Adeline

• mini review • Ice by Anna Kavan

4 stars Speculative literary fiction where the world is being destroyed by ice it follows an unnamed character who tries to find a woman fleeing from another man, the mysterious warden.

My last read of 2025 and this was such a strange little book written in a gorgeous, lush and surrealistic prose. There was the tense, obsessed and hypnotic tone of the unreliable and psychotic narrator, the psychedelic fever dream narration, the icy and eerie atmosphere of a film noir set in a cold and desolate apocalyptic world. So all of these elements made for a haunting, surreal, oppressive read, yet still fascinating and I liked the themes touched upon by the author. Despite being written in the 60s there was an universal and timeless , even modern feel to it, with a lack of distinct cultural references, so this could have been written 100 years ago or 10 years for now by any author from any country. Despite being first narrated in first point of view by our main protagonist, there were moments where the POV seemed to shift to other characters which increased the chaotic and dizzying feel of the story, as events seemed constructed randomly together, with a plot that was non existent.

I’m not sure how I felt about the characters and their flip flopping emotions, the plotless story. So ultimately it was the atmosphere and writing that really struck me. Overall an interestingly bizarre short story but one that didn’t fulfil me emotionally.

Historical fantasy following Vasya a young girl living in the Russian countryside with her family, wild and touched by magic, she starts to sense a dark and threatening presence growing in the woods.

I absolutely inhaled this novel by Katherine Arden, her debut novel and the first book in a trilogy. This was such a wonderful read, the writing was so lush and evocative. I loved the presence of folklore and folktale woven into the story, giving it a whimsical but dark tone, and the wintery desolate atmosphere was perfectly captured. I loved how the author approached themes of patriarchy, traditions, zealotry, folklore, worship, faith, love etc. I really liked Vasya as a main character, such a strong and resilient girl who resists social, religious and gender norms, you can’t help but root for her. Other side characters were also compelling, I liked the winter king as a magical figure reminiscent of Hades, and even the pathetic Konstantinos and evil Anna was strongly drawn so they made for a good cast of grey characters. There was a couple of pacing problems (the middle felt a bit too dragging and the ending a bit too rushed, especially the last confrontation) that knocked half a star off for me. Overall, a perfect book for this winter season, I can’t wait to check ou the other two books.

4.25 stars for each book. Mystery fantasy with elements of horror and romance, following a forger, a disgraced paladin and an assassin, alongside a scholar who are sent on an espionage mission to stop the terrible mechanical soldiers raging war against Dowager City. The Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine were initially written as one single story later split into two books, I’ve decided to review them together.

I loved this story, the world of the White Rat is so fun and exciting. As always T. Kingfisher does a great job balancing humour and horror, interesting mystery and compelling characters. I loved Slate and Caliban (which I now realised was referred to in the Saint of Steel series), particularly but all the characters were great.

Despite my enjoyment there was a difference in tone and pacing between the two books. It was a bit jarring, as the first was fast paced and adventurous while the second was much slower and reflective (too much sometimes). So I’m not sure about splitting the story in two books was it, but maybe a single long novel wouldn’t have made it better. So overall, the pacing wasn’t perfect. There was also a couple of plot elements that I wanted to see more developed or that were rushed a bit.

This was the first books written in the world of the white Rat so technically I’ve read all of the published works and I can’t wait to read the upcoming books in that series.

4.25 stars for each book. Mystery fantasy with elements of horror and romance, following a forger, a disgraced paladin and an assassin, alongside a scholar who are sent on an espionage mission to stop the terrible mechanical soldiers raging war against Dowager City. The Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine were initially written as one single story later split into two books, I’ve decided to review them together.

I loved this story, the world of the White Rat is so fun and exciting. As always T. Kingfisher does a great job balancing humour and horror, interesting mystery and compelling characters. I loved Slate and Caliban (which I now realised was referred to in the Saint of Steel series), particularly but all the characters were great.

Despite my enjoyment there was a difference in tone and pacing between the two books. It was a bit jarring, as the first was fast paced and adventurous while the second was much slower and reflective (too much sometimes). So I’m not sure about splitting the story in two books was it, but maybe a single long novel wouldn’t have made it better. So overall, the pacing wasn’t perfect. There was also a couple of plot elements that I wanted to see more developed or that were rushed a bit.

This was the first books written in the world of the white Rat so technically I’ve read all of the published works and I can’t wait to read the upcoming books in that series.

