Julianne

Books mentioned and mini-reviews:

Heartstream by Tom Pollock

Amy is one of the most popular users on Heartstream, an app that allows others to feel your emotions, but she feels guilty about it, having broadcast in the months leading up to her mother’s death from cancer. Things get worse when her fans show up at the funeral, and then she returns home to find that there’s a strange woman inside her house, wearing explosives. This was an incredibly moving thriller and I couldn’t put it down!

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Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett

The Discworld (re)discovers Holy Wood, a town where nothing is as it seems and everybody wants to be in moving pictures. This was fun but ultimately quite similar to a lot of the previous books and I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters.

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Writers and Lovers by Lily King (review copy from NetGalley)

I normally avoid books about writers like the plague but the description of this one captured my interest! I was not disappointed. I loved the realism and charm of this novel about a woman struggling to write, navigate her love life, come to terms with the loss of her mother and make her student loan repayments in the 90s.

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The Neighbours by Nicola Gill (review copy from NetGalley)

I really liked the idea of this and found it an easy read that tackled some tough issues (not all of them in as much depth as I would have liked). It’s about a woman who decides to help her neighbour, a troubled reality star, get back on her feet.

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The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

This is a very sexy romance about an autistic woman who employs an escort to help her learn how to be good at relationships. It’s a bit of a fairytale but the typical tropes are reversed as she is the one with the high-powered job and bags of money! I really loved it and can’t wait to read more by this author.

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The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein

This is a prequel to Code Name Verity, about Julie as a young woman at home on her grandfather’s estate for the last time, trying to work out what happened to a collection of pearls he had. It was a complete delight and I must read more by this author!

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Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

This is a collection of weird and intriguing short stories. My favourite was the one I’d already read, The Husband Stitch, but I also liked most of the others and I’m looking forward to re-reading this in the future and seeing how my preferences change.

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The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild

High drama in the art world as a woman finds a lost masterpiece in a junk shop – not only does she not believe it’s a masterpiece, but it turns out it was never lost! I loved meeting the wide-ranging cast of characters from impoverished auctioneers to bored oligarchs, art dynasty heirs to society eccentrics. It was great to finally get around to reading this after reading House of Trelawney in January.

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Calling Dr Laura by Nicole J. Georges

This is a graphic memoir about a) how the author found out that her family had lied to her and that her father wasn’t who she thought he was, b) the relationship she has during this time and c) dogs. I really enjoyed it and will definitely read more by this author.

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Books mentioned and mini-reviews:

Toffee by Sarah Crossan

This is a beautiful verse novel about a runaway girl who finds a strange new home with a woman convinced that she is someone called Toffee. It explores tough topics slowly and carefully and I really enjoyed it.

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Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology 11

This was the most recent Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology when I bought a copy last year for research into short story competitions and I really liked it. My favourite story was actually the last story – If, Say by Julianne Woodside – but I enjoyed all the others. Reading this inspired me to set myself a challenge to read one short story every day in February, which I’ve continued in subsequent months, so expect to see a lot more reviews of short story collections and anthologies this year.

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City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

I adored this. I cannot overstate how much of a delight this was to listen to! It begins in the interwar period and follows a young woman, who after being kicked out of university, gets sent to live with her aunt who owns a theatre in New York. Her life quickly becomes decadently irresponsible as she makes friends, takes lovers and tries to figure out what kind of person she will be. It just ticked so many of my boxes! Theatres, people messing up their lives, female friendship, the process of working out you are and want to become – it was an addictive, sparkling dream of a book and I’m really hoping it stands up to a second listen.

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Eric by Terry Pratchett

Eric is a demonology hacker but not a very good one – he accidentally summons Rincewind instead of a demon! This is a very short novel in the Discworld series and ultimately quite forgettable, though I enjoyed it.

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Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet by Shyama Perera

Another historical coming-of-age novel (this was a strong month for these!) this time beginning in London in the 1960s with the story of four girls as they go to secondary school, grow up, and get their first jobs and lovers. This one also ticked a few of my boxes, in this case for ‘recent historical London’ and ‘deals with issues of race and class’, and I really liked it. I’m really curious to find out what else this author has written.

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Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray

There’s not a lot I can say about this because it is the third in The Diviners series, but I’m still in love with the way these books are written and the ending – OMG!

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The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night by Jen Campbell

I was given this at a Lush book club event which was really exciting because I’ve been a big fan of Jen’s YouTube channel for years and have read some of her stories in other publications. I was not disappointed in the least. It’s a gorgeous book full of thoughtful high concept stories and I will definitely read it again and again.

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The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow (review copy from NetGalley)

This is a book which asks us to reconsider Mary Bennet, the most neglected of Austen’s Bennet sisters, exploring her character in much more detail than she gets in Pride and Prejudice. She’s awkward, has no natural charm, and is often criticised by her mother and ignored by her sisters. Yet her determination to figure out the world and what it expects from her makes her a very compelling protagonist and I couldn’t put this book down until the last seventy or so pages. At that point I still enjoyed it but it didn’t flow as lightly as the earlier chapters did.

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