I am a huge fan of Amor Towles. He creates beautiful, complex characters and deeply realistic worlds, and even stories I don’t totally love (Lincoln Highway), I don’t consider a waste of time. The same – and more – can be said of Table for Two, a collection of fictional stories. For those of you saying…
Category: Fiction
The Nightingale
I went into this book cautiously. It had come highly recommended, but I had read other works by Kristin Hannah (namely, The Four Winds and Winter Garden) and had been left feeling slightly underwhelmed. Suffice it to say, the recommendation was well worth the risk. It’s France, 1939, and rumours of increasing conflict are sweeping…
The Will of the Many
The Thanksgiving season played a part in this delayed review, but the heft of Islington’s novel certainly contributed. Coming in at just over 600 pages, it’s a sturdy paper weight, but do not let the size discourage you; I found the content deserving of each page. Vis is an orphan, and at 17 his prospects…
Remarkably Bright Creatures
There are three perspectives in this book: a cleaning woman, a down-on-his-luck millennial, and an octopus. If that doesn’t at least pique your interest, I don’t know what will. This is a story of how all of their lives intersect in a sweet story of growth, family, and friendship. Tova likes her routines, and she…
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
This has sat on my TBR list for ages, probably since it was first published in 2020, and I have no reason for not having picked it up earlier other than the fact that five books are added to the ‘to be read’ list for every one I read. I start with this sad saga…
My Brilliant Friend
I once saw this book ranked at the top of a “Best books of the 20th century” list by publishers and editors. That’s a large claim in its own right, let alone a list created by people within publishing. While I tend to be skeptical about these lists (my parents will tell you I was…
All the Colors of the Dark
This book blew me away — spoiler for the final rating — and I wasn’t sure it would. While some of the chapters follow what would be considered a standard format, there are many chapters that are short, short to the point of being a page or two long. At first this break from the…
The Life Impossible
If you’ve been here long enough, you know I like a bit of mystical fiction, and I certainly don’t shy away from it. I read Matt Haig’s earlier novel The Midnight Library, which I really enjoyed at the time so was excited to see what his other novels might be like. Grace Winters is a retired…
We All Live Here
Before we get into this, I think it’s important that you know I am a big Jojo Moyes fan. That woman has not written anything I don’t like (yet). Reading a Moyes novel for me is less about being blown away by profound literary prowess and more about how she makes me feel, which is…
The Indigo Heiress
It’s been a wee while since I’ve delved into historical fiction, and before you think the use of “wee” is a reflection of my almost-five years in Scotland, it is but a clever way of alluding to the setting of this novel. While it starts on a Virginian plantation, much of the story is actually…