Visceral, brutal and raw. One of the most remarkable war novels I have ever read.

The awkward English cousin to gone with the wind (character wise). With such underdeveloped characters du Maurier would have needed a phenomenal plot. However, the last third feels sloppy and underwhelming.

"War is not a polite recreation but the vilest thing in life, and we ought to understand that and not play at war."

The decision to sacrifice plot development for excessive romantic drama was the worst decision Maas made. What could have been used to make me care about most of these characters instead became a great source of tedium. For a book which had a great set up it completely fell flat. The convenience of certain characters showing up in the final battle had me rolling my eyes.

"There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them."

Happy 20th Birthday to the book which took over my life ?

"He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking."

#love #romance #russianclassic #quote

The trick is to keep breathing is a Scottish classic detailing the breakdown of a young teacher, Joy Stone. The novel revolves around the theme of normality and what it takes to appear normal even when things are falling apart around you.

Galloway does not shy away or glamorise depression. Furthermore, there is a beautiful strength and hopefulness to the novel.

#depression #mentalhealth #recovery #hope #strength

"If only there could be an invention that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again."

#thriller #mystery #gothic #daphnedemaurier #classic #reading #currentlyreading

Suspenseful and uncomfortable this harrowing tale is ultimately undermined by lacklustre writing. The suspense itself is more in the heroine's discovery of the mystery and her safety than the actual mystery itself. Moreover, the ending appears too definitive and quick.

#suspense #thriller #gothic #reading #review #fairytales #novella #mystery

My next read is .. Rebecca (I've put this off for years 😂).

Working as a companion to a bitter elderly lady, the timid heroine of Rebecca learns her place. Life is bleak until, on a trip to the south of France, she falls in love with Maxim de Winter, a handsome widower whose proposal takes her by surprise. Whisked away to his isolated estate she begins to realise she barley knows him at all.

#thriller #suspense #mystery #love #romance #tbr

"Don't become the object of affection. It's dangerous. Certain men want to possess you entirely. Men will do anything to satisfy their desires and this can lead men down paths they are powerless to to resist."

#love #obsession #book #reading #thriller #bookworm #booklover #beautifulcover #bibliophile

Wonderful and witty this novel would be the perfect cosy read if it were not for the underlying melancholy. That is not to say that it isn't thoroughly enjoyable, but you may not leave this novel with the lighthearted flourish that you would pride and prejudice. Nevertheless, the novel's narrator, Fanny, is sharp and engrossing offering a casual fluency to the story making it easy to forget that Fanny is merely an illusion crafted by Mitford.

Totalling in at 845 pages the crimson petal and the white is a tidal wave of scrumptious detail and biting criticism. It begins with a teasing, omniscient narrator leading us through the streets of London pointing out the depravity which so often is left unsaid in many Victorian novels. The writing is astounding and immense detail saturates every page. Yet, it is the interwoven Victorian tropes such as the mad wife that make this novel.