mppilk's reviews
357 reviews

Not entirely sure about this book, 3.5 stars upgraded to 4 because it certainly draws you in and can be very atmospheric at times. 
Alex is returning to her childhood home by a remote lake in Canada, with her family. This is not willingly but as a result of her husband losing his job and keeping that a secret for 6 months. Tensions are strained and this worsens when nuclear strikes hits various U..S. cities and the family has to go into survival and indeed eventually pioneer mode. As Daniel leaves to find their son Sam, Alex and her 2 daughters must learn to survive. 

Character development throughout the book is very good and days after reading I’m still thinking about the strength of character needed to survive such a scenario. However too much of the story seems incredible. Would the government of a powerful democracy really just abandon its people? Would no effort be made to restore electricity, water and other utilities months after the event? Army, police etc abandoned the upholding of law and order yet a group of marines protected the students in a university……is the a message there somewhere? 

I would have liked to read more about Daniel’s journey and the reasons behind the nuclear strikes in the first place. For me the ending felt flat but all in all worth a read. Just lets hope that if it ever comes to it humanity will step up and not turn on one another like this book represents.

Thanks to NetGalley.co.uk and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a little gem of a book. Written for younger readers it tells the story of Elizebeth Friedman, a cryptanalyst who broke the codes of criminals during prohibition in the US and the Enigma codes during World War II. I’m ashamed to saw I had never heard of her before this despite being familiar with Alan Turing and the code breaking work of Bletchley Park. On reading this book it’s hardly surprising really as she was very much kept behind the scenes herself especially during the war. 
While the work of Elizebeth was primarily code breaking, and with pen and paper unlike Turing, the book breaks down the history of the time very nicely thereby adding significance to her work. 
I hope we hear more about this remarkable woman in the years to come and she earns her place among the Alan Turings of this world. This book should be placed in every school library. As I said, a little gem. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

It took me a while to get through this book and not because it wasn’t interesting, it certainly was but there was so much information contained within the chapters it needed a little digestion before moving on. 
The book starts with looking at various “Eves” or evolutionary ancestors that have contributed to the gynaecology of modern humans. These sections are full of fascinating insights into the subtle differences between the sexes from tool use to hearing. The book seems to move from there to a more social and cultural view of the importance of women and this was where, while still interesting, it lost me from an evolutionary theme. 
It it well worth a read but I’m just not sure from a purely scientific point of view what value it offers. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Nicoletta is a young journalist in the 1960s reporting on the discovery of a body of a woman believed murdered 20 odd years previously. She is hoping to nail the job of women’s editor and so willingly gives up her Christmas break to investigate. She is an intricate character coming across initially as a bit insipid but there is more going on with her both personally and professionally. 
Hints about her past are dropped in very casually but they did all come together in the end along with a surprising twist. The first third of the book was a bit too heavy on Dublin detail for me, very accurate and I could follow the routes she was taking in my head but for someone not familiar with Dublin it may have been too much. The story did pick up and as Nicoletta’s past  intertwined with her present. 
There are good characters in this story and I would love to see a series based on them but please don’t give her the women’s editor job. She could be a top investigative journalist. 
Well worth a read. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for this honest review. 

A multi generational story of a Chinese American family and belonging. The story begins with Lily, born to a couple of Chinese scientists but reared in the all American way. Working as a low paid intern in a New York firm and meets the wealthy nephew of her boss. This section of the book was my least favourite part. Came across as the same old poor girl rescued by a billionaire and trying to adjust to spending money. But stick with it as part 2 tells the story of their son, Nico or Nick as he became known and the best was kept until last. The story of Lily’s mother May. Born and raised in China and studying biology as the communist era began. 
This is a remarkable story of family dysfunction, belonging, friendships and science. Each story draws in the reader but didn’t quite satisfy. There are large jumps in the story that left me a little perplexed and I would have liked to find out more about Matthew’s take on the situation. 
I would thoroughly recommend this book. 

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC 

This book certainly draws you in at the start. Three different POVs. Edie in present day Cornwall escaping London after the death of her husband. Kitty, a German baker living in London at the start of WW1 and finally Miriam in Germany in a Prisoner of War camp for British soldiers helping with a linguistic project, also WW1.
However I found after a while it didn’t resonate with me at all. By the time I got back to a character, expecially if I left it for a night, id forgotten exactly what was happening with them. Then some of them were known by a different name and I still can’t really make sense of how it all ended up.
While I am all for a bit of poetic or dramatic licence in this case I found it very loose and incredible. Having said that I never felt like giving up and if you are into this type of light of touch historical drama then it may well be for you. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a truly wonderful book. A plethora of characters, each with their own challenges and difficulties, all very sensitively dealt with.