I don't often agree to review brand new books anymore, or take part in blog tours - but The Dark Circle intrigued me. I had heard lots of good things about Linda Grant but never actually read her books, and the premise of this novel appealed to me. In 1949, twins Lenny and Miriam are both… Continue reading Blog tour: The Dark Circle by Linda Grant
Category: Reviews
If This is a Woman by Sarah Helm: A Reading Experience
More than one of my fellow reviewers on GoodReads wrote that reading this book is more than that - you 'live it' as well. It is an experience I will never forget. If This is a Woman took me ten days to read, which for me is a long time - but then it is… Continue reading If This is a Woman by Sarah Helm: A Reading Experience
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My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
My Name is Lucy Barton has been included on the longlist for the Man Booker Prize 2016, and so understandably it’s quite popular at the moment generating a bit of hype. Almost every review I have read (both in newspapers/magazines and online) has been favourable, mentioning the beauty of the writing and the emotional depth… Continue reading My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
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The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
I’d heard of The Glass Castle long before I read it, and I was vaguely interested in it, but the real impetus to read it came from two things: my putting together reading lists of the books I most wanted to read; and the news that it has been adapted into a film starring some… Continue reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
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New Fiction: The Last Photograph by Emma Chapman
As some readers may know, I was a big fan of Emma Chapman's first novel How To Be A Good Wife. It was a taught thriller with wonderful characters and plotting, and though dark in subject matter it was a joy to read. Chapman's literary skills are similarly showcased in her new novel The Last… Continue reading New Fiction: The Last Photograph by Emma Chapman
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Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes
I bought this book last year, and somehow have only just got around to reading it. Too many books as always. Despite being about life during the Second World War I knew that it would not be a heavy read - and so I took it with me on holiday to Mallorca. The introduction and… Continue reading Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes
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Girls Will Be Girls by Emer O’Toole
I have read relatively little on feminism and gender since I left university, and so to that end I ordered myself a copy of Girls Will Be Girls by Emer O'Toole after seeing positive things about it on Twitter and various other blogs. It's a very appealing book - written by an academic but not… Continue reading Girls Will Be Girls by Emer O’Toole
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Tales of Survival: A Woman in Berlin and Gone to Ground
I decided to write about both these books in one post for several reasons. They share obvious themes for one, and they complement each other in that one is written by a free German woman, an 'ordinary citizen', and the other is written by a Jewish German woman who spent the war in hiding. They… Continue reading Tales of Survival: A Woman in Berlin and Gone to Ground
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The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
As you can tell I am steaming ahead with the Lady Trent series! I finished book one, A Natural History of Dragons, and went straight into book two - The Tropic of Serpents. This one is set three years after book two, and Isabella is on another foreign expedition to study dragons. This time she… Continue reading The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
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Exploring genres with A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
I generally read 'literary' or historical fiction, and I've wanted to reach out into more genre fiction for a while. While browsing in Waterstones a few weeks ago I wandered with my boyfriend up to the sci fi/fantasy section, and came across the Lady Trent series by Marie Brennan. Lady Trent is a 'dragon naturalist'… Continue reading Exploring genres with A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
These Little Words 