vixknitsandreads's reviews
49 reviews

emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

How is this a debut novel? It is completely flawless, the writing impeccable, not a word is wasted.

Set in post-war Holland, we follow the story of Isabel, a lonely, bitter woman and her two brothers Hendrick and Louis. Isabel lives alone in what was once the family home, her brothers rarely visit but one day Louis brings home his new girlfriend Eva and so the story begins to unfold.

Reviews I read before I picked this one up advised to go in blind, don’t read any spoilers, just open and read and I’m so glad I did - that plot twist!

I found parts of this story really moving probably because it’s based on a truth I’ll comprehend.

Easily a 5 ⭐️ read and if I read anything this fabulous again any time soon I’ll be surprised.

Nova Scotia House by Charlie Porter

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

1 Nova Scotia House is the shared flat of Jerry and Johnny. Jerry and Johnny are keen to live a self-sufficient lifestyle by growing their own food and living very frugally. Set at the height of the HIV epidemic we learn quite early on that Jerry has HIV and this story follows Jerry and how he faces life with the disease and subsequently Johnny learning to live without the love of his life.

I have never read a book written in this style before, I struggled initially with around the first third, the punctuation is messy and I found I had to be really focused to absorb the writing style - I have later learned that this style of writing is known as "stream of consciousness" which is a narrative style that tries to capture a character's thought process in a realistic way often incorporating sensory impressions, incomplete ideas and rough grammar. Once I was used to the writing style I actually loved it and became totally engrossed in the book and Johnny and Jerry's story.

It is an emotional rollercoaster of a read, it highlights the prejudice faced by the gay community, not just socially but also medically and at the same time beautifully captures the friendship/found family that was born from that prejudice.

Once you get your head around the writing style it is a wonderful read which I would highly recommend. I have seen on Instagram that Charlie Porter is narrating the audiobook and I am interested to hear this writing style narrated, I think it would be completing compelling.

The Party by Tessa Hadley

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

I was expecting this to be amazing from all the reviews I’ve read and sadly for me it wasn’t!

Given it’s called “The Party” I was expecting much more to happen at the party but that wasn’t the case!

This novella follows sisters Moira and Evelyn in post-war Bristol, Moira the elder sister isn’t particularly fond of her younger sister Evelyn albeit there are only 2 years between them, I can’t relate to the competitive sister narrative having such an amazing relationship with my own sister! Given their parents are on the brink of divorce I would have expected Moira to be more motherly towards Evelyn.

This review is almost as long as the book so I’ll wrap it up by saying it’s disappointing, don’t buy into the influencer hype that this little book will rock your world as I don’t think it will!

Milk Fed by Melissa Broder

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emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

When thinking about my star rating for this book I asked myself what I didn’t enjoy about the book and the answer was nothing! It’s weird, there are a LOT of references to the protagonist’s pussy 🫣 but it worked!! Rachel has clearly been let down by her mother which has led to an obsession with food which I found completely relatable. Some may find Rachel’s control of food (and subsequent binges) to be triggering. I found the insight into Jewish life and traditions and particularly the debate Rachel has with Mrs Schwebel about Israel and Palestine to be informative. I was content with the ending, I feel Rachel finally found peace with herself, which she deserves.

Content Warnings

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

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mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I was sucked in albeit from a lot of people raving about how amazing this book is. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Was it the most amazing book I’ve ever read? No.

The writing style reminded me a lot of a Lesley Pearce novel, a bit romancy and a bit unrealistic, I guessed the “twist” before it came, it’s a classic what I consider to be a “happy ever after” - all is well and fluffy in the end which I can’t realistically connect to.

That being said, I wanted to keep reading and see what happened but it’s not the emotional rollercoaster I was expecting.

What a Girl Wants: A (True) Story of Sexuality and Self-discovery by Roxy Bourdillon

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I really enjoyed this memoir from Roxy Bourdillion. I related to the 90s nostalgia, the wonderful relationship with her granny and the woe of being cursed genetically with big boobs that men have always assumed they can comment upon. I was horrified but unsurprised sadly to learn that the Conservative government under Thatcher introduced Section 28 forbidding schools to teach the acceptability of homosexuality….. just WHAT?! I’m glad Roxy seems to have found her happy ending and I’m grateful to her and others like her who campaign for the rights of marginalised groups, as a mother of two it’s reassuring to feel like my children won’t grow up in quiet such an indoctrinated society.

Ghosted by Jenn Ashworth

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced