Category: Book Review

Review: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Inkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

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An enchanting novel about a witch who has a second chance to get her magical powers—and her life—back on track, from the national bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches .
Sera Swan was once one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her magical Guild. Now she ( slightly reluctantly and a bit grumpily) helps Aunt Jasmine run an inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky
When she learns about an old spell book that could hold the secret to restoring her power, she finds herself turning to Luke Larsen, a gorgeous and icy historian who might be the only person who can help her unlock the book’s mysteries. The fact that he also happens to be her one-night stand from years ago is totally irrelevant.
Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and trying not to fall in love is a lot for anyone, but Sera is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone…and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches was one of my favourite reads of 2023, so I was very excited to dive back into a book by Sangu Mandanna. This book feels like a nostalgic and comforting return to Sangu’s world, even though this book works as a stand alone story.

I loved our merry band of misfits and the found family they represented. The inn was such a delightful setting and the concept was so heartwarming. Reading this book was like a warm hug – the descriptions of the inn, the seasons, the surroundings, felt like the perfect cup of tea or huddling under a warm blanket in winter. The magic was perfect – it allowed the story to have enough of a plot and adventure to keep you interested, but also had a lot of every day meaning for the inn itself. The idea of the inn running on magic and having it’s own quirks – from blossom falling from the ceiling and a skeleton rooster – fitted perfectly in this book.

The romance simmers away in the background of the story but you still can’t help but root for our two main characters and those around them. It was a delight!

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven

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They’ve loved each other in a thousand lifetimes. They’ve killed each other in every one.
Evelyn remembers all her past lives. She also remembers that in every single one, she’s been murdered before her eighteenth birthday by Arden, a supernatural being whose soul―and survival―is tethered to hers.
The problem is that she’s quite fond of the life she’s in now, and her little sister needs her for bone marrow transplants in order to stay alive. If Evelyn wants to save her sister, she’ll have to:
1. Find the centuries-old devil who hunts her through each life―before they find her first.
2. Figure out why she’s being hunted and finally break their curse.
3. Try not to fall in love.

Two things sold me on this book – the comparison to Addie Larue, and a reading by Laura Steven of the prologue. Also, that cover Maybe three things sold me on this book.

The concept is also interesting, is quite unique and for a large part of reading this book, I really enjoyed it. We follow Evelyn and Arden through the ages, which I always enjoy. I also quite liked how we actually followed Evelyn throughout her every day modern day life. Every day contemporary fantasy is my favourite type of fantasy.

I found the fact we went from the modern day story of Evelyn in her ‘current’ life in Wales being interspersed with her past lives really compelling to read. However, I do have to agree with other reviews that argue there isn’t enough backstory between Evelyn and Arden in their past lives to really believe that they fell so deeply in love. There is never really an explanation of why and how they fell in love, just a belief that they are intrinsically linked. Although this never particularly bothered me during reading, I do think the book lacked a certain punch and emotion because of this.

However, my main issue was the fact we had a portion of the book, towards the end, that felt so different to the rest of the story, I couldn’t quite suspend my disbelief enough to feel as though this was a true part of the story. I’m not quite sure how this could have been handled in a way that felt right to me, but sadly, this wasn’t quite it. The elements of fantasy – although teased and mentioned throughout the whole book – felt so sudden and jarring. 

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book, and the ending did satisfy me for the most part. I’m just not quite sure the twist worked for me!

★★★★
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

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This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.
This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.
This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.
This is a story about life—
how it ends, and how it starts.

Before I read The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, I could never answer the “what is your absolute favourite book?” question. Since reading Addie and finding my favourite book of all time, reading anything else by V.E. Schwab has become both exciting and terrifying in equal parts.

However, I loved Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. It has to be said that Addie remains my favourite, but Bury Our Bones was very enjoyable in a very different way. I love that about Schwab’s writing – every book is a completely unique journey, but also feels like sliding into a warm bath as you fall back into her writing.

In that way, Bury Our Bones was no different. I loved the way you are immediately sucked into this story. It is the kind of book I would describe as meandering but is not necessarily slow. The writing is poetic, beautiful and emotional. Schwab, as usual, holds no punches. The atmosphere was dark, gothic and sizzling with tension. Despite the fact I usually dislike historical, Schwab once again pulled me into a story spanning centuries and continents.

