Review: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Published in the US as "The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle"

Publication date: October 1st 2018
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 528

The Rules of Blackheath
Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m.
There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit.
We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer.
Understood? Then let's begin...
Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others...

This book kept cropping up everywhere, but I never really took notice until I finally had a look at the blurb - and what a blurb! Decidedly curious, I finally picked up a copy only to find myself completely hooked and unable to put the book down again.

It's been a few days since I finished it and I'm still thinking about it, which is usually a pretty good sign of how I felt about the book. It's an incredible, intricately layered story, that feels like surely it can't work yet it really really does. 

I've tried explaining bits to my husband and watched his face go all screwy as he tries to make sense of it all, and honestly at times I did feel a little like that. There were parts I had to skip back over and re-read before moving on, just to make sure I had all the threads correctly before I started adding in the next bit of information.

Some of the twists were a little obvious, others sprang out at me and I had to refit all of my assumptions to cater to the new information, so it was a really great mix of being able to work some of it out and then still getting some surprises.

One of the best aspects was Aiden's body hopping from day to day. I know a few readers came unstuck over one of his hosts that he spends a good portion of the time fat shaming. I can completely understand why some people might find that upsetting and stop reading. However, I pushed through to see whether it did get better, and honestly I felt that whilst some elements maybe weren't handled as well as they could have bene, I think that overall the explanations for his initial responses really help. As Aiden hops from body to body he has very little sense of self and identity, he's a bit of a harsh critic, but he is equally harsh of a lot of his hosts. I could understand why someone who is being thrust from person to person at this rate, would struggle with sudden limitations that he isn't used to, and doesn't really have time to adjust to. I liked watching Aiden have to adapt to his differing circumstances, and I loved when he started to become less bogged down in the frustrations and limitations, and really started to work with what each host could offer to help him solve the problem.

It's a thorny, twisty, wonderful novel. I really struggled to tear myself away, and was genuinely quite freaked out at a few points reading at night. If you like dark and sometimes troubling novels, that have a complex and brilliantly plotted narrative then this is an absolute must read.

Review: Bonfire by Krysten Ritter

Publication Date: November 7th 2017
Publisher: Hutchinson
Pages: 288 pages

Should you ever go back?
It has been ten years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands.
But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life Abby painstakingly created begins to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town's most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’ biggest scandal from more than a decade ago involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends—just before Kaycee disappeared for good.
Abby knows the key to solving any case lies in the weak spots, the unanswered questions. But as Abby tries to find out what really happened to Kaycee, she unearths an even more disturbing secret—a ritual called “The Game,” which will threaten the reputations, and lives, of the community and risk exposing a darkness that may consume her.
With tantalizing twists, slow-burning suspense, and a remote, rural town of just five claustrophobic miles, Bonfire is a dark exploration of the question: can you ever outrun your past? 

After binge watching the first season of "Jessica Jones", and moving swiftly onto watching "Don't trust the B---- in Apartment 23" I appear to be on something of a Krysten Ritter bender, so reading her debut novel was the next logical step.
I went in with barely any idea of what I was letting myself in for (I didn't read the blurb or seek out any information) knowing just that it was a thriller (not my usual read), and it was her first novel. In some ways I think that did the experience some favours, because I had no expectations of pre-conceived notions of what I was getting into, I just got to enjoy the ride. And what a ride it was.

This book sinks its claws into you and doesn't let go. I found myself completely gripped and unable to put it down once I'd started it. I'm always a little wary of books written by actors, because there's always that fear that they've been published not because they're good, but because they're going to sell. This is not the case here. The writing is excellent, startling prose that sometimes made me catch my breath, and really immerses you into Barrens - the claustrophobia of the town.

It's excellently paced, and peopled with curious characters. I felt like I was there, experiencing all of this with Abby. The fear, the claustrophobia, the isolation. That feeling of going back to the place you grew up and it all being too close and real and overlaid with memories, whilst you don't feel like you fit. That feeling of not being able to get a place and the memories off your skin. And Ritter deftly interweaves the mystery into all of this, until you're not sure who to trust, who's telling the truth, and even whether you can trust Abby the narrator.

The mystery itself is excellently done. Clues dropped in piecemeal to lead you down various roads, and then breathlessly brought to its conclusion in the final act. I was left guessing instead of feeling like I'd already solved it, which always makes me happy.

