Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

What is it about: Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has.
In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides that thunder up staircases, the clouds that move in slow procession through the upper halls.
On Tuesdays and Fridays Piranesi sees his friend, the Other. At other times he brings tributes of food and waterlilies to the Dead. But mostly, he is alone.
Messages begin to appear, scratched out in chalk on the pavements. There is someone new in the House. But who are they and what do they want? Are they a friend or do they bring destruction and madness as the Other claims?
Lost texts must be found; secrets must be uncovered. The world that Piranesi thought he knew is becoming strange and dangerous.
The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.

My Thoughts: Oh how much I loved this book!
I've buddy-read this which made it even more of a magical experience.
We were both lost for the first 20 pages, and were trying to figure out what the heck was going on. But once inside the story, I could not put it down. I was scribbling down notes whilst reading as kept having random thoughts and I hoped to give myself some answers before the book gave them to me. Boy I was wrong every single time. 

Piranesi is such a wonderful character and I just felt so sad for him. 
I was scared that it would be one of these books with an open ending, but I was glad to see it came to a conclusion - although I would have liked to see a different ending, more tragic.
But if you haven't read it yet, please do. It will take you through a strange but wonderful journey

In the Mirror, a Peacock Danced - Justine Bothwick

What is it about: Set against the lush backdrop of early 20th-century India, In the Mirror, a Peacock Danced – the debut novel from Justine Bothwick – is the moving story of one woman’s journey back to herself.

Agra, 1938: Eighteen-year-old Florence Hunt has grown up riding horses past the Taj Mahal and chasing peacocks through her backyard under the critical gaze of her father. Increasingly enamoured with his work on the booming railway, Florence yearns to know more, but finds herself brushed away, encouraged only to perform the more ladylike hobbies of singing and entertaining guests. So when a dazzling young engineer walks into her life, she finds herself not only gripped by secret lessons in physics but swept entirely off her feet.

Portsmouth, 1953: Fifteen years later, Florence finds herself pregnant and alone in post-war England – a far cry from her sun-drenched existence in India. Struggling to cope with the bleakness of everyday life in a male-dominated world, Florence is desperate to find the woman she used to be. But when someone from her past reaches out, Florence might just have a chance to start over.

Soaring from the shimmering heights of the big top to the depths of heartbreak, can Florence find the happiness, independence, and passion she once had in order to start living again?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book!
Florence is such an amazing character. You can see that she tries to fit in the norms of a young woman living during the Second World War but she is definitely conflicted and wants to get out of those standards. Loved the journey of self-discovery she went through and how it ended.
The writing was flowing and it was easy to read - only part I struggled with is when the author was going into too many details about trains and engines - which was one of Florence's passions, new for a woman in those years.

Whilst reading this, I was also reading 'Mythos' by Stephen Fry and noticed that the peacock is one of the symbols of Hera, goddess of marriage. Florence always sees and talks about peacocks when talking of/with Jay and I like to think there is a connection there (maybe it's just in my head, but I like to think there's Greek mythology everywhere).

I honestly really liked the background also. It was interesting to see India and the process it went through for independence from England, and how it was seen by both Brits and Indians - even though this is not the main topic of the book, I would have liked to see even more of it.

Love the cover of it as well, I hope there will be a version with sprayed edges! - Publication date, 24th June.

Thanks to NetGalley and Agora Books for the opportunity of reading this advance copy.