Book Review: The Wisdom Of Sally Red Shoes

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ruth Hogan's second novel has lost none of the charm and wit of her hugely popular debut The Keeper Of Lost Things.

This novel takes a slightly darker turn than her debut and is self-informed by the author's own battles with cancer. That's not to say this is a dark book, it's not. It deals with death, loss and grief with the wonderful wit, warmth and wonder first experienced in The Keeper Of Lost Things.

The story follows lead character Masha, and secondary character Alice. Both women are well fleshed out, with quirks and flaws that make them both real and endearing. I found myself both laughing and crying along with Masha, a complicated but deeply likeable woman dealing with the loss of her son.

What I liked the most about this book is that while there IS a romance, it's certainly secondary to the friendships and bonds that Masha and Alice have with other people in their life.

It's an extraordinary novel, full of gentle wisdom and joy even while following Masha and Alice through dark and troubling periods in their lives. There's such pleasure in watching Masha learn to live with her grief and blossom through the connections she makes.

Ruth Hogan is a skilled writer, and I think her personal experiences have really fed into this book. You can feel the heart and love and overall the hope.

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Book Review: Siena

Siena by Zoe Blessing
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Zoe Blessing's debut of the Forestfolk series features a gorgeously imagined world populated with tribes and 'aberrations', people blessed with gifts out of the ordinary. Right from the beginning the story is a slow burner, but it never feels extraneous or meandering, instead it feels very much like the book is designed to world build in preparation for further books in the series. It also spends a large portion of time introducing the important characters in Siena's world, leaving each character well fleshed out and very real.

That's not to say that the story is aimless or boring, it has a strong thread throughout and I really enjoyed the pacing. Siena is an unusual main character for a fantasy novel, her strengths lay with gentleness, kindness and understanding rather than the sassy heroine or battleworn hero usually preferred by this genre. She was never written as being weak despite lacking physical strength.and I like that she was a multilayered character with more to offer than good swordskills and a sharp tongue.

My only criticism is that the book seemed perhaps pitched to a younger audience than most YA novels, and as such lacked a little depth. Relationships were formed almost instantly, battles were over quickly, Siena found a place easily. I would have preferred just a little more conflict and counterbalance to everything being so wholesome.

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Book Review: Every Day

Every Day by David Levithan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

David Levithan's YA fantasy-romance is a difficult book to review for me. I chose to read it because the concept really interested to me. With the topic of gender identity and sexuality so high on everyone's radar currently it seemed like a timely read. And on the surface, it deals with the topic well - there's never any doubts in A's mind as to whether what they are doing is incorrect or wrong - they just act in a way that seems natural to them. I found that incredibly refreshing, and can imagine that this book would be useful to anyone feeling in flux with their gender or sexuality.

The moral of the story seems to be acceptance and love - no matter your gender or sexuality. However the strength of Every Day also seems to be it's failing. I have noted a number of reviews criticising how judgemental A is when they are discussing the bodies that they are inhabiting. I didn't have a problem with that, A is a teenage narrator and as such I would expect certain flaws in their developing personality, and a judgement nature is certainly common in many teens. However I feel like this book tried to tackle too many teen issues in one short book and as such we were handed important issues like depression, substance abuse, obesity and illegal immigration with no real depth behind them. I understand that A only had one day in each of the bodies, but I still feel like they were glossed over a little, leaving it more like a checklist of problems teens deal with rather than story-shaping. So, what could have been an important book for teens exploring gender identity became a little bloated with superficial views on serious issues.

And so we get to the root of why I find this book so problematic - as a light, romantic read it was adequate, good even. I really admire Levithan's unique and magical slant on topical issues, and I still think the concept is a good one, however I feel it could have been handled a little better. The times the book did cover the main issues it did so with sensitivity and warmth, but throwing in the other issues for A to deal with means the book lacked overall emotional depth for me.

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Book Review: Lost For Words

Lost For Words by Stephanie Butland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stephanie Butland's charming Yorkshire-set romantic-mystery-drama manages to introduce a prickly protagonist, while still making her easy to emphasise with. Loveday Cardew is a difficult, isolated and sharp character, who should be hard to care about, but the strength of her interactions with always lovable Archie, gentlemanly magician Nathan and even the somewhat villainous Rob make it easy to see that there's something deeper in her than just the sharp edges. She's a bold and unusual choice for a main character, and I loved spending time with her.

I also really enjoyed how well Butland conjured up images of beautiful, historic York with it's independent cafes and dusty, but wonderful bookshops, and coastal Whitby with the salt-tang of the air and the hustle and bustle of tourists. As a Yorkshire woman it always makes my heart glad to see books set in my home county, and I'm especially proud of this one.

I found the story so engaging that I just couldn't put the book down and ended up reading it in two days. I found myself feeling the terror, worry and love along with Loveday as the story unfolded.

I can't wait to read more by Butland, and I hope it leaves me as breathless as Lost For Words did.

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Book Review: The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder

The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah J. Harris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found Sarah J. Harris's unconventional mystery a little hard-work to begin with. I didn't slip in Jasper's mindset as much as I would have liked, however this could just be because his point of view is so unique and unusual. However as the story moved on, I found myself really absorbing the colours of Jasper's world, and trying to view things through his eyes. It's certainly an interesting perspective to write a book from, and I really appreciate the innovation.

I enjoyed the mystery unfolding from Jasper's perspective, where he is unable to recognise faces or follow expected social cues - it made me view the story in different ways to how I usually read fiction. I also really enjoyed the little moments where the reader could take the cues, or implied meanings but Jasper missed them.

However I found the last portion of the book a little bit hard to digest, I felt that Harris was trying to turn Bee Larkham into a tragic character that we should sympathise with and feel sorry for. But I don't think that her previous actions should be justified by her past. It felt like the book had spent a long period of time establishing Bee's character, only to try and change it drastically at the end, and it felt forced and rushed to me. Perhaps if there had been more of Bee's history interspersed throughout the rest of the book, it may feel more natural.

However on the whole, the character building was strong, and the addition of colours to characters really added a strong insight. On the whole The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder was a unique and enjoyable read, with a few flaws.

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Book Review: The Wicked Cometh

The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"But I know that even if the sun were to illumine the whole borough, it would still be dark. Dark with the business of the people who live here. Dark with the deeds that are done."

Laura Carlin's The Wicked Cometh is an atmospheric, gothic novel set in the Victorian slums of London. Her evocative prose conjures up the smokey, dirty backstreets overflowing with crime and poverty with ease. However, this is in someways at the expense of character development. I feel like a heavy portion of the book was dedicated to painting a grim picture of the dense alleyways and slums, leaving the main characters Hester, Rebekah and Calder a little underdeveloped. It also means the book has a tendency to meander at times, spending a lot time scene-setting that could possibly be better used in helping the reader empathise and care about the characters more.

The plot itself was as twisty and tense as Carlin's wonderfully imagined London slums, leaving me constantly wondering where it was going to move to next, until the last few paragraphs. I saw the twist coming from a mile off, but that didn't dampen my enthusiasm for the story in general.

As part of the LGBTQ+ community, I found it incredibly heartening that the slow-burning, but passionate relationship between Hester and Rebekah was given time to grow organically, and never felt gratuitous or scene-stealing from the main story.

On the whole, there were parts I enjoyed about this book, but felt it was let down a little by length and slow pace at the beginning. I'm glad that I read it, but I wouldn't do so again.

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