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JillR

JillR

Joined March 2017

review
JillR
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Pickpick

Wealthy New Yorkers faffing around and complaining? Yes please! I kind of enjoyed this at surface level; it‘s easy reading, it‘s knowing of its characters privilege, although at the same time it was mildly…disappointing? It didn‘t really go anywhere, the snarkiness wasn‘t snarky enough, the dramas not dramatic enough and it didn‘t hit the heights of Fleishman is in Trouble/Succession as I‘d hoped. A pick, but a low-ish one…

squirrelbrain I agree - this was very over-hyped when it came out and I found it OK ish but no more than that. 4d
batsy I added it to my TBR early on during the hype but seen many reviews say the same about it being just OK. I'll read Fleishman instead (then watch the show!) 4d
35 likes2 comments
review
JillR
Patsy | Nicole Dennis-Benn
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Pickpick

Patsy is desperate to leave Jamaica. Leaving her daughter behind, she heads to New York. It isn‘t the utopia she hopes and she enters an undocumented life barely scraping by doing menial work. As the story progresses you learn more of Patsy‘s motivations and demons. The story explores race, sex, class, gender, immigration and the life of an undocumented migrant in a hostile country. A great, thoughtful and thought-provoking read 👇

JillR I should say however I found this incredibly hard to get into, more or less for the first 200 pages, and very mainly bailed before something clicked. It also took most of the book to not actively dislike Patsy. 2w
35 likes1 comment
review
JillR
The Outcast | Sadie Jones
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Pickpick

This is beautiful historical fiction; Lewis loses his beloved mother at 10 years old, not long after he had to get to know his father who had been away fighting in WWII for four years, during which time it was just him and Lizzie. As I‘ve said before a mother/son story is going to get me every time! This then takes a turn towards the dark, then gets darker, and you hate it yet can‘t look away at the same time. As good as I remembered 👇

JillR I‘m a big fan of Sadie Jones and often compare her to Maggie O‘Farrell and Kate Atkinson. I‘ve gone right back to the beginning with a reread of her debut here. 3w
29 likes1 comment
review
JillR
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Pickpick

A quiet story, the sort that makes me a bit fidgety at the start, but still it drew me in and was really quite lovely. Ruth is reeling from IVF and the possible end of her marriage. Pen is coming of age against the painful backdrop of first love, learning how to manage her autism as she emerges into adulthood. I loved how their stories spanned only one day and gently crossed yet never got tangled.

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JillR
Brooklyn | Colm Toibin
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Pickpick

A lovely little book. The story itself I‘ve more or less read before - a quiet Irish girl sent to make a living in America, leaving the life she‘s known behind - but it was told in a gentle and sparing way that I really liked. Loved the conflicted ending, and now looking forward to the upcoming sequel (although maybe that ending should be left as is).

review
JillR
Exiles | Jane Harper
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I love Jane Harper, and this book is her third with character Aaron Falk. A mysterious disappearance of a new mother is unsettling the small town where Falk is visiting friends and slowly, slowly he gets drawn in. This was veeeery slow, yet when I stopped being impatient I quite liked that; the fact the story slowly plays out over only a few days. And guess what? It got me. I did not guess the mystery/ending which I am VERY pleased about.

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JillR
The Trio | Johanna Hedman
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Pickpick

We follow Hugo, August and Thora during their studies in Stockholm. It‘s a love story, a friendship story, yet there‘s a distance throughout, which could be because this is translated from Swedish. An intense story with no real plot, slow and at times frustrating, but I also liked it. Imagine the relationships in Conversations with Friends crossed with Elena Ferrante‘s writing maybe? It also left me hanging, and I kind of liked that too.

sarahbarnes I‘d agree with that mashup! I liked this one, too. 1mo
BarbaraBB Having this one my shelves as well! 1mo
40 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
JillR
Wrong Place, Wrong Time | Gillian McAllister
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Pickpick

Went in thinking standard psychological thriller. I got a time travel adventure/mystery/thriller that really did keep even eye-rolling old me guessing, baffled and puzzling. I then also got the most heart-achingly tender portrayal of mothering a teenage boy who is emerging into adulthood, revisiting the guilt and good bits of the growing up years. As I‘ve said before, a mother/teenage son narrative is going to get me every time right now 👇

