book review

Book Review – Adventuremice: Otter Chaos! by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre

books, reviews

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I think I’ve forgotten how to read long, grown-up books. Or at least, physical books. Normally, Birnam Wood would take me a bit of time but not this long. I’m nowhere near finishing, so I had to find something quick to fit in for today’s review. Thankfully, my recent book haul had given me the perfect choice. This had the benefit of being super short and it looked like it was going to be a lot of fun. Children’s books these days are so much fun. They probably always were but I probably didn’t appreciate them enough when I was a kid. I can do that now and I can just pretend I’m researching books for when my niece gets older. It’s just amassing a library for when she’s old enough.

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Book Review – The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

books, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Yet again, I was looking for a quick audiobook to listen to at work. I chose a book that I’ve been wondering about for a while. There’s something about Matt Haig that people just love and this book more than any other. I wasn’t convinced. The only other book that I’ve read by him didn’t go as well as I wanted. Plus, it was given a Goodreads award in 2020 and that’s never really an indication that it will be for me. Goodreads is a great place to track my reads but they have a very specific sense of what is good. Normally that doesn’t coincide with my tastes. Still, I figured it would be a pretty easy book to listen to and would give me something to review while I’m getting through Birnam Wood.

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Book Review – Shy by Max Porter

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I think Max Porter is one of those authors that I will instantly buy without knowing anything about the book. I think his style is unique and stands out from the crowd. He is an exciting author and I couldn’t wait to read this one. It turned up on Saturday and I finished it on Sunday. Finishing a Max Porter book in a day is pretty standard because all of his books are pretty short. The fact that they are also full of depth shows you how good he is. I absolutely adored his other books. Grief is the Thing With Feathers and Lanny were both absolutely wonderful and The Death of Francis Bacon was a really interesting read. I was pretty certain that Shy would be another hit, which is why I didn’t even wait to finish Birnam Wood before I picked it up. Such is the power of his writing. But would it be as good as the rest?

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Book Review – Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes by Rob Wilkins

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

How much do we ever really know about the authors we love? It’s not as if we must learn about their lives to appreciate their work. Of course, some writers become more than their books. Terry Pratchett is one of those people. Over the course of his career, Pratchett was responsible for creating Discworld and all of the colourful characters we’ve come to love. He became seen as a jolly, bearded man in a fedora. However, there is so much more to him than that. As Neil Gaiman once wrote, “Terry Pratchett isn’t jolly. He’s angry”. As great as this snippet might be as a headline, it’s definitely not the full picture of the author but there is certainly more to the author than meets the eye. So, when I got the chance to read his official biography, I jumped at the chance to learn more about Terry Pratchett’s life outside of Discworld. Of course, that was months ago and I’ve only just finished it. Do I feel guilty about it? Yes but better late than never, right?

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Book Review – Circe by Madeline Miller

books, reviews

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

From what I can see, the majority of people who have read both Circe and The Song of Achilles tend to prefer Circe. Of course, that’s possibly just my Instagram bubble rather than a real statistic. I ended up enjoying The Song of Achilles way more than I expected. Yes, I had my issue but I think it was mostly well-written. My issues came from the YA of it all and the slightly cringey way the romance was written. However, I celebrate the fact that Madeline Miller represented their relationship in this way. More than anything, it was a sweet and emotional story that I was happy to have read. I didn’t immediately rush out to buy Circe but I did want to read it. After my recent run of Greek mythology novels, I decided it was finally time. Would I be one of the people who preferred this to the earlier book? Or would I buck the trend?

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Book Review – Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

One of the biggest problems with buying so many books in a year is that I tend to forget about them. I put them on my shelf with every intention of reading them later but, inevitably, they get lost amongst the rest. In some cases, I end up buying the book again but, thankfully, that’s a rarity. Mostly they just sit there gathering dust. In order to get my every increasing TBR down, I’ve taken to buying or borrowing the audiobook version as well. I’ve grown to really enjoy listening to an audiobook at work, so it means I can cross a few off in a particularly good week. In the case of this book, I ended up listening to it by accident. I knew that I’d bought a book a few years ago that had “of London” in the title. Turns out, that book was The Ashes of London instead. Ah well, I borrowed this one and might as well give it a listen. It’s one of those books that I see everywhere but didn’t know much about. Maybe it would be a new series for me?

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Book Review – The Accident on the A35 by Graeme Macrae Burnet

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

Between the publication of Graeme Macrae Burnet’s first Georges Gorski novel and the second, he had become a Booker-shortlisted author. The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau didn’t get a great deal of attention when it was published. I’m not saying that the second book got loads but it certainly benefited from being the writer’s follow-up to His Bloody Project. I first read Adèle Bedeau last year and enjoyed it. When I stumbled across the audiobook of the sequel at the library, I decided it was time to get through book 2. There’s a third one on the way at some point, so at least it would leave me in a position to read that at some point.

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Book Review – The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper

books, reviews

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

I’m pretty sure that I bought a copy of this on my first holiday after Covid. I picked it up on a whim when I was in Waterstones. Mostly so we could take advantage of their special offer. It wasn’t something that I knew a lot about before I walked into the shop. It was just one that they happened to be recommended. I don’t even think I properly looked at the cover before I bought it. I just went in blind. It’s definitely the kind of book that appeals to me though, so no doubt I would have picked it up anyway. As ever, it sat on my shelves for ages without being read. Somewhere along the way, I also bought an audiobook copy of it. No doubt it was part of an Audible daily deal or something. One of the many reasons that I’m glad I don’t have a subscription anymore. As I’m trying to reduce the number of unread books on my Audible account, I decided to listen to it last week. As the book is about a Roman brothel, it probably wasn’t the most appropriate choice for work but never mind.

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Book Review – A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

2023 is turning out to be the year of Greek myths and their different retellings. I hadn’t meant for this to happen but I’ve just found myself in a bit of a cycle that I’m not intent on breaking. Thankfully there are so many recent books that I can read. Publishers are relishing the resurgence of mythology and it feels like every week we get a feminist rewriting of one of the most famous myths. Natalie Haynes is one of the most celebrated, so I felt that it was only fair that I give this book a chance. I guess it also helped that I’ve already refamiliarised myself with the events of the Trojan War thanks to Stephen Fry. Plus, it just happened to be available on my library app. Why not listen to it as I was working? Hearing the plight of all those women might make me feel better about my dull job.

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Book Review – The Ice by Laline Paull

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

The Bees by Laline Paull was one of my favourite reads way back in 2015. It was a little rough around the edges but it was an unforgettable reading experience. I was so excited to read it that I rushed out to buy her follow-up novel as soon as it was released. Of course, it was published 6 years ago and I’ve only just got around to reading it. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering how I normally am. I’ve had books on my shelves for longer than that. This time, I did actually try to read it earlier. I think I opened it not long after I bought it but it just didn’t grip me. I couldn’t face pushing on with it, so forgot about it. Until a few years ago when I bought the audiobook to encourage me to finally read it. Although, my initial attempt left me worried. Until last week when I decided to just go for it. Listening to it at work might actually help me finish it. If it turned out badly, I could at least let it wash over me as I went about my normal working day.

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