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Review: 5 stars! On one hand I am ashamed to say that I have waited until my 40th year to read this book, but on the other I am delighted that I did. I’m not sure I would have fully appreciated its brilliance beforehand. Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again … I’ll start with the characters. The heroine (we never discover her name) is obsessed at the beginning of the book about being young and inexperienced. It’s mentioned so often that I found myself shouting – We get it! You’re young! But this is necessary as it draws us into her mindset of how every single thing she does is wrong and scrutinised. Also, she is comparing herself to Maxim who is about twenty years her senior. When she reaches Manderley her inexperience shines. It doesn’t even cross her mind that she can tell the servants what to do and is constantly being clumsy and making mistakes. She allows herself to be bullied by Mrs Danvers. Ah, Mrs Danvers! What a character. Her ‘skull face’ will stay with me forever, the treacherous old bat. We love to hate her and she nearly manages to dispose of the heroine for good. There are a lot of frustrating moments when again I’d be shouting – Just tell Maxim! But what would be the fun in that. Rebecca slowly reveals herself throughout the novel, each piece of information crushing our heroine until the nail-biting climax. These characters will forever be living, breathing, people in my mind. Du Maurier’s writing style is flowery prose and there are lots of descriptions of nature, the flowers, the Happy Valley, the cove. However, these sometimes in-depth descriptions, are important to the atmosphere of Manderley as a place, and gives it a heart beat of its own. Rebecca smashed its way into my ‘favourite books of all time’ very short list. I have no doubt I will read this book over and over, but for now I’m nursing a terrible book hangover. #review #Rebecca #daphnedumaurier #readersofinstagram #bookreview #readercommunity

Settling down to Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I can take my time over this now the summer holidays have started 🖤 . . . . #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #rebecca #daphnedumaurier #readerscommunity #readersofinstagram #spooky #spookyreads #gothic

Review: 3.5/5 Little Fires Everywhere is a complex interaction of characters, revealing their intentions and secrets as the slow plot moves forward. I will admit I was a little confused at the start with the introduction of the Richardson family – there are so many of them in the first scene that I found it hard to picture them immediately. However, they develop into individuals as you read on, the four children reminding me of the Breakfast Club – the jock, the popular girl, the geek and the outcast. But they do gain depth as Ng allows us to watch them face challenges and develop. All except Trip, the jock, his input is minimal. The story of Mia, and her daughter Pearl, arriving in the restrictive suburbs of Shaker Heights really shakes things up (pun intended). Mia offers an alternative lifestyle to the one enforced at the Heights. She travels around, dragging her daughter from two to town and has very little material possessions. Despite Mia’s secrets, which are revealed later on, she is offered as the moral force of the book. She is the one who gives advice and guidance to those in need (Izzy) and helps in a time of crisis (Lexie). With the backdrop of a court case over whether a Chinese child should be returned to her mother or kept with the affluent family who’ve been raising hr for months, it’s clear who’s side Mia is on. Bebe, the mother, is Mia’s friend, and an an event from Mia’s past helps us understand her allegiances. All the main characters have depth and complexities, except perhaps for Mrs Richardson who’s development as a character I imagine will happen after this book based on the lessons she’s learned. I haven’t read a book with an omniscient narrator for quite some time and I found the style refreshing, being able to go into each of the characters lives. There is no doubt that Ng is an amazing writer and her words and imagery are executed beautifully. I can see how this may be a little slow-paced for some readers, and I did actually read two books in the middle of this, but got straight back into it. Definitely worth a read. #bookstagram #bookreview #review #books #littlefireseverywhere #celesteng

Review: 4/5 Review: ‘She felt the queasy tickle of their nearness, like spider-feet against her mind.’ I thoroughly enjoyed this book, mostly due to the beautiful writing style, but partly because I love ghost stories. This ghost story felt fresh and original with the family history and Makepeace’s possession by Bear. I loved the relationship between Makepeace and Bear and how they had a lot in common despite being different species; both being lost and used by the people around them. Makepeace herself was a likeable character, strong and resilient. However, I think my favourite character was Mother, her cold-heartedness and the mystery surrounding Makepeace’s beginnings make her interesting. The opening conversation between the two is striking; ‘Conversations became riddles with traps in them, and your answers had consequences.’ It is quite a long book but this gives us plenty of time to get to know the characters. Although, I did feel like more time could have been spent getting to know James, as Makepeace’s motivation is to save him but their relationship seemed to be lacking something and I wasn’t rooting for him the way I perhaps should have been. The story is told against the backdrop of a civil war which Makepeace finds herself involved in but doesn’t really care about it, she cares about the safety of all ordinary people, but it does serve to move the plot forward and gives us some great action. I would give the story 3 stars but the beautiful prose bumps it up to 4. #bookstagram #bookreview #askinfulofshadows #franceshardinge #review #lovedit

I just love this quote. And working hard every day towards that dream makes life extremely interesting. . . . . #amwriting #write #writerscommunity #writersofinstagram #aimhigh #achieveyourgoals #achieveyourdreams #workhard #powerofpositivity #writeeveryday #writergoals #liveyourbestlife

This is so true. I felt I couldn't possibly write this book last week but now I've got going the words are flying! Just get writing. . . . . #amwriting #writeeveryday #write #writerscommunity #writersofinstagram #writerslife #justdoit #bebrave #thinkpositive #powerofpositivity #liveyourbestlife #liveyourdreams #achieveyourgoals #workinprogress #workhard

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