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<metadesc>Book review site, with books from most walks of literary life; fiction, biography, crime, cookery and children's books plus author interviews and top tens.</metadesc>
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<metadesc>Expert, full book reviews from most walks of literary life; fiction, non-fiction, children's books & self-published books plus author interviews & top tens.</metadesc>
<h1 id="mf-title">The Bookbag</h1>
 
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review site, featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - [[:Category:Fiction|fiction]], [[:Category:Biography|biography]], [[:Category:Crime|crime]], [[:Category:Cookery|cookery]] and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of [[:Category:Interviews|author interviews]], and all sorts of [[:Category:Lists|top tens]] - all of which you can find on our [[features]] page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the [[Book Recommendations|recommendations]] page.
 
  
There are currently '''{{PAGESINCATEGORY:Reviews}}''' reviews at TheBookbag.
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Reviews by readers from all the many walks of literary life. With author interviews, features and top tens. You'll be sure to find something you'll want to read here. Dig in!
  
Want to find out more [[About Us|about us]]?
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Find us on [[File:facebook.gif|link=https://www.facebook.com/TheBookbagCoUk|alt=Facebook]] [https://www.facebook.com/TheBookbagCoUk '''Facebook'''],  [[File:twitter.gif|link=http://twitter.com/TheBookbag|alt=Follow us on Twitter]] [http://twitter.com/TheBookbag '''Twitter'''],
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==Reviews of the Best New Books==
 
  
'''Read [[:Category:New Reviews|new reviews by genre]]. '''<br>
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There are currently '''{{PAGESINCATEGORY: Reviews}}''' [[:Category:Reviews|reviews]] at TheBookbag.
  
'''Read [[:Category:Features|the latest features]].'''<!-- Remove -->
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Want to find out more [[About Us|about us]]? __NOTOC__
{{newreview
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|author=Jane L Gibson
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==The Best New Books==
|title=The Gessami Residence
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|rating=3
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'''Read [[:Category:New Reviews|new reviews by category]]. '''<br>
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|summary=Jenny Walker has been a widow for three yearsShe's had support from her parents (Dad's still a bit protective), her two sons, who are at university, and her three girl friends.  The four women have had a meal together every week but now they've decided to go on holiday for a fortnightOne of the women - Rose - is in the business so she's in charge of making the arrangements and she insists that they have to turn up at the airport before they find out their destinationIbiza wasn't ''quite'' what they were expecting, but then three of the four women are unattached (Amanda is married - in an unenthusiastic sort of way) and they all like to drink and flirt.  What couldn't go right?
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'''Read [[:Category:Features|the latest features]].'''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784625035</amazonuk>
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=0008385068
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|title=The Midnight Feast
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|author=Lucy Foley
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Thrillers
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|summary=It's midsummer on the Dorset coast and guests gather at The ManorIt's their opening weekend and splendid celebrations are promised.  It's all headed up by Francesca Meadows.  The Manor was her ancestral home and she's converted it into an impressive retreat for the wealthy and famousHer husband, Owen, was the architect and work is still ongoing on parts of the site.  The heat is oppressive and amongst the guests are enemies as well as friendsOld scores are going to be settled and it won't be long before a body is found.
 
}}
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Jo Cotterill and Cathy Brett
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|author=James Baldwin
|title= Electrigirl
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|title=Giovanni's Room
|rating= 4
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|rating=4.5
|genre= Confident Readers
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|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary= Holly Sparkes is an ordinary 11-year-old schoolgirl, until she is struck by a mysterious bolt of lightning and then everything changes and she becomes extraordinary! Just like one of the characters in her brother's much loved comics Holly has developed superpowers. Holly can generate a massive amount of electricity in seconds, a skill that can, as Holly discovers, cause mayhem unless she can learn to control it. Her brother Joe, an expert in these things, decides to become her mentor and together they resolve to use Holly's new powers to good effect. They get the opportunity sooner than they expect with the arrival in their town of the company CyberSky and the sinister Professor Macavity.
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|summary=''Giovanni's Room'' follows the narrator David, an American man living in Paris, as he navigates his torturous affair with Giovanni, an Italian bartender he meets in a gay bar. While David is engaged to Hella, who is travelling in Spain, the real tension in the novel arises not from his infidelity but from the deeper conflict within himself. It is David's crippling shame and denial of his sexuality that ultimately dooms his relationship with Giovanni.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192743554</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0141186356
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Adriana Trigiani
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|author=Ashley Hickson-Lovence
|title=All The Stars In The Heavens
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|title=Wild East
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
|genre=General Fiction
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|genre=Teens
|summary=It was 1935 and Loretta Young wanted fame and success in Hollywood.  Part of it was being young (just twenty one) and beautiful but she was also conscious that the money she brought in mattered to her familyShe was hungry for love too: her father had left when she was young.  Her step-father had done little better and there was a ''need'' for a man she could love and look up to.  She developed a reputation for falling in love with her leading men: first it was Spencer Tracy but on the set of ''The Call of the Wild'' she fell for Clark Gable - and he for her.
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|summary=Written in verse, this is Ronny's story, a young black fourteen year old boy from Hackney who suddenly has to move to Norwich and start at a mostly white schoolThe move is initiated by Ronny's mum who is worried for Ronny's safety after a tragic event, and so Ronny finds himself trying to settle in a new town, a new school, and keep himself out of trouble.  He listens to music constantly, and has always dreamed of being a rapperBut now, in this new school, his teacher encourages him to be part of a poetry writing workshop group and, slowly, Ronny begins to see the connections between rap and poetry, and the power of creativity and crafting your words.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1471136345</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0241645441
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Ben Bailey Smith and Sav Akyuz
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|isbn=1635866847
|title= I Am Bear
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|title=The Lavender Companion
|rating= 5
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|author=Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci
|genre= For Sharing
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|rating=4.5
|summary= The first time we meet Bear he is bare! Imagine – a naked animal, in the forest with his bottom on display. Squirrel is so shocked he's dropped his nuts. Ooh matron.  
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|genre=Lifestyle
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406359254</amazonuk>
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|summary=It's strange, the things that make you ''immediately'' feel that this is the book for you.  Before I started reading ''The Lavender Companion'', I visited the author's [https://www.pinelavenderfarm.com/ website] and there's a picture of a slice of chocolate cake on the homepage. I don't eat cakes and desserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally.  (There's a recipe in the book, which I'm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a mess of it.  Notes in the margins are sanctioned.  You get to fold down the corners of pages.  You suspect that smears of butter would not be a problem. I ''loved'' this book already.
 
