Luke Harkness, Author at Luke’s Blog

04Jun 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell book review

The Family Upstairs was a massive hit for Lisa Jewell, rocketing her firmly into one of the most popular British thriller authors writing today. An author who rarely does sequels, the outcry for Jewell to write a follow up to The Family Upstairs was so loud that she's written one. It states at the end of the book that she was reluctant to write a sequel until one day she realised who she wanted to write the book from the viewpoint of and everything else clicked into place. Introducing The Family Remains. Please note that an ARC (advanced reader copy) of The Family Remains was kindly sent to me by the publisher in return for an honest review. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you…

01Jun 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

My May 2022 Reading Round-up – The 7 Books I Read This Month

Features, Monthly Round Ups

Every month I do a round-up of the books that I've read over the past four weeks and this month I've decided to add their rating out of five that I gave them to make it easier for you to decide which book review you want to read. This month I read quite a fair few thrillers. I read four thrillers including one that's not even out for another couple of months. I'm currently away on holiday but felt it necessary to write up a summary of the seven books that I read this month. Whilst you're reading through the list, let me know if you've read any of the books or whether any of these books may be ones that you decide to pick up. The Couple at No.…

27May 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

East of Eden by John Steinbeck book review

Book reviews, Classics

John Steinbeck is a household name. He's an author who is known for writing some of the greatest literature of the 20th century. Many of us Brits have studied Of Mice and Men in our English classes and The Grapes of Wrath is considered one of the greatest novels he's written. East of Eden is considered the other one. East of Eden is the book that Steinbeck himself considers his magnum opus, so it must be good! Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links provided below, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you which goes towards supporting the blog. These affiliate links do not my final opinion of any of the…

24May 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

I Read Goodreads’ list of 42 Exciting New Fantasy and Sci-Fi Reads for Summer – These are the 8 I’m Most Looking Forward To

Features

At the start of the month, Goodreads posted a humongous list of some of the most exciting fantasy and science fiction books coming out over the upcoming summer months. It's a list compiled of over 42 books, which personally I think is a little too long to decide which to buy. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any of the books below, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you which goes towards supporting the blog. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Therefore, I thought I'd go through the entire list and, based on a number of different factors, weedle it down to just ten books you should definitely keep your…

20May 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

A Change of Seasons by Khurram Elahi book review

Contemporary Fiction

A Change of Seasons left me thoroughly confused about whether I loved it or found it incredibly dull. At points, I connected with it and it flowed incredibly well and then at others, I found myself wondering what on earth was happening. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Please note that this article was sent to me by the author, free of charge in return for an honest review. A Change of Seasons follows John Winters as he goes through and then recovers from a heart operation. It touches on…

18May 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Catch by T.M. Logan book review

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

I picked up The Catch because my parents asked if I'd drive them down to Southampton for a cruise they were going on and I knew I'd need an audiobook to listen to on the way back. The day before I saw The Catch was in my audible library and on my physical bookshelf, PLUS I'd heard some excellent things about T.M. Logan, so I thought this would be a perfect long journey companion - and it very much was! Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any of the products via the links below, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of these products. The Catch is…

17May 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

How I Read Books Tag – what’s the best way to read books?

Blog Tags, Features

I'm back once again with another Book Tag. I found this on ZeeZee with books' blog and decided to pick it up as people often ask me how and where I read. It's a simple book tag that basically asks me all sorts of questions about my perfect reading environment and how, when and where I prefer to get the most of my reading done. Follow along and think about what your answer would be and whether it's the same as mine... Do you have a certain place at home for reading? Not really. If I had to put a heat map on where my two main places are, they'd have to be on my patio in my garden. This is because the time I do most of my physical…

15May 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

How Has My First Year of Blogging Gone?

Features

Today (15 May) marks a year since I wrote and uploaded my first blog article on How To Read Over 50 Books In A Year. Since then I have written nearly 150 articles, gained over 5,000 social media followers on dedicated accounts, enjoyed interacting with people online, thoroughly enjoyed blogging and so much more. But how has it really gone? What does this mean when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of the numbers? Well, I thought I'd be honest and open up about all the stats I can give you on my blog from the past year. I've gone over to Google Analytics to get these numbers, so let's hope they're correct. The big numbers I've had over 24,000 views on my pages on my blog since I started…

12May 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney book review

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

When The Girl Before was the only option for me to listen to on my audiobook I wasn't quite expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. It's a story filled with intrigue and mystery that keeps you guessing right up until the last few pages. But the characters just keep it from reaching great heights. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase an item via one of the links below, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links have no impact on my final opinion of the product. The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney focuses on two intertwining storylines which focus on essentially a very similar story - how and why Emma…

10May 2022 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Couple at No. 9 by Claire Douglas book review

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery, Thriller

I was kindly bought The Couple at No. 9 by my partner for Valentine's Day. Nothing saying romance like a selection of books, hey? Anyway, The Couple at No. 9 received a lot of comments when I posted the original image to my Instagram story so I was keen to pick it up and start reading it. Pin me to Pinterest! The Couple at No. 9 is a book focused on a fresh young couple who move into a cottage belonging to one of their grandmothers. It's a cottage that sees them starting a new life in a remote village outside of London with plenty of optimism for the future and an exciting time ahead doing up the ageing building. However, a discovery changes all of that. The Couple at…

Author: Luke Harkness