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The Boy from the Sea – Garrett Carr – (Audiobook) BOOKGROUP – 22.04.25

This was my book group read for May and like the last book group read (The Colony, by Audrey Magee) it was set in Ireland (one of the ladies said, ‘not being funny, but can the next book we read please not be Irish! ‘ – I know what she means, even thought we areContinue reading “The Boy from the Sea – Garrett Carr – (Audiobook) BOOKGROUP – 22.04.25”

B of the Bang – Andrew Shanahan – 18.04.25

I was super excited to see this novel by Andrew Shanahan because I loved his zombie apocalypse books Before and After and Flesh and Blood. This book is witty satirical look at human behaviour in a time of crisis. **SPOILERS** It’s funny because the plot of this book is like a comedic farse version ofContinue reading “B of the Bang – Andrew Shanahan – 18.04.25”

The Cracked Mirror (AUDIOBOOK) – Chris Brookmyre – 14.04.25

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS** How I felt about this book was a bit of a roller coaster ride from quite intrigued to loving it to not sure to hating it to quite intrigued again to pretty satisfied! So, we start with two seemingly separate stories following nice little old lady amateur sleuth in Scotland (Penny)Continue reading “The Cracked Mirror (AUDIOBOOK) – Chris Brookmyre – 14.04.25”

Son of a Witch (Wicked Years Book 2) – Gregory Maguire – 14.04.25

This is the sequel to Wicked and follows Liir, who may or may not be Elphaba’s son in the immediate aftermath of what Dorothy did to his ‘mother’. He goes on quite the journey, trying to find his identity and place in the world. He is searching for his half sister Nor, who was lastContinue reading “Son of a Witch (Wicked Years Book 2) – Gregory Maguire – 14.04.25”

The Way Out: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Heal Chronic Pain (AUDIOBOOK) – Alan Gordon, Alon Ziv, et al. – 08.04.25

So, I’ve had psoriatic arthritis for over twenty years, but in the last four or five years (since Covid) my levels of pain, tiredness, insomnia, low mood etc etc have escalated and last year my rheumatologist diagnosed me with fibromyalgia in addition to the PA. On a fibromyalgia forum someone recommended this book, so IContinue reading “The Way Out: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Heal Chronic Pain (AUDIOBOOK) – Alan Gordon, Alon Ziv, et al. – 08.04.25”

Whale Fall (AUDIOBOOK) – Elizabeth O’Connor – 07.04.25

Funnily enough, this book was similar to my two previous book group reads, The Colony and The Whalebone Theatre. Like The Colony, it is set on a small island that clings on to old ways and old language (in this case, Welsh, whereas the language in The Colony was Irish) and like The Whalebone Theatre,Continue reading “Whale Fall (AUDIOBOOK) – Elizabeth O’Connor – 07.04.25”

The Library at Mount Char – Scott Hawkins – 31.03.25

AMAZING! I thought this book was brilliant and just the kind of thing I love to read. It’s hard to define the genre – hmmm, horror, dark humour, mythology… some reviewers compared it to Neil Gaiman, and that’s fair, I think. I loved the feisty funny female protagonist, Carolyn, one of twelve children adopted andContinue reading “The Library at Mount Char – Scott Hawkins – 31.03.25”

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West – Gregory Maguire. Narrated by: John McDonough – 31.03.25

I loved the film adaptation of this book, which prompted me to seek out and read the novel. Well, it is definitely the same story as the movie, but the tone is very different. While the film was full of joy and whimsy, the book is quite a bit darker. More ribald for a startContinue reading “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West – Gregory Maguire. Narrated by: John McDonough – 31.03.25”

The Future (AUDIOBOOK) – Naomi Alderman. Narrated by: Guinevere Turner, Natalie Naudus, Jeremy Bobb, Santino Fontana, Graham Halstead, Lorelei King, Fred Sanders – 23.03.25

I was excited to read this as I loved Naomi Alderman’s previous book, The Power, and although I didn’t hate this one, I didn’t love it as much. Set in a near future with things like artificial weather and slightly more technology than we’re used to, it follows (mostly) two women dealing with an approachingContinue reading “The Future (AUDIOBOOK) – Naomi Alderman. Narrated by: Guinevere Turner, Natalie Naudus, Jeremy Bobb, Santino Fontana, Graham Halstead, Lorelei King, Fred Sanders – 23.03.25”

The Passengers – John Marrs – 23.03.25

I really liked the first two thirds of this book. Set in a near future where automated (self driving) cars are mandated because of how much safer they are than human driven cars and how they improve the roads by driving more efficiently etc. Unfortunately, the government body that polices any accidents that occur withContinue reading “The Passengers – John Marrs – 23.03.25”