4/5

Audiobook narrated by Hugh Quarshie.

After the boring experience that was From Russia With Love, I decided to give 007 a chance to redeem himself and moved on to Dr No. Thankfully, this adventure made up for the dull nature of the previous one. After recovering from his poisoning at the end of the last book, M gives Bond a "cushy" job in Jamaica, investigating the disappearance of two MI6 operatives. Escapades, mysterious islands and obligatory sexy woman ensues.

- This book contains much more of the things I associate with Bond: a winding mystery, a suitably alluring romantic interest, a mildly insane villain determined to do their thing. Dr No served all of this laden with the right balance of cheese, seriousness, smooching and bodily injuries to make it enjoyable. 

- The setting of Jamaica during the cold war is very well portrayed. Fleming's prose contains the usual levels of racism, sexism etc that is expected at this point. There is however an undercurrent of fondness for the place that seems to pervade his writing and this comes across well.

- In the audio version, Hugh Quarshie gives an excellent performance and his voice adds a lot of the feeling of the book. my only complaint was his voicing of Honeychile which occasionally sounded infantile and fake.

007 has done it again. I will come back to the next book after a break and hope to complete the series some day! 

2/5

I've finally returned to my run-through of the Bond series with From Russia With Love. The Russian secret agencies conspire to humiliate the British secret service by setting Bond up with an MGB spy to ruin their reputation. 

- I have never been a bored by a Bond novel. In this approximately eight hour long audio book, Bond doesn't appear in person for over three hours. When he is there he seems very dull and not the usual dynamic spy we know. The characters were dull and spiked with stereotypes. The ending felt rushed and didn't feel like it paid off the set up. In the whole book I properly enjoyed one scene and one character.

- As this is a Bond book, be prepared for the usual liberal sprinkling of racism, sexism and homophobia. These are problematic themes of most if not all the Bond books. 

- The one redeeming feature was the narrator. Toby Stephens did an excellent job with the poor material provided and was possibly the reason I hung on until the end, hoping the book would get better.

For die hard Bond fans or those who very much prefer the political side of the series. Otherwise, I would give it a miss.

5/5

A fantastic resource for anyone working with people going through the childbearing continuum or parenting stage of life. Supporting Queer Birth offers a wealth of support, advice and perspectives to the reader in supporting queer and trans people through this life altering process.

- This book is so massively important and covers well and in depth the issues faced by LGBTQ+ people in reproductive and parenting circles. Silver draws on their experiences as a doula and baby wearing consultant as well as citing many research sources and including interviews with queer and trans birthworkers and parents. This brings such an amazing wealth of information and makes this book incredibly valuable.

- The book is well formatted with chapters devoted to particular subjects, such as language and its impact on patient engagement and experience, reproductive and parenting processes that individuals may go through to become a parent, visibility (or lack thereof) of queer and trans individuals in these spaces and so much more.There are also intersectional parts including chapters on queer and minority, neurodivergent and disabled groups. Supporting contains a central message throughout: society and these systems need to change, become more inclusive, respectful and listen to the voices of minorities when talking about things that are relevant to them.

- More qualitatively, this book made me feel seen. At the time I read this,I had recently experienced pregnancy loss and as a parent, queer person and midwife, this book made me feel deeply. I felt anger, joy, happiness, frustration but all this was coalesced into this urge to change this and to do better for my entire community and for myself. This book sparked passion and determination and I hope to be able to use what I've learned to make my work and my circle better.

This book should absolutely be compulsory for every birthworker or professional supporting parents. Resources like this are vital for improving our services and making them better fit for the populations we care for. Queer & trans people exists, have pregnancies, have families and we would be able to give them the best care.

4.5/5

Audiobook narrated by Logan Rozos.

Felix Ever After follows the titular character as he negotiates life at school, applying for college, friendships, relationships and the acceptance of his trans identity by those around him.

- Felix's journey through this book is emotional and reflective and prompts the reader to do some introspection as well. There are many questions about identity, position in society, love, family, future and much more. Whilst we see things from Felix's POV and it is distinctly YA, the discussions it encourages are for everyone.

- The way things are written very much fits the mindset of a teenager. I found myself sometimes impatient with the characters and at how obvious certain things seemed to me but then had to remember that I am not the target audience and when I was under that age bracket, I would probably have empathised and related a lot to the situations and feelings to these teens. 

- The way this book covers, discusses and debates queer and trans identities and the issues faced by those communities is beautiful. It is done almost constantly through the book and covers lots of perspectives, experiences and opinions. It gives great food for thought but I think would be especially helpful for those questioning or exploring their sexuality and/or gender identity. It is very much a book about learning yourself and feeling good to be yourself.

Another wonderful and emotional queer book. I would recommend this book to young people, people who are questioning their identities and people who wish to understand perspectives of queer and trans folks, especially queer and trans youth.

4.5/5

Last year I read The House in the Cerulean Sea and adored it. So when this came up on my library's system as available to borrow, I jumped at the chance to read it. We follow Wallace, a newly deceased lawyer, who has to come to terms with his death before passing on to whatever awaits the dead next. He is assisted in this by reaper Mei, ferryman Hugo and fellow dead in Charon's Crossing, a tea house for the living. 

- This has very similar vibes to Cerulean Sea and whilst that's not a bad thing, sometimes it came very close to being almost the same. It's a warm, comforting and reflective book and does make you examine yourself and the world differently as you read it. It especially provokes thought around death and the existential questions of what it means to live and what happens when we die.

