My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC of Martyr! out in the UK now! 😍 I had high expectations for Cyrus’s story, thanks to @openbookopen’s joyful love for it, and I wasn’t disappointed. Martyr! is one of those all-consuming stories where I fall so deeply for the characters that I’m loath put it down for a minute when I’m reading. This in turn means… I take no notes for reviews 😂 These are the type of books that make you forget you’re reading, you’re so caught up with Cyrus, Ali, Arash, Roya, Zee, their intertwining stories, the glorious messiness of their lives. If I do have one criticism, it’s that I agree with Traci of @thestackspod, that Cyrus’s narrative voice is so strongly defined that it leaks into a few of the other characters’ POVs as well.

.

But not all of them, and as well as obviously Cyrus’s sections, his mother Raya’s were my other favourites. Queerness suffuses this novel in so many ways, and I hadn’t been expecting Raya’s devastating storyline. I think one of the biggest indicators of excellent characterisation is when I want to read whole novels based on side characters, which is exactly what I want from Raya.

.

Although the content is often bleak - alcoholism, homophobia, terminal illness - there’s such a playful quality to Martyr!, peppered with humour and pop culture references that give an unexpectedly buoyant feel to a book whose main character is obsessed with death.

.

One for the reread pile I think, since there’s just so much to unpack, appreciate and rediscover!