Showing posts with label JK Rowling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JK Rowling. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Book Review 2016: The Silkworm and Career of Evil

I'm horrible about posting my book reviews. I still have several from last year (I will get to them eventually). Today I thought I would combine two since they are in the same series. I actually finished The Silkworm last year, but never wrote the review. I just finished book 3 of the series, Career of Evil, last week. If you would like to check out my review of the first book in this series, The Cuckoo's Calling, click here.

**All reviews published on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five-star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and no one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.**

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith


This is the second book in the Cormoran Strike series. After finishing the first one, I couldn't wait to start this book. This time the private investigator and his sidekick secretary assistant Robin Ellacott are hired by the wife of novelist Owen Quine to track down her husband. She is convinced he has gone off to escape from the world for a few days and she wants Strike to bring him home. 

During the investigation Strike and Robin discover that Owen has written a "tell all" book, revealing intimate details about the lives of several people, including fellow authors and some women in his life. Although it was "supposedly" a work of fiction (and names were changed), it was written in such a way that the "guilty" parties would know who was who. It's no surprise that Owen is later found brutally murdered and that there are many suspects. (Note: the author does go into some great detail describing the murder scene, so just a warning if you are squeamish). 

I will confess this book started out a little slow, but once it picked up, I really enjoyed it. This book is over 450 pages, so it's not the kind you can sit down and read on a Saturday (unless you have absolutely nothing else to do except read all day. Honestly, those are my favorite kind of days). 

The Silkworm takes the reader more into Robin's personal life and her relationship with fiancè Matthew. I'll leave my personal opinion of those two out of this review (so I don't spoil anything for those who will read this series). It also shows the growth of Strike and Robin's professional relationship (which I really liked). Robin moves past being just a secretary to a colleague that Strike can rely on, and someone he truly respects. 

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith


I checked out the first two books of this series from the library. When this book came out, there were 53 people on the waiting list AHEAD of me, so I broke down and bought it. (Okay, I bought the first book in the series eventually because a certain friend of mine was too lazy to go to his library to check it out. I finally bought it so he could borrow it. He loved it (I knew he would). He's hooked on the series too. Lol.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I keep bugging friends to finish it so we can discuss it. :)

The book starts with Robin receiving a severed leg in the mail (I know, gross, right?) The package was addressed to her, but Strike is convinced it was meant for him. Strike can think of four people from his past who are capable of doing such a horrible thing (for the record, I don't know ANYONE who could be capable of mailing a severed leg). 

Strike and the local police have different theories on who is responsible (of course they do), so Strike and Robin set out on their own to track down the killer (mailer?) J.K. Rowling I'm sorry, Robert Galbraith, once again gets very descriptive in some of the scenes (so that is another word of warning for my squeamish friends). In my opinion, this book is creepier and darker than the first two. Of course this would be my favorite of the series. Lol.

SPOILER ALERT! Only click this button if you have read the book (or just don't care about spoilers).

Robin is helping Strike with this investigation all while planning her upcoming wedding to Matthew. Matthew is obviously jealous of her working relationship with Strike, and this is causing issues between the couple.

This book made me desperately wish that book 4 was already published. But sadly it's not. And there isn't even a release date. OH THE TORTURE! I decided to tweet about it on Friday afternoon (copying Robert Galbraith and J.K. Rowling's Twitter handles). For those who didn't read my review of book one, Robert Galbraith is J.K. Rowling's pseudonym. When I checked Twitter later that evening, I noticed that J.K. Rowling had "liked" my tweet. I'm convinced we are best friends now. Lol.



If you have read this series and would like to discuss, please let me know! I'm desperately wanting to talk about it with people. Lol.

I promise more book reviews to come soon! 

XOXO!

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Book Review 2015: Latest Book Reviews

I'm so behind on my book reviews, so I'm going to combine a few reviews into one post.

