Gone: A Girl, A Violin, A Life Unstrung by Min Kym

This book was one of the few review copies I have been accepting recently, and I'm glad I decided to read and review it, because it's something a little different - but once I got into it I realised it actually is the sort of thing I like. Gone: A Girl, A Violin, A Life… Continue reading Gone: A Girl, A Violin, A Life Unstrung by Min Kym

The Witchfinder’s Sister by Beth Underdown

I have read a couple of books about English witch trials, and the history of why they happened, so this book wasn't entirely new ground for me - but is certainly an original take on the period the events. The Witchfinder's Sister gives the infamous Matthew Hopkins a fictional sister in the form of Alice,… Continue reading The Witchfinder’s Sister by Beth Underdown

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

See What I Have Done is one of those books that gets an awful lot of hype and press, and often this puts me off for some reason - but in this case it is entirely deserved and I couldn't be happier to see promos and reviews all over social media. I read a proof… Continue reading See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

The Good People by Hannah Kent

Like many readers I loved Hannah Kent's first novel Burial Rites (2013), so I had high expectations for The Good People. Like its predecessor it is set in the first half of the 19th century, this time in 1820s Ireland. Also like Burial Rites, it features unhappy women as its central characters. The blurb dedicates… Continue reading The Good People by Hannah Kent

The Ice Child by Camilla Lackberg

I have to admit this book was an impulse purchase. In Waitrose. But I just really felt like some slightly generic crime, and The Ice Child fulfilled that wish. It is part of a series of books about Detective Patrik Hedström and his wife Erica, who is a writer, who both just happen to get… Continue reading The Ice Child by Camilla Lackberg

WWW Wednesday, 1st March 2017

I've only participated in WWW Wednesday once before, and that was ages ago, so I felt like giving it another try. The idea is to post three things: What you most recently finished reading What you are currently reading What you will read next Hence 'WWW'! So here goes: What I recently finished reading: The Handmaid's… Continue reading WWW Wednesday, 1st March 2017

In Which I Finally Read The Handmaid’s Tale

There are always books that one means to read, that 'should' be read - and for me one of them was The Handmaid's Tale. It was published before I was even born, so it has always been popular, always been revered in my experience. This book was always on my list, always something I thought… Continue reading In Which I Finally Read The Handmaid’s Tale

Looking back on the books of 2016

This is another overdue blog post, but one that I've really been looking forward to writing. I read 31 books in 2016, of varying quality, but overall it was a good reading year. I tried to branch out, accepting a total of eight review copies from publishers - which is a lot for me these… Continue reading Looking back on the books of 2016

A little update!

Hello dear readers! My apologies for my absence. Life has been a wee bit crazy in the last month or so, but we have finally moved into our new house and things are evening out... I actually have the time to sit down and write a blog post! Yay! I'm sitting at the dining table… Continue reading A little update!

The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson (1949)

I've read three of Shirley Jackson's novels, so it only felt right to try some of her short stories; and after all, The Lottery is heralded as one of the most brilliant (and controversial) in the genre. At first, some of these stories reminded me Truman Capote's with their edge of uncertainty and fear underlying… Continue reading The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson (1949)