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}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Kaui Hart Hemmings
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|author=Jenny Valentine
|title= The Possibilities
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|title=Us in the Before and After
|rating= 3.5
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|rating=5
|genre= General Fiction
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|genre=Teens
|summary= Sarah's son has just died in an avalanche and as such this is a book very much about bereavement and grieving and what next. It's odd to think that a basis of personal tragedy made this an intriguing read, but that was the case.
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|summary=Elk and Mab are best friends, or more than that even, their friendship is a once in a lifetime connection.  They meet as children one day on a trip out but unfortunately they don't get each other's contact details at the time.  But then chance brings them back together, and they are inseparable.  Something has happened though, something terrible and tragic, and now they must work through their grief, and their friendship, together.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099597780</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1471196585
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Leo Tolstoy
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|isbn=1787333175
|title=War and Peace
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|title=You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here
|rating=4.5
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|author=Benji Waterhouse
|genre=Historical Fiction
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|rating=5
|summary=1805: Napoleon Bonaparte is on the way to conquering Europe while what's left of Europe (including the Russian army led by Tsar Alexander) stands in his wayPrince Andrei Bolkonsky quickly gets a reputation as military hero although few know this is allied to his death wish. Meanwhile back in Russia the remaining aristocracy have no doubt that their motherland will win and so they continue with daily life. Pierre, the illegitimate son of Count Bezukhoff buries his life in wine, women, song and more wine but the death of his father takes him on a journey to find happiness, the long way round12-year-old Natasha Rostov dreams of love and happiness, searching with age-related exuberance and inexperience.  The older generation are there to help and hinder as they take their places as pawns and puppeteers in the manipulation and social climbing that's become second nature… that is until the tide of war changes.
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|genre=Popular Science
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184990846X</amazonuk>
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|summary=I was tempted to read ''You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here'' after enjoying Adam Kay's first book {{amazonurl|isbn=1509858636|title=This is Going to Hurt}}, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography''You Don't Have to be Mad...'' promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatristI did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding.  
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Jo Weaver
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|author=Mariana Enriquez
|title=Little One
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|title=A Sunny Place for Shady People
|rating=3.5
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|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Short Stories
|summary=There is a subtle balance needed when finding a book to read to a toddler; one that takes into account the needs of the child, but perhaps also the needs of the adult.  Do you really want to be stuck reading an ugly book about a pair of underpants for several months?  (Oops we seem to have lost that book!)  However, a book with striking visuals that strikes a chord with a parent may not always chime with a child. Is a children's book always meant to be just for kids?
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|summary=Mariana Enriquez writes horror that is disturbingly real, achieving this uncanny familiarity by basing her paranormal plots on gritty realities: her settings include an abandoned field full of disused refrigerators due to an urban planning mishap, an overcrowded homeless shelter and a crime-ridden neighbourhood where safety meetings are routine - all within Argentina. The circumstances of her characters are so plausible that the supernatural or otherworldly horror which seeps into these spaces adopts a similarly tangible texture.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444922734</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1803511230
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Kelley Armstrong
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|author=Onyi Nwabineli
|title= City of the Lost
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|title=Allow Me to Introduce Myself
|rating= 3.5
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|rating=4.5
|genre= Crime
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|genre=General Fiction
|summary= Detective Casey Duncan has a dark past, and it's about to catch up with her. When her best friend Diana is attacked by an abusive ex, the two women realise they have to disappear, fast. And they need sanctuary. Diana's heard of a hidden town that's so remote it's almost impossible to reach. A town that desperately needs a new detective.
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|summary=Anuri spent her childhood on display to the world, thanks to her step-mother Ophelia's increasingly popular presence on social media, where she posted every step of Anuri's childhood for sponsorships and influencer deals and, basically, monetary gain.  Now Anuri is in her twenties and she is slowly trying to regain her confidence and to get her life back, suing her step-mother to take down the content about her. Anuri is battling alcoholism, failing to start her PhD, undergoing therapy and secretly abusing people online and receiving money from them for doing so. Most importantly, she is desperately worried about her little sister, who is the new focus of Ophelia's online empire. Can she save her sister, and perhaps herself and her relationship with her father at the same time?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751562521</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0861546873
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Serge Bloch
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|author=David Chadwick
|title=3, 2, 1... Draw!
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|title=Headload of Napalm
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Thrillers
|summary=I can't draw. I've never been able to draw.  A blank sheet of paper and a pencil frightens me. I thought I was probably a little bit old to change my ways but then I discovered ''3, 2, 1... Draw!'' and there might have been a movement within the tectonic plates of my brain.  It's a drawing book which isn't about blank pages: it's about imagination and inspiration, with the first encouraged and the second delivered by the barrow load. I've just had more fun than I thought possible with pencil and paper!
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|summary= It's September 1973 in Hicks, California. Hicks is a Mojave desert town of a few thousand people with its nearest neighbours of LA and Las Vegas both a significant drive away. Not much happens in Hicks. A silver mine and a defence contractor are the main local employers but otherwise, there's not much of note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. Life is quiet, until....
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847807240</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B0D321VJ76
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Mimi Thebo
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|author=Tom Percival
|title=Dreaming the Bear
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|title=The Wrong Shoes
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|summary=Darcy's a typical teenager whose natural habitat is the shopping mall and the multiplex. It's, therefore, not surprising that she's finding it almost impossible to adjust to living in a snowy wilderness without television, a phone signal or wifi. It doesn't help that she's also recovering from pneumonia and tires quickly. But it is this very weakness that changes her life when, exhausted, she stumbles into the shelter of a cave and finds herself embraced by a hibernating grizzly bear.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192745883</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Jennifer Gray
 
