Originally posted to I Should Read That

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a spoiler-free review.

 Here’s my unpopular reading opinion: I feel like the feminist dystopia subgenre hasn’t moved past The Handmaid’s Tale. While I really love that book, every feminist dystopian novel seems to be heavily influenced by it. So you can imagine my delight when I discovered that The Kingdom is a fresh and unique take on the subgenre.

For me, this story is all about balance and Rothenberg did an amazing job of balancing sweetness and rot, fantasy and reality, and optimism and horror. The book is filled with beautiful imagery of a magical world where colours seem brighter, people are kinder, and all your wildest dreams come true, but there's an undercurrent of rot and filth as soon as you look beneath the surface. The world isn’t subtly eerie and creepy -- Rothernberg lets you know upfront that this place is unsettling and awful, particularly through Ana’s experience as a Fantasist (even the title is creepy!). I love that The Kingdom doesn't pull any punches in this sense because it perfectly counterbalances Ana's sweet and innocent nature -- you spend the entire book with your hands over your eyes fearing for Ana as she slowly comes to realise the horrible things that are happening around her. 

I thought that the addition of court testimony from Ana’s trial helped tease out the narrative by adding more, often less naive, voices form the humans around her -- you really get a great sense of how awful Ana’s situation is, despite the fact that she may not realise it herself. The tragedy of the book is, unbeknownst to Ana, the treatment of the Fantasists and the other hybrids living in the park while they deliver human dreams and fantasies.

Ana herself is a really interesting character. I loved her growing perspective and her shifting understanding of her situation. The more she sees and experiences in The Kingdom, the more unsettled she gets, reflecting exactly what the reader feels. Rothenberg does a great job of balancing Ana's naivety with intelligence and self awareness -- there wasn’t a single point that I got annoyed with Ana and her innocence. I also really enjoyed the other Fantasists, particularly Nia, and how they interact alone versus among their caretakers and out in The Kingdom. With a well-rounded cast, the book really comes to life.

The ending of The Kingdom felt a little rushed, partially because I’m sure it was setting up a sequel, however I enjoyed the book overall. The Kingdom is a twisted, eerie tale that will keep your eyes glued to the page until the very end. I'm desperate to get my hands on the sequel!

 CW: animal abuse and very, very (very) heavily implied rape

Originally posted to I Should Read That

I hadn’t read anything by Powell before, but he just won the British Science Fiction Award for his full-length space opera Embers of War. I wanted to give him a try, and Ragged Alice look great! It is a totally different kind of book from his space opera, but it showcases his excellent writing. Ragged Alice follows DCI Holly Craig as she returns to her hometown in Wales to investigate gruesome murders. The catch? Holly can essentially see people’s souls and thereby their guilt.

I ended up really enjoying this book. Powell does an amazing job of taking a well-worn crime fiction trope and twisting it on its head. Holly Craig, at first glance, seems like the stereotypical fictional detective. She’s a solitary person, an alcoholic, and running from her past. However her paranormal talents, although a light touch, add an incredibly interesting layer to her character and the story. She's such a captivating person and I really loved reading her point of view.

I did feel that the police bits were more interesting than the paranormal bits, especially when more layers of the story are uncovered. However, I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a short and thrilling read.

CW: Gruesome murder

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

Ever since I caught wind of She Who Became the Sun, I have been dying to get my hands on it. I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of this book from the publisher and I devoured it in the spring, but have been totally unable to put my adoration of this book into thoughts. As the publication date creeps closer, I'm going to try my best because you all need this book.

This book is filled with morally grey, ambitious characters living in political instability. We get perspectives from characters on both sides of the conflict, giving us a well-rounded story that helps explain and define character decisions and interactions. We have two main points of view — Zhu the monk who takes on her brother's identity, and Ouyang, the eunuch general leading the troops of a Mongolian prince. While they are wildly different characters, they are both flawed and morally grey in fascinating ways. I totally fell in love with Zhu's storyline and voice from page one, but it took me longer to get attached to Ouyang. However when his storyline began unfolding about halfway through the book, the book was unstoppable and I could not put She Who Became the Sun down.

