There is no excuse really not to give this book 5 stars for me - Greta is a 16-year-old who ended up speaking on behalf of the literal planet because she wants a better future for herself and inspired change amongst a generation of people. Amazing!

I really love Greta's speeches as they really get to the heart of the matter which is we need to change our ways now before it's too late. She never gets convoluted with her message, or tries to sound above it all. She's a girl like your sister, your cousin, your friend, who is just trying to make a difference. Her words pack a punch as they should and you can't help but want to rise up and fight alongside her.

While there is repetition in this book due to Greta sometimes saying the same things in her speeches, I can't fault that with the book itself. Greta's speeches were written to be spoken to crowds of people, not to be compiled together into a book. They do what they are suppose to do for those hearing them at the time.

I also found Greta's narration of the audiobook really soothing. She has a lovely voice to listen to, and I have to admit, I fell asleep at one point because I found it so nice! And this is not a fault for me, it was late and my mind was an anxious mess because of the covid-19 crisis at the time, so the fact this book soothed me was a good thing. It was also a good time to read it for me too because it made me think of all the ways the planet would be getting a break from humankind as we all stayed away, locked indoors!

I really recommend this as a book and as an audiobook to listen to.

4.5 stars

Stella Greene is trapped in an abusive marriage, and her next-door neighbour Rea Brady is trapped within her own home by her fears and anxiety, and is unable to help Stella on the nights she hears her husband shouting. As the two women tentatively begin to get to know each other, and let each other into their lives, they both begin their own journeys in facing their past and overcoming their fears and obstacles.

This was a really great read that sucked me straight into the world of Derry Lane (which seemed to be somewhere between Dublin's Clontarf and Howth?) and I loved how much I instantly began to feel for all of the characters. I loved Rea instantly though I kept picturing her as an elderly lady and she was actually quite young, only about 60! She was tough but full of kindness, and very funny, but also full of sadness too. I liked Stella but as Rea stole the show for me.

This is a book that will just sweep you along with the story and you laugh and cry with all of the characters. There are some really emotional and traumatic moments, especially when a past POV is introduced from a girl called Skye in 2004. You just know you are in for it when it clicks what is going to happen there. I do think Skye's parts were very powerful and because of the reality of her situation and the tragedy of it, I found myself wanting to know more about her rather than Stella and Rea at times.

I liked the cast of characters, though Stella's husband was a bit black and white in terms of his violence, and also sometimes appeared a bit stupid. He was so controlling but then she was left alone all day to do whatever she wanted more or less, so I think parts of this control wasn't as believable as I've seen in other novels that have covered domestic abuse (Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris for example, though that was extreme). The hairdresser friend (whose name escapes me as I write this!) was lovely and fierce but did suffer from the stereotypical GBF tropes I've seen in other novels.

I really enjoyed this a lot and definitely recommend it for people looking for a contemporary read with a hint of serious.

Following on from The Call, The Invasion follows characters Nessa, Anto and Aoife as they attempt to eradicate the threat of the fae from Ireland and allow the children of the island to grow up in safety once more, without the fear and threat of the dreaded 'call.'

The Invasion starts pretty much within a few weeks from the ending of The Call and as readers, we're mostly following Nessa and Anto now they have left survival college and survived their call, with some chapters from Aoife's point of view who is still in college and anxiously waiting her own call. I really liked that we got to see some of the rest of Ireland in this book as The Call was more or less only based in the college or in the Grey Lands. In The Invasion, readers see what adults are doing to keep the country more or less running, and how those who survived their call and didn't become completely messed up have lived their lives since then. And how citizens of Ireland are not really free to do anything they want anymore as the existence of Irish people is constantly threatened by the fae.

One of the problems I had with The Call, and continued slightly in The Invasion, is that the age of the characters feels very unbelievable. They are only 14 years old and they talk and act like adults most of the time. I did appreciate that Anto had some moments in this book were he was a scared and emotionally frustrated and confused teenage boy which reminded me that he was indeed only 14.

Seeing more of the Grey Lands in this book was also so intriguing while also at the same time horrifying. There is nothing about the landscape that is comforting or nice in any way, and I just love how the fairy folk are written in this and how they responded to Nessa in this one.

The ending felt a little abrupt and I don't think I was completely satisfied with Aoife's epilogue and how everything was neatly tied in a bow. It felt a bit too cheerful considering everything that had happened. I was left with some more questions -

what happened to the old fairy in the jail? Did we ever find out? Why did time seem to stop for the rest of the world as Ireland was captured by the fae for 25 years?! What really happened to Nessa and Anto - how did they get back to Ireland from the Grey Lands???

