 That was flawed tactics, flawed tactics. Uh, it's only five star. It's not gonna be a five star. It's only becoming clear that maybe her investigating this is paying her life in danger, girly. Is there a cover-up? Is there greater machinations at play? What is the truth? I'm really enjoying it. I'm really enjoying it. So, have I finally got a five star? So about a week or two ago, I got a message on the Discord for my Patreon from Claire. And I have a channel on there that's like video ideas. If anyone has any videos they'd like to see me do, they can put them on there. And Claire said, why don't you do the video where you stop the reading vlog only when you get five stars? You have to keep reading books until you get a book that is five stars. And I thought, let's do it. I don't know, I just loved the idea of it. I think it sounds so fun. It was like such a fun challenge. We could read one book, we could read 10. That's the fact of the matter. I'm hoping it's less than five. Five or less is what I'm aiming for. I'm gonna be reading books that I really think it's gonna be five stars. Like five star energy that I believe in. I don't know, should we just get into it and see what I read? I'm nervous for how this is gonna go. But I really wanna find some more five stars. Cause I think other than rereads, I've only had three five stars out of like 22 books I've read so far this year. So not a massive proportion. I feel like we can up that a bit. So let's read until we get a five star book. Okay, so it's come to the point where I have to pick what the book I'm gonna start this video with. I'm around Tom's now, hello. Yeah, I have to pick what I'm gonna start this video with. And here's the thing. I don't want this video to be a one book video. Really, because my last vlog was wrapped up which was only ever one book. I'm just like, I feel like we could try out a few books of this. But also I don't wanna read books that like, you know, I don't think I'm not gonna like. Do you know what I mean? So what I'm going with, and I wanna read in this vlog mostly 2023 releases that have already just come out just to get a few of them ticked off. So what I'm thinking is I've picked a book that in my opinion is like a four star prediction. I'm gonna be reading books that I really think are gonna be five stars, like five star energy that I believe in. Why not? If it ends up being a five whoopee, like we hit it on the first go. But it's kind of like a four star prediction. So something that I'm still really looking forward to reading, really been anticipating, but like, I haven't been expecting a five star from it. And so that is highly suspicious and unfairly cute by Talia Hibbert. So Talia Hibbert I would say is my second favorite romance author behind Ali Hazelwood. I don't really tell a romance, so that's not, you know. It's not necessarily a difficult accolade to get. But I've tended to give all of her books like a four around a four consistently. And I feel like this is probably gonna be a four. So this is what I'm gonna read. It is pretty short. If I'm feeling possible five star energy, I'll check in with you at like the 100 page mark. If I'm not, I'll check in with you halfway through. Because it's the thing, I don't wanna keep checking in with you like loads because otherwise this video will be 10 years long because we could end up bringing like 10 books. Like the thing about this video, it stresses me out. Cause I'm like, it could be one book, it could be 10. Like what's gonna happen? All I know about this is it's her YA debut. Talia Hibbert's YA debut. We're following two characters, one who's like the star football player and one who I think is a social media star. And they go on this like camping, adventuring kind of situation. I have just seen that Kane has given this five stars and I'm like, this could be a five star. But I feel like this is perfect for a moment as well. It's just been Valentine's Day and Tom and I are going for our belated Valentine's Day meal tonight. So I don't know, I just like the vibes of this are here. So we're gonna try this out and I'm excited. I think this is gonna be actually my first 2023 release that I'm reading. Crazy. So let's just get into it. Hey, I'm aware I look a bit crazy. I'm in the middle of getting ready. I thought I would chat with you whilst I do my eye shadow about highly suspicious and I'm fairly cute by Talia Hibbert. I'm currently halfway through, okay? I don't know actually if I'm gonna be able to do my eye shadow and talk to you. I don't know if I'm like that skilled. Anyway, I feel like I have a lot to say. I'm gonna try and get through this as like efficiently as I can. So my perception of the book before it began was that they go on this like camping expedition and meet each other there and fall in love basically was what my perception was, but that is not what the book is. I just feel so deceived. I know, but like honestly, I just feel so deceived. They're basically best friends to enemies to lovers is the trope we're going with here. So they've known each other from childhood and they fell out a couple of years ago and now they're like enemies, but not really, you know. You know, love to hate, I feel like kind of relationship. It's gonna be five star. It's not gonna be a five star. I'm not disliking it, but I'm not loving it. Let's go through, you know, when you were a kid and you