Genre: Poetry

Where do I begin with The Perseverance. Raymond Antrobus has cleverly managed to merge emotions and education in this captivating collection of poetry.

Antrobus has built on the work he did with his pamphlet - Too Sweeten Bitter, published by Out-Spoken Press. 

The overarching aim of this collection is clear - to educate readers on D/deaf and British Sign Language (BSL). I must say Raymond has done this with heartfelt emotion and a sense of nostalgia.

Intertwined with the education messages were renditions of stories and memories of Raynonds personal experiences and also of family members - making it gripping and creating intrigue.

Antrobus also puts himself into the words contained in this book. He talks of his own experiences and tells tales of growing up and trying to fit-in without hearing. He does this in a masterful and disarming way.

Below Raymond performs the title poem and talks about his rationale and reasoning behind the collection and also discusses the process involved in putting together the book.

This book deserves no less than five out of five stars, as it encapsulates everything you would want from a poetry collection. Deep personal lyricism followed by a profound understanding of a much wider and topical issue that affects multitudes of people. He brings the personal and the impersonal together - seamlessly. 

Genre: Crime, Thriller, Historical Fiction

​Sovereign is the third instalment of the 'Shardlake' series by C.J. Sansom and it did well to live up-to the previous renditions.

Following Matthew Shardlake across the country to the city of York ahead of the King's progress after the 'Pilgrimage of Grace' in 1536-37.

Sansom cleverly creates intrigue and tension in his usual style as Matthew gets thrown into a case with direct links to the King himself. As the story develops I was constantly kept guessing as to who the culprit was and the twists and turns gave nothing away.

It's incredible how Sansom's description and vivid imagery in his books brings you right back to the Tudor period. The style and narratives that Sansom creates, provides the reader with an insight into how everyday people live in this time. What was interesting with this rendition in the Shardlake series is that the focus was on portraying the lives of lawyers and their interactions with those stationed above them.

Sansom is very clever at weaving twists and turns and generating intrigue, hence my reasoning for awarding this novel 4 out of 5 stars. Being so far from London I did feel that it was hard to include characters we previously got to know in books 1 & 2, but otherwise a great read that I would thoroughly recommend. 

Genre: Comics

Supergirl (The New 52! #20), by K.Perkins, M.Johnson and E.Lupacchino was the first comic I have read and actually I really enjoyed it. Normally, I would class myself as a Marvel girl, but actually this DC Universe comic actually struck a chord with me.

Generally, I like the story of Supergirl. She's a strong female lead that helps save the world from multiple bad-guys. In essence - she's a total badass.

In this story Supergirl has just started her training at the Crucible Academy is being put through her paces. It's a great story and elements aim at humanising her and showing her desire to just be, Cara Danvers.

The imagery within accompanies the text extremely well and does not just accompany the text/dialogue, but enhances the narrative. The reader does not have to work hard to visualise the scenes as this is done so well for them. Instead they are left to concentrate on the narrative and flow of the story.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this comic. it's the first one I have read. And yes, I did chose it because I liked the cover. However, now I think I will look to explore the story of Supergirl and Cara Danvers even more. I will be reading and reviewing more comic books, so watch this space...​