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The Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Shortlist is here!
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I have always said that I'm not a massive non-fiction reader, hence the name of this blog. I am very selective about the non-fiction I read but some of it has been fantastic, so I'm open to reading more of it. This new book prize has been a brilliant gateway into non-fiction for me and my interest in some of the longlisted titles does seem to be growing day by day. However, to date, I have only read one of them (Wifedom) and am currently reading another (Doppelganger).
The shortlist has just been announced, so here it is!
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All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, A Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles. Published by Profile Books on 13th July 2023.
Thunderclap by Laura Cumming. Published by Chatto & Windus on 6th July 2023.
A Flat Place by Noreen Masud. Published by Hamish Hamilton on 27th April 2023.
Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI by Madhumita Murgia. Published by Picador on 28th March 2024.
How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair. Published by 4th Estate on 3rd October 2023.
Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein. Published by Allen Lane on 12th September 2023.
I am pretty upset about Wifedom not making the shortlist because I absolutely adored it. I'm enjoying Doppelganger so far but it does take some brain power, so I'm not sure it is for everyone. I'm still interested in reading Eve by Cat Bohannon and Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista. I have recently become more interested in reading Matrescence by Lucy Jones too, so I'll pick that up when I get a copy.
As you can tell, I'm not massively enthralled by this shortlist but I'm looking forward to seeing the winner being picked on 13th June. What do you think of the shortlist? Have you read any? Do you want to read any? Let me know!
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Review: Poles Apart by Anna and Jacqui Burns
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I adore stories that showcase women overcoming their insecurities and discovering their strength and that's exactly what I would expect from a book that centres pole dancing. I've never tried pole dancing because I've never had any arm strength but Mark's mum and sisters do it regularly and I'm always in awe of what they can do. So, I was really excited to give this delightful book a go. Thank you to Allison and Busby for inviting me on the blog tour! Again, I can only apologise for how late I am in posting this.
The beautiful, sleepy village of Morlan in Pembrokeshire is about to be visited by the enigmatic, free-spirited and inspirational Feather Starr who is on a mission to restore confidence and connection between the local women who need it the most. Before they know it, Gwen, Ivy, Summer and Meg are facing their biggest challenges yet all while swinging around a pole.
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Having never been to a pole class, I loved how the book gave us an insight into what Feather's classes entail. We really get to know the true benefits of pole dancing in a way that didn't feel preachy or instructional. It was embedded into the story really well and I felt like I was learning along with the characters.
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I think all of the women question the nature of the class at some point. They worry that the sexual slant to pole doesn't really fit with their personalities and how they want to be perceived in the close-knit community that they live in. They definitely face some kickback from the more conservative residents of Morlan and I loved how in spite of this, none of them wavered from their dedication to the class at all.
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Recently widowed Ivy was a character who I particularly warmed to. I was willing her to stick to her guns in the face of all of the irritating, unwanted 'suggestions' as to what she should do with her life. It saddens me to know that the attitude that women's lives have no purpose without men is still so prominent in our society. As someone who was single for many years and it being a 'problem' that I had to overcome, I can say with absolute certainty that it is.
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Right from the start, it was clear how important and therapeutic the classes were for all four of the women. It was so heartwarming and beautiful to watch their journeys, so I'd love to thank the authors for that wonderful experience.
Poles Apart is an empowering, addictive read that follows loveable characters and gorgeous friendships. There was so much authenticity to both the characters and the setting, which meant that I could easily get immersed in it. I also loved the mysterious element to Feather. This wasn't a necessary thing but it added that extra bit of interest and I loved how the epilogue wrapped some of that up. It was a lovely, cosy read!
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Review: High Vaultage by Chris and Jen Sugden
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I am not a big sci-fi reader but I do really enjoy funny sci-fi. Douglas Adams, Becky Chambers and Red Dwarf never fail to make me laugh, so I was excited to dive into a new kooky, tongue-in-cheek sci-fi and I was even more intrigued when I learned about the added mystery element. Thank you to the lovely people at Gollancz for allowing me to be a part of the blog tour.
In Even Greater London, the Tower powers every intricate mechanism while engineers demolish and rebuild whatever they want to. In an alternate 1887, Even Greater London is also the home of Fleet-Entwhistle Private Investigations, made up of veteran, semi-retired (sort of) police inspector Archibald Fleet and the tenacious journalist Clara Entwhistle. When the police are stumped by a series of bank robberies, a kidnapping isn't really something that they have time to investigate. This is the perfect crime for the Fleet-Entwhistle collaboration to finally show everyone what they can do.
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In Even Greater London, healthcare basically consists of replacing faulty body parts with machinery. This means that humans with mechanical parts are extremely common and in fact, Queen Victoria is one of them. This steampunky element to the book conjured up such a silly, fun atmosphere and I loved how we occasionally got reminders that several characters in the story were not exactly flesh and blood.
