30 Jun 2025
One Minute Book Reviews: Spring Reads
A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas
In the mood for fantasy and having heard a lot about this series, I thought I’d see what the fuss was about. If you imagine Beauty and the Beast, but the beast is a fairy, you’ve got a pretty good gist of the plot of this book. I know this series has a bit of a cult following so apologises if you’re a fan, but I was so unimpressed. The two main characters had no personality? It was kinda… boring? Why did the love interest keep giving her looks described as ‘predatory’?! (Much of the language felt so outdated that halfway through, I found myself checking when it was published – things have changed a lot in the last ten years!) I can’t adequately describe why, but the whole thing gave me the ick. Each to their own, but not for me. 1/5
Cry When The Baby Cries by Becky Barnicoat
I read an extract of this here and laughed so hard that I immediately pre-ordered a copy of the full book. I read it in almost one sitting when my baby was just five days old and it was the perfect first book to read after becoming a new mum for the second time. This graphic memoir brings the first few years of parenthood to life; it’s spot-on and snort-out-loud funny. 4/5
The Farmer’s Wife by Helen Rebanks
Sprinkled with recipes, this is a gentle memoir about life on a farm, food & cooking and the unappreciated labour that goes into raising a family. It was a nice read, if a little slow at times. 3/5
Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
My favourite Beth O’Leary yet. It’s so exciting to see a writer developing and trying something different. Two strangers have a one-night stand on a houseboat and wake the next morning to find they have been washed out to sea. Part romantic comedy, part survival thriller; this is an excellent amalgamation of genres, and I loved it. 5/5
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Early on in my maternity leave, I found myself re-watching all the Hunger Games films and it spurred me to look into the prequels. I am a huge fan of the original HG series but have always found myself a bit dubious about prequels, so had not previously paid much attention to this but, wow, was that an error. This is Snow’s origin story, the story of the very first District 12 winner and the story of the tenth hunger games and how they turned into the games we see in Katniss’ story. I have mulled over this book a lot since finishing; I thought it was so clever. Eighteen-year-old Snow was a real three-dimensional character. Even though you know where he eventually ends up, you still find yourself hoping he’ll choose the right side as he grapples with his own morality. I can see why it might not be as popular as the original series as Snow is an unreliable narrator and there is very little to root for - it’s pretty bleak – but I thought it was brilliant. 5/5
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
And moving straight on to Haymitch’s story. And christ, if I thought Songbirds was bleak, it was nothing compared to this. I will require therapy for at least three years to come to terms with this book but urgh, excellent, no notes. 5/5
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Two writers compete to tell the life story of heiress and tabloid princess Margaret Ives who hasn’t been seen in over twenty years. Flashing between Margaret’s mysterious life in the past and the enemies-to-lovers story between Alice and Hayden as they try to win a book deal, it soon becomes clear that not everything is as it seems. I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as Henry’s last book, Funny Story, but it was still a fun read, including the picturesque settings, great dialogue and quirky characters that Henry does so well. 3.5/5
Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley
Ooo this was a good one! Coralie arrives from Australia to London and, following a meet-cute that involves stopping a young girl from drowning in a fountain, starts to build a life with a husband, step-daughter and Hackney townhouse. We follow her life over the next decade, as we do the tumultuous political landscape in the UK; Coralie’s ordinary life taking place against the backdrop of five prime ministers, Brexit and the pandemic. Ten years in though, there is a moment of reckoning about her relationship, her life choices and who she has become. Brilliantly observed and completely absorbing, I would highly recommend. 5/5
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