JillR However, I got peeved that I guessed a major plot twist less than halfway through (makes me feel clever, but make it harder!) 2mo
squirrelbrain Great review - I have this on my TBR shelf to read. 2mo
JillR @squirrelbrain I found it a good palate cleanser. Although, unusually for me, I found the first few chapters so very tense I nearly stopped and put it to one side. Which is a good thing, for a book to get you like that, but took me by surprise. Interested to know how you find it when you get to it. 2mo
38 likes3 comments
review
JillR
The Bell Jar | Sylvia Plath
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Pickpick

Mixed feelings about this one. I much preferred it to some of the contemporary/millennial books on similar topics. It felt both of its time and also very much not; there were times the writing put me in mind of Ottessa Moshfegh. Yet I didn‘t love it. There remains the obsessive self-centredness of the main character that I disliked here and have done in other books and I struggled with the second half. Still, I‘m glad I read it.

ShyBookOwl I agree about MC. I struggled with it at times, but I also couldn't bring myself to bail because it had such poignant moments. But it's not one I'll re-read 2mo
JillR @ShyBookOwl same, as it was short it wasn‘t too difficult a read from that perspective. Whether I‘d have finished it if it was much longer, I‘m not sure 2mo
40 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
JillR
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Pickpick

This was a great palate cleanser. A police-procedural, and book two in the DCI Ryan series, this kept me reading and guessing all the way. Loved the Northumberland setting. I‘ll confess to being a little confused with the way the ending turned out and disappointed that one major plot development wasn‘t wrapped up. I guess in that respect the trick to get me reading the next one worked! 👇

JillR Poor Sycamore Gap and it‘s now-felled tree. We had one of our best family walks along an 8-mile stretch of Hadrian‘s Wall to Housesteads Fort via Sycamore Gap a few years ago. There are probably better police-procedural books in the genre but I do love that this series is set in an area we‘ve spent some great holidays in. 2mo
35 likes1 comment
review
JillR
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Pickpick

We meet Theo on a normal day, just before his life falls apart. Onwards through his life in New York, Vegas, New York again, then Europe. The writing is so compelling, the car-crash of Theo‘s life so heartbreaking and awful, everything about it I loved. One of those books where this character is constantly inside your head and for the duration of the book you‘re living his life with him. I read this years ago and loved it even more on rereading.

squirrelbrain I never (well, very rarely) re-read books but I can see how this would benefit from a second reading. 2mo
Suet624 Your review made me want to read it again. 😊 2mo
JillR @squirrelbrain I‘m exactly the same, but someone bought me this copy recently not realising I‘d read it already (I‘d passed my previous copy on some years before), so that prompted the reread really, and very glad I did ❤️ 2mo
JillR @Suet624 I say do it! 2mo
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JillR
Mother's Boy | Patrick Gale
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Pickpick

Patrick Gale excels in beautifully understated writing with such kindness and gentleness. My heart broke for Charles through his unpopularity at school and awkwardness in life, whilst still being able to dislike his at times acerbic sharpness and intellectual superiority as he tries to find himself. My heart broke again for his mother as he pushes her away then yearns for her when sent to war. Despite some brutal elements this was a lovely read.

JillR @TrishB @squirrelbrain I had a read through some Litsy reviews once I‘d finished this and saw you‘d both enjoyed it too :) 2mo
squirrelbrain It was fabulous and unexpectedly so. 2mo
TrishB I love his books. This is my fave though 2mo
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MrsMalaprop Me too @TrishB 🙌 2mo
TrishB @MrsMalaprop it‘s stayed with me a long time! 2mo
JillR @trishb @MrsMalaprop I would say I‘ve read that one but the blurb rings no bells and my Goodreads list says not, so either it was before I started using Goodreads, or I haven‘t read it! Either way given I don‘t remember, that‘s a good reason to get it I think… 2mo
JillR @squirrelbrain thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish 2mo
41 likes2 stack adds7 comments
review
JillR
The Halfways | Nilopar Uddin
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Pickpick

We follow the Islam family from their restaurant in Wales as a tragedy slowly unveils a secret. This is a story about family and grief, and also the push and pull of different cultures, of modernity and traditions, of who is family and who isn‘t. It wasn‘t perfect, the changing use of given names and nicknames/family names confused me at times, and there were some narrative inconsistencies that were jarring, but those aside overall a great read.

