Other People's Countries: A Journey into Memory
Book
Winner of the 2014 Duff Cooper Prize. Winner of the 2015 Welsh Book of the Year Award. Shortlisted...
A Recent History of Lesbian and Gay Psychology: From Homophobia to LGBT
Book
This ground-breaking text explores the contemporary history of how psychological research, practice,...
Zoe Nock (13 KP) rated The Confessions of Frannie Langton in Books
Jun 26, 2019
Sometimes a book just grabs you from the beginning, something tells you that treasure lies here. I felt that within a few paragraphs of The Confessions of Frannie Langton. Sara Collins prefaced the novel with an explanation of her enjoyment of stories from Georgian/Victorian era but also her disappoint that she didn’t feel represented in the literature from that time. Her love of literature and that lack of inclusion drove her to write a novel that filled a gap, filled a need for women like Frances Langton to have a voice.
And what a voice! The author embodies Frannie so well. The first thing that struck me was that Frannie’s voice shone through immediately. She sounds so authentic, within a few lines you are engaged and intrigued. So much of the prose is beautiful and evocative, truly poetic. Sara Collins describes the people and places so deftly, you sense the weight of a sultry Jamaican plantation and the drabness of a grey London suburb. You can almost taste the boiling sugar cane and fall under the sway of the delicious, devilish ‘Black Drop’. It’s difficult to read this book without imagining a BBC period drama, it really would make a good screen adaptation. There is no doubt that Collins is a gifted and accomplished writer, a weaver of words both seductive and threatening. I really enjoyed this novel and would like to read anything new from Sara Collins.
Cannabis
Book
Cannabis, one of humanity's first domesticated plants, has been utilized for spiritual, therapeutic,...
The Physics of the Dead
Book
What do the dead do when they can't leave...and don't know why? The afterlife doesn't come with a...
Science fiction
Merissa (12061 KP) rated Bound in Flame (The Hawaiian Ladies’ Riding Society #1) in Books
Aug 3, 2020
This is a wondrous tale of a time gone by, told with a sense of gentility. It has a historical setting but with fantasy elements. I have no idea if the settings, dates, occasions, people, etc. are real but, to be honest, I don't really care either. I thoroughly enjoyed the flow of this story, with the wonderful characters you learn about.
I thought this was a brilliant start to a series I want to read more from. Thoroughly enjoyable, a good long story to sink into, with settings and characters that leap off the page. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
The Edible Front Yard
Book
“Front lawns, beware: The Germinatrix has you in her crosshairs! Ivette Soler is a welcome voice...
Gardening Homestead DIY Vegetable Gardening
Love and Other Consolation Prizes
Book
A powerful novel about an orphan boy who is raffled off at Seattle’s 1909 World Fair, and the...
Historical fiction
Enigma (FBI Thriller, #21)
Book
The highly anticipated twenty-first FBI thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine...
crime thriller
What the Hell Did I Just Read: A Novel of Cosmic Horror
Book
It's the story "They" don't want you to read. Though, to be fair, "They" are probably right about...
Comedy science fiction fantasy