savage_book_review's reviews
276 reviews

Bridget 'Biddy' Cromwell feels like she is destined for more than just being a wife and mother. But perhaps, with the right man, she can do both? And when her father starts to climb the ranks of the Parliamentary army, she might get the opportunity of a lifetime...

The most striking thing about this book is how well it humanises Oliver Cromwell. You see him as a real family man; down on all fours playing with the children, his deep suffering at the loss of his older sons, his doting on his daughters and his trust in his wife. Likewise, he is painted here as a somewhat reluctant participant in the dethroning of a King; his desire for a new order is tempered by his understanding that too much change might not be accepted, and a respect for the old order. It's a far cry from the wart-faced stick in the mud killjoy you learn about in school! That's not to say that some of his darker side isn't referenced here, but where the story isn't absolutely centred around him, it's far from the main focus.

The story is very much told through the female gaze, with the main character being essentially held to the domestic sphere. However, it does come with modern sensibilities in her feeling that she can do more. She views her potential marriage as a business transaction which will in turn free her to see a bit more of the world and have some influence, even if it's indirect. It is a nice illustration of how women at this time could potentially hold a little power, and find some semblance of independence within a naturally dependant position. 

I can't say I was overawed by the story itself; there's certainly nothing wrong with it, but it does have quite a generic feel. The blurb doesn't have a huge resemblance to the content; it makes it sound like there's far more intrigue and drama than there is. But it was readable and enjoyable, and it did the job of transporting me back to that place and time. The writing flowed well and, after a while, the emotional transfer does kick in, though probably not as strongly as it should. 

Nice for a little introduction to this period; I only have a basic knowledge of this era, but I was able to roughly place the timeline and events, and learn a touch more about the players involved. However, I wouldn't say even that knowledge level is a requirement to read this. Looking forward to the sequel!

Yup. This is what graphic audio was made for. The atmosphere of the Court of Nightmares, the creepiness of the Weaver's cottage and the slow burn of the relationship leading to spectacular fireworks. All of it makes this the best book in the first trilogy to read, but everything is enhanced to a whole other level with the addition of sound, voices and music. I didn't want this one to end, it's so good.

I believe I have a good imagination and I'm never short of images in my head both during and after reading a good book, but the audio serves to burn the images into your mind's eye and give everything a clear, crisp quality of life. The actors play their parts incredibly well - Rhysand is now properly under my skin (big surprise there...) and even Feyre's breathiness and run-on sentences now feel like they 'fit' the character, and it's a testament to them that what could be an incredibly awkward or uncomfortable listen in places is in fact gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, terrifying, beautiful, joyous or just plain hot!

Of course, it all starts with the writing and IMO this is Sarah J Maas' strongest work out of all the ACOTAR and TOG books (Haven't gotten to Crescent City yet... hoping to have finished the first two before the new one comes out!). The balance of plot progression, character arc, worldbuilding and emotional rollercoaster rides is pretty much spot on.

I could continue to wax lyrical about this, but I'm not sure there are enough superlatives to allow me to express just how much I enjoyed it. Now I just have to be patient and wait for my next Audible credits to get the parts 2 and 3 of the next one... I don't think I can just listen to part 1!

Oh, I've been looking forward to this one. And after the disaster that was my last read, I was determined to finish 2023 off with a book I knew I was guaranteed to enjoy. I will firstly say that this is probably a slightly unfair rating on my part, purely because I have read the book previously and I know what's to come in part 2 is my favourite bit of the series.

The pacing of this book is more suited to the 2 part graphic audio format than ACOTAR, mainly because the action is a little more evenly spread throughout the story. It also helps that you're settled into the world the author has created, so it's a lot easier to accept the new ideas that pitch up in here. There's plenty of moments in this to keep you interested and listening, and glimpses of humour throughout the overall slightly darker tone which pull the listener in.

As with Rhys in the last one, the voices of Cassian and Azriel aren't quite what I was expecting, but as I have now settled into Rhys' voice (and actually quite like it!), I'm sure I'll quickly come to accept the actors' interpretations. As for the wider audio, I feel that it gives the darker moments a lot more depth and emotional resonance than the written word alone, and likewise purposely picks out those moments of brevity to give the listener a moment's relief. 

