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The Blurb On The Back:

Stay The Course is the gripping story of the creation of what would become the largest mutual fund organisation in the world, as told by its founder, John C. Boyle. Readers will come to appreciate Bogle as a unique innovator in the world of mutual funds - an investor who used his market wisdom and business savvy to bring mutual fund investors their fair share of stock and bond market returns. This book will delight anyone who enjoys a good story with a happy ending.

In 1974, when the story of The Vanguard Group began, the idea of a mutual fund that was truly mutual - owned by the fund shareholders themselves and operating on an “at cost” basis with no profits to outside shareholders - was viewed as anathema by many seasoned investors. Not deterred by his colleagues’ caution and, sometimes, outright hostility, John Bogle persevered, building what would become a $5 trillion mutual fund complex.

Vanguard’s remarkable success is inextricably intertwined with the index revolution that has changed the way we think about professional money management. Buying and holding the market portfolio turns out to be the simplest and soundest path to investment success. Bogle’s creation - the S&P 500 Index fund - is the spark that ignited the flame of the index revolution.

Bogle concludes his book with some personal insights. His memoir-like final chapter gives readers some valuable insights into the thinking of Vanguard’s legendary creator. Bogle’s engaging tale overflows with business insights and inspiration that you won’t want to miss.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

John C Bogle was the founder and former CEO of The Vanguard Group (creator of the world’s first index mutual fund). This book is part corporate history on Vanguard’s origin and development and part life lessons drawn from his considerable experience but despite some interesting nuggets here neither part really satisfies as the corporate history dwells too heavily on fund performance and the life lessons are brief and superficial.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

There’s no blurb on the back, instead there are the following quotes:

”A page turned, with a plot so engrossing that it seems reckless to pick the book up in the evening if you plan to get any sleep that night ... Enduring Love is also blessed with the psychological richness of the finest literary novel.”
Alain de Botton, Daily Mail

“Taut with narrative excitements and suspense ... a novel of rich diversity that triumphantly integrates imagination and intelligence, rationality and emotional alertness.”
Peter Kemp, Sunday Times

“He is the maestro at creating suspense; the particular, sickening, see-sawing kind that demands a kind of physical courage from the reader to continue reading.”
Amanda Craig, New Statesman

“McEwan’s exploration of his characters’ lives and secret emotions is a virtuoso display of fictional subtlety and intelligence.”
Robert McCrum, Observer

“McEwan’s latest, and possibly finest ... his trademarks are in full force, combining stomach-pit dread and almost unbearable pathos. His technique is unparalleled; like the smiler with the knife, he finally slips it to the reader with exquisite smoothness.”
Fiona Russell Powell, Guardian

“He creates an opening that is unforgettable ... McEwan does a superb job of making us believe what seems so unlikely, and that is the book’s greatest power.”
Jan Daley, Independent on Sunday

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Ian McEwan’s critically acclaimed literary suspense novel (first published in 1997) is a prescient examination of the helplessness and paranoia that comes from being a victim of stalking, which slowly builds tension in a way that still feels relevant today. However the literary allusions are smug and heavy handed and I never quite bought into Joe’s lack of reaction to the homosexual overtones of Jed’s obsession or Clarissa’s lack of support.

The Blurb On The Back:

Over the past century alone, Russia has lived through great achievements and deepest misery; mass heroism and mass crime; over-blown ambition and near-hopeless despair - always emerging with its sovereignty and its fiercely independent spirit intact.

In this book, leading Russia scholar Dmitri Trenin accompanies readers on Russia’s rollercoaster journey from revolution to post-war devastation, perestroika to Putin’s stabilisation of post-Communist Russia. Explaining the causes and the meaning of the numerous twists and turns in contemporary Russian history, he offers a vivid insider’s view of a country through one of its most trying and often tragic periods. Today, he cautions, Russia stands at a turning point - politically, economically, and socially - its situation strikingly reminiscent of the Russian Empire in its final years. For the Russian Federation to avoid a similar demise, it must learn the lessons of its own history.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Former Russian military intelligence officer Dmitri Trenin has a PHD in history and is currently the Director of the Carnegie Moscow Centre. This book offers a broad brush look at Russian history in the 20th and early 21st centuries and serves as a useful primer for key events and helps to explain national attitudes and concerns but it is (perhaps unsurprisingly) largely uncritical of Putin’s regime and the implications for Russia’s future.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Skulduggery Pleasant is dead.
Valkyrie Cain is cool.
Omen Darkly is neither.