33 likes1 stack add
review
JillR
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Pickpick

I‘ve finished the reading year with this, only because I promised my 16-year old I‘d read it before the end of the year and he wouldn‘t let it go. Just made it! This is his favourite book series of all time, and it is really very good. Recommend if you enjoy dystopian fiction/fantasy/sci-fi, this book is a spin-off of the trilogy itself in which other authors give their take on the backstories of various scythes. Interestingly well done.

Avanders I‘ve only read the first so far, and I know some people didn‘t love the love story in the first (I have no idea what happens with it as the series progresses), but it was one of my favorites at the time time - I loved the slow burn ☺️ 3mo
JillR @avanders I really loved the trilogy, thought it was really well done. Gleanings didn‘t work quite so well for me but only because it‘s short story format which is never my favourite, and it‘s been quite a while since I read the trilogy so some details were lost on me due to my dreadful memory! 3mo
Avanders @JillR ah, good to know! If/when I get to that point, it will help to manage expectations. 😁 3mo
30 likes3 comments
blurb
JillR
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#best of 2023 Lots of “just ok” reads this year - and the first time I‘ve struggled for ten to put on this list - but despite that these are the ten books which stood out a mile and are the ones I couldn‘t put down, couldn‘t stop thinking about, still think about. The type of books I crave and keep reading to find. The Maggie O‘Farrell was absolutely stunning. Demon Copperhead, Amy & Lan and The Romantic very, very nearly made it into the list!

TrishB Good choices- a couple on your list I still need to get to. 3mo
thewallflower0707 My reading year wasn‘t that great either 🫣 3mo
26 likes2 comments
review
JillR
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Pickpick

Well, what a lovely little surprise. I went into this a bit resistant. Felt it might be a bit twee. But it was actually sweet and lovely, a perfect read for the end of one year and the start of the next 💙

review
JillR
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Mehso-so

Edward is a leading scientist in the eugenics movement and believes many should be sterilised to stop them breeding. When his young daughter is diagnosed with epilepsy he immediately blames his wife‘s “bad genes.” This could have been an incredibly interesting fictionalised take of this time but I didn‘t feel it was quite well handled enough to really explore the nuances and take it out of being routine family-saga historical fiction 👇

JillR It was also interminably long, I feel like I‘ve been reading it for about 3-years. The final third/ending very slightly redeemed it, although at the same time was predictable. 3mo
TrishB Won‘t be running to find this! 3mo
JillR @trishb no, I wouldn‘t recommend it! Disappointing as the premise was interesting… 3mo
26 likes3 comments
blurb
JillR
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Another one that hadn‘t been tempting me to pick it up (can you tell I‘m having an end of year clear out?!) As it turns out this was an amusing and also sad coming of age story; as Debbie tries to find her place at Trinity College Dublin, commuting from her family dairy farm, and figuring out who she is. It gently explores mental health issues experienced by her and her mam. Will watch out for more by this author.

TrishB Glad you enjoyed 👍🏻 3mo
33 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
JillR
A Tidy Ending | Joanna Cannon
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Mehso-so

I nearly didn‘t see if this had a tidy ending or not, as I wasn‘t really enjoying it. It felt overly long which was a problem as I really did not enjoy being inside main character Linda‘s head, and we get no other perspectives! I guessed one twist then the other came very quickly at the end, then it was over (leaving me unclear as to quite what had just happened). I‘m not sure this kind of cosy/quirky/darkly funny crime caper is for me.

squirrelbrain That‘s a shame. I haven‘t read it, but loved this one. 3mo
JillR @squirrelbrain I haven‘t read that one. I was so disappointed with this one as I thought I‘d enjoy it 🤷‍♀️ 3mo
28 likes2 comments
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JillR
Antarctica | Claire Keegan
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Pickpick

