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[thecatandthekindle]

Review: Hide by Kiersten White

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Random House UK and to NetGalley for the opportunity.

Sinister is the correct word to describe Hide. This book is sinister from the off. Though there is no immediate link between the opening story of a child going missing at an amusement park in 1973, and Mack, an adult living, or rather hiding out in a modern day homeless shelter. However, when we learn that Mack is being coerced into taking part in a competition in which she must hide in an abandoned amusement park, we begin to see the barest outline of a link. Mack has no doubt she will win. She has been hiding most of her life. As a child she hid while her father butchered her family and she continues to carry the motherlode of survivor’s guilt and fear, driven into dark corners everywhere she goes.

There are fourteen people in the competition, some we never really get to know. White strikes the perfect balance of brief mentions, snappy descriptions painted in a wry and humorous tones, and more in depth characterisations. Among them, there are Sydney with the Youtube prank show and Rebecca the aspiring actress. There are two girls called Ava, one of whom an Instagrammer, obsessing about whether she will be known as Ava One or Ava Two when this competition is released as a reality show, the other a veteran who takes everything as it comes. There are arrogant characters and there are likeable characters. I can see these people in my head and if I struggled I could turn on the TV at any time and see people just like them. Then there’s Mack, standing out more than anyone because she doesn’t want to be noticed. Desperate for company but too afraid to allow it.

The rules are set, hide in the amusement park by day, eat, sleep and recharge by night. Two people are knocked out of the competition every 24 hours. For Mack, though, something doesn’t add up. There is no drum roll or fanfair heralding the departure of the failed competitors, but there is a creature snuffling and stalking its way round the park, and then there is blood. The build up is so good that the monster reveal is almost an anticlimax but it turns out that human monsters can be the most disturbing.

This book has a horror movie structure: slow build of sinister, suspenseful questions, a violent, explosive climax and an ending that doesn’t quite resolve everything.

The most compelling words in this book, though, come after the ending, where White describes her inspiration for the story. Here is an author with some quality rage building. If you want you could read this book looking for allegorical parallels to modern society. Or you could just enjoy the ride.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review : Breathless by Amy McCulloch

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph UK and to NetGalley for the opportunity.

I first heard of this book at the @bay_tales crime fiction event in February 2022. The lovely Amy McCulloch was on panel, talking about her real-life climb up Mount Manaslu in Nepal, and how it inspired her to write this murder mystery. This isn’t the first mystery I’ve read that was set up a mountain but the author’s genuine experience shines through the story with a level of detail you just couldn’t make up.

Main character Cecily Wong, has been invited on a treacherous climb by Team Leader and legendary climber, Charles McVeigh. He wants Cecily to witness him triumphantly completing the last of a fourteen peak climb of the highest mountains in the world without oxygen or use of fixed ropes. He has promised her an exclusive interview if she reaches the peak herself. Cecily had a previous, terrifying experience of being stuck up a mountain and witnessing another climber’s death. Her bluntly honest write up of the event is what drew her to McVeigh’s attention. Cecily wants to use the blog and interview from this climb to launch her career in travel journalism, but the expedition seems cursed from the off. There are rumours that McVeigh cheated on a previous climb and after a sudden death Cecily begins to look more closely at those on the mountain with her.

I have to admit though, I wasn’t quite hooked from the off. In the first couple of chapters, Cecily’s circumstances felt a little forced. I felt like her life details were being set out in front of me like a buffet. A little part of me wishes had the story had begun further into the action and that Cecily’s history had come out more naturally because once the bodies began to appear the narrative really flowed and I completely lost myself in the story.

The details of the climb are intense even without the murders. This book is a window into a world that I will never experience for myself. The fear and risk, the discomfort, and outright pain, and the glory of standing on top of the world. McCulloch’s writing presents amazing images and are so much more impactful for being based on her own life. The vivid descriptions add to the palpable sense of menace that permeates the story. The tension and paranoia builds to intense levels. I had a hunch about the identity of the murderer but I wasn’t sure till the reveal and there were some unexpected twists and surprises along the way.

You’re going to want to clear your schedules for this one because of once you start reading, this story wil get its ice picks into you.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: The Monarchs (The Ravens #2) – Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and to NetGalley for the opportunity.

The Monarchs is the second book in a duology about a witch coven hidden in plain sight as a sorority house on a college campus. Aimed at young teens and tweens, these books are spice-free, though relationships with boys do feature. You will need to read the first book to fully understand what is happening in the second.

Written from the dual perspective of Scarlett Winter and Vivi Devereaux, the Monarchs picks up shortly after The Ravens ended. Scarlett is now president of Kappa Rho Nu and Vivi is the new Social Chair responsible for organising events which this year will include an alumnae reunion. Very quickly, though, spells start to go awry and the Kappas are placed on notice after a party goes disastrously wrong.

