Little One by Fiona Holloway (Review)

Little One by Fiona Holloway

Blurb

Seven years ago, Isabel Warren’s life unraveled in a single afternoon. Now she’s back reliving the same nightmare again…

She left the past behind, changed her name, and started over in a quiet town with her husband and their young son, Noah. But when he vanishes from their backyard without a trace, Isabel is forced to confront a terrifying some shadows never stay buried.

As suspicion tightens around her once again and whispers of her past grow louder, Isabel knows this is no random disappearance. Someone out there knows who she is. Someone has been watching. Waiting.

Now, to save her child, Isabel must unravel a mystery that began long before Noah was born and before the world decided who she was.

Haunting and propulsive, Little One is a chilling psychological thriller about buried secrets, fractured identity, and the impossible choices that define a mother’s love.

Review

I discovered this book from an advert on Facebook and when I saw it was only 99p on Kindle I decided to buy it for a holiday read.

I really wanted to like this book and was excited by what I read in the blurb but the amount of errors in this book was off the scale. I have never read a book with so many errors in. The storyline was so promising and even though I could see what was happening with the plot I really got into it but then the errors began.

The first half of the book was excellent but once the half way mark was passed the story became rushed and full of errors. It was almost like another had taken over and hadn’t reviewed what had been written before.

One of the mistakes was that the children started off as 3 and 5 years of age and then later in the book they became twins. Another error was that Isabel described how she met her husband in two entirely different ways. She also described how long Isabel had known Claire in two different time lengths. There were other errors as well.

I honestly don’t think the author had read her work back after reaching the end of writing and don’t think anyone looked over it for her before going to publish. This book had such promise but was severely let down by the errors and the errors really detracted from the story. I give this book 2 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Fiona Holloway has written one standalone novel so far. This novel is called Little One and it was released in 2025.

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Villette by Charlotte Bronte (Review)

Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Bookshop.org | Harper Collins | TG Jones | Waterstones

Blurb

Left by harrowing circumstances to fend for herself in the great capital of a foreign country, Lucy Snowe, the narrator and heroine of Villette, achieves by degrees an authentic independence from both outer necessity and inward grief. Charlotte Brontë’s last novel, published in 1853, has a dramatic force comparable to that of her other masterpiece, Jane Eyre, as well as strikingly modern psychological insight and a revolutionary understanding of human loneliness.

Review

I tried to read Villette a few years ago and gave up just before I got to the half way point. I had clearly forgotten why I had given up and decided to try and finish the book this time. Thankfully I did manage to finish it this time but it seemed a very hard slog. I also really struggled with all the French in the book and found it broke up the dialogue when it kept switching between French and English.

I love Jane Eyre and have read it many times but I just did not gel with Lucy Snowe in this book. She’s writing her story for the reader to read and so many times I was almost screaming at the book to get to the point. I understand that Lucy had a difficult childhood and had to fend for herself as an adolescent but she seemed to make some very random and risky decisions. I still can’t understand how she made the decision to spend most of her money and go to Villette when she had no friends there or even contacts there and didn’t even know the language. I never had a problem liking Jane as a character but I just could not bring myself to like Lucy.

Lucy gets walked all over by the people around her. Even her own godmother drops her when someone more interesting arrives and then remembers her again after weeks and weeks of no contact. She gets put upon by her employer and she just takes it. However, the most frustrating part is that she lets a certain professor treat her like absolute dirt. He criticises her dress when she dares to wear a pink dress, he criticises her lack of intellect, her religion, in fact he pretty much criticises everything and then she spends the last few hundred pages of the novel crying about him when she is told he will be disappearing on a voyage.

Villette is Charlotte Bronte’s last work and I will be honest it surprised me. I really expected a stronger main character with an overall maturity to the storyline but I just found it lacked the finesse that Jane Eyre had and also Jane Eyre was a much stronger character who didn’t take everything lying down. I found this book such a hard slog to read but I am glad I managed to read it. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) was an English novelist and poet, and was the elder sister of Emily, Anne and Branwell Bronte.

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Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey (Review)

Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey

Bookshop.org | TG Jones | Waterstones

Blurb

An old enemy returns.

In the thousand-sun network of humanity’s expansion, new colony worlds are struggling to find their way. Every new planet lives on a knife edge between collapse and wonder, and the crew of the aging gunship Rocinante have their hands more than full keeping the fragile peace.

In the vast space between Earth and Jupiter, the inner planets and belt have formed a tentative and uncertain alliance still haunted by a history of wars and prejudices. On the lost colony world of Laconia, a hidden enemy has a new vision for all of humanity and the power to enforce it.

