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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · 6d

I love a bit of myth and legend and North is the Night delivered really well on that. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series! My review is on instagram:
💙📚🪐🔮❤️🌈⏳ #booksky @quercusbooks.bsky.social

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · 10d

And He Shall Appear by Kate van der Borgh is ideal autumnal/ spooky season reading, in my opinion:
💙📚🩸👻 #booksky
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Clare Riley on Instagram: "#bookreview And He Shall Appear by Kate van der Borgh Fourth Estate/ William Collins 4⭐️ 🩸#horror 🪐#fantasy 🖋️#literaryfiction ⚡️#mystery #gothic And He Shall Appear is a dark, fascinating read. This is a story of obsession and an overwhelming need to belong at all costs. The unnamed main character is a northern, state-educated boy, who gets a place to study Music at Cambridge University - and he’s determined to reinvent himself. He falls in with the cool crowd, and becomes obsessed with the wealthy Bryn Cavendish. This is a really haunting novel. I was never quite sure if a ghost or someone from his university past was going to pop up when the narrator returns years later for a function. The narrator comes across as lost, completely out of his depth, living and acting on the periphery of his new group of ‘friends’. He’s so determined to fit in, that he pushes nicer people away. His new friends really are NOT nice - there’s even the suspicion that Bryns skills as a magician are something more sinister. This book really gave me the chills. Recommended. #bookstagram #booklove #bookaddict #instareads #bookishlove #bookworm #igbooks #bookaholic #bibliophile #lovebooks #booksbooksbooks #clares_little_book_obsession #andheshallappear #katevanderborgh #fourthestate #williamcollins"

0 likes, 0 comments - clares_little_book_obsession on October 1, 2025: "#bookreview And He Shall Appear by Kate van der Borgh Fourth Estate/ William Collins 4⭐️ 🩸#horror 🪐#fantasy 🖋️#literaryfiction ⚡️#mystery #gothic And He Shall Appear is a dark, fascinating read. This is a story of obsession and an overwhelming need to belong at all costs. The unnamed main character is a northern, state-educated boy, who gets a place to study Music at Cambridge University - and he’s determined to reinvent himself. He falls in with the cool crowd, and becomes obsessed with the wealthy Bryn Cavendish. This is a really haunting novel. I was never quite sure if a ghost or someone from his university past was going to pop up when the narrator returns years later for a function. The narrator comes across as lost, completely out of his depth, living and acting on the periphery of his new group of ‘friends’. He’s so determined to fit in, that he pushes nicer people away. His new friends really are NOT nice - there’s even the suspicion that Bryns skills as a magician are something more sinister. This book really gave me the chills. Recommended. #bookstagram #booklove #bookaddict #instareads #bookishlove #bookworm #igbooks #bookaholic #bibliophile #lovebooks #booksbooksbooks #clares_little_book_obsession #andheshallappear #katevanderborgh #fourthestate #williamcollins".

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · 10d

September stats - you can tell I'm back at work, because I've read fewer books and the amount of audiobooks have gone up. Highlights: Blood Surge by Dianna Hardy and Appointment in Paris by Jane Thynne. Lows: Levitation for Beginners by Suzannah Dunn. 💙📚 #booksky

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · 11d

My thoughts on The Queen of Fives by @alexhaybooks.bsky.social is over on instagram now. I do believe I referred to it as “rip-roaring”. It is, and I loved it!
💙📚⏳⚡️ #Booksky

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · 17d

I love these Will Trent and Sarah Linton books by Karin Slaughter - I’m a bit late to the party though. Just means I can enjoy catching up in a series pincer movement (the earliest and latest books)!
My thoughts on This Is Why We Lied:
#Booksky 💙📚⚡️🕵🏼

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · 19d

If you like your Urban fantasy with a side of vampires, romance and a strong female lead, then Blood Surge by @diannahardy.bsky.social will be just what you need! My thoughts are over on instagram:
💙📚🪐🔮❤️

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · 22d

I'm entering this competition and you can too! wn.nr/ErE5GsB
I have a bit of a soft spot for her books...

