Netgalley Catch-Up

I thought it was about time I did another Netgalley catch-up, as I am oh so far behind (I have to double my number of reviews on there to even approach a healthy ratio at the moment!), and I’ve been trying to clean up my netgalley shelf.

Afterlove

I absolutely loved Afterlove. It’s the first book I’ve read by Tanya Byrne, but it certainly won’t be the last! I wasn’t sure what to expect at first, but I fell in love with Ash and Poppy, and really felt their struggles – and their love, I loved the concept of the book as well – some people become Reapers when they die, and guide others (usually people who have died unexpectedly) to their afterlife. Afterlove wasn’t quite what I thought it was going to be from the blurb, but it was so cleverly constructed and well written, I was with it all the way nevertheless. The way that we got to explore Ash and Poppy’s developing relationship made it all the more tragic when it was ripped away. Grief is ever present in this book – Ash is grieving her own lost life and potential, but we also get to see how her death has affected others – particularly Poppy.

I adored the relationship between Ash and Poppy. YA books with a relationship between two women as the focus still seem so rare, so it’s good to see one at all, but when it’s this well written, it’s a real treat. I can’t wait untl Afterlove comes out and I can buy a finished copy! 5/5

Perfect on Paper

I really enjoyed Perfect on Paper. It’s the story of Darcy Phillips, who acts as an anonymous agony aunt to the other students in her school via locker 89 – if you have a problem, you can write a letter, leave it in locker 89 with a tip and Darcy will use her copious, self-taught interrelationship knowledge and email you advice. No-one knows it’s Darcy who runs locker 89, until new boy Alexander Brougham catches her one day and asks her to help him win his ex-girlfriend back. Before she knows it, her entire life is unravelling and she has to think seriously about what she wants, and what she’s prepared to do to get it. I loved the characters in this book. Darcy is so flawed, but also quite self-aware. There’s a running plot point about how she used locker 89 in one particular case, and she knows she did something terrible and is wracked with guilt about it (although not enough to have come clean). Locker 89 also means she’s constantly keeping something from her friends, and although she doesn’t really notice the strain it’s putting on her friendship with Brooke in particular until Brougham comes along, the strain is still there, underlying all her interactions.

Brougham is also great. He has a terrible homelife, despite his family’s money, and is quite repressed in some ways, but his friendship with Darcy helps them both open up and share things they wouldn’t tell anyone else. He’s very sweet, and thinks about others more than himself, and I maybe fell a little bit in love with him myself. I’m not going to lie, the plot is kind of predictable in many ways, but it was well-written and I was engaged in what was going on throughout the book. I liked that Darcy was bisexual, but still working out what that means for her, and worried that if she ends up in a relationship with a boy, people will question her sexuality, and I liked that she was part of a LGBT+ community in school. Her sister Ainsley was also amazing, and I absolutely loved that it was such a non-issue that she was trans, and that she was never dead-named or misgendered. There’s also an adorable scene near the end of the book as Darcy tries to make amends which I really liked.

I definitely recommend Perfect on Paper. It was exactly what I expected, but that’s very much a good thing! 4/5

Here the Whole Time

This book was adorable. A queer love story between Felipe and Caio, the relationship between them was built really realistically. I very much related to the way Felipe saw himself, and how he was convinced that Caio couldn’t have the same feelings for him, even though it was obvious to the reader (well, me at least) that he did. I loved the slow burn of their relationship too, moving from almost-strangers to friends first, and how Felipe is really atrociously rude at first, because his summer plans have been changed without notice. This book is really all about the characters and I loved every one of them, except Caio’s parents, who are homophobic. Felipe’s mum was amazing though, and she was probably my favourite, although Caio’s friends Rebeca and Melissa were also fantastic. I think it can be so easy to isolate YA protagonists from their friends or family, and it was nice that this didn’t happen here, for the most part anyway. In fact, most of the side characters were not just completely supportive of the building love story, but actively trying to force the two boys together, which I also loved.

The fat rep was excellent. There was fatphobia from bullies, as well as internalised fatphobia rom Felipe himself, but it made sense and was addressed within the story, and it was obvious that Felipe was making a real effort to change his mindset.

I really enjoyed Here the Whole Time, and would happily read other books by Vitor Martins. I hope we get to see more of his work here in the UK. 4/5

The Henna Wars

I’ve been really lucky recently, as I’ve been able to read a string of really good queer YA romances, and The Henna Wars was another one. It tackles some difficult concepts (racism, cultural appropriation, and homophobia among others), but it does so in a really satisfying way, and the romance is lovely. There are a lot of obstacles in the way, but it works very well as a story.

