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Once, very long ago, Time fell in love with Fate. Passionately, deeply in love. The stars watched them from the heavens, worrying that the flow of time would be disrupted or the strings of fortune tangled into knots.

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Allie X - Brendon Burton

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“They sat like that for a few minutes, as Ronan examined the car and turned each wheel to play a different tune. Adam watched how intently Ronan studied the seams, his eyelashes low over his light eyes. Ronan let out a breath, put the model down on the bed beside him, and kissed Adam.

Once, when Adam had still lived in the trailer park, he had been pushing the lawn mower around the scraggly side yard when he realized that it was raining a mile away. He could smell it, the earthy scent of rain on dirt, but also the electric, restless smell of ozone. And he could see it: a hazy gray sheet of water blocking his view of the mountains. He could track the line of rain travelling across the vast dry field towards him. It was heavy and dark, and he knew he would get drenched if he stayed outside. It was coming from so far away that he had plenty of time to put the mower away and get under cover. Instead, though, he just stood there and watched it approach. Even at the last minute, as he heard the rain pounding the grass flat, he just stood there. He closed his eyes and let the storm soak him.

That was this kiss.”

-The Raven King

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Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Upright Women Wanted is a 2020 release from February, straight from publisher Tor’s website they describe it as;

“In Upright Women Wanted, award-winning author Sarah Gailey reinvents the pulp Western with an explicitly antifascist, near-future story of queer identity.“

I read Upright Women Wanted as part of a group read with the Queer Book Crew (headed by El at Inkandplasma) for their September book. I loved it, and I just wish it was longer! I am now a new fan of Sarah Gailey and plan to read more of their work soon. I loved the way they managed to create this new version of our world, tell a story, and create characters in under 200 pages.

PLOT

The story follows Esther, as she escapes both her father and an arranged marriage by becoming a stowaway in the librarians’ wagon. She learns about the resistance to the strict and controlling government whilst trying to fit in with the librarians and figuring out their agenda.

GOOD THINGS!

I LOVED the concept, I like things where they are set in our world or the near future, but slightly different.

Short enough to be a quick(ish) read, but enjoyable enough to be read again.

Gives a positive message of hope to the LGBTQ community.

I liked the banter between the characters and them taking the piss out of eachother.

EHHH..

I felt like the love / pairing in the story seemed to border on “love at first sight” trope and seemed mainly based on Esther’s physical attraction, but its a good pairing none the less, and it isn’t a very large book.

WHO WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS TO?

Librarians, horse-riders, anyone queer or questioning, yeah, just anyone! It’s great.

Content warning: death and gun violence, references to homophobia

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Hunted down a signed edition of the Waterstones exclusive cover of The Starless Sea (red hardback with the stenciled edges) I don’t think I’ll get over how pretty it is...

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Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

Jean Kyoung Frazier’s fantastic debut novel Pizza Girl is a moving and messy coming-of-age story full of dark humour. It centers on the narrator who is a pizza delivery girl (unnamed until the end of the book) and she is an eighteen-year-old Korean-American who is unhappy, grieving, and is both apprehensive and uncertain about her pregnancy and the direction her life is taking. She takes a shine to one of her new customers, a middle-aged mother named Jenny, and develops what can only be described as an unhealthy obsession with her.

Pizza Girl lives with her mother who she worries about, and a boyfriend who adores her. They are both excited and looking forward to the arrival of the child, but it seems Pizza Girl does not share this excitement. Instead, she is unhappy and engaging in destructive behaviour that starts to affect the relationships with those around her. I think it is a little unclear why the obsession and desire with Jenny take hold. It could be a means to escape, a crush, a product of anxiety, unresolved issues from her past, or it could be a mix of all of these.

Although it sounds like this book has its share of sadness, the enjoyment is in the writing. Jean Kyoung Frazier goes into detail without becoming boring. The narrator’s view of the world around her, the attention to the little things, the delicate observations she makes all help paint a picture of her world, and in turn her character. It’s not all sadness, but when it is, the reader feels it. The writing is cleverly done that even when Pizza Girl behaves in a way I would not agree with, I still felt sorry for her. As her behaviour and condition sink lower, I felt bad for her and frustrated with her, but I still wanted to protect her and give her a hug.

