Joanna

An ok read worthy of any Tudor/medieval/early modern fiction enthusiast. Emerson has a writing style that is easy to read, and it was an ok book. The subject is interesting and a great point of view of a momentous time in Britain’s history.

I did start to get a little bored halfway through though. A lot of things happen but nothing much actually happens. It was a wandering story whose threads only tighten somewhat at around the 80% mark.

The male MC just seems to stumble from one scene to the next, and though expressing emotions often, felt distant and not fully fleshed out. I felt similarly for the cadence and details of the story - all the elements were there, but didn’t much draw me in.

The female MC pops up for a chapter now and then to express anguish at her situation, then do something that doesn’t progress the plot, or just provides a view of men’s actions. Otherwise, women don’t appear to exist. The 16th century great reformation in England is a part of history that has been covered many times in fiction through men’s experiences, so I was disappointed to see a very limited coverage of women’s perspectives. It could have been incredibly interesting to experience this, given how women have been erased from history.

Those unfamiliar with this part of British history may be a bit lost when reading this book: few cohesive details are given, only a smattering of info here and there to push along the plot, so the motives of characters in the book feel distant.

As Emerson’s debut book I think she’s created something good here for those with a special interest in 16th century historical fiction. I do think there’s a lot of potential in her writing for future stories and characters and I’d be interested to see what she produces next.

Thank you P M Emerson, The Book Guild publishers, and NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy.

As an animal lover and appreciator of our natural world, this little tome was just the thing for lifting my spirits.

As we all know, animals are weirdos, and each comic in this book gives you a heart-lifting boost of animal weirdo serotonin with some interesting nature factoids. If you’ve ever watched birds being birds in their bird world and loved it, you’ll know what I mean. And it’s not just birds here - there are lots of other animals and plants that pop their snouts/stems/antennae in. There are also important messages delivered really well around species decline, invasive species, and climate change.

Mosco’s comics convey a childlike wonder with a quiet smile, provoke an amused groan or a chuckle, warm a swelling heart, and make you wish you could just give that crazy bird/salamander/moth/squid/dinosaur/rodent/shrub/microbe a cuddle - and then make plans to act on your renewed resolve to help protect them.

As an Australian, it’s helpful for me - and hopefully others - to know that the author is American, so many species and locations in the book are in reference to North America as well as northern hemisphere seasons and traditions. But there is plenty here to satisfy readers from anywhere.

Mosco clearly knows her biology, and her appreciation for all creatures’ and ecologies’ important places in the natural world underpins her art. We’re living in their world, and we just happen to be lucky enough to observe them going about their business.

This would be a great gift for anyone who appreciates art, animals and nature. It does contain some innocent animal mating innuendo, but I’d say it’s totally appropriate for kids as well as adults.

I loved this game, 10/10.

Side note: I’m glad to see that the balloon in this game gets zero points. Balloons are terrible. ZERO points for balloons!

Thank you Rosemary Mosco, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and NetGalley for the digital advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

🎧 Audiobook

The concept of this story was great. Unfortunately, the execution wasn’t.

First, the good:

The best parts were about where people go when they disappear, why and how; it was enjoyable and imaginative, and the mystery surrounding those who return kept my interest.

The author did also ponder many consequences of the sudden absence of large portions of the planet’s human population. Such as the effect on climate change and its knock on effects in human behaviour - not necessarily what we might expect.

But mostly, the bad:

The characters were surface level, the plot kept wandering around to uninteresting side characters and stories, the writing was flat, and I struggled to care what happened. If the MMC was a side character, I wouldn’t miss them if they were killed off.

There was also an undertone to this book that just kept me continually annoyed. I can’t decide if it was the tone the audiobook narrator set, or if it was the writing. It was kind of… smug, I guess. The MMC tells the story in first person and comes off as a young smart arse guy who thinks he’s the main character in everyone’s story. I do not want to be plunged into the mind of such an asshat.

And one more general annoyance - WHY do so many people/authors only think humans important. There was barely a mention here about the impact on ecology, fauna and flora after the disappearance of human populations. I don’t get how this human-only thinking works, but I’m pretty tired of it.

——

3/5 for narration by Dan John Miller.

——

Thank you to the publisher, RBMedia, and NetGalley for the advance audio review copy. All opinions are my own.

At first I enjoyed this dystopia told in first person AI-perspective, but the first half of the book quickly became tedious. The second half is mostly better.

