5/5 I absolutely love Philip Pullman’s writing. Coupled with Michael Sheen’s narration, The Secret Commonwealth felt like being read to by an old friend. Set about twenty years after the events of its predecessor, La Belle Sauvage, The Secret Commonwealth focuses on Lyra’s journey to be reunited with Pantalaimon after they are estranged from one…
Book Review: “Holy Sister” by Mark Lawrence
4/5 “Moons might rise and fall, empires wax and wane, even the stars come and go, but there are constants too, and though the story of our kind is ever-changing it is also always the same.” It’s always a joy and a relief when a trilogy sticks the landing, and Mark Lawrence has done a…
Book Review: The Book of Night Women, by Marlon James
4/5 Holy cow, this book was difficult to rate – almost as difficult as it was to read. But this makes perfect sense, as Marlon James’s The Book of Night Women is not a satisfying book. The story it tells is frustrating, disturbing, and, ultimately, deeply unsatisfying. My knee-jerk reaction to feeling anger and frustration…
Cormoran Strike Books 1-4, by Robert Galbraith
4/5 If you’re looking for an exciting, intricate, well-paced mystery and crime series, look no further than Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike. Packed with clever cases and fantastic character development, this series intrigues on both narrative and character-driven levels. It should go without saying that Robert Galbraith is J. K. Rowling, and Cormoran Strike is a fitting,…
Book Review: “Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah
4/5 “Being chosen is the greatest gift you can give to another human being.” Before I get into Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime, let me qualify: I don’t read many memoirs, let alone celebrity memoirs. The only other two I can recall reading were Amy Poehler’s Yes Please and Amanda Palmer’s The Art of Asking. While the aforementioned…
Book Review: “Tess of the Road,” by Rachel Hartman
5/5 WARNING: This review contains spoilers. If you would like to read the spoiler-free review, you can find it on my Goodreads. Well, Tess of the Road is certainly a relief after a slew of fast-paced YA novels. Don’t get me wrong – fast-paced YA has its merits, but after reading the breakneck Children of Blood…
Book Review: “Children of Blood and Bone” by Tomi Adeyemi
WARNING: This review contains spoilers. If you would like to read the spoiler-free review, you can find it on my Goodreads. 2/5 I was conflicted about rating Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone because there are a few distinct aspects I enjoyed immensely and many that I found unoriginal and dull. Looking back, I…
Book Review: “On Writing,” by Stephen King
5/5 This book did something pretty fantastic to me: it re-invigorated my drive to work on my book. Maybe it seems tacky to mention your own (unpublished) work in a book review, but given the subject matter of On Writing, I think it can be excused this time. Like the title implies, Stephen King’s book…
Book Review: “The Pearl that Broke Its Shell” by Nadia Hashimi
Score: 3/5 I have such mixed feelings about this book. Usually, I get a feeling for how I will rate a book by the mid-way point, if not earlier. I’ve read loads of books by this point, so I rarely stray from my instincts. But Nadia Hashimi’s The Pearl that Broke Its Shell was very…
Book Review: “The Great Alone,” by Kristin Hannah
Kristin Hannah is a master of toying with her readers' emotions - in the best possible way, of course. Her ability to ensnare readers and make them invested in characters - established in The Nightingale and Winter Garden - has only been improved with this tale of survival in America's last frontier, no matter the…
