This book came as a pleasant surprise to me. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, as I really only picked it up due to it making the 2024 Women’s Prize Longlist. i had no expectations in my mind of what themes the storyline would take and emotionally invested I would get.

I attend a monthly reading group in Manchester. Yes a ‘reading group’ not a ‘book club’. The members of the group have such a diverse taste in books that it was decided we would all bring our own choice of book, we will discuss each book in turn (no doubt add a few more books to our tbr in the process) and read our books in each others company. This is where I started ‘Soldier Sailor’ and if you ask my co-readers that day within the first chapters the emotions were a rollercoaster. There was discussion of suicide, depression (post-natal specifically) and family roles.

Beginning to read I wondered whether I wished to continue with reading this. Opening with the thoughts of the protagonist about to commit suicide and only being pulled back by hearing the cries of her newly born son was a bit hard for me to take.

I am very happy to say I am glad I persevered. The book reads as a letter to her son telling of how hard she found bringing him up and the emotional labours she went through in order to make him happy. It’s a heartwarming story that left me feeling fuzzy inside, but yearning for more happy stories of the family post book ending,

If I had seen this in a book shop and read the blurb I know I definitely wouldn’t have picked it up. This is why I love going through book longlists and finding books I wouldn’t normally pick up.

I couldn’t recommend this enough and you truly learn so much about what others are going through when you can’t physically see it.

Make sure to support your local bookshop and order online at bookshop.org

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

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challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron

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challenging dark mysterious 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? No

3.5

True North: Selected Stories by Sara Maitland

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adventurous mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Sara Maitland is a legend in the writing of short stories and I was so pleased when I as asked to read this selection of stories. I am a huge fan of folk tales and myths, so I couldn’t resist diving straight in.
‘Moss Witch’ I believe Was the perfect choice for opening the collection. Witch’s have traditionally appeared in folklore, but not quite the same as the moss witch. In the classic tales the witch is partial to boiling trespassers in cauldrons or luring children into gingerbread houses. It was refreshing to hear the story of a witch wanting to protect not herself, but the environment and creating empathy for her character.

One of my favourites is Hansel and Gretel, but you would call this a sequel rather than a reimagining of the classic folk tale. It tells the sweet story of the main characters now grown up living in their own cottages and living with the trauma they suffered at the hands of the wicked witch. An unbreakable bond has been created between them and the love and care you see in the story is quite adorable.

Another folklore sequel featured is ‘Repunzal Revisited’. A charming story telling how once her children had grown and her husband had passed away she missed her time in the tower so much she returned. I can imagine time at court isn’t a quiet one and one can always crave that time of escapism to enjoy the silence.

This collection is the perfect way to escape from the busy, loud, bustling features of modern life. You can dive in at any one time and read the stories in no particular order and you will always have a thrilling yet cosy read. For the perfect experience take yourself out to your local country park or green space and listen to the morning song of birds while drinking in the stories.

The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced