Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas – 8/10
I’ve got to be honest, the Throne of Glass series is still not winning for me – sorry! Getting through this one was a bit of a slog, although I do accept that I may be on a little bit of the infamous Onyx Storm hangover right now! It’s not that I dislike it, it’s just that it’s still not hitting for me.
To be fair, the last 25% had me hooked, but I really struggled before that. I don’t think I’m a fan of the multiple viewpoints that are not fully linked (yet, I’m assuming!) that take you away from the part you’re just getting into. I was glad to finally be in more of a true magic fantasy world and to be exploring a whole new part of Celaena’s identity though!
I’m going to keep pushing ahead with the series even though it’s not my favourite. I’ve said it before, but I think it’s because I’ve been promised that this is a “god tier” series, better than ACOTAR and all that, so I’m just waiting for that part to hit – and it might yet do so!
Doggerland by Ben Smith – 8.5/10
I can’t think of many other words to describe this book other than desolate, isolated, bleak and dystopian. It didn’t have all that much of a plot and was so lonely. But weirdly, I kind of loved it.
An old man and a boy, although it’s said they’re not really that old or young, live on a rig in the North Sea in what seems to be the near future, with the endless and thankless task of fixing the wind turbines in a huge wind farm.
We join the story at something of a slow turning point, a realisation of sorts that puts the boy into action. Around this, you can feel the ongoing ennui, the tick of a clock that doesn’t ever move. There are mentions of the “company” that seems to manage not only them, but the world as a whole, but they are so far removed from it, it seems almost mythical. Like the lost continent of Doggerland beneath them.
Interspersed throughout are almost lyrical descriptions of Doggerland, an explanation of how it came to be and how it disappeared. The idea of Doggerland is something that I have a strange slight fascination with – I’ve lost a lot of hours reading articles online about it, with no purpose other than I needed to know more – so this has me enthralled.
I saw someone mention that the author is a poet, which despite this not reading like poetry, comes across in his words. It feels so bare and realistic, and somehow makes it easy to read, even though the subject matter isn’t exciting or enthralling. The writing is rolling, like the waves.
There was something about this book, how telling it is of human condition, that just kept me reading. It reminded me somewhat of The Old Man and the Sea, but not for the obvious reasons of the title and the name. Strangely, this was a book I was forced to read at school for an exam and strongly disliked – I wonder if I read it again now that I’m older (and wiser?!) I might get it now, as I believe if I’d have read Doggerland at the age of 16, I wouldn’t have cared in the slightest about it.
So to wrap up the review, this is an odd one as I loved it, but it’s not a gripping thriller or fantasy of my usual kind of read, so I can’t really say who I’d recommend it to. Give it a chance, and see.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advance copy of this book, even if it took me a long time to get to it!
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – 8.5/10
This was a gorgeous, whimsical but slightly dark YA fae read.
From the title and the cover, I was expecting a more complex and darker world. The first section had me quite surprised at being set in the modern world where Jude, the main character’s, parents are killed in front of her and her sisters, before they are spirited off to live in Faerie. From here, it turns a bit “fluffier”, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. I loved this world that was so magical, where they live by night, take classes in the palace grounds under the stars, and ride toads as well as horses. But, of course, it has a dark undercurrent where the ruling class is full of bullies that extend beyond classmate taunting into the political world. Enter the bloodthirsty fae fighting for the throne, and the cruel prince himself, who is wicked but yet somehow charming – Jude’s nemesis.
Jude is an interesting character – she is what she has been shaped to be by everything that’s happened in her life. She is mirrored by her identical twin, Taryn, and the storyline with her is one that’s devious and clever, but saddening. I’ll be intrigued to see how it unfolds.
So I’m marking this book 4 stars, but really it was 4.5 for me – rounded down only because I can’t give every book I love 5 stars! It wasn’t an absolute 100% page turner which is the only reason it misses that half a star for me. I’m excited to read the next installment, but not so much that I’m pushing the rest of my TBR shelf to the side until I’ve read it.
The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Elisabeth Gifford – 8.5/10
I’ll be honest, I put off reading this book for a long time as, even though the reviews were good, I read the blurb and wasn’t quite sure why I’d picked it – it’s not my usual kind of read. When I added this into my “reading calendar” that I’m doing at the moment (it’s a whole spreadsheet kind of moment), I kept looking at it and thinking about moving it back in favour of other, more exciting sounding books. Even when I picked it up and read the first few pages, I thought I’d made a mistake.
