Mini Book Reviews: Once Upon A Broken Heart, The Compound, The Irresistible Urge to Fall for your Enemy & more

The Island Escape by Jess Ryder – 7/10

This was a great thriller, with a captivating mystery and plenty of heart behind it. I was offered this book after reading Jess Ryder’s previous book, The Villa (review here). I actually liked this better even though I enjoyed The Villa quite a bit!

The setting was more interesting to me and felt more real somehow. Perhaps it’s because the author, as she mentions in her acknowledgements, spent time in this particular world in Greece – she seems to have an affinity with it and describes it so well.

I have to admit, the title didn’t get my attention by itself, but the description of “Mamma Mia with murder” certainly did! I would definitely agree that it fits that tagline well. A daughter searching for a lost father on a Greek island with a somewhat hippy mother. And it doesn’t even take to the point where it all turns a bit darker to be interesting; the narrative had my attention throughout. There was always an underlying tension as Juno is warned by her mother, among others, to stay out of everything, but she forges ahead.

The book is well told through a first person narrative by Juno, the daughter, Estelle’s postcards to her parents at home, which is how Estelle’s story is unfolding for Juno (and gives a good unreliable narrator version – who tells their parents the real truth?!), and a third person narrative from Estelle’s perspective that gives us as the reader a little extra insight.

This makes an excellent summer read to keep you on your toes and guessing throughout. There’s not just one mystery to uncover, but a few, and some will definitely be surprises – I’m sure!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a review copy of this book.

The Compound by Aisling Rawle – 8.5/10

he blurb had me hooked with a comparison to Love Island and Lord of the Flies, even though I haven’t read or watched either, I know the premise of each and it sounded fascinating. The reality was brilliant – it fulfilled these promises, but if you also throw in a bit of Big Brother and a pinch of I’m A Celebrity and The Traitors too – it was like someone set out to make the ultimate reality TV show to distract viewers from a monotonous and bleak not too distant future.

As a quick summary, 10 women wake up in “the compound” – a mess of a home in the middle of the desert. 10 men are due to arrive on foot having survived their way through the desert, so the women set about tidying up the compound and themselves ready for their arrival. But there’s a twist – they are all being filmed 24/7 for a reality TV show that the world is seemingly addicted to. They know exactly what’s going on, but they’re not allowed to allude to the fact that this is a show. And every night, the women must share their bed with a man or face banishment. They are given tasks to complete, both as a wider team and on an individual level, to earn prizes – food, a sofa, garden furniture, a comb, a dress – each prize sponsored by a company that they have to thank on camera. The winner, the last one standing, will receive whatever they want, whatever they can carry out of the compound at the end, but everyone who’s banished can take with them their own personal prizes too.

It has an ominous tone throughout. The short excerpt from Animal Farm at the very beginning sets this tone and you wonder whether it’ll follow the same path or go in another direction.

But as you follow the story through the eyes of Lily, you have this awareness of constantly being watched. It’s fascinating to see the journey the characters take, from primping and preening for the viewers at the beginning to, at times, not caring or forgetting they exist. It’s a study of human nature when pushed to the extremes.

And Lily herself is a character that we all hope we’re not – vain, materialistic, the way she describes herself makes it clear that she sees herself as a pretty picture and not much else. This is her big break and she’s determined to make the most of it.

There are, of course, relationships that grow and change between the characters – both “romantic” (or as romantic as they can be in the situation) and friendships. It has a few plot twist, or at least mic drop, moments that are brilliant. The plot isn’t exactly fast-moving but feels as languid as the desert heat, but there’s something addictive about it.

It’s a story of a world of overconsumption, of a Big Brother state, exploitation and more. The resemblances between our current world and that one are not that far apart, which makes it scarily believable. You become very aware that they are just another group in the conveyor belt of this reality TV show, that they will be the stars of the moment but are so easily replaceable, just like the prizes they long to win.

I loved the book and would recommend it – very Black Mirror-esque.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a copy of this book.

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore – 8/10

This is the fourth book in the Dream Harbour series, so by now the setting and the characters are all very familiar, as are the situations and the tropes. But this doesn’t take away from the enjoyment for me at all, in fact, these books feel like a something of a (not so guilty) pleasure – a lovely gentle comfort read, probably as is implied by the covers and the twee names.