Otherwise known as the Facebook book. A memoir from the former Director of Public Policy who worked amongst Facebook’s leadership team for seven years. This book is juicy from the get-go, exposing so much about what really went on at Facebook in the early 2010s. There are some truly wild and deeply disturbing revelations but if anything, it’s the ambivalence that Facebook have as the wreak total havoc on global politics that is more terrifying. The biggest question that runs throughout the book is – why did it take so long for the author to leave when the corruption and lack of morality was so obvious? There is never really a satisfying answer (and therefore her own complicity is somewhat glossed over), although her husband’s suggestion of Stockholm syndrome does not seem even remotely far-fetched. An extremely interesting, if alarming, read. 4/5
Happy reading folks x
26 Feb 2025
One Minute Book Reviews: Autumn & Winter Reads
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Alex Stern is a high school dropout, trauma survivor and, for reasons unknown, has been able to see ghosts her whole life. When she survives an attempted murder, she is mysteriously offered a place at Yale University and tasked with monitoring the eight houses of the Veil, secret societies that harbour dark magic and power. Anti-hero, dark academia, fantasy-horror – this book pulled me out of a reading rut, and I would highly recommend. 4/5
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
The second in the series and just as good as – if not better than – the first. Hard to give a blurb without giving away spoilers from both books but involves a pretty epic quest to rescue someone from hell. Hope it’s not too long before the next in the series is out. 4/5
Mrs Quinn’s Rise To Fame by Olivia Ford
A woman in her seventies enters what is supposed to be The Great British Bake Off and her life is turned upside down as she becomes a star, threatening to reveal a secret she has kept hidden for over fifty years. This was a sweet read (in more ways than one – if you like baking, you will enjoy all the food descriptions) but I did find that the writing lacked depth in places (it was much stronger in the flashbacks than it was in the scenes set on the show) which meant it didn’t always engage me as much as I wanted it to. 3/5
The Break by Marian Keyes
Seemingly happily married couple Amy and Hugh are thrown into disarray when Hugh announces he wants to take a six-month break from their marriage and go travelling around south-east Asia, leaving Amy to deal with everything back home, including their teenage daughters, her dysfunctional extended family and the gossipers in town. This was my first Marian Keyes book and it’s clear she does characters really well. When I first started reading, I wasn’t entirely convinced the story was going to be entertaining enough to keep me going for the 600+ pages, but it was a bit like watching a dysfunctional family sitcom and was very funny in places. 3.5/5
A Year of Nothing by Emma Gannon
A very small (both in length and physical size) memoir of the author’s year of burnout. This is a wholesome reminder of what is important in life, and to appreciate the little things. I think I was expecting more depth, but it was a pleasant read all the same. 3/5
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
When Phoebe arrives at the Cornwall Inn dressed in a silk green dress, gold heels and without any luggage, she is easily mistaken for one of the wedding people when in fact, she is the only person not here for the lavish week-long event. At rock bottom, she intends to have one final night of luxury. Meanwhile, the high-maintenance bride has accounted for every disaster that could derail her wedding apart from, well, Phoebe. So, it is all the more surprising when the two form an unlikely friendship. One of those novels where the blurb does not do it justice in the slightest. Nuanced, funny, life-affirming, I really loved this. 5/5
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Last year’s Booker Prize winner follows a day in the life of the astronauts living on the international space station. Very little happens but that’s not really the point. With stunning descriptions of the planet below, this small novel contemplates big themes such as what home means, climate change and what humans are without Earth. I think if it was any longer, the lack of plot would lose its charm but at 137 pages, it is a beautiful novel. 4/5
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
I think if this series gets you, there is no escaping it which means one minute you’re reading the latest Booker Prize winner and the next you’re reading dragon fantasies with a good dose of pure smut. The third instalment of The Empyrean series and I have no idea if it’s actually good, but it is extremely enjoyable. I know a lot of people are here for the romance (and I’m not saying I’m not) but honestly, I mostly just want my own grumpy dragon at this point. 4/5 (for pure entertainment).
Happy reading folks x
25 Sept 2024
One Minute Book Reviews: Summer Reads
23 Jun 2024
One Minute Book Reviews: Spring Reads
9 Mar 2024
One Minute Book Reviews: Winter Reads
Shall we talk about some books?
