I've had The Psychology of Time Travel on my wishlist since reviews of it started appearing on blogs a while ago. A time travel story populated almost exclusively with women, and it's a mystery to boot? Yes please! I was gripped from the beginning. I especially loved the way in which time travel develops into an industry complete with its own psychometric tests, slang and cliques.

Did not finish. Got 80 pages in and realised it had taken me a week to get that point, so I decided to stop. It's reasonably well written but there's no sense of place or history, which is odd for a historical novel! I moved on to issue 1 of the The Good Journal (edited by Nikesh Shukla) and enjoyed it much more.

Another literary trip to Belgium before our real life trip. This is a short, odd novel set (I think) in the 1970s, about a young Flemish boy observing various people around him as they go about their lives and sometimes talk about the war. And not much else. There are some nice turns of phrase, though.

I couldn't wait to buy the paperback of this so I raced through a library copy in 2 days. I absolutely loved it (although The Long Way... is still my favourite in this series) and am so full of admiration for Becky Chambers's writing talents!

I'm not quite sure what to make of this, Sarah Perry's debut novel. It's beautifully written in a lingering, haunting way, but with a protoganist I didn't particularly care for and a random assortment of characters who you only get to know in brief glimpses. There's enough of a mystery to keep me reading to the end, and I can't resist a wonderfully turned-out phrase, which Perry delivers fairly frequently! I much prefer The Essex Serpent, though.

I'm a huge Clarke fan so I was expecting big things from this collaboration, but it didn't really work for me. It gets off to a good start with some interesting characters and relationships, and there are lots of huge, amazing ideas as the WormCam technology - which lets you watch past events from any point in time - develops and becomes used for various purposes, but I found that I was slogging through most of the book rather than enjoying it.

I thoroughly enjoyed tearing through this sequel to the excellent How To Build A Girl in the space of a few days. How To Be Famous is a hilarious and sad love letter to teenage girls, music and fighting back in the face of disaster, all set at the time that Britpop first exploded onto the scene. As someone who had posters of all of the 90s boy/indie bands on my teenage bedroom walls, it was also quite a nostalgic read!

A near-future US besieged by rising seas is in a second civil war between north and south. A southern girl is radicalised to terrorism, with consequences for the country. I appreciated the intention of the author to show that this can happen to anyone, anywhere, and not just in 'brown' countries. You're not meant to like the protoganist - just understand her. It's well-written but depressing - it's too much of a reflection of the real world!

Another Belgium-set novel, this time with a wartime plot about the WW2 resistance movement in the country and an illicit romance. I've never read any Anita Shreve before, but I really liked this. She has quite a detailed, intense way of writing.

I loved Circe. I don't know much about the ancient Greeks and their gods, so I enjoyed finding out more about them in the context of a compelling personal story. The writing is great - descriptive without going over the top, which I appreciated!

Probably the only thing that lets the novel down ever so slightly is the pacing. I felt that it slowed a bit in the middle and towards the end, but the writing is so good I didn't mind too much.

We're going to Belgium in September, so I've got a few Belgium-based reads to get through before then. This historical novel is set in 15th century Paris and Brussels and revolves around the weaving of the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. It's quite enjoyable and a nice quick read if you don't want anything too heavy, while also learning about the intricacies of medieval weaving!

This is a very enjoyable collection of short stories inspired by Arthur C Clarke, all precisely 2,001 words long. There were a couple that I didn't quite understand, but overall this is an excellent book for fans of Clarke and science fiction in general!

I quite enjoyed this, but felt it was lacking something. Perhaps a bit more of an emotional struggle? Every problem was solved so quickly and easily! Still, it was good fun to read.

I enjoyed this! Water & Glass follows a scientist on a submarine in a near future setting where climate change has finally flooded most of the Earth. She looks after the animals onboard and uncovers secrets while we flash back to find out why she's there. Less sciencey than it sounds with a refreshingly simple writing style. This was a free review copy via LibraryThing, too!

This is Viv Albertine's (of The Slits) second memoir. This one is all about her relationships with her family and how they've shaped her over the years, with The Slits only getting the odd mention here and there. It's just as funny and honest as Clothes, Music, Boys. I did find parts of it quite emotionally hard to read, but I think most readers will - after all, no one's family is perfect!

What a fantastic end to a brilliant trilogy! Liveship was even better than I remembered overall, if not a bit wordy. Going to take a break from Hobb for a bit before starting my Tawny Man re-read.

Not as good as Me Before You, but still fairly enjoyable. Louisa Clark really does lead an action-packed if not fairly random life!

It's still nice to be reacquainting myself with Bingtown, the Rain Wilds and the Pirate Isles, but it's taking a while! It feels like it's taken months to read the 900+ pages of The Mad Ship. Good job it's a cracking book.

This is an interesting novella told from the point of view of a woman with depression who travels with her vocal ensemble to a château on the continent for a major rehearsal. Faber's writing is great as always, but some parts of the story felt unfinished.

I'm 250 pages into my long overdue re-read of The Liveship Traders trilogy, and I can't believe I'd forgotten just how good it is! Robin Hobb is a genius.

This is such a brilliant novel, especially if you're also from a British Asian background and can find something to nod at on every other page! It's funny and heart-rending and full of joy. Highly recommended.

This was intriguing, but didn't quite deliver for me. Think The Handmaid's Tale but told from the point of view of an adopted Native American woman. One for those who are properly obsessed with dystopian fiction!

What a brilliant trilogy this has been! Stephen King can't really put a foot wrong for me. I'd recommend this series (starting with Mr Mercedes) for anyone who wants three gripping reads that aren't too long.

I feel like I've been struggling with this for months! It's okay, but I'm not in any rush to read the rest of the series any time soon. The style is odd, verging on nonsensical at times, and the narrator/other main characters aren't particularly likeable.

I loved this novel! It's set in Georgian London but reminds me a little of The Crimson Petal and the White. The characters are vividly drawn and there's a fair bit of humour, too. Highly recommended.

Now onto the third installment of my #RealmOfTheElderlings re-read. This is the third time I've read the #FarseerTrilogy and it's just as brilliant as the first time (which was a decade ago!).

This is such a wonderful novel. I absolutely loved it from start to finish. It's been a while since I've come across a protagonist as unique and engaging as Eleanor Oliphant. Highly, highly recommended!

Continuing my Fitz and the Fool re-read with one of my particular favourites - the one where Fitz meets Nighteyes, aka the best wolf in fiction! 🐺

Really enjoyed this - I'm impressed that it manages to explain complicated scientific concepts in such an easy to grasp way! Meg is also brilliant. I wish I'd read this as a child as I would have properly loved it!

This page inside A Wrinkle In Time reminds me of being a child and painstakingly writing my name inside the cover of every book I owned! Love that there's a special page for it here.

#awrinkleintime #puffinbooks #childrensbooks

Starting my reread of the three Fitz and the Fool trilogies before I finally read Assassin's Fate for the first time and find out how it all ends. These books are my favourite series by far and remain a benchmark for other fantasy writers, as far as I'm concerned!

I loved this - I've seen it described as Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day, and it's a very apt description! If you love a classic country house murder mystery but want something a bit different, this is definitely for you. Highly recommended.

This is a creepy, compelling neo-Victorian page-turner with a good dose of gothic storytelling.

I really enjoyed how the mysteries behind Elsie‘s past, the history of the house and the silent companions unfolded. I also found it interesting how the part of the book set in the 'present‘ deals with how women were perceived by the medical profession in the Victorian era.

#thesilentcompanions #laurapurcell #neovictorian #mystery #horror