Top Five Tuesday – Debut Novels

A new Top Five Tuesday, the prompts are created by Bionic Book Worm. I’ve realised that I don’t read enough debut novels as I struggled to make this list! I do tend to stick with what I know so I might need to branch out and find different authors more. Anyway here are my top five debut novels:

1. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton, Published in 2007

This is such a good book and already Kate’s style is clear, the theme of past mysteries, old houses and brilliant written characters that stay with you. It’s set in England between WWI and WWII, a story about an aristocratic family their house and a mysterious death, told in flashbacks by a woman who witnessed it all.

2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, Published 2015

It is hard to believe this is a debut novel, it’s full of suspense and really clever. It follows three women and their involvement in each others lives. Rachel gets the same train into London every day and it stops opposite some lovely town houses, every morning she sees a couple on their balcony having breakfast together, she makes up a story about them. But one day the woman goes missing.

3. The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen, Published 2013

I absolutely love this book and the rest of the trilogy. What if Anne Boleyn had given Henry a son? Would she have been executed? In this story Anne gives birth to a baby boy and survives to raise her children. Henry IX becomes King at age seventeen. He’s known to his friends as William and there are only three people in the world that he truly trusts, his older sister Elizabeth, his best friend Dominic and Minuette a young orphan raised as a royal ward by Anne. It has all the drama of a Tudor court, a really brilliant read.

4. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett, Published 1985

The whole Discworld series is quirky, funny and genius and the Colour of Magic is no exception. Our introduction to the Discworld and the wizards is led by Rincewind, a former wizard who was thrown out of the University for reading one of the spells that could end the world.

5. The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan, Published 2012

This book is set in the early 1900s, a ship to the USA goes down, the passengers are huried on to lifeboats and have to watch as the ship goes down. Now they are stuck in the middle of the ocean not knowing if help is on its way. The survivors on one lifeboat soon realise they are over capacity. Their supplies are dwindling and the weather is worsening. If they are going to survive they will have to make sacrifices. This book is chilling and thought provoking, as the reader I was constantly wondering what I would have done in the same situation. A fascinating take on humanity’s determination to survive at any cost.

What are some of your favourite debut novels?

Top Ten Tuesday – Page to Screen Freebie

I personally don’t mind watching films/tv shows before I read the books, although most of the time I do it by accident! Some of the books on my list were made into great films, others not so much.

1. The Hunger Games series

These are first because I think the films stayed really true to the books, Suzanne Collins worked with the directors and writers closely and it shows. Her vision for the book has transferred wonderfully to the screen. I saw the first film of the series before I read the books but after I found out it was a book, I got hold of it as soon as I could! Catching Fire is my favourite book and film of the series, it tranfers so well to the screen.

2. Atonement

I saw this film first as well and I fell in love with it. It’s a stunning film and when I read the book I could see why, the many descriptive passages were so detailed it really transports you to 1940s Britain and France. The endings are the main difference to the film/book, the same thing happens, we’re just told in very different ways. I think the film and book rank equally great.

3. Harry Potter

I read the Harry Potter books first long before I saw the films. The books are so important to me, I absolutely love them. The films are good, I really enjoy them, just not as much as the books, they’re quite a few differences, especially in the later films but it still works. Books definitely win here!

4. A Song of Ice and Fire vs Game of Thrones

Again I started watching the show before I knew about the books, but I caught up pretty quickly. ASOIAF is one of my favourite books series’ ever, George R.R. Martin is a genius! I have a love/hate relationship with GoT. The first two seasons are incredibly close to the books, however the show writers make gradual changes over the course of the show, season five was a complete let down, they diverted so much from some characters stories, I almost gave up. GoT also shows the writers’ true misogynistic natures by having more sexual violence against women in it than any of the ASOIAF books. They cut out some key characters later on and changed some great characters (the Sand Snakes) into vengeful two-dimensional versions. Visually of course GoT is stunning and the actors are incredible but it still looses out to ASOIAF because the writers suck!

5. The Chronicles Of Narnia

I really like the Narnia books, but I actually think I prefer the films! They’re so pretty and magical, I could watch them forever. They haven’t made the whole series into books though which is slightly disappointing, but all of the Pevensie’s adventures have been transferred onto screen.

