Review of the Year 2025

Happy New Year, fellow readers!

As 2025 becomes 2026, I decided it was time for a quick reflect on the books I've read this year, including those that I haven't had time to post about. Don't worry, there are never that many of them, despite my best intentions!

Much More Complicated Than That

 Yet again, I am proof that modern marketing works. After just the right amount of targeted adverts, I looked up 'The Ministry of Time' by Kaliane Bradley to find out what the fuss was all about.

Work, Life, Balance

Summer is coming to a close and many people are returning to work after holidays, so it seemed an apt time to tell you about 'I Hope This Finds You Well' by Natalie Sue.

This Book will Give you an Ear Worm...

Continuing the story of the dream team tackling supernatural nightmares, 'Relight My Fire' takes the Stranger Times gang to a whole new level of weird. And thanks to its title, makes Take That and Lulu your daily internal soundtrack.

Do Fear the Reaper...

I'm sucker for a good story idea, so when someone recommended a book about a vicar who also happened to be a serial killer, it certainly got my attention. I had to read 'The Reaper' by Peter Lovesey.

What is the Satsuma Complex?

As long-term readers will know, I'm deeply suspicious of a massive bestseller. So, while I enjoy Bob Mortimer's work, I couldn't help rolling my eyes a bit when I saw that he'd followed up his autobiography, 'And Away...' with the smash hit novel 'The Satsuma Complex'. Would this be just another mediocre money spinner made massive by the celebrity name on the front? With some trepidation, I began to read...

'Lessons in Chemistry' by Bonnie Garmus

Sometimes, I hear about a book and think 'Ooh, that sounds interesting!', but become doubtful as I hear more and more about how wonderful it is. On the one hand, I know marketers can't perform (many) miracles, but I'm also well aware that it's easy to get swept up by a wave of excitement. This is why I hesitated before reading 'Lessons in Chemistry' by Bonnie Garmus.

'Waiting' by Ha Jin

This post is about a book that I nearly didn't read. A spring clean had created a pile of books to donate to charity, some I'd read, but also ones I'd bought but thought I'd never get round to. Then I did that thing bookish people do; decided to try reading one or two, just to be sure. The first one I've finished is 'Waiting' by Ha Jin. 

'The Stranger Times' by CK McDonnell

Do you believe in ghosts?  Monsters?  Things that go bump in the night?  Well, they exist - in the pages of fiction at least!  And many make appearances in the comic novel 'The Stranger Times' by CK McDonnell. 

'The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey' by Rachel Joyce

I can't believe it's ten years since I read Rachel Joyce's debut novel, 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'.  This was the unexpected hit that launched many imitations; for a while it felt like every book I was offered was mooted as 'the next Harold Fry'.  Regardless, this original novel had such an effect on me that it was only this year - a mere eight since publication - that I final felt able to tackle it's successor, 'The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey'.

The Final Count Down

'The Count of Monte Cristo' by Alexandre Dumas (Translated by Robin Buss)

Like any normal person, there's only so much nagging I can take.  "You must read 'The Count of Monte Cristo'!" my friend kept telling me.  In the end, I cracked.  When it arrived, too big to fit through the letter box, I wondered what on Earth I'd let myself in for.  Turned out to be 1300 pages of intrigue, adventure and revenge.

Silly but it's Fun

'Come Again' by Robert Webb

Well, what a year!  One thing that many of us have found ourselves doing during lockdown is reflecting, thinking 'What if...' and seeing where it takes us.  What if I'd said 'Yes'?  What if I'd gone back to college?  What if I travelled back in time and relived my teenage years?  Well, maybe not the last one... unless you're the lead character in Robert Webb's debut novel, 'Come Again'.

Sex and the Spelling

'How to be Famous' by Caitlin Moran

As you may have noticed, I've been stuck in a bit of a reading rut lately.  I've started countless books but just couldn't find the energy to finish any of them.  Fortunately, feminist, writer and journalist Caitlin Moran has energy to spare and I picked some up via her latest book, 'How to be Famous'.

'How to be Famous'
by Caitlin Moran
(Ebury Press, 2018)

Set in the mid-1990s and the sequel to 'How to Build a Girl' (which I haven't read), 'How to be Famous' is the next chapter in the life of young music journalist Johanna Morrigan.  Writing as 'Dolly Wilde' for a top magazine means she mingles with many musicians and performers and sees how they're all getting fame wrong.  Even her unrequited love, John Kite, has developed a drinking problem after his album went to number one.  Her new best friend, Suzanne Banks, lead singer of 'next big thing' The Branks, has added an enthusiasm for drugs to her already chaotic life, which in combination threaten the band's future.  Jo remains an observer of the pitfalls of fame until a two-night stand with edgy comedian Jerry Sharp goes badly wrong and she finds herself the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.  Sharp is building his reputation by destroying others.  But can Jo stop him before he destroys hers?