4.5 stars

Speculative dystopian (but ultimately prescient) literary fiction, where an isolated Californian town in the mountains is transformed by a strange sleeping virus that progressively contaminates thousands of its inhabitants.

My second book from Karen Thompson Walker this was yet again a phenomenal read. Like her previous book I read (The strange case of Jane O), I absolutely love her writing so lush and hypnotic, with the eerie atmosphere of a town hit by an epidemic perfectly captured.

I liked the speculative elements were being speckled throughout the narrative, and how the author approached various themes on love, family, survival, community, individualism, dreams, reality, etc This was definitely more character centric than plot centric, as we see different characters point of views. Some of the storylines I connect more than others and there a couple of characters’ arcs that I felt was rushed a bit too quickly. I don’t mind the open ending (very realistic) but I felt the pacing was a bit off towards the last few chapters.

This was published in 2019, so reading this in a post Covid world felt weirdly prescient as the author described events and behaviours that actually happened in real life, and this experience is even more strange because it kind of parallels the thematics and speculative elements developed in the book.

This is a book that doesn’t have all the answers in a neat package so ultimately it will influence your enjoyment. Overall a perfect read for people who love gorgeously written speculative fiction, specifically light sci-fi, I’m looking forward to Karen Thompson Walker future books.

3.5 stars Epic fantasy with elements of murder mystery, following Neema, a scholar who becomes involved in a tournament to choose the next emperor, after one of the contender for the throne has been found murdered.

Soooo overall this was a great concept but the execution was a mixed bag for me. It started quite well, this being a fast paced setting of the story and the world so I quickly went through the first third of the book.

I really liked the concept , a mix of murder mystery and tournament. The world building was super interesting, specifically the animal deities and their specificities being transmitted to their followers. I liked the themes of the power of stories and folktales, religion as human invention, love, family, etc

The quality of the prose felt inconsistent, but mostly the writing was good especially the descriptions and world building elements.

I liked Neema as the main character and her arc, (I’ve seen some reviews identifying her as neurodivergent) and the other characters like Tala, Yasila, Ruko and Fenn. ‪However, most of the time, there was something about the relationship and dialogue between characters that bothered me. Despite being in their 20s and 30s, their interactions felt a bit superficial and juvenile (not that people in that age group can’t have juvenile moments but still).

Also it became more and more evident that each plot points didn’t evolve organically or subtlety enough, like some scenes was stitched together. So many of the twists and the emotional scenes were less impactful, though I did really like the type of twists the author went for. Halfway into the book the main resolution of the mystery plot felt rushed and the tournament part dragged, so the pacing also felt off, I think a shorter, edited book more focused on the mystery would have been better.

Because the execution was lacking, I’m not sure I’ll check out the sequel immediately and in physical format, I might download the ebook one day.

3.75 stars

Historical literary fiction translated from Norwegian, it follows the real life figure of Belle Gunness, a young woman who immigrated from Norway to the US at the end of the 19th century, and later known as the first female serial killer in the country.

How do you write the slow decay of the mind ? I feel the writing style in this was a perfect example, a frenzied stream of consciousness capturing the mental illness of the character, her depravity. The author painted her character’s words and feelings like a fever dream, with chaotic flashes of emotional, religious, violent and sexual ecstasy.

However this wasn’t a simple retelling of the murders perpetrated by Belle Gunness, with a classic narrative arc. It was more a hyper focused look on her psyche, so for me it ended up too static, dense and one tone story, too redundant and abstract. Another point of view, more outside context (like her supposed insurance frauds) or more excerpts of historical documents would have made it more interesting and dynamic read for me.

An unsettling little book with a lush prose but ultimately not compelling enough for me, overall this was mixed reading experience.

4.5 stars Speculative mystery, following Isserley a woman who spends her days riding her car, travelling through Scotland, picking up hitchhikers for mysterious reasons.

My first time reading Michael Faber, I really liked this book ! The writing was gorgeous, lush with an unsettling atmosphere and evocative description of the Scottish land. I love how the author explained the reasons behind Isserley’s actions in a subtle way, revealing bits by bits his overall world building that was fascinating. I liked reading about Isserley, her thoughts, pains and hopes, she came across as a very complex and touching person. I also liked how the author approached themes like identity, speciesism, oppression, capitalism, classism, animal rights, misogyny, perception and alienation

This wasn’t a strictly horror book, more unsettling than gory though there was a couple of disturbing scenes that really underlined the unsettling and creepy atmosphere. I’d also advise other readers to check the trigger warnings.

