Mini-Reviews: Good Girl, Bad Blood; Lore Olympus Volume 2; Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson – 4.5/5

I read Good Girls, Bad Blood in two sittings; the sittings only interrupted by the need to sleep and the requirement to work. In this book, Pip & her friends are dealing with the aftermath of the first book and I love that we see those consequences & impacts carried through. It makes the characters feel a lot more rounded to be struggling with PTSD or covering up with humour, and added an extra layer to this book. From the start, it feels quite simple – finding a missing person, but questions & secrets come to light and it seems to be a lot more of a complex mystery than originally thought. Holly Jackson does a great job at pacing her books, revealing things at key moments and tying threads together, that makes for a very engaging read.

Lore Olympus Volume 2 by Rachel Smythe – 4/5

Persephone and Hades’ story continues in the second volume of Lore Olympus. We see them continue to deal with more rumours and scheming while navigating the connection between them. The art continues to be stunning, capturing the emotions of the characters beautifully and contributing to the storytelling in a major way. I really enjoy how the story is modernised, but still seamlessly integrates references to the original setting, such as through the fashion the characters are wearing. I enjoyed seeing more of the other characters, such as Hera, Minthe & Hecate, although I wish some plot lines felt like they were starting to be resolved, I don’t think we’ve had any resolution yet, even for smaller plot points.

Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan – 3.5/5

The adventures of Percy Jackson continue. While these books are very much for a younger audience, Rick Riordan does such a good job of making the content enjoyable to any reader age. They are such fun stories to experience and are quite relaxing to read due to their younger target audience. I really enjoyed how this book allowed us to meet some more of the Camp Half-blood’s members and see some of the side-characters fleshed out a little more. There are some heavy moments and themes tackled, but are tackled well and balance out well with the lighter elements on the book. I am very much enjoyed reading this series, although do still wish I had first read them when I was younger as I think they would have had more of an impact then.

Mini-Reviews: January Audiobooks

I listened to three audiobooks in January: two non-fiction and one fiction (and then started Crime and Punishment which is taking me into February). I do find non-fiction easier to digest as an audiobook, but a lot depends on the tone of the book and the quality of the narrator to keep me engaged. Given it takes me three times as long to read a non-fiction print book than a fiction one, audio does seem the best way to encounter all the knowledge. Fiction can be hit or miss as well as sometimes the writing style doesn’t lend itself to the spoken word whereas others are so much better when listened too, I have yet to figure out the formula there. Luckily this one did translate reasonably well to audio.

Buried by Professor Alice Roberts (narrated by Alice Roberts) – 4/5

An alternative view of history, Buried explores the past through what the dead can tell us. It explores ancient burials and what information we can learn from how people were buried in the past, and what the bones and items they leave behind can tell us. It is both informative as well as engaging and while I am normally wary of authors reading their own books, Alice Roberts does a great job. There are some darker chapters, including a section which talks about infanticide and child mortality, but these are clearly signposted. It’s a very interesting book and I’m now curious to read her previous book Ancestors.

Beyond Evil by Nathan Yates (narrated by Colin Mace) – 3.5/5

A true crime non-fiction book, Beyond Evil discusses the case of Ian Huntley and his murders of two young girls: Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. The author, Nathan Yates, is an investigative journalist who covered the case while it was happening. There is a lot of detail in this book as it describes Huntley’s actions in the run up to the murders as well as his attempted to cover it up afterwards, while also highlighting the role his girlfriend Maxine Carr played. The author isn’t shy about hiding his opinions on the case or the perpetrators which adds another layer to the description of the events. It is well put together and makes for an interesting, if chilling, read.

Lovely War by Julie Berry (narrated by Jayne Entwistle, Allan Corduner, Julie Berry, Dion Graham, Fiona Hardingham, John Lee, Nathaniel Parker & Steve West) – 4/5

Lovely War is a gentle, heart-felt love story told by Aphrodite with help from a few other gods from the Greek Pantheon, against the backdrop of World War two. It’s not particularly fast moving, focusing much more on the characters than plot so is quite a relaxing read and you do end up feeling close to each of the characters. The story is narrated by the gods and, in the audiobook, each god has their own voice actor. This means that the voices for each of the human characters differs depending on narrator, but also makes for interesting perspectives as each god focuses on a different aspect, Ares on the war details for example. I do feel this would probably work better in its print format simply due to the length of the chapters meaning the audio format felt a little disrupted with each new chapter so soon after the last. Even so, I really enjoyed listening to it, and found the story lovely and heart-warming (if a little heart-wrenching at times)

Rosie Reviews: One For My Enemy by Olivie Blake

Title: One For My Enemy

Author: Olivie Blake

Publisher: Pan MacMillan, Tor

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance

Source: NetGalley eARC

Review

A Romeo and Juliet retelling blended with witches, folklore and a criminal underground, One For My Enemy takes all your expectations and turns them on their head. It plays with what you know of Shakespeare’s play, and explores the enmity between the two houses through the eyes of the core players.

