Book Review: A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene

In a kingdom where magic has been lost, Fia is a rare changeling, left behind by the wicked Fair Folk when they stole the High Queen’s daughter and retreated behind the locked gates of Tír na nÓg.

Most despise Fia’s fae blood. But the queen raises her as a daughter and trains her to be a spy. Meanwhile, the real princess Eala is bound to Tír na nÓg, cursed to become a swan by day and only returning to her true form at night.

When a hidden gate to the realm is discovered, Fia is tasked by the queen to retrieve the princess and break her curse. But she doesn’t go alone: with her is prince Rogan, Fia’s dearest childhood friend—and Eala’s betrothed.

As they journey through the forests of the Folk, where magic winds through the roots of the trees and beauty can be a deadly illusion, Fia’s mission is complicated by her feelings for the prince…and her unexpected attraction to the dark-hearted fae lord holding Eala captive. Irian might be more monster than man, but he seems to understand Fia in a way no one ever has.

Soon, Fia begins to question the truth of her mission. But time is running out to break her sister’s curse. And unraveling the secrets of the past might destroy everything she has come to love.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for a review.

’She was raised to be strong, hammered to be hard, and whetted to be sharp. But she had a weakness for green things, for she carried the forest in her blood.’

Writing this review is hard and it truly does feel as if it’s pulling me in two directions to do so. This book had elements that I long to gush about, particularly it’s mesmerising writing that can’t fail to haunt you, and left me entranced for about two thirds of its narrative. Yet I struggled with its final section which has deeply impacted my enjoyment of the novel as a whole. Hopefully I’m in the minority with that though as for its writing alone this novel deserves to be a hit.

Naturally I need to start by praising the aforementioned writing which enchanted me from its very first page. There were so many segments that I jotted down for potential quotes to accompany this review; so many sentiments that haunted me and were depicted beautifully. The writing is lyrical and mesmerising, reeling you in with its haunting prose that perfectly ties in with both this novel’s retelling nature and its fae dynamics.

Similarly I swiftly found myself beguiled by the world that this book is set within. Any mention of the fae tends to grab my attention and this book depicted them gloriously. There are differing species, some seeming more monstrous than others. The human world is aware of their existence and, given past events that I’ll leave you to uncover, despise them. Plus their own lands have intriguing characters to uncover and political scheming brewing at all times.

For the most part I found myself fascinated by the characters depicted here (Corra was an instant favourite for me) and loved uncovering their various pasts. There was banter that brought a smile to my face on many an occasion, friends and enemies to lovers, intriguing nature based magic and sultry scenes that will make your toes curl. It also depicted ideas surrounding love, hate and self worth beautifully.

So yes it pains me to get to the aspects that I struggled with but I can’t deny the difficulty I had with this book’s third section. Throughout the pace is fairly slow but this didn’t really bother me as it suited the lyrical style of the writing beautifully. Yet as more and more time passed for Fia I couldn’t help but feel that she needed to be a bit more proactive. With curses and deadlines involved I didn’t really feel like she was making much of an effort to get the answers that she was looking for. Instead as more and more time passed the focus seemed to increasingly fall upon her relationships. And yes I enjoyed the banter, yes the seductive scenes were beautifully described bur personally a lot of the interactions felt more lust than loved based to me.

My other major struggle comes down to Eala who I wasn’t fully convinced by although I won’t go into details due to the spoiler risk. Personally I’d have loved a few more scenes showing her among the other swan maidens though, something I feel may have helped with this aspect.

So altogether I’m torn although I would still advice checking this book out for yourself. It’s beautifully and lyrically written and depicts a world that I adored exploring. I had a couple of struggles with it towards the end but I truly hope that I’m in the minority in that regard. The romance focus, I’m sure, will appeal to a lot of fantasy romance fans and going into this book expecting it to be more character than plot led could also help. I probably will check out the sequel given how bewitching the writing was and how enchanted I was by its world.

Check out A Feather So Black on Goodreads here.

I strive to keep my reviews completely spoiler free but if anyone wants to discuss anything about the book in more detail then feel free to contact me in the comment section below.

Book Review: The Revenant Games by Margie Fuston

Blood is survival for seventeen-year-old Bly, who lives in the poverty-stricken human villages caught between enemy vampire and witch kingdoms. Most of the time, vampires and witches live in uneasy truce, buying human blood for their food and spells. But for two weeks a year, the ceasefire dissolves, and they hold the Revenant Games.