I loved the exploration of family in this book. Scarlett’s relationship with her mother and sister are complicated by their respective places in the coven. Meanwhile Vivi is on the hunt for her unknown father. It was good to see a book, aimed at teens have examples of them questioning their place in within their own family and the world in general, and then finding resolutions to those questions.

The alumnae or Monarchs of the title are the elders of the coven. I loved that they are strong confident career women however I did worry that there didn’t seem to be consequences for misuse of power. The Kappa witches, old and young, would frequently ‘influence’ others and this felt to me, like a slippery slope that someone should have slid down and then had to climb back up. Another part of the plot involves a love spell and while it is made clear this is very wrong, there are no obvious repercussions on the caster, which seemed a flaw in the story.

While these stories have no great depth, they would be ideal for a younger teen who likes to read about magic in a real world setting. These are clean, inclusive books that show images of powerful women. As a pair they would make a great gift and though this story is concluded I could see further books coming out of this universe.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: Aurora’s End (The Aurora Cycle #3) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Oneworld Publications and NetGalley for the opportunity.

It was a long, long wait. In book publishing time it was only two and a half years from the first book in the trilogy to the last, but in reader year it’s been a lifetime since Tyler Jones rescued Aurora Jie Lin O’Malley from a 200 year sleep in stasis, in the process missing his opportunity to pick himself a crack squadron. Instead he was presented with a bunch of misfits no-one else wanted to work with. If you don’t know what I am talking about then you need to stop right here and go read the first two books as there are spoilers ahead for books #1 and #2.

For the rest of us, book #2 Aurora Burning ended on a monster cliffhanger, with the intrepid heroes of Squadron 312 split up and left in three separate life-threatening situations. Book #3 starts with a bang as Scarlett, Finian and Zila are flung backwards in time to a point where Terrans and Betraskans are at war. Auri, and Kal are flung forward to a galaxy overwhelmed by the Ra’haam with a only handful of galactic survivors left alive. In the present, Tyler, alone, must to try to save the Aurora Academy from a massive explosion which will kill the rulers of almost every species in the galaxy and leave the defence against the Ra’haam in tatters.

Though the trilogy is named for Aurora (both girl and Academy), she has never dominated the action. Every squad member has been given page time. Every squad member has played an essential role. Even the chirpy, handheld computer Magellan, has had part to play. Aurora herself is a character of contrasts. Small but powerful, young but very old, fragile but wielding immense strength. The girl out of time, chosen among the thousands of passengers on the Hadfield to carry the power of the Eshvaren and save the galaxy but still won’t let a swear word pass her lips. Of all the characters in the squadron, though, I admit, I loved Zila the most. Kaufman and Kristoff managed to take this character from emotionally closed to heart-wrenchingly caring in so few words and details. It was a master class in character development. “I am not feeling nothing.” Five words that broke my heart.

The Aurora Cycle is all about time: time travel, time loops, the girl out of time, even Aurora’s extended timespan in the Echo, but it is also about memory, the pull of the past against the future, the Eshvaren: - long dead beings leaving memories all over the galaxy, Aurora’s memories of her family, the Academy and it’s commemorative statues of the founders and instructions passed from leader to leader, and then there is the Ra’haam. The blue flower that both preserves and destroys all those it touches, which will always be, in my mind, a forget-me-not.

And so to the grand finale. The moment we have been waiting for, the epic conclusion of a three book saga. Sadly, after the monumental cliffhanger to Aurora Burning and the literal race against time, it just felt anti-climactic. I couldn’t quite get to grips with the metaphysical nature of some of the imagery. The losses didn’t feel like deep losses and the wins didn’t feel feel like epic wins. So, though it was a perfectly good ending with all the different story strands neatly tied up in a bow, it just left me feeling a little flat. Having said that, I have thoroughly enjoy this series. I loved the characters, the romances were interesting and I’m sure I will be rereading this series down the line. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review – Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow by Christina Henry

“in Sleepy Hollow strange things were true, and sometimes those strange things reached out their claws”

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for the opportunity.

Here in the North of England, the nights are drawing in early and I am looking for books to put me in the Halloween mood. I am kicking off the season of spooks with Christina Henry’s Horseman. This book is set twenty years after events in Washington Irving’s famous short story and involves some of the same characters. You do not need to have read the original story but you might feel you want to.

