August 2021 - Luke’s Blog

31Aug 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Book reviews, Historical Fiction, Romance

One of the books of 2018, The Tattooist of Auschwitz tells the true tale of Lale and his time in a concentration camp and the finding of his one true love during the second war and the Nazi regime. [caption id="attachment_1039" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a dark tale that I think anybody who reads it will most certainly feel sympathy towards. It’s a story known around the world as one of the darkest times in human history and hearing the account of one victim really hones you into the personal element of something we all know a lot about. Plot – 4/5 Lale finds himself thrown into a concentration camp when the Nazis demand an adult family member join from each family. Quite…

30Aug 2021 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

Book Review: Killing Floor by Lee Child

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

Killing Floor is the first book in the incredibly well-sold Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. It begins the journey of Reacher as an ex-military policeman who coasts around the world helping people who ask for his aid along the way. [caption id="attachment_1035" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Killing Floor was one of the first action books I read when I got back into reading four years ago. According to my Goodreads, I finished it in February of 2018 and rated it four stars. Having had time to think about it, I’d say this is a fair score based on it being a great start to one of the best-selling action series out there. Plot – 4/5 Killing Floor introduces us to Jack Reacher who is a drifter. He’s…

28Aug 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The 5 Fantasy Books you Must Read

Features

If you hadn't guessed, my favourite genre is fantasy. I love to delve into new worlds, cultures and even inventive new species. Fantasy books are fantastic for escaping and broadening your horizons. Often people don't consider reading fantasy to really be "reading" but the imagination and continued concentration it takes to write about these fantastical things takes an awful lot of brainpower. [caption id="attachment_1030" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] I've read quite some epic fantasy books and so my knowledge of what makes a great one and what makes an average one, I like to think, is quite high. To make a great fantasy novel it needs to have a well-realised world, genuinely interesting characters, no continuity errors and more. Some of these books are higher fantasy than others…

26Aug 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan

Book reviews, Crime, Sci-Fi

I’m a huge fan of the Cyberpunk science fiction genre. I love a futuristic gritty world where humanity seems to have gone back culturally but technology has advanced significantly. Altered Carbon is one of the best books at this and is accompanied by an in-depth crime story too. [caption id="attachment_1020" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase Altered Carbon via any of the links below, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These links to not affect my opinion of the products. Altered Carbon is set four hundred years in the future when humanity has reached other worlds including Mars and people can have their existence uploaded…

24Aug 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Retreat by Mark Edwards

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

Mark Edwards is an author I found through Kindle Unlimited; I subscribed for three free months and decided on this book as I was in the mood for a sort of “cabin in the woods” sort of theme. When I read the blurb that this book was about a man who goes away for a writer’s retreat and the people whom he lives with start to act oddly, I was hooked. [caption id="attachment_1015" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any of the products via the links embedded, I'll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you that supports the running of the blog. These links do not affect my opinions of the products.…

20Aug 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Luke’s Book Quiz Round 3

Features, Quizzes

Here's the moment I know you've all been waiting for... the third book quiz on my blog! I try my hardest to make these questions that I know the answer to before I write them, otherwise, it doesn't feel quite as fun to me. If I just threw random questions at you about books from all over the place, it wouldn't feel quite as interesting for me to write. No, I knew the answer to all of these before I wrote them OR they're based on books I've read and I think a lot of people will have read and will find interesting. Enjoy! (more…)

18Aug 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

Book reviews, Historical Fiction

I think Shuggie Bain is likely on everybody's "to-be-read" list after winning the 2020 Booker Prize award. It's a tale that spans over a decade and tells the story of deep sorrow and struggle between a boy and his mother. [caption id="attachment_996" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to your Pinterest![/caption] Please note this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase Shuggie Bain via the links provided, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These links do not affect my opinion of the book. Shuggie Bain is the name of the son of Agnes Bain whose life has thrown constant pain and abandonment at her. She's an alcoholic and the story tells the tale of Shuggie's and her own experiences…

16Aug 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

When I wrote my Goodreads review for The Woman in the Window, I pretty much only read Sci-Fi and Fantasy books. Therefore, I was coming at it from the angle of someone who was used to much larger, grander and imaginative storylines. But I still adored this book for a lot of different reasons. [caption id="attachment_991" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to your Pinterest![/caption] Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase The Woman in the Window via any of the links in this post, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These links do not affect my opinion of the product. The Woman in the Window is a book that not only explores…

14Aug 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery, Thriller

I picked up The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides simply because I’d heard very good things about it. I read it during its big hype and I'm very glad that I did. There wasn’t a moment during reading it where I wasn’t utterly fascinated with what was going to happen next. [caption id="attachment_980" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] The Silent Patient is one of those novels where you’re kind of just reading along and then all of a sudden it clicks as to what the purpose of the novel is and you’re utterly drawn in. It does also help that I read this during lockdown last year during a wonderful summer. Plot – 4/5 The Silent Patient follows the story of Alicia Berenson and Theo Faber. Alicia was a…

11Aug 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

10+ FREE ‘This or That’ templates for your Instagram stories

Features, How to, Tips and Tricks

Instagram stories are a fantastic way to keep people coming back to your Instagram profile. When you open Instagram, you can instantly see about three Instagram story icons, whereas you can only see one or two posts, therefore, already you've got more of a chance of being seen if you post to Instagram stories. Plus, with Instagram stories, there're so many more ways to engage with people. Hold polls, hold votes, get people to answer things for you, invite people to ask you questions, get them to slide a fire emoji and so much more. The more people interact with your stories, the further up you'll appear in their stories list and then inevitably their Instagram feed too as they begin to interact with your posts too. [caption id="attachment_975" align="aligncenter"…

Month: August 2021