Any human can play in the games for either the witches or the vampires. Alongside life-changing riches, the witches will raise one person from the dead for whoever captures the highest-ranking vampire. In turn, the vampires offer immortality to whoever captures the most powerful witch. For most humans, the games are a ticket out of poverty. For Bly, it’s a chance to get back her dead sister, Elise, and save the life of her dying best friend, Emerson.

Together, she and Emerson forge a dangerous plan to play both sides and win both resurrection for Elise and immortality for Emerson. But when the vampire they capture stirs a passion in Bly that she hasn’t felt in a long time, she’ll have to make a her sister or the boy who’s shown her there’s more to life than just survival.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

’Blood always came first in this world, in more ways than one.’ *

Vampires, witches and a deadly competition for the humans trapped between the two. Obviously this was a ‘must read’ for me as any one of those features would have piqued my interest, let alone all three combined. I’m sure there are many readers that feel similarly too and thankfully I can say that this did not disappoint.

One of my favourite features of ’The Revenant Games’ has to be the world that it is set within. Over the course of the novel you get to glimpse how each of these beings live and learn a little about their lands. The hardships that humans suffer is experienced firsthand by Bly, whose perspective the novel is in, yet you still get to discover a fair bit about the more magical territories and those who live within them. There are little nuggets of history and lore scattered throughout too and – most likely unsurprisingly to anyone who knows me – I adored these offerings immensely.

There’s a varied cast of characters who are intriguing to discover. Unsurprisingly my personal favourite was Kerrigan, one of the vampires whose story I loved uncovering over the course of the novel. Another, who featured fairly briefly, was Hazel who offered intriguing possibilities for the future. Bly was an interesting enough individual to follow – and I loved her interactions with Kerrigan throughout – yet I did find her a bit unconvincing on occasion too. For someone who’d spent over a year planning to enter the games she seemed utterly unprepared in many ways and made the occasional decision that frustrated me. There were a couple of occasions where other characters made choices that conflicted me too, seeming to go against some of what had previously been established of their natures.

As a whole the plot kept me riveted throughout with an enjoyable mix of danger, intrigue and exploration of its world. The general direction that it went in was fascinating and it’s only the aforementioned character inconsistencies, particularly towards the end, that frustrated me somewhat. Although I do also feel that more could have been made of the games too. The build up to them, particularly with the trials, was fascinating and the experience of Bly, and those around her, was engaging too. Yet I can’t help but wish that there’d been a bit more made of the other competitors too; yes it’s ultimately Bly’s story but it would have been nice if she’d crossed paths with others a little more too.

Ultimately I recommend ’The Revenant Games’ and am intrigued to see where the sequel will go. It was an action packed story with its fair share of heartbreaking moments throughout too. It had interactions that made me smile and a world that I loved learning about. Certain elements could have been stronger but it was still a wholly enjoyable read, leaving off with a mystery that I can’t wait to uncover.

*The quote included within this review came from an arc and may differ from the final version.

Check out The Revenant Games on Goodreads here.

I strive to keep my reviews completely spoiler free but if anyone wants to discuss anything about the book in more detail then feel free to contact me in the comment section below.

Book Review: A Tempest Of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone.

Calling upon a band of misfits, Arthie formulates a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not every member of her crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.

’He was fascinated by the world of the living, enamored by the concept of the undead, and wanted to make life better for all.’

Dark, decadent, divine; all words that can apply to vampires but also to the writing within this book. Within moments I was entranced by its beautiful prose and on numerous occasions found myself longing to share quote after quote with the world. Below is the early quote that convinced me that this was absolutely going to be a ‘me’ book but there were numerous others that I adored throughout, depicting a variety of themes, emotions and sentiments.

’Every good love story starts with a bullet to the heart.’

Not only was the writing beautifully hypnotic but the banter between characters brought a smile to my face too. This book contained the kind of dynamics that I adore and has interactions that I can see appealing to many a reader. There were conversations that I loved, taunting that lured me in and harrowing moments of heartbreak throughout. The pasts that some of these characters have suffered was depicted unflinchingly and there was one thirst related section that will stay with me for quite some time.

The characters were well crafted and enabled me to swiftly become invested in their stories. Jin is the kind of charming individual that you can’t help but fall for with the bonus of a brilliantly creative mind. Arthie in many ways is what you’d envision for the leader of a criminal gang; living and breathing secrets and on her own mission for revenge. Whilst Flick is an unexpected ray of light who fits into this world in an oddly brilliant way. Raised in high society with a fondness for bright, beautiful dresses she should stick out like a sore thumb. Yet I never felt like she didn’t belong.

