“𝔐𝔶 𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔱𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔦𝔣 𝔞 𝔪𝔞𝔫 𝔦𝔰 𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔥𝔢’𝔰 𝔞𝔭𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔦𝔷𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲, 𝔥𝔢’𝔩𝔩 𝔴𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔩𝔦𝔣𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔞𝔭𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔦𝔷𝔢.”

Published: 04/08/20

Genre: Mixed

Page count: 328

Format read: 📱

Other books read by this author: None

This was my ‘blind date with a book’ from @waterstonesbpl & was pitched to me as:

~An inventive novel about the power of lies.

~Constantly plays with genre as it’s part campus novel, psychological thriller, horror story & crime noir.

~Intense themes as the plot revolves around an inconclusive case of assault.

~Explores the nature of trauma & truth with a unique cast of characters. 

After having read it, I definitely agree with the above assessment. I was really unsure about my rating for this one, as the characters frustrated me (especially Nick in the chapter at the cabin) but at the same time, I couldn’t put it down & sped through it. I found the chapters with Q difficult to read, but the most compelling. I don’t want to say much about the plot, as I was glad I went in blind & it kept me guessing right up to the very end (& beyond), but an interesting little novel that is well worth a read. 

“ℑ 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔩𝔦𝔣𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 ℑ 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔰𝔬 𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔦𝔩𝔶 𝔡𝔯𝔬𝔴𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔪𝔶 𝔪𝔦𝔰𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔲𝔫𝔢. 𝔑𝔬 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔡 𝔪𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔰𝔬 𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔶 𝔞 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔶𝔢𝔞𝔯, ℑ 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔱𝔢. ℑ𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 𝔬𝔣𝔣𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔪𝔢 𝔫𝔬 𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔫 ℑ 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔦𝔱 𝔞𝔯𝔪𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡, 𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔞𝔫 𝔲𝔫𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔩𝔬𝔠𝔨 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔬𝔯.”

Published: 06/02/25

Genre: Historical fantasy, horror

Page count: 328

Format read: 📖

Other books read by this author: None

I’d seen this book online & had it on my wishlist, then I came across this absolutely stunning edition in @waterstonesbpl & couldn’t resist. Pitched as a ‘compulsive sapphic reworking of 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚’, I was thrilled when it didn’t disappoint. Main character Lenore ­­is in the perfect position, primed to take over management of the Nethershaw estate, near to the Sheffield steelworks owned by her husband Henry, when the couple come across Carmilla amongst the wreck of her carriage on the road to their new home. Carmilla’s stay at the estate throws everything Lenore thought she knew into disarray, forcing her to confront the trauma of her past, the horror of her present, & the hunger she denies. I adored Lenore’s character, the gothic tones of the book & the setting; the wildness of the Yorkshire moors juxtaposed against the industry of the Ajax steelworks. Nethershaw itself was fascinating, its tendency toward ruin & decay mirroring the secrets & betrayals that threaten Lenore’s painstakingly constructed reality. 

“𝔉𝔬𝔯 𝔠𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰, 𝔪𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔠𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔴𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔩𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔰, 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔢𝔣𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔟𝔬𝔡𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔟𝔦𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔶. 𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔴𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔰 𝔯𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔫𝔞𝔯𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔡, 𝔬𝔯 𝔦𝔰 𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔢𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤, 𝔱𝔬 𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔬𝔡𝔦𝔢𝔰. 𝔚𝔢 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔦𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔶 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔫-𝔪𝔞𝔡𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔳𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔤𝔢𝔰 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔠𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱, 𝔰𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴𝔩𝔢𝔡𝔤𝔢 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔫𝔬 𝔰𝔭𝔞𝔠𝔢 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔣𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔞𝔩 𝔪𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔩 𝔫𝔞𝔯𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫’𝔰 𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔢𝔵𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢𝔰.”

