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ClareR (6256 KP) rated A Net for Small Fishes in Books

Feb 17, 2021  
A Net for Small Fishes
A Net for Small Fishes
Lucy Jago | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, LGBTQ+
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I could end this review quickly and just say “I loved this book”, because I did. I loved it. I love well written, historical fiction with a foot firmly set in reality, and A Net for Small Fishes certainly fulfils that requirement for me. The attention to detail shows just how much research must have gone in to this - even down to the fastenings on the dresses, the makeup the women wore and the ‘simples’ they made up to ease ailments.
This is a story that I already knew a little about: I read The Poison Bed by E. C. Fremantle on The Pigeonhole about 3 years ago, where the story was told from Frances Howards point of view, and A Net for Small Fishes does nothing to contradict that story. They both illustrate really well how women were expected to conform and be perfect, docile, brood mares for their influential husbands, and in Frankie’s case, how political marriages weren’t always happy ones. It also illustrated how desperation to escape a loveless marriage made two women take desperate action. As so often happens throughout history, the women in this story are punished for the barefaced cheek they had to want better lives for themselves. It’s a frustrating conclusion - but I could see that it was inevitable. It showed that it didn’t matter if you were a woman in one of the most influential families in the country or a doctors widow, you toed the line or suffered the consequences. But what a journey they had!
This is such a good story, as real life often is, and it’s a book that’s going on the Keeper shelf (yes, I bought a copy after I read it on The Pigeonhole - that’s how much I liked it).
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and to Lucy Jago for contributing to the conversation.
  
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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Viral Nation (Viral Nation, #1) in Books

Jan 11, 2021  
VN
Viral Nation (Viral Nation, #1)
Shaunta Grimes | 2013
7
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
3½ out of 5 stars

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hmm…

Well lets start with the cover. It’s amazing; really eye-catching and appropriate to the story. If I’m honest, it’s what drew me to the book in the first place.

Then the plotline: It sounded very interesting, which is the second thing I go for in a book, first the cover then the synopsis. I didn’t realise at the time that it sounds a bit like Acid by Emma Pass, another book I’ve reviewed recently, though it was minus the time-travelling and the autistic girl.

Speaking of, this is the first book I’ve ever read where the character has had “special needs”, though I’m not a fan of that phrase. Clover has autism and struggles with a few things, like crowded places and people arguing.

I’ve never really known anyone who has had autism so it was interesting reading it from the characters perspective and how she has to escape almost into herself to overcome these “issues” and how her dog helped her by applying a gentle pressure to her to anchor her in the here and now.

Up to about the 20% mark I was really liking the story and then it got a little boring and then at about the 35% mark it got interesting again. If a longer book cant keep my interest, I wont carry on reading and luckily for this one, it got good just as i was getting bored. That sounds harsh, but this is an honest review. Anyway, after that point I was really intrigued and almost couldn’t put it down.

I enjoyed it and trying to work out the mystery that was unfolding before me with every page.

If you like young adult dystopian books then you will most definitely like this one.
  
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Louise (64 KP) rated After Alice in Books

Jul 2, 2018  
After Alice
After Alice
Gregory Maguire | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
4
4.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
After Alice by Gregory Maguire is told from two alternating point of views, we hear from Ada who is briefly mentioned in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll as one of Alice’s friends and from her older sister Lydia. Ada is setting off to deliver a package to her neighbours when she manages to escape the clutches of her housekeeper and accidentally falls into the world of Wonderland, and so, begins her mission to find Alice.

I thought this was going to be more of a retelling when I requested it, but it’s more of a sequel from other perspectives. Lydia’s point of view gives more of a background into their family life and the Victorian society, with even some famous names added into the mix.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and was hoping this would have a bit of a spin on it. The writing is very ‘Wordy’ so be prepared to get a dictionary out and the world building was a bit wishy washy, some bits were good and others I just couldn’t imagine. As well as the normal characters like the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat there were additional characters added, which was interesting and they felt right in the world of Wonderland.

I was very bored reading this book and it seemed all a bit pointless,I was expecting so much more from the man who created Wicked!

I rated this 2 out of 5 stars