savage_book_review's Reviews (328)

The third in the series of Alison Weir's examinations of the Queens Consort of England from 1066, this volume focuses on the Queens of Edwards I, II and III, and the two Queens of Richard II. 

I need to preface this by saying I think Alison Weir is an amazing historian and author; she is authoritative, knowledgeable and yet her works are easily digestible by a lay person. While this book absolutely does fit with that, unfortunately it fails to actually focus on the subject at hand; the women. I found that, throughout, it read like more of a general history of the period; the women are definitely there, and probably do appear more than in a traditional narrative of the period, but nevertheless it didn't tell their story so much as just slotted them into their place in history. I don't feel I learned very much about the women at all, and on numerous occasions found myself 'zoning out' as the book did not live up to what I was expecting from its pages. It almost feels like the author has had a loss of confidence in her own abilities to bring women's history to life.

When I reviewed the first book in this series, I commented that this issue was there too, but in that case I could sort of understand it given that primary source material from the 11th and 12th centuries is exceptionally rare. But, even in that book with little source material to rely upon, the author quoted such sources and pinpointed where a Queen was, and perhaps why she was there. In this book, it is clear that there is more primary source material to draw from, but it is the more mundane kind; accounts. As such, she is able to tell us what the Queen ate or wore wherever she might have been, but there is a complete lack of depth given to them as people. I appreciate that a historian deals in facts, but usually there are at least inferences made as to what the subject's motivations and thoughts may have been and this felt totally missing in this case. 

The amount of time dedicated to each Queen also felt uneven to me. I vaguely recall the author making a comment at the outset of this series that, because she had already published standalone books on Eleanor of Aquitaine and Isabella of France, she would not be dedicating that much space to them in these pages. However, Isabella's entry is roughly a third to a half of the length of this book. Her daugher-in-law, Philippa of Hainault, is vastly overshadowed, with much of her life being shoehorned into Isabella's entry due to their overlapping lives. Given the vast amount that has been written about Isabella, I would have preferred that the author stuck with her original plan and tell us more about the 'lesser known' Queens. 

There is a small part of me that wonders whether the author has found that she enjoys writing fictionalised history more than the real thing. Although I certainly applaud the effort and the sheer amount of work that she must be putting into this much needed series to bring these women's stories to the masses, at the same time I cannot help but think this is far from her best work. I will definitely still keep buying and keep reading the series as new ones are released, particularly as we are due to enter the era for which the author is better known in the next book, but for now this one will simply sit in my bookshelf as a nice reference guide, but nothing more.

Laurel is excited to star in a new ballet production, even if she did miss out on the principal role. But when it transpires the company is to be joined onstage by arrogant, egotistical musician Ace, sparks begin to fly between them. Quite literally. Because he's not just a rock god... 

First and foremost, I enjoyed the lightness of Apollo's character and his back and forth with Laurel. It really made their relationship 'pop' from the page more than Hades and Stephanie (who do make a brief appearance in this book). Although the book is shorter than 'Hades', I think you get more from both lead characters in terms of characterisation and development, and I could certainly feel their creativity and inspiration through the descriptions of their music and dance.

Weirdly, I've heard a lot about the Muses today (for some reason, Johnny Vaughan was talking about them on his radio show this morning), so I feel like these Goddesses might be trying to kick me a little bit of inspiration... I could certainly do with it at the moment! I did like the fact that there was a bit more of a 'purpose' to Laurel's story in this sense - it's not quite the 'fated mates' trope, but the draw between the characters feels more natural here.

However, as with the last book, the secondary characters appear to be there purely to inhabit the world, rather than to play any significant part in it. Again, opportunities for layered storylines are missed and there is very little else outside the burgeoning relationship of the main couple to cling onto. It does make it a very quick and easy read, but it feels like it could have been so much more.

I suspect that the books in this series are all going to be essentially carbon copies story-wise, just with different places and people. There are a few things already that are too similar - the best friend in 'Hades' and 'Apollo' is effectively the same person, and other aspects make the writing in the latter feel a bit lazy, rather than there being a worldbuilding element. I'm not expecting any surprises in the rest of the series, but it would be nice to have a bit of a twist. But as long as I keep my expectations of that pretty low, I'll definitely enjoy the rest of the series.

It probably doesn't help that Apollo isn't my favourite of the Greek Gods (Hades has that award), so I'm not necessarily as invested in a story based around him... but it was still a good read to pass the time.

Dragged on holiday to Corfu by her best friend, Stephanie struggles to switch off from her job as a digital forensics expert. But drawn to a lonely soul sat at the hotel bar by the strange nature of his aura, she quickly finds herself with a new puzzle to solve. He calls himself Hades, but the Greek gods are just myths. He can't be the actual King of the Underworld, can he?

Ah, yet again we find ourselves with a lead male character that has a dark soul, pointy ears, a ripped body and a ginormous wingspan... Not complaining! I even like the southern drawl thing he's got going on! But seriously, as with many of these modern retellings Hades is more than just the stereotypical torturer of Tartarus - in this case, all he wants is a short holiday from his day job and for someone to see 'the real him'. His character is perhaps not as detailed as in other retellings, but he's definitely still the character the reader will be drawn to. I did enjoy the development of his relationship with Stephanie and his slipping into Godly thoughts while in his human disguise; it gives him a little bit of an adorable but clueless vibe in places. 

However, I found Stephanie didn't really have enough character development early on for me to come to properly like her; she's given traits and abilities with very little explanation or back story, which I thought detracted from the overall effect. For example, her ability to see auras should be quite important to the plot, but it's not really followed through enough to give it the emphasis it deserves, nor is it explained in any great detail. As she is meant to be 'normal' apart from this, it just comes across as a little bit of a convenient plot device.

The plot itself is relatively simple, but it does feel like a bit of a mish-mash of ideas. You go from trying to solve a murder to Dirty Dancing to Greek mythology, and while it does hold up there is very little depth to the story and ai thought the balance was a bit 'off'. I think it would have been more interesting if the author had focused on either the darker elements and had Hades appear as part of the police investigation, or conversely omitted that element altogether and made it more of a lighthearted 'beach read' romance. Similarly, the attempted sub-plots involving the secondary characters Stephanie meets on holiday don't really lead anywhere and are pretty superfluous as they stand. Again, with a little more thought and detail they could have added a good few layers to the story. 

Enjoyable enough read if you like Hades and Persephone retellings, but there are better out there.

Princess Gwendoline of Camelot has been betrothed to Arthur DeLacey since the day she was born. There are two problems with this: 1, they cannot stand each other. And 2, her romantic interests lie elsewhere. When Art is sent to Camelot for the summer to prepare for their upcoming nuptials, it goes about as well as expected. Until Gwen discovers Art has a secret love too. Playing along to distract the world from their real feelings, might events conspire to allow them a true happily ever after? Or will they be stuck together forever, definitely not in love?

I'm not usually one for the fake dating trope, but the fact that this one comes with a bit of a twist makes it much more enjoyable to me. I was more invested in the development of the relationship between Gwen and Art purely because it was clear that there wouldn't be any romance between them; I was intrigued to see how far they would move from enemies to friends, and just how it would be achieved. While they do bounce off of each other very well, I will be honest and say that I much prefer Art as a character - he's the lovable rogue; the confident, cocky young buck compared to the petulant teenager that is Gwen. She does improve as the book progresses, but even her 'heroic' moment is quite muted compared to Art's. 

While the story overall is a fun, lighthearted ride, and the ingenuity of the setting - a Camelot that knows King Arthur existed and is trying to recapture his magic, even though his story has faded into legend - is brilliant, I did feel that the writing lacked purpose. None of the characters, with the possible exception of Art, have much depth to them; even the love interests feel more like rough outlines rather than fully fleshed out people. 

Similarly, the plot was fairly limited and, while there are a couple of moments that hit the mark, more seem to be trying to set up a sub-plot that don't go anywhere, or are moments of intrigue introduced far too late and wound up far too quickly. Likewise, a lot of the 'revelations' lose their impact or are overshadowed by wider events - it feels like there are so many missed opportunities. I just wanted more of everything!

Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable read and I would like to see a sequel dealing with the newest version of Camelot - there's plenty of scope for more from these characters!

Eleanor wants to be invisible. But her flaming red hair and thrift store fashion make her stand out like a sore thumb. So when she steps onto the school bus and slides into the empty seat next to Park, she keeps herself to herself. Until he notices her reading over his shoulder. Issues of comics are exchanged before words are, but slowly they get to know each other through Marvel and mix tapes. With a less than harmonious home life and bullies terrorising her at school, she discovers the safety and comfort of friendship and first love... now she just has to keep it hidden.

This is a simple story of teen love, but is so effectively told. It completely draws you in, portraying beautifully that dream-like version of budding romance where you two are the only characters of consequence in the story. The people that surround you; friends, family, classmates and colleagues are there and interact with you, affect your life and continue in their roles, but your focus is continually drawn to that person you have feelings for. In this case, I found that it didn't matter that the secondary characters weren't necessarily drawn with that much depth; they just didn't need it as they weren't as important as this growing relationship. 

That being said, Eleanor's background is horrifying and, as the story progresses, it's hard to understand why her mother remains loyal to her utterly disgusting step-father. He is the only character that perhaps could have been more starkly drawn. He is a nasty piece of work, but he doesn't quite come to life enough for me to inspire that burning hatred that other literary villains of a similar ilk do.

