The Smart Wife by Yolande Strengers & Jenny Kennedy

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher MIT Press in exchange for an honest review.

The Smart Wife was a little disappointing to me. It looks at the concept of 'smart wives' through a feminist and sociological lens, discussing the implication of giving devices such as Alexa female voices. I found the idea of this fascinating as it's not something I've really thought about before and that in itself indicates how it is worthy of analysis. Why should robot servants have primarily female voices? And why don't people question it?

Sadly this book didn't really discuss these elements beyond the surface level. I appreciate that there haven't been any studies or detailed experiments about this topic, but the book felt a bit empty without those. I was looking forward to finding out what the public opinion was on these devices and whether those with a female voice are viewed differently or not, but there is almost nothing of that nature included. Instead there is some speculation but the bulk of the book seems to just be discussing different devices without much of the feminist angle applied beyond the basic concept of 'these devices are sexist'.

One chapter I did particularly enjoy was the section on sex robots. This did go into deeper discussion and I think it was the best chapter because of that. It explored some frankly quite disheartening statistics and what these might mean for the wider world. It was well-crafted, informative and gave me a lot to think about.

Overall, I think this book has a lot of promise but sadly it didn't do exactly what I expected it to. It lacked that depth to really hold my interest, but I think it is a fantastic introduction to the topic and I look forward to what else the authors (and other researchers) will do in this area. If you are intrigued by the subject matter, this is still well worth the read. Just be aware of its limits and enjoy it for what it is.

Overall Rating:

Malorie by Josh Malerman

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Hachette Audio UK in exchange for an honest review.

SPOILERS FOR BIRDBOX AHEAD.

I wasn't sure what to expect from a Birdbox sequel. The first book ended so perfectly that, while I was excited for this book, I wasn't entirely sure it needed to exist. Malorie opens by undoing the positive ending of Birdbox rather abruptly which was jarring, but thankfully it was all uphill from there.

Malorie is interestingly named because really it's the story of her and her children. We initially pick up two years after where Birdbox ended, followed quickly by a ten year time skip. Olympia and Tom are now 16 year old teenagers with stronger opinions and thoughts of their own. Tom in particular is beginning to doubt his mother's view of the creatures and thinks there might be another way to live his life rather than in fear of them. When Malorie gets some news which causes them to consider venturing out from their home, Tom's new rebellious streak only continues to grow.

I was really surprised by how much I ended up loving this book. I genuinely think it improves upon the first as it expands the world, raises the stakes and crafts a far less predictable story (in my eyes). I had no idea where this story was going to go and it was exciting to see how certain things developed. The tension built throughout the story and I loved the new characters and new elements of the world we were introduced to. I only really had one criticism and that's that certain aspects of the ending felt a bit too contrived. There was one story element I was enjoying and it was a key part of Malorie's paranoia, but then this element gets pushed too far and I feel it was a little hard to swallow. It's a shame because it was the only thing that got in the way of me enjoying it really. I really enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook as well and I felt she added a lot to the story.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by Malorie. I'm so happy that I got the chance to read a sequel to a book I really enjoyed and that it managed to expand upon and continue the story in such a satisfying way. This is definitely worth a read if you've been sitting on the fence about it and the audiobook is a great way to experience it.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Shadows by Alex North

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

The Shadows is a creepy little tale spanning two time periods. When Paul was a child, he was friends with a group of boys who started dabbling in lucid dreaming and urban legends. A boy named Charlie convinced one of the gang to help him murder someone before vanishing without a trace. Now as an adult, Paul is determined to find out what's going on when another copycat case happens 25 years later. Has Charlie really returned?

This book is a great blend of thriller with some horror elements thrown in for fun. It has an interesting premise and I actually liked the uncertainty of potential supernatural elements which isn't something I usually enjoy. It was well-paced, I couldn't entirely tell where it was going to go and it did manage to genuinely surprise me. There were only a few minor points which stopped it being perfect. Firstly, there are some chapters narrated by a police officer investigating the crimes (Amanda). These felt largely unnecessary and didn't really add a whole lot in my opinion. I feel the story could have been easily reworked to not have these sections and it wouldn't have lost anything. Secondly, I found it a little difficult to keep track of what time period it was. Rather than have it at the start of every chapter, it would only let you know when it was switching which meant it would always take me a few seconds to work out which part we were in. This wasn't a major issue but it was distracting.

