There are so many brilliant authors out there – some it seems general knowledge to know of, and some that aren’t quite so famed. In this post, I’ll shed some light on some of my favourite authors in the hope that it’ll help you find your new favourite.
Author: bookreviewgirl
Review: 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough
Exquisitely crafted, this novel of teenage girls’ power plays taken to extremes is an engaging and interesting read. It’s similar to Pretty Little Liars, the TV show, in that it deals with power and manipulation between teenagers who have mental health issues.
An Update On My Posting Habits
You may have wondered what’s happened to my regular Saturday morning posts the last week or two, so I thought it was wise to inform you that I am in a ‘book review slump’ (I’m unsure if that’s a thing, but what I mean by it is that I’m finding it hard to review books to a standard that I’ll allow myself to post at the moment) and therefore will probably be posting a bit erratically over the next few weeks.
Apologies in advance, and all should be fixed soon. Thank you and happy reading!
Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green
Rating – 5/5
Plot – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23359962-looking-for-alaska
Review – There’s a little spoiler in the quotation and the paragraph before (paragraph 2).
This debut novel from John Green (author of The Fault In Our Stars and Paper Towns) is the best of his novels I’ve read so far – you can’t tell because I gave both The Fault In Our Stars and Looking for Alaska (this one!) five out of five. Perhaps I should amend that.
One of the things I love about John Green’s books is the philosophical element, and this didn’t disappoint. A lot of the book is about the labyrinth of suffering, and Miles and Alaska are constantly exploring it further.
‘It’s not life or death, the labyrinth. Suffering. Doing wrong and having wrong things happen to you. That’s the problem. Bolivar was talking about the pain, not about the living or dying. How do you get out of the labyrinth of suffering?’
Also, the driving force behind the plot, and the reason that Miles goes to Culver Creek is Rabelais’ last words ‘I go to seek a Great Perhaps.’ Miles doesn’t want to wait until death to seek his Great Perhaps, so he chooses to go to boarding school in search of it instead.
This book was an relatively fast read. I enjoyed it a lot (as you can see by the rating!)
Happy reading!
June Wrap Up 2017
- Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff – 5/5
- Naondel by Maria Turtschaninoff – 5/5
- Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas – 3.5/5
- Lying About Last Summer by Sue Wallman – 3.5/5
- When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon – 4/5
- Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee – 3.75/5
- A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – 5/5
- A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas – 5/5
- Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne – 4.75/5
- Wing Jones by Katherine Webber – 4.5/5
- Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard – 4/5
- The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh – 5/5
- The Rose and the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh – 4.5/5
- The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury –
- One of Us Is Lying by Karen M McManus – 4/5
- We Were Liars by E Lockhart – 5/5
- Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng – 5/5
- Unwind by Neal Shusterman – 4.5/5
Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
Rating – 5/5
Plot – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17927395
Review – I’ll try not to spoil ACOMAF, but I need to spoil ACOTAR for this to make sense, and maybe a bit of ACOMAF. Proceed with caution!
This builds on ACOTAR, with Rhys and Feyre honouring their agreement, and Tamlin increasingly angry about it. Tamlin turns into an awful character, who is controlling and possessive, going so far as to lock Feyre in the house. Rhys becomes kind, good, selfless, powerful… Feyre falls out of love with Tamlin, and in love with Rhys. This was done very dramatically – they seem to swap personalities…
This was an excellent book and I thoroughly recommend that you read it.
Be warned that this book contains mature content.
Happy reading!
Review: Lying About Last Summer by Sue Wallman
Rating – 2.5/5
Plot – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27860794
Review – This is a ‘thriller’ – but don’t let that fool you – it isn’t remotely thrilling or terrifying. There was no surprise or terror on my part (perhaps I’m cold-hearted) but I did find it creepy. It was too subtle and gradual, which made the ending unsurprising. The ‘main’ plot ended up a subplot in the grand scheme of things. It was like a few different stories.