There are intriguing politics at play too with a mysterious masked leader and it’s hard not to feel oddly compelled by the imagery of vampires drinking blood within a teahouse. It’s a setting that I really enjoyed spending time in.

If you’re looking at this and wandering why I felt forced to knock half a star off of my review it’s because I didn’t find myself as fully enamoured with Laith and Arthie’s interactions as I could have been. There were moments that I loved but others that felt too forced or sudden. There was so much potential there for a twisty, intense connection yet for some reason the chemistry never seemed to completely engulf me. And if it had; wow. I honestly don’t know how I’d have handled certain events.

That ending though? If anyone finishes this book and doesn’t immediately want to beg for a copy of the follow up I’d be surprised. What is it about vampire based books leaving off in such gloriously cruel ways?

In case it wasn’t obvious I absolutely recommend ’A Tempest Of Tea’ and think that it will appeal to a variety of readers. There’s criminal gangs, a very unusual King Arthur connection, blood based tea shops, scheming, mysterious masked leaders, vampires and so much more. Topped off with some truly mesmerising writing, this is definitely a read that should not be missed.

Check out A Tempest Of Tea on Goodreads here.

I strive to keep my reviews completely spoiler free but if anyone wants to discuss anything about the book in more detail (or just gush about it with me) then feel free to contact me in the comment section below.

Book Review: Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

Welcome to the Grand Abeona home of the finest food, the sweetest service, and the very best views the galaxy has to offer. All year round it moves from planet to planet, system to system, pampering guests across the furthest reaches of the milky way. The last word in sub-orbital luxury—and an absolute magnet for intrigue. Intrigues such Why are there love poems in the lobby inbox? How many Imperial spies are currently on board? What is the true purpose of the Problem Solver’s conference? And perhaps most pertinently— who is driving the ship?

Each guest has a secret, every member of staff a universe unto themselves. At the center of these interweaving lives and interlocking mysteries stands Carl, one time stowaway, longtime manager, devoted caretaker to the hotel. It’s the love of his life and the only place he’s ever called home. But as forces beyond Carl

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book.

‘It seems we are destined to repeat the story of Earth over and over…’

‘Cosy’ books within a variety of genres seem to be growing massively in popularity lately and sci-fi is a genre that I’m constantly meaning to check out (my experience with it so far, book wise anyway, is in the form of dystopian novels which I adore) so when I was offered an ARC of ‘Floating Hotel’ I leapt at the chance to check it out. Not only did it tick those ‘cosy’ and ‘sci-fi’ boxes but its blurb promised numerous areas of ‘intrigue’ and it featured a setting that brought ’Passengers’ to mind too. For a first dive into two different genres it was a pretty enjoyable experience.

One of my favourite aspects of ’Floating Hotel’ is one that admittedly may divide opinion; the rather unique way in which the story unfolded. Instead of switching between a couple of perspectives, sticking to one or opting for a third person narrative this book features the majority of its perspectives only once, giving it’s chosen characters one section where the reader gets to discover the past that led them to the Abeona and the events that trouble them in the present. This was wonderfully well done and managed to share these backstories in an engaging manner whilst keeping up intrigue in the present goings on abroad the ship. Scattered between these segments were an intriguing number of ‘Lamplighter dispatches’ which were surprisingly delightful and eye opening to read. It was an interesting approach to a story and I’d certainly be excited to check out more novels written in a similar manner.

The setting also intrigued me and was delightful to explore. Given the novel’s narrative approach and the story’s focus it wasn’t explored as thoroughly as I’m used to (as an avid fantasy reader) but it’s level of exploration felt fitting for the story that was told. The ‘intrigues’ were interesting to unravel too and the central mystery left me pleasantly surprised, for the most part, with how it tied up. The answers aren’t written out in black and white entirely upon the page but in a way that suited the story. Honestly my only issue with the ending is the fact that someone overlooked something fairly obvious to me which is frustrating. Yet as a whole I was satisfied with how everything was tied up.

Early on ’Floating Hotel’ felt as if it was going to be a solid, four star read to me. Yet over time I have to confess that my enjoyment level had a tendency to falter. I was never bored but I wasn’t quite as invested in the story as I could have been. Yes the various mysteries intrigued me, yes I enjoyed exploring the setting and learning everybody’s backstory but I also found a lot of the characters rather unlikeable too. Not all of them but more than I’d have expected. Everyone had interesting stories to unravel and I loved discovering them but quite a few people had such spiky personalities and it frustrated me after a while. Did so many people have to be rude to others consistently?