NIshat isn’t the nicest person – she doesn’t really think about others and what might be going on with them, and she makes some very dubious decisions – but it is kind of understandable, because what happens to her is truly awful, and it’s good to see her grow as a person over the course of the book. I also liked that she refused to let the bullying and abuse get to her as much as she could. Flavia is also flawed – it takes her a long time to realise Nishat is correct about something, although she does apologise once she does realise. I loved Priti, Nishat’s sister and confidante, who knows NIshat’s a lesbian before anyone else, and gives her the support she needs when their parents don’t. They have a lovely relationship for most of the book, even if Nishat isn’t always aware of what her sister is going through.

The setting of The Henna Wars was a really interesting one, with the business competition turning Nishat and Flavia into rivals. It meant that there were legitimate reasons for Nishat ending up isolated for part of the book, and provided some tension.

I really enjoyed The Henna Wars, but the last 20% or so was my favourite. I’m not going to lie, it did make me cry, but I loved the way Adiba Jaigirdar tied all the loose ends together. It felt very satisfying, and if I’d had a physical copy of the book, I think I would have been clutching it to myself. I definitely recommend The Henna Wars to anyone looking for a queer YA romance! 4/5

Siri, Who Am I?

The concept of Siri, Who Am I is fascinating – Mia has had a blow to her head, has lost her memory and needs to use her social media to retrace her steps and try and work out who she is – but unfortunately, for me it didn’t live up to expectations. I just didn’t think the story made sense, and Mia should definitely be sueing the hospital who let her leave with no idea of even her surname, never mind where she lived. I don’t think it ever recovered from that point to be honest. Even taking into account Mia’s amnesia, I found her very annoying, although I liked her better by the end of the book.

I actually ended up enjoying Siri, Who Am I?, but it did feel like a struggle to get there. It’s not a bad book, but it was a disappointment for me, as I was expecting such great things from it. 3/5

Hollowpox

I have loved the previous two Nevermoor books, so I guess it’s not a surprise that I loved Hollowpox too, although reading about a mysterious illness spreading among the Wunimals was certainly interesting in the middle of a global pandemic! Hollowpox does a great job at moving Morrigan’s story on, while exploring more of the world of Nevermoor, particularly the discrimination Wunimals face. All our favourites are back and are as wonderful as ever.

I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it yet, but it is a fantastic book, full of magic and wonder (and Wunder). Obviously you need to read the first two before Hollowpox, as it is a direct sequel, but I highly recommend the entire series. I can’t wait for the next book! 5/5

The Sad Ghost Club

I found The Sad Ghost Club a little disappointing if I’m being honest. I don’t know if it’s because of the way it was displaying in my kindle app, which made it difficult to read, but I never connected with the characters and it felt like I was reading for the sake of reading, if that makes sense, rather than because I was engaged in the story. I’d be quite interested in seeing a physical copy of the book so I can see what it shold look like though! 3/5

Book Review: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

Oh Em Gee, am I actually writing a book review the day after I finish a book? What is happening to me?! Well, what’s happening to me is I got approved on netgalley for an e-arc of one of my most anticipated books of the year, and given I didn’t think I had any chance at all of such approval (my ratio is atrocious, and I’m not known to Hodder), I thought it was only fair to review it immediately!

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within was gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

With no water, no air, and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships traveling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop.

At the Five-Hop One-Stop, long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is), and get fuel, transit permits, and assorted supplies. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her sometimes helpful child, who work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing through.

When a freak technological failure halts all traffic to and from Gora, three strangers—all different species with different aims—are thrown together at the Five-Hop. Grounded, with nothing to do but wait, the trio—an exiled artist with an appointment to keep, a cargo runner at a personal crossroads, and a mysterious individual doing her best to help those on the fringes—are compelled to confront where they’ve been, where they might go, and what they are, or could be, to each other.

I am a huge fan of Becky Chambers and her books. One of my friends once described The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet as a hug in a book, and it’s still the most perfect description of all of Becky’s books. The universe of the Wayfarer series isn’t perfect, but it’s a whole lot better than anything we have at the moment, and the impression you get is that they’re still working to make it better. Although each book has its own plot, the characters are the most important aspect, and The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is no different to the previous books in the series.

Each book in this series is a standalone, but there’s usually something which links back to previous books, and in The Galaxy, and the Ground Within we’re re-introduced to Pei, who we first met in The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. Pei finds herself stuck on Gora, a planet whose only purpose is serving as a pit-stop for intergalatic travellers, along with two other travellers, Roveg and Speaker, and her ground host, Ouloo and her child Tupo. Over the course of the book, we get to know these five people, each of whom has their own reasons for worry.

