#@netgalley

[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: 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.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[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: The Burning Kingdoms (The Smoke Thieves #3) by Sally Green

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

The Smoke Thieves is a fantasy trilogy and you will need to read the first two books to make sense of this, the final book. Written from the perspectives of five characters whose lives intertwine, the point of view rotates from chapter to chapter.

Tash is a thirteen year old and has been raised as a hunter of illegal demon smoke, which can only be obtained by killing a demon. After finding her way into the demon world she feels sympathy for the demons and regrets her actions. Edyon is the illegitimate son of Prince Thelonius, ruler of Calidor. He has been on a journey to meet his father and become a legitimised heir. Edyon has a nasty habit of stealing things that gets him into trouble. March is one of the last surviving Abask people. He blames Edyon’s father for the Abask people being wiped out. He was part of a plot to kidnap Edyon and hand him over to King Aloysius, Edyon’s uncle and cruel ruler of the neighbouring country Brigant, but after developing feelings for the gentle Edyon, he changed course. Catherine is King Aloysius’ daughter, cousin to Edyon. She was sent to another neighbouring country, Pitoria, for an arranged marriage to Prince Tzsayn. This turned out to be a distraction so her father could invade part of the Pitoria that had access to the demon world. Catherine stood with Tzsayn against the Brigantines. Ambrose was Catherine’s personal guard in Brigant, now in exile in Pitoria, he is still deeply in love with Catherine.

It has been discovered that purple demon smoke harvested by killing young demons can, when inhaled, give excessive strength and stamina to young people. King Aloysius has an unit of soldiers in the demon world killing demons to farm the smoke which he plans to use to power an army of boys, in a plot to seize Calidor from his brother, Prince Thelonius.

As you might expect with five strong characters, I found some more likeable than others. Tash is the first character we meet in the first book and remained my firm favourite throughout. She is blunt to the point of obnoxious, and quite foul-mouthed, but her character development through the books is at times painful and emotional. In contrast Catherine, moved from being an oppressed if quietly rebellious young woman, to being a take-charge, do what has to be done character, but never really engendered much affection in me. Ambrose always seemed quite a weak character, but in this final book, his strength finally shone out. March and Edyon had a beautiful love story which won my heart.

In books with multiple points of view, it can sometimes be a problem for me distinguishing the voice of one character from another, but this was never an issue here as each character has very distinct narrative voice. I worried early on that one or more of the characters would become redundant as time went on which would have been frustrating as we get to know them so well. However, the actions of all five are essential to the plot so no character fades out before the end.

I felt by the end of the book that this world still had more tales to tell. I still had questions about the Edyon/March relationship and the minor character Prince Tzsayn remained a favourite of mine who deserved a story of his own.

It seemed to me, quite ambitious at the start to have five full points of view but Green has achieved it admirably. I was invested in the story from first to last and would happily welcome more from this world. The audible versions are also excellent with full cast performance.

If you haven’t read the early books you should grab them now. If you have read them, the final book will keep you on edge almost to the final page.

The Burning Kingdoms is due out 27th August 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: One by One by Ruth Ware

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

I’ve only read a couple of Ruth Ware books but I can already tell she is shaping up to be mistress of the ‘closed room mystery’: whodunnits with a limited suspect pool trapped with a murderer. A good writer can give you the all the answers you need but distract you so doubt your own suspicions.

This particular murder mystery starts with a vignette of the main personnel involved in an app company called Snoop. We then segue into a newspaper article about an incident at a French chalet in the mountains where four people died, so we know it’s going to be a bloodbath. This sets up the tension nicely.

The ten shareholders and employees of Snoop arrive at an isolated chalet, and after rotating through a number of points of view, we eventually settle to two main viewpoints. Liz is the odd-girl out, a minor shareholder from a poor background, uncomfortable amongst the company founders who are clearly from old-monied families. Erin is the housekeeper with a tragic past and an observant eye for interpersonal drama. An an avalanche cuts the group off from the rest of the world, and very soon the first body is found.

What marks this book out most clearly for me is the building level of claustrophobia. The initial near-death feeling of the avalanche, being trapped in the building, and as the power goes down, the drawing together of the characters into a central area had a powerful impact on me, even without the murders. Let’s be honest, just being cut off from the Internet would be enough to frighten most of us. Sometimes a plot turn was telegraphed, sometimes not, so the interest holds, even as the pool of suspects dwindles.

I had a bit of a problem with so many characters being thrown at me all at once, and I have to admit some characters didn’t make any impression on me. There were some interesting little details though, like the guy who eats all of his food, even the venison, with a spoon. I wondered to myself whether this was a real world portrait slipped into a fictional setting by Ruth Ware. I have always found it best not to get attached to characters in a closed room mystery. It’s a generally a guaranteed way to get your reader’s heart broken but I will admit, I did like Erin and was intrigued by the little snippets of her background.

Did I guess the murderer? I had an inkling and then I second-guessed myself. I would consider that a sign of a successful whodunnit. I can tell you how much this book got to me, though. I unintentionally read it in a single day. Every time I put it down, I found myself unconsciously picking it up and reading a bit more. If you are looking to lose yourself in a good murder mystery yarn, this is one should definitely be on your list.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: Glow: The Potency (Glow #1) – Aubrey Hadley

I received a free ARC of the book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and to Ruby & Topaz Publishing for the opportunity.

