Needlemouse by Jane O’Connor

*a review copy was provided by Ebury in exchange for an honest review*

Needlemouse follows the story of a woman who is quite spiky around the edges. She is very set in her ways with no room to budge. She’s also very infatuated with her professor and waiting until she can slip in to replace his wife’s position.

It’s an unconventional read, that I’d place within a form of women’s fiction. There is growth for Sylvia however it takes time.

The story is paced in frames of seasons which was fun, however I felt some moments could have gone quicker and that the start of the story seemed to pull along Sylvia as quite a spiteful person, which doesn’t bode well, as the reader you find it difficult to connect with her.

There were admirable qualities to Sylvia however those appeared near the end when she realised her mistakes and rediscovered herself in a way.

Overall a good read if you want something to lounge with that isn’t your typical romance read.

– Book Fanatic

Blurb:

Time to come out of hibernation…

Sylvia Penton has been hibernating for years, it’s no wonder she’s a little prickly…

Sylvia lives alone, dedicating herself to her job at the local university. On weekends, she helps out at a local hedgehog sanctuary because it gives her something to talk about on Mondays – and it makes people think she’s nicer than she is.

Only Sylvia has a secret: she’s been in love with her boss, Professor Lomax, for over a decade now, and she’s sure he’s just waiting for the right time to leave his wife. Meanwhile she stores every crumb of his affection and covertly makes trouble for anyone she feels gets in his way.

But when a bright new PhD candidate catches the Professor’s eye, Sylvia’s dreams of the fairy tale ending she has craved for so long, are soon in tatters, driving her to increasingly desperate measures and an uncertain future.

Sylvia might have been sleep walking through her life but things are about to change now she’s woken up…

A quirky, charming uplifting novel perfect for fans of Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Sarah Haywood’s The Cactus. The feelgood bestseller about unrequited love, loneliness and the redemptive qualities of hedgehogs featuring the most unlikely heroine of 2019.