Then suddenly, I was enthralled.
This is a historic fiction set around World War II, a romance but also a dual storyline with the man escaping from a German prisoner of war camp. I had visions of it being the type of books I imagine grandmas reading – although I know that sounds horribly stereotypical!
I’ll admit, this book was eye opening in that it turns out that, despite learning about World War II at school, I know very little about it – aside from what was experienced on mainland UK and the political background to it. The journey that Fred takes was a harrowing tale, and I can imagine it was barely the worst of them. There was something about the way this was told that made me sit up and pay attention. The few stories I’d heard from and about my great grandparents during the war suddenly hit home. Now I’ve realised the gap in my knowledge, I do intend to read more historical fiction from this era to learn more about something that is so barely removed from my timeline.
But what really shone for me wasn’t necessarily the characters or the storyline, but the island of St Kilda. We know from early on that at some point the island is to be abandoned, and it shadows every description of it – beautiful, hazy, almost melancholic. Despite other pieces of the storyline being sad, it was the loss of the islanders’ home that hit me the hardest and lingers on as a memory of this book.
This had echoes of Atonement for me, both in the era and the subject matter.
I really didn’t expect to be giving this 5 stars when I started it. It’s not a thriller or a fantasy. It’s more slow paced and doesn’t have twists, but it’s beautifully written and eye opening. Definitely a recommendation from me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advance copy of this book.
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods – 7/10
This was a beautiful, cosy, slightly magical read without delving too far into fantasy – more of a gentle magical historic fiction, but not too historic as it’s dual timeline. I’m not doing a good job of explaining this one so far, let’s try again.
In the present storyline, a woman fleeing an abusive marriage gets a job in a fancy house as a housekeeper when a man searching for a bookshop comes into her life. In the 1920s, another woman flees a marriage that her family is forcing her into, first to Paris.
Each of the three characters mentioned narrates their own storyline giving everything a good perspective. The story went pretty much how I expected it to, with a few twists, nothing too shocking but enough to keep you engaged. I enjoyed the magic that wasn’t too overbearing in the story, but was hidden in plain sight.
A very good read and one I’d recommend.
A Court This Cruel & Lovely by Stacia Stark – 9/10
We should all know by now that I’m still chasing the ACOTAR high, and I’m excited to say that this book has come the closest so far for me! I’m predictable, what can I say!
In this twisty tale, a girl from a village where magic is stripped from babies until their 25th winter is forced to flee as she has, somehow, retained her magic and is one of the “corrupt” who must be destroyed. She stumbles across a band of mercenaries in the woods, and after a rocky start, they agree to protect and train her, as long as she uses her magic to help them enter the heavily guarded city for reasons unknown to her.
This was a pretty easy read in terms of the fantasy world. It had a great story that made sense, was complex enough to keep you intrigued but not overly complicated. I adore the found family aspect; it just adds so much to the story for me, including a bit of humour. It definitely had a more “modern” twist in terms of the ways the characters spoke to one another which I’ve seen other reviews criticise, but honestly, I didn’t bother me in slightest – if the author wants her fantasy world to work in that way, you do you! I loved it.
This was a slow burn romance in terms of spice, but it did deliver towards the end – so if you’re in it for that, make sure to stick around right to the end.
I have a whole TBR calendar that I’ve planned out for the coming months, but I’ve realised that I didn’t factor series into that – whoops! So I’m now trying to plan how I can fit the next in the series into that because I feel like I need to read it NOW – I’m not ready to leave this world yet!
On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden – 8/10
I’ve linked to the Amazon page, but you can also find this online for free (and legit!) here – hooray!
Well, this was fun and different! On A Sunbeam is the first graphic novel I’ve read. I’ve been recommended a couple in the past but have never managed to get round to picking one up, and I’m so glad to have broadened my horizons and delved into one finally!
This was a touching story, in equal parts sad and hopeful, plus adventure. All told in an entirely different format to what I’m used to, but still hitting all the same.
I’m not quite sure how to review the illustration side, as I’m not artistic but I can still nevertheless appreciate it, and appreciate it I did! When I skimmed reviews before reading, they mentioned the colours being clever, and I’m glad I was aware of this so I could take note while reading. I do enjoy hidden “messages” like this in TV and movies, so this was a great detail for me.
I can honestly say I’ll be back for more graphic novels in future, thanks to this one!
