Book no. 24: Spare, by Prince Harry. I enjoy autobiographies, and I thought this one was an interesting read.

Basically, no matter what you believe about him, we all saw him walking behind his mother's coffin at the age of 12. That has a profound effect on a child. So for that in any case, and for his service in the army, he has my respect and sympathy.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#Harry
#PrinceHarry
#Spare
@bookstodon

Book no. 21: They Both Die at the End, by Adam Silvera.
The moving story of two 17-year-old boys who find out today is the day they will die, and what they do with that last day. Makes you think: what would you do if you had just one day left?

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#AdamSilvera
@bookstodon

RT @LordTBR_FFA
Jiang’s “I Am AI” is a meditation on artistry and humanity, where humans are scavenging for an existence under the dominion of AI. It’s raw, emotionally gripping, and expresses the importance of community in times of tribulation. Definite recommend.
#2023Reads

Book no. 20: Hamnet, by Maggie O'Farrell.
A well thought out and beautifully written reimagining of the short life (and death) of William Shakespeare's son. A very moving story.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#Hamnet
#Shakespeare
#Maggie O'Farrell
@bookstodon

Book no. 19: Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik.

A money lender's daughter who can turn silver into gold, claimed by the icy Staryk king to do just that. A duke's daughter who marries the tsar, but he turns out to have a terrible, fiery secret.

Ice and fire battle it out in this magical fairy tale, as the women must try to save the country from eternal winter. A good read.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#NaomiNovik
@bookstodon

Book no. 18: The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley.

A group of friends, who seem to have a lot less in common than they once did, spend several days at a remote Scottish hunting lodge, and get snowed in. The perfect setting for a locked room mystery.

I liked The Guest List better, but this was still quite good, most of the characters being unlikeable enough to easily be suspects.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#Lucy Foley
@bookstodon

Book no. 17: Brown Sauce, by Pauline Lagan.
Described as 'straddling the genres of comedy, literary fiction, erotica and romance,' which is about right. I enjoyed it more than I was expecting to. I found myself warming to the main character, Davina, despite all her 'I used to be unattractive but now I have two men so I guess I'll have to choose but I don't want to'.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#PaulineLagan
@bookstodon

Book no. 16: Frankenstein in Baghdad, by Ahmed Saadawi. Translated from Arabic by Jonathan Wright.

In the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Hadi collects the body parts of bomb victims in order to give them a proper burial. He stitches the body parts together to create a body, but it disappears, and a wave of strange murders follows. Interesting commentary on post-war life in Iraq, and its struggles.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#AhmedSaadawi
@bookstodon

Book no. 15: De laatste winter (The last winter), by Femke Roobol.

The story of a young woman (and her mother and sister) living through the hunger winter in Amsterdam in 1944-45, and her brother who has been deported to Neuengamme concentration camp. After the war she searches to find out what happened to him.

Both their stories are terrible of course, but I enjoyed the book.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#FemkeRoobol
@bookstodon

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You never truly know what is going on in someone’s head or behind their smile… 👩🏻‍💻

🥤 ya contemporary
🥤 inside the mind of someone battling undiagnosed depression as they navigate high school
🥤 an unlikely friendship
🥤 online pranksters targeting the school
🥤 characters you know & love from Heartstopper

Tori as a narrator is super interesting, and I think Alice did a fantastic job at portraying a character who is suffering from undiagnosed depression and doesn’t really understand what the problem is for the majority of the book. Definitely worth checking out if you’ve read/watched Heartstopper and want to explore more of the other characters!

🔗FULL REVIEW: https://bit.ly/Review-Solitaire

#Solitaire #AliceOseman #Osemanverse #Heartstopper #ToriSpring #YAContemporary #youngadult #bookreview #2023reads #readin2023 #bookblogger

Book no. 14: The Shakespeare Secret, by J.L. Carrell.

Good fun, chasing Shakespearean clues on two continents, while trying to avoid both the police and a killer. Far-fetched but enjoyable!

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#Shakespeare
#JLCarrell
@bookstodon

Book no. 13: The Secret Lives of Cows, by Rosamund Young.