Apocalypse Then

As you may have noticed, there's been a bit of a blogging drought recently.  Having had a brilliant start to the year, all of a sudden I found that I couldn't settle to anything in particular.  I'm currently part way through eight books.  Even for me, that's not unusual!  Desperate for an inspirational read, I spotted a tweet from Allen and Unwin (@AllenandUnwinUK) about 'The Last Hours' by Minette Walters.  They were looking for bloggers to review it, but would it be the answer to my prayers?

'The Last Hours'
by Minette Walters
(Allen & Unwin, 2017)

It's summer 1348 when the Black Death arrives in England via the Dorset port of Melcombe.  Before the population realises the danger, this most heinous disease is spreading rapidly across the county, slaying young and old with no regard for money or status.  On the estate of Develish, the compassionate and resourceful Lady Anne decides to take the bold step of bringing the estate's two hundred serfs within the manor house walls, much to the distress of her teenaged daughter Eleanor.  They may be safe from the pestilence, but soon become prey to internal conflicts as the social order shifts and even faith in God is challenged.  Under threat from without and within, how long can the people of Develish last?

Only the Lonely

Now, I know that I should be focussed and just read books that I already have, but sometimes Twitter gets so over-excited about something that I have to find out more.  A great example of this is 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine', Gail Honeyman's debut novel.  Twitter, you were right!

'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'
by Gail Honeyman
(HarperCollins Publishers. 2017)

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine.  Since university, she's lived in the same flat, worked in the same job and kept the same regular routine, encompassing the crossword every lunchtime and the vodka each weekend.  As far as she sees it, Eleanor has everything she could practically need and there is no point in acquiring more than that.  The workings of her clockwork existence are interrupted however when Eleanor and a colleague, Raymond, help a pensioner who has collapsed in the street.  The rhythm of her life has changed, but can she change it back again?  And does she really want to?

I really wasn't sure about this book when I started reading it.  We've all gone through periods of loneliness - as awkward teenagers, after disappointing relationships or when starting out in a new city or town - so it felt awkward and almost intrusive to be sticking my nose into Eleanor's space.  As the story progressed and I got to know more about how trapped she actually was, however, I felt I couldn't leave her to her own, unwittingly self-destructive devices.  I'm so glad I stuck with 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'.

I think this a brilliant piece of work and I still can't quite believe that it's Gail Honeyman's first novel.  I really can't wait to see what she does next.  'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' is a story of the corners we can think ourselves into, and how even little things can make all the difference.  It's heartbreaking, compassionate, touching and hopeful.  I can't recommend it enough.  Go read it.  Go read it now!

Now, what next...

There's No Place Like Home

So, from a female-dominate historical novel, I moved on to a male-dominated one!  I've just finished reading 'The Flame Bearer' by Bernard Cornwell, the tenth book in the Last Kingdom series.

It's 917 and a fragile peace exists between the kingdoms of Britain.  The tables have turned on the
invading Norsemen, once so mighty it looked like they would wipe out the Anglo-Saxon population, but now corralled in the north-western lands of Northumbria, cautious and wary of the enemies that surround them.  In the absence of war, an aging Lord Uhtred has turned his attentions back to his lifelong dream, to regain the formidable fortress at Bebbanburg, his by right of inheritance, stolen by his uncle and now ruled by his cousin.  But fate has other ideas.  Factions in Wessex and Mercia have a dream of their own, to destroy Northumbria and unite the Saxon peoples in one country, 'Englaland'.  Caught up once more in dark politics and devious plots, before Uhtred can secure Bebbanburg, he must first secure peace.

'The Flame Bearer'
by Bernard Cornwell
(HarperCollins, 2016)

It's nice to see Uhtred stopping a fight rather than starting one for a change!  But don't think that this book isn't as battle-filled and bloodthirsty as the others in this series.  It wouldn't be Uhtred's story otherwise!

I really enjoyed this book.  Cornwell demonstrates once again how a master story teller creates tension and puts the reader right at the heart of the action.  As Uhtred ages, he's also becoming more reflective, and the passages in 'The Flame Bearer' in which he muses on the side of battle nobody talks about add a whole new dimension to our aging hero.