“I had been thinking constantly about han, a feeling that had been killing generation upon generation of Korean people. According to Mom, han was born in the gut and rose to the chest. … Han was a sickness of the soul, an acceptance of having a life that would be filled with sorrow and resentment and knowing that deep down, despite this acceptance, despite cold and hard facts that proved life was long and full of undeserved miseries, “hope” was still a word that carried warmth and meaning. ”

A big theme that is explored in the book is Pizza Girl’s relationship with her father. He had passed away years previously, but I believe she worries that she will follow in his footsteps. He was an alcoholic who let her mother down. Pizza Girl sneaks out to the same shed her father used to hide away in and she drinks. Sometimes it appears she feels guilty about this, but sometimes it doesn’t. I feel like there is some part of her that is still grieving, some part she can’t share with her mother, and this struggle plus the pregnancy and uncertainty of her future make her turn to alcohol. This type of struggle can’t be solved overnight or over the course of a 200 page book, and to suggest otherwise would be wrong. Perhaps one has to hit rock bottom before they can start to come up?

There is dark humour which stops the story from seeming too miserable. I found Pizza Girl to be crude at times, and she pokes fun at herself. The relationship between Jenny and Pizza Girl could be described as mildly disturbing, but in a comedic sort of way (throwing up in Jenny’s shoes), or to just plain unsettling (lurking outside the house at night) depending on how you look at it. Either way, I couldn’t look away. For me, it was an exploration of someone struggling with their mental health and experiencing a period of great sadness and anxiety, wrapped up in engaging and creative writing, all achieved in a short book. A really remarkable debut.

Content warning: Profanity, Sex, Alcohol.

Thanks to The Nerd Daily and Doubleday Books / HarperCollins UK for an ARC in exchange for a review.

Review originally published on The Nerd Daily - https://www.thenerddaily.com/review-pizza-girl-by-jean-kyoung-frazier/

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Felix Ever After By Kacen Callender

I HAD to read Felix Ever After after I saw everyone praising it on pretty much every social media app since Spring. I'm trying to read more adult books, but I wish something like this was available when I was younger, so I really wanted to read it. Plus I do like a bit of romance in books now and again. This was a definite 4/5 stars for sure.

The Plot

Felix Ever After follows Felix, an art student in New York. In his own words, he feels like he might be too much for some people, as he is queer, transgender, and black. Someone at his school displays pictures of his past self in a gallery for all to see, and he also begins receiving bullying messages on Instagram. He creates a fake Instagram account with the intent of both catching the bully, and to get revenge. The book also explores Felix's attempts to understand his gender identity more, relationships with his father and absent mother, along with attempting to get a scholarship to college. Mainly though, Felix just wants to fall in love, so the book explores Felix's relationships with different characters. Some could be friends, some could be foe.

What I liked

The plot and story - Felix Ever After has a really strong plot. The book wasn't too long and managed to mix a coming of age novel with a romance, revenge plot, and a couple of "guessing games". I was constantly engaged, wanting to find out who was behind the messages on Instagram? Who was behind the pictures in the gallery? Who was Felix going to fall for? Would he get contact from his mother? Would the fake account be revealed?

Representation and diverse cast of characters - The book features characters of various sexualities and differing backgrounds.

What I wasn't keen on

Harry Potter references - a few too many, not really needed in 2020 as not every reader will have read Harry Potter to get the joke / reference

Felix came across as a little whiny in places, which most of the time I totally get why he'd be on edge, but I seemed to feel like his default was to automatically dislike any other people from the get go because they were not like him.

Swearing. I get people swear, but there was a lot of swearing in this book which could put people off.

Who would I recommend this to?

Everyone! Teens of 16+, any young adult, anyone wanting to read more into a transgender character's experience from an own voices author, fans of the rivals to lovers trope, and fans of the "cat-fishing" trope.

Content warning: Swearing, some drug use, sexuality and gender discussion, bullying.

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Bear Town by Fredrik Backman

The Plot.

“Late one evening towards the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barrelled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else’s forehead and pulled the trigger.

This is the story of how we got there.”

Bear Town is a Swedish forest town. It’s dying, the shops are closing and the factory work is drying up. The good thing it has going for it is its hockey team, and its become the lifeblood of the town, its survival depends on it. The book is written from multiple points of view of various characters in the town, and focuses on what they do after a local girl is raped by one of the hockey players. The town itself is a huge part of the novel. Think forest vibes, snow, and cold days and nights. The various characters mean the book covers themes such a family, love, grief, friendship, loyalty, and choices.

