25 Sept 2024

One Minute Book Reviews: Summer Reads

Summer reads

I am in a reading rut and I cannot tell you how much I loathe it. The first trimester has done a number on me; feeling too sick to read and too exhausted to get drawn into a book. I am really hoping that now I’m through the worst, and cosy season is here, I will get stuck back into some good’uns. In the meantime, here’s the small selection I read over the summer:  

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley 

A civil servant finds herself working on an experimental project that brings expatriates from the past into the twenty first century. She is responsible for helping Commander Graham Gore, a Victorian polar explorer presumed dead in 1847, adjust to modern day phenomena such as Spotify, germs, transatlantic flights and political correctness. Over a long, sultry summer, the two begin to fall in love but as uneasy truths start to emerge, they are forced to reckon with the realities of the project that brought them together. I loved the first half of this novel; watching Gore discover and adjust to modern day life, the dynamic between the two main characters, the scenes where the characters from across history came together (particularly loved Maggie and her Tudor-ways). I didn’t so love the final third of the novel where it got caught up in sci-fi adventure that just wasn’t… very good? And jarred with the first half of the story. I wish we could have just spent more time watching the characters integrate and interact; that was the better story to tell. 3.5/5

I hope this finds you well by Natalie Sue

Jolene works in a dead-end job, riddled with anxiety and depression, and hates her co-workers. When an IT mix-up grants her access to the entire department’s private emails and DMs, she is initially horrified to discover what her colleagues really think of her, until she learns job cuts are looming and realises the power this access can give her. But as she delves deeper into the private lives of her colleagues, Jolene discovers a lot more than she bargained for and her carefully-built walls start to crumble. Imagine a very low-key thriller of office politics combined with a romantic comedy. This was very funny in places with characters that are so flawed, you can’t help but love them. It was one of those that has you from the first page and I really enjoyed it. 4/5

You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry 

Poppy and Alex have been friends since college and made a pact 10 years ago to go on vacation together every year. They’ve had adventures in Vancouver, New Orleans and Croatia, but two years ago it all went wrong. Now Poppy has invited Alex on one last trip; perhaps the last opportunity for these two best friends to realise they could be something more. I’m slowly working my way through Emily Henry’s back catalogue and whilst I enjoyed this, I didn’t think it was quite as good as the other two I’ve read. Still, a nice summer read and full of the great dialogue that Emily Henry does so well. 3/5

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell 

Christopher is visiting his reclusive grandfather when he witnesses an avalanche of mythical creatures come tearing down the hill. This is how he learns that his grandfather is the guardian of one of the ways between the non-magical world and the Archipelago, a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures we believe to be myths live and thrive amongst humans. But the protection of the islands is wearing thin, and Christopher sets off on an urgent quest alongside Mal, a girl with a flying coat and a baby griffin, to find out the truth about what threatens both their worlds. This novel got a lot of fuss in the world of children’s books, and I can see why. I think it’s a real talent to write well for children and I think if the author has done it in such a way that an adult can enjoy the story as well, then they’ve nailed it. 4/5

Happy reading folks x
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13 Sept 2024

August Journal | Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again


My summer has been a mix of exhaustion, gagging on non-existent smells and ranting about how it is possible for my clothes to not be fitting already. 

This is my way of telling you I’m pregnant again in case that wasn’t obvious. 

I found out when we were on holiday in Devon. I was so incredibly bloated that I turned to Gary one evening and said ‘do you think I’m pregnant or I’ve just eaten a lot of cream teas?’. The answer was both, as it turns out. I would say we didn’t tell anyone straight away, but I’m pretty sure I inadvertently told the woman working in the local chemist when I came in three days in a row, first to buy a pregnancy test, second to buy folic acid, third to buy Gaviscon. 

Those first few weeks of pregnancy are just about getting through and that’s what I’ve been doing since the start of July, head down, trying not to throw up, trying not to fall asleep in public, trying not to worry too much about giving birth again or the realities of life with a three-year-old and a newborn. I’ve been more exhausted than my first pregnancy (but I’ve also had an iron deficiency and a toddler so that might explain it), the nausea has come in waves rather than being relentlessly 24/7 like before, but I’ve found myself gagging a lot more; my sense of smell has been so heightened, pretty much anything can set me off. Still, I thought it had been, on the whole, an improvement than with Alfie but the morning I threw up at the smell of the food bin made me wonder if I was clutching at straws and first trimesters are just crap all round.  

None of my normal clothes fit, but I’m not really ready for maternity clothes. I think I managed to bypass this period last time because it was summer, and I just wore my usual floaty dresses with a bump peaking through. But we are entering into knitwear season and NONE OF MY JEANS WILL DO UP. As I write this, I’m wearing my roomiest pair of jeans with the hairband trick holding them together. Should I just resign myself to wearing leggings for the next few months?  

The thing I have learned about second pregnancies is that they are more understated than the first. Absolutely no disrespect to this very-much-wanted second child but I’ve done this before, I know what’s coming. It’s still special but there’s less nervous anticipation and more resigned reality. I’m excited for the good bits but lack the naivety of how hard the hard bits will be, and I do kinda miss that blissful ignorance of the first time. There’s also less novelty; it’s less big news for me and others. When I got pregnant with Alfie, I had one friend with a baby. Now I’ve lost count of the amount of lil squish balls knocking about. The main reason this pregnancy will be less dramatic than the first though is because there is absolutely no chance whatsoever of baby making their grand entrance at Christmas. I’ll be able to tell people their birthday without one person saying the words ‘that must have been a lovely Christmas present for you’ and ain’t that a treat. 

Sometimes I feel a little guilty that this baby doesn’t have all the hype of the first, but I also know how much they will benefit from having parents who have done this before. I can’t wait to put into practice all I have learnt with them. I can’t wait to hold a newborn again, to see whether they look like their brother. “I’m so broody,” I said to my friend the other day as a family with a newborn walked past. “It’s a good job!” she responded. In a way this pregnancy still feels very abstract, like we can’t quite believe we will be having another little munchkin to bring up. 

As you can probably tell, we’re nervous, excited and all the emotions in between. 

Little one will be arriving early Springtime.

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