Gemma

I loved this.

The author drops you straight into the plot when you wake up with one sister, who has amnesia on a deserted island and all she can remember is her desperate need to get back to her sister. Her sister lives in one of the eco cities their parents helped build due to Earth being ravaged by the consequences of climate change. This book is a dystopia, a mystery, and a bit of a thriller all rolled into one.

I loved reading about both sisters, especially Kay. She was so dear to me, from the start, and following along with her journey was one of my favourite parts of the book.

I was so focused on aspects of the story that I missed others unfolding until they were right in front of me. That???s something I think most straight thrillers don???t manage that often. There were so many moments where a twist happened, and I was gripped by the intense urge to keep on reading despite struggling to keep my eyes open.

I really loved this book. I believe I have recently picked up a copy of the author's first book and I can???t wait to get to it now.

I really love when an author writes in the more detached way that myths and fairy tales are written in, so I knew Ariadne was going to be a good selection for me. I don???t know anything about the relevant myths so it was great to discover them for this first time in this way.

I liked Ariadne immediately and it wasn???t hard to feel invested in her story. Her story takes off quickly as the first few chapters progress. On the other hand her sister was less interesting to me except where you get the comparison between their lives. I thought that was a bit of a weakness because I was dying the whole time to get back to Ariadne???s chapters.

One thing I would have liked more of is character development. I think if the story had focused more on each sister individually and developed them further it would have blown me away.

I thought this was a good myth retelling, and I???m interested to follow Jennifer Saint???s next book and see where she takes it.

The first thing that jumped out to me as I started Anna is how creepy and visceral the book was. The book was excellent at building terror as we moved through the story and I thought it was remarkably well done. This was probably one of the strongest aspects of the book. It really elevated the first and third part of the book but during the middle where the character was in a relatively stable environment it meant that the novel dragged a little. As the book is written from Anna???a point of view, it???s her emotions that really help to build the tension and atmosphere so when she gets any form of safety it means the atmosphere falls flat.

Unfortunately, the plot didn???t add to the reading experience. I don???t think it was a negative aspect but it was fairly predictable and a plot line I think I???ve seen before in similar settings. The characters did exactly what I thought they would, so as the plot wore on I enjoyed it less. I think if there???d been a bit more to the plot, maybe subverting some of my expectations it could have been a really solid read.

I thought Anna was a good read, a definite page turner as the first part hooks you in deep. I enjoyed soaking in the suspense and atmosphere the author built and I really think it stands apart from other books in how well the tension was built.

Man, talk about a cover pick. There???s a style of cover art that uses the distinct paint strokes to build up the art and get a textured feel that just makes me want to pick the book up immediately.

There???s Roman influences in the structure of the army and it???s the most I???ve enjoyed any Roman influenced fantasy. I just don???t get a long with it. The setting was built up fairly minimally and done through conversation mostly so you built up a wider picture in little chunks. I thought that was a good balance to strike considering how little the setting plays a part in the story.

The dialogue felt overly stiff and formal for how well characters knew each other. And then there were moments when I couldn???t believe things happened for any reason other than the plot requiring it, like torturers giving information away freely while trying to interrogate someone. C???mon man. The character felt like they were mostly just designed to fit the plot rather than having layers and feeling more real.

I had a fun time reading Seven Deaths of an Empire, it was a cool premise. I was hooked quite early on but unfortunately it didn???t end up a hit for me.

Ok, I don't think I understood what I was getting into when I requested Skyward Inn for early review. I've seen someone refer to it as ‘new weird', a little in the vein of Vandermeer and I think that gives a little bit of an insight into the style. I preferred this over the Vandermeer I've read for a few reasons.

I found it much easier to follow and get invested in the narrative as the reader is given a clear idea of the initial ideas. The characters were distinct and easy to get a good idea of and I liked reading about them. I thought they seemed like people I could have met in real life and that lent them a richness that helped carry me through any of the confusing new weird moments.

The ‘weird' part of science fiction isn't one I have liked in the past, but I'd definitely make an exception for Skyward Inn. I thought the characters were engaging, the world exciting to read about and the twist towards the end makes me want to re-read it already, only a few months later.

The Lamplighters was a creepy, quick read that I couldn't put down the whole way through. If you've been flicking through mystery/thrillers, enjoying them but haven't been impressed in a while, this book is a definite change of pace from most.

Firstly, the setting and original concept was a great draw. I love a locked room mystery, and the added intrigue of an isolated lighthouse made that all the more attractive. I also liked the atmosphere it lent to the book because the whole time it felt creepy and otherworldly while we remained in the lighthouse. If the whole book had focused on the men in the lighthouse I think I would have enjoyed it even more.

Unfortunately, the author looks at the mystery through the lens of an author writing a book about the tragedy, and the author gets in contact with the spouses of the men. This angle made the mystery all the more down to earth, removed a lot of the atmosphere I was enjoying so much and really began to focus the mystery through the eyes of the spouses.

I had forgotten the pitch for All Girls by the time I came around to reading it, and all I could remember was that it was a thriller set at elite boarding school. That pitch does not describe the book I read, but nevertheless the book was a pleasant surprise.

Like I said above, I was convinced this was a mystery/thriller novel. I even think Goodreads has it categorised as a thriller. All Girls is more a literary fiction study of how the ripples of a rape accusation from 20 years ago affects the current day students at a boarding school. The incident in the blurb is not the focus of the story and we only really learn about the event through newspaper clippings and emails from staff.

I think this was a good angle to explore. I am not interested in reading a story that uses the character???s pain as a backdrop to make the story seem like it has meaning. I???ve found that to be the case with a lot of literary fiction I???ve read. In this book the students are concerned with the case, and especially how safe they are at a school where an incident like this has happened before.

Over the course of 300+ pages, we meet a series of students who were all great to read from. They each felt realised off the page, we experienced parts of their past or daily life outside of where the plot takes the character. I enjoyed that the characters were each connected to each other through the various points of view. There was a sense of how interconnected the lives of these girls are as they live together and learn together in a small school.

The writing flowed seamlessly through the various points of view. You stay with each character for exactly as long as they are needed for the narrative, so the plot feels like it is progressing quickly as it is propelled by the POV switches. While with the characters we live their life deeply and in detail for as long as we remain with them. The characters were varied and flawed. I thought Layden did a great job of writing the characters so they were believably 17/18 years old.

This not an easy topic to read about. The layers of removal from the incident is also helped by the students disconnection from the victim. The incident happened before they were born. However, the students discover that as the accusation comes to light it stirs up questions and worries they have about their safety and life experiences. I thought Layden did a great job handling a difficult topic.

Unfortunately, this book ended up as a DNF for me. I've delayed writing this review because I was hoping I could get back into it as I have another Selby on my shelves and was intrigued by all the 5 star reviews.

The main barrier to enjoyment was the writing style. This world uses a lot of unique language and unique wording, which I have enjoyed from other authors in the past (notably The Bone Ships by RJ Barker) but I never reached a point where I found myself understanding the language used. This is a pretty important aspect of the writing for me as I don't want to have to stop and re-read to gain more context to puzzle the writing out. It stops me from getting integrated into the book.

I really liked the concept for the book and the idea of reading about a fantasy postal service was really working for me. I also enjoyed the intrigue provided by the secondary POV, a magic user hunting for a rare group of people. I think this could be a great read and one I might revisit in the future to see if the writing works for me.

If the writing style works for you, there's quite a few interconnected books to explore.