The Little Library Project

Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo I can't believe that being the fantasy fan that I am, I haven't read this yet. I bought these back in December last year and I've been waiting to read them so I have a few days to binge. I've got them marked for the Easter Bank holiday! A Fatal Crossing - Tom Hindle I tried reading this last year and I think I just wasn't in a great place at the time - I made it about 40% of the way through. It'd one of the few books I've ever DNF'd, BUT I don't think that's anything to do with the book itself - so I'm going to give it another go.  Fatherland - Robert Harris For some reason, this book has always intrigued me and this month I WILL read it. The premise is of what could have happened in the UK had Germany won the second world war. Knowing what we now know, I'm keen to see how it plays out.  My Killer Vacation - Tessa Bailey A spontaneous find a few months ago, but I've enjoyed the other ...

  If there's one kind of book I love - it's one about witches.  Weyward is a new release that I knew I had to read as soon as I could. The cover is absolutely gorgeous too so naturally, I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame.  The story follows three generations of women, each attuned to nature and with a power to right the wrongs against them.  Whilst I was reading I tweeted that it's no wonder I'm a feminist when I read these kind of books because seriously - women have got the raw end of the deal for a while. Through flashbacks of each of the Kate, Violet and Altha, we learn their stories and how they came to realise their ability as a result of the trauma they'd experienced.  It's quite an intense book but I was able to read it quickly (once I'd got a pesky headache out of the way) and is a must for fans of all things witchy. 

  I had such high hopes for this book. The idea of a dystopian / science fiction novel that is looking at What Could Have Happened was something I was super invested in but instead.. it just seemed like a guessing game.  I am completely honest with myself here and fully accept that I may just not be intellectual enough for this book. I don't doubt that it is a great piece of work and has some really good messages and themes but it's one of the few books that I personally think would be better on screen.  And I have no shame in admitting it - I read the plot summary on Wikipedia once I'd finished and suddenly the book made sense.  Set in a world where Germany and Japan won the war, the US has been split into 4 territories, Africa has been destroyed and the Mediterranean Sea has been drained to become farming land. There are multiple stories running throughout the book with a little overlap, but the common theme is always something to do with a book - The Grasshopper L...

  As far as Romeo and Juliet inspired writings go - this was by far, the most perfect I could have expected. On one hand, the trope is familiar to us all but can sometimes come across as cliched and forced.  However, One For My Enemy used so many layers to bring this story to life in a really compelling way.  Using familiar settings of New York and underworld crime families, magic is weaved in to create this love story that focuses not just on our modern-day Romeo and Juliet, but their families.  The writing is stunning, it's extremely plot driven but the insight into the characters is just enough to choose favourites.  This is my first read of Olivie Blake and now I am SO excited to read Atlas Six because her writing is stunning.  And whilst it's completely unrelated, I'm glad that I'd previously read The Witch and the Tsar because it gave some of the Russian family names and terms so much more meaning. 

Rosie meets Will in sixth-form. He's tutoring her twin brother and a late night conversation around a bonfire begins a complex and deep friendship between the two opposites. Will is your stereotypical bad boy and Rosie is wholly focussed on her studies.  But in their final summer before they go their separate ways, a horrific incident leaves them emotionally bound to each other. Over the years, they drift in and out of each others lives and both deal with what happened in their own ways.  The premise of this book is almost cliche... but the execution is going to make this book a classic in its own right.  At first, I struggled with how it was written - the dialogue was basic and written in an untraditional way but I feel like this only added to the simplicity of the story in it's early pages. By the mid-point of the story, it was no longer a problem.  The characters are beautifully flawed, selfish and stubborn. The peaks and troughs are well thought out at there is s...

  After been sat on my bookshelf for nearly 2 years, Ready Player Two was one of my chosen reads for February. The first one was fantastic and I remember being so immersed in the whole thing, even to the point where I considered picking up some old style arcade games to see what all the fuss was about.  But where Ready Player One was a love letter to the 80s and retro computer games... Ready Player Two may as well have been a ransom note.  I enjoyed being back in OASIS with the High Five and Wade/Parzival's decline after winning the hunt definitely came across as realistic. Even the plot of the sequel was believable for me and felt like it was suited for the story.  But what made the first book such an experience was the same as what ruined it in the second; the pop culture references.  It's been a while since I read the first instalment but I remember... getting it. Despite not being a computer game fan myself, I could follow the references, they were generic o...

  TW: Suicide As a teen, I was really taken with the film, The Virgin Suicides with Kirsten Dunst. I remember watching it so much (an honour held by very few films) but everytime - it completely devastated me. I don't think I was quite mature enough to understand beyond; these beautiful young people couldn't take it anymore so they ended their lives.  Fast forward and I bought the book last year. I had to wait until I was emotionally ready to read it knowing that there was a very strong chance I'd be left a mess.  A few confessions: Knowing the story as I do, I am confident in saying that I probably rushed through this book I didn't allow myself to emotionally connect to it But I don't regret it.  I think I will re-read this one another time; I don't think I was as ready as I thought otherwise I would have digested the story slower and with more care.  What I didn't anticipate was how stunning the writing is. Written from the perspective of one of the witnes...