I quite enjoyed these anecdotes which show us some of the character traits our bovine friends can have. The bigger message being we need to treat them better, and intensive farming is not the way.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#RosamundYoung
#cows
@bookstodon

Book no. 12: Yolk, by Mary H.K. Choi.
This book deals with a lot of tough subjects: eating disorders, body dysmorphia, cancer, racism, but is an ultimately uplifting story of two sisters, their rivalry and love.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#Yolk
#MaryHKChoi
@bookstodon

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Get ready to work up a sweat with a swoony firefighter and fitness influencer... 💪🏼

💪🏼 curvy fitness influencer & firefighter
💪🏼 rivals to friends to lovers
💪🏼 influencer culture & trolling
💪🏼 all the swoon & all the spice
💪🏼 flirty & fun banter

The hype around this beauty is totally justified! Amy has delivered a fun, flirty and spicy romance between two swoony main characters! It’s a good thing one is a firefighter because someone turned the heat up with this one…

🔗FULL REVIEW: https://bit.ly/Review-SetOnYou

#SetOnYou #AmyLea #TheInfluencer #romancebooks #romancereads #romancereader #2023books #2023reads #readin2023 #bookreview #swoony #spicybooks #bookblogger #bookstodon

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Welcome to paradise where even when the sun goes down, the romance turns up the heat… 🌅

🏳️‍🌈 sapphic summer romance
🏳️‍🌈 building contractor & executive chef
🏳️‍🌈 second-chance & enemies-to-lovers
🏳️‍🌈 spice aplenty
🏳️‍🌈 an interesting fur baby
🏳️‍🌈 alternating perspectives

Just like book one, Lise whisks us off to the sunny Spanish coast for a sweet & swoony romance that serves up plenty of spice 🥵

🔗FULL REVIEW: https://bit.ly/Review-AfterSunset

#AfterSunset #LiseGold #TheResort #sapphic #sapphicbooks #sapphicromance #summerromance #romancebooks #romancereader #romancereaders #bookreview #readin2023 #2023reads #queerbooks #lgbtbooks #bookblogger #bookstodon

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Welcome to Paradise where the sun is hot but the romance is hotter… 🌅

🏳️‍🌈 sapphic summer romance
🏳️‍🌈 marketing whiz & hotel manager
🏳️‍🌈 lots of fur babies
🏳️‍🌈 spice aplenty
🏳️‍🌈 post-lockdown
🏳️‍🌈 alternating perspectives

This book whisks you away to the Spanish coast and gets you caught up in a swoony summer romance - there’s a reason why Lise is such a beloved sapphic romance writer, and this book proves why!

🔗FULL REVIEW: https://bit.ly/Review-WelcomeToParadise

#WelcomeToParadise #TheResort #LiseGold #sapphic #sapphicbooks #sapphicromance #summerromance #romancebooks #romancereader #romancereaders #bookreview #readin2023 #2023reads #queerbooks #lgbtbooks #bookblogger #bookstodon

Book no. 11: Zazie dans le métro, by Raymond Queneau.

Lively, cheeky, foul-mouthed Zazie stays with her uncle in Paris for two days. Bizarre events unfold, involving her uncle's friends as well as total strangers. And a parrot!

I love the way Queneau plays with the language, even though I'm sure I missed a lot, as French isn't my first language (or even my second). Very funny with serious undertones.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Bookstodon
#Books
#Reading
#RaymondQueneau
@bookstodon

Book no.10: De ontdekking van de hemel (The Discovery of Heaven), by Harry Mulisch.

I don't know where to start to describe this 900-page tale. Two young men meet and their friendship sparks a sequence of events that is weird, enthralling, incredible.

There are meandering parts that feel like Mulisch is showing off how much he knows, but he certainly can spin a yarn, and I enjoyed the book. Must seek out the film with @stephenfry #2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Books
#Bookstodon
@bookstodon

Book 7 of my #2023reads was Quantum Radio by AG Riddle. Due out in April it's a good solid sci-fi novel that mixes touches of Stargate with Timescape by Gregory Benford.

#scifi #books #bookreview #bookish #bookstadon @bookstodon

https://oursoulsignite.co.uk/book/quantum-radio

Book 6 of my #2023reads was The Lamplighters by #EmmaStonex. A brooding hulk of a book that was enjoyable to read. #bookstadon #bookreview #lighthouse #mentalhealth @bookstodon
https://oursoulsignite.co.uk/book/the-lamplighters