Hannah Morgan-Lewis

Mostly when I read books I have some sort of idea where the author is going and what point they are trying to make, but not with this book. It just seems to meander on and on. I felt I had to finish it but was left with a disapointing sense of ‘Is this really it?' I don't have a problem with depressing books or emotionally scarred protagonists but I didn't really find this book had much of an emotional resonance, perhaps because I found the narrator quite annoying, particularly with the ham-fisted philosophy. Theo didn't develop as a character, he just seemed to stay 13 in my head, probably because of all the drug taking. It ended up feeling a bit like reading a rather pretentious YA novel with added drug addiction.

I loved this historical gothic mystery set in Wales. I found the mystery a complete page-turner with all sorts of classic gothic elements included. The characters were well-observed, particularly Henry, the doctor who stumbles into the mystery, and Linette, the daughter of the house where he goes to work. I also really appreciated how the author writes so lovingly about Wales; its landscape, people, language and folklore. I will definitely be looking up her other work.

I found this novel quite surprising towards the end. It would be easy to dismiss this as a product of its time, although witty and shocking in parts, but it was saved by the tenderness of the portrayal of his relationship with his mother. The audiobook had a good narrator.

Tooth achingly sweet, two characters who just always do and say the right thing. I wasn't particularly interested in the teenage son's dramas and the ex-wife just got blamed for everything then conveniently disappeared at the end. Even the sex was so damn polite and nice

It's always interested seeing what Powers will make of a literary biography, and I enjoyed this spin on the life of the Brontes. Emily takes centre stage, but this is about Bramwell too. Plenty of gothic elements including werewolves, ghosts, curses and a cult. It was atmospheric and I thought it was decently written but didn't particularly have anything that new to say about the family, especially the petulant Bramwell. Emily was far more interestingly written as a character.