“We used to live out there, among the stars,” he whispered. “That’s where we belong, not in those caverns. The kids who make fun of you, they’re trapped on this rock. Their heads are heads of rock, their hearts set upon rock. Set your sights on something higher. Something more grand.”
Category: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Red, White and Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston
“It’s about to be gay DEFCON five in this administration. For God’s sake, put some clothes on.”
Share this:
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, Abbi Waxman
There are people who have no time for books. Nina had met those people; usually they came into the bookstore to ask for directions and would then look about confusedly when they realized they were surrounded by these strange paper oblongs. Maybe they had rich fantasy lives, or maybe they were raised by starfish who had no access to dry printed material, who knows, but Nina judged them and felt guilty for doing so.
Share this:
Death in her Hands, Ottessa Moshfegh
“Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn’t me. Here is her dead body.”
Share this:
The Benefit of Hindsight, Susan Hill
As a series continues, they become increasingly difficult to review, don't you find? All the witty and intelligent comments you can think of you have used before! So, looking at The Benefit of Hindsight, have we got all the hallmarks of a Simon Serrailler novel? Has Lafferton been struck by a series of horrific crimes?… Continue reading The Benefit of Hindsight, Susan Hill
Share this:
Highfire, Eoin Colfer
The story of the last dragon who has survived by hiding in the Louisiana swamps with the alligators. He passes his day with cable TV and vodka martinis until his peace is destroyed by a tearaway Cajun boy and a crooked constable who is determined to kill them both.
Share this:
Deeplight, Frances Hardinge
Some writers just blow you away. The depth of their world-building, the vividness and humanity of their characters, the beauty of their language, the thoughtfulness - the philosophy - of their concept. Hardinge is definitely one of these writers. I was a little concerned picking up Deeplight, however much I adore Hardinge because her most… Continue reading Deeplight, Frances Hardinge
Share this:
10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World, Elif Shafak
I have sat on this book for a while since finishing reading it - partially as a result of workload; mainly because it, like The Heart's Invisible Furies and many others, is a book that deserved some time to settle and be absorbed before launching into a review. The novel revolves around a single character,… Continue reading 10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World, Elif Shafak
Share this:
The Trespasser, Tana French
I'd been saving this one up for the summer holidays when I have time to indulge it, not sneaking a half-hour read in late at night when I should be sleeping. I also wanted to head back to the beginning of the series, having started with The Secret Place, and catch up chronologically. And I… Continue reading The Trespasser, Tana French
Share this:
The Man Who Saw Everything, Deborah Levy
Disclaimer: Received from NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin, in exchange for an honest review. There are some novels which flow fluidly like a river. Others are curved and twisted. Others are very linear taking a route from inciting incident to resolution without a deviation. Others are shaped like a tree, branching and dividing but never… Continue reading The Man Who Saw Everything, Deborah Levy
Share this:
Wakenhyrst, Michelle Paver
This was my first Paver read having heard some good things about her, and it thrust me straight into a solid Gothic historical yarn with some genuinely creepy moments! The novel is perhaps misnamed: it focuses on the house Wake's End set beside the local fen, some three miles from the village of Wakenhyrst; and,… Continue reading Wakenhyrst, Michelle Paver
Share this:
The Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon
It is no secret that I love my fantasy. I cut my reading teeth on fantasy - thank you Tolkien and Eddings and so many others! I love the way that the freedom of a fantasy world can throw a light into the contemporary. I love the sheer fun and spectacle that can come with… Continue reading The Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon
Share this:
Lost Acre, Andrew Caldecott
This is a deliciously quirky trilogy of novels! Many many things in the books, Rotherweird and Wyntertyde should not work, and yet they somehow do. Gosh! Wyntertyde had left us on a cliffhanger: a second mixing point was discovered; Bolitho was revealed as Fortemain and then dispatched; the vile Calx Bole had succeeded in resurrecting… Continue reading Lost Acre, Andrew Caldecott
Share this:
The Comforts of Home, Susan Hill
How does Simon Serrailler recover from a vicious assault at the hands of paedophiles, which left him on the verge of death? How does Serrailler manage his post-traumatic stress disorder? Entry number nine in Susan Hill's DCS Simon Serrailler series picks up where the previous novel, The Soul of Discretion, finishes: Serrailler is in hospital… Continue reading The Comforts of Home, Susan Hill
Share this:
The Pisces, Melissa Broder
Why is it that the words of female sexuality - and of female anatomy - are either rendered taboo or fetishised in our society ? Vagina. Clitoris. Vulva. Menstruation. Compared to "cock", there is a different quality in these words. A frisson of shock and challenge. And that is a frisson which Broder does not… Continue reading The Pisces, Melissa Broder
Share this:
The Rosie Result, Graeme Simsion
I’m not a person with autism any more than I’m a person with lesbianism. I’m lesbian. I’m autistic. When I get a cold, I have a cold; I’m a person with a cold and I want to get rid of it. Medical help appreciated. But being autistic and lesbian—that’s who I am, and I’m not interested in anyone trying to cure me of who I am.