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
We started the year with a good’un. A relationship break-up told from the male perspective: failing comedian Andy can’t understand why his ex-girlfriend Jen stopped loving him and why everyone around him seems to have grown up when he wasn’t looking. Completely adrift, he clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of his broken relationship. Really enjoyed this, it made me both chuckle and tear-up. Felt it perfectly captured both heartbreak and that time in your thirties where it feels like there’s a dramatic shift into adulthood, and friendships can seem much harder to maintain, but the male perspective was a fresher take on the themes. 4.5/5
Sourdough by Robin Sloan
A quirky little novel about Lois, a software engineer stuck in the daily grind, the only highlight of her day the sourdough sandwich she orders every night from two brothers running a hole-in-the-wall eatery. When the two brothers have to leave San Francisco due to visa issues, they leave their sourdough starter to their favourite customer and Lois must keep it alive and thus, her sourdough baking journey begins. This was a charming read, but I enjoyed the first half a lot more than the second. It went off on a slightly odd, fantastical tangent which I wasn’t entirely convinced by. 3/5
We Had To Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets
A novella about a woman working as a content moderator for a social media platform. Her job involves reviewing offensive videos and pictures, rants and conspiracy theories, and deciding what needs to be removed. She spends all day viewing the very worst of humanity, but she’s made new friends and found a girlfriend amongst her colleagues so it’s not affecting her that bad. Or is it? I liked the premise of this and felt like it achieved the unsettling, low-level disturbing feeling the writer was probably aiming for, but the ending was so abrupt (almost like the author had simply just stopped writing) and unsatisfying that I was left feeling like I’d only read half the story. 3/5
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
I am ashamed to say I have had this book sat on my bookshelf for years, it has moved between three different homes, and I can’t believe this unread treasure was there all this time. The intertwining stories of a blind French girl and orphaned German boy trying to survive the devastation of World War II. When war breaks out, Marie-Laure and her father flee Paris to Saint-Malo where they accidentally become a part of the resistance. Meanwhile, Werner’s talent for building and fixing radios is enlisted to help bring down the resistance. Ultimately a story about all the ways that people, against all odds, try to be good to one another. The writing was beautiful, and I loved every detail. Honestly, I thought this was an absolute masterpiece of a novel. 5/5
Piglet by Lottie Hazell
A word of warning: the food descriptions in this book are mouthwatering, so please do read with snacks to hand. Piglet (an unfortunate childhood nickname) has curated the perfect life for herself with her job as a cookbook editor, her upper-middle class fiancé, Kit, and her house in Oxford. But then Kit confesses to a betrayal thirteen days before their wedding. Torn between the life she has always wanted and the ravenous feeling that she is not getting what she deserves, Piglet and her perfect life begin to unravel. Told almost entirely through exquisitely described cooking scenes or excruciatingly detailed vignettes (the wedding dress scene, oh my god), the story examines class differences, a woman’s sometimes complicated relationship with food and the lies we tell ourselves. A very impressive debut. 4/5
The Food Almanac Volume II by Miranda York
From various writers and artists, a lovely collection of stories, recipes and illustrations for each month in the kitchen. A great gift should you have a foodie in your life (or for yourself if you’re the foodie). I enjoyed this just as much as Volume I and am hoping for a third. 4/5
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Dear Edward is one of my favourite books of recent years so I was keen to pick up the author’s latest novel. Seemingly inspired by Little Woman, it tells the story of the four Padavano sisters growing up in Chicago in the 1970/80s. Julia, the eldest sister, marries William Waters, a rising basketball star, and has their lives perfectly planned out. But when William has a breakdown that Julia cannot understand, it is her sister Sylvie that becomes his confidant, and the ensuing betrayal will tear the sisters apart and affect generations to come. The author does characterisation so well; they were all believably flawed and human, and you can’t help but love and root for them. A beautiful family-saga. 5/5
Happy reading folks x
21 Jan 2024
One Minute Book Reviews: What I’ve Been Reading This Autumn & Festive Season
18 Oct 2023
Bookshop Hopping & Wedding Planning Day In London
THIS WAS A GOOD DAY. A combination of stopping breastfeeding, Alfie’s sleep improving and him finally allowing his dad to do bedtime means your girl suddenly has more energy and a fraction more freedom to go and do adult things. Tumble Tots is great and all but good lord, so is a day without pushing a buggy and not spending two hours teaching a toddler to say tractor (yeah okay, him saying ‘tacta’ is officially the cutest thing in the world but that’s not the point right now).
