Book Reviews

  • The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
    “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet…”
  • No Life for a Lady – Hannah Dolby
    “It was hot, the night my mother disappeared. It was a Saturday, and she had been going out. I had wanted to go out with her, because I…”
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey
    “When he was 13, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play…”
  • Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
    “A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too…”
  • The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
    “In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.”
  • The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
    “On the first Monday of the month of April, 1625, the bourg of Meung, in which the author of the Romance of the Rose was born…”
  • Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë
    “I have just returned from a visit to my landlord – the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with. This is certainly a beautiful…”
  • Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
    “The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest. The flood had made, the wind was…”
  • Eragon – Christopher Paolini
    “Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world. A tall Shade lifted his head and sniffed the air. He looked…”
  • The Colour of Magic – Terry Pratchett
    “In a distant and secondhand set of dimensions, in an astral plane that was never meant to fly, the curling star-mists waver and part…”
  • Hourglass – Daniel James
    “The Ilyushkin 72 ascended through the kingdom of clouds like a steel dragon, powerful and proud. It roared up and away from the snowy…”
  • Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
    “There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but…”
  • Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
    “’Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,’ grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. ‘It’s so dreadful to be poor!’ sighed Meg, looking…”
  • Secrets of Camp Whatever Vol.1 – Chris Grine
    “Why can’t I go to summer camp, too? It’s not fair Willow gets to go have fun and I don’t.”
  • Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
    “My father’s family name being Pirrip, and my christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more…”
  • The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
    “The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on…”
  • Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Truman Capote
    “I am always drawn back to places where I have lived, the houses and their neighborhoods. For instance, there is a brownstone in the East…”
  • The Art of War – Sun Tzu
    “Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin.”
  • The Murder at the Vicarage – Agatha Christie
    “It is difficult to know quite where to begin this story, but I have fixed my choice on a certain Wednesday at luncheon at the Vicarage.”
  • Casino Royale – Ian Fleming
    “The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. Then the soul-erosion produced by high gambling…”
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
    “Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.”
  • Carry On – Rainbow Rowell
    “I walk the Wood. I walk the fields. I cover the school grounds between classes, poking through empty buildings, opening long-closed…”
  • Matilda – Roald Dahl
    “It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine…”
  • Good Omens – Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
    “It was a nice day. All the days had been nice. There had been rather more than seven of them so far, and rain hadn’t been invented yet…”
  • Villainous – Stonie Williams & Jef Sadzinski
    “We got an ID?” “Yea. Name’s Caleb Green. Moved here in 2015 accordin’ to the Coalition’s database. Hero ID: Archmage. Sidekick program…”
  • Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
    “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”
  • Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
    “You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil…”
  • The Beautiful and the Damned – F. Scott Fitzgerald
    “In 1913, when Anthony Patch was twenty-five, two years were already gone since irony, the Holy Ghost of this later day, had, theoretically at least, descended upon him.”
  • Artemis – Andy Weir
    “I bounded over the gray, dusty terrain toward the huge dome of Conrad Bubble. Its airlock, ringed with red lights, stood distressingly…”
  • Cinderella Is Dead – Kalynn Bayron
    “Cinderella has been dead for two hundred years. I’ve been in love with Erin for the better part of three years. And I am about two…”
  • Not Alone – Sophocles Sapounas
    “What would you call a pet goldfish?” – “‘Quiet'” – “That’s a stupid name” – “How about ‘Silence’?” – “You’re not even trying” – “Kill me”.
  • Paper Towns – John Green
    “The longest day of my life began tardily. I woke up late, took too long in the shower, and ended up having to enjoy my breakfast in the…”
  • Mistborn: The Final Empire – Brandon Sanderson
    “Ash fell from the sky. Lord Tresting frowned, glancing up at the ruddy, mid-day sky as his servants scuttled forward, opening a parasol…”
  • Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo
    “The servants called them malenchki, little ghosts, because they were the smallest and the youngest, and because they haunted the Duke’s…”
  • Moxie – Jennifer Mathieu
    “My English teacher Mr Davies rubs a hand over his military buzz cut. There’s sweat beading at his hairline, and he puffs out his ruddy…”
  • Live and Let Die – Ian Fleming
    “There are moments of great luxury in the life of a secret agent. There are assignments on which he is required to act the part of a very…”
  • The Last Wish – Andrzej Sapkowski
    “She came to him towards morning. She entered very carefully, moving silently, floating through the chamber like a phantom; the only…”
  • Cherry – Nico Walker
    “Emily’s gone to take a shower. The room’s half-dark and I’m getting dressed, looking for a shirt with no blood on it, not having any luck.”
  • Book Reviews by Mood
    All of my book reviews by mood, from bittersweet-endings-that-punch-you-in-the-stomach to nostalgic-yearnings-that-you-just-can’t-explain!
