This book was a fantastic pick for #NonFictionNovember as it's accessible, candid and one I urge everyone to pick up. The book focuses on Candice Braithwaite's experience as a Black British mother and how that differs from white woman's experience. This is a very real issue in the UK as not only are Black women 5 times more likely to die in childbirth than white women, Black women are also negatively stereotyped compared to white women in motherhood.

This is a book you definitely don't need to be a mother to appreciate. Candice Braithwaite has a strong and very compelling voice as her experiences and personality come through the pages of the book so strongly. This makes the book so readable and I devoured the book in a couple of sittings which is quite unusual for non-fiction.

The book really highlights the difficulties of Black motherhood in the UK as Candice touches on the difficulties of naming her children, finances, gang violence in London, cultural conflicts, where to send her children to school, do the schools have appropriate anti-racism policies in place. There are a lot of issues Candice touches on, some I definitely hadn't considered before.

What I really loved about this book was the passion and the love that came through. Candice Braithwaite clearly wants to help other Black women, she wants to make changes and she wants her voice to be heard. She has a very distinct style and having heard Candice talk about her new book coming out next year Sista Sister I could listen to her talk all day.

Candice Braithwaite is a incredible women doing really great work to change the face of motherhood and I will almost certainly be picking up Sista Sister when it's released in 2021.

"I felt lonelier out there, surrounded by all those people chasing ideas of happiness that weren't even theirs."

Speak Gigantular is a dark and disturbing examination of sexuality, bodies and loneliness explored through a variety of short stories. Okojie relies heavily on magical realism to cross boundaries, challenge our views of society and detail her stories. There were honestly points where I felt a little lost in some of her stories, as the metaphors went beyond my understanding, however, I overall really loved this blend of magical realism into her stories.

I felt deeply absorbed in the focus on sexuality, bodies, and the narrators mental state specifically. I felt like I was falling and unravelling alongside the various characters. Many of the narrators fall into the category of an unreliable narrator as the reader struggles to distinguish between make-believe and reality, right and wrong, certainty and uncertainty. This really gave the short stories an edge and a real chaotic feel at times. I really enjoyed this uncertainty and unknownness as I never knew what to expect from each story and what dark twist and turn Okojie would take me down next.

Beneath the magical realism and disturbing nature of these stories is a real dark humour and social critique which I thought was so brilliant.

Okojie's approach to short story telling is incredibly refreshing and unique. Whilst I didn't love every story and I got entirely lost in what some meant, I think there are some really stand out pieces in this collection. My favourites would probably be Fractures and The Thumbnail Interruptions. This definitely feels like a darker autumnal read and I can't wait to pick up Nudibranch soon!

Are you in the mood for something hilariously funny?

The Princess and the Prick is a hilariously short collection of classic fairytales, childhood stories, films and mythology that have been rewritten with a wickedly sharp tongue. I absolutely adored these and although they're all quite short, there are lots of different stories packed into the book. Each story also has a little illustrated picture to accompany it which I loved, as not many books I read have pictures anymore.

They honestly made me laugh out loud as they pinpoint so clearly the misogyny in the original stories from Snow White being sold off in her coffin by the dwarves, to a more humouress look at childhood films like Lady and the Tramp where it's said Lady likes a bit of rough.

These tales are a little saucy in places and very sharp as they've been very much given a more adult spin which will make you laugh. Personal favourites include Arthur asking to show Guinevere his Excalibur and some of the changes to the childhood films. I won't spoil anymore, but I would say this collection brightened my day and I'll definitely be coming back to peak at these again in the future.

Thank you so much @hqstories for brightening my day with this hilarious read!

Based on the true story of the author's great-great grand-parents the book follows Sarah who is a house slave, ripped away from her family to work at Jubilee plantation and Henry O'Toole who leaves Ireland to escape the famine, only to lose his family and find the "free" America not the opening and welcoming land he expected. Although Henry faces considerable anti-Irish sentiment, it is only when he meets Sarah that he begins to understand how much freedom he has and how much suffering and pain can be inflicted upon a person. Through their relationship he begins to finally grapple with the harsh realities of slavery in America.

The novel is predominantly a love story, however the romance is embedded cleverly in a much broader narrative that examines race, identity and the quest for freedom. This means there are quite a few poignant scenes between Henry and Sarah that really contrast their positions in society and the difficulties they face. One moment that stood out was where Henry was hired to make the chains that restrain the slaves. This moment really symbolised his ignorance, as whether Henry believed in the system or not, he was enabling it. It leads Sarah to pull away from their budding relationship and question her interest in Henry. This is the real strength of the novel as it focuses on the emotional pain of the characters over the violence perpetrated against them.

