ros_scallydandler's reviews
198 reviews

A Crack in the Wall by Claudia Piñeiro

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The Borrowed Hills by Scott Preston

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Vigorous, often vivid with a tremendous sense of place but it became increasingly chaotic and over reliant on violent scenes.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

I'm glad to have finally read this but sadly some sections have not dated well.  

Forest of Noise: Poems by Mosab Abu Toha

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

To describe this collection as moving feels trite. It's devastating but also beautiful, sad, tender and angry.

R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek

challenging 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

3.75

Most intriguing for its ideas that remain relevant a century later.

Haruko/Love Poems by June Jordan

reflective slow-paced

4.0

Accomplished and with stunning moments. 

Middlemarch by George Eliot

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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? Yes

5.0

A reread to check if this is still one of my all time favourite novels. No surprise. It was just as engrossing and enchanting as I remembered. 

The Wickedest by Caleb Femi

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Will I read a better new poetry collection this year? Full of joy and an expression of belonging. One night at a South London house party.

Clean by Alia Trabucco Zerán

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I was sucked in from the first page. Claustrophobic and disturbing. 

Mother's Boy by Patrick Gale

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Gale's warm and thoughtful retelling of a life drew me in.