Published: 07/07/22
Genre: Non-fiction
Page count: 496
Format read: 🎧
Other books read by this author: None

I was gifted this book by my wonderful friend & fellow unwell woman @bibliobeth, & I was absolutely hooked from the very beginning! I have a fairly decent amount of medical knowledge as I’m a clinical coder for a GP surgery, but many of the facts & figures in this book turned what I thought I knew completely on its head. The book is fascinating, often shocking to the point of laughing out loud, & utterly rage-inducing. The mistreatment of female patients, the reduction of women to their reproductive function, the lack of inclusion of women in research, & the willful ignorance about our health is beyond comprehension. Particularly harrowing was choosing to read this book in the current political climate, with the recent overturning of Roe vs Wade & the actions of the newly elected Trump administration, such as leaving the WHO, freezing foreign aid, & removing gender ideology guidance from federal government communication, policies and forms. The reassurance previously felt that progress was being made has been woefully undermind by the resurgence in right wing politics, & it is an increasingly worrying time to be a woman, particularly an unwell woman.

“𝔇𝔬𝔫’𝔱 𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔨, ℑ 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱, 𝔡𝔬𝔫’𝔱 𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔨. ℑ’𝔡 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔤𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔡𝔬𝔫’𝔱 𝔰𝔢𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔨𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔶𝔬𝔲, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔞𝔱 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔳𝔦𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔡𝔬𝔫’𝔱 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔨 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔡𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔣𝔱𝔢𝔯.”

Published: 13/02/24
Genre: Horror fantasy 
Page count: 161
Format read: 🎧
Other books read by this author: 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 & 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝

The second in the 𝐒𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 series, 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 takes us to Gallacia where Alex & Angus arrive at Alex's family cabin to find its caretaker Codrin vanished. After enquiring after his fate,  Angus learns that Codrin has passed away, but the cause remains a mystery as the deeply suspicious townsfolk refuse to divulge their theories.
I loved being back with Alex, Angus & the mushroom-obsessed Miss Potter, & I loved the new characters of Bors & the Widow Botezatu. The supernatural element of the story didn't grip me *quite* as much as the previous book, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm reading 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 by Susie Dent, which provides the etymology of a certain word for every day of the year, & came across the word 'nightmares – in which a ‘mare’ was a spirit believed to produce a feeling of suffocation in a sleeping person or animal', which instantly made me think of this book & the moroi. 

“ℑ 𝔣𝔞𝔦𝔩 𝔱𝔬 𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔴𝔥𝔶 𝔪𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔨 𝔳𝔦𝔬𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔦𝔡𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫. 𝔚𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫, 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔳𝔢𝔰 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔪𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔥, 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔯𝔲𝔟 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔠𝔩𝔬𝔱𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔣𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔟𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔰, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔠𝔞𝔫'𝔱 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶'𝔯𝔢 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔠𝔩𝔬𝔱𝔰, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶'𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔲𝔢-𝔠𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔪𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔪𝔟. 𝔚𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔟𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔱 𝔬𝔭𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔡𝔟𝔦𝔯𝔱𝔥, 𝔳𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔞 𝔰𝔭𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔲𝔰 𝔰𝔞𝔤𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔤, 𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔶, 𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯𝔫𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔰 𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪, 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔰 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔠𝔨 𝔣𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔪𝔦𝔤𝔫𝔬𝔫.”

Published: 13/02/25
Genre: Horror comedy
Page count: 184
Format read: 🎧
Other books read by this author: None

A witty, macabre story which centres on governess Winifred Knotty, newly arrived at Ensor House to tutor her charges Drusilla & Andrew, spoiled little brats that Winifred can barely hide her disdain for, yet pretends to dote on. Though the other residents of Ensor  House certainly see Winifred as odd, they have no idea of her true nature, even as disturbing acts of vandalism shake the household & people start to disappear.  The story was pitched as a cross between 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐄𝐲𝐫𝐞 & 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨, & Winifred is in many ways a feminine, Victorian Patrick Bateman, with an overactive imagination & a taste for the grisly. There is a hint of the unreliable narrator surrounding Winifred, her narrative often devolving into flights of fancy that leave you unsure of what is real & what isn’t, the shocking acts she commits weaved in with details about her childhood, ultimately culminating in the reason Winifred chose Ensor House as the scene of her bloody performance. Despite its gory contents, Winifred’s sardonic wit makes the book laugh out loud funny, & I didn’t want to stop reading from the minute I started.