Now onto the bereaved teenagers… None of them showed any real sadness except Fay, but that’s probably just my interpretation of events or the characters showing sadness differently to how I’d expect.
All that said, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I read it in one sitting (I know it’s short!) and I don’t regret reading it. I just wish it had more depth.
Happy reading!
Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
Rating – 4.75/5
Plot – Feyre is motherless – she has a father and two sisters, all hopeless at survival after the loss of their fortunes. She spends her days hunting to survive, but then, one day, she shoots a faerie in wolf form. Soon, she is whisked away by a faerie, who claims her life for what she did to his friend (the wolf). She must live out the rest of her days in her captor’s enchanted court, situated in the faerie kingdom. But she begins to fall in love with him, and everything starts to go wrong…
Review – Once I got into this book, it was really good, but the first 5-10 chapters went really slowly – that’s why I didn’t rate it 5 stars.
I thought Rhys was very presumptuous (I’m not going to reveal more, in case you haven’t read it), but I loved Feyre. She was so selfless at the beginning, and then so loving and selfless at the end, but she was really realistic and amazingly written, as was the rest of this book.
Tamlin annoyed me a bit (especially at the beginning) but the progression of his relationship with Feyre was perfect.
I highly recommend that you read this book, but please bear in mind that it says contains mature content – not for younger readers on the back. If you that puts you off, I recommend reading Maas’ Throne of Glass series, which contains more books at the moment.
Happy reading!
Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Rating – 5/5
Plot – Cadence is a Sinclair. To give you an idea of what that means, the Sinclairs own a private island off the coast of Massachusetts for summer holidays. Harris and Tipper had three daughters – Carrie, Bess and Penny. They’re all divorced mothers, and they’re fighting over the inheritance. Tipper died and Harris was diagnosed with dementia, so the three women are trying to walk all over him.
Then we have the Liars. Cadence, Gat, Mirren and Johnny. Cady is Penny’s daughter, Mirren is Bess’ daughter and Johnny is Carrie’s son. Gat is Carrie’s boyfriend’s nephew, and the four of them love the long summers when they can reunite away from the rest of the world.
Review – I loved this book so much. It’s such a clever idea – Cady has amnesia and can’t remember many things. I don’t want to give to much away, but the ending was awful. It was a brilliant ending, but heartbreaking. I finished the book so sad, and I’m still trying to get over it.
I don’t have much to say, as I don’t want to spoil the book for you, but I will say that this is an amazing book, and is the nearest any book has come to making me cry. Not yet, though.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book – I suggest that you pick it up whilst I order lots of E Lockhart’s other books. 😉
Happy reading!
Review: Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
“She sinks. By the time they drag her out the second time, her lips are the blue of a bruise, and her breath is gone for good.”
Rating – 3/5 stars
Plot – Single mother Nel Abbott is found dead in the river that runs through her hometown of Beckford. Not long before, her daughter Lena’s best friend Katie Whittaker was found there too. Many ‘troublesome women’ have died in that part of the river, locally known as the ‘Drowning Pool’. Lena is alone now – except for her aunt, Julia, who lived in Beckford as a child and keeps a dark secret about her time there.
“I’ve always been a little bit afraid of you. You knew that, you enjoyed my fear, enjoyed the power it gave me over you. So I think, despite the circumstances, you would have enjoyed this afternoon.”
Review – This isn’t a book where there’s a clear protagonist or antagonist – everyone’s horrible. The perspective keeps changing, and this makes it a bit confusing. That makes it really hard to like anyone, but don’t think I mean that negatively. This book definitely wouldn’t be the same without the revolving perspectives. There are about 10 people, so it takes a little while to see how they all fit in.
The middle of this book was great. It wasn’t incredibly gripping or anything, but I did really enjoy it. That said, I don’t think that the character building was very good. What I really mean by that is that you get to know certain characters, but the ending isn’t as shocking as it’s obviously intended to be because the characters weren’t detailed enough.
