Circus of Wonders – Elizabeth Macneal Review

Rating: ★★★★

Source: @inkdropsbooks Instagram

Thank you to Netgalley and Picador Books for sending me a copy of this in exchange for a review.

When Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders comes to town, Nell’s father sees an opportunity to rid himself of his daughter, who is an outsider thanks to her birthmarks. Nell is sold to the circus, and uprooted from all she has ever known. What she doesn’t expect is to feel so at home among the “freaks” and curiosities of the circus, and to relish the liberty to be her true self. As her fame grows, however, her success begins to overshadow even Jupiter Jasper himself, and even she also catches the eye of his brother, Toby, tensions come to a boiling point.

This book got off to such a great start, with characters that really jump off the page and make you interested to follow in the story. I liked how each of the main POV characters, Nell, Toby and Jasper had such detailed backstories, and personal dilemmas and dramas, as well as the overarching storyline which drew the three of them together. I really admired Nell as a character, particularly her adaptability and determination.

I love the Victorian circus setting of this book, which brings to light the era’s fascination with “curiosities”. The community at the circus and their friendships was really interesting to read about and I loved watching how being surrounded by people who let her be herself made Nell into a happier person. I liked how each character and the setting helped the plot develop and added to it. There were some parts where I wasn’t sure where the plot was going, and where the pacing slowed down somewhat, but the characters and setting were enough to keep me entertained.

Overall a really enjoyable read that I recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction! I am so impressed by this author and have my eyes set on her debut, The Doll Factory.

Circus of Wonders will be published on 13 May 2021.

The Witchfinder’s Sister – Beth Underdown Review

Source: inkdropsbooks Instagram

Rating: ★★★★★

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, Penguin and Viking Books in exchange for an honest review.

You’ve heard of Salem, but have you heard of Manningtree? This book follows the fictional sister of the real Matthew Hopkins, England’s self-proclaimed Witchfinder General, who prowled the towns of East Anglia in the mid 1600s, hunting witches. When Alice Hopkins returns home following her husband’s death, she is horrified to find that he has become influential thanks to his ruthlessness in tracking witches. When Alice tries to intervene, suspicious eyes turn to her, and when she tries to understand the root of her brother’s rage, she discovers family secrets that had been hidden for decades.

My favourite part of this book was Beth Underdown’s writing, which was full of tension and suspense. The tone and first person narration, in the form of Alice’s journal, really made the characters and story feel real, and the atmosphere of fear and suspicion was palpable. To top it all off, this book had the only final sentence which made me literally GASP IN SHOCK. I don’t believe in spoilers in reviews, so please read this book and come back to SCREAM WITH ME.

Alice was a fascinating protagonist who you can get behind. I liked that she and the other characters all had a detailed backstory without their pasts taking over the plot. The author was brilliant at making characters’ pasts relevant to the story rather than just background information, and was also great at bringing characters together in interesting and believable relationships. I particularly liked the friendship that formed between Alice and one of the women suspected of witchcraft.

I love reading about little known parts of history and this book was fantastic at bringing the Manningtree witch hunts to life. I loved the excerpts of real historical texts, and also the author’s note at the end of the book which set out which parts were true and which were fiction. It made me want to learn more about Manningtree and Matthew Hopkins, as well as want to dive back into a 17th century historical novel. Generally, I loved its insight into how women were accused of witchcraft for all sorts of reasons, such as mental illness, birthmarks, promiscuity, or just having pissed off the wrong person.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and how it was both a gripping story and informative. I loved the atmosphere and how it chilled me to the bone, Alice’s brains and the other smart women that made up its cast.

The Wives – Lauren Weisberger Review

Source: @inkdropsbooks Instagram

Rating: ★★★★★

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

Emily is a PR executive whose famous clients are exchanging her for a younger alternative. Miriam is a former city lawyer who has left work to raise her children. Karolina is a former supermodel who finds herself in the middle of a media frenzy when she is wrongfully accused of drunk driving with her child in the car. The three find themselves in the suburbs at the same time, and pull together to solve all three of their problems. In particular, Emily is determined to save Karolina’s reputation by proving that she has been framed, and in the process prove that she is the best in the industry.

