Grace heads back to university after having spent another summer working with us here at Mainstreet. While she has been here, she has been flying through the books, finding them to be a nice break from her course work. You can find some of her other reads in previous review round-ups. However, as she has so many to share, we thought she needed her very own blog for the books she has enjoyed. So, without further ado, here we have Grace’s Review Round-Up…

The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright | Paperback | £9.99

Anne Enright truly encapsulates the hardship of a family deserted by their successful poet patriarch and the fallout of the women left behind, plagued by illness, betrayal and hatred. Intertwined with the poetry of her now deceased father, Carmel reflects on the trials and tribulations of her life, interrupted by her daughter’s search for a purpose as she takes on the world. A read that is triggering and violent at times yet intimate and endearing in the same breath. 

Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin | Hardback | £16.99

When her husband is offered a job in London, Anna, a psychoanalyst living in Paris, is left all alone, but that’s all she needed to feel herself again after the miscarriage… right? Overtaken by her new and spirited neighbour Clementine, Anna begins to drift further from her husband, the real world and her return to work. With the addition of ghosts of her past life creeping back into the frame she grapples with loyalty, love and what her true needs are. 

Intertwined with the story of the couple who lived in Anna’s apartment in the early 70’s, struggling with their own issues of fidelity in early marriage, it becomes clear that we may not be so different from those who came before us. 

The Serpent Dance by Sofia Slater | Hardback | £14.99

A romantic weekend in Paris. That’s all Audrey was hoping her somewhat serious boyfriend Noah would organise to celebrate their first anniversary but finding herself on route to deepest, darkest Cornwall, she can’t help but feel slightly disappointed. When their first night turns to disaster, Audrey begins to feel Noah is hiding something but trapped in the confines of a traditional village, she is very glaringly alone. This book nudges at the peculiarities of village life and, set under the looming midsummer celebrations, the darkness at the very centre of this seemingly picture perfect nook of Cornwall. 

The Chamber by Will Dean | Hardback | £20 

Hundreds of metres under the sea, Ellen Brooke, along with five other saturation-divers, is preparing for a month’s work off the coast of Aberdeen. In a chamber only just wide enough to fit the six of them, tensions can run high, but the work keeps them going. Only days in, one of the divers is found unresponsive and with nobody having left or entered the chamber, it is clear someone is not to be trusted. But who? The crew on board the support ship or one of the divers themselves? As the days of decompression begin, the divers begin to speculate, losing grasp of one of the most important rules of their high-stakes job… don’t panic. 

The Door-to-door Bookstore by Carsten Henn , translated by Melody Shaw | Paperback | £10.99

Prepare to be completely swept up in the magical world of being a bookseller. 

Carl has always hand-delivered the orders of his loyal customers alone… until the enthusiastic 9 (almost 10) year old Schascha finds her way into his long-trodden route. Carl’s customers, affectionately nicknamed after characters in books he finds them to be most like, fall in love with Schascha and her new ideas of what they should be reading. The pair overcome all challenges to bring their newly personalised book service and the joy of a good book to as many as possible. 

This book is a true homage to the love story between booksellers and their books and of course, their valued customers. 

A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin | Paperback | £9.99

From the very first page you are catapulted into the world of high society and marriages of convenience. The now widowed Eliza, Countess of Somerset, has been given a great opportunity by the husband who made her miserable for 10 long years… but what will she make of it? Her newfound sense of freedom creates a rather complicated love triangle in true Bridgerton style! A light summer read, the perfect escape for beside the pool, in the garden or (more likely) sheltering inside from the rain! 

The Island at the Edge of Night by Lucy Strange | Paperback, Children’s 8-12 | £7.99

Meet Faye Fitzgerald, part of the newest recruits at a school for wicked children on a remote Scottish Island. Except, Faye can’t remember what wicked thing she did to end up there. When her first true friend seems to disappear after misbehaving, it becomes clear all is not what it seems. Faye rallies together her newfound group of misfits and they work together to get to the bottom of exactly what is going on between the walls of the school and free themselves from the horrible teachers there.