The Characters.

You will meet a whole host of characters in Bear Town, my favourites were a girl who loves music, a gentle giant, a girl who wants to hunt, a career focused mother, and a man who says little but hears a lot.

“People say she’s gone mad, because that’s what people who know nothing about loneliness call it.”

The Writing.

I have to say I really enjoyed Backman’s writing for a number of reasons. His descriptions of Bear Town, his characters and the journeys he picked for them, and mainly the way he took the sport of ice hockey, wrote a story and made it into a book I couldn’t put down. I’m not into sports, but Bear Town is crafted well enough that I was able to understand what’s going on in hockey enough to follow the plot and how it means different things to the different characters.

If I had one criticism it would be that I think some readers might find the book slow at the start. It wasn’t slow to me, but I think some readers will want more action and less scene setting in the beginning. However this book is a very character based book so it is worth time investing in the introduction to different characters and where they all fit.

“You never have the sort of friends you have when you’re fifteen ever again. Even if you keep them for the rest of your life, it’s never the same as it was then”

The observations and the viewpoints of all the different characters is what I think makes Bear Town great. 15 year old girls, 17 year old boys, fathers, mothers, an old coach, and a grieving widow all appear in Bear Town, and I love it when a writer can understand so many different types of people. Seeing a story and the town portrayed through many different eyes is what I think puts Bear Town above the rest.

Content warning; rape, some violence, some homophobia, some drug use, mention of the death of an infant, swearing.

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How To Make A Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

This is not your typical summer novel. This book has all the workings of a summer book, which I was grateful for as I read it during a rainy week off from work when I should have been abroad on a beach. Think the beach, sea views, boat parties, 4th July Fireworks, summer waitressing jobs, and college looming over the horizon. However, there is more to it than that, this book tackles grief, the loss of a parent, and some pretty shitty parenting choices. The story follows Grace, as she is dragged along to move in with her mother's latest in a string of boyfriends. Her mother, Maggie has a reputation in the town as a liability and a drunk. I think she is an awful parent, I don't think she got over the death of Grace's father was Grace was just two years old. She forgets Grace's birthday, steals her money, and is just not THERE or PRESENT with Grace. She passes off her worries and does not register any of her concerns. She even forgets to mention that Grace will now be living with her ex-boyfriend. That's right, Maggie's new boyfriend is Grace's ex's father! Grace meets Eva, who has moved to the town after the death of her mother to live with her guardian, Emmy. The book explores Grace and Eva's growing relationship as it turns to a romance. It also explores how Grace's complex relationship with her mother affects her own relationships with both Grace, and her best friend Luca. Selfish Maggie is a ticking time bomb, and her behaviour has consequences for everyone. However, there are some good characters in this book. To help tackle the sheer frustration that Maggie's character caused me, I was happy for the characters of Grace's best friend Luca, and Emmy, who is Luca's mum. Emmy cares for both Luca, Eva, and Grace, and it is good to see one positive parental figure. The friendship between Luca and Grace is excellent, and it's refreshing to read a book that has just a close and loving friendship between a boy and a girl that does not have to be anything more. The girls' sexuality in the book is discussed between the characters, but this is not really a "coming out" story, both girls already know that they like girls. I liked the choice to label Grace as a bisexual and her sexuality was not dismissed just because she had previously been with boys, but also likes girls. The book also focuses quite a bit on Grace and her piano playing. Musicians will relate to Grace's thoughts about music and her piano, as she prepares to attend an audition to study music at college, this is a choice and a decision that she needs to make that holds weight throughout the book. Similarly, Eva struggles creatively with dance. Both Eva and her mother were dancers, and Eva is working through her thoughts about performing and if she still identifies as a dancer, but it is painful when it reminds her so much of her own mother. Overall, I enjoyed this book. There was more depth to it than just a simple girl meets girl romance novel. The story started slow, but the strained relationship and tension mounting between Grace and Maggie helped move the story along, and it was inevitable that it was going to reach a turning point.

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The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum

The Weight of the Stars felt to me like it was about overcoming trauma, finding your family, and reaching for the possibilities. I'd read such good things about it, and maybe I just wanted to be WOW'ed like the people in the other reviews I'd read, but it ended up being another average 3 star read for me.

