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Book Reviews

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One minute or in-depth Book reviews with star ratings!

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Book cover for "The Last Tudor" by Philippa Gregory. Features a large black bird, likely a raven, with a castle in the background and decorative floral patterns in the corners.

Three sisters clash with two barren queens in a brutal dance for a single, bloodstained throne.

Medieval saga of The Tudor dynasty in all its greed and gore ...

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Latest Reviews

A Good Year

Pater Mayle

Romance

Standalone

Our review: A shrewd British businessman inherits a French vineyard from his uncle. A love story begins and the man willingly journeys toward humorous self-reflection.

The perfect summer read.

Witty and keen observations.

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Lion

Conn Iggulden

Historical

Series 1/2

Our review: From ultra-talented Conn Iguulden comes the first in his latest two book series. A historical epic set in ancient Greece and focusing on the Greco-Persian wars with attention to true events, and characters that cross the centuries divide.  

Immersive Ancient Greece.

Book cover of "The Lion" by Conn Iggulden, featuring a Roman soldier in armor and a red tunic, with a group of soldiers and shields in the background, and text stating "A hero will rise. An empire will be born." and a badge claiming "Ten million copies sold".
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Damascus Station

David McCloskey

Spy Thriller

Standalone

Our review: Pacey, middle-of-the-road spy thriller with a central love story, but it’s a safe read if you’re new to this genre. Sam, a CIA officer, recruits a Syrian woman with links to Assad. Main character cliches abound especially around the romance. 

Great for newcomers to spy thrillers.

Book cover of 'Damascus Station' by David McCloskey, featuring an image of a historic stone tower and arches in Damascus, with a silhouette of a man walking beneath them, overlaid with quotes from critics.
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The Mad Women’s Ball

Victoria Mas

Historical, Drama

Standalone

Our review: Scenes, moods and thoughts are encased in succinct and sophisticated narrative. Set in historical Paris and partly based on shocking events related to mental health. With a sprinkling of paranormal feeding the moody atmosphere this is a novel you won’t regret reading. Also now a movie.

Thought-provoking whilst still lightly entertaining.

Book cover for 'The Mad Women's Ball' by Victoria Mas, featuring intricate, symmetrical, vintage-style illustrations with a central circular design, black and red accents, and the Penguin logo at the top.
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The Librarian Of Auschwitz

Antonio Iturbe

Historical Drama

Standalone

Our review: A poignant novel based on a true story and offering insight and a different perspective into the ‘family camp’ at Auschwitz.

Antonio Iturbe is a talented writer and his succinct and fresh writing style remains pacey until the end.

Heart-breaking but heart-warming.

Book cover titled 'The Librarian of Auschwitz' by Antonio Iturbe, translated by Lilit Zekulin Thwaites, with an illustration of a butterfly attached to barbed wire, and a historical Auschwitz gate in the background.
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Rush Home Road

Lori Lansens

Literary

Standalone

Our review: Brilliantly written with mindful observations of characters’ experiences. An elderly woman is prompted to reflect on her challenging past when her neighbour’s little girl comes to live. Set in 1920’s & 1970’s Canada with aspects of the Underground Railroad woven in.

Character-centric with an interesting and rare storyline.

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The Sunrise Sisterhood

Cathy Bramley

Drama

Standalone

Our review: Ideal for anyone who can relate to being a sister or an aunt of grown-up nieces. A lovingly written, summer drama that keeps moving forwards with humour and a happy ending.

Ideal novel for reading on holiday by the pool.

Book cover of 'The Sunrise Sisterhood' by Cathy Bramley, featuring an illustrated sunrise over a body of water with a small sailboat, a person jumping into the water, and another sitting on a dock, with houses in the background.
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The Exhibitionist

Charlotte Mendelson

Drama

Standalone

Our review: Despite the slow pace it’s worth a read for the writer’s very acute observations of family dynamics, flaws and motivations. Ray, the narcissistic father was all too real and I’m afraid I wanted to shake the other characters at times.

The Times Novel of the Year 2022

Good if you want to read about narcissists.