Each chapter is its own story of how an AI entity becomes more than its intended purpose. Unfortunately, the first half of the book just reads as lazy story concepts centring discontented men whining about how hard they’ve got it, so their AI takes over in a humanly selfish way, modelling itself on its owner. The second half is more interesting, with AI embodying societal uses such as currency. The best and most moving chapter was the last one about embedded neural AI that accompanies a person with dementia.

This could have been a really interesting take on AI speculative fiction. The writing itself is fine but not particularly inspiring given it feels we’re on the cusp of such AI concepts becoming reality.

Thank you Zachary Mason, Grove Atlantic, and NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I enjoy the fascinating gothic oddities of nineteenth century black and white illustrations, but this didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It felt a bit too modern and playful, rather than old and creepy. Perhaps it didn’t help to view the digital copy; the hardcopy is said to be completely black with gilt cover, more of a dark vibe.

Nevertheless, Porcelli clearly has a passion for this style and his illustrations are detailed and thoughtful. This would be a suitable addition to any library leaning toward the macabre curiosities or fantastical creatures.

And if I had to pick, my favourite oddity would be Rickworms that live in a rock. What delightful little weirdos!

Thank you Ronald Porcelli, Familius, and NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

This is an atmospheric tome of word treasures; A beautifully illustrated love letter to our world, its ever changing aspects, and the words humans use to describe it; A collection of words from across cultures that describe who we are and where we live in ways that are rooted in their linguistic birthplace; A lexigraphic celebration of our planet and our connections to everything and everyone who shares it.

Each page has a word or two and their meanings, and is accompanied by beautiful artwork by the author. Often Sanders has included moving historical, environmental or social context. Language is so closely tied to how, where and why we live; Sanders does an admirable job in giving these words the depth and weight they deserve.

This is more of a meditative coffee table book to dip in and out of, though you could just as easily read from cover to cover.

Thank you Ella Frances Sanders, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and NetGalley for the digital advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately this didn’t do it for me. I can see how others may enjoy it; it could be I just wasn’t in the right mood for this bleak dystopian cli-fi read.

The first 5% of the book, based in the Garbage Patch, piqued my interest and I thought this was going to be a winner. Then I was slogging through the next 95% and looking forward to the end. The constant ruminating on the absent character Yana, the flat character of the MC, Cassandra, poorly explained science, and the odd writing style detracted enough from the book to make it unenjoyable for me.

Thank you to the author, A.D. Sui, ECW Press, and NetGalley for the advance digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

🎧 Audiobook

If you love ancient history, this should be on your to read list. I felt echos of Jean M. Auel’s Earth Children series, along with Follett’s trademark sweeping generational epic with a strong sense of place.

As with most Follett books, it took a while to warm up through slow setting of the scene and characters, but gains its pace around 40% in. It is a quiet, slow-burn which reflects the period well (stress was not a word in Neolithic England). Not much actually happens though - even the building of Stonehenge isn’t really central to the story. It’s more a prehistoric slice of life, which can get a little dull. I think if I had read the book, rather than listened to the audiobook which was skilfully narrated by Richard Armitage, I may have gotten bored at times. But I’m also appreciative of a more meditative story these days, so it suited my mood.

I appreciate Follett’s refreshingly sexuality-inclusive take on prehistory, and the subject of gender equality that Follett delved into, particularly the way he tackled the issue of women as property throughout the story. This was well done and something I don’t think I’ve ever encountered by a male author in historical fiction.

This is fiction, so of course there were a few modern sensibilities thrown in (such as men knowing their biological role in making babies, or it being taboo for older men to want to have sex with young women (though it still doesn’t seem to register in mainstream 2026 that this is an issue)). But these were pretty minimal.

I did feel the story could have benefited from more detail to the spirituality, ruling nature of environmental forces, and relationships with nature and animals, since these would all have been primary forces in peoples’ lives at the time.

Overall, an enjoyable slow-burn read, but not Follett’s best.

——

5/5 for narration by Richard Armitage. Armitage has such a lovely voice to listen to. His narration draws you in, he paces his speaking really well, and does an amazing job bringing the characters to life.

I’m a sucker for medieval things, and Tudor pairs uncanny medieval illustrations with dating wisdom perfectly. Thine travails amongst the peccadilloes of men will be allayed when thee rests thine eyes upon this manuscript. I had a good chuckle.

A great little book to have on hand, alongside thine dictionary.

Thank you to Clarice Tudor, Clarkson Potter, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

I could not put this book down. I was unprepared for how moving it would be.