What I liked:

The main character/narrator. Ryann Bird is someone you'd want as your friend. I found her to be smart, resilient, confident and protective.

The writing style: Short chapters and excellent pacing made it easy to read and move the story along.

Diversity: The book doesn't just include straight and white characters. The main character isn't either. There is also a non-verbal character, and characters in what I would say is a poly relationship.

The message: The author says "I filled The Weight Of The Stars with teenagers throttling their trauma instead of drowning in it because you deserve to see your peers being strong." There's the tone of "growing beyond your circumstances" and this book shows that.

What didn't work for me:

The plot: The last half or third felt a bit rushed and a little unrealistic. I questioned certain characters motivations and choices. I didn't always agree with all of them.

Secondary Characters: I would have liked to have got to know more about Ryann's friendship group, but as the chapters are only covering Ryann's perspective this limits what the reader can see. There is sort of the found family trope that Ryann's friendship group is a band of misfits that she has rescued, but I felt like I only really got to know her best friend Ahmed and maybe his girlfriend Sharon. The others are there but I wish they stood out more. I got the impression this was meant to be more of a character-driven story exploring themes rather than a novel with an action-packed plot so I'd have liked to see all character's shine and have a journey rather than just being a name in a group. However, then again, we can't have miles of back story for characters and separate plots in just one book because it would be too much.

The romantic pairing: I feel awful for saying it but I wasn't that invested in the main relationship. I can't put my finger on why. It felt slow but not like a slow burn. I would have felt the same for them if they were just friends. They had a great relationship though.

I think it was a good book but being as I had a slight issue with the plot, the main romantic pairing, and wanted to see more from some characters, then it looks like I didn't LOVE it. But that's ok. It definitely gets you thinking whilst reading, but I don't think it the story overall will stay with me overall.

Content warning; Sexual assault and bereavement.

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A bookish rainbow of books with LGBT characters for pride :)

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THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO BY TAYLOR JENKINS REID.

Wow, I cannot seem to find the words that would do this amazing book justice. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a sort of romance/historical fiction novel from Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of the popular 2019 hit Daisy Jones and The Six. Evelyn Hugo was published in 2017, but I really do believe that some books find you at the right time, and I’m so pleased and glad to have finally read this one now.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo sees journalist Monique Grant approached to do an interview with legendary Hollywood actress Evelyn Hugo. Nearing 80, Evelyn wants it to be her final interview and insists that it has to be Monique who will cover it. Naturally, the reader will assume Evelyn has her reasons for this, and they will need to read through the book before they find out why this is. The star obviously has something she wants to set the record straight on, and she’s decided she’s now done with silence. Evelyn tells Monique her story, from deciding to go to Hollywood right up to the present day. The book is split between Evelyn’s narration of her tale, and Monique’s present-day point of view, though I would say it mostly focuses on Evelyn. Reid has said in interviews that character of Evelyn was influenced by actress Ava Gardner – who wished to have a journalist ghostwrite her autobiography. She also drew inspiration from actresses Rita Hayworth and Elizabeth Taylor.

I wouldn’t want to go into huge detail and expand on what the plot is as it may explain too much and give points away. I went into this book not knowing much at all, and I feel that was part of the enjoyment because I didn’t know what was around the corner. What I got was a glimpse into old Hollywood glamour, sex, and scandal, and a heartbreakingly honest look at the tempestuous relationships of one formidable and most incredible lady – and her seven husbands!

Evelyn was such a complicated character. I think one of my most favourite things about this book is how many sides there are of Evelyn. She is sexy, she is smart, she is calculated, she is talented and ambitious. She is also incredibly human, she makes mistakes, she doesn’t always make the right decisions, but she thinks she’s making the right decisions for HER. Evelyn can read men, she can manipulate men, she’s ruthless. She thinks she’s an excellent judge of character, but she doesn’t always get it right. I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say most people could see some of themselves in Evelyn, whether it be big or small. One could argue she was no saint, yet I respected her all the same. I loved her ambition and drive, I loved her perseverance and her passion and her resilience. The audiences adored her, the newspapers wanted her, Monique was drawn back to her to continue with her story, and you, the reader, will keep reading.

