every time I do a reading vlog. And it's not until I start watching the footage back when I'm editing it and I'm like, Carly, you haven't even said what the book is about. So basically it follows the story of a character called Jane Travali who was a character in Don't Let Him In, which was Lisa Jules's most recent book before this one. So yeah, the book opens with Jane. She's out walking her dogs and she comes across another dog that looks lost. To cut a very long story short, she takes the dog to the vets to have it to see if it's got a chip so that she can find out who the owner is and possibly return the dog. Now, I don't know if it's just me, but the vet tells her where the dog is from. Now, isn't that like a breach of data protection or something? Surely the vet should get in contact with the dog's owner, not this random stranger that's brought the dog in. But anyway, the the vets's like, "Oh, this dog is from Hamster, does it?" or whatever the area is. And Jane's like, "Oh, well, I don't mind dropping the dog off. I'll take the dog." So she goes to the house where the dog is from and she realizes that it's the same house where something very bad nearly happened to her when she was a teenager. So when Jane was a teenager, this is going to be spoilerfree as always. My vlogs are always spoilerfree.

[00:17:32]I think I've already said this at the beginning of the vlog. When she was a teenager, she ended up going back to this house and she got a very bad vibe.

[00:17:41]Basically, she felt like something was a little bit off. Again, I'm not going to go into too much detail because I don't want to spoil anything. And she ran away from the house and that was that was that basically. And now this is the exact same house that she ran away from.

[00:17:57]So straight away I was like, "Oh, I bloody love the concept of this." I absolutely love the whole it could have been her vibe because she gets talking to the dog's owner. He isn't the man that she kind of had bad vibes from all those years ago. It's a completely different guy. But when she's talking to him, she notices a woman behind the door looking a bit dodgy. I don't know. It kind of just brings everything back to her from all those years ago. And this is kind of the catalyst which kickstarts Jane investigating who's living in the house. The vet also tells her that there's been somebody has said that the little dog she's just returned to this man's house that this dog was spotted with another girl who has now gone missing. So, you've got the missing girl element and yeah, like I said, the concept very intriguing, but I think the main thing I struggled with is it's very slow, very, very slow burn, especially in the first half. And there are far too many characters. There are far too many POVs. I was talking to Michaela about this over the weekend, and I'm sure she said she counted up all the POVs in the book, and there's 11 POVs. And I just don't think it's necessary. There's absolutely no need to have 11 POVs. Like one of the POVs, again, absolutely no spoilers, but I think it's only one chapter's worth. And then when I got to the end of the book, I was like, why did that character even have a POV? It was there was just absolutely no need. I think the story would still have been okay without all of those POVs. And I just found it so confusing to try and keep track of. But it's not all negative because it did pick up probably, oh, I don't know, maybe the last 30% it really ramped up.

[00:19:53]I think it's been described, oh yeah, Lisa Jules's darkest thriller yet has arrived now. There were elements of it that were dark and there's one scene in particular, again, I'm not going to say anything, but it just came out of nowhere and I was like, "Oh, okay. That I wasn't expecting that." And I love to be shocked. I've said it so many times in so many of my previous videos. I love it when a book shocks you and goes in a direction that you're not expecting.

[00:20:19]Now, even though Lisa Juul is a thriller writer, I know that she's not known for doing these big massive twists and her books are more about the characters, all the detail set in the scene, almost like the thriller version of world building, I would say. And I'm not sure what to rate the book as a whole because I was thinking to myself, oh, do I give it a three and a half? And then I'm trying to compare it to how I felt after reading Don't Let Him In, which I also gave a three and a half star.

[00:20:53]And I don't know, I just think it's very, very different from that book. And I honestly I'm really struggling to interpret my own vibes here. Maybe like I only finished this on Saturday and it's Monday now. So maybe once I've sat on it a little bit longer, I'll have more to say, but for now, I think I'm kind of feeling a 3.5 star.