As this was a very character centric novel, the plot wasn’t incredibly elaborate and lack any intricate storyline which didn’t really bother me. Although I really liked the ending, however I felt the development towards it felt a bit rushed, compared to the rest of the story who was rightly paced for the atmosphere it conveyed. I also wanted to see more of the world so the last scenes felt a bit abrupt.

I also know there was a movie adaptation but from what I’ve heard I probably won’t watch it.

Overall a dark and unsettling novel, I definitely recommend reading this novel with knowing as little as possible about it.

4.25 Historical literary fiction following Tom, a young English man, who works as a shanker (fisherman), but dreams of becoming a folk singer; one day he encounters Edgar, a film director from Hollywood who hires him to show him potential locations for his next movie.

This was such a lovely little read. The writing was lush and evocative, the author did such a great job recreating the bleak seaside location, the hard and monotonous life of a fisherman. The setting made me remember of how a town on the Belgian coast is keeping this tradition (of shrimp fishing with horses) alive today. The atmosphere was perfectly damp like the moody sea weather, I loved the descriptions of the ghostly, claustrophobic and threatening presence of the fog on the beach. So this was a perfectly appropriate book for this wintery season. I really liked the slow burn character centric approach, that allows us to get into Tom’s thoughts, his aspirations and hopes, his desperation for another life. There was an emotional intelligence and positivity to Tom that made this a compelling and enriching read. I liked how the author discussed various themes on art, motherhood, tradition, family, choice, happiness, working class, ambition, etc The pacing itself was good though the ending and the characters’ arc resolutions felt a bit too abrupt, and I would have liked more fleshed out scenes with side characters. Overall a quick but very enjoyable atmospheric read.

3.75 stars Murder mystery taking place on the Orient Express train where Meredith, an Australian lawyer, and her twin brother Joe, a writer and lover of crime fiction, are travelling to Istanbul after Joe’s long battle with cancer. But their trip is perturbed by multiple deaths and the disappearance of their neighbouring passenger in addition to a Covid outbreak in another part of the train.

This is the second book by Sulari Gentill I’m reading, and although I prefer the previous one, this wasn’t a bad reading experience. First of all I loved the setting of the Orient Express train and it definitely made me want to rewatch the 1974 movie (definitely the best version, I wasn’t a fan of the Poirot episode) and some of the other adaptations of Agatha Christie’s works. I also liked the discussion about crime fiction, trains in fiction, true crime and the legacy and influence of fiction on our society. This felt very much like a plot heavy story and not much a character centric one. I liked the main character but I felt the side characters were at best boring and at worst useless. The pacing was good, fast paced and page turning. There was a good amount of twists though a couple fell flat since I had other darker theories. This was definitely a more cozy read so they didn’t happened. I devoured the book in a little over a day so I didn’t feel like I’ve waste time reading it, hence my rating. Although the last chapter was also a useless addition in my opinion, adding nothing to the plot nor the characters, not even a last twist.

Overall, a nice little cozy read that didn’t wow me but it made me want to rewatch some Agatha Christie’s adaptations, still the GOAT of crime/detective stories. I’ll probably check out the authors other work since I like books about books and other meta stuff.

3.75 stars Historical fiction set before and during the Big Freeze of 1962/1963 and the Cuban Missile crisis, it follows Marta a marine archaeologist assigned to collect the remains of a local hero inside a sunken ship near a remote Scottish island. Dealing with a painful past, she starts a relationship with Elsie, a local woman but her expedition is threatened by the disappearance of the ship’s treasure.

The main strength of this book was the atmospheric description of the Scottish island, a desolate, humid and creepy place with unwelcoming inhabitants. The writing was lushly evocative, with a distinct tone enriched by the Scottish vernacular, perfectly rendering the historical and geographical era. The historical events provided another layer of tension and danger to the story. The author did a great job showing the devastating effect of the cold on the islanders, physically and mentally, adding a dose of religious psychosis and supernatural horror elements. Marta wasn’t completely likeable and even irritating many times because of her self flagellation. It impacted on my enjoyment of her relationship with Elsie (it didn’t hit all the right notes as a sapphic enthusiast) and with other characters. I liked how she finally grew out of her self misery but it came a bit too late into the story. While her story was compelling enough for me to continue, I wished we saw more of her backstory, her diving skills and work as a marine archeologist since it was interesting to me. The pacing wasn’t great. It felt too repetitive during the 1st part of the novel, because of the character’s personality and ruminations. Some elements were a bit too quickly developed or resolved, with some superficial interactions and dialogue, not adding to the plot or the characters in an organic way. Fortunately with another character entering the story the 2nd half of the book was more entertaining. I really liked how the author integrated themes on xenophobia, bigotry, privilege, traditions, folklore, religion etc into the main story. Overall a mixed read for me, but I might check out the author’s other books in the future.

