wordsofclover's Reviews (2.16k)

 When Susan Richards received a call from the SPCA about an emergency case, and that there were horses in need of a foster home, she didn't hesitate to bring one of them to her farm - a gentle mare in need of some TLC called Lay Me Down.

In this book, Susan Richards talks about her relationship with Lay Me Down and how the mare's sweet nature and trust in people, despite everything she had been through, inspired Susan to think about her own abusive childhood and her first marriage in which she suffered domestic abuse, and let herself believe for the first time that she also deserved a second chance at happiness and love.

I enjoyed all the horse bits in this book - Lay Me Down's story is such a sad one, but I'm so happy that she received a beautiful home for the last period of her life, and the love she received from Susan. The way Susan described all her horses was done very well but in particular, Lay Me Down and Georgia - one peaceful, and gentle, the other fiery and headstrong. I don't think Susan always portrayed Georgia in the best light - a real you have to know her to love her situation - but I think it makes more sense for anyone who knows horses, and is aware that mares can be a real, well, 'mare.

Some of my issues with this book were definitely the elements of Susan's life that she added into her book that I felt unnecessary. I liked that she had a lot of female friends in her life, and they all supported and loved one another through life's ups and downs, and I also appreciate that Susan's early childhood and the emotional and sometimes physical abuse she suffered from the hands of relatives following her mother's traumatic death obviously severely impacted her into middle-age - but only ever get real quick glimpses into her childhood, just flashes and quick explanations implying what was going on but nothing was ever really given a deep dive. And then her dating life in the book was honestly hard to read because she was such an eyeroll. What a waste of time reading but also what a waste of her time dating Hank who she didn't like from the moment she met him for their first date but she kept seeing him, simply to avoid being completely alone. And then when she did decide they were done, she still didn't break up with him, found out he was cheating, but still waited months later until he dumped her. It was nonsensical and I don't think she had the character growth that she thought she had in this book - at least not from my point of view.

I do actually agree with another reviewer that perhaps Susan should have written a different book about her alcoholism in her twenties and thirties, and how her first mare Georgia helped her in her battle to overcome that and escape her abusive marriage. And then this book could have been a nice sequel, with the readers reacquainting themselves with Georgia and her attitude, and meeting the cool balm that is Lay Me Down and learning her story, and perhaps seeing more steps that Susan had taken to make the life she wanted. 

This is definitely one of my favourite nature reads I've read, and definitely in the top shelf for favourite overall non fiction as well.

This book is very much what it says in the title. Author Lucy Cooke is exploring how the female species has been examined in science, and how male prejudice and cultural norms (particularly that of the Victorian era when Charles Darwin lived) shaped how the scientific world saw the 'passive' female - and how female scientists or 'feminist Darwins' are consistently blowing old, dusty ideas of what being a female means out of the water with amazing new theories, and projects.

I'm not a scientist by any means though I have always had an interest in the natural world. I also love a read that focuses on girl power and feminism, and so this book pretty much ticked all the boxes for me. I also think, most importantly, this book is for every reader - Lucy Cooke doesn't 'dumb' down anything for her readers but at the same time I found the book really understandable, fun and exciting, and I think her tone in writing from being passionate about the subject, self-deprecating at times, but also just good-natured overall works really well for the book. 

In the first book of the Adam Fawley series, we meet Fawley and his team as they investigate the disappearance of an 8-year-old girl, and her increasingly suspicious family members. This book is not only a rather gripping crime case but also serves as a nice introduction to a cast of characters that will come to be central in the rest of the series from Fawley, Everett, Summer and Quinn, among others.

I was really gripped by the case of Daisy, and it honestly felt like there were so many twists and turns, I didn't have a clue about what had really happened to her because as soon as something came up or appeared obvious, it felt too much like a red herring. Having read a later book in this series already, I was aware that Cara Hunter is just really good at these slippery type of cases that seem to have a handful of suspects with probable cause, and no way for the reader to really figure out who it was.

I really like the cast of characters in this series, though in this book we are really chiefly getting to know Fawley as our main character and his tragic home life. There were lots of hints, and ominous tips about what had happened, with an epilogue confirming the sad story (though again, because I've read the 4th book, I knew what had happened).