- I adored the characters and the bonds and interactions between them. Each character had their own charm and beauty and I came to love them and their nuances. Hugo was my favourite but all the other main characters have spaces in my heart too.

- The queer parts of the story were also well done and whilst not the focal point of the story, made sense in the plot and were positively portrayed. I particularly liked how the bisexuality of one of the characters was handled and how it didn't fall into the usual stereotypes but showed it realistically.

If you enjoy positive queer portrayals, whimsical but thought-provoking fantasy and heartwarming vibes and characters, add this book to your reading list.

3.75/5

Audiobook narrated by Laurence Bouvard.

As we approach autumn (my favourite season), I've been looking for books with a more spooky or cosy feel to them, books you would read under a blanket on a rainy day, drinking hot chocolate. Practical Magic was recommended to me as a fit for the above vibe. The plot follows Sally and Gillian Owens, sisters who are raised by their witchy aunts. 

- This book is less of a story and more of a meandering journey. There are themes that pervade through the entire book or large parts of it but a lot of it seems to be just a meandering biography of the Owens sisters' lives. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but for those expecting a distinct plot line will be disappointed.

- The magical elements are well done and told in such a way that you can imagine some of those things being real occurrences. It's an undertone to the plot rather than dominating it and it works well in this sense.

- I enjoyed the different characters however, some of their choices appear to be incredibly sudden or not clearly motivated and it does feel jarring at time. People change within short periods of time for seemingly little reason and it just felt a little odd.

An atmospheric, witchy book which is worth a read by those who enjoy the journey of a book more than the destination, cottage magic vibes and books with an autumnal feel.

4.25/5

A beautiful graphic novel retelling of the Hades & Persephone story, Lore Olympus Vol. 1 starts with the titular people meeting for the first time and the chaos that follows in the world of the gods.

- The art work it absolutely stunning. The use of colour and shape is perfect and I could look at these pages forever.

- I like the modern twist put to this tale and the way the relationships between gods are portrayed: the brotherly competition between Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, Artemis guiding Persephone as her roommate, Eros's relationship with his mother.

- I like how well this book made me feel things. There are points where I felt genuinely upset, joyful or angry about the events occurring. 

Perfect for those who love mythology retellings and stunning art. Looking forward to Vol. 2.

4.25/5

Audiobook narrated by the author.

Told from several points of view, The Night Tiger is a mysterious tale that draws you in. A dressmaker's apprentice, an orphaned house boy and a British doctor are drawn into the same mystery from different angles, surrounded by weretigers, amputated fingers and Chinese & Malay folklore and superstition.

- The different point of view were very distinct. some are told in first person, others in third and they all had their own separate voice and personality. I enjoyed Ren's parts (the house boy) the most but all were well done. informative but leaving enough unseen and unsaid to keep the intrigue.

- The whole book was very atmospheric and the feel of the different places and environments came across well. There were some dream sections where this was particularly notable.

- The author's narration was excellent and brought the story to life. As above, it was easy to tell which character's point of view was the present one due to the tone.

A strange but fascinating mystery story. Perfect for those who enjoy magical realism, Asian folklore and a good winding mystery.

5/5

I've waited a long time to read this book and am definitely not disappointed. An emotional, well woven story about Rabia, an Algerian teenager, her friend Ali, her grandmother and her ancestors, bringing historical events and tragedies and mingling them with modern struggles.

- The story is told from a few different view points and I enjoyed that each view point had its own distinct voice, with no confusion over who was narrating. 

- The history of the Naïll people was haunting and fascinating and I plan to spend some time learning about the real culture. The details felt well researched and put together. There were no caricatures or stereotypes but well written and described individuals.

- The is an LGBTQ+ plotline and it is emotional but well done. It describes well the struggles of gay and queer people in places that are less accepting and the difficult choices people have to make to keep themselves and others safe.

A wonderful and deep story that I will be thinking about for a long time.

4.5/5

Audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton.

This year, I set myself the weird goal of trying to read a book beginning with each letter of the alphabet (A and The excepted). I saw this during and audible sale and thought, I need a book for K, why not? And that is how, by chance, I stumbled upon this funny, light-hearted but also sometimes poignant and utterly absurd book. Jamie is a delivery driver during the beginning of the COVID pandemic who is offered a job by an old acquaintance. This job turns out to be on an alternate earth, protecting and studying its inhabitants: Kaiju.

- The book is wonderfully weird in the way that sci-fantasy that doesn't take itself too seriously can be. It is mostly cheerful, full of laughs and jokes and bizarre creatures. The characters are interesting and funny and also nicely diverse.

-This is the second book I've read that references the pandemic and in contrast to the other (The Baby Is Mine) which was serious and dark, I appreciated the light and jovial but not trivial way the pandemic was handled. It's good to be able to look back at such a world-devastating event and be able to feel good emotions alongside the fear and stress of that time.

- I love how the Kaiju were thought of in this book. Those who know me know I love speculative evolution and this was a wonderfully fresh way of imagining possible ways these absolutely enormous creatures could theoretically exist. 

- Wheaton's narration of this book was spot on and he added so much laughter and feeling to the words presented. 

A fun and kooky sci-fantasy, perfect for those who need a laugh, like portal fantasy and bizarre creatures.