Second book in the Kindom trilogy, this space opera action thriller continues the journey of the cast from These Burnjng Stars as they are confronted by murder mysteries, conspiracies and political intrigue.

What an incredible sequel this was. I loved seeing the characters from the first books, but also a new character whose point of view was equally compelling to read. Bethany Jacobs does such a great job juggling twists and turns, different storylines and flashbacks to five a fast paced story with great world building and character development. I loved how this book has even more queerness than the previous. I will avoid saying anything else to avoid spoilers but this second book really put this trilogy into my top 3 queer space opera series. I can’t wait to read the third and final book that will be released in December.

3.75 stars Historical paranormal mystery following Sarah a young and lonely city girl who finds work with Alistair, a veteran from WW1, interested by ghosts, meeting his assistant the mysterious and unsettling Matthew; the three investigate the strange haunting of a recently deceased maid in the English countryside.

My third book by Simone St James. Overall this felt like reading The Book of Cold Cases, I was a bit underwhelmed compared to Silence for the Dead, though this was apparently the author’s first novel. The haunting parts were well done and I loved how the apparitions of the ghosts were described, how it affected each character differently. The atmosphere was creepy during those moments, I loved the use of birds too. The mystery itself was good but there wasn’t anything surprising to it, I clocked the villains quite rapidly so I did wish for more suspense and twists, more subtle hints throughout the novel. I liked Sarah as the main character, her strength,and resilience; but her point of view felt at times a bit too much telling rather than showing. The romantic subplot between Sarah and Matthew was a bit less underwhelming like her previous books. I did like the angsty, lust filled moments but it felt a bit too rushed and superficial, I wanted more scenes of them together just talking and developing their relationship more. I feel this story could have been told in various points of view, like Matthew’s and Alistair’s which would have add something more profound, especially their past experiences during the war. Pacing wise, I feel it lagged a bit during the middle part, so the final confrontation felt a bit rushed, but overall the story moved at a good pace. Overall a good novel but with some underwhelming elements especially the plot.

4.75 stars Historical literary fiction following the lives in Canada and the US of two indigenous siblings: Joe, who struggles with anger and grief after the disappearance of his sister, and Norma, who is raised by a white family, until the secret of her real heritage is finally unearthed after decades.

I really devoured this book, since it features one of my favourite tropes (estranged family members), and truly this was a strong debut novel in my opinion. I loved the writing style, simple and engaging with some gorgeous turns of phrases. I particularly loved Norma’s point of view, her story was so touching and I felt for her when she discovered the truth, I liked how her anger was expressed. Joe’s point of view felt compelling, though there was a particular episode that made me dislike him. While I’m glad the author’s never tried to minimise it but it made his parts a soured experience to read afterward.

While events were shown in a compressed narrative, and it’s usually a style that makes me distant from the characters’ life and feeling, there was still an emotional resonance to the writing that made me feel for them. The last 30 pages made me cry so hard. There was a couple of plot elements that dragged a bit or that I wished arrived sooner, and the historical setting felt too generically described in a way. I feel that this book should not be marketed as a mystery because it’s pretty obvious from the synopsis that the disappearance of Norma is not the central focus or the why wasn’t important, and it felt more a reflection on various themes like, racism, struggles faced by indigenous communities, violence, motherhood, family, grief and guilt.

Overall a very touching and striking debut, I’m looking forward to read more of Amanda Peeters’ work.

3.25 stars Speculative literary fiction following Kathy a carer in an alternate 90s who reminisces on her days in a special British boarding school alongside her childhood friends Ruth and Tommy.

At first I liked the world building, the subtle hints at something not being quite right about the characters, the speculative elements being buried under layers of everyday life, a twisted version of a classic boarding school story, making it like a magical realism novel.