The thing that always gets me about Becky Chambers’ books, is that we do really get to know all the characters over the course of the book. I don’t know how she does it so well, and without you noticing, but suddenly something happens and you’re absolutely, completely invested in what happens to these people. Watching these strangers become a sort of family, over a very short time-span, despite some very deep differences, was such a wonderful experience. Ouloo was my favourite, absolutely determined to make sure the Five-Hop One-Stop catered to everyone. Her distress when she realised that she didn’t know how to make anything for Speaker’s species was palpable and it fuller endeared her to me. I loved her relationship with Tupo too – Tupo frustrated her, as I’m sure every teenager frustrates their mother, but her love for xyr was always visible. Tupo xyrself was adorable, desperate to know more about everything. In fact, I loved all the characters, and how they interacted with each other, and I cried when I had to say goodbye.

Something I really loved about this book was the way Chambers used her fictional world to reflect our own. This, of course, is what every good sci-fi book should do, but I’m not sure it’s ever been quite as obvious as in Speaker’s impassioned speech about how her species suffered under colonialism/imperialism, and how she can see the same things happening again under a different name. It is also made clear that the Galactic Commons continue to ignore the Akarak because they are different, while making excuses about not having the money to help them. Sound familiar?

I don’t think I have the words to do this book justice. Like all the Wayfarer books, it hooked me in and I felt like I was also part of that universe. The event that strands everyone on Gora is scary, but I still wanted to be there in Ouloo’s garden, getting drunk on Laru alcohol. I’m so sad this is the last Wayfarer book, but I’m glad it’s finishing on a high. If you haven’t read any of the other books, you don’t have to, as they’re all standalones, but I think you’ll get more out of the later ones if you’ve at least read The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. That said, I cannot recommend The Galaxy, and the Ground Within enough. Read it.

5/5

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is published by Hodder and Stoughton and out on 18th February 2021

Book Review: London Made Us

A copy of this book was gifted to me by Canongate Books in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve never listened to Robert Elms’s radio show, but London Made Us sounded fascinating – a personal memoir, told through the history of London. Parts of it certainly were fascinating, but overall I found it a little bit disappointing.

‘London is a giant kaleidoscope, which is forever turning. Take your eye off it for more than a moment and you’re lost.’

Robert Elms has seen his beloved city change beyond all imagining. London in his lifetime has morphed from a piratical, bomb-scarred playground, to a swish cosmopolitan metropolis. Motorways driven through lost communities, accents changing, skyscrapers appearing. Yet still it remains to him the greatest place on earth.

Elms takes us back through time and place to myriad Londons. He is our guide through a place that has seen scientific experiments conducted in subterranean lairs and a small community declare itself an independent nation; a place his great-great-grandfather made the Elms’ home over a century ago and a city that has borne witness to world-changing events.

London Made Us is well-written, and Elms has a knack of carrying the reader with him through various, often bizarre or ridiculous, events. It’s full of local knowledge, and it’s clear that Elms loves this city with all his heart. As someone who loves her own city (and London) wholeheartedly, I could definitely relate to that. But all the way through the book, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Elms was almost looking down on those of us who aren’t from London. There’s a definite vibe of “London is best”, and I felt he sort of passed over some aspects of the darker side of the city.

I suppose, given it’s a memoir, I should have also expected the sheen of nostlagia that colours the whole book. Again, there’s a definite sense of the past being better than the present, and while I can agree in some ways (such as the destruction of London’s architectural heritage being a crime against the city – I have feelings about that), I do think it’s disingenuous to gloss over the many problems London has had in the last century.

I think that if I’d known of Elms, or listened to his radio show, before I read this book I would probably have enjoyed it more for what it was, rather than wishing for something different. I suspect that the tone wouldn’t have felt so snobbish if I knew how he sounded anyway. I know that a lot of people loved London Made Us, and I can see why, especially if you happened to be a Londoner yourself. But I hadn’t done any of that, and the book felt to me, as a northerner and more specifically, a scouser, less accessible because of it. And that’s why it was disappointing. You shouldn’t need to already know the author to enjoy reading their book.

3/5

London Made Us is out now from Canongate Books

Book Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

I was gifted a free e-arc of this book from the publisher, Titan Books, via Netgalley.

I don’t think anyone who’s read this blog would be surprised if I said I was a massive fan of V E Schwab. I love all her work, and I’ve been dying to read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue since she first spoke about it. It therefore also won’t be a surprise when I tell you that I loved it with every fibre of my being.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever-and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore, and he remembers her name.

I don’t even really know where to start or what to say. Addie’s story spans 300 years, although we see the most detail from her first 100 years and the current time (which in the book is 2014), and I just loved it. I shared Addie’s hurts and frustrations, her loneliness and her shock at finally meeting someone who remembers her. I loved seeing the ways she adapted to her situation, finding clothes to wear and places to sleep, but never being able to leave a mark. I really, really loved the epigraphs that began each section, showing the impact Addie had had over the 300 years of her life.