The novel itself is drawn out over several months and this prolonged period serves to build a more realistic and beautiful relationship between Sarah and Henry. It also immerses the reader into everyday plantation life and brings out the stories of the other slaves such as Red and Bessie.

The narrative splits between Sarah, Henry and Maple. Maple is another house slave at Jubilee plantation, although her family identity is much more complicated. And although she serves to represent all those who stand against Sarah and Henry's love, and often attempts to come between them. Her perspective offers a much more telling and unsettling exploration of family, tragedy and identity.

This book was incredibly emotional, compelling and very multifaceted. It's beautifully written and so very readable despite the heavy topic. It appears as a love story and delivers so much more with themes of love, identity, race, and the desire and courage to fight for what is right. I can't wait to see more from Tammye Huf in the future as this was a really strong debut.

Thank you to the publishers for the review copy.

Mating the Huntress by Talia Hibbert is definitely one that could fulfill all spooky fall romance desires. This novella gave me butterflies in my stomach and made me stay up late to literally devour the whole thing in one sitting.

The novella follows Chastity Adofo who comes from a family of huntresses. So she knows a monster when she sees one and Luke Anthony, who is frequenting her family coffee shop, is definitely a werewolf. The two have very opposite aims though as Chastity is determined to slay her first werwolf and prove to her family that she was born to be a huntress whilst Luke is attempting to brush up on his rusty flirting skills and woo Chastity. It leaves Luke needing to protect his heart in more than one way for sure.

It makes for a funny and rather steamy short novella that is definitely fitting for the season. It's a trademark Talia Hibbert with lots of fun, some good romance and this time a spooky backdrop. Urban fantasy books with a smidge of romance are literally one of my favourite genres and I need Talia Hibbert to write more of these books as it was just exactly what I needed to make me smile and feel good.

Invisible Women is an incredibly well researched book and important starting point to conversations about data gaps and gender bias. There's a lot of material covered and for the majority of the time it doesn't feel too dense, although lots of facts and figures get thrown around. The book offers a lot and I think has some really important conversations.

The impressive aspect about the book is its global attitude. Perez has not confined her study to simply the UK or the US, although they feature heavily. She touches on the impact of the Olympics on women in Brazil, housing structures in Vienna, snow clearing in Sweden, examines political representation globally and more. It's an incredibly extensive research project. It's also a stark read and you begin to realise how far away from a post-feminist society we truly are.

However, I think there's a caveat that cannot be ignored. The book at times falls flat in its intersectionality. There is a distinct lack of nuance for consideration surround trans and non-binary individuals and only limited analysis of the impacts of race. There was even less consideration surrounding women with disabilities. I know the author has been accused of being trans-exclusionary and whilst I haven't seen direct statements from her expressing this. The work is very cis-women focused.

When the book focuses on gender assigned categories related to transport usage, political representation etc, the gender categories that Perez discusses work to an extent that they cover those in the trans community that self identify as m/f, however, this still ignores non-binary individuals. Although I imagine there is a significant lack of data (even more so for non-binary individuals than women), I think it would have been better to caveat this in her work. The biggest problem however, was the lack of nuance in the approach to discussions surrounding the body. The female body that was discussed in reference to biology was clearly that of a cis-gendered woman, and whilst physical differences will almost certainly manifest due to hormones, genetic structures etc between bodies.

Trans individuals are also likely to be subject to these significant data gaps and likely to experience problems in medical treatment.
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From the perspective of a white cis-woman, I felt like the primary target audience of this book. I think it raises a lot of concerning questions about significant data gaps and male bias in our patriarchal world. It made me ask a lot of questions about social situations, medical situations and global structures. However, I cannot ignore lack of intersectionality in the book.

"There is a special kind of resilience and beauty in those tucked-away spots of life. I want you all to see the true beauty of my suffering country. With my camera, I strive to empower, not victimize, the people in my images." ~ Amira Al-Sharif

An emotional collection of essays, Our Women on the Ground offered me a small insight into the lives of several Arab women who are journalists and photo-journalists. The women in this collection ranged in backgrounds and experiences, which served to offer a multitude of views on their experiences.

The common ground between these women being they are journalists who put themselves often on the front-line and into danger and they were working in a sphere, particularly in the Arab world that is dominated by men. And whilst this collection offers insights into the difficulties of being a female journalist in the Arab world, whether that is because of restrictions on women's access to public spaces or traditional preconceptions that journalism isn't women's work.

The most interesting and inspiring aspect of this book was the resilience of the women. Many of these women put themselves into great danger, they face police questioning, smuggled themselves across borders, faced harassment, put themselves into live war zones and more. This was often at detriment to personal and family relationships.

