arwenundomiel03's reviews
159 reviews

Doctor Who: Eleventh Doctor Novels Volume 1 by David Llewellyn, Oli Smith, Brian Minchin, Justin Richards

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

I enjoyed most of these stories - particularly The Forgotten Army - I thought that was really clever, and the range of narrators was brilliant as well. I didn’t enjoy Nuclear Time though, as I felt that it was generally confusing and I didn’t follow the story very well. Overall I enjoyed the stories and they were great for while I was travelling!
This Winter by Alice Oseman

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this audiobook - possibly because I had just seen series 3 of Heartstopper, so I could picture the scenes happening. But I thought it was really cleverly written, and was very very thoughtful. It made me reflect a lot on how I interact with my others, and how everyone can  do more to be kinder to each other. I thought that Oliver’s character was fantastic and I was so glad the book ended with him. I also thought that Alice Oseman has written about mental illness really well. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Doctor Who: The Crawling Terror: A 12th Doctor novel by Mike Tucker, Neve McIntosh

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I did actually quote enjoy this one  - more than I thought I was going to seeing as it wasn’t an 11th Doctor story. But the actual story was really well written, and really gripping. It was an interesting concept and really interesting to see the mix of time periods - and not in the usual way that Doctor who does it with characters from different time periods, but them visiting different time periods within the same story. I also really enjoyed the mentions of real historical details (although I haven’t looked it up, so I can’t guarantee that it’s correct!) as they really added to the story. The characters were so intriguing as well - they all had incredible personalities which I really enjoyed listening to, and Nieve McIntosh reading it was fantastic too. Can definitely recommend!!
Doctor Who: Eleventh Doctor Tales: Eleventh Doctor Audio Originals by Oli Smith

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

This was a very enjoyable listen - I liked that it was read by a variety of people (including Arthur Darvill and Matt Smith), so that you had a variety of portrayal for each tale. They were generally very enjoyable and interesting stories too; the writing was very hooking and engaging. Some of the stories felt somewhat relevant/potent for the time we are living through the the moment, which meant it was even more amazing I think, because it allowed you to explore (admittedly more sci-fi) versions of the scenarios that are playing out in the world. I also enjoyed the moral and ethical issues are covered in the stories, and how they work around them. 
Girl Unmasked: How Uncovering My Autism Saved My Life by Emily Katy

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This is an amazing book, and I am so so glad to have read it, and so grateful to Emily for having written it. Her honestly and openness about what she has been through is astounding - especially when parts of her life have been so challenging. The way she writes is beautiful - it’s so easy to picture everything that is happening and to see the colour in everything. Most of all though, I was blown away by one particular section of the book — about her diagnosis of autism - and in particular where she says that one reason that the diagnostic criteria fail autistic people is (not just because they are based on white, cis boys) because they are only diagnosing broken, struggling autistic people. Why should autistic people have to wait to the point where they are struggling so much that they *are* breaking to be diagnosed? They shouldn’t. They should receive a diagnosis and crucially *support and understanding* much earlier - before they reach the point of breaking, so that they can navigate the world with more understanding of themselves, why they are the way they are, and the fact that the struggle with some things when it feels to them that no one else does - they’re not weird, they’re not useless. They’re just autistic. And that’s amazing. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Deep Blue: my ocean journeys by Steve Backshall

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

This was a fantastic read - and I will caveat that by saying that a lot of my saying that comes from there being two dedicated chapters about sharks, and many, many other mentions of them in the book!! But, it is a really informative and frankly exciting read - hearing about Steve’s life and encounters with such a varied array of wildlife - as well as a varied array of people and cultures. There were many difficult topics covered in the book - such a whaling - exploring how things that we see as utterly horrific in the west have such huge cultural significance to them in other cultures and how too often we see the world and our beliefs from one point of view, without considering the impact of and on others. I found his explorations of these topics both interesting and very difficult at times to listen to (I listened to the audiobook), as he described the action in such detail - but I was also grateful to have a greater understanding of what each situation was. My overall take away from the book however, is that our oceans are in trouble, and unless we drastically alter our relationships with them and stop the sport and industrial fishing which are having such catastrophic affects on the oceans and the creatures that call them home; we soon won’t have any of the huge, and frankly astonishing diversity and range of life that currently exists in our planets seas. I can definitely recommend it - although it is not for the feint of heart. 

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative fast-paced

4.0

I have read this several times before, but it was really good to read it again. It clarified stuff for me - there is so much confusion at the moment in the world, and this cut through the confusion and spoke just about the climate science. And the numbers. And the black and white things. And clarified again. 
Afterlove by Tanya Byrne

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a hooking read, just as In The Shallows was. It was a really interesting concept - the idea of someone being a grim reaper - but it was a very compelling one. It was also brilliant to see a sapphic storyline which did actually turn out well - well sort of. It was a really engaging read and I am really glad that I came back to it to finish it, because it has very much reignited my reading streak! Tanya’s writing was once again brilliant, and I can definitely recommend it!
Nimona by ND Stevenson

Go to review page

adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The main reason I bought this was because of the shark element, and sadly that was only a very small part of the story. I still got completely swept along in the story and I love Nimona and Blackheart’s relationship - it’s amazing and so sweet! I find some of the plot points and history a bit confusing and the ending felt too quick and not as wholesome and tidy as I wanted - but I guess we can’t always get what we want!!
Penguin's Poems by Heart by Poetry › European › English, WelshPoetry / Anthologies (multiple authors)Poetry / European / English, Scottish, Scottish, WelshPoetry / General, Irish, Irish

Go to review page

emotional reflective relaxing fast-paced

3.0

This was an interesting little anthology. There are some really lovely poems in here, and I was very glad to read them, although a few that felt too religious for my liking. Also considering it’s supposed to be an anthology of poems which can be learnt by heart, some of them were rather long (although ironically, one of my favourites was The Lady of Shallot - which was definitely the longest there by a long shot!). It is a sweet anthology though, and I would still recommend it to read as it’s an interesting and lovely mix.