Thought Corridor

 Lastly for now is Founding Fathers by Meg Ellison  Must admit I didn't know much about this book before going in to if. It is a satire that plays around, it asks what if tech billionaires had access to cloning the founding fathers and just what would Franklin think of a smartphone. Much of the history of the founding fathers is lost on me as Brit but even though I liked it well enough. It is a fun but brief book, a novella that has an interesting premise but perhaps feels like it needs to be fleshed out more. The idea behind it is sound enough and it humorously looks at politics and updated time settings (with cloning of course). Its an enjoyable read but not quite a 5 star one for me. Thanks tot eh author, the publisher, and to Netgalley as always for this ARC.   

Next up is Nemesis Mine by Amy Archer  I really enjoyed this book, the writing is witty and the book is well paced. There is the classic villain with a heart of gold (somewhere deep in that lair of his) and Maximillian as his love interest. I felt like they had great chemistry and I really wanted them to get together.  The world building was good but maybe was a bit too superficial but still I enjoyed the characters so much that I'm willing to overlook it. This book fits well into the conventions of Romantasy, nothing groundbreaking as the romance hits the tropes and is unsurprising but that is not the point. It is an enjoyable read and I loved the characters.  Thanks to the author, the publisher, and as always to Netgalley for this ARC. 

 The next book is Common Decency by the brilliant Tom Allen, his debut novel. A cosy read with lots of Tom Allen's signature charm and wit. This is a peak behind the lace curtains and closed doors of suburbia and a look at what we find there. The characters who populate  Oak Drive feel very real, we've all heard of neighbors like these. There is more going on beneath the surface and this book explores those dramas. It is humorously written and nicely paced. Thanks to the author, the publishers and Netgalley as always for this ARC. 

 Next up is Upward Bound by Woody Brown.  Woody was the first non speaking autistic graduate of the UCLA and this book feels like a peak inside that world. Like many other reviewers here I loved this book. It is an engaging read from the start and the characters feels so real. As someone who is neurodivergent I could see myself in this book. It is uplifting, there is humour and there is heart and frustration too.   Charming and heartfelt, Upward Bound is a book that it will stay with you for a long time. Thanks to the author, the publishers, and Netgalley as always for this ARC,  

The next book is  The Library of Traumatic Memory  by   Neil Jordan. This was a difficult one for me as although it's helped by its short chapters it did feel a little complicated at times and it was tricky to keep track of the events unfolding. The language used is lovely but with the lack of punctuation and the lack of clear delineation of characters and the narrative voice with its two narrators with no clear way of saying which narrator is speaking it is hard to follow the threads through though the book. I almost did not finish this but persevered, unfortunately for me personally while the imagery and the language is at times beautifully and poetically written it was too complex for me to follow fully. If you're looking for an easy read then this is not it but if you take the time with it then I'm sure there are those who would love this book.  Thank you to the author, the publishers, and as always to Netgalley for this ARC. 

  Hello you! I'm back again with the first of several reviews, reading through my sprawling handwritten notes to make sense of them in order to write them up for this little blog of mine. Starting with T rip to the Moon:  Understanding the True Power Of Story by John Yorke. While this book does feel academical at times it is an enjoyable read and accessible. It  contains many useful passages and tips for aspiring writers of screenplays (and writers in general). It is an easy to understand look at how we are shaped by stories and how we ourselves can shape them. The author looks at various films and screenplays and examines the way they tell a narrative story. I was not familiar with Yorke's previous work and pick this up on a bit of a whim. It is very useful to anyone interested in the genre and is a book that I can see myself returning to. Thank you to the publishers, the author, and Netgalley as always for this ARC.