3.5 stars

3/3.5 stars

At 17 years old, Alice Perrers became the mistress of King Edward III as his wife ailed with a debilitating illness. In The King's Concubine, Anne O'Brien brings to life the mystery of Alice and the real woman behind the rumours and the false accusations made against her.

I really enjoyed Anne O'Brien's way of bringing to life Alice - a woman I never knew about before. But she was someone who I immediately was intrigued by when I began to learn how she accumulated wealth and what a smart business woman she must have been. At a time when it was really hard/virtually impossible for a woman to own her own wealth, she basically became a property tycoon. And you have to respect that. It makes you think what she could have accomplished if she had been born in a different time as she obviously had a great mind, and a business savvy to boot.

This book would never be described as action packed, it's quite long and for people who might be new to historical fiction, it could be a little bit boring - especially as for the majority of Alice's time as Mistress, times were peaceful and when they weren't, she wasn't privy to much.

It's always interesting and infuriating to see how men vying for power will try and bring down a woman when she takes a step too far up the ladder of power herself, and this is exactly what happened to Alice. She also had a strong sense of pride in this book and this characterization of her which meant that often she said the wrong things and she would often let people think things about her rather than show any kind of weakness.

I also felt in this book the real absence of a group of female companions for Alice - she was an extremely lonely and solitary character and the only people who she seemed to truly be friends with were her lover, and her lover's wife. Even in her marriage, she seemed to keep him at arm's length.

I still enjoyed this book, and as always love to hear about a woman's place and time in history.

2.5 stars

When retired actor Buffy inherits an old B&B from a friend, he decides to try and give the business a go. Coming up with an idea of life-skill courses for the newly singles, a vast array of characters pass through his door - all of them secretly looking for their perfect match.

This book was an entertaining read on audiobook and can't deny that I enjoyed my time listening to it but overall, the book itself was just a bit 'meh'. I feel like we really only saw snapshots of people, and the story felt a bit disjointed and all over the place. I can't say for sure I really enjoyed some of the personalities either in the book as there were definitely some things said or thought by characters that made me cringe a bit.

Alexia Macon neé Parabotti is on her way to Italy after personal circumstances call for a little bit of investigating, and she needs some time away from her infuriating husband. Armed with the ever faithful Floote, and the whipsmart Madam LeFoux, the trio obviously end up in some life and (non) death situations with supernatural creatures, as always happens when Alexia tries to do everything.

It's been a few years since I picked up this series, and I was really happy to realise that I was able to fall back into this story, and remember the quirkiness and loveability of the characters easily. The story was paced really well, and it was just a whole load of fun and vampire trouble!

I can't wait to read the next book!

Journalist Andrew thinks he's getting on with his life following the brutal murder of his boyfriend/photographer and his investigation of a brutal story involving a Mexican drug cartel and the dozens of family greed destroyed when trouble comes knocking on his door again. Suddenly Andrew finds himself in the thick of everything again, except instead of holding a pencil, this time he's holding the gun.

"The white guy always survives at the end" - Maybe not this time, for Andrew.

I really enjoyed Call Him Mine - and while this is an exciting, action-packed sequel, it's deinfitely not a necessary one. I don't think anyone would be really missing out on a big piece of the story if they only read Call Him Mine and didn't pick up How to Be Nowhere.

One of the reasons I loved Call Him Mine was because Tim MacGabhann did use a lot of inspiration from his own life as a journalist in Mexico, and experiences of others in his field. While the story and the conclusion of the investigation in Call Him Mine was a little bit too perfect, the trouble in How to be Nowhere was even more unrealistic - which makes sense, as this story was inspired by "classic chase" movies.

I do think that Andrew became this completely different person in How to be Nowhere and I'm not sure if I liked it. He lost the gentle fragility that I loved about him, and I didn't like how suddenly he was not only holding a gun but actually using it to hurt people.

This book is also VERY horrific and violent in parts and it does go into some detail - there is one particular torture scene of a character I had grown to like, and it was pretty difficult to read.

I still enjoyed this book as the writing is very good, the setting is unique and the story itself is unlike a lot of things I've read before. But I preferred Call Him Mine, and would probably recommend it as a standalone novel.

4.5 stars

CW: Death of a parent, sexual assault

Not too much of a surprise that I loved this. Elizabeth Acevedo is able to tell such amazing stories in a beautiful, poetic way with pages that pack an absolute punch with every sentence.