The main character is Ben, the fourteen year old grandchild of Brom Bones Van Brunt and Katrina Van Tassel, who feature in the original tale. The book opens with Ben seeing the corpse of a murdered boy, mutilated in a particularly grisly manner. As more children die, Ben becomes aware of a supernatural presence and hears the hoofbeats of the horseman. With the threat drawing closer and closer to home, Ben needs to find the truth of events twenty years earlier surrounding the headless horseman and the disappearance of teacher, Ichabod Crane.

Ben’s transgender nature is one of the strongest themes running through the book. Born female and named Bente, Ben just doesn’t feel like a girl. The book explores, through Ben’s viewpoint what it was like to be a transgender at that time, the acceptance/rejection that came with it. The subject is sensitively handled and is mostly given as a desire on Ben’s part to be a strong grandson to Bones and not be forced into a role that doesn’t fit. It does add an interesting and relatable dimension to the character.

The village of Sleepy Hollow is almost a character in itself. It is a small village where magic can happen, and it seems that what the villagers believe, becomes reality. An insular and superstitious group of people, they tell ghost tales round the fire and constantly feed the supernatural energy of the area, but it is the human evil lurking in the hearts of these people that is the real threat. As the book ends, Sleepy Hollow is opening up to the world and we can see the difference this makes.

There are other themes within the book, secrets and lies within families, the impact of grief, the history of the European migration into America. These all give the book real depth in a way that will help it stand the test of time.

This book does contain violence and gruesome details but the chills come from the growing supernatural threat. The level of menace ratchets up steadily and the pages just fly by. The ending is a perfect blending of old story and new, leaving the reader with a firm sense of closure, that allows for the continuance of Sleepy Hollow as a town where the unusual and supernatural still happens.

Reach for your pumpkins, the Halloween reading season has officially started. Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow is out now.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Spoiler-Free Review: The Last Graduate (Scholomance #2) – Naomi Novik

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the opportunity.

The first thing you need to know is that The Last Graduate is book 2 in this series and you will need to read book 1, A Deadly Education, before you tackle it. A Deadly Education contains quite detailed explanation of the Scholomance universe. This is covered in book 2 but in less detail.

Basically the Scholomance is a lousy school; the food is terrible, there are no holidays and the pupils are regularly attacked with terminal consequences. Survival rates in the Scholomance are abysmal, but survival rates for magical kids in the outside world are much much worse.

El and her fellow pupils are now in their final year and gearing up for graduation day. Far from being a celebratory event, this involves being dumped en masse into the Graduation Hall and having to fight their way out of the school through hoards of mals (magic-eating monsters). Almost their entire school career has been building up to this moment. The mortality rate is so high that each person must eventually put their own survival first. Friendships have to be jettisoned in favour of strategic alliances. Mistakes can cost your life.

The Scholomance is an exceptionally introspective series. It is written entirely from El’s perspective, who after 3 years of guarding her own life, is paranoid and hyper-vigilant. Tie this in with her affinity for world domination and you have quite a dangerous character. El’s saving grace is her mother, who has raised her with love and selfness that gives her a good solid grounding in right and wrong. I’m rather fond of El despite her grouchy exterior. Like her namesake, Galadriel, she is offered power but turns it down because she knows it’s not right. I loved seeing her slowly develop from self-protecting survivor to saviour, without ever giving up the surly personality that makes her El.

While much of the focus is on El, we do get some insight into those around her this time around. Aadhya, Lui and even Chloe each get their moment with individual emotionally revealing scenes. It is hard to become attached to other characters, though, because El herself continues to hold them mostly at a distance. I felt Orion should have become a much more solid character by now. Both books begin and end with commentary on him and I so wanted more insight into his character, but as with El’s friends, we got a spotlight moment and everything else is viewed through the narrow scope of El’s own thoughts. The frisson between Orion and El felt criminally underplayed.

One character that developed unexpectedly in this book was the Scholomance itself, which is revealed to have sentience. Previously the school appeared to be quite mechanical in nature, with programmed responses but in this book the Scholomance is clearly shown to have self-awareness and a sense of purpose. By the end of this book, the idea of everyone leaving begins to feel like abandonment.

The mals or maleficaria are an interesting factor in these books. There really needs to be some kind of bestiary. A new mal is mentioned every few pages, often with no description or explanation. Some of the real monsters in the book, though, are the maleficers or evil wizards. There are two types of magical energy in the book, mana or good energy gained from hard work, and malia or bad energy sucked from other people or things around them. The quickest way to gain malia is to kill your fellow pupils. Those who use malia have outward signs such as black hair and nails, and they feel cursed. I like to see a magical universe with consequences and balance, which the Scholomance world very much has.