Similarly I didn’t really feel much of a spark within the romances that were hinted at. This isn’t major, as romance certainly wasn’t the focus of the book, but it’s worth mentioning. Especially as some of the interactions felt somewhat awkward to me. Although I did find some of the parallels between dangers and industries within our own world eye opening.

Altogether I recommend ’Floating Hotel’ and think that it will prove to be a refreshingly different reading experience for many. It’s an interesting approach to a sci-fi mystery with lots of different levels of intrigue. It has lots of fascinating secrets to uncover and is set within a world that I’d happily explore in more depth. Truthfully if a couple more of the characters had felt more likable then this easily would have been a four star read for me.

Check out Floating Hotel on Goodreads here.

I strive to keep my reviews completely spoiler free but if anyone wants to discuss anything about the book in more detail (or suggest similarly set out stories) then feel free to contact me in the comment section below.

Book Review: Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill.

Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher—the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but Kel knows that his destiny is to die for Conor. No other future is possible.

Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls within the city, but Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge.

After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but as they descend into his world of intrigue and shadow, they discover a conspiracy of corruption that reaches from the darkest gutters of Castellane to the highest tower of its palaces.

As long-kept secrets begin to unravel, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? Can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?

’It began with a crime. The theft of a boy.’

With fantasy being my go-to genre and Cassandra Clare previously having written books that left me spellbound it was pretty much a given that I’d read this book. The start to a new fantasy series, completely different from her previous Shadowhunter works, that also happens to be an adult offering? Naturally this was a must read. What’s more I’m happy to say that it did not disappoint. Currently her Shadowhunter novels have the edge for me personally but then I’ve had plenty more books to discover their characters and world. With the bones of this story that have so far been laid, the breadth of land that is available to explore, the hints of future complicated romances, the intriguing characters and, most importantly, the fascinating manner in which this story left off, I honestly do believe that there’s a strong chance of the sequel being a five star favourite for me.

One of my favourite elements of Cassandra Clare’s novels tends to be her characters and the often complicated ties that bind them together. There are plenty of individuals to discover within this book and all fascinated me, leaving me longing to discover more. Kel’s is an intriguing viewpoint to discover given his complicated social standing and the secrets that he has to hide from those around him. Whilst Lin is riveting to follow due to her status as an Ashkar, medical dealings and struggles to save her best friend. The royalty involved proved surprising on several occasions and the members of the criminal networks have left me itching to discover more too. Currently no one has wormed their way into my heart in the same way as other characters by the author have managed to do so but the potential for that to happen is certainly there. Particularly with Merren in fact; here’s hoping the next book features him even more.

Similarly the groundwork for some really complicated relationships has been laid but none have left me as excited as her previous books at this point in time. I do feel like the next novel could change that though. All that’s needed is a little more time, development and chemistry and I know that I’ll be addicted to the brewing romances within this book.

The world is intriguing to discover and there’s the potential for so much more too, given the scope of different places mentioned within this text. Personally I did feel like an index could have proved beneficial as I did muddle two places on occasion (Marakand and Malgasi) and it also would have been intriguing to learn more about these neighbouring kingdoms. Initially it also was a little overwhelming to try and keep track of all of the information that was thrown my way. Personally I adore a detailed, complex fantasy world; I love discovering its history, politics, magic system, landmarks, celebrations, beliefs and so on. Yet within this novel it did feel a bit ‘info-dumpy’ at times. Rather than lists of places I’d rather the time was taken to explore them naturally over the course of the novel.

The events leading up to the end of this novel though? Wow. Honestly the last few chapters of this book were impossible to put down and I truly wish that this book had held the same level of stamina throughout. I was never bored whilst reading but some conversations – gossipy ones amongst the nobility generally – felt irrelevant to me. Yet the later chapters had so much happening and left me longing to discover more by the end. Both main perspectives left off in places that left me brimming with intrigue and itching to discover more. Needless to say I’m now impatient for the sequel.

Altogether I do recommend ’Sword Catcher’ as it’s laid out the groundwork of a fascinating world populated by intriguing individuals. It can feel a bit clunky at times whilst discovering its environment but it has plenty of different areas of intrigue to keep you invested too. Plus it’s ending has left me fairly optimistic that it’s follow up will blow me away. Here’s hoping I’m right.

Check out Sword Catcher on Goodreads here.

I strive to keep my reviews completely spoiler free but if anyone wants to discuss anything about the book in more detail (or just gush about it with me) then feel free to contact me in the comment section below.

