Book review: Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara [blog tour]

I've been a big fan of retellings for many years now, and Greek ones are definitely the flavour of the 2020s (see Circe, Atalanta, Ariadne, Ithaca, and many more). I was getting a little bit tired of seeing the same-old, same-old characters and myths being reimagined, as there are only so many different angles a story can take, so I was thrilled when I discovered that Luna McNamara's book delves into the slightly more obscure love story of Psyche and Eros, aka a mortal and the god of love (the Greek equivalent of Cupid). 

Theatre review: Aspects of Love at the Lyric Theatre

Aspects of Love is a sung-through Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that is not quite as well-known as his classics Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Phantom of the Opera. But he wrote it immediately after the latter and there are recurring themes of unrequited love, the dramatics of the theatre, and obsession running throughout both. The show was first staged in the West End in the late 1980s with Michael Ball taking on the role of the young Alex. Nearly 35 years later, the actor returns to the show as George, Alex's uncle who gets entangled in an affair with his nephew's lover.  

Book review: Serpent of the Sands (The Brightstorm Chronicles #4) by Vashti Hardy

I'm such a big fan of Vashti Hardy! She's had me hooked on her adventurous middle grade reads ever since I had the joy to review her debut Brightstorm back in 2018 – and I'm thrilled she's continuing the series beyond the original trilogy. While initially I felt a slight disappointment that her latest novel would not focus on the Brightstorm twins any more, I needn't have worried, as the character of Gan has now stolen my heart too.