HarperCollins UK Archives - Page 2 of 2

Book review: Freckles by Cecilia Ahern

September 6, 20213 min read

I hated my freckles as a kid. I used to joke about joining them together, like a dot-to-dot drawing. Unfortunately I didn’t have a cute smattering across my nose, rather they were clumped together in splotches. Of course in retrospect I realise I was far more conscious of them than anyone else around me.

The lead character of Cecilia Ahern’s latest novel is given the nickname Freckles for obvious reasons. Allegra doesn’t mind though. She loves her freckles and as a teenager drew links from one to another, mapping constellations.

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Book review: Dog Rose Dirt by Jen Williams

August 12, 20212 min read

A fellow bookblogger told me Dog Rose Dirt by Jen Williams gave her nightmares. I’m not surprised as there’s something kinda macabre or gothic about it. About the characters, their stories and about the way things unfold.

Parts of this novel are predictable, while others are quite surprising. We spend time going back and forth in two timelines, and Williams times the unravelling of both well, but I wasn’t sure the explanations of the past sufficiently supported the unfolding events of the present.

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Book review: Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone

April 9, 20213 min read

One of the biggest problems with a book getting rave reviews or media attention is that readers’ expectations are heightened. That was certainly the case for me going into Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone. In fact there’s a glowing quote by Stephen King on the front cover and I’ve seen him praise it elsewhere.

Of course one of his novellas, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, features prominently in this book, but I don’t think he’d be that easily cajoled.

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Book review: The Guest List by Lucy Foley

February 8, 20203 min read

I’ve heard of Lucy Foley’s The Hunting Party and assumed for a moment I’d read it. But it seems it was most likely a book I’d admired from afar, so The Guest List is my first book from the English author.

It’s not out in Australia until later this month but I did notice it’s been released elsewhere so decided to move it up my reading pile. Naturally it meant an extended bath* as once I started I had to keep reading until I’d turned the last page!

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