⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 What happens when a life-time of learned defenses suddenly stop working? This is a story about revenge, misogyny, rage and the sort of evil that keeps you awake at night. But at the heart of it, this is really a story about love. About guilt. And most of…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 “It was impossible to tell a pauper from a prince in this city”. Jamie Buckby, the narrator of our story, is a strange and unsettling character. A self-proclaimed provocateur, Jamie is arrogant, his humor skirting a definite edge, his relationship with his long-time lover Clare shuttered and cautious.…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A mind-blowing, insightful, and transformative look at what we want; why we want it; and what we can do to want more, or less, or want differently. The main theme provided by the author is that the vast majority of us live our lives wanting the things, (behaviors, lifestyles,…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “The Five Things” is an evocative, gentle book that wraps you up and pulls you into its beguiling world. We first meet Wendy, the main protagonist and our narrator, when she is a young child, aged around nine, living in the South of England in a small coastal village.…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What a fabulous read. I just love finding new and addictive detective series, particularly those with a strong female protagonist. And the icing on the cake, - the dual setting of this book, with the story - alternating between Long Island, NY and in and around County Clare, Ireland…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow. This book passed the lump-in-the-throat test. With flying colours. Reading the last few pages, my emotional reaction was sudden and visceral and my head unmistakably fuzzy as I closed the book. Who do we really know for sure? How far are we willing to go to protect the…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️➕ I found this gorgeous picture book incredibly endearing. (It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I teared up at the end of it, so touched was I by the messaging and so deeply did it resonate with me). From the very first notes, drifting across the park to…
This outstanding addition to the DCI Alan Banks series, (#27), delivers everything you would expect from this author, (whose characters just keep getting better with age) and at the same time, introduces a bit of a wistful and nostalgic tone that makes me wonder if changes are afoot in this…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️➕ This book took my breath away. Literally. Towards the very end of the story, I became aware that I was holding my breath, allowing in only tight short intakes, afraid to disturb the rhythm of the space I had dropped into, not wanting it to ever end. This is…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What happens when your world is suddenly unrecognizable - when everything, everyone, you thought you knew; in fact, you built your life around; is suddenly, dramatically (explosively) shifted. Meet Lexi Greenwood. Wife. Mother. Friend. Lexi and her family live in a quiet middle-class British suburb just outside of London.…