Category: Book Review

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa [BOOK REVIEW] Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa [BOOK REVIEW]

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Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 150

Genre: Japanese Literature, Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher: Manilla Press

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★


Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a booklover’s paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building lies a shop filled with hundreds of second-hand books.

Twenty-five-year-old Takako has never liked reading, although the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for three generations. It is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru, who has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife Momoko left him five years earlier.

When Takako’s boyfriend reveals he’s marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle’s offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop.

As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.

My Thoughts:

The highlights of “Days at the Morisaki Bookshop” are in the quotes. Sometimes, there is a book where I will annotate so many things, and now that I try and put them into a review, it turns into a random mess. Well, let it be. This is my random messy review of a book I genuinely and thoroughly loved. 

It’s a beautiful story about Takako , who gets her heart broken and decides to spend some time staying with her uncle in his bookshop. As the days pass, she gets to know her uncle better, she meets some lovely people in the coffee place across the street, and she re-kindles her love for reading.

It’s short and sweet, and very enjoyable. Full of meaningful conversations about life. This book oozes with a sense of tranquillity I haven’t felt in a while. In this world of fast paced books, I am glad I found one that slowed time. It was very refreshing for me and I would definitely warmly recommend it.

“In a melodrama this would’ve been my moment to get up and throw my wine in his face. But I’d never been good at expressing my feelings like that. It’s only once I’m alone, mulling things over, that I can figure out what on Earth I’m really feeling.”

“I wanted to see the whole world for myself. I wanted to see the whole range of possibilities. Your life is yours. It doesn’t belong to anyone else. I wanted to know what it would mean to live life on my own terms.”

“I think maybe I’ve been wasting my time, just doing nothing.”

“I don’t think so. It’s important to stand still sometimes. Think of it as a little rest in the long journey of your life. This is your harbour. And your boat is just dropping anchor here for a little while. And after you’re well rested, you can set sail again.”

“It’s funny. No matter where you go, or how many books you read, you still know nothing, you haven’t seen anything. And that’s life. We live our lives trying to find our way.”

“The act of seeing is no small thing. To see something is to be possessed by it. Sometimes it carries off a part of you, sometimes it’s your whole soul.”

“Don’t be afraid to love someone. When you fall in love, I want you to fall in love all the way. Even if it ends in heartache, please don’t live a lonely life without love. I’ve been so worried that because of what happened you’ll give up on falling in love. Love is wonderful. I don’t want you to forget that. Those memories of people you love, they never disappear. They go on warming your heart as long as you live. When you get old like me, you’ll understand.”

“Men are simple. It doesn’t matter who they are. You can always seduce them with food.”

About The Author:

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa [BOOK REVIEW]

八木沢 里志 (Satoshi Yagisawa) was born in Chiba, Japan, in 1977. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, his debut novel, was originally published in 2009 and won the Chiyoda Literature Prize.

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The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin [BOOK REVIEW] The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin [BOOK REVIEW]

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The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 512

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, tête-bêche novel

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★

1880s England On the bleak island of Ray, off the Essex coast, an idealistic young doctor, Simeon Lee, is called from London to treat his cousin, Parson Oliver Hawes, who is dying. Parson Hawes, who lives in the only house on the island—Turnglass House—believes he is being poisoned.

And he points the finger at his sister-in-law, Florence. Florence was declared insane after killing Oliver’s brother in a jealous rage and is now kept in a glass-walled apartment in Oliver’s library. And the secret to how she came to be there is found in Oliver’s tête-bêche journal, where one side tells a very different story from the other.

1930s California. Celebrated author Oliver Tooke, the son of the state governor, is found dead in his writing hut off the coast of the family residence, Turnglass House. His friend Ken Kourian doesn’t believe that Oliver would take his own life. His investigations lead him to the mysterious kidnapping of Oliver’s brother when they were children, and the subsequent secret incarceration of his mother, Florence, in an asylum.

But to discover the truth, Ken must decipher clues hidden in Oliver’s final book, a tête-bêche novel—which is about a young doctor called Simeon Lee…

My Thoughts:

Tête-bêche (n)

A book split into two parts printed back-to-back and head-to-foot.

“The Turnglass” is the first Tête-bêche book I remember reading and I quite enjoyed it. It was an adventure on its own and added excitement to the story.

Even picking what story to read was an adventure in itself. You pick the book up, and one side of the book is covered in green. This side takes you to 1880s England. Then you flip the book and you get the red side, a story set in California in the 1930s. It is up to you to choose which side to read first, the stories can be read in any order.

I chose to go with 1880s England first.

Only because it is set earlier in the past. The two stories are connected to each other, and, of course, they have The Turnglass house in common. Whilst I was reading, I had a feeling that every detail mentioned could be important at a later date. I couldn’t fully enjoy and immerse myself in the story, because I couldn’t help pretend to be Sherlock Holmes and always look out for clues.