There is an undeniable depth of character and emotion here that pulled me in. Palmer has a way of writing her characters - AI robots and hybrid robot animals, no less - and having them explore the meaning of their lives that feels more human, and complicated, and true, than humans. I guess in that sense there’s the opportunity to distil the essentials of humanity in artificial life, without the messiness humans bring. But I don’t feel this is the case here - rather, Palmer presents artificial life as its own entity, weighed by but also mirroring their creators, while defining their own way of being. That the created do, in fact, have agency, history, relationships, and ambitions, even if that doesn’t present as humans expect or want.

Atticus got to me. I loved Atticus. His relationship with Be just clutched at my heart. He was a little bit Donkey to Be’s Shrek, and I loved it.

There was one element I felt a bit ho-hum about: the remaining US military and Sawyer’s character. I felt this could have been given a bit more nuance through the story, particularly with Sawyer’s character and her capitulation at the end to wrap things up. But my issue with this is minimal.

The cover art by Jeff Langevin is also amazing.

I loved this - highly recommend!

Thank you to Suzanne Palmer, DAW Books, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

DNF @ 11%

🎧 Audiobook

Not gonna lie, this was a hard slog. And to be honest, I just don’t have the energy for it right now.

From what I can gather, this is a book of important thoughts and personal experiences presented in a polarising tone, amongst poorly explained physics, laid out in a badly executed jumble of a book lacking focus.

I’m kinda bummed, this looked promising. Prescott-Weinstein is clearly a smart, influential figure in astrophysics, and an important voice in breaking the glass ceiling for both women and people of colour in science. And I usually push for 30% before I DNF. Maybe if my brain were a bit healthier and I had a bit more physics knowledge under my belt I’d be able to continue on. But it’s not and I don’t, so I’ll just leave it here.

🎧 Audiobook

This is a dry, scholarly narrative of points in Africa’s history from the 7th century to the 15th century CE. Each chapter covers a story of a notable event, place or man in the continent’s Middle Ages history.

From the introduction, I appreciate that Fauvelle straight away acknowledged the destructive and transformative force of colonialism on Africa, and the resulting loss of historical stories and information. He also rightfully acknowledges that the field of historic research in Africa has often destroyed the precious historic evidence itself, particularly in a colonial setting. On top of that, the market for ancient objects is so fierce that the continent has been, and continues to be, pillaged widely, contributing to the decimation of culture, connection to land, and historic information.

However, Fauvelle didn't acknowledge that, as a white French male scholar writing about African history, he embodies the colonial force in Africa of recent times, and the archaeologists who did (and do) such damage to their historical sites and culture. His privilege reflects a colonialist past that still very much lingers. I don’t know the author or their views on race and class, but I do think it’s important to reflect on this in such a book.

Predictably from a male historian, there is no attempt to interrogate the historical record outside of the well-raked-over patriarchal narrative. In a book relating stories of notable places, events and people from merchants to emperors through 800 years, there are no named women in this book, only snippets of how women fit into the lives of men - usually as slaves, sex objects and arranged marriages.

Likewise, I was really disappointed at the lack of exploration of spirituality and connection to land through Africa's history; this seems to be a less worthy subject in the imperialist point of view I guess.

Although there are some interesting historical stories here worth learning about, and there were many things I didn't know, I felt this book was a bit soulless. Clearly the author is an expert in his field amongst Western scholars. But given the complexity and incredibly ancient history that makes up this massive continent, I feel I could have chosen a better author to tell these stories. Someone who is African.

It’s hard to avoid the historical record dominated by white male scholars, but I’m resolved to seek out place-based, own voices historians next.

——

2/5 for audiobook narration by Michael Page. I forgot how mind numbing Page’s pompous aristocratic drone was, should have steered clear of this one. He does, however, perform pompous scorn very well. Which surprisingly was called for a few times in this book.

🎧Audiobook

I’m disappointed I didn’t like this more than I did. I love the concept of a moving castle going on adventures, and I love the cover artwork. But unfortunately it fell way short of the hype for me.

Some parts haven’t aged well from the 80’s, and don’t add to the story or provide any kind of allegorical meaning for its audience of children: a lot of ageism; ableism; misogynistic stereotypes; women apparently having an insatiable appetite for cleaning; young girls marrying; spanking as punishment children are familiar with; drunkenness as an endearing state; the rumoured murdering of little girls by an adult male wizard as a plot device; the main character wizard’s whole point of existence to seduce young girls then dump them when they become interested. As another reviewer described it - fuckboy’s moving castle. Indeed.