[00:21:14]But yeah, I will keep you updated as well. Like at the end of this vlog, I'll let you know what my rating definitely is. So yeah, that's the Lisa Jewel update. I'm sorry it's not more positive. And last night then I started Dissection of a Murder by Joe Murray. So I got 125 pages into this and I'm really enjoying it so far. I bloody love a courtroom thriller, courtroom drama, anything to do with the legal system. I find it absolutely fascinating. So, you know, like a police procedural. I love a police procedural. This is more like a court procedural. I love learning. I mean, I don't know how accurate it is, but I love learning all about how solicitors and barristers and judges work. And this is very heavy on the procedure. you know, that's involved with prosecution and defense and everything. I always feel whenever I'm reading courtroom thrillers, I always feel like I'm on the jury and I'm in that courtroom. Do you know what I mean?

[00:22:15]I absolutely love it with my gavvel. The jury's not got a gavvel mind. Maybe I'm more of a judge. Right. I'm just going to get the blurb up because there's not really much of a blurb on this and I want to be careful what I'm saying cuz I I always want to keep this as spoiler-free as possible. The unmissable and explosive courtroom thriller for fans of Blood Orange, Apple Tree Yard, and The Silent Patient.

[00:22:38]Wow. Oh, I may just read you the blurb.

[00:22:41]I just think reading blurbs is so much safer because I don't want to go yapping away and then realize I've given something away that I shouldn't have.

[00:22:50]So, we've got a dead judge, a silent defendant, and a courtroom full of liars.

[00:22:57]I mean, I don't know if I would agree that the defendant is silent. He's He's talking. He's just not saying much. Do you know what I mean? Whereas in the silent patient, she's mute, isn't she?

[00:23:07]The patient. H. Anyway, when Leila Reynolds is handed her first murder case, she's shocked at how high profile it is. The murder of a wellrespected, well-known judge. This shouldn't be the kind of case she's leading. It's way beyond her expertise. But the defendant, Jack Milman, is clear. He wants her and only her. To make things worse, he's refusing to talk. How is she supposed to prove herself on what appears to be an unwinable case? Losing is not an option.

[00:23:35]She must find the most persuasive argument. Trials aren't won by convincing judges or fellow barristers.

[00:23:42]They're all about convincing the jury.

[00:23:44]Suddenly, Ila finds herself fighting not only to keep Jack out of prison, but also to keep her own secrets buried.

[00:23:50]It's true what they say. There are two sides to every story. Guilty or not guilty, you decide. Oh my god, I am covered in goosebumps. That's such a good blurb. Now, I'm glad I didn't go waffling on because I was going to say something and it's not in the blurb. So, yeah, it's all about Ila and yeah, 125 pages in so far, she's trying to get her defendant to tell her what's gone on.

[00:24:15]So, he's on trial for the murder of this wellrespected judge. Like, when you're accused of murdering a judge, you haven't got much of a hope, have you?

[00:24:23]But she's like, "I can't defend you if you don't tell me what the defense is."

[00:24:27]And he's saying, "I'm not saying anything. You're gonna have to work it out for yourself." So, I do really like that. Like, I am so interested and nosy.

[00:24:37]It's It's nosy not interested to be honest, to find out why he isn't saying anything and what actually happened, like what's gone on with this judge.

[00:24:48]There's also been hints so far of Leila's secrets. I haven't got a clue what's happened, what's gone on, what his secrets are at this point. It's just hints, you know, but I Oh, I don't know.

[00:25:02]It's given conviction by Jack Jordan a little bit at this point because the barristister in that had secrets that she wanted to keep hidden. And yeah, it's definitely given like a sprinkling of those vibes and I really enjoyed that book. So yeah, so far really really enjoying it. I am very invested. And I tell you one thing, that's always a good sign that I'm enjoying a book. I can't stop thinking about it. I've got another video to film after this. I've got some editing to do and all I can think of is reading this book. I just want to pick it up and I want to devour the pages.

[00:25:36]I'm hoping what am I on? Page 125. How many pages is this? This is just over 400 pages.

