BookShelfie Reviews

Despite Desire: Pillow Talk with Nietzsche is a compact, yet ambitious philosophical play by Angel L.G.. It stages an imagined encounter between Friedrich Nietzsche and a sex worker named Rachel ....

Despite Desire: Pillow Talk with Nietzsche is a compact, yet ambitious philosophical play by Angel L.G.. It stages an imagined encounter between Friedrich Nietzsche and a sex worker named Rachel in 19th-century Switzerland. Combining the intimacy of chamber theatre with the rigour of philosophical dialogue, ....

Despite Desire: Pillow Talk with Nietzsche is a compact, yet ambitious philosophical play by Angel L.G.. It stages an imagined encounter between Friedrich Nietzsche and a sex worker named Rachel in 19th-century Switzerland. Combining the intimacy of chamber theatre with the rigour of philosophical dialogue, the play feels like a modern reimagining of the traditional […]

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Some children’s books these days are loud, begging for your attention with glitter, gimmicks and childish humor. A Friend for Hope isn’t one of those books. It doesn’t need to ....

Some children’s books these days are loud, begging for your attention with glitter, gimmicks and childish humor. A Friend for Hope isn’t one of those books. It doesn’t need to be. This is a story with a heartbeat, and you can feel it on every ....

Some children’s books these days are loud, begging for your attention with glitter, gimmicks and childish humor. A Friend for Hope isn’t one of those books. It doesn’t need to be. This is a story with a heartbeat, and you can feel it on every page. I don’t have any kids, but if I did, […]

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Dystopian fiction is one of the most popular genres in modern publishing, so standing out requires considerable originality. Thankfully, Judy L. Mohr’s Dancing in the Purple Rain is one of ....

Dystopian fiction is one of the most popular genres in modern publishing, so standing out requires considerable originality. Thankfully, Judy L. Mohr’s Dancing in the Purple Rain is one of those rare books that does exactly that. It plunges readers into a near-future dystopia where ....

Dystopian fiction is one of the most popular genres in modern publishing, so standing out requires considerable originality. Thankfully, Judy L. Mohr’s Dancing in the Purple Rain is one of those rare books that does exactly that. It plunges readers into a near-future dystopia where survival is rationed out by corporations, identities are embedded in […]

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There are few subjects more controversial in 2025 in the publishing world than the use of AI, which is why Richard Blood’s Talking with Intelligence: An AI–Human Dialogue comes at ....

There are few subjects more controversial in 2025 in the publishing world than the use of AI, which is why Richard Blood’s Talking with Intelligence: An AI–Human Dialogue comes at such an interesting moment. Embarrassing stories abound of authors accidentally leaving AI prompts in their ....

There are few subjects more controversial in 2025 in the publishing world than the use of AI, which is why Richard Blood’s Talking with Intelligence: An AI–Human Dialogue comes at such an interesting moment. Embarrassing stories abound of authors accidentally leaving AI prompts in their books and subsequently getting cancelled. However, this book is different […]

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Despite being set in Vietnam during the heights of the civil war, Quinn Makenna’s The King of Ithaca is inspired by relatively unexpected subject matter, The Odyssey. It offers a ....

Despite being set in Vietnam during the heights of the civil war, Quinn Makenna’s The King of Ithaca is inspired by relatively unexpected subject matter, The Odyssey. It offers a creative retelling of the classic tale. From the very first page, it drew me into ....

Despite being set in Vietnam during the heights of the civil war, Quinn Makenna’s The King of Ithaca is inspired by relatively unexpected subject matter, The Odyssey. It offers a creative retelling of the classic tale. From the very first page, it drew me into a world of jungle heat, bullets and our protagonist, Barrett, […]

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This new spy novel by American author and former military intelligence professional, Karl Wegener, begins as all good spy stories should—with a whisper in the dark, a meeting already compromised, ....

This new spy novel by American author and former military intelligence professional, Karl Wegener, begins as all good spy stories should—with a whisper in the dark, a meeting already compromised, and danger sliding into view before the first word is spoken. Following an introductory chapter ....

This new spy novel by American author and former military intelligence professional, Karl Wegener, begins as all good spy stories should—with a whisper in the dark, a meeting already compromised, and danger sliding into view before the first word is spoken. Following an introductory chapter we are introduced to Ada Bialik, working under the alias […]

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Light Beneath the Lids (Nevada Street Press, 2025) is the second collection of poetry by London-based writer Jane Lightbourne, following Bright Dust. The poems vary in subject matter but largely ....

