A scary, emotional and clever story, beautifully illustrated.

This was a mixed bag of stories, on the whole all enjoyable, well-written and thought-provoking. A timely reminder of the reality of climate change and its effects.

One of my favourites of the Campion series, with the continued tension and the tragedy of the woman literally hiding her eyes from the evil personified in her adopted son. Atmospheric and enjoyable.

This is a fun Christmassy read,. It has a lovely Christmas atmosphere, despite the heroine's plan to avoid Christmas and to host an alternative celebration at her newly-acquired guesthouse.  Of course it's predictable - you can tell how it's going to end by the about the second chapter, but there's nothing at all wrong with that. My only criticism would be that there's a bit too much "telling" rather than "showing" for my taste, but that really is a minor thing. On the whole, a really good escapist seasonal read.

This was a riveting, sometimes tense, and emotional read. Lilia spent her childhood running, and now can't seem to stop. She is a brittle, but likeable character, and I spent the book wanting to know more about her and about the events of her early childhood that she can barely remember. A really good read.

Fascinating and immersive coming-of-age novel set in China. Issues of identity and race and of how our perceptions affect our treatment and expectations of others. None of the characters were exactly likeable, but it was easy to sympathise with them and to understand their motivations.

The concept behind this book is clever and intriguing. I did find it a little repetitive with the reiteration of the "rules". The stories were interesting and (mostly) sad. The characters were easy to like.

This book is hard to categorise. Part family saga, part feminist rage, part horror or ghost story. The atmosphere of the "wedding cake" house and the inevitability of what is going to happen give a continuous sense of dread and of the impossibility of escape.

Even Iris/Sylvia never completely gets away.

A wonderful book. Top 10 of the year potential.

I love this book even on the umpteenth re-read. Anne is such a lovely heroine. I love the portrayal of the navy and its camaraderie. I love the descriptions of Bath.

I love the backstory between Mr Elliott and Mrs Smith

Sir Walter and Elizabeth are love-to-hate relatives, the Musgroves a lovely contrast, and Mary and her whining is light relief. I love everything about this book!

Amazing descriptions and use of language. Interesting insight into life for ex-pats in Africa befre World War II. Very much of its time, with casual racism and colonisation taken for granted.