[00:25:44]I mean, depending how much time I've got tonight, I could possibly finish this, but I don't know if that's me being very optimistic. I will catch up with you later anyway and let you know how I'm getting on. And also, this isn't part of the reading vlog, but I'm currently listening to this on audio, or I was up until this morning. Oh my god, I've had to stop the audio. It is grating me. The narration is, you know, when you're like, it's making your eye twitch. But I was like, I can't do this anymore. I was very dramatic when I pressed the stop button this morning. I was listening to it while I was dyeing my hair. I was doing my roots. So, if you're wondering what that is in my hairline, it's hair dye because I managed to get half of it all over my face and all over the bathroom. But yeah, I was dying my hair listening to that and I thought, I can't I can't bloody listen to this anymore.

[00:26:33]It is awful. So, I'm going to carry on reading this physically at some point.

[00:26:37]So yeah, that's my little update for now and I'll catch up with you all later when I've got my snacks. Right, I'm in bed already. Look at it. It's like What time is it? It's like half six. This is what I mean. I am completely antisocial.

[00:26:51]>> What are you reading then, Mom?

[00:26:52]>> Oh, it's Finn. Um, I'm reading this babes. It is dissection of a murder.

[00:27:01]You could see his face every time. What do you say to me all the time? Why can't you read a nice book? Yeah, >> that's my eldest. That is Do you know what? You've said, haven't you, that he's going to come on the first book club live. So, the beginning of the month when I do my members only live for Wild Dark Shore the book. Is Jakey coming on as well or just you? Jake as well.

[00:27:25]>> So, both of them are going to make a little bit of an appearance on the live.

[00:27:29]So, that'll be fun, won't it? Yeah. So, I'm going to carry on reading this now.

[00:27:32]I am actually hoping I think I said this earlier, didn't I? that I can finish it because I've got I've got a good like 3 hours worth. I mean, maybe more. I'm not actually that tired at the moment. This is what I mean. This is the good thing about being an early bird is that everything's done early so I can read in the evenings. Also, I tell you what, I'm absolutely obsessed with these drinks at the moment. They're called Poppy. Are these from the US? Why do I feel like these have been shipped over from the US?

[00:27:59]I don't know. You probably get these in America, do you? Anyway, but oh my god, I absolutely love them and I love the packaging as well. So, this is strawberry strawberry lemon. So, yeah, I'm just going to crack on, get a little bit of reading done now and I'll keep you updated as I'm reading.

[00:28:25]Right, I just thought I'd give you a little update because it's getting so good. I'm currently on page 152. So, where did I start it this evening? Was it 120?

[00:28:36]125 I started on. So, I haven't read much. I've read like an extra 30 pages.

[00:28:40]But, you know, when you're reading your book and you're like I was just sat here reading it and I'm like, "Oh my god, this is getting so good." Like, the stakes are getting higher. There's so many secrets. There's lies, deception, betrayal, murder, things we love to hear. You can tell it's getting darker now, can't you? Cuz the lighting's starting to change. It's starting to go a little bit blue. So, I think I'm going to have to turn the lamp on now. Ready for my next update. But, I am officially I was going to say I'm officially over halfway. Am I actually over halfway? I'm on page 207 now. Can't remember how many pages it is. Yes, I am over halfway. It is 405 pages. So, I'm only just over halfway, guys. I'm absolutely bloody loving it.

[00:29:26]What's going on with my hair? Or is that just a shadow?

[00:29:29]so much. Like, you know, when you're reading a book and I'm I'm I've got sweaty palms and my heart rate, like my heart is pounding out of my chest because I am so invested in this story.

[00:29:44]I'm hooked in. Like, this is what I mean when I tell you I've got an addictive personality. So, when people are saying to me, "Oh, how do you read so many books every month?" Once I am hooked on a book, it's like I hyperfixate and I cannot put it down. I cannot put it down until I read the whole thing and I find out exactly what's happened. And exactly the same with Netflix show or not Netflix, any TV shows. I have to binge things. So, I'm definitely going to finish this tonight no matter what the time is because I can't stop thinking about it. And do you know what? Still, not a lot has been revealed. It's all there's loads of unanswered questions.

