Review: Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley

 

Publication Date: February 2025

Publisher: Crown

Source: Borrowed from Library (Goodreads)

Blurb: 

Look, the song whispered to me, that day in my living room. Life can be so big.

It’s a Friday night in a campus bar in Berkeley, fall of 2000, and Percy Marks is pontificating about music again. Hall and Oates is on the jukebox, and Percy—who has no talent for music, just lots of opinions about it—can’t stop herself from overanalyzing the song, indulging what she knows to be her most annoying habit. But something is different tonight. The guy beside her at the bar, fellow student Joe Morrow, is a songwriter. And he could listen to Percy talk all night.

Joe asks Percy for feedback on one of his songs—and the results kick off a partnership that will span years, ignite new passions in them both, and crush their egos again and again. Is their collaboration worth its cost? Or is it holding Percy back from finding her own voice?

I picked up this book solely because I heard it was being made into a movie at some point with a stacked cast.. not sure if that is still going ahead as I haven't seen any updates but this was definitely a book that disappointed me. 

I had seen people comparing this book to Normal People and One Day - both of which I loved, so I had some high expectations going in which were ultimately not met by the book. 

To start on a positive note, I thought the characters were really realistic and while they were completely self-pitying and pretentious I did feel they were true reflections of the type of people you meet in college who believe they know everything about one topic (music) and think all other opinions are invalid. I think I enjoyed reading about some of the side characters more than the main characters at times as the constant music chat going on for paragraph after paragraph did begin to grate on me and I found myself skimming over those parts to get back to wondering more about the "will they won't they" aspect of the story. 

I didn't find myself bored at any point reading the book, though it was definitely not a gripping read I was looking forward to picking up each evening. It turned out to be just an okay read for me with a very disappointing anti-climactic ending. Kinda like a digestive biscuit, plain and okay but there are other biscuits out there that are tastier. 

A reviewer said that they thought book would have been 90% more enjoyable if it was 10% gayer and I completely agree. There was a hint towards something in the storyline that then felt rushed and shoved off to the side. 

An okay read that was enjoyable at times, the music monologuing for me was too much, but I won't be rushing out to buy Brickley's next book. 

Review: Spacehopper by Helen Fisher

 

Publication Date: February 4th 2021

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Source: Copy for review

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Blurb: 

They say those we love never truly leave us, and I’ve found that to be true. But not in the way you might expect. In fact, none of this is what you’d expect.

I’ve been visiting my mother who died when I was eight.
And I’m talking about flesh and blood, tea-and-biscuits-on-the-table visiting here.

Right now, you probably think I’m going mad.
Let me explain…

Although Faye is happy with her life, the loss of her mother as a child weighs on her mind even more now that she is a mother herself. So she is amazed when, in an extraordinary turn of events, she finds herself back in her childhood home in the 1970s. Faced with the chance to finally seek answers to her questions – but away from her own family – how much is she willing to give up for another moment with her mother?

A huge thank you to the Kaleidoscope tours on Instagram for allowing me to take part in their bookstagram tour for this book. 

First of all, I just want to talk about how striking this cover is. It is so beautiful yet subtle. Showing that sometimes less is definitely more in book cover design. I really love how it ties into the story and how it looks on my shelf. 

One of the things I enjoyed most about this novel has to be its characters. From our main characters Faye who not only gives us an insight into the tired working mother running a family of small children while also maintaining a relationship with her husband, we also get to see so many other wild and vibrant characters. From Faye's husband who is training to become a vicar and dealing with his faith, to Faye's friend Louis who is hilarious and wild. Louis was one of my favourite characters in the novel as he is so much fun, a wonderful friend to Faye and also there to keep her grounded and delve out some truthful advice. 

Louis was also a wonderful character to read about as he gave such deep insight into life as a blind man, and also a gay man. Reading the novel we see so many instances where people intentionally, and unintentionally, belittle or insult Louis as a result of his disability. When in a cafe, the waitress asks Faye what Louis wants instead of addressing him. The second hand rage we feel as Louis deals with these instances also goes to teach the reader how to not interact with blind people and not view them as just their disability. Louis was one of the best characters I've read in a long while and I would adore to read a novel just about him...hint hint Helen Fisher! 