However most of the novel felt like a slog, not a good sort of slow burn. There was a lot of repetitiveness (in words like «  anyway » « what I’m saying is » or « the point is, « whether I mean is ») that quickly became annoying. Also the narrator had a lot of meandering thoughts with superfluous details, not only in her thoughts but also the dialogue shared between other characters. To be honest I hate when people take forever to talk about stuff in real life so it definitely negatively impacted my enjoyment of the story. The most interesting pieces of lore ended up being stuffed towards the end of the book, and I wished it had been better displayed throughout the story.

Kathy as the narrator came across a bit as a dull not being helped by the writing. I liked her relationship with Tommy, though he wasn’t a compelling character either, but I really felt for them. Ruth was a bully so I really didn’t care for her.

Because of that pacing and the lack of compelling characters, this really lacked emotional impact for me so this ended up being a very mixed experience. Overall a great concept with interesting world building but the execution left me underwhelmed.

4.5 stars

Historical thriller mystery following Hannah Cole, a recently widowed woman who reopens her confectionery shop in 1750s London, after the unresolved murder of her husband and encounters William Devereux a rich foreigner whose idea of a new product could make her shop even more successful.

Overall this was a great historical novel that I devoured, and while there’s no explicit spoilers next I’d advise going into this book with minimal knowledge as possible. Spoilers ! Like her previous book this was such a page turner full of tense moments and twists, a true battle of cons and wits. Some parts though I felt were a bit rushed like in regards to the change in feelings and the resolutions, how each character makes the right connections. The ending too felt a bit rushed and underwhelming.

I loved reading the two characters, each reflecting the character own personality, with their own vernacular. I also liked how they were both complex, grey characters with their own ambitions. Their romance was interesting because of the lies yet at the same time it had yearning and angst but I wished we had seen it more scenes showing how it evolved, I wasn’t 100% into it.

The author did such a great job recreating the atmosphere and culture of mid 18th century London, in terms of vocab and synthax. The historical note at the end was really interesting to read too. Overall a great page turning historical thriller, with some minor flaws for me.

3.5 stars Memoir following the author Hua Hsu, a Taiwanese American throughout his years in college and the short but intense friendship he cultivated with Ken, a Japanese American who was tragically killed during a car jacking.

I rarely gravitate towards memoirs but wanted to challenge myself for Goodreads, but alas this was a quick but not incredible read for me. The author might come across as a bit culturally pretentious to some yet his interest for niche and diverse music and other forms of entertainment resonated with me personally. I loved the 90s setting, many of the references I knew about (American college life which I saw on tv shows or movies) or lived through/with them (mixtapes, MTV, alternative music, grunge, rap, etc). It was also an informative and enriching read about Asian Americans experiences and identities.

That being said, I felt the passages on academic (philosophy) and historical subjects were interesting in themselves but not well integrated into his story. The writing itself was good but not incredible as I wasn’t really emotionally devastated like I thought I would especially the passage where his friend died, it lacked something. I felt this was slightly mismarketed, it felt less about the author’s friendship with Ken than his own personal life growing up and going to college, his reflections on topics such as memories, time, grief, friendship, identity etc. I do like how the author was self aware at the end about this. The aftermath of Ken’s death and how the author lived through his memories of their lives together, how he struggled to process his grief, the unique and shared experience of mourning, his depression and morbid thoughts, how our identity change through time and experiences, how his tastes changed were more impactful for me. Overall a mixed read for me, not totally uninteresting but my expectations weren’t totally fulfilled.

3.75 stars Horror mystery translated from Icelandic about a young woman Idrunn who surfers from constant fatigue and soon realises something happens to her every night during her sleep.

This was a quick little story that I read in a couple of hours. The pacing was good, and many chapters were very short (one sentence long) so I flew through this.

The Icelandic setting of course made me want to travel there even more so I also wanted more descriptions of the island and city. Though it’s always hard to judge because it’s translated, I wasn’t wowed by the writing, there were some nice turns of phrasing but more often it was simplistic.

I liked the bleak atmosphere, enhanced by the helplessness felt by the main character about her situation, and most gory elements (not all though, IYKYK and check the tw) especially after she woke up. But I felt this lacked tension, especially in the revelations of what is happening to Idunn

Idunn as a main character came across as a bit bland but still her story was compelling enough for me to push through. The side characters were just there and I didn’t care for any of them (though it felt like a parallel to the main character’s emotions perhaps).