That being said, the chapters are fast-paced and intriguing. They often featured letters or book quotes that brought diversity to the format. Both stories were interesting and kept me guessing until the very end. I liked how it all tied up in the end. There is no special ending – both stories have their own endings. There is nothing to wrap them both up or a big reveal to unite them. Although, with this format, that’s very much expected.

In all honesty, I don’t know if the reading order would have changed anything. But I will never know. “The Turnglass” is one of those books I wish I was able to read again for the first time. Only to try the other order of the stories and see if my reading experience would change. I would definitely recommend this book. It’s a gorgeous, adventurous and mysterious read for sure.

“I guess you learn a lot more about someone from the books they read than where they spend their vacations or which box they tick on a voting paper.”

About The Author:

The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin [BOOK REVIEW]

Gareth Rubin writes about social affairs, travel and the arts for British newspapers. In 2013 he directed a documentary about therapeutic art at the Bethlem Royal Hospital in London (‘Bedlam’). His books include Liberation Square, set in Soviet-occupied London; The Winter Agent, about British agents in Paris on the eve of D-Day and The Turnglass, two entwined mysteries that take place in Essex in 1881 and Los Angeles in 1939. He read English literature at the University of St Andrews and trained at East 15 Acting School.

Author Website

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The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis [BOOK REVIEW] The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis [BOOK REVIEW]

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The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 206

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Classic

Publisher: Harper Collins

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★★

Narnia… the land beyond the wardrobe door, a secret place frozen in eternal winter, a magical country waiting to be set free.

Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor’s mysterious old house. At first her brothers and sister don’t believe her when she tells of her visit to the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe themselves. In Narnia they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch. When they meet the Lion Aslan, they realize they’ve been called to a great adventure and bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch’s sinister spell.

My Thoughts:

It feels like forever since I first read “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. And yet, when I recall that moment, it still feels like yesterday. I am sitting on the porch of my house in Macedonia, with my now late grandma sitting next to me. The weather is boiling hot, and she’s drinking her coffee and talking about the neighbours. I start reading the book, and before I realise, the sun has hid itself behind the clouds and it’s time for my afternoon karate practice… 

Years later, I picked this book up again. This time, it’s an English edition. I have them both now, so I can compare the translations. And as soon as I start reading the author note, I start to cry. Because I realise how relative, and also how irreversible – time really is. 

“My Dear Lucy,

I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realised that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand, a word you say, but I shall still be

Your affectionate Godfather.”

C.S. Lewis

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is incredible and will always have a special place in my heart. It brings four siblings together, it introduces us to a secret world covered in snow. It’s a special story about honesty, bravery and following your heart.

I have never read the other books in the series, because I felt like this one is perfect on its own, just as it is. But re-reading it has prompted me to come back to this world again, and I would like to revisit Narnia again soon. 

About The Author:

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis [BOOK REVIEW]

Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.

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One of us is Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #21) [BOOK REVIEW] One of us is Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #21) [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

One of us is Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #21) [BOOK REVIEW]

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One of us is Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #21) [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

One of us is Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #21) [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 464

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Fiction

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format I read it in: Hardcover

Rating: ★★★★

Hunting him would be murder . . .

When James Taylor arrives late for a funeral, he has to stand at the back of the small church. But, as the service progresses, Taylor notices a man six rows in front of him. At first he thinks he must be mistaken, but the more he looks at the man, the more convinced Taylor becomes that this is his old school friend Rufus Rorke.

Except it couldn’t be him, could it? Because two years ago Taylor attended Rufus Rorke’s funeral. He even delivered Rufus’s eulogy.

On the other side of Brighton, at Police HQ, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace has been alerted to a number of suspicious deaths that he can’t get out of his mind. But how are they linked? And how could they possibly be connected to Rufus Rorke?

Roy Grace is about to find out just how dangerous a dead man can be.

My Thoughts:

“One of us is Dead”  is a tremendous book, and was well worth my time. It intrigued me from the very first chapter.

“Mediocrity recognizes nothing higher than itself. It takes talent to appreciate genius.”

It really starts with such a bang. I could imagine myself being in Taylor’s shoes. Going to a friend’s funeral and seeing a person in the crowd that died two years ago. How freaky is that, right? And surely impossible. Same as Taylor, undoubtedly, you would start asking questions. And little do you know, the police are trying to figure out the same thing.

“They’d vowed they would always stay in touch, but of course life had other plans.”