The eleventh book in the bestselling SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT series.

For years, Valkyrie Cain has struggled to keep her loved ones safe from harm, plunging into battle - time and time again - by Skulduggery Pleasant’s side, and always emerging triumphant.

But now the very thing that Valkyrie fights for is in danger as a ruthless killer snatches her little sister.

With Skulduggery racing to catch up and young sorcerer Omen scrambling along behind, Valkyrie only has six hours to find Alice before it’s too late.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The 11th in Derek Landy’s SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT SERIES is another fast-paced, funny YA fantasy novel that sees Valkyrie trying to recover from her emotional and mental trauma and reconnect with her sister. However Omen has little to do other than advance backstory while the plot doesn’t do much to advance the over-arching storyline so although there’s a resolution for one of Cain and Pleasant’s enemies, the book does have a filler feel to it.

The Blurb On The Back:

”My daughter learned to walk in a homeless shelter.”

As a struggling single mum, determined to keep a roof over her daughter’s head, Stephanie Land worked for years as a maid, working long hours in order to provide for her small family.

As she worked hard to climb her way out of poverty as a single parent, scrubbing the toilets of the wealthy, navigating domestic labour jobs as a cleaner whilst also juggling higher education, assisted housing, and a tangled web of government assistance, Stephanie wrote. She wrote the true stories that weren’t being told. The stories of the overworked and underpaid.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Stephanie Land is from a working class background who, shortly after the birth of her daughter, found herself as a homeless, single mother. In this ultimately unsatisfying memoir she describes working as a cleaner for a middle class oblivious to her problems and is very good at describing how she had to navigate the byzantine US welfare and food stamps system but I never felt that I knew who she was or why she was in this situation.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

It’s business as usual for Mr Glossop as he does his regular rounds delivering wages to the government buildings scattered across New Zealand’s desolate Canterbury plains. But when his car breaks down he is stranded for the night at the lonely Mount Seaver Hospital, with the telephone lines down, a storm on its way and the nearby river about to burst its banks.

Trapped with him at Mount Seager are a group of quarantined soldiers with a serious case of cabin fever; three young employees embroiled in a tense love triangle, a dying elderly man, an elusive patient whose origins remain a mystery ... and a potential killer.

When the payroll disappears from a locked safe and the hospital’s death toll starts to rise faster than normal, can the appearance of an English detective working in counterespionage be just a lucky coincidence - or is something more sinister afoot?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Using Ngaio Marsh’s opening chapters and title, Stella Duffy does a decent job of completing this INSPECTOR ALLEYN MYSTERIES crime novel such that I couldn’t tell who wrote what. The supporting cast are broadly drawn and the ending a little disappointing due to an antagonist’s identity, but overall the mystery kept me guessing and entertained until the end and I’d check out both the Marsh originals and Duffy’s work on the strength of this.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

In June 1969, police raided New York gay bar The Stonewall Inn, and the LGBTQ equality movement was born. Pride charts the events of that night in New York, the days and nights of rioting that followed, the ensuing organisation of the LGBTQ community - and the 50 years that followed in which activists and ordinary people have dedicated their lives to reversing the global position.

Pride documents the milestones in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality, from the victories of early activists to the passing of legislation barring discrimination, and the gradual acceptance of the LTBTQ community in politics, spot, culture and the media. Rare images and documents cover the seminal moments, events and breakthroughs of the movement, while personal testimonies share the voices of key figures on a broad range of topics, including Maureen Duffy on the early days of the movement, Asifa Lahore on religion, Jake Shears on music, Will Young on mental health and Paris Lees on trans representation. Pride is a unique celebration of LGBTQ cultures, an account of the ongoing challenges facing the community, and a testament to the equal rights that have been won for many as a result of the passion and determination of this mass movement.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Matthew Todd is a journalist and Editor-at-Large of the UK gay magazine Attitude. This coffee table book charts the milestones reached in LGBTQ+ equality since the Stonewall riots of 1969 and while the layout is confusing at times, there are some odd takes in the text and unfortunate lesbian erasure soon after a section on lesbian erasure, the contributing writers make up for it with moving and fascinating observations and memories.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Skulduggery Pleasant is dead.
Valkyrie Cain is cool.
Omen Darkly is neither.