It had a faint, meandering plot that didn’t keep my interest. It was just a series of things happening, with not much happening in terms of character development either. I think I would have been bored reading this when I was young as well.

There were moments I enjoyed, like some of the amusing interactions between the main characters, but they were fleeting and soon flattened by the constant ageism and ableism (apparently one of the MCs could only ever “stump about” with her walking stick, never actually “walk”), and the lack of plot with tenuously connecting things happening over and over. There were many moments where I thought the pace and plot were going to finally pick up, but would then quickly resume its plodding.

I also really think the whole moving castle thing and the lands it visited could have been a captivating element of the story, but it disappointingly wasn’t explored much.

I almost gave up several times in boredom. But I kept on, hoping for improvement. Alas.

Despite this, I plan on watching the anime movie because it looks beautiful and there’s potential in an adaptation of the story to make it shine without the book’s drawbacks. We shall see.

4/5 stars for the audiobook narration by Kristin Atherton.

🎧Audiobook

Despite the book title and blurb, a warning that this is not a reexamination of women’s lives across the world during the Middle Ages through a feminist lens that you may be expecting. Instead, it’s a collection of stories about some of the powerful and influential Christian women in Europe during the Middle Ages by re-examining historical evidence - not quite the same thing. (Surprise, another historian with an imperialist mindset who didn’t bother to mention they’d only focus on their own region in the title like, say, “A New History of the Middle Ages in Christian Europe…”).

The author also doesn’t directly address anything sufficiently that the book’s blurb touts - that is:

The Middle Ages are seen as a bloodthirsty time of Vikings, saints and kings; a patriarchal society that oppressed and excluded women. But when we dig a little deeper into the truth, we can see that the “Dark” Ages were anything but. Oxford and BBC historian Janina Ramirez has uncovered countless influential women’s names struck out of historical records, with the word FEMINA annotated beside them. As gatekeepers of the past ordered books to be burned, artworks to be destroyed, and new versions of myths, legends and historical documents to be produced, our view of history has been manipulated.

Just one example: The great reformation from paganism towards Christianity during the 7th century is covered early in the book and does give some great investigation and narratives to the lives of some influential women during this era. However, the author doesn’t do much questioning of religious patriarchal motivations, expectations and force done to women in the name of Christianity during this time. (There also seemed to be a lot of warmth given towards Christianity throughout the book, which honestly gave me the ick.)

After reading Femina, I’m struggling to buy Ramirez’s central argument that the Middle Ages were actually more equal for women and men than we think.

Yes, there clearly are some individual women through hundreds of years who were powerful and influential that were erased from history due to their gender, and should rightfully be recognised and this important history is very deserving of our attention. And certainly there could have been specific towns or regions that were more equal for women in some ways, such as Mercia and their ruling families.

However, Ramirez touts this book as an argument that women had more equality in the Middle Ages than we think. But the societal evidence she presents is limited in scope and doesn’t address key issues that enforce a misogynistic society, particularly under religious rule. Her historical figures also only include royalty and religious figures (apart from a short chapter at the end that surprisingly touched on slavery, multiculturalism and transgender people). And in fact, rather weirdly, many parts of the stories she tells of these people directly go against the argument of equality. Ramirez often even reinforces the fact that the women she talks about were aberrations to the rule of repression and how unusual these individuals were. Huh?

I find this kind of “reexamination of history” by female historians really frustrating. Jamira Ramirez reminds me of Bettany Hughes. While I enjoy the enthusiastic tale, and the fact that women are the historians, I’m frustrated by their blatant repackaging of male history to be told by a female who then mentions a few females in history. And so apparently, there we go, history has been righted for equality. To me, this is not looking at history properly to understand women’s place in it. It’s just getting some more information about some women out of a misogynistic history.

Focusing on the minimal extra evidence of women does not equate to the extravagant excess of evidence for men.

Because of all of this, I found it hard to trust what Ramirez was telling me. I just could not believe that what I was reading was correct.

---

2/5 for narration by Jamira Ramirez. Narrated by the author, whose breathless upbeat tone and overly dramatic emphasis on every second word actually felt like she trivialised what she was talking about. I’ve noticed this is a popular way of sing-song speaking by TV historians which I don’t enjoy, let alone listening to it for 12 hours. There were points in the book where I almost gave up because of the narration.

🎧Audiobook

Honestly, I believe our world would be infinitely healthier, happier and meaningful if we just changed our way of being to a matriarchal society with an ecological economy, based upon indigenous thinking.