All in all, I loved it. It was satisfying, but didn't feel like everything was tied up with a neat bow. It was engrossing and dark without being too twisted. It was excellently written and fascinating to read. Once I'd started I found it really difficult to put it down, and stayed up late for "just one more chapter"...

If you're after a quick, well written thriller, this is definitely a must, it will linger long after you've finished.

Review: See How They Run by Ally Carter

Publication Date: December 22^nd 2015
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Length: 336 pages

Thanks to Netgalley and Scholastic Press for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Inside every secret, there's a world of trouble. Get ready for the second book in this new series of global proportions--from master of intrigue, New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter. 
Grace's past has come back to hunt her . . . and if she doesn't stop it, Grace isn't the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down. 
The twists get twistier and the turns get even more shocking in the second thrilling installment of Embassy Row. 

I’ve loved so many of Ally Carter’s books that I fully expected the ‘Embassy Row’ series to be another hit. Alas, the first book in the series really didn’t work for me, and I was desperately hoping that book two would get me back on track with this series. Sadly though, I don’t think it’s mean to be.

I struggled with Grace in the first book, and whilst I had less issues with her in this book, she and I still don’t seem to be getting along. She comes across as very immature, and her reasoning and motives seem to be on crack half the time. She doesn’t feel real, she feels like a wildly swinging pendulum caricature. Add in a whole host of other interesting but not fully realised characters and I found it difficult to muster up any sort of enthusiasm for anyone in this book.

The plot trots along at a decent enough pace, and I did find myself curious to find out what was going to happen. It felt like it had a little bit more substance and intrigue than the first book which definitely helped. However we’re then thrown one of the most obvious and ridiculous plot twists on the final page which made me want to throw my kindle across the room in frustration. It just felt so forced, so obvious, and so utterly ridiculous. I want to be surprised by my books, not want to scream with irritation.

I want to love this series, and I know plenty of people that do, but sadly this second outing proves that this one just isn’t the one for me. I think I’ll stick with old favourites like ‘Heist Society’ and give the third instalment a miss.

Review: Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick

Publication Date: November 10^th 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK Children’s Books
Length: 385 pages

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK Children’s Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

Stella Gordon is not her real name. Thunder Basin, Nebraska, is not her real home. This is not her real life.
After witnessing a lethal crime, Stella Gordon is sent to the middle of nowhere for her own safety before she testifies against the man she saw kill her mother’s drug dealer.
But Stella was about to start her senior year with the boyfriend she loves. How can she be pulled away from the only life she knows and expected to start a new one in Nebraska? Stella chafes at her protection and is rude to everyone she meets. She’s not planning on staying long, so why be friendly? Then she meets Chet Falconer and it becomes harder to keep her guard up, even as her guilt about having to lie to him grows.
As Stella starts to feel safer, the real threat to her life increases—because her enemies are actually closer than she thinks… 

‘Dangerous Lies’ ended up being a bit of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand I was caught up by the story and found myself picking it up at odd moments, desperate to read just a few more pages whenever I had time. On the other hand, problems galore.

Let’s start with the biggie, Stella herself who is one of the most unlikeable heroines I’ve read this year. She’s whiney, she’s self-centred, she says some of the most awful things imaginable (I frequently did double takes, particularly when she’s thinking/talking about Innie’s pregnancy, because dear god girl put some kind of mouth filter thought process in place.) and she’s an all round not nice person. That makes it hard to root for her and to want to see her story through. Sure she does have some character development throughout the story but it’s not really enough and left me wanting to shake her at various points.

Side note: what on earth were they thinking when they put her into witness protection and changed her name from Estella to Stella?!... And Stella’s response to that name. Surely with a name like Estella, her name is going to have been shortened to Stella at some point in her life? Everything around the name change/her real name made my head hurt.

Some of it was really well done, other parts just seemed overblown and clichéd. I loved the slow ambling plot, just seeing Stella get used to Thunder Basin and its residents and watching her try to fit in. The day to day existence was great to see and I really enjoyed those parts of it. But then there was everything else, and those were the points that didn’t work quite so well.

