Joel R Hunt (Contributor of Forgotten Ones)

Joel Hunt liked Joanne's review of The Christmas Eve Murders: "2.75 stars I was kind of expecting a grander twist and for the explanation covering the reasons to be written with more interest, but the dialogue read quite choppy. The reveal was honestly anticlimactic, and I was disappointed by the red herring and " Read more of this review »
Nov 02, 2025 10:58AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joel Hunt liked CPE's review of The Christmas Eve Murders: "Noelle Albright’s The Christmas Eve Murders is described as “hilarious and cosy” by the publishers. No, it’s not hilarious and I’m not sure that setting the novel in a pub on Christmas Eve, where everyone present, bar one woman, knows everyone else, " Read more of this review »
Nov 02, 2025 10:55AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joel Hunt and 4 other people liked Aïda Maria's review of The Christmas Eve Murders: "I get that this is a genre now, cosy murder mysteries, but certain conversations with the relatives of the primary murder victim seemed so odd. As if they were already healing overnight instead of being completely dazed by losing a loved one."
Nov 02, 2025 10:54AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joel Hunt liked Imogen's review of The Christmas Eve Murders: "I could see where this story was going, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was a very fast-paced read that I ended up flying through, but it was also quite flat as a mystery. The characters were all quite one-dimensional" Read more of this review »
Nov 02, 2025 10:52AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joel Hunt rated a book it was ok The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I should preface this review by admitting that I'm not a huge reader of murder mysteries. I'm probably not Noelle Albright's target audience with this book, which is a fairly straightforward murder mystery including elements of humour and hints of ro ...more
Nov 02, 2025 10:02AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joel Hunt rated a book it was amazing England on Fire: A Visual Journey through Albion's Psychic Landscape by Stephen Ellcock	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As a Brit with very little artistic knowledge but an increasing interest in British and English culture, this book was an absolute joy to experience. The art - of all sorts of mediums - was consistently fascinating, intriguing, impressive and creativ ...more
Oct 21, 2025 01:35PM · like · see review
Joel Hunt rated a book it was amazing The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) by Becky Chambers (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I was sold on this book by a friend promising me "It's a book where nothing happens, and I enjoyed the whole thing". It turns out that assessment was, in very broad strokes, pretty damn accurate. I've enjoyed books where less happens (such as Kazuo I ...more
Sep 19, 2025 01:56PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joel Hunt rated a book it was amazing The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, Vol. 1: A Graphic Novel by Trí Vương	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I picked this up at Fan Expo Canada because I was so taken in by the delightful cover. I devoured the book that weekend, and it remains my favourite purchase (out of quite a few) from that entire weekend. 'The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn' is that perf ...more
Sep 19, 2025 01:50PM · like · see review
Aug 19, 2024 04:18PM · like

Joel Hunt liked Joanne's review of The Christmas Eve Murders:

The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright

"2.75 stars

I was kind of expecting a grander twist and for the explanation covering the reasons to be written with more interest, but the dialogue read quite choppy. The reveal was honestly anticlimactic, and I was disappointed by the red herring and " Read more of this review »

Joel Hunt liked CPE's review of The Christmas Eve Murders:

"Noelle Albright’s The Christmas Eve Murders is described as “hilarious and cosy” by the publishers. No, it’s not hilarious and I’m not sure that setting the novel in a pub on Christmas Eve, where everyone present, bar one woman, knows everyone else, " Read more of this review »

Joel Hunt and 4 other people liked Aïda Maria's review of The Christmas Eve Murders:

"I get that this is a genre now, cosy murder mysteries, but certain conversations with the relatives of the primary murder victim seemed so odd. As if they were already healing overnight instead of being completely dazed by losing a loved one."

Joel Hunt liked Imogen's review of The Christmas Eve Murders:

"I could see where this story was going, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was a very fast-paced read that I ended up flying through, but it was also quite flat as a mystery. The characters were all quite one-dimensional" Read more of this review »

Joel Hunt rated a book it was ok

The Christmas Eve Murders
by Noelle Albright

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I should preface this review by admitting that I'm not a huge reader of murder mysteries. I'm probably not Noelle Albright's target audience with this book, which is a fairly straightforward murder mystery including elements of humour and hints of ro I should preface this review by admitting that I'm not a huge reader of murder mysteries. I'm probably not Noelle Albright's target audience with this book, which is a fairly straightforward murder mystery including elements of humour and hints of romance.

However, I was very ready to enjoy it. I've become more interested in this genre lately, and was particularly curious about how the seasonal element would play into the story/tone. As it happens, that part was integrated fairly well - the bleakness of a particularly cold winter and the contrast of fun and games with family drama and unspoken secrets does make for a good backdrop for a murder story.

Fundamentally, though, my issue with this book is the characterisation of its cast. The characters are often stilted or one-note, and frequently behave in ways I simply couldn't believe any human being would act. I repeatedly found myself asking whether there were any humans in this story at all. Shortly after the murder, a couple of characters start discussing whether a ghost may have been responsible. This is a significant part of the story and is built up from early on by including rumours of a haunting at the pub and having one of the characters be an 'expert in the paranormal', and I don't think it's a terrible idea overall, but a whole page is dedicated to a couple of the characters bickering about different ghost movies while they stand next to the corpse of the victim, including lines like: "That one with Nicole Kidman is a good resource on the subject too."

I understand a bit of humour being sprinkled into otherwise dark and gritty stories, but the attempts throughout this book undercut the tone entirely. The comic relief characters act like they're out of a pantomime, while others seem to treat violent murder like a social faux pas. Loved ones of the victim are upset for a brief time and then default to a kind of 'Oh, if I find that pesky killer I'll give 'em what for' attitude, and our protagonist and the other leading detective character share smirks and eye-rolls as they hear the silly opinions of characters we're presumably supposed to laugh at.

