Really disappointed on all counts for this book. Feels like such a let down for the Bridgerton book series and if I wasn’t adamant on finishing the series I likely would have DNF’d. 

Firstly the character of Sir Philip was downright unlikeable, which really set up any romance plot to fail for me.  I refuse to believe he really changed as a character in any significant way throughout the book and made every situation out like HE was the victim. Quite insufferable to read. 

With Eloise, I feel like her character had so much promise to be witty and charming and instead felt like most of the time depicted as just condescending and refuse to believe a character like her would ever enjoy the company of Sir Philip. 

Whilst I did enjoy the  dynamics between the kids and Eloise and the Bridgerton brothers making an appearance - most interactions (and their writing) felt repetitive and flat! 

Outside of the characters - a huge issue for me was the lack of depth in the more impactful plot points -

The Suicide, Benedict and Sophie’s son being ill, the abusive Crain family history and onto the abusive nurse

- all could of been such pivotal or emotional moments and just felt like a one chapter mention without any true depth. I mean the fact we don’t get any real depiction of this year long correspondence stirring up any form of romance between the two is baffling! 

Overall very meh, and sincerely hope the Netflix series takes LOTS of creative liberties away from the book to make it at least somewhat interesting!

Whilst I enjoy a medical memoir, perhaps trauma surgery isn’t the right fit for me.

This book has lots of case stories but they all felt half finished and didn’t have any emotional depth to them. Having finished the entire audio book can’t say there were any that stuck out or made an impression. 

I understand this is likely a reflection of the nature of being a trauma surgeon dealing with emergent cases and putting emotions completely aside to do a job like this. Though commendable and understandable - from a readers perspective it made it all feel quite robotic and impersonal. 

Not a bad medical memoir per-say - I just think it really wasn’t executed in a way for me as a reader outside of the medical profession to enjoy sadly. 

Fearful this book would be an overhyped  and unsure how a 550+ historical fiction on nazi Germany could keep me engaged… my god am I kicking myself now for not picking it up sooner!! 

The story alone was incredibly moving and filled to the brim with such loveable and complex characters. I fell in love with all the characters and how they each develop and shape throughout the book. The relationships which develop between so many of the characters felt so natural and well written with brilliant plot points.

The writing style was executed perfectly. The narration choice from this character of death was flawless and created such a unique perspective which was both charming and harrowing in all the best ways! The prose created such poetic quotes and kept me hooked on every single page! 

The fact that even though the story explicit tells us the death of key characters way before they happen - it doesn’t detract from the impact of their death. If anything it created this bittersweet reading experience where as you continue to fall in love with the characters you know they’re set to die!

Not only can I not fault this book, but it is without doubt one of THE best books I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Will be a go-to for future recommendations and will absolutely be rereading in future. 

Though I really enjoyed Coco Mellors writing style, I just don’t think this was the right plot for me.

The book explores a series of characters outside of Cleo & Frank in an attempt to create a weave of narratives but not me the overlap between characters felt very one note and wasn’t any significant development for some of the core characters. 

The depth to the characters themselves as individuals felt well written and I found myself enjoying each in their own right. I do wish we got more from Zoe’s as for me she was one of the more interesting characters.

The pacing was definitely off with the writing style for select characters creating very long chapters and gaps between progressing their individual story arch’s. I also found the ending wrap up a bit underwhelming to be honest. 

Overall the characters were great but felt like the interconnection between them wasn’t as well executed as I hoped. Though I don’t see myself reading this book again, I enjoyed the writing and would be keen to check out her other work. 

During the initial few chapters I was worried this book would be a flop. I found Hannah to be quite irritating and the writing to come across very cliche and YA.

Luckily, once the book started to play around with the dual timeline effect it started to become more interesting. I thought TJR writing technique to balance the two stories was very well done and I liked how there were small overlaps in events between the two without being direct copies. 

I will say though that I found the timeline with Henry 100 times more emotive and interesting than that with Ethan which did mean that in the chapters with Ethan I was less engaged with the story. 

Whilst the whole premise of the book does rely on the dual timeline, I feel that had the Ethan storyline was spoilt as the catalysts in this story are already spoilt in Henry’s storyline

for example knowing in the Henry storyline she had lost a baby then the entire Ethan storyline being her realising she was pregnant … really dampened the impact the Ethan story branch could have.

.

