3 Answers2026-03-14
I borrowed ‘Is Humanity Lost’ as I liked the look of the cover. Although it was described as a book about the collapse of society, it felt very personal and most of the book focused on the downfall of individual people. The side characters were particularly well drawn and one of the chapters was from the point of view of a side character in his final days on Earth. It was so raw that I had to put the book down for a while to collect myself. Not a happy book, but if you are in the mood for something more serious and thought-provoking then this is a great choice to read. Just make sure you have something more pleasant to read straight after it though.
12 Answers2026-03-24
I have been seeing this book recommended alongside Under the Oak Tree, but they are really two different kinds of stories. Under the Oak Tree is about a person working through trauma and having really intense emotions – loud, explosive ones. The Housekeeper’s Diary is about a quiet, domestic space and the inner struggle going on to maintain that space, a battle in most cases. Rather than relying on magical power or even a more assertive personality type, the heroine in this book wins because she is patient, very detail-oriented and extremely emotionally intelligent. It is a much more subtle kind of fantasy and does not have the same kind of cathartic release of screaming and crying that can be so satisfying in the face of trauma in a story. But if you are looking for that, then this is not the book for you. Instead, this book finds drama in the minute, in the mundane, and can be a really wonderful read after a long stretch of really intense, high-stakes political intrigue or epic fantasy wars.
3 Answers2026-03-10
I just finished reading ‘The Falconer’ by Kiersten White (published as May under her real name). Oh, Aileana’s story is just fabulous. It’s kind of like Pride and Prejudice with lots of fighting against monsters in the streets. The first part of the book is set in some very elegant ballrooms, and the second part is covered in blood in some of the darker alleys. White does a great job of writing. Many times the very gritty world that she’s created can be very harsh, but White always manages to add in these very touching moments of Aileana’s, usually when she’s thinking about her mother or feeling grief. The faerie lore was very original as well. Many of the creatures were inspired by the Scottish myths, but they were twisted in very unique ways. My only problem with the book was that I felt that the world-building needed a bit more explanation at the beginning. But overall, I thought that it was a fantastic book. If you’re looking for a heroine who is going to more likely stab a faerie than lose her heart to one, then this book is for you.
9 Answers2026-02-14
Does the author write any other stories? Are they a debut writer? Even if they aren’t, every writer starts somewhere. If the author has written a portfolio of trope-driven stories that their audience loves, then this will read exactly like they expect. I haven’t gone and checked out the author’s other works, but from reading this story, it’s clear that they have a solid grasp of the various conventions of the story, and are writing it within those strictures. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good read – rather, that it’s a solid example of this type of story. And for some readers, that’s the highest praise of all.
9 Answers2025-12-19
Reading it feels like watching a slow-motion train crash where you’re pulling for both sides to change direction before it’s too late, watching as each mistake plays out before you can even warn them to change course. It’s horrifically fascinating.
For me, the experience was not ‘enjoyable’ in any conventional sense – it was stressful, often frustrating, and, at times, even emotionally draining. But I did experience it. I found it to be utterly compelling and at times, I couldn’t look away. The wreckage of the characters’ lives at the end of the novel was left for me to attempt to piece together and that in itself is a skill – be it on an author to create such reactions, or on a reader to recognize them for what they are.
3 Answers2026-03-09
There were 3 things that surprised me. 1) It was really funny for such a dark subject (‘Congratulations, your narcissism made you buy a book about narcissism’). 2) You don’t come to realize that the childhood wounds created the narcissistic traits. 3) The ‘are you a narcissist?’ quiz wasn’t another clickbait list. While my score did end up being somewhat high, the book immediately started to explain how labels don’t matter as much as change does.
Replacing “I’m better than them” with “I’m different from them” can help you to switch from a competitive to a curious mindset. This seems simple but is very effective. Now I notice more often when I’m mentally ranking people and I immediately stop doing that. This is progress, not perfection!
10 Answers2026-02-17
This well-written horror novella was a solid B for me. While it certainly did not break new ground within the genre, it was well-structured and highly engrossing. I particularly enjoyed the author’s use of two timelines: the present day and the years spent locked in a filthy basement by the main antagonist. As expected, the basement scenes were at times claustrophobic, but the author managed to move the plot along regardless. The main antagonist was also effectively creepy without crossing over into ‘villain’ space. My biggest wish would have been for more development of the supporting characters outside of our central family unit. As it was, however, they served their purpose for the brief space of time in which they appeared. As a short, weekend read that will take you exactly where you want to go while proving thoroughly engrossing along the way, it delivers.
4 Answers2026-04-07
I was pointed to ‘I Told You So’ by The Guardian, which described the book as ‘a messy, brilliant love letter to self-sabotage’. I read a load of reviews afterwards, and surprisingly to me, loads of them mentioned the soundtrack to the book. It’s sort of a post to the book as a whole – a sort of narrative mixtape. People either get it, or they find it pretentious. I’m in the former category – I loved how music was used as a sort of character in the book. And the ambiguous ending has been prompting a load of long posts in various forums ever since.
3 Answers2026-03-09
I said yesterday that 'The Attic Child' had destroyed me, but it had done so in the best possible way. Jaye creates characters but then brings them back from the dead. There is one mind blown moment where you get to see how Celeste’s past has affected her in the present day and how Diké, the detective, piecing together the clues to work out what happened to her. Some of it is hard to read but Jaye’s writing makes you feel like you are there with Celeste and, therefore, she makes you feel her suffering but also her moments of joy. These moments of resistance to her circumstances are quiet but powerful. As someone who needs a book that will make me ugly cry but also leave me hopeful and weirded out, this was the perfect book for me.
7 Answers2026-03-24
Honestly I love the title of this story, “The Great Cosmic Mother.” It’s so epic and sounds so cool, and really whatever story is actually inside of that has to live up to that.