I received this book from the Early reviewer's group and I was initially quite excited about it. However, I find it really hard going and frankly dull. I managed the first chapter and ever since it has sat on my bookshelf waiting for me to pick it up again. Not for me.

This is a beautiful and highly readable;e book. However, I did feel that the last sections felt a little rushed and predictable, but I would still recommended it wholeheartedly. The descriptions of the Alaskan wilderness are very well done and the characters have real depth and are believable.

Very funny. Reminded me a lot of Scoop by Evelyn Waugh, with an innocent protagonist wrenched from a comfortable and dull life into the wider and more dangerous world. Sharp, witty and recommended.

Surprisingly well-written and observant memoir. Highly enjoyable.

A wonderful, beautiful book. I cried at least three times.

I read The Corrections and despite its pretty depressing storyline I did enjoy it, so i was expecting to enjoy Freedom and knew what to expect from Franzen's style. I gave up 3/4 of the way through after realising that I really didn't care about any of the characters and that nothing had happened for a few hundred pages. I also recognized a few chunks from Franzen's collection of essays 'How To Be Alone' (a great read, by the way). It also makes me wonder about his editor, a lot of cutting could have been done and the book would have been unharmed - maybe even improved.
Literary fiction does not have to be dull, and is allowed to have a plot, unlike this book.

Dark Matter is a wonderful book, full of cold dark menace. I found the Jack Miller, the central character, to be totally believable, especially his obsession with class and his shame in his poverty. I also really liked the way he is a bit unlikable at the beginning, and the fact that we understand his true feelings for Gus far before he ever does. Being a dog lover I also enjoyed Jacks' growing relationship with the huskies, and several times felt my heart in my mouth when I was convinced something terrible was about to happen to them. While Jack and other characters in the book are certain the island is haunted, I did feel there was some question as to whether this was true or a result of cabin fever. The final pages are very moving, and their imagery stayed with me for days.
An excellent read and already recommended to others!

This was my first Early Reviewers book, so I was very excited to start it. I am a big fan of historical fiction and 18th century opera, so I should have loved this book. Unfortunately it just didn't grip me. The writing is technically very good, the dialogue is fresh and funny in parts but it just wasn't for me. I did feel as if the idea of an extraordinary sense has been done before, and to much better effect, by Patrick Suskind in Perfume.

I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis and setting both really appealed to me, however they did not deliver. I found I noticed the writing rather than the story (and not in a good way), and I feel the author was trying terribly hard to be 'literary' and forgetting narrative drive. A shame as I think it is a good basic story.

Unlike the previous reviewer, I loved this book. I finished it in a few days, and I have to say it kept me totally gripped. I thought the period details were spot-on, the plotting complex and deftly done, the characterization excellent. The books builds a real sense of menace, expressed throughout by the heroines personal story, the mystery which she is drawn to solve and the wider political landscape of the 1930's. There are some shocking moments, which are revealed with real skill. This included the abuse scene early on, which I do feel is relevant to the story and the relationship between Marcus and Lydia. A wonderful book from an author who I am looking forward to explore more.

Absolutely dismal. A book group pick, I managed the first chapter and then sped read the rest, stopping only to read out the very worst parts to my (highly amused) husband. Falls into every trap of bad fiction: ridiculous similes everywhere, stock characters with no development or depth, a heroine who is incredibly unlikable at the beginning and not much better at the end. Horrible. And a few hours of my life I won't get back.

After being disappointed by the last two Phillipa Gregory offerings (The Other Queen and The White Queen) I began this more out of duty than pleasure. How wrong I was! I really feel Gregory is back on top form, with good dashes of humour which I have not found in her books before. Lady Margaret Beaufort is a complex and often unlikeable character with absolutely no self-awareness whatsoever, but she really keeps you reading. Gregory has done a wonderful job of telling the forgotten story of the original Tudor queen, and the extensive bibliography is a welcome sight in an historical fiction novel. I was also impressed with the battle scenes, which rush along in a blur of gore and blood, especially Towton. The book ends with the death of Richard III at Bosworth field, and I am excited to see where Gregory goes next.

My first Du Maurier book, which I love so much I then read her entire back catalogue. Absolutely wonderful, I literally could not out it down.

Classic Elizabeth Taylor - a beautifully crafted novel describing the interior life of a female character. Very funny in places too, especially the granddaughter Isobel and manservant Ernie. A wonderful treat.

There seem to be a plethora of novels dealing with post-revolution Russia, and it is nice to find one exploring the privileged world of the Tsar and his family before 1918. I thought the marriage around which the story centres was beautifully described, especially its recovery after infidelity. The conceit of making a central character a servant in the royal household was well done, and allows an eyewitness account of history. In this way it reminded me (a little) of Footman in Powder by Helen Ashton.

A wonderful historical mystery. Such a pleasure to read a book set in the past where the author really succeeds in using not only the language but also the moral perspective of the period. The mystery hinges around the death of a young woman and subsequent madness of a student at the Cambridge college where she died. I have to say I thought the secret art the heart of the book was going to be far worse than it actually was, which was somewhat of a relief and I think just reflects badly on my tainted 21st century mind! An excellent read which I recommend.

A good fun historical romp, albeit with some incredible howlers (pipes and printed pamphlets in 15th century Italy, anyone?). What saves it is the narrator, a teenage whore with razor sharp wit and a mouth from the gutter. Unlike a lot of other reviewers here, I did not find her language offensive in the least and actually quite enjoyed her 'three facts' as a method of breaking up chapters.

I got this out of the library after demolishing her first book, The Outcast, in almost one sitting. This is a very different book, but equally good. The claustrophobic atmosphere of army life is well captured, and the writing is superb. The scene on the beach with the horses will stay with me for a long time. I'm also really impressed with how well Sadie Jones gets into the minds of her characters, which makes the ending, when the husband does something so out of character feel like a real shock. All in all excellent reading.

I loved this book! I will admit the premise sounds a bit odd - 17th century cider making? Really? - but Maria McCann envelops you in this tiny rural world. The main characters' voice is so strong and believable, I especially enjoyed his struggles over morality and charity and found them to be very true to the period. The mystery at the heart of the book is well presented and kept me guessing. I rate her first novel (As Meat Loves Salt) as one of my all time favourites and I just hope I don't have to wait another nine years for her next one!

I love Helen Dunmore and read The Siege when it first came out a few years ago. I was very excited when I heard a sequel was being published, and unfortunately was sadly disappointed. I felt it was sluggish, and frankly a bit dull. I found myself trying to remember plot lines from The Siege, and getting them mixed up with The Ice Road by Gilliam Slovo (also set in the siege of Leningrad, also with a character called Andrei), so my lack of enjoyment was probably my own fault....although if the book had truly grabbed me I doubt my mind would have wandered so much.