Lucy

Cute, but boring. I was more interested to learn about the genesis of the project, than read the actual letters which are mostly dull.

Emotionally drained! What a ride. More please!

I really liked this twisty turny Sea Detective novel. After a weaker 2nd book, this is back to being awesome like the original.

Even funnier and smarter than The Rook. I wish Myfanwy had had a larger roll, but I enjoyed the two main characters and their interactions. Can't wait for book 3!

Moments of brilliance and fluidity, surrounded by quite a bit of meandering. I felt let down tremendously by the ending. But overall, an epic, aweinspiring work of a lifetime.

Wow, what an amazing, inventive, unique read. Doesn't dumb down the science, it was totally out of my league science wise, I felt like I needed Physics for Dummies on hand at all times.

Margaret Atwood never fails to blow my mind. A beautiful, quirky collection of tales, mostly around the topic of aging, but coming at it from many different views. And vampires.

An intelligent, thoughtful and deeply personal thriller. I've read almost everything the author has written, both his scifi and his YA, and I believe he's one of the most versatile writers around at the moment.

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 cannot speak highly enough about this brilliant and wonderful book. An absolutely stunning, enchancting collection of intertwined stories set in Russia from Stalin's purges to the modern day, revolving around a painting, a meadow and a dancer. A must read.

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

Overall, an enjoyable read, although more of a personal memoir and less of a book on archeaology.

I was certainly put off by her statement that James Cook's ship Endeavour “became the first Western vessel to sight New Zealand” (page 110) when it was Abel Tasman in 1642, not Cook in 1769, who was the first. Perhaps by “Western” the author means English speaking.

This mistake did tarnish the book somewhat for me, otherwise I would have given it 4/5 stars.

A stunningly beautiful fable-esque story in the style of Maggie O'Farrell.

A young servant girl runs in the middle of the night from a starving, disease ridden English colony on the James River in 1600s Virginia. She's running from her mistress, but also from the darkness in her past, and hopefully, towards the safety of French Canada.

Along the way she deals with starvation, injury, disease, animals, other humans, her failing believe in god and the memories of the past.

The girl (named Lamentations, but she admits herself she does not fit this name) is a resourceful and clever and endearing character, and her development, alone as she is in the story and in the wilds is artfully done.

Groff is a true master of the word.

Wow, what a brilliant read. It reminded me a lot of The Overstory with its trees and ecological themes, but spanning hundreds of years, a dozen central characters, twisting narrations and common stopping places. Immersive and enthralling.

Suprisingly poetic. Powerful, scary and intricate.

This is the first Lionel Shriver I've read and I'm instantly in love with her dialogue. Kay and Cyril feel so real, she brings them off the page and into my lounge. Through good and bad, sickness and health, their marriage feels very real and Shriver excels at the nuances of the human experience. However the book overall feels a bit of a slog, and the gimmick of ‘sliding doors' wore a bit after the 7th or 8th iteration.
Tackling events ranging from Brexit to Covid, the refugee crisis, the financial crises, elder abuse and climate change, Should We Stay or Should We Go is a sweeping yet intimate novel of two people who take charge of their fate. 3.5 stars rounded up for the gorgeous writing.

More please!

To be fair, the one star is only representative of the first 1/4 of the book, because that's all of it I could stomach.

Stereotypical characters, boring plot, slow, and just plain badly written. There are literally hundreds of great thrillers out there, back away from this one and go and read something else.

A gentle and enjoyable read about Charlotte Lucas, the friend of Lizzy Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. While large chunks of the book felt true to the original, a significant portion seemed so out of character for Charlotte, and jarred with how a woman of her stature and position would have acted that it coloured my opinion of the book, even though it was very sweet. Overall a diverting read, but not one true fans of Austen will necessarily appreciate.

Not as good as it could have been. The first half is quite good, the second lets the book down. Needed a better author.