The tenth book in the bestselling SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT series - and the first of a whole new story arc.

Valkyrie Cain has been out of action for years recovering from the war against her alter-ego Darquesse.

But Skulduggery Pleasant is still fighting to save the world.

When an old enemy threatens to return, he persuades Valkyrie to join him for just twenty-four hours. But they need someone else, someone inconspicuous.

Enter Omen Darkly. Not a warrior. Not a detective. And definitely NOT the chosen one …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The 10th book in Derek Landy’s YA fantasy SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT series kicks off a new story arc but you do need to have read the previous novels and novellas. Valkyrie is older and more damaged by her experiences in the previous books but her relationship with Skulduggery remains sharp and entertaining with Landy’s trade mark smart and funny dialogue while Omen is a welcome introduction and I enjoyed his relationship with both Never and Auger.

The Blurb On The Back:

It takes courage to love the things of this world when all of them, without fail, are fleeting, fading, no more than a spark against the darkness of deep time. Yet when everything you have been and done and meant to the world is being prised from your grasp, human connections are the vital medicine. It is other people who make the difference.

Rachel Clarke grew up spellbound by her father’s stories of practising medicine. Then, when she became a doctor, one specialising in palliative medicine, she found herself contemplating all her training had taught her in the face of her own father’s mortality.

Dear Life is the inspiring, sometimes heartbreaking and yet deeply uplifting story f the doctor we would all want to have by our side in a crisis. The hospice where Rachel works is, of course, a world haunted by loss and grief, but it is also teeming with life.

If there is a difference between people who know they are dying and the rest of us, it is simply this: that the terminally ill know their time is running out, while we live as though we have all the time in the world. In a hospice, therefore, there is more of what matters in life - more love, more strength, more kindness, more smiles, more dignity, more joy, more tenderness, more grace, more compassion - than you could ever imagine.

Dear Life is a love letter - to a father, to a profession, to life itself.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Rachel Clarke is a TV producer turned doctor who specialises in palliative care. In this deeply moving memoir that at times had me in tears and which made me reconsider my own attitudes towards dying, she talks about her journey towards and experiences in end-of-life care and what it’s taught her about life and living, a journey that’s made more poignant by her experiences caring for her father (a GP) who himself developed terminal cancer.

Thanks to Little Brown for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Some books should be banned or destroyed. This is the story of one of them ...

In a coastal town, a strange, out-of-print children’s book is found, full of colourful stories of castles, knights and unicorns. But the book is no fairytale. Written by Austerly Fellows, a mysterious turn-of-the-century occultist, it is no mere entertainment. In fact, those who start it find that they just can’t put it down, no matter how much they may want to.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Robin Jarvis’s dark fantasy novel for children aged 11+ (the first in a trilogy) is a weird, sinister affair that bucks many of the conventions in children’s literature (including by having a largely adult cast) and takes a jaundiced view of modern life and the attitude of teenagers. However the way Jarvis intermingles backstory with the plot works really well and the body swapping is really disturbing such that I want to check out the sequel.

Thanks to Harper Collins for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Why is it getting harder to secure a job that matches our qualifications, buy a home of our own and achieve financial stability?

Underprivileged people have always faced barriers, but people from middle-income families are increasingly more likely to slide down the social scale than climb up.

Duncan Exley draws on expert research and real-life experiences - including from an actor, a politician, a billionaire entrepreneur and a surgeon - to issue a wake-up call to break through segregated opportunity. He offers a manifesto to reboot our prospects and benefit all.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Duncan Exley is the former Director of the Equality Trust. In this damning, fascinating and thought-provoking book that’s amply supported by statistics and academic studies and uses the anecdotal experience of 16 individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and professions, he shows how growing inequality and diminishing opportunities for social mobility go hand-in-hand while emphasising the problems faced by those who rise above their background.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Everything is on the line for probability mage Alex Verus …

Once Alex was a diviner trying to live under the radar. Now he’s a member of the Light Council who’s found success, friends … and love. But it’s come with a price - the Council is investigating him, and if they found out the truth, he’ll lose it all.

