The House Sitter - Ellery Kane

 70 year-old widow Iris Duncan takes in a young couple, Lydia and Seth, when they are down on their luck. They can stay with Iris in return for taking care of her property. One night, an emergency call draws police to Iris's house, where they find her bedroom filled with blood and no trace of her or the couple she took in anywhere. What happened in the house? And, most importantly, where is Iris?

I really enjoyed this psychological mystery thriller. It didn't take me long to finish it at all, I actually read all of the second half in one sitting. The writing style was easy to understand and I was just flying though. The characters are fun to follow around, but you still get the feeling that you aren't getting the full perspective with every main character until the very end. I liked the main plot twist, although you might have seen it coming already if you paid attention. Overall a good and thrilling read, definitely recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley, Ellery Kane and Kane's team for providing me with an ARC!

TW: nothing (but the usual thriller TW I guess)

Stars: 4

via Amazon UK

Small Worlds - Caleb Azumah Nelson

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson is a romance/cultural tale about Stephen, an - at the start of the novel - 18 year old Ghanaian-British boy trying to find his place in the world. We follow his journey in life over three summers in the early 2010's, dealing with love, family and culture.

Although I've seen some negative reviews, I really enjoyed this novel myself. The writing style is beautiful but still very comprehensible. The story itself is joyful at some moments and honest and heartbreaking at others. I really like how completely human the characters are. They make mistakes and hurt each other, but you understand why they do it and you can't really blame them when you know what they've gone through. I haven't read Nelson's debut novel "Open Water" yet, but I'm definitely running to my local library to pick it up as soon as I've finished writing this review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Caleb Azumah Nelson and Nelson's team for providing me with an ARC. The fact that I got to read this as an ARC did not impact my review or rating.

TW: racism (not very graphic)

Stars: 4.5

Nelson with the book, via Twitter