The only part I felt was lacking was a moment where Rhys is sharing a memory with Feyre, and rather than having Rhys supply the voice over, it's Feyre effectively doing an impression if him, dropping her voice an octave and adjusting her pronunciation slightly. I genuinely thought I'd mistakenly slowed down the audio speed when it kicked in. I can't say I quite understood that directorial decision as it jolted me out of my own head, but overall it's a small nitpick from an otherwise very well put together production.

Can't wait for part 2!

Another book I was inspired to read after listening to The History Chicks podcast and their Jane Austen episodes. It was the fact that they had mentioned a work I'd not heard of before, 'The History of England', that piqued my interest and, as it was supposedly funny, I thought I'd give it a try. 

My library service only had this book available which included it, and even though I've never been a huge fan of classic literature, I wanted to try and be good and read the whole thing. However, it quickly became evident that I was never going to get through it. I struggled through the first few stories to get to The History of England and just couldn't bear it any more.

This collection is apparently printed in approximate chronological order, with the works Jane wrote as a young teenager first. And boy can you tell. They are completely nonsensical, over the top melodramatics, devoid of any depth, characterisation and plot structure. I can only compare it to a young child writing a one page story that makes perfect sense in their own head, but is gibberish to everyone else. I can appreciate that this is a young person trying to hone her craft, and that her experiences are far removed from my own, but ultimately being so far removed from the author just makes that confusion even more pronounced.

As for The History of England... Well, the upside is I know enough about that subject that I could follow it more easily. For that alone, it now stands as my favourite Jane austen work. However, while I can see that it probably is meant to be funny, lighthearted and a mickey-take (and can even appreciate some of the jokes!), it's a very odd little piece. In some ways, this is the type of overview you want of the rulers of England; short, snappy and along the lines of 'I couldn't tell you what dates they were around if you paid me, but they were brilliant/bad/boring while they did it!'. There's an undying love for Mary Queen of Scots and a hatred of Elizabeth I which I'm not entirely sure isn't sincere, and some rather random illustrations provided by Jane's sister Cassandra which bear no resemblance to known portraits. But equally it seems like a pretty pointless exercise - it's neither serious nor satire, and definitely not what I was expecting.

I've always struggled with Jane's writing anyway, so I knew that, even if I continued, I would derive no real pleasure from reading the rest. I tried but, even with the lowest of expectations, feel incredibly disappointed.

This was an impulse buy from a charity shop a few months ago, but I'm quite glad I picked it up! And after listening to The History Chicks podcast episode about the Schyuler sisters and learning that there isn't a huge amount of source material about them, I'm even more pleased I didn't leave it behind! 

As you would likely expect, my starting point for knowledge of the characters in this book comes from the musical 'Hamilton', but that's OK because it was also the inspiration for the authors! However, they have very clearly delineated that their story is about Eliza, not her husband. The story is told from her point of view and deals with her life before, during and after her marriage to the "ten dollar founding father", examining her roles as wife and mother, but also as his helpmeet and as a revolutionary and fighter in her own right. So while you can certainly follow the story and generally keep track of where you are if you have a working knowledge of the musical, this really gives Eliza some of the depth that she's missing as the supporting character on stage.

The most striking thing about this is the characterisation of Eliza herself. They have managed to bring her vividly to life from limited information; it was impossible not just to see her physically in your mind's eye, but also to feel her emotions, understand her motivations and ultimately experience revolutionary America through her. In particular, they've done a great job at conveying her mixed emotions about Hamilton - you feel their relationship at every stage, from the first stirrings of interest to utter betrayal, and it manages to influence your own impressions of the man and his life. I certainly went on a bit of a rollercoaster of what I thought about him!

Likewise, they've managed to do the same for all of the other characters featured too. Yes, it does help that they are all real people, but somehow, even if they only briefly appear, I felt like I could get to know them all. The only difficulty I had was keeping the identities of some character straight in my head. For some reason, I found it really hard to separate Madison and Munroe from one another. I can't really blame the writing for this; I think it's a mix of my ignorance of the real history and perhaps my mind wandering a bit while reading. 