I realise I’m not going into much detail here, but I do think you should experience this book as free from knowledge as you can possibly be. What you need to know is this: it is beautifully written. Seriously, so beautiful. One of my joys of the last 6 years has been watching V’s writing improve with every book – and she was brilliant to begin with. Addie LaRue is not like anything she’s ever written before though. It feels very different, but I’m not sure I can put into words why it feels so different so you’ll just have to trust me. If you’ve not picked up a V E Schwab book before, this is the one to start with.

The characters are fantastic. Not just Addie, Henry and Luc, but all the people we meet in the course of the book. Even the landlady who forgets Addie has paid a week’s rent in advance sticks in the memory, which is testament to V’s skills. I couldn’t put it down until I finished it because I needed to know what happened to these people. I’m not saying I didn’t guess some of the plot turns, because I did, but it didn’t matter.

I could carry on gushing about The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, but that seems a bit pointless, so I’ll end here. Just know that this is a wonderful, beautiful book that takes you on a journey with its protagonist that you will remember forever, and you will not regret picking it up.

5/5

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is out today, 6th October, from Titan Books

Blog Tour: The White Phoenix

Today I’m on the blog tour for The White Phoenix by Catherine Randall, thanks to Kaleidoscopic Tours who gifted me a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The White Phoenix is a historical MG book, set in London in 1666, so I was sold immediately, and I really enjoyed it. Lizzie is a character you can really root for, and I shared her frustrations at the people and world around her.

London, 1666. After the sudden death of her father, thirteen-year-old Lizzie Hopper and her mother must take over THE WHITE PHOENIX – the family bookshop in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral. But England is at war with France and dire prophecies abound. As rumours of invasion and plague spread, Lizzie battles prejudice, blackmail and mob violence to protect the bookshop she loves. When the Great Fire of London breaks out, Lizzie must rescue more than just the bookshop. Can she now save the friend she wasn’t supposed to have? CAN THE WHITE PHOENIX RISE FROM THE ASHES?

Bookshops, London and the Great Fire – what more could you want in your book?! I did genuinely find the subject matter very interesting – I’ve always been fascinated by the Great Fire of London, and it was good to see it from the point of view of someone deeply affected by it. I hadn’t particularly been aware of the situation in which it occurred, with England at war with France and a general wave of suspicion being directed at anyone foreign (although I knew the fire was believed by many to have been started as a Catholic plot), so I enjoyed learning something new too!

As I said above, Lizzie was a great lead character. Only thirteen, she finds herself trying to keep the family bookshop going after her father’s death, against a number of difficulties, not least Master Pedley, the bookbinder next door. Pedley is creepy from the get go, and I was praying that Lizzie’s mother would not be taken in by him!

I really liked the way Randall was able to make the story very relatable, despite being set nearly 400 years ago. The attitudes towards foreigners displayed by many people in the book are, sadly, still prevalent today, as are some of the attitudes towards women. For many of the people around the Hoppers in the book, it’s unthinkable that a woman should attempt to carry on her husband’s business. And to be caught binding a Catholic prayer book?! It’s made clear that Lizzie’s parents do not share these attitudes – as long as a person likes books, they are welcome in the bookshop – but the fact that they are willing to entertain Catholics is something that can be (and is) used against Lizzie and the shop. And while Catholics might not suffer in England in the 21st century, it’s easy to see the same prejudices aimed at other groups. I think The White Phoenix would make a great starting point for a discussion with children in the target age group.

I very much enjoyed the actual story too. Knowing that it was leading up to the Great Fire lent the book a great deal of tension, which was only made greater by Lizzie’s friendships with both a French customer and the apprentice next door, who got a bit too caught up in conspiracy theories. There’s genuine danger too, and not just from the fire, and I raced through the book very quickly as a result.

I definitely recommend The White Phoenix to anyone with an interest in history but also anyone who enjoys a good story, well told!

4/5

The White Phoenix is out today from The Book Guild

Book Review: Bookish and the Beast

I was gifted a free copy of this book by the publisher, Quirk Books, in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to be given the opportunity to review Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston. Although Geekerella didn’t really spark joy for me, I loved the second book in the series, The Princess and the Fangirl and I was really looking forward to seeing what Ashley did with a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I wasn’t disappointed!

Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck—on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she’s stuck in her grief over her mother’s death. Her only solace was her late mother’s library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they sold it to pay off hospital bills.

On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as he can remember—with all the privilege and scrutiny that entails. When a tabloid scandal catches up to him, he’s forced to hide out somewhere the paparazzi would never expect to find him: Small Town USA. At least there’s a library in the house. Too bad he doesn’t read.

When Rosie and Vance’s paths collide and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself working to repay the debt. And while most Starfield superfans would jump at the chance to work in close proximity to the Vance Reigns, Rosie has discovered something about Vance: he’s a jerk, and she can’t stand him. The feeling is mutual.