“‘You and your books,‘ they say, shaking their heads, squeezing the good out of the teabags.” My first book by this author, and her first book; a collection of short stories. I‘m now desperate to read her novels, the writing was perfection. I don‘t normally enjoy short stories but these were perfect to dip into. That said I get invested, then they end, and it always leaves me feeling a little muddled.

squirrelbrain Oh you‘ll enjoy her novels, although most are novellas anyway. I got this not long ago on Kindle but haven‘t read it yet. 3mo
rachelk Claire Keegan is my favorite ‘new to me‘ author this year. 3mo
34 likes3 stack adds2 comments
review
JillR
All Change | Elizabeth Jane Howard
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Pickpick

“The fifth and final volume”. And with that, this epic series has finished. I‘ve adored each of these books and the sprawling, privileged, sad, funny and messy family they introduced me to. I‘m so sad it‘s ended. I‘ve been saving this last one up all year, then when I finally started it I read it too fast in big greedy gulps. Very tempted to go right back to the beginning and start again.

LeeRHarry I really enjoyed this series too. 😊 3mo
andrew61 Great series I plan to read this one next year and will be sad to leave the family behind. 3mo
TrishB I‘m going to give this series another go as I just couldn‘t get into the first one. But so many seem to love it. 3mo
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JillR @trishb please do try again, I‘ve loved them so much! There‘s lots of characters to keep track of, but a handy recap and list at the start of each book. I feel a bit bereft now I‘ve finished… 3mo
JillR @andrew61 I really didn‘t want it to end. Unusually for me, I‘m thinking how great it would be if a younger writer took up the mantle and continued the series, would love to see them beyond 1958! 3mo
MaureenMc Such a fantastic series! 3mo
DimeryRene I love the lighting in this photo!! 3mo
36 likes7 comments
review
JillR
Housekeeping: A Novel | Marilynne Robinson
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Mehso-so

I‘ve been intrigued by this author for a while but something was stopping me. I should have listened to the stop sign 😆. I‘ve read the reviews, I kind of get the idea; the loneliness, transience and potential beauty of it. For me though, I didn‘t understand it one bit! I read a review that said “this is literature so high you‘ll get a crick in your neck…” which made me both laugh and rub my sore neck. I‘ll leave it at that…

TrishB Great review! 3mo
JillR Thank you! Goodness, this one was hard going! I only finished because it was a book group read. Turns out we all felt the same… 3mo
Deblovestoread I‘m in the same camp as you. I have read a couple of her others which are better than Housekeeping. This one is excellent in my opinion 3mo
JillR @Deblovestoread I‘m not sure I can face another one 😆. But you never know, so thank you for the recommendation! 3mo
38 likes4 comments
review
JillR
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Pickpick

So, here we go with a cheesy Christmas romance. Setting myself up for my usual romance-disappointment perhaps? Actually, no! Yes, I did some eye rolling. Yes, there was a part of the storyline I just couldn‘t buy into. But - and maybe it‘s the Christmas spirit, or maybe I‘ve not got a heart of stone after all - it got me in the end, I embraced it for what it was, I loved it and I cried FOUR times. Excellent (DO NOT READ ON THE TRAM THO😆😭)

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JillR
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Pickpick

You know this isn‘t going to be an easy read from the start. But it is also sweet, funny, snarky, and really quite lovely. There‘s a lot more about life in this little book than you‘d perhaps expect. There‘s also the privileged-New-Yorker-self-absorption which should be annoying yet I always fall for. But, your heart will break; proceed with caution if you need to be gentle with yourself regarding grief. And do not read on the train 😳

BarbaraBB A beautiful book 💔 4mo
squirrelbrain I loved this one. 💔 4mo
33 likes2 comments
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JillR
Our Missing Hearts | Celeste Ng
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Pickpick

I do love some dystopian fiction, and this was v good. Sweet and lyrical; I really enjoyed the writing. The portrayal of a near future in the US feels timely and prescient, with a frightening risk of it being a reality. I loved the librarians quietly and steadfastly searching, and I fell for sweet Bird and his own search for his mother.

