Narrator: Erin Bennett 3/5 stars
Story overall 4/5

In Boston, Massachusetts, a developed form of the rabies virus is affecting animals and being passed onto humans with an alarming incubation rate. When 8-months pregnant Natalie witnesses her husband killed by an infected person, and is bitten herself, she turns to her best friend Ramola to save her and her baby before the virus takes hold. What happens next is an intense race against time for the two women.

I really enjoyed this book, and my enjoyment of it surprised me as I had seen some reviews that weren't so complimentary. This is my first Paul Tremblay book and this may have worked to my advantage as I went into this story with little to no expectations of what to expect. I also love any form of media that focuses on a zombie-like virus - particularly books - obviously, and this take on the virus was done really well and was probably the most realistic form such a virus could potentially take in our own society.

It's definitely eerie reading about the start of a pandemic during an actual pandemic and for those who might have Covid-anxiety - you may want to give this book a miss for a while. The talks of government mandated quarantine, queues outside pharmacies and grocery stores and hospitals stretched to breaking point was very familiar indeed. In fact, I actually felt emotional at one point in this book thinking about health care workers who strive to look after everyone at the risk of their own health during such pandemics.

I really recommend this book via audiobook as I think the pace and intensity of the story lends itself really well to such a format. The story is truly a race against time as neither the readers nor characters know if Natalie will succumb to the virus, and if she and her unborn baby will survive. I found myself really looking forward to going out for my walks just so I could listen to more of this story and I finished it really quickly (audiobooks normally take me longer to read).

4.5 stars

I hand Elizabeth Wein my heart on a platter every time I begin one of her stories, and she smashes it to a pulp each time with characters and stories full of love and feeling and the immeasurable sense of loss and destruction that WW2 brought with it.

In 1940, 15-year-old Louisa is reeling after the sudden loss of her mother and her father in separate bombing incidents. Now, Louisa sets off to Scotland where she has been hired to care for an elderly German woman. When she arrives, Louisa immediately becomes a member of a secret operation that involves a German soldier spy and an Enigma machine that can crack German code. Enter Jamie Beaufort-Stuart (Yes, OUR JAMIE from Code Name Verity) who uses the cracked code to keep himself and his squadron one step ahead of the German fighter planes eager to take them down.

I loved this book which isn't really a surprise as I love Elizabeth's writing, and how she incorporates amazing WW2 stories that have a lot of research and fact to back them up and connects them to younger characters doing their best to save their country. There is an earnestness and a youth to Louisa that I loved, and which was missing slightly in the other two books in this series (minus The Pearl Thief as that is a prequel set well before the war) as the characters we meet (Julie, Maddie and Rose) are all well-versed and involved in the war effort. In this book, we really feel Louisa's urge to help out in some way and the frustration that her age is stopping her (and her belief that her Jamaican birth and her skin colour may stop her from doing so).

There is a wonderful relationship here too between Louisa and Jane - the older woman she is hired to care for. There's a fragility to the relationship due to Jane's mental health, as well as her aging body - not to mention her fear that any moment she will be taken away just for being German despite living in England most of her life.

Ellen from The Pearl Thief is also a character in this book and we see her struggle with her own secret that she is a traveller and her fear that people will treat her differently when they know. Her secret bonds her to Louisa and Jane as they all feel like outsiders. I would love another book in this series that follows Ellen after the events of this book as she is a terrific character, and she deserves a whole novel just for her (with cameos from her brother, and hopefully Jamie as well).

The plot with the Enigma machine was really interesting, and I loved the intense moments when the German soldier was in the room but I have to say that my brain was not made for code or anything of that nature so while some readers may love the way Louisa and Jane were able to work with the Enigma machine, it probably went over my head a bit and I loved the characters themselves and the relationships in this book.

I should mention that Julie from Code Name Verity also makes a lovely cameo appearance in this book too!

This book was written after Code Name Verity but takes place BEFORE it. However, I would actually think reading in publishing order is still the way to go with this series. The Enigma Game fleshes out Jamie's backstory and brings to life snippets that he shared in Code Name Verity. But there's something lovely about reading The Enigma Game last and getting those thrills when your favourite characters show up or are mentioned.

