Another month and another underwhelming crime thriller. This was another crime novel written by a woman that had been compared to Agatha Christie. I feel sorry for these writers. Not only with they never be able to live up to the Queen of Crime but they are also so different. Other female writers exist. It’d be useful if that could be acknowledged.

After watching the second season of this show on Netflix I decided that it was only fair that I try out the source. I think the show is absolutely brilliant but the comic stories didn’t quite do it for me. The first volume didn’t go into too much detail, which was fine for me because I knew the show. If I was reading this fresh, I doubt that I’d have carried on with the series.

This month ended up being quite good for poetry. I was sent three different poetry collections by the writers. The first was this fantastic book that chartered the life of a doomed relationship. It is split into 3 parts: The Loving, The Breaking, and The Healing.

I wanted to read this novel as soon as I heard about it. It just sounded so exciting. I know it is kind of being presented as a love triangle but it’s so much more than that. This is a deeper character study that delves into LGBTQ+ issues. It is split into three sections and is a very strong debut. This definitely lived up to the hype.

Free poetry book number two was this wonderful collection that took us from light and dark. It is a series that shows us the duality of human existence. We all experience good and bad moments in our lives but, whatever happens, the day will always follow the night.

David Walliams is one of the UK’s best selling children’s authors but I’ve only read one of his books. I thought Bad Dad would be enjoyable for kids but didn’t think too much of it. After some recent Twitter criticism of Walliams, I decided to check out more of this work. Starting with this one. It didn’t really persuade me to keep going.

I didn’t write an official review of this book because it didn’t feel right. I’m not even sure that it should count towards my monthly count but it’s a book. This is a great resource or introducing young children to the concept of race in society. It doesn’t have all of the answers but it’s a good place to start.

Sula was this month’s choice for my virtual book club. It was something that I wanted to read and the book that I picked. I enjoyed it but most of the group didn’t. I found it really difficult to stick to my guns when people started to rip it apart. I agree that this isn’t necessarily Toni Morrison at her best but it’s still worth a read.

The third and final book of poetry this month. This was a collection all about the geographic and emotional journey of the writer. After making the move from his home to Europe and eventually to New York, he realises that he has no idea who he wants to be. This shows the ups and downs of trying to find yourself.

Okay, so I haven’t officially finished this one at the time of writing but I’m hoping to have it done by the end of today. I had read Vox last year but didn’t really like it. It was just a bit much. I hadn’t expected to read this one but it was on sale on the Kindle Store for 99p. I decided it was worth a look. After all, I’ve been giving quite good ratings for books of late. I felt like I was losing my edge as a ranty review.