The writing is beautiful and creates an atmosphere that fits the story told to perfection – it’s ethereal and mystical while also tense and ominous. It weaves its way around the characters, creating memorable personas and connections, although struggles to translate that to the setting, which feels more of a transient theatre backdrop than a place the characters inhabit.

Of the characters, it’s a limited cast. Each of the main cast easily take on their own personalities, and I enjoyed seeing the cloak of mystery around some of them drawn back as the story progressed. Characters outside the main cast, such as Baba Yaga’s other daughters, failed to feel substantial enough, and I often forgot about them while reading. The daughters we did focus on, however, were fascinating and multi-faceted.

The magic was really interesting to explore, although I did find it difficult to understand the limits or how it functioned in the world, as in some cases the magic seemed all powerful and in others it was heavily limited. There were also other aspects of the world building, such as the different realms, that I would have like to know more about (and that would have made some parts easier to comprehend).

Overall, this is beautifully written story. It wasn’t flawless and there were elements I wish it could have gone into in more detail as I was really intrigued by the world and how the witches fit into it. Even so, the characters really came to life and I loved their schemes and journeys throughout the tale.

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63846909-one-for-my-enemy

Bookshop.org: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/one-for-my-enemy-olivie-blake/7108021?ean=9781035011575

Rosie Reviews: Deepwater King

Title: Deepwater King

Author: Claire McKenna

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: Fantasy

Source: Netgalley

Review

Deepwater King is the second book in The Monstrous Heart Trilogy. Within its pages is a story of magic, sea monsters and intrigue. Arden is a sanguis, descended from a family who can ignite flame with their blood. After the events of the first book, she embarks on a difficult quest to fulfil a promise and escape the fate that has been planned out for her.

I found the first book confused in what it wanted to be and the story it wanted to tell. Going into this book, the plot felt stronger and more focused, with a clear set of characters. Unfortunately, while Arden is a fairly strong character at the start, she kind of loses the plot about half-way through; her obsession with the love interest, Riven, taking over any personality she might have had. Luckily for the book, the secondary characters, led by the delightful Chalice, make up for it.

We get to see more of the world in this book and learn a bit more of the magic. I’m still not quite sure how the magic system works, but I do feel like the lore is starting to fall into place and fog is lifting. I really enjoy the sea setting complete with sea monsters & isolated islands blended with industrial tones. I did find the way that the author chose to present an example of Arden’s other blood-gift a bit frustrating: more awful men obsessed with and lusting after her, unnecessary sex and yet it served to only confused me more as to how the gift worked.

At about the half-way point, we get to see some other character’s perspectives and these were my favourite parts of the book. I really enjoyed these pages and when the perspectives ended, it felt too soon. I do feel like the author was missing a trick by not focusing on these characters instead and having Arden as a secondary character/sub-plot. It was great seeing more of Bellis and those around her, and the world they’d created for themselves, and how each tried to survive.

There were some good parts of this book, and it does make for entertaining reading. It has an intriguing world and some good characters, but is lacking in places. I feel like the series would probably be enjoyed more by those who like romance-focused fantasy, such as Sarah J Maas’ books rather than V.E. Schwab which is what it’s being compared to. I don’t think it was quite the series for me, but, if the first book was something you enjoyed but weren’t fully sure about, it’s worth giving Deepwater King a go. And, if you loved Monstrous Heart, you are bound to love this book too.