But as Vance and Rosie begrudgingly get to know each other, their careful masks come off—and they may just find that there’s more risk in shutting each other out than in opening their hearts.

I think it’s important to be clear from the start that Bookish and the Beast is very predictable. I knew what was going to happen right from the start, and I’m not just talking about the romance. But I didn’t care, because the way it was written was so good I just wanted to lose myself in the story. I think this might be my favourite of the Once Upon A Con series, and whether that’s because it’s based on Beauty and the Beast, or it’s just my level of sweet romance I don’t know, but it is. Put it like this: it arrived at 10am, I started reading it at 3pm and had finished it by 5.30pm! It also arrived at the point where it was exactly what I was looking for in terms of mood reading, which probably helped.

I loved the two households we spent our time with – Rosie and her dad, and Vance and Elias – which both had a adorable family vibe (even if Vance and Elias aren’t a traditional family unit), and the moments when they interacted were some of my favourites in the book. But I also enjoyed the tension between Rosie and Vance and was rooting for them from the start, even while Vance was being a jerk and I loved that Rosie was a bookworm as well as a fandom nerd.

Speaking of being a fandom nerd, I have seen people saying that there were too many pop culture references in the book, and no one actually speaks to each other that way. Clearly those people are not members of SFF fandoms! I personally loved all the references, even the ones I didn’t get, because to me they showed a real love of fandom and what it means to people. This book was written by someone who gets it, and people absolutely do speak in quotes and references when they know the person they’re talking will appreciate it (and sometimes even when they don’t!).

There were a few things that stopped this being a five star read for me. There was a potential background queer romance that just seemed to get dropped, and I would have loved a bit more development on that. Also, while I liked Rosie’s friends, I don’t think we really got to know them well enough, which was a real shame, although I did enjoy their mission to take down the jerk who thought he was entitled to Rosie’s attention.

I should probably also mention the library, which sounded amazing. In fact, the entire house sounded amazing, and I am so jealous of anyone who gets to live in anything similar! I would maybe have liked slightly more at a con given that is the usual premise of this series, but the library definitely made up for it! And I thought the story fitted really well into the original Beauty and the Beast. Yes, it was obvious, but there’s nothing wrong with that!

Overall then, I really enjoyed Bookish and the Beast. I wouldn’t go into it expecting surprises, but if you want a lovely, bookish, nerdy YA romance then I definitely recommend it!

4/5

Bookish and the Beast is out in the UK today, 4th August 2020

Review Catch-Up: Titan Books

All books discussed in this post were gifted to me by Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

I am so far behind in my reviews at the moment that I’ve decided to do a few publisher round-ups to try and catch up. This is the first, covering some of the books the very lovely people at Titan Books have sent me. I’m hoping that if I can clear the decks a bit, I’ll be able to actually post reviews at a point that approximates to the book’s release date. We’ll see how this goes.

 

Cursed ed. by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane

Cursed is an anthology of stories based on fairytales, edited by the same people who did the Wonderland anthology of Alice-inspired stories (see my review here). I’d really enjoyed Wonderland and was hoping for more of the same from Cursed, but unfortunately, this time the stories had a much stronger horror bent, and they weren’t really for me. I could see they were well-written, and I’m sure if you’re a fan of horror they were great, but my sensibilities are just a bit too delicate to have properly enjoyed the collection. Because of that, I found it a bit of a slog to get through but I still chose to rate it 3/5 because it wasn’t a bad book.

Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

I read Dread Nation last year and absolutely loved it. Zombies are not usually my thing (in much the same way as horror isn’t), but the whole idea of the dead rising at Gettysburg and then over-running the US is fascinating. The duology presents such a likely alternative history for those circumstances that, even though it’s horrific, you can’t help getting caught up in it. But more than that, I love Jane and Katherine and their reluctant journey to friendship (and maybe something more?). I think I loved Deathless Divide more than I loved Dread Nation, and that’s saying something. It’s up there as one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I rated it 5/5.

The Library of the Unwritten by A J Hackwith

I wasn’t sure what this book would actually be like when I read the synopsis but I did like the idea of it being set in Hell’s library, where every book never written is stored. But what happens when a character escapes? Well, the head librarian gives chase of course! There’s more to it than that but to give any more details would be to spoil the twists and turns, and I wouldn’t want to do that. I really enjoyed this book – it maybe dragged a little bit in the middle, but I liked the way we were given bits of the library’s history and the stories of those who came before Claire, our main character, and the main plot was good without losing character development – and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel! I rated it 4/5.

