wordsofclover's reviews
2123 reviews

Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Moon Dust in My Hairnet by J.R. Creaden

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Lane Tanner is the youngest person currently living on the moon - recently arrived, and grieving the loss of her big sister - whose invention and leadership led to Lunar Trust One even existing - Lane throws herself into her work as a lunch lady and ignoring her crush on mean girl V. But the threat of enemy forces makes Lane look up from her work to face her sister’s legacy and save it from being destroyed, along with the help of her friends.

This is a sci-fi book for those that might find others in the genre a little bit too action packed - it’s a nice blend between The Expanse series and Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers series if you ask me. I’m all here for a cosy sci-fi genre if you ask me. The range of diversity and representation in this book was wonderful, particularly for autistic/neurodivergent rep - we see numerous different representation of autism as well as characters triggers, relaxation methods, communication skills, stimming and masking/unmasking. There’s also characters with prothesis’s , disabilities and color. I also loved the poly rep as we see Lane and her boyfriend Andrea be open to dating different people, and look at becoming a ‘hand’ when they find their perfect matches in three other people already in relationships with one another, and more or less becoming a lovely family.

The book is also big on therapy and mental health - even when there is an end of the world crisis going on, therapy appointments are upheld! I loved the inclusion of a sensory bath for those who needed it as well in the doctor’s office.

The only thing I felt was a bit lacking was the military side of things. I think because the book erred on the cosier side of things, the information about who the RC was and why everyone needed to be so scared of them when they seemed to be some kind of militia led by a narcissistic man (what’s new) kind of passed me by. I would have liked more information on the technical sides of Lunar Trust One and how exactly Faraday went to inventing a gravdrive to helping build a base on the moon for hundreds of people but I guess that is her story and this one is Lane’s.

Overall, this was enjoyable and cosy and I loved all the representation. I’m not 100% sure how much it will all stick with me in terms of being super memorable but I’m glad I read it!

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Body of Truth by Marie Cassidy

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Dr Terry O'Brien has moved from Glasgow to Dublin to become the new state pathologist and things take a turn when the body of a young woman is brought in. It's obvious the woman was murdered and once she's identified, things start to become more interesting as her case is linked to the death of other young women. But Terry's words about a serial killer are falling among deaf ears at the Garda HQ, and she starts investigating on her own.

This was...okay? Due to the author's experience being a real pathologist, these areas of the book were well written and very informative. I also liked how you could see that even though Terry was investigating the murder, it wasn't really her job and she was warning away from stepping on too many toes unlike other books where the pathologist or coroner is immediately brought in to help every step of the way.

I think the characters felt a bit wooden too me, and not totally like real people. There were elements of the mystery where it felt like Terry and the story was going around in circles and becoming repetitive. I also thought the mushroom angle was a bit out of left field.

Not the worst crime book I've read but not the best.

What We Carry by Maya Shanbhag Lang

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

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The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier

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informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Orsola Rosso was born into glass. Living in Murano, an island off Venice, her father and brothers are work everyday blowing and shaping glass, and she is the girl looking in, trying to find a place for herself within the art. Her chances comes in the form of beads, her heart in the shape of a Venetian man, and as centuries pass, the Rossos and their glass change along with it.

This was a beautifully told story that will make you want to stand in the bustling streets of Venice, smell the canal water, hear the shouts and singing of the gondoliers and maybe even take the water taxi over to Murano and study the beautiful glassware shining in the windows.

Orsola is a character built of fortitude - made to feel lesser then by her bully of a brother, and forced to do household labour by her mother and sister-in-law, she stills finds ways to make her own art and also have her own moments of joy. She constantly fights for her family, even when they have given up on themselves and the only gripe I would have is she is never truly given the credit she deserves for saving them many times over. As the world changes, Orsola experiences many things but is never in the center of them - I liked this as a way of examining the changes in the world, the affect this had on a trade city like Venice and in turn Murano, while not pushing the character too much into something that would have felt too much for her.

The choice of the author to add the slight magical realism element of having the Rossos and their friends and acquaintances age normally but let the world fast forward around them sometimes skipping almost 100 years was interesting and hard to really understand at first. But I liked seeing how the Rossos dealt with plague, war, Napoleon and then the modern age - we even see the Covid pandemic referenced. I think the story would have worked just as well being stuck in a certain era as I was entranced by Orsola and her personality, her love and her art on its own.

Revelation by C.J. Sansom

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Aisling Ever After by Sarah Breen, Emer McLysaght

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

We are back for another, and final, Aisling book and retuning to New York where Aisling has just answered her door to an unlikely guest. This book sees Aisling mke some big decisions about her future, and as always support her friends as they go through their own milestones.

I was skeptic about this book as I was really unhappy about the return of that character in the last book - I hadn't enjoyed the storyline of them getting back in touch and it borderline felt like emotional cheating. It's very obvious what decisions Aisling is going to make and yes, it was hard to see her leave NYC behind for a return to BGB. Now Aisling is Aisling - she was never going to live in New York for the rest of her life but I would have liked to have seen her make a bit more of a go of it, and stay a bit longer.

In saying all of that, there is something about all of these characters from Aisling, John, mammy, Majella, Sadhb and even Una Hatton that is so lovely and heartwarming and I loved when Aisling back in the heart of things while still being able to balance her corporate life in Dublin. I was worried about what would happen with the relationship because surely it's been tried and failed (twice) before but the character growth and maturity was really there this time and it did feel like a new start for them, and in many ways it was a new John and for the first time ever, I actually liked him!

The pregnancy storyline has Majella gets another big blowout bash for her baby shower and Aisling's own struggles with her own journey really hit me this time - the miscarriage section of the book was done really well, not holding anything back or brushing it under the rug but showing the gory side without being too much, the pain and the grief for both man and woman.

I feel sad leaving this gang behind as I enjoy reading about everything going on in BGB!

Content Warnings