Category: Book Reviews
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Our Beautiful Mess by Adele Parks: Messy Families and Buried Secrets
This was my first Adele Parks book (a Goldsboro Books Crime Collective pick for me), and it definitely won’t be my last. Our Beautiful Mess centres on Connie and her family over Christmas – a time that should feel warm and familiar, but very quickly spirals into something far more complicated. Her daughter Fran returns…
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Babylonia by Costanza Casati: Power, Passion and a Woman Who Refuses to Stay Small
It took me a while to get round to reading Babylonia but having seen the reviews I was expecting a rich historical retelling. I kid you not, I came out of it completely obsessed. This book was bold, brutal, and utterly addictive storytelling at its finest – I genuinely could not put it down. Set…
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The Five by Hallie Rubenhold: Reclaiming the Women Jack the Ripper Erased
This book came highly recommended by my sister, so when I got round to reading it I wasn’t sure what to expect (we don’t normally have the same taste in books). However, The Five by Hallie Rubenhold was such a welcome surprise. I went in thinking I knew the infamous Jack the Ripper story –…
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Tart by Slutty Cheff: Raw, Unfiltered and Deliciously Fun
I picked up Tart by Slutty Cheff without knowing much about it (aside from some buzz and those cheeky cover quotes from Lena Dunham and Dolly Alderton), and I’m so glad I did. This memoir is an absolute riot – a no-holds-barred through the life of an anonymous young chef in London’s restaurant underbelly. It…
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The New Age of Sexism by Laura Bates: A Powerful Call to Action
From page one, Bates’ warm-yet-urgent tone pulled me in like a late-night conversation with a friend – a friend bringing some serious truth bombs. (If her name sounds familiar, it’s because she’s the bestselling author of Everyday Sexism and Men Who Hate Women). I thought I was pretty informed about misogyny, but nothing prepared me…
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All Fours by Miranda July: Wild, Weird and Unapologetically Honest
You know when you finish a book and just sit there like…huh. That was a lot. That was me with All Fours. It’s sharp, messy, clever, and undeniably Miranda July – which is to say, it will either completely click with you or leave you frustrated. For me, it was both. I gave it four…
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This Is Not A Game by Kelly Mullen: Chaos in a Locked-Room Whodunnit
You know when a book just delivers exactly what you hoped for – clever, cosy, a little bit camp, and absolutely cramped with red herrings? This was This Is Not a Game for me. A classic murder mystery in a snowed-in mansion, but with a quirky modern twist (and a lot of martinis). What’s it…
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Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall: A Cosy Whodunnit Worth the Wait
Let me start by saying Death at the White Hart was a slow-burn mystery – and I absolutely savoured it. You know those books that feel like curling up by the fire on a rainy evening? This one had that vibe in spades. It’s not a thriller that grabs you by the throat; instead it…
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The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden: Sensual, Suspenseful and Simmering with Secrets
I finally picked up The Safekeep after seeing it buzz around the Women’s Prize shortlist – and I’m so glad I did. This one’s not just a historical novel, or a slow-burn romance, or a psychological character study. It’s all three – and then some. We follow Isabel, who lives alone in her dead mother’s…
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The Seven O’Clock Club: A Gripping Tale of Grief and Healing
Every so often a book sneaks up on you in the best possible way – and The Seven O’Clock Club absolutely did that for me. I went in expecting something soft and comforting, maybe even a cosy tale of community and healing. What I got was a story that’s layered and emotional. And no, I…
Books With Megz 