“ℑ’𝔳𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔴𝔥𝔶 𝔪𝔞𝔪𝔞𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔢𝔵𝔭𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔣𝔢𝔠𝔱,” 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔦𝔡. “𝔐𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔰 𝔟𝔬𝔶𝔰. 𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔤𝔦𝔯𝔩𝔰? 𝔒𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔪𝔞𝔰 𝔬𝔯 𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔯𝔦𝔭𝔢, 𝔴𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔢 𝔤𝔦𝔯𝔩𝔰 𝔞𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫. 𝔑𝔬𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰.”

Published: 30/01/25
Genre: Folk horror 
Page count: 336
Format read: 🎧
Other books read by this author: Debut 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛 - part coming-of-age novel part horror story with a side of sapphic romance - tells the story of mother & daughter Margot & Ruth who live in a cottage in the forest, waiting for ‘strays’ to happen upon their homestead. Lost hikers or travellers with car trouble, Ruth seduces the strays with wine, warmth, & music, because dying calm will make them taste better when she picks the meat off their bones. Ruth & Margot have only each other, until the day that Eden, the stray who changes everything, knocks on their door. 
The story being told from Margot’s point of view mixes a sense of innocence with the grisly truth of the family’s existence, as this nightmare is her normal, the only way of life she’s ever known; the juxtaposition of Margot’s matter of fact tone & the horror depicted is jolting. Harder to stomach than the cannibalism though, in my opinion, is the novel’s depiction of parental abuse. The mercurial nature of Ruth’s mothering, her tendency toward violence, & her neglect of Margot in favour of Eden are heartbreaking to read, culminating in a ending I saw coming from almost the start of the novel, but found deeply shocking all the same. 
Lucy Rose’s debut is claustrophobic, bloody, devastating, & utterly brilliant. 

“𝔇𝔦𝔡 𝔦𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔡, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔦𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔢𝔫𝔡? 𝔈𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔶𝔢𝔰, 𝔦𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔪𝔲𝔠𝔥, 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔰𝔢𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔥𝔬𝔴 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔡𝔢𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔡, 𝔬𝔯 𝔫𝔬, 𝔦𝔱 𝔡𝔦𝔡 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔱 𝔞𝔩𝔩, 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔞𝔰 𝔦𝔪𝔭𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔪𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫. 𝔈𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔶, 𝔱𝔬 𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔨 𝔟𝔞𝔠𝔨 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔢𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔭𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔶; 𝔬𝔯 𝔦𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤, 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔯𝔢𝔱𝔶 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔣𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔩𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔦𝔢𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔞𝔪𝔢.”

Published: 29/11/22
Genre: Romance
Page count: 288
Format read: 📱
Other books read by this author: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲, 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 shows the collision of two lives, those of theorectical mathematician (Rin)Aldo & artist/forger (Charlotte) Regan, & the impact this has on them both. In her beautiful, cerebral prose, Blake looks at themes of love, family, art, mental illness, & identity; & by showing Aldo & Regan’s before, during, & after, she examines the nature of time & how a single moment can change everything, whilst often not appearing to change very much at all. 
My favourite of Olivie’s books that I’ve read so far & one I’ll be thinking about for a long time to come.

“ℌ𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔰𝔞𝔶 𝔫𝔬. ℌ𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔯𝔦𝔰𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔤𝔬, 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔫 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡. 𝔉𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔩𝔦𝔣𝔢 𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔡𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰. 𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔫𝔡, 𝔞𝔣𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔬 𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔶 𝔩𝔦𝔣𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰, 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔞 𝔪𝔞𝔫.”

Published: 09/04/24

Genre: Historical fantasy 

Page count: 387

Format read: 🎧

Other books read by this author: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐭

A historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫 tells the story of Luzia Cotado, a scullion who gets through the day with scraps of magic passed down through her family. When her mistress Valentina Ordoño discovers Luzia’s talents & determines to use them for her own social advancement, she finds herself on the radar of Víctor de Paredes, ‘the luckiest man in Spain’, along with his strange & mistrusted familiar Guillén Santángel. Determined to better her position, Luzia becomes entangled in a deadly world of politics, with the King desperate for an advantage in the war with England’s Protestant Queen, & the ever present threat of the Inauisition determined to root out any trace of heresy. 