THE BEWITCHING giveaway

Win a hardcover copy of THE BEWITCHING Shipped anywhere in the world *** Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New Y...

wn.nr

Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · 24d

I’m the 3rd stop on the blog tour for an Appointment in Paris by Jane Thynne. It’s an exciting, very enjoyable spy thriller, set in the weeks leading up to WW2. My thoughts are over on instagram.
@quercusbooks.bsky.social
💙📚🕵🏼 #booksky

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · 28d

I keep meaning to pick the rest of this series up. The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi was so good - my thoughts are here:

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💙📚🪐🔮

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Sep 10

It wasn’t until after I posted my review of Catherine Airey’s Confessions, I realised it’s the anniversary of the Twin Towers tomorrow. That’s where this wonderful book begins, as the towers fall and a young girl is left alone. It’s a wonderful book:
💙📚🖋️
#booksky
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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Sep 10

Thank You For the Days by @danbrotzel is a gem of a book and was a pleasure to read! It’s all about making every day count - and what a way the main character decides to go about doing just that! My thoughts are on instagram:
💙📚 #booksky

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Sep 7

The Party by Tessa Hadley is short (a novella), but rich in historical detail and characterisation. My brief thoughts are here:

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💙📚🖋️⏳

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Sep 2

My review of Jaded by Ela Lee is over on my instagram. It doesn’t paint a great picture of corporate life for women, but the writing is very good indeed.
💙📚🖋️ #Booksky

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Sep 2

I’m often in awe at how authors come up with the ideas for their novels (I mean, I read fantasy and sci-fi as well, so 🤷🏼‍♀️), but the timeline in Tracy Chevaliers The Glassmaker was expansive!! I really enjoyed this book. My review is over on my instagram:

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💙📚🖋️⏳

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Sep 1

The summer is over and I’m back at work tomorrow. So this is all the reading I did over the summer. August was a particularly book-packed month - it was the summer holidays after all 🤷🏼‍♀️
I still have a way to go with the @thebookerprizes.com long list, so that’s a job for September!
💙📚

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Aug 27

A book that follows the life of Mary Shelley AND her monster? Yes please! I loved Creature: A Novel of Mary Shelley and Frankenstein by Amy Weldon, but in my honest opinion, Shelley (the poet) doesn’t come out well - but that’s the feminist in me 🤷🏼‍♀️
💙📚⏳🖋️

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Aug 11

Of the two I've read, I much preferred Seascraper. It's quite bleak, though - it's a tough job! Beautiful descriptions of the sea, for one thing.

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Aug 11

I’m working my way through the @thebookerprizes.com long list - as many as I can get my hands on from the library and what was already on my kindle, thanks to NetGalley! Although @xigxaguk.bsky.social might be supplying a few in the near future…
I’ve read 2 so far…
💙📚🖋️

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Aug 11

I participated in & completed a reading challenge on Instagram. Probably not in the way that I was expected to, but I’ve come to realise in my 52 yrs that I’m not great at joining in. At least not in the way I’m supposed to 🤷🏼‍♀️ Here’s the 12 books I’ve read this summer. See any you like?
💙📚

Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Aug 5

I don't know as it could really be described as purely horror - it's no Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It's this feeling of unease that runs through it. I don't often read horror, but I do like a book that makes me feel uncomfortable (and folk tales are some of my favourites!).

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Aug 5

Fabulous! Well, I hope you enjoy it 😊

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Aug 5

My thoughts on Barrowbeck by Andrew Michael Hurley are over on Instagram. I couldn’t put this one down: addictive, uncomfortable and a stark warning.
@johnmurrays.bsky.social
💙📚🩸🔮⏳🪐⚡️#Booksky

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Jul 30

I feel really lucky that I won a book that was so good!

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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Jul 30

This was a competition well worth winning!
Muckle Flugga by @michaelpedersen.bsky.social was an absolute joy to listen to. My thoughts are on Instagram. Thanks to @faberbooks.bsky.social and @xigxaguk.bsky.social for picking my name out of the hat 😊
#Booksky 💙📚🖋️
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Clare Riley @clarer73.bsky.social · Jul 29

I love a reading list! I have 5 of these to read (Love Forms, The Rest of Our Lives, The Land in Winter, Flesh & Seascraper), just ordered Universality & Audition from the library - let's see how far I can get before the shortlist announcement!
#Booksky 💙📚🖋

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