Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter is a book about our main protagonist, Dexter, a very polite and mellow guy. But Dexter has a secret: he's a serial killer but has always stuck to one rule; he only kills bad guys. Working as a blood splatter expert for the Miami Police Department, Dexter is easily able to identify his victims. But when brutal murders with the same style as Dexter occurs, Dexter becomes not only flattered but frightened as he investigates who the new killer might be.

I absolutely love the show, Dexter in which is based on these series of books; Darkly Dreaming Dexter being the first book. My boyfriend had gotten me into the show as we both love forensic/crime shows.

When I found out the show was actually based on books, I automatically grabbed a copy of the first book.

What I can say right off the bat is that I really did enjoy this novel. I felt like it was incredibly fast paced and very suspenseful. There were a handful of moments that were a little bit slow to me but I found that since the rest of the book was so fast paced, I didn't mind so much about the slow parts.

I really liked how in depth the characters were though, obviously since there is so much backstory and thought process you can provide in a show - but I'll admit, I love Michael C. Hall as Dexter in the television show.

Going back to writing style, I really did enjoy Jeff Lindsay's writing. I'll admit it does make quite an interesting flow of writing. I feel like it was a mix of poetic writing and a straight forward writing style which I really enjoyed as they counteracted each other and worked very well.

Overall, the book was really good; written well and quite enjoyable. 

But like I did mention earlier, I watched the television show first and I think that set a high standard for me when it came to this book.

I really love Michael C. Hall's portrayal of Dexter and I feel like he really made this mellow yet eerie character really come to life.

When I read this book, I automatically picture Michael C. Hall yet I feel like this visual portrayal really stands out to me rather than the literature version as sometimes I've gotten to accustomed to the television.

In my honest opinion, I feel like this book would be a million times more enjoyable if the reader has never watched the show. I know I'm not the only one to says that either. 

A lot of people who absolutely love this novel are usually people who haven't seen the show yet. And I'm not saying it's because the book is bad or poorly written. It just feels like Michael C. Hall made an AMAZING portrayal of Dexter than it's hard to top that.

Although I really did enjoy this book, I don't plan on continuing the series, and if I do, it probably won't be anytime soon.

If you've watched AND read the book, I'd love to know your thoughts on what you think! Do you like the show better or the book? Let me know in the comments section or on my Instagram!

Another tag post (and more coming your way) because I love doing these, even though no one tags me, I kind of just jump into it anyways because why not.

I've been seeing a little book tag going around relating to the Netflix Original: Stranger Things.

For those who don't know, I have been obsessed with Stranger Things since season one aired on Netflix back in 2016. So it's only fitting to do this book tag.

This book tag was created by Sarah Sunbeemz on Youtube; if you would like to watch the original video, it will be linked here.

With that being said, let's get into the tag!

Questions:

1) EPIC INTRO. The opening sequence of Stranger Things is amazing and really grabs your attention. Name a book that grabbed your attention from the first page.

2) DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. Name a fantasy world you would like to experience yourself.

3) SQUAD GOALS. When Eleven met Mike, Dustin and Lucas it was a *mostly* perfect team. Name your favourite group of friends.

4) ABC's & CHRISTMAS LIGHTS. Joyce Byers goes mad with grief after Will goes missing. Name your favourite mentally unhinged character.

5) THE UPSIDE DOWN. Name a book that was the opposite of what you expected.

6) MAD SCIENTISTS. Dr. Brenner likes to get freaky with humanity. Name the freakiest dystopian government you can think of.

7) DEMOGORGON. Name a scary bookish creature that you would not want to come through the walls.

8) CLIFFHANGER ENDING. Name a book that left you wanting more.

1) EPIC INTRO. The opening sequence of Stranger Things is amazing and really grabs your attention. Name a book that grabbed your attention from the first page.

Without hesitation, The Cruel Prince by Holly Black had one of the best prologues I've read this year. It grasped my attention right away and left me so excited for the book. Unfortunately, I didn't actually enjoy the rest of the book but I do think the beginning deserves the love.

2) DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. Name a fantasy world you would like to experience yourself.

Again, this one also didn't take much thought. I would absolutely, without a doubt, want to experience Hogwarts myself. The classes, professors, friendships, the food -- the robes. Ahh, I want to experience it all.

3) SQUAD GOALS. When Eleven met Mike, Dustin and Lucas it was a *mostly* perfect team. Name your favourite group of friends.

This one was a little more difficult for me as theres so many groups of friends I love and adore. I think my major squad goals are Harry, Hermione, and Ron from Harry Potter, The Six of Crows members, members from Rick Riordan's mythology world and the group from Throne of Glass. They are all my absolute favourite group of friends. There's probably more I haven't mentioned yet but those are my all time favourites.

4) ABC's & CHRISTMAS LIGHTS. Joyce Byers goes mad with grief after Will goes missing. Name your favourite mentally unhinged character.

One of my favourite crazy characters is Annie Wilkes from Stephen King's Misery. She is incredibly crazy, but such an interesting and well-build character.

5) THE UPSIDE DOWN. Name a book that was the opposite of what you expected.

Switched by Amanda Hocking will always fit the category. I remember when I first purchased this book years ago, reading for some sort of fantasy whirlwind, but it was based around trolls. Not what I expected at all.

7) DEMOGORGON. Name a scary bookish creature that you would not want to come through the walls.

As a Stephen King lover, theres a few bookish creatures I'd find a little terrifying. One of my favourites but I know would be incredibly terrifying if I met it in real life is Pennywise from IT. I absolutely love that character yet he's also so terrifying and perplex. 

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander basically follows our protagonist Clair in the year 1945, who is a former combat nurse as she reunites with her husband for their second honeymoon. During their honeymoon, she walks through standing stones in one of the ancient circles that mark the British Isles. Suddenly, she's hurled back in time -- to 1743 where she is now an "outlander" or "Sassenach" in Scotland tore by war and boarder claims. Whilst figuring out how to get back "home", she meets Jamie Fraser, a young Scottish warrior that makes Clair wonder what life she really wants.

I absolutely loved this book.

As one from a fandom would say, I am "complete trash" which means I very much so love this book and the characters in it.

I've seen Outlander all over BookTube and Bookstagram for a while now, possibly a couple of years; and I've seen so many people hype this book like there was no tomorrow.

Sasha Alsberg is one of my favourite BookTubers and I remember her always talking about Outlander, always talking about Jamie Fraser and a one point when I stumbled across this book at my local Chapters, I read the synopsis and thought it wasn't really for me because at that time I wasn't really a huge fan of historical fiction.

Obviously time went on and I began interests in genres I didn't think I would ever like, I saw they had the show adaptation on Netflix. Yes, I watched the show first, sorry.

Once I saw the show, I automatically fell in love. And Sam Heughan just adds onto the love, what a beautiful person he is.

From there, I decided to actually pick up the book and read it. And honestly, wow.

Firstly, as much as I love the show, the book is a million times better - if that is even possible. I love Diana Gabaldon's writing. I feel like her writing is a mix of poetic writing and straight forward, get to the point kind-of writing which I really enjoyed.

I also loved the characters - obviously. That might be because I was introduced to them in a visual aspect before reading the book where I got to envision how the characters would look but regardless, I thought they were well written as well. They had great backstories, great dynamics with other characters. There are a handful of characters in this novel but I'll admit, it's very easy to tell which character is which.

I also love the incorporation of Scottish terms and vocalizations, if that makes any sense. Usually, when a novel is based in another country, the conversational texts are normal, standard English writing. Diana Gabaldon made sure to add a little Scottish accent twist during conversations and I loved that.

Like I said earlier, I wasn't a huge fan of historical fiction prior but I definitely loved Outlander as it brought a new twist I didn't know I needed.

But I'll admit, as amazing as I find Outlander, it is definitely meant for someone with an acquired taste because I can see how some readers might find Outlander boring. That is just a personal heads up.

