A suitably epic ending to this series!

The series has been a bit touch-and-go; a brilliant premise, and the exploration of the premise has been fantastic, but only the first and fourth really stood out with the second and third basically being re-hashings of the first.

Although this had the adventure and exploration that are the hallmarks of the series, it also - suitably, for the final book - was essentially about finding your roots, wherever or whoever they are, and going home; after four and a half books of essentially running away from the rest of humanity, Joshua has finally started to appreciate those around him, and the same (to a lesser extent) could be said for Nelson.

I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS IN MY HEART RIGHT NOW FOR A LOT OF VERY PRECIOUSFICTIONAL PEOPLE

This entire book was just an emotional roller-coaster from start to finish.



I thought I just about had it together and then THE END HAPPENED




Harry Cane is just an absolutely precious protagonist who, thanks to the era and his British repressed emotions, is completely unaware of the fact that he's gay. Thus follows a BEAUTIFUL BUT HEARTBREAKING story about him finding himself, at some points in the worst way possible, and I just... he needs protecting from the world. At all costs.

Every single character was brilliantly well-crafted and the writing was so atmospheric, it felt like I was there. I laughed and cried with Harry, and made rather inhuman noises when the book was over.

Excessive emotions aside, this book is brilliant. It perfectly captured so many political and social concerns at the beginning of the twentieth century without shoving them down your throat and makes you both glad about how far we've come but also angry about how far there is left to go.

A quote from the author in the Q&A section at the end really struck a chord with me: "the story of early gay liberation is inseparable from the struggles of the Women's Movement". I think that that idea perfectly encapsulates the strongest themes and relationships/friendships in the book, particularly the relationships between Harry, Petra and Paul, and the things that go spoken and unspoken between them.

In short: READ THIS BOOK. If you are interested in historical fiction, LGBT+ fiction, or just excellent books (which you should be, you're on this site) then READ IT.

SPOILER-Y THINGS

BEWARE IF YOU KEEP READING

OKAY HERE GOES

*****

HARRY POTTER IS BACK AND EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL AND IT'S THE WIZARDING WORLD BUT NINETEEN YEARS LATER AND AAAHHHHHH

Acts two and three were, er, a bit cringey. But NEVER MIND LET'S TALK ABOUT ALL THE WONDERFULNESS

Here follows a non-comprehensive list of my thoughts
1) SCORBUS. I SHIP IT EVEN HARDER
2) Finally had it out about all of Dumbledore's questionable decisions THANK MERLIN
3) Addressing Harry's terrible name choices. Woop woop.
4) Hermione is Minister and EVERYTHING IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD
5) Literally ignoring the plot just to surround myself in Harry Potter goodness
6) I love alternate reality Ron, Hermione and Snape being rebel fighters
7) DID I MENTION THE SCORBUS
8) That bit when Harry has to watch his parents die HOLY MOLY THAT WAS TRAUMATIC
9) JKR IS QUEEN THAT IS ALL

London Spy more like LONDON CRY



Okay, so I have an unhealthy obsession with this show, as anyone who has spoken to me at all over the last twelve months will attest to. I love it so, so much, and it caused me a lot of pain and feelings. I thought that it couldn't cause me any more.

I WAS WRONG.

Maaaaaaaan was I wrong. For one thing, the show actually makes more sense now that some of the more confusing scenes have been fleshed out. We have more backstory, which is, of course, tragic. Leading to tears.

Spoiler-y bits...

The extended version of the "I don't want to. I don't need to" scene was just TOO MUCH I COULDN'T TAKE IT AND IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL AND THEY'RE SO PRECIOUS.

And the end.
THE END.

Let's be real here; the ending of the show wasn't great. It just kind of... stops. All we needed was two or three more minutes to give us (and Danny) that little bit more closure, rather than having him and Frances drive off, suddenly best pals, with the other mum burning in the maze? I mean, what?!

But this time - THIS TIME - we got the full version. And my poor fragile heart can't take it. Danny got closure, he's moving on, the other mum lived, and it's not quite alright but it's a darn sight better than it was.