Overall, I liked this book but I definitely liked The Call more!

Nessa is 14 years old and is living in a very different Ireland from today. The Aes Sidhe are back for revenge after being tricked by the Irish of old into getting trapped in The Grey Land. Now, Ireland is cut off from the rest of the world - no-one can get in or out - and the teenagers living on the island are being Called by the Sidhe, disappearing from our world and reappearing in theirs to be hunted and tortured. Irish teenagers are now being specially trained to try and survive their Call but Nessa is crippled due to childhood polio and no-one believes she can possibly outrun the dangerous Fae.

This was such a great book and a haunting, thrilling read. I loved that even though the Ireland this book is set in is very different to the Ireland I'm living in today it still felt very real and authentic. I enjoyed all the dialogue and liked that a majority of the people, especially teenagers, spoke gaelic (or Sidhe language). The teens just felt very Irish to me but there was also other characters in the book who weren't Irish such as the instructor and survivor Nabil who is French and Muslim, the American Sergeant Taft who used her entrapment in Ireland to teach the young how to survive the Sidhe. I also enjoyed that Nessa had a disability - she is crippled due to childhood polio, an illness that couldn't be treated because Ireland is cut off from the rest of the world and its medical resources, and her disability is used against her by other characters a lot and she has to fight every day to make others believe she can survive the Call, and at least deserves the chance to train to survive. I love how she finds ways to use her disability to her advantage - her legs are weak so she makes her arms and upper body incredibly strong, she can't run so she makes crutches out of tree branches to fly along the ground. She was a great character with a lot of visible and invisible struggles and she was great to watch as she grew and developed and got over some of her challenges, particularly the emotional ones.

This book is fast-paced and doesn't take much time to read once you get into the book but it's a scary one. It as scary for me in how it implied things but didn't describe everything. It's very clear in the book that nine out of ten teenagers will be killed during their Call and more often than not, the things done to them by the Sidhe are dreadful. The characters we do get to know and read their Call - none of their injuries are described in full or in detail but it's still enough to keep your fear up and your pulse racing. I was so scared for all the characters as you just had no idea who would survive or not.


I think the one thing for me that I didn't like was the age of Nessa and her friends, and Anto. I would have preferred for them to be older as they seemed a lot older. They were not characters that read young. For me, Nessa and Anto would have all read from 16-18, definitely not 14.

Overall, I loved this book. It was so thrilling and had me on the edge of my seat. I really recommend this book to everyone, especially those who love reading books about Ireland, Irish folklore and Irish people in general!

Audiobook narrator: Sasha Pick

Rose Justice is an American courier pilot working for Great Britain during World War 2 when she is captured in enemy territory and transported to Ravensbruck women's concentration camp. During the six worst months of her life, Rose learns what it means to fight to survive, and meets an incredible group of women who help pull her through.

This book was a wonderful, emotional read and I can't recommend it more enough and also recommend the audiobook which was fantastic. I definitely think people should read Code Name Verity first as though you follow a different character, the timeline is a year following Code Name Verity, and there are spoilers. Some past characters do show up in Rose Under Fire, which is really nice!

There are some really tough moments in this book but just liked CNV, female friendship and camaraderie is one of the main storylines in this novel and I loved it. The women Rose meets and the stories she hears are utterly unbelievable yet really happened. The characters, like Roja and Irina, are tough as old boots yet full of kindness and feeling.

There were moments that made you hold your breath, such as when Rose finally tried to escape with her friends. I thought it lost some of the flavour of the story when there was such a big time gap between when Rose left the camp to hearing the trials of the Nazi doctors but I do appreciate seeing how victims were involved in such trials, and the trauma they still had to suffer.

Milkman follows the life of an 18-year-old girl living in Northern Ireland (most likely Belfast I think) during the troubles. The girl, who remains unnamed, is like many of her time and her life has been touched multiple times by the tragedies and horror that came with the Troubles and her life is ruled on both sides - the IRA and the state police.

The narrative style of this was very interesting and I really loved it, and I found myself very drawn to particular characters and wanting them to appear in the story more. I will say that this book is very exhausting to read. I found myself really having to concentrate on the story and because there are a lot of long sentences, and the narrator jumps between story threads and reminiscing so often, if you get distracted by something for a couple of seconds, I found myself having to reread parts because I wouldn't know what she talking about then.

The portrayal of life as an ordinary person with no particular political affiliation during the Troubles was done really well here. It was obvious the tip toed line everyone had to walk down constantly - always afraid of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing lest either side came down upon them. The neighborhood are all there for one another but equally are quick to judge and pry their noses into everyone's business, and spread stories that are unverified and untrue.

