Beth
2.5/3 stars. I loved the concept of this story and loved the fantasy elements. But I found the execution so frustrating and disappointing. The last third of the book seriously needed to be re worked. Up until we got the diary of Zachary's friend Kat, I was on board. But after that it just lost me I am afraid! I wanted to love this book. But the last third undid all the enjoyment that I had been building up to earlier in the book.
After reading this book it has solidified a few things about Sally Rooney and her writing style. I think reading this book has helped me see the writing evolution from this book to Normal People. The themes of self harming are prominent in both books and Sally Rooney clearly enjoys writing about damaged women. I found some of the themes raised in this book problematic. Similar to normal people Frances just like Marianne is a character that I am deeply worried about and felt anxious to leave behind. The depression and sadness that Frances copes with alongside physical issues is heartbreaking and while so many people love Sally Rooney's books, I think she creates bleak characters that can make the reading experience very claustrophobic. I have so many things I want to discuss about the themes of mental health and sexuality and monogamy in this book so I will do a review of it on my channel soon. Safe to say I didn't like this as much as normal people and I have a few issues with the book so it's a 3.5 stars for me.
You've all read the Harry Potter series so I won't dwell much in this review. I am once more satisfied with the ending of the series and once more heartbroken at the loss of some of my favourite Harry Potter characters. Snape ðŸ˜ðŸ’”! But overall this book is pretty intense and drawn out and misses out the nostalgia of Hogwarts which I love so it's one of my least favourite reads of the series! However I was happy to re immerse myself in the Harry Potter world again!
A 3.5 read. A classic thriller/ court room crime mystery novel. Doughty knows her craft well and writes very well within this genre style. However in terms of my own personal preference, once you have read one thriller that revolves around a trial, you kind of have read them all give or take a few twists. Therefore I got a little bored with the long drawn out trial and the predictable conclusion. However considering I was in a reading slump, this book is fast paced and helped me get back into reading. I also liked how the main protagonist was a problematic character who straddled the line between victim and perpetrator. Overall it wasn't the worst crime thriller I have ever read and while I was reading it, I enjoyed it as some light hearted escapism.
Upon finishing this book I am emotionally very conflicted. I started reading this book with such gusto and was so immersed and invested in Connell and Marianne's complicated relationship. However the very end of the book took on a sour note and presented the relationship between the two as problematic. The ambiguous ending did nothing to resolve my issues with their relationship.I feel that both characters have much deeper issues that they need to separately address away from each other's toxic influence. The fact that Connell's power over Marianne is meant to be seen as charming or romantic is very peculiar to me. I think the way Connell treats Marianne and his lack of empathy for her feelings is certainly not very endearing and I feel that most things that didn't sit well with me about the book didn't get resolved. However I loved Sally Rooney's writing style and the fact she could weave such an intriguing story from two young people and their relationship is something to be applauded and praised. Sally Rooney has so much promise as a writer but I didn't feel fully convinced by this novel and so I am settling on a rating of 3.5/ 4 stars.
I really enjoyed this spooky gothic novel. I found the relationship between Eleanor and Theodora fascinating and I actually enjoyed the ambiguous ending of this novel. I am a fan of the dark twisting turns that are infamous in Shirley Jackson's writing and this book had me totally hooked. This is the fastest audiobook I have ever gotten through and I am actually quite disappointed it has ended. While some of Eleanor's inner thoughts were irritating at times and while the horror was understated, I was fully invested in the gothic atmosphere presented in the novel. This story is a lot more subtle than a simple bump in the night horror novel but that is what endeared me even further to the story. I would happily re read this story again and I feel this is the best gothic story I have read since Rebecca. I happily rate this novel between a 4.5 and a 5 star read.
While this book isn't my favourite in the collection, I appreciate the plot development within this book. I loved the blossoming relationship between Sirius and Harry in this book and I found Sirius's demise in this novel as heartbreaking as the first time. While the plot is slower that the goblet of fire or the prisoner of Azkaban, I understand that this book is a stepping stone that gives context to the wider and richer plot of Harry and Voldemort's connection. This book also lays the foundation for the next few books to solidify the main plot points between those fundamental characters. This book is also the first book we start to question Dumbledore and understand Snape more. We also get that first glimpse into the faltered characters of Harry's parents and father figures in Snape's memory in the penseive. We also start to connect with characters like Neville and Luna and Tonks who become more significant in the later books. Overall I enjoyed this book but not as much as the goblet of fire or the prisoner of Azkaban and so I give it a 3.5/4 out of 5 stars.
