Goodness this one hits hard. Dystopian fiction that feels not many miles from our reality. I‘ve always enjoyed dystopian fiction but this is bleak; watching Eilish‘s normal life unravel, the decisions made too late, her desperate attempts to protect her children from the state. The questioning as to how you would respond to these circumstances. An extremely powerful way to tell a terrifying story💔

The writing is beautiful. I immediately took to the narrator‘s voice and its unusual detached feel. But maybe because of that detachment I wasn‘t immediately emotionally invested. However as the story moved on I became gripped, and also sad and distressed at the fate of Sashi and those around her. The second half was excellent; the final pages such an angry yet reflective look back on the war, that it fully won me over, as did the author‘s note.

Like the author‘s debut novel - Girl A - this cannot be described as a pleasant, easy read, but it is compelling. A school shooting in the Lake District leads to “truthers” and conspiracy theorists questioning whether it ever really happened. Sadness abounds, secrets slowly emerge. This isn‘t easy reading, but it is timely/zeitgeisty and is page-turningly, can‘t-look-away good.

This has everything I usually love in a book…and yet, I didn‘t love it. I have no idea why really. Wrong timing? I know nothing about Our Town, the play the story centres around (but I never want to read about Emily or the Stage Manager again), I felt nothing much for the characters and just felt distanced from the whole thing. In fact I nearly gave up. The last 50 pages or so kind of won me round but I still feel ambivalent.

I really enjoyed this. An artist couple living in isolation on Cape Cod (the real life artists Jo and Edward Hopper) get drawn into the lives of two boys and the extended family. The boys are heartbreaking and delightful; I loved seeing artist Mr Aitch get drawn out of himself by them. I pretty much hated everyone else, but in the best bookish way. There‘s a lot not told, it‘s left to the reader to interpret. It‘s slow, thoughtful and gentle.

This is page-turningly unpleasant, depicts perfectly the mundanity and awfulness of school and teen bullying, brilliantly reflects a Leave-voting town and its hierarchy and residents. Yet I also had issues with it. The pages and pages of the minutiae of teen lives was too much, the characters within the town were so obvious it must have been intentional but felt clunky to me. Yet despite those issues, overall this was an intriguing read 👇

William Thornhill makes a mistake and is shipped to Australia. He and his fellow settlers face up to life on colonised land, as slowly those indigenous to the land push back against them. There‘s a terrible sense of the inevitable, a deep frustration towards the settlers ignorance, a foreboding of what we know must come to pass. I found this incredibly well told and the tension mounts perfectly but to a really awful ending; you can‘t look away.

“Full of big ideas and marvellously peculiar characters.” Oh I did love this. It was quiet, gentle, crazy, peculiar, completely absorbing. I fell hard for all those characters and it broke my heart 🐍

I‘d heard good things about this but didn‘t actually know what it was about and went in blind. Ooof, it was NOT what I thought it would be. I got a really great, intriguing, interesting (yet unpleasant and unsettling) story with another layer unfolding just as I thought I‘d got the better of the plot line. I‘m going to say I thought some elements of Sally were perhaps a little heavy handed, however niggles aside this was a great read.

What a lovely, sad, well-told story. Anh and her two younger brothers are sent away from Vietnam with the rest of the family to follow later. Yet only Anh and her brothers make it and from there they move from refugee camp to camp, before finally being resettled in 1980s Britain. I loved every bit of it; the compassionate storytelling, the clean, clear writing and the simply told and unflinching look at the refugee experience.

A lovely book, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I do love a good family saga. This had a similar quiet quirkiness of an Ann Tyler novel (always a good thing). The Little Women analogy was generally lost on me and, I think, unnecessary and occasionally it tipped into being saccharine, but I‘m always hyper-critical of anything being too sweet, so that‘s on me. The final chapters nearly broke me.

A reread, almost 30-years to the day that I last read it for A-Level English Literature. Wanted to reread before Sandra Newman‘s retelling, Julia. I loved it then and I loved it again now. Can I feel another Orwell deep dive coming on?

