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libbysbookshelf's Reviews (745)
MAUD MARTHA by GWENDOLYN BROOKS
A classic, published in the U.K. for the first time in years (or maybe ever?).
Brooks is a poet and it shows in her beautiful prose. The novella follows Maud Martha from childhood to adulthood. She’s a Black woman living on the south side of Chicago in the 1940s, so of course this novel incorporates her experiences with racism and sexism and the intersectionality of the two.
I always felt deeply for Maud Martha while reading this. I was rooting for her in everything she did.
I highly recommend this novel.
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A classic, published in the U.K. for the first time in years (or maybe ever?).
Brooks is a poet and it shows in her beautiful prose. The novella follows Maud Martha from childhood to adulthood. She’s a Black woman living on the south side of Chicago in the 1940s, so of course this novel incorporates her experiences with racism and sexism and the intersectionality of the two.
I always felt deeply for Maud Martha while reading this. I was rooting for her in everything she did.
I highly recommend this novel.
#book #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookreviewers #bookreaders
OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA by JULIA ARMFIELD
I love everything about this book: I love the cover, I love the title, I love the characters, I love the plot, I love the structure, I love the setting.
It’s dark and scary and it’s beautiful and romantic.
I was worried that it had been so hyped, but I understand the hype now. I really really do.
It reminded me a little bit of Mrs Caliban, but only a little.
Gah, I love this book so much! Just looking at the cover makes me happy.
#book #ourwivesunderthesea #juliaarmfield #bookstagramuk #bookstagram #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
I love everything about this book: I love the cover, I love the title, I love the characters, I love the plot, I love the structure, I love the setting.
It’s dark and scary and it’s beautiful and romantic.
I was worried that it had been so hyped, but I understand the hype now. I really really do.
It reminded me a little bit of Mrs Caliban, but only a little.
Gah, I love this book so much! Just looking at the cover makes me happy.
#book #ourwivesunderthesea #juliaarmfield #bookstagramuk #bookstagram #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
BOX HILL by ADAM MARS-JONES
I kicked off my #pride reading with a @fitzcarraldoeditions that I’ve wanted to read for a while.
It follows an 18 year-old boy who accidentally trips over the legs of a handsome biker and ends up having a rather erotic experience!
The novel then goes on to detail the years that follow as the two embark on one of the strangest relationship journeys I’ve ever read about!
I was aware as I was reading this book that I wasn’t in love with it, but something kept me reading until I found I’d read the whole thing in one go. It’s compelling, thus well-written, but it was also kind of a wild ride!
Read it and talk to me about it please!
#book #bookstagram #pridemonth #pagesofpride #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrelease #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
I kicked off my #pride reading with a @fitzcarraldoeditions that I’ve wanted to read for a while.
It follows an 18 year-old boy who accidentally trips over the legs of a handsome biker and ends up having a rather erotic experience!
The novel then goes on to detail the years that follow as the two embark on one of the strangest relationship journeys I’ve ever read about!
I was aware as I was reading this book that I wasn’t in love with it, but something kept me reading until I found I’d read the whole thing in one go. It’s compelling, thus well-written, but it was also kind of a wild ride!
Read it and talk to me about it please!
#book #bookstagram #pridemonth #pagesofpride #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrelease #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
LEARWIFE by J R THORP
Based on the absent wife from Shakespeare’s King Lear, this novel picks up where the bard left off. Lear’s wife has been banished to a nunnery (‘get thee to a nunnery!’ Hamlet) and has just learnt the news of her husband and daughters’ deaths. She is desperate to leave the abbey to find their graves and mourn them properly, but there are many obstacles to overcome first…
The language in this novel is enough to make Shakespeare smile. At times, I felt I could have been reading something written four hundred years ago.
For me, this was a slow novel, so I took my time with it. And I’m glad that I did. It’s too special to be rushed.
For the review that renewed my excitement in this book check out @footnotes.and.tangents and also @bookwormellie
#book #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookreviewers #bookreaders #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #learwife #jrthorp
Based on the absent wife from Shakespeare’s King Lear, this novel picks up where the bard left off. Lear’s wife has been banished to a nunnery (‘get thee to a nunnery!’ Hamlet) and has just learnt the news of her husband and daughters’ deaths. She is desperate to leave the abbey to find their graves and mourn them properly, but there are many obstacles to overcome first…
The language in this novel is enough to make Shakespeare smile. At times, I felt I could have been reading something written four hundred years ago.
For me, this was a slow novel, so I took my time with it. And I’m glad that I did. It’s too special to be rushed.