You would do well to have some comfort food handy as you progress through this book. This book will chew you into pieces and spit you out. The first thing I did on finishing it, was to reassure myself that there was, in fact, a third book in the series. Get out your chocolate and your comfort blankie because the new school year begins on 28th September 2021 with the publication of The Last Graduate.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: Any Way The Wind Blows (Simon Snow #3) – Rainbow Rowell

You may or may not know that this book series began life as a story within a story. In Fangirl, Cathy Avery is a college freshman struggling with new experiences who copes by writing fanfic for a series of books about a chosen one called Simon Snow. Snow is an orphan attending magic school and fighting attacks from a monster. The idea took off and fans begged Rainbow Rowell to write the full book.

The magical world of Simon Snow is based on a relationship between Normals and Mages. Any phrase that is well-used by Normals (including pop songs, hence the book titles) can be used as a spell if imbued with magic. Mages can use their powers to cheat Normals, by faking payments or paperwork , or maybe stealing a car and there are no repercussions. There are drawbacks, however, if a phrase falls from use it loses its power. It is a clever idea. Mages are dependent on Normals in a way that Normals are never dependent on Mages. Without Normals there is no magic. Simon Snow is the only Normal to date to have magical powers.

You don’t need to read Fangirl to enjoy this series. You can jump right in with the first book, Carry On, which joins Simon and friends in their final year at the Watford School of Magicks. Simon’s roommate and school nemesis (and possibly evil vampire), Baz, has disappeared. Simon should be having a peaceful year at school but Simon never has a peaceful year when attacks from the evil monster called the Insidious Humdrum threaten all magic. Simon must defeat the monster and fulfil his destiny as the ‘chosen one’. He must also find out what happened to Baz, whom he unaccountably misses,

In Wayward son, Simon is struggling with life after fulfilling his destiny. He and his friends go on a road trip round America. On the way they rescue Simon’s ex-girlfriend from a cult and pick up a Normal that knows way too much about magic.

In the final book Any Way The Wind Blows, Simon tries to build a life for himself without either magic or a destiny. Instead he is drawn into the investigation of new ‘chosen one’. Many questions are answered in the final Simon Snow story, including hints about Simon’s birth family. Before the book ends, Simon’s golden quartet all seem to find their place in the world.

I have to say, when I read the first book it felt more of a parody of other famous chosen one stories (mentioning no names). It was fun, but I never really felt I engaged with the characters. The shock ending wasn’t nearly as shocking as it would have been with a seven book build-up. More than anything I was reeled in by Snow’s budding romance. I was keen to see how it would play out and it kept me reading. By book two the characters were much stronger and I began to genuinely care about them.

Through Any Way The Wind Blows the characters are so well developed I truly became emotional about their futures. When the story-line of Simon’s family finally came to fruition, I cried. I cried again when the book ended. I desperately wanted to know these kids had a bright future ahead and I was devastated I wouldn’t be able to witness it. Rainbow Rowell bowed to fan pressure in writing these books in the first place and I am hoping with all my heart that she can be persuaded to continue the Simon Snow chronicles into a much longer series. #OneMoreSimonSnow

Now someone please tell me how to get Kansas and Queen from playing in my head.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

I love a good murder mystery and have been a fan of the Truly Devious series since the first book was published. There was an agonising wait for each new book, then one day it was all over but the rereads…or so I thought. Then up pops a brand new Stevie Bell mystery, a stand-alone too so no waiting around for the final solution.

There is enough background in this book for you to read it as a stand-alone, even if you haven’t read the original trilogy. It also avoids spoilers so if, having read The Box in the Woods, you want more, you can go back to the start with book #1, Truly Devious. I can also recommend the audio books which I used for re-reading purposes. Narrator, Kate Rudd, really brings the characters to life.

Like me, Stevie has been feeling a little flat after fulfilling her long time dream of solving the Ellingham Murders. She receives an invitation from entrepreneur, Carson Buchwald, for her and her friends to work at a summer camp with a side helping of cold case thrown in. The murder of four teenagers, christened the ‘Box in the Woods Murders’ occurred in 1978 at Camp Wonder Falls. The local town was devastated and never really recovered. When Carson brings in Stevie to solve the murders and help him make a true crime podcast at the same time, the locals are less than enthusiastic. Before very long it becomes obvious the case is not as cold as it appears.

This book, like the others, is written from Stevie’s point of view and she is an easy character to bond with. I feel the havoc that solving a mystery wreaks on Stevie’s personal life and the driven nature of her desire, not just to solve, but to provide closure to those close to the victims. Johnson’s mysteries are rarely ‘here are the clues, you could solve it for yourself’ stories. The details unfold to us as they do to Stevie. While I am skilled at picking out salient details and will happily puzzle away at their importance, I have accepted that I will never get to the solution first. I am happy just to let the story unfold. The pleasure is in watching Stevie unpick the mystery, facing increasing danger as she does, but unable to let go until the mystery is solved.