I liked what the author had to say about autonomy, patriarchy,sexism in the medical field but I wished it was better integrated into the story and that the author delved more into it. Many plot elements weren’t explained but I feel this added to the sense of despair and helplessness of Idrunn so I wasn’t totally bothered. I really liked the open ending. Overall a quick read perfect for the autumn/winter seasons if you like weird stories that doesn’t answer everything.

4.25 stars Murder mystery following Celeste an old widow who owns appartements in an exclusive London square makes two of her tenants, Audrey and Lewis, do their own parallel to the police investigation on the murder of another resident of the complex.

Overall a good little cozy mystery and a strong debut ! This was mostly like a page turner but while most of the investigation felt slow paced, some parts felt a bit too rushed especially towards the end when the solution is being presented, so I thought it lacked a bit of tension in the twists. There was a bit too much suspension of belief moments too.

Some side characters felt a bit underdeveloped and some subplots felt rushed too, so they felt like an afterthought more than being integrated into the story.

I liked both Audrey and Lewis, with their own struggles and charms, and their interactions were cute without being overwhelming cheesy (in a golden retriever and black cat way). Celeste was also a very interesting character, a quirky little rich old lady, IYKYK. Having each their own point of view made for a richer reading experience. While there was a certain coziness and lightness to the atmosphere though author also tackled different themes like domestic violence or ptsd.

Overall a very good debut novel and I’d love to see another book with that trio investigating another mystery, apparently there’s one coming up 👀

4.25 stars A collection of 9 short stories with elements of horror, gothic and speculative fiction, the author explores trauma, fractured relationships, death, toxic masculinity in various locations across the USA, where each protagonist, mainly working class men, is confronted by horrible and mysterious events.

I really liked this collection and absolutely inhaled all nine stories.

The element that stood out for me was the writing, which was absolutely gorgeous, lush and evocative. The author’s prose perfectly rendered a creepy and tense atmosphere, filled with some weird and gruesome imagery, horrifying moments of physical and psychological brutality. I loved how original the supernatural elements felt and how they were interwoven into the everyday lives of the characters especially for The Crevasse, Wild Acre, The Way Station and Sunbleached. I liked how the author explored how each character dealt in the aftermath of these horrifying experiences. Throughout these stories, we follow damaged and flawed characters, some even bigoted and horrible but still, the story itself felt compelling enough for me to continue reading even when I didn’t like the character.

The pacing for each story was good though some endings were abrupt, leaving us with questions or unsatisfied. The open ending worked for some stories but not for others. Here are my ratings for each individual story: You Go Where It Takes You 4.25 Wild acre 4.5 S.S 3.5 The Crevasse 4.5 The Monsters of Heaven 4 Sunbleached 4.5 North American Lake Monsters 3.75 The Way Station 4.5 The Good Husband 4.25

Overall a great collection of dark fiction with incredible prose and creepy atmosphere, this makes for a perfect read for this spooky season.

Historical gothic horror, with elements of dark academia and witch folklore, following 3 women across space and time : Minerva, a aspiring doctorate from Mexico who struggles to finish her PhD in the US during the summer of 1998; Alba, Minerva’s grandmother whose family in the Mexican countryside in the early 20th century is shattered by tragic and mysterious events ; Beatrice, a horror writer in the 1930’s haunted by the disappearance of her college roommate and whose life is the subject of Minerva’s thesis.

Oh I loved this newest book by Silvia Moreno Garcia, the seventh novel I read from her this was definitely a better reading experience than the previous book I had read. I loved the different points of view, and the three characters who were all compelling. With her customary lush and evocative style SMG really portrayed each character’s personality and each historical atmosphere really uniquely. The overall creepy atmosphere of each arc was perfectly rendered, with a tension that was building up throughout the story. I really loved the gothic elements and witch lore. Despite a beginning that didn’t grab me 100% and a couple of repetitive or less interesting elements, the rest of the story and pacing was great and the ending was perfect.

Overall a great read perfect for this Halloween season, I’m looking forward to read more of SMG and delve into her previous books too.

2.75 stars Speculative ‘choose your own adventure’ mystery following Marsh a divorced mother who is chosen to participate in a unique reality show where you can redo your life.

I loved the author’s previous book The Cartographers, but alas this novel didn’t work for me. I loved the concept of a choose your own adventure and the multiverses and the world building ideas but the overall execution of the story was lacking for me.

