The Ballad of Smallhope and Pennyroyal - Jodi Taylor

47%

10.11.25

Perhaps it's my own fault for reading the original story of characters I didn't know from a series I haven't read but it was supposed to be standalone and, well, funny and exciting, but instead it felt like an in-joke that hadn't been explained with a very ragged plot. And it would have been much more interesting if they hadn't (spoiler) fallen in love at the end.

(This novel gets incredibly high ratings on Amazon and Goodreads but I've tried and failed to get on with Taylor's books before so clearly everyone else is wrong.)

Wrong Place, Wrong Time - Gillian McAllister

 63%

11.08.23

Points for cleverness and attention to detail. Time travel mysteries need careful planning and plotting, and this clearly had plenty of that - even if some other aspects were slightly off (who picks up their 18-year-old kids from school?). Also points for only mentioning the pandemic in passing.

This Time Tomorrow - Emma Straub

 

60%

09.07.23

Despite the quirky cover and the '13 going on 30' (or 16 going on 40) premise, this was solid literary fiction that interrogated all the big questions. Its knowing references to the 'Back to the Future' tropes prevented it getting too bogged down in its own dynamics, but it still lacked cohesion in many place - and the characters (which included New York) weren't particularly interesting. But, overall, a fun and thoughtful read.

One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston

 

57%

24.10.22

McQuiston's YA novel, 'I Kissed Shara Wheeler', was delightful. This earlier book, in comparison, was crammed with entitled 20-somethings leading frankly rather meaningless lives and the central romance was drawn out until it became paper-thin. Clearly, readers are expected to fall for the quirky, cutsey characters but middle-aged me couldn't help wishing they'd just face reality and responsibility. Still, McQuiston gets points for carrying the (rainbow) flag for accessible queer fiction.    

The Kingdoms - Natasha Pulley

 70%

08.10.21

This was extraordinary. Flawed and confusing but still, overall, extraordinary in a good way. Pulley's engaging writing style and the complex, well-researched plot unexpectedly combine to produce a refreshing take on that hoary old genre: time-travelling historical speculative fiction.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton

69%
02.12.18

There's a thin line between intricate and confusing, and this novel crosses it several times. But, despite its many flaws, it's an original, engaging, surreal and highly readable take on the tired format of the country-house murder mystery. Too clever for its own good, and impossible to guess the ending, but for once those are plus points.