Light Beneath the Lids (Nevada Street Press, 2025) is the second collection of poetry by London-based writer Jane Lightbourne, following Bright Dust. The poems vary in subject matter but largely tackle themes of intimacy, relationships, and the nature of memory. Lightbourne treats these themes with ....

Light Beneath the Lids (Nevada Street Press, 2025) is the second collection of poetry by London-based writer Jane Lightbourne, following Bright Dust. The poems vary in subject matter but largely tackle themes of intimacy, relationships, and the nature of memory. Lightbourne treats these themes with measured precision, favouring spare haiku-esque imagery and controlled free verse […]

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The Sanctuary of Tomorrow is the kind of novella that makes you think. Set against the backdrop of Europe between the end of the First World War and the rise ....

The Sanctuary of Tomorrow is the kind of novella that makes you think. Set against the backdrop of Europe between the end of the First World War and the rise of fascism in the 1930s, it tells the story of Martino Griffiths, a telepath forced ....

The Sanctuary of Tomorrow is the kind of novella that makes you think. Set against the backdrop of Europe between the end of the First World War and the rise of fascism in the 1930s, it tells the story of Martino Griffiths, a telepath forced to flee and endure in a world where his gift […]

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One of the more interesting books I’ve read as part of this site, Marianne Villanueva’s Residents of the Deep is a gripping yet at times unsettling collection of short fiction ....

One of the more interesting books I’ve read as part of this site, Marianne Villanueva’s Residents of the Deep is a gripping yet at times unsettling collection of short fiction that moves fluidly between myth and history. It is in short a collection of surreal ....

One of the more interesting books I’ve read as part of this site, Marianne Villanueva’s Residents of the Deep is a gripping yet at times unsettling collection of short fiction that moves fluidly between myth and history. It is in short a collection of surreal short stories, anchored in the history of the Philippines yet […]

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Jo Boyle’s Cicatrice: New Eyes and Brave is a dark, unflinching novel about survival. It follows Brinda Anand, who also lives under the names Malavika Lal, Melinda Burman, and most ....

Jo Boyle’s Cicatrice: New Eyes and Brave is a dark, unflinching novel about survival. It follows Brinda Anand, who also lives under the names Malavika Lal, Melinda Burman, and most often, Mel, with occasional POV chapters ffrom Jamie. The story opens in a Perth bar ....

Jo Boyle’s Cicatrice: New Eyes and Brave is a dark, unflinching novel about survival. It follows Brinda Anand, who also lives under the names Malavika Lal, Melinda Burman, and most often, Mel, with occasional POV chapters ffrom Jamie. The story opens in a Perth bar in 2014, where Mel sits with weapons hidden in her […]

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Set in 1960s Lowell, Legends of Little Canada tells the story of an eleven-year-old boy thrust into poverty when his father abandons the family, forcing him and his mother to ....

Set in 1960s Lowell, Legends of Little Canada tells the story of an eleven-year-old boy thrust into poverty when his father abandons the family, forcing him and his mother to move into Little Canada. I had never heard of this place, but apparently it is ....

Set in 1960s Lowell, Legends of Little Canada tells the story of an eleven-year-old boy thrust into poverty when his father abandons the family, forcing him and his mother to move into Little Canada. I had never heard of this place, but apparently it is not a miniature version of Canada but a now-destroyed working-class […]

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With The Players: Act 1, Amy Sparkes transports readers to the playhouses and muddy roads of Elizabethan England. The book follows the Ticehurst Players, a ragged troupe of wandering actors ....

With The Players: Act 1, Amy Sparkes transports readers to the playhouses and muddy roads of Elizabethan England. The book follows the Ticehurst Players, a ragged troupe of wandering actors whose performances teeter between theatrical triumph and humiliating disaster. As a sucker for historical fiction, ....

With The Players: Act 1, Amy Sparkes transports readers to the playhouses and muddy roads of Elizabethan England. The book follows the Ticehurst Players, a ragged troupe of wandering actors whose performances teeter between theatrical triumph and humiliating disaster. As a sucker for historical fiction, and having seen the beautiful cover art, I had a […]

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