4/5

A cute, high school, forbidden romance between a Korean American cellist and a K-pop star. Jenny meets Jaewoo at her uncles karaoke bar in LA and they have one fun evening together before he disappears back to Korea. Jenny's grandmother is ill so her and her mum move to Korea to visit. Starting at her new Korean school, who does Jenny find there but Jaewoo. However, being an idol means he isn't allowed to date.

- I'll admit I picked this up to fulfill the X in my alphabet challenge this year but ended up enjoying it so much. Jenny is sweet, funny and wonderfully naïve and I loved how she grew through the story. Jaewoo and his band XOXO were really cool as were the other side characters. I would honestly enjoy a sequel if one were written.

- I was not at all knowledgable about K-pop but thankfully my mum and bestfriend are both fans and gave me a quick K-pop 101 to better get the story. That said, I think you could read and enjoy it without prior knowledge and it could be a good introduction to K-pop for someone uninitiated.

- The romance was sweet, enjoyable and nice and PG. Think stolen kisses and secretly hand holding. It fit the setting and the story well and this book would be an appropriate romance for younger reader.

Fluffy, enjoyable and fun. Would recommend to younger (10+) readers or those looking for a fluffy and sweet romance without spice.

3.75/5

Audiobook narrated by Adepero Oduye.

Short but powerful. A woman gives birth to her baby. She reflects on many aspects of her life and the reality of being a black woman and black mother in the modern day.

- There are layers and layers of thought, feeling and reflection in just over an hour of book. So many subjects are looked at fleetingly but intently: the duplicity of parenthood, men's knowledge of how female bodies work, relationship changes and expectations, family changes and upheaval, pregnancy and its strains, pains, joys and worries.

- As a mother, this resonated with me. Birthing a baby is more than just the physiological process and everything about your life will affect how you manage, feel about and approach aspects of bringing life. 

Short and reflective. Would be great for readers looking for books that make you think.

4/5

Audiobook narrated by Anne Dover.

Reminiscent of James Herriot and other literary accounts of the Yorkshire Dales, The Yorkshire Shepherdess is the autobiography of Amanda Owen and her and her family's experiences living on a remote farm.

- This book was an excellent palate cleanser and both relaxing and compelling. I've not watched the series where Amanda features (The Dales, I believe) but I found myself thoroughly invested in the ups and downs of farm life in this book.

- How she speaks about her family is super refreshing and freeing. I loved how she discusses each of their births, personalities and how life at the farm is shaping them. It must be a hard but very rewarding place to raise children.

- The descriptions of the farm and landscape are amazing. I'd be lying is I said I haven't looked up about visiting the farm for a cream tea is I'm ever in that part of the country. Ravenseat sound like a truly wonderful place to exist.

Enjoyed thoroughly and would recommend to anyone with an interest in Yorkshire and James Herriot-style adventures. 

4/5

A collection of reflective essays by the same author as Braiding Sweetgrass. Each chapter has a theme linking the world of mosses to the macro world and humankind.

- Published earlier than Braiding Sweetgrass, Gathering Moss is short but very effective. It has the same tranquil feel to it as the author guides you through each story and moss. It is a slow book and one you amble through rather than run.

- The author's enthusiasm and passion for mosses is infectious. She describes each one like a friend or family member and details their quirks and behaviours well. She then links into themes such as nurturing children, environmental change, historical plant uses and abuses to the land. Despite being over twenty years old, this book remains very relevant and a good introspective resource.

- The pictures of the moss featured in the chapters are beautiful and really enhance the writing. There's also a bibliography and recommendations at the back of the book for those interested in learning more.

A calm but thoughtful little book. Good for those who like to think whilst reading, enjoy the scenery and connect with the natural world.

2.5/5

Good for a laugh and a bit of amusing spice. Emily, feeling jilted by her crush, runs off in a pumpkin patch where she meets Pumpkin King Max. I believe the title describes what happens from there.

- There are two types of erotica: serious and focused erotica and light-hearted erotica that doesn't take itself too seriously. I cannot decide which this is. It feels like it should be the latter but the author has included some lore and world-building that hints to the former.

- The spice is your standard affair and, whilst enjoyable, not at all genre-breaking. Though one part very much made me laugh hysterically. 

- The ending was odd and anticlimactic. I like my spice to end in a happy and fluffy way or at least have a good reason if otherwise. This moved from spice to "The End" so quick and easy definitely unsatisfying.

Okay and good for a seasonal read but for those looking for decent crypto erotica, there are much better choices out there.

5/5

Audiobook narrated by Kristin Atherton.