The writing is very well put together; it has a constant flow that keeps everything moving forward without rushing, but equally there are time jumps where necessary to get to the next key event. I think my only criticism of the pacing is there are a lot of chapters that end on a '...' or some kind of foreshadowing, which did get a little repetitive and pulled me out of the moment a bit. However, it does fot with the forst person POV of the book, and I know when I write I have this same bad habit, so I can't moan too much!

While I appreciate both this and the musical are historical fiction and so aren't totally reliable as a source of learning, they do both pull from the same non-fiction source, Ron Chernow's biography of Hamilton. Having read that back at the beginning of the year, I can definitely say this book is easier to digest and paints a clearer picture of events generally, so I would recommend this as a good starting point if you're interested in learning more about the period. Helpfully, my copy has a 'bonus feature' of an interview with the authors where they provide clarity on some of the changes/omissions made to the timeline, and also where this book differs from the musical (which has the added benefit of helping untangle where the musical gets it 'wrong'!).

I really must get tickets to the musical one day...

As suspected, part 2 of this graphic audio gets down to business and elevates the main action of this story to new heights. There's a lot to be said for using this medium to aid your imagination; you're still reliant upon your own mind to visualise the characters, settings etc. (rather than actors, directors, set designers etc doing the work for you), but at the same time the audio effects help bring it to life and solidify what may otherwise be quite fuzzy thoughts. In this instance, it's particularly helpful when we head Under the Mountain - the sounds add an extra layer of tension/jeopardy to proceedings. Likewise, they add a little bit of extra heat to the spicy scenes! 

And yet, it's incredibly easy to listen to and doesn't take a lit of brain power - if you do just want to sit back and let the story wash over you, this is still a great option because the images should almost come to you unbidden. It's a great story, with fabulous worldbuilding, strong characters and beautiful descriptions (for the most part... we'll leave aside the repeated instances of watery bowels), which really lends itself to sparking your imagination.

Yes, I'm still disappointed that Rhysand isn't being played by a Brit, but now we have a little more to go on I'm actually quite taken with this version of him! He's not quite got the drawl I imagine Rhys to have, but so far his interpretation of the character is very good. And Amarantha is spot on!

The only quibble I had with this one was that the levels of speech to background effects were a bit off in a couple of places; there were some instances where the music was almost too loud for you to hear the dialogue. Only a minor foible, but just something that made me fall out of my restful state while enjoying this.

Very much looking forward to the ACOMAF graphic audio now! Although I really won't be cueing thar one up until tomorrow.

This is my first graphic audio listen and I'm completely sold on the premise. It might not seem like much, but having that extra layer of sound effects and music underneath the narration, plus having a full cast really brings the story to life and genuinely does feel like a 'movie in your mind'. 

The cast is very good generally, all evoking the depth of their characters through the simple medium of their voices. If I'm nitpicking, the actress narrating/playing Feyre is a little breathy for my taste, and does tend to let her sentences run into one another on occasion, but overall she is still very easy to listen to and suits the role well. Although he's only in this part briefly, my other slight disappointment is that Rhys (although at this point he hasn't been named) isn't played by a Brit. I was dying to hear his "catchphrase" drawled in an English accent to make him stand apart from the rest, but looks like that's not going to happen. Never mind!

However, the actress playing Nesta has already got my hackles up! Which just means she's done the character justice! Just the right mix of sarcasm, brattishness and entitlement to really bring her into being. Likewise, Tamlin is doing very well at drawing me in... I'll be interested to see how that develops over the course of the next few books! 

Listening to the story also really brings out the similarity with 'Beauty and the Beast' more to me as well. I'm not saying that you don't get those vibes from the book alone, and it may be because I only saw the live-action film again a couple of days ago, but the imagery of Tamlin in his 'beastly' form, the garden and the roses, the scene of Feyre tending to Tamlin's wounds and so much more just chimed with me more clearly as a clear parallel. 

I do think it's an advantage to have read the book before going into listening mode - if this is your first foray into ACOTAR I think it's likely you'll find this part pretty slow going. I'm not entirely sure why they felt it necessary to split the book into two parts (although I suspect the financial rewards may have played a significant role), and overall the 'meat' of this story will be in part two. All of this part is simply the worldbuilding and set up, which could easily be forgotten if you're only able to buy one part a month using Audible credits! Therefore, I'd be recommending to anyone that they don't start listening to this until they have both parts of the story available to listen straight through. 