I cannot reveal too much as I don’t want to spoil it for others. “One of us is Dead” is very fast paced and never runs out of action. The slight downside is that it can be a bit predictable at times, although not with the ending. Speaking of the ending, I was slightly disappointed. Firstly, because I am a sucker for justice, and I don’t feel that we got true justice. And secondly, we only get the crumbs about what happens next with certain characters. There were a few people “still awaiting justice” and this was not good enough for me. 

Overall, I think Peter James did a good job with this book, and I now definitely have him on my radar and will probably pick up some of his older books. This book is actually book number 21 in the Roy Grace series. But, as you might already know with these kinds of books, they can all be read as standalones. They are all unique stories in themselves, with only the detective Roy Grace featuring in them as a common denominator. What was the last crime / thriller you read?

“When I was a young kid, my mum taught me how to make clouds disappear. She told me I had magic powers and that I could dissolve clouds. If I just stared at a small cloud hard, really hard, and kept staring at it, it would break up and disappear… I do still look at clouds today and make them dissolve.”

About The Author:

One of us is Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #21) [BOOK REVIEW]

Peter James is a UK No. 1 bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. With a total of 20 Sunday Times No. 1s under his belt, he has achieved global book sales of over 23 million copies to date, and has been translated into 38 languages. Her Majesty Queen Camilla has announced that Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is her favourite fictional detective

Author Website

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Barrowbeck by Andrew Michael Hurley [BOOK REVIEW] Barrowbeck by Andrew Michael Hurley [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

Barrowbeck by Andrew Michael Hurley [BOOK REVIEW]

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Barrowbeck by Andrew Michael Hurley [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

Barrowbeck by Andrew Michael Hurley [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 304

Genre: Horror, Paranormal, Short Story, Mystery

Publisher: John Murray

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★

For centuries, the inhabitants of Barrowbeck, a remote valley on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border, have lived uneasily with forces beyond their reckoning. They raise their families, work the land, and do their best to welcome those who come seeking respite. But there is a darkness that runs through the village as persistently as the river.

A father fears that his daughter has become possessed by something unholy.
A childless couple must make an agonising decision.
A widower awaits the return of his wife.
A troubled man is haunted by visions of end times.

As one generation gives way to the next and ancient land is carved up in the name of progress, darkness gathers. The people of Barrowbeck have forgotten that they are but guests in the valley. Now there is a price to pay. Two thousand years of history is coming to an end.

My Thoughts:

“Wean them off this drivel about sorcery. Such things belong to the centuries of the past, not ours. They work among the marvels of science every day at the will, and yet they talk of goblins.”

I have enjoyed Andrew Michael Murray’s “Starve Acre” and I was very excited to read this one. When I started reading Barrowbeck, I didn’t know it would be an anthology of short stories. Even so, I enjoyed the eerieness.

The stories come in chronological order, and the first story is about how it all started. When the marsh-folk escaped and found a new home by the river in Barrowbeck. From marsh-folk they became valley-folk and settled. But as their old shaman warned them – they owed this new start to the gods and would be forever their servants.

As the years go on, we follow different characters and different stories.

Each of them have one thing in common – the unsettling vibe and the price that comes with living in Barrowbeck. A daughter and a mother are sharing the same vivid dreams. The Sicilian man that visited and brought bad luck. Fear of witchcraft. One girl was murdered in the woods in a very peculiar way. A choir where the fallen soldiers decided to join in the singing. A travelling fair with animals so small, you can keep them in the palm of your hands. One child being born by spawning from a flower.

All the stories have something unique in them, and although the stories themselves are very different to one another, the same theme continues throughout the book. The stories move on with the times. We go from shamans and witchcraft, to trials for murders, to doctors and mental health institutions. The last story is set in 2041, and features technology and the village flooded. Whilst we think it’s the effects of global warming, it brings the question of whether it could just be the wrath of the gods.

I really enjoyed every single story. It’s true, some stories left a bigger impression than others, and some I will remember more than others. What I found intriguing is that we never get an answer. We don’t really know what is going on. And I think that is the case with everything eerie and all things we cannot explain. There will always be room left for personal interpretation and it’s certainly a great book that can prompt a lot of discussions. It’s certainly worth giving it a go!

About The Author:

Barrowbeck by Andrew Michael Hurley [BOOK REVIEW]

Andrew Michael Hurley is currently based in Lancashire. His first novel, The Loney, was originally published by Tartarus Press as a 300-copy limited-edition, before being republished by John Murray. It went on to sell in twenty languages, win the Costa Best First Novel Award and Book of the Year at the British Book Industry Awards. Devil’s Day, his second novel, was picked as a Book of the Year in five newspapers and won the Encore Award. Starve Acre was published by John Murray in 2019, with a film adaptation starring Morfydd Clark and Matt Smith in production. Andrew also wrote a short story for The Haunting Season, a best-selling anthology of ghostly and gothic tales published by Sphere in 2020.

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