My Mid-Year Check-In for 2025, featuring my favourite reads of the year so far and what I am looking forward to reading in the months ahead.
The Mid-Year Check-In 2025
Author: Stephen
Book Review – A Game Of Lies by Clare Mackintosh
My review of A Game Of Lies by Clare Mackintosh, the second in her DC Ffion Morgan crime series and a book that I found strangely irresistible!
Book Review – The Thief On The Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas
My review of The Thief On The Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas, an original, quirky book about bespoke dolls handmade to convey a particular emotion. Set in Oxford and full of commentary on gender inequality.
Book Review – The Shadow Key by Susan Stokes-Chapman
My review of The Shadow Key by Susan Stokes-Chapman, a compelling historical fiction set in Wales which oozes atmosphere and Gothic vibes!
Books I Have Read With Confined Settings
A list the books I have read which contain the most claustrophobic, inhospitable settings. Locked rooms, characters cut off from the outside world, or nowhere to escape.
Book Review – The Death Of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware
My review of The Death Of Mrs Westaway, my fourth book by popular mystery author Ruth Ware. This one has some Gothic feels!
Book Review – The Plea by Steve Cavanagh
Pages: 379Published: 1st January 2015Genre: Legal/Crime ThrillerContent warnings: Injury detail When David Child, a major client of a corrupt New York law firm, is arrested for murder, the FBI ask con-artist-turned-lawyer Eddie Flynn to secure Child as his client and force him to testify against the firm. Eddie's not a man to be coerced into representing a guilty client, … Continue reading Book Review – The Plea by Steve Cavanagh
Books I’ve Read With Characters Who Don’t Exist 👀
Hello everyone, Now, you might be looking at the title of this post and wondering, what does this mean? Fictional characters, by definition, do not physically exist - but this post is not about that. This is a list of books I have read where people in the story who are presented as characters and … Continue reading Books I’ve Read With Characters Who Don’t Exist 👀
Book Review – Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Pages: 368Published: 15th September 2022Genre: Mythological FictionContent warnings: Misogyny, sexual exploitation Medusa is the sole mortal in a family of gods. Growing up with her Gorgon sisters, she begins to realize that she is the only one who experiences change, the only one who can be hurt. And her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will … Continue reading Book Review – Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Goodreads Challenge Update – May 2025
Hello everyone, Whisper it quietly, but the halfway stage of 2025 is not all that far away, which means that we will also starting to get a very clear idea of how our Goodreads Challenges are shaping up. Are we on track? Do we have any catching up to do in the second half of … Continue reading Goodreads Challenge Update – May 2025
Stephen Reads Books 