10 Great Gatsby Tattoos - Literary Ink Series

I haven't done one of these in a while. This was a fun one to research, it turns out that a lot of people have Great Gatsby tattoos and there are some really amazing ones out there, in fact I might have to do a second post at some point because there were so many that I couldn't include.

I noticed that there are a lot of takes on a few main elements of F. Scott Fitzgerald's book; the green light, the cover and various famous quotes, so I've tried to pick one of each and then search for a few more rare tattoos too.

Also, FYI, you may have noticed that my posts have slowed down a bit; I'm pretty busy at the moment with my own writing and working my part time job which is getting busier over Christmas. Posts will probably be one a week now as opposed to twice a week. I'll try and get my act back together again in January.

Anyway, on to the tattoos.

Copycat by Alex Lake

Book Review

"In untangling the web, she had merely become trapped in it."

Copycat was released in the UK on 7th September 2017. It is written by Alex Lane and published by HarperCollins.

While the premise for Copycat wasn't particularly original, I did like the sound of this book. Unfortunately it just doesn't deliver. The writing is over laboured, repetitive and littered with cliches. The pacing throughout the entire story is off, dwelling too much on smaller incidents and skimming over the important bits. There were also leads and characters that were never followed up on, something which always frustrates me.

The Betrayals by Fiona Neill

Book Review

"The past is a vanished shadow."

The Betrayals was released on 10th August 2017. It is written by Fiona Neill and published by Michael Joseph.

After a very promising start The Betrayals fizzled out in the second half. However, it's an interesting exploration of memory and how different people recall traumatic experiences and the consequences.

The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd

Book Review

"She felt suddenly very alone, as though the person she married had never existed and she had woken up to a life she didn't recognise, in the middle of a story she didn't understand."

The Innocent Wife is out now in eBook format and will be released in hardback on December 28th 2017. It is written by Amy Lloyd and published by Century.

This is quite a timely book, considering the popularity of Making a Murderer. And the plot involves a similar premise, with a documentary crew making a film about Dennis Danson being convicted of murder at 18 on very little evidence. This really attracted my attention; I'm always a  bit fascinated by these did he/didn't he crimes. I'm also fascinated by the men and women who write to criminals on death row and end up dedicating their life to them. So The Innocent Wife felt like a sure hit with me. But, while I did enjoy it, I thought it lost momentum in the middle and didn't delve as deep as I wanted it to.

September and October Favourite Books

I've got a double bill of monthly favourites in this post as I was away when I'd usually post my September Favourites and was too lazy to schedule it. So, this will be quite a long post with a lot of books in it but I'll try and keep the descriptions succinct and not ramble as much as I usually do.

Also, most of the books were either ebooks or library books which have since been returned so there's not much of a photo.

The Secret of Vesalius by Jordi Llobregat

Book Review

"Barcelona was a place of wonder, but it could also be cruel to any person who failed to stay alert."

The Secret of Vesalius will be released in the UK on 16th November 2017. It is written by Jordi Llobregat and published by Riverrun.

A Gothic thriller set in 'fin-de-siecle' Barcelona, The Secret of Vesalius appealed to me right away, especially as I read it while I was in Barcelona and so irritated my husband by constantly pointing out places mentioned in the book.

I enjoyed The Secret of Vesalius, it's what my Dad would call 'a good yarn'. It's a murder mystery adventure with a Gothic setting, but there's not much originality in it; most of the characters are stock and the plot twists were sometimes so obvious they had the subtlety of a sledgehammer. However, I found this book fun, and if you're looking for a thriller with a big dollop of history thrown in then this is for you.

A Pocketful of Crows by Joanne M Harris

Book Review

"They call us the Devil's children. But we have no allegiance to your Devil, or your God. We are the travelling folk. We live. And we will live for ever."

A Pocketful of Crows was released in the UK on 19th October 2017. It is written by Joanne M Harris and published by Gollancz.

This is a story that transports you out of modern life's mundanities and into a more timeless reality that focuses on nature and lore. If only for a moment, because A Pocketful of Crows is a small book, but it is all the better for it as the story of the 'brown girl' is not dragged out but perfectly encapsulated in this beautiful book.