I’m not usually a big thriller reader but once I started this bad boi, I knew it was going to be a “one-sitting” read. There a multiple intricacies and with-held secrets between the six friends and every chapter seemed to end with another unanswered question that kept the pace cracking.

That said, even though I knew the story was meant to be a short, stand-alone thriller, I wanted a little more from the story and character interactions. The story is told through two of the friend’s POVs, and while these contrasting perspectives played a part in stirring the drama, a lot of the crises while being marooned on an abandoned island came from the relationship drama between the friends. It felt like the island setting was only depicted in broad strokes where it could have been utilised more to amp up the tension.

Despite this, the ending took me by surprise and I had a great “a-ha!” moment when it was revealed. If you’re looking for a short and sweet thriller, then this is ya boi! My thanks to HQstories for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you loved Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, or alternatively, you did enjoy it but found the first third slllooooooow, but still managed to enjoy it, this is the book for you! This book is basically the YA answer to said book; faster-paced, with far better representation and more regency romance!

The language is very much Regency based, so the book doesn’t lend itself to speed-reading. The politics are also true to the era the book is based in, so expect an artful exploration of senseless racism and sexism of the time. However, the magic descriptions, the wit and the fantastically eccentric cast of characters make this book a true delight to read..

This book was unexpected in many ways. It explores the many ways you can love and be loved using small snippets of Adelaide’s life, with many of the situations shown in a few possible incarnations and their consequent ripple effects.

While the story was easy to read, the narration
occasionally collapsed
into random verse
with no rhyme
or reason.
And it felt like my
brain was having a
seizure
trying to read
this book.

Which, admittedly I would’ve analysed the heck out of this gimmick in high school English Studies, but while reading just for fun, it made my head hurt.

I also didn’t feel that connected or invested in Adelaide’s story-line, and instead, I found Adelaide’s 15 year old brother’s story added more gravitas to the book.

Toby is a recovering addict and navigating the stormy waters of gaining back his family’s trust and re-building his sense of self after going to rehabilitation therapy. Adelaide’s journey her own self-worth seemed to pale in comparison to parts of Toby’s narrative.

My thanks to Hot Key Books YA for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review..

 

This novella is short. I’m talking shorter than Nick and Charlie. I’m talking short like “I read this in 15 minutes at midnight due to my insomnia” short. 

 

However, I did still enjoy it and it highlights, not only how difficult family gatherings on a national holiday like Christmas can be for someone who is gay and not out to their whole family, but how difficult it can be more someone managing an eating disorder. 

 

But to be sure, you can rely on the fluff of Nick and Charlie’s romance to still keep the novella light (and an adorably illustrated pug puppy by the author herself!). Also, I will always stan Tori Spring, the champion of sarcasm and a strange combo of empathy/apathy. 

 

Marissa Meyer is one of my auto-buy authors, but after the triumphs of The Lunar Chronicles and The Renegades series, this stand-alone fell short for me. 

 

The characters – I strongly disliked Pru, the main character, for a large majority of the novel (but admittedly, many of us are this self-centred, narrow-minded and self-righteous around our teens to some degree and there were a few cringe moments where I saw myself in her…). I realise this made her character arc and development that much more important but she didn’t seem a whole lot better by the end. 

 

The plot – Pru’s acquired ability to cast instant karma on people actually seemed entirely unnecessary to the plot. There was even a point where I completely forgot that it was a plot-point because there is so much story around Pru and Quint working together at the aquatic wildlife sanctuary. 

 

Despite this, I do remain a Marissa Meyer fan, but this contemporary just didn’t do it for me. 

There are currently a lot of feminist fairy-tale retellings being published at the moment; some have hit he target, while others have missed…

For me, Poisoned ticked a lot of boxes. Firstly, morally grey villains. In so many fairy-tales and also in some retellings, the villains are pure evil for evil’s sake, but in reality, most “villains” are the hero of their own story and believe they are doing the best thing. 👿😈

Secondly, entertaining side characters. The 12 dwarves of the fairy tale do make an appearance, in addition to other side characters which does make the book a little crowded, but Jennifer does an excellent job of fleshing them out for the most part and giving them individual voices and personalities. My personal favourite? An anthropomorphic and doting giant spider! 😆🕷

Admittedly, Sophie the main protagonist isn’t compelling to start with and does undergo a character arc but it didn’t feel fully realised and I actually would’ve liked to see some more of the evil step-mother’s side of the story which was tantalisingly fascinating from the start of the story. However, I do like that the romance of the story isn’t a major plot point.

Overall, a light and easy to read retelling of Snow White. Thanks to HotKeyBooks and Allen&Unwin for sending me a copy of the book for an honest review. 🍎

 

I went into this book with high hopes – the blurb reads like a steampunk 19th century Paris version of Six of Crows (which I will always stan) with an exciting magic system relating to a lot of real world history, so I expected to enjoy the start of this (very attractive looking) trilogy. So, what went wrong: 

 

First, the cast of characters on paper is hugely diverse; you’ve got a several multi-racial/LGBT characters, an Indian character and a Jewish character on the autism spectrum. But it felt like so much time was spent on making the puzzles and heists of the book so clever that all the characters seem to read with the same voice and felt quite one dimensional. Speaking of voice, I realise you can take liberties in fantasy books but the dialogue was just too modern and occasionally insipid for me to take it too seriously for the time it was set in. 

 

I also took issue with some parts of the depiction of autism in Zofia – this is particularly personal for me since I feel like a lot of autistic characters often fall into the “Rainman” trope, i.e. being a maths-savant, etc. etc. which the majority of the time, is not accurate and pigeon-holes many autistic people. It’s also reasonably well-documented that girls manifest with autism quite differently and diversely to boys but the dominant stereotype/representation of autism is often how it appears in boys. Zofia’s character feels like a Wikipedia’d version of autism palatable to the masses. I will say this is all totally subjective but being an autistic woman many of these things didn’t sit well with me, but this is just my experience with the book. 

This was a very fun, light and easy read; you can really tell that David had a lot of fun writing this book. It’s a lot less serious than his previous book, Frankly in Love, and full of goofy dialogue (which may be a bit much for the straight’n’serious reader, but being a major goofball, I loved it).

While I say it’s a light read it does a good job of exploring the “shame” someone can feel about their “nerdy” hobbies or passions (i.e. the blank stare you can get when you tell someone you like anime; “So you like cartoons…?”). The story also ties up nicely in the end, which in times like these, that’s all you sometimes want in a nice, light read!