wordsofclover's Reviews (2.16k)

Belfast, 1941 - over two months, the Belfast Blitz rips through the Northern Irish city leaving broken buildings and bodies in its wake. During These Days, readers follow two sisters Audrey and Emma as they fight to survive and continue normal life during the war - but both are left scarred in different ways from loss and shock.

Shamefaced I have to admit I didn't know a huge amount about the extent of the bombing on Belfast during WW2, and reading about the horrific impact left behind during this novel was really startling - especially when thinking about the 'relative' peace people were living in just south of the border. I actually really liked the scene set on a train from Dublin as people tried to hide items from customs people, and the absolute waste that was the customs men just throwing items out of the train. From a history aspect, I found it really interesting.

I liked both Audrey and Emma - though I will say I think Audrey was a slightly stronger character for me - Emma felt a little bit meek and pale in comparison, and even when she was with Sylvia, her almost overbearing feelings towards the woman felt a bit immature. I think I enjoyed Audrey's predicament a little bit better - this struggle between the societal norms of marrying and children battling her desire to work and do 'more' with her life. I also really liked the chapters we get from Audrey and Emma's mother Florence - hints at a young love she still remembers - scenes of which were quite aching and moving yet never taking away from the love she had for her husband and almost grown family. I found her a very interesting character, and would actually happily read a prequel novel about her (presumably set during WW1 and her first love Reynard).

While this was well written and taught me a lot I didn't know, I think overall I would have liked maybe a little bit more of everything. Some of the character decisions felt maybe slightly surface level and I would have liked to follow the characters for longer and seen more character growth. It's disappointing that the story fell into the 'kill your gays' trope as well but the story wasn't going to end without at least one tragedy close to home. 

When Gwen Hoffman's little sister Rosemary disappears from her bedroom in the middle of the night, she is shocked to discover the ongoing battle between that of grown-up reality and technology and the dangers of magic. When she gets the chance to follow her sister to Neverland, Gwen takes it and discovers the entrancing idea of never having to grow up and the irresistible adventures of Peter Pan.

As Neverland/Peter Pan stories go, I thought this one was written pretty well with all the whimsy and fairytale elements I would expect from a story about everlasting childhood. There was enough in the story that kept the original story alive while also new elements were added to freshen up the idea of Neverland, Peter Pan and the Lost Children.

Unfortunately this story was very character-focused as we followed Gwen's experience in Neverland and her ever contradictory thoughts about growing up and her conflicting feelings about being a teenager. I thought Gwen was just a boring, bland and sometimes annoying character (honestly, preferring to go to a party of pot-smoking teens than flying around Neverland with faeries - questionable) who thought one thing and then acted out another. There wasn't really a plot to the story and once things did seem to get going with the Neverland bombing, the story was over. The book felt more of a build-up to whatever the author hopes to do in the next book. 

When elderly farmer Jimmy Kennedy is found dead in his slurry pit, everyone thinks it must have been a tragic farm accident. But questions are raised when it turns out Jimmy's wife and local business woman Ursula was also pulled from the tank. The double death shocks the community and the remaining Kennedy family but it also appears that things were not rosy at home and the Kennedy clan were keeping secrets from one another that may have turned deadly.

This was a well-written and fairly gripping book that I don't think I'd necessarily describe as extremely thrilling but definitely kept me interested and in suspense for new reveals about the characters and the family history, and always keeping the question open about who killed Jimmy and Ursula. I really liked the rural setting and I think Michelle McDonagh set up the Kennedy farm, restaurant and farm park really well and the story evolved really nicely too - it was well-paced with just enough little truth bombs here and there for readers to pick on and begin to form their own opinions about what was going on.

I don't think I was really shocked about anything that was revealed in the story as I think there were enough hints early on to figure out some of the reasons behind certain behaviours and actions. I just really enjoyed reading along with the story, and seeing how everything came together and there was also a small satisfaction in seeing how everyone's lives improved following the tragic event. 

Eve is a struggling 26-year-old with a dead end job and a tricky living situation, she starts finding herself struggling with delayed grief over her friend's death in college. Soon Eve loses her job, and finds a new gig as a life model. But as her mental health spirals, Eve begins to lose control of reality and things get darker.

This is definitely something I'd classify as 'sad girl fiction' with a story following a millennial young woman struggling with the expectations of life, the death of her friend and her father's alcoholism. I did enjoy following Eve go about her life, though at times it was hard watching her spiral and things getting worse and worse for her. I liked the writing style, and there were times the emotions and feelings of the story were so strong, I felt for Eve so much. She is a character who is very much alone in the world - her family consists of a dead-beat dad, her relationship with her flatmates who are like a family crumbles during the course of the story and then she has her maybe-boyfriend Max who thankfully is a really decent guy.

One of the problems I had with this book is the troubling way a sexual assault case is handled during the course of the novel. It's very clear a rape occurs on page - at least to the readers - and we see the character struggle with what has happened and blame herself but at no point during the rest of the story does she tell herself or others that what happened was wrong and it was rape. I would have liked this to have been explored more in terms of the character opening up about what had happened, acknowledging it wasn't her fault and the perpetrator getting some kind of punishment for what he did - none of which happens which I felt very disappointed in,