I boarded a train into London with just my book for company, and there was something so freeing about knowing I wasn’t on any kind of deadline. It was one of those journeys where everything worked in my favour; arriving-on-the-tube-platform-and-an-open-train-door-right-in-front-of-me kind of vibe.
This was a day of quality time with my favourite sister. Okay, she’s my only sister but she is my favourite. I was well overdue seeing the flat she moved into over a year ago so that was my first port of call. I sort of already felt like I knew it because I’d seen a lot of pictures, but I will never not enjoy nosing at all the little nooks and crannies of someone’s home. Cue lots of discussions about the contents of her bookshelf.
She showed me round her local area, and we stopped for lunch at a café that had an excellent array of sandwiches and smoothies. And then it was officially wedding-venue-viewing time, and I was very excited to see them in person. We started at the pub where she is having her reception (which I loved), had a leisurely drink in the garden and discussed bands, speeches, cakes etc before making our way to the ceremony venue. We couldn’t go in, but it was great to see it in person and visualise the day, even more so when a just-married couple walked out – the bridesmaid dresses were the exact same shade we will be wearing, and they had a red London bus to transport the guests which is a theme on my sister’s day. We made lots of undignified squealing noises (at a safe distance from the newlyweds who did not need two weird women ruining their moment).
We then wandered over to Marylebone high street and into Daunt Books where there were more squealing noises because we are book nerds and not afraid to show it. I have wanted to go to Daunt Books for a long time and it lived up to all expectations. The travel theme, the mezzanines, the arched window; what a gorgeous little spot for a book lover. Whilst we were discussing the merits of a good bookshop, my sister realised I had never been to Foyles and decided this had to be rectified immediately.
28 Sept 2023
One Minute Book Reviews: What I’ve Been Reading This Summer
There's dragons, there's love stories, there's planes sinking to the bottom of the ocean. We travel to America, to Singapore and everywhere in between. Here's everything I've been reading this summer:
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
This was fun! It does what says it on the tin – a romantic comedy, but between a ‘normal’ person and an international star. Sally, a writer working for a legendary late-night comedy show swears off love, fed up of average men dating beautiful, accomplished women but not vice versa. But then she works with Noah, a pop idol, for a week and they click instantly. Would someone like him ever date someone like her? I liked the three very different parts – comedy show in New York, email train and romance during lockdown. It made it stand out from the usual genre format. Slick and funny. 4/5
The Vintage Shop of Second Chances by Libby Page
Libby Page has become my go-to for light-hearted, not-to-taxing but still-with-a-little-reality reads. If that’s a genre. I like that she writes about real women and real female friendships. Her novels are great if you want an uplifting read that isn’t about romance. I saved this to read during our holiday in Frome, Somerset because that’s also where the novel is set. Based around a fictional vintage clothes shop, this is about three women of different ages who are desperately searching for a chance to start again. It celebrates the power of friends, community and excellent clothes during hard times. 3.5/5
Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by T.J. Newman
If you happen to have just watched Hijack on Apple TV and want something to read in a similar vein, this would be a good place to start. A slightly bonkers-but-just-about-still-believable thriller that doesn’t let up from page one. Flight 1421 crashes into the ocean six minutes after take-off. Most passengers escape onto the lifeboats but 12 are still trapped inside when the plane sinks to the bottom of the ocean and lands, half-teetering, on the edge of an underwater cliff. Cue an absurd, race-against-low-oxygen rescue mission that is highly entertaining. 4/5
Last One At The Party by Bethany Clift
The majority of the human race is wiped out by a virus and a woman in her thirties finds herself alone in London, a city now filled with rotting corpses and burning pyres. She is woefully unequipped to deal with the new world she finds herself in and I loved that about her. She’s not a protagonist who just happens to have skills or knowledge that makes them perfectly set up to survive the end of the world, she is every one of us. She checks Instagram to see if anyone else is still alive, she has no idea how to survive without power and she has spent her whole life conforming to other people. The question is, who will she be now she is truly alone? I have thought about this book a lot since I finished reading it. I found it disturbing because it felt very realistic; I didn’t doubt any detail of the new world the protagonist found herself in and it was richly detailed (perhaps don’t read whilst eating). But I also thought it was brilliant story with a big character arc, and a fresh take on the post-apocalyptic genre. I would love to read a sequel, or another story set in the same world. 5/5
Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci
A charming little memoir about a life in and out of the kitchen, written by actor and food obsessive, Stanley Tucci. If you’re a foodie or enjoy food writing, I would definitely recommend this regardless of whether you have an interest in Tucci as an actor. This is a lovely book full of anecdotes and reflections about food and the joys of life. Plus a few great tales involving some big names. 3.5/5
Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess
Set in the years between Barack Obama becoming president and Donald Trump becoming president, we follow the relationship between Josh & Jess, two analysts working at Goldman Sachs in New York and explore whether it is possible for a black liberal woman and a white conservative man to be happily in love. It considers how far one can separate a person from their beliefs, and how important shared values are in a relationship. This was a brilliant, clever, socially astute book. I have thought about the ending a lot since finishing, and there is a scene involving a maga hat that was so brilliant and haunting. I would highly recommend. 5/5
In Such Tremendous Heat by Kehinde Fadipe
Three Nigerian expat women living in Singapore all have their lives upturned by the arrival of a stranger. I had mixed feelings on this one; I enjoyed the Singapore setting and the rich array of characters, but I thought the plot was a bit thin on the ground. The link between one of the women and the stranger was tenuous at best and I didn’t find their connection particularly believable. I think ultimately, I just expected more to happen and I’m not sure the characters were interesting enough to make up for the lack of plot. 2.5/5
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
I came because of the internet and stayed for the grumpy dragons. This was pure escapism, and I was here for it. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but I do have a bit of a weak spot for this style of book. At Basgiath War College, Violet is joining hundreds of candidates striving to become elite dragon riders. You either graduate or die. She’s smaller than everyone else, most people would kill her for being the general’s daughter and war is looming outside the college walls. And she has to train alongside her sworn enemy (who is inconveniently attractive). It is technically an adult book but reminded me a lot of some of the really great YA books I grew up with (think Hunger Games, Divergent). My only gripe was I found the two explicit sex scenes just a bit cringey and out of place, perhaps because it was reminding me of other YA books. Otherwise, absorbing world building, sassy dragons, great enemies-to-lovers storyline, and I have the sequel on pre-order. 4.5/5
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Alright, so I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was tired, it was summer – I wanted a ‘beach read’ for want of a better phrase but there can be a lot of poorly written-shite in that genre so I didn’t have particularly high expectations. A literary agent and book editor – New Yorkers and professional ‘enemies’ – end up spending the summer in the same small town. They keep bumping into each other and it would be a meet-cute if not for the fact they have met many times before and it’s never been cute. It was funny, I really loved the characters and their banter, and it gave me a lot of nostalgia for watching American rom coms as a teenager. That kind of vibe. I can see why people rate Emily Henry. 4/5
This Could Be Everything by Eva Rice
Set in Notting Hill in 1990, 19-year-old February Kingdom is hiding away from the world as she grieves the loss of her parents and her twin sister. Then one day, she finds a canary in her kitchen, and it sparks a glimmer of hope in her. Just as she starts to find her way out of the darkness, her aunt starts an affair with a married American drama teacher. This is a gentle coming-of-age story about hope, love and finding reasons to keep going, with a lot of nostalgia for times gone by. An enjoyable read. 4/5
Happy reading folks x
30 Jun 2023
One Minute Book Reviews: What I've Been Reading This Spring
15 Mar 2023
One Minute Book Reviews: What I've Been Reading This Winter
