Author spotlight: Beth O’Leary

As I’ve said before, there are only a few authors’ backlists that I’ve caught up with, but Beth O’Leary is one of those authors for me. In today’s spotlight, we take a closer look at this up-and-coming romance author. Beth O’Leary is a best-selling romance author who was born and raised in England. As the…

Author spotlight: Elizabeth Acevedo

There are only a few authors who I can confidently say I’ve read their backlists but Elizabeth Acevedo is one of those authors for me. In today's spotlight we find out a little bit more about this highly celebrated young adult author. As always, let’s start with a quick bio. Elizabeth Acevedo is an award-winning…

Review of The King of Crows by Libba Bray

I finally made it through The Diviners and have some thoughts to share on this final installment. Title: The King of Crows Author: Libba Bray Publisher: Atom Page count: 547 Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fic Average Goodreads rating: 4.01 My star rating: 3 Before we begin, it's safe to say that I was highly disappointed with this concluding novel and it now sits…

‘Weird’ book recommendations

One of my favourite genres is what you would consider ‘new weird'. Technically 'new weird' fiction is an offshoot of the ‘weird’ subgenre of speculative fiction. New weird books cross traditional genre boundaries in attempts to overturn cliches but they often get miscategorised as science fiction or horror. They’re polarising but I love them and…

Review of Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray

I’m sure this comes as no surprise but after finishing The Diviners and Lair of Dreams I jumped straight into Before the Devil Breaks You and have some thoughts to share. Title: Before the Devil Breaks You Author: Libba Bray Publisher: Atom Page count: 546 Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fic Average Goodreads rating: 4.28 My star rating: 4 In my current ranking of…

Review of Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

I had grand reading plans for October, but it seems I’ve been caught up in the Libba Bray hype as after re-reading The Diviners last week I jumped straight into Lair of Dreams. Title: Lair of Dreams Author: Libba Bray Publisher: Atom Page count: 613 Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fic Average Goodreads rating: 4.13 My star rating: 5 Like last time, I read…

Author spotlight: Donna Tartt

At this time of year, lots of reviewers (including me!) recommend The Secret History by Donna Tartt as the epitome of dark academia and autumnal reading. But what about her other books? I thought I’d pull together an author spotlight on Donna Tartt to learn more about her and her backlist. Let’s start with a…

Dark academia book recommendations

Over the past couple of years the dark academia genre has slowly become one of my favourites. I did a bit of Googling and found the definition to be ‘dark academia is an aesthetic centered on higher education, writing, the arts, and classic Greek and Gothic architecture, as well as romantic longing and death’. And…