shona_reads_in_devon's Reviews (529)

𝑫𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒉𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕.'

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I'm so conflicted by this book. I don't want to hate it. I don't hate it. I'm just a bit bored.

The first 100 pages of this are a mess. The first 200 pages were a struggle to get through. And then Yarros does her thing and kicks it all off with wild twists and turns and cliffhangers at the end of every chapter that keeps you turning pages and begging for the next one. BUT.

And it's a big but. Most of this was filler. I don't think the plot has moved on more than a couple sentences. Yarros missed some really good opportunities to make some bold brave choices and she chickened out at every one. 

The pacing was awful. The isles exploration was exciting and nail- biting (to an extent) but what was the point? I am over the spice. Why has Xaden become all soft and lovey dovey every time he talks to Violet, I don't like it. Jealous Xaden I can get on board with, but sappy Xaden is not for me. Violet was a sap all the way through this as well. 

I still want to know what happens. I am invested in these characters and the plot and I want to see where it goes and how it ends. I just never thought I'd read a book in this series and feel like *skipping* bits. 

Gutted. I was thinking this was a 3.5 but on reflection it's getting a 3. It was fine. Number 4 better be better.

'𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.'

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If I had read this book in 2016, it would have blown my mind. 

A collection of interviews, lectures and speeches, Freedom is a Constant Struggle explores, in large part, the sanctioning of state sponsored, state funded violence that continues to oppress ethnic minorities across the world. 

It is hard to pinpoint a particular area of focus because Davis is keen to highlight the interconnectedness of struggles for freedom in relation to all global oppression but these essays discuss violence in the prison system, the violence of police forces, the relationship this has with Palestine, and other instances of genocide across the world.

Her lectures are keen to highlight the insidious nature of neo liberal individualism that works to dismantle group efforts and social movements by both idolising individuals as heroes in the fight for freedom (and pointing out that this is often framed as a fait accompli) and burdening individuals with sole responsibility for acts of oppressive violence which serve to distract people from the very real issues of systemic oppression and violence.

Lots of these ideas are not new to me in this 2025 world but I think this book is still essential reading to further contextualise the theories and ideas that Davis puts forth. I can't argue with much of anything she says.

Reading this in 2025 is kind of a miserable experience when we realise how little progress has been made, and in this post October 7, 2nd Trump term world that we now live in, this book does not make me feel optimistic.

'𝑾𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝜤 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑬𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘, 𝜤 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝐳𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝜤 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚.'

 '𝜤𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏. 𝜤𝒕'𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒔.' (fuck you Roque)

'𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆! [...] 𝜤𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝜤𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅, 𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒚.'


'𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉.'

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This review isn't hugely clever because I screamed a scream at the end of this and I am shell shocked about the fate of some of these characters that I have grown so fond of.

Darrow continues his rise within the world of the Golds, remaining on his quest to undo the the system from within. But how much of himself will he lose along the way? Who can he trust and who will he need to betray?

I didn't read the first one of this series all that long ago but it took me a minute to get back into the lingo and remind myself of the complicated alliances and betrayals of the first novel. Some time has passed since Darrow emerged victorious from the Institute and took his place as Nero au Augustus's lancer. But the pace doesn't slow - and that slight dragging I felt in book one was completely absent here. Book two has cemented some favourite characters in my heart (💔) and has hardened my heart towards others (⚰️) 

Brown is great at building tension. I'm on alert at all times for foreshadowing and it's done really well here. The prose is a little simple for my tastes, but not enough that it affects my emotional response to the plot. Indeed, where the prose is pared back, it can have the effect of hitting that bit harder in the emotional periods. The hard nature of life in this world doesn't give a lot of space for softness, and the style of writing bears that out. Where moments of softness occur, the simplicity can still be painful.

I love these themes, of the nature of mankind, of pride, vengeance, the discussions of ethics and morality and justice.

I'm going straight onto the third book!

After going to see Professor Brian Cox doing a talk at The Royal Opera House (I know, right?!) I decided I needed to get back into space stuff. So I gave this one a go.

Now the problem is that I'm far too stupid to understand 90% of what anyone is talking about. I'm not stupid, I'm being flippant. But space, astrophysics, the BIG science stuff? Yeah I'm too stupid. 

This was really interesting, mapping the history and geography of space and covering a whole host of topics. Was it any good in terms of space literature as a whole? I have no idea. But I enjoyed it and I can usually count on the BBC to produce something intelligent!

'𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.'

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Things in Jars is a truly grotesque offering and I really enjoyed it.

Bridie Devine, Irish street rat turned private investigator, specialises in the peculiar and unusual. Fresh from the disappointment of a recent professional failure, she is called to her strangest case yet. On the face of it, a straightforward child abduction. But things are not what they seem and Bridie's past is coming back to haunt her.

This was a lot of weird and gross fun. Full of strange Victorian curios and peppered with a varied cast of characters straight out of the circus.

The pace dallied for me in places but the tone of the era - the characters, the settings, the oddities - all lent really well to this macabre and unsettling little story.

'𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓? 𝑾𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆'

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Oh my gracious this is simply gorgeous. 
I've heard amazing things about Claire Keegan and I can safely say they are well founded.

Small Things Like These is a quiet tale of Bill Furlong's moral wrangling around Doing The Right Thing. 

Coming to the realisation that there is a laundry in his town Keegan carefully maps the paper thin lines that separate Bill from one type of life or another. There are slips of chances, roads not taken, words not spoken and sliding doors sort of possibilities that are avoided or missed for better or worse.

This short little story is told over a couple of days and the plot is sparse, but the setting is warm and intimate. Bill is on the brink of a decision, and watching him mull over the power he has, the risks he can or can't afford, is truly an experience not to be missed.

This book was fine. If I got to end, I feel like it was likely going to be a 3★ read.

But. It was a book club read. I didn't get to the end before my book club and I'm not really bothered to carry on after my book club tonight. It's super readable but I'm not that bothered by learning about what happens to her, I think I kind of know. It feels to me that she is one of those female characters written by men who are just a bit of a fantasy. I know the woman is several decades older than me but I just don't think she's a realistic woman, she's a man's ideal woman. The photos in this  book are terrible and if she actually took photos that rubbish it's not a surprise she didn't do very well. I'm fed up reading about all her stupid decisions and not learning from her mistakes and also how every choice in her life appears to be related to a man. Dull and dull. 

𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓; 𝒅𝒖𝒕𝒚, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏'

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I've finally started Wheel of Time - the first and second have been on my bookshelf for about 6 years...

So, firstly - this was much more readable than I anticipated. I expected something far more turgid than this is.

I really enjoyed this story. Of course I am anticipating that I am grazing mere fragments of the larger whole, given it's a 15 book series, but the parts of the story I got here were really enjoyable and made me want to read more.

Our merry band of guys and gals were fun to read, and written in such a way that I became attached to them - something I don't find all that easy to accomplish. I am attached to dogs and horses and other animals from the second they grace the page but people take longer to marinate for me. But, I did become attached and my feelings towards them all changed and developed over this novel and I suspect that will continue.

The pace is slightly challenging - this one is quite slow - not glacial, but it has elements of repetitiveness and the switching between POVs did have me casting my mind back to reorient myself occasionally.

The ending was quite a disappointment to me, and could have brought this down another star if I was feeling less generous at this festive time of year. It felt written by a completely different person and jolted me out of the story a little bit because the pace and writing felt so different after 700 pages of familiarity.

You can very easily see the Tolkien influence at this stage in certain overarching ideas and plot developments, I'm interested to see how that continues or not.

I've realised that the whole 'kid with untold dangerous power that makes him wrestle with light and dark' trope is a fave and my heart bled for Rand by the end of this. Probably helped to keep it at a 4 star.

I don't think I've ever read a book that has left me so stumped. Not just from an understanding POV, but from an enjoyment POV. 

I don't think I enjoyed much of this book. I found it slow, meandering. The threads that I have been desperately clinging to for the last two installments did not finally coalesce into something tangible for me. The philosophical musings and moral quandaries didn't feel driven enough, didn't peak to a point, didn't give me any closure. I'm perhaps not metaphysical enough. I am firmly rooted in the practical and the concrete. 

But. The characters? Oh, these people had my heart and soul. And if I leave the plot behind, and try and strip all of this back to them (it's what Olivie tells us to do after all) then they all make it worth reading (even Reina! I know, I know). Despite the interminable verbiage, the way Blake writes these characters, how she paints them in my mind is unparalleled. I could read her describing my darling Callum until the end of time.

So I don't know what to do. This book is probably a 2.5? Which would average the whole thing out at a 3.5. But that doesn't feel right to me. It's still a 4 really just for the characters and the writing. Who needs a plot anyway?

'𝜤𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕, 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔.𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇.'

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This novel does all those things that good novels should do. It placed me in scenarios and lives that, hopefully and thankfully, I'll never have to experience. And it made me think long and hard about those experiences and lives.

Told from several different POVs, Notes on an Execution follows Ansel Packer - a man on Death Row for the murder of several women. His story - and it is his story, no matter how uncomfortable it might make us to centre him - is told by the women whose lives he has affected through his violence.

This novel approached huge themes such as justice (the prison system, the death penalty, the rehabilitation of violent criminals) trauma, child abuse, DV and male violence. It asks us to think about nature Vs nurture, about the values of good and evil and what they mean. What acts are unredeemable? Who is beyond redemption?

I have some fairly strong opinions on the death penalty, and the nature of evil. And some views on the justice system and how that operates in a discriminatory manner in society. This novel really gave me some food for thought. 

It's not 5★ - the pacing is off in places, some of the ideas were fleetingly dealt with and probably could have been given more weight, it felt repetitive and laboured in parts. 

But generally, this was a cracking book. Loads of TWs, as you'd hopefully have assumed.