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poppysreads's reviews
113 reviews
The Asylum by Karen Coles
It’s 1906, and Maud Lovell has been at Angelton Lunatic Asylum for five years. She has no memory of how she got there, has been told she is violent and is not even allowed to go outside. The book begins with a new doctor arriving, Dr Dimmond, who tries a more modern approach to his practice, involving hypnosis. Slowly, memories begin to resurface and Maud finds them painful to recall.
This really didn’t read like a debut novel to me. It was engaging, haunting, and unique in its style and storyline. It was intriguing to unveil the character of Maud as I read, and to uncover her past alongside her. As she had no memories and didn’t know who she was, it was enjoyable to learn this information as she does, through flashbacks. I haven’t come across this technique very often in books, but for a debut novel I thought Karen Coles executed this brilliantly.
I thought that the structure of the story was very original and interesting, and this made it all the more gripping. It almost sets the scene and then you have to read on to discover the backdrop, and the circumstances that led to Maud’s current predicament. This made it difficult to put the book down because I wanted to find out how Maud had ended up in this situation!
Overall I would really recommend this book if you enjoy thrilling, haunting tales with interesting characters and ‘things are not what they seem’ type storylines.
Thank you to NetGalley, Welbeck Publishing and Karen Coles for this ARC in exchange for an honest review, it’s been a pleasure reading it.
This really didn’t read like a debut novel to me. It was engaging, haunting, and unique in its style and storyline. It was intriguing to unveil the character of Maud as I read, and to uncover her past alongside her. As she had no memories and didn’t know who she was, it was enjoyable to learn this information as she does, through flashbacks. I haven’t come across this technique very often in books, but for a debut novel I thought Karen Coles executed this brilliantly.
I thought that the structure of the story was very original and interesting, and this made it all the more gripping. It almost sets the scene and then you have to read on to discover the backdrop, and the circumstances that led to Maud’s current predicament. This made it difficult to put the book down because I wanted to find out how Maud had ended up in this situation!
Overall I would really recommend this book if you enjoy thrilling, haunting tales with interesting characters and ‘things are not what they seem’ type storylines.
Thank you to NetGalley, Welbeck Publishing and Karen Coles for this ARC in exchange for an honest review, it’s been a pleasure reading it.
Another Life by Jodie Chapman
5.0
Another Life tells the story of Nick and Anna, a pair of star-crossed lovers, who meet when they are young working in the local cinema. They have an intense summer romance, and fall deeply in love. But life gets in the way, and years later tragedy brings Anna back into Nick’s life.
This is a tale of grief, loss, and trauma, yet also one of hope and love. I couldn’t put this book down once I started it, and I love the way Jodie Chapman manages to make the story so heartbreakingly relatable in her writing and dialogue. This did remind me a lot of Sally Rooney’s books, in the way that the characters don’t directly tell each other how they’re truly feeling. This is reminiscent of probably every modern romantic pursuit and I empathised painfully with both characters.
The story was beautifully emotive, the characters had depth and complex backstories, and the structure of the book was unique yet easy to follow. Overall, I absolutely loved this book and will be recommending it to all my friends!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review, I’ve really enjoyed reading it.
This is a tale of grief, loss, and trauma, yet also one of hope and love. I couldn’t put this book down once I started it, and I love the way Jodie Chapman manages to make the story so heartbreakingly relatable in her writing and dialogue. This did remind me a lot of Sally Rooney’s books, in the way that the characters don’t directly tell each other how they’re truly feeling. This is reminiscent of probably every modern romantic pursuit and I empathised painfully with both characters.
The story was beautifully emotive, the characters had depth and complex backstories, and the structure of the book was unique yet easy to follow. Overall, I absolutely loved this book and will be recommending it to all my friends!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review, I’ve really enjoyed reading it.
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
5.0
TW: sexual abuse, child abuse, rape, manipulation, paedophilia, grooming, suicide
This was one of my favourite books so far this year. It tells the story of Vanessa Wye, who at 15 years old develops a relationship with her English teacher Mr Strane, when she begins boarding school in the year 2000. The story shifts between the past events and the year 2017, where Vanessa is 32. In the midst of the ‘Me, Too’ movement there have been further accusations against Mr Strane, and Vanessa is forced to think about the relationship in a different way. She is faced with a difficult choice, of whether to remain silent or to redefine her life history and with that, herself.
I thought that the author did an incredible job of making this fictional story feel real. Unfortunately this may be because the events were actually inspired by real events that occurred in the author’s life, and this would explain why at times when reading I forgot that Vanessa was not a real person. The perspective was also a really interesting one, as Vanessa is something of an unreliable narrator. However unlike in Lolita where Humbert Humbert is the perpetrator, Vanessa is the victim and is unreliable in the ways in which she psychologically rationalises the abuse and manipulation she has experienced.
The book brings to light some really important issues relating to privacy around sexual abuse and psychological trauma. It also shows the huge impact that this sort of manipulation can have on a person’s life. I think it’s a really important read, but definitely not for people triggered by any of the issues mentioned at the top of this review.
This was one of my favourite books so far this year. It tells the story of Vanessa Wye, who at 15 years old develops a relationship with her English teacher Mr Strane, when she begins boarding school in the year 2000. The story shifts between the past events and the year 2017, where Vanessa is 32. In the midst of the ‘Me, Too’ movement there have been further accusations against Mr Strane, and Vanessa is forced to think about the relationship in a different way. She is faced with a difficult choice, of whether to remain silent or to redefine her life history and with that, herself.
I thought that the author did an incredible job of making this fictional story feel real. Unfortunately this may be because the events were actually inspired by real events that occurred in the author’s life, and this would explain why at times when reading I forgot that Vanessa was not a real person. The perspective was also a really interesting one, as Vanessa is something of an unreliable narrator. However unlike in Lolita where Humbert Humbert is the perpetrator, Vanessa is the victim and is unreliable in the ways in which she psychologically rationalises the abuse and manipulation she has experienced.
The book brings to light some really important issues relating to privacy around sexual abuse and psychological trauma. It also shows the huge impact that this sort of manipulation can have on a person’s life. I think it’s a really important read, but definitely not for people triggered by any of the issues mentioned at the top of this review.