Thank you, Robin W. K. Listening to you was like a warm hug from a favourite aunty 💗

😭 Just have something in my eye... 

Wowsers. Hobb has done it again! Such a fantastic follow-up to Ship of Magic - and I can't wait, so I'm straight on to Ship of Destiny.

🎧 Audiobook
This was the breath of comfort and humanity (elvanity? ratkinity? goblinity?) that I didn't know I needed. 
I really enjoyed the way Baldree explored themes of adult friendship, finding purpose, and giving others grace with these characters. Amongst the cosy there is also plenty of intelligence and wit, with some really moving moments that resonated and will stay with me. 
Baldree's narration was also spot on. Of course, he knows his characters and story intimately, but he also clearly has a talent for audio. 
This is such a wonderful book. I'm already planning to re-read - something I very rarely do upon finishing a book. 

Fantastic follow-up to Sisters of the Vast Black.

I really hope we get to see more like this from Lina Rather!

Although slow to start, I ended up really loving this and feeling moved by this story. 

From the blurb, you could be forgiven for thinking this a tongue-in-cheek sci fi parody, but it's not that at all. This is a fantastic tonic to the male-dominated science fiction genre and the intellectual male gaze. 

I'm not religious, but I felt the deep bonds between women of faith away from Earth trying to do their best to assist those in need. Their individual contrasting backgrounds and complex futures, while tackling big issues of humanity, faith, animal ethics and imperialism, was really well done here within such a short book. I loved these characters, and I loved that they lived within and took genuine care for a living entity - a giant slug flying through space, no less. 

Very impressed, and straight on to the sequel!

🎧 Audiobook
A meditative, free thinking love letter to nature and our place in it. I really resonated with so much of Patricia's perspectives and sentiments. This was such an enjoyable, at times emotional read, I'll be mulling on this for a while I think. 

So, I... think I enjoyed this?  I'm not sure what was going on half the time, but it was an interesting ride. 
I felt a bit like a befuddled observer at the back raising their hand to ask a question, but everyone's already rushed out of the room to follow the plot in excitement. So I, at least intrigued, sometimes excited, rush to stay part of the group. Because at every turn it felt like something momentous was happening - and nobody else was confused - so what the hell, let's go! And just when I thought I'd caught on to things, I'd be tripped up with some new befuddling paragraph of entertaining word mash. 
I haven't felt so torn over a book for a long time. 
I did enjoy many aspects of this. The magic system is unique and the character relationships had depth. I did become fond of Gideon and Harrow despite their faults. I was particularly intrigued by the political aspect and universe workings, though we only get a glimpse of this in this first book. 
But Muir's choppy, discordant use of language, multitude of character names and nicknames without reinforcing their place in the story, and far flung story threads can be alienating to the reader. The constant snark did occasionally get on my nerves too. I had to relax my need to understand who exactly everyone was and where they fit to make it through. 
But juxtaposing this is that the writing is in fact sharp, the characters have wit and intelligence, the pacing is fast and tense for such a long book, and the world and its magic are unlike anything I've encountered before (though I don't usually have much interest in the undead/death mythology storylines). All things that I appreciated. 
Have I just gaslit myself into liking this book? Did the book just gaslight me into thinking I liked it? 🫠
Overall, I understand why this is well loved, and I'm going to give the second book a go. I'm hoping there'll be more on the political intrigue side of things. And hopefully I'll be a little less lost. 

🎧 Audiobook

It's hard for me to consider this “cozy” given its background of war and xenophobia, and the characters actively suffering from PTSD or some form of trauma. Not what I was expecting. 

Aside from that, I just found the book incredibly dull. It was a slog to get through, and I really didn't enjoy Em Grosland's narration. 