In terms of the audiobook, I had no complaints. There are two narrators for Paul and Amanda, and they both had great voices.

Overall, if you like creepy thrillers with a darker atmosphere then this is a great book to pick up. It has a fairly unique tone for a thriller and it was one I enjoyed immensely. I can't wait to finally check out North's other book and I'm sure I will love it just as much as this one.

Overall Rating:

Mediterranean Every Day by Sheela Prakash

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Quarto Publishing Group – Harvard Common Press in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great recipe book with a lot of interesting things to make. It cuts down on the faff whilst still maintaining a sense of charm and warmth from the author. It starts off by explaining what a Mediterranean diet means followed by some simple basics to make for various recipes (flour, sauces etc). Recipes themselves are split into several sections: snacks, soups/salads, grains, pasta, larger dishes and desserts. My favourite sections were probably the pasta and larger dishes as they seemed both the most straightforward to make and also the tastiest-looking.

In terms of the recipes themselves, there's a good mix here. At a first glance a lot of the dishes look fancy but when you read the ingredients, they are mostly simple to make. They included a lot of flavours and things I wouldn't normally cook which is exactly what I was looking for, without the downside of being hard to try to make. There were a few exceptions but for the most part, this makes the recipes very accessible. My favourite recipe was for a base risotto with four seasonal variations to then make depending on the time of year. This was a great idea as it felt like the author put in extra effort to think about what would be in season and easy to buy, and I wish this had been done for other recipes. I appreciate it doesn't always work though.

Overall, this is a well put-together recipe book with a lot of neat things to try. It's easy to follow and it is clear a lot of thought has been put into how it has been constructed and the content of the recipes. It looks far fancier than it is and I recommend giving it a read if, like me, you're wanting to expand what you cook without breaking the bank.

Overall Rating:

The Switch by Beth O'Leary

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

I am not a big contemporary romance reader but I knew Beth O'Leary was an author I wanted to check out. I've heard nothing but good things about her and those good things are 100% justified. The Switch is the story of Leena, a young workaholic who swaps homes with her grandma Eileen when she is forced to take a break from her job. Meanwhile Eileen goes to live in London as she always wanted to do when she was young. The story is told in dual narrative, as is the audiobook. Leena's plot focuses on her working out what is really good for her, whilst Eileen's is about her relationships, both romantic and platonic.

I really loved how this book was written. There is a lot of humour, all of the characters are fleshed out and interesting, and the plot has a fair amount going on in it. This isn't just a fluffy romance (although the romances in this are very enjoyable and done well) and it has a lot of heart and a lot of good things to say. Like I said, I typically don't read this kind of fiction unless it has some super appealing aspect and I enjoyed every second of this book.

In terms of the audiobook, that is also done very well. There are two different narrators and that meant it was very easy to tell whose plotline we were following which is always appreciated. Both narrators did an excellent job of infusing their characters with personality, and they mostly did different voices for the other characters which was similarly appreciated. There were only two very minor criticisms from me. Firstly, Eileen's narrator does a very grating voice for one side character (Letitia) which made it a little unpleasant to listen to those parts. Secondly, Leena's actress does a voice at one point for a character talking over the phone, then drops that voice for some of the dialogue, then returns to it which was a bit distracting. These really are incredibly minor niggles though and both narrators did a truly amazing job.

Overall, I strongly recommend giving this book a try and the audiobook is a great way to do that. It is a lovely, heartwarming story with enchanting characters and a great sense of humour. The audiobook makes it so easy to follow the story and I found it was perfect to listen to while I was doing other things without feeling like I was missing out on crucial details. If you want a good summer read or just a well-written adult contemporary, you can't go wrong here.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Atlantic Books in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled to get into this book. The Girl from Widow Hills is the story of Olivia, a woman who famously survived a flash flood as a child and changed her identity to escape the press. Her past comes back to haunt her when she finds the corpse of someone relating to her past in her garden and she becomes involved in a murder case. The main reason I couldn't get into this book is I found the plot both linear and hard to care about. The main character keeps the reader at a distance and that made it incredibly hard for me to either sympathise with her or trust her narration. I spent the whole book just waiting for her to actually let me in on what was going on properly.