This is Aubrey Hadley’s first published book. I was attracted initially by the plot-line of a sickness sweeping the earth. I don’t think I’m alone in looking for fiction that might hold a mirror to my own thoughts and feelings right now. Sometimes a fictional resolution can give us a spark of hope in the real world.

Harper is a 17 year old girl who lives with her older brother, younger sister and abusive mother. Though homeschooled she is intelligent with vast knowledge of science and astronomy. After seeing a glowing creature, and being held in quarantine for a strange sleeping sickness sweeping her neighbourhood, Harper is abducted by aliens. She is taken to their base where she must ally with other abductees whilst plotting how to get out, taking with her, an alien scientist who may know how to combat the sickness before humans are wiped out and all the abductees are permanently removed from earth.

Hadley’s descriptions alien culture, early in the book, are detailed and fascinating. For sci-fi fans who want to delve into visions of other worlds, this is exactly what you want. However, the longer the book goes on, the less polished it seems and the more it feels like a hurried attempt to just finish the plot. There are no love relationships in the book. A lack of romance in a book isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Not everyone wants to read a story that revolves around a teen relationship. In fact Harper has the potential for development an asexual or non-binary character that could be really interesting. This though, felt more like a book devoid of strong emotion altogether. Harper’s appearance is changed early on but after an instant reaction she never seems bothered again. When she finally reaches her brother, he is in a terrible condition but again after an initial shock she doesn’t seem to care too much. The tension that should be building towards the end of the book, like Harper’s own emotions, is muted. To cap it all, the final twist didn’t make sense to me. To be honest, I felt like my interest level finally just fell through a plot hole in the book.

If you are looking for a YA romance, this book won’t interest you. However, if you are looking for an apocalyptic sci-fi story to while away the time, then you should give this book a go, and in a world where people really are dying every day from a suddenly threatening virus, this book might just speak to you.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: The Night Country (The Hazel Wood 2) by Melissa Albert

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity.

Although I have read and reread The Hazel Wood, I was caught off guard by the arrival of this sequel. The Hazel Wood had seemed quite a self-contained book, that didn’t particularly need a follow up. However I was delighted to find myself presented with a part two, to the story of Alice Proserpine and Ellery Finch.

As The Hazel Wood ended Alice had returned to her mother, Ella, in the real world while Ellery had remained in the Hinterland and we heard that he had met someone new. When we pick up the story in The Night Country, Alice is graduating high school. She has stopped attending the support group for ex-stories and is trying to be human. A series of murders bring her back to her roots. Alice feels she is being framed for the murders and her reactions show that she hasn’t left her storybook violence as far behind as she thought. Messages start appearing from Ellery and eventually we get to find out what happened to him after Alice left.

The Night Country is a bit of a murder mystery which is a little different from The Hazel Wood’s exploration of the violent origins of fairytales. We get to see what happens when story characters break free but find themselves adrift without the tether of their story, and also what happens to a story-land without the stories that give it substance. There is a bit of a twist to the mystery before the end too.

I love the way Melissa Albert handles language. The words have a smooth and sinuous feel that are a joy to read. “Her voice was a drug. Dense as fog, rubbing its back against your ears like a cat.” It may not be every reader’s cup of tea but for me, it is writing I feel I can just sink into.

Sadly the story just didn’t draw me in as much as the first book so I read it in fits and starts. I felt that was very likely due to the absence of Ellery Finch early on. Once he reappeared I dug in much more firmly. Alice Three Times is an interesting character but not very likeable. Finch is a sympathetic character with a gentle romantic nature. I loved seeing what happened to him and getting a glimpse of the other worlds. If there are future stories in the offing that involve following Ellery through those other worlds I will be a very happy reader.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: The Demon World (The Smoke Thieves #2) by Sally Green

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

This is book two of what is planned to be a trilogy and to understand what is happening you are really going to need to read book one. This is a complex saga written from five different alternating viewpoints. Book one was the story of these five, very different characters, being drawn together. Book two wrenches them all apart again.

Picking up immediately after the last book, our intrepid band of heroes flee the battle at Rossarb Castle. Pursued by the Brigantines, a desperate Princess Catherine leads the group down into the demon world. Through the eyes of Tash we get to explore the demon world more thoroughly and get a sense of the demon society. Meanwhile Edyon still has a murder charge hanging over his head, and March’s conscience weighs ever heavier with lies he he told Edyon when they first met.

In many ways Catherine feels like the central character, though each of the the five are given equal narrative. This is probably because she has the biggest character development, going from a suppressed princess, barely allowed to speak to a leader. Her character arc is not appreciated, however, by her paramour, Amber. There doesn’t seem to be room in this relationship for Catherine’s developing personality. (I much prefer Prince Tzsayn anyway. He seems a much nicer guy.)

The world of The Smoke Thieves is brutal and fascinating one. I was excited to finally find out more about the demon world and the demons themselves. The nature of the demons, when it is revealed, contrasts starkly with the savage Brigantines. I hope we will find out more about these creatures before the end of these books.

This book, like the last, ends on a cliffhanger, heartbreaking for more than one character. The closing scene with Tash, particularly, saddened me and has stayed with me. With book three due out in 2020, it feels like a long wait and whole heap of resolution is far too far out of reach. Three books just doesn’t seem enough to explore this fantasy world. Personally I’m hoping for a Prince Tzsayn spin-off.

🤴🏽

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️