Book Review: Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin ‘Fire and Blood’ by George R. R. Martin was published in 2018, after the ending of the ‘Game Of Thrones’ TV series, which boosted the popularity of the series exponentially. While I was aware of the acclaim of the series, it took me years toContinueContinue reading
Category Archives: Popular Fiction
Book Review: Babel by R. F. Kuang ‘Babel’ also known as ‘Babel, Or the Necessity Of Violence’ or ‘Babel: An Arcane History’ is a novel by R. F. Kuang. It was published in 2022 and is her fourth book. It is what she describes as a piece of speculative fiction, however, this alternative history novelContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Katabasis by R. F. Kuang ‘Katabasis’ by R. F. Kuang is due to be published in August 2025. I was fortunate enough to receive an Advance Reader Copy through a random lottery draw I put my name in at work. Oh, the perks of being a Bookseller! I was absolutely elated to beContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Butter by Asako Yuzuki Version 1.0.0 Butter by Asako Yuzuki was originally published in 2017, in Japanese, it was translated by Polly Barton, and published in the UK in 2024, where it won Waterstones Book Of The Year, and is the company’s Book Of The Month for May 2025. The story follows Rika,ContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins ‘Sunrise On The Reaping’ by Suzanne Collins was released in 2025. It is the second of Collins’ ‘The Hunger Games’ prequels. This book follows sixteen-year-old Haymitch Abernathy, and the events of the 50th Hunger Games, the Second Quarter Quell, where there were double the amount ofContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Wildfire by Hannah Grace ‘Wildfire’ by Hannah Grace was released in 2023. It is the second book in her Maple Hills series, and is preceded by ‘Icebreaker’ which was a smash hit on Booktok and definitely helped put hockey romance on the map. This book takes place during the summer following ‘Icebreaker’ andContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Icebreaker by Hannah Grace ‘Icebreaker’ by Hannah Grace was published in 2022. It was Grace’s debut novel. The story is a great introduction to her Maple Hills Series, a hockey romance series, which seemed to catapult hockey to the precipice of sports romance. I am very late to the game when it comesContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’ is the second book in Holly Jackson’s ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ trilogy. It was released in YEAR and is concluded by ‘As Good As Dead’. Due to the episodic nature of each of these books, I felt it was bestContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Happy Place by Emily Henry ‘Happy Place’ by Emily Henry was released in 2023, and follows the story of Harriet, when she attends a summer trip to her friend Sabrina’s beach house for their annual reunion, and finds out her ex-fiancé has also been invited, because neither of them thought it prudent toContinueContinue reading
Book Review: A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ by Holly Jackson was released in 2019. It is the first book in a trilogy of the same name, followed by ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’ and ‘As Good As Dead’. These books follow the story of Pippa, orContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Heartstopper Volume Five by Alice Oseman ‘Heartstopper’ is a series of graphic novels by Alice Oseman. The fifth installment of the series was released earlier this month and continues to follow Nick and Charlie, a young queer couple from Kent, UK, finding their way in the world, while grappling with external issues, notContinueContinue reading
Book Review: A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers ‘A Certain Hunger’ by Chelsea G. Summers was released in 2020. It was her debut novel. The book follows the life of serial killer, Dorothy Daniels, a famous food writer, who happens to be a cannibal. The book was alarming, stomach-churning and gripping. I was captivatedContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross ‘Divine Rivals’ by Rebecca Ross was released in early 2023. It is the first book in the Letters of Enchantment duology. The second book, ‘Ruthless Vows’ is due to be released in the latter end of the month. The story followed two characters, Roman Kitt and Iris Winnow,ContinueContinue reading
‘How To Kill Your Family’ was a smash-hit debut by Bella Mackie that was released in the summer of 2021. It is a popular thriller and is both a New York Times bestseller, and a Sunday Times bestseller.
Book Review: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston ‘Red, White, And Royal Blue’ was Casey McQuiston’s debut novel. It was released in 2019, and was recently adapted into a movie on Amazon Prime. The story follows an alternate version of international history, where instead of Donald Trump, a fictional Democrat, Ellen Claremont, wonContinueContinue reading
‘Lessons In Chemistry’ by Bonnie Garmus was released in 2022. It was her debut novel, and received great acclaim due to its frank nature, and upfront depictions of sexual violence and misogyny. It wasn’t a book I would have necessarily bought, but I was swayed by BookTok, which praised the novel, and decided it was worth a punt.