Clap When You Land is the story of two 16 year old girls, born two months apart to the same father and living countries apart. Camino grew up in the Dominican Republic in the care of her aunt, and Yahaira grew up in New York with her mother and father except from June-September when her father takes his annual work trip. When a terrible plane crash tears the girls' worlds apart, they find out about each other and take a journey about grief, love and hope together.

I'm not sure how much I can say about this book except that it was so beautifully written and I really felt the exploration of grief, love and loss in this book was done really, really well and the pages wore all the feelings well. I've been lucky to not have had to experience such pain in my life yet but I can imagine for those who have had to, the feelings in this book would be gut-wrenching and real.

"I could always anticipate Papi's moves.
His every feeling flashed across his face
like the digital ads at the bus stops.

For the rest of my life I will sit & imagine
what my father would say in any given moment.

& I will make him up:
his words, his advice, our memories."

I felt like both girls' voices for me were really unique too and I could tell them apart quite easily - even when their voices combined and it wasn't always obvious who was speaking.

"Papi wanted me to be a leader.
To think quick & strike hard,
to speak rarely, but when I did,

to always be heard. Me?
Playing chess taught me a queen is both:

deadly & graceful, poised & ruthless.
Quiet & cunning. A queen

offers her hand to be kissed.

& can form it into a fist
while smiling the whole damn time"

The image of the Dominican Republic in this novel was a complicated one - showing the reader the beauty in the landscape as well as the sense of community and how people looked out for each other. But it also didn't hide the poverty people experienced, as well as the lack of opportunity for young people - especially girls, and the danger young girls are in if particular men decide they like them.

I felt so much anger in this book when Camino had to deal with El Cero stalking her, and how people seemed to think she was welcoming his attention. It happens in the Dominican Republic but similar behaviour and responses to the behaviour and 'victim blaming' intentional or unintentional happens everywhere. And oftentimes these girls have no one to protect them.

The sisterly bond that sparked quickly was gorgeous, and I loved imaging them together - similar but not so similar - studying each other, loving each other and in magical ways, getting a piece of their father back in each other. Beautiful.

"I am hers I am hers I am hers
she says & she is right."

3.5 stars

When Amy's fiancé Matt disappears two weeks before their wedding, she knows something is wrong. After reporting him missing, a couple of days later the police tell Amy that another woman also reported Matt missing - apparently he'd been leading a double life and was planning on leaving her. As details about Amy and Matt's relationship are revealed, and his many lies come to light, Amy begins questioning her own sanity and her past begins to haunt her.

This was a slow paced suspense novel that definitely did a really good job at building up the story, and keeping me clued into what was going to happen next and as always, I was suspecting everyone at one stage or another. There was a good bit of foreshadowing at the start of this novel which I don't always like but I didn't mind it too much in this case.

Debbie Howells is really good at building up a sense of place in her novels and in this case, it was definitely Amy's house and her garden where she grew her flowers and herbs for her job as a herbologist. I felt like I had a really good picture of the amazing garden full of kinds of flowers and it was a beautiful setting - even if the storyline was turning dark.

There wasn't any big shock moments for me in this book to be honest. The closest was possibly the bouquet of flowers with the bag of blood, which was just a really nice touch and just the horror of imagining receiving something like that, gah!

I think the explanation and look into emotionally manipulative, controlling relationships was important in this book, and the particular emphasis on gaslighting and the examples given by Amy's daughter Jess. It's something that I think could help readers recognise it in their own lives if they have experienced it.

Fiona's storyline for me felt a little bit disappointing in the end - I don't think her character was very drawn out and she felt very one-dimensional. I would have liked to have seen a bit more about what happened to her in the end, but it felt like the story just hit a dead end.

There was also some times in the police investigation I felt the line of questioning seemed really strange and speculative, and not particularly realistic. Like the police knowing the symbolism of the flowers in the garden and thinking they meant something - when the woman's job was to grow flowers and herbs.

Overall, I enjoyed this. Not as creepy as The Death of Her but still quite good.

In Three Graces, every seven years the village's Best Boy runs into the forest to face the devil and most of the time, he doesn't return. Mairwen, Arthur and Rhun have grown up watching men sacrifice themselves to keep the village safe and healthy but a mere three years after the last run, the forest calls for another, and everyone knows it's Rhun's turn next. As the next Grace witch, Mair is determined to keep Rhun safe, and with Arthur's help - between the three of them - maybe they can still save Three Graces from the devil's wrath.

Teresa Gratton has a wonderful power in the way she weaves words where she makes nature come alive and dance just the way she wants it to. I've read it previously in The Queens of Innis Lear, and I saw it again with Strange Grace. The forest in this story is almost another character entirely within the story, and the strongest, most magical entity hovering over our three heroes. I loved the magical way Teresa wrote the land, the animals, the forest, and I really felt like I was there.