The writing style bounces back and forth between Eleanor and Park's POVs in fairly rapid succession, but in this case it works perfectly for the story being told. You get to see the development of their relationship and their wider lives from both perspectives simultaneously, which means the shifting balance of feelings is always evident. 

I understand from the author's notes why the ending is the way that it is, but if I do have one criticism it's that the end does feel a bit rushed. The resolution of the slight 'mystery' element should have a greater impact than it does, and the emotional fallout for both Eleanor and Park deserves more page space... I'm not 100% sure how it could work myself, but it seemed to me that there was an entire potential third act within those last few pages. But I'm not going to complain about the last few lines. Perfectly pitched. 

This book is more about the feelings it inspires in the reader rather than its literary merits. And I definitely have all the feels after that!

I have been in love with this story since I was about 11 years old, when a friend lent me the book for reading time at school. So when I discovered it was a available as an audiobook, it jumped straight to the top of my Audible wishlist. 

I will admit to being slightly nervous about buying it; what if the narrator ruins it, or it overrides the images I've always held? Fortunately, it's a very good rendition! The narrator is lively and engaging, bringing life to the characters and giving them their own voice without straying into caricature. Yes, I have always pictured the story being based in a little fishing village in Devon/Cornwall, whereas the narrator has chosen to give the vast majority of characters Irish accents, but the whole point is that the author never specifies a 'real' place or time for the setting. As a result, I was perfectly happy to accept the rendition while keeping my own headcanon intact. There were a couple of occasions where the accent wandered slightly, but nothing so obvious as to spoil the immersion into the story.

She also did an excellent job in bringing Marnie and Raven's hand words to life, making them just stilted enough to allow your imagination to see them discussing things with signs, while not disturbing the overall flow of the narrative. Likewise, I think she did a good job with Raven's mouth words, making them sound true to life without overdoing things and making them sound like bad impressions. The only thing I found slightly annoying was the indecision about how to pronounce the name Isake (Eyes-ache vs Isaac). There's a bit of both in here, and I feel like the pronunciation should have been decided upon prior to recording. 

Turning to the story and the writing, everything about this book spears straight to the core of my soul. Right from the first line, you are drawn into this world of the downtrodden, poor, common folk of the Middle Ages, and their fear of anything different. It doesn't feel like a perspective we get to see very often, and the author does an amazing job at expressing the struggle that is their daily life and exploring the reasoning behind their closed-mindedness. 

Our main characters, Marnie and Raven, are completely real to me and I feel everything as they do, from the joy of their communications to the terror of the whip and the hangman's noose. They are both spellbinding (and not just because of the witchcraft!). I literally walk every step of the story alongside them, dancing with them, fearing with them and just breathing with them. And like them, I do not have enough words to convey just how much this story means to me.

Adam Silvera's trademark style of sensitively exploring the discovering and acceptance of sexuality through the lens of a teenage boy, complete with a sci-fi twist is on full display here, and it makes for a beautifully written, heart-wrenching, terrifying-and-yet-completely-relatable read. 

Aaron is a fairly typical teen on the surface - always playing ridiculous games with his mates, taking the girlfriend who adores him out on dates and writing his own comic book. But his life hasn't been easy - he has the scar on his wrist to prove that. I cannot fault the characterisation; Silvera's writing perfectly captures that balance of a person being "normal" on the outside and yet struggling with trauma and their own demons on the inside. His is definitely not a sugar-coated existence, and Silvera has a real knack for making his lead characters so incredibly real, which just makes the 'fantastical' element that much more engaging.

In this case, it's name-dropped a few times early on in the story, and if you've read the author's other works it's not hard to take a stab at guessing what might be on the horizon. But likewise, he's all about giving you hope. And in this case, the twists and turns are perfectly timed to keep you engaged and to keep that hope burning in your chest. 

The secondary characters are also well drawn, but ultimately the more central they are to the story, the more fleshed out they are. This does mean that people like Aaron's mother, brother and his old friends are there and interesting, but they just don't have the same depth to them. In turn, as Aaron's interactions with them are important catalysts in the story, it does leave the whole work feeling just a little bit 'thin' for me. I could have done with perhaps another hundred pages where the background story was developed and explored in more detail. That being said, I can potentially see this issue as perhaps being a writing device, as it does sort of fit with the POV. Nevertheless, I still feel like I needed more. 

In a roundabout way, this story explores what might happen if a person could be "cured" of homosexuality. IMO, what's there to cure?! It's a beautiful illustration of what the struggles people go through when discovering their own preferences might feel like, and how the temptation of 'normality' might appeal, but that who you are will shine through no matter what. It's also a study in acceptance; even the harshest of days contribute to who you are. I can't say it's an uplifting read, but it holds a powerful message.

