Dawn

A cute little graphic novel, nicely illustrated with an interesting storyline. Taking the werewolf and vampire myths and doing something new with them is always a risk but Stephens manages it beautifully. In the end this is a book about acceptance and family, lovely wee read.

So I was a bit mixed about this one, overall I quite enjoyed it and it passed the time. However, the narrator is really quite annoying and I never really warmed to her. The plot is a fairly simple, parental abduction with the added complication of a possible viral pandemic. It was surreal reading it with the news echoing the story but I guess that's the author's intention.

I nearly stopped reading, I wish I had. Steven is so unpleasant and misogynistic I didn't want to be in his head. The book, like Steven, has no redeeming qualities. Perhaps if the attempts at humour had actually been funny or the prose had been magnificent. But I wasn't and I feel I have wasted the last couple of weeks. My advice - don't bother.

Great fun wee read that I flew through. A magical YA set in my hometown, what's not to like? Looking forward to reading more of Ropa's adventures.

Final score 4 5* - I knocked off a half-star because I get a bit uncomfortable when a grown bloke writes a teenage girl saying “eat my vag” and the likes.

A satisfactory novel (in the positive sense) that was easy to read but also fairly easy to forget. There were distant echoes of Jane Eyre and twisting tendrils of suspense which, all too often, withered without gratification. While it pulled on my gothic heartstrings at times, it was not dark enough for me. Won't be a re-read but I'll probably read more of Halls' work.

A strange and horrifying tale - much more than the well known basic plot. It is a study of the human soul, written in beautiful prose and poetic imagery. Loved it.

Book-club read [UoG]:
It was fine, good even. A quick easy read with believable characters (mostly) but it was rather tame for Brookmyre. Enjoyable details but I don't think it will stay long in my memory. Definitely prefer his grungier earlier work.

Beautifully illustrated and a gorgeous story, a melding of folklore and queerness. It's a tale of identity, acceptance (including self-acceptance) and a little bit of environmentalism too! What's not to love? Even this jaded old creature's eyes were slightly damp by the end.
I flew through it in half and hour - I hate reading graphic novels on my phone. I'll definitely be buying a paper copy so I can linger over Ostertag's delightful drawings at leisure.

Scalies, Smokies and now... Nusies! Great fun futuristic fiction with dragons, soldiers and firefighters all up in arms against each other, oh and don't forget the droids!
4.5 stars rounded up because my favourite cranky character made a reappearance amongst some other familiar faces.
Sad it's the last but probably for the best not to drag it out and end up regretting it. I'll be happy to re-read this series anytime.

A most enjoyable read, it's basically The Martian turned up to 11 with aliens! Ryland Grace is pretty much exactly Mark Watney except he's using his sciencey problem solving skills to save Earth not just himself.

The post-coma mushy memory is a nice narrative device. There's lots of interesting sciencey stuff that I'm barely clever enough to understand and certainly not smart enough to disprove.

All-in-all a quite bizarre storyline, gets increasingly weirder and culminates with a totally unexpected ending.

It's a fun and easy read, kind of a sweet buddy movie set in space. If you like The Martian you'll enjoy this.

A cute little YA book about forbidden love set mostly in South Korea. I've absolutely no interest in K-pop, I'm definitely not a YA and I know next to nothing about Korean culture but I really enjoyed this. It was sweet and I totally believed in Jenny and Jaewoo, plus I really enjoyed Googling all the food - this book made me so hungry!

4.5* rounded up to 5 because it's Discworld and that's the best world. I love these books for their strange yet familiar worldscape with plots, people and places that are often a version of Earth's own.

This was a witches novel, which are amongst my favourites of the series - featuring, as they do, my hero Granny Weatherwax. I'm loathe to go into the ins and out if the reasons I didn't give it 5* so I'll just say - spoilers!

Terry Pratchett was a literary genius and will be greatly missed, I'm sure he'd have done a bit more tinkering on this if he had the chance.

I'm really enjoying reading Oseman's books, they take me back to my teenage years and show me that things maybe haven't changed so much. This is her most adult novel, such as the characters are on the cusp of adulthood and sexual themes are examined in more detail than previous works - I didn't expect so much sex and romance in a book about aromatic asexuality! But as with Oseman's previous works it's not about one single thing, it's about the whole messy mish-mash that is life. It's about love, friendship, acceptance and self-acceptance. Never preachy, just always there for you, like a good friend - and yeah, I did have a little cry.

Written from the point of view of an observant android designed to be an AF (artificial friend). Klara observes the world through her window, worshipping the power of the Sun and waiting for someone to choose her. When she and Josie meet it is as if they are destined for each other.
The story is vague as Klara has an imperfect, skewed vision and often does not understand what she observes.
There is a darkness underneath, mostly involving Mr. Capaldi - I am haunted by the way things could have been. Instead it was gentle and melancholy, Ishiguro makes us care about someone who cannot care themselves.

I was pleasantly surprised by Junky, having negative memories of reading Naked Lunch (albeit over 20 years ago, I'll really need to re-read it). Originally published in 1953 under a pen name and peppered with editorial disclaimers this was the 1977 “complete and unexperged edition”.
The writing was intelligent and the stories interesting and often quite funny. How much is entirely true is known only by Burroughs but it remains utterly believable. It does not attempt to glamorous drugs or addiction but nor does it shy from the pleasures a “hit” can give.
It's nearly 60 years old so some language and concepts may seen alien (and politically incorrect) but they are true to the time - the “jive talk” glossary was a lovely touch.