We’ve got Stella’s boyfriend Reed who gets sent elsewhere for protection. The only way we really got to know Reed was through his letters that Stella had managed to smuggle out to Thunder Basin with her. Lovely idea, poorly executed. Reed comes across as an absolute arse, really truly unlikeable, Stella why are you bothering with this guy? It made her devotion to him seem completely unexplainable; add in that as soon as he’s declared missing she goes from pining and trying to get in touch with him to ‘oh well, make out time!’ and it’s even more bizarre. That his story is left so unfinished with no real ending or resolution is the icing on the grumpy cake. (Side note: Thanks so much Becca Fitzpatrick for doing a disservice to Fibromyalgia sufferers everywhere by including a little talked about illness and painting it atrociously. That really made me furious.)

The other characters are mixed, I enjoyed seeing Chet and Carmine and their interactions, but anything involving Trigger or Stella’s Mum seemed contrived and one dimensional. The rest of the characters are a hodge podge that make the town feel bigger but don’t really manage to be memorable.

Then there’s the plot. I’ve already said how much I loved the slow, hazy summer days – that was really well done. However a lot of the elements to do with the Witness Protection and the case were poorly handled. A lot of backstory was smushed in in one big info dump and the big climax happened in the last twenty pages or so with no real build up or pay off. It felt completely random. As a result I found it really hard to rate this one, but have ultimately gone for the lower rating simply because after a few days thinking about it the frustrations and gripes are winning out over the good points.

If you enjoy slow day to day existences and a gradual unfurling relationship then you’ll love the romance in this one. However if you’re picking it up purely for the crime/thriller aspects then it really doesn’t live up to expectations.

Review: Every Move by Ellie Marney

Be warned for very mild/vague spoilers for the book. Nothing specific and nothing that will ruin the book. 

Publication Date: March 1^st 2015
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Length: 340 pages

The sequel to Every Breath and Every Word. After the dramatic events of London, a road trip back to her old home in Five Mile sounds good (in theory) to Rachel Watts, with her brother Mike in the driving seat. But when Mike picks up his old buddy – the wildly unreliable Harris Derwent – things start to go south. Back in Melbourne, Rachel’s ‘partner in crime’, James Mycroft, clashes with Harris, and then a series of murders suggest that the mysterious Mr Wild – Mycroft’s own personal Moriarty – is hot on their tail. When tragedy strikes, Rachel and Mycroft realise they’ll have to recruit Harris and take matters into their own hands…

I adored the first book in this series so much that it made me nervous to read the second one, just in case it didn’t live up to my expectations. However when I read the second one a couple of weeks ago it more than lived up to the high standards set and left me with none of the reservations I’d had about launching straight into the third and final book of the trilogy. Sadly, I really wish it had.

There is an awful lot to love in the conclusion to this thrilling series, but unfortunately there were quite a few elements that really didn’t work for me. One of the things I loved so much about the first two books is that Mycroft and Rache never exceed the limitations around them being teenagers and having limited resources/power. Adults got involved in the situations where necessary and I loved that extra element of realism that is so often missing from YA crime fiction. Not so in this book. Suddenly our heroes find themselves in utterly ridiculous situations and insane stand offs that jarred me and felt thoroughly unrealistic and left me thoroughly frustrated.

I could probably forgive that were it not for the two other big issues that marred the enjoyment. Firstly a love triangle is introduced. For no reason. With no real build up or explanation and Rachel suddenly starts acting completely out of character and flirting back with this new guy. I get that she’s having problems with Mycroft following the events of the second book, and I get that she’s suffering from PTSD, but this seemed so thoroughly out of the blue, out of character and completely ridiculous. I frequently found myself frustrated with Rachel’s sudden obsession with the new boy and it didn’t make any real sense.

Then the third frustration, and this was enough to make me put the book down and walk away for a few days. I wasn’t sure if I was actually going to pick it up again and finish it.
Mycroft and Rachel work out who the big bad is, but then instead of being logical or even remotely like their usual coherent selves, Rachel fires off an angry email telling the person that they know who they, everything they’ve done and she and Mycroft have all the evidence they need.

I’m sorry, what?!

Not even a remotely good idea, and it sets off the truly awful chain of events that topples down in the second half of the book. Now yes ok, I get that Rachel is angry and hurt and stressed and upset and has had enough of being terrified because of other people. But come on SOME COMMON SENSE PLEASE. It is a completely out of character move that puts everyone in danger and for NO REASON AT ALL.

