karteabooks's reviews
526 reviews

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

4.0

 

Thank you to the lovely @bookfacejames for this book, again, I really wish I’d picked this up sooner. 

Set in early 1980s Poland against the violent decline of communism, a tender and passionate story of first love between two young men who eventually find themselves on opposite sides of the political divide—a stunningly poetic and heartrending literary debut. 

This beautifully written book is informative and emotional. I was enraptured from the first page. It was a tearjerker at times. I really become emersed in this book and felt a connection with the characters and I really felt for them with the harsh realities that they had to face in 1980’s Poland, where they could not express themselves as freely as people can now. I really wanted a happy ending, but I kind of knew that was wishful thinking. 

Tomasz Jedrowski is an exceptionally talented storyteller. 

This was such a short book that packed such an amazing punch, this was queer historical fiction at its finest. As heart-breaking as this book was to read, I found myself wanting more, thinking 191 pages was not nearly enough! 

The Poet by Louisa Reid

5.0

 

So, I was lucky enough to not only meet the author at Tasting Notes Live in April 2022, I was also lucky enough to get a proof copy of her 2nd free verse novel. Again, another book that I should have read sooner… 

What an amazing book! I was completely blown away by this, an even now, writing this a few days after finishing the book, I am still thinking about both Emma and Tom… 

Emma is in a relationship with her old University lecturer Tom, initially it was full of passion and love, but it has now turned sour, and Emma is beginning to see Tom for his true self. 

Titled The Poet, yes, it is poetry, but not necessarily as you might always assume... it tells a whole story which, I admit, I read as more of a novel, but that is just my way of thinking, others will disagree. 

I highly recommend this but be aware that certain parts could be a bit of a trigger as Emma is emotionally and mentally abused and begins to doubt herself in so many ways. Thankfully though, she comes to a realisation and maybe all is not lost after all. 

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

5.0

 

 I was lucky enough to receive a proof copy of this from the lovely @alisonisreading at @doubledayukbooks. 

For anyone who's ever lost a friend or had one. Get ready to laugh through your tears. 

This is a deeply moving and poignant story of a beautiful friendship between 2 women. Edi is suffering and is given the news that no one is prepared to hear and there in lies the premise of the book and we are taking on Edi and Ashley’s journey until the inevitable happens. 

The book is told from Ashley’s point of view and at times it is not an easy read, but despite this you find yourself wanting to read more to see what adventures and requests Edi has in her last few eventful days in the hospice. 

This is a bittersweet book, because even though you know the outcome from the very first page, the author manages to make the book a thoughtful and considered book about the process of death and bereavement. The irony of Ashley’s reawakening as Edi’s life ebbed away was a nice touch too. 

Highly recommend, I would just check the trigger warnings for this book if they might affect you. 

Magpie by Elizabeth Day

4.0

 

How many reviews this year have I started with; this had been on my tbr for a while…. well, you guessed it, this is another one of those! I SO wish that I had listened to other reviewers and picked this up MUCH sooner. This is the first book that I have read by this author, but I have now purchase ‘The Party’ and am hoping to read that soon 

This fast-paced twisty, didn’t see that coming, intense book is a proper page turner and a clear your diary kind of book. I was completely drawn in by the characters by the end of the first chapter and I couldn’t put it down and read it in a day!
 
 Overall, this is a very polished, clever, domestic noir/psychological thriller from the talented Elizabeth Day. If you like a read with twists and a multitude of emotions, you may enjoy this one! 

A thrilling read, although if I’m completely honest, I did find the ending a bit too ‘perfect’. Maybe after the thrill of the chase and what unfolds between the characters, I was maybe hoping for a little bit more of a different ending. 

I highly recommend it to thriller lovers who like to read something heart pounding, addictive and unputdownable!  No spoilers, but I didn’t see the twist coming at all, and I may have actually thrown the book across the sofa at this point… 

A perfect book for a damp autumn day with a nice cup of tea and a blanket 

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

4.0

 

This was book number 3 for me  from the Booker longlist, as I was on a ‘let’s read the Booker list’ vibe at the time, and so far, this is definitely my favourite. 