The gender politics in this book are absolutely fascinating. Sexuality, gender identity and conformity, and gender roles are all twisted, examined, or critiqued through each character's storyline. As a straight, cis woman, I'm definitely not the best person to provide in depth commentary on these facets of the book, but WOW they absolutely blew me away. I can't think of another book that has tackled these issues as well as Parker-Chan, and I highly encourage you to seek out reviews from LGBTQIA+ reviewers, especially non-binary and non-gender conforming readers.

She Who Became the Sun is a gorgeous work of historical fantasy that absolutely must be on your TBR. It's morally grey, casually gay, and absolutely brilliant piece of fantasy writing and I am in total awe. Also, that ENDING. Please give me the second book...now.

Content warnings: Battlefield gore

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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I don't always get on with non fiction — I sometimes struggle with a more formal or academic writing style — but Pandora's Jar is an incredibly readable book that was incredibly insightful and eye opening.

Like lots of kids, I was obsessed with Greek mythology — I got every book of myths from the library that I could — but I never really re-examined it as an adult. Pandora's Jar is a perfect book for someone in my position — wanting to know the actual stories, but also examining the characters in an insightful way.

The book features ten women from Greek mythology, some who were very familiar and some who I didn't know well at all. Haynes dedicates about 30 pages to each woman, explaining their tale and the social context, as well as diving into what such a character may have been thinking or feeling and her motivations. Naturally, the most interesting women features are villainous women like Medea and tragic figures like Jocasta. There is so much to be gleaned from these characters and Haynes provides a jumping off point.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Greek mythology — whether it was a childhood interest or something read as an adult — and feminist readings of classic texts. I'm looking forward to not only picking up more of Haynes books, but more Greek mythology in general.

Content warnings: discussions of rape, sexual assault, enslavement; child murder; murder

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I read ACOTAR about 4 years ago back in my early blogging days and I haaated it. I tried going soft because I was scared that all my new book friends would hate me, but oh man I truly disliked this book. However, since getting sucked into the world of bookish TikTok, I decided to give it another try. Did I end up enjoying it more? A bit. Is it a perfect pandemic read? Totally.

Having now read the first three books, I can confirm that ACOTAR reads like an extremely long prologue for the main story, which starts in book 2. Pretty much everything from the first book is chucked out and we start fresh in ACOMAF, but the context of book 1 is definitely needed.

While I had a good time reading this — I absolutely TORE through it — thinking back I can confirm that I don't actually like any of the characters. There are a few okay ones (I really like Nesta), but for the most part they all kind of blend together. This doesn't change through the series for me, but you know what? It's still a fun read and was perfect for banishing third lockdown blues.

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I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

This short horror novella wins the award for the simultaneously most gorgeous AND horrifying cover. In fact, it is the cover that actually drew me to this book in the first place. As someone who is trying to read more horror books, I couldn't resist!

Nothing But Blackened Teeth is more of an understated book that I would have imagined -- and that's not a bad thing. Khaw's writing is lyrical and although there are plenty of horrifying moments (I won't be able to comfortably look in a mirror for a few weeks), I felt that this book was more about the total breakdown of this group of 'friends'. Tensions are high before the haunting begins, and its just a powder keg waiting to go off. This is the kind of thing I love in horror media (see: my love of The Thing and the incredible tensions between the group), and Khaw did a great job creating that high-tension atmosphere.

This book is tense, creepy, and has excellent horror imagery. It was a great read, and perfect for your Halloween TBR (but maybe keep the lights on).

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I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

I am most familiar with Christina Henry's retellings (The Mermaid is a personal favourite), but between last year's The Ghost Tree and her latest book — Near the Bone — I'm becoming a huge fan of her horror titles. Near the Bone is a fantastically tense, incredibly immersive, and totally brilliant bit of horror writing. Like most tense, thriller-type books I can't say too much for fear of giving things away, but I'll do my best with a short review.