Review: Normal People by Sally Rooney

Publisher: Faber & Faber
Publication Date: August 2018
Source: Own 

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Blurb: 
At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers—one they are determined to conceal.

A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

 This book is one I had been meaning to pick up for the longest time. It had been recommended to me by everyone and the BBC making a TV show of it definitely pushed me over the edge to picking it up. 

I was so glad that I did. 

If I had to describe this book in one word: raw. 

This book is just so extremely raw - emotionally, physically and in writing style. 

Relationships really drive this novel from its core. Whether from the characters relationships with themselves and with each other. The characters grow over the course of the novel in many directions. The novel takes place over many years from Connell and Marianne being in secondary school to going to college to their adulthood. This long journey of the novel really gives the reader a more complete and long view of their lives. 

One of my favourite characters in the novel was Connell's mum. Connell and his mother have such a loving and caring relationship. His family is working class and his mother is actually the cleaner for Marianne's family. Connell's mum is so straight-talking, opinionated, unapologetic, caring ad warm. She is one of the best mother characters I've read in a book ever. Connells mum calls him out on his bad behavior, praises him, looks out for Marianne and shows her real maternal love which she had never experienced. Their relationship is so beautiful and well written. 

Review: Mrs Hinch: Hinch Yourself Happy by Sophie Hinchcliffe

Publication Date: April 2019
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Source: Purchased
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Blurb: 
Cleaning (aka "hinching") doesn't have to be a dreaded chore -- not when Mrs Hinch is here to show you her sparkly ways!
Often called the "British Marie Kondo," Mrs. Hinch is a domestic guru who has taken the world by storm with her infectiously addictive charm, clever tidying tips, and passionate belief in the healing power of cleaning. In Hinch Yourself Happy, she makes cleaning glamorous and fun, and explains how it's a brilliant way to taper anxiety and manage your mental health.
Inside you'll find out: How cleaning can soothe anxiety and stress Mrs Hinch's must-have cleaning supplies Step-by-step guides to hinching your home And so much more!

Sophie Hinchcliffe is probably more well known for her Instagram account @MrsHichHome or as Mrs Hinch. Her cleaning and decorating of her home has become hugely popular across the internet and the world amassing millions of followers.

But what people connect with most of all is just how authentic and real Sophie herself is. I really enjoyed the book as it give a great insight into Sophie's own life and her rise to insta-fame. Sophie is so candid in the book, she discusses her own personal life, growing up as a child, her anxiety and battle with her mental health and how her medical issues have impacted her life.
Sophie comes across so transparent and honest in her novel which really draws the reader in.

Review: The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

Publication Date: January 2015
Publisher: Doubleday Publishers
Source: Borrowed

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Blurb: 
EVERYDAY THE SAME
Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.
Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar.
Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train… 

 So this was a book I had seen EVERYWHERE around a year or two ago. Probably one of the biggest PR campaigns I'd ever seen around a novel to be honest. I'm not usually one to read hyped up books, mostly because I often feel that the hype surrounding it will make it read as not as good to me because I'll be constantly waiting to reach that level of "wow" in the novel. 

So when I found the opportunity to read this, I decided to give it a go. I am very glad that I did. I'm not usually a big reader of adult mystery novels, my last one being Before I Go To Sleep- which I also enjoyed, but after reading and loving this maybe I should change that. 

Review: Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson

Pub. date: January 2005
Publisher: Black Swan
Source: Bought

[Goodreads]          [Book Depository] 


 Blurb:  

'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me...' 

Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love — all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. 

Welcome to Christine's life.



Review: 


I bought this book a few years ago and it has been sitting on my TBR shelf for so long. What really motivated me to pick up this book was the fact that it is being adapted into a movie starring Nicole Kidman. I watched the movie trailer and immediately picked up the novel. 

The premise of the novel revolves around Christine's amnesia, she wakes every morning having no recollection of her past. I found his topic to be very interesting and enthralling at first but as the novel went on, this plot began to wear a little thin as plot holes surrounding the amnesia were papered over and left only half explained. 

Review: A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

"Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones

This book was all around amazing. I wish I'd have read this sooner and not have left it sitting on my bookshelf for almost a year !