The Food Almanac compiled by Miranda York - The perfect gentle book to start the year with. From various writers and artists, a beautiful collection of stories, recipes and illustrations for each month in the kitchen. It would be ideal to read each chapter at the beginning of each month of the year but after two years sat on my bookshelf with this intention (I kept forgetting), I decided to read it all in one go and it was lovely to do this in January and look forward to the year ahead. Essential reading if you are a foodie and love food writing. 4/5
Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda - A young vampire moves to London to live alone for the first time, and struggles to access the pig’s blood she needs, to reconcile the conflicts she feels about her diet, about her mixed-raced heritage, and her relationship with humans. I found this to be unsettling, claustrophobic, almost stream-of-consciousness and a unique take on millennial angst and the vampire genre. I once read a book reviewer describing a book as something they had ‘experienced rather than enjoyed’, and that’s a pretty accurate summary of this book for me. And yet I can’t deny that I have thought about this book a lot since reading. 3.5/5
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey - A year in the life of Maggie, aged 29, whose marriage has ended after just 608 days. This was both involuntary-snort-out-loud funny and desperately heartbreaking. An exploration of loneliness in the internet age, the long road to recovery after a traumatic event and the harsh realities of being single in a society that prizes relationships. Maggie’s character was so well written that I felt like I really knew her and the entire chapters given to google searches, lists and emails were comedy genius. 5/5
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin - I nearly didn’t buy into the hype of this one because I have no interest in gaming whatsoever but if you’re the same, I’m here to confirm that this book is absolutely worth your time. It tells the 20+ year saga of Sam and Sadie who meet in hospital as children and go on to become famous video game designers. There’s love, friendship, devastation, escapism and ultimately, the beauty of creativity. It’s an incredibly immersive book, just like the games themselves, and each character is beautifully human with strong flaws, but always with redemptive features too. Yes it broke my heart, but I loved it. 5/5
The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn - I admit, I’m pretty generous with book ratings. But then, I don’t understand this unwillingness to give a higher rating simply because you’ve read a lot of good books recently or you want to be deliberately harsh. If I’ve enjoyed a book, I’m all for shouting about it. Some books, however, do make me wish to rate that bit higher. To add an extra star; 6/5 so to speak. And this is definitely one of those books. The writing was truly gorgeous. Following the lives of three unconventional siblings, this expansive novel takes you from a crumbling house in Dorset to occupied France, from the purity of childhood summers to an early adulthood derailed by war. A family saga told over many years, a tale of friendship, courage and hope and some of the most vivid descriptions of war I have ever come across; to say I felt right at the heart of it would be an understatement. This novel already feels like a classic. 5/5
I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai - Successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane, returns to teach a course at the boarding school where she spent her unhappy high school years and where her former roommate was murdered. As she gets drawn into the botched police investigation, the internet theories suggesting the wrong man was convicted and her own resurfacing memories of the time, she begins to wonder if she knows more about the case than she initially realised. I read this in a bit of a frenzy because the mystery of who killed Thalia was incredibly absorbing. It kept me guessing right until the end and whilst the reader gets an answer, I liked the fact that it wasn’t a neatly tied up ending. No justice for an unfair world. I found this a clever book, well beyond the central who-dunnit plotline, particularly the social media and cancel culture sub-threads, the delve into the unreliability of collective memory and the questions surrounding the morality of true crime podcasts and social media detectives. 5/5
Happy reading folks x
31 Dec 2022
One Minute Book Reviews: What I've Been Reading In 2022
Back again with some mini book reviews, should you be on the hunt for your next read or – like me – quite like reading other people’s book reviews (welcome fellow book nerd). As baby became more active, time for reading decreased as 2022 went on but I hope to prioritise curling up with a book more next year. In the meantime, this is what I’ve squeezed in over the last few months.