TrishB Great review 👍🏻 I loved this one too. 4mo
JillR @trishb it was a nice surprise too, as I think I was in the minority who didn‘t love Little Fires 4mo
41 likes2 comments
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JillR
No Honour | AWAIS. KHAN
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Pickpick

This was such a sad story of Abida, who faces an honour killing because she falls pregnant before marriage. She is able to escape but then faces untold dangers in Lahore. The relationship between Abida and her father was touching and tender, and the story an important one to be heard. However, I did find some of the writing a little melodramatic and some elements of the final third implausible, but I‘m perhaps being nit picky as per.

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JillR
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Pickpick

Going back for a reread of Maggie O‘Farrells‘s fourth book and feeling like she really started hitting her stride with this one. It‘s such a sad, yet at times sweet, story of Esme, perceived as a “difficult” child and placed in an asylum at 16. Her great-niece Iris is only told about her 60 years later, and slowly Esme‘s awful story is revealed. A beautifully told story👇

JillR I loved Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden and it made me inordinately sad to read a review that felt this may be the author‘s take on what may have happened to Mary had she not found that garden and some happiness… 4mo
TrishB Lovely review ♥️ 4mo
41 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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JillR
Mexican Gothic | Silvia Moreno-Garcia
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Mehso-so

Another creepy, weird read - can you tell I tried to do some spooky Halloween reading but am a bit behind? The title sums up the feel of this, which I enjoyed. The creaky old house in the Mexican mountains, the rain, the mist, the odd family who barely speak. But when it took a turn to the weird - the dreams, the fungus, the mushrooms - I just wasn‘t feeling it and nearly gave up. A satisfying ending but I‘m not sure this genre is for me.

TrishB I bailed on this one so well done for finishing! 4mo
squirrelbrain I finished this one (as I nearly always do! 🙄) but didn‘t really like it. 4mo
JillR @trishb @squirrelbrain I very nearly bailed halfway through but was having a stressful work week and thought my mood would spoil anything new I started, so I may as well plod on with this one 😆. I didn‘t hate it, but was fairly unimpressed overall… 4mo
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WaterVixxen Since it was an audio book, I didn‘t bail - but thought about it. Fell asleep at one point and didn‘t feel like I missed anything 4mo
JillR @watervixxen the fact you could sleep through some and not miss anything 😆 4mo
WaterVixxen @JillR I know! LOL 😂 4mo
36 likes6 comments
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JillR
Our Wives Under the Sea | Julia Armfield
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Pickpick

“Romantic horror” I‘ve seen this described as. Told from the alternating perspectives of Leah, a marine biologist trapped in the depths on a submarine mission gone wrong, and her wife Miri who recounts the aftermath. Weird. Very readable despite the weirdness, yet also baffling and unnerving. Still gathering my thoughts but secretly I think what I really wanted but didn‘t know it was an under-the-sea submarine drama a la The Meg 😳

Tamra My audio hold just came in for this one. 😃 4mo
31 likes1 comment
review
JillR
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Pickpick

We follow Cristabel, Flossie and Digby‘s upbringing on a dilapidated country estate, where the care their self-absorbed parents should have provided is often replaced by their bohemian friends. WWII intervenes but their paths continue to cross and intertwine as the three find their way as adults in a world at war. At times this didn‘t feel like anything new, but there‘s a darkness and quirkiness I enjoyed, so overall a very good read 👇

JillR This has comparisons with the Cazalet Chronicles with a darker bohemian side, a bit of Kate Atkinson, and a smidgeon of Great Circle. A great comfort read. 4mo
LeeRHarry Your mention of the Cazalet Chronicles has me intrigued. 4mo
TrishB Have this on my kindle 👍🏻 great review. 4mo
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squirrelbrain I got this as an ARC and never read it. Your review makes me think it will be worth reading, but maybe not to rush to it! ☺️ 4mo
JillR @squirrelbrain it‘s definitely worth a read and I *think* you‘ll like it. If my review sounded at all negative I think it‘s only because I‘m partway through Cazalet Chronicles (which I love) and this isn‘t quite those books. Yet but for that I think I‘d have given this 5 ⭐️ 4mo
JillR Thanks @trishb 😊 4mo
JillR @LeeRHarry Cazalet Chronicles have been my go-to comfort read series, I love them. Just book 5 to go and I‘m saving it as I‘m not ready for them to end! 4mo
40 likes7 comments
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JillR
Prep: A Novel | Curtis Sittenfeld
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Pickpick

After a slow start I couldn‘t put this down. Main character Lee is so self-absorbed and most of the time she‘s just plain awful, yet at the same time the entire awful awkwardness of those teenage years comes rushing back, it‘s so perfectly described here. I was constantly nodding or wincing at the author‘s understanding of Lee, and of being a teenager. “I always worried someone would notice me, and then when no one did, I felt lonely”. Loved it.

