The Reviews 

In Her Defence is a novel about abuse of power, memories (and misremembering), and a person's power over another person. The plot revolves around a libel court case regarding a therapist, a famous ceramicist and her daughter, among other players. Our protagonist, Augusta, has connections with each of the involved parties and may be able to bring truth to the case if she so chooses. It did take a me a little while to get stuck into this book but come the half way point I was h

For me this started as a 3/4 star book but by the end was a 2.5 ish stars. The length of the book struck me as unusual for a fantasy novel which I assumed it was from the name, cover and blurb, but if done well a lot can happen in 182 pages. The beginning was so strong, the language so visceral and powerful that I was physically grimacing and cringing at the body horror and terrifying action (in a good way!). On a similar note, the writing about the cosy home with the aroma o

Read the Q&A with Sarah P. Blanchard here . Grabtown is a dual-timeline novel focused on epistolary elements. Protagonists, twin sisters Cassie and Ana, read a manuscript addressed to them, edited by their mother, Marla, and written by her friend AJ. I seem to be really drawn to novels set in New England lately, and there's something particularly special about those set in small towns as opposed to big cities. When a novel is set in Boston or NYC, I think the location becomes

Thank you to Sarah P. Blanchard for the access to her new novel Grabtown , and also for taking the time to answer my questions! Read my review of Grabtown .   How do you think a small town setting lends itself to a story such as this, as opposed to being set in NYC, for example? Small towns are supposed to be quiet and safe, a good place to raise kids—in contrast to a big, noisy, rough city like New York or Boston. I tried to create a shocking contrast between this perceived

As someone who claims not to like romance novels, I requested this ARC more for the name and the cover. I flew through this book in one day and loved every second. Whilst the romance is, of course, important to the plot, I think it was more about the atmosphere and the different backgrounds of the characters. The language is super lyrical and hyper-focused on beautiful setting elements such as the food on the plates and the smells in the kitchen (yes, food is always my priori

This really does what it says on the tin. It is the cosiest fantasy out there. I read and enjoyed Legends & Lattes last year, but...