This book is great light-hearted and fast-paced fun. Each of the three women have entertaining stories that keep you hooked, from professional to personal dramas that unfold throughout. They range from the everyday problems (showing up to social events having completely misunderstood the dress code), to more serious (thinking your husband is cheating on you), to life-changing (being framed as a drunk-driver). I liked how the story melded the light-hearted stories with the darker ones, so that it created a really realistic feel and kept the mood changing.

The characters have strong personalities which keep the story moving along. I also liked how each of the three women were fully-fleshed, and their backgrounds developed so that they were actually relevant to the story. For instance, Miriam’s legal background comes into use in helping her friend, whilst Karolina’s infertility problems are woven into her present day problems. No strand of their lives were left hanging, and everything tied in really well. My favourite of the three was Emily, whose witticisms in particular were hilarious, but overall I loved their friendship and how three such different women came together.

I didn’t realise until over 30% in that this book is actually the third instalment in The Devil Wears Prada series, and Emily is EMILY CHARLTON (AKA Emily Blunt). By that point, it was too late to stop and find a copy of the second, and I was enjoying it too much. Anyway, it didn’t bother me at all and didn’t get in the way of enjoying this one. Although the books are a series they seem to work well as standalones so don’t let that stop you! Yes, maybe I miss the story on how Emily meets her husband, or how and when she leaves Runway, but that wasn’t relevant to the story in this book and anyting that I needed to know was in the book itself, so that I could enjoy it as a standalone. Plus it was a fun surprise when Miranda Priestley randomly popped up!

I really enjoyed this contemporary drama about three female friends navigating careers and motherhood. It was exactly the type of light read I wanted and I really recommend this series (at least, books 1 and 3!) if you are looking for some fun female-led dramas! At some point I will probably go back and read the second instalment to find out what I missed. 

Tess of the D’Urbevilles – Thomas Hardy Review

Source: @inkdropsbook instagram

Rating:★★

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲.

A part of me worries that it might be blasphemy to say that I didn’t enjoy this book, but I have to be honest. Tess of the D’Urbevilles is one of my biggest literary disappointments, I cannot wrap my head around how much people love it, and I never thought I would dislike this book as much as I did. After all, Far From the Madding Crowd is one of my all time faves, but GOSH did this book drag on for me. 

To summarise, this book follows Tess, a poor girl descended from an aristocratic family, and the consequences of a sexual assault she suffers. When she tries to move on with her life, and finds love, it comes back to haunt her in the form of rejection from society, and her attempts to rid herself of her past end in tragedy.

I’ve read that Tess was Hardy’s favourite female lead and I cannot wrap my head around this. I mean, this man wrote Bathsheba Everdene, who ran a farm and business herself, was passionate and confident. Tess is dull, clueless, and with the exception of a few brief passages, has absolutely no backbone. Whenever she does stand up for herself, such as one brief moment where she slaps a man, it is short-lived and overshadowed by her subsequent subservience. Her strongest characteristic was her beauty and “purity” (read: beauty and naivety), and the fact that she seems to make every man around her fall into temptation. I knew where the story was going, having watched the adaptation years ago, and I was constantly waiting for that one moment where she would switch, but it never really came.

If I had little love for Tess, I had even less for anyone else. This book has the worst supporting cast ever – I guess you kind of have to give Tess some credit when she is surrounded by the WORST people in England. This book has the worst romantic relationship I’ve ever read. Angel Clare is the worst, and the relationship between him and Tess stinks. He thinks he owns her, and she worships him like a god. I am not sure if the ending of this book is justified by the romance, the idea of sacrificial love and so on, but it definitely is not. (Personally, I think Angel Clare deserved the same ending as Alex D’Urbeville.)

The best thing about this book was Thomas Hardy’s writing. There were passages where his tone when made clear his disapproval of the society, the people and even the relationships (I think). I appreciated that he clearly presented Tess and Angel as not loving each other as people, but rather as ideas: Angel loves the idea of Tess that he has cultivated of her, and Tess of him. If I had read this book with a more analytical mind, I might be able to add more commentary to this point, but I have to hope that the man who created Bathsheba Everdene approached Tess with some more nuance than I picked up on the first read.

Overall, this book was a huge disappointment to me. I was hoping to have another dear favourite book in Tess but this book gets a big no from me. This book only got a second star because Hardy is still a master wordsmith, and the writing in this book is beautiful.