Speaking of which, that's what I'm off to do right now 😁

As can easily be gleaned from my reading history, I do love me some Greek myth retellings. I've heard Natalie Haynes speak and be interviewed on several history podcasts I listen to, and she's always come across as bright, bubbly, funny and extremely knowledgeable about her specialist subject, so I thought I'd give this book a go, simply to get me a little more up to speed with the women of the Greek myths and to obtain a more female-centric view of them.

From very early on, the phrase that stuck in my head was 'stream of consciousness'. The writing is interesting and thought-provoking, but it makes for breathless reading - it came across to me as if the author simply couldn't type the words out quickly enough to keep up with her thought process. One line of examination flowed seamlessly into another; while in general that's a good thing, it made it very difficult to discern the point she was making.

The language used clearly puts this book well within reach of a general audience, but at the same time this is not a book to pick up if you only have a passing knowledge of the women and the myths studied. I class myself in that category - I could place most of the women in the right 'place' in the myths, but aside from that my awareness is in fact relatively limited. As a result, once again it became very hard to keep track of exactly what the author was trying to say - it was only with the last couple of women studied that a clearer recap of their 'standard' stories was included. Otherwise, it felt very much like being thrown in at the deep end, and therefore perhaps more appropriate for those with more expertise. I though this was a shame, as if matters were drawn out a little more I think it would have made a truly fascinating read.

Because of both these elements, I found it a harder going read than expected; for a fairly short book, it was quite heavy-going. I could only digest it for about 20 minutes at a time before the weight became too much and my attention started to drift. I think this would be an incredibly useful reference book if you were studying a particular myth or work such as the Iliad, as it would counter the male gaze of the main story and allow you to consider an alternative perspective. Likewise, if you were focused on one particular female from the pantheon, you might find her chapter in here a great source of information. But otherwise it's just not got that hook to make it a 'must read'.

I first head about Violet Jessop when her words featured in a BBC documentary in 2016 about the sinking of the Britannic. That documentary is now available on History Hit, and shortly after I watched it again I found this book at the local market. Almost unbelievably, Violet served on all three of the sister ships; Olympic, Britannic and the most famous of all, Titanic. This book serves as  a memoir of her time serving as a stewardess, not just for White Star Line, but throughout her career, telling stories of her experiences at sea and recounting those fateful voyages in 1912 and 1916.

The editor of this book makes a very astute observation during his introduction; Violet's writing is quite disjointed and there is a lot of detail missing from her narrative. For example, she was serving on the Olympic when it had a run in with a Navy vessel and had a huge hole torn in her side, which required that she was returned to Belfast for repair... which in turn delayed the launch of her infamous sister ship. However, this incident isn't mentioned at all. Overall, I would liken this to more of a first draft of her planned autobiography; a good outline of the stories she wants to tell and the rough timeline, but something that could have been expanded upon given the chance. It should be noted that the manuscript was completed in the 1930s, but remained unpublished until after her death, meaning there was no chance of first hand revision, and so it must be taken at face value for what it is. It's certainly not the most detailed description of the Titanic disaster by a long way - in fact, I'd say there's more detail about Britannic - but nevertheless it offers a perspective you don't get to see very often; that of a 'normal' crew member who survived.

I can't say I was overly impressed with the editor's input. To me, it felt like there was a lot of 'mansplaining' - he is a marine historian and, while I can recognise that he has obviously studied the Titanic tragedy in detail and did have a little knowledge of Violet personally, more often than not his asides are just condensed overviews of Violet's own words (often quoting passages you've just read), or feel like they're lauding his 'superior knowledge' over her first person account. I'd say about 90% of his annotations are redundant. There's not even much consistency in his editing - early on, we are told that Violet employed pseudonyms for family members, passengers and crew. And yet he amends the manuscript to provide the real names of family members, but retains the pseudonyms for others that can be identified... it just seems an odd choice. There's also a comment that he cut out a lot of her writing about her childhood in Argentina for economy. My argument is that he could have left her story in if he'd laid off the interludes! 