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I found it hilarious that even in a London that is seemingly so different to the one that we know, etiquette still dictates that eye contact with strangers must be avoided. Some things are so ingrained that they can never be erased, no matter how many madcap ideas you throw at it.
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The language, dialogue and humour is also wonderfully British and while as a Brit, I adore this, I'm always wary that it might not translate well to other cultures. In short, British humour is satire of often very trivial matters and it is perhaps not for everyone. It is definitely for me though!
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Clara was definitely my favourite character and I felt like a fangirl following her favourite superhero around this crazy city, which I definitely got lost in multiple times. In fact, my biggest criticism of the book was the complex setting. I struggled to picture Even Greater London as it almost certainly was supposed to look because I couldn't get my head around the mechanics and landscape. Perhaps it doesn't matter and the city can look however you want it to look but I can't help feeling that I was missing out on becoming fully immersed in the setting.
High Vaultage is a fast-paced, intriguing mystery with some really interesting, unique steampunk influences. If you love a Victorian mystery with automatons, ridiculousness and constant innovation, it's a must read for you.
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Review: We Rip The World Apart by Charlene Carr
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I will hold my hands up and say that I have been extremely busy last week and weekend, so this review is pretty late in being posted. Hopefully, the lovely people at Headline will forgive me!
When Violet moved to Canada to be with her son and daughter-in-law Evelyn in the wake of their son Antony's murder, she provides a link to the Jamaican heritage that their daughter Kareela has never really connected with. Despite Evelyn's desperate attempts to bring justice to Antony's killers, her pleas have always fallen on deaf ears. Now, Kareela is 24 and pregnant with a baby that she isn't sure she wants. How can she possibly raise a child when she doesn't even know how to live as a mixed-race person herself? Will Kareela's, Evelyn's and Violet's secrets bring them together or rip the world apart?
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Kareela is involved in the BLM movement, which terrifies Evelyn because of the nature and context of Antony's death. The movement is featured heavily in the book and I really believed that it was an accurate representation. The members rang true as people and they were portrayed as likeable yet defiant, passionate yet gentle. Kareela's friends felt like good friends and I think it would have been easy to slip on this, given the way that political protestors are often portrayed.
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Even when Antony is very young, Evelyn realises that relocating the family from a war-torn Jamaica to an apparently civilised country like Canada doesn't guarantee the safety of her Black son. I felt so much sympathy for Evelyn throughout the book and it really felt like she couldn't ever catch a break. Despite the fact she is white, racial prejudice and police brutality directly affect her through the treatment of her children, which is the case for so many mixed-race families.
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Evelyn also comments on how her whiteness affects how other women see her. She claims that other white women are suspicious of her having a Black husband while Black women resent her having a handsome, educated, successful Black husband. I have no idea whether this is a true dynamic or not but it certainly feels like a generalisation. However, it means that Evelyn reflects on her race and how it affects her movement through the world in relation to how other races experience life, which lends her a degree of empathy and self-awareness.
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The relationship between Violet and Evelyn is a strange one. They consider each other to be a kind of mother and daughter but I never really sensed a closeness between them, as you would certainly expect in chosen parent-child relationships. I didn't really understand Violet's advice for Evelyn and it was clear that Evelyn didn't really want to care for Violet in her twilight years. It was obvious that they both loved Kareela but Evelyn's grief and blind ambition to get justice for Antony meant that she wasn't a good mum to Kareela. In turn, Kareela didn't really know Violet all that well. I like to think that they became closer after the events of the book, as it ended with the perfect opportunity to.
We Rip The World Apart is an addictive, sweeping story, covering decades of the horrific realities for Black and Brown people. It's also a story about the resilience and determination of women, driven by forces such as love and justice. Full of raw emotion and some harrowing events such as police brutality and sexual assault, We Rip The World Apart is an important novel that is not for the faint-hearted.
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The Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist is here!
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Tonight is the night! The announcement of the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist is such an exciting day. It is, as many book lovers call it, Bookish Christmas, as we're presented with 16 books that have been judged to be examples of fantastic female writing. Looks like it's going to be a good year!
The Women's Prize for Fiction is an annual book prize that is open to any full-length novel originally written in English by a woman. This year, books must have been published in the UK between 1st April 2023 and 31st March 2024. I have been following the prize for at least five or six years now and my favourite thing about it is that it often introduces me to books that I've never heard of and possibly wouldn't have picked up otherwise. I cannot explain how exciting that is to me and I know that some of you feel the same too.
So, here is this year's longlist!
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A Trace Of Sun by Pam Williams. Published by Legend Press on 1st March 2024.
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan. Published by Vintage on 13th July 2023.
Hangman by Maya Binyam. Published by Pushkin ONE on 3rd August 2023.