[00:30:22]And I bloody love an unanswered question because I've got a feeling this is just going to throw everything at at us. U us. It's just me in the room, hun. But I just feel like this is going to throw everything at me in the second half of the book. So yeah, I'm going to go and get some snacks now. I think it's snack time. Going to go and get my popcorn and apple. Same snacks I have every night.

[00:30:45]And carry on reading this. But yeah, I'm going to I'll keep you updated as I'm reading. Is this going to end up being my first Oh, no. I did have a five star, didn't I? When I read The Favorites by Lane Fargo when I did my reading vlog back in December. I was going to say, is this going to be my first five star read in a reading vlog? It's giving five star vibes so far. Bloody loving it. Snacks secured. Right, me lamps on. The curtains are closed cuz it's getting dark. I've had my snacks as well. I'm on part is it part two? I don't know. But I'm on the trial now. So the book opened at the start of the trial and then since then we've gone back and it's been like the lead to the trial. So each chapter is started with however many days it is until the trial and now we are at the trial and again absolutely no spoilers but I just wanted to come on because Ila is the main barristister and at the end of this chapter I've just read now like the trial is just about to start and it says the usher guides the jury back into court. As they take their seats something in the air changes. Everyone sits up. My heart starts to race. This is it. And I was reading it and I thought that's exactly how I feel reading this book. My heart is bloody racing. I just can't wait. I am so excited for all the reveals. I'm on page 255 now. So, I've got yeah about 150 odd pages left to go.

[00:32:13]I am like, oh my god, I cannot turn the pages quick enough. I'm so invested.

[00:32:18]Honestly, I feel like I've got front row seats in this trial now. I feel like I'm on jury. I think I've already said this, but oh, it's so bloody good. So bloody good. Obviously, I'm going to wait until I've actually finished the book, but I've already thinking about ordering myself a trophy copy because I'll put an image on the screen now. There's a sprayed edge edition that is really nice. And you know what? That's Thriller Girlies don't get many pretty books. So, I'm going to wait until I finished it.

[00:32:50]And if I love it as much as I have been loving it so far, I'm going to order it immediately. Right, you'll have to excuse the lighting. It's gone very dark. I've bloody finished it.

[00:33:01]Oh my god, what a book. It is absolutely outstanding. I think it's going to have to be a five star. Like, I just inhaled the rest of the book since I last updated you. Still got sweaty palms.

[00:33:15]Still got a racing heart. Oh my god, this is so so good. I'm definitely going to be ordering myself a trophy copy.

[00:33:23]Have I just found myself a new favorite author?

[00:33:26]I I don't even have any words. I feel stressed. How am I going to sleep tonight now?

[00:33:32]Oh my god, I just feel like I've sat through a real life trial, a real life court case.

[00:33:39]So yeah, I'm going to go.

[00:33:43]I'm just going to sit here and stare into the abyss for a bit and then yeah, I'll update you all properly tomorrow.

[00:33:50]Well, it'll be tomorrow for me, but for you it'll be in a couple of seconds. But yeah, honestly, I I cannot even begin to tell you how bloody good that book was.

[00:34:01]Hello, my friends. Oh my god, can you even believe spoke too soon, didn't I?

[00:34:06]I'm back in my bloody jumper. I got so excited last week being in t-shirts. It was like 20 odd degrees Celsius that is in the UK just for anybody wondering.

[00:34:17]And yeah, it is absolutely tipping down my rain again today. And I'm in my cozy jumper that I actually got. Let me move this down a little bit to show you from Wordy and Wild Booked Not Busy. It's so cozy. It's got like balloon sleeves and I Let me move you back up. I ordered it in a slightly bigger size because I like I don't know. I just feel like anything oversized is more cozy, isn't it?