The ending is a bit odd. It seems like Hawkins intends it to be something that you’ll think about for days, but, as it’s only revealed in the last sentence and no motive is explained, I just left the book annoyed at the ending.
This is an enjoyable read, but don’t expect anything as good as The Girl on the Train, because it’s not. I will be reading any new books of hers, as I thought that TGotT was a really good read, and this book was okay.
Happy reading!
Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Plot here.
This is such a sad book. I love it, as it is realistic, and doesn’t fix cancer as soon as they fall in love. It’s very common for something like that to happen, and it’s so annoying and unrealistic.
This book is so poignant, and I rate it 5/5. My non-spoiler feelings are a mess of love and sadness.
YOU ARE NOW ENTERING SPOILER LAND! PLEASE DON’T ENTER IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK! Happy reading!
AUGUSTUS! I loved Gus so much!
I also loved Hazel, maybe a bit more, so Gus’ death was made worse by her pain and sorrow.
I’m really glad that Gus died when it was very nearly the end as opposed to us seeing Hazel’s grief and trying to cope with it. I couldn’t have read through Hazel mourning Gus, as everyone thought that he was the one who would live whilst she died. I think that’s what made his death so effective – she’s slowly dying, whereas he has an 80% chance of living, but he suddenly gets ill and dies. That part was awful and I’m so sad, but it was an amazing book.
I hated Van Houten, I don’t care that he turned up to the funeral. He was a horrible person and I felt so sorry for Hazel and Gus when they first met him.
Happy reading!
Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Long before Alice fell down the rabbit hole…
And before the roses were painted red…
The Queen of Hearts was just a girl, in love for the first time.
This is a great book – it’s really enjoyable and I think that, if you like Alice in Wonderland, this is a must-read.
Cath is a noblewoman, loved by the King, yet all she wants is to set up a bakery with her maid. Her parents are angry at her for this, and her unwillingness to accept the king’s advances.
Then she meets Jest – the king’s joker. He introduces her to a new world – Hatta, Haigha, Raven and his other friends. They fall in love, and try to be together.
This is a great book, but at times I felt like it was just a little bit basic or confusing, but this didn’t affect the rest of it, and I still recommend it highly. I rate it 4.25/5.
Happy reading!
May 2017 Wrap Up
Ratings may differ from those on reviews although I have done my best to keep them the same. I posted a wrap-up pic on my Instagram that didn’t contain all the books – some are no longer in my possession (library books) or may have been read after the pic went up.
- Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon – 4/5
- Paper Towns by John Green – 3.5/5
- The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh – 4.5/5
- The Rose and the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh – 4.5/5
- Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas – 4/5
- Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley – 3.75/5
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – 5/5
- We Were Liars by E. Lockhart – 5/5
- Into the Water by Paula Hawkins – 3/5
- Dark Room by Tom Becker – 4/5
- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee – 4/5
- Divergent by Veronica Roth – 2.5/5
- A Court of Thorns and Roses – 4.75/5
- The Selection by Kiera Cass – 4/5
- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – 3.5/5
- Who Runs the World? by Virginia Bergin – 4/5
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han – 3.5/5
- Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff – 5/5
- Naondel by Maria Turtschaninoff- 5/5
Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Mare lives in Stilts. She is a Red – red blood courses through her veins. The Silvers (silver blood) are the ruling class, and they believe that Reds are born into a life of servitude, that doesn’t need to be stopped.
When Mare becomes embroiled with the Scarlet Guard, she is entering a different life – of rebellion against the Silvers.
She is also (coincidentally) summoned to help the servants at Queenstrial, where the princes pick their princesses (one of which will one day be Queen).
She accidentally uses her power that she didn’t know she had, which leads the royal Silvers to claim that she’s Silver, and she gets engaged to the younger prince.
This was a good book that I really enjoyed, but I never really got into it. I rate it 3/5 – a worthwhile read, but not amazing.
Happy reading!
