BOOK REC: The Last House On Needless Street – Catriona Ward

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This book is very different from Catriona Ward's other books, and I'll be honest, it caught me a little off guard to begin with. Both Rawblood and Little Eve are historical novels with a strong Victorian Gothic feel to them. There's something about that historical divide that adds to the otherworldliness of the settings, and somehow that makes it more comfortable as a reader. It's a spooky story, but it happened so long ago it's safe now. That's not the case with The Last House On Needless Street, it's a contemporary setting, and that immediately pushed past the little safety zone I had and started me out off-balance and uncomfortable.

BOOK REC: Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #2) – Jessica Townsend

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Much like Nevermoor, this book took me longer to read than it should have done. I also actually now have two copies - I initially decided to wait for the paperback release because my copy of book one is a paperback proof, but as I adored this so much, I ordered the hardback copy of book three, and that's when I discovered the hardbacks for this series are works of ART. Beautiful bright endpapers, printed and foiled cover under the dustjacket... So I will be keeping the hardbacks in future.

BOOK REC: The Dress Shop of Dreams – Menna Van Praag

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I'll be honest, I was intially drawn to this book because it was on a shelf with a full collection of other titles from the same author and publisher, all in the same style but in a rainbow of colours, and I had to be talked down from clearing the shelf because they looked so beautiful together. This is the second Allison and Busby book I've bought, and the other - Unmarriageable - is also stunning, so mad props to their cover designers. They're smashing it out of the park.

REVISITED: Friday’s Child – Georgette Heyer

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This is the Heyer that I've been trying to find for ages, and every time I end up picking up Charity Girl instead and get frustrated. It's a similar set up of sorts, a young country gentleman in an impulsive mood stumbles across the poor cousin of a local family, and offers her shelter. Except in Friday's Child, the gentleman in question is in a bad mood because his childhood friend just turned down his proposal, so he decides to elope with the young waif he has acquired.

REVIEW: Foundation – Isaac Asimov

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Asimov has become known as one of the greats of science fiction literature for decades. His catalogue is vast, and his awards collection equally so. He had a reputation for writing "hard" SFF, which always made me feel a little uneasy about starting his books, as someone who is not always super comfortable with hard SFF.

REVIEW: The Time Machine – H.G. Wells

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I stumbled across The Island of Dr Moreau by H.G. Wells and thought it was wonderfully chilling. I never got around to reading The Time Machine, however, and given as lockdown has presented me with a lot more reading time than anticipated, I thought I'd seize the opportunity.