Overall not a bad read per se and found it very much on par with my views on TJR’s other earlier work “one’s true Loves” and defiantly prefer her more recent work. 

Dark, Sapphic and outright graphic! - Be sure to check content warnings before reading!!!

This coming of age story gave me genuine visceral reactions that saying I enjoyed reading the book isn't quite accurate ... a more accurate depiction of my experience reading would be heavy and intense.

The graphic body horror in this book is not to be taken lightly and and certainly isn't for everyone. For me though, I found Jade Songs writing so captivating that I was practically reading the horror between my finger tips!

The whole premise of this story is unlike anything I have read before and had me hooked from the outset. The development of Ren and the shift in her warping mindset was incredibly captivating and felt very well written.

 

I also found the writing to be very clever in the way it allowed certain darker themes to sit just beneath the surface to create this constant sense of unease throughout the book - particularly with the coach.

In terms of LGBTQIA+ representation, beyond the characters, I felt that viewed through a different lens - this story could be used as a very indirect yet powerful metaphor for members of the trans community struggling with their identity.

This doesn't quite hit the 5 star mark for me due to the some stagnation towards the middle in terms of Ren's transformation journey from Human to mermaid and conversely the change in dynamic between Ren and Cathy in the end felt almost slightly rushed.

Overall this book was so twisted, extreme and bizarre and made for a contemporary-horror read that I doubt I'll be forgetting anytime soon.

I want to preface this review by saying I haven’t actually read ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ which this book is ‘retelling’ 🫣. Therefore my view may be swayed by plot points and characteristics better attributed to the original story than this retelling - but feel that I just have to reflect on my enjoyment with this book and it’s writing rather than the core plot premise.

I was suprised by how much I enjoyed this book as I’m usually not the biggest fan of YA but the dark academia and sapphic vibes were so engrossing.

The romance, mental health/eating struggles and academic rivalry created some interesting character development opportunities for Penny and the plot. 

I REALLY enjoyed the master and servant acting class situation. It created such tension and dark vibes. Immaculate.

I was quite taken aback by the very vulnerable and genuine writing around the pressure of beauty standards and mentality around eating disorders. Felt very well written and brought a level of depth I enjoy in my books.

I did feel the reveal and resolution became very heavy on the “magic” which took me out of the story a little and felt almost chaotic.

I mean guarding swans and a mirror labyrinth accessed by the bottom of a lake felt so random and out of place.

I wish it had stayed a bit more grounded in reality.  I also had to knock my rating back due to the overuse and repetition of certain words and phrases in the writing. 

Overall a really fun and enjoyable read with some really interesting characters. I am definitely curious to pick up the original Dorian gray story. 

Picked up as an 6hr audio book with the expectation that this is usually a one or two day listen for me … sadly this took me much longer to finish as I found myself switching off frequently. 

I will say that though Laura Imai Messina’s writing style is quite beautiful and created a gentle rhythm to the book, that I enjoyed and appreciated, there was almost no momentum the entire book. 

This is definitely a more character orientated book and a lot of detail is given to this aspect but in doing so the plot itself felt quite stagnant and though the ending was touching, felt like a long slog to reach it and was exactly what you’d expect it to be from very early on. 

This book was very easy to follow along and enjoy as a crime novel with a twist. The concept of AI vs traditional policing felt very well executed and unique. I really loved the characterisation of 'AIDE' and DCS Kat and the interactions they had with one another which allowed for an element of humor i wasn't expecting. 

Writing wise i enjoyed the use of interview transcripts and the varied POV to a cold case victim which helped break up the pace of the book and set the 'crime' atmosphere. 

I will say the plot itself did have points which felt a bit predictable (

E.g. the cold cases being connected. That the DCS son would eventually be involved.

this didn't greatly impact the my overall enjoyment and is worth a read. 

Overall a really strong read full of moments of human connection within the inhumanity of war. 

I really enjoyed the characters of Elwood and Gaunt a lot and their connection to one another. The way they each change based on the events of the war - from PTSD, loss, battle and camaraderie shaping - and how it impacts themselves and their relationship … very well written. 

I keep going back and forth of a 4 to a 4.5 star rating. I had hoped we would see more of the conflict against homosexuality -  it felt like every character that came across it was pretty accepting. I feel like this would have created a stronger emotional attachment to the LGBTQIA romance. 

Overall a strong read with some very vulnerable and tender moments with brilliant character development throughout.