I was absolutely enraptured by this novel from the very beginning & genuinely struggled to put it down. I adored Luzia, an unconventional heroine, the historical yet fantastical setting, & the vast supporting cast of flawed heroes & masked villains, but my absolute favourite was Santángel; from the whispered accusations of household staff & the story of his cursed existence, to the changes wrought in him by his interactions with Luzia. 

Leigh Bardugo is a Queen who can do no wrong. I loved 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞, but her adult novels are in another league entirely. I only regret not reading this the second it was released!

“𝔓𝔬𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔞𝔩. 𝔄𝔰 𝔦𝔣 𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔰𝔨𝔢𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔭𝔬𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔞𝔩. 𝔜𝔢𝔰, 𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔢, 𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔱 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶𝔬𝔫𝔢, 𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔪𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔬𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔞𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔰 1 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔲𝔫𝔩𝔬𝔠𝔨. 𝔍𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔡𝔬 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔡𝔦𝔡𝔫'𝔱 𝔪𝔢𝔞𝔫 𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔡𝔬 𝔦𝔱, 𝔬𝔯 𝔰𝔬 𝔥𝔢'𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱.

𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔰𝔲𝔡𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔳𝔞𝔰𝔱, 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔲𝔰. ℑ𝔱 𝔴𝔞𝔰𝔫'𝔱 𝔞 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔭𝔬𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔞𝔩, 𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔦𝔯𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔦𝔩𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔬𝔴 𝔪𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔦𝔪𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔟𝔢, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔥𝔬𝔴 𝔪𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔣𝔦𝔩𝔩; 𝔥𝔬𝔴 𝔪𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔬𝔣 𝔦𝔱 𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔩𝔞𝔶 𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔱.”

𝐓𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐧

Published: 17/10/24

Genre: Fantasy, short stories 

Page count: 401

Format read: 📖

Other books read by this author: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲

An absolutely beautiful short story collection. I loved Olivie’s writing in 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 so I was really excited to read some of her short fiction & this selection did not disappoint. The stories are varied in both style & subject, but the thing they all had in common was leaving me wanting more. I’m never sure if a lack of satisfaction is the mark of a good short story or a bad one, but in this case the answer is clear. I definitely preferred some of the stories to others, my personal favourites being 𝐓𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐧 & 𝐀 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲, though 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 was particularly striking, & the book itself is absolutely stunning, with hauntingly beautiful illustrations & dedications. I’m grateful to @mr.scadding for treating me to this one & looking forward to reading more of Olivie’s work. 

“ℑ 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔲𝔯𝔱 𝔥𝔢𝔯. ℑ 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔯𝔦𝔡𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔭𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔥𝔢𝔯. ℑ 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩 𝔪𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔴𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔪𝔶 𝔴𝔞𝔶 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔰. ℑ 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔰𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔟𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥 𝔪𝔶 𝔣𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯𝔱𝔦𝔭𝔰, 𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔬𝔫 𝔦𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔞𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫.”

Published: 31/03/25 (ARC)

Genre: Dark romance, rockstar romance, thriller 

Page count: Unknown

Format read: 📱

Other books read by this author: 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬, 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬, 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 & 𝐘𝐨𝐮, 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞

After absolutely devouring Mads’ & Reed’s stories, I couldn’t wait for Bonnie’s, & Jack did NOT disappoint! The Young Decay drummer has more than her fair share of demons; mired in grief, struggling with her mental health & a history of SA & addiction, Bonnie is taking her sobriety one day at a time. When new security lead Gemma joins the band at a festival, Bonnie feels an instant connection, but little does she know that the hot new bouncer she can’t take her eyes off is the same woman who has been watching her for years. 

I definitely feel like this is the darkest of the books so far as Bonnie has been through some really rough situations (100% check your trigger warnings). As well as being a rockstar romance, 𝐁𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐚𝐦 is a revenge story, a thriller, a dark romance with a stalker love interest, & a fucking rollercoaster. I constantly forget that Young Decay aren’t a real band & I can’t just go & look them up on social media, I love the bandmates & their spouses so damn much. 

Another brilliant part of the Young Decay story, & I can’t wait to see what Jack has in store for us with Zeb, the most mysterious of the group! 

Thankyou to Jack Whitney, & Wicked Reads Services for the ARC.