Overall, I love Outlander and I cannot wait to dive into the series even more in the future!

If you love Outlander or even dislike it, definitely let me know in the comments or on my Instagram. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

Full Dark, No Stars is one of King's novella collections including 1922, which was just recently adapted into a Netflix movie. 

I feel like I continuously talk about how much I love Stephen King's short story and novella collections and this seriously isn't anything new.

I had previously watched Netflix's adaptation of 1922, which is a novella that is included in this book and I really enjoyed it. Once I watched it, I really wanted to dive into this book.

Fortunately, once I got my hands on this book, I devoured it.

I actually will say the adaptation and the novella together are one of the most genuine book to movie adaptations I've ever seen. There weren't very many changes and if there were, they were very minor. The adaptation really stuck to the original story by Stephen King and I think that is one of the things I loved the most.

Now, I'll admit this isn't my all time favourite King collection as I've read a handful that are a lot better but I did enjoy the read.

This book includes, I believe four of Stephen King's novellas and "Full Dark, No Stars" really describes this collection well: it is incredibly dark.

Personally, I get a lot of "classic King" vibes when I read this novel as each story seems to have that dark, horror element that is so hard to put down because it is so terrifying.

One of the stories that might feel a little uncomfortable to some, perhaps mostly women is the thought of rape. That concept is included in the story Big Driver, so I'd definitely mention a trigger warning if you plan on reading this collection as well.

King's stories that include that terrifying aspect, including in his short story Library Policeman from Four Past Midnight, another one of King's short story collections always terrify me. I love King's other works that use monsters and supernatural creatures because they aren't real. They're a fun thing to be terrified of, or think of the origin of each character, but they don't happen in real life.

That aspect of sexual assault does and it terrifies me. I think that is one of the stories I had to take a step back and catch myself before continuing to read. But other than that, I loved this book.

Some elements that scare me, might not scare you as everyone is different, but that is my own personal opinion.

I think, although each of the stories were well-written, obviously because it is written by Stephen King, 1922 was definitely my favourite short story of them all.

I'll admit, Full Dark, No Stars isn't my favourite King collection of all time, but it was indeed written nicely and was quite an interesting read.

I read this during the summer time, although I do wish I read it in the fall as it definitely gives off spooky vibes!

If you've read this collection, let me know what you think down the comments below or on my Instagram. I'd love to know if you loved Full Dark, No Stars or think Stephen King's other short story collections were better.

Hello my lovely readers, it's been a while.

I thought, before I dive into my review of To All The Boys I've Loved Before's movie adaptation, I thought I'd give you all an explanation on my month long hiatus, if you don't follow me on Instagram.

Without going into too much detail because I do want to keep this update short, I went on a generalized hiatus from most social media for a while; my blog was the longest I took a break from.

Basically, after going on my incredibly fun and rewarding trip early in July, I had realized prior, I have been blogging, writing, taking photos, basically doing anything and everything for my blog and Instagram and upcoming book excessively, that once I came back from vacation, I was in a huge creative burn out.

I realized my posts weren't as entertaining as they used to be and it really bummed me out. With that being said, I decided to take a little break to focus on what I wanted to do from there. I have since been back on Instagram and now my posts seem to be doing a lot better. I genuinely needed time to focus on myself, my mental health and my content. I didn't want to put out content for the sake of "getting it out" but because I truly felt proud of it, and now, I am well rested and ready to dominate my ever growing list of reviews and blog post ideas.

I did in face get an iPad this week which will be solely dedicated to anything work/book related: so reading, writing, blogging, editing, etc. so my Macbook will be used as work equipment as well but can be used as leisure as well (I'm weird and I like to organize gadgets that way).

So far, it has been helping get back into the work swing of things and I am loving it. Hopefully it stays this way!

I truly appreciate your understanding and all your kind messages wondering where have I gone and if I've stopped blogging -- which might possibly never happen since I love blogging and the book community so much.

It truly means a lot to me that my readers care so much about me and my content.

With that being said, let's dive into the review!