The Final Days of Magic is the third book in J.D. Horn’s series “Witches of New Orleans”. It mixes Western Christian notions of witchcraft with a Voodoo/Creole that feels very specific to New Orleans culture. This is the final novel in the series and it is supposed to tie up the narrative arc. I have … Continue reading
Note: plot spoilers and discussions of death by suicide. In February this year, I had the chance to go to Ireland for a long weekend. I’ve been threatening to visit Ireland for years and it was amazing to finally be able to make that happen. Ireland is full of amazing literary nooks and even the … Continue reading
Beth Miller’s novel posits the question: What happens when you love someone outside of your faith? There are thousands of answers to this question, and arguably loving the ‘wrong’ person is something humans seem pretty good at since we have been doing it for centuries. The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom is in many ways … Continue reading
I recently read Ami McKay’s novel The Witches of New York whilst I was on holiday on the Spanish island, La Palma. I spent a lot of time enjoying the sunshine and catching up on some much needed rest and reading. McKay’s novel struck a chord with me and felt it arrived in my life … Continue reading
2018 was a year of exploring new genres and discovering new and first-time published authors. The year wasn’t all success when it comes to books and you can read about my worst reads of 2018 here. Fear not though, this post is about the best five reads of 2018 and gosh there were some amazing … Continue reading
This review will contain spoilers. So many spoilers. Even though I love that you have come to my blog to see my review, don’t read this before you read Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker. Go, read it. I’ll wait. Continue reading
Writing about mental health and getting it right is tough. Writers need to understand and articulate what mentally ill people are feeling and it cannot read like a cliche. Readers, whether they have mental health issues or not, are going to see through platitudes, flat characterisations, and overly dramatic writing. And just like mental health … Continue reading
Anyone who lives abroad knows how hard it can be to engage with literature from your mother tongue. For me, living in Switzerland means that German is a regular part of my day-to-day life. This means I forget English words all the time (just ask any of my friends back home when I throw in … Continue reading
I have been attending author events at the Kaufleuten in Zurich since I moved to Switzerland. They are great things for the community and I think they can encourage reading, multilingual boarder-crossing, and intellectual discussions about literature from around the world. I recently went to Han Kang’s talk/interview about her book, The Vegetarian. I have … Continue reading
If you grow up in an English speaking country, chances are rather high that you have had to read some Shakespeare. Conquering Shakespearean language, rhythm, and rhyme are a rite of passage every young English speaking teenager must go through. Some people hate Shakespeare, others love him so much that they pursue academic research projects … Continue reading
