Review: Our Daily War, by Andrey Kurkov

PUBLICATION DATE: 18TH JULY 2024
HARDBACK ORIGINAL | £ 20.00 | OPEN BORDERS PRESS

Blurb

Ten years on from the annexation of Crimea, two years on from Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people continue to fight back. In the second volume of his war diaries, Andrey Kurkov gives a fresh perspective on a people for whom resistance and solidarity have become a matter of survival.

Our Daily War is a chronological record of the heterogeneous mix that comprises Ukrainian life and thought in the teeth of Russian aggression, from the constant stress of air raids, the deportation of citizens from the occupied regions and the whispers of governmental corruption to Christmas celebrations, crowdfunding and the recipe for a “trench candle”.

Kurkov’s human’s-eye view on the war in Ukraine is by turn bitingly satirical, tragic, humorous and heartfelt. It is also, in the manner of Pepys, an invaluable insight into the history, politics and culture of Ukraine.

Our Daily War is the ideal primer for anyone who would like to know what life is like in that country today.

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Review: Unashamed, by Elizabeth G

Title and subtitle: Unashamed: Why do people pay for sex?
Author: Elizabeth G.
Publisher: Whitefox
Formats: Hardback, paperback, ebook, audiobook
Page count: 272 pages
Recommended Retail Price (RRP) (£): Hardback – £19.99, Kindle – £7.99, Audiobook – £0.99 (with Audible membership) or £16
Genre(s): Memoir, Female empowerment, human sexuality, the sex industry, self-help.
Publication status: Published on 28th March 2024
Amazon link:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1915635799

Unashamed: Why do people pay for sex? BLURB

Elizabeth G. was twenty-two years old and travelling around Australia when she came across a job opportunity at an erotic massage parlour in Sydney. Fast forward eighteen years and she had built up a trusted list of regular clientele working as a high-end London escort and was frequenting some of the city’s most exclusive hotels.


This is an inspirational story of resilience and self-belief in the face of adversity. It gives a fascinating insight into what it’s like to work week in and week out as a sex worker and how it feels to hide who you are from your friends and family. It’s about understanding why a person would pay for sex in the first place. It’s about the positive effects of sex work. It’s about love, connection, nurture and healing. It’s about change. It’s about acceptance. It’s about hitting rock bottom and picking yourself back up, time and time again. It’s about growth, embracing the struggles and learning from your mistakes. And, above all, it’s about breaking through the barriers of shame, and staying true to yourself no matter what.


In shedding a spotlight on the sex industry, Elizabeth hopes to challenge the misconceptions and shame surrounding sex work, and to help provide better protection for those who are forced into the industry as a result.
Unashamed is a no-holds-barred, taboo-busting account of the life of a sex worker, and what it’s like to build a highly successful career in a multimillion-pound industry that exists largely in the shadows. If you want to feel inspired and embrace yourself as a sex worker, or develop an understanding of the profession, or you simply want to eradicate shame in any aspect of your personal life, then look no further.

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Review: The Hunter’s Gambit, by Ciel Pierlot

From the award nominated author of Bluebird comes a tale of seduction, sadism, and survival featuring malevolent vampires and a locked-room escape adventure…

Locked in a castle with a clan of devious vampires, one woman is caught in a literal fight for her life.

Vampires have always fascinated Kazan Korvic, so much so that she’s made it her life’s work to craft weapons designed solely to kill them. But when she is attacked and captured by an entire clan, Kazan’s fascination turns ferocious.

In their Citadel, Kazan is forced to attend the Vampire Court where she must act as their Queen. She is told that she will be waited-and-doted upon, until the end of her reign in three days’ time. Then, an extravagant and lavish feast will be held… where the vampires will consume their newly crowned Queen.

Desperate and afraid, Kazan finds no allies in the castle except for a pair of distractingly alluring vampires who seem sympathetic to her plight. But as she devises her escape plan, she comes to realise that she is not the only one who is trapped, and no one is prepared for how far she’s willing to go to survive…

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Review: Terrible Humans, by Patrick Alley

Publication date Thursday, May 23, 2024
Price £16.99
ISBN-13 9781800961982

Description
A small number of people, motivated by an insatiable greed for power and wealth, and backed by a pinstripe army of enablers (and sometimes real armies too), have driven the world to the brink of destruction. They are the super-villains of corruption and war, some with a power greater than nation state and the capacity to derail the world order. Propping
up their opulent lifestyles is a mess of crime, violence and deception on a monumental scale. But there is a fightback: small but fearless groups of brilliant undercover sleuths closing in on them, one step at a time.

In Terrible Humans, Patrick Alley, co-founder of Global Witness and the author of Very Bad People, introduces us to some of the world’s worst warlords, grifters and kleptocrats who can be found everywhere from presidential palaces to the board rooms of some of the world’s best known companies. Pitted against them, the book also follows the people
unravelling the deals, tracking the money and going undercover at great risk. From the oligarch charged with ordering the killing of an investigative journalist to the mercenary army seizing the natural resources of an entire African country, this is a whirlwind tour of the dark underbelly of the world’s super powerful and wickedly wealthy, and the daring investigators dragging them into the light.

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