This book mostly made me feel uncomfortable which wasn't a particularly nice feeling but it was a strong feeling, and I feel like that was a plus for the book. The majority of the story is about this girl being stalked by the Milkman - who is 41 years of age to her 18 years. We hear as readers again and again, the stress and anxiety the narrator feels because of this obsession the Milkman has about her and how no-one is believing her when she says that the relationship they are purportedly having is not so. It's a horror situation for a victim, and I don't think that was swept aside by the author. It was clear that this situation wasn't 'right' but it didn't mean it was going to be magically fixed up by anyone.

There were a lot of communication mix-ups and difficulties in this story too which often made it annoying to read. I wanted to shake the girl and make her scream her emotions out to everyone but that's not real life either.

This is a book that I don't really know exactly how to review and what I really think of it, and it's one I will have to mull over and discuss with people for some time.

I received a copy of this book from Jo Fletcher Books in exchange for an honest review.

Squib Moreau is a teenager trying to make ends meet and make things better for him and his hardworking momma where they live near the bayou in Lousianna when an encounter with the local constable out to get him, ends up introducing Squib to Vern - the world's possibly last dragon. Vern is a foul-mouthed, vodka-guzzling creature with a hatred for humans but the need for an assistant whom he finds in Squib.

This is an interesting, humorous book that while not terribly complicated does its job right which is to entertain the reader. This is urban fantasy involving a dragon rather than straight up high fantasy which leaves a nice twist on the story because we have a dragon who wears clothes (and in my mind sounds exactly like Matthew McConaughey), and loves to watch Netflix all day.

I liked this book. It was a very fast-paced read and even though it takes place over the course of a few months, it felt like it only took place over a few days. Everything happened quite quickly in it and there were some gruesome moments in this book that turned mu stomach a bit (Hooke versus Waxman).

There's a lot of cursing and crude language in this book which I did tune out a bit. The book was very male-centric. The majority of the small cast of characters are male and they all speak and act like red-blooded straight males, members swinging about. The only proper female character in the book is Squib's mom who is only in a few scenes and a lot of the times she is mentioned is in a sexual way by Hooke.

I think well-versed fantasy readers will enjoy this as a bit of fun, and anyone who loved Artemis Fowl will enjoy the action and more mature humour in this book. I do think this is probably a good book for people who may have gotten back into reading recently and want to try fantasy/urban fantasy out. I can see a lot of men who may not read a lot, enjoying this book due to the violence, occasional gore, humour and just maleness of the whole story.

I received this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In 1617, off the coast of Vardo in Norway, a terrible storm killed over 40 men in mere minutes, leaving the women to fend for themselves. In this story, Maren is helping to keep her family alive when Commissioner Cornet arrives on the island to do the work of 'god' - aka identify witches - and brings with him in young wife Ursa. Maren and Ursa befriend each other as Ursa's husband begins to sow terror and discord among the island.

I was really excited about this book and then when I marked it to read, I felt a bit nervous because I realised I had read another book by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (The Deathless Girls) and felt disappointed by it. So I was afraid it might have been an issue with me not gelling with her writing, and that I may not enjoy this one as much. But I'm glad to say I was wrong, and I really enjoyed this.

I didn't know anything about the witch trials in Norway but I definitely want to read more books set in this time as I found Scandinavian way of life portrayed in this book utterly fascinating. Vardo really comes to life in this book, and the way women have to work so hard to just survive there - with and without their men. A portion of this book is consumed in grief due to the story and Maren losing not only her brother and father, but also her betrothed and her future independent life away from her mother. That grief comes in dirty bodies, and greasy hair and it's very present and oily in the story, and I really think it was done very well.

Ursa's arrival in her yellow dress definitely broke Maren's story up between her grief and her healing. A bit of something new to lift Maren's spirits though in the end Ursa's husband is anything but good news.

I liked Ursa as a character though I feel at times we got more from Maren. Ursa always felt a little bit like a puppet, reacting to those around her in a delayed manner rather than choosing to lead a conversation. The relationship between the women is a sweet one, and while I would have liked more tender moments between them to build up their romance organically rather than just being told they liked each other, I still liked their relationship.

This book honestly makes me hate men, and also religion, but mostly men and their fear of independent women. There were moments when reading this that I wanted to scream in fury at other women like Toril who like to tear down other women just because, to men like Cunningham and Cornet who just love to see a woman on her knees.

I definitely recommend this book. It is not the happiest read but the atmosphere and the sense of place is wonderful. I'd highly recommend looking up pictures of Vardo as well while you read to get a feel for what the island really looks like and imagine what it looks like in the 17th century.

Perfect for fans of Burial Rites by Hannah Kent!