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Word Revel

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January 13, 2021

A DEADLY EDUCATION by Naomi Novik

January 13, 2021

Book cover & 2-star rating - A Deadly Education by Naomi NovikA Deadly Education left me with very mixed feelings. The opening line held so much promise. It offered conflict and an intriguing dichotomy right from the get-go. Such as, why would anyone want to kill the very person who’d saved their life? What more when they had saved them more than once? I wanted answers but didn’t feel like I got much by the end of the book. Is this one premise supposed to span across the entire series? Evidently, but the opening of the story arc for it didn’t turn out as solidly as I had hoped.

· Categories: Fiction Keywords: american authors, audiobooks, bi- or multiracial characters, boarding school, class struggle, death, discrimination, diverse books, friendship, language, learning process, loyalty, magic, monsters, mothers and daughters, murder, paranormal, romance, rumours, secrets, single parenthood, survival, wealth, witches, wizards

February 26, 2019

HOW TO FIND LOVE IN THE LITTLE THINGS by Virginie Grimaldi

February 26, 2019

Book cover & and 4.5-star rating for HOW TO FIND LOVE IN THE LITTLE THINGS by Virginie GrimaldiDepending on how you look at it, quarter- and midlife crises books can add to the disillusion or be rather cathartic. Personally, I thought How to Find Love in the Little Things tended towards the cathartic.

· Categories: Fiction Keywords: amnesia, break-ups, choices, dating, death, family, french authors, friendship, grandparents, grief, hope, life, mothers and daughters, psychologists, quarter-life-crisis, reconciliation, relationships, relatives, retirement-homes, romance, self discovery, siblinghood, sisters, translated into english, weddings, work life

December 26, 2018

VENGEFUL by V.E. Schwab

December 26, 2018

Book cover & 5-star rating - VENGEFUL by V.E. SchwabWhen I first heard that Vicious, a book that was published as a standalone, was going to have a sequel, I wasn’t all too excited. I didn’t think it needed a sequel. Plus, I didn’t want to be disappointed by yet another title shoved into a series that it wasn’t supposed to be a part of.

· Categories: Fiction Keywords: american authors, beliefs, betrayal, british authors, death, diverse authors, existentialism, feminism, morality, murder, organised crime, power, resurrection, revenge, villains, violence

December 24, 2018

CHRISTMAS CAKES AND MISTLETOE NIGHTS by Carole Matthews

December 24, 2018

Book cover & 3.5-star rating - CHRISTMAS CAKES AND MISTLETOE NIGHTS by Carole MatthewsTechnically, Christmas Cakes and Mistletoe Nights is a sequel to Cake Shop in the Garden but it stands quite well on its own. I actually only realised that it’s a sequel due to the summarised info dump during the first couple of chapters — think throwback highlight reel at the start of new seasons of TV shows. Once that’s done and dusted, it’s back to regular writing and storytelling.

· Categories: Fiction Keywords: baking, british authors, cafes, cheating, christmas, food and drink, friendship, half-siblings, hardship, holidays, illnesses, inheritance, poverty, pregnancy, survival, weddings, winter, work life

October 30, 2018

FAMILY AND OTHER CATASTROPHES by Alexandra Borowitz

October 30, 2018

Book cover & rating - Family and Other Catastrophes by Alexandra BorowitzGood satire makes you laugh while simultaneously reflecting on the subject matters. Rooted in reality, it makes you wonder how serious these characters are (very) but then on second thought you realise that they’re world views are so black and white, they couldn’t be for real. With that in mind, Borowitz used satire very effectively in Family and Other Catastrophes. Emily was so neurotic but with the kind of mother she had, it kind of made sense. Her sister Lauren, was fully committed to feminist social activism, in stark contrast to their brother, Jason, who was a desperate divorcé and quite the sexist.

· Categories: Fiction Keywords: dating, diverse books, divorce, dysfunctional families, family problems, feminism, gender, politics, pregnancy, secrets, sexism, sexual assault, social justice, weddings, work life

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About

Joséphine. Word reveller. Loves books. Reads books. Talks about books. Photographs books. When she’s not blogging, she can be found on Instagram under @wordrevel.

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Recent Posts

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