[00:34:42]Anyway, enough waffling. This book, oh my bloody god, it was fantastic. So good. After I spoke to you last night, like after I finished it, I literally just sat there in my bed for oh god, a good 5 10 minutes just thinking about everything I just read. You know when you just sit there processing it all?

[00:35:05]I'm going to find this very hard to talk about because I don't want to give anything away and I think I could very easily give quite a lot away.

[00:35:17]So, I'm just going to tell you what I thought of it. I've already briefly mentioned the plot, haven't I? It's all about this guy that's on trial for murder. He's being represented by a barrista called Ila. It's her first murder trial. She's very inexperienced, very nervous. And the guy that's on trial, his name is Jack. He's not saying a word. He wants her to put him on the stand. And he's telling her he's not going to say a word until the day of the trial. So, she's going in blind. She hasn't got a clue what Jack is going to say. And I don't know. I just think the way it was written since finishing it last night, I've actually realized that Joe Murray was a criminal barrista before writing this book. I think I'm saying that. Am I lying? Yeah, I think she's a former criminal barrista. And I think I said earlier on in this video, I bloody love anything to do with the legal system, the police procedure. I love courtroom thrillers. I love the drama. I loved learning about like how the council works, like the bar council.

[00:36:24]I may be talking absolute nonsense here because I don't know what I'm talking about, but I just love the whole like pupilage. What else was in there? How it's called chambers and not offices.

[00:36:36]Oh, I just loved it all. So, the book opens with the prologue where you are kind of Oh, do you know what? Now reading the prologue. I just had a little look at the prologue again. And once you've read it and you know exactly what's happened and then you go back and read the prologue, oh my god, it is even better. I I got tears in my eyes. Am I okay? I'm being so dramatic here. I just can't even put into words how much I love this book. It is so clever. It felt very fresh as well, even though I've read a few courtroom thrillers. I don't know. This one just felt a little bit different. It was very heavy on the procedure though, so it may not be for everybody, but I was oh my god, I was absolutely hooked the whole way through.

[00:37:21]And I'm not going to say a single word about the last 50 pages of this book, apart from wow.

[00:37:30]Wow. My mind was blown. It just goes in so many different directions and takes you oh my god. It's so hard to talk about when you can't talk about spoilers because yeah, this book is phenomenal and I actually recommend you go into it as blind as possible. This is why I'm not saying I'm not saying much about it because I think everybody should go into it as blind as possible and hopefully have the experience I've had with it. I think this is gonna blow up. I hope it is anyway, especially because it's a debut author. I really hope that this ends up getting the hype that it most definitely deserves because it is absolutely phenomenal. Next up, I'm going to read It's Not What You Think by Cla Mintosh.

[00:38:17]Now, I've got mixed thoughts on this already before I even go into it. So, let me tell you where I'm at, what my thoughts are, and then I'll share my journey of reading it with you guys.

[00:38:31]I'll share the whole process. So, when I first saw Cla announce that she was writing a new book, I was watching her stories and I'm sure she was like walking through some country lane or something and she's like, "Oh my god, I have just written the best plot twist I have ever written." And immediately my ears were pricricked up and I was like, "Oh yes, I need that book immediately."

[00:38:56]This was sometime last year. This was obviously months and months and months ago. So, as soon as I saw that story, I've had this book on my radar and I've been very excited to read it. But, and you just know there's a big fat butt coming. I have to be completely honest and this isn't I hope this doesn't come across as me bashing the author or the publishers. I think the marketing campaign for this book has been too much. So much in fact that it's almost put me off reading the book. This whole it's not what you think this is the best plot twist ever has been hammered home so much that it's put me off reading the book.