I also found Olivia's relationships with the other characters very odd. She had a previous romance with her college professor but he was involved so little in the story that I kept forgetting he existed. She might have bene trying to start a romance with her work colleague but I couldn't tell if it was meant to be romantic, even with the main character stating she might like to date him. This links back to the way Olivia was written and me not trusting what she was telling the reader. I didn't buy her relationship with her colleague and it felt like she was plotting something she wasn't letting me know about. Finally, she has a friendship of sorts with her neighbour Rick. At first I was also unsure if this was romantic, especially given that she is stated to prefer older men. It is platonic but again, I never really felt or understood the connection between the two of them.

The plot itself is fine in terms of content, but I never felt particularly compelled or intrigued by it. You don't really know what is going on but the book also doesn't encourage you to try and guess either, meaning that as a reader I was disconnected. On the surface this is a fine enough thriller but I think Miranda has much stronger books (The Perfect Stranger, Fragments of the Lost) and this just didn't do enough for me personally. It's a shame but I still look forward to reading her other books.

Overall Rating:

Wife After Wife by Olivia Hayfield

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Little, Brown Book Group UK in exchange for an honest review.

Don't be fooled by this cover, this is not a thriller. It is however an exceptionally good book! This is a retelling of the story of Henry VIII and his marriages, reimagined in the 1980s to modern day. I have a cursory knowledge of this part of history but I think one of the strengths of this book is you can enjoy it regardless of your historical knowledge. If you know the story, you can appreciate the amazing amount of work that has gone into researching this and how it is cleverly twisted to work in the modern day. If you know nothing, you can be surprised by the engaging plot and frankly very interesting life of the main character and his wives.

Another thing to be praised is what an easy read this is. The writing is so engaging and, despite it being a fairly long book for its genre, it never once dragged. In fact I read all of it in two days because I could not put it down. The character guides allow it to be more accessible for people who don't know their history, but it can be easily understood and followed without them. There are lots of characters but they are handled well and I never lost track of who anyone was. Henry is made very likeable despite his flaws and some artistic license is taken to make the plot flow better which I fully support. I even read the interview with the author at the end (which I almost never do) and I loved the explanations for why she made the changes she did. I can't see anyone but the strictest historian being bothered by them.

Overall, this is one of the best retellings I have ever read, if not the best. The source material is perfectly translated into modern day with what is clearly a lot of work from the author, and none of the writing style or enjoyment is sacrificed in order to make that happen. This is such an engaging book and it's clear to me that Hayfield is incredibly talented. If you want a fun way to digest history or just a really good adult contemporary book, I could not recommend this more.

Overall Rating:

.5

The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Avon Books UK in exchange for an honest review.

It's that time of the year where I want thrillers to deliver on sun as well as murder, and I'm pleased to say The Weekend Away does not disappoint. Orla has gone away with her best friend Kate for a weekend in Lisbon, an old tradition that they've neglected for a few years. Unfortunately Kate seems to want a wilder weekend than Orla had planned for and things go even more awry when Kate vanishes on the Friday evening. With only a local taxi driver to help her, Orla is left to try and work out what happened to her friend.

I really enjoyed this book. It is extremely well-paced with events happening at exactly the right moment. I loved following Orla around and there is plenty going on to keep you invested. It isn't strongly holiday-focused but there are some nice scenes (especially at the start) which would make this a great thriller to take away with you somewhere. The characters are also great and Orla felt very real to me as a person. She still makes some questionable decisions but you can get a better sense of why she is making them than some other thrillers so it didn't end up bothering me.

If this book has one weakness, it's that it didn't really surprise me at any points. There was one or two plot elements I didn't necessarily expect but I didn't feel that huge shock factor either. I think that many characters came across as suspicious or creepy so, when they were revealed to have done something, it lost some of the impact. That's what really stopped this being a great thriller for me, although I still enjoyed it hugely.

Overall, this is far better than most of the summer-themed thrillers I have read and I recommend considering it if you're looking for a good summer or holiday book. I would definitely check out more from this author on the thrillery-side.

Overall Rating:

.5

Pink Villa by Olivia O'Neill

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Nowness Books in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so firstly I missed that this was erotica. I do not read erotica so that was my bad. However, this review will be taking that fact into consideration. I also do think this book's blurb is misleading, as it implies there is some sort of dark/thrillery secret and it compares this book to several thrillers. This is not a fair comparison.

So Pink Villa is the story of a sex-addicted woman called Eliza who is hired as a nanny for a rich family. She then bangs a lot of people. That is the entire plot, by which I mean this book is just sex scene after sex scene. Okay, erotica is like this. But there are story elements hinted at early on which never come to fruition and, more importantly, these cast some really unfortunate implications over everything.