I also love the cast of characters that Cornwell juggles in the Last Kingdom novels.  Unfortunately, there's not much for the girls to do in this book, but it's hard not to enjoy the camaraderie and humour that comes from playing Uhtred's band of warriors off each other.

Overall, as always, if you've enjoyed Cornwell's other novels, you'll probably like this one!  It's a tale of adventure and heroes, action and friendship and will doubtless leave you (war) crying out for more!

Now, what next...?

Related Posts

'Warriors of the Storm'
'The Empty Throne'
'The Pagan Lord'
'Death of Kings'
'The Burning Land'
'Sword Song'

A Crowning Achievement

Firstly, an apology.  I meant to have published this blog post by now, but unfortunately I caught one of the many bugs going around at the moment, so I've been out of action for a while.  Hope you can forgive me and that this was worth the wait!

Late last year, the lovely people at Bantam Press kindly sent me a copy of 'The Shogun's Queen', the latest novel in the Shogun Quartet by Lesley Downer, a story of women, politics and change in 19th century Japan.

'The Shogun's Queen'
by Lesley Downer
(Bantam Press, 2016)

Growing up in rural Japan, the daughter of a minor Samurai nobleman, Okatsu, learns to be bold, clever and headstrong at a time when girls should be meek, polite and obedient, much to the despair of her mother.  But, unknown to Okatsu, the qualities that make her different from other women will also set her on a unique path that will make her a vital player in a complex game of politics and power.  Her feudal lord, Shimazu Nariakira, Prince of Satsuma and second in power only to the Shogun himself, plans to make her central to a plot to bring about much needed change in a country that is struggling to find its place in the modern world.  As ships arrive from Holland and America, bringing traders who demand more and more from the ancient and very private culture, Okatsu finds she must sacrifice the life she knew in order to ensure the survival of the country she loves...

I have to be honest and say that I didn't take to Okatsu - or Princess Atsu as she's more frequently called in the book - straight away, but it wasn't really her fault.  The trouble is that headstrong, fiery yet beautiful female characters seem a bit of cliche and there's part of me that wants to hear about the ugly people!  But I was determined to stick with her and I'm glad that I did.  This is a story of perspectives (particular of insiders and outsiders) and as Downer takes us with Atsu on her journey to the Women's Palace, we see her vulnerabilities as well as her strengths.  I felt for her as she struggled with the demands of Lord Nariakira, etiquette and her own desires, finding excuses as well as untapped sources of strength as she matures into the queen of the title.  By the end of the novel, she was a person, not a cliche and I was sorry to leave her.

I've said before that I prefer historical stories of political intrigue over romance, and 'The Shogun's Queen' stuck the right chord for me.  There was enough emotion to make Atsu relatable and human and enough plotting and competing motivations to keep it interesting.  It read like the best books by Philippa Gregory and I feel that fans of Gregory would very much enjoy 'The Shogun's Queen'.

While Gregory's work is firmly rooted in her excellent knowledge of English history, Downer's superlative knowledge of Japanese culture gives 'The Shogun's Queen' wonderful depth and texture.  Once again she performs the perfect balancing act, giving us enough information so we can inhabit Atsu's world but without overwhelming the reader and distracting from the story being told.  The beautiful fabrics, ever changing landscapes, labyrinthine buildings, formalised speech, delicate foodstuffs - all combine to give us a three dimensional world that's easy to slip in to.

'The Shogun's Queen' features an interesting cast of characters, but once we're secluded in the Women's Palace, it's the Lady Dowager Honju-in, the Shogun's mother, who dominates.  Talk about the mother-in-law from Hell!  Representing an unsustainable desire to resist change and using every devious trick she's got to keep her power and influence, Lady Honju-in is a fantastic villain, the perfect contrast to the naive and uncertain Atsu.

I'd thoroughly recommend this book to any fans of historical fiction looking for something set outside of the UK.  To be honest, I'm a bit sick of stories about the Tudors, so this was perfect for me - the same high quality, but telling me about a time and a place I knew little about.  Downer skilfully crafts Atsu's story, wearing her knowledge lightly and offering a new perspective on a fascinating culture.  I'm really looking forward to reading other books in the series.

Now, what next...!

Moon, Light, Shadow

It's been a while since I last read a Poldark novel ('Warleggan' back in July 2014).  I knew that I wanted to read them all, preferably before they're all filmed by the BBC, but was so appalled and shocked by Ross' behaviour in book four that I couldn't quite bring myself to do it.  I have now, however, finished 'The Black Moon' by Winston Graham.  It was so good, I've pretty much gone straight on to book five.

