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It has been a while since I blogged and I have a whole host of book reviews from last year to still get out to you – so I’ve decided to go quickfire to get caught up!

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books

by Kirsten Miller

The Blurb

From the author of The Change, comes a novel about book banning and those brave enough to stand up against this censorship.

IT’S TIME TO RISE UP

In Troy, Georgia, local woman Lula Dean has campaigned to cleanse the town’s reading habits. All the ‘disgusting’, ‘pornographic’ and downright ‘un-American’ books have been removed from public spaces. Now, the townspeople are only allowed to read ‘appropriate’ books from Lula’s personal lending library.

But a small group refuse to be told what they can and cannot read and, unbeknownst to Lula, her personal collection is slowly restocked with banned books: literary classics, gay romances, Black history, spell books, and more.

One by one, each person who borrows the books from Lula’s library find their lives changed in unexpected ways. And as they begin to reveal their new selves, it’s clear that a showdown is fast approaching – one that will change the town of Troy forever …

What I Thought

I loved this story! The idea of banning books is entirely baffling to me so this story was right up my street! Especially as it is based on objecting to the system!

There are lots of characters in the book, all unique and interesting in their own ways. It is really well written and I would recommend a read for sure!

Where To Buy

My Amazon Storefront

Girl One

by Sara Flannery

The Blurb

Her birth was mankind’s greatest breakthrough. Her life is man’s greatest threat.

Josephine Morrow is Girl One, the first of nine Miracle Babies conceived without male DNA on an experimental commune known as the Homestead.

The Girls were raised at the Homestead in the shadow of controversy – plagued by zealots calling them aberrations – until a suspicious fire claimed the lives of three people, leaving the survivors to scatter across the United States.

Years later, upon learning that her mother has gone missing, Josie sets off on a desperate road trip, tracking down the only people who might help: her estranged sisters. Tracing clues her mother left behind, they journey back through their past, uncovering secrets about their origins and unlocking devastating abilities they never knew they had. But someone out there is determined to stop Josie reaching the truth about what really happened at that ranch – and where her mother is now.

A rousing tale of love, ambition, power, and the extraordinary bonds of sisterhood, Girl One combines the provocative imagination of Naomi Alderman’s The Power with the compelling, atmospheric storytelling of The Girls.

What I Thought

Wow! If you follow my reading journey you will know I love a good dystopian story and this one didn’t disappoint!

Unusual in the fact it is set in the past, as opposed to a near distant future, the story if fast-paced and difficult to put down.

Perfect for dystopian fans who enjoy a story-line that they can imagine happening… and don’t mind an untidy rather than a perfect ending!

Where To Buy

My Amazon Storefront

Atmosphere

by Taylor Jenkins-Reid+

The Blurb

An epic novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

In the summer of 1980, Joan Goodwin begins training to be an astronaut at Houston’s Johnson Space Centre, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates. As the new astronauts prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Atmosphere is a soaring story about the transformative power of love – this time among the stars.

What I Thought

Absolutely deserving of all the praise it has had!

An absolute stunner of a story – the setting, the characters, the beautiful story all written so beautifully I did not want it to end!

Breathtaking, quietly so powerful, it will be hard to forget this one. Definitely a top 10 read of the year!

Where To Buy

My Amazon Storefront

Good Girl Bad Blood

by Holly Jackson

The Blurb

With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.

But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared but the police won’t do anything about it. And if they won’t look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town’s dark secrets along the way& and this time EVERYONE is listening.

But will she find him before it’s too late?

What I Thought

I really enjoyed the first book in the series and am pleased I got round to reading this one as it was great!

Perhaps even better than the first… Pip’s charterer is developed further and I really enjoyed being back in her world. I love the mixed media approach with snippets of the podcast, text messages etc. working really well, as they had in the first book. I listened to this one on Audible and these worked so well on there!

Now for the third book and I am going in with high hopes!

What To Buy

My Amazon Storefront

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Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

Take care and keep reading!