The polygamous relationship between Mair, Rhun and Arthur was really interesting and I loved the way it all came about and how the reader gradually began to understand what Gratton was saying about them. It was never one of them, or two of them, it was always the three of them - they were a unit and it seemed almost unnatural for one to exist outside of the others. There was so much respect and love so clearly laid out on the page between them all, and it was honestly so beautiful to read.

Teresa Gratton has definitely become an author for me, and I will be reading as much of her work as I can because her writing definitely clicks perfectly with me.

I received this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

CW: Racism, violence, use of the n-word as a slur.

In 1992, a black man called Rodney King was the victim of police brutality. The officers were acquitted of all charges, which led to massive protests and riots in LA. The Black Kids follows Ashley Bennett, one of the few black students in her privileged high school and the only black girl in her group of rich friends. Ashley has always been aware of the ways she has been treated differently because of her skin colour and the second chances she wouldn't have, if she was ever caught doing something illegal. While watching the riots get closer to her own home, and begin affecting her own family, Ashley begins to really think about her place in the world as a black woman and what it really means to be on of "the black kids."

I absolutely loved this book and there were so many moments that felt so important, and it honestly felt like a privilege to read Ashley's journey as she really grew up and became someone more than she had always been. Someone not only proud of her blackness but ready to take on those who would try and put her down because of it. I also loved her journey in learning about her real friend group, and how it was important to have people in her circle that looked like her, and understood her experiences, while still maintaining friendships with the girls she had known since she was a child.

"Sometimes there is an us, sometimes there is a them, and sometimes it's okay to be a we."

It is actually almost infuriating, no, it is infuriating that reading this book didn't feel like something happening in the 90s. Because it's so, so similar to what's been happening this year, and last year and the year before that because of the continued use of police brutality against the black community and systemic racism in the US as well as many other countries. Apart from the lack of mobile phones and other technology, this book could easily be set right now.

Ashley isn't always the nicest person in this book but she definitely grows and becomes a better person, and learns a lot more understanding and acceptance for people in her life she had difficulty with before like her sister Jo and her mother. We also see her gain a whole new level of maturity when dealing with her nanny Lucia's departure home.

"Sometimes it's hard being a girl, and it's hard being black. Being both is like carrying a double load, but you're not suppose to complain about it. There are so many things you have to remember about how to be."

I really liked the family moments in this book. There are a lot of ups and downs and some really terrible moments and moments full of nastiness and tension but there's also a whole load of love. I feel like as a reader I really understood where Ashley's parents had come from and how hard they worked to be where they were in the novel. And I love that we got some family history too in the form of Grandma Shirley's story, as well as some snippets about Grandma Opal.

Families are every changing and in constant flux because of how people change and grow. And not everyone does that together or at the same pace so there will be friction as people struggle to adjust and understand and accept. I really felt this with Ashley's family.

"I can't tell if loneliness is being black, or being young, or being a girl."

Warning that Ashley's friend group in this book is the literal worst and I'm not sure by the end they got any better, the ones still around anyways. One of her friends does use the N-word at one point and I felt really shocked and repulsed like the reader was suppose to be. I think the plot dropped here a bit slightly and this got lost with Jo's storyline replacing it in importance. We never really got to see any other conversations or 'showdowns' between Ashley and Michael or Kimberly. There's literally never another scene with Michael after prom which is strange.

The book jumps into some memories now and again, and I think hey were a little bit clunky at times but I was so into the story I didn't find myself too confused and I was enjoying the ride.

An all-time favourite scene has to be prom when LaShawn braided Ashley's hair for her. It was so tender and gorgeous, and I could really picture it in my mind. This tall, strong man nimbly cradling Ashley and plaiting her hair? I mean SWOON!
-On that note, I loved LaShawn and I had a total crush on him. He was definitely a bit too good to be true sometimes but I loved this portrayal of this tall, strong basketball playing guy who was actually a big cinnamon roll who could quote Emily Dickinson, talk sci-fi with the nerdy, loner girl, and braid hair. I need him in real life please.

This is such a great book which really made me think about a lot of things - from history repeating itself constantly, and white folk seemingly never learning how to just be better and be allies and supportive. Looking through the eyes of a girl who is afraid of a cop, someone who is suppose to protect her, just because of the colour of her skin and also just a story about families breaking and coming apart, and then coming back together again. And the story of a young girl figuring out the woman she wants to be.