Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone - Benjamin Stevenson // Book Review

Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone
Benjamin Stevenson || Publication Date - 02.01.2024

How do you handle a family reunion, where everyone in the room is a killer?

Fiction | Crime | Mystery

Affiliate Link - https://bookshop.org/a/110173/9780063279032

Murderers, life-takers, killers... unalivers? It doesn't matter what descriptor follows the various members of the Cunningham family, because all of them have, in fact, killed someone.

Now, Ernest is reluctantly joining his family as they converge to spend a weekend at a snowy mountain resort in northern Victoria. Unfortunately, no matter how each family member has partaken in any various version of the 'cide's', they're all now prime suspects in a homicide.

Can Ernest solve this mystery before everyone's resume amends to victim? Or will the murderer succeed in covering up the existence of the Cunningham family for good?

The Review (May Contain Spoilers)

Cover to cover, I had a blast reading this novel and I loved every character. They were all the same but also so different in so many ways and it was so much fun reading and learning about all of them with how this book was set out. The premise was outlandish, but incredibly deep, and explored so many moral conundrums. People make decisions and ultimately this can lead to the death of another, but how you feel about each family member is completely different dependent on these circumstances.

There were also layers of misdirection paved through the writing and each time it came up I couldn't help but laugh. Numerous times I chuckled to myself and each time I got caught out by the phrasing or narrative... it felt so silly but so obvious at the same time. Benjamin's writing is very witty. Even at the beginning of the novel, he has outlined the guidelines the novel will follow, and, when certain events happen down to the page. yet even knowing these, you're still stumped or surprised by what's happened. It felt incredibly unique and I feel that's what made this book so enjoyable for me.

The only thing that could have given this book a negative mark was that I did guess who the killer was, quite significantly, before the end of the book. However, I loved every single word that it didn't take away from my enjoyment at all and I feel that is something worth keeping the star for.

Overall Thoughts

I don't think it's surprising to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was unique in its storytelling, it was compelling and held discussion for morality and blame, and it was incredibly funny. If a book can make me laugh, it automatically gets brownie points.

If you're a fan of crime, I would not hesitate to recommend this novel to you. If you're a fan of super serious all the time crime, I still wouldn't hesitate to recommend this novel to you. It was a perfect pallet cleanser, and a reminder that even during the worst times of peoples lives there's still time for a laugh.

Love From Scratch - Amy Hutton // Book Review

Love From Scratch
Amy Hutton || Publication Date - 05.06.2024

Babysitting for an upcoming A-List Celebrity isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Fiction | Contemporary | Romance

Affiliate Link - https://bookshop.org/a/110173/9781761424854

'Love From Scratch' is a delightful rom-com that will take you away to the glistening beaches and film sets of my home country, Australia. Meet Ethan James, a charming movie star with a newfound love for dogs, and Hazel, a talented chef on a forced hiatus.

Their worlds collide when Ethan needs someone to care for his anxious dog, Harry, while his time is taken up shooting a film. After hosting interviews and his original choice for dog-sitter falls through, Hazel, reluctantly agrees to the job.

Exploring the nuance of following career dreams, or listening to your heart, you'll be sure to experience a series of humorous and heartwarming events.

The Review (may contain spoilers)

I wanted to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book early.

Ethan and Hazel couldn't be further in career paths. He's a budding movie star and she's a down on her luck chef. While Ethan is preparing to film his next movie, a sequel to the hit romcom 'Sit, Stay, Love', he requests some professional pet minding assistance for his dog Harry. While interviewing potential candidates, he is introduced to Hazel, and from then on their lives become acquaintances to friends to head over heels for each other.

When going into this, I didn't realise this novel was a sequel, and even if I hadn't known, it reads perfectly as a stand alone. I loved Ethan's character, I loved Hazel's character and together I loved their banter. They sounded like a genuinely fun couple to write and it made me very happy to see Ethan find love after his supposed shafting for another man in the first instalment.

There were some issues towards the beginning of the book with how choppy I felt the writing to be. It didn't seem to flow very well and was quite robotic in tone. However, as the novel progressed, I noticed this less over time as more dialogue was introduced into the book. Amy has a great way with writing characters conversing and I found myself laughing with all of her characters witty comments.

I would also really like to personally thank Amy for giving her characters a pet name and NOT OVERUSING IT! It's a huge peeve of mine and the nicknames felt really sweet, deliberate and personal. As they should!

I did at times think the editing might have chopped off bits of the story haphazardly. We would be reading about one scene and immediately the following paragraph could be hours or even the next day later. It was quite jarring and took me out of the book. This book is split POV, but not per chapter, so both characters perspectives and described events are concurrent.

Overall Thoughts

'Love From Scratch' was an enjoyable read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a cosy and light-hearted romance. There are some plot devices which seemed to be disjointed due to the writing style of my copy - I am hoping this has been edited and amended in the final published copy of the novel.

I enjoyed the narrative and Amy's character writing so much that I have gone out and purchased her first novel in this series 'Sit, Stay, Love' to capture the beginning of this world and explore how Ethan ended up as he did at the beginning of this novel.