I also loved the author's note in this book that explains the research Elizabeth Wein undertook for this book, as well some interesting historical facts about German defectors, code breaking machines and the Blenheim squadron. I thought it brilliant how she talked about coming up with this story that slotted in with the canon she had already written about Jamie in Code Name Verity and why she also thought it important to include West Indies characters' like Louisa in the war-story as it is a population who committed themselves to the war effort yet rarely get any kind of glory.

I can't recommend this enough for fans of Code Name Verity or people looking for amazing WW2 stories that center around younger characters with heart and spirit.

When Linnet's reputation is tarnished because of a rumor, she is sent away to Wales to meet Piers Yelverton, Earl of Marchant, who she is arranged to marry. But Piers, left crippled as a child due to a terrible accident, has an equally terrible temper to alongside his injury and is unwelcome to his new fiance despite her extraordinary beauty. Can Linnet charm Piers into marriage? And can she crack the 'Beast' and discover the kind soul he's hiding deep inside?

This was a wonderful palate cleanser of a read, and as is a given with a great regency romance is full of charming characters, witty dialogue and a romance that will sizzle your baby hairs as there's just so much heat. I loved Piers and Linnet's moments together and how Linnet was so much more than her beautiful face - proving to be intelligent, sharp and full of kindness for the patients treated by Piers in the castle.

There is a lot of great steamy scenes in this book between the two, and honestly there were times I was afraid that the other characters in the room with Piers and Linnet would burst into flames if they were caught in the cross hairs because the chemistry was so intense and so physical at times.

I also appreciated the medical knowledge in this book, and I found it interesting to learn about some of the medical advances of the times and how doctors like Piers had to fight against doctors who still believed in leeches and bleeding to make everything better.

The end of this book honestly had me gripped, and even though I knew it couldn't end in anyway but happy, I still found myself distressed at the potential of Piers and Linnet being separated - even through their own vanity and stupidity.

The book definitely suffers from the trope of two characters insisting they are "so wrong for each other" yet salivating all over each other at any chance they get, which could be frustrating at times but still a wonderful read.

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

Narrator: Candace Thaxton

In this 6-hour audiobook, we follow as a young woman travels with her boyfriend to meet his family for the first time, all while thinking to herself that she may want to end things between them.

This is one of those books where nothing at all really happens yet for some reason, I was utterly enthralled. The story lent itself very well for audiobook form, as the readers are very much inside this girl’s head and following along with her thought process. The feeling and atmosphere of the book is also great as the whole time, despite everything seeming to be okay, something just feels off.

Things build and build with this book until you feel like you’re in the middle of a storm, and you just don’t know where to turn. The ending is definitely really odd, and you really have to twist your mind around it (while having a ‘huh?’ expression on your face the whole time) but I do think it was well done.

I’m not sure if I would have liked this book as much in a regular format, as the intensity of the audiobook really added to my overall experience. I thought the narrator did a really great job, and there was some voice distortions added to the book when certain characters talked that added to the ominous, scary feeling.

This book won’t be for everyone but I recommend giving it a try, and I definitely recommend the audiobook.

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

When Arent Hayes steps aboard a ship headed back to Amsterdam, he's on a mission - to save his best friend and famous crime solver Sammy Pipps from the hangman's noose. Pipps has been arrested on unknown charges by the governor general, and Arent is intent on clearing his name. However, things become complicated when a cryptic message is shared by a leper as they board the ship, who promptly bursts into flames. The crew and passengers are soon haunted by a demon known as 'Old Tom' and everyone's past comes into play as Arent ends up on a mission to not only save Sammy but everyone on board.

For anyone looking for a dark book with an engrossing mystery tangled up with a bit of horror, and solid characters you really feel for - this is the perfect pick! I really enjoyed this book, and I found that everything was laid out really well, and the mystery just kept turning corners, to the point where there were times I felt I couldn't quite keep up with it (in a good way).

I really loved the dynamic between Arent Hayes and Sammy Pipps - the crime-solving duo where Pipps gets all the praise. They typically fell into the small and big partnership with Sammy being light, delicate and clever and Arent big and brawny yet full of intellect and kindness. They reminded me a little bit of Locke Lamora and Jean from The Gentleman Bastards series.

