Lucy

Not my favourite Raksura book. A slow start, an exciting 3rd quarter but overall not the best.

A gentle and enjoyable read about Charlotte Lucas, the friend of Lizzy Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. While large chunks of the book felt true to the original, a significant portion seemed so out of character for Charlotte, and jarred with how a woman of her stature and position would have acted that it coloured my opinion of the book, even though it was very sweet. Overall a diverting read, but not one true fans of Austen will necessarily appreciate.

Claire Keegan writes prose as beautiful as anyone writing at the moment. Like her previous short stories, So Late in the Day deals with dark issues - misogyny - in a revelatory and poetic manner.

I so wanted to love this book and at times I liked it a lot. But gosh the characters, especially Effy, made it so hard to read. Add to that the glacial pace and oddly anticlimactic ending. It's a no from me.

Wow, what a brilliant read. It reminded me a lot of The Overstory with its trees and ecological themes, but spanning hundreds of years, a dozen central characters, twisting narrations and common stopping places. Immersive and enthralling.