A very strong collection! Angela Carter writes so beautifully and I loved the visceral nature of her storytelling. I think listening to this on audiobook however dampened my reading experience and made it harder for me to lose myself in the individual stories. I think I will re read this collection in a physical format at some stage as I think I will really enjoy it when I have the time to devour it in one sitting. Overall though I though this was a fascinating and well crafted short story collection that intertwines themes of femininity, hunger, desire and lust and turns common fairy tales on their heads!
I am not really a fan of self help. Some of the concepts in here were reasonable but I couldn't connect with the parable and I found some gaping holes in its logic. Over all a lovely simplistic idea but with no practical relevancy. This book does not provide a full proof plan to sort your life out and adapt to change as advertised. It simply regurgitates some rather badly worded cliche lines about finding success by visualising it. I was made to read this by my sister and I was not impressed.
Another strong poetry collection. I love the exploration of sexuality, femininity and sensuality within this collection. This poetry collection has a healthy dash of magical realism and fluidly explores deep emotions through themes of nature and objects within the home. My favourite poems were : Like Chocolate, He Sees Me, Thighs and The Magic Spell. I also loved the intertextual threading of the authors cultural and sexual identity within the collection. This collection is rich and experimental and I really enjoyed reading it!
Josephine Corcoran has created a very strong poetry collection. She tackles some very relevant political and topical issues and I personally really enjoyed the poems centred around her upbringing in Southport as it is very near to where I live and I particularly found Working Class Poem very relatable. The poems that had a political leaning packed a powerful punch and I personally really enjoyed the poems Police Say Sorry and Stephen Lawrence isn't on the National Curriculum. I also found the poems that focused on relationships and loss were so beautifully composed and poignant. I particularly loved the poems Mis/ Carriage and Love in the time of Hospital Visits. This is a very broad and eclectic poetry collection that explores a plethora of subjects. Some poems are powerful, some are saturated with nostalgia. However this poetry collection is a perfect introduction into the genre of poetry and this collection definitely has a poem or two for every kind of reader!
I have decided to rate this book between 3.4 and a low 4 stars. When I first started reading it, I was really engrossed in the story and was fascinated by Evie's obsession with Suzanne. However as I got to the end of the book today I found the story kind of petered out and the characters of Suzanne and Evie got rather trying. I found the character of Julian revolting and unnerving. Also the fact we got no closure on what became of Sasha and Julian, I thought was irresponsible of the author. As a reader we invested in Sasha and then just watched Evie let her leave with Julian with no idea what became of her. I was fascinated by the lead up to the evening of the crime. But I found Evie's naivety over the developing situation unbelievable. Clearly her infatuation with Suzanne was her coming to terms with her sexuality and not from generally feeling enamoured with the cult or Russell. I liked that this adaptation took the Mason Cult and re worked it from a different angle. However I feel considering the book is called The Girls, the only fleshed out characters are Suzanne and Evie and their relationship to each other doesn't provide us with enough evidence to explain why The Girls committed the violent murders they did. In conclusion, this book was a great concept but it failed to convince me overall.
While this book didn't have a structured narrative and lacked focus, it provides a rather interesting and transparent viewpoint of the UK's current prison service. It raises some really relevant issues surrounding the faults within our current prison system. This book also contacts some harrowing incidents and I applaud Samworth for his openness and honesty in expressing his psychological demise while working as a prison officer which lead him to leave the profession due to being diagnosed with PTSD. This book however lacked a wider point of focus and I found the end chapter a rather idealised and oversimplified proposal of an improvement for the prison service issues. This book is clearly not written by an author but it provides a reader with an invaluable and authentic fly on the wall expose of the current prison system and allows the British public to be privy to the way in which the prison service is being let down by the lack of training, poor recruitment drives and not providing P.O's with the mental support they need while on the job. A valuable and informative read but without the academic and thought out craftsmanship of a journalist/ academic/ non-fiction author.
I rate this book between a 4.5 and a 5 stars. This story broke my heart and left me reeling. I loved how cleverly crafted the structure of this novel was. All of the twists and turns were executed beautifully without being too far fetched. The bool carried an emotional authenticity that made the revelations both stunning and deeply saddening at the same time. I think Jessie Burton crafted her characters impeccably. Burtons ability to create two separate stories in different time periods in different countries that intertwine beautifully is genius. She also effortlessly develops all the characters equally, so you feel you spend enough time with each character and each time zone and really have a chance to connect emotionally with all the characters in turn. The ending of the book was a elegant tying up of loose ends, while retaining the integrity of the tragedy and unpredictability of human nature that was explored throughout the entirety of the novel. Just a stunning book that to me smashed her first impressive book The Miniaturist out of the water!