“Look what I do to these poor boys, I thought. And yet also, Here is my value, my power.”

Each marriage and husband has a reason behind it and covers important periods in Evelyn’s life. Evelyn is a cynic but she was also a romantic and she wanted to be loved. I really thought that seven husbands would be a stretch, but if you read the book you would see how they all fit into an engaging and clever story. We see who her true love really was.

“Two men sleeping together. Married to two women sleeping together. We were four beards.”

My bisexual heart is singing right now. It was so good to finally read something with some bisexual representation that spoke to me on some sort of level that not many books have managed to recently. At the same time though, it still makes me feel sad that we have it better than people decades past would have done. I am sad that attitudes were what they were back then. I’m sad people felt like they had to hide and were not allowed to be their authentic selves. We still have a long way to go, but reading this made me realise I am grateful for the progress that’s been made.

This book has a way of making you feel. I’m not ashamed to say I cried at some parts. It is written in a way that you connect with the characters, particularly with Evelyn. You see what she has been through and how she feels through her own words as she tells her story. You also see her through Monique’s eyes too. You are so connected that I found myself almost listening, not just reading, but listening to her every word. You become invested in her story. So emotionally invested, that yes, there were some tears from me.

“When you’re given an opportunity to change your life, be ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. The world doesn’t give things, you take things. If you learn one thing from me, it should probably be that.”

The message I took away from the book was that life is just too short to not go after what you want. Time doesn’t stop for anyone and we shouldn’t take people for granted, and we should always tell our loved ones that we love them. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was such a memorable read for me, I felt like I knew Evelyn, I read about her whole life. She is a fictional character and yet I feel like I miss her already. I think this is the sort of book that stays with you long after you’ve read the final page.

Content warning: Adult themes throughout.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for a review copy of this book.

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Circe by Madeline Miller

MISSING THE WOW FACTOR, BUT I’M GLAD I READ IT.

I’d heard so many good things about this book and it has soooo many reviews and awards. I think because of this I was expecting something more, just a bit of extra ooompf.

“I had been old and stern for so long, carved with regrets and years like a monolith. But that was only a shape I had been poured into. I did not have to keep it.”

Circe follows the story of a goddess who finds herself exiled and cast out from the rest of the gods. Her exile takes her to an island where she can work on her witchcraft. It’s the strangest exile I’ve heard of, as she’s not short of visitors, and takes a few trips off of her island as well! Circe is not a particularly happy story. There is so much cruelty, abuse, and death, but there is also creation, journey, love, chances, and new beginnings. I guess when you’re immortal you have the time to make mistakes and start over, but the rest of us mortals do not.

“Too late, I thought. Too late for all the things I should have known. I had made so many mistakes that I could not find my way back through their tangle to the first one.”

I would say this quote pretty much sums up Circe and her story. She doesn’t always make the best decisions, and plenty of times I felt myself like “Circe, what are you doing?“

I was into mythology in school and still remember bits, so I did enjoy the book because I could read things and be like; “Oh, I remember this character”.. however, the downside to that is you already know what is going to happen. This is more a retelling rather than a reimagining.

It’s a lovely book though, and the cynic in me likes it as it gives us quotes like this;

“Every moment mortals died, by shipwreck and sword, by wild beasts and wild men, by illness, neglect, and age. It was their fate, Prometheus had told me, the story they all shared. No matter how vivid they were in life, no matter how brilliant, no matter the wonders they made, they came to dust and smoke. Meanwhile every petty and useless god would go on sucking down the bright air until the stars went dark.”

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Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

Dnf'd at 60%

I am sorry but I've had to quit this book. I gave it a number of tries, and it started well, but at halfway through I am still not feeling it, so it is best to be honest. This is a shame as the blurb sounds really promising, and even the cover is beautiful too.

This book should be exactly what I'm into, it's described as "suspenseful", "gothic infused", and "devious and deliciously steamy". Unfortunately, I found it lacking, and I feel like it just falls flat. I feel this is a fair opinion for me to have, as I've made it 60% through. I wanted to like it, I'm really into all these dark college/academia books. I loved If We Were Villains, and I've recently read Ninth House too.