Rating: 3/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55697783-deepwater-king

UK Bookshop.org: Deepwater King a book by Claire McKenna. (bookshop.org)

The Book Depository*: https://www.bookdepository.com/Deepwater-King/9780008337179/?a_aid=rosienreads

*I receive a small commission when this link is used to make a purchase

Mini-Review Monday: The Song of Achilles, Girls of Paper and Fire, The Vanishing Stair, I’ll be Gone in the Dark

The end of January and beginning of February led to some rather excellent books being read. Despite ending up in a little bit of a slump at the beginning of the month, I ended up having some wonderful evenings of just curling up beneath a blanket, reading. Invariably, hot chocolate or tea also made an appearance. All the books I ready were completely different. One is a retelling of the Iliad, another is a woman’s search for a real-life serial killer. One is a woman’s forbidden romance in a city of demons, another a girl’s attempts to solve an old mystery. Yet the differences were not absolute. Each book gripped me as I turned the pages and all were written by an author with initials around the middle of the alphabet…

For reference, the way I rate is as follows:

1-Unable to Finish ; 2-Did not enjoy ; 3-Liked ; 4-Really Liked ; 5-Loved

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles retells the legend of Achilles from the focal point of Patroclus, Achilles’ friend and later lover. It follows the two boys through childhood, through training together to, finally, the Trojan War, all the while developing their relationship with each other slowly and naturally. It is a stunning book to read, a loyal interpretation to the story while still breathing new life into it. Madeline Miller brings together the mythological aspects and the human aspects together seamlessly, creating a world that feels real. Well-known characters from Greek mythology appear and each are solid depictions, that fit comfortably into a world teaming with heroes; I particularly enjoyed Odysseus’ appearances throughout the book. As someone who enjoys Greek mythology, I knew how this story would end but that did not make it any less poignant. Madeline Miller did a fantastic job with this book, and I look forward to reading her interpretation of Circe.

Rating: 4.5/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13516154-the-song-of-achilles

The Book Depository*: https://www.bookdepository.com/Song-Achilles-Madeline-Miller/9781408821985/?a_aid=rosienreads

 

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Girls of Paper and Fire is beautiful both on the cover and on the pages within. It follows Lei, a village girl who is forcibly brought to the capital to become one of the Demon King’s Paper Girls (essentially concubines). There she falls in love with another of the paper girls, a forbidden romance that could end her life if discovered. The build of both the romance and the main conflict is slow-burning and so has a much stronger impact when things do finally come to a head. Lei’s relationship with the other paper girls was one of my favourite parts of the book, both in those she easily befriends and those which take a while for her to get to know. The book does revolve quite heavily around themes of sexual assault, but ultimately, it is about the girls finding strength in themselves and each other to rise above the horrors of the royal court. I look forward to seeing where the story goes from here.

Rating: 4.5/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34433755-girls-of-paper-and-fire

The Book Depository*: https://www.bookdepository.com/Girls-Paper-Fire-Natasha-Ngan/9781473692206/?a_aid=rosienreads

 

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

The Vanishing Stair was just the book I wanted and needed to read when I read it. The second book in the Truly Devious series, it follows Stevie as she tries to uncover the mysteries of Ellingham Academy. I ended up devouring the book in to sittings. Stevie is an endearing and enjoyable lead; her personality comes through off of the page and you cannot help cheering for her and her friends. The story itself is intrinsically plotted and threads pay off as answers are revealed (although more questions are raised in the process). I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book – it was a lot of fun, the reveals and twists at the end I did not see coming and it is just a delight to see all the characters again. I cannot wait to see how this series ends.

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29589079-the-vanishing-stair

The Book Depository*: https://www.bookdepository.com/Vanishing-Stair-Maureen-Johnson/9780062338082/?a_aid=rosienreads

 

I’ll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara

I’ll Be Gone In The Dark is a non-fiction account of the authors attempts to track down the identity of the Golden State Killer. Active in the late 1970s and early 1980s, this Golden State Killer raped and murdered countless people, prompting a wave of fear across California. He was an elusive criminal, planning each attack in advance through surveillance and avoiding capture after every attack. The book narrates both Michelle McNamara’s own investigation of the case, including her meetings with investigators and the theories she came across, as well as the attacks which occurred decades before. It is a fascinating book, focusing on the investigation and the victims rather than the criminal himself, and it beautifully captures the author’s own dedication to the mystery. I found it difficult to put down once I started to read and that is partially due to the strength of character Michelle McNamara has as she investigates and writes this book. It is well worth a read.

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35068432-i-ll-be-gone-in-the-dark

The Book Depository*: https://www.bookdepository.com/Ill-Be-Gone-Dark-Michelle-McNamara/9780571345144/?a_aid=rosienreads

 

 

*I receive a small commission when purchases are made through the Book Depository links.

