Romance novels: Feminist or Farcical?

Romance novels have existed since the time of Greek classics, but why are they still diminished as works of folly? The answer is pretty simple: misogyny. Now, you might think this is a pretty wild claim, but let’s break it down. Typically when you think of romance novels, they’re associated with readers who identify as…

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo – Review

I first discovered Bernardine Evaristo in my second year of uni doing a Drama module in Feminist Theatre. She has been active since the 80s and set up a theatre company called Theatre of Black Women. We read ‘Chiaroscuro’ (written by Jackie Kay) which was performed within the theatre company, I found it was pretty…

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite: Book Review

Sibling Loyalty, Dark Comedy and Violence in Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister, the Serial Killer My Sister, the Serial Killer is a darkly comedic story of murderous intent, patriarchal violence and romance – but primarily an exploration of the extent of sibling loyalty. The narrative voice of older sister Korede is a nurse by day, but by night…

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings: Book Review

TW: Extreme violence both sexual and otherwise, racism, childhood trauma  Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is not only interesting but a vital read. An autobiography intended to be read like a novel, Caged Bird is a searing look into Angelou’s childhood in the American South during the 1930s. Covering the rape she experienced at the hands of…

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake: Book Review

Three Dark Crowns is a young adult fantasy novel about three sisters who must perform a fight to the death in order to covet the throne. It’s worth saying that this kind of book would usually be at the bottom of my to be read list (there’s nothing wrong with the genre it just isn’t…

Educated by Tara Westover

3* It’s hard to know what angle to review this book from. It feels wrong to talk about writing style, “plot”, and the usual technical aspects of written work, as this is a text rooted in someone’s life. It exists to portray a life, and tell a story, rather than as a stylistic masterpiece. Educated…

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s remarkable and resonating work of semi-autobiographical historical fiction Half of Yellow Sun pays tribute to the horrors experienced throughout the Biafran War. The nation of Nigeria was originally created as a colonial entity by the British and was divided between a mainly Muslim North and a predominantly Christian/Animist South. As with many…

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

3.5* I’d like to give a trigger warning at the beginning of this review for violence, sexual assault and discussion of both physical and psychological trauma in this novel. If any of these things are unsettling for you, I’d probably give this book a miss, as they’re all heavily featured in the book. Girls of…

Vegetarianism in Books

In celebration of Veganuary, in which thousands of people across the UK adopt a vegan lifestyle for the month of January, here are five books that feature vegetarian/vegan characters and/or ethics, all written by women. The Vegetarian by Han Kang (2016) Translated from the Korean and published in English in 2016, The Vegetarian tells the…

Practical Magic review

Practical Magic is about two sisters, Sally and Gillian Owens, who, after being orphaned at a young age, are brought up by their aunts in a small New England town. The aunts, like all the Owens women for the past 200 years, have a reputation of being odd, eccentric, and perhaps a little witchy. There…