I just feel by halfway through, there should be at least some form of the plot taking place, some suspense, or characters to care about, or at least a character or two that stands out. There was one I was sort of interested in, but then they were removed from the story. The main character, Ines, hints at a past she is running away from. I still don't know what it is, and I have read reviews of this book that say you never find out. It's not enough for me to know Ines wants to stay hidden at the secretive and prestigious Catherine House, I want to know why she does, and what are the consequences if she doesn't. It would help me connect with her more.

I had issues with the pacing too. I wasn't sure if it was going forward or backwards in time, it wasn't very clear. One minute it seemed finals were approaching, then they had passed, then they were coming up again. I didn't mind this at first but after a while it made me wonder where the story was supposed to be going. Every time I thought something was going to start to get going, it changed to something else.  Ines would go to a party, but it would be over. She would go to class, but she falls asleep. I felt like I was waiting for something, anything to happen.

I was given an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Here is the synopsis from headline.co.uk;

During your three years at Catherine House, you will have no contact with those in the outside world.

You will not leave the grounds during your time at the college.

If we believe you have wandered from the path of learning, you may be sent to the tower.

Each of our students has been selected as someone who belongs here at Catherine. You will give to Catherine, and Catherine will give to you. We will not let each other down.

Catherine House is a university like no other. Into its celebrated world steps Ines, a young woman who welcomes the school’s isolation rather than its illustrious past. As the gates close and Ines finds herself start to be inevitably seduced by its magnetic power, she also begins to realise the question isn’t why she chose to come to Catherine House; but why Catherine House chose her.

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Quick collection of my thoughts on the Mara Dyer trilogy by Michelle Hodkin

So I’d been meaning to get through the books on my kindle for ages, and after being put on lockdown in the UK, thought it best to get started, so I started with this as it had been on there since 2018!

If you are not familiar with this series, Goodreads outlines it below; 

Mara cannot remember anything about the night her friends did. All she knows is what she’s been told: they went to an abandoned asylum, the building collapsed, and only Mara survived.

Two months later, Mara is eager to move forward with her life in a new town, but that’s easier said than done. A boy at school named Noah Shaw seems to know more about Mara’s tragic past than she does. And to make matters worse, Mara is beginning to see people and things that can’t possibly be there. Or can they?

When Mara goes searching for answers, she discovers a secret about herself that is most unbecoming. A secret that promises a future full of destruction, pain, love, evolution, and ultimately, retribution.

4/5 Stars

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer  

I’m probably 9 years too late to reading this, but better late than never right?

Yes, it's got a cliché love interest. Yes, the main character doesn't really have much of a personality. As a Brit, I don't understand why Americans find British boys so attractive, they're really not all the same haha. Also, it was a bit disappointing to have the guy be absolutely loaded $$$$$$, brooding, cocky, and with absent parents. It's just a bit overdone, slightly unrealistic, but helps push the plot along I guess. People may have moved on from these cliches but it doesn't make it a bad book, it was probably alright for its time. 

It reminded me a bit of the Shatter Me series, with the whole "girl with a power/ability meets boy" only without the annoying thoughts and useless metaphors. 

What I did like was the whole "unreliable narrator" kind of take which is interesting, and the way it deals with mental illness. I found the writing really easy to read and follow and it didn't seem to be a long book. 

Straight on to the next one!!

The Evolution of Mara Dyer  

4/5 Stars

I flew through this one as quickly as the first as its very easy to read. I would say this series is more a romance novel than a mystery at this stage, but that's not a bad thing, it depends what you're in to. There's relationship drama, and pining! However, I did like all the attempts to figure out Mara's ability and attempts to find reason with it. It involves the reader in the story. I also liked how you still didn't know if what Mara was experiencing was real or not.

I didn't like how the story tended to move along or explain passages of time by Mara "passing out" often. I found her collapsing or falling asleep happened just a few too many times.

Also, the ending would have been a big cliffhanger, that I wouldn't have liked to wait for the next book. However, because I'd left it so long to read these, I can just download the next one!

The Retribution of Mara Dyer   

3/5 Stars

Out of all the things that happen in this trilogy, this is the most unrealistic book. But still, I just sped through this book, because I needed to get to the bottom of it and find answers. It was good that I was gripped to the story, and it meant I could ignore the plot holes at the time. 

This book basically sees Mara escaping the Horizons facility and going on a sort of follow the breadcrumbs trail to find Noah, whilst trying to work out exactly who is responsible for putting her in there to begin with. 

