I love this series, but this wasn't my favourite instalment. It sets a lot of things up without resolving them in the space available, and there's a wI love this series, but this wasn't my favourite instalment. It sets a lot of things up without resolving them in the space available, and there's a weird queer-erasing fake lesbians plot that I wasn't a fan of....more
I found this very charming when I read it, but the more I think about it I'm not sure it holds together. It's a story about a wealthy, bitter, manipulI found this very charming when I read it, but the more I think about it I'm not sure it holds together. It's a story about a wealthy, bitter, manipulative old woman letting go of a terrible past with the help of her sweet long-lost grandson (and a lot of penguins), which *is* a very charming concept, but the sweet long-lost grandson has also had quite a terrible past without the benefit of enormous wealth and the contrast is a little jarring. Perhaps I'm being too picky - the penguins are extremely sweet and it's well written....more
This is the fourth one in the series and I am delighted that these books have given up any pretence of being genre romance and now constitute successiThis is the fourth one in the series and I am delighted that these books have given up any pretence of being genre romance and now constitute successive instalments in an ongoing very funny and charming soap. What happened about Flora’s baby? Is Saif ever going to find his wife back in Syria? How is Fintan doing after the death of his husband? Read on to find out! There are a couple of new characters this time: Konstantin, an exiled Norwegian prince (just go with it) and Gaspard, an extremely melodramatic French chef with a thing for Fintan, both of whom are fun, and otherwise everything continues just as you would want it to. And it is also a proper Christmas story, which I like. It has lots of food and Gaelic Christmas carols and a metal angel sculpture that is unexpectedly so enormous that it is upsetting the civil aviation authority. (And in all seriousness, the running plotline with Saif, the Syrian refugee doctor who has been placed on this tiny island by the Home Office while he waits for his wife to come out of a war zone, really is wrenching and would be worth the price of admission even if the rest of the hijinks weren’t - though they definitely are, don’t get me wrong.) Anyway, all very excellent and I will read as many of these as the author cares to put out. ...more
The central conflict in these books, such as it is, is whether country-mouse Aisling should leave behind the dull-but-reliable boyfriend and go to livThe central conflict in these books, such as it is, is whether country-mouse Aisling should leave behind the dull-but-reliable boyfriend and go to live in the big city for a brand new glamorous Dublin life. She does, and makes some fabulous friends, and has some adventures, and then at the end of book two she decides that the dull boyfriend does belong in the past but actually she'll be happier in the tiny town of Ballygobbard running her tiny cafe (BallyGoBrunch). So she goes home for good, and everyone, me included, is very happy for her. Which sort of suggests there shouldn't be a third book in the series, but here it is anyway, about Aisling now she's back in the country with weddings and hen dos and relationship drama to contend with, and it's all great. I'm actually very impressed with the structure of this book - it sets up an impressive number of dominoes and knocks them all down at the end with style - and of course it's still very funny! What a joy....more
Fascinating and devastating account of the 2011 Japanese tsunami and how it affected one small community, and some of the reported supernatural phenomFascinating and devastating account of the 2011 Japanese tsunami and how it affected one small community, and some of the reported supernatural phenomena that occurred alongside it. It's a quiet, journalistic book, not voyeuristic - it doesn't sensationalise the tsunami itself and then doesn't attempt to debunk or ridicule the ghost stories, but tells them as they were told to the author. It's beautifully written as well, without ever being self-consciously literary, and treats all its interview subjects with dignity....more
I loved this! Just utterly loved it. It's a Christmas romance, obviously, set in an old-fashioned British department store. Shell, the chief make up aI loved this! Just utterly loved it. It's a Christmas romance, obviously, set in an old-fashioned British department store. Shell, the chief make up artist, falls for Callum the newly-arrived-from-California soon-to-be-owner (though it's really Shell's story). It's low-to-zero conflict, full of delightful characters who sound like real people, and surprisingly atmospheric with it. It really captures that very British, low-key, sparkles-and-Santa run-up-to-Christmas feel (and all the more palpably for the fact none of us are having our normal December right now). I enjoyed the hell out of it and was very disappointed to find this is the author's only book for adults (so far?).