New technologies clash with old as the history of human conflict returns to its ancient patterns of war and subjugation. But human nature is not the only enemy, and the forces being unleashed have their own price. A price that will change the shape of humanity — and of the Rocinante — unexpectedly and forever…

Review

I had a bit of break from The Expanse series but I was so happy to return to this amazing series. I really enjoyed seeing my favourite characters years after the last book and where they now are in their lives.

The previous books build up the tension and information regarding the protomolecule and this book starts to give us some serious answers. The Laconian’s reappear and make themselves known to the inner planets and the belt and we see what technology the Laconian’s bring with them. Whilst all this is going on the crew of the Rocinante are trying to keep the peace and make a difference.

The thing that got me about this book was that the bad guys don’t actually act like villains. They don’t want to resort to violence, they want order and peace and progress. However, they don’t want to negotiate or hear any other people’s opinions, it is their way or nobody’s way.

It soon becomes clear in this book that absolutely nobody is safe and perhaps some of our favourite characters that we have known all the way through the series might not make it or make it unchanged. As happy as I was to see my favourite characters again I really feared for them.

It is really hard to say much more without giving the story away so I will stop here. I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t put it down. Every time I read one of these books I say it is my new favourite and this is definitely my current favourite. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

About the author

James S. A. Corey is the pen name of fantasy author Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, George R. R. Martin’s assistant. They both live Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (Review)

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Bookshop.org | Harper Collins | T G Jones Online | Waterstones

Blurb

The young Gascon d’Artagnan and the legendary musketeers Athos, Porthos and Aramis are ready to sacrifice everything for love, glory and the common good. The wicked machinations of Cardinal Richelieu and his accomplice, the magnetic Milady de Winter, propel the devoted friends across seas and battlefields from masked balls to a remote convent, in order to defend the honour of the Queen and the life of Constance Bonacieux, d’Artagnan’s true love.

Review

I absolutely love this book and have read it many many times. My original copy completely fell apart and I lost some of the pages so this read through was a different book and a different translation which threw me to start with but I soon got back into one of my favourite stories.

The main thing I absolutely love with this book is the amazing characters. Aramis is so unbelievably vain but always wants to appear holy and devout. Porthos is all about image, he must have the best of everything and he always makes me laugh with his antics. d’Artagnan is adorably frustrating, sometimes I want to smack him and tell him to be quiet and other times I wanted to hug him. Athos was a troubled man but the perfect guiding hand that d’Artagnan needed and the calming influence that Porthos and Aramis needed. Athos is my favourite character because of his calmness but also because of his eccentric behaviour. The scene where he locks himself in the inn keeper’s cellar for weeks and drinks all the wine and eats all the food is hilarious.

The other character that was impressive was Milady. Milady is a complete psycho! She has a poison ring, she seduces men who are meant to be impossible to seduce, she happily stabs herself to appear suicidal and she is always trying to kill the musketeers. I even think Cardinal Richelieu was frightened of her at times.

The story of The Three Musketeers is well known as it has been the focus of many films but these films will never be a patch on such a wonderful book. The storylines that are based on historical events and characters work brilliantly. The book is packed full of action, romance and humour. I give this book a massive 5 out of 5 Dragons and will be reading the next book in the series very soon.

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About the author

Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the most widely read French authors.

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Beach Hut 512 by Dorothy Koomson (Review)

Beach Hut 512 by Dorothy Koomson

Blurb

When vandals destroy beach hut 512 on Brighton’s iconic seafront, they reveal a dead body that has apparently lain undisturbed for two months. But according to the hut’s owner, Sims, its locks rusted shut three months ago and she hasn’t had access to it since. So how could the man have got in, and why is there no evidence of the murderer?

Sims has spent the past three years recovering from the trauma of being targeted by a serial killer and narrowly escaping with her life. But this grim discovery feels like too much of a could the person who put the body in her hut be the same man who wants her dead? In a desperate race against time, can she uncover the truth behind beach hut 512 before a murderer with a chilling obsession strikes again?

Review

I got this short story on the Amazon Prime First Reads scheme and I’m really pleased I did as it was a good introduction to a new author for me.

I always struggle with short stories as I get frustrated when a story feels rushed and some authors are just not great short story writers but this was not the case with Koomson’s short story. This short story was brilliantly written and didn’t feel rushed or like details were missing. The story was well rounded and lacked for nothing.