🎧 Audiobook
This is, without a doubt, one of the most important books on human society I've read, and is essential reading - for everyone: women, men, intersex and queer folk. There's no way to understand history without understanding how women and their bodies have been treated. This book was very well written and researched, with fantastic narration of the audiobook by Hanako Footman. Highly recommend. 
Men: If you want to understand women's rights and health care, and support your female family and friends, please add this to your reading list. 
This book primarily focuses on the ancient roots and following imperialist history of British, European and American societies, which now influence how medicine is practiced - with its endemic discrimination  and biases against women - across the world today.
As a childless neurodivergent woman with multiple debilitating chronic illnesses, who is still experiencing the life altering effects of medical and societal misogyny, this hit hard. And I'm just one of millions. The blind authority of paternalistic medicine is, I sincerely hope, nearing its end. But even then, there is so much that needs to be righted in order for women to have decent health care, it's a daunting mountain of man-made shite. 
Just be warned that you may, like me, need to budget some time to release your fury and disgust alongside reading time. This is one of the few books I had to take long breaks from. An utterly infuriating, exhausting read. 
If you're in a bad place with your health or exhausted by misogyny right now, it's probably a good idea to leave this one for a better time. 
Honestly, I cannot comprehend how half of the human species has for thousands of years, and continues to be, treated like scum. My mind just does not compute how we could ever treat men as women have been, and are, treated. 
I try to imagine what the world would be like now if, from the start, women were treated as important and self determining and wonderfully unique as men, who compliment and are essential and celebrated as they are to humanity. That they also have autonomy and determination over their bodies and wishes. That they deserve honest and meaningful care and medical understanding just as much as men. My mind reels, it's so far from our reality.  Seriously, it's not that hard of a thing.  And yet, here we are in this shithole. 
Our lives, right now, are living out the burden of a long, complex and disgusting history of societal degradation and dismissal of women, by men, that spans all aspects of society and how we live. And the result is the suffering, dehumanisation, and premature death of women, and the woeful lack of women's crucial input and influence in society.  Throughout human history. Right now. 
If we choose to look only at the physiological side of women's bodies: Period blood, monthly cycles, fallopian tubes, ova, uterus, cervix, hormones, clitoris, menopause, vaginas, and on and on - ALL named, categorised, pathologised, prioritised, valued, suppressed, oppressed, characterised, described, sexualised, mystified, mythologised, racially stereotyped, mutilated, “studied”, NOT studied, experimented upon, by men. And that's not even touching on brain function, mental health, public health, aging, chronic illness, etc. etc. OR the extra layers of dehumanising treatment such as the forced experimentation and sterilisation, and just as horrendous “health care” such as pain dismissal and sexual objectification in healthcare settings of black, brown, Asian, indigenous, and other ethnically diverse women. 
And not a single one of these men, in the history of our species, has an iota of knowledge of what it actually is to be female. 
Straight to the favourites shelf! 🫶🫡👉🏆

🎧 Audiobook
A great practical introduction to living with autism and chronic illness, particularly for young people. The author did a great job narrating this audiobook. 
There are lots of great practical tips, several of which I'm going to try out and read further into. 
Some anecdotes from people in mid-life and late diagnosed, though not much covered about unmasking (a challenging topic for those late diagnosed/identified, especially those over 40), but did recommend books to explore this further.
Also covers some of the intersectionalities that compound the challenges of living with both chronic illness and autism - such as sexuality, gender, race and ethnicity, poverty and financial limitations, societal and internalised ableism, medical gaslighting and misogyny, and social/community structures. 
However, I had particular concerns with the chapter dealing with “chronic fatigue” and pacing, as a person with ME/CFS. I'm really disappointed that the author replicated the mistake of other writers by not clearly delineating between chronic fatigue as a symptom, and the debilitating condition of ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome).
While the author didn't provide misinformation, the lack of clarity about the major differences between chronic fatigue as a symptom of chronic illnesses, and the condition of ME/CFS itself, still perpetuates the confusion and gaslighting that people with ME/CFS experience daily, including from those with other chronic illnesses who have chronic fatigue as a symptom. 
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is so poorly named that it's caused, and is still causing, lasting and tangible harm to people with ME/CFS. That's why many sufferers are choosing to only refer to it as ME (as the author does, which I appreciate) - the scientific name, though still problematic in itself - as CFS does not even begin to capture what the illness actually is. This has contributed greatly to ME/CFS being widely stigmatised and minimised, particularly in the medical establishment, but also by other people with chronic illnesses. 
While I commend the author in being clear that every person with a chronic illness and autism has unique needs and symptoms, there is lots of complexity in living with them, and that not everything in the book will fit your needs, the lack of addressing ME/CFS and chronic fatigue as a symptom was frustrating to experience, yet again. 
I know that not every condition can be catered to, but this is a known issue in the chronic illness community. For the author to be providing guidance to our community, they should have addressed this. There may be similar pain points for other conditions mentioned in this book that would have been noticed by readers with those chronic conditions. 
Apart from this though, I did find this an easy and informative read, and the author is very clearly passionate about the subject as their lived experience, and compassionate to those living with the challenging combination of chronic illness and autism.