My one gripe with this book is I felt it closed off very suddenly. The last chapter or so turns to a court case which I can only presume takes place months after the actual investigation and I just felt like it was a very abrupt switch from an active investigation to the court case with no real 'aha' moment. And then the last chapter before the epilogue in which everything is laid clear really disappointed me as it felt so over the top and unexpected, and it just didn't work for me. The writing in this book is excellent though and I'm looking forward to continuing with the series. 

Rachel is in her last year of college in County Cork, Ireland, when she meets James Devlin and from there a wonderful, life-long friendship is born as the two become a team. Moving in together, partying together and getting involved in each other's romantic entanglements, you can't see Rachel without James. But things change when Dr Byrne, Rachel's professor, becomes involved in their lives.

We see this story from an older, pregnant Rachel who appears to be living a settled, happy life in London with a career in journalism - and she reflects back on a poignant moment in her life, that really changed the whole trajectory.

I just loved this story - and I didn't mind the few times we were brought to future Rachel as I actually loved seeing how well she was doing and I remained curious about what happened before London. Rachel's early twenties are messy and fun, and full of too much drink but a lot of laughter as well as big loves and even bigger heartbreak. I thought the story was told perfectly, and I also liked the way Caroline O'Donoghue handled some bigger topics in this book including abortion, miscarriage and the Repeal movement in Ireland.

I've been waiting to read 'the book' in 2023 that I know will stand head and shoulders above the others, and I think I've finally found it. 

Lena Cotton isn't having a great time - she's just suffered a panic attack in work and has been granted a two-month sabbatical to get it together and finally face up to her grief after losing her sister to cancer. Lena's grandmother Eileen is also in a rut, especially romantically now her cheating husband left her for a younger dancer. The two decide to switch lives with Eileen taking on London's internet dating scene for the over 70's, and Lena coming home to Yorkshire to reconnect with her mother and help out on the neighbourhood committee - how hard can that be?

This was a charming, fun and often emotional novel that I really enjoyed and utterly charmed me by the end. I've read two other Beth O'Leary books and this one is definitely my favourite so far.

I think I actually liked Eileen's chapters best as I loved seeing an older character (she's a very sprightly 79) living her best life in London, and taking on dating, new projects and even battling her granddaughter's yuck boyfriend. I think this book did such a great job at showcasing how society often fails older people in so many ways and how there should be so many more facilities and events for people of a certain age who may be lonely to socialise. I also appreciated that the book showed through Eileen that you're never too old to find love again, or just enjoy a bit of a good time with a fling.

On the other hand, Lena's chapters and her time with the neighbourhood committee felt like it was something straight from The Vicar of Dibley in the best ways, and I came to really love the myriad of characters from Betsy, Basil and Penelope, not to mention Roland and his mobility scooter. The way Lena processed her grief, and allowed herself to heal and also understand and make up with her mother following the dark times of her sister's illness and death were done really well and I often found myself close to tears as I listened to the book. I think the subject of grief was done sensitively and showcased that while losing someone never gets any easier, you learn to live with it everyday and remember that person in lots of different ways and that includes speaking about them freely and easily instead of bottling everything up.

Overall, this was just a lovely read and I really enjoyed my time with it. I think I'll be getting a copy of this book for my gran too as she might just love it as well!

 

Inspired by true events, The Red Bird Sings follows Mary-Jane and Lucy in West Virginia, 1987, as their daughter and friend Zona dies, apparently from the hands of her new husband. Determined to prove the man guilty, Lucy gathers evidence to avenge her best friend while Mary-Jane is convinced her daughter is speaking to her beyond the grave.

This book is well written and I think the historical setting is really good. I liked how we got to know Zona a little bit and received glimpses of her real spirit and character before her marriage to Edward Shue, and death. Mary-Jane as a character is probably one of the biggest and loudest in the books due to her eccentricities and her ferociousness in her love for her daughter but Lucy was definitely the stand-out character for me due to her determined nature and her clever way of making things right.

I enjoyed reading this and I think this is an excellent debut novel. I will definitely be reading anything else Aoife Fitzpatrick writes as she definitely has a talent, especially considering she is an Irish author writing an American setting. It felt very authentic to me. However, this story was fine for me. I enjoyed it, it was very good but it wasn't a stand out novel to me, or one I'd be rushing to recommend. And I think it's just a me thing, and not a big problem with the story itself.