Random Book Reviews Web

Reviewing the new @PushkinPress middle grade How to Be Brave by Daisy May Johnson. Spoiler: I really enjoyed it!

After a month’s hiatus, I’m back with another book review! 2021 has been a…year, shall we say, and one of the things I’ve taken comfort in is reading. So, when Pushkin Press announced their new children’s books, I jumped at the chance and requested one on Netgalley: Daisy May Johnson’s middle grade How to Be Brave. The novel begins with Elizabeth North who, after the tragic death of her parents,…

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi review

I’ve been meaning to review Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom for a while and, now we’re less than three weeks from the winner being announced, today seems the perfect time to do it. Gifty is a postgraduate neuroscience student at Stanford, specialising in addiction. Her mother has newly arrived from Alabama and spends much of her time in bed, depressed. We also flashback to Gifty’s family life,…

Random Book Quiz Round 52: Shakespearean First Lines

As we near the middle of May, I’m aware that I’ve been neglecting the Book Quiz in the last couple of weeks. Apologises for the delay, but it’s back! This week, I’ve decided to forgo novels and have focused on the world of theatre. Namely, Shakespearean theatre. The title is self-explanatory: down below are ten opening lines, all taken from plays written by William Shakespeare. Can you tell me…

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart review

Apologies for not updating this blog more often, as the first half of 2021 has been hard to say the least. Two family members passed away, and I struggled to read or write anything. Or just do anything full stop. But I’m feeling better, and so I decided to bring back the blog by reviewing the 2020 Booker winner, Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain. We follow the eponymous Shuggie, as he grows up in…

Monthly Round Up & Women’s Prize Shortlist Reaction

Apologises for the late post this week! I wanted to do a Monthly Round Up for April. But, I also wanted to react to the Women’s Prize Shortlist, which was released yesterday. So I decided to compromise, and squish the two together. Looking back, this was the best idea. Mainly because most of the books read in April were from the Women’s Prize longlist. They were: Piranesi – Susanna…

Random Book Quiz Round 51: International Booker Prize Nominees

After a couple of weeks away, the Random Book Quiz is back! And since we’ve also recently had the announcement of the International Booker Prize 2021 shortlist, it seems like a great time to take a look back at the prize. The prize has been running in some shape or form intermittently since 2005. Which means a lot of books to sift through. So to make things easier, I’m concentrating on novels…

Luster by Raven Leilani review

The second book off the Women’s Prize longlist I have finally read, Luster is Raven Leilani’s debut novel. Edie is twenty three, living in New York and working at a publishing house, when she meets Eric, a married, middle-aged archivist. Eric says his wife Rebecca is comfortable with having an open marriage, and so he and Edie begin a relationship. However, Edie’s life takes a turn for the worse…

Random Book Quiz Round 50: Easter

For the first Random Book Quiz round in April, I’ve decided to indulge in all things Easter. I will definitely be indulging in some (all) chocolate come Sunday; good bye to that waistline! But enough about me: let’s get back to the quiz. Down below are 10 books who have a word relating to Easter missing in their title. Can you guess the word and complete the name? As always, good luck and let me…

All the things I've read and watched in March. Monthly Round-Up:

As March is winding down – how are we a quarter of the way through 2021 already?! – it is time to reflect back on the month and what I’ve read/watched. Because I’m very slowly making my way through a couple of chunky books, I only managed to finish and review two novels: Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid Burnt Sugar – Avni Doshi I really enjoyed (perhaps the wrong word for it) Burnt Sugar; I found…

Random Book Quiz Round 49: Funniest Books Ever

Since March is starting to wind down, I’ve began to look to April for inspiration for the Random Book Quiz. And, admittedly, I didn’t have to look for long as 1st April aka April Fool’s Day is on the horizon. Love it or loathe it, on Thursday people will be pranking their loved ones up until 12pm. So this round is very loosely connected to all things fun. In 2017, Barnes & Noble released their…

Random Book Quiz Round 48: Female Irish Authors

Maidin! The 17th March was St. Patrick’s Day and I hope you all had a lovely time if you celebrated it. For this round I decided to combine both St. Patrick’s and National Women’s History Month to mention some brilliant Irish women writers. Or, rather, their books. The task this week is to name the authors of the novels I’ve mentioned below. As always, have fun and good luck! 1. Actress 2.…

First book off the Women's Prize longlist done. And what a book it was. Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi review

Avni Doshi’s Burnt Sugar seems to be everywhere. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and making the longlist for the Women’s Prize just last week, everyone is talking this debut. And with very good reason, though admittedly I find it a book incredibly hard to talk about. But I shall try my best. Burnt Sugar follows Antara, whose mother Tara is suffering with dementia – a fact neither Antara’s…

Random Book Quiz Round 47: Plays and their Characters

The last couple of rounds of the Random Book Quiz have primarily focused on writers. This week, I’ve decided to turn my attention to their creations instead. It’s also been a while since I did a round on plays, so I have mushed these two ideas together to come up with Round 47. I have listed characters from 10 plays – you need to guess the play they’re from. Good luck and let me know how you…

Random Book Quiz Round 46: Women’s NonFiction

This coming Monday marks International Women’s Day, which seemed like great inspiration for a round. But, there was a slight problem: last week’s round was also dedicated to women authors. Whilst scrabbling for another idea, I noticed Round 45 was dominated by fiction. A thought was sparked, a lightbulb switched on above my head and this round was born. Since last week we looked at fiction,…

Finally decided on my 16 books! Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 Longlist Predictions

The beginning of March signals two things: spring is on its way and the longlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction will shortly be revealed. This year the list will be announced on 10th March (we have to wait until the 20th for spring) and I thought I would try and predict the sixteen titles. I say ‘predictions’; some of them are definitely wishes, books I keep meaning to get to but for one…

Random Book Quiz Round 45: Female Authors

In the US, UK, and Australia, March is Women’s History Month, when we honour and highlight contributions made by women across the globe, both past and present. It therefore seemed apt to have a round dedicated to female authors just before the month kicks off. So down below are 10 books, all written by women. But can you tell me the author? The Yellow Wallpaper 2. Good Morning, Midnight 3.…

Monthly Round-Up: February 2021

As February disappears into the rear view mirror, I thought I would look back at the books I’ve read this month. I only have three to mention: Fawn’s Touching Tale by Irene Wineman Marcus and Agnes Wohl Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise by Scott Eyman The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste Three is probably the least amount of books I’ve finished and reviewed in awhile, and there are a couple of…