Stevie’s two sidekicks are a pleasurable background to the mystery. Johnson’s secondary characters are always interesting. I love Nate, the perennially blocked writer and Janelle the creative inventor. They always seem to be able to offer just the right support and practical assistance. Johnson is an amazingly inclusive writer. She normalises LGBTQ+ characters in a way that could teach some writers of adult fiction a thing or two. Boyfriend, David, also puts in an appearance but is less present than in previous books and there is a hint, just the tiniest hint that Nate also has feelings for Stevie. I’m taking this as a solid indication that more Stevie Bell Mysteries are on the horizon. Yay!

The Box in the Woods was is a first rate Young Adult mystery. Out now in hardback, ebook and audio.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: The Last Girl (also released as The Mary Shelley Club) by Goldy Moldavsky

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Egmont Publishing and to NetGalley for the opportunity.

I love a good horror story so of course I jumped at the chance to combine that love with my passion for Young Adult Fiction. The title “The Last Girl” wasn’t a title that immediately reeled me in, but the description of Scream meets Gossip Girl was intriguing. When I saw that the US version was released as “The Mary Shelley Club” I knew I’d made a good choice.

Rachel was attacked in her own home a year ago, by two masked men. She fought back against one, the other ran. Since then, she and her mum have moved to New York and Rachel has enrolled at Manchester Prep School where her mum is a teacher. Rachel feels like she doesn’t fit in among the rich kids that surround her, until she discovers the Mary Shelley Club. The club members are horror film fanatics but are also responsible for a series of pranks that they call ‘fear tests’ against people who upset them. Slowly the ‘fear tests’ begin to awaken her repressed memories of the attack and her fears about the second, never-unmasked, attacker. At the same time, the tests begin to spiral out of control.

I loved how many horror films were mentioned in this book, some of my favourites among them. I would not be surprised if someone somewhere makes a list of all them for a Mary Shelley Club marathon. The discussions about horror story tropes are not unique to this book, I enjoyed them anyway.

Though the start of the book seemed a little clichéd, once the action got going, I became totally caught up in the story and the pages just flew by. I’m not going to lie, I saw the twists coming (it’s rare that a twist takes me by surprise), but actually that helped to ratchet up the tension for me.

One YA trope that the book succumbed to was criminally neglectful parenting. Rachel’s mum is sensitive and caring but doesn’t seem worried by her recently attacked daughter roaming New York at night. Without this, though, there wouldn’t be much of a story, so I will give this one a pass.

Rachel herself is a likeable character, remarkably outgoing for someone whose life has been threatened and then turned upside down by moving home and school. I felt for her feelings of being an outsider and wished good things for her.

This is a very visual book. I could see all through how this would play out on film. I would love it if this book was picked up for a film. I would have my popcorn ready quicker than you could say “I want to join the Mary Shelley Club!”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Last Girl/The Mary Shelley Club is due out 15th April 2021.

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Walker Books UK and to NetGalley for the opportunity.

Not having read any Jonathan Stroud books before I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this book was so much fun to read. This story is never dull as it follows the adventures of two youngsters on the run across a post-apocalyptic Britain that has more in common with the Wild West than Britain today.

Scarlett McCain roves from town to town robbing banks and conning people out of money as she goes. She is a contradictory character, quick thinking and efficiently violent but she also carries a prayer mat for her meditation sessions, and uses a self-enforced cuss box. She is doing is doing fine, until she rescues a rather peculiar and hapless young lad called Albert Browne from a bus crash. Albert has escaped from a mysterious clinic and it is clear there is more to him than meets the eye.

Outlaws is a tantalising book. The backdrop of the book is a Britain partially under water and no longer a united kingdom. Each town has its own rules and rulers, the population are at the mercy of their whims. Outside the towns, native British wildlife has evolved from small benign creatures to giant man-eaters and some of the human population has also gone through some unpleasant changes too. Other differences to the world are hinted at but dangle just out of reach of the current story, leaving the reader with a burning curiosity.

Scarlett is a tough female character who can take care of herself but is surprisingly caring of others when it’s needed. Albert is a puzzle at first, but the reader witnesses his character growth over the course of the book.

Stroud really knows how to ratchet up the tension, so even though this book is aimed at young teens and pre-teens, I became quite caught up in the action. I foresee a fantastic adventure series in the offing starring Scarlett and Browne.

The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne is due to be published 1st April 2021

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: The Burning Girls by CJ Tudor

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph and to NetGalley for the opportunity.