Absolutely worth the read!

Robert Hunter is a top detective with the Robbery Homicide Division of the LAPD, well used to investigating the grizzliest of murders. Called out to a scene with his new partner, he sees the results of a sick and twisted psychopath first hand... and then discovers that it might just be a killer he thought he'd already brought to justice.

Robert Hunter is very much straight out of central  casting for cop shows; good looking, intuitive and has that little something 'extra' about him that makes him your main character - in this case, a specialism in profiling and an insane level of intelligence that saw him attend university in his mid teens. However, he's not a cardboard cutout; the author has given him depth and personality, flaws and foibles that really bring him to life. Yes, elements of his character are predictable and you are left wanting more from him, but as an introduction this book serves both him and his partner, Garcia, as a good introduction.

You are thrown straight into the middle of the story, the first chapter being a heart-in-mouth thriller of a scene, which hooks you in immediately, even before you have any idea who the people involved are. It also sets the tone for the type of violence and level of disturbing action you'll be getting from the book and the series. As this is a reread, I did find it less shocking and overall more tame than the first time I picked it up, and certainly subsequent books in the series do become more twisted, but this is definitely not something for the faint-hearted. But, considering I hate gore in films, I was surprisingly OK with this! 

The plot is very cleverly drawn and important scenes are meticulously written to try and lead you down a false alley. I can't say for sure whether there are enough clues in the writing to lead you to the identity of the murderer (I don't analyse books in that way) but there are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. However, despite the gruesome nature of the crimes, this does generally come across as a fairly standard police procedural, so if you like that sort of thing you should feel right at home here. 

Overall, the fact that I'm drawn to this series despite my general apathy to crime/thriller novels is a ringing endorsement in itself, and I'm looking forward to rereading the next few in the series, then picking up on the newer ones for the first time.

This is a short audiobook, only 2 hours and 20 minutes, giving an overview of the life of Anne Frank before, during and after the writing of her famous diary. I was just looking for something quick to listen to while I did a bit of knitting, and as I am constant fascinated by Anne's story, this seemed like a good fit.

The narrative and narrator are top notch here. It's clear and yet conversational, sensitive yet matter of fact. Despite not having my full attention, it was incredibly easy to stay attuned to what was being said and to take in the information being presented. Its concise and chronological structure serve brilliantly as an introduction to those who are approaching Anne's story for the first time; it covers the people, places and history, as well as the aftermath without putting pressure on the reader to have to refer to the diary or other works to understand the context.

Likewise, it still serves very well as a little extra for those who are familiar with the subject - it remains engaging and clearly pulls from many sources outside the diary itself; there are moments I recognise from books by Miep Gies and several of Anne's friends, as well as Anne's biographies. In pulling the strings together, it gives the reader a wider view of the stories intertwined with Anne's whilst keeping her as its central focus. 

It also goes into some detail about the stage play and film, the challenges to the diary's authenticity, the investigations into who betrayed the Secret Annexe and so on. It doesn't try to push an agenda, only tries to illustrate Anne's message of goodness and hope when examining these aspects. 

For what is a very short book, I'm very impressed by it. I feel like the author could have written a full length biography or history and provided more in depth analysis, but for what this is it's pitch perfect.

This was a recommendation from a work colleague back in 2022, but it's only just reached the top of my TBR pile. We follow the four daughters of Baptist minister Nathan Price as they are uprooted from their every day existence in 1960s America and deposited in the Belgian Congo on the eve of its independence to support their father in his mission to preach the word of God. 

While I think the writing is very good, the style severely lets the story down. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the daughters; one of whom is very young, another of whom is unable to speak and whose brain likes to process and interpret things backwards. It therefore feels like you're reading extracts from four diaries and trying to piece together the wider story from snippets of information the girls include. So as you can imagine, you don't actually get a lot of detail about the wider goings on; everything each girl says has themself at the centre of things. In some places, it almost reads like gibberish. It's clear a lot of thought has gone into the structure and the characters, but I just couldn't figure out what the story was meant to be about or why I was meant to care.

It also didn't help that none of the characters appealed to me. I got frustrated with the typical selfish teen behaviour of the eldest, the submissive mother and the idiocy and obstinacy of the father. Honestly, I think the only character that had even a modicum of appeal was Leah. 

The attitudes of the characters reflect the period setting, so there is a lot of dismissal of Congolese culture as 'pagan' or 'idolatrous' compared to the zenith that is Christianity, a strong thread of xenophobia and a fair smattering of sexism and misogyny. And yet the author has managed to illustrate how moronic these attitudes are through the complete lack of understanding Nathan has for his surroundings. This was very cleverly done, but nevertheless does make for quite uncomfortable reading in many places. 

It was certainly worth a try, but this was just too far outside my comfort zone to appeal.