Book Review: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes by Suzanne Collins ‘The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes’ by Suzanne Collins was released in 2020. The book is a prequel to her series ‘The Hunger Games’, the original trilogy came out between 2008 and 2010. This book follows the early life of President Snow, and theContinueContinue reading
I enjoyed this book, but I hated Frances’ character, I think that made it easier to relate to the other character’s opinions of her. Her narration, which started off witty and wistful quickly became snippy and snide as she came to terms with the emotions she felt. I didn’t like being in her head, she was quick to try and reassure herself that she was above other people because she and Bobbi were so astute and theoretical and critical of the world around them.
‘Tender Is The Flesh’ by Augustina Bazterrica was originally published in Spanish in 2017. Pushkin Press released an English translated edition, with a translation provided by Sarah Moses in 2020.
‘The Shining’ is arguably one of the most iconic titles by horror writer, Stephen King. I had initially been apprehensive of reading it, having seen the scene with the twin girls in blue dresses a long time ago, and its uncanniness chilled me to the core.
Book Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas ‘The Hate U Give’ by Angie Thomas was released in 2017. It was later adapted into a film, which came out in 2018. It was her debut novel, and thrust her into acclaim, her work becoming a staple among popular authors in the mid-to-late 2010s. ThisContinueContinue reading
‘Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow’ by Gabrielle Zevin was published in 2022. It was well-praised by reviewers and Amazon named it as the best book of 2022.
‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’, shortened to ACOTAR, is an ongoing fantasy series by Sarah J Maas, which started back in 2015. This series of what is currently five books has been a sensation among readers on BookTok’s literary community.
‘Good Omens’ was written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, and was published in 1990. Due to its age some of the humour in this novel is outdated, such as the use of the f-slur.
‘Ghosts’ by Dolly Alderton was her second novel and was published in 2020. It followed the story of Nina, a thirty two year old single woman living in London and coming to terms with her friends entering the next stage of their lives, getting married and having children while she remains single.
‘Carrie’ is one of Stephen King’s most iconic works. It was released in 1974 and since, as modern pop-culture has latched onto it, even people who haven’t read or seen ‘Carrie’, know what happened to her. Or, at least to an extent.
‘Verity’ by Colleen Hoover was published in 2018 and is a domestic thriller which follows Lowen, a writer on the verge of financial ruin after moving into an apartment out of her budget to offer her mother with dignity whilst also providing end of life care, but then receives a job offer she can’t turn down – as a ghostwriter for esteemed author Verity Crawford!
‘The Silent Patient’ was author, Alex Michaelides’ debut novel, released in 2019. It was a well-received, popular crime-thriller and has since sold over a million copies.
‘Beach Read’ was Emily Henry’s 2020 contemporary romance novel – a hit on TikTok and filled with popular tropes it’s personable and upbeat tone made it an easy and delightful read.
‘The Kite Runner’ was Khaled Hosseini’s 2003 debut novel. It follows Amir, a young boy living comfortably in Afghanistan during peacetime, alongside his friend Hassan, the son of his father’s servant, Ali. From the start of the book, Hosseini navigates the topics of internalised racism and jealousy, Amir is regarded as timid and cowardly, however, Hassan, whose “first word was Amir’s name”, is deeply loyal to his own detriment. Amir feels great frustration and jealousy toward Hassan, as, despite his lower social status, his playmate could do no wrong in the eyes of Amir’s father.
‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’ was released in 2019, and was author, Christy Lefteri’s second novel. Although ‘The Beekeeper Of Aleppo’ is not a true story, it was heavily inspired by her own experiences over two summers in Athens, where she aided refugees seeking asylum. The influence of anecdotes she would have been privy to added gravitas to the novel.
‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ is Taylor Jenkins Reid’s fifth novel, and was released in 2017. Although she had released several books in the past, it was The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo which progressed her career and made her an acclaimed novelist: it was a hit among the readers of TikTok, and made its way onto hundreds if not thousands of TBR piles since its initial release.
Imogen L. Smiley 