For the review that renewed my excitement in this book check out @footnotes.and.tangents and also @bookwormellie
#book #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookreviewers #bookreaders #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #learwife #jrthorp
MONA by POLA OLIOXARAC
Translated from Spanish, this novel follows a South American writer at a literary festival in Sweden, where she is waiting to see who will win the prestigious prize.
Over the course of a few days, Mona observes as other writers give talks and speeches. With a witty Cuskian style, she comments on each of the writers after listening to them speak.
Mona is also drug addled, and covered in bruises, but she can’t remember where she sustain the injury. Of course, a reliable narrator this does not make, so there’s nothing left for the reader to do but sit back and enjoy the wild ride.
I absolutely loved this book. It felt a bit like other South American literary I’ve loved, such as Die, My Love and Fever Dream, but there were also elements of Rachel Cusk and another writer whose name I’ve now forgotten…
Anyway, loved loved loved.
#book #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer
Translated from Spanish, this novel follows a South American writer at a literary festival in Sweden, where she is waiting to see who will win the prestigious prize.
Over the course of a few days, Mona observes as other writers give talks and speeches. With a witty Cuskian style, she comments on each of the writers after listening to them speak.
Mona is also drug addled, and covered in bruises, but she can’t remember where she sustain the injury. Of course, a reliable narrator this does not make, so there’s nothing left for the reader to do but sit back and enjoy the wild ride.
I absolutely loved this book. It felt a bit like other South American literary I’ve loved, such as Die, My Love and Fever Dream, but there were also elements of Rachel Cusk and another writer whose name I’ve now forgotten…
Anyway, loved loved loved.
#book #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer
THE HOUSE WITH THE GOLDEN DOOR by ELODIE HARPER
You probably know that this is not my usual genre, although I do love historical fiction. However, The Wolf Den ended up being one of my favourite books of last year and the Golden Door was one of my most anticipated this year.
Golden Door was another excellent example of historical fiction set in ancient Pompeii. I won’t detail the plot because it gives spoilers for the first instalment. I love the setting, and the intrigue and tension were high once again. However, this novel did not include that all important element; a believable love story. I could not get behind the two lovers; I did not believe their passion or commitment to one another and that put a dampener on things for me.
One thing I will praise Elodie Harper for is her ability to deliver an uncompromising heroine who carries the story on her shoulders. I love Amara forever.
I can’t wait for the third in the trilogy and I’m hoping I’ll be more gripped by the love story element of the next book; lord knows Harper writes sexual desire brilliantly, so I wonder why it was missing in the central relationship…
#book #bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
You probably know that this is not my usual genre, although I do love historical fiction. However, The Wolf Den ended up being one of my favourite books of last year and the Golden Door was one of my most anticipated this year.
Golden Door was another excellent example of historical fiction set in ancient Pompeii. I won’t detail the plot because it gives spoilers for the first instalment. I love the setting, and the intrigue and tension were high once again. However, this novel did not include that all important element; a believable love story. I could not get behind the two lovers; I did not believe their passion or commitment to one another and that put a dampener on things for me.
One thing I will praise Elodie Harper for is her ability to deliver an uncompromising heroine who carries the story on her shoulders. I love Amara forever.
I can’t wait for the third in the trilogy and I’m hoping I’ll be more gripped by the love story element of the next book; lord knows Harper writes sexual desire brilliantly, so I wonder why it was missing in the central relationship…
#book #bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
THE DIVINES by ELLIE EATON
If you love your dark academia in the form of rich and bitchy young girls at boarding school, then this is for you.
If you enjoyed Prep or My Dark Vanessa or Oligarchy, then this is for you.
This novel features the protagonist reflecting on her time at an elite boarding school twenty years later. The narrative switches between past and present tense and, as my super gorgeous and intelligent friend @junejulybythevalley pointed out, it would have worked as two separate novels. Sometimes I did wish we could just stay in the past the whole way through the novel.
Anyway, I adored this! There’s just something about reading boarding school books, isn’t there?
#book #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreadersofinstagram #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram #thedivines #ellieeaton
If you love your dark academia in the form of rich and bitchy young girls at boarding school, then this is for you.
If you enjoyed Prep or My Dark Vanessa or Oligarchy, then this is for you.
This novel features the protagonist reflecting on her time at an elite boarding school twenty years later. The narrative switches between past and present tense and, as my super gorgeous and intelligent friend @junejulybythevalley pointed out, it would have worked as two separate novels. Sometimes I did wish we could just stay in the past the whole way through the novel.
Anyway, I adored this! There’s just something about reading boarding school books, isn’t there?