Skein Island by Aliya Whiteley

Well, this was a very interesting book! It kind of defies categorisation to be honest. It’s the story of Marianne, who is sent an invitaton to Skein Island, a private refuge for women. Normally, a woman applies for her place, and Marianne has no idea why she’s been sent an invitation – but she knows about the island because seventeen years earlier her mother visited it and never came home. The way Whiteley layers the story with flashbacks and interludes which slowly tie together is excellent, and it’s a genuinely fascinating book which looks at the roles we all play. It did take me a while to read it, because it’s quite a slow book, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I rated it 4/5.

The Bone Garden by Heather Kassner

I must admit, when I first requested this book, I was not expecting it to be a middle grade book. I didn’t even know Titan published middle grade! Fortunately, I love a good children’s book, and this was indeed a good children’s book. It was definitely creepy (in a good way), and I really liked the character development. I think if you were actually giving it to a child to read, you’d have to be pretty sure they could deal with the themes though – the main antagonist is essentially a Dr Frankenstein, creating children from bone dust, and there are some very creepy moments. I was a bit wary of reading it at bedtime, and I’m a fully grown adult! I rated it 4/5.

I quite like this short review format, so I might do this more often in the future, and not just as a way to get through more reviews! Let me know what you think of this review post format – yay or nay?

Book Review: The Rules

A copy of this book was gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I’ve been promising this review since April, and as The Rules by Tracy Darnton finally came out last week, I thought it was about time I actually wrote the post! I really loved this book, so many thanks to Charlie at Stripes for sending it to me.

Amber’s an expert when it comes to staying hidden – she’s been trained her whole life for it. But what happens when the person you’re hiding from taught you everything you know?

When a letter from her dad arrives, Amber knows she’s got to move – and fast. He’s managed to find her and she knows he’ll stop at nothing to draw her back into the extreme survivalist way of life he believes in.

All of a sudden the Rules she’s spent so long trying to escape are the ones keeping her safe. But for how long?

If you’ve read Stripes’ short story collection, I’ll Be Home For Christmas (and if you haven’t, you should), you’ve already met Amber, the lead character in The Rules. Tracy Darnton won a competition to have her story featured in the anthology, and that story was Amber receiving a letter from her dad via her social worker. I loved the story, so I was excited to read The Rules and see what happened next.

It’s not an exaggeration to say what happened next was nailbiting and I was genuinely surprised at how much I loved it. Amber is terrified of her dad catching up with her. It took a long time for her and her mum to escape him in the first place, and now she’s on her own and she knows he’s getting closer. Darnton dripfeeds us the background in flashbacks throughout the book so we don’t learn everything at once, but we can feel Amber’s fear and desperation and the suspense is sky high. There is a sense throughout that Amber is hiding something, and I really liked this aspect, which really paid off at the end. Amber is not a particularly likeable character, but as the extent of the abuse she suffered becomes clear, you understand her. At the same time, she’s not defined by that abuse, which I think is important.

I also really liked her relatonship with Josh, even if she did make some obvious mistakes which wound the tension even more because of it. Having someone there who knew and liked her, and occasionally reined her in helped Amber grow as a character too, and it was nice that it was more of a friendship than anything else.

I highly recommend The Rules. I can’t remember the last book I read that left me actually breathless with the tension when reading, and if that’s your sort of book, it’s definitely worth picking up. Just be aware that there are a number of content warnings listed in the book (well done to Stripes and Tracy for including them – there are so many publishers and authors that don’t) and take care of yourself.

4.5/5

Blog Tour: Midnight’s Twins

I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for Midnight’s Twins by Holly Race today. Many thanks to Faye Rogers and Hot Key Books for my gifted copy of the book!

Fern King is about to uncover a place that she could not have imagined in all her wildest dreams. Annwn is the dream mirror of our world, a place where Dreamers walk in their slumber, their dreams playing out all around them. An enchanted, mysterious place that feeds our own world – as without dreams, without a place where our imaginations and minds can be nourished, what kind of humans would we be?

But Annwn is a place as full of dangers as it is wonders: it is a place where dreams can kill you. Annwn and its Dreamers are protected by an ancient order known as the Knights – and when Fern’s hated twin Ollie is chosen to join their ranks, Fern will have to do whatever she can to prove she is one of them too.

But the world Fern discovers in Annwn, in this dream mirror of her London, is a fragile one, threatened by vicious nightmares. Nightmares that are harder and harder for the Knights to defeat. Something dark is jeopardising the peace and stability of Annwn, something that must be rooted out at all costs. And gradually, Fern realises that the danger lurking inside our sleep is more insidious and terrifying than any nightmare. Because if you can influence someone’s dreams, you can control their thoughts …

I really enjoyed Midnight’s Twins. It gripped me from the very start and I was desperate to see what happened, and to find out what had happened to Fern previously.

Even though Fern and Ollie had their flaws and problems, I found them both really relatable and could understand where they were both coming from. I also loved their character development. I think they read as a little bit older than they were supposed to be – the book starts when they’re 15, but I found it difficult to remember that’s how old they are. That’s true of the other characters who become their friends too, especially Ramesh. However, given the circumstances they find themselves in, I guess you could expect them to grow up quite quickly.

I enjoyed the magical dream world of Annwn a lot. Alternative London and urban fantasy is very much my thing, so a London where fantastic dreams and nightmares stalk the streets is definitely up my alley. I loved St Paul’s as Tintagel too and I hope future books in this series allow us to see the other thanedoms around the country and what they use as their castles!

I would have liked to see more of how a life in Annwn affects your life in Ithr (our reality). We know that all the knights have real world lives, but does spending your nights in Annwn mean you don’t get a proper rest? Are people tempted to live in Annwn permanently? I think there’s a lot more to be explored there and I would love to see it in a future book.

As for the plot, I don’t want to go into detail because I don’t want to spoil anyone, but it absolutely raced along and easily took me with it. I found it very hard to put the book down, which was unfortunate as I had a lot of other things to be doing! Some of the plot was pretty predictable but it was told so well I didn’t really care, and there were still a couple of turns that took my breath away. I should probably warn you that there is a body count and it is quite high, but i actually liked that. These characters are fighting a war, and there would be casualties. I was impressed at how much I cared about those who died though.

Overall then, Midnight’s Twins is a fast-moving, young adult, urban fantasy, with two main characters who grow and develop over the course of the book. I really enjoyed it, and I’m already looking forward to the sequel!

4/5

Midnight’s Twins is released today, 11th June, by Hot Key Books.

 

 

April Wrap Up

Well. It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these, isn’t it? As much as lockdown in the UK is for a terrible reason, I appreciate actually having time to do everything I want to! My blog has been terribly neglected for, well, most of its existence if I’m being honest, for various reasons, but hopefully this enforced period of staying at home will get me into better habits!

So, April. I know a lot of people have been finding it difficult to read at the moment, but I don’t appear to have the same problem. In fact, if anything, I’ve had the opposite problem – I read instead of doing the many, many other things I should be doing! As a result, I have read twenty-five books in April. Twenty-five! I usually manage somewhere between ten and sixteen, so twenty-five is a bit ridiculous. I’ve also found myself reading a lot of adult romance, which is not something I pick up very often, but has very definitely suited my mood in the latter half of this month.

Five Star Reads

• The Pieces of Ourselves by Maggie Harcourt. I love Maggie’s books, and this was no exception. In some ways it’s quite different to her previous two books, but it has a wonderful romance at its heart and I absolutely loved learning the history that Hal had come to uncover. Flora, the main character, has also been diagnosed with bipolar ii, and I thought the impact of that on her was explored really well.
• Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger. So, confession time – I was sent this a really long time ago by Gollancz and had just never got round to reading it. I’d heard lots of good things about it, but it had been buried in the TBR pile, and having excavated it at the end of March, I decided it was time to finally read it. And it blew me away. I loved the way the four main characters’ stories interweaved, and the character development was fantastic, as was the world building. It did actually feel like a saga in the way it was written too.
• Hold Back The Tide by Melinda Salisbury. I’m a huge fan of Mel, and so I can say with confidence that this is by far her best book yet. The setting, the characters, the plot, all of it was amazing and I was genuinely creeped out, even reading it on a bright sunny day. Also, can we talk about that ending?! Brilliant.
• Wed Wabbit by Lissa Evans. I talked about this in my Easter readathon wrap up. Weird but brilliant is a good summary though.
• Before Mars by Emma Newman. Also in my Easter readathon wrap up.
• The Deck of Omens by Christine Lynn Herman. Reviewed here.
• Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert. This was the start of my adult romance kick. I’d seen a few people talking about this, and it was only £2.99 on kindle so I thought I’d give it a try. And it was brilliant. Chloe Brown is a plus-sized, chronically ill person of colour, and a complete disaster. I laughed out loud many times at the situations she found herself in, but the romance was also wonderful. I’m so glad I picked it up!
• Wonderland by Juno Dawson. I received an early copy of this via Netgalley, and it was actually the last book I read in April. I thought it was fantastic, and is possibly Juno’s best. It’s an Alice in Wonderland retelling, and the way Juno weaved in the original plot and characters while staying true to the story she was telling, was amazing. I loved Alice, with all her secrets and self-doubt, and I really liked the way it tied in with Clean (and, to a lesser extent, Meat Market). It’s out at the end of May, and I definitely recommend you pick it up, although be aware that there are a number of content warnings listed at the front of the book.

