It’s a fantastic re-imagining of David Copperfield, which I enjoyed much more than the original. It taught me a lot about a side of the USA which, as a Brit, I had never given much thought to. The characters were fresh and engaging - even when they were unlikeable - and I became really invested in them. I know this is a book I’ll re-read and it might even tempt me to have another try at the Dickens,
Demon's story begins with his traumatic birth to a single mother in a single-wide trailer, looking 'like a little blue prizefighter.' For the life ahead of him he would need all of that fighting spirit, along with buckets of charm, a quick wit, and some unexpected talents, legal and otherwise.
In the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, poverty isn't an idea, it's as natural as the grass grows. For a generation growing up in this world, at the heart of the modern opioid crisis, addiction isn't an abstraction, it's neighbours, parents, and friends. 'Family' could mean love, or reluctant foster…
I bought this book as I was intrigued by the author’s account of where the idea had come from. It’s not often a writer says they were inspired by a tv show! As I suspect she did, I fell in love with Graham Gore (one of the main characters) and how he adjusted to being dislocated in time. The plot was terrific, but it was the funny, touching, sexy relationships between the characters that I loved most. This was my second reading of Ministry of Time and it won’t be my last!
A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to The Ministry of Time, the exhilarating debut novel by Kaliane Bradley.
In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.
This book put my emotions through the wringer! Having got very fond of several characters when I read The Wolf Den, the first book in this trilogy, I worried about them all the way through this one. Ex-slave Amara (the main character) walks such a perilous tightrope trying to keep the people she loves safe. Don’t worry - no spoilers here, but you’ll be an emotionally drained bag of nerves by the time you finish…
Orphaned as a baby and with no idea who she really is or where she comes from, Nyssa is plagued by frightening dreams of someone else’s life, far from the peaceful island she calls home. But when the arrival of the terrifying Shadowmen catapults her into danger she finds that the people she trusts have secrets of their own, as a mystery from her past is revealed. Nyssa has a hidden tattoo that bears one half of a secret message. Now her future depends on finding the other half, written on the twin she’s never known, but who haunts her dreams. The Keepers’ Daughter: Lose yourself in an intoxicating new world and a gripping fantasy adventure.