It was just so frustrating and ridiculous and not like Rachel at all. Add to that the problems with the love triangle and some highly suss behaviour on Rachel’s part and my love for her was basically in shreds by the end of the book.

A lot of the elements I loved about the first two books were still there – good writing, fast paced plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. I also loved seeing Rachel’s PTSD tackled, although it felt a little like a couple of hugs and it went away which was also frustrating.

However all the love I felt for those things was horribly over shadowed by the problems I’ve outlined above. I adored this series, I fell in love with these characters, I swooned over them, I cried over them, I stayed up all night reading their nail biting stories, and this final instalment felt like a complete let down after that.

By all means go and see the brilliance of the first two books, but be warned going into this one that it has quite a few problems by comparison and might leave you wishing that you’d stopped after book two.

Review: Every Word by Ellie Marney

Publication Date: June 1^st 2014
Publisher: Allen & Unwin/Tundra Books
Length: 340 pages

James Mycroft has just left for London to investigate a car accident similar to the one that killed his parents seven years ago...without saying goodbye to Rachel Watts, his 'partner in crime'.
Rachel is furious and worried about his strange behaviour - not that Mycroft's ever exactly normal, but London is the scene of so many of his nightmares. So Rachel jumps on a plane to follow him...and lands straight in a whole storm of trouble.
The theft of a copy of Shakespeare's First Folio, the possible murder of a rare books conservator, and the deaths of Mycroft's parents...Can Watts help Mycroft make sense of the three events - or will she lose him forever?
Sparks fly when Watts and Mycroft reunite in this second sophisticated thriller about the teen sleuthing duo.

Earlier this year I read the first book in this trilogy ‘Every Breath’ and was blown away by the sheer brilliance. You would think then that having loved the book so much I would have leaped straight into the second – that would have been logical I hear you cry. Instead I decided to flail and stress that the brilliance of the first book wouldn’t be caught quite so spectacularly in the second thus destroying my hopes and dreams and leaving me a sobbing mess for the brilliance that might have been. So I waited, and I procrastinated, and I read other books.

And then the two wonderful people who got me onto this series in the first place read the second book and both of them were effusive in their praise of how good it was, so I finally told the panicked voices in my head to shut up, and FINALLY I read it.

And you know what? IT WAS SO GOOD.

Never did I think I would be so smitten with a teenage take on the Holmes and Watson set up, but Ellie not only writes believable and fascinatingly complex characters, she puts them into fantastic, well-paced plots and then she hurts my babies. But it is so good and so well done that I don’t care about the terror and the weeping and the general pain and angst that occurred for me whilst reading it. Basically Ellie can rip my heart out with brilliant writing and I will simply beg her for more.

Everything that I loved about the first book was back in abundance – fast paced and engrossing plot, steamy sexual tension between the two leads, and clever workings of details from the various other incarnations of Holmes we’ve seen. Ellie is astoundingly talented at weaving in little details (some more obvious than others) and leaving the reader to notice them. It’s cleverly done and a huge source of satisfaction whilst reading to pick up on them.

This book felt much darker than the first, Ellie isn’t afraid to really hurt Mycroft and Rache, and some of the darkest scenes were horrifyingly realistic and believable. I stormed through the book, feverishly ripping through the pages because I simply had to know what happened next. I couldn’t put it down.

The writing is fantastic, and it was wonderful to have a change of setting and have the majority of this book set in London. Ellie really captures the feel of the city, and so many little pieces of England and British culture that help you to feel like you’re really there. It was also great to see Mycroft in his home element, to see him slide from boy next door into an English boy – as Rachel notes, suddenly you don’t just know that he’s English you see it. See how he fits in in these surroundings much more smoothly than he does in Australia, and it’s subtle and incredibly well done. We uncover a lot more of Mycroft’s backstory, and I loved having each new piece of information trickle out, seeing it through the filter of Rachel’s eyes and thoughts as she tries to deal not only with the murder case, but Mycroft’s rapid tailspin as events unfold. Rache is such a fantastic protagonist and she really holds her own against Mycroft, no easy feat when he is such a vibrant and fascinating character who is ever present, infusing every page, even when he’s halfway across the world.

