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Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
For a work that was first published in 1998 Daughter of Fortune strikes me as something more suited to the 1970s. Don’t get me wrong, I love Isabel Allende’s work and she is one of my favourite authors, however, at the risk of coming across as an oversensitive zillennial, her mystification of China struck me…
1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, ADOPTION, Adult, adventure, America, California, chile, Chilean American author, China, class, daughter of fortune, doctors, drama, FAMILY SAGA, favourite authors, female authors, GRIEF, heavy on telling, HISTORICAL FICTION, ISABEL ALLENDE, latin america, latin american, latinx author, MAGICAL REALISM, MARRIAGE, MELODRAMA, miscarriage, orphans, pregnancy, problematic, prostitution, published in 1998, road trip, ship, slow pacing, survival, TRANSLATED FICTION, travel, unrequited love, voyage -
The Herd by Andrea Bartz
Having really enjoyed Andrea Bartzβs debut novel, The Lost Night, I had rather high hopes for The Herd. Sadly, not only is The Herd populated by simultaneously unrealistic and detestable characters but it also tells a rather derivative story. The summary seemed to promise a tantalising story, one that would depict the complicated and shifting…
1st pov, 2 STARS, ADOPTION, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Andrea Bartz, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, books i hate, drama, female authors, jealousy, lgbtq+, MELODRAMA, missing persons, missing women, MYSTERY, NEW YORK, published in 2020, purply prose, read in 2020, SISTERS, summer reads, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, trying and failing @ feminism, weak prose, work culture -
The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg
The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg took me by surprise. While I did enjoy reading two of Konigsberg’s previous novels, Openly Straight and The Music of What Happens, they certainly didn’t affect me as The Bridge. This is the kind of novel I wish had been around when I was sixteen and contemplating suicide.While there are…
3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, ADOPTION, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Bill Konigsberg, coming of age, Contemporary, DEPRESSION, family, fathers & daughters, fathers & sons, friendships, gay, identity, illness, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, male authors, mental health, NEW YORK, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, social issues, suicide, The Bridge, what ifs -
The Less Dead by Denise Mina β book review
The Less Dead is a gripping, if bleak, piece of tartan noir. When sex workers, drug addicts, migrant workers, and otherwise marginalised groups are victims of murder, they are called the ‘less dead’. Their deaths are less important, not as ‘impactful’. Denise Mina’s novel, in a similar vein to recent releases such as Long Bright…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, addiction, ADOPTION, BOOK REVIEW, cheating, class, Contemporary, CRIME, dark, dead girls, Denise Mina, female authors, lgbtq+ side, mothers & daughters, netgalley, Noir, obsession, Poverty, prostitution, published in 2020, rape, read in 2020, REVIEW, scotland, scottish author, serial killers, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, SUSPENSE, Tartan Noir, The Less Dead, THRILLER, violence against women -
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Rules existed for a reason: if you followed them, you would succeed; if you didn’t, you might burn the world to the ground. Little Fires Everywhere is a thought-provoking vivid portrayal of a small community split by a heated custody battle. Ng’s style β which reminded me of Ann Patchett β is almost prosaic: it…
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Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson
“She was a monster but she was my monster.” Despite addressing ‘heavy’ topics, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? is a fast read.Earlier this year I read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. For the most part I liked it (I gave it 3 stars) but I wasn’t too taken by it. So…
luce [is reading] 