Book Review: Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

DIVIDED BY BLOOD.

IMPRISONED BY FATE.

BOUND BY DESIRE.

WELCOME TO THE INTOXICATING WORLD OF THE FAE.

Yeeran is a warrior in the elven army and has known nothing but violence her whole life. Her sister, Lettle, is trying to make a living as a diviner, seeking prophecies of a better future.

When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven lands, they are both forced into the terrifying wilderness beyond their borders. There they encounter the impossible: the fae court.

The fae haven’t been seen for a millennium. But now Yeeran and Lettle are thrust into their seductive world – torn between their loyalty to each other, their elven homeland, and their hearts. . .

’But it’s impossible to mask the aroma of a thousand-year war. It lived in the air, in the skin, in the very bones of the earth.’

It’s no secret that I adore all things fae, or that ’The Final Strife’ was my second favourite read of 2022. So naturally I had incredibly high expectations for ’Faebound’ and couldn’t wait to dive into this book. Within moments I was entranced by the author’s writing – longing to highlight numerous segments as potential quotes – and riveted by the text. Needless to say this novel is another hit with me.

Personally, I confess, before I started this book I was more intrigued by the prophetic character than the warrior one. Both appealed to me, naturally, but I can’t help but find myself drawn more swiftly towards all things magical. Yet the first few chapters of this book followed Yeeran, the warrior elf, and I was entranced regardless. Maybe it’s partially because the elves’ warrior abilities involve a new, and intriguing, type of magic but it’s certainly not that factor alone. The way that the world and characters are crafted left me longing to know more about the brutality of a warrior’s life and the viewpoint was impossible not to get drawn into. Luckily the prophetic viewpoint, Lettle, did not disappoint either and I was fully invested in both of these sister’s stories.

Character wise everyone is rather complex and layered, with differing backstories that are revealed throughout. Some individuals do have rather ‘spiky’ personalities at times, so may be hard to warm to, but to me that felt true to the both life and the struggles that they’d previously overcome. Besides which they’re infinitely fascinating to learn about. Others I warmed to instantly; my personal favourites being Pila and Rayan who both had a knack of bringing smiles to my face.

As I mentioned above the writing is utterly beguiling and definitely one of my highlights within this novel. Not only does it paint a gloriously in depth picture of the world and action that is taking place but it captures some brutal segments so poignantly that it’s impossible not to stop and think on them at times. Yet even whilst being set within a brutal world of war it still had these wonderful moments of warmth and tenderness between some of its characters that couldn’t fail to melt my heart. I’ll admit I figured out where the romances would form fairly early on but they were so beautifully crafted that I couldn’t help but root for them. Even with the harrowing complications involved.

On a similar note I should also admit that I saw a couple of the twists coming but this didn’t hamper my enjoyment of the novel in the slightest; I was much too entranced by the story for that. (Plus it had a few staggering reveals that I didn’t see coming either).

Altogether I absolutely recommend ’Faebound’ and can’t wait to discover exactly what will happen next. If you’re a fan of fae, fantasy or enemies to lovers than this is a must read in my opinion. Now I have two books by this author to impatiently count down the days to.

Check out Faebound on Goodreads here.

I strive to keep my reviews completely spoiler free but if anyone wants to discuss anything about the book in more detail (or just gush about it with me) then feel free to contact me in the comment section below.

Book Review: The Pact by Amy Heydenrych

Thank you to Readers First for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This hasn’t in anyway affected my opinion of the book.

What if a prank leads to murder?

When Freya arrives at her dream job with the city’s hottest start-up, she can’t wait to begin a new and exciting life, including dating her new colleague Jay. However, Nicole, Jay’s ex and fellow employee, seems intent on making her life a misery.

After a big deadline, where Nicole continually picks on her, Freya snaps and tells Jay about the bullying and together they concoct a revenge prank. The next morning, Nicole is found dead in her apartment . . .

Is this just a prank gone wrong? Or does Freya know someone who is capable of murder – and could she be next?

‘But later, beneath her begging and protestations, one fact remained: while she never meant for her to die, she did want to hurt her, just a little.’

Deciding on a rating for ‘The Pact’ was harder than it generally is for me. Summing up my feelings was simple enough but picking a fair rating for them gave me pause. Why? Because when I was hooked this book felt amazing which makes me want to give it a high score. Yet I can only give it an average one because of the issues that I had with it which is rather frustrating.