The story goes between current events and past events. The past shows Sims as a Chemistry professor who was targeted by a serial killer but she survived. Sadly the serial killer escaped and is still on the run. The current events show Sims discovering her beach hut vandalised but what she didn’t expect was a dead body to be in her beach hut. She has no idea how the body got there as the locks on the hut have been rusted shut for 3 months and apparently the body has been in the hut for 2 months. Sims must work out what is going on.

At the beginning I did find Sims a little odd but once I realised her past trauma I understood her more and understood her actions. She really was a fascinating character. I also really liked the idea of a locked room (beach hut) mystery and it really reminded me of a Jonathan Creek episode.

I really enjoyed this short story and give it 4 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Dorothy Koomson (born 1971 in London) is a contemporary British novelist of Ghanaian descent. She has been described as “Britain’s biggest selling black author of adult fiction”.

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Starshine by G. S. Jennsen (Review)

Starshine by G. S. Jennsen

Blurb

The year is 2322. Humanity has expanded into the stars, inhabiting over 100 worlds across a third of the galaxy. Though thriving as never before, they have discovered neither alien life nor the key to utopia. Earth struggles to retain authority over far-flung planets and free-wheeling corporations while an uneasy armistice with a breakaway federation hangs by a thread as the former rebels rise in wealth and power.

Alexis Solovy is Earth Alliance royalty, her father a fallen war hero and her mother an influential military leader. But she seeks only the freedom of space and has made a fortune by reading the patterns in the chaos to discover the hidden wonders of the stars.

Nothing about her latest objective suggests the secret it conceals will turn her life– not to mention the entire galaxy–upside down. But a chance encounter with a mysterious spy leads to a discovery which will thrust Alex into the middle of a galactic power struggle and a sinister conspiracy, whether she likes it or not.

Review

I am ashamed to say that I bought this book when I first bought my Kindle in 2018 and it has sat on there ever since. However, this year I rediscovered it and decided I would read it. I am now very annoyed that I hadn’t read this book earlier and got stuck into the series.

The story follows two main characters; Alexis Solovy who comes from the Earth Alliance and owns and captains her own starship and Caleb Marano who is from the Senecan Federation and is a special intelligence agent. However, the story also flashes to other characters in other parts of the galaxy to reveal more of how events unfold. As the story unfolds we begin to see how all these characters are subtly connected.

The story involves key people in military, politics, and the criminal underworld who are all pulling strings to manipulate the Earth Alliance and Senecan Federation into a war. While all this is happening Alexis and Caleb get thrown together in an unexpected turn of events which leads them to exploring a previously uninhabited region of the galaxy.

I loved the world building in this book and the detail it went into. Sometimes in science fiction books the author glosses over the more science based things but Jennsen goes into the detail and I found that really interesting. Some people might feel the beginning of the book is a little slow but I was glad of the details and background it gave as it helped me then enjoy the action more. The book is full of all these fab achievements and advancements of humanity but humanity is still plagued by people wanting more money and power.

Alexis and Caleb were both fascinating characters although Alexis did get on my nerves slightly at times. They both have their own issues but as the book goes on we learn more about their histories and how it has shaped their characters. I can’t wait to see how their characters develop in the next book.

I absolutely loved this book and bought the next one in the series straight away. This is definitely one of my top books of 2025 so far and I highly recommend it to all sci-fi fans. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

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About the author

G. S. Jennsen is a speculative and science fiction author, as well as a futurist, geek, gamer, programmer and editor. She has become an internationally bestselling author since her first novel, Starshine, was published in March 2014. She has chosen to continue writing under an independent publishing model to ensure the integrity of her series and her ability to execute on the vision she’s had for it since its genesis.

While she has been a lawyer, a software engineer and an editor, she’s found the life of a full-time author preferable by several orders of magnitude.

When she isn’t writing, she’s gaming or working out or getting lost in the mountains that loom large outside the windows in her home. Or she’s dealing with a flooded basement, or standing in a line at Walmart reading the tabloid headlines and wondering who all of those people are. Or sitting on her back porch with a glass of wine, looking up at the stars, trying to figure out what could be up there.

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Falling Bodies by Rebecca Roanhorse (Review)

Falling Bodies by Rebecca Roanhorse

Blurb

A young man caught between two disparate worlds searches for his place in the universe in a wrenching short story by New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse.

Light-years from home, it’s Ira’s second chance. Just another anonymous student at a space station university. Not the orphan whose Earther heritage was erased. Not some social experiment put on display by his adoptive father. Not the criminal recruited by the human rebels. But when Ira’s loyalties clash once again, two wars break one on the ground and one within himself. Which will Ira stand with? Which will take him down?