Mini-Review Monday: Mortal Engines, Wonder Woman: Warbringer and A Discovery of Witches

Last week saw the start of Read-O-Rama, a seven-day readathon running from 3^rd March to the 9^th March. With the seven days of reading came seven days of challenges and, while I know the chances of me reading seven books and completing all the challenges are slim, I am going to give it my best shot. So far, I have read two of the books, both of which were fairly equal in my overall enjoyment of them – a trend I hope continues for the rest of the readathon.

Prior to the readathon, and to March, I finished off the audiobook which I had been listening to throughout February, which meant I could start the readathon with a fresh audiobook (alas, I did start another paperback which is currently on hold until the 10^th March).

For reference, the way I rate is as follows:

1-Unable to Finish ; 2-Did not enjoy ; 3-Liked ; 4-Really Liked ; 5-Loved

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

The first book I read for the readathon fulfilled the challenge of reading a borrowed book. Mortal Engines is being adapted for film, with the intended release date of December 2018. As I had not yet read it, despite being a well-loved book of many of my friends, I took this opportunity to venture in.

Mortal Engines is a dystopian novel set in the far future, long after a man called Quirke invented mobile cities, and the world became a mad-max-esque playground (or hunting ground) for moving cities and towns as they hunt and consume each other. It starts in the traction city of London as an apprentice historian meets his hero and the girl who wants to see that hero dead. From there is a massive, crazy chase to uncover the truth and save the world.

One of my favourite things about Mortal Engines is that, despite being a children’s novel, Philip Reeve really does not hold back. Everything in this book is pushed to the limit, from the madness of the hungry towns to the death count (I’m pretty sure it’s on par with Game of Thrones). It’s also a novel that can be read by all ages. There’s very little, beyond the slightly simpler writing and a few childish turns of phrase, which indicate this is a book for younger readers. The only downsides for me really were that Tom, the main character, felt a bit 2D, it was a bit slower paced at the start and a couple of places felt a bit confused. Otherwise, though, I really liked the story. I look forward to seeing it on the big screen.

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/287861.Mortal_Engines

The Book Depository*: https://www.bookdepository.com/Mortal-Engines-Philip-Reeve/9781407152134/?a_aid=rosienreads

 

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

The second book I read for Read-O-Rama fulfilled the challenge for reading a book with ‘rama’ somewhere in the name. Wonder Woman: Warbringer contained those letters and so was one of the few books I could read for this challenge.

Wonder Woman has always been one of my favourite super-heroes – an amazon warrior dedicated to her mission of peace, so when I discovered Leigh Bardugo had written a book about her, I could not wait to read it. The story is a simple quest – Diana must deliver the Warbringer, descendent of Helen of Troy, to Helen’s resting place before she causes a world war to break out. To do so, however, Diana must leave the island on which she was raised and enter the world of mortals for the first time. This is a book about Wonder Woman when she was just Diana Prince.

There is so much to take away and like about this book. Leigh Bardugo is a novelist who has yet to disappoint me and she shines again here bringing the warrior princess to life. While the main story-line is a fairly linear A to B story, the heart of the novel is the characters and the theme of female empowerment and friendship. While romance is touched upon, it is only a very minor part of the novel and only serves to help to distract from a twist later on in the book. More important are the friendships between the female characters and, to a lesser extent, the male ones, as it is these which are the driving forces for the story.

While I do feel like Bardugo missed out on a great opportunity to bring Diana’s bisexuality a bit more into the fore, the diversity in the book is great, especially with all the main characters. The writing is up to Bardugo’s usual excellent standard and I found I kept coming back to the book.

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/287861.Mortal_Engines

The Book Depository*: https://www.bookdepository.com/Wonder-Woman–Warbringer–DC-Icons-Series-/9780141387376/?a_aid=rosienreads

 

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (narrated by Jennifer Ikeda)

I first read A Discovery of Witches in 2016 as a paperback and loved it – it is the first in a trilogy which merges a history with the supernatural. The main character is a witch, Diana Bishop, who has turned away from her powers, instead focusing her energy on studying history (she’s an established academic who has reached tenure). Her life is changed when she inadvertently withdraws an old, mystical manuscript from the Ashmolean and finds herself caught up in the schemes of the supernatural world. The book does veer on the romantic, something which is more noticeable in the audiobook, and part of the reason why the book dropped a full star in rating since when I first read it.