“The quick anger of these men was not useful.” I do love a retelling and this one - or rather, an “untelling” - is a good one. For what happens before Romeo meets Juliet? What passes between Romeo and fair Rosaline? Here we find out in all its gory, unpleasant detail. I‘m coming at this as a lover of historical fiction, not a Shakespeare scholar. In that context, great as a retelling, equally good as standalone historical fiction.

Hmm, on paper everything about this was my sort of book. A close knit family, secrets slowly emerging… Yet something was just a bit off about it. I never quite felt absorbed by the characters, and actively disliked matriarch Margo; I just could not get past her constant self-absorption and didn‘t buy into the great Richard-Margo love affair that the entire story centres around. It‘s readable but forgettable I‘m afraid…

This got off to an excellent start and I was completely gripped. I do love a good courtroom drama. I enjoyed the switching perspectives and differing timelines too. However! There is a but (see comments). And so, once those doubts hit me, it threw me off and I didn‘t quite get back on track. Still a great rollercoaster of a story however…

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of Helena‘s growing love for Greece in the late 60s and 70s, combined with her fear of her Greek grandfather and the slow unravelling of his life and past, intertwined with her growing knowledge of archaeology and appropriation. Easy reading, interesting and completely transports you to Athens and the Greek islands - perfect reading for a sunny end of August weekend.

A plane crashes, survivors are trapped in it, it sinks into the ocean, where IT LANDS ON THE VERY EDGE OF A SEA CLIFF. With barely any oxygen left. Goodness me, despite being fiction, this is as claustrophobic and terrifying as it sounds, I could barely breathe. I survived it, but was on high alert for every one of the 287 pages and now need a lie down. If you like that vibe, definitely read it, it‘s faced paced and well written.

I really enjoyed the premise of this story, and there were parts I whizzed through, but overall I found it long and at times difficult to follow, and very nearly gave up. Similar to how I felt about Wolf Hall in fact. I think this was a little too literary for me and I‘m disappointed as it‘s a story I wanted to hear. I deliberated but am giving it a light pick as I appreciated the quality of writing. Moving on…

Not my usual genre, but I really enjoyed this. No eye-rolling, as there often is, just a gripping story that I fully bought into.

Very readable, often intriguing, however this also left me a little puzzled. At times it was a family drama, others a coming of age story, it touched on dystopia, and was also quite science-y. Overall I liked it; I enjoyed the writing which had a quiet gentleness to it, “an elegance”, I‘ve seen it described as. I came away sad and feeling slightly muddled, thinking a lot, which isn‘t a bad thing.

This follows Min as he struggles to understand his girlfriend Yu-Jin‘s apparent suicide, alternating with chapters from Yu-Jin‘s perspective. The style worked here, I enjoyed the slow unfolding of Yu-Jin‘s story and the pressures she was under. I loved returning to Korea, this time Seoul. My only complaint is that it was so very slow I became impatient with it at times but overall, despite the subject, a sweet, quiet, gentle read.

Once again reading retellings of classics, but wait! I have actually read and enjoyed Jane Eyre. As the title suggests, this is the story from Edward‘s perspective. We meet him as a young boy, and follow him up to and through the story we know of him meeting and falling in love with Jane. Your heart will break for him as a boy, you may dislike him as a young man, he may/may not redeem himself; thoroughly enjoyed it.

A book group read; I really liked this lovely, sad, sweet book. I will always fall for a mother/son trope; this one had me 😭

A gripping, page-turning read on first impressions; think 24 vibes, it was going well. However there was eye-rolling and definite overuse of the word evil. Then about two thirds in it takes an unexpected turn and I was like, WHAT book am I now reading?! Not the book I wanted to read! I kept reading - the final section tries to pull it around - and it was gripping in parts, but overall mixed feelings and that “twist” was just bizarre 👇

I don‘t know why I do this. I cannot do clutzy/chaotic girl + dashing/surly man. I eye roll more than swoon, and I cannot do the weird possessive/borderline aggressive vibe that just doesn‘t feel ok. It‘s my own fault, I should know better, I‘ve been here before. Bailing at 100 pages (only got that far because it was all I had to read on the train 😳).

