Little Spark – Jess Kidd – (AUDIOBOOK) Narrated by: Juanita McMahon – 10.09.26

I’ve been on a bit of a rollercoaster with Jess Kidd – I have really loved some of her books, and been a bit disappointed with others. This one, for me, falls somewhere in the middle.

It’s a period piece, set in (I don’t know, maybe) Dickensian times, about a girl (Bodkin) adopted at a young age by a travelling showman. Bodkin is unusual – her heart doesn’t beat so much as tick, and she has an electricity to her, like an extreme static charge then can shock people she touches at moments of high stress.

She is arrested and charged when a man attempting to forcefully kiss her without consent is fatally shocked.

She is taken from prison and given into the care of a rich woman in a remote stately home with a family history of ‘mad science’ and the production of automata. She senses a connection with this house and family and her early backstory is teased out.

I guessed some of the twists before they were revealed (at least partially) but others surprised me, which is good and on the whole I enjoyed the book.

A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara – 31.08.26

Goodness, what to say about this book…?!

I certainly went through all the feels when reading. For at least the first half/three quarters, I thought it was great – I enjoyed the writing, I was gripped by the narrative and felt connections to the characters.

The story follows four college roommate friends into adulthood. One of the four (Jude) has terrible physical and emotional scars that he is very secretive about and it is his story that comes to dominate the novel.

All four friends find great (pretty unbelievably great) success in their respective fields (painting, acting, law and architecture) but as Jude’s backstory gradually unfolds, at first I was increasingly horrified and heart wrenched for him, until (like when you see a magic eye image and suddenly everything is different) it hit me that it was ridiculous (and manipulative writing) that so much badness would happen to one person and then I just found it at best humorous and at worst tedious. In light of this new way of seeing, everything fell down for me – the incredible success of the peer groups as well as the huge bond of love and care between them just seemed to stretch the bonds of credulity a little too far.

It was like for the first half of the book I was a rapturous evangelical believer, but then I lost my faith and everything that had seemed so deep now just seemed hollow and false.

I don’t want to be too harsh, because the writing is amazing, and while I was a believer I absolutely loved it, so maybe the fault is mine, or maybe, the writer should have embraced the ‘less is more’ approach.

Dead Romantic – CJ Skuse – 20.08.26

After struggling through the booker prize nominated Creation Lake, I wanted something much more lowbrow , which this certainly was.

I think I’m just too old for this type of young adult fare. I almost gave up, but it did kind of grow on me.

Camille is a college student obsessed with finding a boyfriend, and having friends, and being popular, and not looking too fat (ugh – like I said, I’m too old for all that), and then she meets Zoe, who is dark and mysterious and lives in a big old house where her father was rumoured to have conducted weird experiments in reanimation.

It’s basically a Prometheus/Frankenstein’s monster story for the modern youth. It was alright..

Creation Lake – Rachel Kushner – 13.08.26

Ugh, I found this book to be a real drag.

The main character, Sadie, works undercover, insinuating herself into radical groups and then inciting them into criminal acts which they are then arrested for.

The book is set in rural France where a commune of radical eco-activists are situated whom Sadie is targeting.

Apart from the writings about the origins of early man made by the commune leader, which I enjoyed as it’s an area that peaks my interest, I found the book pretty slow and dull and nothing much happened. I didn’t like the character of Sadie, or what she was doing. I managed to finish it but just thought: bleah.

Maybe I’m not intellectual enough.

How to Survive Camping: The Lady in Chains (AUDIOBOOK) – Bonnie Quinn – Narrated by: Jeremy Carlisle Parker – 13.08.26

I enjoyed this second book in the series at least as much as the first – I’m even not put off by the American narrator (which I sometimes am, to my shame, I guess) who is brilliant.

It’s a horror series set in a camp site in America somewhere that is linked somehow to magical fey creatures – there is an ancient agreement between the family who own the campsite and the beings who live there and so long as rules are followed relatively few people are horribly murdered by them (!)

I have to admit that although I really love these books, I can’t believe anyone would willingly holiday in such a place (although one of the issues in this book are people specifically going to provoke the creatures in a kind of thrill seeking way – this doesn’t end well for anyone!).

