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: Crime, Thriller, Historical Fiction

​Origin is the fifth instalment in the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown​ set in Bilbao, Madrid and Barcelona - focusing on the debate between religious leaders and scientists on creationism.

The main character in this book, Edmond Kirsch, is extraordinarily smart and is the anchor for the books narrative. His discovery causing wide debate and intrigue both in the book and to myself the reader.

From the get-go Brown has me gripped - to the point where I physically could not put the book down. I had to know what this discovery is. 

Brown's writing style and depth of research definitely comes through when reading this captivating novel. Even though the book jumped from Robert Langdon to Prince Julian throughout the book, but it was done in such a way that it did not detract the flow of the narrative, showing Brown's writing mastery.

Gaudi is a central figure in this novel - since finishing the book I have found myself drawn to Gaudi in a way I was not previously. I will look to read more about him and explore his works even more.

​My reasoning for awarding this book a four-out-of-five stars is that some of the twists and turns, even though required by genre doctrine were a little bit predictable. If they had been a bit more obscure and unpredictable then this book would definitely have received full-marks. A really enjoyable read.

Genre: ​​Historical, Cultural, Classic, Crime Fiction.

This is the second time that I have read To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee - and I must say that I enjoyed it just as much the second time around as I did on the first occasion.

What Lee does very intricately here is weave a tale of such a heinous crime but through the innocent eyes of a child. For instance, there are frequent examples of the child's naivety when confronted with dangerous and more 'adult' situations, with the general assumption made by the older characters that she is 'too young to understand'.

Reading this I began to feel that I, myself, was part of Maycomb County and that I was a member of their society, an onlooker if you will on the events unfolding across the narrative. It was extremely engaging, and I must admit I was on the edge of my seat on a couple of occasions.

Dialogue is essential to bringing about a cultural awareness and bringing the reader with you along the narrative journey. Here, Lee uses this to great effect throughout the novel, where I was unintentionally mimicking the Southern American accent along with the characters; thus bringing forth a familiarity with each of them.

​I am not surprised that this has been deemed a 'classic piece of literary fiction' by many avid readers. It has undoubtedly provided not only satisfaction, but also a wider sense of education of early 1900's America - across the southern states. It transfixed me so much, which is the reason for my 5 star-rating, and also the reason why this book is most certainly within my top-10 reads of all time.

The only thing I can add here is that I am very intrigued to see Lee's subsequent sequel to this amazing book - Go Set a Watchman. #WatchThisSpace