I also love, as I did with the first book, that you never forget that these are two teenagers. There are no moments where you want to tear at your hair in frustration because adults are incompetent and Mycroft and Rache are doing things that no teen would realistically do. Yes they are put into extreme circumstances and as a result they’re forced to adapt and do things they otherwise wouldn’t, but it never felt ridiculous or overblown – something that a lot of YA novels never quite manage to achieve.

All in all this is a fantastic second instalment in the trilogy. It more than lives up to the high expectations set by the first book and has left me desperate to get straight into the third book. I love this series, I love Ellie’s writing, but most of all I adore Mycroft and Rache. If you’ve read the first book and are hesitant about getting into the second, don’t be. And if you haven’t yet discovered this series, do so now. Sherlock as the boy next door? Be still my beating heart.

Review: As Black as Ebony by Salla Simukka

Publication Date: August 4^th 2015
Publisher: SkyScape/Amazon Publishing (Published in the UK by Hot Key Books)
Length: 151 pages

Huge thanks to Netgalley and SkyScape/Amazon Publishing for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

After a harrowing summer in Prague, Lumikki Andersson is back in Finland at her prestigious art school, concentrating on graduation. She lands the lead role in the school’s modern-day adaptation of “Snow White” and finds herself facing a new distraction—Sampsa, the boy playing the role of the huntsman, who has an undeniable allure that makes Lumikki conflicted about what, and who, she wants.
As Lumikki starts falling into something more than just her role on stage, a shadow is cast over the production when she begins receiving creepily obsessive love notes. Lumikki can’t ignore the increasingly hostile tone of her admirer’s messages, and when the stalker threatens mass violence at the play’s premiere, Lumikki knows she must discover who is behind the menace and stop the person at all costs.
With a foe who has a heart as black as ebony, does Lumikki have any hope of saving those she loves?

It’s a well-known fact that I absolutely loved the first book in this trilogy ‘As Red As Blood’. It was terrifying, engrossing, tense and brilliantly paced – the sort of book that you had to read in one nail biting sitting or risk losing your mind. Then I stormed straight through the second book, and whilst it didn’t pull me in in quite the same way as the first, it was filled with Simukka’s trade mark brevity and twisting plot threads and was still a fantastic read. So I was curious as to how the third book in the trilogy would finish Lumikki’s story off, and whether it would lean more towards the brilliance of the first book or continue in the same vein as the second.

Actually it ended up being somewhere in the middle. It had all of the terror and tension of the first book, but it felt a little too short, as though the climax happened far too soon, just as everything was building up nicely.

However, there was a lot that really worked well in this finale. The translation was much smoother for this book. All three books are set in Finland and the original language is Finnish, so the translation into English has been a little shaky at times in the first two books. There are still a couple of odd moments, but on the whole the overall feeling is a much smoother and more dynamic narrative that feels closer to how the original was written.

Simukka’s writing style is refreshing to read. She has a way with words, and a sparseness to her prose which cut the book down to the absolute minimum of fuss – like Lumikki herself. It draws you into the story and delivers emotional blows and reveals hidden depths that wouldn’t have been possible with a more verbose and flowery narrative. It’s sparse, and it works beautifully.

This book was also a lot more focussed, which definitely helped to hone the narrative. Whilst the first and second book had several interlocking narratives, with same narrators known to the reader and others hidden until the end, this book simply offered Lumikki’s and her unknown stalker. It meant that the story was a lot less confusing and we’re less distracted by being confused about different narrators who we’re unsure about.

My biggest problem was the length. All three books have been very short, but this is by far the shortest and as a result you get a wonderful build up but then a very sudden climax. ‘Hey look, here’s the stalker, and now they’ve been defeated, everyone go home.’ It just felt very abrupt, I wanted more. There had been such a deliciously terrifying build up, it just felt too sudden and out of the blue that it all came together and was resolved so quickly.

However despite that draw back, the book is still a fantastic read and a very satisfying conclusion to the series. You could easily read ‘As Red as Blood’ as a standalone book, but I have loved coming back to Lumikki over the course of the following two books and slowly unpacking her story and watching her piece herself and her life together. If you’re looking for a fast paced thriller, these are the books for you. Or if you fancy trying a YA book that breaks the trends and is set in Finland and translated into English then I recommend this even more. It was so refreshing to read something so wildly different from the usual YA fare, and this offered a more than satisfying conclusion.