I like the character of the woman who runs the camp (Kate), trying very hard to keep people safe and keep the creatures contained so their horrific behaviour doesn’t’ spread beyond the campgrounds.

The plot of this book was clever and moving and genuinely scary at times, and I like the relationship that is forming between Kate and one of the male magical people – not a soppy romance but an interesting and slowly forming bond which may lead to love (and even maybe marriage?)

I didn’t even realise there was a third book already out until just now, and I have added it to my audible wish list right away (I have several cool audiobooks in my tbr pile already and I’m currently out of credits!).

Flint in the Bones (Norwich Map Runners Book 1) – Eva St. John – 03.08.26

This is a fun first instalment of an urban fantasy type series.

In the book, Norwich, a town in England, has for some reason got weak spots between times and people regularly appear, in a very confused state, from various periods of history both ancient and modern.

The way the authorities dealt with it was to wall off the area and deny anyone access either in or out, to avoid contamination of the rest of the UK, until a fugitive criminal flees to the place and the series main character, Detective Eliza “Bish” Barnaby, is sent in after him.

Bish is rare in that she was born in Norwich but evacuated out as a young person. Prejudices exist both ways between the people of Norwich and outsiders and Bish has to deal with figuring out where her sensibilities lie while reconnecting with old friends from her youth and trying to do a good job in the investigation.

I enjoyed it and will look out for the next books in the series going on offer (so I don’t have to pay the full price!)

Murder at the Spirit Lounge: Nora Breen Investigates – Jess Kidd (AUDIOBOOK) Narrated by: Philippa Dunne – 30.07.26

I have really enjoyed books by Jess Kidd in the past (particularly those with supernatural or magical realism elements) and I quite enjoyed Murder At Gulls Nest (narrated by the fabulous Siobhán McSweeney) so was quite excited by this.

Hmmm. I didn’t love it. It was okay, I mean the style of writing and the old fashioned vibe, as well as the character of retired nun turned amateur sleuth were still good fun, but the mystery plot frustrated me. I had worked out almost all of it very early on and was just annoyed by the constant signposting and clues which the pigheadedly stupid police officer and his ex-nun companion continually failed to understand when it seemed blindingly obvious to me. Ah well, that what I get for my brilliant mind (ha ha – I’m not serious. Okay, I’m a bit serious ha ha).

Luminous – Silvia Park – 19.07.26

I really enjoyed this topical and thought provoking book. Part coming of age, part sci-fi thriller and part police procedural. Set in a near (?) future where AI robots are common, lots of aspects of the good and bad potentials of human/robot interactions are explored.

Issues like whether robots are truly sentient and therefore if they have rights (of course many robots are sex toys or generally exploited sexually as well as physically and emotionally) and how much they will take before defending themselves against their human masters.

The story is told from the perspectives of three siblings (two human, one robot) who grew up with one of the first child robots (now used terrifyingly both as replacement children for childless couples, companions for lonely children and horrifyingly innocent looking but devastatingly deadly weapons of war) as well as a small group of children who find the old child robot in a dump for ‘dead’ or no longer useful robot parts.

An interesting and enjoyable read.

Guilt: (Department Q Book 4) – Jussi Adler-Olsen and Martin Aitken – 12.07.26

I started reading the Carl Morck novels after watching the brilliant BBC (I think it was BBC) adaptation set in Scotland (the books are Nordic).

I have enjoyed them (mostly – this one dragged a bit, I thought). The characters of Carl and his colleagues continue to develop and the main serial killer plot of this book was creepy and interesting.

Solace House – Will MacClean – 28.06.26

I really liked this book – a mind bending, haunting gothic horror.

A group of students are employed over the summer to clear out an old mansion and surrounding estate which had been purchased for conversion by the university. They uncover various strange and mysterious things from old keys to locked tunnels and underground chambers, eerie diaries and even mannequin figures that are uncannily similar to themselves.

Their experiences are at least partly fuelled by imbibing mind altering mushrooms foraged on the grounds so how can they (or we) know how much is hallucination and how much is actually the work of sinister supernatural forces???