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy. Published by Faber & Faber on 2nd May 2023.
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright. Published by Vintage on 31st August 2023.
The Maiden by Kate Foster. Published by Mantle on 27th April 2023.
8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Miranae Lee. Published by Virago on 4th May 2023.
Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie. Published by Oneworld on 13th June 2023.
In Defence of the Act by Effie Black. Published by époque Press on 13th July 2023.
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo. Published by Picador on 11th May 2023.
Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville. Published by Canongate Books on 2nd November 2023.
River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure. Published by Duckworth on 25th January 2024.
Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan. Published by Viking on 29th June 2023.
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad. Published by Vintage on 6th April 2023.
The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord. Published by Gollancz on 31st August 2023.
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott. Published by Allen and Unwin on 28th September 2023.
I am delighted to know that I own half of them, which means I can get started on reading them as soon as possible. However, I have currently read zero, so I have a lot to read!
I think a lot of people will be surprised to see some big names omitted from this list, as Zadie Smith, Ann Patchett, Naomi Alderman and Jesmyn Ward all had eligible novels. I watched quite a few prediction videos and I don't think I saw anyone get more than two or three of these right, so, it's certainly a year of surprises. However, for me that makes it even more exciting, as I probably wouldn't have read the half of the list that I don't own. I cannot wait to get stuck in!
The shortlist will be announced on 24th April and the winner will be announced along with the winner of the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction on 13th June.
What do you think of the longlist? How many have you read? How many are you interested in? Let me know!
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Review: Same Time Next Year by Heidi Stephens
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I've read a couple of other Heidi Stephens books and usually find them to be fun, warm-hearted romance stories. This was too and I definitely flew through the pages! Thank you so much to the lovely people at Headline for allowing me to be on the blog tour for it.
Bel and Marie are sisters but they barely know each other, as they lead such different lives. When their mother Lily dies and leaves them a house in Norfolk that they knew nothing about, the sisters are confused. Lily's will states that in order to inherit the house, they must live in it together for a whole year. But how can they possibly stand each other or the challenges that the upcoming year will throw their way?
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I was really invested in this trope of two very different sisters reconnecting as adults because their mother wanted them to. It was such an interesting premise that left space for so much tension and humour. It worked in some places!
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Bel is reserved and serious with some very obvious mental and emotional scars that she hasn't dealt with. Marie is sociable, bubbly and quirky, making her much more likeable. To be honest, I wanted a lot more Marie and a lot less Bel.
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What follows is a series of instances where Bel really irritated me. At the beginning of the book, she has nothing but negative judgement for her sister when actually Marie just has her own, unique style. I completely get that Bel had been through some serious trauma but I didn't really see that as an excuse to be so mean to her sister, who had nothing to do with it.
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She is also horrendously heterosexual, which of course is never normally a problem. However, when her sister comes out to her, she assumes that Marie was straight once and 'turned gay'. I already didn't like Bel but this comment definitely made me say 'um... that's not OK?'.
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Bel also teases her love interest Nick for having a National Trust membership, which really confused me. Why is that something to tease someone about? Especially someone who travels around as much as Nick does? So weird.
Same Time Next Year does have some lovely side characters and I really enjoyed getting glimpses of each of their situation. However, the fact that Bel ended up being the main character ruined it for me because I simply didn't like her. Even when she went to therapy and worked through some of her stuff, it felt like it was too little too late. If it had been Marie at the centre of things, I really could have loved it! There is also a trope in this book that I don't like, which I can't reveal because it's a spoiler for the second half. However, if you like stories with sisters and mismatched romance and you don't mind a very spiky heroine, you might just enjoy it!
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Same Time Next Year by Heidi Stephens will be published by Headline Accent on 29th February 2024.
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Review: So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole
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It has been a while since I'd read a YA fantasy book and the Jamaican influence in this one really intrigued me. As is the usual with books I request on NetGalley, I knew very little about it beyond that first line of description so I went in blind and I'm really glad I did.
Faron is the Childe Empyrean who can channel the gods' powers, which allowed her to liberate her people five years ago. When she attends an international peace summit with her sister Elara, no one expects Elara to be the one to bond with a dragon of their enemy. Faron also didn't expect the only way to break this bond to be for her to kill her sister. There simply must be another way, right?
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My biggest issue with this book was that the writing style made it feel like a sequel. In the first few chapters, there was so much telling of what had happened in the past that I had to actually double check that I was reading the first in a series. I would have much preferred to read and experience the war through a novel of its own than simply be told about how things and people have since changed.
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My favourite aspect of the book was the relationship between Elara and Faron. They are sisters who would clearly do anything for each other and it was really touching to see how much love they had. I really hope that continues in future instalments and that they don't develop any division.
