The Secret Life of the Owl

Title: The Secret Life of the Owl  Writer: John Lewis-Stempel Publishing House:  Doubleday Date of Publication:  October 19th 2017 Rating: 5 stars “Owls, then, are Other. They are beyond the pale of light, civilization, goodness. When the medieval English needed a neologism for the crime of midnight, smuggling of wool fleeces to France, what did they offend? ‘Owling’. “  I don’t…

Lyrebird

Title: Lyrebird Writer: Cecelia Ahern Publishing House: HarperCollins Date of Publication: November 3rd 2016 Rating: 3 stars ‘’How can a place be a home if no one wants you there?’’ I’ve always had a weird relationship with Ahern’s books. I’ve never been particularly intrigued by the stories presented in her novels, until ‘’The Marble Collector’’ attracted my attention. I loved…

Estoril

Title: Estoril Writer: Dejan Tiago Stanković Publishing House: Head of Zeus Date of Publication: March 2018 (first published November 2nd 2015) Rating: 5 stars ‘’All this information was to be taken with a grain of salt, of course, because in the world of espionage nothing was as it seemed and nobody could swear to knowing the whole truth.’’ This was…

Home Is Nearby

Title: Home Is Nearby Writer: Magdalena McGuire Publishing House: Impress Books Date of Publication:November 1st 2017 Rating: 5 stars *As always, any political comments will promptly receive the axe.* ‘’Martial law was for our own good, the government said. They said we all had to make sacrifices. And we would all be safer as a result.’’ One of the…

The Rape of Nanking

Title: The Rape of Nanking Writer: Iris Chang Publishing House: Penguin Books Date of Publication: November 1st 1998 (first published 1997) Rating: 5 stars ”Almost all people have this potential for evil, which would be unleashed only under certain dangerous social circumstances.” A beloved European friend, who’s currently living in Changzhou, has been pestering me to read this book for months….

Anne Boleyn

Title: Anne Boleyn Writer: Howard Brenton Publishing House: Nick Hern Books Date of Publication: August 16th 2011 (first published July 22nd 2010) Rating: 2 stars Tormented Queen Anne is possibly my favourite historical figure. A woman as fascinating as she was controversial, a woman who left her mark on English History with her wit, her charm and the injustice that…

The Winter Ghosts

Title: The Winter Ghosts Writer: Kate Mosse Publishing House: Paragon Publishers Date of Publication: October 23rd 2014 (first published January 6th 2010) Rating: 5 stars ‘’Bones and shadows and dust. I am the last. The others have slipped away into darkness. Around me now, at the end of my days, only an echo in the still air of the memory of…

Land Mammals and Sea Creatures

Title: Land Mammals and Sea Creatures Writer: Jen Neale Publishing House: ECW Press Date of Publication:May 8th 2018 Rating: 3 stars ‘’The bones were gone. Only the outline of fur remined. Even the dislodged claws had been collected. Julie looked around as though the culprit might be right there.’’ The sea is like a dream. It’s said…

The Hawkman

Title: The Hawkman Writer: Jane Rosenberg LaForge Publishing House: Amberjack Publishing Date of Publication: June 5th 2018 Rating: 4 stars “Bridgetonne was not without other misfits: old maids who, in an earlier time, might have been mistaken for witches, and bachelors who, likewise, would have been called out as warlocks. But by no means was the village haunted.” It seems…

The Prophets of Eternal Fjord

Title: The Prophets of Eternal Fjord   Writer: Kim Leine Publishing House: Atlantic Books Date of Publication: January 7th 2016 (first published 2012) Rating: 5 stars ‘’And then He is gone. She stands alone, high up above the settlement, which is enshrouded by fog. It is the middle of the night, yet light. A pair of ravens rumble in the…

The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night

Title: The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night Writer: Jen Campbell Publishing House: Two Roads Date of Publication: November 2nd 2017 Rating: 5 stars “There isn’t anything quite like holding love in your bare hands.” I don’t know….I don’t know how to describe the feelings I’ve experienced while reading each page of this book. I am…