Review: The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publication Date: July 7^th 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Length: 384 pages

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick has spent her entire life on her grandfather's ranch. But when her estranged sister Ivy uproots her to D.C., Tess is thrown into a world that revolves around politics and power. She also starts at Hardwicke Academy, the D.C. school for the children of the rich and powerful, where she unwittingly becomes a fixer for the high school set, fixing teens’ problems the way her sister fixes their parents’ problems.
And when a conspiracy surfaces that involves the family member of one of Tess's classmates, love triangles and unbelievable family secrets come to light and life gets even more interesting—and complicated—for Tess.

I haven’t read a huge number of Jennifer Lynn Barnes books, but every single one I have picked up I have loved, and ‘The Fixer’ was no exception. In fact I would go so far as to say that this is the best book Barnes has written. It’s fast paced, tense, brilliantly plotted and filled with a whole host of intriguing characters.

I was complaining recently that I can’t seem to find a book where I don’t see the twists coming, so it was a breath of fresh air to be constantly kept on my toes with this story. I genuinely wasn’t sure who to trust, whose motives were pure, who could have done the terrible deeds, and actually gasped aloud at a couple of the reveals. It was deliciously sneaky and I loved the surprises and twists and being constantly kept guessing.

It also helps that the plot is brilliantly constructed. You’re given just enough time to get to know Tess, to begin to understand her and want to give her a massive hug, and then you’re thrown right in at the deep end with her, desperately trying to work out what’s happening and who you can trust. It’s relentless, giving a few lighter moments throughout, but on the whole really putting you through the wringer. I didn’t have the usual slump in the middle of the book, I burned through it, desperate to see how it would all end.

Tess is a fantastic protagonist, I really felt for her right from the first page. She’s grounded and practical and whilst she’s headstrong she isn’t an idiot – the perfect combination of a heroine who wants to get stuff done, but also realises that other people may be better equipped to deal with some situations.

She’s surrounded by a brilliant cast of characters, even those we didn’t get to spend much time with didn’t feel superfluous, they felt like real people who had lives away from Tess and her problems, but who were able to come in and help. I can’t wait to get to know some of them better and see how these relationships progress. It was refreshing though to see a plot that wasn’t hinged upon romance, in fact apart from a couple of brief glances, romance didn’t even play a tiny part in the story. So if you’re after a fast paced contemporary that isn’t bogged down in longing looks and will they won’t they moments, this is definitely a must read. Add to that the fact that the dialogue was also brilliant and the entire book was a winning combination. I am a rather huge fan of Asher and Tess and would quite happily have read a book entirely filled with their witty repartee. I frequently found myself laughing out loud, and they offered some great lighter moments in amongst the darkness of the rest of the plot.

This is by far the best book I’ve read by Barnes – fast paced, brilliantly written full of twists and turns and compelling characters, this is a great summer read, perfect for getting lost in the intrigues and politics of Washington D.C. and trying to work out who, if anyone, you can trust.

Review: Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten

Publication Date: July 2^nd 2015
Publisher: Egmont Publishing/Electric Monkey
Length: 320 pages

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Egmont Publishing/Electric Monkey for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

June barely has time to mourn the death of her best friend Delia, before Delia's ex-boyfriend convinces her Delia was murdered, and June is swept into a tangle of lies, deceit, and conspiracy.

There is one thing guaranteed to make me feel frustrated with a book after reading, and that is if the by the end of the story, the book has made me feel stupid. I read a lot, I’m a reasonably intelligent person, and I can usually see twists in plots coming from quite a distance, so it’s always a strange feeling when I finish a book and don’t actually really understand what happened at the end.

Let’s go back to the start for a moment. The book is a fast paced, intense read that had me racing through the pages to find out what was going to happen next. Did I see the big ‘twists’ coming? Sure. But I wasn’t too bothered about that, because I was caught up in the intensity and pace of the story.

I don’t want to give too much away – even the blurb is trying not to give anything away – because I think that the less you know going in the more you will enjoy the story and become engrossed in the twisting tale unfolding around you as June tries to disentangle the truth.