I went into this knowing it was a multi-POV sapphic vampire story, and I’m glad I knew no more than that. This is the kind of story that drip-feeds you, and as you are given more information, you begin to crave more. It just gets better and better as you read on, and becomes even more compelling than the chapter before. This is the kind of book you don’t want to be apart from, that you will find yourself thinking of even when you’re not reading it, and you’re gutted to find out you accidentally left at home when you wanted to continue reading.

Despite the fact that this book is mostly day-to-day, and is definitely more character focused than plot focused, I was pulled in and didn’t want to let go. I found this deeply compelling despite the fact this is less punchy than some of Schwab’s other books.

I had absolutely no idea how this was going to end, I always love that about a book – so many books can become predictable and follow a pattern if you’ve read more than one book by the same author, but that’s definitely not the case with V.E. Schwab!

Thank you so much to the publisher (and a friend from work!) for my pre-publication copy ❤

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

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Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.
Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.
When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.
One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.
Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.
Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.
But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.
And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.

I was enthralled with this book from the start. It has the addictiveness of an Emily Henry with the punchiness of Taylor Jenkins Reid, and I adored it.

We do of course have a romance to follow, and our main character is the lovable and flawed Alice, a journalist who is desperate to write the memoir of former tabloid princess, Margaret Ives. So desperate, in fact, that she tracked her down and followed her to the small island in which she has retreated from the limelight.

But now she has to spend a month competing for the job against Hayden, a Pulitzer-Prize winning writer who seems to be under his own little permanent raincloud.

This has all of the grumpy x sunshine vibes you might be looking for – and have come to expect – from an Emily Henry book, but also has the mysterious, evasive Margaret Ives and her story.

Even though Emily Henry’s books always have the ending I expect, I always find myself so caught up in the story and end up right on the edge of my seat, and possibly with tears in my eyes. This book made me want to read, and I don’t think I can ask for much more than that feeling.

I loved this. It’s definitely my new favourite Emily Henry. Be warned – it may not be what you’re expecting. But I thought it was bloody great.

Thank you to Penguin for my copy in exchange for an honest review!

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: Acts of Cupidity by E.S. Drake

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This charming urban fantasy is what you’d have if Terry Pratchett wrote The Good Place, following two agents of love ensnared in a plot to bring down the natural order of the world.
Not everything is down to Fate but, when it comes to love, the right people must collide to keep the world running to plan. Immortal cupids, known as Apollo agents, spend their afterlife matching up pre-destined couples to sign off their daily quota. Love cynic, Erron Grover, and hopeless romantic, Casey Hart, are two such agents based in London. They live an afterlife of luxury until several of their assignments result in a bizarre series of deaths.
Under heavy suspicion of involvement, their blossoming relationship begins to fray, but far worse, the unplanned deaths start to cause the very fabric of Fate to unravel. Faced with the collapse of civilisation, far too many geese and a few questionable soul reapers, the two men are forced to go on the run to solve the murders and save the world . . . along with their favourite jazz bar.

I was hooked from the minute I saw this being compared to The Good Place. I love The Good Place – and this definitely did have the same kind of vibe.

This was fun throughout, but with higher stakes than a ‘cosy fantasy’, and I’m hesitant to label it as such. It definitely had elements of cosy fantasy that we’re all loving at the moment – namely the lovable characters, romance side-plot and almost a found family feeling. But from the start, Acts of Cupidity holds no punches. We’re begin to see this world, so like our own, through the eyes of our witty and down-to-earth protagonist, Nikita, and the book blossoms to also follow Erron and Casey. I really loved the cast of characters we discovered along the way.

The ending felt a little rushed to me, but overall this book kept me compelled throughout and has that all-encompassing feeling that makes you want to read it and pick it up. The absurd parts made me laugh out loud (or at least chuckle to myself), the world felt rich and I just adored our characters. Such fun!