One main difference in paperbacks and audiobook is that in the former you can easily skim over the parts which don’t interest you. This is much less possible in audiobooks. With A Discovery of Witches, the beginning and end of the book revolves around Diana Bishop’s search for answers, her struggles with controlling her magic and her conflicts with the other members of the supernatural world. The middle is predominantly about her relationship with Matthew (a vampire) and, when listening to the audiobook, just went on and on, to the point where I nearly DnF’d this book. Fortunately, my intense dislike for DnFing books got me through and the ending was just what I remembered from my first time reading, with the story picking up and everything from the start of the novel coming together.

So, while I still enjoyed the book, it was let down by the slow-paced middle where very little of interest (to me) happens. I am in two minds about continuing the trilogy as a result. It’s a brilliantly written series which feels realistic and has an interesting story-line. I just don’t want to read two more books where that story-line gets shunted aside for Diana and Matthew’s relationship.

Rating: 3.5/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35114285-a-discovery-of-witches

Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Discovery-Witches-Souls-Trilogy-Book/dp/B004NU711Y/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0

 

*I receive a small commission when purchases are made through the Book Depository links.

Rosie Reviews: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: The Beautiful Ones

Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Thomas Dunne Books

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Source: NetGalley

Review

Take the Belle Époque and then mix in some romance, a fair amount of scheming and a touch of telekinesis. The result is The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. This book is a tale of a girl who dreams of romance, a man who longs to find his love of years gone by and a woman who sacrificed her own happiness for her family’s fortune. This novel is told mostly over the period of two grand seasons, where everyone is in the city, going to balls and courting. Only this time, there is the added bonus of ‘talents’: people with telekinetic gifts who are looked down upon by those without.

I will admit, this book was not entirely what I was expecting based on the blurb I read. I was expecting the telekinesis to be a much larger part of the book than it was and indeed, in some parts I forgot it was actually a feature of the novel. Instead, The Beautiful Ones focused primarily on the relationships between the three main characters, and their own personal development as the story went on. Even though this was not quite what I was expecting, I think the novel was probably better for it.

When I first started reading this book, I made the mistake of reading it on the bus to work. The introduction of the characters and their actions during the first part of the novel had me smiling and chuckling to myself as I read (cue the weird looks from fellow commuters). Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s treatment of the characters is beautiful, particularly in the first half. Each one is fully layered, with their own plans and designs, that you never know quite who to you want to come out on top. Personally, Nina was my favourite – her naïve vulnerability, rebellious nature and hidden strength were rather endearing, particularly as she found herself caught up in the schemes of Hector and Valerie. Unfortunately, the second half did lose a little of the character complexity as it started to focus more on the romance and plot, but it was still entertaining and heart-warming (if a little frustrating in places) to read.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you’re in the mood for a more modern Jane Austen with a little bit of telekinesis added in for good measure. While I don’t tend to enjoy romances, the book is a delight to read. The characters are a clear strength, especially when they are at their most deceptive, but the story and prose were equally as enrapturing.

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33380869-the-beautiful-ones

The Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Beautiful-Ones-Silvia-Moreno-Garcia/9781250099068/?a_aid=rosienreads

 

Rosie Reviews: One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Title: One Of Us Is Lying

Author: Karen M. McManus

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Genre: Mystery

Source: NetGalley

Review

Summary

One Of Us Is Lying is a book which hit all my expectations and then surpassed them. It completely took me by surprise from the off and I was hooked throughout the book. It’s a contemporary YA crime fiction novel set in a high school. The premise is simple – five students, each epitomising a stereotype, enter detention one day. Only four, however, leave alive.

Everything about this book worked for me. While simple in concept, everything that was built upon that was mixed up in twists and turns, with characters that I could almost reach out and touch and a mystery that got my thinking hat on.

There will be mild spoilers in this review – I enjoyed this book too much for there not to be, but there will be nothing that will interfere with enjoyment of the novel itself, just hints at what’s to come.

Plot

McManus took a risk with this book and wrote it from the perspectives of the four accused students, the ones who emerged from detention alive but with their lives ruined. Each one had a motive and anyone could have done the deed. It would have been very easy for it all to slip out in the PoVs, but McManus did an incredible job of propelling the story through the characters and still convincing the reader that the characters could be innocent, but they could also be very guilty, at the same time.