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The chapters where we're following Elara at Hearthstone Academy, where she goes in order to nurture her bond with the dragon were my favourites. I really enjoy academic settings, so I would have loved to have more time with Elara as she learned all that she needed to while falling for the beautiful Signey. I would love to see more Hearthstone Academy antics in future books in this series.
So Let Them Burn is a promising start to a new YA fantasy series with an exciting romance and a lovely sister relationship. I think I'd have liked more dragon content and perhaps more explicit Jamaican influence. I didn't see a lot of evidence that it was definitely set in Jamaica or a land that was similar, so I'd love to be able to recognise the culture more.
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Review: Valley Verified by Kyla Zhao
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I love good women's fiction about girl bosses and that's definitely why I picked up this book. I didn't know anything about it beyond that but the cover is also gorgeous, so I was really excited.
Zoe Zeng is an overworked, underappreciated fashion writer in New York, so when she's offered a job as VP of Marketing at an exciting new Silicon Valley fashion app, she jumps at the opportunity -even if it does involve moving across the country. But she soon realises that she is a bit out of her depth at FitPick and she's not sure she's cut out for securing the huge investment that the company needs or fitting in with her new colleagues.
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The app itself sounds like it could be a cool idea but having worked in marketing for a tech start-up myself that had a strikingly similar concept, I knew that it was nowhere near unique enough to survive in an extremely saturated market. To be honest, because of that, I was waiting for it to fail, so without a big plot turn, I wasn't expecting a happy ending.
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I was really confused how Zoe managed to get herself such an important job during a brief informal conversation with the CEO and no interview. Even at a small start-up, it just didn't seem realistic at all.
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It also felt very unrealistic for Zoe to be on a six figure salary at a start-up in an industry she had very little relevant experience in. I know very little about Silicon Valley but I refuse to believe that this is normal.
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The whole FitPick workforce looks down on Zoe seemingly just because she has a vibrant, unique style. Considering it's a fashion app, this seemed a bit strange. The only other female employee Lillian later reveals why she doesn't dress similarly to Zoe and it makes sense but I really couldn't understand why any of this small team of people would make a fashion app. There didn't seem to be anyone into fashion before Zoe showed up, so I'm not sure how or why the concept was developed.
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There were a few moments where Zoe talked about her parents and how important they were to her. However, she apparently never visited them or really spoke to them for the entire course of the narrative. So, it felt strange to even mention them really, as it didn't feel like they were her motivation.
Valley Verified was an easy read and I liked how Zoe and Lillian's friendship developed over time. However, I didn't really understand how Zoe managed to instantly become close to Bernadette, a random woman she met while shopping. So, several things about the book didn't really make sense to me but I did appreciate the insight into corporate California and the trials of fashion marketing.
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The Women's Prize for Non-Fiction 2024 Longlist is here!
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I'm sure that long time readers of my blog or followers of my Instagram will know that I have been following the Women's Prize for Fiction very closely for the last few years. I was really excited to discover that they were launching a sister prize celebrating non-fiction written by women (because it definitely tends to get lost in the very male-dominant sphere that is non-fiction). I am not a big non-fiction reader but as I get older, I have found myself becoming more interested in it. I think I'll always be a much bigger fiction reader but there are some genres within non-fiction that I am fascinated by, so it made sense for me to take a look at what the inaugural Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist had to offer.
The Women's Prize for Non-Fiction is open to non-fiction books written by women in English and published between 1st April 2023 and 31st March 2024. I believe it follows the same rules as the Fiction prize, in that books have to follow a narrative and that translated books are not eligible.
So, here are the 16 books on the first ever Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist!
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Intervals by Marianne Brooker. Published by Fitzcarraldo Editions on 28th February 2024.
Thunderclap by Laura Cumming. Published by Chatto & Windus on 6th July 2023.
Shadows at Noon by Joya Chatterji. Published by Bodley Head on 13th July 2023.
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder. Published by Viking on 17th August 2023.
Matrescence by Lucy Jones. Published by Allen Lane on 22nd June 2023.
How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair. Published by 4th Estate on 3rd October 2023.
Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista. Published by Grove Press on 2nd November 2023.
Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI by Madhumita Murgia. Published by Picador on 28th March 2024.
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon. Published by Hutchinson Heinemann on 12th October 2023.
The Britannias: An Island Quest by Alice Albinia. Published by Allen Lane on 19th October 2023.
All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, A Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles. Published by Profile Books on 13th July 2023.
The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes Who Created the Oxford English Dictionary by Sarah Ogilvie. Published by Chatto & Windus on 7th September 2023.
Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein. Published by Allen Lane on 12th September 2023.
Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom by Grace Blakeley. Published by Bloomsbury on 14th March 2024.
A Flat Place by Noreen Masud. Published by Hamish Hamilton on 27th April 2023.
Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power by Leah Redmond Chang. Published by Bloomsbury on 11th May 2023.
So, there's the longlist. There is a good mixture in terms of theme and I'm sure a lot of people will be excited about that. I'm afraid that for me, I'm really not very interested in many of them. I have copies of Eve and Some People Need Killing, so I'll be reading them. I am also interested in Doppelganger and Wifedom but they're both very expensive in all formats at the moment, so I'll see if I can get library copies. However, almost all of the others just aren't speaking to me!
The shortlist will be announced on 27th March and the winner will be announced on 13th June, which is the same date as the winner of the Fiction Prize. So, I imagine the award ceremony will be a very big celebration of women's writing, which is always an exciting event.
What do you think of the longlist? Will you be reading any? Have you read any? Should I pick up any that I don't think I'm interested in? Let me know!
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alexsfictionaddiction · 2 months
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Review: Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
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This is the second book in a series, so if you haven't read Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, beware of spoilers! I really enjoyed the first Emily Wilde book's unique gentle pace, charming character dynamic and small town vibes. I have heard this series being described as cosy fantasy but I'd argue that it definitely doesn't tick the low-stakes box that I'm pretty sure cosy fantasy has to do. However, it is whimsical and a fun ride through the fae lands.
Emily Wilde is a dryadologist -a scholar of fae folklore. Following the publication of her groundbreaking encyclopaedia, she is now on a mission to map out faerie realms. Joined by her academic rival and handsome fae king Wendell Bambleby, Emily is off to the Austrian Alps in search of the door that leads to Wendell's kingdom. But assassins are following them every step of the way and there are even more mysteries to solve.
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I would imagine that scenes like this is what has earned these books their cosy fantasy label. There are some beautiful descriptions of scenery because Emily finds herself in some gorgeous places but it never takes her long to find the danger!
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Emily has a tendency to hyper-focus on her work to the detriment of her own self-care. She has several neurodiverse traits that I know many readers will identify with. These books are set in the early 20th century, so Emily isn't diagnosed as neurodiverse but she is heavily coded that way.
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I really enjoyed meeting Emily's niece Ariadne in this instalment. She seemed to be the perfect protégée for Emily and I loved the dynamic she had with Wendell. Much of the humour in these books comes from Wendell and his unconventional approach to academia. He's incredibly charismatic, which is what carries him through life. I can't help wondering if Emily would enjoy the same successes as him if she had his personality or if she'd have been laughed out of academia as an undergraduate for not trying hard enough.
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Emily loves Wendell and although she never really spells it out, it's obvious every time she speaks about him. Even before it's confirmed that he's fae, he has an undeniable otherworldly quality to him. He has none of the ominous aura that so many of the other fae folk have though.
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The hunt for faerie doors is a difficult one. I have no idea what logic or methods Emily applied to searching for them but she examined many beautiful landscapes, which allowed for some gorgeous imagery to fill my imagination. It's this that gives the books their warm glow and signature whimsy.
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Wendell's cat becomes an important plot point later on in the book but when I first read about her, I couldn't help but smile. Wendell is exactly the kind of man who would admire cats and I'm delighted that we got to meet her here.
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands is a fun sequel, full of mystery and magic. I think I may have slightly preferred the first book because of the novelty of the vibes but I still thoroughly enjoyed this one. The romance is very slow burn and there is a much stronger focus on building a solid connection between Emily and Wendell, so if that's your thing, I'd certainly recommend these books. Although there is plenty of darkness and danger, cosy fantasy fans will definitely appreciate the softness that it manages to retain.
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alexsfictionaddiction · 2 months
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Review: The (Fake) Dating Game by Timothy Janovsky
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I love gameshows and I also love queer romances, so a combination of the two was a really exciting prospect for me. I am apparently in my Mills & Boon era, as this is my second read from them in just a week. I think I was a bit more prepared for the spice level this time though.
Holden James is ready to audition for Madcap Market, the supermarket themed gameshow that he watched with his beloved late mother. However, he needs a partner to audition with and his boyfriend has just decided to leave. Desperate and heartbroken, Holden decides to go to LA for the audition anyway but now he's wasting away in his hotel room. However, the concierge Leo is seriously hot and is apparently interested in cheering Holden up.
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I thought I was a gameshow fan until I 'met' Holden. I can't say I've ever recorded them and watched them again. However, I understood his reasons for doing so. The contestants aren't actors -they're real people. So, it's extra comforting to see real people who are like you on TV.
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As you might expect, the humour is very camp and it made me smile so much. I was very much rooting for Holden and even when he was feeling incredibly sorry for himself, I knew he'd find the strength to get out of it. Especially once he had Leo's support.
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It would have been easy to see Leo as a bit of flightly player but I really enjoyed him. I kind of wish he was straight because I definitely fancied him! He's respectful and loyal and exactly what Holden deserves. The romance does get pretty filthy in places, so that's something to be aware of, if you're not really into sex scenes.