|title=Atticus Claw Hears a Roar
 
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=If you haven't already, meet Atticus ClawThis is the seventh chance you've had, may I mention.  He was an outstanding burglar, but now, as he is 'owned' by the children of a policeman, he has come over to the light side, and is solving crimes and not causing them – which is especially important as no end of criminality has been going on.  Chancing on a lost explorer's lost treasure chest, mysterious clues are dropped to lead both goodies and baddies on the trail of jaguar gods, once worshipped by the Maya – did they really take all their treasure to a hidden valley in a last-ditch attempt to appease their sacred spirits and save their civilisation? How many of the diverse characters, including a gang of idiotic magpies, are going to contrive to come along on the adventure?  And is one of them a witch – and if so, what does that make Atticus?
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|summary=Will's life is difficult, in a multitude of waysHe is bullied because he has 'the wrong shoes', he has the wrong shoes because his dad can't work and doesn't have enough money for even the most basic of things like food, and his dad can't work because he lost his job at the college, was working a cash-in-hand job on a building site and had an accident. Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and Will's life seems bleak in every direction.  And yet, he still has a tiny amount of hope.  He is good at art, and clings to the moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>057132178X</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1398527122
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Holly Webb
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|author=Sylvie Cathrall
|title= Sammy the Shy Kitten
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|title=A Letter to the Luminous Deep
|rating= 4.5
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|rating=5
|genre= Emerging Readers
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|genre=Science Fiction
|summary= An adorably, warm and cute story about what happens when Emma falls in love with a tiny sweet feral kitten whom she names Sammy. To persuade Mum and Dad to let her keep him she must learn all she can about taming wild kittens – and, of course,  win little Sammy's confidence and trust.
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|summary= There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise. And this is one of them.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847156487</amazonuk>
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|isbn= 0356522776
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Margaret MacMillan
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|isbn=1786482126
|title= History's People: Personalities and the Past
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|title=The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)
|rating= 4.5
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|author=Elly Griffiths
|genre= History
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|rating=4.5
|summary= According to the 19th century historian Thomas Carlyle, 'the history of the world is but the biography of great men'Historian Margaret McMillan acknowledges in her introduction to this volume, based on a series of recent lectures, that there is a long-standing debate in history over whether events are moved either by individuals or by economic and social changes or technological and scientific advances, and suggests that there is no right or wrong answer.
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|genre=Crime
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781255121</amazonuk>
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|summary=Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the site was going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a doorway.  There was no skullWas this a ritual killing or murder?  Inevitably, Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry Nelson.  It's difficult as Ruth knows, but Nelson doesn't, that she is pregnant with his child as a result of the one night they spent together some three months ago.  Her condition will be obvious before long, not least because Ruth is prone to sudden bouts of sickness.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Nicky Benson and Jonny Lambert
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|author=Joan Didion
|title=I Love You More and More
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|title=The Year of Magical Thinking
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Autobiography
|summary=I'm something of a connoisseur when it comes to books about bears. I suppose it probably started with Winnie the Pooh, and my dad doing all the funny voices, but even these days I find I am irresistibly drawn to stories with bears in, and this one did not disappoint.  If you're looking for a good old pull-at-the-heartstrings read for cozy afternoons with your momentarily quiet little one, then this is a good place to start.
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|summary=This book is Joan Didion's heartbreaking autobiographical account of the grief she endured following her husband's sudden death. Books that shed light on taboo topics like death are such a beautiful and necessary resource to help people feel less alone. Didion unpicks unpleasant feelings surrounding death like self-pity, denial and delusion and makes them utterly normal, lends them a human face to wear.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848692110</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0007216858
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Ame Dyckman and Zachariah OHora
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|isbn=0008551324
|title=Wolfie the Bunny
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|title=The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)
 +
|author=Neil Lancaster
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Crime
|summary=It may be that you are on the lookout for a useful picture book that deals with sibling rivalry in a helpful wayIt may be that you have a wolf or rabbit obsessed toddler. Or it may just be that you like a good story that's fun to readFortunately for you, this book will cover all of those requirements! Wolfie the bunny arrives in the Bunny family's lives in a rather suspicious way, when he is left on their doorstep in a basket. Mama and Papa Bunny are immediately charmed by their new baby, but big sister Dot remains alarmed, shouting out 'He's going to eat us all up!' but receiving no response from her smitten parents!
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|summary=It's unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to approach the policeNeither side likes or has any respect for the other. But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and he's prepared to tell the police where the body of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her deathThis person, he promises, is someone big and it will be worth the police doing what he wants.  And what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to serve the remainder of his sentence and to get an early parole date. Not much to ask, is it? The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and she's even prepared to do the other thing that Hardie demanded - make certain that DS Max Craigie and anyone who works with him is kept well away from what's happening.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783443863</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=David P Colley
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|isbn=1739526910
|title=Seeing the War: The Stories Behind the Famous Photographs from World War II
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|title=Where I've Not Been Lost
|rating=4
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|author=Glen Sibley
|genre=History
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|rating=4.5
|summary=As anybody could tell, a still photograph is only part of the truth, if that.  There is a beforehand we don't see, and an after we can only fantasise about unless we know otherwise. Take the famous image of wartime grunts pushing the flag pole upright – an icon of the War in the Pacific for the US soldiers, and the films made about Iwo Jima since. But other images of the war have been just as long-lasting, and the people in the photos don't always have movies made of their full story arc.  This book is a collection of the images, and a corrective to that narrative lack, giving much more of a full biography with which to pay tribute.
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|genre=General Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1611687268</amazonuk>
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|summary=''One year after a suicide attempt blows apart musician Brian O’Malley's life, he arrives in an unfamiliar Devon town to recover. Living with an unexpected housemate at his former manager’s holiday home, he dreams of reconnecting with everything he has lost. But as those tentative plans falter, he becomes swept up in a local world of unlikely friendships, mobile discos and surprising romantic possibilities.''
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Jean Jullien
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|isbn=0008405026
|title=Ralf
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|title=A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)
|rating=4
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|author=Jane Casey
|genre=For Sharing
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|rating=5
|summary=I'm rather partial to sausage dogsI met one in Japan once who I would quite happily have tucked into my suitcase to sneak back homeRalf the sausage dog is just as endearing as these pups usually are, although he is also just as troublesomeFor a little dog, he manages to take up quite a lot of space, make a lot of noise, and generally make a nuisance of himself (as most dogs do really)Yet when suddenly the family find themselves in great danger, it is Ralf who saves the day!
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|genre=Crime
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847808182</amazonuk>
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|summary=It's sixteen years since nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer nightShe was never found and the investigation ground to a haltNow, her mother, Helena, and her father are dead in their bedInitially, it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the positioning of the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and her boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious.  What looked as though it was going to be an open-and-shut case is now a complex double murderKerrigan is convinced that the explanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, Una Burt) are less convinced.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Kate Ellis
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|isbn=1529077745
|title=The House of Eyes (Wesley Peterson)
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|title=The Dark Wives (D I Vera Stanhope)
|rating=4
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|author=Ann Cleeves
 +
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Crime
 