This was a tough one. It is very literary, I had to really pay attention. It covers a complex period in Palestinian history which I knew little about and rightly the author doesn‘t hand this to you on a plate. It is also a touching love story and family saga and I was really absorbed by those elements. It had the odd effect of being both hard work and relaxing. I persevered and I‘m glad I did as I feel a sense of achievement and I‘ve learned a lot

So this was making me eye roll a little (still being book-grumpy) and I was on the verge of putting it aside. Then it turned somewhat ridiculous, but actually that snapped me back into it and I ended up being quite moved by it. Still a bit ambivalent about it in parts, but also moved. Ambivalently moved? 😆 A light pick for me.

This is solid historical fiction and I particularly enjoyed the first half; watching young Marta emerge from poverty to become Peter the Great‘s wife Catherine, the Empress of Russia. The story would be unbelievable were it not true. I admit however that I did tire of the second half; there‘s only so much constant war, mistresses, brutal murders and doomed pregnancies I felt able to take!

I don‘t read a lot of Jodi Picoult these days, I feel like I‘ve grown out of her writing style. However this was just what I needed right now - easy, gripping, a great twist, treated with an overall sensitivity. Can‘t say much more without spoiling! I also very much liked the background to the two authors co-writing this book, and feel that was very much the right decision for this particular book too.

An immediately absorbing story, but in the large part it was unremittingly bleak. I like bleak, but this was very bleak. With echoes of Where the Crawdads Sing, Victoria is left unmoored by the death of her mother aged 12, left in a household of men who expect her to assume her mother‘s role. When she falls in love with Wilson Moon things unravel. My book group loved this. I enjoyed it but also had some niggles, not sure if I‘m being overly picky…

The first half I loved. A dystopian future; the world building was great, I loved the characters. And then it swerved and I start thinking WHAT am I reading? I can‘t say more without spoiling, but all eventually becomes clear. Well, kind of. The problem was by then it‘d lost me somewhat and I feel like I just drifted to the end. I confess some of my struggle was that I just didn‘t really get the twist 👇

Oh no, am I headed for a book slump? Reading this I liked the writing, appreciated the story, yet remained on the surface, not that interested, skim reading parts, although loving the cover. With this one, I‘m not sure whether it‘s me or the book 🤷‍♀️. After deliberating I‘m giving it a light pick, as I suspect it‘s me!

Love the title, love the cover, love the premise. Elements of this I really liked, but something was holding me back. I think sadly it suffered from being read straight after my last read which I loved and couldn‘t stop thinking about, yet at the same time it‘s a lovely, bittersweet story of love, yearning and the passage of time.

In the most part I loved this. Such a sad, messy, heartbreaking story of a family unravelling, and why. Told from 4 different perspectives in turn, you don‘t always get the full story, the closure you want, but I loved the twists and turns on the previous perspectives. Both very easy to read, yet one where you need to keep your wits about you! The final 100 pages or so where the pace really ramps up were brilliant and I really loved the ending.

Investing fully in Bridgerton fever and bridging (ha!) the gap between the new season with this…(Confession, my enthusiasm for the books is waning. Book five was dreadful, and I had issues with some of this one too. Maybe time to leave it to the TV show, which does it so much better?)

If you feel like the current spate of romance novels give you all the cheesy eye-rolls, my prescription…this book. It really is quite lovely and is as much about the love of friends as romantic love, the friends who hold you close and keep you safe.

Just a few pages in that magic book-chemistry was there and I was instantly absorbed into this epic family saga centred around the family estate of Parambil in Kerala, India. The story spans 1900 - 1977, across three generations, many of whom suffer the mysterious “Condition” which makes them avoid water, at risk of drowning. There are so many threads and strands here, such a sad but beautiful story, I loved it.

The first half felt like I was in the bar on Tatooine in Star Wars, with the crazy music and different species, and that was NOT the book I wanted to read! I stuck with it and ultimately became quite fond of the characters of the Wayfarer tunnelling ship as they made their way through space. It was actually quite a gentle, sensitive read, once I got past the beginning. That said it felt quite simplistic, perhaps YA, and overall I didn‘t love it

So good, I loved every bit of this despite the toe-curling, car-crash in slow motion. You will love to hate June and her petulant indignation at what befalls her. The author wrote June so well, and forces discomfort in the reader. Funny, gossipy, snarky and very knowing; great fun yet dealing with serious and very current issues including cultural appropriation, own voices and who gets to tell a story.

