Luke Harkness, Author at Luke’s Blog

09Dec 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Four Books the books I read in November 2023 and what I thought of them

Welcome back to another round up of all of the books I've read over the previous month. This month I read four books, which seems to be the absolute most I can read of any month if you've read any of my previous round-ups. 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 products. November was the month of Rebecca Yarros. With Iron Flame coming out, I wanted to get Fourth Wing read before it came out so I could read and review that before reading and reviewing Iron Flame too. Both of them feel…

02Dec 2023 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery

If you've read my previous reviews of anything by Janice Hallett, you'll know that I'm a huge fan of both her writing but also the way she writes her books. As opposed to a conventional chapter book, Hallett has written some fantastic books that use modern forms of media. You'll find yourself reading text messages, emails, posters and transcribed audio files to tell the story. The Christmas Appeal is Hallett's latest in this form. It's a Christmas special and it's the shortest 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 product. The…

30Nov 2023 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

Year One by Nora Roberts book review

Book reviews, Fantasy

About a week ago, I'd never heard of Nora Roberts and I definitely hadn't heard of her book Year One, however, when my partner went out to a Christmas Market and popped into some charity shops instead, she brought me in back as well as another book. When I posted the two books on social, nearly all of the responses said that I should read Year One and then finish off the trilogy. 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 products. Year One by Nora Roberts is an apocalyptic book that was actually…

28Nov 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Ad Lucem by QCODE podcast review

Fiction, Podcast reviews

Audio dramas or fiction podcasts, whatever you want to call them, are a huge part of the podcast space now with some of the larger ones often being seen at the top of the most-listened to lists on any podcast streaming platform. One that really took my eye recently was Ad Lucem by the prolific QCODE who do a great wealth of other fictional podcasts. Ad Lucem is their latest and features a couple of big names to help bring in the audience. But is a well-known cast enough to make this audio drama one worth listening to? Ad Lucem is a science fiction audio drama set in the future where an incredibly smart AI called "Cara" has become a huge part of the way that people interact with one…

23Nov 2023 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros book review

Book reviews, Fantasy, Romance

Iron Flame is one of the most hyped books of the last decade. The absolute storm that was Fourth Wing meant that when Iron Flame was announced and coming up to its release, a lot of the online bookish community was getting excited. It was the first book in a long time that had book shops across the country doing midnight launches for god sake! 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, following up a book that so many people absolutely adored with a sequel that equals if not betters…

23Nov 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The most-read articles on my blog in October 2023

Features, Monthly Round Ups

Every month it's fun to look back and see which of the articles I published that month had the most views. Not only does this bring me some joy to see what people actually want to read but it can serve as analysis for future articles and making sure I'm writing what you guys want to be reading. The majority of my traffic comes from Google as opposed to my social media channels so this is often what people are searching too. Therefore, below I have listed the top five most-read articles I posted in October. This isn't a list of every article I have on my blog as this would likely stay the same. However, I do often post these statistics whenever they highlight any interesting trends, so make…

22Nov 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

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

Features, Monthly Round Ups

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…

Author: Luke Harkness