While some of the references to Greek Mythology went over my head, this collection inspired me to become more well read with Greek Mythology. However the poems centred around the autobiographical aspects of being a mother and grief were really powerful and beautiful and I emotionally connected with these pieces of poetry. While some of these poems were published in separate magazines at different times, these poems really meshed well together as a collection. My favourite poems were Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide, My Brother and Mother as Horses, Unimagined Mother, Brizzle and Bill. The poems centred around grief and identity simply blew me away and allowed me to really connect with poetry and made me so eager to re-read this collection and explore more poetry going forward. I would recommend this collection to any fans of Greek Mythology and poetry. There are some simply gorgeous poems within this collection.
I have rated this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars and I will discuss it in more detail in my Instagram live discussion with Anthony Andrews however I did develop a soft spot for this novel which defines all categories and simple explanations. This book follows Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace on an epic adventure to find and save Meg and Charles Wallace's father from the darkness. Along the way Meg, Cal and Charles encounter the eccentric characters of Mrs Who, Mrs Whatsit and Mrs Witch, learn how to tesser and find themselves on the planet of camazotes. While I didn't fall in love with the story as a whole as I found the adventure elements of the plot very fast, rushed and not very memorable. I really enjoyed the Mrs W characters, Meg, Charles and Calvin and I loved the meaning behind the story much more than the story itself. This book explores identity, politics, society, feminism, and familiar ties as well as much much more and I can understand which it is such a beloved classic. While I will undoubtedly forget the plot before too long, the characters of Charles, Meg, Mrs Witch, Mrs Who and Mrs Whatsit will stay with me and my younger self wishes I had met these fabulous characters in my youth!
I am giving this book between a 4.5 and a 5 stars as I was so immersed and sucked into this story. This novel is like a conglomeration of The Woman In Black, Rebecca, The Miniaturist and that creepy Doctor Who Episode called Blink in which the statues move when you blink. I loved the twisted and creepy ending and it's ambiguity. I loved the notion and the execution of the ‘Companions'. I think this book is so well executed and so creatively explored. This satisfies the part of me that loves a dark and unnerving thriller. It has a similar revealing ending to Shutter Island as well which I really loved. This is the first book that actively makes me think of other inspirations and adaptations that have influenced the story but I really enjoyed that it was a well fleshed out and fresh take on these other novels and films. It was a book I morbidly enjoyed and I would recommend giving it a read if you love a quick paced thriller or you want to get into them. These characters and companions will stay with me long after the last page. I can't wait to discuss this book with other booktubers!
This is such a fantastic and polished collection of poetry. The front cover is a very apt visual representation of the subject material found within this collection. The collection covers poetry, landmarks, relationships, wildlife, nature and memory. Some poems went over my head due to my lack of knowledge of past figures and places. However many of the poems I really connected with and enjoyed. This was a great collection to get me further into poetry as a medium as I could connect with most of the material. I will have to re read the collection to appreciate the depth of these poems as I have only absorbed them on a superficial basis however I really enjoyed the poems : Woolworths, Writing Him Out, Hues and 10:30 to Severn Beach and I would highly recommend this collection to fans of poetry and those who want to start to delve into poetry.
A 4.5 star read. This book is just darker, deeper and generally more juicy than the other three books. I love that the plot and the character developments progressed more significantly in this book. I love the Tri-Wizard tournament events. I loved Cedric diggory and I was heartbroken all over again at his death. I also have a soft spot for Krum as well and I loved meeting Bill and Charlie Weasley in this novel. I found it super interesting to re read this book and notice the discrepancies between the film and book for example the scene with the merpeople (yes people not just women) was entirely different and less violent than the film depicts. Also both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons are mixed sex schools not all boys and all girls schools like the film suggests. Also the memories in Dumbledores pensieve were different than the one dramatic memory shown in the movie. Also I never remembered Rita Skeeter being a beetle and writing articles about the champions, Hermione and Hagrid until re reading this book. I also forgot about Winky so that was a lovely surprise to remember her. Overall this book is just much more thought out and richer than the first three books so I give this book 4.5 stars and I can't wait to continue with this series!