LOVED it. By the time Violet‘s dragon bonded her, I was IN. Dragons, magic, numerous gruesome deaths, a bit of daft “sizzling” tension, great fun. I‘m all for the easy reads right now.

A great read that I gulped down in two days (in the garden in the sunshine, what a treat). Three stories about three women across three very different times, with the thread of witchcraft running through each. I enjoyed each story, more so as the connections slowly emerged. I don‘t always enjoy the back and forth style of a dual/multiple timeline, but here it worked perfectly 🐦‍⬛

Oh I‘m really not sure about this one. A murder mystery amongst the wealthy elite of London, with a working class detective tasked to solve it. The blurb says it‘s a satire, but…I found it a little obvious, and more caricature than satire. And the daft character names drove me insane. I did finish it, and I did get drawn into the story, but overall there were too many loose ends and it‘s one I won‘t remember.

This is a fictional take on the three Brontë sisters‘ upbringing in Haworth, told from Emily‘s perspective. This really does have the bleakness of her novel; the illnesses that plagued the family, their inability to hold down suitable work. At times this was quite hard to read; I didn‘t particularly like Emily, nor Charlotte, yet it left me incredibly moved and by the ending I was almost distraught 👇

I said I wasn‘t doing this, yet here I am. As always, late to the popularity party 😆. And do you know what, I enjoyed it. Book snobbery aside (there was eye rolling, of course) it‘s a page turner, very quick and easy reading, with a nicely creepy dark side. Yes it‘s daft, but you‘re not going into it looking for a Booker finalist. It was just what I wanted to read right now. I might even go for another, who‘d have thought.

Gaunt and Elwood meet at boarding school. Gaunt taciturn, a boxer. Elwood beautiful, a poet. They adore each other but will not say it. Then the First World War happens and their lives split and collide. Did I need another book about WWI? I did not. Do I like First World War poetry? I do not. Did I love this book anyway? I did indeed. The most beautiful story of hidden love, friendship, privilege and class.

A sinister murder mystery in the Adelaide hills in 1959 combines with modern day Jess dashing back to Sydney from London to be with her ailing grandmother, whilst slowly trying to unravel the decades old mystery. As much about family, homesickness and belonging as the mystery at its heart; perfect, compulsive easy reading. I‘d steered away from this author for a while as I tired of her dual-timeline style, but very much enjoyed coming back.

An explanation to the backdrop of my last post; we just got back from New York! New York Littens, we fell hard for your city ❤️. It was a jam-packed trip - the first visit for our two teenagers - but I managed a *little* book shopping. I was disappointed with Barnes and Noble, but the lovely Books are Magic in Brooklyn made up for that; I spent a wonderful hour or two browsing and buying, so absorbed I missed the earthquake!

A perfect holiday book; sharp, snappy, instantly absorbing yet easy to dip in and out of. This had all the elements I might have disliked in a romance; it‘s super cheesy, somewhat unbelievable, eye-rolling dialogue at times. Yet at the same time it just worked and I loved all those things too. I love Curtis Sittenfeld and kind of think she‘s a smarter, more knowing Anne Tyler. Her writing has that simplicity, yet she gets right to the crux of it.

Written in the 1940s about the lives of the 4 well to-do Makioka sisters this had all the elements of translated Japanese fiction I enjoy; the gentle style, the formality with which people address each other, the need for rules, politeness and order. And yet, this was just so incredibly slow. Even the drama unfolds painfully slowly. At first I settled into the pace, but around 300 pages in I was getting impatient and it was a struggle to finish.

Marion is born a conjoined twin in Addis Ababa. Family life gets off to a very rough start and from there we follow his life, to adulthood and onwards to New York. The joy of this book is the family love and complexities, against the background of troubled Ethiopia, its own complexities, and its medical world. In summary, I loved this when I first read it 10 years ago, and I then loved it again. Be warned, it will break your heart.