  • Raven: Némésis – Mathieu Lauffray
    “The man you see here, tied up off the shore of tortuga, is called Raven. He is an infamous pirate. He can fight, he can sail, and he…”
  • French Exit – Patrick deWitt
    “’All good things must end,’ said Frances Price. She was a moneyed, striking woman of sixty-five years, easing her hands into black…”
  • Skulduggery Pleasant – Derek Landy
    “Gordon Edgley’s sudden death came as a shock to everyone – not least himself. One moment he was in his study, seven words into the…”
  • Bridgerton: The Duke & I – Julia Quinn
    “The birth of Simon Arthur Henry Fitzranulph Basset, Earl Clyvedon, was met with great celebration. Church bells rang for hours…”
  • The Princess Bride – William Goldman
    “This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it. How is such a thing possible? I’ll do my best to explain.”
  • The Spy Who Raised Me – Ted Anderson & Gianna Meola
    “Josie! Time to wake up! Good morning, sweetie. Did you finish your English essay?” “Uh… I started it.” “Well, I’ll help you with it…”
  • The Phantom of the Opera – Gaston Leroux
    “It was the evening on which MM Debienne and Poligny, the managers of the Opera, were giving a farewell gala performance to make their…”
  • The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Brontë
    “To J. Halford, Esq. Dear Halford, When we were together last, you gave me a very particular and interesting account of the most…”
  • Hercule Poirot’s Christmas – Agatha Christie
    “Stephen pulled up the collar of his coat as he walked briskly along the platform. Overhead a dim fog clouded the station. Large engines…”
  • The Fellowship of the Ring – J.R.R. Tolkien
    “When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special…”
  • Skipping Christmas – John Grisham
    “The gate was packed with weary travelers, most of them standing and huddled along the walls because the meager allotment of plastic…”
  • Humour
    All of my Humour book reviews, from Douglas Adams to Sally Rooney to John Kennedy Toole!
  • Stardust – Neil Gaiman
    “The tale started, as many tales have started, in Wall. Immediately to the east of Wall is a high grey rock wall, from which the town…”
  • A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
    “Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk…”
  • Comics/Graphic Novels
    All of my Comics/Graphic Novels reviews, from Jack Kirby to Chris Grine to Noelle Stevenson!
  • Stormbreaker – Anthony Horowitz
    “When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it’s never good news. Alex Rider was woken by the first chime. His eyes flickered open…”
  • Romance
    All of my Romance book reviews, from Jane Austen to Charlotte Brontë to Louisa May Alcott!
  • Book Reviews by Rating
    All of my book reviews by rating, from the worst of one-star books to average three-star stories to the best five-star novels!
  • 3/5 Star
    All of my 3/5 star book reviews for novels that aren’t brilliant, but still worth the read! Read more book reviews here!
  • Storm Front – Jim Butcher
    “The mailman walked towards my office door, half an hour earlier than usual. He didn’t sound right. His footsteps fell more heavily…”
  • Young Adult
    All of my Young Adult book reviews, from Markus Zusack to Rainbow Rowell to Patrick Ness!
  • Book Reviews by Genre
    All of my book reviews by genre, from romance and classics to political satire and science fiction to fantasy and thrillers!
  • Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
    “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the the…”
  • 1984 – George Orwell
    “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort…”
  • Political
    All of my Political book reviews, from George Orwell to Margaret Atwood to Joseph Heller!
  • Animal Farm – George Orwell
    “Mr Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes.”
  • The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger
    “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood…”
  • Science Fiction
    All of my Science Fiction book reviews, from H. G. Wells to Ray Bradbury to Mary Shelley!
  • The War of the Worlds – H. G. Wells
    “No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by…”
  • Children
    All of my Children book reviews, from Markus Zusack to Rainbow Rowell to Patrick Ness!
  • Mystery
    All of my Mystery book reviews, from Agatha Christie to Arthur Conan Doyle to Edgar Allan Poe!
  • Fantasy
    All of my Fantasy book reviews, from J. R. R. Tolkien to Patrick Rothfuss to George R. R. Martin!
  • 2/5 Star
    All of my 2/5 star book reviews for sort of okay-ish novels!
  • 4/5 Star
    All of my 4/5 star book reviews for brilliant novels with minor drawbacks!
  • Adventure
    All of my Adventure book reviews, from Vicor Hugo to Robert Louis Stevenson to Alexandre Dumas!
  • 1/5 Star
    All of my 1/5 star book reviews for my least favourite novels!
  • Classics
    All of my Classics book reviews, from Emily Brontë to F. Scott Fitzgerald to William Golding!
  • 5/5 Star
    All of my 5/5 star book reviews for the best novels that I have ever read!
  • Thriller
    All of my Thriller book reviews, from Ian Fleming to John Le Carré to Anthony Horowitz!