emma_rreads's Reviews (183)

Oh, what a delight this book is! Joe-Nathan is a wonderful character, and one who exists in a world where routine and rules are carefully followed. Until one day everything changes. With a fantastic cast of characters who leap off the page, this is one incredibly heartwarming read. Ideal for readers who are looking for something uplifting but not too saccharine.

I absolutely loved this book! Mabel is such a brilliant character and goes to prove that just because you’re 86, life does not have to stop! The female friendship was a beautiful thing and the way in which the characters supported and rallied around each other left me feeling all warm and fuzzy - but it did tackle some thought provoking issues too, a perfect book club read if you’re looking for something with humour alongside discussion topics.

If you love language and beautiful prose, then this is for you. Beginning with an injured soldier on a battlefield in France so begins a journey of fragmented moments and memories throughout several generations. It’s quietly beautiful in many ways, and I loved the idea of these many lives, connected yet disparate, all existing but with all these hidden moments. It reminded me very much of how when I’m doing family history research I know these salient points but I’m left to piece together the in between. 
However, despite the positives it did lack an emotional catch for me, it felt a little too fragmented and bitty and I struggled to make an emotional connection.

I found this a really difficult book to accurately give a star rating to. It was a book I had to persevere with. I was definitely intrigued from the off and I stuck with it as I really wanted to know what was going on…at times it felt on the slow side. However, once all the pieces came together I loved where it ended up. The narrative about power, greed and selfishness was very much relevant to the world we live in today, with billionaires in the tech sector having far too much control. Alderman suggests a potential future, weaving in religious scripture, survivalism and commentary on environmental and climate concerns. It’s a novel of depth with lots to unpick, and I think its messaging will be ringing in my head for some time to come.

A retelling of Orwell’s classic dystopian novel, 1984, but from the point of view of Julia. I was initially unsure about this, but it grew on me like rampant ivy! The world building isbrilliant, and I felt completely transported. And the plight of Julia in this strange dystopia felt authentic and relatable. Newman has done such a great job, that although knowing the original text would add depth, Julia stands strongly alone.

A breath of fresh air - this was exactly what I needed!

Although I wasn’t blown away by the blurb, I forged ahead on a recommendation, and I was not disappointed. A gorgeous story set in the 1600s about Durie, a young woman with an ambition to be a bonesetter, just like her father and his father before him. Durie is not what a woman of the period is expected to be. Large and strong, she doesn’t fit in. Yet her size and strength makes her ideal for her chosen work. 
A story of determination in the face of resistance. I loved this so much I immediately went out and bought The Smallest Man.

Set to the backdrop of the plague, The Hemlock Cure is set in the village of Eyam, famous for its self imposed quarantine. Mae is the village apothecary’s daughter. Her father Wulferic is a pious and controlling man, and his distaste for the village’s midwife, Isabel is obvious. A three pronged narrative; flashbacks, diary entries and a ghostly narrator bring the past and present together, revealing long hidden secrets. 
Excellent historical fiction with some  really interesting parallels with our recent pandemic.

My first Poirot novel (by Sophie Hannah or Agatha Christie!) I’m ashamed to say, and I really enjoyed it! I found myself completely lost in the mystery and transported to the cliff-teetering house of Frelly with the quietly simmering familial tensions. A wonderfully enjoyable read for a chilly, dark evening.

A strangely addictive novella about a young woman who realises that she has blocked out traumatic memories from her childhood when she goes to stay her eccentric aunt.  This would make a very unusual choice for a book club pick.

I really wanted to love this book, and it was an enjoyable enough read - but after Wrong Place Wrong Time, one of my favourite books of last year, it had a lot to live up to and it didn’t hit the mark for me in the same way.