Books, Reviews, Polyamory and Relationships Thomas H. Brand Books, Reviews, Polyamory and Relationships Thomas H. Brand

“polywise: A Deeper Dive in Navigating Open Relationships” By Jessica Fern with David Coole

Between this book and her previous book, polysecure, I have become a big fan of Jessica Fern's work. And of the two, in my opinion, polywise is the superior book, offering easy-to-digest breakdowns of some of the root causes of the problems many of us suffer through when opening up our relationships and the advice and frameworks needed to navigate them.

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“The Guest List” by Lucy Foley

The Guest List is a book that didn’t grab me at first. In fact, for the first few chapters, I thought I was in for an excruciating read. But once the character introductions are out of the way, Foley gives us a fast-paced web of a story that is almost impossible to put down.

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“Is Monogamy Dead?” by Rosie Wilby

Is Monogamy Dead? is a bit of a strange creature. But anyone who believes in questioning the status quo or feels they haven't managed to work out what they want from their relationships could do a lot worse than to pick this up.

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“A Perfect Explanation” by Eleanor Anstruther

A Perfect Explanation is an obvious passion project for the author, detailing her own family history. But the problem with true stories is they often lack the narrative and characters that make fiction engaging, and the problem with family history is that it is rarely interesting outside of your own family. And by honouring the truth, Anstruther's obvious talent is unable to overcome these issues.

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"Queenie" by Candice Carty-Williams

Queenie is one of those books I picked up because of an undefinable sense that I needed to read it. I didn’t know anything about it or Carty-Williams, other than that a number of people had listed Queenie in their must-read lists over the last couple of years. And boy, reading it was the right choice.

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“Can I Stray” by Jenna Adams

With her debut novel, Jenna Adams takes us right back to the insecurities and struggles of adolescence. And once I reached the halfway point, I literally sat up into the early hours and finished the second half in one single sitting. 

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“The Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro

Sometimes a “classic” is only a classic because uptight literary snobs have decreed it so. Other times, a novel becomes a classic because it tells a universal story that manages to be both readable and universally relatable. “The Remains of the Day” is the latter.

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Book of the Year 2020: 'Out of Love' by Hazel Hayes

Sometimes my favourite book of the year is one that had the best story. Or maybe its one that displayed the most engaging writing. Or perhaps it will have introduced me to a new writer I know I’m going to love.In 2020, it’s a book that was exactly what I needed at exactly the time I read it: Hazel Hayes’ "Out of Love"

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