I also really loved the intelligence and strength of all the women on board - from Sara to Lia and Cressjie, as well as Isabel. The women all had really great qualities as well as flaws, and stood strongly next to the male characters in the book without feeling like pale comparisons (which can sometimes happen in historical thrillers where women are often confined by social status).

There were some great jump scare moments in this book, and scenes that really made me feel creeped out. They were described really well, as were many great points in the book and I often felt like I could see the scene play out in a movie or TV show (the candle coming closer and closer to Vos without him knowing for example).

One of the strongest things for me in this book was the utter wretch that would have been life on this kind of ship - from the small cabin spaces (if you were lucky enough to have a cabin) to the constant threat a crew on the edge portrays. There was always an air of danger and darkness from the soldiers to the musketeers.

I did feel like I was pleasantly surprised in this book at different times, particularly with Arent - he was a bit like Shrek - many layers of onion to unpeel.

While the ending and the reveal did feel a bit extravagant, it was also impressive - the rolling out of the whys and hows. At first, I felt it may be a bit over the top but the more I think about the more impressed I am at these characters and all the intricacies laid out within the pages to make everything come together so nicely.

CW: Torture, description of sexual assault

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

High up on the Swiss Alps, a sanatorium turned high-end hotel welcomes Elin and her boyfriend Will as they arrive to celebrate Elin's brother's engagement. But tensions between Elin and her brother Isaac heighten when a snowstorm descends, and Laure - Isaac's fiancée - goes missing. When a body is discovered, Elin's left to investigate while the pool of suspects remain trapped in the hotel together.

I love thrillers and mysteries novels that play along the trope of people trapped in a solitary place together so it has to be one of them, and The Sanatorium did this really well with the added element of the snowstorm to darken the mood, and the creepy past of the sanatorium to heighten the tension and atmosphere.

Elin as a character is one we've all seen before - there is nothing really new about her. She has a past that messed her up, and is something she can't let go of, and she has recent traumas that has increased her anxiety and overall vulnerability. She doesn't come across as a strong character, and at times appears weak and vulnerable. However, I did love seeing the change come across Elin when she switched into police officer/detective mode.

One gripe I had about this book and Elin in particular is I'm pretty sure for the majority of the book all she consumed was a tiny bit of coffee and she maybe had 3 hours sleep at most. I honestly don't know how she kept going. I needed a Gillian Anderson/The Fall detective eating a burger while going through notes moment because god if anyone needed a burger, it was Elin!

I felt gripped by this book, and the story had substance to it though the build up at the start was a bit long. It's not till 50% into the book that the first suspicious body is found, and Elin's investigation really starts.

The murders in this book were also on the gruesome side as well, and there were definitely some that made me feel a bit sick reading how the person was killed. When the masks and dismemberment were added on top of that, it added to the tension and the race against time element to the story.

The ending/reveal wasn't too much of a surprise but I wasn't a fan of the reasons why

I just don't like rape and/or sexual assault being used as a plot device in this way.

.

I think for anyone looking for an atmospheric thriller/mystery book with a unique setting, this is perfect.

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

It's 1999, and Angela is still trying to get used to life as a vampire since being turned a year earlier - and figuring out which ways Buffy the Vampire Slayer got it right, and where it got it really wrong. When Angela meets Chloe, there's a connection but can she really date someone when she sleeps all day, never ages, has super strength and flashes fangs every time they make out?

This was, to say it simple, a really enjoyable book. Two girls meet and fall in love but oh wait - one of them is a vampire! This is a story that has a lot of fun with the vampire trope, and keeps it sexy and mysterious while also adding in all the ups and downs and bumbles that dating a vampire brings. The book lacks the danger and gothic horror of Dracula, and the stupid intensity and dramatics of Twilight. Instead we have a submissions editor whose aunt may be a witch, and an astrophysicist who needs to dine out in goth clubs.

There was an added element of discussion and analysis of toxic, abusive relationships (both physical and emotional) as both women had previous experience of one and we see them both grapple with their past experiences and getting over how it made them feel. Chloe also suffers from severe depressions - I feel like this could have been explored a little bit more in the book. It got a bit lost in amidst everything else going on.

I would love more stories set in this world that has a whole array of fantasy creatures - vampires, werewolves, witches and even guardian angels! But I had a really good time reading this one.