Rebecca Roanhorse’s Falling Bodies is part of The Far Reaches, a collection of science-fiction stories that stretch the imagination and open the heart. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

Review

This is the first story I have read by Rebecca Roanhorse and I was not disappointed. The story focuses on Ira. Ira’s is a sad tale, he is a human orphan who was adopted as a social experiment which means he grew up in a life of privilege but with this privilege he lost all his Earther history.

In this story humans are not the dominant species and they are trying to find ways to fight back. Humanity has been conquered and yes they are allowed to live but their history, their culture is being obliterated. This short story shows a small snippet of humanity fighting back.

This little story of just 35 pages really packed quite a punch and I really enjoyed it even if I would have preferred a different ending. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons and I will be definitely looking out for more books by Roanhorse in the future.

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About the author

Rebecca Roanhorse is a New York Times bestselling and Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Award-winning speculative fiction writer. She has published multiple award-winning short stories and novels, including two novels in The Sixth World Series, Star Wars: Resistance Reborn, Race to the Sun for the Rick Riordan imprint, and the epic fantasy trilogy Between Earth and Sky. She has also written for Marvel Comics and games and for television, including FX’s A Murder at the End of the World, and the Marvel series Echo for Disney+. She has had her own work optioned by Amazon Studios, Netflix, and AMC Studios.

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Tuf Voyaging by George R. R. Martin (Review)

Tuf Voyaging by George R. R. Martin

Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith

Blurb

Haviland Tuf is an honest space-trader (one of the few), and he likes cats. So how is it that, despite being up against the worst villains in the universe, he has become the proud owner of the last working seedship, pride of Earth’s Ecological Engineering Corps?

We’ll leave that aside for now – just be thankful that the most powerful weapon in space is in good hands, hands which now control cellular material for thousands of outlandish creatures.

With his unique equipment and powerful spacecraft, Tuf is set to tackle the myriad problems that human settlers have created during their colonisation of far flung worlds. Hosts of hostile monsters, a population addicted to procreation, a dictator who is willing to unleash plagues to get his own way – and all that stands between the colonists and disaster is Tuf’s ingenuity, and his reputation as an honest dealer in a universe of rogues…

Review

I was really excited when I saw this book in the bookshop because I have been really enjoying Martin’s science fiction writing recently. This was one of those rare books that didn’t sit on on my TBR pile for very long before I decided to read it.

The book is a collection of Haviland Tuf short stories and this could be one of the reasons I didn’t gel as much as I expected with this book. Tuf was a space trader who, after agreeing to take on a job for a very suspicious group of people he finds himself the owner of the most powerful ship in the universe. The last seedship of the long forgotten Ecological engineer Corps.

Tuf is not your standard space hero. He doesn’t undertake dashing feats of bravery or flex his muscles at the enemy. Instead he is a somewhat overweight vegetarian who likes alcohol and cats. He hates violence in all forms, he prefers the company of his cats rather than humans. He is completely honest, polite and very intelligent. However, he doesn’t appear to be intelligent and it is one of the reasons that he can’t be beaten because nobody sees him as a threat.

He’s also in my opinion very unlikeable! Other than his fondness for cats I just didn’t like him. He lacked personality and a reason to be liked. He’s very arrogant and aloof and I just never found myself on his side. In fact I was always rooting for Tully Mune.

Tully Mune was what saved this book for me and I really liked her character. Her character jumped from the pages. She was vibrant, she was bold, she was powerful and a force to be reckoned with. There is a reason she has got to where she is in life and that is because she stands no nonsense and gets the job done. Her underlings respect and fear her.

I really wanted to learn more about the seedship and the Ecological Engineering Corps history but sadly we didn’t get much of that. I wanted to see how Tuf adapted and learned about running the seedship but instead the story went from Tuf becoming the owner of the seedship to basically becoming a god with no between. I was quite disappointed with this book and sadly only give it 3 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

George Raymond Richard Martin (1948) is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer.

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Belgravia by Julian Fellowes (Review)

Belgravia by Julian Fellowes

Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith

Blurb

On the evening of 15 June 1815, the great and the good of British Society have gathered in Brussels at what is to become one of the most tragic parties in history – the Duchess of Richmond’s ball. For this is the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, and many of the handsome young men attending the ball will find themselves, the very next day, on the battlefield.

For Sophia Trenchard, the young and beautiful daughter of Wellington’s chief supplier, this night will change everything. But it is only twenty-five years later, when the upwardly mobile Trenchards move into the fashionable new area of Belgravia, that the true repercussions of that moment will be felt. For in this new world, where the aristocracy rub shoulders with the emerging nouveau riche, there are those who would prefer the secrets of the past to remain buried . . .