'The Black Moon' begins with Elizabeth, lost love of Ross Poldark and now wife of his enemy George Warleggan, giving birth to a baby boy.  While George rejoices at having

'The Black Moon' by
Winston Graham
(Pan Books, 2008)

 a son, the ancient Aunt Agatha quickly points out that the child has been born under an ominous black moon, a very bad omen.  But for the time being the bad luck shadows others in the household.  Elizabeth's cousin, Morwenna, tutor to Elizabeth's son from a previous marriage, falls in love with Drake Carne, brother of Ross' wife Demelza, sparking a new enmity between the Poldarks and Warleggans.  And Ross has much on his mind already, including the fate of the unfortunate Dr Enys imprisoned in revolutionary France...

This, like the other Poldark novels I've read so far, is absolutely absorbing.  Reading Winston Graham's work is like being launched through time and space into rural Cornwall, but without the travel sickness and overcrowding by holiday-makers.

Having said that, there's always a risk with family saga novels that, as they progress, the number of characters becomes a bit overwhelming and you start needing a list in order to keep track.  I did begin to feel a bit like this when reading the first few books, but Graham seems to have recognised the potential problem and there was enough explanation of who's who to jog my memory without over doing it.  To be fair, there were 20 years between 'Warleggan' and 'The Black Moon', so original readers would have needed some help too!

'The Black Moon' had me on the edge of my seat.  I laughed at Demelza's encounter with French exiles at a dinner party, I sighed at Drake and Morwenna's falling in love, I cheered as Ross sought justice once more, I cried and I gasped at... well, I don't want to give all the details away.  Suffice it to say the fact I couldn't stop myself heading straight for the next book says a lot.  I'm just relieved that I don't have to wait as long as fans in the '70s!

Happy Birthday and So Forth

You may have noticed that I've been a bit quiet lately. I know what you're thinking.  "Good fourth blog birthday bash, eh?  Suffering more than a book hangover afterwards?  Nudge, nudge, wink, wink?"  Well, tut, tut and how dare you!  There's only so much jelly and ice cream one person can eat and the clown was rubbish (Bit too Stephen King perhaps..?)!

After a really good year last year, I suddenly went through a bad patch, finding it hard to settle and flitting from book to book like a moth with a paper penchant.  I couldn't get into anything and in the end I had to accept I needed to take a bit of a break so I didn't inadvertently lose my love of reading by making it a chore.

But all that seems to have changed now and the episode has given me the impetus to work on a new mini-project.

As you know, I've been trying to read sets of books so I can reach mini-goals and feel like I'm making progress even though reading all 500ish books seems a long way away.  This has been quite successful and I've now read most of Philippa Gregory's Cousins War series (although she keeps ruining it by writing more. Surely that's cheating?).  I've also read all of Bernard Cornwell's Anglo Saxon books and I'm a good way through Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, which I'm enjoying very much.  I would've started reading the fifth Poldark by now, but got a bit distracted by the BBC series.  I kept accidentally giving away the plot, which didn't go down too well with my co-viewers, so decided to not make it any worse.  I'm unlikely to hold out until the next series though!

In a pile by the bookcase is another set of books, but one with a very specific link.  They're by different authors, of various genres and, on the face of it, have no particular connection.  Open one at random, however, and you'll find they're being used to store bookmarks.  Or, to put it another way, I started but didn't finish reading them.  So I've decided the next 'set' of books I should tackle are these, the Ones that Got Put Away.

They include Alexandre Dumas' 'The Three Musketeers', a feminist book called 'Wifework', Robert Harris' 'Lustrum', 'Angels and Demons' by Dan Brown, Charles Dickens' 'Little Dorrit' and a biography of Queen Isabella by Alison Weir.  Unlike the books I've given up on, I really do want to finish these and can't actually remember why I stopped reading them.

So, earlier this month I made a re-start on 'Marie Antoinette: The Journey' by Antonia Fraser.  The last time I remembered reading this was seven years ago and it's bloomin' massive, so it could've been arm strain that made me stop reading it,  Anyway, yesterday, I made it to the end (also known as page 548), so my next post will be all about that.

I hope that you'll be happy to join me on this new stage of my journey towards book 500. Then we can party!

Previously from the Girl Who Loves Books...