|genre=Crime
|summary=D I Wesley Peterson wasn't too worried when Darren Hatman reported his daughter missingShe'd been working at Eyecliffe Castle and it wasn't difficult to sense that she'd been annoying the other staff with the stories of what she'd be doing when she got her modelling contractThere was just one point which left Peterson uneasy: Hatman claimed that Leanne had been stalked by a photographer and the case was obviously worth an enquiry or twoEyecliffe Castle had been home to the wealthy D'Arles family, but was now a luxury hotel and spa, with the last remaining member of the family living in the Dower House in the groundsThen Darren was found brutally murdered in the grounds of the castle: was it possible that Leanne had met a similar fate, and if so, why?
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|summary=A man walking his dog in the early morning discovered the body of a man in the park near Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens.  The dead man was Josh - one of the care workers who was due to work a shift the night before but who had never turned up.  D I Vera Stanhope is called in to investigate the murder - but her only clue is the disappearance of one of the residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spencer.  Some people believe that Chloe was responsible for the death but Vera thinks this is unlikely as the girl's diary makes it clear that she adored Josh. She knows that she has to find Chloe to discover what happened to Josh.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0349403082</amazonuk>
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}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=1399613073
 +
|title=Moral Injuries
 +
|author=Christie Watson
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Thrillers
 +
|summary=Olivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century.  Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon.  Laura is a perfectionist and a trauma doctor.  Anjali is the free spirit of the group and she becomes a GPWhen we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's going to end in tragedy.  We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences.  Twenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friendsThis time, it's their teenage children who are involved.
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=0241636604
 +
|title=The Trading Game: A Confession
 +
|author=Gary Stevenson
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Autobiography
 +
|summary=If you were to bring up an image of a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of someone like Gary Stevenson.  A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is the East End, where he was familiar with violence, poverty and injusticeThere was no posh public school on his CV - but he had been to the London School of Economics.  Stevenson is bright - extremely bright - and he has a facility with numbers which most of us can only envy.  He also realised that most rich people expect poor people to be stupidIt was his ability at what was, essentially, a card game which got him an internship with Citibank.  Eventually, this turned into permanent employment as a trader.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Ross Welford
+
|author=Leanne Egan
|title=Time Travelling with a Hamster
+
|title=Lover Birds
|rating=4
+
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|genre=Teens
|summary=Meet Al Chaudhury.  He lives, unknowingly, among a family of time travellersHis grandfather has such a brilliant memory he can use a mind palace to store anything and everything, and could tell you what happened on every day of his life, and take himself back with his thoughts. His father knows the starlight at night is years old, and is a snapshot of a sun that is remote both in time and space.  But even harder to fathom is that Al's father is a real time traveller, and is going to speak from beyond the grave, and send Al on a true mission through time, one that will either save his life, or completely ruin all Al's forevers, for, er, for ever.
+
|summary=When new girl, Isabel, moves to Lou's hometown of Liverpool from London Lou immediately feels Isabel's disdain for everything around herA misunderstanding between them leaves them hating each other, but Lou feels her pulse racing every time she looks at Isabel or speaks with her, and that's definitely because Isabel makes her feel so cross, isn't it? Because Lou is straight, isn't she?  Even though none of her relationships with boys have gone very well so far, and she's never had a good kiss with any of them?  So she just finds herself watching Isabel, and wanting to hang out with her because fighting with her is fun, and she definitely just hates Isabel, doesn't she?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>000815631X</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=000862657X
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Michelle Robinson and Rebecca Ashdown
+
|isbn=1009473085
|title= Odd Socks
+
|title=The Conservative Effect 2010 - 2024
|rating= 4
+
|author=Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton (Editors)
|genre= For Sharing
+
|rating=5
|summary= Socks, eh? They never used to trouble me, and would return from the washing machine in pairs, just as they had entered. I never fully understood the whole Land-of-missing-socks thing. Suki and Sosh are Mr and Mrs Sock, a matching pair who live happily together in the sock drawer. They too have never visited the Land-of-missing-socks. See? It's not just me. But something even worse is about to happen to tear this couple apart. Something quite horrible: Suki has a hole.
+
|genre=Politics and Society
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783443375</amazonuk>
+
|summary=Sometimes it's simpler to explain a book by describing what it ''isn't'' and that applies to ''The Conservative Effect: 2010-2024 - 14 Wasted Years?''.  If you're looking for an easy read which will deliver the inside story about what ''really'' happened on certain occasions, then this isn't the book for you. If that's what you're looking for, I don't think Anthony Seldon's book, {{amazonurl|isbn=B0BH7SKG2S|title=Johnson at 10}}, can be bettered for those tumultuous years. It's a compelling read and should be compulsory for anyone who thinks Johnson should return to politics. ''The Conservative Effect'' is an entirely different beast. It's the seventh book in a series which looks at the impact a government has made and co-editor Sir Anthony Seldon regards this as the most important. This book follows the well-established format: a series of experts from various fields review the state of the nation when the coalition took over in 2010, the changes that occurred and the situation in 2024.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Rachel Hamilton
+
|author=Max Boucherat
|title=Unicorn in New York: Louie Lets Loose!
+
|title=The Last Life of Lori Mills
|rating=4
+
|rating=4.5
|genre=Emerging Readers  
+
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Louie's parents are worried when Louie announces he wants to leave home to enrol at the New York School of Performing Arts. He's a unicorn and they can't believe he'll be happy without the sunlit meadows, enchanted waterfalls and beautiful maidens of Story Land. But, like all good parents, they accept that Louie must make his own way in the world. Luckily Louie always looks for the positive in life – a skill that's going to prove essential when he arrives in New York.
+
|summary=We meet Lori on the first evening she's got the house to herself – no neighbour to pop in, babysitter poorly, mother at work, just an avidly rule-breaking eleven year old, on her lonesome.  What could possibly go wrong?  Snuggled in a blanket fort, she has one main intention, and that is to log on to Voxminer, the world-building, critter-collecting game that is a hit in Lori's world.  But first Lori has a tiny inkling that this stormy night doesn't find herself entirely on her own, and then she finds something even more spooky.  For the server she and her bestie and nobody else should be able to enter shows signs of tampering. When malevolent eyes spark up on her phone screen, and her safe place in the game has been doctored well, where is a girl to turn?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192744976</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0008666482
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Jens Harder
+
|author=Fyodor Dostoyevsky
|title=Alpha: Directions
+
|title=White Nights
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Graphic Novels
+
|genre=Short Stories
|summary=So, people might still ask me, why do I turn to graphic novels – aren't visual books with limited writing more suited to young people?  Yeah, right – try pawning this off on juvenile audiences and the semi-literate.  If you can't kill that cliché off with pages such as these I don't know what will work.  I know the book isn't designed to be a message to people in the debate about the literary worth of graphic novels, but one side-effect of it is surely an engagement with that argument. What it is designed to be is a complete history of everything else – and in covering every prehistoric moment, it does just that, and absolutely brilliantly.
+
|summary=As always in Dostoyevsky, the character work is sublime. One is never left wondering what a character is thinking or feeling because Dostoyevsky lays bare their innermost dispositions and temperaments with remarkable clarity.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0861662458</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0241619785
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Frank Hurst <!-- upload 1/31 -->
+
|isbn=B0DGDJRHYD
|title=The Postmistress of Nong Khai
+
|title=Nowhere Man
 +
|author=Deborah Stone
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=General Fiction
 