The (Fake) Dating Game is a fun, queer romance that is sexy, cheeky and heartwarming all at the same time. Holden and Leo are great together and the unique backdrop of the gameshow gives it a little something different. I think I'd have enjoyed a bit more serious tension but if you take it as just a slice of fun, that's easy to get past.
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alexsfictionaddiction · 2 months
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Review: First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
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I feel like it has been a hot minute since I read a truly gripping psychological thriller but I used to read a lot of them. I'd already heard amazing things about this one including the fact that it's a new addition to Reese's Book Club picks, which I usually love. So, I was excited!
Evie Porter has the perfect life -a beautiful house in the suburbs, a loving boyfriend and a group of wealthy friends. But Evie Porter doesn't exist. She's actually an identity that has been given to Lucca Marino by her enigmatic boss Mr Smith on her latest assignment and her boyfriend Ryan is the target. She actually quite likes Ryan but she can't make any mistakes on this job -not after what happened last time. But a woman has arrived in town claiming to be Lucca Marino, her real self. So, what's actually going on?
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Evie was a really interesting character to be in the head of. From the very first chapter, I was fully invested in discovering why she'd been watching and following Ryan before they got together. This was revealed really quickly but it didn't matter because the whole situation was so unique. I wanted to know more and more about Evie as the book progressed.
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It was fascinating to watch Evie realise that Ryan was just a job to her. I had no idea how she'd deal with this dilemma but without it, I think I'd have struggled to see her as human. She is quite a methodical and cold character, so to see her show some tenderness towards her target was much needed.
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We do get some glimpses of Evie's true past, when she was Lucca. She lost her beloved mother to cancer but she has used some of the lessons that her mother taught her. Evie's life has been pretty tragic and I understand that constantly changing her appearance and identity must give her so much freedom, even in the dangerous job that she's in.
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First Lie Wins is an original, high-concept thriller that still manages to have a very human, emotional core. It wasn't exactly full of twists, which I think would have made me enjoy it more but I still read it very quickly. I can see it being adapted for screen very easily, as it is a classic cat and mouse situation that will have many readers captivated.
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alexsfictionaddiction · 2 months
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Review: The Bookbinder's Guide To Love by Katherine Garbera
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Books, witchy vibes and a cute romance? Safe to say that this book was always going to be high on my list. I think I've only ever read one other Mills & Boon book before and I don't remember it being particularly spicy but for all I know, this level of spice could be par for their course.
Sera grew up as a lonely foster child, bouncing from home to home. That was until she found the wonders of bookbinding and set up a witchy store with her two best friends Liberty and Poppy. Sera's handmade journals are highly sought after and are thought to bring only good things to those who buy them. But when Sera's friend and mentor Ford, a wealthy bibliophile, dies and leaves a large box of rare books to her, she appears to have ruffled some feathers within Ford's family. So, when his angry yet handsome grandson Wes shows up at the store with plenty of suspicions about Sera and demands his grandfather's books back, she isn't giving in easily.
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The bond between Sera, Poppy and Liberty was one of my favourite parts of the book. There is a real found family/sisterhood vibe between them and although they're not really witches, it's easy to see why so many of the town suspect that they're a coven. It was really lovely to spend time with the three of them in their cosy store and I honestly felt like I fitted in with them.
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I would have really liked to have known more about Sera's journals. I wasn't entirely sure what gave them so much power, as I knew there was no real magic going into them. Perhaps it was just the power of belief in good things manifesting into those good things but it was all quite vague.
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Sera is determined to channel main character energy, as she feels that she has always taken a back seat in her own life. I'm always really admirable of women who suddenly decide to do this and I can definitely relate, as I never feel like the main event myself. I think this is the first book in a series and I suspect that the subsequent books will follow Poppy and Liberty (just a guess!), so I like that Sera got to be the heroine first.
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Wes starts with the horniness immediately and I was instantly turned off by it. I've realised that I like romantic heroes to be respectful and reserved, so that strong ick rears its head when they get sexual right away. I also totally get that it's probably a very realistic urge for a straight man but I hate being reminded of it.
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I also thought having Sera resemble Hermione because she's bookish and witchy was really lazy. Why did she have to look like that? She could have had literally any other physical feature other than brown curls, delicate features, white skin and a slim body but she didn't because that's apparently not what bookish, witchy women look like.
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Once Wes had calmed his hormones down, he actually started to fall for Sera. Wes is also a bookbinder and apparently saw her as an old book in need of repair, which is perhaps one of the least romantic similes I've ever read in a romance novel! However, I somehow didn't mind their relationship as it progressed. It just took quite a while for me to start shipping them.
