Review: The Intruder by Freida McFadden

Publication Date: 7 October 2025

Source: Library

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press 

[ Goodreads ]

Blurb: Who knows what the storm will blow in…

Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window.

She’s young. She’s alone. And she’s covered in blood.

The girl won't explain where she came from or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse.

The girl has a dark secret. One she’ll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.

  

So, in the last year or two, I have become a big Freida McFadden fan. I have read quite a lot of her work - enjoyed some, loved some and did not like some! She is an author whom I will always pick up as I know I will be getting a quick, fast-paced, twisty, insane in the best way book that will be glued to my hands until I finish. The Intruder was no exception. 

I have to start my review by saying that this concept, of someone being in your house (or in this case, your shed) while you are home alone, is one of my biggest fears. Anything about home invasion, break in's etc really freaks me out. I suppose because I view your home as your safe space, and having an Intruder there really pops your little safety bubble. 

Bridgerton Series 4 Book Recommendations

 

An Offer From A Gentleman by Julia Quinn, was my favourite Bridgerton book of the series so I was hugely excited in the run up to series 4 being released. 

I loved the season, although slightly different than the book, the relationship between Sophie and Benedict was still beautiful to watch grow. 

I thought I would share some recommendations for books to read to help your Bridgerton induced hangover and include some, in my opinion, underhyped novels too. 

A Little In Love by Susan Fletcher

Blurb: As a young child Eponine never knew kindness, except once from her family's kitchen slave, Cosette. When at sixteen the girls' paths cross again and their circumstances are reversed, Eponine must decide what that friendship is worth, even though they've both fallen for the same boy. In the end, Eponine will sacrifice everything to keep true love alive.

Inspiration taken from the Victor Hugo classic, this novel grips the reader and takes them on a journey from the first page - much like the sweeping Bridgerton story.

Spring TBR 2026

 

Spring is finally here - new growth, new beginnings, new books! 

I have so many fantastic books on my to be read list that I have been saving for this time of year so let's get it into it.. 

Show Me Where It Hurts by Claire Gleeson

Blurb: How do you survive the unsurvivable?

Rachel lives with her husband Tom and their two children: it's the ordinary family life she always thought she'd have. All of that changes in an instant - when Tom runs the family car off the road, seeking to end his own life, and take his wife and children with him. Rachel is left to pore over the wreckage to try and understand what happened - to find a way to go on living afterwards.

What emerges is a snapshot of what it's like to live alongside someone who is suffering, how you keep yourself afloat when the person you love is drowning, and how you survive irreparable loss.

3 Celebrity Memoirs I Recommend

I have read some fantastic non-fiction in the time I have been away from my blog. 

An area I have fallen in love with is the celebrity biography memoir genre. I love reading the history of someone's life, the ups and downs and the inside information that can be gleaned from the pages. 

I thought I would share some of my favourites from the last couple of years with you in the hopes that it encourages you to pick them up too. 

Mrs Hinch: This Is Me by Mrs Hinch (Sophie Hinchcliffe)

Mrs Hinch is an Instagram icon. If you have never heard of Mrs Hinch, she is an Instagrammer who rose to fame simply by sharing her love of cleaning her home. Her Instagram page has amassed millions of followers who love not only her posts but her. 

I loved this memoir as it gave the reader an insight into Sophie, without the Mrs Hinch persona. 

Reading about Sophie's childhood, her insecurities with her body which led to her having gastric band surgery and almost dying from complications and how she started her Instagram page and changed her life forever. 

I think the reason this book resonates with me is the same for a lot of her followers - it is Sophie's honest voice, her ability to be vulnerable and her incredible positive outlook on life. 

Mrs Hinch drives home the message of happiness in the everyday things in her book Mrs Hinch: This Is Me. 

How I Rated Books in 2025

 In 2025, I had a very busy year. Between work, beginning a master's degree and general life stuff - I was pretty busy. Yet, I managed to read several fantastic novels in that time. 

Although I did not read as many non-fiction or 5-star reads as I had hoped, I feel I read a varied selection of fiction, non-fiction and some graphic novels too. 

If you would like to see my entire year of reading from 2025 broken down by ratings, you are in for a treat! Please enjoy my colourful graphics, which display my reading stats by star ratings. If you would like a more detailed breakdown of some of my favourites of the year and what I am hoping to read in 2026, you can find those breakdowns in my previous posts. 

Please, read on and see how I rated what I read in 2025. (There might be some controversial ones..)

how i rated 2025 by bookblogging78

Book Vs Film: Seven Dials Mystery Agatha Christie

 

I am sure everyone has been eagerly awaiting the Netflix adaptation of The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie, as I was. I read my very first Christie novel last year with my friend and was shocked by how much I enjoyed it. I then decided I needed to read some more of her fantastic detective novels. 

When I heard that The Seven Dials Mystery was being adapted by Netflix, I decided that will be my next Christie read. I devoured the book in a week. Although at first I felt this story began a little slow, it soon picked up. Secret societies, funny characters and a headstrong female lead hunting out a mystery - what a ride. 

Of course, I had my alerts turned on for the Netflix miniseries, so as soon as it was released, I raced home from work to watch it. 

I was slightly disappointed, but I will explain all in my discussion below as I take you through some of the major differences between the novel and the film. SPOILERS AHEAD

2026 Anticipated Releases

 2026 looks like a fantastic year for book releases. Many of my favourite authors are releasing new titles, there are interesting debut novels being released and some (hopefully) scandalous memoirs too! 

Check out my list below to see what books I am going to be anticipating the release of this year. 

THE TRUTH ABOUT RUBY COOPER BY LIZ NUGENT (Goodreads) 12 March 2026

One of my all-time favourite authors - I can't wait!

Blurb: 

If my sister hadn’t been beautiful, none of it would have happened.

Ruby Cooper and her sister, Erin, live an idyllic life in their close-knit church community in Boston. But when Ruby is sixteen, she is involved in an incident that causes her family’s world to implode.

Across decades, the fallout leaves a wake of destruction behind Ruby in Dublin and Erin in Boston.

Not that Ruby wants to think about the past.

But it can’t stay a secret forever.