Book Reviews.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
A witty, sexy book about two complex characters with a connection that tears them apart but makes them feel whole.
Eva is a bestselling erotic author and single mother to her teenage daughter, who is brilliant. Eva is intelligent, beautiful, and wildly talented. Shane is also a bestseller but of a completely different kind of book. Renowned for being a recluse, the mystery around him only makes him even more magnetic and adored by the literary world. After a chance meeting at a book event, we discover that Eva and Shane spent seven whirlwind days falling in love in June as teenagers and this one week shaped their entire lives…
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie
I just Googled the title of Bella Mackie’s novel and am now fairly certain I’m on some sort of criminal watch list. Not to worry – I’ve learnt enough from the psychopathic but worryingly relatable main character Grace Bernard to worm my way out of any legal trouble. Tip number one seems fairly obvious: don’t write down a detailed account of your misdeeds. But then, we wouldn’t have this romp of a cynical comedy to entertain us…
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
Of Women and Salt tells the tale of the lives of five generations of Cuban women, jumping from present-day Miami to 19th century cigar factories in Cuba, as well as the story of a mother and daughter who have to deal with ICE detention centres. The lives of all these women are interconnected, and through their relationships and circumstances, the author discusses issues of immigration, motherhood, mother-daughter relationships, sexual violence, substance abuse and more…
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
I have mixed feelings about this novel, but I closed the book with an ache. With a sense that no matter what decisions or paths the characters took, hearts would be broken, lives changed, and relationships forever altered. There’s no easy path, no right way. This book embodied the messiness that is life. I’m also very aware that this book was not written for me and that the characters and the intended audience speak a language that I am not fluent in so it’s likely that what I didn’t love about the book comes from a lack of understanding from not having lived and experienced life in that way…
When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson
A story about friendship, loyalty, family, and freedom set in Baghdad. The characters felt alive and real. Despite the differences in my own background and upbringing, the author brought these characters to life. I found myself transported to another world. The busy and chaotic markets, the smells of the food and spiced air, the call to prayer. I enjoyed the descriptive scene setting.
The three characters have so much depth. The stories of Huda, Raina, and Ally intersect so beautifully. The hardworking woman, originally from the local village, who has lost her brothers and her closest friend and is forced to become an informant in order to protect her son. The struggling aristocrat who floats in upper circles and the art world while trying to pay the bills and keep her daughter safe…
Big Girl Small Town by Michelle Gallen
Warning: if you read this book you are almost certainly going to want, nay NEED to eat a bag of salty, vinegary chips! You have been warned!
Majella, an autistic woman from Northern Ireland lives with her alcoholic (and abusive) mother and works at the local fish and chips shop. Spanning the week after the murder of her grandmother, we read in minute detail Majella’s mundane and monotonous life. The writing is broken up with timestamps and items from Majella’s list of things she likes and the much longer list of things she doesn’t…
All About Us by Tom Ellen
On this very snowy day it’s only right we talk about our first book of the year.
All About Us is a cosy Christmas treat perfect for the festive season. We wanted something a little easier than our usual books, something that would see us through a very unusual Christmas but still gave us something to talk about and this certainly did that…