Luke Harkness, Author at Luke’s Blog

22Nov 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The four books I read in October 2023 and what I thought about them

Yes I'm writing this blog post incredibly late, but to be honest with how busy I've been recently, you're lucky you're getting it all to be honest! Anyway, let's get into the four books I read in October and what I thought of them. So, as the title suggests, in October I managed to read four books. Which when you consider three of them were over 500 pages, I think is not a bad showing to be honest. What I've done below, as I do with all of these sorts of articles, is list the four books, include the summary from my review, a link to the full review and a link to buy the book itself from Amazon if you wish. If you see a book you've also read…

12Nov 2023 by Luke Harkness 4 Comments

The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros book review

Book reviews, Fantasy, Romance

The Fourth Wing was one of the most talked-about books on the internet this year. It, for many, has been the entrance into fantasy that they finally needed. It features dragons, a sweeping landscape, a broadening world, different cultures and conflict - enough for me to consider it fantasy. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. I'm a huge fan of fantasy having bread Brandon Sanderson, John Gwynne, J.R.R. Tolkien, G.R.R. Martin and many more. I've also indulged in some YA fantasy such as Sarah J Maas, Leigh Bardugo and Liani…

04Nov 2023 by Luke Harkness 7 Comments

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden book review

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

I picked up The Housemaid because it was dirt cheap on Amazon - I'm talking £2.50 for a brand-new copy of the paperback. After finishing The Return of the King, I thought I'd pick something up a little lighter that didn't require quite as much time and effort to read/listen to. Enter The Handmaid. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. However, little did I know that this would be one of the most gripping and enthralling thrillers I'd read for a very long time. I was expecting it to be…

29Oct 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

What are your tips for someone who is in a reading slump?

Features, Tips and Tricks

Let me first state a couple of things before I start this article: you don't always have to be reading to be a "reader" and you should never feel like you're failing anyone if you're not reading. Reading is a hobby, do it when you enjoy it and for as long as you enjoy it. However, what if you're in a slump? What if you're in the mood where you just would rather be doing anything rather than reading but you absolutely know once you're 20 pages into a book, you'll absolutely love it? Well, I went out and asked my social media audience what their suggestions would be and have come back with some ideas. I had quite a few responses with a few that matched one another. Instead…

28Oct 2023 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

The Return to the King by J.R.R. Tolkien book review

Book reviews, Fantasy

Have you heard of Lord of the Rings? If not, it's a relatively unknown fantasy book that was published many decades ago, split into three books to make it more accessible for readers, built up a mass following, made into one of the most successful and celebrated trilogies of all time and is now considered the greatest piece of fantasy work ever written. The Return of the King is the third book in the series and the one many consider the best. But did I? Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the…

22Oct 2023 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

The Top 10 Most-Rated Books on Goodreads – number two might surprise you!

Features, Recommendations

Goodreads has become the biggest platform on the internet for us book lovers to give our honest reviews of books and also to go and find brand new books to pick up. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. One of the biggest features that sets Goodreads apart early on is its simple “out of five” rating system that gives an obvious average rating for each book based on everyone’s thoughts. As well as showing you what the average rating is, it also shows you how many people in total have…

14Oct 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Return of the Knights by Gregory Kontaxis book review

Book reviews, Fantasy

We all know I love a good fantasy book. The Return of the Knights is a book that was kindly sent to me by Kontaxis himself quite some months ago. The book focuses on our main protagonist Elliot who takes on the task of essentially attempting to slow down and possibly even stop the conquering of Knightdorn by Walter, a tyrant king who is looking to slowly sweep across the land and rule it all. But Elliot is more resilient and talented than his younger years may suggest. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final…

10Oct 2023 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Babel by R.F. Kaung book review

Book reviews, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

I write this review of Babel through gritted teeth as I know it’s a book that is very well-loved by nearly everybody who’s read it. My social media feeds blew up with how great this book was when it first came out and so I was incredibly excited to read it. I will state that I listened to the majority of it and sometimes listening to a book like this where there isn’t a lot of dialogue and there are some very descriptive pieces of narrative can sometimes remove my immersion, but even then I knew what was going on and I’m still left with the same feeling. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below,…

07Oct 2023 by Luke Harkness 4 Comments

The Top 5 Most-Read Articles on my blog in September 2023

Features, Monthly Round Ups

Every month, I compile a list of the top five articles that I posted from the previous month in order of the most to least read. Therefore, the start of October has rolled around and so I've headed over to my Google Analytics and had a quick look to see what you lot had been reading. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. I do this every month for several reasons. The first is simply to give you lot an idea as to which articles have been the most read over…

05Oct 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett

Book reviews, Contemporary Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Thriller

If you’ve read any of my previous reviews of Janice Hallett books, you’ll know I’m an enormous fan. I’ve read The Appeal and The Twyford Code and I was a massive fan of the way that Hallett presented the books using different forms of media: emails, text messages, paper clippings etc. The Mystery Case of the Alperton Angels is very much the same sort of thing but this time I think she may have written her most exciting and interesting story yet! Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. The Mysterious…

Author: Luke Harkness