Like I said, I saw the ‘twists’ coming, but on the whole I enjoyed it. June was a bit flat for a protagonist, and there were several moments of lapsed judgement – for example when she goes to confront Tig – where I really wanted to shake her. Despite the flaws in the creation of her character she is likeable enough, and offers a way in to the story that steamrollers onward, sweeping everything up with it. It’s a hard book to put down, and is a very intense read as clues and distractions are unearthed. If you’re after a fast paced and intense murder mystery then this is definitely a book you should pick up.

However there were two big things detracting from my enjoyment. The first is the snippets of Delia and June’s relationship that we’re offered through flashbacks. I think it was supposed to offer an idea of a wonderful friendship of kindred souls. However it comes across as toxic and with Delia not being particularly likeable. I never warmed to Delia, nor to any of the characters really. They were all the worst versions of themselves with little to no redeeming qualities. Reading a book as intense as this can be exhausting, if you then add in that there are no truly likeable characters it becomes an exercise in frustration.

The second thing was the ending. Now like I said, I kept up with the rest of the story no problem, but I really have very little idea of what happened at the end. I get the basic premise, but other than that, it doesn’t make any sense. I’ve been back and read the final few chapters several times thinking that maybe I missed something, that I just wasn’t being clever enough to work it out. So if you read this book and can enlighten me as to what I’ve missed in the comments, that would be awesome. As it stands all that hard work the book did throughout the rest of the story came crashing down in those final few pages, because a book that makes the reader feel stupid is never going to end favourably for the reader.

It was an intense read, gripping and at times terrifying, but the characters were unlikeable and the twists (for me personally) a little predictable. All of that could have been forgiven if not for the ending, so whilst I know some people will love this story, it didn’t quite work for me.

Release Day: Crusher by Niall Leonard

Today marks the release of the highly anticipated young adult crime/thriller novel 'Crusher' from Niall Leonard.
This book has been on my radar since earlier this summer and has caused quite a stir of excitement in the blogging world. Husband of E. L. James (of 50 Shades of Grey fame) Leonard's debut novel looks set to be a fantastic and fast paced book that will keep you on your toes right until the end!

Don't believe me? Just check out the trailer below! And then go and pick up your copy today! Review to come soon.

To catch a killer,Finn Maguire may have to become one....

Everything changed the day Finn found his father in a pool of blood, bludgeoned to death. His dull, dreary life is turned upside down as he become's the prime suspect. How can he clear his name and find out who hated his dad enough to kill him?

Facing danger at every turn, uncovering dark family secrets and braving the seedy London underworld,Finn is about to discover that only the people you trust can really hurt you...

Review: New Girl by Paige Harbison

Welcome to this stop on the Mira Ink 'New Girl' blog tour!
Huge thanks to Becky at Mira for sending me a copy to review.

A contemporary young-adult retelling inspired by the classic 1938 romantic suspense bestseller Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
They call me 'New Girl'...
Ever since I arrived at exclusive, prestigious Manderly Academy, that’s who I am. New girl. Unknown. But not unnoticed—because of her.
Becca Normandy—that’s the name on everyone’s lips. The girl whose picture I see everywhere. The girl I can’t compare to. I mean, her going missing is the only reason a spot opened up for me at the academy. And everyone stares at me like it’s my fault.
Except for Max Holloway—the boy whose name shouldn’t be spoken. At least, not by me. Everyone thinks of him as Becca’s boyfriend…but she’s gone, and here I am, replacing her. I wish it were that easy. Sometimes, when I think of Max, I can imagine how Becca’s life was so much better than mine could ever be.
And maybe she’s still out there, waiting to take it back.

While the novel has an intriguing premise, by the end I was left feeling a little cold – and not from chills from the atmosphere. It was a ultimately a bit of a marmite book for me, there were quite a few things I really disliked about it, but at the same time it was dark, oddly compelling and I found I wasn’t really able to put it down.

It was an interesting exploration into a truly psychological tale with very clear comparisons to ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier. Whilst it has been described by some as ‘gossip girl at boarding school’ I wouldn’t really have made that comparison. Yes it does feature the idea of rumours and lies and gossip and how they can snowball and ruin people, but that was where the comparison ended.