As for Violet herself, she seems like an incredibly put together woman who could roll.with the punches and just got on with what was expected of her. She comes across as humble, downplaying a lot of her positive influences and her bravery in the face of multiple disasters. I feel like I could learn a thing or two from her - it's her complete calmness in the face of demanding passengers and ridiculous suitors that gets me! Stewardess was not her first choice of career, but she knew what was required of her to take care of her family, and she took to it with gusto. My only wish is that there was more of her story in her own words; this feels like just a glimpse, ans I'd love to have had the opportunity to get to know her in more depth. 

I'd say this is more of a book to read if you're interested in early 20th century steamship travel generally, as it does give a very good insight into the workings of a passenger liner from the crew perspective, and the expectations and treatment of female crew. It's definitely an important read for Titanic enthusiasts, but there isn't much in here you won't already know (except for Violet's own story, of course). I'm unsure if there have been more recent versions published with further updates, but my copy is also quite out of date when it comes to a lot of Titanic myth-busting - this version still includes details of the debate surrounding the Californian and why it didn't come steaming to the rescue, which has now been explained using scientific evidence. So if you are looking to read it, definitely pick up the latest version you can. 

If you can watch the Britannic documentary, do. It brings some extracts of her memoirs to life very well in dramatised monologues. This meant I could hear the actress as I was reading, which really lifted the story off the page for me.

This book has lived on my Kindle for years without me ever having read it, and I had thought it was a book showcasing the making of the ITV drama 'Victoria' starring Jenna Coleman. I clearly wasn't paying that much attention when I bought it, as in fact it is a novel telling the story of Victoria's life from shortly before the death of her Uncle King William IV, up to her engagement to Prince Albert. 

I was surprised at the lack of depth here. Although the author is the same person who wrote the TV series, I can't say that this is a novelisation as basically all of the subplots have been excised, leaving only the main narrative of Victoria growing into her role as Queen behind. While that's not a bad thing in and of itself, there is very little new material here. In fact, it felt more like I was reading an expanded novelisation of the film 'The Young Victoria' starring Emily Blunt. It hits all of the main plot points contained in that film and it was that cast I was imagining throughout - particularly Paul Bettany as Lord M. Ultimately, it came across to me as someone telling a story using the information learned in a school history lesson and via a summary of the Queen's early life rather than a well thought-out, well researched novel.

I was very sympathetic to Victoria's desire to stretch her wings and take charge of her own life after the restrictions of The Kensington System were lifted, and liked the motif of Victoria taking strength and inspiration from her forebear, Queen Elizabeth I, particularly when faced with people who treated her like they knew better. The author has done a good job at encouraging the audience to root for Victoria in understanding just who is trying to manipulate her (everyone) and for her to have the option of making her own choices.

I know it won't be to everyone's taste, but I did like the balancing of the 'romance' element between Victoria and Lord M. Is it likely that it's historically accurate? Probably not. But it is clear that she really did rely upon him heavily in her early years on the throne and probably did see him as something of a father figure. This is what I like about historical fiction - the fact that the author has taken a little gap in the collective knowledge and filled it with her own ideas. And yet she's kept it believable; I didn't question for a moment that it wasn't a possibility that their relationship had the potential to develop into something deeper, yet he would choose the integrity of Crown and Country over his feelings. The continuation of the Elizabeth I imagery by painting Lord M as Victoria's 'Earl of Leicester' was particularly appreciated by this reader - I found it a brilliant way of him expressing himself without compromising his (or her) position any further.

I'm less convinced by the development of Albert's character and relationship with Victoria. There was nothing that convinced me of their growing feelings for one another, or that he was even that likeable (although I admit to totally understanding his character! Seeing a lot of myself in there!) It felt like Victoria had been backed into a corner about her proposal, when in fact as far as I've always understood it she was more than willing to become Albert's wife after she'd had the opportunity to get to know him a little and that it was almost 'love at second sight'. Genuinely, I was preparing myself for one or other to say 'to hell with this' in the climactic scene! I mean, it would have been one mega plot twist, but still, that's how little I bought into it. 

As a 'point and click' pick from my Kindle,  it did the job, but I wasn't drawn into the writing and didn't have that urge to just keep going. It's by no means anywhere near bad enough to countenance a DNF, but I doubt I'll pick it up again in future.