9. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ After hearing a little bit about this, I decided I probably wouldn’t pick it up. Murder mysteries rarely do anything for me anymore, and it sounded a bit gimmicky. Then I heard two consecutive glowing reviews, and it won the Costa First Novel Award, and I can’t pinpoint what it was,

8. My Mum Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ This has been very high on my anticipated reads since I learned of its existence, and imagine my delight when I happened across an available, unreserved paperback copy on the shelves at work whilst I sat 8th on the reservation list for the hardback copy that I’d thought was the only

Non-fiction 19

I only really found my groove with non-fiction in 2017 but I’ve found myself thinking more about reading non-fiction than I have fiction so far this year. I keep adding new ones to my list, but here are the top contenders. Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham I recently finished watching all

7. Smut by Alan Bennett

☆ ☆ ☆ Smut contains two short stories – The Greening of Mrs Donaldson and The Shielding of Mrs Forbes – exploring sex and the “British” response to it. The former sees a widow’s life expand in ways she’d never imagined as she finds her own identity in learning of others’, whilst the latter focuses

6. Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

☆ ☆ ☆ Home Fire was a really interesting and enlightening read for me, exploring a world and culture I’m not familiar with and taking inspiration from the Antigone myth. It follows a cast of characters as siblings Isma and Aneeka deal with the aftershock of their brother Parvaiz’s move to Syria to join ISIS

O.W.Ls Readathon

I have never taken part in a readathon, but I think that’s because I’ve never found one I felt suited my reading style (reading an average length book in a week is fast for me). The O.W.Ls readathon, however, is a month long readathon from 1st April – 30th April and the prompts correspond to

5. Trust Me, I’m a Junior Doctor by Max Pemberton

☆ ☆ It’s really unfair to open a book review by mentioning a newer book tackling the same topic in the same format, but it’s the best summary out there: Trust Me is like Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt, but seriously lacking in both genuine believable human feeling, and actual real true information.

My Favourite 3-Star Reads

I’m desperately trying not to fall behind on book reviews at the moment (I’m writing two with a third imminent!) but I’m also conscious of throwing too many book reviews out there all in one go. Anyway, don’t you find that there are some three star books that just stay with you more than you

4. Sunrise by Jessie Cave

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ This is a little book at just 70 pages but that doesn’t mean that it’s forgettable or without impact. I’ve followed Jessie Cave on Instagram for a few years now, and I’ve always loved her honesty and openness. Sunrise is the book version (script??) of her stage show, Sunrise. It’s kind

3. A Separate Peace by John Knowles

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (I have been writing this one for AGES because I have so much to say and it’s getting me behind on three other reviews! Hopefully I haven’t rambled too much, but it’s so hard to express everything about a book that, not to be dramatic, lives deep in your soul