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ashmagoffin's reviews
685 reviews
The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
4.75
Thank you to Hachette for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.
It has been 24 years of Bersun the Brusque's rule on the throne and it is time to find a suitable replacement for the emperor. Eight contenders from rival monasteries will compete in a trial in order to win the throne.
It has been 24 years of Bersun the Brusque's rule on the throne and it is time to find a suitable replacement for the emperor. Eight contenders from rival monasteries will compete in a trial in order to win the throne.
DO NOT BE DAUNTED BY THE SIZE OF THIS BOOK. It is hefty and contains vast world-building but it is an absolute breeze to read. The focus of this novel is rather tight which makes it an easy plot driven novel to follow the narrative. A sheer feat to create a easy to orientate world within layers upon layers of high fantasy. There are powerful and malicious forces as an undercurrent during a high stakes tournament for the throne. This book did not take long to grip me, the world is vivid but also are the characters. Ruthless characters with ambition, impulsive and self-interested spirits, equally unpredictable and demanding. No one is afraid to give you their unsolicited opinion. The Raven Scholar is effortlessly hilarious, full of sass, wit and a wild ride from start to finish. I absolutely adored this, I am so happy to be back in my epic fantasy era!
The Raven Scholar is out on the 29/4/25 (ebook/audio 17/4/25)
Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
4.5
Heather Fawcett has created a world so vivid and enjoyable to inhabit, I love the madcap and lively characters she has created and I wish this book series was a lot longer. I cannot comment on the plot as this is the third book, there was one point that I thought Fawcett had lost me but I definitely swung around well in time for the end. I do find myself skipping footnotes which never seemed detrimental. I wish we had more, I’ve got a never-ending tbr but all I want is to reread the series again.
Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley
5.0
Thank you to Text Publishing for sending us an uncorrected proof of Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley
What happens after the meet cute, the happily ever after and all the life goals are ticked off? This seems to the pondering question. Consider Yourself Kissed takes place in London over a decade, amongst the turmoil of Brexit and Covid. Coralie is plodding along her life path, meeting Adam and his daughter Zora and falling into building a home for them all and her growing family. Amid sacrifice, building a life and grounding everyone else, Coralie is left adrift.
Division and splitting yourself into many parts is a running theme, a blended family, an Australian living in London, political and physical isolation during Covid. This world is contemporary enough to be recognisable but long enough ago it hasn’t been in the forefront of my mind for a while. Jessica Stanley was able to create connection to place vividly and built characters who felt entirely real. This is a book where I feel like many people will see themselves within Consider Yourself Kissed. What I have said about this novel makes it sound so pessimistic but there is something empowering about what this book has to say about choosing your path and the messiness of an imperfect but happy life.
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
2.5
After I read If We Were Villains I considered M L Rio to be an autobuy author for me. Graveyard shift is a novella about a group of unlikely friends who cross paths during the early hours of the morning. A strange event occurs and the group commit themselves over the evening to solve the mystery.
I love the concept of this book and I was keen for a self contained mystery being solved by people who consider themselves strange bedfellows. I loved the atmospheric writing and the creepy vibes. However I found this book to be immensely unsatisfying, I feel like if it was rounded out to be a full length novel I would feel differently. It started out as a great palate cleanser for me but ultimately fell short. 2.5 stars
Mother Tongue by Naima Brown
4.0
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.
Brynn is a suburban mother restricted by duty and routine until a fall leaves her in a coma. She wakes up self-assured, self-realised and speaking fluent French. Brynn’s new personality has an immense impact on the circle of people around her. Brynn’s husband Eric, now without a submissive housewife, his objectification of women manifests quite literally. Jenny, their daughter, struggling without routine and attention. And lastly Lisa, Brynn’s best friend, who sees an opening for a life that she has always wanted.
This book is darkly comedic and as it progresses becomes bizarre and uncanny. The events are absolutely unhinged but the tone of this book justifies the characters’ actions in a matter-of-fact way. This novel is unpredictable, I feel like it expertly toed the line between taking it too far and taking it just far enough. No character was a caricature, I feel like Lisa’s and Eric’s perspectives add a lot to this story which left me with a lot of complex feelings. As the novel drew to a close, I became increasingly puzzled but pleasantly so. Inquisitive, eccentric and sharp, this book is about motherhood, grabbing life with both hands and the consequences of acting in your own self interests to the people around you, this book will stay with me for a long time.