Review: Phantom Rose by Tanwa Adanlawo
Disclaimer: I was sent this book for a review. I am receiving no compensation (except the book) for the review. This doesn’t affect my ability to give my honest opinion.
This book is about Lillianett, the half-breed. It’s a bit complicated to explain so I’m just going to link the author’s website with the description on it here.
Hopefully you’ve read that, so now I can plunge into the review! I enjoyed this book – it was a good read and I really liked Lillianett. There were some points where I felt like what just happened wouldn’t happen, or that something should have happened but didn’t, and this did detract from the reading, but there were parts when I really liked it.
I rate this book 3/5 stars – it’s an ok to good read.
Happy reading!
April 2017 Wrap Up!
Any books with reviews up are clickable!
- The Finishing School by Muriel Spark – 4/5
- Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark – 3/5
- Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton – 3.5/5
- Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer – 3.25/5
- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – 3.5/5
- Heartless by Marissa Meyer – 4.25/5
- The Maze Runner by James Dashner – 3.5/5
- Slated by Teri Terry – 3.5/5
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – 4.5/5
- Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins – 4.25/5
- Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins – 4.75/5
- Cinder by Marissa Meyer – 3.25/5
- Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – 3.5/5
- Pepita by Vita Sackville-West – 3.5/5
- Phantom Rose by Tanwa Adanlawo – 3/5
- Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare – 4/5
- Geekerella by Ashley Poston – 4.75/5
The ratings may differ on reviews and here. A book may have a review published after this post, so search for it if you want it!
Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
This was such a good book that I read the trilogy in 2 days – yay! Oh, and then I re-read it… What can I say?
This is a bestselling book, so you’ve probably heard of it, but, if you haven’t, Katniss takes her sister’s place in the Hunger Games, a live TV show in which two ‘tributes’ (a twelve- to eighteen-year-old, of each gender) from each of the 12 districts are pitted against the other 23. It’s a YA dystopian romance, with a bit of sci-fi.
The characters were really well written. Some of my favourites were Katniss, Cinna and Gale. I hated Snow, and was disgusted at the Capitol’s cruelty.
The action started really quickly, with the author managing to work in all the background information as the story went on. This makes it great to re-read, as you don’t have to go through a long description that you already know.
I give this book 4.5/5. I highly recommend it, and the rest of the trilogy (Mockingjay’s my favourite).
Happy reading!
Review: Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer
This book is about Juliet, who writes letters to her dead mother and leaves them at her grave, and Declan, who finds them whilst doing community service in the graveyard.
One day, Juliet sees that a previous letter has been written on. She feels violated, and this begins an anonymous conversation between the two. They eventually take their communications digital to anonymous email addresses.
They start to discover things about each other, and they also unwittingly befriend one another in real life.
I thought this was an okay to good read and I’d rate it 3.25/5. Some of it just seemed a bit fake.
If you haven’t read the book, please do not continue as I am about to go into SPOILER MODE and I would hate to ruin the book for you. Happy reading! Goodbye now!
At the end, when everything started getting perfect, I found it really fake. This was especially true of the kissing scene between Juliet and Declan – it seemed like the author just wanted to add a bit of romance to appeal to different audiences. Also, the Alan and Declan make-up scene seemed really fake – Alan’s always going on about how ungrateful Declan is and then they’re suddenly best friends. Seriously? And (I promise I’ll stop after this, thank you for reading this far) the whole Frank-Declan develop a great bond thing seemed a bit unrealistic, but not unbelievable at all. All that being said, this was just at the end, and the rest was really good. I hope you enjoyed it too!
Happy reading!
Review: Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
This is an autobiography of Hillary Clinton, published in 2003, so not up-to-date. It’s very interesting to learn about life inside the White House, and get a feel for her personality, which was what I wanted when I picked up the book, as well as some information on her early life. I feel that I got the knowledge I wanted and more from this book.