Meanwhile, Alex’s old master, Richard Drakh, is waging a war against the Light mages. To protect those he cared for, Alex will have to become something different. Something darker …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The 10th in Benedict Jacka’s ALEX VERUS urban fantasy series overcomes a clunky and repetitive first half to really take off once Verus makes a momentous decision that provides a real game changer and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out in the last 2 books. The action scenes are fast-paced and exciting, I enjoyed an old character’s return, mourned another’s inevitable departure and still care what happens to Verus and his friends.

The Blurb On The Back:

The dramatic story of the relationship between the world’s three largest economies, by one of the foremost experts on East Asia.

For more than half a century, American power in the Pacific has successfully kept the peace. But it has also cemented the toxic rivalry between China and Japan, consumed with endless history wars and entrenched political dynasties. Now, the combination of these forces with Donald Trump’s unpredictable impulses and disdain for America’s old alliances threatens to upend the region. If the United States helped lay the post-war foundations for modern Asia, Asia’s Reckoning will reveal how that structure is now crumbling.

With unrivalled access to US and Asian archives, as well as many of the major players in all three countries, Richard McGregor shows how the confrontational course on which China and Japan have increasingly set themselves is no simple spat between neighbours. And the fallout would be a political and economic tsunami for all of us.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Richard McGregor is the former Chief of the Financial Times’s Washington Bureau and Fellow at Washington’s Wilson Center. In this highly informative book he takes a linear approach to the region’s history but avoids making predictions as he explains the shifting tensions in the relationship between China, Japan and the USA since World War II to show how each reached its current position while emphasising the stakes should relationships break down.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

”I used to think to make people feel afraid was a curse, an awful thing ... But I’d love for them to fear me ... I want them to look at me and weep.”

On the even of their divining, the day Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are to discover their fate, they’re captured and enslaved by the cruel Boyar Vallarta.

Far away from their beloved Traveller community, and forced to work in the harsh castle kitchens, Lil finds some comfort in the storm-eyed Mira, a fellow slave who she’s drawn to in ways she doesn’t understand. But too soon she also learns about the Dragon, a mysterious and terrifying man of myth, who takes girls as gifts.

They may not have had their divining day, but the girls will still discover their fate ...

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s YA gothic fantasy (a homage to the ‘dark sisters’ in Bram Stoker’s Dracula) has some beautifully written scenes and shows the discrimination faced by Travellers but there’s not much plot, Lil’s first person POV leaves Kizzy under-developed and in the final quarter, her disappearance means that a key decision has no tension or explanation while the ending is very weak such that it doesn’t do the dark sisters justice.

THE DEATHLESS GIRLS was released in the United Kingdom on 19th September 2019. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

These are the men who stole the world.

Investigative journalist Oliver Bullough reveals the obscene dark side of globalised finance, a shadow realm of oligarchs and gangsters, unimaginable power and zero accountability. It’s a place you are unlikely to visit, but you can see its effects everywhere. Just look around.

How did we get here? In the 1950s, a small group of bankers in London had a clever idea: ‘offshore’, an imaginary zone where money could flow free. Their breakthrough created a vast reservoir of secret wealth, one that bends the laws of every nation on Earth in order to protect its masters.

Thanks to offshore, for the first time thieves could dream big. They could take everything - which is exactly what they will do, unless we stop them.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Oliver Bullough is a journalist and writer specialising in Russian history and politics. In this well-researched, easy to follow book that left me incredulous and furious, he sets out how the international finance system (facilitated by Western bankers, accountants and lawyers) permits the rich and the crooked to hide their money while still benefitting from it. It’s jaw dropping stuff that makes you realise that money conquers all.

The Blurb On The Back:

Inspired in part by the woman who made history as India’s first female attorney, The Widows Of Malabar Hill is a richly wrought story of multicultural 1920s Bombay as well as the debut of a sharp and promising new sleuth.

Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father’s law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a legal education from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes women’s legal rights especially important to her.

Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen examines the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. What will they live on? Perveen is suspicious, especially since one of the widows has signed her form with an X - meaning she probably couldn’t even read the document. The Farid widows live in full purdah - in strict seclusion, never leaving the women’s quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian? Perveen tries to investigate, and realises her instincts were correct when tensions escalate to murder. Now it is her responsibility to figure out what really happened on Malabar Hill, and to ensure that no innocent women or children are in further danger.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Sujata Massey’s historical crime novel (the first in a series) is a well constructed affair that does an excellent job of portraying 1920s multicultural Bombay, what the rise of the independence movement means for the city’s various religious and cultural groups and the problems faced by women, but the murderer is a little easy to guess and I wanted more of Alice and Perveen’s friendship than what’s on the page.

The Blurb On The Back:

We tend to think cities look the way they do because of the conscious work of architects, planners and builders. But what if the look of cities had less to do with design, and more to do with social, cultural, financial and political processes, and the way ordinary citizens interact with them? What if the city is a process as much as a design? Richard J Williams takes the moment construction is finished as a beginning, tracing the myriad processes that produce the look of the contemporary global city.

This book is the story of dramatic but unforeseen urban sights: how financial capital spawns empty towering skyscrapers and hollowed-out ghettoes; how the zoning of once-illicit sexual practices in marginal areas of the city results in the reinvention of culturally vibrant gay villages; how abandoned factories have been repurposed as creative hubs in a precarious postindustrial economy. It is also the story of how popular urban cliches and the fictional portrayal of cities powerfully shape the way we read and see the bricks, concrete and glass that surround us.

Thought-provoking and original, Why Cities Look The Way They Do will appeal to anyone who wants to understand the contemporary city, shedding new light on humanity’s greatest collective invention.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Richard J Williams is Professor of Contemporary Visual Cultures at Edinburgh University. In this fascinating book he builds the argument that global cities look the way they do due to different, interacting processes operating on them. He focuses on the impact of money, power, sex, work, war and culture (specifically creative industries) predominantly on western cities, and I came away with a different way of thinking and looking at places.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

1. White Girls by Hilton Als.

2. Still Lives by Maria Hummel.

3. The Dark Days Deceit by Alison Goodman.

4. Mass Starvation: The History And Future Of Famine by Alex de Waal.

5. Girl In The Window by Penny Joelson.

6. War Is Over by David Almond and David Litchfield.

7. The Magic Misfits 2: The Second Story by Neil Patrick Harris.

8. The Empowered Manager by Peter Block.

9. Grist Mill Road by Christopher J Yates.

10. The Free-Time Formula by Jeff Sanders.

11. Egypt by Robert Springborg.

12. Amelia Fang And The Memory Thief by Laura Ellen Anderson.

13. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John Le Carré.

14. A Very Large Expanse Of Sea by Tahereh Mafi.

15. Joe Quinn’s Poltergeist by David Almond and Dave McKean.

16. The Accidental President by Tom McLaughlin.

17. Heimat: A German Family Album by Nora Krug.

18. The Happiness Fantasy by Carl Cederström.

19. Under The Ice by Rachael Blok.

20. A Legacy Of Spies by John Le Carré.

21. Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian.

22. In Blossom by Yooju Cheon.

23. Love From Dr Seuss.

24. Swiss Watching: Inside The Land Of Milk And Honey by Diccon Bewes.

25. A Story About Cancer (With A Happy Ending) by India Desjardins and Marianne Ferrer.

26. The La’lun by J N Harris.

27. Future Politics by Jamie Susskind.

28. You Can’t Hide by Sarah Mussi.

29. Unsolved Murders: True Crime Cases Uncovered by Amber Hunt and Emily G. Thompson.

30. Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas.

31. Positive Thinking Pocketbook by Gill Hasson.

32. To Night Owl From Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer.

33. Tell The Machine Goodnight by Katie Williams.

34. Meet The Penguins by Mike Brownlow.

35. Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory.