Book cover for 'The Exhibitionist' by Charlotte Mendelson, featuring a colorful illustration of a tall green house with windows and vines against an orange background.
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Summer Romance Novels - Standalone - latest reviews

The Mercury Travel Club

Helen Bridgett

Rom-Com Novel

Series 1/3

Our review: A 50-something divorcee forms a new life for herself. Reminiscent of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

If you’ve ever had to stand up, brush yourself off and adopt a pragmatic approach then this book will resonate.

Funny and entirely relatable.

Book cover titled "The Mercury Travel Club" by Helen Bridgett, featuring a sunset scene with two women on a boat deck, one with a headscarf and the other with long hair, a pink flamingo, tropical plants, seagulls, a sunset, a small airplane, and decorative bunting.
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One Perfect French Summer

Lucy Coleman

Romance

Standalone

Our review: A woman travels to France on a working holiday. Dependable writer Lucy Coleman delivers an immersive and classic romance  with the increasingly popular, older woman younger man, trope.  

Perfect contemporary summer romance.

Book cover for "One Perfect French Summer" by Lucy Coleman, featuring a woman in a wide-brimmed hat walking through a field of yellow flowers with a small village and church in the background, under a partly cloudy blue sky with birds flying.
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Aphrodite’s Island

Hilary Green

Historical Romance Novel

Standalone

Set in Cyprus during WW2 and 1998 and linking a family’s intriguing history. Not too deep despite the WW2 subject matter and the storyline worked well to incorporate history and romance equally.

Enjoyable all-rounder for a wide audience.

Book cover of 'Aphrodite's Island' by Hilary Green, showing a woman in a vintage dress holding a book, standing on a path overlooking a coastal landscape with greenery, water, and a sky with clouds.
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Wild At Heart

K. Barnett

Contemporary Romance Novel

Standalone

Our review: A new divorcee sets out on her own self-esteem building adventure on a nature reserve in Kenya.

A delicious, slightly spicy enemies-to-lovers style summer romance that’s easy reading.

A romance story that bounds along.

A book cover titled "Wild at Heart" by K. Barnett features a man and a woman standing outdoors during sunset, with a sky filled with orange and purple clouds in the background. The woman has long, wavy blonde hair and is wearing a white top, looking into the distance. The man has dark, wavy hair, a beard, and is wearing a khaki shirt, also looking into the distance.
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The Horse Whisperer

Nicholas Evans

Romance Novel

Standalone

Our review: After a tragic accident a young girl and her broken horse take the long road back to salvation with the help of an enigmatic horse expert. A love story and a story of love unfolds on the Montana landscape.

Soul warming.

Love & beauty throughout .

Book cover featuring a man walking through a field of tall grass or wheat, holding a cowboy hat, with mountains in the background and sunlight shining through.

Book to TV / Movie Novels - latest reviews

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The Queen’s Gambit

Walter Tevis

Drama Novel

Standalone

Our review: Refreshing coming-of-age drama for a broad audience. Beautifully written and entirely reflective of 1950’s 1960’s America featuring a young girl’s determined but graceful mission to find her place in life.

The TV series follows the book quite closely.

You don’t need to know chess to enjoy!

Close-up of a woman with red hair and fair skin, resting her chin on her hands, looking directly at the camera. There are chess pieces and bottles of liquor on a chessboard in front of her. The text includes quotes praising the series and shows the title "The Queen's Gambit" by Walter Tevis, with a Netflix logo indicating it's a Netflix original series.
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About A Boy

Nick Hornby

Drama Novel

Standalone

Set in the early 90’s this funny and evocative read follows an unlikely friendship between a vacuous man and and odd-bod boy.

Humorous and witsome observations by a talented author who has a knack for taking the everyday obvious and moulding it into a laugh out loud narrative.

Book is better than the movie.

Book cover for 'About a Boy' by Nick Hornby, featuring part of a man's face with blue eyes and a young boy wearing a colorful knit hat.
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The Notebook

Nicholas Sparks

Romance Novel

Standalone

Set in North Carolina after WW2 a young man deals with heartbreak by spending time doing up a plantation house. A tandem storyline follows the same characters in their youth and their twilight years.

Written by seasoned author who never lets romance readers down.

It’s a tie: the book & movie are equally superb.

Book cover for The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, showing a romantic scene of a man and woman about to kiss in the rain, with text celebrating 25 years of the story.
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