#book #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreadersofinstagram #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram #thedivines #ellieeaton
THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL AND NEV by DAWNIE WALTON
This is the book I wish I had read instead of Daisy Jones and the Six, not because I didn’t enjoy Daisy Jones, but because it made it difficult for me to read this without feeling like I’d read it before. And I felt a little tired of the concept. I hope I will meet Opal and Nev again one day in the future and feel differently about them, but for now this was not for me. I really wish I had liked it more.
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This is the book I wish I had read instead of Daisy Jones and the Six, not because I didn’t enjoy Daisy Jones, but because it made it difficult for me to read this without feeling like I’d read it before. And I felt a little tired of the concept. I hope I will meet Opal and Nev again one day in the future and feel differently about them, but for now this was not for me. I really wish I had liked it more.
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RUTH AND PEN by EMILIE PINE
First of all, I adore the cover of this book. That shade of yellow is my favourite and I really like the photo. Secondly, I owe a huge thanks to @vikingbooksuk for sending me a finished copy of this highly anticipated book. And thirdly, my review:
This book follows two different perspectives; Ruth’s and Pen’s. One is a therapist struggling with her marriage and the other is a young teenager struggling to understand the world around her — normal teenager stuff — and she’s also autistic.
What sold me on the premise of this book, though, is that it was set over the course of one day. I love that — it makes everything incredibly fast paced and there’s no way you can read a book like this slowly.
I struggled with some of the themes, which I won’t mention for fear of spoilers, but I’ll tell you if you message me (they also count as trigger warnings). When I say I struggled, I mean it’s not something I’d choose to read about, however, I somehow still enjoyed this book.
I think I found the ending a little odd and I struggled to understand how I was meant to feel. Was there a point to it? Did there need to be a point to it? Was it just meant to be a day in a life and that’s it? Did I miss something?
Despite all my lingering questions, or maybe because of them, I’d still rate this book.
If you’ve read it and written a review, let me know because I’d love to read it.
AD - PR
#book #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrec #bookreaders #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram #booklover #bookphotography #yellowbook
First of all, I adore the cover of this book. That shade of yellow is my favourite and I really like the photo. Secondly, I owe a huge thanks to @vikingbooksuk for sending me a finished copy of this highly anticipated book. And thirdly, my review:
This book follows two different perspectives; Ruth’s and Pen’s. One is a therapist struggling with her marriage and the other is a young teenager struggling to understand the world around her — normal teenager stuff — and she’s also autistic.
What sold me on the premise of this book, though, is that it was set over the course of one day. I love that — it makes everything incredibly fast paced and there’s no way you can read a book like this slowly.
I struggled with some of the themes, which I won’t mention for fear of spoilers, but I’ll tell you if you message me (they also count as trigger warnings). When I say I struggled, I mean it’s not something I’d choose to read about, however, I somehow still enjoyed this book.
I think I found the ending a little odd and I struggled to understand how I was meant to feel. Was there a point to it? Did there need to be a point to it? Was it just meant to be a day in a life and that’s it? Did I miss something?
Despite all my lingering questions, or maybe because of them, I’d still rate this book.
If you’ve read it and written a review, let me know because I’d love to read it.
AD - PR
#book #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrec #bookreaders #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram #booklover #bookphotography #yellowbook
THE BREAD THE DEVIL KNEAD by LISA ALLEN AGOSTINI
Although this book is largely about a woman overcoming trauma from years of domestic abuse, it still manages to be full of light and fun and hope. The main character is one of the strongest women I’ve ever had the pleasure to read of. She is fashionable and sexy and intelligent, and so so loving. It’s heartbreaking to see her confine herself in a small box because abuse had made her feel like that’s all she deserves, but it’s so beautiful to watch her tale unfold and see how to grows and learns to love herself.
I haven’t read all of the books on the @womensprize shortlist, but this one is my favourite to win at the moment. Although, I kinda don’t think that it will because the themes are extremely triggering.
Did you love/like/meh/hate this book?
#book #thebreadthedevilknead #turnaroundbooks @turnaround_books ad pr #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagramreadsthewomensprize #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
Although this book is largely about a woman overcoming trauma from years of domestic abuse, it still manages to be full of light and fun and hope. The main character is one of the strongest women I’ve ever had the pleasure to read of. She is fashionable and sexy and intelligent, and so so loving. It’s heartbreaking to see her confine herself in a small box because abuse had made her feel like that’s all she deserves, but it’s so beautiful to watch her tale unfold and see how to grows and learns to love herself.
I haven’t read all of the books on the @womensprize shortlist, but this one is my favourite to win at the moment. Although, I kinda don’t think that it will because the themes are extremely triggering.
Did you love/like/meh/hate this book?
#book #thebreadthedevilknead #turnaroundbooks @turnaround_books ad pr #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagramreadsthewomensprize #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram