Wow I can’t believe it’s been an entire year since I created Lair of Reviews!
A year ago this website looked very, very different. I was still playing around with themes and the look of the site. At that point I thought a grey colour scheme with everything in big grey boxes was the ultimate look. Thankfully I came to my senses and eventually I learned how to give the Lair its bright organised layout!
So, what’s been happening in the Lair of Reviews over the last year?
Older Reviews
I originally created the Lair of Reviews as a place where I could upload the reviews I wrote as a student for the now-obsolete online magazine, Cuckoo Review. This project was completed in December 2020.
New Reviews
Since then I have been steadily writing new book and film reviews for the Lair. Unfortunately I have yet to create any new theatre reviews but hopefully this will change once the world starts to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and theatres re-open.
Reedsy Discovery
The biggest surprise for 2021 (so far!) was that in January I was invited to join Reedsy Discovery as a volunteer reviewer. This partnership has given me access to lots of new stories and authors. It has been exciting, and occasionally nerve-wracking, being able to interact with authors more directly but overall it has been a wonderful experience.
As of July 2021 I have written seven reviews for Discovery, which are also available on Lair of Reviews. You can spot these particular reviews as they have a link at the bottom where you can check out the original version of the review on Discovery’s website.
This has also led to the addition of the SHORT STORY section in the Lair within the book review category.
Roads Not Taken
My first update was published two months after the Lair went live. In the update I talked about what was next for the website. Two things in particular have yet to occur.
Reviews for Television Series – One day! One day this will happen! I had really hoped to have written at least one TV series review by this point. The problem is I have a very specific view for how I want the series reviews to look (different to the normal reviews I write) and life just keeps getting in the way and prevents me from actually sitting down and creating these reviews.
The Archive – I originally had an idea for an archive on the website that would separate my older reviews from the new reviews. This feature will no longer happen.
I came to the conclusion that, as I already allowed readers to search by type (book, film, theatre) and genre, having all of the same reviews in a third section in the Lair wouldn’t be accomplishing much.
What’s Next?
Quite simply I will continue to write new reviews for as long as they continue to bring me enjoyment.
A massive thank you to everyone who has supported the Lair of Reviews so far; either by reading my reviews, liking them, or subscribing!
Lair of Reviews 