And beneath all of this, these women still spoke of love, of hope, of the connections and relationships they built with their informers and the individuals they reported on. The battle these journalists underwent to show the lives of the everyday women and children and the communities that continue to thrive and suffer as their countries battle through wars and civil wars.

It's difficult to unpick such a complex collection of essays to an individual level as each one helps to build the collection and offer a brief, but important insight into the experiences of the women who contribute. I think this is a must read for everybody.

Theatre of War was the debut novel from Chilean author Andrea Jeftanovic and the first of her works to be translated into English. Theatre of War is a clever insight into the struggles of one family through poverty, illness, trauma, struggles with the past and the difficulties of memory and more through the eyes of young Tamara.

The novel is also exceedingly clever in structure as it splits between acts to mirror a play and whilst the writing is that of a more traditional novel. The descriptions focus on imagery, on the sounds and the environment to almost construct strong visuals, as if its a play, for the reader.

This at times means there are rather graphic descriptions as Tamara discusses her body bleeding and talks about her ten fingers covered in blood, her body leaking, her attempts to keep the blood inside. However this makes Theatre of War so haunting and compelling.

The book has strong themes that examine memory and how the mind distorts events, alongside trauma, loss, and poverty. Focused on a family who have fled to South America following the trauma of the Balklans war, Theatre of War feels much more abstract in how it handles the themes and concepts as it never explicitly references the specific war.

I absolutely devoured this book and found the whole thing an incredibly immersive read, and I think fans of more abstract books like Han Kang's The Vegetarian will greatly appreciate this one too. Definitely a new favourite of the year, thank you to the publishers for a gifted copy.

Wrapped Up in You is a Christmas romance novel that focuses on Abbie and Will Reid. Will is a famous Hollywood face who is looking to move back home to woo his childhood friend and long-term crush Abbie who he spends every Christmas with as he's close to her whole family.

Abbie is an interesting and complex female protagonist as are all Talia Hibbert's characters. She's suffers majorly with anxiety and is struggling following the breakdown of her marriage two years prior to the Christmas setting. This has left deep scars and real trust issues for Abbie in others and with herself.

The trust and anxiety issues are a major theme of the novel and I think something some individuals may struggle to deal with and enjoy. I wish the novel had been a little longer to unpick these issues and the relationship a little more as I feel like then the novel would have had the classic Talia Hibbert sparkle which lacked a little in this novel.

I will admit I wanted a little more Christmas joy than the realism we got at points in this novella so it wasn't quite what I expected. There were still some fun moments for sure with a snowball fight, and trying to find a pregnant cat in a snowstorm. However, I felt like the cast of characters that Hibbert created was so ripe for a fully fleshed series or standalone novel to unpick all the complexities and emotions.

Whilst I enjoyed this novella, I don't think it's my favourite from Hibbert, but I will definitely be coming back for more as Talia Hibbert has firmly established herself as one of my favourite authors for 2020.

TW: anxiety & abuse.

Strange Love is not my usual romance, but I decided to take a punt after I saw an author I liked recommended it. The basic premise is that Beryl Bowman gets abducted by Zylar an alien on his last chance to make a mating match in his home world before he is resigned to the life of a drone and exiled from his clan.

I was a little sceptical of how this might go but my curiosity drove me into the book and I found it surprisingly wholesome in places. The fact that Beryl's dog Snaps gets implanted with a translation chip which means he can now communicate with both Beryl and Zylar made me laugh a lot and provided for a lot of the heartwarming and wholesome content.

I thought some of the characterisation was a little off as Beryl seemed to suggest she was a bit of a down-and-out, that spent a lot of time drinking feeling sorry for herself when she was first picked up. Then in the hunger-games style competition to prove they can be a couple she managed to excel pretty well at the various challenges showing she was smart, capable and actually quite physically capable (despite stating earlier not liking sports). Do not get me wrong, I loved that she was more than capable in the competition, I was just a bit confused because she had undersold herself so much previously.

However, I will say the one thing I really appreciated was the entire lack of angst between Zylar and Beryl. They talked out lots of their emotions and whilst Zylar lacked in confidence and belief in himself (such a change to see the man the one who is unsure if he's good enough to be with the woman). There was no unnecessary angst between them and the drama in the plot came from external characters, mainly Zylar's awful brother.

Overall, it was an interesting and rather enjoyable read. I'm not sure I'll return to the second book focused on the AI that was Zylar's only friend and companion, however, I did enjoy the style and the plot so I'll definitely be returning to Ann Aguirre in future.