Unfortunately, I felt this one was a bit rushed, and there wasn't enough of Noah in it, which is why gets one star less than the other two books.

I needed more Noah, the book needed more Noah. It's sort of a love story underneath it all, and I felt like he was just absent for most of it.  

*slight spoiler* In my opinion, the presence of another character's "ability" meant that the trail/hunt/mystery of this final book is handed to the characters on a plate. It was too easy. I felt like the reader was just passive in this story, whereas in the previous two books, it was enjoyable going on the journey with the characters and fact-finding along with them.

Also, Mara blacks out a lot again, as she did in the previous book. It gave me a bit of a headache to be honest. 

The ending - It was an ending but it also wasn't. How can you write an ending for something like this though? I was okay with it, to be honest, I liked it. Would I read the newer, extra books that follow on? Definitely not a no, but not quite right now. Still, I am glad I finally read this trilogy and would definitely read something by this author again.

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The Book of Koli by M.R Carey

The Book of Koli by M.R Carey, who is also the author of The Girl With All The Gifts, is a highly imaginative fable and the first in a planned dystopian and sci-fi trilogy known as The Rampart Trilogy.

I would struggle to explain exactly what the book is about as that would be spoiling it, and I found it fun to just dive in and try and work out some of the twists before the narrator Koli did!

Set far into the future, the world is not as we would normally think of it. Nature is the enemy, the trees harbour poison, and the woods house dangerous creatures. The communities must live behind fences and be guarded by lookout towers. It is not just the environment that holds danger outside the walls, but the people that roam it too, known as the “shunned men”, they are the ones that don’t belong in any village. Koli’s life sees humanity returned to back to the basics. People live in small communities, they are assigned work, and they don’t take well to outsiders. There are no electronics or technology and everything is built, farmed, or made by manual labour. The community is governed and protected by those known as “Ramparts”, who are the ones who can use what little technology is left over from the olden days. Technology doesn’t work for everyone, so the ones who can yield and use the devices hold the power. Weapons are most important, for example, one piece of technology in Koli’s village is a flamethrower. This is something to be both feared yet respected.

Certain events lead to Koli obtaining his own piece of tech – an artificially intelligent multimedia player known as the “DreamSleeve Monono Aware Special Edition”. Remember that Black Mirror episode with Miley Cyrus as an AI doll? Imagine something like that inside an MP3 player. It’s a secret too big for Koli’s village and the consequences are severe.

The tone and style of the writing is different, and certain readers may find it hard to get to grips with. The book is written as if Koli is speaking to the reader, as if he could be sat across from you telling you his story. There are deliberate spelling mistakes, and questionable grammar, as some words are written how they would be pronounced in his dialect. I think this might be because Koli is illiterate, as he doesn’t read books, and his stories are told out loud rather than written down. Because of this, I think The Book of Koli would be really good as an audiobook, as the reader could enjoy the story being told to them, rather than having to adjust to how it appears on the page. That being said, I settled into this after a handful of chapters, but I’m not certain everyone would.

I really liked the character of Monono Aware. She is a piece of technology, but there is no doubt that she is a character in every sense in this book. Koli almost relates to her as a real being, and Carey has done really well at giving her her own identity and presence on the page. It was almost as if I could hear her voice in my head when reading her parts. Again, this goes back to what I said earlier about how this book could make a great audiobook experience!

The story flows fairly well. The first third of the book is enjoyable as you find out about Koli, how his world functions, who his important to him, and what happens in his past. It might seem like a slow start for some readers, but it is necessary to understand the main character. The second third of the book was my favourite, where the plot unravels further and Koli goes on his journey. Unfortunately, I found myself wanting to skip through bits of the last part, as I felt it lingered in places and lacked tension.

Would I read the next in the trilogy? I’m not 100% sure, but Carey has definitely laid out the next part of Koli’s journey, and there is undeniably some curiosity about who he will meet next.

6/10

Thanks to Orbit and The Nerd Daily for the e-arc of this book in exchange for a review

[gingerbooks]

Me: Hi I’d like a tattoo that blends a bee, a pink switchblade, a raven, a coca cola can, a skateboard, a pair of white sun glasses, a gun, and a tarot card into the shape of a tree please. 

Tattoo artist: You just finished the Raven Cycle.

Me: I just finished the Raven Cycle.