The book felt too long, with too many superfluous and repetitive details so it lacked tension and the pacing was off. The writing was good but the tone felt cheesy and immature for many parts. I did like the different elements and patterns showing how bizarre each world was but a streamlined novel would have made them stand out much better. Except for one, the different endings were good as they were quite dark/creepy in tone and therefore more interesting than the rest of the story. Ultimately the stakes didn’t feel important enough and the explanations/resolutions concerning the plot was clunky at times and the twists felt flat too, the overall resolution of the story fizzled out in an underwhelming way. Reading it ended up feeling like a chore and I ended up diagonally reading it at the end and through the other choices. The characters, especially Marsh, didn’t feel compelling enough, I didn’t hate her but I didn’t really felt a particular affinity or sympathy towards her. Her character’s arc and relationships were lacking something, she came across a bit as immature (despite being in her forties) or too passive.

Alas, not a positive experience for this particular book but I’ll keep my eyes out for other books by this author.

4.25

Speculative thriller following five people who meet their Match, genetically approved soulmates, discovered through a newly formed DNA test. Each meeting will change these character’s lives got better or worse, and even expose some secrets.

My first John Marrs book and I’ve got to say this was such a entertaining thriller ! This felt like a Black Mirror episode and I liked the discussion on love, technology science and fate, and overall the world building was really solid. The pacing was perfect, I flew through this thanks to the short chapters full of twists and cliffhangers, enhanced by how each of the five stories were told in separated chapters so that I wanted to see what would happened next. The writing was good but not incredible. Some plot elements and characters I wasn’t totally interested in or liked. For each of the five stories some endings felt a bit rushed or cheesy while some I liked. Also I would have liked some connection between the stories other than the main concept. I might check out the Netflix adaptation for this book, as I’m curious to see how they adapted the structure and if there are eventual changes. I bought the other books in the Dark Future series and I can’t wait to read more of this author.

4.25

Cozy romantic fantasy set in the same as the Saint of Steel series it follows Halla a woman who is imprisoned by her in laws into her chamber after inheriting a fortune, discovers an enchanted sword inhabited by an immortal warrior Serkis. This was another great entry in the world of the White Rat, the same universe as the Saint of Steel series which I recently completed. I wanted to delve more into that universe which I loved, the world building is just incredible and I love how T. Kingfisher mixes elements I’m attracted to : medieval/renaissance, steampunk fantasy settings ; adding touches of horror, thriller, gore, humour, romance between adult (25+ years old) characters. This was such a good story, cozy with the « lower » stakes but still interesting and I loved the inclusion horror/gore elements. The main characters were both compelling with their own way. Hella was the type of character who don’t usually see in fantasy, or at least in a way that’s not demeaning, her babbling personality wasn’t shown as an hindrance but actually helpful to the character’s problems, and as a real intelligent curiosity. Sarkis’ story was definitely one of my favourites elements and I do wish we had seen flashbacks about his pasts and more elements about the enchantment (though future books might talk about this). The side characters especially Zale were also great though I wished the antagonists were more compelling to read about. The romance was nice though not my favourite compared to T. Kingfisher’s other works, there was something missing for me (like maybe more scenes of the characters bonding and talking….i don’t know like I didn’t feel the evolution in their feeling was strong enough?)

It was such a page turner and while the pacing was good I feel some plot elements and side character’s fates were a bit too rushed.

Overall another very good book by T. Kingfisher and I’m looking forward to read more about the other characters enchanted into swords, as apparently the author is planning two more books.

Mystery told through transcripts of email, phone messages and various documents, follows the tenants of a newly renovated pub in the English countryside where their weekly quiz event disrupted by the arrival of a new mysterious team and by a tragic accident.

Since I’m on holiday I’ll keep my review short and spoiler-free.

Janice Hallett always delivers cozy clever mysteries in a fun, fast paced format, and I’ve got to say I liked this sixth book of hers.

I really liked the pub setting and the quizz themed story.

The twists were satisfying especially those right at the end!

I liked how the characters aren’t perfect but compelling though the cast were a bit too numerous and some didn’t add anything substantial to the plot.

Some parts involving flashbacks I wasn’t super into it and found them a bit tedious. I feel the story dragged a bit towards the second half of the book even if the twists at the end made it up.

Overall, though not my favourite in her rooster, this was another good and fun novel by Janice Hallett.