rcsreads's reviews
764 reviews

The Laughing Lynx by Amelia Cobb

3.5

The Eager Elephant by Amelia Cobb

4.0

Weird Sisters by Mike Ashley

dark

4.5

The Hollywood Kidnap Case by A.M. Howell

adventurous

4.0

The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder

The Vampire of Ropraz by Jacques Chessex

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

Soundings: Journeys in the Company of Whales - the Award-Winning Memoir by Doreen Cunningham

3.5

Woman in Blue by Douglas Bruton

emotional informative reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

I was gifted a review copy by the publisher.
This was a lovely little book to kick off the year with. I haven't read any Douglas Bruton before but I will be looking for his other books now. The writing style is really gorgeous.

The story is set in both present day Amsterdam and in Delft in 1663 when Vermeer is painting Woman in Blue Reading a Letter. The modern part follows a man who visits the painting every day. The woman in blue, Angelieke, exists within the story as both the painting and as a living person in the past. I really enjoyed how her narrative tied both times, and the gazes of both men, together.

The story is all about looking at both art and the different loves of our lives and how we may see something different from the artist in their painting. 

There's a little twist in the end that I won't spoil but I appreciated it and it stopped the book from being too male gaze focused. There were little points in the female characterisation earlier in the book where I felt she was most definitely written by a man!

Spirits of the Season: Christmas Hauntings by

dark mysterious

4.5

The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston

adventurous emotional mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0