[00:39:38]So I actually think this may be a good one to do for a vlog because I almost wasn't going to read it. It's put me off that much. But I had this book as part of my ticket when I went to see Cla. Did I see her in February? I can't actually remember. It was part of like my ticket for that event and I thought I I am intrigued. I am intrigued actually to see if it is like the best plot twist ever. Do you know what I mean? And I tell you why I'm skeptical going into this because I read a book, it was either last year or the year before. I'm not going to name the book, but the whole marketing campaign behind that was it has the biggest plot twist of the year. I can't remember which year. So, the biggest plot twist of 2024 or 2025, whichever year it was, and I read it, and you know what, I I actually loved the book for the most part until it got to the twist and I hated the twist. And I don't know, I just think sometimes marketing campaigns can be more harmful than good. I'm saying this as a reader, as somebody that is the target audience for these marketing campaigns.

[00:40:48]This marketing campaign has just made me not want to read the book. I've heard from some people that it's quite political as well. So, yeah, I'm going to go in I was going to say I'm going in with an open mind, but I'm the type of person that I find it really hard to get past something, you know, because this marketing campaign, it's just been too much for me personally. Obviously, these are just my opinions, but I am going to go in with as open a mind as possible, and I'm going to share the journey with you and see exactly what I think about it because I will give an honest review.

[00:41:26]If I think this book does fit the marketing campaign and it is fantastic and it does have the best plot twist ever, I will tell you. But also, if I don't, I will also tell you like my reviews and my experiences with books are always honest. So, yeah, I am Oh, running late actually looking at the time. I'm off to have my nails done. I'm saying goodbye to the mini egg nails. I think I've had these on for nearly a month now. So, yeah, Easter is over.

[00:41:56]These are all grown out and horrible.

[00:41:59]So, I'm going to go and have my nails done. I actually have no idea what I'm going to have done to my nails. this. Do you know what? Choosing what nail design to have every month is just as overwhelming as choosing what to have for tea every evening. It's too much.

[00:42:12]It's too too many decisions. So, I'm just going to wing it and I'll see what I fancy when I get there. So, I'm going to start this on audio because I need a new audio book. So, I'm gonna start it in the car on my way to having my nails done. And when I come back, I'll show you my nails and I'll let you know how I'm getting on with the start of the book. So, I'll see you in a bit. Right, I'm back. I've had my nails done. I've gone with like pastels, pastels, polka dots, and stripes. So, yeah, I'm happy they're all done. Oh, there's nothing like it, is there? Like the feeling of fresh nails. I've had them done shorter.

[00:42:49]Love them. And I've got a little bit of an update. So, I'm currently, one moment, for 14% into It's Not What You Think by Cla Mintosh. So far, I'm actually enjoying it. I'm very intrigued to see where it's going to go. So, it's all about a woman called Nadika. Let me grab the book actually cuz I want to see how far 13% is. Track nine. Does that mean chapter nine? No, it's not. I don't know what track nine on bookbe isn't chapter nine in the book. I'm about 50 odd pages in roughly. So yeah, so far I'm I'm enjoying it and I'm interested enough to carry on. So, it's about a woman called Nadika. And the book opens with her speeding like driving speed driving like that driving, speeding her way home because she's convinced her partner Jamie is having an affair and she wants to catch him in the act. So, she gets pulled over by the police because she's speeding and she's run a red light. The police question her and she's honest with the police. She says, "I think my my other half is having an affair and I wanted to catch him in the act." Anyway, she's let go and she makes her way home.

[00:44:04]And when she gets to her house, there's a police car outside the house. And what started as her wanting to catch Jamie in the act of having an affair and cheating on her has actually ended up with Jamie being dead. Now, that is not a spoiler. It is all in the blurb and it's kind of the whole point of the book. So, yeah. I mean, 50 pages in now, Nadika is I don't know. She's she's saying so her previous partner before Jamie cheated on her. So she obviously has trust issues and she's I don't know she's telling us that Jamie was a little bit different over the past couple of months is his behavior was a little bit odd. So there's already the mystery surrounding what Jamie was up to before he died, why he was murdered, who murdered him. So, there's a lot of unanswered questions already. And yeah, I'm enjoying it so far. I have no idea where it's going to go, but oh, I don't know. I don't know if I'm going to get much chance to read any more of this today because I'm just going to do this on audio, I think, because I actually need to start my book club book. I've got book club next Tuesday, so a week today, and I haven't even read the book yet. So, physically, I need to read that, but I won't vlog that as part of this vlog. I'll just update you when I've read a little bit more of this. I am out and about tomorrow, so I'll get a little bit more of the audio done then.

