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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 can quite happily chat books all day. She previously spent twenty years working as a member of police support staff, including roles as Criminal Intelligence Analyst, Briefing Officer, and Crime Reduction Advisor. She relishes her time spent exploring all genres of fiction and non fiction. She video reviews her selections for the LoveReading LitFest Festival Favourites and is also a Presenter for their events. Liz has previously judged the Romantic Novelists’ Association Goldsboro Romantic Novel of the Year Award, the Chiddingstone Castle Literary Festival Short Story Competition, the LoveReading Very Short Story Award, and the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Gold Dagger Award. Her next judging stint sees her joining the CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Award 2023-2025. She describes herself as a reader, a lover of all things books, and can be found on Twitter and Instagram as @LRLizRobinson.
A powerful and provocative story where the narrator uses a fairytale to explain a current story of abuse and violence. Different versions of Bluebeard exist, featuring a manipulative predator of a man who has murdered each of his wives when they fail to abide by his warning. The narrator of Sour Cherry is surrounded by ghosts who listen to this version of the tale, keeping ever-present company yet offering warning. This is not a comfortable read, it covers themes of toxic masculinity, plague, and murder. Men as well as women have fallen foul of this monster of a man. Author ... View Full Review
What a lovely book this is! Five well-known writers take you on a journey through their homeland of Scotland, focusing on twenty-five of the buildings that can be found there. The introduction explains that: “What we build always reveals things that are deeply and innately human. Because all buildings are stories, one way or another”. Then goes to say: “This book, then, is an account of twenty-five individual journeys, which come together to form a narrative of a nation”. Vivid black and white, and colour photos sit within the pages. We visit buildings spread through time ... View Full Review
Well now, this is one of those beautiful young adult books you can read as an adult without realising the aim of the age range. Magical fantasy and edgy dark fairytale merge with a roaring 1920’s murder-mystery twist which ensures a familiar feel in an unfamiliar world. Alwyn Hamilton has created the most captivating setting, it’s cleverly done, with the fairytale elements gradually closing in as a noose around the history of this place. The twisted family politics of the Holztfall’s ensure you never quite know who to trust. The privilege of the family hits ... View Full Review
While certainly diverting and entertaining, this read also focuses on the dangerous reality of social politics, privilege, and discrimination. The upscale exclusive playground of the Hamptons near New York appears to be the perfect place for three friends to reunite after each has experienced firsthand the negatives of social media and gossip. When a joke goes badly wrong and spirals into a police investigation, long buried deadly secrets are dug up and the friendship is tested to its limits. Author Alafair Burke sets friendship and issues of trust centre stage, this is as much or even more about the women&... View Full Review
From the cover to the contents, this fabulous, knowledgable, and eye-opening book shines a light on the dark world of monsters. All the time there are humans, there will be monsters. We have carried them with us since our time began, when we close our eyes, when we listen to the whispers, when we let the fear in, there they are, existing inside us. I fell in love with The Fairy Tellers by Nicholas Jubber so was looking forward to falling into the pages of Monsterland. The award-winning author not only revels in his subject, he also has the ability ... View Full Review
Each time, each and every time, I fall more in love with Guy Gavriel Kay’s writing. The wait between books, the expectation, knowing that when I finally open the pages I’m going to feel that familiar and exquisite ache of recognition alongside the startling thrill of discovery. To put it simply, he is my favourite author, his words have kept me company for forty years and they have shaped my love of reading. Written on the Dark slips into the city of Orane in Ferrieres during a harsh winter, and we meet a poet. The history ... View Full Review
Zookeeper turned author Alan Toyne allows behind the scenes access to Bristol Zoo’s family of gorillas and their keepers in this heartfelt and eye-opening book. While this story centres on the two babies he helps to hand-raise, you encounter the whole troop of gorillas including silverback Jock. Perhaps the most poignant story is of Kera, the mother of Afia, who was hand-raised at another facility and had such a difficult time settling in at Bristol as she didn’t understand adult gorilla behaviour. So, you witness the reasons why the keepers attempt the reintroduction of the two ... View Full Review
Richly imagined and feisty as heck, I was as hooked as a hooked thing can be by this epic fantasy. Lythlet and Desil, desperate to pay off their debts, travel to an underground arena set up to offer bloodsports for the amusement of the crowds. I sank into and was completely devoured by this story that offers so much variety. Author Roanne Lou not only has the ability to create immense battle scenes within a vibrantly different yet somehow familiar world, she also sinks below the surface of emotion to the hidden recesses, exploring the negative and positive sides of ... View Full Review
Oh my, what a story! Set in the 1920’s, Nell finds herself caught in the middle of a crime spree, and faced with the difficult decision of whether to serve, marry, or steal. The Forty Elephants actually existed, women running their own, mostly family based, gang of thieves from the 1870’s through to the 1950’s. Author Clare Whitfield has obviously thoroughly researched the history of these women and has created a thrilling and beautifully eloquent tale. Her compelling debut People of Abandoned Character was also set among history and focused on Jack the Ripper. Some of the ... View Full Review
Cannon Hall Farm is well known as a tourist attraction, star of TV, and of course a working farm. While the place is now iconic, it’s the owning family who have made it so, and here we learn even more about them. Writer Robin Eveleigh has spent time with Roger, Cynthia and their three sons Richard, Robert, and David and created a warm, welcoming book about their lives. You can hear their individual voices, picture their lives and see how the farm came into being. The story starts with Roger, his early years with his parents, and how ... View Full Review
Both thoughtful and fantastical, this novel delights in venturing beyond the edge of reality. When Nanami realises books are going missing from her local library she determines to save them. Author Sosuke Natsukawa challenges preconceptions and highlights the power of literature. I absolutely adored The Cat Who Saved Books, which was also translated by Louise Heal Kawai, who excels in creating a known place in an unknown world. This continues from that novel in the most heartwarming and compelling way. Tiger the talking cat is just wonderful, he really makes me smile and his relationship with Nanami confirms the importance ... View Full Review
Well now, this is different! Adventurous and romantic in the same breath, and oh what a breath… Lexi and Zeke get more than they bargained for when a one night stand turns into a fight for survival as a moored houseboat gets swept out to sea. I have thoroughly enjoyed Beth O’Leary’s novels since reading her debut The Flatshare. She has always taken the genre of romance and relationships and made them feel bang up-to-date and relevant. Here she goes one step further and adds a properly epic adventure into the mix. This isn’... View Full Review
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