Clinton begins by speaking about the upbringing of her parents, and the great family stories that have been passed down to her. She then progresses into her childhood – raised in post-war suburban Chicago, she had two younger brothers and a cabin in Lake Winola. After going through that, she speaks of Wellesley and Yale, where she met Bill.
This book is very interesting to read, and I really enjoyed it. I did at some points feel like she was boasting a bit, but it only happened once or twice. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to know more about her before the 2016 presidential election. I rate this book 3.5/5.
Happy reading!
Review: Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark
Another Muriel Spark review today! Aiding and Abetting is based on real life. It’s about Lord Lucan, the seventh Earl of Lucan, who disappeared on the 7th of November 1974. It’s also about Dr Hildegard Wolf, a psychiatrist who used to be a fraudulent stigmatic, with the real name of Beate Pappenheim.
Walker and Lucky turn up at Dr Wolf’s clinic at around the same time, both claiming to be Lucan, presumed dead. Suddenly, they’re blackmailing her. This spirals into an adventurous section of the book – Hildegard disappears, leaving her long-term lover Jean-Pierre worried from the loss of contact. They quickly reunite, and the Lucans are whisked off the Africa to tutor the sons of a chief.
For Hildegard, the book begins and ends the same way – except for Jean-Pierre’s knowledge of her past. However, this doesn’t make any considerable difference as he’s non-judgemental and doesn’t seem to care much.
This book was good, but not amazing or unputdownable. I rate it 3/5. It’s definitely not my favourite Muriel Spark book – so far I favour ‘The Finishing School’. Click here to go to my review of that, or here for my short review of ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’.
Happy reading!
Instagram and Posting Regularly
I now have Instagram! You can follow me at @book.review.girl and I’ll be putting photos on there often! I’ve also decided to try and post every Saturday, and I’ve written the next two articles already so it’s going well so far! I might end up posting more often, or I might end up posting less. I want to try and post twice a week at some point soon…
Look out for my reviews on Saturdays, and please go and follow me on Instagram!
Happy reading!
Instagram – @book.review.girl
Review: The Finishing School by Muriel Spark
The Finishing School is (similarly to ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ by the same author) a long book for a simple plot. It’s relatively short, but it feels like it could be shorter. However, the long, long descriptions make this an interesting read.
It’s about a couple who run a mobile finishing school – every year Nina and Rowland move locations. They have barely any students, and one particularly stands out. “Chris: seventeen, a student at College Sunrise at his own request.” Both Chris and Rowland are writing novels, but Rowland feels threatened by the progress of Chris’s and thus changes his book idea – it becomes a study of Chris, under the guise of being about the school. Rowland becomes obsessed with Chris and watches him closely.
The relationship between Nina and Rowland is uncertain – they are a married couple in their late twenties. At the beginning? Nina is Rowland’s main supporter in the writing of his novel, and her whole live revolves around him. But throughout the book (Spark’s, not Rowland’s), she tires of Rowland’s novel. At one point, we see her trying to trick Rowland into believing he’s crazed. At another point, we see her having an affair with the neighbour. I would discuss the end too, but I don’t want to ruin the plot for you!
This is a gripping book – I would give it 4/5. I recommend reading this, as well as other books by the author.
Happy reading!
Review: Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
This is an important book, tackling racism and justice with white people labelled ‘Noughts’ and black people labelled ‘Crosses’.
The Crosses are important. They get proper education and job opportunities, unlike the Noughts, who must leave school at the age of 14 for a menial job, or perhaps (if they’re clever enough) complete their education with all the teachers and students prejudiced against them, as they’re the minority in all institutions.
Sephy and Callum are different. She’s a Cross and he’s a Nought, but they’re best friends and gradually falling in love. However, Callum eventually has to choose between his family and Sephy.
Callum goes through some really tough times, but Sephy’s always there trying to help make everything right (and getting it wrong!) Sephy’s a great friend to Callum as she tries to support him all the time.
I loved this book because there’s a strong message that doesn’t overpower the plot. The plot is about the message and vice versa.