[00:45:30]But yeah, I'll just keep checking in as and when I've got anything interesting to say.

[00:45:36]And yeah, I'll catch up with you all soon. Hello, my friends. I have got a little update for you on the Cla Mintosh book. So, I'm currently 23% into the audio, which is roughly 86 87 pages. I'm trying to find my place, but the chapters don't match the tracks on book, which is not very helpful.

[00:46:01]But I'm going to eat my own words that I said at the beginning of this section of the video because I'm actually really enjoying it. We've just had a little bit of a twist, a tiny bit of a twist. And I was listening to it just now while I was driving and I was like, "Oh, okay." So, so far I am really, really enjoying it.

[00:46:22]I have no idea where it's going to go.

[00:46:24]Like, no idea at all, but I'm very pleasantly surprised. So, I will keep you updated. I've got a little bit of work to do later. Uh, I probably won't check in with you again now until tomorrow because I've got a good couple of hours of work tomorrow as well. So, I should get a good chunk of this audio book done while I'm working tomorrow.

[00:46:45]So, just goes to show, doesn't it? If you go in with zero expectations, sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised. Although, I'm saying this, I am only 23% into it, it could fall off a cliff and go horribly wrong, but so far I'm enjoying it. Hello, my friends. It is Saturday. Today I'm up. It's like half 7. I'm just about to start the cakes that I've got going out this morning and I thought I'd give you a little reading update because let me see how far into the CLA Mintosh book I am.

[00:47:15]I'm currently 69% into the book and I've got some thoughts. So, I can't remember when I last updated you. I can remember saying that it started off really well.

[00:47:28]I was really invested. I don't know what the hell this camera's doing. Let me move it.

[00:47:33]Yeah, it started off well. I was invested. Really liked the story, like the idea of the story. And I don't think I've updated you since. Or have I? I can't remember. I'm very sorry if I'm repeating myself. I am the worst at reading blogs. There has been a little bit of a midway twist, which I did like and I didn't see coming.

[00:47:56]But since I've carried on reading, I'm really starting to dislike the book and the direction it's going in. And I'm also thinking to myself, if that little midway twist is this best plot twist ever marketing thing, like if that is the twist, I'm going to be really mad.

[00:48:18]like I am going to be really pissed off if that is the main twist. So, I'm going to keep an open mind until I finish it.

[00:48:25]But at the moment, I'm I'm really not enjoying where it's going. It's really political. It's full of racism and racial slurs and yeah, it's just I don't know. I thought it was going to be more of a domestic thriller and it's going in a completely different direction. Like I said, I'm going to keep an open mind.

[00:48:45]I'm probably going to finish it today because I have got some work to get on with this morning and I've only got like 30% left of the audio book. But yeah, I will be very interested to see like where it goes if there are any more twists at the end or whatever.

[00:49:02]Obviously, I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone, but I'm going to crack on with my work now and I will keep you updated. I'll let you know when I finished it. Hello, my friends. I'm here to give you the last update for this reading vlog. So, on Saturday, I finished It's Not What You Think by Cla Mintosh. And oh, I hate to say it, but I'm disappointed. I'm so disappointed.

[00:49:27]Although, I did have a feeling, didn't I? I said it before I went into it that I wasn't going to enjoy it just because of how just how overdone the marketing campaign has been in my opinion. Please remember these are just my opinions. I just think if you are hammering home constantly all day, every day that this is the best plot twist ever, you're kind of setting the bar a bit too high. I'm always skeptical going into books that have been marketed in this way because speaking from previous experience, they never quite hit as hard as the marketing has promised they're going to hit. Does that make sense? I think I had about 30% left when I spoke to you guys just before I was about to start my work. And god, I don't even know what to say because I've got a lot I want to say, but I also don't want to give away any spoilers. I want to keep my reading vlogs spoiler-free so that you can all enjoy them without worrying about me spoiling a book for you.