In this instalment, Archer is a chef who previously lived in France but has now moved to Dream Harbour after finding out he has a 5 year old daughter, only when her mother passes away. In the chaos of having to look after a whole human being that he doesn’t know, he hires Iris (who we’ve met before) as a nanny – she has little experience with kids, but teaches fitness and yoga classes. The little girl immediately takes to her, so she has the job. I’m sure you can see where this is going, a single dad and live-in nanny…

The plot isn’t complicated. The characters are well built but not hugely deep. But I did really enjoy this story. As a mother, I enjoy reading about characters who are different to me – out living their single and childfree lives – but I also like to see a realistic romance where kids are around, so this was a great perspective.

And considering that this is something of a light and fluffy romance, it was hard hitting in places – a 5 year old girl who has lost her mother and has to move in with the father she never knew existed! There were moments that were so true to real life of living with a 5 year old too (“scratchy neck” and “hurting eyeballs” – the latter especially as our 3 year old moaned about his sore eyebrow when he had a headache recently!). In a somewhat meta moment, the characters in the book club discuss romance novels with kids in; the author also discusses it in her acknowledgements. – do they have a place? I believe they do, in moderation, it added to the story for me.

A good read, I think my favourite of the series so far.

The Farm by Joanne Ramos – 6/10

In a very realistic look at a society that is basically our own right now, women at “the farm” are treated to every luxury they can imagine plus a generous bonus when they leave, as long as they give birth to a healthy baby for another family at the end of it. The Farm is a detailed look at the world of surrogacy, through the eyes of a couple of woman from different backgrounds at the centre (most of whom are immigrants who have nowhere else to turn), a women connected to one of the surrogates, and the women who runs the place.

It’s a hard hitting, truth telling book that opens your eyes to this world and just how easily it could be exploited. Where do you draw the line between a person’s freedom to their own life, and the baby’s life that they carry? Extortion is the theme running through this book – whether gentle, as they make it appear, or not so much.

I’ve flitted back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for this book as I loved the concept, mostly enjoyed the story and felt some connections to some of the characters. I can’t say it was a gripping read, but it’s not supposed to be, so I think it’s more my current personal taste that brings the overall rating down for me. I’ve actually already recommended it to a friend, and it’s come up in discussion at a family event over the weekend too. The story makes an excellent talking point as another Black Mirror type story.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a copy of this book.

The Mother Code by Carole Stivers – 8/10

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did. The dystopian, virus killing everyone, post-apocalypse world used to be my thing, but I’m solidly now more in the romantasy time of my life. Maybe it was to do with living through an actual pandemic that put me off them for a bit, but I think maybe it’s time for me to get back into these as I loved it.

I’ve seen others mention that you need to have some knowledge of bioweapons before reading. While I don’t think I would ever call myself a die-hard sci-fi fan, I’ve enjoyed these types of books in the past, but those reviews did have me second guessing my choice of book here. I have to say I disagree with those. The scientific background of the novel is so well done and adds a lot to the story – I’ve always had a slight issue with books where the actual science behind what’s going on is glossed over as it makes it less believable for me. BUT, I don’t think you need to understand this to really get the story either. I wasn’t 100% on board with all the scientific info, but the fact that the characters were was enough for me. Plus it was about so much more than that.

A US government body makes a poor decision to release a bioweapon that isn’t tested as well as it should have been. While it has the initial impact that they wanted, they didn’t foresee the more far-reaching consequences – they believed it would degrade before it could go further, but unfortunately it is picked up by archaebacteria which make more copies of it and spread it further, causing a deadly lung disease like an accelerated lung cancer that kills within weeks. At first the spread seems slow, but the officials soon realise they have an epidemic on their hands, and one which, despite their attempts at an antidote, the majority of the human race cannot survive. As a last stab at retaining some human history, they manufacture the Mother bots, with genetically modified embryos inside. The story alternates between the past, as they realise their predicament, manufacture and get everything in place for the release of these bots, and the future, where the Mothers have birthed the babies, the kids are now growing up alone in the desert with only their robotic mothers as company. Mothers who have been trained with the personality of the real mothers who gave up their eggs to create children they would never meet.

I seem to be in a Black Mirror run of books right now, and I think this was the best so far. Not only was it strangely realistic (probably thanks to reading it after an actual pandemic!), but it also had that emotional hardhitting aspect. The relationship between Mother and child was incredibly fascinating, and I also really felt the hit of those who knew what they were giving up so that some shred of humanity could exist in the future.

There were great moments of tension and some action too. Each character had a great backstory that came into play at some point.

Finally, it was very strange to read this immediately after The Farm by Joanne Ramos which was all about exploited surrogacy – this was like a weird, ultra-futuristic look at the same topic, a very interesting pairing!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a review copy of this book.

Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber – 8.5/10

This was such a gorgeous read. It was magical in a way that I haven’t seen since books from my childhood. While it’s a dark fairytale, there are so many fun and whimsical details – dresses that look like candyfloss, tiny dragons caramelising apples with their fire breath, conscious bells that ring to warn of danger. A lot of my recent romantasy reads have felt a lot darker, but this book felt more playful and cosy, despite the dark happenings.

Such as, a girl turned to stone as she attempts to stop a wedding, kisses that kill, and a horde of deadly vampires.

It’s a YA novel, so while there is some romance, it is not steamy romance at all. There are high stakes in it and characters are often in danger though! It’s not a short book at over 400 pages, but it was very easy to read quickly. The plot was fairly complex for a YA novel with various moving parts, but not so much that you needed to sit back and absorb it. The only slowing down I did while reading it was to enjoy the gorgeous whimsical world!

This isn’t my first Stephanie Garber read; I read Caraval as an ARC years back and loved it so much. It was immediately added to my favourites list, but somehow, I missed out on the rest of the series! As such, I don’t have all the background that I think would enrichen this book – I’ve seen it can be read as a standalone series, but the Caraval series gives you more detail. My plan is to go back and complete the Caraval series then come back to this series. I can imagine this one quickly becoming a favourite too!

The Love Curse by Amber Eve – 8/10

Enemies to lovers, fake engagement, and stolen songs – need I say more?!

This was originally published as Bikini but has now changed its name to The Love Curse.

This was a brilliant beachy read set on a Greek island where the main character, Lana, is selling her family’s holiday home but is haunted by “her song” and the popstar, Leo Wilde, who stole it and made it famous. When she bumps into him (quite literally!) on the beach and he doesn’t recognise her but instead waves her away calling her a “Wilde Girl”, she is absolutely infuriated. Things only get worse when a series of crazy events leads to their fake engagement. But isn’t that how all true love stories start?

I loved that the Greek family characters were inspired by the author’s own relatives – you can tell the little phrases and anecdotes have come straight from real-life experience. They’re warm, chaotic, hilarious, and completely lovable.

As with all Amber Eve’s books, this one was hilarious in that very specific, real-life way – the kind of humour where the situation is just on the verge of ridiculous, yet still totally believable. The kind of “surely this only ever happens to me” moment that somehow does happen – and will have you laughing out loud in recognition. It’s the ultimate “this would only ever happen to me” romantic comedy.

For example, waking up to find a priest standing over your bed splashing you with holy water, or receiving not one, not two, but FOUR goats as engagement presents…and then naming them after the Beatles and uttering what the characters describe as “a new contender for the “Weirdest Sentence Ever Spoken Aloud” – “We could end up eating The Beatles, Leo.”

This is a clean romance, so while there’s no real spice, the chemistry between the characters is excellent. It was a true enemies to lovers story as I truly wondered how these two would ever end up together by the end of the book, but I was absolutely rooting for them by the time it got there!

If you’ve ever sworn revenge on a man and somehow ended up fake-engaged to him, this one’s for you. Or if you just wished you could read about it happening to someone else, I guess!

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha – 6/10

This book follows four Korean women living in the same building who fall into the lower classes of Korean society, but in ways that fringe the higher society – working in room salons to serve wealthy men, one with a rich boyfriend, one pregnant and terrified that she won’t be able to afford the baby, one mute and obsessed with K-Pop. Their stories explore the way that women are controlled by beauty standards, class, wealth, and, well, men.

This was a dive into a completely unfamiliar world to me, and that was absolutely fascinating. As you can probably tell from the title, one of the biggest shocks in it was the normality of plastic surgery and the vapid nature of simply changing what you didn’t like about yourself to suit the most recent trends.

I enjoyed learning about this world and getting to know the characters and their motivations that seemed alien to me. This was 100% a character driven book, which meant there was no driving plot line – no real beginning, middle and end. While I love a read like this sometimes, at this moment in time it didn’t click with me so I didn’t find I was reaching for my Kindle as easily as I usually do to complete the book, however I was engrossed while I read it. Maybe having four characters in one not very long book meant they were spread a little too thin. It’s a worthwhile read, but not one that’s easy to speed through.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for a review copy of this book.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley – 9/10

This was such a fun and brilliant read – witty, sharp, magic and packed with banterous chemistry (is that a word? I’m making it a word).

This is a romantasy unlike any I’ve read before. It’s still got a solid magic system that can be using by everyday folk, but higher levels for those that study it and earn their way to a Tacn (a symbol on their hand showing their speciality, as well as the source of their magic), plus a cost that differs depending on the person. The worldbuilding is fantastic – I love the very basic grounding in the real world, with added interest on top. But it really shines in its dry wit. If you’re looking for banter, you’ve come to the right place.

