Set in 1993 Cuba, in the height of the Special Period when there is a widespread economic crisis after the collapse of the Soviet bloc. The novel follows maths lecturer Julia in Havana, who is at a life low. In order to find some much needed money she hatches a plan with her colleague and former lover Euclid to find a legendary document that would prove the telephone was invented in Havana. Her life then intersects with handsome artist Ángel, the novelist Leonardo and the Italian tourist Barbara who all become embroiled in the search for the document.

Whilst the beginning of the book is a little slow, I was definitely drawn further and further into this entertaining detective-style, historical novel. The plot is full of twists and turns, deception and betrayals amongst the characters. It also delves into the complexities of human relationships and the fickleness of some individuals and love.

I really enjoyed the way the backstory developed for each of the main characters: Julia, Euclid, Ángel, Leonardo and Barbara. The way their lives slowly began to interwine in unexpected ways and the connections made between them.

Whilst the historical themes weren't overtly focused on, I enjoyed the setting, the vibe and the overall result of this novel. Another enjoyable novel from Charco press and I can't wait to read more of their backlist. Out today and thanks to @charcopress for the copy in exchange for a honest review.

BRILLIANT!

Female alpha and arrow, yes please! This was absolutely yummy and delightful!

But now I'm at the end of all the available books in Psy-Changeling and I'm sad. I have to now wait months for the next one to come out

The Split by Laura Kay

When Ally finds herself dumped by her girlfriend, without a job and homeless in London she jumps on a train back home to Sheffield. And she takes the cat. Back in her father's home she finds friendship with her old pal Jeremy who is also nursing a broken heart after his boyfriend dumped him. The pair, both focused on winning back their exes, decide that signing up to run a half-marathon in insanely hilly Sheffield is the way to success.

The Split wasn't entirely what I expected but I still really enjoyed it. The main focus was on how Ally handled the breakdown of her relationship with Emily, started to find her feet and life direction again and found friendship with Jeremy. Whilst I didn't always like the focus Ally had on winning back Emily or some of her behaviour in this book, I did like her overall character arc.

For me, the strongest part of this book was the friendship between Ally and Jeremy. The moment when Jeremy is having a bad time and Ally is just there with no demands and just support. They had a real friendship; it was heart-warming and honest and it just made me laugh and smile and feel all warm inside.

I also really loved that the novel was set in Sheffield as a Yorkshire lass, I always love books set in a place I call my home. It also felt incredibly British with the school disco scene, the pubs and the just general vibes of the book and that I really enjoyed.

The Split for me is one of those rainy-day reads where you want something comforting and heart-warming. It focuses on food (lots of cake), friendship, building yourself back up and has a little bit of humour wrapped up in it all. Overall, an enjoyable novel that I think will get a lot of love.

"But my nervous system remembers. The lenses of my eyes. My cerebral cortex, with its memory and language and consciousness. They will last forever, or at least as long as I do. They can still climb onto the witness stand. My memory has something to say about the way trauma has altered my body's DNA, like an ancient virus.

I think a lot about what evidence, had it been measured or recorded or kept, would help make my case. Not in a court of law, exactly, because there are many things that happen to us that are beyond the purview of even a perfectly executed legal system. But the court of other people, the court of the body, the court of queer history". p.258

In the Dream House is far more than a memoir, it's an exploration of how we tell our stories, who tells them, where we write them and even why we tell them. It is an incredible examination of the lens upon which we read, watch and digest the events of the world around us.

Machado brilliantly switches up her narrative styles and frames to use different gazes and perspectives on which to tell her own experiences.

She digs into her experiences of abuse; emotional and psychological, and explores how we frame abuse in society. How abuse in queer relationships (focusing on cis-gendered lesbian relationships) is viewed compared to heterosexual relationships; the intersectionality of gender stereotypes, gendered behaviours and race upon how abuse is perceived and responded to. The failings of the law, the failings of society, and the failure to believe and understand the victim when there are no physical signs of abuse.

Machado's structure of short chapters ranging in length from a single paragraph to several pages means her breadth of topics and themes does not feel disjointed. It allows her to intersperse her personal experiences with film, literary and other cultural explorations. She uses fairytales such as Bluebeard to offer an unsettling insight into her own experience. She also explores the queer identity by exploring topics such as the depiction of queer people as villains and how Disney villains often have queer identities.

In The Dream House is multifaceted and extraordinary literary piece that had me googling many a term because it has an incredible focus on language. By no means is this alienating and I found myself drawn in to Machado's experiences throughout. I think it's difficult to put into words a real review of this book that reflects one's reading experience. It's a book to sit and contemplate, digest and consider.

"And where the words of women are crying to be heard, we must each of us recognise our responsibility to seek those words out to read them and share them and examine them in their pertinence to our lives."

"

This book certainly needs no introduction and there have been hundreds of reviews before me on the work and words of Audre Lorde. However it is now clear to me after reading this collection why Audre Lorde is so praised, so frequently quoted and why her works are feminist classics.

I thought as I picked up this book that it was perhaps one I should have read long ago. However as I read on, as I pondered and as I noted down my thoughts. I paused and reflected upon certain aspects of Audre Lorde's words, and I realised this was a book that came to me at exactly the right time.

At the age of 25, as I have more certainty about who I am, my own beliefs and what I stand for. By reading Sister Outsider now, I had a much fuller appreciation for the nuance and the thought with which Audre Lorde writes. Had I read this as a fresh faced teenager, I'm not sure the impression would have been the same because my world bubble and my ideas were not yet as broad as they are now. This is not to say that teenagers and youngster will not fully identify and find relevance in Audre Lorde's words. For me, however, I felt that appreciation of her words, her arguments was felt much more strongly with my own maturity.

Sister Outsider is as relevant today as it was 30 years ago upon publication, which is both angering and a reflection upon the insights that Lorde offers in her works. Audre Lorde is undoubtedly a woman whose other works will be finding their way into my book collection soon, including her poetry because I was incredibly blown away. Absolutely brilliant ✨

We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan

The debut novel from Hafsa Zayyan is a narrative of two halves. It follows Sameer, a young high-flying lawyer living in present day London who is struggling to decide about his future. He comes to realise he feels adrift and unachored from his family and his history. His narrative is interspersed with letters written by his grandfather Hasan in 1960s Uganda. Hasan's letters detail the conflict and struggles he faced as the country he called his home came to reject him under the upheaval of Idi Amin's rule.

The switch between the time periods serves to unravel and explore the complexities of generational divides, racial tensions and the long legacy of the destructive British colonial empire. Zayyan also explores themes of family, faith, friendship, culture, memory and identity. Her focus on identity and how Sameer struggles to find himself and life direction is central to the whole narrative.

I think the book tells a really important period of history with nuance and thought, although it largely focuses on the voices of the Asian community. I think Maryam's character really offered an insight into the emotions and troubles of some of the black, Muslim Ugandan population. She was a very grounded woman in her faith, her beliefs and I really fell in love with her. The one aspect I would point out is that I felt other than Maryam the female characters were quite weak and fell into stereotypes a little more which was a little disappointing.

Overall though, this was a really brilliant debut. It starts of a little slowly, but once Sameer gets to Uganda the narrative is entirely absorbing and I was swept away into the narrative. For those who are fans of multi-generational historical fiction I think this one will be a firm winner! Thanks to Tandem and the publishers for the review copy.

TW: racial slurs, violence references, racism.