Straight away I was interested in ‘The Pact’. It had a gripping opening and left me incredibly curious as to how the scene described could possibly have started out as a prank. The chapters were short but this added to the pace of the story, especially as most ended in such a way that left you wanting more. The writing was impressive, on the whole, and tackled some difficult topics quite well. The central characters mostly felt well developed, with snippets of their past getting shared over the course of the story. And the timeline was interesting with the investigation into Nicole’s death intertwining with scenes from Freya’s previous experiences of her at work. The bullying felt real and left me frustrated on the victim’s behalf due to the difficult position that she was in.

Despite the writing generally being very immersive and fast moving with well painted scenes I did find the dialogue a little awkward at times. Some of the conversations felt slightly unrealistic; especially when it came to Freya’s first meeting her housemates. Each of these encounters started with some rather personal subjects being shared and instant bonding which just didn’t feel real to me. In one case, sure, but not for all three. I think maybe I’d have gotten passed this a little better if we’d maybe got to see a few more scenes of these friendships developing but instead they just felt instant and unrealistic as a result.

These issues did lessen my enjoyment of the earlier half of the book but then something changed and I found myself gripped once more. I was convinced that, despite my earlier misgivings, I was going to end up loving the second half of the book. And I did… mostly. Up until the very end in fact which is why it pains me so much to give this book only three stars. The issues that I had concerning the ending, when paired with my earlier struggles, are too much to justify any higher a rating though.

A lot of the resolution to the story I was happy with. Most of the outcome felt believable and the characters convincing too. The epilogue ruined this feeling for me though. It’s not that I’m completely against what happened there; I’m not. I got the point of the revelation but it didn’t flow with the earlier events. Maybe I’d change my mind if I went back and re-read everything (which I am tempted to do at some point) but as it stands some earlier reactions to Nicole’s death didn’t add up once I’d reached the end.

Plus there were a few other things that are bothering me from slightly before the epilogue too. Such as how the killer was finally caught; it doesn’t feel right to me. Another character’s ending didn’t feel natural either; not when I think back and consider how different individuals reacted to them and when they appeared in the book. There are also two smaller things that I thought would be revealed at some point but weren’t. Firstly something that was never shared from a conversation between Freya and Jay; I’d assumed the actual context of his revelation was left vague for a later reveal, yet it never came. And then there’s Jess; what happened to her? You may not have met her but considering what was said I really felt that some answers were needed concerning her fate.

Anyway overall I did enjoy reading ‘The Pact’. There was a time in the first half when I started to feel a little fed up but then it quickly became incredibly gripping and left me wanting more. My issues concerning the ending are too much to overlook however. So on balance this turned out to be a fairly average read for me – something that is so frustrating considering how well written and gripping certain parts of the book were. I’d still be interested in reading more by the author however; her writing showed real promise and she did have a talent for throwing in a lot of unexpected twists.

Check out The Pact on Goodreads here.

Trigger Warnings:

Sexual Harassment & Assault.

I strive to keep my reviews completely spoiler free but if anyone wants to discuss anything about the book in more detail (I seriously feel the need to discuss some things about this one!) then feel free to contact me in the comment section below.

Book Review: Rewind by Catherine Ryan Howard

PLAY
Andrew, the manager of Shanamore Holiday Cottages, watches his only guest via a hidden camera in her room. One night the unthinkable happens: a shadowy figure emerges onscreen, kills her and destroys the camera. But who is the murderer? How did they know about the camera? And how will Andrew live with himself?

PAUSE
Natalie wishes she’d stayed at home as soon as she arrives in the wintry isolation of Shanamore. There’s something creepy about the manager. She wants to leave, but she can’t – not until she’s found what she’s looking for…

REWIND
This is an explosive story about a murder caught on camera. You’ve already missed the start. To get the full picture you must rewind the tape and play it through to the end, no matter how shocking…

‘Then Natalie saw the very last thing she was expecting to see here, in The Kiln, in Shanamore.
     A picture of her own face smiling up at her.’

‘Rewind’ is my second Catherine Ryan Howard book but it certainly won’t be my last based on my experience with her work so far. This book was tremendously well written and pretty hard to put down due to its twisty, compelling plot. What really stood out to me in this book though was the characters.

There was quite a variety of people in this book – more than I’d expected, in fact, before picking the novel up – and each and every one of them felt real. In some of these cases this was actually pretty disturbing considering what the people in question were like. There were a number of creepy and unsettling characters in this book and that, in itself, was enough to keep me guessing. Several people had the potential to be the killer who’d been captured on tape and each of them had some sort of motive too. It honestly was a little bit unnerving how realistically written some of these people were but it wasn’t just the more disturbing individuals who felt fleshed out and believable, everybody in this book did. The central character was well written with an interesting backstory and the same applies to the reporter involved too. I honestly didn’t feel like there was a weak character in the book which definitely added to the story.

