A lovely read to dip in and out of on a long journey or whilst outdoors. This memorable and comforting story discusses the importance of the climate crisis, biodiversity, and rural communities. The love between the author and her husband is beautiful, bringing tears to my ears at the meaningful ending. This book was almost too relaxing as I often fell into a sleep whilst reading, whilst important topics were explored with kindness. Stunning and lively descriptions of wildlife, in the present and the author's memory. 

I loved the concept of this book, the story was an emotional rollercoaster, fast paced, and twisty. Quite an original story that plays with the reader's perception of time and character. I have highlighted so many quotes that I felt in my gut and am excited to share with my partner. Such a fun read! Only lost the five stars as I found some characters boring and predictable.

Having read and reviewed The Near Witch before reading this short story, I feel grateful to have continued the series. I felt The Near Witch was lacking character development, but this was certainly attained here. This story improved my interest and affection for the central character, as well as introducing the reader to the different fantasy settings V.E. Schwab can write so well. 

The Near Witch is a fantastical and dark debut novel which sets the scene for V.E. Schwab's journey to the writer she is today. Despite this not being my favourite of her stories, the electric dark romance, the cinematic settings, and the fairy tale witches emulate this fantastic author. The character's names did not feel natural and the ending seemed a little rushed, but V.E. Schwab's romantic writing still captured me. 

Whilst I adored the world building and flawed, driven hero, this novel was more difficult to stick with than I was expecting from such a fantasy. The first parts of the novel were fantastic, staging a hunger-games-esque rebellion from the difficult lives of an oppressed people. However, the majority of the story took place in a staged environment, where our central character spends the majority of the story in "training" before the real rebellion begins (presumably in book two.) Therefore, there was a lot of combat which I don't particularly enjoy, and too many characters at war for me to actually understand them. If you enjoy fast-paced fighting stories then this is for you. If you enjoy dystopian world building and stories about finding community in difficult times, then whilst there are elements you will like, ulimately, I found it lacking (and stuffed with unnecessary misogyny.)

With elements of epistolary fiction and prose, this story was beautifully written and in a league with TJR's greatest stories. This novel explores multiple forms of love, and the different pathways a marriage can take. TJR keeps the reader on their toes, even when we can predict what our characters are thinking. The emotive character development within our central family had my crying and grinning like a fool in the last few chapters. This story also features a golden dog called Thumper; what more could I say? 

This piece of translated fiction was eye-opening but equally difficult to read. When dealing with content moderation and the trauma that results from witnessing disturbing events, a reader has to expect some discomfort and the deteriorating mindset of the protagonist. I did imagine that this story would be rather one-dimensional (discussing what our protagonist saw and how it affected her,) rather we are given a dramatic plot with a greater focus on the friendships and relationships which stem from her difficult working environment. The structure was unique - almost a confession in the framework of an email to a lawyer - with a dark twist at the end which makes the reader re-examine how "villains" are really created. 

I read this book after being recommended it by a friend studying biomedicine and as part of an alphabetical reading challenge looking for a letter 'U.' What I am trying to say is, this is not the kind of book I would typically choose to read, but I was positively illuminated by what I read. This memoir was incredibly honest, as Dr Shepard discusses his role as a father and husband, and how these were impacted by his work in pathology. He admits to both professional and personal flaws in a way that demonstrates his goal to be truthful and at peace with himself. Dealing with grief myself, I was sceptical of how this book would make me feel, but the sensitive and informative writing bought more clarity and understanding of the turbulent and confusing time after death and before a burial. Aside from the emotional insights, Dr Shepard's story was fascinating from a true crime aspect, providing interesting details into court procedures and horrific crimes of the 20th century.

After reading Miller's Song of Achilles and Circe, I was enraptured by her reimagination of Greek mythology and interested in reading this beautiful little short story. Again, Miller recreates Ovid's characters (in this story, Pygmalion and the classically unnamed Galatea) in a reformulated light. 
This story discusses the role of women in Greek mythology and takes their positions of power to an extreme, demonstrating their complete submission to the dangerous and narcissistic male whilst maintaining ultimate power over their ability to live or die. I really enjoyed realising the disparity between my own feelings towards Pygmalion in this novel and Galatea's initial perspective of him along with many other themes packed into this short story.