were doing like a project or some sort and you just do pros, cons, and then like an in the middle column, let's go through it, okay? So in terms of pros, um. In terms of pros, I feel like it is doing a good job of realistically showing what it's like to be in love when you're a teenager, you know? I'm experienced in the fact I met my current boyfriend. I hate the word boyfriend. When you've been together like six and a half years, it's like boyfriend, who's that? You know, we met in sick form, which is when these characters are. So it feels very familiar. And I feel like it's doing a good job, also like how annoying kids are when you're kind of like falling for each other and everyone's teasing you. Oh my God, that was the worst. That's like in the sun. It's a tentative subject, we know. We're already, you know, feeling each other out, trying to figure out if the other person's interested. We don't need everyone else teasing us. Anyways, so I feel like it's doing a good job of that. Secondly, I love the plus size representation Tally here, but often has in her books or at least the ones I've read. And particularly in a YA, like I feel like that's so important in a YA. I feel like there's not a lot of YA romances out there with a plus size protagonist and showing them. We're also like where, I feel like there's maybe some of those back in the day, but like the way the girl's size would be mentioned over and over and over again. And it's like, oh, look, a plus size girl can fall in love and have someone love her. You know, and it's like the whole kind of theme of the book. Whereas that's not the case in this one. You know, it's just mentioned occasionally. And it's just like a feature of her. The whole book isn't defined by that. So they're the pros, okay? Middle of the road, middle of the road column is that I feel like Tally Hibbutz, I'm not gonna get any further with my eyeshadow, by the way. I need to focus on what I'm saying to you. Actually, I can try. I feel like Tally Hibbutz, I'm gonna go in with a dark shade and I feel like it's a mistake. I can't talk and do this. Stop, why you're, stop, why you're ahead. I feel like Tally Hibbutz writing, often verge is on cringy. I feel like this, even with the Brown sisters, like I feel like her writing is just always so close to being cringe, you know? It just, it skirts the line. And more often than not, I find it funny, not cringe, but like sometimes it's a little bit close, you know? More often than not, I think it's funny, but sometimes we start steering into almost cringe territory, you know? Okay, cons, I'm bored. I have to admit something, okay, I have to admit something. I am obsessed with mustard. I can't believe I just said that out loud, no. I am obsessed with a game called Cozy Grove. I'm obsessed with a game called Cozy Grove at the moment. I can't stop playing it. I think about it all the time. Also, it's not the kind of game, like it kind of limits how much you can do per day, but like I am counting down the seconds to my Cozy Grove session every day. That's not normal. And I think, you know, you should maybe get some help or something. And so I just like, this is not capturing my attention and desires, like Cozy Grove is, you know? And I feel like that's what's needed because I just would rather play Cozy Grove than read. Yeah, that's the current issue is that like, I just, I don't really want to read. It's not making me want to read. And I find myself like, I keep skimming sections. Like I keep just skipping paragraphs because it feels like there's a lot of like, a lot of wasted, you know, fodder that I can just skip through. But today I'm just going to have a reading day. I don't have these very often where a day where I'm like, I'm just going to read. I am going to do some editing for some Patreon stuff as well, but I'm mostly just going to read. I need like, I feel like I need to be falling and back in love with reading day, you know? Sometimes you just need those days where you just read and you're like, oh, I love reading. You remember why you love reading. Sometimes, because at the moment, I'm just remembering why I love playing Cozy Grove. So the plan today is to read the second half of this and read a good chunk of whatever the second book is because we are going to be reading a second book because this is not five stars. This is not five stars. So I'll see you a bit later once I finish getting ready and I've actually finished the book. And hopefully I will be able to focus and not worry, take me that long. That's the back. I finished it. Gonna give it three stars. Three stars. I debated, let me stick the light on this bit gloomy. I debated giving it 3.5 but I think an enjoyment, it was a three. It was a three, okay? I don't really have much more to say. My same gripes with it that I was just kind of bored and wasn't excited to read it. I just sat downstairs and then made myself read. Like Megan, you have to read this. Right now, you're not having lunch. I used lunch as an incentive. Like Megan, you can't eat lunch until you finish this book. I think maybe like, I tend to like grump sunshine romance. They're all my five star romances lately, whatever. I've been grump sunshine. Don't know what that says about me, but. This guy is not grump. He's like, he's sunshine. Actually, no, he's sunshine. She's a bit grumpy maybe. I like it the other way around. It was