36. The Girl With The Shark’s Teeth by Cerrie Burnell.

37. The Closest Thing To Flying by Gill Lewis.

38. A Girl Called Justice by Elly Griffiths.

39. Shattermoon by Dominic Dulley.

40. The Chain by Adrian McKinty.

41. Their Little Secret by Mark Billingham.

42. Empire Of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio.

43. The Lost by Mari Hannah.

44. The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli.

45. The Feed by Nick Clark Windo.

46. Lovers And Strangers: An Immigrant History Of Post-War Britain by Clair Wills.

47. Isadora Moon Has A Sleepover by Harriet Muncaster.

48. The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong.

49. Adventure Duck -v- Power Pug by Steve Cole and Aleksei Bitskoff.

50. Sunny Side Up: A Story Of Kindness And Joy by Susan Calman.

51. Between Worlds: Folktales Of Britain & Ireland by Kevin Crossley-Holland.

52. Against Hate by Carolin Emcke.

53. Moscow, Midnight by John Simpson.

54. Marked by Benedict Jacka.

55. Joe Country by Mick Herron.

56. Ronan Boyle And The Bridge Of Riddles by Thomas Lennon and John Hendrix.

57. Astroturf by Matthew Sperling.

58. Narwhal – Unicorn Of The Sea by Ben Clanton.

59. Death In The Spotlight by Robin Stevens.

60. The Joy Of Missing Out: The Art Of Self-Restraint In An Age Of Excess by Svend Brinkmann.

61. Heartstream by Tom Pollock.

62. Teen Pioneers – Young People Who Have Changed The World by Ben Hubbard.

63. Hope For The Best by Jodi Taylor.

64. AI For Marketing And Product Innovation by A K Pradeep, Andrew Appel and Stan Sthanunathan.

65. Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson.

66. The Alt-Right: What Everyone Needs To Know by George Hawley.

67. Typography: A Very Short Introduction by Paul Luna.

68. The Dog Who Saved The World by Ross Welford.

69. Speak Up! By Laura Coryton.

70. Amelia Fang And The Half-Moon Holiday by Laura Ellen Anderson.

71. Cross Purpose by Claire MacLeary.

72. Bitter Pills: The Global War On Counterfeit Drugs by Muhammad H. Zaman.

73. The Boxer by Nikesh Shukla.

74. The Boy Who Steals Houses by C. G. Drews.

75. Rose Interrupted by Patrice Lawrence.

76. Master Your Mind by Roger Seip and Robb Zbierski.

77. The Demons Of Liberal Democracy by Adrian Pabst.

78. The Corner Shop: Shopkeepers, The Sharmas And The Making Of Modern Britain by Babita Sharma.

79. He: A Novel by John Connolly.

80. Be More RBG by Marilyn Easton.

81. Step Into Your Power by Jamia Wilson and Andrea Pippins.

82. Money – Myths, Truths And Alternatives by Mary Mellor.

83. Adventure Duck vs The Armadillo Army by Steve Cole and Aleksei Bitskoff.

84. Productivity – Get Motivated, Get Organised And Get Things Done by Gill Hasson.

85. Isadora Moon Puts On A Show by Harriet Muncaster.

86. Victorious Century: The United Kingdom, 1800 – 1906 by David Cannadine.

87. The Scramble For Europe by Stephen Smith.

88. A Boy And His Dog At The End Of The World by C. A. Fletcher.

89. Swimming Against The Storm by Jess Butterworth.

90. Afropean: Notes From Black Europe by Johny Pitts.

91. The Taking Of Annie Thorne by C. J. Tudor.

92. Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything by Charles Conn and Robert McLean.

