I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review


Hold Back the Stars is a dystopian/sci-fi romance about Max and Carys - two travellers in their mid-twenties who fall in love in a world where coupling is frowned upon until a later age. The story shifts back and forth from the couple’s first meeting to a point where they are stuck in space together with no hope of survival and only 90 minutes to live.

If I had to describe this story, it would unfortunately be with a “meh.” This book wasn’t terrible but neither was it good. I didn’t like how as a reader I was immediately thrust into Max and Carys’ relationship while they realise they are stuck in space and start arguing with each other (like really, that’s what you’re going to do?). Carys immediately got on my nerves with her repeated, “Oh my god, we’re going to die,” in the first few pages. The problem here was i was faced with characters in a deathly situation and I was suppose to care but I didn’t know them at all, so…I didn’t.

The story eventually picked up for me as it reached its mid-way point.I found the world of Europia and the devastated US and Middle East really interesting and I liked the idea of rotations and the Couples Rule (even though I felt like this ‘rule’ had very little to back it up). I was way more interested in the world in this book than I was with the characters, who remained for the entirety of the book annoying, self-centred and just whatever for me.

This book is mainly a romance set in a sc-fi world. The problem is I was a lot more invested in the sci-fi aspect than the romance and I just didn’t get enough of the world to satisfy.

The ending was…well, it was a bit eye-roll inducing to be honest. I wouldn’t say this was an unenjoyable read and once I got into the book, it was a quick read which I appreciated but I don’t think this is a book I would be recommending to people.

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Kay, Vera, CJ and Saint - four teenagers living in Lourdes, Michigan, in 1968. In love with each other and misunderstood by everyone, the gang make a pledge to jump off the ledge of a local cliff in two weeks time.

TW: Mental health issues, physical abuse, incest, fat phobia.

3.5 stars

This is one of the stories where you have no idea what to think at the start, you think you do in the middle and by the end you’re back to square one but feeling slightly empty like you’ve lost something precious. There’s definitely a lot of depth and emotion in this book, and it’s hidden in the crazy exploits of the kids who are going through so much stuff of their own and not really having anyone but themselves to turn to. Saint has a lot of turned in anger inherited from his father but remains calm, serene but distant on the outside. CJ is gay, and in 1968 that isn’t the best thing to be and he still doesn’t really understand it himself, Vera has a lot of daddy issues, brother issues and also is dealing with a birth defect and then Kay is overweight, had a mother who killed herself and a stepmother she hates. Yeah, lots of issues to explore.

I liked how this book was wild and free at times where things were explored almost accidentally. Because it’s 1968, it’s obvious that a lot of things around sexuality weren’t understood and accepted yet so we see a lot of accidental experimenting with the group such as bisexuality and cross-dressing. It made me uncomfortable at times because it was almost done in a mocking way but at the same time, it was quite beautiful.

I particularly enjoyed Saint and CJ’s sexual intimacy scene. It was beautifully done and I would have much preferred that relationship over Saint and Vera as I hated it.

I enjoyed most of the characters except Vera who had the most issues out of all the gang but was the most horrible and pushed the others into situations and thoughts that they didn’t want to be in, or have. The Pledge was her idea in the first place (i mean, what kind of person strolls up to their friends and convinces them all to join her in a suicide leap).

The last chapter felt a bit drawn out for me, which meant by the time the thing we were waiting for came about, everything felt a bit stale for me and almost emotionless. It was like everything went from psychedelic colour to grey in the space of a few pages and I didn’t really care any more. I enjoyed most of the story though, it was a wild ride.

Would be good for people who liked The Careful Undressing of Love, .

DNF - 20%

This book is about a family who are dealing with the death of a father and now have to organise his home,which they grew up. Some secrets are revealed which rattle anyone. I never got that far as I put this book down at a 20% because frankly I was so bored with it. It just didn't capture my attention at all. This book might be good for anyone who is in the mood for a longer, slow unraveling book but right now, that's definitely not what I want to read.

The Iron Trial follows a young boy called Callum Hunt who begins his training as a mage in a scary but cool magic school called The Magisterium. Callum has been warned about the horrors of the school his entire life by his father, who has shunned the mages since the death of his wife and Callum’s mother but Callum will soon discover things his father never told him, and find friends for the first time in his life.