fine. You know, I enjoyed it. I'm gonna probably read everything that Tally here but you know, the mainstream stuff that she puts out. It was elements of it. Like the, you know, what's the word? Third act conflict. Is that what the romance girlies call it? The third act conflict, I actually liked and I really liked the stuff that like followed that. I thought that was all done really well. Like I thought it made sense within the story. It wasn't out of nowhere. There was a sense to love like, of like rom-cominess to what happened afterwards. Like it felt like a rom-com YA, you know, teen movie. And that element I really enjoyed. So the ending for me was good. I liked how it ended. Like maybe it's a 3.5. I'm gonna give it a 3. I'm being very, very harsh. Nice to meet you, Kelly. I'm gonna stick by a 3, but it's got, you know, it's maybe a 3.25 if we're being picky here. Just in terms of enjoyment, I can see how someone would read this and give it five stars. It's not, I don't think that my rating is like indicative of like what other people are gonna give it in this case, just in terms of my enjoyment. Yeah, it's a 3. I'm actually really pissed at myself. When I started this video, I was like, oh, we're only reading stuff that has five star energy. And then I quickly pivoted like, oh, I want it to only be one video, one book. So I'm not gonna- I wasted a slot. I wasted a slot on something I didn't think was gonna be five star. That was flawed tactics, flawed tactics. So we're only going with five star predictions from now on. I'm really mad at myself. The two books that I have been debating reading, cause I knew that wasn't a five star. So I've been thinking, what am I gonna read next? These are the two books that I believe will get five stars and I wanna read most. So, Hell Bent by Lee Bardugo and the Mysterious Case of the Outputting Angels by Janice Hallett. I gave Ninth House five stars. I love Ninth House. Ninth House is incredible. Janice Hallett, I've given like a 3.5 and then I gave the Twyford Code like a 4.75. So like basically a five. But I believe in the synopsis, the strongest. I'm weighing it up. I know some people are gonna be screaming at me to read Hell Bent, but I think I'm gonna go with Mysterious Case of the Outputting Angels. It's a murder mystery or I don't know if it's murder mystery. It's a mystery. It's mixed media. Like it, you know, it feels good. I feel like Hell Bent is something I wanna read when I'm riding high on reading enjoyment, whereas I'm in the trenches a little bit and this is the kind of thing that will get me out of it. I feel like we might be reading Hell Bent later in this vlog if this doesn't become five stars, but I believe it will. It's gonna be a five star. One of my about this is we've discovered like this trunk of mixed media elements about this case where the Outputting Angels were occult and I think they, yeah, they believe they convinced a teenage girl that Hannuba or Megan was the Antichrist. Okay. A true crime author who's writing a book about it and kind of researching and what have you. I have good feelings about this. Okay. It's the first Janet Hallett that is different types of mixed media. The appeal was just emails. The Twyford Code was just audio files. And I feel like that's always been the one thing that's kept me back from giving it a five stars. I want emails, interviews. Like I want all kinds of different stuff and that's what this delivers. I'm so excited. I've had such good things. It's gonna be a five star. Delusion, convince yourself. It's gonna be a five star. I believe it's drawing my bones. So I'm gonna read, there's like no chapters. In this really there's just like sections. So I will read the first 100-ish pages because this is a little bit longer. So we'll read the first 100-ish pages and then check in with you. Have lunch and do some work now. Gonna have a bit of a reading break. But then this afternoon this evening, we're gonna be back to it. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. I'm having good feelings. I'm having good feelings. I have a lot to say if you will indulge me. Okay. Right. In order to talk about this book, I feel like just Hertz books always require quite a big setup. Like I have to really tell you what's going on. So you open the first page. Well, you know what I mean. It says you have a key that opens a safe deposit box. Inside is a bundle of documents. Archived research material for a book that has just been published. You must read it all and make a decision. Either replace the documents and the box, then throw the key where it will never be found or take everything to the police. So we begin with drama, which I love. It's all the drama, Mick, I just love it. And so then we are going through the documents that we, me and you, have just found of this, I guess our protagonist who is writing has just been commissioned to write a book about the Alpeton Angels, which was a cult. This happened 18 years ago. It was a very small cult. There was the leader, maybe about three or four members. It's unclear. And then these two teenagers who are members who had a baby, when they were convinced that the baby was the Antichrist and it seems like on this particular evening, they were trying to murder, sacrifice the baby. But then there's a mass suicide of the members who aren't the leader or the teenagers, essentially. And she is contacting