Have you read any Hardy and what did you think? If not, have you ever been surprised to dislike a book by an author who you usually love?

The Underground Railroad – Colson Whitehead Review

Source: @inkdropsbooks Instagram

Rating: ★★★★★

Look outside as you speak through, and you’ll find the true face of America.

Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation, abandoned by her mother who fled years before, and an outcast among her fellow slaves. When Caesar asks her to run away with him, he is hoping her mother’s success in running away will rub off on him. What follows is not a story of luck, but a story of adventure, twists, and tragedy.

In this novel, the Underground Railway is a real railway, hidden beneath houses and transporting runaways from state to state. Cora’s journeys on the underground trains transport her around America, where she meets friends, enemies and finds love. Along the way, running from slave catchers and towards freedom, she constantly wonders what it is to be free and whether she will ever cease to be chattel.

The writing in this book is fantastic and the author did a great job in bringing Cora and the other characters to life. The presentation of the railway as a real railway was an act of genius and brought an otherworldly element to a harrowing tale set during horrific circumstances, and the metaphor of a journey through the darkness, carving one’s own tunnel and underground escapes was a fantastic idea. On top of this, Cora was a character who you can really get behind whilst still being complex and layered. I felt my heartstrings being tugged in all directions by the story and was reflecting on this tale for days after finishing.

QOTD: have you read The Underground Railroad? What did you think of it?

Lie, Lie Again – Stacy Wise Review

Source: @inkdropsbooks instagram

Rating: DNF (65%)

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sylvia, Riki and Embry all live at 1054 Mockingbird Lane, but that is where the similarities end. Sylvia, embittered by a betrayal, is seeking revenge on an ex, Embry struggles to be the perfect wife and mother as her husband pursues his Hollywood dreams, whilst Riki struggles to hide her crush on Embry’s husband. The three women’s personal dramas continue to grow until a body is found at the bottom of the apartment building’s staircase.

I was really excited to read this – I love a good female-led thriller and mystery and I was getting Big Little Lies vibes from this. I was intrigued by the three women from such different lives and seeing how their lives collided. However, this story really just fell absolutely flat for me. Riki and Embry felt completely beige to me, and didn’t do anything apart from ponder how sad their lives were. The only character with any backbone was Sylvia, and I couldn’t stand her – she took the angry warrior woman trope to the extreme and was nothing but bitter and cruel. I couldn’t get behind or enjoy the portrayal of her revenge rampage, which felt childish and stupid.

The pacing of this book was really slow, which was the main thing that made me put this down. The book starts with a body that has been found at 1054 Mockingbird Lane, and then goes back in time to show (I expect) how the body ends up there. Instead of the tension building, however, all we get is an insight into these women’s daily lives. I expect the author was trying to introduce tension through their everyday dramas, but they were boring and didn’t amp up the tension. I got two-thirds of the way through and the women were essentially in the same position they were in at the beginning. I expect people who have read this may tell me that it is all worth it for a surprise twist at the end, but a thriller should build up tension throughout the book and not just the final chapters.

This book was a struggle to get through, a struggle which I eventually gave up on. There was potential but in the end the characters and plot were too underdeveloped for me to enjoy the wait for the big reveal.

Transcendent Kingdom – Yaa Gyasi Review

Source: @inkdropsbooks Instagram account

Rating: ★★★

It took me many years to realize that it’s hard to live in this world.

AM I THE ONLY PERSON WHO DIDN’T LOVE THIS?

The journey that Gifty’s parents made, years before, from Ghana to Alabama haunted the family for decades to come, eventually resulting in tragedy and loss. Gifty is now an adult, who has abandoned the religion of her youth and turned to science, but when she begins to care for her depressed mother, their shared trauma leads her back to the world of her childhood.

Unfortunately this book just didn’t quite do it for me. There were some internal debates in Gifty’s mind but I didn’t feel like there was any real resolution, and the plot didn’t feel strong enough to support it for the full length of the novel. It was also too back-and-forth for me, with lots of jumping around in timelines only to realise at the end that actually not much happened plot-wise.

In terms of characters, apart from Gifty they are essentially all a bit flat. Then, I didn’t like Gifty because of her cold and detached tone. Having some more human characters could have brought this book more to life for me, particularly the book’s exploration of addiction which I think could have done more to show the addict‘s perspective.

