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Liz Robinson - Editorial Expert
Liz has been an Editorial Expert writing reviews for LoveReading since 2014. Reading has always played a huge part in her life and she happily describes herself as a fully fledged bookworm. By day she works for a charity, and at every other free moment devours books of all genres. She video interviews authors for LoveReading and has previously judged the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Gold Dagger and Crime Fiction in Translation Awards, the Romantic Novelists’ Association Romantic Novel of the Year Award, the Chiddingstone Castle Literary Festival Short Story Competition, and the LoveReading Very Short Story Award. It’s simply all about sharing the book love!
If you love to travel back in time, revel in folklore, myth, and what feels to be a deep authentic magic, then this series should go to the top of your reading list. Author Shauna Lawless puts the history of Ireland centre stage, with warring kingdoms and the fabled Tuatara De Danann and Fomorians under threat. Do start at the beginning with The Children of Gods and Fighting Men, it’s a stunner of a debut and sets up this collection beautifully. Son of the Serpent sits within the Gael Song series and along with Daughter of the Otherworld ... View Full Review
Ahh, this was just what I needed, reading medicine for the soul can be found in this gorgeous and generous novel where the dogs sit centre stage. When Leo decides to move to the outskirts of a small market town and open a rescue centre for dogs, it not only changes their lives, but also those in the local community. I love Ruth Hogan’s writing, from The Keeper of Lost Things to The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, she creates arms-open-wide welcoming hugs of books. The different strands on offer here are lovely, there is an inner story ... View Full Review
Roll up! Come closer! It’s 1881 and you are invited to behold ‘Little Spark’, the shocking star of a travelling act, who after one shock too many loses everything before a chance encounter sees her as a servant to a house of inventors where she is determined to find answers to her mysterious past. Author Jess Kidd writes with the most imaginative of pens, from the stinging tension of Things in Jars to the haunting beauty of The Night Ship, her descriptions can pierce your soul. Little Spark joins these two novels as a LoveReading Star Book, ... View Full Review
Proving just how powerful words can be, author Jacqueline Crook takes a young woman from 1990’s London and brings her to vital vibrant life. LoveReading Editorial Expert Joanne Owen awarded Crook’s debut Fire Rush a LoveReading Star Book and declared it exceptional. Sky City also joins its sister as a LoveReading Star Book. Jaycee’s childhood is regularly examined and sits at the core of this story, it’s oh-so painful to visit, yet hugely important to bear witness to the abuse suffered. I initially found myself re-reading sections until understanding slipped distressingly into ... View Full Review
I read this in one sitting, once I’d started I just couldn’t stop. Formerly National Crime Agency and now private detectives, Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw take on their first case of a missing mother and end up in a whole steaming heap of trouble. A master of his craft, if you’ve not yet had the reading pleasure of meeting award-winning and bestselling author M. W. Craven then I truly believe you’ve been missing out. The Killer’s Mark forms part of his Washington Poe series which started with The Puppet ... View Full Review
This intriguing and emotionally astute family drama and mystery focuses on two childhood friends Emma and Kate and the consequences of the disappearance of Emma at the age of 15. Award-winning author Sarah Reynolds takes two throughout this novel, focusing on two countries, two girls, and two time periods, splitting the story again and again to create an unsettling tension. My advice is to stay alert and pay attention as this tale begins to twist and turn from the first page. The mystery element broods throughout this story and I found myself walking different paths as I pondered and considered where ... View Full Review
From the beautiful cover to the captivating contents meet twelve chapters highlighting the importance of parasites. With each chapter title the author pairs a positive with the creature, from ‘beautiful bedbugs and likeable lice’, to ‘terrific tapeworms’ and ‘luscious leeches’. It worked, my interest was caught and I was as hooked as a hooked thing can be. Author Dr Dino J Martins, an entomologist and evolutionary biologist, writes in such a way as to include you, to expect you to find these hidden creatures as wonderfully fascinating as he does and I happily joined ... View Full Review
If you delight in historical mysteries and tales of the occult and supernatural then I’d recommend boarding the first-class steamship SS Excambion at the end of the 19th century. Rumoured to be haunted, the ship sets sail to the US with sceptic Avis Lovelock tasked with discrediting the whispers of its ghostly inhabitants. Despite being a sceptic, Avis is joined by her own eerie companion which immediately sets an unsettled and intriguing tone. It also ensures a note of uncertainty haunts the pages, cleverly setting Avis up as a fascinating main character with mysteries of her own. The ... View Full Review
This breathtaking tale of dungeons, monsters galore, and one very resilient human child hits in wonderfully unexpected ways. When Bait was a baby she was stolen by a dragon and that should have been the end of her, however she was saved by a gargoyle and raised by a hoard of goblins. As Bait grows up a minotaur and talking skull encourage her humanity and she sets out to regain what has been lost, however monsters aren’t always where you’d expect to find them. Author Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan delivers the most compelling of tales, his world building ... View Full Review
Charming and a little bit different, this book shows that love and support can come in many different forms. It also focuses on resilience as Yuko has been brought up by five different parental figures since her mother died when she was young. Her parents are by no means perfect, they make mistakes and decisions based on their own preferences highlighting Yuko’s adaptability. As Yuko falls in love, she seeks the blessing of her five parents and we step backwards and forwards in time through her life. Set in Japan, I really felt the difference in culture. Laurel ... View Full Review
Absolutely blimmin wonderful! I fell in love with this novel from the synopsis and even more in love as each page turned. If you feel even the tiniest bit under-appreciated in your life, if you crave a feel-good read with wit and humour, if you are on the hunt for a novel that feels fresh and different, then step this way. In her forties, supporting everyone and getting very little in return, Laura puts on her ‘out of office’ at work and leaves. As everyone begins to realise they don’t know when she is coming back, ... View Full Review
This near future techno-thriller mixes genres with its advanced tech and action, and contains elements that feel similar to films National Treasure and Thelma and Louise. After her Nobel prize-winning husband is kidnapped Aisha joins forces with his ex-girlfriend Sara to follow clues in a race across the US with crooks and various agencies chasing after them. In a tale full of misdirection the lies start from the very beginning when a meteor falls to earth, the story pinballs a little before settling and taking off. As well as an author, Ajay Chowdhury has a background as a tech entrepreneur ... View Full Review
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