This was one of those impulse library books I saw on a display shelf and grabbed on my way to the counter. I had no idea what it was about, didn’t read the blurb, just liked the cover and figured I’d take it home and give it a try. But it turned out to be READ MORE
Category: Fiction
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | GABRIEL’S MOON – WILLIAM BOYD
I was excited about this one when it came up on my BookTube Prize Quarterfinals judging pool. I love stories of intrigue and espionage ( MI-5, or Spooks, is one of my all-time favourite shows), and I liked the twist that this one features a writer who kind of accidentally becomes entangled in the world READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | LONG ISLAND – COLM TÓIBÍN
I’ve only read one other Colm Tóibín book, The Magician, which I also read for The BookTube Prize in 2022. I admired the writing style, even if the story was a little dense for my liking. This one is a sequel to one of Tóibín’s most famous books, Brooklyn. I’ve not read Brooklyn, so I READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | SIPSWORTH – SIMON VAN BOOY
I knew I’d like this one. I had already purchased it before it came up in my BookTube Prize quarterfinals reading list, so I was excited to read it. (Plus it helped that Sue had recommended it to me several times!) It’s a small book, but with one that tackles some big topics. It’s a READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BEHIND YOU IS THE SEA – SUSAN MUADDI DARRAJ
This was one of the books I read for the BookTube Prize Quarterfinals judging this year. I hadn’t heard of it before, and probably wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. But I’m glad I did, because it was a very interesting book, both in content and structure. This book is told in individual chapters, each more READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | IN ASCENSION – MARTIN MACINNES
This is one of those books I just don’t get. I was vaguely interested in it when I first read the blurb – I like the idea of marine biology and discovering organisms we didn’t know existed. That part was somewhat interesting. But the rest… I guess I didn’t read it too closely. So I READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | ALL FOURS – MIRANDA JULY
This book has been getting a lot of attention since its publication last year. It’s been called the first great perimenopausal novel, and women have been picking it up looking for something that has been notably missing from the literary landscape – stories of what it means to get older in a female body, but READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | GARLIC AND THE WITCH (AND GARLIC AND THE VAMPIRE) – BREE PAULSEN
This is another wonderful graphic novel I discovered thanks to my kid, who is becoming a connoisseur of the genre. It’s the story of a witch who has brought her vegetables to life because she desperately needed help in the garden. One of these, Garlic, is facing a difficult transition – she might be developing READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | GOOD NIGHT, IRENE – LUIS ALBERTO URREA
This is the story of two young women, Irene (who is fleeing an abusive relationship) and Dorothy (who just wants to get away from her farm and do something to help the war effort). They both join the Red Cross in the US during WWII and get sent to Europe to drive vehicles that were READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE PARIS WIDOW – KIMBERLY BELLE
Another of the books I borrowed from the library to satisfy my thriller craving! I think I’d just read The Paris Apartment, and I’d enjoyed both the thriller storyline and the atmosphere of the setting. I was hoping to re-visit that feeling again in another Parisian-set thriller, only this time with an entirely different kind READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS – PETER SWANSON
I was intrigued by the premise of this book, partly because I’m a book blogger, and partly just because it involves books and a bookstore. It’s about a a bookseller, Malcolm (Mal) Kershaw, and a blog post he wrote years ago in which he listed the top eight books featuring a perfect murder. It was READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | I FOUND YOU – LISA JEWELL
I picked borrowed this from the library after reading We Were Never Here and The Paris Apartment and enjoying the fast pace of thrillers. This one was a little slower than those, but in a good way that I enjoyed. It all begins when Alice, a single mum who has her own struggles paying the READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BEFORE WE WERE INNOCENT – ELLA BERMAN
I borrowed this from the library on another of my whims, mostly because I’ve had some good luck with Reese’s Book Club picks in the past, and this was another one. It’s a combo of psychological thriller/mystery and friendship drama. It straddles two time periods, both including two of the main characters – Joni and READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE PARIS APARTMENT – LUCY FOLEY
Not your typical mystery book – this one has lots of layers, several overlapping plots, and plenty of intrigue and misdirection. It’s the story of a young man, Ben, who is staying in a rather fancy apartment building in Paris. When we meet him, we know next to nothing about his life or why he’s READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | FRIENDS OF DOROTHY – SANDI TOKSVIG
I adored this book. Let me just start with that. I didn’t have any idea what I’d find when I started it, but it turned out to be a complete delight. It’s the story of a young couple, Amber and Stevie, who have just bought their own house. It’s not new, it’s definitely seen better READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | A GRIM REAPER’S GUIDE TO CATCHING A KILLER – MAXIE DARA
After reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, I was on the lookout for more books that had a paranormal element, but also a great and engaging storyline. This one seemed to fit the bill. It’s a thriller – a murder mystery, to be precise – but the protagonist, Kathy Valence, doesn’t have your READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE NIGHTINGALE – KRISTIN HANNAH
I doubt a single person who reads this blog missed out on hearing about this book. It’s been around for a while – ten years, in fact – and I even had it on my shelves for years without reading it. I borrowed the audiobook from the library several times, but had trouble focusing enough READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE THINGS WE CANNOT SAY – KELLY RIMMER
To continue my WWII-related reading streak, I decided to try a book that’s been on my TBR for quite some time. It’s a dual story that takes place in the present day(ish) and in the middle of WWII – 1942. The book bounces back and forth between two generations of a family that was irreparably READ MORE