Speaking of the supporting detective character, we're repeatedly told about how capable and professional he acts, yet he repeatedly makes baffling decisions which don't even seem essential for the plot. After the murder, he informs the characters that he'll need to interview them all privately in the next room, but then lets all of the others just sit and chat in their chosen groups of friends/relatives. If the murder was committed by a group, as at points we're lead to believe it has been, they'd have plenty of time to make sure their stories align. Several characters emerge from these interviews and proudly announce to the room that they have been declared innocent. The story does address this briefly later on, but I have no idea how any detective - professional or otherwise - can confidently tell someone they're innocent after just hearing their side of the story.

I also found the habit of Albright spelling out to us who might be the killer and why to be very tiresome. Yes, sometimes it's useful for our protagonist to explicitly think a particular character might be dangerous and to act accordingly around them, and often a murder mystery needs to foster that sense that anyone could be responsible, but this just felt like instead of being allowed to put pieces together ourselves, we were being given a checklist. 'Have you considered that it could be this character and maybe they're not as innocent as they seem?' Leave that to us please. By all means point out a possible motive or raise some doubt on a statement, but I don't personally want to be force-fed the possible outcomes of a mystery while it's still developing. Authors should trust readers to pick up on these hints and clues, and if the answer is too obvious without having your narrator throw out a bunch of red herrings, maybe go back and rethink how you're presenting your mystery.

Finally a very minor point, but there were a lot of references to the protagonist's Scottish heritage, and how she couldn't show emotion because of her Scottish parents. Eg. "Regardless of what her Scottish parents would think of the outburst that was about to come, Maddie couldn't help herself". This comes up over and over again. I really don't know why it was necessary, and it strikes me as having a very stereotyped view of Scotland and Scottish people. After all, in the quote above (page 92, and I think the third reference to her parents disapproving of emotional outbursts), why couldn't it just be "Regardless of what her parents would think"? We already know she and her parents are Scottish. That's established in the first few pages. We even learn what part of Scotland each of her parents is from. Why is it so important to reassert their Scottishness every time the topic of emotion comes up? I found it quite strange.

Overall, this was unfortunately a bit of a chore to get through. The mystery itself is okay and I can imagine people being satisfied with it if you enjoy the genre and aren't looking for anything ground-breaking, but definitely don't come to this looking for a great cast of interesting and multifaceted characters. (I guess Curtis is alright) ...more

Joel Hunt rated a book it was amazing

England on Fire: A Visual Journey through Albion's Psychic Landscape
by Stephen Ellcock

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As a Brit with very little artistic knowledge but an increasing interest in British and English culture, this book was an absolute joy to experience. The art - of all sorts of mediums - was consistently fascinating, intriguing, impressive and creativ As a Brit with very little artistic knowledge but an increasing interest in British and English culture, this book was an absolute joy to experience. The art - of all sorts of mediums - was consistently fascinating, intriguing, impressive and creative, and the juxtaposition of various pieces together on the page (or the double-page spread) brought more out of them than if they were experienced in isolation. The pieces are very clearly credited, and I've come away from this book with numerous other rabbitholes to tumble down, including whole collections which we glimpse snippets of within these pages.

The art is split thematically, which gives a sense of narrative cohesion to the book, aided by Mat Osman's fantastic prose, with each section prefaced by a loose but ongoing narrative exploration of England from its wild pre-history up to the eclectic and diverse modern day. We as readers are taken on a tour of the change that England has seen throughout its deep and often untold history.

If I have any critique of this book, it's that some of the pieces we're shown come with very little context, while others get a paragraph or two explaining the origin/the artist and other relevant information. This isn't a deal-breaker, because there's something to be said about letting the art speak for itself and the minimalist presentation on the page (often simply two or three images with annotations for the title/artist/date/medium), rather than crowding out the artwork with needless blocks of text. However, some of the pieces are so intriguing and curious that it seems a shame not to get some manner of insight into them. Given the strong theming of each section/chapter, I'm curious about some of the choices made about which pieces to include or place side-by-side. If Stephen Ellcock and Mat Osman were to join forces again for a future book of a similar vein, perhaps a bit more insight into the choices made of what to include would be enjoyable to have.

Otherwise, this was a brilliant experience and I'm very pleased I picked it up from my local independent (Five Leaves Bookshop in Nottingham). Great selection of artwork, excellent accompanying narrative/context and a very high quality book that's simply beautiful to look at. Highly recommend to anyone interested in art or in British or English culture. ...more

Joel Hunt rated a book it was amazing

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)
by Becky Chambers (Goodreads Author)

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I was sold on this book by a friend promising me "It's a book where nothing happens, and I enjoyed the whole thing". It turns out that assessment was, in very broad strokes, pretty damn accurate. I've enjoyed books where less happens (such as Kazuo I ...more

Joel Hunt rated a book it was amazing

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, Vol. 1 by Trí Vương

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, Vol. 1: A Graphic Novel
by Trí Vương

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I picked this up at Fan Expo Canada because I was so taken in by the delightful cover. I devoured the book that weekend, and it remains my favourite purchase (out of quite a few) from that entire weekend.

'The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn' is that perf ...more

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	Forgotten Ones: Drabbles of Myth and Legend by Alanna Robertson-Webb (Editor), Michelle River (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Nick Moorefox (Contributor) 4.24 avg rating — 50 ratings — published 2020 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Worlds (Dark Drabbles, #1) by D. Kershaw (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Andrew Anderson (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Becky Benishek (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.62 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2019 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Angels (Dark Drabbles, #2) by D. Kershaw (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Andrew Anderson (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Alanah Andrews (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.38 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 2019 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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