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I do think that Sera and Wes may have been better as friends. They could have helped each other through their shared grief of Ford just as well as friends as they did as a couple. I was never hugely excited about their romance but I did like and believe in their connection. I just wish it had contained a different energy.
The Bookbinder's Guide To Love is about finding joy in unexpected places and learning to put yourself first. It didn't quite land as a romance for me but I loved it as a celebration of women and friendship. It's witchy, bookish and spicy, so if those are your buzzwords, grab a copy!
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alexsfictionaddiction · 2 months
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Review: My Friends by Hisham Matar
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I read literary fiction predominantly to learn about periods of history and/or cultures that I really don't know very much about. I know very little about Libya or its history, so I was really looking forward to seeing what I could learn from this story.
During his childhood, Khaled hears a strange short story on the radio. Powered by the resonance of those words, he finds himself on his way to university in Edinburgh. The UK brings Khaled a new life of political activism against the Qaddafi regime, exile from his home country and fear of telling his parents the truth about his situation. Then he meets Hosam Zowa, the author of the story he heard all those years ago, and so begins a special friendship that opens Khaled's mind to who he really is and what's important.
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In short, this book is mostly about Khaled and his friends, hence the simple yet apt title. It's about how his friendships have shaped who he is and the course of his life. It's also about how those friendships evolve and change over time.
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Khaled clearly admires his father and I could see his influence in the man that Khaled wanted to become. Khaled's father looks at the dictatorship through an academic lens and I think that definitely colours his son's views. It is a really sensible way to think about politics, so it was easy to be on Khaled's side as such.
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One thing that Matar did really well was describe the tension, the emotion and the uniqueness of being right in the midst of a public political protest. It's the turning point in Khaled's life and this scene was so vivid. It was also horrific and frightening to read but it felt so real.
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As I said before, I knew very little about Libyan history and although I knew that the capital of Libya is Tripoli, which looks and sounds like a very Italian word, I never knew about Italian Fascism in Libya. This is definitely an area of political history I'd be interested in finding out more about.
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I've never considered the presence of many books in a house to be a sign of permanence and stability but I guess it is. Moving stacks of books around regularly is extremely tiring and time-consuming, so it makes perfect sense that you'd only accumulate books once you're settled somewhere. This is why despite being a writer, Hosam has so few of them.
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Naturally, the book speaks to migrants and those displaced by war and politics. Khaled's friend Rana was one of my favourite characters and I was really invested in her story. She's wise, kind and quiet and I'd have loved to have spent more time with her.
My Friends is an interesting, sprawling read about how vital friendships are to one's coming of age. However, there were times where I lost track of what was going on and who was who. So perhaps the characters could have had more distinct voices and the plot could have had more going on because it's definitely a character-driven novel. I have a feeling that this is going to be a big book this year though, so I'm interested to see the reception it gets.
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alexsfictionaddiction · 2 months
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Review: Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter
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I love a gripping domestic drama and that's what I was hoping for from this book. Although I was intrigued by the plot, all of the characters frustrated me and I would have liked certain characters to have had more screen time than they got.
Jackie is a mother of four boys, who finally has the body she has always wanted. She loved her best friend and next door neighbour Theresa as soon as she met her but she has also always coveted Theresa's quiet perfect life. Perhaps that's why she and Theresa's husband have started a passionate affair. When Theresa winds up dead, everyone knows who killed her but what are the real reasons why?
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There are some strangely tender moments in the book where each of the couples remember how they began. It talks about how love changes over time and yet how it also manages to stay the same. There was quite a bit of bittersweetness in the book but as all of the characters were terrible, I didn't really find it all that sad!
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After her death, Theresa's husband Adam is haunted by her and the guilt of his betrayal. It is his comeuppance for behaving so badly towards her and honestly, I was here for his guilt. Theresa came out on top in the end, even beyond the grave, and she deserved to.
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It is sexually graphic and not in a romantic, sexy way, so I found the sex scenes pretty uncomfortable to read. I could see why Jackie did the things that she did in her circumstances but she still made terrible decisions. I think she was supposed to be quite relatable though and I didn't really get that.
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Jackie also has a very serious eating disorder that she never seeks help for. She considers her hunger and weight loss to be positive things and it begins after she attends a weight loss group. I know that all of that will be really triggering for many readers, so it's definitely something that I think you should be aware of before diving into the book. However, I did agree with the weight loss group leader's comment that 'loneliness, boredom, fear, anxiety and trauma' are all hungers too. It was almost like she was telling Jackie to address the emotional problems in her life rather than shrinking her physical body and Jackie never took that advice.
Hot Springs Drive is a close-knit domestic noir with a small cast of characters. There is a lot of voyeurism, adultery and unsettling behaviour throughout the book and although, it was particularly intriguing because there wasn't really a mystery because we know about the murder from the beginning and when the culprit is revealed, it wasn't really that shocking. I think I'd have liked there to have been more twists and big revelations than there were, as it definitely fell flat as a domestic drama.
