Nettie and Celia are sisters and when life seperates them, they start writing letters to each other. Letters of joys and love but also despair, abuse, rape and poverty.

For the fact that this is an epistolary novel, the emotions of all characters feel unbelievably close. So many terrible things happen to Nettie and Celia, to their loved ones and to all the people of colour around them. The book gives an overview into the social prejudice at the time and shows just how rigged the laws were against people of colour (not surprising yet ever shocking to read it so bluntly).

An absolut must read that celebrates and grieves what it means to be a woman (and is surprisingly queer).

Leaving this book on a solid mid rating. On the one hand, I really love the lyrical style of it. I love the characters and how much this book lacks overused stereotypes. It feels original and I love that. I also adore the feelings it creates. The fear and horror of what kind of maelstrom an internet fandom can create and how random their hate and violence can feel is excellent. Especially the end of Kaylee, when she simply moved on to the next thing felt too real.

So why is it only a 3.5 star read? Because the pacing felt off, sometimes rushing, sometimes wallowing in its descriptions. Some things felt pointless, others were missing (for my personal taste).

All that being said, this feels more like a vibe read than a plot read for me. An "I love people who make art and put their entire soul into it" vibe read.

This was a nice cosy read. If you liked Delilah Green doesnt care, then you ll like this one too. Astrid and Jordan start the book with interesting problems, their conflicts are understandable and dont feel pulled out of thin air as they are in many other romance novels.

It was also cool to read about Astrid, who realises that she is queer later in life, instead of already being confident in her identity from teenager hood on. It feels relatable and like something that should be talked about more.

I honestly think I prefered this to the first part because the characters feel more grounded than Claire and Delilah were. Glad I read it, probably wont re-read.

A thousand times "yes". Blue Stocking shows the long fight for women's rights to earn a degree at university. It shows different standpoints on the matter, it explains why some people were for education but against the suffragette movement and why the decision between love and education is not as easy to make as it seems. The play features some great monologues for auditions or showcases and a (sadly unusual) broad range of female characters for a wide range of actresses.

Eerily relevant. The way Pickett turns up the tension and makes this feel closer and closer to modern days the longer it continues is so impressive. The start is funny and witty, the ending genuinely scary

This isnt so much a novel, as it is an author self-insert. Like Clemmie, Driscoll has asthma, fell in love with Egyptologie when holding a mummified cat and is obsessed with history. Sadly, when reading the book it felt a bit too much likd the author wanting to make the reader fall in love with her idea of Egypt and less that she had an actual story to tell.

Although, perhaps that is a bit too mean. There is a solid plot idea at the heart of the book. The first 100 pages of Clemmie seeing her father unwrap the two-headed mummy are genuinely cool to read. When she then travels to Egypt to lift the curse, I was so with it. Even the two plotlines of then and now were well done, slowly unearthing what happened in Clemmie's past.

But around the halfway point, the plot drops fast. The plot is summarised every few chapters, as if we needed a reminder of what happened before. Clemmie suddenly goes against decisions she made 10 pages before and there is a death in the end of the book that her zero impact, even though it should be the climax of the book. And dont get me started on the "burried in a tomb" chaptet that similarly had zero impact on the plot and made Clemmie seem so much less intelligent than she did throughout the rest of the book.

All in all, the 1900s Egypt vibes are excellent and if you like Egyptian mythology, there is enough here to keep you reading. But if you re looking for detailed and steady plot... I d keep looking.

After finishing AGGGTM I heavily questioned whether a sequel was needed. I would still argue that it's not 'needed' but GGBB was certainly a worthy follow up to part one.

Pip has grown up a bit and is not coping well with the after effects of her last case. Her development makes sense and, though her behaviour is unhelpful to the people around her, it makes narrative sense. Ravi has been downgraded to 'worried boyfriend' but its nice to still have him around.

The book still feels a bit like "teens first crime novel" and yes, the "bad guy" can be spotted rather early on, simply by looking out for what details seem really irrelevant but keep popping up. All that being said, I did grately enjoy the reading experience and the vibe of dread and worry for Pip has definitely been turned way up before heading into the final book of the series.

My students were obsessed with this book and after having read it, I do get it. It's a perfect first murder mystery for teenagers. Pip as a protagonist is incredibly likable, smart and has personal stakes in the case . Ravi is the ideal side kick. He pushes Pippa when it's needed, carries much of the emotional weight of the plot but never over-shadows her.

Jackson's book also touches on xenophobia if you want to see it but never commits to the topic so much that you couldnt ignore it - which I m not sure I like. I d rather she does make a statement of it.

The final solution is predictable if you know how crime stories work but if this really is "teens first murder mystery" then it will keep them on their toes. The writing style is also gripping enough to help carry the reader over the inevitable long winded detective work in the middle of the book. All in all, I ve enjoyed it enough to pick up part two and see if this deservse being part of a series or if it would have been better to end it here

Where I adored the second part of the series, I cant grow to like the third.

The scope widens and we meet Malta, Selden and Rayn again. We also get Hests POV. While I understand why we need them to understand all the ripples that Kelsingra has made, I cant help but mourn the loss of the POVs of book two, who feel like afterthoughts. Alice and Sedric have become one note characters and they did Thymara so damn dirty. I hate whatever this twisted love triangle between her, jealous man child (Tats) and rapey man child (Raps) is. If she actually ends up with one of them and/or pregnant - I ll riot