Told from Mattie's perspective, we learn early on that something isn't quite right and perhaps things aren't what they seem. Henry teases out the facts of Mattie's life in a masterful way, filling every page with tension from beginning to end. I literally could not put this book down — fun fact: I cooked dinner and brushed my teeth with this book in hand. What better endorsement could you want? I was totally hooked and loved the way this story unfolded.

Mattie is a fabulous character. Seeing her complex situation, emotions, and ingrained behavior and reactions is heartbreaking, yet so satisfying when her survival instincts kick in as she's determined to escape the monster in the woods. She has a deeply satisfying story arc and she's an incredibly compelling character.

Again, I just can't say much more about this book without giving anything away. But I can confidently tell you that if you're a fan of supernatural horror, thrillers, or tension-filled books in general you absolutely must pick up Near the Bone. This is easily one of my favourite books of the year!

If you're curious about content warnings, please do message me! I generally don't believe in the whole 'content warnings count as spoilers' thing, but I think this is one of the rare cases in which that might be true.

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Malibu Rising is the latest, highly anticipated release from Taylor Jenkins Reid — fans of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones. While this book has crossover with the other two — they take place in the same 'universe' — Malibu Rising is a very different story. It depicts the dark side of fame and the ones it can leave behind.

This book twists together multiple points of view and timelines to tell the story of a single family — one mother and four children are abandoned by Mick Riva after his rise to incredible fame. Fame has been a destructive force for these people, but it also lifts them out of poverty. I love the duality of the narrative and the attitudes of the Riva family toward their and Mick's success. The result is a complex tale with conflicted characters that I couldn't put down.

Nina, who I think is safe to say is the main character in this book, has a particularly complicated relationship with fame and it makes her story arc is so interesting. She's a bit of a doormat at the beginning of the modern storyline, but because we get the full story on her background and how she grew up, she's actually fascinating and her story arc is so good. She isn't the only member of the family with complicated relationships. The Riva's aren't necessarily easy to love, but they're fascinating and I loved reading each of their points of view.

There are two things that I particularly loved about this book. The first is the randomly inserted points of view of partygoers in the modern storyline. Juggling multiple points of view is quite a difficult feat and Reid pulls it off perfect, giving us a glimpse into the ridiculous excess of the partygoers and the wild night unfolding. The second thing I loved is the wonderful depiction of rural Malibu. Having grown up in Los Angeles, I'm pretty familiar with Malibu. I think I can safely say that the opening of the book is the most perfect description of that area that I've ever read.

I think Malibu Rising will divide fans of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones, but for me this book was a winner.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

This was my first Junji Ito book, and I have to say that I found it quite underwhelming.

I think my big issue with this book is that Remina has absolutely no agency and doesn't do anything except cry -- I'm not even exaggerating. I like my characters -- female or otherwise -- to actually DO things. The story is really interesting and I loved the exploration of mass hysteria and mob mentality, but I couldn't get behind this one. Having now read more of his work, I know Ito can do much, much better than this.

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


I don't read many dual-authored novellas, and was incredibly curious about this one. I'd never read anything by Peter F. Hamilton, but really enjoy Gareth Powell's writing. While I enjoyed the majority of Light Chaser, I think that the story it was trying to tell felt a little larger than the novella format could contain.

I loved the concept of this book and really liked Amahle as a character, but something about this book felt just a little off. There are some spoilers ahead because I simply can't explain without revealing a little!

Amahle is told that The Bad Thing is happening, and she blindly trusts her information without any real reason. On a superficial level I understand, however if one is going to take the huge steps she does in order to stop This Thing from happening I feel like there would need to be a lot more than blind trust on her part. This is the point that makes me feel like this story was too big for a novella -- Amahle simply doesn't think about what she's told in any critical way. The entire story hinges on this intense sense of trust and it just didn't feel wise on her part -- to the point of actually making some events of the book really uncomfortable.

Again, I really enjoyed bits of this book, but with a large part of the story feeling unbelievable, it was a good read for me that could have been a brilliant one!