elementarymydear's Reviews (967)

 Well, T. J. Klune does it again! I defy anyone to read this book and not be massively emotionally invested by the end.

At the core of the story is a wonderful found family – specifically with two sentient robots, the last living human, and a bearded android. I never thought I would be prepared to fight someone to protect a talking roomba, but here we are!

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It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that has had me in such a grip. I could not put it down, I was so desperate to find out what happens next! The story has so many twists and turns, and each one is filled with emotional impact.

While this book was a big hit for me from the emotion perspective, there were a few things that didn’t quite work for me. Both the exposition and the resolution of the story felt a little clunky, and the Pinocchio aspect took over the story a bit too much for me at some points. This is a tricky book to land – a whimsical tale of found family set after the robot revolution isn’t the most obvious combination – and it was almost there. There were just a couple of stumbling blocks at the book ends of the story.

Despite the structural aspects that I didn’t like so much, this story still has a strong emotional element to it that is full of heart. That’s what I was expecting (and what most readers will expect) when I picked up this book, and I’m so happy that it’s what I got!

I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own. 

 This book and its characters are messy, and complicated, and I absolutely loved it.

What starts as a wry, observational tale about a young woman’s obsession with a glamorous friend, turns into a much darker, much murkier story. To say this book is about the MeToo movement doesn’t quite feel accurate. Much of the plot is about the sexual harassment and abuse these women have faced, all seen through the lens of the main character Emily.

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Emily was a painfully relatable character. I saw both past and current versions of myself in her morals and in her flaws, and I know that will ring true for many other women my age. The two other main characters were Tamsin, an enigmatic actress Emily meets at a protest, and Lucy, her best friend from secondary school. Both of these women have been through significant trauma, and Emily – no matter how much she thinks otherwise – is not equipped to really help either of them. Over the course of the book we watch her reevaluate the things she thought she knew, and begin to view the world in a less idealistic way.

Nothing is truly resolved at the end of this book, and I really appreciated that. The book felt so true to life that if the good guys won and the bad guys got punished it would have felt hollow. But there are small wins for the good guys, and small losses for the bad guys, and both the characters and the reader have to be content with that. It’s also an excellent depiction of the pitfalls of white feminism. Over the course of the book, Emily begins to see quite how blinkered her view of the world – and of feminism – is, and it sets her on the start of seeing the world a little more critically, with a little more humility. (But only a little! This is the start of Emily’s adulthood, so we just get to see her take her first steps, which I loved.)

This book explores some really interesting themes, such as victimhood, the exploitation of victims in the media, and the responsibilities held by perpetrators, victims, and witnesses. It’s an ideal book club book; I want to get a group together to read this book so we can discuss in-depth how these ideas present themselves in this book! (So if you have read it, do get in touch!)

And finally, a huge shout-out to the narrator. Tanya Reynolds is an excellent actress, and no small reason behind my choosing the audiobook over the ebook. She brought Emily and all the other characters to life so vividly, and really added to my overall enjoyment of the book. I highly recommend choosing the audiobook for this one!

I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.

 

Over the last decade, it has been impossible to escape imagery of the Second World War in British culture, politics, and identity. From ‘blitz spirit’ to ‘keep calm and carry on’, it’s become a powerful part of how we see ourselves as a nation during hard times. In this book, Hannah Rose Woods proves that this is not just a modern phenomenon. For centuries, the British have been looking back to an earlier era for inspiration and a sense of national identity.

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It’s a really interesting approach to a history book, starting in the modern day and working backwards. By looking at each preceding era in turn, Woods shows a more complete picture of the eras we have been nostalgic for. It’s a fascinating read, fleshing out the romanticised images we have of the past. She also thoroughly debunks the idea that in doing so she might be ‘rewriting history’, as many historians were accused of during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. She doesn’t shy away from the realities of the past, proving that often nostalgia is just that.

It was also really interesting to see some of the themes that kept occurring. While I think perhaps more could have been done to explore some of them (such as pastoralism and Euro-scepticism) it was nice as a reader to spot them, and some themes – specifically imperialism – were tied together really well through the different chapters.

While this is best described as a history book, I don’t think it provided a lot of new information about British history. What it did provide, though, is a new lens and angle to look at it from, and a much-needed deep dive into how our national identity has been constructed.