I particularly enjoyed how, while there was the over-arching storyline of who the murderer was, there were also a number of other sub-plots to sink your teeth into. Each of the characters’ lives started intertwining, and each one had a reason to be there, be it aiding in the characters’ development or shining more light on the mystery. The whole book felt incredibly well put together, with sublime pacing and a plot filled with so many twists and turns that I could not guess for certain who the culprit was until the ending of the book.

Characters

McManus does not scrimp on anything in this novel, and nowhere does she put more heart than in the characters who really make the book alive. When I first started, I was worried that each character would be little more than the stereotype assigned to them at the beginning of the novel, but as One Of Us Is Lying progresses, those stereotypes are peeled away and real, fully-fledged people step off the page. This was so well done you didn’t even notice it happening until it already had.

I ended up loving all of the main four characters, which is a rarity for me. None of them felt overlooked and each contributed to the overall plot. This is so much the case that I am really struggling to decide on which is my favourite. As well as the rarity of having no main characters that I dislike, McManus does the incredible job of having me support the central romance of the novel, which was built up and described in a realistic and fun manner. The two characters involved felt like they had chemistry and would have ended up together even if McManus never intended it. I also really liked that there was an LGBT relationship in this novel and that everything about it felt natural. While, sadly, not the main focus of the book, I found that it taking on a slightly smaller role in the book really worked within the overall make-up of the story and in the involved characters’ personal development.

Final thoughts

As you may have guessed from the words above, I adored One Of Us Is Lying. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy this novel, but it was a novel I was fully invested in, that made me want to go back and reread the minute I came to the end. It made me smile, it made me groan in frustration, it made me cry out loud with both annoyance and excitement. It was definitely one of the best books I have read so far this year.

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus will be released in the UK on the 1^st June 2017.

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32571395-one-of-us-is-lying

Pre-Order on The Book Depository (I get a small commission if you use this link): https://www.bookdepository.com/One-of-Us-is-Lying-Karen-McManus/9780141375632/?a_aid=rosienreads

 

Rosie Reviews: Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken

Title: Wayfarer

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Publisher: Quercus

Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Source: NetGalley

Review

Summary

As the second book in a duology, Wayfarer continues to explore the world of time travel initially established in Passenger. It expands on what we discovered in the first book, escalating the conflict and putting the characters through all sorts of difficulties, and then wraps up the duology perfectly.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and thought the series as a whole was brilliant as a whole, especially given how difficult time travel is to get right. As this is a sequel, there will be spoilers for the first book, however I shall try to keep them to a minimum.

Plot

The majority of this book follows two threads. On one side, Nicholas searches for Etta, who has been forced through the timelines. On the other, Etta finds herself mixed up with the mysterious Thorns on their quest for the astrolabe. Ironwood is hot on the heels of both, but another enemy emerges from the shadows and things get a lot more dangerous.

If I’m honest, I really wasn’t sure how Alexandra Bracken was going to build on the previous book, but the introduction of a new party really gave Wayfarer an added depth and threat. It also allowed for further exploration of the world’s lore, something which I particularly loved. The addition of a few extra side-plots on top of the original story-line from the first book kept the story enjoyable and the plot was fascinating in itself.

I did find the story did feel a bit slow-paced in times and the book was, perhaps, a little too long. I found myself enjoying Etta’s story a lot more than Nicholas’ and a lot of that was due to the fact that Nicholas’ did come across as repetitive in places and was often where the slow parts occurred. That being said, the book is regularly punctuated by conflict and confrontation, character development and the odd twist to really keep your interest throughout.

Characters

For me, it was the secondary characters that really made this book. Thinking back on it, it felt a lot like Nicholas and Etta were there to keep the story moving, but it was the other characters that really got the most development and focus. This made the book come alive for me. Having strong side characters allowed the world to feel rooted and allowed me to get fully invested in the story.

That’s not to say that Nicholas and Etta felt flat or unrealistic in any way; Etta, in particular, found her feet in this book. My only problem was that I found Nicholas boring. I really enjoyed his character in Passenger but very little of that substance seemed to have made its way into Wayfarer. On a plus side though, Wayfarer does include two LGBT characters whose relationship received the most focus and development throughout the novel.

World/Setting

As I’ve said, Wayfarer goes deeper into expanding the world we see in Passenger. Not only do we get more time travel, but we also meet more of the families and central players in their feud and discover more about how the whole time travel works. This was probably one of my more favourite parts of this book as it really made the more fantastical elements feel tangible and an integral feature to the story. Exploring the effects of timeline changes was particularly interesting, especially if you enjoy history as I do, and once it crossed into questions of ethics and morality, it really got me thinking.

