bookswithlydscl's Reviews (639)

4.5*

A companion novel that stands as part of John Marrs' 'Oneverse'. It can be read as a standalone but I recommend reading others in the universe as they make for great reading and add an extra dimension to the story the various Easter Eggs dropped in throughout.

Our setting is a speculative dystopian landscape in near future Britain where people can no longer afford to start or raise families. There is an alternative however, virtual children! For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. 

To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children (VC) has decided to create a reality TV show - one of my favourite tropes in the thriller genre. It will follow ten couples as they raise a VC from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their child or risk it all for the chance of a real baby.

I was introduced to John Marrs through The Marriage Act and loved the twisting, science fictionesque dystopian story and setting and this book is no different. We get multi-POVs as we are introduced to, and follow, our 10 contestants and watch as one by one they are eliminated, culminating in a thrilling and extremely satisfying ending.

We, the reader, are the viewers of the show - willing couples and children to thrive and succeed, gaining favourites and changing our rankings of who we want to win as the story unfolds. There are sudden changes throughout the story that make you realise that no couple or child is safe and much like when watching reality TV you switch allegiances as the numbers dwindle. 

Like all reality TV and multi-pov novels there are weaker story elements. I didn't particularly like the Woody and Tina storyline and the Cadman character was every influencer that I dislike. I will read The Passengers in future however to get a better connection to his character to see if I come round to him more.

Despite these quibbles I really enjoyed this immersive, funny, and disturbing thriller. There's great social commentary and I love how plausible it all is when reflected against the current world. It's fast paced and an absolute page turner and has made me want to continue reading more in this book universe.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan | Macmillan for a digital review copy of "The Family Experiment" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review. 

Just wasn't feeling it.

A highly effective YA dystopian science-fiction story about growing up and learning to make decisions. It is blunt, gets to the point quickly, and enables the reader to make their own minds up about the ending. I love getting to know more about the society behind the story in books like this, so I would love to have more there (a prequel with a behind the scenes view would fit that perfectly for me) but for the purposes of this book it would have taken away from the heart of the story being told.

I don't feel the need to read other books in the quartet as I am satisfied with my interpretation of the ending and how the story as a whole ran. It may not satisfy all but it worked for me.

 Frank and Red needs and deserves all the praise. This book will simultaneously break your heart, make you laugh out loud, wring your hands in frustration and want to hug all of the characters.
It’s a tale of unlikely friendships, family, growing up, love, loss and making ‘interesting’ sandwiches.
A wonderful heart-warming novel that will sit with me for a while and my heart feels full and warm after it! 

3.25-3.50* 

After a tough few years, comfort blanket reads have been my go-to so I've loved the rise of cosy fiction - be it mystery, science fiction or in this case, fantasy, I just can't get enough of low stakes, people driven stories.

In this addition to the subgenre we meet Reyna, a Queen's Guard and Kianthe, an all-powerful Mage who have run away together to set up their own bookish tea shop, far away from court intrigue and fighting. Along with a hardy band of supporting characters and loyal animal companions we go along with them on their adventures as they start their new lives together.

All the elements were there for me to have loved this book - books, tea, queer relationships, a great supporting cast of characters and adorable animal/creature sidekicks, but despite this combination there was something that fell a little flat and to be honest so whilst I liked it, I didn't love it. Also for me as a downside there was actually too much action for it to be truly considered cosy which is what I really wanted out of this. 

I think at the core the relationship also didn't click in the way that others have in different books (i.e. in Legends and Lattes). A powerful mage and a queen's guard are two badass fantasy leads but their relationship lacked confidence and humour so the banter fell a bit flat and I felt that better connections were made with people like Tarly and Mathild. It did pick up towards the end but was a little bit too late unfortunately.

The world created however, is wonderful. It's vibrant and vivid with plenty of scope for further adventures in the future. The bookish tearoom is a wonderful idea and I loved when the book focused on them getting it fixed up and ready for business as that's when the story felt properly cosy and was exactly what I hoped for and wanted.

This was an ideal set up book for a series but doesn't read the best as a standalone. It's fun, with a fabulous setting and a lovely cast of characters. I wish it had clicked better for me but will still check out future instalments to see how the world develops and characters grow.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan | Tor for a digital review copy of "Can't Spell Treason Without Tea" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

I loved this book. I loved taking the time to savour the details of the Count's life as time passes and everything changes but also stays the same. Book 2 was my favourite - The Bees!! And I loved the final third. The ending definitely had me questioning what happened and it felt very bittersweet with several avenues for interpretation that still felt satisfying if you remember different details of conversations and descriptions from earlier in the book.

Not quite a five as there are elements of the story in the middle that made the book drag but there's no denying how wonderful the writing is overall and how vivid and rich the world is that the author has created. Dare I say it - a modern classic?

Was a solid 3 - 3.5* for most of it but the final quarter raised it to a 3.75 - 4* for me. Overall I enjoyed it but didn't necessarily love it mainly as I felt the middle section dragged and the central romance I found a little dull. I think the audiobook helped as the narrators were good and brought it all to life.

Beautiful writing that evokes a flowing river changing course suddenly. I'm really glad I took the time to read this as it was quite a challenging read for one that is so short. At times I did get confused as there is a lot of changing between characters and timelines with no warning.