Luke Harkness, Author at Luke’s Blog

27Jun 2024 by Luke Harkness 4 Comments

The 11 best books of 2024 (so far)

It looks like we're about halfway through the year now. I'm not 100% sure when the official halfway date is, but about June/end of June seems about right. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means 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 product. Therefore, I wanted to write something about the best books I've read so far this year. I wanted to try and narrow it down to just a few but after going to my bookshelves and picking some out, I ended up picking out 11! The list of books below are in no particular order at all -…

26Jun 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver book review

Book reviews, Historical Fiction

Demon Copperhead was one of the novels that my followers across social media suggested I read throughout 2024. It's a book that before reading it I'd heard a very 50/50 response to. The comments were either "too long and depressing" or "absolutely brilliant" so I knew what I was getting in for. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means 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 product. Something I didn't know until the last minute either was that this is a modern loose retelling of David Copperfield, a book I've not actually ever read so information of which meant little…

22Jun 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The 5 most read articles on my blog in May

Features, Monthly Round Ups

Here we are again: me writing about which articles were the most popular for me on my blog over the past month. Yes, you are reading this one quite deep into the following month of June, but we'll brush over that for a minute as it's not important. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means 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 product. If you don't know what the idea is here, I go to Google Analytics and have a look at which five articles had the most views in the past month and then I list from 5 to…

14Jun 2024 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden book review

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

The Housemaid series is without a doubt one of the most popular thriller series out there. If you ever check the top-selling books on the Amazon Kindle store, one of the first two Housemaid books will inevitably be on there. So when The Housemaid is Watching was announced and I saw that it was going to be coming out in paperback on launch day, I pre-ordered it in almost every form you could (audiobook, kindle and paperback). And here are my thoughts... Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means 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 product. The Housemaid is…

09Jun 2024 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry book review

Book reviews, Historical Fiction

Lonesome Dove was very kindly sent to by a follower over on Instagram after she stated she really wanted me to read it and to hear my thoughts on it as it was one of her favourite books of all time! Lonesome Dove is the first true cowboy book I've read and is over 800 pages long. It took me a while, but I finished it and overall, I really enjoyed it! Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means 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 product. Lonesome Dove tells the story of Captain Woodrow F. Call and Captain Augustus…

09Jun 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent book review

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery, Thriller

I picked up Strange Sally Diamond after I had selected a few books I could take on a short staycation with me and then it was narrowed down by me reading the blurbs to my partner and her deciding on one based on that. It's a unique story with a great and loveable main character with some dark moments heavily layered in that keep those interested in darker storylines interested. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means 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 product. Strange Sally Diamond, maybe unsurprisingly to some, tells the story of Sally Diamond and when…

08Jun 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The 5 books I read in May and what I thought about them

Features, Monthly Round Ups

Every month I write one of these belated articles in which I state all of the books I read from the previous month and what I thought of them. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means 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 product. Well, I cheat a little because instead of writing something completely new about them, I use the summary from the review I wrote of them. This makes it far easier to summarise my thoughts on the book without having to rethink another way of doing so. This month I read five books. Not the most productive…

02Jun 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Locked Door by Freida McFadden book review

Book reviews

The Locked Door is my third Freida McFadden book and so I'm starting to get a gauge of her USP - thrillers with female leads from a first-person point of view where there's going to be some sort of wicked twist at some point. The Locked Door is very much like that and, like the other two McFadden novels I've read so far The Housemaid and The Housemaid's Secret, it was very enjoyable, but maybe just a little less clever. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means 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 product. The Locked Door is quite…

26May 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Stranger in Her House by John Marrs book review

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

Continuing on with my recent obsession with thrillers, I asked on my TikTok who the next thriller author I should try next is and many came back and said John Marrs. So I dropped Marrs a quick DM on Instagram telling him such and asking him where he thinks I should start with his books. He very kindly sent me The Stranger in Her House to read. And it's a great little thriller. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means 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 product. The Stranger in Her House tells the story of Connie, her mother…

21May 2024 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne book review

Book reviews, Historical Fiction

I've had about a week now to think about what I thought of The Heart's Invisible Furies. My instant thought after finishing it was that it was one of the best books I've ever read and will go down for a very long as one of my favourite books of all time. Over a week later, I still think the same. This is such a damn good book. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means 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 product. The Heart's Invisible Furies is a story of Cyril Avery and his journey from boy to old…

Author: Luke Harkness