Mad Mabel

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Mad Mabel — Sally Hepworth

After seeing SO many glowing reviews for Mad Mabel, I went into this expecting it to be a five-star read… and whilst I really enjoyed it, it didn’t quite leave me with that I need more! feeling that The Calamity Club did.

That said, there was so much I loved about this book.

I really liked Elsie/Mabel and, throughout the whole story, I found myself desperately hoping that she wasn’t actually “mad”. There was something about her character that kept me invested and wanting to understand what was really going on beneath the surface.

And the relationships! I became completely invested in all of them — Persephone, Cess, Christos, Adeem, Libby, Peter (oh, Peter!) and especially Daphne. I loved Persephone and the relationship between her and Mabel was so special.

I thought the story was beautifully written, with plenty to keep me turning the pages (or pressing play) and questioning what I thought I knew. There’s something quite clever about the way Sally Hepworth plays with the idea of what we believe, who we trust and how easily someone can be labelled as “mad”.

I listened to this one on audio and the narration was fantastic. It really drew me into the story and made the characters feel even more real, which definitely added to my enjoyment.

So, whilst it didn’t quite reach the five-star status I was expecting after all the hype, it was still a really enjoyable read with characters I became genuinely invested in.

4 stars from me.

Have you read Mad Mabel? Did it live up to all the hype for you?