"Loot" by Tania James

This spellbinding historical novel weaves a story around the automata Tipu’s Tiger, and some of the people whose lives it touched. I’ve seen Tipu’s Tiger at the V&A Museum in London, so it was fascinating to read a fictionalised account of it’s creation, and how it ended up in the collection of the East India Company (from where it was ultimately passed to the V&A).

The story revolves around a number of people who are displaced, away from home, or amongst strangers. The main character, Abbas, an apprentice carver who worked on the Tiger, is displaced for most of the story: taken from his home to work in Tipu’s Summer Palace; then an Indian amongst Europeans at a turbulent time in Indian history. His character is sensitively written, with a depth of emotion, ambition and uncertainty that I found really engaging.

The plot takes Abbas from India to Europe, as he follows his ambition of completing his training in order to create automata of the quality of those made by his mentor in India. I was carried along with his fate, and that of the ward of his mentor, Jehanne De Leze. I enjoyed following them through hardships and attempts to build a life for themselves.

Historical novels aren’t my usual genre, but I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Thank you #NetGalley and Random House UK Vintage for the free review copy of #Loot in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My rating: ★★★★★

NetGalley Review

"Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas" by Adam Kay

Short but excellent set of stories from Adam Kay’s time as a junior doctor. This selection from his time doing Christmas shifts.

I read the first third of this book and listened to the audiobook for the remainder, narrated by Adam Kay himself. While it’s nice to hear the voice of the author, his comedy timing doesn’t do justice to the material, so I’d actually recommend reading the book.

Nice short read for the festive season!

My rating: ★★★★☆

"The Second Chance Year" by Melissa Wiesner

This is a joyful, lighthearted exploration of the main character, Sadie, getting an opportunity to redo a year of her life and make all of the “right” decisions. It touches on friendship, duty, a little bit of misogyny and sexual harassment, a good amount of romance, but mostly it’s about self image, self esteem, and identity.

The question of whether the “right” decisions turn out to be the best thing for Sadie in the long run drives the narrative - and it’s unsurprising that the answer isn’t a resounding yes.

I enjoyed all of the characters. Sadie has the most complexity, as see tries to navigate the consequences of making different choices during her repeated year. The supporting characters (Jacob, Owen, Zoe…) are more two dimensional, but likeable and engaging.

There weren’t that many surprises in the plot, which ultimately turned out largely as I expected it to… but I’m a sucker for an upbeat story so that was absolutely fine with me!

Thank you #NetGalley and Headline Eternal for the free review copy of #TheSecondChanceYear in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My rating: ★★★★☆

NetGalley Review

"The Murder at the Vicarage" by Agatha Christie

This was my first Agatha Christie, but not my first Cozy Mystery (I had previous read Richard Osman’s first book and enjoyed it). Unfortunately, I found it incredibly heavy going. In chapter after chapter nothing much happens except the slow and inexorable revelation of another tidbit of information that either contradicts something previously uncovered, or doesn’t seem to relate to anything. And while I appreciate that many people may find this intriguing and enjoyable, I found it frustrating.

I very much liked the main character of Len Clement. To me he felt authentic and I enjoyed his forebearing weariness. The other characters felt much more two-dimensional, though - and I found the smug, supercilious false modest of Miss Marple to be quite annoying.

This was almost a ‘did not finish’ for me, but I trudged on to the end, mainly so that I could write an honest review. So here it is. Not for me, I’m afraid.

My rating: ★★☆☆☆