(Also, Shell is brown (and most of her friends too!) and fat, and this *isn't* one of those stupid romances where that's her story. It's so refreshing and it makes the story feel real.)...more
I liked the idea of a pop science book about nuclear power and explosions, which no one can say isn't an interesting topic! And there is a lot of fascI liked the idea of a pop science book about nuclear power and explosions, which no one can say isn't an interesting topic! And there is a lot of fascinating stuff in this book that I did not know about, particularly about why cold fusion doesn't work, and also about post-WW2 shenanigans involving nuclear power in Argentina. Despite that, it's not really a great book. It has no particular structure other than things the author found interesting strung together in random order and towards the end it veers off its central topic altogether and starts talking about SETI and faster-than-light communication, for some reason. The author is also touchingly naive about political history, which is a bit of a difficulty in a book about nuclear power and nuclear bombs. I enjoyed a lot of this, but wouldn't recommend it....more
I love all of Anuja Chauhan's books, picked this up shortly after it came out and put it down after one chapter in the mistaken belief that it was a PI love all of Anuja Chauhan's books, picked this up shortly after it came out and put it down after one chapter in the mistaken belief that it was a Proper Serious Novel. It is not! It is another funny, warm book about another pair of star-crossed lovers: this time Shaanu, a Haryanvi village boy who's managed against all odds to become a fighter pilot in the IAF, and Tinka, who's a dedicated journalist, smart, privileged and pacifist. It's 1971, India and Pakistan are gearing up for war, which naturally leads to interpersonal conflict. Neither of them are right or wrong, most of the time, and their story is complicated without losing any of fun parts. As ever there is a large cast of hilarious and fleshed-out minor characters and a lot of wordplay. I enjoyed it a lot.
(NB. without spoiling it, it's about two people in love, but is definitely a war story rather than a genre romance.)...more
Awww, I loved this! I complained that the last book ended abruptly but it picked up happily here and I feel like I could read a dozen instalments of tAwww, I loved this! I complained that the last book ended abruptly but it picked up happily here and I feel like I could read a dozen instalments of these low-key mysteries about low-key charming people. It's also wonderfully queer!...more
This is the sort of story that would be unbelievable if it were fiction: in the early 2000s, a group of American libertarians decided to take over a sThis is the sort of story that would be unbelievable if it were fiction: in the early 2000s, a group of American libertarians decided to take over a small, remote town in New Hampshire, eliminate the government, and create a tax-free libertarian utopia. Things did not go to plan, although they did manage to slash all public amenities including and especially the fire department. Then the bears moved in. The author can't resist editorialising at various points, but mostly makes the libertarians look ridiculous (which they very much are) by recounting neutrally the bizarre and self-defeating choices they made over the years they had control over the town, all with the goal of reducing taxes (and how this made them such easy prey for the bears). The book is occasionally a little scattershot, but it's funny and fascinating....more
Technically this should be in my did-not-finish pile, but I got 88% of the way through before I decided I couldn’t read any more. I’ve heard good thinTechnically this should be in my did-not-finish pile, but I got 88% of the way through before I decided I couldn’t read any more. I’ve heard good things about this book and if I squint I can see why it was once groundbreaking- it’s a rich and detailed SF future with a ton of interesting ideas. But the main character is, surprise, a disaffected young man! Who mopes for dozens of pages, which would be tedious by itself. But then then the young woman he treats badly in chapter 1 comes back later, just to be raped on screen in loving detail. Nah. ...more
Reread of one of my favourite books - so imaginative and compelling and ambitious. Its attitude towards its female characters has not aged well, if itReread of one of my favourite books - so imaginative and compelling and ambitious. Its attitude towards its female characters has not aged well, if it was ever current at all, and I'm not wild about its references to "primitive peoples", but otherwise a near-flawless book....more
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