It’s such a shame that I found this book disappointing. I absolutely loved Homecoming by Yaa Gyasi which is one of my favourite reads of recent years, and I was so excited for this book. It’s a shame that I found this to be a bit of a let down but I’ve given it 3 stars for the beautiful writing. 

Klara and the Sun – Kazuo Ishiguro

Rating: ★★★★★

What was becoming clear to me was the extent to which humans, in their wish to escape loneliness, made manoeuvres that were very complex and hard to fathom.

Klara and the Sun follows an ‘Artificial Friend’ or ‘AF’ called Klara, who was designed to be a friend for lonely children and prevent loneliness. She learns about the world from her shop window, until she is purchased by Josie, a teenage girl with a mysterious illness. As Josie becomes more unwell, Klara learns even more about life, death, love and humanity.

This book feels to me like an accompaniment to Never Let Me Go, also by Kazuo Ishiguro and my favourite book. Just like that book, it looks at the meaning of life and how humans evolve, and how they stay the same, in the light of technological advancement. This book has a lot of questions around what the meaning of life and love is, and whether human connection can be replaced.

Just like in his other books, Kazuo Ishiguro’s writing style is beautiful and lyrical without feeling like it is trying hard. He has an amazing way of describing things exactly how they are, and capturing his narrator’s voice so that you feel like you really know them. Klara is a robot and yet she is endearing in her naivety and admirable in her hopefulness. She feels like a real person who you would want to know (which I guess is the whole point) and really brings to life the questions of what makes humans unique. Ishiguro isn’t ‘in your face’ with his themes or plots, and yet by the end of it I knew exactly what he wanted to say and couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Overall, this is just as good as I expected it to be, with all the features of Kazuo Ishiguro’s writing which I’ve grown to love.

Legendary – Stephanie Garber (Caraval #2)

Rating: ★★★.5

In the first book in this series, Caraval, we follow Scarlett as she plays the magical game Caraval organised by the mysterious Legend in order to save her sister’s life. In the sequel, we find out that Scarlett and Tella only got tickets to Caraval because Tella struck a bargain with a mysterious criminal: the tickets, in exchange for finding out the true identity of the mysterious Legend. In order to do so, she must win Caraval herself, and as she plays the game, more is at risk. She could lose her life, and her family.

Stephanie Garber is brilliant at plotting the fast-paced, exciting Caraval, and creating an air of mystery and magic. I loved delving back into her world. I was always excited to see what would happen next and what surprise would be waiting on the next page. However, the culmination of this book felt a bit rushed for such a detailed book, and I would have loved to see more.•
I was also a bit disappointed to not see more of Scarlett, who was the centre of the first book and felt a bit thrown to the sidelines. Generally the story in this book felt quite detached from the first, but this may be because I waited so long before reading this book. This may also be understandable once I have finished the trilogy and seen how the threads all tie in together.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to finish the trilogy with Finale!

Conjure Women – Afia Atakora Review

Source: @inkdropsbooks Instagram

Rating: ★★★

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rue has inherited her mother’s gift and role as healer and midwife, as well as the ability to conjure curses. This book picks up shortly after the civil war and emancipation of slaves, and she continues to serve her community in the shadow of their former master’s plantation. When the birth of a baby with a strange birthmark coincides with the arrival of a preacher called Abel and a new disease which kills off the town’s children, Rue’s community begins to turn on her. Meanwhile, there are reports of a ghostly woman, which threatens to unravel the secrets which Rue has kept hidden since the war.

There are lots of things I really liked about this book. I loved the setting and the insight into ‘conjure women’, I loved Afia Atakora’s prose and the way her descriptions brought things to life, and I loved the way the story jumped between Rue’s present day and her past. There were also plot points which I found fascinating like the story of what happened to Rue’s father.

Unfortunately what held this story back for me was the lack of a clear overarching plot. I felt like Rue was plodding along while a bunch of things happened around her, and I couldn’t see what her main story arc, her goal, or her journey was. This made the reading experience feel a bit forced to me, as it felt somewhat unstructured, but I still enjoyed the writing and characters enough to keep reading.

Overall this was a good book which raises so many issues like slavery, racism, sexual assault and motherhood, and which had some brilliant prose. However the structure and plot left me feeling a bit disenchanted and unengaged.