BarbaraBB Beautiful photo 🥰. I still need to read this one 5mo
squirrelbrain I loved this too but read it years ago. It‘s one I keep thinking about re-reading, even though I never re-read! 5mo
JillR @squirrelbrain I rarely reread either (too many books!) although I‘m slowly trying to reread Maggie O‘Farrell‘s backlist, and have a couple of other books I know I loved but barely remember so think justify the time too! 5mo
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JillR
The Four Winds | Kristin Hannah
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A family forced to flee Texas to escape drought, who are then treated as unwanted migrants within their own country. I admit to comparing this to The Grapes of Wrath which was perhaps unfair, but I have to say this is no match for that book. That said this is a very readable and sad story of that time. I particularly enjoyed Loreda as her eyes became opened to the need for workers rights as “the Okies” were forced to work for a pittance to survive

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JillR
Remarkably Bright Creatures | Shelby Van Pelt
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Bailedbailed

Nope. I‘d read good reviews and thought this would be an easy read after the last one, which it was, but it was also a bit twee for me and the characters weren‘t keeping my interest, so, unusually for me, I gave up (the cutesy cover should have been a clue!)

Tamra It is twee. 5mo
38 likes1 comment
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JillR
Trust | Hernan Diaz
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Mehso-so

I read a review, after I read this, which described it as an experimental four part novel about American finance and wealth and, had I read that first, I may not have picked this up. In short, it was far too clever for me. Yet after not enjoying it for much of the book did it finally win me over? By part four - suddenly, suddenly I get it. Clever, enjoyable in parts, baffling and tedious in others.

TrishB I‘m not rushing to pick it up! 5mo
JillR @trishb it was somewhat hard work, although I‘ve read some great reviews 5mo
29 likes2 comments
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JillR
Daisy Darker | Alice Feeney
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Pickpick

On the one hand this was nicely creepy and sinister with a story of family dynamics and dramas, with said family being trapped in a house cut off by the sea for 8-hours on Halloween, whereby they start dropping like flies. On the other hand I guessed one major twist just a chapter or two in which irritated me from then onwards, and it just felt too long. Overall it was an easy, creepy October read, but perhaps just a little disappointing…

Bec_lectic I‘m not even finished with the book and I feel exactly as you did! 🤣 1mo
34 likes2 comments
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JillR
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this early 00s coming-of-age. Orla moves to London from Dublin and tries to find her path in the music industry. I loved it for my own memories of that early 00‘s music thing, although I shied away a bit from the never ending grubbiness/hedonism of Orla‘s life in London (Have a shower! Maybe take your makeup off?) but that was very much the point, and she ended up beguiling me and making me sad in turn, as all good books should do👇

JillR Last night I did a very brave thing and went to a Manchester Literary Festival author event with Annie Mcmanus ON MY OWN. It was so lovely to hear the author talk about her book, and parallels with her own life (even if I was too shy to do the book signing/chatting thing by myself 🫣) 5mo
Anna40 Great that you went on your own! Sounds like an awesome event. You‘ll do book signing and the rest another time. It‘s ok to be shy :) 5mo
squirrelbrain I got this as an ARC ages ago and haven‘t read it yet - sounds great though! And good on you for being brave - sounds like you had fun! 5mo
JillR @anna40 I never do things like this on my own, was so pleased I did! 5mo
JillR @squirrelbrain as you can see I enjoyed it, although not quite as much as her first Mother, Mother, which I loved 5mo
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JillR
Amy & LAN | Sadie Jones
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Pickpick

Sadie Jones is a go-to author for me, and I was so looking forward to this. Yet at first I was disappointed. The book is written from the perspectives of two seven year olds and that wasn‘t the book I wanted to read. Yet slowly slowly it grew on me until I was doing major book-crying and not wanting it to end. There was an odd tension throughout, a holding-your-breath, wondering what is about to come to pass. Funny, messy, sad and quite lovely.