It absolutely delivers on the promises of the title; it is a true enemies to lovers story. Not only are they on totally opposite sides of their society, but also morally (she is a healer, he is a murderer).

Osric is not just morally grey, he’s a character who is, in many ways, totally immoral – he’s self-centred, self-interested and has a wicked sense of humour. Which makes him an excellent match for Aurienne, who prides herself on sticking to the rules – except when something comes along that challenges her sense of the greater good.

The tension between the two is palpable; every scene where they’re together eventually tumbles into an argument, but somehow, these slanging matches seem soft with a whole lot of banter and no real threat, more like bickering between a long suffering married couple. Each time they hit argument territory, you start to see common ground between them as they build something of a rapport. They’re so prickly, it’s brilliant. Let me give you some examples:

He was a Fine Specimen in the way an abscess might be a Fine Specimen.

“I’ll just kill them a little.”
“Kill them a little? Death isn’t divisable.”
They were unable to conclude their argument on murder as a fractionable activity because the men fanned out and began an approach.”

Even the descriptions where characters are starting to recognise something they like about each other are excellent:

The veins seaming them were a phlebotomist’s dream.

I think I’m in the minority when I say that I haven’t read the author’s other work, Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love, but considering how prickly the title seems, I know I’m going to have to get my hands on this too!

There is only a little spice towards the end of this book, it’s a slooooow burn. I imagine more to come in the next book (did I mention the series is called Dearly Beloathed – amazing).

And the ending, argh! Just bring on the next book already!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a review copy of this book.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna – 7.5/10

What a cute, cosy, fun read!

Sera Swan is a witch who lost the majority of her magic when she resurrected her suddenly deceased great aunt. She now helps that same great aunt manage an enchanted inn, where a motley crew of magic and non-magic guests reside, joined by those who need the inn most turn up – including, Luke and his little sister who is struggling to keep her magic hidden as she’s supposed to. Luke has no desire to stick around or to get involved with the inn, but as Sera’s mission to get her magic back develops, he can’t help but get drawn in.

I’ve read a few of these style of cosy, witchy reads now and I have to say, I really enjoy them as palate cleanser books between heavier fantasies. This one errs on the side of cutesy romantasy rather than an epic one, which makes it perfect for that.

The plot was great, there were a few parts that didn’t add much to the storyline for me, but weren’t bad at all – just a little convoluted for what was needed I think.

This would be the perfect October read with a snuggly blanket and some candles – it’s got all the vibes and I loved that. The romance is a somewhat grumpy-sunshine one. The motley crew of characters that made up a found family was brilliant, including a witch trapped in the body of a fox, a neurodivergent little sister, and a reanimated rooster.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a review copy of this book.

The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw – 6/10

Honestly, this book was a lot! I probably should have explored the author’s previous work and the genre in more detail as the read of the blurb to me sounded like I was on more of a dark fantasy, dark academia path than a gore and horror fantasy one. I read some horror here and there, but it’s often more psychological, whereas this was a lot more gory!

Alessa Li is a student at Hellebore, an institute for world-eaters and apocalypse-makers, but she didn’t enroll there by choice – she was kidnapped and woke up there. The story starts with a bloodbath and continues much in that way, as you might expect from a school for monsters! The students are promised redemption and acceptance after graduation, but in reality, we quickly discover that instead the faculty turns on them and devours them, quite literally. Alessa and a group of classmates manage to flee to the library where they barricade themselves in.

One thing I did really like about it was the narration style that flits between the present, the days where the students are stuck in the library and fighting for survival, and the “before”, which is non-linear most of the time. It adds to the nightmarish effect of never quite knowing where you stand and what’s going to happen next, but it also serves to make the present make more sense knowing how they ended up there.

I also enjoyed the diversity of the characters – we had a range of racial backgrounds, which weren’t just used as token characters but had fully fleshed out (lol) backstories that added context to the narrative. There were also genderfluid characters that identified differently in gender depending on the moment and non-binary characters. I’m not overly familiar with this genre, but I imagine it’s not common to see such a range of characters in it and I’m glad to see it!

The characters themselves are very interesting, as alongside their monstrous traits, you’ve also got all the complexities you’d expect to find in normal “humans” thrown together in situations like this. Also I loved the character of Rowan – he gave me Ridoc from Fourth Wing vibes.

The writing, the characters and the setting were great – I’d have loved to know more about the school itself too, I think it would be very interesting, but I get that’s not what this book was about. It only falls on the star rating because the level of gore wasn’t for me, and that’s on my own head, not the author’s!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a review copy of this book.