Thank you to the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

★★★★
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

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AT THE AVALLON, REAL POWER COMES TO THOSE WHO WATCH AND LISTEN…
High in the Appalachian mountains is a place quite unlike any other. The Avallon Hotel and its enigmatic General Manager, June Hudson, are famed for offering unrivalled luxury, season after season, to those who come from far and wide to indulge in its beautiful hot springs and take the healing waters. Everything is perfect. Perhaps too perfect.
So when the Avallon is called upon to help the war effort – to oust its guests and host three hundred diplomats and Nazi sympathisers – June’s priority is business as usual. But as dark alliances and unexpected attractions crack the polished veneer of the hotel, she is forced to reckon with the true price of luxury.
After all, only June knows the sacrifice required to keep everyone happy – her staff, the FBI and, above all, the tumultuous sweetwater running through the heart of the hotel.
The Listeners is a story of love, lies, secrets and betrayal, based on real events and steeped with eerie Appalachian magic – and brought to life by a truly unforgettable ensemble cast of characters.

As soon as I heard about this book I was intrigued. A historical adult debut from Maggie Steifvater? A strong female main character? A magical undercurrent (pun intended)?

This book is a slow burn, in every sense. The story is quite slow, the romance is a very slow burn, and the whole book is a meander through a historical yet touched with magic world.

I loved:
– Our strong female main character, June, and the characters who looked up to her
– Our wide cast of characters
– The absolutely beautiful writing – I saw a quote describing this as art, and I completely agree
– The interactions between our characters, and their quirks and personality
– The atmosphere

Although I loved many aspects of this story, I do wish I felt the book had more to bring to the table. I left feeling slightly lacking and feeling as though the water and magical realism aspects never amounted to the interest it presented. I enjoyed what I read, but wanted more.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

★★★★
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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AN EPIC NOVEL SET AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE 1980S SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAMME ABOUT THE EXTRAORDINARY LENGTHS WE GO TO LIVE AND LOVE BEYOND OUR LIMITS.
In the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins training to be an astronaut at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond; mission specialists John Griffin and Lydia Danes; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer. As the new astronauts prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe.
Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Atmosphere is a book set against the 1980s Space Shuttle programme. It is about space and NASA but it is also about our Earth in every other possible way – not just something to escape but something to come home to. It’s about the relationships between each of the people on the programme and also those around them. It’s about life, death, love, friendship, family and everything in between. It’s about a woman in a world dominated by men, and how that felt in the 1980s.

The backdrop feels so detailed that by the end you feel as though you could almost be there with the characters. The writing is captivating – perhaps not for me personally in quite the same way I found other TJR books – but is still more and more compelling as each page is turned. By the time I had reached the final few sentences, I had tears streaming down my face and felt like my heart could break for these women. I loved how much ground we covered in this book – it was complex and beautiful and I just adored Joan and Vanessa. I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it, and feel as though I miss it, now it is over.

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: Wish You Were Her by Elle McNicoll

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Book Lovers meets Notting Hill with a slice of You’ve Got Mail in Wish You Were Her, the brand new rivals-to-lovers romance from bestselling, award-winning Elle McNicoll.
18-year-old Allegra Brooks has skyrocketed to fame after starring in a hit television show, and she’s the overnight success that everyone’s talking about. They just don’t know she’s autistic. Now, all she wants is a normal teenage summer.
Her destination for escape is the remote Lake Pristine and its annual Book Festival, organized by the dedicated but unfriendly senior bookseller, Jonah Thorne.
In small towns like Lake Pristine, misunderstandings abound, and before long the two are drawn into high-profile hostility that’s a far cry from the drama-free holiday Allegra was craving. Thank goodness for her saving the increasingly personal emails she’s been sharing with a charming and anonymous bookseller who is definitely not Jonah Thorne . . .

The first book I read by Elle McNicoll was Show Us Who You Are. I read it in one sitting and I was absolutely hooked.

I read A Kind of Spark soon after, again in one sitting. I have read everything else she has written in the years since, and I’ve loved them all.

Wish You Were Her is no different. Set in the same world as Some Like it Cold with the same small town setting of Lake Pristine and some overlapping characters, we follow a new protagonist and her struggles with fame and how her neurodiversity interacts with this world.