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alexsfictionaddiction · 2 months
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Review: The Fetishist by Katherine Min
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I love a weird book and that's what I was expecting from a cover and a title like this. It actually turned out to be less weird as such and more of a social commentary on race relations, misogyny and grief. However, it was done in a highly unique way, which I really appreciated.
The book follows three characters. Kyoko is a punk singer who is desperate to avenge her mother's death by kidnapping the man who broke her heart. Daniel is a successful violinist and Kyoko's target. Alma is a former cellist with multiple sclerosis and the love of Daniel's life, who is reflecting on whether she has ever really had true love before her life is over. When Kyoko and her boyfriend manage to kidnap Daniel, absolutely nothing goes to plan.
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Kyoko is ravaged by grief for her mother and she is desperate to take out the man she believes is responsible for her death. I also felt that Kyoko was also just angry at the way that Asian women like her mother are treated by white men like Daniel. It was a much bigger thing than just her mother and Daniel and that was an overriding message of the book.
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As you might imagine, there is plenty of fetishization of Asian women in the book. There are assumptions, generalisations and prejudices all over the place and as they pile up, it enhances the reader's despisal of Daniel and men like him. We become a champion for Kyoko, a woman who is committing crimes, which is a really interesting mindset to read from.
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Daniel's ex Alma, a Korean American, is also a victim of fetishization. In her reflections, she despairs at the hopelessness of finding her uniqueness if she apparently looks just like every other woman of her race. I'm not sure I've ever read a book that touches on this before and I'm really glad that I was exposed to Alma's profound albeit melancholy thoughts.
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Alma's story offered a really valuable insight into how fetishization affects those who are fetishized. Alma questions whether she has ever really been truly loved or whether she has just been fantasised about, which was a really heartbreaking realisation. I have no doubt that many women of ethnic minorities have gone through the same thought processes and will find some connection there with Alma.
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I also learned a lot more about MS through Alma's chapters. Her symptoms seemed to flare up suddenly and their slow development meant that she gradually lost the ability to do what she loved and what she was good at -playing the cello. I'm sure this is how many long-term chronic conditions manifest and her experience with it won't be unique. I understand that Katherine Min herself had breast cancer and that The Fetishist was published posthumously, so although the illnesses are not the same, a lot of the feelings and struggles were potentially similar.
The Fetishist is an exploration of how Asian women are viewed by society and how this affects them. It's also a story of a grief-stricken daughter fighting these ideals in order to avenge her mother and the story of a woman coming to terms with how life has treated her before she leaves it all behind. It is a moving, thought-provoking read but I couldn't help feeling that the ending was all too neat for the themes. It's not like racial or gender prejudice has gone away or like it's easy to quash, so having an ending that doesn't really reflect that was a bit jarring.
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alexsfictionaddiction · 2 months
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Review: The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar
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I'm still obsessed with how cute this cover is and I'm delighted to say that the story inside matches it perfectly. The Dos and Donuts of Love was compulsive reading for me and I'm excited to read more from the same author.
Teen baker Shireen had just broken up with her girlfriend Chris when she finds out that she has been selected as a contestant on The Junior Irish Baking Show. The winner will receive a huge cash prize that will do wonders for Shireen's parents' donut shop. However, it appears that Chris is also going to be on the show. There's also the cute, bubbly Niamh who instantly befriends Shireen. How will Shireen concentrate on winning when the competition seems to be extremely hot?
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There is a trigger warning for fatphobia at the start of the book but I felt that readers should be aware before they invest their money into buying a copy. It isn't a huge theme in the book and it is talked about as a cultural attitude rather than as a malicious mindset. I enjoyed how Shireen never comments on how unhappy she is with her body or how ugly she feels because it would have been so easy to slip those comments in. Instead, we definitely get a beautiful, happy, plus-sized heroine.
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I did smile at the name Padma Bollywood because I think anyone who has ever seen an episode of The Great British Bake Off will know exactly who she's inspired by. In my opinion, she's definitely an improvement on her real world counterpart though!
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I really enjoyed watching the connection between Shireen and Chris and how it seemed to change so often. Sometimes I could see the traces of their former romance. Sometimes I could feel the tension between them. Sometimes they seemed to be great friends. It was a real rollercoaster to be with them but isn't that always the case with teenage girls?
The Dos and Donuts of Love is an adorable sweet treat of a book. It immediately made me want to find all of the old series of Bake Off and binge them all. There is a bit of a twist in the story too which I didn't exactly see coming but it kept me glued to the pages. Themes of race and celebrity are also really prominent, which keep it from being too much of the soft, fluffy story that it ultimately is. A delicious, sapphic YA romance!
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