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
Tag Archives: popularliterature
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: 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: I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman ‘I Was Born For This’ by Alice Oseman was released in 2018. It is one of her novels, as opposed to her comics. This particular story explores fan culture and friendship. It follows Fereshteh, or as she’s better known, Angel Rahemi, a superfan of aContinueContinue reading
Book Review: As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson ‘As Good As Dead’ by Holly Jackson is the last book in her ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ trilogy, preceded by ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ and ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’. I reviewed each book individually and the reviews went live in January andContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert ‘Get A Life, Chloe Brown’ was published in 2019. It is the first book in Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters Series, a romance trilogy following the three Brown sisters, Chloe, Danika and Eve. All three of these books are available to read via Amazon’s Kindle UnlimitedContinueContinue reading
‘Queen Charlotte’ is a novel set in the ‘Bridgerton’ universe, following the life of King George III and his wife, Queen Charlotte. The book was released in 2023 in the wake of the successful spin-off season of Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’, with the same name.
Book Review: Masters Of Death by Olivie Blake ‘Masters Of Death’ by Olivie Blake was published in 2023. It is a contemporary fantasy novel, which follows the godson of Death, Fox D’Mora as he goes on to “best [Death]”. I really enjoyed ‘Masters of Death’, and while I had a few issues with it, mostContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson ‘Another Brooklyn’ by Jacqueline Woodson was released in 2016 and tells a moving story of girlhood, of friendship and grief. I loved how grief and loss manifested for these characters in multiple ways. August, our protagonist is an anthropologist and has studied the culture of death across theContinueContinue reading
‘Shadow and Bone’ was an interesting story that shows multiple layers and levels to a world at war, comparing the life of the standard footsoldier, to the magically gifted Grisha, who want for nothing.
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
‘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 Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn Julia Quinn’s ‘Bridgerton’ series consists of eight novels, each of which tell the story of one of the late Viscount Bridgerton’s eight children. The books were released between 2000 and 2006, and are the subject of the Netflix series, Bridgerton, which has been ongoing since 2020. TheContinueContinue reading
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.
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
‘The Shadow Cabinet’ by Juno Dawson was released in May 2023, and was a highly-anticipated sequel to the sensational ‘Her Majesty’s Royal Coven’. I was worried that ‘The Shadow Cabinet’ may suffer the infamous second book slump that affects many series’, where the second merely exists as a segway from Point A to Point B – but I had nothing to fear!
‘Gwen And Art Are Not In Love’ by Lex Croucher was released in May 2023, and explores the idea of queer relationships in post-Arthurian Britain, where there are little-to-no historical records. Due to this, Croucher is able to take significant artistic license and offer a story that is delightfully funny, and devastating.
‘Loveless’ by Alice Oseman was released in 2020. It is her sixth novel, and follows eighteen-year-old Georgia Warr during her first year at the University of Durham to study English Literature.
‘Imogen, Obviously’ is Becky Albertalli’s sixth solo release, and ninth, including collaborations. It came out in May 2023, and follows a one-week window where Imogen Scott realises she’s bisexual.
Book Review: Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson ‘Her Majesty’s Royal Coven’ is a novel by Juno Dawson, which follows an ensemble cast of middle aged witches living in the UK. These witches are, or were once, affiliated with the nation’s primary coven for witches: Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, (shortened to HMRC) and servedContinueContinue reading
‘On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous’ is a memoir with blended fictional elements entwined by Ocean Vuong that was published in 2019.
‘Heartstopper’ by Alice Oseman is a series of graphic novels. The first volume was published in 2019 and the series remains ongoing. It is now the subject of a live-action adaptation by Netflix.
‘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 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.
I have a reasonable amount of knowledge of Greek Mythology from watching my copy of Disney’s ‘Hercules’ on VHS, to a fleeting ‘Percy Jackson’ phase, to attending university, where we dedicated several weeks to studying myths like Eros and Psyche, Apollo and Daphne, Oedipus Wrecked, and other tales from the Iliad. I even played ‘Hades’, which was how I knew vaguely of the characters in The Song of Achilles.
Imogen L. Smiley 