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Mike Rawlins' rise through the ranks in the investigation department of Customs and Excise has been steady, culminating in his dream posting: attachment to the British Embassy, Thailand.  It gets even better when he realises a name from his past is also operating out of the country on the other side of the law. Mike's attempts to nail him over the years have become personal and now, thanks to local informant or 'Postmistress' Lek, prosecution is a possibility. What Mike doesn't realise is the cost the chase will exact… not yet anyway.
+
|summary=In a quiet suburban house, Patrick is making his final plans. A meticulous man, he makes sure of every preparation, down to the last detail. Some last reflections, and then he says goodbye to his wife, the world, and his life. It's horribly sad. At work in her shop, his wife Diana is fending off yet another phone call about her ageing and ailing mother, who needs extricating from yet another accident. It will be a while before Diana realises what Patrick has done.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785890573</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Virginie Despentes
|author=Marcel Ruijters and Laura Watkinson (translator)
+
|title=King Kong Theory
|title=Hieronymus
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Graphic Novels
+
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=This is a book for those who find it amusing that a biography of someone who has been dead 500 years is called 'unauthorised'. This is a book where the detail is in the devil – people pissing in the street; the locals baiting blind people armed with cudgels in a pit with a pig, often failing to whack the beast and hitting their colleagues by mistake; farting demons visiting the sleeper.  This is a book for those who don't mind a spot of ribaldry, an affront to religious piety or suchlike in their graphic novels.  Whether or not this is a book for those seeking a biography of Hieronymus Bosch remains to be seen.
+
|summary=''King Kong Theory'' is a hard-hitting memoir and feminist manifesto, which can be seen as a call to arms for women in a phallocentric society broken at its core. Originally written in French, the book is a collection of essays in which Virginie Despentes explores her experiences as a woman through the complex prism of her varied life: from rape to sex work and pornography. Though these discussions are intertwined, their placement within the book can feel somewhat disjointed, a reflection of their original form as independent essays.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0861662466</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=191309734X
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Timothy W Ryback
+
|author=Alba de Cespedes
|title=Hitler's First Victims: And One Man's Race for Justice
+
|title=Forbidden Notebook
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=History
+
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=Four people, taken to a sheltered corner of the place they're trapped, and shot in the back of the head by fresh-faced guards and soldiers with far too little experience of anything, let alone treating other men on the wrong end of a gun.  Three people ''unceremoniously dumped, like slain game, on the floor of a nearby ammunition shed'' – the fourth had two hellish days with at least one bullet wound to the brain before he passed away.  All four over-worked from being in a Nazi establishment, all four probably killed merely for being Jewish.  Not a remarkable story, it's horrid to think, due to there being about six million cases of this happening.  What is remarkable about this instance is that it was the first, at the incredible time of April 1933.  And if it seems the first in a long chain of such murders, you would think people might have noticed that at the time, and tried to do something about it.  Well, they did.
+
|summary=This Italian work of feminist fiction holds an air of suspense and tension from the moment our protagonist, Valeria Cossati, purchases her forbidden notebook, and learns about herself in the most intimate and revealing ways.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784700169</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1782278222
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=David Wills
+
|author=Ottessa Moshfegh
|title=The Cinematic Legacy of Frank Sinatra
+
|title=My Year of Rest and Relaxation
 +
|rating=3
 +
|genre=Literary Fiction
 +
|summary=At best, this novel is a scathing critique of modern society and reveals the fragility of human relationships; at worst, it is the cynical, predictable and slightly trite tale of an unlikeable protagonist. This unlikely heroine, a slim, attractive and newly orphaned girl in her twenties is disillusioned with the world, but resolves not to lose sleep over it: in fact, her solution lies in her hibernation.
 +
|isbn=1784707422
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Jo Callaghan
 +
|title=Leave No Trace
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Entertainment
+
|genre=Crime
|summary=Oh, [[Celebrity: How Entertainers Took Over The World and Why We Need an Exit Strategy by Marina Hyde|the modern celebrity]] – they don't make them like they used to.  Anodyne, uniform in (lack of) thought and body shape, and far, far too prominent in the lives of too many for too littleIf they're ever expected to multi-task it will entail them being much acclaimed for doing one day job to a mediocre standard, as well as reading out someone's voice-over for a BBC3/Channel 4/Channel 5 clip show – oh, and if someone deems them really talented they get to mime to someone else's record, in a lip dub smash or whatever the heck they're calling itFollowed by panto.  It is a shameful reflection on us, and on the real celebrities we used to have, such as Frank Sinatra.  By the time he was starting in film he was well-known for a character and singing talent that was making him a star already, even if, as this book proves, he had more or less the looks of a young Lee EvansBy the time he was finished he'd acted straight, comic, romantic, criminal, sung his heart out, danced – even learnt the drums for one role.  He had Golden Globes, an Oscar – and he directed one film as well as produced several others.  In an age when the world is up in arms at the passing of anyone remotely famous, what tribute can we give to a great such as he was?
+
|summary=When a man is found crucified on the top of a hill in Nuneaton, DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to the case alongside her sidekick, the AI detective LockIt's their first live case together, having previously been very successful with several cold casesBut when there is a second body found crucified a few days later, Kat is suddenly struggling with a potential serial killer and a very high profile case that draws a lot of unwanted attention to their AI Future Policing projectWill they be able to solve the case in time, or will Kat find herself taken off the case and, potentially, out of a career?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445655772</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=139851120X
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Wenhua Wang, Amann Wang and Yu Yan Chen (translator)
+
|isbn=B0DB64PYV5
|title=Mr Horton's Violin
+
|title=The White Rose
 +
|author=Dave Baines
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Emerging Readers
+
|genre=Dystopian Fiction
|summary=Meet Mr Horton. He is one of the world's most famous and rich musical instrument players, and has done it all – except, that is, stumble on a music tree. You have to stumble on them, for not carpenters, not sculptors, not even simple woodsmen would give them a second look and think of them as anything special.  But when Mr Horton does find one he is able to fashion the best, most magical violin imaginable out of its wood. The only problem after that is working out who deserves to play it…
+
|summary=In 2033, a superstorm known as the White Rose devastates the Northern Hemisphere. And it's not a storm that gathers, wreaks havoc, then dissipates. Instead, it hovers across half the Earth with its octopus-like tentacles, not giving up and never going away.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0993215459</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}