Share this:
Edgedancer, Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson's Stormlight Archive and the wider Cosmere is a fabulous creation interweaving various worlds into a universe with a coherent and cohesive magic system... if magic be the right word for the investiture process which borders on the scientific. It is certainly more precise in application than most magical powers in fantasy. As a rule,… Continue reading Edgedancer, Brandon Sanderson
Share this:
Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami
There are some books you want to love so much, but which - for some reason - you cannot. There's a barrier between you and what you think you should feel about the book. And this is one of those books. There is so much about it that chimed wonderfully with all the things I… Continue reading Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami
Share this:
The Mitford Murders, Jessica Fellowes
What a classy cover! Don't be judging a book by its cover, but even so... classy! I want to describe it as being in an art deco style but I'm not entirely sure what that term means... Similarly classy is the pedigree of the author: Jessica Fellowes is a well renowned journalist and editor; she… Continue reading The Mitford Murders, Jessica Fellowes
Share this:
A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?The Sign of Four, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle I often find - as I mentioned in my previous post - a post-Christmas lull in my reading. The cold dark days of January, which this year… Continue reading A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Share this:
Rotherweird and Wyntertyde, Andrew Caldecott
Of coracles and crosswords... You know what they say about judging books by their covers? Well, I did with these because they are lovely lovely covers! I was also aware of Caldecott, a respected QC in media law with a string of high profile cases to his name - and what appeared to be a… Continue reading Rotherweird and Wyntertyde, Andrew Caldecott
Share this:
Normal People, Sally Rooney
Normal People. Are people normal? I don't think so. I think we are weird and strange and contradictory and self-contradictory and life primarily in delusions and bubbles of pretense and make-believe. But maybe that's me! "Normal" seems like a slur... So the point is, I'm not entirely sure what drew me to this book: it… Continue reading Normal People, Sally Rooney
Share this:
Lies Sleeping, Ben Aaronovitch
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Rivers of London series as a fresh urban fantasy - and all the freedoms and inventiveness which comes with that - merged with the familiar structures and language of a police procedural. In the previous book, The Hanging Tree, Aaronovitch finally reveals the identity of The Faceless Man, the antagonist… Continue reading Lies Sleeping, Ben Aaronovitch
Share this:
The Winter of the Witch, Katherine Arden
Disclaimer: I was provided with an ARC / Proof Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. How exciting! My first ARC review! My first ARC review! My first ARC review! This is the third in Arden's Winternight Trilogy which commenced with The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower,… Continue reading The Winter of the Witch, Katherine Arden
Share this:
Snap, Belinda Bauer
It's that time of year again, the Man Booker Longlist has been released and I do try to keep.up to date with them - as I do with the Costa and Women's Prize lists. Sometimes they can be a bit hit-and-miss, sometimes a little pretentious, but generally a good addition to my TBR list and… Continue reading Snap, Belinda Bauer
The Book Lovers' Sanctuary 
You must be logged in to post a comment.