Book Review: SHERWOOD by Meagan Spooner

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Book Review: SHERWOOD by Meagan Spooner

“We have a writer who is carving out an eminent oeuvre” – From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan

"Inevitably, Joyce comparisons have been made with Ryan. I made them with The Spinning Heart, but it’s not necessarily the writing - because we shouldn’t be confusing these ‘voices’ as streams of consciousness - but instead the environment in which Ryan situates his characters. Religious imagery pervades the novel. Desires are moral quandaries and fathers are proxy and allusive. At one point when a fellow exile says to Farouk, ‘We glimpse the next world in our dreams anyway; it would be more than that, a dream I’d never awake,’ we feel like we’ve rewritten Stephen Dedalus’ formulation of history and nightmares." - Liam Bishop reviews Donal Ryan's From a Low & Quiet Sea

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“We have a writer who is carving out an eminent oeuvre” – From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan

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Heart: A History by Sandeep Jauhar

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“The creeping unease kept me going” – The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

It’s not every debut novelist that gets onto the Man Booker longlist, but then The Water Cure is not any old debut novel: it’s a strange, sinister tale that pulses with the suppressed rage of the powerless and the abused; it’s slow and creeping and full of righteous feminist fury. Which, you know, is probably exactly […]

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“The creeping unease kept me going” – The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

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Charlotte Lo - We Won an Island - Book Review - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

When Luna's family win an island, Luna thinks it will solve everything AND she can finally get a donkey! But things don't go entirely to plan - no one expects Luna's younger brother to win a Sheep Pageant, for example - and the secret festival they hold soon spirals out of control. But the island is beautiful, and the family are happy, and maybe Luna will get her donkey after all...

This is another delightful book published by Nosy Crow. We Won An Island is the debut book from Charlotte Lo. The book will hit the shops on the 2nd May 2019 just in time for summer. When you turn the first page, the characters' narratives start to work the magic inside your head. It starts off with sadness and pulls on the emotional heartstrings of the reader. Luna's family are suffering from bereavement and things start to go bad as they're just about to lose their home. However, with just one wish, the plot turns into an adventure that will uplift the soul and pump fresh joy into the heart of the reader ... very slowly. 

A slice of magic and luck hit the family when a bonkers businessman gives away his Scottish Island. As part of the competition's terms and conditions, the island can never be sold by the winner. Therefore, anyone who enters should be prepared to live on the island for the rest of their natural life. It's a brilliant and simple concept which gripped me from the opening pages. The three children are fantastically portrayed in the book. Each one is full of character and written well; they all have a unique and somewhat quirky outlook.  

A breath of fresh air takes the family on an adventure that leads to a catastrophic chain of events. One minute it will make you laugh out loud and the next minute it will bring on the tears.  As the three siblings and family adapt to the rural life of the island, they all have dreams which float through the air like confetti leaves hugging the forest floor. It's a great holiday read that inspires the great outdoors and depicts the beauty in nature and our natural landscapes. The book delivers hope and understanding whilst pulling together a community, even when the characters are new to the area. 

This is a flying-high, middle-grade story that will make your day and make you smile. It's crazy, very surreal and asks a lot of questions that will pull on the reality strings of the reader and also the characters. It's a pleasure to turn the pages. This is a family read full of determination and donkeys, goats, knitting, and a run-down house. A storm is brewing where comical laughter and calamity will hit you in the face. As you turn the last page and the secret festival has come to an end, what could possibly go wrong? Come and find out...

What would you do if you won an island? 

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“If this doesn’t put Ben Myers on everyone’s radar…” – Under the Rock by Benjamin Myers

"“Since I was young I always wanted to be in the landscape,” Myers writes. That line, recalling the opening of Goodfellas, gives a strong sense of Under the Rock. It’s a book which doesn’t just discuss or describe landscape, but immerses you within it. Even that title invokes the idea of worms, mulch and soil. The things that dwell beneath a rock. Myers is both the person lifting it to see what lives underneath, and at the same time, another person caught underneath it..." - Daniel Carpenter reviews Under the Rock by Benjamin Myers

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“If this doesn’t put Ben Myers on everyone’s radar…” – Under the Rock by Benjamin Myers

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Review: Iron & Fire - Ariana Nash

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“It challenged my own racial biases” – An American Marriage by Tayari Jones #WomensPrize2019

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“It challenged my own racial biases” – An American Marriage by Tayari Jones #WomensPrize2019

"Roy and Celestial’s epistolary relationship dominates the middle section of the book and functions as its backbone. Although Celestial augments her letters by regular visits, the trips become onerous and emotionally devastating; her visits decrease. She is struggling both to build her up-scale doll-making business and carve out a life outside the shadow of Roy in prison. Jones refuses to cast Celestial in the role of dutiful wife who plays the victim and makes pilgrimages every visiting day. Although Celestial’s uncle is working on an appeal, Roy gets impatient and wants answers about the state of their marriage: “But now where are we? I know where you are and I know where I am, but where are WE?” Their relationship atrophies..." - Chris Oleson reviews An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

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The Top 24 Books of Poetry on Goodreads

Every month is a good month to appreciate poetry, but in April it's an official thing. Founded in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month has become one of the largest literary celebrations in the world.



What better way to participate than by reading a sonnet or a verse, a haiku or a limerick? We rounded up the most popular works of poetry on Goodreads, as determined by readers. These books have all been added to Goodreads members’ shelves more than 50,000 times and have earned at least a four-star average rating. (Note: We've only included one book for each author—sorry, Shel Silverstein and William Shakespeare).




Among these beloved titles, you'll find classics by Pablo Neruda, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost, as well as an ancient Greek epic poem and a collection from an award-winning "Instapoet."




Take a look at the books below and then add your own recommendations in the comments! Find out more about National Poetry Month here.

Who's your favorite poet? Tell us in the comments!




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Catch Up Now: These Big Series All Have Books Coming Out Next Month

posted by Hayley on April, 18

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Over at Kirkus: A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY by Brigid Kemmerer

Over at Kirkus: A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY by Brigid Kemmerer

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Wellcome Book Prize: Mind on Fire and Murmur

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“An obliteration of every sacred pillar” – Only Americans Burn In Hell by Jarett Kobek

"The final scene in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, depicting an unhinged Slim Pickens ‘riding the bomb’, is a fitting metaphor for Kobek – laughing all the way to annihilation. Compared to his previous novels though, the humour is darker, some riffs and tangents ‘heavy’. For the author, the election of Trump seems to have been one insult too far. And despite seeming not to care about the story, of playing fast and loose with his own narrative, that’s a façade – Kobek is a genius, masquerading as a slob. From Batman fanboys to Instagram to Literary Death Match to sex –the honesty, accuracy and comic genius on display, stops the reader dead." - Tamim Sadikali reviews Only Americans Burn In Hell by Jarett Kobek

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“An obliteration of every sacred pillar” – Only Americans Burn In Hell by Jarett Kobek

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“It’s missing whatever additive makes Harriet’s gingerbread so addictive” – Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi

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