May
'Mr Briggs' Hat: A Sensational Account of Britain's First Railway Murder' by Kate Colquhoun
'Live and Let Die' by Ian Fleming

June
'A Host of Voices' by Doris Stokes
'Dr No' by Ian Fleming
'The Psychic Tourist' by William Little
'The Essential Marx' by Groucho Marx, selected by Stefan Kanfer

July
'All My Friends are Superheroes' by Andrew Kaufman
'The Art of Being Brilliant' by Andy Cope and Andy Whittaker
'Warleggan' by Winston Graham
'My Baby Shot Me Down' by Blinding Books

August
'Wake' by Anna Hope
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories' by Ian Fleming
'Moranthology' by Caitlin Moran

September
'The Illustrated Man' by Ray Bradbury
'Thunderball' by Ian Fleming
'Love and Treasure' by Ayelet Waldman
'Warm Bodies' Isaac Marion

October
'Office Politics' by Oliver James
'We Bought a Zoo' by Benjamin Mee
'The Tiny Wife' by Andrew Kaufman

November
'How to Read a Graveyard' by Peter Stanford
'Moonraker' by Ian Fleming

December
'The Miniaturist' by Jessie Burton

January
'The Empty Throne' by Bernard Cornwell

February
'So, Anyway' by John Cleese
'From Russia with Love' by Ian Fleming
'The Victorian Chaise-Longue' by Marghanita Laski

March 
'Goldfinger' by Ian Fleming
'Living Dolls' by Natasha Walter

April
'When I Met You' by Jemma Forte
'So You've Been Publicly Shamed' by Jon Ronson

Birthday Blogs
2014
2013
2012
The First Post

Caught between the Devil and the Marshalsea...

Late last year, I knew I'd had a bit more time on my hands than usual, so applied for a couple of prize draws on the Waterstones website.  Last weekend, two books turned up... Whoops.

The first arrival was absorbing historical crime novel 'The Devil in the Marshalsea', Antonia Hodgson's first book.

'The Devil in the Marshalsea'
by Antonia Hodgson
(Hodder & Stoughton, 2014)

Tom Hawkins is in the worst possible trouble.  Unable to resist the lure of London, its coffeehouses, brothels and gambling dens, relying luck and living life to the full, he finds himself not just penniless but in debt and heading towards the feared Marshalsea debtors' prison.  Estranged from his vicar father, not knowing who to trust and reliant on his best friend Charles Buckley, he soon realises he has no hope of raising either the money to pay his debt or fund his stay in the Master's side of the prison.  Just as he thinks all hope is lost and he is destined for death from jail fever in the Common Side, Hawkins is thrown a lifeline.  A murder has taken place at the Marshalsea and Buckley's rich patron promises Hawkins his freedom if he finds the killer.  But to do so, he must negotiate the prison's complex web of truth, lies and alliances.  Can he do it before he becomes the Marshalsea's latest victim?

To begin with, I absolutely loved 'The Devil in the Marshalsea'.  Ms Hodgson has used her research well and did a fantastic job of evoking this time and a place.  Equally, Hawkins is an easy character to become attached to.  He's impulsive and flawed but hard not to like and identify with.  After all, we're all only human.

Although I felt that this was a good read overall, I felt that the ending was disappointing.  I can't go into detail because I don't want to give away the mystery at the heart of the novel, but I felt that both the murderer and motive were a bit cliched and disappointing after such a well crafted set up.  I say cliched because it seems that the murderer has two attributes that keep reappearing in TV crime dramas and seem to say more about modern attitudes than having anything to do with good plotting.  What happened to the good old days when characters killed each other for lust, greed or revenge?

It took me a while to work out what the other thing that bothered me was.  Quite near the end of the book, as Hawkins looses all faith and becomes dehumanised by the brutality he has both seen and suffered, he begins to change quite dramatically.  By the end of the book, however, he seems to have forgotten what he's been through and back to his happy-go-lucky ways, neither looking back nor thinking what he might be able to do to help those left behind, even on the ghastly Common Side of the prison.  I could understand a character just wanting to run away and leave the Marshalsea and its inhabitants behind a mental as well as physical locked door, but I just found it hard to believe someone who is supposed to be "honourable" would not in the very least want to do something to help those still trapped in the notorious prison, even if they couldn't do much.

Overall, I think this book is let down by the ending, which is a real shame, especially as the writer is such a friendly presence on Twitter.  Putting the ending to one side, 'The Devil in the Marshalsea' was well written, absorbing and taught me about a time and place I wouldn't have otherwise visited.  I certainly hope to see more from this writer and hope that there is much better to come.