Sophie Hatter, the eldest of three daughters, expects her fate to be as a failure or a boring life. However, after being cursed by the Witch of the Waste and turned into an old lady, she goes off to seek her fortune. She ends up in the mysterious, titular moving castle of Howl, a wizard, and his fire demon Calcifer and apprentice Michael. Howl has his own problems with a curse and Sophie's appearance adds an element of chaos to his life.

- A quirky twist on a fairytale style story. The setting and characters were charismatic and full of personality and grew over the story. For a children's book it was a perfect balance of detail, mystery, peril and magic.

- Similar yet apart from the Studio Ghibli adaptation. If you go into.his expecting a straight copy of the film, you will be potentially disappointed. However, the differences make this book better as a book and the film better as a film.

- The narration was excellent and the voices distinct and well done, especially where the accents were concerned. It was a pleasure on the ears.

An excellent listen either as a fun, magical adventure for children or as a light and enjoyable fantasy for adults.

4.75/5

Audiobook narrated by Bruno Roubicek.

A fantastic end to a long, detailed and well thought-out trilogy. In Death's End, we follow Cheng Xin through a series of twists and turns in her career and life. Cheng Xin is gifted a star by a terminally ill college friend and this sparks off a series of events that dramatically the human race.

- As with the previous books, everything is extremely detailed in this book. When I first started the series, I was a bit bemused by this and found it unnecessary but now I feel like the small details provide an excellent sense of place, time and culture. The world building is on a truly universal scale.

- The technology and changes over Cheng Xin's lifetime were truly incredible and I love how well explained they were and the wonder and horror various technologies added to the story.

- The book covers such a huge span of events that sometimes it's hard to believe events happened in the same book. There are lots of parts I thoroughly enjoyed but I think my favourite would be the Fairy Tales section for the mystery and tension they added.

For those who enjoy immense world-building, hard sci-fi with twists and turns and stories on a galactic scale, I would highly recommend this trilogy.

4.5/5

Audiobook narrated by Bruno Roubicek.

Winding, clever and occasionally a terrifying look at the things people are capable of doing when circumstances dictate. The Dark Forest carries on from The Three-Body Problem showing the crisis era where the Trisolarans have disrupted human progress and are watching everywhere. The only place they cannot see is inside the human mind. A select few are chosen to exploit this, Wall-facers who are given resources and power to do what they like but not reveal their plans to anyone. 

- This book, at least the wall-facer part, is an interesting delve into human thought and nature. I'd like to say it is a thought experiment but history shows that the things the book discusses are not improbable. What would a person do to save humanity from a mortal threat?

- The descriptions of the future world and technology, especially with the limitations placed on humanity by the Trisolarans, were unique, intelligent and very cool. My favourite bits were the leaf houses and the idea of clothing that changed as the wearer required.

- The tension, especially in the last 20% of the book is incredible. The book winds and twists for most of the narrative but that last part is just bang after bang of action, plot turn and surprise. I very much enjoyed it.

Solid hard sci-fi and a fantastic sequel to The Three-Body Problem.

3.5/5

The sequel to Sixteen Souls. Charlie, Sam and the rest of Team Spectre face a new threat. Someone is summoning wraiths, violent spirits that kill people and consume souls. The friends have to find out who is responsible before it's too late. Oh, and The Hand have decided to make an appearance too.

- Considering the amount of trauma Charlie and everyone went through in the first book, the character development is very good. Talbot takes into account the trauma-based behaviours these characters would likely have developed and uses them well to both improve the characters and shape the narrative.

- Wraiths were definitely a cool choice of monster to use and their origin story is super creepy and horrifying. Dead that can harm the living? *Shudders violently*

- The Hand was a large part of the world building in this book. A lot of information was given about them but also a lot was left unsaid. They fascinated me and I would happily read a spin-off story or novel purely about how The Hand came to be.

A worthy and enjoyable sequel. Twelve Bones and its predecessor Sixteen Souls are perfect reads for spooky season.

3.75/5

Audiobook narrated by Bruno Roubicek.

Odd but compelling. A sci-fi story involving a scientist from the Cultural Revolution, a video game about a strange world and a science based mystery.

- The detail within this book is a lot, to the point where I couldn't have told you effectively what the book was about until about 75% through. The threads are drawn together at the end but even so there's a lot of little details that seemingly are irrelevant, though maybe they are addressed in the next book.

-The world of Three-Body was fascinating and I enjoyed those bizarre and confusing chapters a lot. I would probably enjoy a similar game in real life.

- The mystery was weird but good and I only guessed part of the solution. There's a lot of set up as well for the next few books but it does leave some things feeling unfinished.

If you like sci-fi that's a little different and not western based, The Three-Body Problem is engaging, compelling and a good read.