Lucy

Eldritch horror with demonic possession and druidic Grandmothers. And birds.

Wonderful to read a truly unique YA adventure/romance. Blackwater Island is a well thought out setting, the characters are flawed enough to be interesting without being all emo, and the ending...!!!

A solid thriller, when it stops trying to be too clever.

A harrowing and horrific memoir. So well written, I feel emotionally drained after finishing.

So much to love! Dragons, fierce heroines, tough military school, great world building, magic, love interests...

The spice was not for me, and the love triangle felt unbalanced and it got a bit wordy towards the end.

But overall a strong fantasy series to follow.

A powerful, moving and darkly funny novel on the history and future of racial violence in the US. One of the best books I've read in 2022.

As good if not better than the 1st book. Not often I have to yell at the main character “don't kill the toddler”!

A balm for my Normal People bruised soul. Sharply written, dark with moments of light.

Equal parts beauty and monotony.

An utterly fascinating and moving memoir of life in the harshest of climates.

Not my favourite Raksura book. A slow start, an exciting 3rd quarter but overall not the best.

4.5 stars boosted to 5 for sheer uniqueness and enjoyability.

4.5 stars not because I loved it but because it's a freaking genius of a book.

Pretty much perfect. Stephen as I love him, small town Maine, a little horror, great characters. Really interesting idea.

A slow first half led to a cracking 2nd. I really like Aldo and Strocchi. The plethora of Florentine flunkies got a little overwhelming but the plot was tight and interesting. Will read the sequel.

If sad lesbian romances with giant sea creatures is your thing then this will do you nicely. It's beautifully written, but not much happens (I mean, lots happens but it's pretty uneventful). The last few pages made me cry though, grief and love and loss.

Short vignettes of Didion's travels through Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama in 1970. Perfection.

Warm hearted and cheery, if slightly leaning towards saccharine at times, this 2nd book in the Emeline Lake series is full of Keep Calm and Carry On, but has a decent backbone and the audiobook was very well narrated.

Ohhhh what a fabulous book. I loved it dearly, in so many ways. Inventive characters, fast pace, exciting action, cool ending... The only detractor was a slight erring to the side of SJWism, but other than that I can find little to fault with this outstanding read. For fans of Firefly, Star Wars and great writing in general.

I really really really wanted to love this book, but I didn't. I enjoyed it enough to finish, but not enough to read the second in the series. I can't quite pin down what didn't work, but it didn't gel. The characters were almost without fail annoying and boring, and while there was action, it was interspersed with way too much faffing about for me.

I loved the originality of this book, amazing and Gothic, but it did drag in places.

Another tightly plotted edge of your seat thriller from the master of spy thrillers. Allon almost takes a back seat to two anti heroes in this outing set partially in Western Europe and partially in the heart of Moscow. Highly enjoyable.

A utterly absorbing and consuming tour through the golden age of Islam via caliphs and storytellers, historians and travellers, myth and reality. Really enjoyed the narration by the author.

A gently enchanting story for 8-12 year olds. Minnie is a brave and clever protagonist and Eliza is a smart and likeable witch.

Charming, heart breaking, very sweet and special. A wonderful read.