Eliza is the horniest character there has ever been. She doesn't care who she sleeps with and she is never satisfied. It is also strongly hinted at that Eliza was, if not outright assaulted, then creeped on by her stepdad. These squicky implications are compounded by the obvious daddy issues explored with one of her lover. I know some people are into that but this part of the book is not played up enough for it to be appealing on its own, nor is it downplayed enough for you to comfortably ignore it. I HATE the idea that she is horny because she was creeped on and, while I feel that's unintentional, it lurked in the background throughout the story.

Some of the writing is decidely not sexy as well. Twice the main character is told to 'come over here and bring your breasts' as if she could possibly leave them behind. The sex scenes are so relentless that they just blur into one. Also this is told in second person, which I'm not sure if that's common for erotica but might put some people off.

Ultimately, this book fell flat on so many levels. I think the sex scenes have potential to be great and they are great at points, but the characters are so flat and it all gets very repetitive after a while. This is definitely not a book for me and if you're hoping for a darker erotica, it's not the book for you either. There is one attempt at a 'twist' of sorts but it falls so flat that if this book wasn't compared to thrillers, I wouldn't have even realised that's what it was.

Overall Rating:

The Folcroft Ghosts by Darcy Coates

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.

I love Darcy Coates' writing and The Folcroft Ghosts is no exception. This is the story of Tara and Kyle, two teenagers who are forced to move in with their grandparents after their mother has a car accident. They have been estranged from their grandparents and when they arrive, there are weird goings on both ghostly and not. Who or what do the kids really need to be afraid of?

The best way I can describe this book is like a slightly older version of Goosebumps, and I 100% mean that as a compliment. It has a lot of the features of a Goosebumps premise (sudden move, two siblings, weird behaviour from relatives) with the more advanced writing you would expect. I would class this as a YA horror book as it lacked some of the depth I would expect from adult horror, but that made it no less enjoyable to me. I'm always excited when I can't predict where a haunted house book will go because the premise is used so often, and I devoured this book to find out what happened next. The characters were interesting, there were some creepy moments and it definitely has a unique voice.

I had actually forgotten that three short stories follow the main story so I will talk about those briefly. I had read two of them before in other Coates' collections (the sub-basement one and the crypt one) and I like both of them a lot. I feel the basement one has much more of an atmosphere, as well as being less predictable. Both are brilliantly written though and I really do love Coates' writing style when it comes to horror. The third one, 'Clockwork', was new to me and I was totally sucked into it. Again, it was unpredictable and had such a creepy atmosphere sewn throughout. These stories were a nice surprise and a bonus to an already great book!

Overall, this is a great ghost story for a teenage audience or for people who enjoy reading YA horror. It has a lot of the elements from nostalgic horror reads but manages to have a plot that goes beyond the basic haunted house premise. I will continue to seek out more of Coates' horror stories as she always manages to deliver a good time.

Overall Rating:

The Curious History of the Riddle by Marcel Danesi

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Quarto Publishing Group – Wellfleet Press in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic walkthrough of riddling history! I have been a lifelong fan of riddles. The Riddler from Batman is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time, and when I was a child I had a book about dragons which had a whole section dedicated to riddles. I couldn't have been more excited when I saw this book available to request, although I was a little skeptical it had anything to offer a devout riddle fan. I couldn't have been more wrong!

This book is split up into sections, loosely arranged in chronological order and walking the reader through the oldest riddles all the way to modern day more jokey ones. I found all of the sections well-written and very informative. There are riddles within each section and then a set of riddles to solve yourself after each section, with the answers at the back. In general, these were fun but they did vary in difficulty greatly. I appreciate it's hard to control for that sort of thing but the riddles from the first two chapters were near impossible, whilst later ones verged on too easy. Sometimes the hints were too direct as well which is why I can't give this book a full 5 stars. However, the informative sections were great. I particularly enjoyed the literary riddles chapter, and the section dedicated to the Riddler (which was a fantastic surprise).

Overall, this book was insightful and easy to read. I loved learning more about riddles and their place in history, and I had fun trying to solve the riddles throughout. This book would make a fantastic present and it's the perfect kind of read to dip in and out of. I highly recommend it to all fans of riddles.

Overall Rating:

.5