Luke Harkness, Author at Luke’s Blog

28Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Slow Horses by Mick Herron book review

I was starting to see Slow Horses by Mick Herron absolutely everywhere. I went to a celebration of a book launch at the end of last year where Mick Herron was mentioned, my own dad was reading the series and raving about it and it kept popping up as “popular” when I went to watch anything on Apple TV. So I thought it was time I delved into the world of Slough House and the MI5 rejects that work there. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may recieve a small comission at no extra cost to you. Slow Horses is the first book in the Slough House series which focuses, as I said above,…

27Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

When Your Family Says No by Laya Martin book review

Book reviews, Memoir, Nonfiction

I was contacted a while ago asking if I would like to review When Your Family Says No by Laya, a memoir on a Jewish woman who grew up a devoutly orthodox Jewish family with strict rules and how as she grew up she fell in love with a non-Jewish man and how it turned both hers and her family's lives upside down. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that 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. When Your Family Says No tells the real-life story of Laya Steinberg and her upbringing in a strongly Jewish family where…

21Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

One Day by David Nicholls book review

Book reviews, Contemporary Fiction, Romance

Sometimes a book comes along that really stays with you for a long time after you’ve finished reading it. For me most recently One Day was that book. It may well be the best love story that I’ve ever read, featuring a beautifully difficult, honest and brutal portrayal of two people who never really know each other’s worth and yet forever want to be with one another. Please note that 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 products. You may well have already heard of One Day as it’s really big on Netflix at the moment.…

17Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey book review

Book reviews, Historical Fiction, Mystery

The List of Suspicious Things was one of the first and most recommended books when I asked my Twitter followers which book I should read in 2024. Therefore, considering it wasn't even out yet and these were opinions just based on those who had read the proof and it wasn't even released to the majority of the public yet. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that 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 List of Suspicious Things tells the story of young Miv and her friend Sharon as they attempt to find out who the Yorkshire Ripper…

11Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Golden Son by Pierce Brown book review

Book reviews, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Golden Son is the second book in the Red Rising series which tells the story of a young man who belongs to the "Reds" who are the lowest tier of society and his attempts to infiltrate the "Golds" (the top) to then try and overthrow them. If you haven't yet read by review of Red Rising, make sure you read my review of that and then you can continue reading below as I don't want to spoil anything. After the events of the first book, I was hyped, I was pumped and ready for the sequel to take things to another level. I'd heard Golden Son was far superior and when the series was taken to another level. However, I just don't know if I could agree with this. Note…

10Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky book review

Book reviews, Classics, Romance

White Nights is a book that I instantly bought after seeing Jack Edwards (of Booktube fame) say that he'd seen a tweet that said you don't know love until you've read White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I'm not the biggest romantic and find it hard when romance is written poorly to get involved. But did White Nights do enough to convince me that it really is the ultimate book about love? Please note that 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 products. Fyodor Dostoyevsky is the author of famed Crime and Punishment among many other very…

08Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Of Darkness and Light by Ryan Cahill book review

Book reviews

Of Darkness and Light is the second book in the Bound and Broken fantasy series by Ryan Cahill. It continues our story after a really impressive debut in Of Blood and Fire with Calen, our main protagonist taking on his new as leader. As well as Calen's story, we look at how the world is also developing through the eyes of his sister Ella and his old friend Rist among others. Please note that his 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 these products. When writing a sequel to your debut indie-published fantasy book, what do you need…

04Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

What were my five most-read articles throughout January 2024?

Features, Monthly Round Ups

We do this article every month. But if you have read these before, then you'll know that I usually post only the articles that I posted in that month. However, after a quick poll on social media, we're going to be changing these to include every single article across my website so we can see an ongoing trend as to which articles people are always reading. Please note that 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. So, as I do every time, I'll list them all below leading from the least read to the most…

04Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen book review

Book reviews, Memoir, Nonfiction

Girl Interrupted is a memoir by American author Susanna Kaysen of her time when she suffered with depression and was sent to a psychiatric unit with other women during the 1960s. It's an interesting reminder of how far we have come with the support for mental health. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that 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'll be honest, I didn't know this was a memoir going into and I still didn't even know when I finished it. That's the deal with some of these memoirs, they're often written with such detail that…

30Jan 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

All 9 books I read in January 2024 and what I thought about them

Features, Monthly Round Ups

This month has been an absolutely fantastic month for reading. After an end to the year last year that saw my personal life, longer books and proof physical copies mean that I wasn’t finishing books I didn’t even do a round up in the end. However, this month was much better! Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that 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 the title suggests, I read nine books this month and they were of varying genres and varying quality. What I’ve gone and done below then is list out every single book I…

Author: Luke Harkness