**All reviews published on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five-star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and no one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.** 


This is a wonderful book for anyone thinking about getting a puppy. The author provides a lot of great suggestions that one must consider before they welcome the newest member into their family (but he doesn't overload the reader with too much information). He throws in some humor throughout the book, which makes it a quick and enjoyable read. His love of dogs (especially one dog in particular) is very noticeable, but that makes his suggestions even more genuine, in my opinion. Even if you already have a dog, you would still enjoy this book! 

You can get an e-book version of this book on Amazon, just click here!


Real Murders by Charlaine Harris


This was a quick read and a fun little mystery novel. The heroine, Aurora (Roe) Teagarden, is a librarian and a mystery book lover (I liked her immediately). She belongs to a Real Murders Club, where they analyze and discuss famous murder cases. One night a member is murdered before their meeting and her death is similar to the one the club was discussing that night- therefore, every club member is a suspect.

Roe makes it a point to help prove the innocence of club members by getting involved in the investigation (because isn't that what anyone else would do in that situation?) Does that even happen in real life? I'm not being funny, I'm actually asking. Lol.

Some of the story was predictable, but it was still enjoyable. I recommend this if you are looking for a book to read some lazy Saturday afternoon. I believe I finished this one in less than a day. Oh, The Hallmark Channel recently aired a few TV movies based on this series, starring Candace Cameron Bure as Roe Teagarden. 

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (pseudonym for J.K. Rowling)


I really enjoyed this book. It's no secret that my favorite genre is mystery (thank you grandma for that), so I'll read pretty much any mystery novel there is. As readers of my blog know, I recently read the Harry Potter books for the first time. After reading those, I was curious if Ms. Rowling (I don't feel we are close enough yet for me to call her J.K.) could write well in another genre, so I had to check this one out.

I was impressed with this story. I think the novel is well written (she is definitely a good story teller, regardless if you are a fan of the genre she is writing in or not). It's nice to see her writing an adult novel (wait, not THAT kind of adult novel. Lol.) I like the character of Cormoran Strike. He is a war veteran and struggling private investigator. He's broke and has recently ended a long-term relationship with his girlfriend. Then he is hired by a client that could help get him back in business (literally). With the help of his newly hired secretary Robin, they do their best to solve the case. 

One thing about reviewing mystery novels is that you don't want to say too much, just so you don't give anything away. I will say that this is by NO MEANS a quick little read. It seems that Ms. Rowling can't write a short novel. Lol. This book is over 450 pages, so if you are quick reader, you could probably finish this in a day if you put your mind to it. There was some British "lingo" that I didn't always understand (shout out to my friend Harrie, who answered my questions on what certain British words and phrases meant). :) If you are a mystery fan, I definitely recommend this one. There is another book in the series, The Silkworm (which I just finished, I'll review it another day). I know the third book in the series is due out this fall. I'm looking forward to it!

Thanks for being patient with me while I get all my reviews published! :)

XOXO!

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It's time once again for What I'm Loving Wednesday! Thank you to everyone who links up every week (or almost every week). We appreciate your support!! :) Please tell your friends to link up next week! We love to read new blogs!

I'm loving...
That two of my nieces and I are FINALLY having our Girls Weekend that we've been talking about for like six years. I can't wait to spend time with them. We aren't that far apart in age, so we are all close. They are definitely more like sisters than nieces. :)


I'm loving...
That my Instagram photo with Sean Lee at the RoughRiders game made the minor league baseball app! :) (Thank you to my friend Beks for letting me know). :)


I'm loving...
The text conversations I had with some of my nieces and one of my nephews yesterday. They make me smile. I love my family. :)

I'm loving...
That I was able to find a "non Harry Potter" book by J.K. Rowling (she wrote it under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith) at the library yesterday. I'm interested to see how it goes, I do like crime novels. I might even do a review of it, eventually. Lol.


I'm loving...
That Blue Bell ice cream is making its way back onto the shelves of local grocery stores. :) The crisis is over!! :)

I'm loving...
That I got to have dinner with some of my cousins last night. They only live about an hour from me, but we never really get together. We promised that we will get together more often! I'm trying to convince them to go to a baseball game with me this summer. :)

My cousin in the top right corner is going to be taller than me soon. He's grown so much since I last saw him!
What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!