The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan – a nice, cosy read for the festive season. Edinburgh at Christmas, a bookshop, flawed & loveable characters becoming better versions of themselves – exactly what you want and expect from a comforting and Christmassy book to read by the twinkly Christmas tree. 3.5/5
Happy reading folks, and happy new year x
25 Mar 2022
Mini Book Reviews From My Feeding Chair
Ghosts - Dolly Alderton
I really loved Dolly’s memoir Everything I Know About Love so was intrigued when I saw she’d written a novel. Ghosts follows Nina, thirty-something food writer, and the ghosts in her life; the new relationship starting on a dating app, the friendships struggling under the weight of children and moves to the suburbs, the ex-boyfriend moving on, her dad vanishing into dementia and the mysterious neighbour living downstairs. Over the course of a year, we follow Nina as she learns to adjust to a new phase of life, with witty observations on millennial living. Very enjoyable. 4/5
The Fell - Sarah Moss
The Fell is the first book I've read that is set during the pandemic & I'll admit it does depress me a little that it has now been going on for so long that we have novels on the subject. But I found it really interesting to read a story set in such recent history; a time that is still very present and raw for a lot of us. Set in the November 2020 lockdown and told in stream-of-consciousness form by four characters - Kate & her son Matt who are self-isolating, their neighbour Alice who has been shielding for months and Rob who is part of the mountain rescue team - this follows the events of one evening when a desperate Kate breaks quarantine to go for a quick solo walk across the fells and ends up having a serious accident. It really captures the claustrophobia of lockdown as well as making subtle observations on the impact the pandemic had on society's behaviour and the place the world has become since March 2020. 5/5
The Gilded Cage - Lynette Noni
This is the second in The Prison Healer series; a dark fantasy full of magic and battles for the throne. I loved the first book so had high expectations for the second that it didn’t quite live up to. As before, I really loved the characters and the world but felt like I spent a lot of this book waiting for the action to kick off. I felt this suffered a little from ‘second book syndrome’; overshadowed by the first and setting the scene for the finale. Another good twist at the end though and I definitely will be reading the third in the series when it’s out in June. 3/5
The Maid - Nita Prose
A cosy murder mystery told from the perspective of a socially awkward protagonist who is struggling with her loneliness following the death of Gran, her only family member. It's heartwarming without being too sickly and there's a few unexpected twists along the way. Not sure it quite lived up to the hype but I enjoyed it all the same. 3.5/5
Small Bodies of Water - Nina Mingya Powles
A collection of essays exploring nature, swimming, migration, food and family, amongst other things. I loved a lot about these essays, particularly the swimming diaries, the explorations of home, belonging & racism and the descriptions of growing up with the fear of earthquakes, but I did find some a little disjointed and like I was missing the point at times (which, of course, may have been just me!). 3.5/5
Love & Saffron - Kim Fay
Written as a series of letters, this gorgeous little book follows the friendship of two women living in 1960s America. It starts with a fan letter and a gift of saffron and develops into a deep friendship as they write back and forth with recipe tips, food stories and moments from their lives. It’s just so wholesome and will leave you feeling comforted, wistful and really hungry! 5/5
Send Nudes - Saba Sams
A stunning collection of short stories about girlhood and all the complexities of growing up as a young woman. I think it’s a real talent to keep the reader turning the pages with a short story collection because it’s very easy to dip in and out, but I found myself really invested in each story and character and unable to stop turning the pages. 5/5
Happy reading folks x
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