Action thrillers are an unusual genre for me, but I’ve read and enjoyed a couple of books by Simon Kernick – his excellent breakneck paced Relentlessand his recent (and excellent) Quick Read Wrong Time Wrong Place. So I was delighted to secure a copy of his new one via netgalley and his publishers Random House/Century.… Read More »

I must be honest and say that when I realised one of the main characters in this one had Asperger’s syndrome I almost put it down again.  I’m not sure how prevalent the syndrome is in society in percentage terms, but it certainly features a little more heavily in my reading.  But I’m so glad… Read More »

This is such a clever book, a really easy read which I enjoyed immensely.  Amanda James has such an imagination… I really don’t want to tell the whole story and spoil it for others but the Amazon blurb will tell you that Sarah is a history teacher – getting over the break up of her… Read More »

I love Susanna Kearsley’s writing – there’s usually a touch of the paranormal, a richly researched and detailed historical story, an equally strong modern thread, all done in her smooth and easy style. I think this one – The Firebird – is one of her very best and really shouldn’t be missed by anyone who… Read More »

OK, I’ll admit it up front – having (like most people) discovered John Boyne’s writing through The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, I’ve eagerly devoured everything he’s written before and since.  My personal favourite to date was The Absolutist, just about as different from this one as it could possibly be, which featured in my… Read More »

What an impressive novel – it really is no wonder this wonderful book was subject to US bidding wars, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing it on all the awards nomination lists as the year progresses. This is the story of Talmadge, whose mother takes him and his sister on a trek from Oregon to… Read More »

I really don’t read science fiction, but there was something about the description of this book that attracted me – and Ridley Scott apparently – and I’m so glad it did.  How about this for an opening line: The children were playing while Holston climbed to his death: he could hear them squealing as only… Read More »

I do need to declare the fact that I’m not an entirely impartial reviewer of Jodi Picoult’s books. After discovering My Sister’s Keeper through Richard and Judy’s Book Club back in 2005, I tracked down all her back catalogue way before UK publication, and I’m always first in line for her new books. But I… Read More »

I think I might just have mentioned before how impressed I am by the wonderful books and authors being brought to the reading public by Choc Lit.  This was one novel that I allowed to sit unread on my Kindle for far too long.  It had every element I love in a book, the historical… Read More »

Set in Victorian England, Anna Palmer finds herself confined by her husband at Lake House, a private asylum for women who deviate from what is perceived as normal. Her sin is having gone to the rescue of victims of a shipwreck, and her passion for helping those in danger of drowning stems from an experience… Read More »

And bringing things up to date… We’re not that far into the New Year yet, but before I was able to launch the blog I’ve already read some wonderful books that I’d hate everyone to miss. So here’s a quick canter through some of the books I’ve already loved this year (links are to Goodreads… Read More »

  This is rather like that feeling you get when you open up a brand new posh notebook and don’t want to spoil it with crossings out and inkblots. I’m so ridiculously proud at having managed to get the blog up and working, I’d like people to read it and think “ooh – how interesting”! … Read More »