6. Persuasion

I love this book and I love period dramas so the TV adaptation I watched is right up my street. Sometimes I struggle to follow classics when I read them, Persuasion wasn’t like that but I still really enjoyed seeing it brought to life by actors.

7. A Series of Unfortunate Events

I love these books, they’re so strange and quirky and clever, Lemony Snicket is brilliant! The series has been made into a film and a tv series. The film covered the first three books and just wasn’t good at all. It didn’t cature Snicket’s quirkiness, the whole film came off as odd and bleak. The tv series is much better, not as good as the books, but closer! There is a narrator in the show and the characters talk in the same way that Snicket wrote for them.

8. The Other Boleyn Girl

This book is so good! It’s set in Tudor times and it’s about Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary who had an affair with Henry VIII before Anne married him. The film is good, but some bits from the book are missing and I’m pretty sure there’s more violence in it than the books which is why it’s so far down on the list.

9. Before I Go To Sleep

This book is so gripping and scary. I could hardly put the book down when I read it and years later they made it into a film. Despite the brilliant cast it didn’t really have the same effect as the book, there was tension but it was more confusing. I had forgotten the ending as well so that wasn’t the reason I didn’t like it as much.

10. The Girl on the Train

Amazing book, so cleverly written, all the layers of deceit and drunken confusion from the main character Rachel. The film was ok but again I didn’t feel as much tension or urgency to find out what was going on. Most of the time it felt like we were just watching Rachel have a breakdown. I did remember the dramatic end to the story though for this one so that might be why I wasn’t as invested.

So basically books rule! They’re always going to be better, probably because there’s more detail and we can let our imaginations run wild!

Top Five Tuesday- Mystery/Thriller Books

A new Top Five Tuesday, the promts are created by Bionic Book Worm. I love a good thriller or mystery story. The best ones keep you guessing all the way through, thinking about it when you’re not even reading the book. This list is a good one:

1. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

This book is so incredible, it’s written from the points of view of three women. Rachel who is divorced and an alcoholic, she stalks her ex-husband and his new wife. Everyday on her way into London the train stops outside the back of her old street. She always sees a couple there, she makes up stories for them but one day the woman goes missing. The book is tense, gripping and even frustrating as we watch Rachel sink deeper into her alcohol fueled delusions.

2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The whole Millennium series is brilliant but I think this one is my favourite. Mikael Blomkvist is a determined journalist who doesn’t cower away from taking on big companies. Unfortunately he is about to spend some time in prison for slander. Until a mysterious businessman comes to him with a proposal, if Mikael investigates the disappearance of his granddaughter he will get the proof he needs to take down the company that are sending him to prison. We also of course meet Lisbeth whose entire life is one mad event after another, can everyone just leave her alone! I couldn’t put this book down, it kept me thinking about it while I was at work or commuting. It’s a work of genius.

3. Blue Monday by Nicci French

This is the first in the Frieda Klein series. Frieda is a psychologist and therapist. She sees private clients but she also consults with the police. One of her patients is having psychotic episodes in which he sees himself kidnapping and harming a young boy. Recently a young boy has gone missing in London, the patient probably saw the story and it triggered something. But Frieda feels something isn’t right. I really enjoy the psychological angle this book takes and the characters, especially Frieda are so well written.

4. Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

This book is so chilling. Christine suffered an accident and since then her long term memory has gone, everytime she wakes up she knows nothing about her life. Her husband has set up pictures and notes all around the house to remind her. Christine’s doctor has also suggested that she writes a diary at the end of each day. But her last few entries are disturbing and strange. She doesn’t know what’s real and who can be trusted. This book is quite scary and very clever.

5. The Bed I Made by Lucie Whitehouse

Kate flees from an abusive and vile boyfriend to the calm and quiet of the Isle of Wight. But while she is staying on the island someone goes missing, possible suicide. We flashback through Kate’s memories and present time as she learns about the missing woman, Alice, and why she would take her own life. All the while her past shadows loom, waiting to catch her. This book is set really close to where I live so bonus! But it’s really good and it keeps you guessing all the way through.

That’s my list, what are some of your favourite mysteries or thrillers?