Considering the unusual way that ‘Rewind’ is written I’m not sure if some people would struggle slightly although if this is the case, and you do feel a little lost when starting the book, I honestly would urge you to carry on. There are a fair few points of view to follow, in varying timelines, but each of them is vital to the story and just incredibly well written. The odd timeline involved really works for the story that is told and I really enjoyed it. It allowed for twists and turns from several points in time to be revealed at various places throughout the story. The way that social media is portrayed in this book was also quite unsettling at times. It felt spot on, considering Natalie’s background, but it really highlighted some of the dangers of sharing too much of yourself online.

As a whole everything came together really well and was tied up wonderfully. I did guess who the killer was but at the same time I wasn’t entirely confident in my guess. I had several theories and there were quite a few big reveals along the way so this didn’t particularly take away from the overall enjoyment of the novel for me. The one thing that did lessen my enjoyment slightly however is a slight continuity error towards the end. There were two, technically, but one was pretty minor and I would have overlooked. The second of these, though, didn’t really impact upon the overall story or change the fact that everything came together well but it did grate on me slightly. It basically comes down to someone claiming not to have a phone and then, several pages later, stating that they do have one. In the circumstances of the conversation it did irritate me that this wasn’t picked up on; especially as, to avoid such an error, all that had to be said instead in the first conversation was that they didn’t have their phone with them (and I did go back to check that I wasn’t mistaken about this not being the case). Still as I said this didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story too much, hence the still high rating.

Overall I’d definitely recommend this book for its compelling storyline and incredibly well written characters. It was a very hard book to put down pretty much from page one and I can’t wait to see what the author writes next; whatever it is I’m sure I’ll be reading it.

Check out Rewind on Goodreads here.

Trigger Warnings:

Violent/Graphic Murder Scene, Pedophilia and Stalking.

I strive to keep my reviews completely spoiler free but if anyone wants to discuss anything about the book in more detail (or just give me an excuse to gush about it) then feel free to contact me in the comment section below.

Book Review: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

If she’d been a social butterfly, they would have said she liked to drink away her pain. If she’d been a straight-A student, they would have said she’d been eaten alive by her perfectionism. There were always excuses for why girls died.

Before starting Ninth House I wasn’t sure how much magic to expect from the novel. I knew that it mentioned secret societies and occult activities but I wasn’t entirely sure where these would go; whether the magic would be something that you could see or ritualistic; whether the main character would believe in such things or not. So to pick up this book and receive a world where there were many different societies, each specializing in different types of magic, and where ghosts walked the earth was a rather pleasant surprise. The magical and mystical worked superbly within the pages of Ninth House and I absolutely adored the world that Leigh Bardugo created. Academia blended with the supernatural so seamlessly that it felt like a world that truly could exist. The writing was brilliant too although I will admit that at the start of the novel there were quite a lot of references that I couldn’t place and as a result it did take me a little while to get into the flow of the story. Once I was hooked it was hard to put this book down though.

The characters in this book were wonderfully well thought out and developed. Alex was a bit hard to relate to at times, perhaps due to how she hid her true self away, but I definitely felt for her given everything that she’d endured over the years. I loved the way that she wanted to stand up for ‘girls like her’. All of her past – everything that made her the person that she is today – was just terrifically well thought out and detailed too. My favourite character was definitely Darlington; somehow over the course of the novel I came to love his character so much. And with time I came to enjoy Dawes character too, along with several other surprising individuals. The villains from this book deserve a mention too because they were just superb. Like the other characters they were well written with fleshed out motivations and, when shared, interesting back stories.

The story itself was incredibly well plotted and thought out. Everything came together in a way that I wouldn’t have seen coming and kept me guessing from page one. As stated above once I was hooked it was hard to put this book down and that’s so true – once the story got going this book was utterly compelling. The plot, the characters, the magic… everything just came together so wonderfully. I loved learning about Lethe and the other houses; I love reading snippets of their history too. This book is incredibly dark at times though too so please bare that in mind and, if you have any triggers, I’d definitely recommend checking out the trigger warnings.

Altogether I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ninth House and found myself glued to its pages, wanting to unravel exactly what was going on. After the ending I definitely can’t wait for book two to come out, I have a feeling that with it’s possible setting it’ll be even more addictive than the first book in the series. So yes I recommend this book if you’re looking for a dark, atmospheric mystery with a surprisingly varied cast of characters.