TrishB I‘ve had this on the pile for a while! Must get to. 5mo
charl08 Great review: stacked! 5mo
32 likes1 stack add2 comments
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JillR
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Mehso-so

Book 5, Eloise. Ploughing on with the series, no Booker Prize shortlist going on here 😆. Good fun as always, although this one didn‘t quite get away with the silliness as the others have - there were lots of red flags and it wasn‘t written so long ago that it shouldn‘t have dealt with pretty major mental health issues much better. Putting this one behind me and moving on…feeling a little irritable that my go-to comfort-read series let me down!

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JillR
Best of Friends | Kamila Shamsie
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Pickpick

My recent Maggie O‘Farrell read was a tough one to follow but this did the trick nicely. We meet best friends Zahra and Maryam at school in Karachi, then jump forward 30 years and rejoin them as they forge their high-profile careers in London. Essentially a lovely study of a lifelong female friendship against the backdrop of politics, I enjoyed it.

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JillR
Honey and Spice | Bolu Babalola
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Pickpick

I‘d got to the point of giving up on modern romance; too cheesy, never plausible, eye-rolling dialogue. All the classic romcom tropes are here. My eye-rolling started. Yet it‘s also smart, snappy and of its time and…I think I enjoyed it. The feminist solidarity was strong and at the forefront. Yes I have quite a lot of niggles, yes it was too long, but the younger me would have loved it and that gets it some points!

squirrelbrain Fab review! Still not sure I‘d be tempted though…. 🤔 6mo
JillR @squirrelbrain it was a book club read and the rest of the group pretty much disliked it (overall averaged out we gave 2.5/5) - all felt it was v much on the YA side… 6mo
32 likes2 comments
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JillR
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Pickpick

I loved every single second, every word of this, and I didn‘t want it to end. I love Maggie O‘Farrell and I‘ve read every book of fiction she‘s written. I think this one may be my very favourite. Historical fiction perfection, to be raced through and savoured at the same time, and with creeping menace running through it, I‘m genuinely bereft now I‘ve finished.

Anna40 I‘m not the biggest fan of historical fiction but loved Instructions for a heatwave. Might give this a try 6mo
Erinreadsthebooks She‘s the best 🤩 6mo
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JillR
The Change: A Novel | Kirsten Miller
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Pickpick

3 women - approaching mid-life and all feeling unmoored for different reasons - form a friendship founded on a tragic death and their sheer rage at where they find themselves. When I say rage it‘s roaring off these pages and I enjoyed every minute of it! Only complaints - it‘s too long, some of the thriller elements caused a definite eye roll and it‘s the second book I‘ve read recently littered with mistakes, which, I admit, gives me the rage!

squirrelbrain I still have this on my TBR to read…. Although the mistakes will also make me very cross too! 6mo
JillR @squirrelbrain hopefully it was just this edition? I did get it v cheap, and the pages felt flimsy when I first picked it up, wondering if I got some early, poorly edited print? Not sure how these things work! Not literary perfection but overall a good easy read if you take it for what it is. I just started The Marriage Portrait which, although I‘m only 50 pages in, is on other level! 6mo
TrishB I don‘t remember mistakes in this- but could have just missed. I loved the rage and feminism, but yes the thriller but was occasionally eye rolling. A fun read on the feminist front. 6mo
JillR @trishb I agree completely! And perhaps I just got a dodgy edition… 6mo
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JillR
The Colony | Audrey Magee
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Pickpick

An English artist comes to an Irish island in the midst of the Troubles. A Frenchman arrives to study the Irish language. You‘re drawn into their work and also the lives of the islanders on whom they are reliant, and whose lives they are wilfully upturning. Each chapter is interspersed with brief details of the violence on the mainland which slowly infiltrates the lives of the islanders. Lovely, sobering, witty and heartbreaking in equal measure👇

