Reaching New Heights

'Ring the Hill' by Tom Cox (Unbound, 2019)

One of my absolute favourite books last year was the audio version of '21st Century Yokel' by Tom Cox, so when I heard he was writing a follow up on the themes of walking, landscape and hills, I couldn't wait.

In 'Ring the Hill', Cox explores the lumps and bumps of the landscape, from tors and mumps, to cliffs and knolls.  Starting with the iconic Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, his exploration of these landmarks leads to musings on wildlife, history, language and folklore, as well as an insight into the background to his collection of folk-horror stories 'Help the Witch'.  There's even a bit of social commentary and the odd ghost story thrown in.  As with its thematically-linked predecessor, this book is a wander through countryside and culture, wide-ranging, all-embracing and rarely dull.

Gilead Reclaimed

'The Testaments' by Margaret Atwood (Chatto & Windus, 2019)

So, where do you start with probably the biggest book of the year, in terms of anticipation, hype and sales?  Was there anything more to 'The Testaments' by Margaret Atwood than outstanding branding and an expertly co-ordinated, multi-platform promotional campaign?  Well, here are my thoughts, for what they're worth.

Love Fools (Nearly)

'The Love Delusion' by Nicola Mostyn

Last year, I thoroughly enjoyed Nicola Mostyn's chick-lit-adventure-comedy-fantasy mash up 'The Gods of Love', so you can imagine how excited I was when a follow up was announced.  So, did 'The Love Delusion' leave me smitten all over again?

Frida McKenzie is the most cynical of all divorce lawyers, independent, self-assured and, above all, really great at her job.  So great in fact that she's rapidly rising through the ranks of 'The Love Delusion', a movement determined to rid the world of it's illogical obsession with love.  Frida's even become the lawyer of choice for new converts and been given the chance to meet the movement's founder, the elusive R. A. Stone. Everything looks rosy, until a chance meeting with a strange yet familiar protestor plants a seed of doubt in her mind. Where did the Love Delusion come from, and why can't she remember her life before it?  Who is this strange man and why is there a photo of them together hidden in her home?  Could it be there's something important that she's somehow forgotten?