Check out Ninth House on Goodreads here.

I’m aware that some people may find these warnings potentially spoiling so click the link below if you want to know them in advance. Also sorry if I missed any; I have tried to at least include the ones that majorly stood out to me.

Trigger Warnings:

Sexual Assault, Rape (including of a minor), Drug Use, Overdoses, Consumption Of Bodily Fluids, Death, Murder, Drowning & Extreme Violence/Gore.

I strive to keep my reviews completely spoiler free but if anyone wants to discuss anything about the book in more detail (or just give me an excuse to gush about it) then feel free to contact me in the comment section below.

Book Review: Hex Life by Various Authors

These are tales of wickedness… stories of evil and cunning, written by today’s women you should fear. Includes tales from Kelley Armstong, Rachel Caine and Sherrilyn Kenyon, writing in their own bestselling universes.

Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery will take the classic tropes of tales of witchcraft and infuse them with fresh, feminist perspective and present-day concerns–even if they’re set in the past. These witches might be monstrous, or they might be heroes, depending on their own definitions. Even the kind hostess with the candy cottage thought of herself as the hero of her own story. After all, a woman’s gotta eat.

Bring out your dread.

‘They remember their own fathers warning them to stay out of the woods or the witch would eat them up, build herself a bed with the bones.
She has killed those who cross her.
She has scared men to death.
If you’re out in the woods at night and you hear her song, it’ll be the last sound you ever know.
But the stories, they’re all half-truths.’

Although a little different than I originally expected it to be (a lot more of the stories in this collection were chilling than I’d anticipated) Hex Life is probably the best anthology that I’ve picked up so far. To be fair I do generally enjoy short story collections but this one really stood out to me as a particularly good one. Normally with these sorts of collections it’s easy to pick out the tales that you loved best and the ones that underwhelmed you but in this one every story stood surprisingly strongly. I honestly don’t think there was a bad one within the whole bunch. There were naturally some that I liked better than others still but picking out favourites in this collection is incredibly hard.

Firstly each and every one of the stories in Hex Life are incredibly well written; most of them creating spectacular atmospheres that easily reel the reader in. The settings and types of stories vary greatly – something that makes them quite hard to compare – and all of them left me wanting to check out more of the various author’s works. The range of characters and events in this collection is fantastic. And, as stated above, the chills were a lot greater than I’d initially anticipated. Some of the stories in this collection crept under my skin and deeply unsettled me, playing on my mind hours after finishing them. One had the sort of fierce, feminist heroine that I’d been expecting; another left me quite pleased overall with the warmer route that it took yet still managed to send slight shivers down my spine at times. Others tackled important issues superbly such as racism and homophobia.

Every story within this book is worth a read and, as I’ve already said, picking favourites is incredibly hard but here’s my best attempt at choosing exactly that. Widows’ Walk was a fantastic short story that warmed my heart at places and left me with chills in others. Black Magic Momma is set within Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld and I seriously need to get on and read those books! I adored her take on witches and can’t wait to read more within the world. The Night Nurse is probably the story that disturbed me the most; seriously it was creepy and definitely lingered on my mind afterwards. The Deer Wife was strangely haunting and beautifully written. Bless Your Heart merged baking, magic and vengeance wonderfully and had a wonderfully compelling tone. This Skin, despite being just ten pages long, disturbed me deeply and left me guessing. I honestly can not believe what the author accomplished in so few pages! And The Nekrolog covered events that I don’t know that much about but left a fantastic supernatural twist on them and was just wonderfully written once again.

Those are only some of my favourites though as the collection contained so much more. I enjoyed visiting Morganville once again for instance and there were two other chilling tales that particularly stood out to me. One set in the woods with some majorly disturbing vibes and another involving a figure that I’ve heard of elsewhere which once more was wonderfully written with an incredibly haunting vibe.

Overall I definitely recommend this anthology and will hopefully be checking out more of the various authors’ works in the future. Just as a warning though this collection is a fairly creepy one; there are stories here that truly unnerved me. Several of the stories also involved a bit of gore and others had some very strong language included.  So please do take that into account although I do still recommend this book; it’s just such a fantastic mix of haunting tales by some incredible writers.

Check out Hex Life on Goodreads here.

I strive to keep my reviews completely spoiler free but if anyone wants to discuss anything about the book in more detail (or just give me an excuse to gush about it) then feel free to contact me in the comment section below.