I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.

 

 What a delightful read! The romance between Dylan and Theo was so sweet, and the story was filled with heart-warming themes and moments.

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The hero of this book is the romance. Dylan and Theo have such a connection from the moment they meet, you can’t help but get invested! It was so lovely to see their romance unfold. There some really nice other touches too, such as how Dylan helped Theo connect with his Chinese heritage. I also really liked how neither of them had a big coming out storyline in the book. They’re both out at the start, and their coming out stories are never really brought up; they are both just living their lives. I had a little excited cheer when Theo comes to save the day towards the end, and the romance as a whole was excellently written.

There is also a great cast of other characters. Both of the leads have a non-traditional family set-up, and it was really great to see their various family and household dynamics. The evolution of Theo’s relationship with his father was especially enjoyable, as they found common ground over the course of the story.

There were a few things that didn’t quite work for me, particularly the way money is handled in the story. Dylan and Theo come from very different financial backgrounds, and while this did cause tension at the start, it sort of petered out without ever really being dealt with. Theo eventually wins Dylan over with a thoughtful but very expensive grand gesture, and I would have liked to see that dynamic explored a little bit more, rather than be written off as wholly romantic. All of Dylan and his family’s achievements at the end can be traced back to Theo’s money, and it felt like that should have affected their relationship more than it did.

Overall though, this was a really fun read, with a couple you can’t help but root for, and all the fake dates and baking competitions you would expect!

I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own. 

 

This book is one of those rare cases where what you see in the cover and title are what you get. The title promises a paranormal adventure filled with a firmly British sense of humour, and the rest of the book delivers!

I really enjoyed the set-up of the world and how it was explored. The main character, Tom, finds himself out of his depth doing maternity cover for the paranormal arm of the police department. He’s hilariously unskilled and under-equipped, but determined to muddle through.

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There were some really great modern (yet cynical) twists, such as an app that does exorcisms for you, but only at fifty quid a go. Tom comes up against bureaucracy as much as he comes up against ghosts.

While I liked the world and the cast of characters, I was uncomfortable with the way Amy – the co-worker on maternity leave – was described. Her only real descriptions were about her physical appearance and her pregnancy (and how they linked together), and I would have liked to know more about her (and less about how she looked during pregnancy).

The book reads more like the pilot episode of a TV show than a completed story in its own right. The cast is introduced, there’s a small plot line that’s wrapped up in one go, with the promise of a bigger story to come.

Overall, this was a fun, witty paranormal adventure, and short enough that you can read and enjoy the whole thing in your lunch break.

I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.

 

 

While not necessarily being the strongest book in the Border Magic series, this was still an enjoyable read with excellent narration once again from Callum Hale.

My first introduction to the Border Magic universe was actually The Quid Pro Quo, and it was great to return to the rural setting for Inheritance of Shadows. Rob and Matty had a really great romantic arc, and it was nice to be reintroduced to some of the other characters from the wider universe.

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We did get to meet some new characters from the Outlands and explore that world a bit more. They were introduced quite late into the story though, and it did interrupt the flow slightly introducing new characters and themes at that point in the story.

Overall this was an enjoyable listen and a nice addition to the main ‘Lost in Time’ series.

I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.

 

 WOW. I was not expecting this book to be so immersive, so atmospheric, and so downright creepy but it was truly brilliant!

The story is set in 18th Century Paris, with a nice mix of fictional and real characters. Using real historical figures is a difficult game, especially when they are not leading roles such as in this book, but I thought the author did a great job of introducing them and then balancing them with the rest of the story.

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I loved the friendship between the main character, Madeleine, and the young woman she works for, Véronique. The way it developed over the course of the story felt very natural and was a lovely arc. There was also lots of very interesting family dynamics for both women, which were well depicted with all their complexities.

All of this is driven by a very cool but very creepy plot involving steampunk-style automata. It’s not a fantasy book or even magical realism, but there is a fantastical air to some it. The morbid fascination that some of the characters have with dissecting various creatures, in order to recreate them in clockwork form, has that occasional villainous tone to it but also draws you in as a reader with their own intrigue and obsession.

This book is not at all what I expected, but it was all for the best. It’s a perfect example of how to blend fact with fiction, and how to creep out your readers while ensuring they can’t look away.

I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.