Brynn is a suburban mother restricted by duty and routine until a fall leaves her in a coma. She wakes up self-assured, self-realised and speaking fluent French. Brynn’s new personality has an immense impact on the circle of people around her. Brynn’s husband Eric, now without a submissive housewife, his objectification of women manifests quite literally. Jenny, their daughter, struggling without routine and attention. And lastly Lisa, Brynn’s best friend, who sees an opening for a life that she has always wanted.
This book is darkly comedic and as it progresses becomes bizarre and uncanny. The events are absolutely unhinged but the tone of this book justifies the characters’ actions in a matter-of-fact way. This novel is unpredictable, I feel like it expertly toed the line between taking it too far and taking it just far enough. No character was a caricature, I feel like Lisa’s and Eric’s perspectives add a lot to this story which left me with a lot of complex feelings. As the novel drew to a close, I became increasingly puzzled but pleasantly so. Inquisitive, eccentric and sharp, this book is about motherhood, grabbing life with both hands and the consequences of acting in your own self interests to the people around you, this book will stay with me for a long time.
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
4.0
Suzanne Collins has an effortlessly readable writing style which really captivated my interest. It is a tricky thing to try and get people to become invested when they know the outcome of the story already, I found myself trying unconsciously put up a mental block at times to stop myself becoming too attached but that honestly did not work. I still found myself connecting to the characters and the story and felt like I have been punched in the chest. The parallels and callbacks in this story were a nice touch as well. After I finished A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes I thought I would never continue this series but I'm so glad I picked up this book, this story in the Hunger Games canon was definitely worth telling.
Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson
2.25
I am a woman in STEM and I greatly appreciate the women who have paved the way for me so I was able to study medical radiation science and work as a nuclear medicine scientist with little obstruction. So I was immediately intrigued by this play as I do enjoy works that celebrate women in science. A historical adaptation should not be a documentary but there were multiple aspects which I did not vibe with. Henrietta Leavitt is portrayed as deaf and wears a historic hearing aid for the time as she was in real life. However, her colleague Annie Cannon who is also a character in this play is portrayed as hearing when she was also deaf. I just do not understand why you would make that choice as a playwright? How bizarre.
There was also a sense of contention between science and religion whereas Leavitt was a devote Christian her entire life, I do understand that by not placing Earth in the centre of the universe and finding out how vast the universe actually is had a huge impact of society at the time but it seems odd to portray Leavitt this way when it seemed to be a huge part of her identity.
There was a romantic subplot added with a fictional character named Peter Shaw. His presence seemed to reflect the male opinion of women at the time but why did he have to become romantically interested in the protagonist? An odd move indeed to add such focus to something to a story about a woman who seemed to want to be just LEFT ALONE to focus on astronomy and to be taken seriously as a scientist.
Besides from opening with all the issues I had with the script, the dialogue is engaging, the dynamics and interactions between the individuals leap off the page so this would translate well to the stage. The script gives great scope to the potential for staging and creative set and lighting design.
I am all for championing women in science and I love to see historical feminist plays. As a real person in history I feel like Henrietta Leavitt deserves an accurate representation in a work that is described as a true story.
Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
4.0
The back of this book says for fans of One Day x Daisy Jones and the Six x Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and this is entirely correct. A messy messy MESSY novel about coming of age, falling in and out of love and finding your identity in early 2000s. I loved unflinching, unapologetic and opinionated Percy, hungry for experiences and life. Holly Brickley really captured the pretentiousness of passionate uni students in a way that was amusing and not unbearable. This book is a love letter to artistic relationships, coming of age, making mistakes and to the music of the early 2000s. It made me feel nostalgic to the music of that era and a time gone by. I found myself at the end of this book not satisfied. It may have been entirely the point. Nevertheless, this is a superb debut and definitely worth checking out.
Thank you to Lizzie from Harper Collins for my gifted copy