Book reviews Archives - Luke’s Blog

03Aug 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Orbital by Samantha Harvey book review

Orbital by Samantha Harvey was the book I picked to read after you all chose it as a must read for me in 2025. It's a book about a small set of astronauts orbiting space and their thoughts on Earth, life and humanity as well as the thoughts of a few people living on Earth on the same matter. This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Orbital is more of a novella than it is an actual novel and even though it's fictional, it feels more like the author's own thoughts than it does a…

12Jul 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Marley’s Ghosts by JP Sheerin book review

Book reviews, Crime

Marley's Ghosts was my March follower book pick after a lot of people suggested reading it. When I posted bout it being my March pick, JP himself was very kind to message me and ask if I'd like him to send me a copy! It's an interesting book with essentially one storyline that I was really interested in and another that I found very underwhelming and, despite likely meaning the opposite, felt like filler. This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. As I mentioned above, Marley's Ghosts essentially tells two stories - a modern-day crime…

06Jul 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson book review

Book reviews, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Life After Life is a book I picked up after I asked my social media channels what book they'd recommend as a book that made them stop and think about life after finishing it. Also, my parents are big fans of Atkinson's writing and her other books and so I thought what more encouragement do I need to pick this up than those two factors? This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Life After Life follows Ursula Todd, who is born in 1910 and repeatedly dies and is reborn, reliving multiple versions of her life…

08Jun 2025 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

Night Road by Kristin Hannah book review

Book reviews, Contemporary Fiction, Romance

You'll likely have realised I'm on a bit of a Kristin Hannah hype at the moment having raved about The Nightingale, The Four Winds and The Women and so I think you won't be that surprised that I absolutely fell in love with Night Road too. This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Night Road was actually originally released back in 2011 and, after some massive success with her recent books, has been rereleased recently with an all new cover and a new marketing push. It focuses on the story of two twins, their friend…

01Jun 2025 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

That Night by Gillian McAllister book review

Book reviews, Crime

That Night by Gillian McAllister is a book I’ve had on my physical TBR since my partner bought me as part of a selection of book presents leading up to Christmas. It’s my first McAllister book covers the story of a brother and sister who get involved with the wrong side of the law and their literal trials and tribulations as a result. That Night by Gillian McAllister follows three siblings who cover up a crime one of them commits, leading to unravelling secrets, guilt, and a tense quest for the truth. That Night plot - 3.5/5 Despite the quite interesting premise, I really struggled to engage with That Night at all. It starts off with the crime happening at the beginning (not a spoiler as it’s literally right at…

17May 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch book review

Book reviews, Fantasy

The Lies of Locke Lamora has been a book that's been on both my virtual and physical TBR for what feels like years now. It's a book that whenever anybody talks about the best fantasy books, is one that often appears on people's lists. So I thought it was about time I finally picked it up and formed my own opinion on it. This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. The Lies of Locke Lamora predominantly follows the rise of our main protagonist Locke Lamora. I say predominantly because it does heavily feature a cast…

11May 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Women by Kristin Hannah book review

Book reviews, Historical Fiction

Kristin Hannah has quickly become one of my favourite authors. Everything I've read by her so far has been absolutely brilliant and left a mark on me in some way or another. Her ability to write historical fiction novels about women's forgotten roles throughout history and have me always feeling something and admiring these people is something I can't help but admire. This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. The Women is Hannah's latest novel and tells Frankie McGrath's story of joining the Vietnam War as a nurse. It focuses on her veteran-loving family's reaction,…

04May 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

More Than Murder by Jayne Chard book review

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery

More Than Murder is the first in a new “cosy crime” series from the Producer of BBC’s Silent Witness. It’s a story of two sisters who go to a murder mystery only to find out not all of the murders may have been acting. This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. I was kindly sent a copy of this book in return for an honest review. More Than Murder tells the story of two sisters who are brought back together after their mother dies and leaves them a cottage but with the agreement they must…

21Apr 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Sisters by Claire Douglas book review

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

I absolutely love a thriller every now and then. They're often the perfect palette cleanser between some of the more complex or longer books that I often enjoy to read. With a thriller, you're getting something written very approachable, set in your own world, not featuring too many characters and a plot that's easy enough to follow. Therefore, when I picked up The Sisters by Claire Douglas, I was looking forward to more of the same. This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. The Sisters focuses on the story of Abi, Ben and Bea. Abi…

13Apr 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray book review

Book reviews, Contemporary Fiction

The Bee Sting was the first book I read this year from the list of books you lot chose for me to read. Therefore, it's the first book I was properly excited to get into - despite its length. It focuses on the highs and lows, past and present of the Barnes family who live in rural Ireland. With a plot style I usually like and some interesting storytelling techniques, surely this is a book I would like, right? As I said, The Bee Sting focuses on the lives of the Barnes family who all have their own issues going in their lives, both past and present. The Bee Sting plot - 4.25/5 The four main characters in The Bee Sting are Imelda, the matriarch who clings to material appearances;…

Category: Book reviews