Latest revision as of 09:14, 30 October 2024

Reviews by readers from all the many walks of literary life. With author interviews, features and top tens. You'll be sure to find something you'll want to read here. Dig in!

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0008385068.jpg

Review of

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

It's midsummer on the Dorset coast and guests gather at The Manor. It's their opening weekend and splendid celebrations are promised. It's all headed up by Francesca Meadows. The Manor was her ancestral home and she's converted it into an impressive retreat for the wealthy and famous. Her husband, Owen, was the architect and work is still ongoing on parts of the site. The heat is oppressive and amongst the guests are enemies as well as friends. Old scores are going to be settled and it won't be long before a body is found. Full Review

0141186356.jpg

Review of

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

4.5star.jpg Literary Fiction

Giovanni's Room follows the narrator David, an American man living in Paris, as he navigates his torturous affair with Giovanni, an Italian bartender he meets in a gay bar. While David is engaged to Hella, who is travelling in Spain, the real tension in the novel arises not from his infidelity but from the deeper conflict within himself. It is David's crippling shame and denial of his sexuality that ultimately dooms his relationship with Giovanni. Full Review

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Review of

Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence

4.5star.jpg Teens

Written in verse, this is Ronny's story, a young black fourteen year old boy from Hackney who suddenly has to move to Norwich and start at a mostly white school. The move is initiated by Ronny's mum who is worried for Ronny's safety after a tragic event, and so Ronny finds himself trying to settle in a new town, a new school, and keep himself out of trouble. He listens to music constantly, and has always dreamed of being a rapper. But now, in this new school, his teacher encourages him to be part of a poetry writing workshop group and, slowly, Ronny begins to see the connections between rap and poetry, and the power of creativity and crafting your words. Full Review