I loved the setting and it was great to be back in Lake Pristine – which cleverly could be the kind of small town in either the UK or elsewhere. The fact we’re following a book festival and spend a lot of time in a bookshop is obviously appealing, and made for the perfect background to this romance.

Allegra made for a likeable protagonist and I feel her strength and conviction will provide an amazing role model for young teens. The romance definitely had You’ve Got Mail vibes and I enjoyed seeing Allegra and Jonah navigate all obstacles thrown their way. Their budding romance is heartfelt and charming.

A delightful rom-com that kept me turning the pages and sucked me into Allegra and Jonah’s world. Heartfelt, emotional and tender, but punchy and extremely enjoyable at the same time!

Thank you to the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Review: Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson

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Whatever happened to beloved Girls series characters Ellie, Magda and Nadine?
They’re all grown up now – but if they think life’s done surprising them, they’d better think again…
Being an adult isn’t quite what Ellie Allard dreamed it would be when she was fourteen years old. Though she’s got her beautiful daughter Lottie, life-long best friends in Magda and Nadine and her trusty cat Stella, her love life is non-existent and she feels like she’s been living on auto-pilot, just grateful to be able to afford the rent on her pokey little flat.
But this year on her birthday, the universe seems to decide it’s time to for all that to change – whether Ellie wants it to or not. As she navigates new, exciting and often choppy waters, she’s about to discover that life will never stop surprising you – if only you let it.

I grew up reading Jacqueline Wilson books. She is that author for me. The author that grabs you and keeps you interested in reading throughout your childhood. I had a massive collection of her books, I wrote to her (and I was overjoyed when I received a letter back!), I subscribed to her magazine, and I had the merch. I was a die-hard Jacqueline Wilson fan, and have continued to admire her as I’ve grown up, seeing her talk on stage about her work.

Revisiting the world of the Girls was a delight. Being back with Ellie, Magda and Nadine felt so nostalgic, and I genuinely don’t know how Ellie’s voice shines through so clearly despite the years since the original books were published, and the fact she is now a 40 year old character. The writing is so witty, engaging and made me laugh out loud a few times, which is rare for me!

Following Ellie again felt like such a comfort, and I couldn’t put this book down. I loved how all of the characters and family were interwoven, and how we face a lot of the issues in Jacqueline’s books for children (such as divorce and single parenthood) through an adult lens. We even see some of the same themes, such as worrying about settling down and falling in love, translate from the girls’ early teen years to adulthood, and of course there are new worries too. Worries that are very real and relatable to adult readers.

Overall, it was an absolute honour to read a pre-release copy of this, when I have so much love and nostalgia for the author and her work. I loved how familiar and comforting the voice of this book felt, and it was a joy to rejoin this group of girls!

5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Leila and the Blue Fox by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

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Fox wakes, and begins to walk. She crosses ice and snow, over mountains and across frozen oceans, encountering bears and birds beneath the endless daylight of an Arctic summer, navigating a world that is vast, wild and wondrous.
Meanwhile, Leila embarks on a journey of her own – finding her way to the mother who left her. On a breathtaking journey across the sea, Leila rediscovers herself and the mother she thought she’d lost, with help from a determined little fox.

I loved Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, which was her first project with her husband, Tom de Freston, as the artist. This book is in a matching edition with the same stunning art style from de Freston, and I knew I wanted to pick it up immediately after seeing it.

We follow similar themes to Julia and the Shark, and a familiar feel to the story and the book as a physical object. Without seeing one of these books in person, it is difficult to describe exactly how beautiful this artwork is. Alongside beautiful, sketchy full page and double pages sketches, and little pieces dotted throughout the book, we also have tracing paper style overlays on some of the pages, which I adore.

Once again, this book covers some deep and emotional themes as well as introducing a lovely friendship between a young girl and an animal. There were so many objects of the friendship between the animals that were reflected among their human companions, and I loved the comparisons between the two. This book focuses on migration, both for our main characters and the animals.

Overall, I really loved this story and I read it on a perfect frosty winter evening. It may not have stuck with me in exactly the same way as Julia and the Shark, but it was a delightful story and has further cemented Kiran Millwood Hargrave as an auto-buy author for me.

★★★★★
4.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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