The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante

An excellent continuation of Lila and Lenu's lives, as they move from teenagers to young adults. It looks at the friendship that binds them, their struggle in a patriarchal society, poverty and the class divide and country divide in Italy. Content warning for SA and domestic abuse.

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Murder At Spindle Manor by Morgan Stang

A really great pallette cleanser and a mash up of murder mystery and fantasy. A Victorian style setting, that's very atmospheric and has a lot of humour thrown in. Whilst it did lack character depth and leaned a bit too far into the chaotic, it was a lot of fun.

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The War of the Worlds by H.G Wells

I'm very familiar with the story and pleased to find how accessible this is. Considering the date, the novel feels so imaginative and ahead of its time. The fear of imperialism being the main themes, no doubt felt prevalent at the time.

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Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy

It's fast paced, with the two protagonists that are very easy to latch onto. Excellent fight scenes and great character moments, though the mystery is far too predictable. The world is immersive and keeps you going back for more.

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The Roman Revolution by Nick Holmes

I get that sources are incredible limited during the Crisis of the Third Century, however a good third of the book is a very brief history of Roman history prior to this and more analysis could have gone into the causes of the events discussed.

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The Stone Sky by N.K Jemisin

The final few chapters are excellent, however the build up to it, is pretty lacklustre. The issue was the introduction of the third narrative, which meant that the other two were stuck in limbo,with no character development. The weakest of the trilogy.

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Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

This is simply incredible! A multi generational story,with snapshots of life in Ghana and the USA, exploring generational trauma, colonialism and the various events that each family have to navigate. Character work is next level!

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The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

It's a solid set up novel for the first trilogy, with Logen, Glokta and Jezal as morally grey characters, who for the most part are interesting to read. Personally, with this style of story, I needed more plot to get fully immersed.

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Last Night In Montreal by Emily St John Mandel

A wonderfully atmospheric and melancholic noir exploring family ties, obsession and how one action has an impact on a number of lives. The writing draws you in, but certain writing choices were odd or didn't work for the story.

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True Grit by Charles Portis

A simple story that is told exceptionally well. Mattie Ross could be one of my favourite characters in fiction. It does very well to evoke the time period, whether it's the lawlessness of the country to vast vistas that they're traversing. Excellent stuff.

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Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I loved the slow, atmospheric, claustrophobic, tension building first half and then the reveal around halfway just took this to a whole new level. Rebecca's presence engulfs everything and whilst you don't know her, you do at the same time. Masterful.

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