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Review of

The Lavender Companion by Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

It's strange, the things that make you immediately feel that this is the book for you. Before I started reading The Lavender Companion, I visited the author's website and there's a picture of a slice of chocolate cake on the homepage. I don't eat cakes and desserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally. (There's a recipe in the book, which I'm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a mess of it. Notes in the margins are sanctioned. You get to fold down the corners of pages. You suspect that smears of butter would not be a problem. I loved this book already. Full Review

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Review of

Us in the Before and After by Jenny Valentine

5star.jpg Teens

Elk and Mab are best friends, or more than that even, their friendship is a once in a lifetime connection. They meet as children one day on a trip out but unfortunately they don't get each other's contact details at the time. But then chance brings them back together, and they are inseparable. Something has happened though, something terrible and tragic, and now they must work through their grief, and their friendship, together. Full Review

1787333175.jpg

Review of

You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here by Benji Waterhouse

5star.jpg Popular Science

I was tempted to read You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here after enjoying Adam Kay's first book This is Going to Hurt, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography. You Don't Have to be Mad... promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding. Full Review

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Review of

A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez

5star.jpg Short Stories

Mariana Enriquez writes horror that is disturbingly real, achieving this uncanny familiarity by basing her paranormal plots on gritty realities: her settings include an abandoned field full of disused refrigerators due to an urban planning mishap, an overcrowded homeless shelter and a crime-ridden neighbourhood where safety meetings are routine - all within Argentina. The circumstances of her characters are so plausible that the supernatural or otherworldly horror which seeps into these spaces adopts a similarly tangible texture. Full Review

0861546873.jpg

Review of

Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

Anuri spent her childhood on display to the world, thanks to her step-mother Ophelia's increasingly popular presence on social media, where she posted every step of Anuri's childhood for sponsorships and influencer deals and, basically, monetary gain. Now Anuri is in her twenties and she is slowly trying to regain her confidence and to get her life back, suing her step-mother to take down the content about her. Anuri is battling alcoholism, failing to start her PhD, undergoing therapy and secretly abusing people online and receiving money from them for doing so. Most importantly, she is desperately worried about her little sister, who is the new focus of Ophelia's online empire. Can she save her sister, and perhaps herself and her relationship with her father at the same time? Full Review

B0D321VJ76.jpg

Review of

Headload of Napalm by David Chadwick

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

It's September 1973 in Hicks, California. Hicks is a Mojave desert town of a few thousand people with its nearest neighbours of LA and Las Vegas both a significant drive away. Not much happens in Hicks. A silver mine and a defence contractor are the main local employers but otherwise, there's not much of note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. Life is quiet, until.... Full Review

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Review of

The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival

5star.jpg Confident Readers

Will's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways. He is bullied because he has 'the wrong shoes', he has the wrong shoes because his dad can't work and doesn't have enough money for even the most basic of things like food, and his dad can't work because he lost his job at the college, was working a cash-in-hand job on a building site and had an accident. Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and Will's life seems bleak in every direction. And yet, he still has a tiny amount of hope. He is good at art, and clings to the moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Full Review

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Review of

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

5star.jpg Science Fiction

There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise. And this is one of them. Full Review

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Review of

The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway) by Elly Griffiths

4.5star.jpg Crime

Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the site was going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a doorway. There was no skull. Was this a ritual killing or murder? Inevitably, Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry Nelson. It's difficult as Ruth knows, but Nelson doesn't, that she is pregnant with his child as a result of the one night they spent together some three months ago. Her condition will be obvious before long, not least because Ruth is prone to sudden bouts of sickness. Full Review

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Review of

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

4.5star.jpg Autobiography

This book is Joan Didion's heartbreaking autobiographical account of the grief she endured following her husband's sudden death. Books that shed light on taboo topics like death are such a beautiful and necessary resource to help people feel less alone. Didion unpicks unpleasant feelings surrounding death like self-pity, denial and delusion and makes them utterly normal, lends them a human face to wear. Full Review

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Review of

The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie) by Neil Lancaster

4.5star.jpg Crime

It's unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to approach the police. Neither side likes or has any respect for the other. But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and he's prepared to tell the police where the body of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her death. This person, he promises, is someone big and it will be worth the police doing what he wants. And what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to serve the remainder of his sentence and to get an early parole date. Not much to ask, is it? The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and she's even prepared to do the other thing that Hardie demanded - make certain that DS Max Craigie and anyone who works with him is kept well away from what's happening. Full Review

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Review of

Where I've Not Been Lost by Glen Sibley

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

One year after a suicide attempt blows apart musician Brian O’Malley's life, he arrives in an unfamiliar Devon town to recover. Living with an unexpected housemate at his former manager’s holiday home, he dreams of reconnecting with everything he has lost. But as those tentative plans falter, he becomes swept up in a local world of unlikely friendships, mobile discos and surprising romantic possibilities. Full Review

0008405026.jpg

Review of

A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11) by Jane Casey

5star.jpg Crime

It's sixteen years since nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night. She was never found and the investigation ground to a halt. Now, her mother, Helena, and her father are dead in their bed. Initially, it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the positioning of the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and her boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. What looked as though it was going to be an open-and-shut case is now a complex double murder. Kerrigan is convinced that the explanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, Una Burt) are less convinced. Full Review

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Review of

The Dark Wives (D I Vera Stanhope) by Ann Cleeves

4.5star.jpg Crime

A man walking his dog in the early morning discovered the body of a man in the park near Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens. The dead man was Josh - one of the care workers who was due to work a shift the night before but who had never turned up. D I Vera Stanhope is called in to investigate the murder - but her only clue is the disappearance of one of the residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spencer. Some people believe that Chloe was responsible for the death but Vera thinks this is unlikely as the girl's diary makes it clear that she adored Josh. She knows that she has to find Chloe to discover what happened to Josh. Full Review