I recommend this book to anyone about 12+ as it’s unsuitable for under 9s and I think that it’d be confusing for 9-12 year olds.
Malorie Blackman is a wonderful author and I will definitely finish this series and then probably read more of her books.
Review: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
This is a heartbreaking story about a girl whose sister has just died and a boy who wants to die.
It begins on a bell tower. Finch saves Violet’s life, but everyone assumes that the popular girl saved the weirdo’s life and, for reasons of their own, neither correct the masses. Finch (a troubled boy with a bad reputation) gets even more bothered by his peers than usual whilst Violet is praised. Somehow, this leads to them falling in love.
Finch and Violet are paired up for a school project. They don’t know each other yet, but Finch is determined that they will soon. They start ‘wandering’ – visiting places by bike and leaving a bit of themselves behind. Gradually, their relationship becomes larger and larger in their lives.
Jennifer Niven is an amazing writer (in my opinion) and I will read many more of her books. She used her writing to enchant people and make her book a bestseller. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys young adult books that are tragic and romantic.
This is a gripping book that I read in one sitting. The only criticism I have is that Finch and Violet go from strangers to friends very quickly, stay friendly for a while and then are suddenly romantically involved with one another. It may be that Niven intends their relationship to be confusing and has gone a bit too far – I don’t know. But, on the whole, this book is wonderful. I never cry for fictional characters, but I almost did at the end of this book.
Review: Geek Girl
Quick fact: I love this book, and recommend it for girls 11+!
So, it all starts when fifteen-year-old self-acclaimed geek girl Harriet goes with best friend Nat (a wannabe model since the age of seven) to a fashion show, hoping Nat will be spotted by a model agent. Instead, Harriet is spotted by Infinity Models (Nat is understandably furious and jealous) and sent to Russia to model along with Lion Boy (Nick), a male model who she has a major crush on, ever since they met under a table at the fashion show. I will not tell you anything else – that would spoil the book – except for the author’s name (Holly Smale), the fact is the first book in a series (Geek Girl) and the fact that you should buy and read it. NOW! 😉
Review: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
By Muriel Spark, this is a disturbed fiction of schoolgirls whose lives revolves around their overbearingly manipulative teacher. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who finds it hard to get their heads around the style of writing where big chunks of time are skipped.
Review: The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones
The Maze of Bones, by Rick Riordan, is a brilliant book at the beginning of a brilliant series written by a number of different authors.
Amy and Dan Cahill have no idea that they are related to anybody like Benjamin Franklin, Napoleon, Marie Curie, and more that I could go on for a very long time about!
The orphans of Hope Cahill and Arthur Trent discover at their grandmother Grace Cahill’s funeral that their family is involved in a thrilling, terrifying and terrible hunt for 39 clues.
They embark on this mission to find out whom they are and what branch of the family they belong to – Lucian, Tomas, Janus, Ekaterina or the dreaded Madrigal. Hunted by evil relatives who wish them dead, Amy and Dan Cahill must visit… The Catacombs of Paris!
Review: Nancy Drew 1: The Secret of the Old Clock
Nancy Drew 1: The Secret of the Old Clock
By Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew is driving along in her car one day. A little girl runs out into the road in front of the van in front of her car! Luckily, the girl has the sense to run across the road, and jumps up on a wall. She then falls off the wall! This mini-adventure leads into a BIG mystery.
Josiah Crowley promised many people who need some money to mention them in his will. However, when he dies, Mr. Turner produces a will, which leaves everything to the Turners, a well-off family. Nancy is convinced that the will is not the latest will. She starts looking for a later will, and finding many people who need the money, and were promised their share of it. Now Nancy is sure that there is a later will. But where to find it? Luckily, her father, Carson Drew, is a skilled and well-known lawyer. Mr. Drew is a very good lawyer, and Nancy Drew a very good detective. Will they solve the mystery?
Nancy Drew stars in her first ever mystery!