This is the fourth stand alone horror novel from author, CJ Tudor, and if you haven’t read any of her books yet, it’s time you gave them a try. Tudor writes what I think of as intelligent horror. Her stories range from unsettling to outright put the book down and take a breath, but each one is a thinker as you piece the elements of the story together in your head.

Written primarily from the perspective of the Reverend Jack Brooks, this book also includes some passages from the viewpoint of Flo, Jack’s teenage daughter, as they arrive and settle in at a new posting. The church they have come to live at, is in a small English village with a history of witch burning. Two young girls were betrayed and dragged from sanctuary in the church to be burned on the church steps. The villagers still post small twig dolls called ‘burning girls’ around the churchyard, in their memory. Local legend prophesies trouble for anyone who sees their ghosts. Thirty years prior to the current story, two teenage girls went missing and were never found, adding to the legend.

Tudor seems to have the ability to encapsulate life in modern England. Not the picture postcard external view of genteel old ladies and tea with scones, but the real gritty every day England with pub quizzes, ready meals, school bullies and nosey neighbours. So many of the books I read now are set in small town America. It’s a real treat to see an imaginative story set in what I consider to be real world England. Moreover, this book is full of small moments that catch you by surprise. Reverend Jack’s character is so unexpectedly normal it’s humorous.

Early on in this book, there are an abundance of individual characters and images that don’t immediately appear to fit the plot. It’s a bit like doing a jigsaw puzzle without the box, you know it all fits together somehow you just don’t know what it’s going to show when it does. I read this book obsessively, desperate to get to the final picture and I was so not expecting where it led. I’m a person who often sees a twist coming, but I have to say this book went in a completely unexpected direction and just as I thought the story was resolved, there was a final surprise to keep me awake at night.

This is another great read from CJ Tudor, with an irreverent reverend, a creepy old church, and the ghosts of burned witches. What more could you want?

The Burning Girls by CJ Tudor is out 21st January 2021.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights #1) – Chloe Gong

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and to NetGalley for the opportunity.

This book is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Not the first retelling, but a particularly unique one for some very specific reasons. Unless there’s another version with a river monster as part of the plot, or I missed it in the original play because it was buried in the archaic English.

This retelling is set in 1920s Shanghai, where violence constantly erupts between the Chinese and Russian gangs, where the Communists trying to unionise the workforce and where the European merchants treating the Chinese population like a minority in their own country. Juliette Cai is the heir to the Chinese ‘Scarlet’ gang. Roma Montagov, the heir to the Russian ‘White Flowers’. Though previously close, they became estranged following attacks on both sides apparently initiated by Roma. When a plague begins to attack the local population, decimating both gangs, the two must join forces to investigate. This collusion, however, must be kept secret, at the cost of their lives.

I love that of the two, Roma is the gentler, less violent one, whereas Juliette is tough and business-like. It is sometimes true in life, that a woman in a man’s world must be tougher, but often fiction goes with a stereotype of female softness underneath a steel exterior. Juliette, here is hard core though. She does what needs to be done and doesn’t dwell on it. In contrast Roma is quite a tender soul, forced into violence in order to protect those close to him, but always looking for a better way.

I was quite intrigued by the friends on both sides. Juliet’s cousin, Kathleen, is a transexual, forced into posing as her own dead sister in order to live how she wishes. I felt like I wanted to know more about how she dealt with the alteration of power and prejudice compared with her early life. I desperately wanted to get to know Roma’s friends, Marshall and Benedikt better. I liked what I saw of them, and wanted to know more about their relationship with Roma and with each other, and why they were different from others of the White Flower gang.

I feel we do need to talk about the ‘ick’ factor. There are some seriously graphic and stomach churning scenes related to the plague in this book. Think more James Herbert than William Shakespeare. You are not going to want to be snacking during those scenes. This book could easily have been marketed in the horror section. I know I’m not the only reader to have been caught off guard by this aspect which I felt was downplayed in the descriptions.

As you can tell by my rating I did enjoy this book, but I felt it had been misrepresented somewhat. This wasn’t some soft romance. The romance was was there but it was buried in a hard core of aggression and some truly gross descriptions. This book doesn’t pull any punches and though at times it felt like hard work, it was worth it. If you aren’t worried about the odd stomach-churning scene, and you want a historical romance that embraces the violence of the times, this is a book you will enjoy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: The Ravens (The Ravens #1) – Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and to NetGalley for the opportunity.

Both Kass Morgan (The 100) and Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die) have successful book series behind them, so this was always going to be an exciting collaboration. Throw in a coven of witches and a possible witch-hunter and let the fun begin.