people, trying to find out what happened and most importantly, trying to find the baby because the baby's about to turn 18. And so everyone's like, find the baby. We need to get the first scoop. Okay, so that's what's going on. And I'm loving it. I'm loving it. I don't want to say five star too soon, but I am loving it because, A, there's a lot of thoughts going around my brain. I can't like, ooh, you know what you're like really enjoying a book. And it's like, I can't, I can't process. I can't like, simply the thoughts. Firstly, our main character is very interesting. She is a cutthroat, true crime, author, journalist kind of person who like, very early on you can tell she'll do anything to get the scoop. She will do anything that she can to get the scoop. She will lie to this person, say something else to this person. And so it's very interesting, you know, we're just reading emails that she sent to people or interview transcripts and stuff like that or text messages. And so it's very interesting at times when you don't know if she's lying, like you don't know what the truth necessarily is. I really enjoy that about all of Janice Hallett's books because they're not told in the traditional way. There's a lot of room for lies, okay? She's talking to all these people about the night this kind of big event happened. And a lot of people are like, remembering conflicting things and we can't get hold of the baby or whatever. Like there's so many things that you go, you know, already I've gone, I've literally gone so many times already. There'll be things that like become so pivotal and there'll be red herrings and I don't know what is which. Wait a minute, I'm figuring this out. I'm like Scooby and shaggy, I'm solving a mystery. Like someone will give you a piece of information like in an interview on email and you're like, hang on, hang on. And you don't know if that person's wrong or if that's like completely twisting the story. I'm loving it. I'm loving it so much more than the appeal. This is what I wanted from the appeal with the varied kind of mixed media. And I loved the Twyford Code and I just know because of the Twyford Code like the ending of that is incredible. The ending was what made me love it that Janice Hallett has an ending in her. I am so excited. And like why, ooh, there's so much going on. It's already becoming clear that maybe her investigating this is paying her life in danger galley. Is there a cover up? Is there greater machinations at play? What is the truth? I'm really enjoying it. I'm really enjoying it. I don't wanna call it a five star yet. It has the possibility. I'm really hoping for a five star. I can just feel it on my bones and I want this to be my first five star for Janice Hallett so bad because she is shaking things up in the mystery genre. Like it's got so much drama. You guys don't understand. There is so much drama. There is high antics, right? I always say this. I did drama for most of my life, you can doubt. But especially when I did it at GCC and A level when you're like in charge of productions. I used to go to drama club or whatever but when you're doing that you're like directing, you're presenting the show, you know? I want a production. I want a production. I want it to be as dramatic as imaginative as innovative as like creative as possible. And I love it when a book ignites that in me. When I see a writer, it's just, I just love it. It gets me excited. It's camp. It's camp. I don't know what to tell you. There's always been like, she's always been giving me that drama but there's been something that's like, oh, that's not my stuff. But I just believe. I believe in my core that we can get a five star. I can get a five star. I can get a five star. So I'm gonna go read, it's about 400 pages long. So maybe I'll read like another 150 pages. Why have I got to go to the doctor, police? I mean, oh my God. Oh my God, who's telling the truth? And also, good sign. I'm not even thinking about Cozy Grove. I probably will play it tonight but all I'm really thinking about is reading this book because I'm obsessed. It's caught me in its jaws. So I'll see you either tonight or in the morning with some more thoughts. It's not the next day, it's the day after but I am now about 250 pages into the mysterious case of the Outstanding Angels and I'm still enjoying it. I have many more thoughts than when I last spoke to you but I'm still loving it. This is the kind of book you need to read quickly, right? If you're gonna pick this up, prepare to read it. Like I think if you read this in one sitting it would be ideal. I started it not yesterday, the day before and I kind of wish I'd read it in those two days because there's so much information going on. There's so many like could be red herrings, could be misinformation. Like you have to keep the thread of like there's literally like 30 different people saying they remember X, Y and Z about this case and you need to remember all the threads to connect the dots. Like it's, it's involved. I've connected the two dots. You didn't connect shit but I've connected them. It's an involved reading experience but I'm really loving it. Part of me wonders like it depends on the ending, right? Whether it gets a four or a five. I'm hoping I'll get a five because then this vlog will be done. And because I just feel I've had so much fun reading it, right? I just feel like this