Reading Rendezvous

Send us Fan Mail What actually makes a book a five-star read? In this episode of Reading Rendezvous, I’m looking at some of my all-time favourite books to figure out what they have in common, which becomes slightly complicated when the list includes everything from War and Peace, Frankenstein and 1984 to Fourth Wing, Alchemised and A Little Life. From emotion and immersion to personal connection, craft and that all-important aftertaste, we’re breaking down the anatomy of a five-star read and ...

Send us Fan Mail Starting a series is easy. Committing to another three, four… or several thousand pages? That’s another story. In this episode of Reading Rendezvous, I’m breaking up with some of the popular book series I started but probably won’t be finishing. From When the Moon Hatched and Spark of the Everflame to Powerless, The Wolf King and Daggermouth, we’re talking annoying main characters, complicated worlds, unwanted tropes, BookTok hype and that awkward moment when you realise you ...

Send us Fan Mail What makes a romantasy trope swoon-worthy… and what gives us the immediate ick? In this episode of Reading Rendezvous, we’re putting some of the biggest romance and romantasy tropes on trial. From enemies to lovers, morally grey characters and “touch her and die” to fated mates, jealousy, pet names and the infamous one-bed situation....it’s time to decide: romance or ick? And I want to hear your verdicts too! Join me on social media and tell me which tropes you’ll defend fore...

Send us Fan Mail Step inside the pages of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in a very different kind of Reading Rendezvous. In this immersive episode, we’re travelling from the frozen Arctic to the mountains of Geneva, Victor Frankenstein’s laboratory and the lonely world of the Creature himself. With atmospheric sound and passages from the original novel along the way, we’ll experience the story together rather than simply talk about it. Frankenstein is so much more than the story of a scientist a...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever finished a book and thought, “I absolutely loved that… but I would not last a day there”? In this episode of Reading Rendezvous, I’m looking at some of my favourite fictional worlds and asking one simple question: would I actually survive them? From deadly dragon rider training in Fourth Wing and the terrifying reality of The Handmaid’s Tale, to the dangers hiding within Dracula and even the surprisingly risky halls of Hogwarts, we’re putting these famous book w...