Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Alexandra had high hopes: the arse of an athlete, the waist of a supermodel, the speed of a gazelle. Defeated by gyms and bored of yoga, she decided to run. Her first attempt…
Review: ‘Wake’ by Anna Hope
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Five Days in November, 1920 As the body of the Unknown Soldier makes its way home from the fields of Northern France, three women are dealing with loss in their own way: Hettie, who…
Review: ‘The Humans’ by Matt Haig
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars When an extra-terrestrial visitor arrives on Earth, his first impressions of the human species are less than positive. Taking the form of Professor Andrew Martin, a leading mathematician at Cambridge University, the visitor wants…
The Moonstone Read-Along: Farewell Thoughts
So that was The Moonstone. The impression on Twitter and in the posts of those people that managed to actually wrap up their reading on time was that it was pretty flipping brilliant. In fact, I don’t remember seeing a…
Literary Fiction Review: ‘The Song of Achilles’ by Madeline Miller
RATING: 5 out of 5 stars Greece in the age of Heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is nobody, just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus…
Literary Fiction Review: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood
Synopsis courtesy of GoodReads Rating: 5 out of 5 starsThis is the story of Offred, one of the unfortunate ‘Handmaids’ under the new social order who have only one purpose: to breed. In Gilead, where women are prohibited from holding…
Book v. Film: ‘The Princess Bride’ by William Goldman
I’d had the book of this on my wishlist for *ages* when both Ellie and Hanna kindly bought me it for my birthday last year. The obvious problem with having two people whose opinions you respect send you the same…
Literary Fiction Review: ‘The Secret History’ by Donna Tartt
Rating: 5 out of 5 starsSynopsis (Courtesy of GoodReads)A misfit at an exclusive New England college, Richard finds kindred spirits in the five eccentric students of his ancient Greek class. But his new friends have a horrific secret. When blackmail and…
Fantasy Review: ‘Bridge of Birds’ by Barry Hughart
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Synopsis When the children of his village were struck with a mysterious illness, Number Ten Ox sought a wiseman to save them. He found master Li Kao, a scholar with a slight flaw in…
Review: ‘Dark Matter’ by Michelle Paver
Rating: 5 stars out of 5 Synopsis (taken from Waterstones.com) January 1937. Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he’s offered the chance…