is the time that Janice Hallett is gonna get a five star. Like this is such a fun book. I love that. Reading can be fun. Like if books can be fun, do you know what I mean? Books don't have to be serious. Don't have to be like, I don't know, like, you know, the man book a prize, whatever. That exists for that. This is fun. It's so fun. Like it's funny in the same way that like Thursday murder club is funny. And I was like, there's little elements of humor to it. Like for example, she has this girl who transcribes all of her interviews for her and she'll like leave little notes commenting on what's happening in the interviews. And it's funny. Like I just, I love that we're bringing back fun. Janice Hallett's bringing back fun. Thank God. I'm having fun. You have no idea. I have so much fun. I'm just super intrigued how it's all gonna come together in the end. I'm a little bit nervous about it. I don't know. I don't know what to expect for how it's gonna come together. I don't know. I'm feeling a little bit nervous about it. Oh, I have a few suspicions, but I don't know if they're too obvious. I, they're based on things that have been said. And I feel like if you're basing your suspicions on things that have been said, then that's red herrings. You want to look in between what has been said with this kind of thing. And I think it's so cool. Like our protagonists can know something, kind of come to the realization about something. But because you're only reading like emails or text messages, like people can be hiding stuff. Whereas in a book, without it being an unreliable narrator, you'd find out about what they're thinking and like the links that they've made. Whereas in Janice Hallett's books, you're on your own, girl. You are on your own. They can come to realizations, but they're not gonna share them with you because you're just getting their emails and interviews with other people. You know what I mean? It's so interesting. I'm super excited because Janice Hallett's books always have like an interesting ending that just like comes together. And I'm super intrigued to see how this is gonna end. I'm not gonna lie. I'm just, I'm gonna go read it now. So, have I finally got a five star? I say that as if I've been reading for a long time. I've read two books. Um, yeah. Yeah, I'm giving it five stars. Hey, success. Okay, I have to say, right, the ending of this isn't as jaw-dropping, amazing, shock, gag as the Twyford Code. This is more of like a slow reveal where you slowly start putting the things together. Twyford Code is like bang. This is like slowly putting everything together. It's not as like a incredible ending as that, but I had the best time with the whole reading experience. The whole reading experience was so fun. And I often say, I often don't hold it against, this wasn't a bad ending anyway, it means it was a really good ending, but like I don't hold it against a mystery if the ending is a little bit. Not saying that's the case in this, but you know what I mean? Because it can be so difficult to like pull that off in a way that pulls all the strings together. But this, I just had such a fun time reading it throughout. It was like fun. I feel like a lot of people, this is perhaps, if you haven't read Janice Hallett, maybe this is where you should start. It's the most accessible to the most amount of people. But I just had such a fun time reading it. I wish I had read it in one sitting. This is the kind of book you just wanna like read it and keep all the strings together. Cause there's a lot of characters, you've got like 30, 40 characters, all saying different things. You just wanna keep like, oh my God, I even by the end when, cause it's like, it's you know, quite a complex mystery by the end. So there's a lot of moving pieces and I'm just struggling. I'm a bit like, oh God. But I think it did do a good job of like, I did actually understand everything by the end. I was like, okay, I understand what's happened. I get it, I get how we've got here. I'm buying into it. So I really enjoyed it. I had such a fun time reading it. This is the kind of mystery I love to read where it's like something a bit different, you know? The modern mystery, like doing something a bit different with your mystery. I don't know. I thought it was so imaginative and just seeing how it came together, I had a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun. So we got a five star. We did not have to read 10 books. We only had to read two. And I think, I mean, this easily could have not been a five star, but I think it shows, I know my reading case pretty well that this had a good chance of being a five star. I should have just started with this. But then this vlog would have only been one book. So at least we read two, I guess. That's how to look at it. But thank you guys so much for watching this video. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know how many books you think it would take you to get to a five star. I think Hellbent probably, if this hadn't been one, would have been a good show. But I don't know if I would have gone with that next. I'm still feeling a bit scared to pick up Hellbent. I don't know. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the video. If you got to the end, comment five star emojis down below in the comments. Thank you guys so much for watching and I'll see you again in another video. Bye.