the sham – Adele Is Reading

My TBR this September contained 5 books. I usually have a max of 3 books a month, since that seems to be the amount of books that I can handle. However, I got stressed and amped the books up from the usual 3 books to 5 books. Especially with reading library books, and just being busy with life in general.

The books that I had on my TBR this month (from left to right) were: I See You by Clare Mackintosh, Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody, The Beast is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke, Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep.

Of the 5 books I had on my TBR this month, I only managed to read 2 of them; The Daughter of the Burning City, and, Spider’s Bite. However, I did start reading I See You — but I See You is so incredibly detailed (and I’m only 10 pages in) that the book is slower than I thought it would be.

The Books I read this September (15):

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Thank you to the Ellen Asher, via Netgalley for allowing me to read The Sham, in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review

When love leads to death, be careful who you trust…

Eighteen-year-old Emily Heath would love to leave her dead-end town, known locally as “The Sham”, with her boyfriend, Jack, but he’s very, very sick; his body is failing and his brain is shutting down. He’s also in hiding, under suspicion of murder. Six months’ ago, strange signs were painted across town in a dialect no one has spoken for decades and one of Emily’s classmates washed up in the local floods.

Emily has never trusted her instincts and now they’re pulling her towards Jack, who the police think is a sham himself, someone else entirely. As the town wakes to discover new signs plastered across its walls, Emily must decide who and what she trusts, and fast: local vigilantes are hunting Jack; the floods, the police, and her parents are blocking her path; and the town doesn’t need another dead body.

WARNING: THIS BOOK IS UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNGER TEENAGE READERS. IT DEPICTS ADULT SITUATIONS, MURDER SCENES, CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SEX AND PROFANITY.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: The idea for this book came to me in a nightmare… It was so vivid that I imagined I was 17 again, at school, in the same group of 4 friends that I used to hang around with. We were involved in a murder and cover-up. I started writing partly as a way to get it out of my head and then the characters turned into real people… and Emily and Jack were born.

As some of the early reviewers have stated, it is quite extreme in chapter one, and necessarily so. This is the incident that sets up the whole book; something awful happens that sets off a train of events for the characters. This book is a mystery in two ways in that we’re: 1) trying to find out who killed Emily’s classmate; and 2) trying to work out who Jack is. I hope you enjoy it!

Trigger Warnings: Paranoia, Blood, Self Harm, Murder, Suicide

What drew me into the book was not only the cover, but the synopsis to The Sham as well. I only wished that the synopsis lived up to the story. Continue reading →