Book reviews Archives - Luke’s Blog

02Nov 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney book review

Book reviews

I was a big fan of Sally Rooney's Normal People when I read that and so when I saw Intermezzo was receiving rave reviews, I knew this could well be another of hers that I fell in love with. 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 story is fairly simple, focusing on the story of two brothers who are grappling their separate relationships in their own way. There are no thrills or fast-paced action moments, just some brilliant writing and raw, believable characters. Intermezzo plot - 4.5/5 As I said before, the plot of…

10Oct 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Light That Blinds Us by Andy Darcy Theo book review

Book reviews, Fantasy

The Light That Blinds Us is a debut young adult fantasy from Andy Darcy Theo, which I picked up because I follow Andy on socials and enjoyed his content and his character! The book also grabbed my attention with its unique blend of elemental magic and mystery. 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. Right from the start, the story manages to balance tension with emotional beats so your investment only grows as you move through the pages. There’s a real sense of weight and urgency to the story that kept me hooked throughout, too.…

01Oct 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins book review

Book reviews, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

A successful series has to have a bigger and better sequel where everything that was established in the first book is built upon and the potential plot points hinted at are fulfilled. Catching Fire, the second in the Hunger Games series, does exactly that - ramping up the action, the tension and the politics. 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. Please note that Catching Fire is the sequel to The Hunger Games, so if you haven't yet read my review of that, then there will be spoilers in this review of the previous book.…

27Sep 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling book review

Book reviews, Fantasy

The fifth book in the Harry Potter series is where the whole series takes a whole new tone. After the dramatic events of the ending of the Goblet of Fire, the whole wizarding world is thrown into question and only a select few know how truly scary it’s about to become out there. 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. Please note, this review will likely contain minor spoilers from the previous books in the series, so if you haven’t read my review of Goblet of Fire yet, please do that first. Also not, this…

07Sep 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

In The Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan book review

Book reviews, Crime, Sci-Fi

Every now and then, in between the larger, more complex reads, I want to pick something up that's a little more down to earth yet has still received enough praise that I know I'm very much going to enjoy it. In The Blink of an Eye by Joe Callaghan was the perfect book for this at the time. It's a police book where they introduce a futuristic AI model to help out with cases and everyone's rightfully sceptical - right up my street! 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. DCS Kat Frank is returning…

01Sep 2025 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins book review

Book reviews

How I can call myself a book reviewer and not have a review of The Hunger Games on my blog, I don’t know. But here it is and here are my honest thoughts on one of the most popular literature trilogies of the past couple of decades. 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. If you don’t know by now, The Hunger Games focuses on the story of Katniss Everdeen, who grew up in a world separated by “districts” and “the Capitol” with “The Capitol” being the place for the rich and powerful and the…

15Aug 2025 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman book review

Book reviews, Fantasy

I'd seen Dungeon Crawler Carl all over the internet before picking it up. A lot of people had picked it up as their first LitRPG and were raving about it, so I knew I had to pick it up at some point. After an internal dilemma about spending £20+ on a book I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy yet, I bought it from Amazon and began to read it quite quickly after it arrived, as I was excited to get into 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. Dungeon Crawler Carl…

03Aug 2025 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

Orbital by Samantha Harvey book review

Book reviews, Sci-Fi

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…

Category: Book reviews