93. Chernobyl: History Of A Tragedy by Serhii Plokhy.

94. The Aunt Who Wouldn’t Die by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay.

95. What Do We Know And What Should We Do About Immigration? by Jonathan Portes.

96. The Alice Encounter by John Gribbin.

97. The Scientific Method by Massimiliano Di Ventra.

98. A Strange Kind Of Brave by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald.

99. Unlocking Creativity by Michael A. Roberto.

100. The Land Of Roar by Jenny McLachlan.

101. There Is No Planet B by Mike Berners-Lee.

102. Places In The Darkness by Chris Brookmyre.

103. The Art Of Communication by Judy Apps.

104. Halo Moon by Sharon Cohen.

105. The Economics Of Arrival: Ideas For A Grown Up Economy by Katherine Trebeck and Jeremy Williams.

106. Pretend You’re Safe by Alexandra Ivy.

107. Boot by Shane Hegarty.

108. Kingdom Of Souls by Rena Barron.

109. Snowblind by Ragnar Jónasson.

110. Artificial Intelligence In Practice by Bernard Marr and Matt Ward.

111. No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez.

112. The Blood by E. S Thomson.

113. A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson.

114. Hired: Undercover In Low-Wage Britain by James Bloodworth.

115. Slay by Brittney Morris.

116. Dogs: A Philosophical Guide To Our Best Friends by Mark Alizart.

117. My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

118. How To Own The Room by Viv Groskop.

119. The House Of Light by Julia Green.

120. Communication: How To Connect With Anyone by Gill Hasson.

121. Reconstruction by Mick Herron.

122. The Secret Barrister: Stories Of The Law And How It’s Broken.

123. Midnight At Moonstone by Lara Flecker and Trisha Krauss.

124. Good Money: Understand Your Choices by Nathalie Spencer.

125. Where Do You Go, Birdy Jones? By Joanna Nadin.

126. Feminism Is … by Alexandra Black, Laura Buller, Emily Hoyle and Dr Megan Todd.

127. Walls by Emma Fischel.

128. The Future Of Design by Lorraine Justice.

129. White Bodies by Jane Robins.

130. Stunt Double: Jungle Cruise by Tamsin Cooke.

The Blurb On The Back:

Fearless stunt double Finn is in Thailand working on the latest Rio Dining blockbuster. It’s a dream job, but are the whispers around set true? Is the film really cursed?

When stunts go wrong it’s serious, and on this movie, they could be deadly. So far, Finn’s survived all sorts of smashes and crashes, even an elephant stampede, but it’s the secrets on set that might finally break him.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The second in Tamsin Cooke’s STUNT DOUBLE SERIES is a fast-paced, YA action fantasy that makes good use of its Thai locations but the female characters are thinly drawn in a book that’s clearly aimed at boy readers, a certain suspension of disbelief is needed to buy into the plot and while the revelation of a secret brings emotional depth, it also seems very soapy.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Callie loves Tilda.

She’s her sister, after all. And she’s beautiful and successful.

Tilda loves Felix.

He’s her husband. Successful and charismatic, he is also controlling, suspicious and, possibly, dangerous.

Still, Tilda loves Felix.
And Callie loves Tilda. Very, very much.

So she’s made a deal to save her. But the cost could destroy them both ...

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jane Robins’s psychological thriller is a tedious, silly affair that poorly uses the serious subject of controlling male behaviour. The lacklustre plot is far too easy to guess and isn’t helped by an alienating main character whose personality ‘quirks’ include eating things that belong to her fundamentally unpleasant sister and who never acts in a believable or rational way (to the extent that at one point I thought she was special needs).

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Stay The Course: The Story Of Vanguard And The Index Revolution by John C. Bogle
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
Russia by Dmitri Trenin
Skulduggery Pleasant Midnight by Derek Landy
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay And A Mother’s Will To Survive by Stephanie Land
Money In The Morgue by Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy
Pride: The Story Of The LGBTQ Equality Movement by Matthew Todd
Skulduggery Pleasant – Resurrection by Derek Landy
Dear Life by Rachel Clarke
Dancing Jax by Robin Jarvis
The End Of Aspiration by Duncan Exley
Fallen by Benedict Jacka
Asia’s Reckoning: China, Japan, The US And The Struggle For Global Power by Richard McGregor
The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Moneyland by Oliver Bullough
The Widows Of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Why Cities Look The Way They Do by Richard J Williams
Master List of Books 2019
Stunt Double: Jungle Cruise by Tamsin Cooke
White Bodies by Jane Robins

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I Read, Therefore I Blog

A Book Review Blog Belonging to Caroline Hooton

Recent Entries

Stay The Course: The Story Of Vanguard And The Index Revolution by John C. Bogle

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan

Russia by Dmitri Trenin

Skulduggery Pleasant Midnight by Derek Landy

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay And A Mother’s Will To Survive by Stephanie Land

Money In The Morgue by Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy

Pride: The Story Of The LGBTQ Equality Movement by Matthew Todd

Skulduggery Pleasant – Resurrection by Derek Landy

Dear Life by Rachel Clarke

Dancing Jax by Robin Jarvis

The End Of Aspiration by Duncan Exley

Fallen by Benedict Jacka

Asia’s Reckoning: China, Japan, The US And The Struggle For Global Power by Richard McGregor

The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Moneyland by Oliver Bullough

The Widows Of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

Why Cities Look The Way They Do by Richard J Williams

Master List of Books 2019

Stunt Double: Jungle Cruise by Tamsin Cooke

White Bodies by Jane Robins