Hello lovely blog readers! I hope you are well and enjoying the seasonal changes that October brings, wherever you may be.

We’re now fully into Autumn vibes here in beautiful East Yorkshire, with crunchy leaves, raindrops on the window, warm glowing light from cosy lamps, coffee and books, lots of books! 🍂📚

Summer Wrap-Up

I’ve read a great deal over the summer, having been fortunate to have been on another Summer holiday, this time to Torremolinos in Spain, where I had the most lovely family holiday and took time to explore the city of Malaga. Have you been?

If not and if no-one has recommended to you to visit Malaga before then allow me to be the first! It is absolutely stunning. Full of history, local cuisine, top shopping spots, a vibrant food market, a beautiful marina, a nearby beach and plenty of lovely shady gardens to cool off in. The architecture is also incredible! My husband and I couldn’t get enough of our day trip to the city and absolutely plan on returning at some point in the future. I have a reel on my Instagram and Facebook if you’d like to see more.

Here’s a snap of me atop a 14th century castle.. that view!! 🏰

Exciting Book Blogger Moments

Other fun stuff to have happened since I last posted is that I was long listed for a Book Blogger award 😍! I didn’t make the shortlist this year but was absolutely thrilled and honoured to be nominated, it means to much to know my book blogging is appreciated 💜!

Of course (somehow) we’re mid-October at this point and Halloween 🎃 is fast approaching! Do you have any Halloween plans?

The Book Party

I am ridiculously lucky to say I have a ticket to The Book Party Halloween Ball, which is next weekend in Birmingham (UK).

I will be meeting up with some other lovely Book Bloggers and the Party is attended by insanely talented authors such as Clare Mackintosh (see my review of ‘A Game of Lies’), Sarah Pinborough (see my review of ‘Insomnia’, now also a tv series), and the one and only John Marrs (Author of ‘The One’, also adapted for tv). To say I’m excited is an understatement!

However there are a few authors attending that I’ve not yet read so I decided to a few books to read in October before the party. One of those books is the one we’re going to dig into below.

NASTY LITTLE CUTS, BY TINA BAKER

Synopsis:

“A nightmare jolts Debs awake. She leaves the kids tucked up in their beds and goes downstairs. There’s a man in her kitchen, holding a knife. But it’s not an intruder. This is her husband Marc, the father of her children.

Once, their differences were what drew them together. Him, the ex-army officer from a good family. Her, the fitness instructor who grew up over a pub. But now they grate to the point of drawing blood. Marc screams in his sleep. And Debs hardly knows the person she’s become, or why she lets him hurt her.

Neither of them is completely innocent. Neither is totally guilty. Marc is taller, stronger, and more vicious, haunted by a war he can’t forget. But he has no idea what Debs is capable of when her children’s lives are at stake…”

First impressions

My first thoughts reading the synopsis was that this was going to be a very different read for me than the thrillers I’ve read previously. I’ve read twisty domestic thriller books about marriages going sour previously such as Gone Girl, but I’ve never read a synopsis that of two people who should be in love, one team, a family unit, sound like complete enemies and threats to one another.

We start the novel on Christmas Eve, with Debs nightmare. On the first page, youre tricked as a reader into thinking that this might be some sort of festive, cosy kind of thriller with the kids singing Christmas carols and some witty writing that makes you smile and giggle, but by page 2 the author slams on the brakes and thrusts forward the reality that this is going to be anything but a sweet Christmas novel. Don’t you just love it when an author pulls the rug out under you?

The Characters

Meet Debs, wife to Marc. Originally from Nottingham, a mother to their two kids, Dolly and Pat-Pat, she’s a fitness instructor who’s salt of the earth, had a tough upbringing and is very protective of her children. Marc on the other hand is ex-military, only son of Jeanne, who sounds like a bit of a MIL from hell (controlling, passive aggressive and judgemental towards Debs). Marc has had what we would presume would be a pleasant upbringing to have had (think holidays to St Lucia and private school), however as we go through his story we learn he’s had incredibly tough times that have changed him and shaped him as a person with a lot of pain and shame.

The Plot and Themes

The story switches timeline almost every chapter (and there are 100 chapters!), between 24th December and an increasingly dangerous domestic dispute between Debs and Marc, and their lives prior to this moment. From an exploration into their early dating, their wedding, their once loving relationship and how its come to be so bitter, twisted and full of hate, their differences that once drew them together now tearing them apart.

We delve into their childhoods, family history, career, and painful moments that have scarred them and toughened them up in life.

The themes in the book are hard hitting and dark, perhaps more than a reader would necessarily expect from a thriller. Lots of trigger warnings to mention here:

• domestic violence
• homophobia
• self-harm
• sexual assault
• substance abuse
• war violence

This book isn’t going to be for everyone, but these hard hitting back stories explain how these two characters have come to be how they are.

RATING: 4.5/5

This is a difficult book to review as there’s so much I could write about given the themes, but I found it utterly shocking in parts, multilayered, very different to other thrillers I’ve read and very memorable.

I haven’t given it 5 stars as I did find it less fast paced and plot focused than my personal preference when reading thrillers, but the writing is absolutely fantastic and the character focus and development is exceptional. Dark humour lightens some of the toughest moments, characters feel real and raw and some of the scenes are written so expertly, you feel like you’re in the room.

It’s one of those books where you don’t quite have a character you’re rooting for, because you are taught by their experiences to understand them deeply, but their actions are wholly unacceptable. You don’t condone their behaviour but you can totally appreciate how they’ve got to that point.

This isn’t a question of who done it like a lot of thrillers, it’s a how has it got to this point/what will happen here? As a reader switching between the different points in the past and the future, as you turn to the chapter that’s in the future its a feeling of ‘oh goodness what does that past information mean for the now, what are they going to do?!’.

It’s a story of feeling inadequate, unsafe, and how secrets left unsaid can turn to poison within a person and leak out into their closest relationships.

It’s disturbing, brutal and takes no prisoners. Be prepared to be shocked, uncomfortable… and totally addicted.

So then reader...

Do you think this book might be a book for you? Have you read and would recommend any books with a similar style?

I hope you’ve really enjoyed this review and feel inspired to pick up this book. You can find it in paperback, RRP £8.99 (Viper Books), or on audible!

Washed down with:

Plenty of Cadbury’s highlights hot chocolate. Perfect for this cosy reading season and full of flavour! You can find this in shops such as B&M, Home Bargains and Amazon.

Social Media

If you have Instagram, Goodreads, Fable or Facebook, you can follow me at @papyrusandpeppermint – I’ll be sharing The Book Party on my IG stories if you want to take a peek!

Until the next Chapter,

Emma X0