⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 What can I say about Shuggie, this young lad from Glasgow who will now be forever in my heart? This story is about Shuggie and his family, and in particular the impact of his mother's alcoholism on her and her family. Abandoned by their father, life for Shuggie and his family is a … Continue reading Book Review: Shuggie Bain – Douglas Stuart
Book Review: The Walking People – Mary Beth Keane
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 When I got the opportunity to read The Walking People, I was really excited as loved Mary Beth Keane's Ask Again, Yes. As with that novel, there are layers of family history in The Walking People, as we follow the central characters from their roots in Ireland to start a new life in … Continue reading Book Review: The Walking People – Mary Beth Keane
Book Review: The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone – Felicity McLean
⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 The Van Apfel Girls are Gone is a really atmospheric book, set during a blazing summer in 80s Australia. You can just feel the heat and sweat dripping off the pages, and smell the stench of the valley. While these descriptions evoke such a strong sense of place and make this quite a … Continue reading Book Review: The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone – Felicity McLean
Blog Tour: This Green and Pleasant Land – Ayisha Malik
This Green and Pleasant Land is a charming book about community, and in particular what that means in modern-day, multicultural Britain. The novel begins with a series of big changes in Bilal Hasham's life: his mother has just died, his elderly Aunt Rukhsana has just come to live with him, and his marriage is going through … Continue reading Blog Tour: This Green and Pleasant Land – Ayisha Malik
Book Review: There You Are – Mathea Morais
There You Are is a novel that has been on my to read list for a while, and I'm so pleased that I picked it up this summer. There You Are is a powerful novel, with extremely memorable characters and important reflections on race relations in America. Octavian Munroe and Mina Rose fall in love … Continue reading Book Review: There You Are – Mathea Morais
Review: Sisters – Daisy Johnson
Sisters is the new novel from Daisy Johnson, the Booker shortlisted author of Everything Under. It is an eerily beautiful Gothic novel about family bonds, and in particular the strong sibling connection between sisters September and July. Johnson encapsulates so much in this concise novel; it is a family drama, a coming of age novel, … Continue reading Review: Sisters – Daisy Johnson
Blog Tour: The Jane Austen Society – Natalie Jenner
When I first heard about The Jane Austen Society, I knew it sounded like exactly what I was looking for right now - a story about village life, community and the love of reading. It is set in the 1940s in the village of Chawton in Hampshire, where Jane Austen lived for several years. I grew … Continue reading Blog Tour: The Jane Austen Society – Natalie Jenner
March and April: That’s a Wrap!
So it's fair to say that reading and blogging has felt a bit different over the last few months, like most things! In some ways, it has been quite freeing - since at the moment I sometimes find myself completely struggling to get into a new book, I gave myself full license to just read … Continue reading March and April: That’s a Wrap!
Review: She-Clown and Other Stories – Hannah Vincent
I absolutely love short stories, and this fierce, feminist collection is an absolute winner! It has been a little while since I got properly stuck into a short story collection, and after I'd written reams of notes about the first story (which is about 6 pages long), I remembered why a good short story is … Continue reading Review: She-Clown and Other Stories – Hannah Vincent
February: That’s a Wrap!
This is very much a case of 'better late than never'! Although we're now well into March, here are the books that I read in February... It was a good old mix of fiction and non-fiction, new recommendations and books that have been on my list for a while. The Animals at Lockwood Manor, by … Continue reading February: That’s a Wrap!