[00:50:31]So, how am I going to say what I felt without giving anything away? I think ultimately I've already said quite a lot, haven't I? As I've been reading it, I enjoyed the first bit of the book until you get like a little bit of a midway twist and then from that point on, I really didn't like the direction it went in. It's very very political like I've previously said and because of the way it's been marketed, I was expecting huge things from it and in my opinion it just didn't deliver. I didn't get the huge jaw-dropping oh my god twist moment that is promising basically like even the title of the book is not what you think. The marketing behind the title has been hammered home as well because everywhere you look it's all oh it's not what you think. There's going to be a massive twist. It's going to blow your mind. And I'm sure I've seen somewhere that it's been described as being like, "If you loved I Let You Go by" by the same author, which has one of the best twists I have ever read. That one did blow me away, then you're going to oh my god, this one's going to blow your mind even more. And it just didn't. And I did enjoy the first, I don't know, 30% of it. So, for that reason, I'm going to give it a two star rating. I think the rest of the book was definitely not anywhere near that, but I think just for the enjoyment I had at the beginning of the book, I'm going to give it a two star. Now, what I'm also going to say because I hate being completely negative about a book is that I do seem to be in the minority here. Going off some of the reviews, I have seen some of the reviews on Goodreads and a lot of people seem to have got a lot more from it than I personally did. So, don't necessarily take my word for it. All I can talk about is my personal experience with the book. I will say as well, the audio book was good. The audio book was well narrated. It was very well done. It was just the overall story itself that didn't quite work for me. So, yeah, bit gutted to be ending the reading vlog with a twostar read, but since finishing Dissection of a Murder, I still haven't stopped thinking about that book. I finished that days and days ago and I haven't stopped thinking about it. So even though we are ending with a twostar read, I'm still absolutely buzzing that I managed to find a five star read in this reading vlog. So yeah, that's going to bring me to the end of the reading vlog. So just to recap, two stars for Cla Mintosh, three and a half stars for Lisa Juwel. I think I'm going to go with a three and a half star rating for that just because upon reflection I didn't enjoy it less or more than Don't Let him Him In and I gave that three and a half stars. So, I'm going to go with the same rating I gave that and yeah, a fivest star rating for Dissection of a Murder by Joe Murray. Absolutely outstanding and I cannot wait for that book to be released so that more people can read it and I can talk to more people about it.

[00:53:34]It is so bloody good. I really hope you've enjoyed spending the week with me while I read these books. Let me know in the comments what you thought of my thoughts. And also let me know if you'll be adding any of them to your TBR. And if you do end up picking any of them up, I'd love it if you could come back once you have read them and let me know in the comments what you thought of them.

[00:53:55]If you did enjoy watching, I would absolutely love it if you could give me a little thumbs up, maybe hit the like button, and if you are new to my channel, if you could hit the subscribe button as well. I've got lots of fun videos planned over the next couple of weeks. I'm actually just about to start filming a horror book reading vlog as well. So, I'm going to read some new release horror books. I've had Oh, honestly, I am so excited about these horror books. So, yeah, I'm going to film me reading those books this week and hopefully get the vlog up next week at some point. So, yeah, really, really excited about those. Although, I'm really struggling to narrow down the books I want to read. There's so many.

[00:54:33]So yeah, I'm going to go and have a little nosy on my shelves now and pick out the horror books that I'm going to be reading this week. I'm massively in the mood for horror as well. So I'm hoping I can find some absolute bangers in that reading vlog as well. And yeah, I'm going to leave it there for now.

[00:54:47]Thank you so much for hanging out with me this week while I read these thriller books. Happy reading and I'll catch you all next time.