Final thoughts

I thought Wayfarer was a brilliant conclusion to the Passenger duology. It did a good job of rounding up the story to a conclusion that felt right while also building on the story in the previous book and making it an entertaining read. My main gripe with the novel was that it probably could have done with being a tad shorter, not to mention that Nicholas did not really work as a character for me in this book. Really, though, I would recommend this duology to anyone who likes a good bit of time travel and feuding families.

Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken is out now.

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20983366-wayfarer

The Book Depository (I get a small commission when this link is used): https://www.bookdepository.com/Wayfarer–Book-2/9781786540027/?a_aid=rosienreads

 

 

Rosie Reviews: A Year and a Day by Isabelle Broom

Title: A Year and a Day

Author: Isabelle Broom

Publisher: Penguin UK – Michael Joseph

Genre: Romance

Source: NetGalley ebook

Review

Summary

A Year and a Day is a perfect winter’s tale, ideal for reading by the fire with a blanket and warm, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I, however, read most of this book on a plane, on a flight back from a weekend in Prague and it was just as good.

This is a romance novel but one that follows three different women as they head to Prague for a holiday in the winter months. As luck would have it, they end up meeting and their stories become intertwined. Despite the romance / women’s fiction branding, this novel rises above the stereotype of those genres and has moments that are deeply emotional and others which are lean towards the empowering.

Story

There are three different story-lines, one for each of the women – Megan, Sophie and Hope.

Megan is a woman who puts her photography work before anything else, especially love, but comes to Prague at the behest of her best friend Ollie to take pictures for the class he’ll teach on the city. He may have other ideas, however. This was probably my favourite of the story-lines as it gets the most attention throughout the novel and I really liked both of the characters. The conflict was understandable and felt real and I thought it was beautifully resolved, even if it was a little over the top.

While Megan’s was the most relatable, Sophie’s story was the most interesting. We see very little of it as Sophie spends most of the time wondering the city alone, waiting for her long-term boyfriend Robin to join her. For fear of revealing too much, there are also hints of there being an underlying problem as Sophie shrinks more and more into herself as the novel progresses. While I thought the relationship depicted between Sophie and Robin was a bit too perfect, this story-line is the most emotional and actually had me tearing up towards the end of the book.

Hope and Charlie, however, let the book down for me. I liked Charlie based on what I saw of him, but he is probably the most under-developed of the six main characters. Unfortunately, as the story progressed I found myself disliking Hope more and more. While I can appreciate her desire to become her own woman, there were moments where she came across as a bit unlikable, a little pathetic and, for want of a better word, entitled.

Spoilers here. It frustrated me a lot that Hope spent much of the novel upset and surprised by the fact that her daughter wasn’t speaking to her after finding Hope in the back of a car with Charlie, despite still being married. Of course her daughter wouldn’t want to associate with her; she broke up their family. The author also spent a lot of time trying to make the cheating seem okay, which put me off this story-line quite a lot, especially as it was resolved so easily and quickly. Not a good move in my opinion. Mini-rant and spoilers over.

Aside from Hope’s part of the novel, I really enjoyed this story. It was well written and developed and I got thoroughly invested in two of three story-lines.

World/Setting

As a novel set in Prague, A Year and a Day, had the perfect setting and, having just been there, I could picture the city vividly as I was reading. Unfortunately, there were parts of the book which read like a guidebook which really cut back on the magic that a setting like Prague should create. If that author had described the city throughout rather than relying on a couple of sentence-long descriptions of name and history, it would have been a lot easier to imagine what was occurring. That being said, Prague was an excellent choice of location for this novel and, while this novel was about the romantic lives of the three female protagonists, at times it felt more like a love letter to the city itself.

Final thoughts

I actually enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. The characters were enjoyable and their stories were easy to get into, with the sole exception of Hope’s story. I did feel a little let down that for a novel with three relationships in it, all were heterosexual ones; it would have been great to see some representation in a novel of this genre and standard (and maybe replacing that one story-line that let it down). That being said, I was heavily invested and found myself really caught up at the end, which, at this point reading on a train, was a little difficult to contain. This book is worth a read, especially at a time when you can get that proper winter feel.

A Year and a Day will be released on 17^th November 2016.

Rating: 3.5/5

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30283540-a-year-and-a-day

The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/A-Year-and-a-Day/9781405925334/?a_aid=rosienreads