The background of this book is Kappa Rho Nu, an ancient coven of witches, disguised as a sorority house on a Savannah campus. The book is written from two viewpoints. Scarlett is a legacy Kappa with one eye on the presidency and her perfectly mapped out future and the other on her equally perfect boyfriend. Vivi, on the other hand, has lived a transient life, moving around the country with her flakey, fortune-telling mother, and is looking to use her freshman year to reinvent herself. Scarlett is unimpressed by Vivi and both are unhappy when Scarlett is appointed Vivi’s mentor, but bigger things are happening. The coven is suffering from escalating harassment which may have its roots in a past misdeed of Scarlett’s.

Of the two characters, I much preferred Vivi. I empathised with her when she was nervous about not fitting in, and loved watching her discover her powers and form lasting friendships. In contrast, Scarlett was a snob. She had rigid ideas and expected other people to fit around them. Scarlett’s best friend Tiffany seemed a much more interesting prospect, with an irreverent attitude, and a wicked sense of humour, and with a terminally ill mother she also garnered the sympathy vote. Like all good books though, the characters developed and, while I still wasn’t a Scarlett fan by the end I did respect her.

This book is written for the junior end of the Young Adult audience. It is clean, and, with one eye on Christmas, would make a great present for a young teen or someone a little younger than that. Older readers will enjoy the whodunnit aspect of the book, with a few twists, not all of which I saw coming. It’s an easy read and encapsulating enough to transport the reader away from the grim realities of 2020. If you want a little magic in your life, The Ravens is out now.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: The Thief On The Winged Horse by Kate Mascharenas

I received a free Ecopy of the book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley and to Head of Zeus for the opportunity.

The Thief on The Winged Horse is Kate Mascharenas second novel. Her first, The Psychology of Time Travel, pulled apart time travel and looked at it in new and exciting ways so I was keen to see what she would do with different subject matter. Although this book has a magic component, it is treated with the lightest touch.

The Thief on the Winged Horse is about a family that makes dolls and magically imbues them with real emotions. The titular Thief is a fae who likes to come and steal emotions. By creating dolls with emotions, the women of the family could protect themselves from him. Though the knowledge of magic was originally developed by the women of the family, it is now held only by the men, and used to maintain their positions of power over the women. Until a young man arrives claiming kinship to the family and a valuable heirloom goes missing.

It took me a little while to get into this book. The main characters are not very likeable; Persephone is prickly, Hedwig is manipulative and Larkin is mysterious, but in a way that makes you curious yet doesn’t really draw you in. In spite of this the story kept pulling me back. The women of the family are subjugated and no amount of talent or intelligence will change this. It takes an outside element to provide an opportunity for change. Larkin appears to be that element. Despite not particularly liking the women in this book I was rooting for them.

This is one of those books where small moments from early in the story keep coming back to me and make me question the real nature of the story. I feel like I’m still trying to figure it out in my head even weeks later. I’m still not sure if the developments were wrought by magic or human perseverance and manipulation.

Although this isn’t a creepy book, I have to say I was a little unnerved at the image of all these silent dolls, watching events play out. This is an interesting book to while away a winter day, especially if you like to see power play between women and men.

The Thief on the Winged Horse is out 20th November 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity.

I should also confess that I am a massive fan of Victoria Schwab. Being offered this book had me running around the house, flapping my arms and shrieking with excitement, but it’s always a nervous moment when you start a new book by an author you love. If it’s not up to standard, the disappointment is crushing. From the off, though, this book is in a class of its own.

Addie is born in a tiny hamlet in late 17th century France. She feels imprisoned within the confines of the village, and when her parents try to marry her off, and she makes a deal with a dark god, for freedom. It comes at a steep price though. No-one remembers her and she can leave no mark on the world. She wanders through Europe and America for 300 years, drifting through people’s lives, sometimes spending months with one person, instantly being forgotten once out of sight. Meeting them every day ‘for the first time’. Until the life-changing moment, in a small second-hand bookshop in New York, when a young man remembers her from the day before.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a beautiful and haunting book. Pathos winds through the pages like an old vine. The flow of words is easy but poignant. The narrative flips between Addie’s origin story and 2014 New York. The language is beautiful, the past written in the present tense with peeks into the future. Addie is such a relatable character despite her situation. It was a strange feeling reading about someone who can’t hold onto anything whilst surrounded by favourite books, and beloved objects. It made me think about the nature of possession. When I neared the end of the book, the tears began to flow as I feared a tragic end whilst desperately hoping for a happy ever after. I’m not going to say whether I got it.

I already know that this is a book I will reread soon, and maybe often. I can see this becoming an annual pilgrimage in a way that Schwab’s other books haven’t, as good a they are. There is just something very special about The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. In her Instagram, the author said this book was ten years in the making. As a reader, it’s worth every minute.

