The White City

Rubbish- riddled with inconsistencies, incomplete themes and feels like a tick-box exercise in addressing all of the worlds issues. Don't bother with it .

The best Author I have read. I just love her books. Got them all, waiting for her next.

Modern version of 1984. Excellent, descriptive, prose that draws the writer in from the first page.

I love Roma Tearne's writing and this is no exception. Its ultimate message is bleak and horrifying in how close it feels to reality. In this book I really enjoy the way Roma Tearne does not give us the whole picture, but just that from the protagonists viewpoint...reminding me of how limited and biased is the knowledge of the world as understood by each and everyone of us. The dystopian future is beautifully set up....but that is mere background to the story which has been and is eked out in many cities, houses and hearts.The story is beautifully told. .

I was very kindly sent a review copy from the publishers via Instagram.I did enjoy this book but for me what lacked was more detail and something in the way of more answers, about the events and the characters, i feel it needed more in order for me to feel connected to the story and it's characters. I just would have enjoyed it more and felt more gripped if it was longer, so i could fully get my teeth into it as it were, but with it being short , but the time i was into it and the story was developing more... it ended.I did like the writing though, i haven't read anything else by this author but i may well check out some now. I do enjoy a good Dystopian novel , some of my favourite ever books are from that genre ,but they aren't usually this short, that's really my only downside to this one.I did really like the characters though , especially the main character and narrative of Hera.

A brilliant book with a daunting subject: a not-too-distant London where fear of terrorism and years of freezing temperatures mean life and social norms collapse. The story is bleak, but it is also lyrical and compassionate thanks to the voice of the narrator who never loses her instinct for kindness or her eye for the absurd. The book also explores the importance of memory and place, and the especial significance of stories told and retold for those who like the Muslim narrator may feel themselves to be 'a hotchpotch of cultural compromises'. Beautifully written.

The snow in this beautifully written, disturbing book begins to thaw, but the atmosphere the author creates does not melt away so easily. Our current fear of terrorism and environmental collapse meld into a dystopian future where love struggles to redeem us. Haunting, and strangely brilliant.