Review

I bought this book after watching the fantastic TV series and I was really excited to read it, which of course means that it sat on my TBR pile for a few years. I will be honest I struggled at the beginning to get into this book. I found Fellowes writing style to be more like he is writing a screenplay rather than a novel and I found it hard to get into the flow of the book. However, once I got used to the style I did start to enjoy the book.

The book begins with a ball, a ball being held in the middle of a war. This ball is in Brussels and is hosted by the Duchess of Richmond on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo. Sophia Trenchard and her family are attending this ball and this is where she learns some devastating news. It is this news that sets in motion events that will not resolve for many years.

The story then moves ahead 25 years where we meet the Trenchard family again. This family is now very wealthy and rubbing shoulders with the aristocracy even if the aristocracy are not keen on rubbing shoulders with new money they grin and bear it. James Trenchard has been hugely successful and dreams of making it in high society. However, in his social climbing he can behave in quite a cringe worthy manner which makes his poor wife Anne dread going out in society with him and I can see why. I really liked Anne because she was quiet, she was thoughtful and she knew what she was doing. She was a little bit too trustworthy of her maid at times but otherwise she was a sensible woman who dreamed of a quiet life. She knew she wasn’t welcome in the homes of the aristocracy but she went to please her husband and she sat quietly, said the right things and smiled at the right people then she quietly went home again. James on the other hand had to be talking to people, to be made known to everyone in the room and was quite embarrassing at times. I felt myself cringing with poor Anne.

I enjoyed how the book showed how society functioned in the Victorian period and I loved the glimpses of the servants behaviour. I also really liked how true events were woven into this story. It really gave me Downton vibes at times. I also really liked the characters in the book with Anne being my favourite. This was my first book by Julian Fellowes but it will definitely not be my last. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes (Baron Fellowes of West Stafford), DL. English actor, novelist, screenwriter, and director.

Fellowes is the youngest son of Peregrine Fellowes (a diplomat and Arabist who campaigned to have Haile Selassie restored to his throne during World War II). Julian inherited the title of Lord of the Manor of Tattershall from his father, making him the fourth Fellowes to hold it. He was educated at Ampleforth College, Magdalene College, Cambridge, and at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

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The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (Review)

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith

Blurb

The year is 2059. For two centuries, the Republic of Scion has led an oppressive campaign against unnaturalness in Europe.

In London, Paige Mahoney holds a high rank in the criminal underworld. The right hand of the ruthless White Binder, Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare and formidable kind of clairvoyant. Under Scion law, she commits treason simply by breathing.

When Paige is arrested for murder, she meets the mysterious founders of Scion, who have designs on her uncommon abilities. If she is to survive and escape, Paige must use every skill at her disposal – and put her trust in someone who ought to be her enemy.

Review

I didn’t read The Bone Season when it first came out but ever since reading The Priory of the Orange Tree I have been a big fan of Shannon’s work. When Shannon rereleased The Bone Season I started to collect the rereleased books and read The Bone Season.

Once I started reading this book I could not put it down. I loved the character of Paige and instantly wanted her to succeed in whatever she did. I also loved her as the narrator of the story. Paige is brave and will do anything to protect her friends. If she had one failing it was a little overuse of sarcasm and cynicism.

My other favourite character was Arcturus. He really was not what I expected and I suspect more surprises about this character will appear in subsequent books. There were many layers to this character, sometimes he was a pure gentleman, sometimes a monster and sometimes nothing more than a teddy bear.

I will be honest that there was a lot to take in with this book. There is a huge amount of world building in a very short space of time as well as new characters and characters with abilities to work out. I was very grateful for the extra information at the end of the book to help me remember what all the abilities were. There was also some unusual words used within this book but again there was a helpful glossary at the back of the book. I also loved the use of these words as it it helped set the scene of another world.

This is definitely one of my favourite reads of 2025 so far and I can’t wait to get stuck into the next book of the series. Shannon is a fantastic world builder and this is evident in this book. Her characters are also fantastic and so varied. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Samantha Shannon is the New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Bone Season series. From 2010 to 2013 she studied English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford. Her fourth novel, The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019), was her first outside of the series. It has sold over a million copies in English alone, and was a finalist in the Lambda Literary Awards 2020. Its standalone prequel, A Day of Fallen Night (2023), won the gold medal in the Fantasy category at the Ippy Awards 2024.

Samantha’s work has been translated into twenty-seven languages. Her most recent book is The Dark Mirror (2025), the fifth instalment in the Bone Season series.