JillR (Litsy, I really needed a bigger character allowance for this review! 😆) carrying on! This was refreshingly unusual writing - very readable, then drifting into a stream of consciousness which amazingly didn‘t put me off. I fell hard for sweet islander James; fifteen and desperate for a life elsewhere. 6mo
squirrelbrain I loved this one! 6mo
TrishB Great review 😁 I loved this one too. 6mo
JillR @trishb @squirrelbrain I went in not sure if it would be for me, loved it! 6mo
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JillR
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Mehso-so

Moving between 1934 and 1979 three women become embroiled in an old mystery. There‘s the Wild West with 70s flower power thrown in. Some interesting themes are there - was the peace movement all it seems, the struggles being a strong woman living alone, and appropriation of Native American property. But I didn‘t find the underlying mystery interesting, I struggled to keep track of characters, and big reveals seemed to jump out with no back story👇

JillR This was disappointing as I‘d enjoyed the author‘s first book (tagged). It didn‘t help that the spelling/grammar mistakes in this edition kept jarring me out of the story. 6mo
rockpools Oh what a shame, it sounded really interesting! Oh well 🤷🏻‍♀️ 6mo
JillR @rockpools in theory it sounded great, so disappointed that it fell short 6mo
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JillR
The House of Fortune | Jessie Burton
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Pickpick

We rejoin Nella as she brings up her niece Thea, who is the same age Nella was when we first met her. I really enjoyed the interplay between Nella and Thea‘s perspectives, watching Nella‘s near envy of Thea as she tries to find her own way whilst Nella feels stuck, combined with Nella‘s fierce certainty that Thea‘s only safe path is into a similar marriage to that which trapped her, and which Thea resists. Enjoyed the satisfying conclusion 👇

JillR Although spoiler: still no unveiling of the Miniaturist! 7mo
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JillR
The Miniaturist | Jessie Burton
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Pickpick

A re-read before reading The House of Fortune. I very rarely re-read, but enjoyed this much more second time around. I seem to recall being underwhelmed previously (Goodreads tells me it was 2015). Nicely sinister, a bit creepy, a great historical setting and some strong women sorting things out. It‘s also really quite sad. However I‘m left with the slight annoyance that the “who is the Miniaturist?” question is not satisfactorily resolved.

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JillR
Sea of Tranquility: A Novel | Emily St. John Mandel
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I really loved this. We follow several strands at different times in history as the story and links slowly pull together. I loved each and every character, and particularly loved the sections about author Olive Llewelyn as she copes with family life and a pandemic in the moon colonies circa 2400. In fact I‘d read a whole other book about the moon colonies. Brilliant.

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JillR
French Braid | Anne Tyler
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Pickpick

Classic Anne Tyler; a quirky family that don‘t quite fit the norm, going about their fairly ordinary but sometimes stilted lives in the way Anne Tyler does so well. I did feel there were a lot of characters, and some of them felt interchangeable. That maybe it needed to be a little longer to get to know them better. I also wasn‘t sure the beginning/ending worked, but still, this was sweet and charming.

DivineDiana Pretty! ❤️ 6mo
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JillR
The Goddess Effect | Sheila Yasmin Marikar
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Pickpick

I went into this unsure it‘d be for me; I‘ve struggled before with books with a millennial main character making bad decisions and just generally faffing about, however this turned out to be a great, fun and wry read which felt entirely plausible despite the bad decisions and faffing around 😆. It also unexpectedly made me cry, which is never a bad thing, then turned into a little bit of a thriller; I love a book-surprise.

DivineDiana Beautiful photograph! 6mo
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JillR
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Pickpick

Everyone in my book group adores this book. It was a great summer read, and a refreshing change in some ways from some romance novels - although confession time, I don‘t think I loved it *quite* as much as the others and I‘m still pondering over why; maybe because I didn‘t fully buy into the central love story? I keep trying romance novels and coming away with the same niggly annoyance that the story just doesn‘t entirely ring true for me 🤷‍♀️

TrishB I bailed on this one 🤷‍♀️ 7mo
TheLudicReader This book irritated me. 7mo
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