I’ve wanted to read this forever and I’m so glad I finally picked it up after getting the urge to read a middle grade book as I really enjoyed this book. Naturally, this series has gotten a lot of comparisons to Harry Potter and there’s definitely a lot of things that are similar but I feel like this would happen in any story about a kid going to magic school. However I do think because of the in-depth knowledge and look at Hogwarts and magic lessons JK Rowling gave us in Harry Potter, The Iron Trial fell short for me. I’m the type of reader that when reading about magic, I want to know everything. I want to know what books they’re reading to help study, what they’re covering in all their lessons, what makes up the spells they’re using and I don’t think we got that with this book and I missed it. I wonder if maybe Black and Clare just haven’t got there with how this magic system works (it’s like they have the bones but not the meat yet) but I would just like more, more, more.

I did really enjoy Callum’s tentative friendship with Aaron and Tamara as well as the blossoming flirtatiousness with Celia (I like that the romance seemed more between Celia and Callum for now rather than Callum and Tamara cause yawn, predictable). I also liked how he wasn’t totally against being friends with Jasper eventually. I also, obviously, loved the introduction of Havoc though I don’t understand how they were able to keep him hidden for so long.

The plot was a little bit predictable, I saw a lot of reveals coming a mile off but again, this is probably because this is a middle-grade novel. Weirdly, there are a few things in this novel that reminded me of books I’ve read before such as a Makar needing a human counterweight for more power and control and

Callum’s soul being replaced by another as a baby.

And BOTH of these things I’ve seen in Sarah Rees Brennan’s books who happens to be a close friend of Clare’s. Curious and curioser.

But overall this was a fun read and just what I wanted. I’m definitely going to read on and i can’t wait to see what happens next.

4.5 stars.

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman is a non-fiction, feminist book based around women in the public eye and the status quos they have kicked down and made their own.

This was a really great read and I think it’s one that everyone will be able to identify with, young or old, gay or straight, black or white etc. It covers sports stars like Serena Williams to reality TV celebrities like Kim Kardashian and discusses young celebrities like Nicki Minaj and Lena Dunham as well as older women in the public eye like Hilary Clinton and Madonna. The chapters all focus on one celebrity and a social norm they have either kicked apart or not stood up such as Kim Kardashian and her pregnancy and how she was treated during it, how Hilary Clinton is regarded as a woman in politics and how Lena Dunham flaunts her nakedness despite her body not being the perfect silhouette that’s most often seen on TV and in Hollywood.

I just loved the points that were brought up in this book and I think it’s readable for those who might not read a lot of non-fiction or feminist texts and that’s great. It’s also very appealing to a young, female audience due to the type of celebrities it deals with but it references a lot of women from the 80s and 90s that older women would identify with and recognise as well (and, of course, the chapters about Clinton and Madonna).

Here’s to being an unruly woman and proud of it.

I received a free copy of this book from Penguin Random House Ireland in exchange for an honest review.

Audra Kinney is running away from her abusive husband and ready for a fresh start for her two kids when she’s pulled over on a country lane by a policeman. And her life goes from bad to worse.

That’s all I’m going to say about the plot of this book because i think it’s best to go in completely blind about what is going to happen. That’s what I did and by the time the story got going on the fourth or fifth chapter I was already pacing, frantic and gripped because I didn’t see what was coming and i just couldn’t believe it was happening.

This, like all good thrillers in my opinion, is a fast paced read with snappy, sharp chapters that peak your interest and you just can’t put down until you finish each one and start the next one and so on. Because of this, it took me less than a day to read this book because I was hooked.

The storyline will leave you, as I said, literally pacing up and down with the book in your room because it hints at a subject and the possibility of upcoming scene that no-one ever even wants to think about let alone see happening to characters. It left me a bit disgusted because I just didn’t want to think about it but at the same time, I needed to see everything brought down.

The way Audra was treated by almost everyone in this book was really infuriating as well and just made my blood boil because none was listening to her. It was generally the type of thing that made me want to scream through the page at the characters, and tell them to cop on and listen to her.

This was an absolutely amazing read.

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When meteors strike the earth, London is left to burn to the ground and a satanic cult begin to reign. But amidst the chaos, a blind policeman, a hitman with one arm and a pregnant women might be the winning result everyone needs.

I don’t have a lot to say about this book because event hough I really enjoyed, I’m not 100% sure what exactly happened. The book was very fast-paced and I absolutely flew through it which I liked. I also loved all of the characters like Frank and Paul though I definitely would have preferred better endings for some of them.

This book reminded me a little bit of the TV show The Strain, thought it’s not a vampire story but very apocalyptic and it also has an almost biblical feel to it at times. I would have liked a tighter ending but overall the book entertained me and that’s all I can really ask for.