I know that lots of reviewers are unsure about this book, be it the genre and issues that are written about, or that the author is the youngest Booker entry this year, she was just 17 when she wrote this. But each reader and reviewer are entitled to their opinion, and I completely understand, but for me this is another book this year that has left me dumb founded and unusually without words to describe this book. 

Leila Mottley began writing this story when she was 17 years old. When she was a young teenager in Oakland, there was a 2015 court case in which the Oakland Police Department was accused of sexually exploiting a teenager and then covering it up. Mottley, in her author’s notes, states that Kiara is pure fiction, Kiara’s life is nonfiction. Mottley shows how it begins, how the victims have little or no choices. She used the research she completed on the 2015 court case along with numerous, lesser known, cases for this story. 

After a debut like this, I can’t wait to read more from this author. Yes, this is a tough read as it is full of raw honesty and is both shocking and heart-breaking at the same time. It deals head on with the mouth-to-mouth existence that so many people must endure on a daily basis. Sadly, it also reveals the corruption of the justice system and how people do this for their own gain without any morals or thought for others. I enjoyed the ending as it gave us an inkling that there could be hope, after all. 

To Everything a Season: A View from the Fen by Charles Moseley

 

This was a classic, I saw this in a book shop, and I just had to buy it! After reading the blurb on this book, I just knew that I had to read it. Having grown up in the Cambridgeshire Fens, which is the setting for this book, I wanted to relive some of my childhood through the eyes and words of a Cambridge professor. 

The author writes about his life in the small village of Reach in the edge of the Fens near Cambridge, and his recollections of the past sixty years of living there are so well written. It is easy to spot that he is a Cambridge don, but at the same time still reminiscent of his roots. 

This book was written in a flowing, easy to read and engaging style and I really felt part of the small community, particularly when he described how the community came together in times of isolation and need. 

 His love of the English language shown through in this book, as strongly as his love of the Fens and its people. Truly, a delight. 

After reading this book, we even took a detour on a family bike ride to visit the village of Reach, where this book is predominantly set. 

Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North by Rachel Joyce

fast-paced

5.0

 The third in a trilogy of books based around Harold Fry and his adventures. This time it is Maureen, Harold’s wife’s turn to tell us her story, and a unique story this is. 

 

As in the title, Maureen herself heads north, for her own reasons, hopefully looking for closure and in true Fry style, her adventures don’t quite go to plan. this is a book of life affirming hope and that there is help sometimes in the most unlikely of places. 

 

Written with humour, but just like her other books, you will find yourself laughing tears of joy and sorrow whilst still on the same page! 

Thank you to Alison, @alison_is_reading for the early proof copy of this amazing book. 

Love Untold by Ruth Jones

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

 

Having read her previous novel, Never Greener, I jumped at the chance when I was invited to read this book on Netgalley. 

 

Grace is about to turn ninety. She doesn't want parties or presents or fuss. She just wants to heal the family rift that's been breaking her heart for decades.
 
 But to do that she must find her daughter Alys - the only person who can help to put things right.
 
 And when she finds her - if she does - she risks betraying granddaughter Elin. Who is far less forgiving of the past, with its hurts and secrets and lies. Meanwhile Grace's great-grand-daughter Beca is oblivious to all these worries, too busy navigating the highs and lows of teenage life and keeping secrets of her own.
 
All families have their problems. And most of them get resolved. But Grace's problem is thirty years old. And she doesn't have time on her side.
 
So is it too late for her to make peace? Or is reconciliation still within reach? 

 

What an amazing book, about several generations of women in the same family, who through love, family and truly believing that if you set yourself a goal, with the love and support of those around you, you really can achieve anything. 

 

There were lots of brilliant characters, but I think Soozi was my favourite and I completely read her with Nessa’s voice. 

Treacle Walker by Alan Garner

2.0

The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem by Amanda Gorman, Oprah Winfrey

 

The inaugural poem that was read at President Biden’s inauguration that I watched live on 20 January 2021, as some of us ‘had to stay at home’ so I brought the hardback book of the poem as a kind of memento to that day, when a black woman read her own poem in front of millions of people and it kind of felt like history had been made.. fast forward a year and a half to August 2022 and boy, how things have certainly changed and not at all for the better.