I'd heard good things about this book, see the raving cover quote, yet I found this only an okay read. Its biggest success is making several horrific incidents bland and mundane, unfortunately it does the same to those moments that should be magical.
It's quick and easy to read but mostly because the words don't stay in your mind, melting away to let the next sentence pass through. It wanted, very much, to be deep but felt more like those books designed to be read on a sun-towel and instantly forgotten. The omniscient viewer from heaven was a nice touch for a narrator but quickly grew stale. Finally, I had no emotional bond with any character and was left “meh” when I finished the book.

This felt a bit like a low budget horror/thriller film but with a 12 classification. There were gasps and surprises but nothing very terrifying. Kept me reading though, I wanted to know who it was... The ending was rather predictable and rushed with the final few pages feeling almost unnecessary.
3.5 rounded up because it was better than some of the recent rubbish I've read.

Book-club read [UoG]:
A beautiful, eye-opening experience. The pictures painted by Joshi were as colourful as the mandalas the protagonist creates. The stories as intricate as her henna designs.
I didn't want this to end, I was happy to dwell within the pages and follow Lakshmi and those around her as they lived and learnt. I look forward to the next novel and hope with all my heart it doesn't disappoint.
I cared deeply for Lakshmi as soon as I met her on these pages. I instantly felt understanding for her and her choices. For an author to create this bond with a reader who has little prior knowledge of the time and place shows great talent.

I liked the premise of this novel, a “what if” story of the slave trade where Whytes are slaves to the Blaks. It did really make you reflect not only on the story but the real slave trade too - which I guess was the plan! However, I got a bit bored of it towards the middle and was glad to get a voice change to draw my interest back. All in all I enjoyed it and the ending was satisfactory but definitely not a patch on Girl, Woman, Other.

Such a beautiful debut, elegant and strange. Exquisitely translated from the original French, it retains the beautiful imagery (I assume it does - I've not read it in its original language).

I found it a detailed look at a blossoming relationship. The pictures it created in my mind were so intense it could have been Kerrand's graphic novel.

I see some negative reviews that it's slow or boring - please ignore those and give it a chance.

Another Vinyl Detective book (only the second I've read) and it's great fun again. Don't be put off by the heft, nearly 500 pages, the story zips along and isn't too taxing on the brain. It's full of zany characters with weird names, some recurring and others new and fresh. A suitable amount of cats, wine and records with a smidgeon of danger. Definitely worth a read, maybe even a re-read.

Raven has returned to Edinburgh a Dr in is own right, an occupation Sarah can only dream of. However, she has a surprising new role and it seems their fledgling relationship from book 1 must come to naught. Working together, under Dr Simpson's roof, they once again must work together to find a killer. This time the good name of their employer is at risk alongside the population of Edinburgh and perhaps even themselves!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the main characters were fleshed out and interesting new ones were introduced. There were twists, turns and false clues aplenty all written intelligently and grippingly. The viewpoints change and the first person narratives are particularly chilling.

Once again Parry (Brookmyre and Dr Haetzman) has seamlessly integrated historical facts with fiction to create a terrifyingly believable tale. Good to see women are still pushing the boundaries (well, good for them but not always good for everyone else).

That's the next one out so I can't wait to find out where Sarah and Raven find themselves now!

Reread + Bookclub read {S+S}/[UoG]: this had popped up in both my book clubs and I'd not read it at the time. I'd remembered not really liking it so was surprised to see I'd given it 4* previously. Having finished it today I remember why.

Overall I liked the idea, the extended “It's a Wonderful Life” was interesting, who doesn't want to know what they could have been had they taken a different fork in the road? I like the echoes of the other lives that bleed through into each other, the idea that despite the differences some things will stay the same.

I didn't, however, like the ending. It was all too positive. This idea that everything will be alright now because she has accepted her faults and will live for happiness. All will be fine if she gives piano lessons to vulnerable teens, volunteers in her free time and donates to environmental research.

I felt that the darkness of the previous chapters was undermined by the glow of the final few. Having lived with the “black dog” I know that sometimes it's on your back and at other times it's just lurking in the shadows, but it's always there. This ending felt so false it tarnished the pleasure of the rest of the book.

That saying, it was well written. I did like it overall and I'm glad I re-read it. At least now I've reviewed it now I'll remember why I had the feeling I disliked it before going in this time.

Darker than the previous volumes (even got wee tear from this old, cold-hearted reader) but still with a focus on recovery and support. Sad that there will be only one further book but Oseman is probably right not to stretch it too far for fear of breakage. I can always revisit Nick and Charlie again, in these pages and when they crop up in Oseman's other works.

Book-club read [UoG]: definitely wouldn't have picked this one up off my own back. The cover is the epitome of a “holiday” book, the ones offered in a train station or airport, all bright colours and beaches and promises of exciting and mysterious travels. I much prefer darker, gothic covers: skulls, ravens, skeletons and dying blooms. This one also had a “Reece's book club” sticker on the front which would usually have me running in the opposite direction - I'm not a fan of celebrity endorsement.
But I was pleasantly surprised, the writing was engaging. The protagonist was interesting, and flawed - I like flawed! Mina didn't shy away from violence and darkness. I didn't expect the twist (it was so subtly done I actually had to re-read the last few pages just to set it straight in my head).
The only thing I didn't like was the large sections of italics, I find them quite difficult to read. I understand that they were there to differentiate between the podcast and the rest of the book but I feel this could have been done in a different way. Perhaps a different font, “inverted commas”, - prefacing each paragraph with a hyphen. Anyway, it's done now so it doesn't really matter. I may even read the next one, so long as it's not full of italics too!