georgiasbookescapes's reviews
421 reviews

Imagine Me and You by Lynn Camden
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.

This book has all the right markings for a great easy light romance - forced proximity, friends to lovers, but the writing needs more help. Lots of scenes occurred without warning and it was just too annoying to complete. Honestly with some editing support this could easily have been a favourite! 

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Rachel is living in London these days. And yet she is still sometimes known as the student who allegedly had an affair with Professor Fred Byrne when she lived in Cork, even if she never did sleep with him. This book is about what really happened. This book is about many things. It’s about two best friends, Rachel and James living in Cork during Rachel’s uni days in their early 20s, trying to gain an English Degree during the 2000s recession and later abortion rights for Ireland. 

If you want to delve into a story that reminds you perfectly of your uni days, this book is perfect. I was a little slow in the first chapter to figure out the story to come, but I absolutely adored this book! I felt like I was best friends myself with Rachel and James as though I was living with them in Cork. Beautifully written, it has that flavour of Sally Rooney’s Conversations With Friends with two young people becoming friends with people in an older stage of their life living in Ireland, fear not if you’re not a Rooney fan - the writing and story is still distinctly its own. For Rooney fans - it has that same beautiful feeling of being in your 20s in Ireland.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Patheon, Vintage and Anchor Publishing for this ARC!

Right Behind You by Gail Giles

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

When Kip McFarlane was 9 years old he set 7 year old Bobby Clarke on fire. Kip gets a second chance in life after spending time in a facility. But do second chances really work? Why did he set Bobby Clarke on fire? Can you ever change who you are? Can you be trusted again? 

This is a YA book that I loved when I was a teenager 15 years ago. And reading it in tandem with The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog by Dr Bruce Perry as coincidental timing made it all the more interesting in some ways. I don’t think the Right Behind You is accurate or revolutionary and some of the language is most definitely out dated. But I actually kind of loved it once again? Maybe there’s just something about second chances that I’m just a sucker for if there’s a redemption arc. Who knows. Either way. Loved it as a teen, loved it again in a different way I suspect as an adult.

TW: cruelty and death of animals, murder 

The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook by Bruce D. Perry

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog is a well known book by Dr Perry, and for good reason. It looks into different traumas experienced by children and what they taught Dr Perry about loss, love and healing despite their traumatic events. Dr Perry explains different highly traumatic stories but from there, what he learned about how these traumatic experiences can affect the brain and reactions and how we can learn to support people through these traumas. I purchased the revised edition with further notes by Dr Perry 10 years after the initial publication where he shares embarrassment at some of reported feelings he notes in the initial stories. By doing this Dr Perry shows the need to recognise the importance of growth and how our understanding of best responses and understanding what is occurring is ever evolving. This book was extremely informative to me. 

I cannot stress enough how traumatic some of these stories shared are - child abuse, attempted murder, witnessed murder, children murdering others. So if you decide you want to read it please do, but also take care of yourself whilst you do. 💕

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

La Cirque des Réves appears suddenly at night. It disappears much like it appears - without being seen. Inside a battle is taking place between two magicians. Celia and Marco are bound to this battle and the fate of the circus and all those involved are at stake. But love increases the stakes higher than ever anticipated.

I devoured the first half of this book, but found it dragging for me by the second half. The chapters flip timelines regularly and which character you are learning from the story. I think the thing that lacked for me most by the end was the magical realism maybe? Overall I enjoyed it and glad to have given something different from my normal a go!

Funny Guy by Emma Barry

emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Sam is a famous comedian, famously known for being hilarious and an asshole. He and Bree have been best friends since they were kids living in a small town with bad family lives waiting to get out. They successfully did. They’ve relied on each other all their lives including when Sam becomes famous once again for his break up with the latest hot celebrity and finds himself on Bree’s couch once again. 

A cute rom com, close proximity, if that’s your thing then this is for you! The relationship where they lean on each other is very sweet and after initially not liking Sam in the first couple pages, he certainly won me over by the end. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Publishing for this ARC! 

Madness: a Memoir by Kate Richards

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

Kate Richards has lived experience with psychosis episodes and documents this throughout her memoir of around a 20 year period of not only working in the medical field, but rather being treated in the psychiatric medical field. Sharing personal experiences of what psychosis felt to her, self-harm incidents, and finding the right supports professionally and more importantly socially to help her navigate finding a balance to managing her mental health.

Personal, raw and full of stories, this is a memoir that I believe will stick with me for a while. 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

A young boy lives with his family. As time progresses and money gets tighter, they begin to rent out his room for money. One of these people ends up suiciding on a neighbouring property where the ocean sits at the end of the lane. This is where the young boy meets Lettie a young girl his age who has much to help him learn about. As the story progresses magical realism begins being interwoven throughout the story. 

This was a book club pick for me and unfortunately did not hit the mark for me. I can see why Gaiman is popular if you primarily enjoy magical realism. But I kept questioning personally what no was going on and just never felt caught up in the story. The writing is lyrical and the illustrations are incredible. But unfortunately it was just a miss for me. 

Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Stevie and Nora have been in love for two years. Except… after an accident Stevie has no memory of the last two years and her secret relationship with Nora. Can time and chance bring them back together? Is that even possible in a small Catholic Christian American town? 

Ooft! This book is beautiful! Hit me in the feels! A beautiful love story of two young girls and a second chance together! I was slow to get through this to start with a busy schedule by the last 2/3rds I read in about two sittings 🤪 if you’re looking for your next queer YA romance to tear your heart apart and then put it back together… look no further 😎

Sister Girl: Reflections on Tiddaism, Identity and Reconciliation by Jackie Huggins

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Dr Jackie Huggins is a member of the Bidjara and Birri Gubba Juru people’s and her book shares several essays and speeches she’s written from 1987 to 2021. Each were clearly hand selected for this book. Looking at topics of the effects on colonisation, about her family, her mother, the lack of change that came from events such as the 1967 Referendum and unless you have asked for permission… don’t call Dr Huggins Aunty. Dr Huggins has provided numerous educational pieces to learn from and I could not recommend it more