06.05.26
This was a fun read but so confusing, with its unnecessarily complicated 'explanation' for 'what really happened' and its interchangeable female characters. I wouldn't even say it was twisty - more that its unreliably unreliable narrator revealed unpredictable information as the story progressed.
19.02.26
This ice-skating drama had all the elements of a really good literary thriller but they don't add up to a place on the podium. Some parts were really interesting - the potential for abuse at the heart of competitive sport, in particular - but it needed a stronger edit to avoid a forgettable performance.
24.06.25
I want to describe this as a Regency romp, but it's set too late to be Regency and is too serious in places to be a romp. But it's a fun read with well-drawn characters, good world-building and no embarrassing attempts at realistic period dialogue. Yes, the identity of the villain quickly becomes obvious but it's an entertaining journey to their unveiling.
61%
15.06.25This was clever, engaging and well written, and the strongly drawn female characters were all fighting the patriarchy in their own refreshing ways (compared with the depressing victimhood of the women in Birding, for example)... but a book making such a clear feminist point perhaps shouldn't seem quite so light - it needs more anger, more bite, more raw emotional veracity. Good but not as good as Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (but not much is).
08.06.25
This was longlisted for The Women's Prize for Fiction but read like a collection of writing exercises that tried to cram in as many metaphors as possible about pathetic women, horrible men and depressing seaside towns. It started out pretentious and ended up trite, thus losing any insights into (some specific) female experiences.
06.09.24
Looks like a beach read, reads like literary fiction that happens to be both layered and fun. Not psychologically complex but vividly written, the claustrophobic south of France in August the strongest character of all.
18.08.24
Well written and challenging but not ultimately satisfying. It was probably meant to be a realistic portrayal of trauma, but the meandering, unfocused narrative made it hard to understand - or sympathise with - the protagonist's behaviour. Why didn't she even have a therapist when surely that's mandatory in Hollywood?
10.07.24
From the Shari Lapena school of telling, not showing, this was a long, often grammatically dodgy synopsis with too many expositional flashbacks and not enough emotional development or psychological realism. I only read it because it was (partly) set in my local area, but it could have been anywhere.