Bonus: it’s going to be a film! Excuse me, I need to go run round my house, flapping my arms a shrieking with excitement.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked #1) by Kerri Maniscalco

I received a free ARC of the book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley and to Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity.

Having read and loved the Victorian mystery series, Stalking Jack the Ripper, I was excited to see what Kerri Maniscalco would come up with next. I wasn’t disappointed. This book is a murder mystery wrapped up in dark witchcraft, and devilry, with a pretty, bow ribbon of historic Sicilian culture on top.

First page, map showing the seven circles of Hell. Each circle is occupied by the house of a deadly sin. The whole is called the Kingdom of the Wicked. We’re going to Hell! 😮

Emilia and her twin Vittoria are witches. Their family owns a renowned restaurant in Palermo. All of their lives their Nonna has warned them about the danger from the evil Princes of Hell also know as the Wicked. Emilia never really believed her until Vittoria is murdered and her body mutilated. Driven by a vengeful rage Emilia embraces the dark arts to find her sister’s murderer. In the process she discovers that the Princes of Hell are not only real, but right there in Palermo and Hell is leaking demons.

Even without the dedication at the beginning, it is clear from the loving descriptions of Emilia’s family restaurant, and the food they serve, that this is something very close to Maniscalco’s own heart. The contrast between this loving family and the gentle creation of food that was almost an art form, with the horrors elsewhere in the town are stark. It highlights the changes in Emilia herself over the course of the book. Emilia changes from being a soft-hearted girl who cares deeply for everyone around her, to being a mistrustful and hard-nosed person, who will do anything she needs to. It is a change I found somewhat unpalatable, and I wasn’t sure I liked her by the end.

With Hallowe’en coming up, the Kingdom of the Wicked is the perfect creepy read to put you in the mood for thrills and chills, and possibly for a plate of gourmet Italian food. The garlic will keep the vampires away too, so - bonus!

Kingdom of the Wicked is due out 27th October 2020.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: A Deadly Education (Scholomance #1) – Naomi Novik

“With our deepest sympathies and commiserations, we must inform you that you have been accepted into the Scholomance.”

This is the invitation I received from Random House UK via NetGalley to read a free arc of A Deadly Education. Thanks guys! How could I resist?

In this world, magical kids are prone to be attacked and killed by all manner of evil creatures as they grow into their powers, so the Scholomance was built to minimise the risk. Even so, student death is a regular occurrence. The school was built to protect the children of the world’s magical enclaves (powerful magic covens) and those kids have an easier life, though even they are not safe from the constant threat of being eaten by the wizard-eating ‘maleficaria’.

El isn’t from an enclave. El (short for Galadriel) was prophesied in early childhood to be some kind of world-destroying, evil sorceress. However, having been raised on a Welsh commune by a loving nurturing mother, she is not keen to fulfil that prophecy. El is conscious that to graduate, you need to fight your way out past the worst of the maleficaria. To do that you need friends and alliances. El has none.

The story begins with El being saved by the school hero, Orion Lake. However, El doesn’t need to be saved. She has plans to use her considerable powers to destroy a large maleficaria in front of everyone and attract alliance offers. She is, therefore, not happy to be characterised as a damsel in distress instead. When Orion suspects her of being an evil wizard and begins to follow her around, she gives people the impression they are dating, not realising that this will change the balance of power within the school and put her in more danger.

The first thing to say about this book is that you get a lot of information thrown at you. More really than you can take in at times, but don’t let this put you off. You pick up the world basics as you go, and trust that it will all make sense before very long. Which it does.

There are so many themes going on in this book: good magic versus bad magic, balance, power versus abuse of power, risk/safety/death, the effect of strong beliefs. I’ve also heard the word ‘feminist’ being bandied about but that is not really my impression. Although El can look after herself, it’s not about gender. El would likely approve of the concept of equality, but it is not high on her list of priorities. Staying alive is slightly more important.

On finishing my first read of this book, I gave it 4.5 stars. I knocked off half a star because of the whole information overload issue. It never stood in the way of my enjoyment of the story though. I was hooked from the off. In fact, I became obsessed. Two days after finishing it, I hadn’t picked up another book. I was missing this one so much, I gave in and read it through a second time. I finished it (again) with tears in my eyes and upgraded the rating to 5 stars.

Now, though, I’m sitting with an arc of a book that hasn’t even been published yet, waiting desperately for book 2 like my life is incomplete until I find out what happens next. Once again, thanks guys. Seriously, I think this is my favourite book of the year so far.

A Deadly Education is out 29th September 2020.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️