Four Star Reads

• Boy Queen by George Lester. Easter readathon again!
• The Rules by Tracey Darnton. And again!
• Harley In The Sky by Akemi Dawn Bowman. Another one from the Easter readathon!
• Atlas Alone by Emma Newman. I love Emma Newman (pretty certain I’ve mentioned this before) and her Planetfall books have all been brilliant, covering a wide range of mental health issues, just in a sci-fi setting. I’ve rated all the previous books 5 stars, but I’m not sure what it was about this one that just didn’t click as well. Maybe because it’s the first one that’s a direct sequel? It can still be read as a standalone, but we’re with characters we met in After Atlas (which is my favourite of the series) and I just found it a bit more difficult to read. I enjoyed the spaceship and gaming setting though, and it was still good, just not as good as the prevous three books. I was sent this as a review copy by Gollancz (although I also bought a copy because I’m an idiot).
• The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman. This was a reread after I finished The Deck of Omens, because I wanted to spend more time in Four Paths, and I greatly enjoyed going back to the beginning of the story.
• Hex Life, edited by Christopher Golden and Rachel Autumn Deering. This was a review copy from Titan Books, and I started reading it in October. And then my dad died and I really didn’t feel like reading about witches anymore. I finally picked it back up a week ago and finished it, and I enjoyed it a lot. There were some stories in there that I hated, but there were a lot more that I liked, and a couple that I loved (but most of them I read in October and I have no chance of remembering which ones now!). It’s a really well put together anthology, and even though not all the stories were for me, there was enough good stuff for me to rate it 4 stars.
• 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne. I got this out of the library after a friend had been raving about The Hating Game by the same author (which the library didn’t have). It’s another adult romance, and although the main character is rather abrasive, I liked her, and the story,  a lot. I notice from goodreads that a lot of people who read this after The Hating Game were disappointed, but without having read that first, I thought 99 Percent Mine was great.
• The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. So many people have been raving about this, and as it was only 99p on kindle and I’d loved Autoboyography by the same authors, I thought I’d give it a go. And it was good! But I didn’t love it, and I downright hated the way Olive is treated for good portions of the book. Still, it was good enough overall to merit four stars.
• That Kind Of Guy by Talia Hibbert. This was the fifth Talia Hibbert book I read in April, and my second favourite. It’s part of the Ravenswood series, set in a small English town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. By the time I got to this book, I knew almost all of the characters already and I don’t know if that made me more invested in the relationship than in the prevous three books, or if it was the fact that Rae, the main character, was my age and therefore more relatable than another 20-something. Whatever it was, I really enjoyed this book and would love to see more of the central relationship.

Three Star Reads

• Word Nerd by Susan Nielsen. I read this right at the beginning of the month in an attempt to clear some of my TBR. The idea was to read a chapter and decide if I wanted to carry on with, except I couldn’t bring myself to stop. This was a nice enough read, nothing special, but I did like Ambrose as the main character.
• Sky Thieves by Dan Walker. Read for the same reason as above. This was so nearly a four star book, but it didn’t quite make it. Very enjoyable though, and I’d be interested in reading the sequel.
• The Girls’ Guide To Summer by Sarah Mlynowski. Again read for the same reason as the above two, again it came close to getting four stars. I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, because I’d heard not great things about it, but it was a fun, summery YA read. I’m not someone who has a huge problem with instalove though, so that might be why!
• The Other Half of Happiness by Ayisha Malik. I talked about this in my Easter readathon wrap up.
• All Out edited by Saundra Mitchell. This is an anthology of LGBTQ+ historical stories, and I so wanted to love it. Sadly, for me, the quality of the stories just wasn’t consistent enough and I was quite disappointed. Some of the stories were great, but it really was a minority.
• A Girl Like Her, Damaged Goods and Untouchable by Talia Hibbert. Grouping these together because my thoughts are pretty much the same on all of them. They were fun stories, I like that Hibbert’s characters have a lot of things going on with them, and the romances in all of them were incredibly hot. There just wasn’t the same depth in these stories as there was in That Kind of Guy or Get A Life, Chloe Brown, hence the three stars.

DNF

• I didn’t finish The Sacrifice Box by Martin Stewart. It wasn’t bad, I just got 100 pages in and realised it really wasn’t my thing and I didn’t want to waste time reading it. It’s a shame, because I’ve met Martin and he was lovely, but this type of book just isn’t for me.

And that’s it for April! I can’t tell you how many books I’ve acquired in April because I completely failed to keep track, but there’s at least seven in the above list, plus I pre-ordered a copy of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L D Lapinski, which arrived on the 30th.

I suspect May will be a quieter reading month, not least because I’m back in the office two days a week instead of sitting at home constantly. However, I did finish a book this morning and I’ve bought four which are all due this month, so maybe it won’t be as quiet as I expect!

Let me know in the comments if you a) managed to make it through that screed, b) if you’ve read any of the above books, or c) what you’ve been reading!