1399613073.jpg

Review of

Moral Injuries by Christie Watson

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

Olivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century. Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is a perfectionist and a trauma doctor. Anjali is the free spirit of the group and she becomes a GP. When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's going to end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences. Twenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, it's their teenage children who are involved. Full Review

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Review of

The Trading Game: A Confession by Gary Stevenson

4.5star.jpg Autobiography

If you were to bring up an image of a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of someone like Gary Stevenson. A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is the East End, where he was familiar with violence, poverty and injustice. There was no posh public school on his CV - but he had been to the London School of Economics. Stevenson is bright - extremely bright - and he has a facility with numbers which most of us can only envy. He also realised that most rich people expect poor people to be stupid. It was his ability at what was, essentially, a card game which got him an internship with Citibank. Eventually, this turned into permanent employment as a trader. Full Review

000862657X.jpg

Review of

Lover Birds by Leanne Egan

4.5star.jpg Teens

When new girl, Isabel, moves to Lou's hometown of Liverpool from London Lou immediately feels Isabel's disdain for everything around her. A misunderstanding between them leaves them hating each other, but Lou feels her pulse racing every time she looks at Isabel or speaks with her, and that's definitely because Isabel makes her feel so cross, isn't it? Because Lou is straight, isn't she? Even though none of her relationships with boys have gone very well so far, and she's never had a good kiss with any of them? So she just finds herself watching Isabel, and wanting to hang out with her because fighting with her is fun, and she definitely just hates Isabel, doesn't she? Full Review

1009473085.jpg

Review of

The Conservative Effect 2010 - 2024 by Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton (Editors)

5star.jpg Politics and Society

Sometimes it's simpler to explain a book by describing what it isn't and that applies to The Conservative Effect: 2010-2024 - 14 Wasted Years?. If you're looking for an easy read which will deliver the inside story about what really happened on certain occasions, then this isn't the book for you. If that's what you're looking for, I don't think Anthony Seldon's book, Johnson at 10, can be bettered for those tumultuous years. It's a compelling read and should be compulsory for anyone who thinks Johnson should return to politics. The Conservative Effect is an entirely different beast. It's the seventh book in a series which looks at the impact a government has made and co-editor Sir Anthony Seldon regards this as the most important. This book follows the well-established format: a series of experts from various fields review the state of the nation when the coalition took over in 2010, the changes that occurred and the situation in 2024. Full Review

0008666482.jpg

Review of

The Last Life of Lori Mills by Max Boucherat

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

We meet Lori on the first evening she's got the house to herself – no neighbour to pop in, babysitter poorly, mother at work, just an avidly rule-breaking eleven year old, on her lonesome. What could possibly go wrong? Snuggled in a blanket fort, she has one main intention, and that is to log on to Voxminer, the world-building, critter-collecting game that is a hit in Lori's world. But first Lori has a tiny inkling that this stormy night doesn't find herself entirely on her own, and then she finds something even more spooky. For the server she and her bestie and nobody else should be able to enter shows signs of tampering. When malevolent eyes spark up on her phone screen, and her safe place in the game has been doctored – well, where is a girl to turn? Full Review

0241619785.jpg

Review of

White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

5star.jpg Short Stories

As always in Dostoyevsky, the character work is sublime. One is never left wondering what a character is thinking or feeling because Dostoyevsky lays bare their innermost dispositions and temperaments with remarkable clarity. Full Review

B0DGDJRHYD.jpg

Review of

Nowhere Man by Deborah Stone

4star.jpg General Fiction

In a quiet suburban house, Patrick is making his final plans. A meticulous man, he makes sure of every preparation, down to the last detail. Some last reflections, and then he says goodbye to his wife, the world, and his life. It's horribly sad. At work in her shop, his wife Diana is fending off yet another phone call about her ageing and ailing mother, who needs extricating from yet another accident. It will be a while before Diana realises what Patrick has done. Full Review

191309734X.jpg

Review of

King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes

4star.jpg Autobiography

King Kong Theory is a hard-hitting memoir and feminist manifesto, which can be seen as a call to arms for women in a phallocentric society broken at its core. Originally written in French, the book is a collection of essays in which Virginie Despentes explores her experiences as a woman through the complex prism of her varied life: from rape to sex work and pornography. Though these discussions are intertwined, their placement within the book can feel somewhat disjointed, a reflection of their original form as independent essays. Full Review

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Review of

Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Cespedes

4star.jpg Literary Fiction

This Italian work of feminist fiction holds an air of suspense and tension from the moment our protagonist, Valeria Cossati, purchases her forbidden notebook, and learns about herself in the most intimate and revealing ways. Full Review

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Review of

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

3star.jpg Literary Fiction

At best, this novel is a scathing critique of modern society and reveals the fragility of human relationships; at worst, it is the cynical, predictable and slightly trite tale of an unlikeable protagonist. This unlikely heroine, a slim, attractive and newly orphaned girl in her twenties is disillusioned with the world, but resolves not to lose sleep over it: in fact, her solution lies in her hibernation. Full Review

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Review of

Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan

4star.jpg Crime

When a man is found crucified on the top of a hill in Nuneaton, DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to the case alongside her sidekick, the AI detective Lock. It's their first live case together, having previously been very successful with several cold cases. But when there is a second body found crucified a few days later, Kat is suddenly struggling with a potential serial killer and a very high profile case that draws a lot of unwanted attention to their AI Future Policing project. Will they be able to solve the case in time, or will Kat find herself taken off the case and, potentially, out of a career? Full Review

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Review of

The White Rose by Dave Baines

4star.jpg Dystopian Fiction

In 2033, a superstorm known as the White Rose devastates the Northern Hemisphere. And it's not a storm that gathers, wreaks havoc, then dissipates. Instead, it hovers across half the Earth with its octopus-like tentacles, not giving up and never going away. Full Review