The pacing was fantastic, as I said, once I started and got into the story even though there were sections that I really disliked and wanted to put the book down after reading, I found I couldn’t. I was compelled to read it to the end, to find out what happened to all the characters and how the problems were resolved.

I loved how throughout the novel we are never given the narrator’s name, she is permanentely living in Becca’s shadow, until the end when she emerges triumphant to the dawn of a new chapter of her life and is finally named. It’s an intriguing twist, one that I found both frustrating at moments and also was highly impressed by. It’s a hard thing to go through an entire novel without actually naming a character to the reader, so to keep it drawn out right until the last page was something impressive.

The New Girl herself was a really good heroine – yes she had moments where I wanted to shake her but for the most part she was strong, clear headed and sure of herself. And the more she learned about who Becca was, the harder she worked to distinguish herself from her and become her own person. As a character arc I thought that was fantastic, and her story and development was definitely a highlight for me. I loved that we were given a story not of epic saving the world or falling madly in love, but of a girl dealing with the problems of social groups, peers and the viciousness of gossip and rumours when set going in a confined space – similar to how you can see them develop in ‘The Crucible. The only thing I disliked about her was her insistence on going back to Max repeatedly, despite standing up to him and not letting him dictate everything, he really didn’t strike me as the sort of guy who she would want to hand around waiting for him to notice her again, and it frustrated me and I felt weakened her character that she did.

However, the initial premise behind getting ‘New Girl’ to Manderley was terrible. It seemed completely implausible that parents would uproot their daughter in her final year of school for no reason other than she wanted to go when she was thirteen. There were so many other scenarios that would have gotten New Girl to school without that massive hole that got the story off to a bit of a jarring start.

I suppose my biggest problem with the book was the characterization of Becca. The reader is given to understand immediately that she is incapable of thinking of anyone but herself, has no problems with hurting others to get what she wants and demands that the entire world revolves around her. We’re told that her parents dislike her because of something (or several things) she’s done, but we never really fully discover any backstory to that, we never fill in the blanks that could make her into a more three dimensional character. She doesn’t really develop relationships with anyone and uses any feelings anyone else has for her to give her an advantage in her power plays – in other words, she’s a complete sociopath and completely unlikeable. There is no flaw, no chink where the reader might be able to get a grasp on her character, might be able to understand why she acts how she does or find any kind of empathy or sympathy for her. But instead of this realization occurring to the reader as the book progresses, it is a case of being told not shown, right from the first page. It made her character incredibly flat – there was no complexity or development or drive. And yet in some scenes later in the book she appears in a horribly contrived moment to try and repent for all the bad things she’s done. It was mind boggling in its frustration levels.

I also found Max’s attitude towards Becca incredibly forced. At no point does the reader get the feeling that he cares about her in any substantial way. There’s no real chemistry between them, and no sense of the ‘dark fascination’ that Becca holds over virtually every character in the book. There is no real sense of why Max doesn’t just say to everyone that Becca is lying, that these things she keeps saying and doing are all made up, and when she begs him for just one more time, he just complies. As a result he never really developed for me. He stays as this flat character that is quite happy to be steamrollered by an attractive girl for no real reason.

I have quite a large problem with books randomly throwing in backstory for girls that are troubled where they were raped. If it is important to the story, developed and handled well then subject matter like that can really further a book and be incredibly powerful, but when it’s thrown in almost like an after thought and not really explored or resolved or anything then I find it incredibly difficult to read. It feels like it was just a tag on to give the characters a reason to act out and be difficult, not another layer in the emotional build of a character.

So yes, quite a few things that really didn’t work for me personally. However, as I said earlier there was also a lot that did work. Pacing, setting, atmosphere, and New Girl herself, all really fantastic elements that drive the book and keep the weaker moments from floundering. It makes for a very compelling read, but does fall rather heavily into the marmite category – you’ll either love it or you’ll hate it, but either way you’ll find yourself racing to the end to find out how it all resolves.

Author Q & A with Andrew Prentice & Jonathan Weil

The fabulous 'Black Arts' came out last week, and I am have been busy thrusting it under all my friends noses going 'Here! You Must Read the Fabulous!' And I am lucky enough to have the lovely (and highly entertaining) Andrew Prentice & Jonathan Weil here offering insights into their writing, the ideas and concepts, and what we might see from them next...

"First of all, I think the book is incredible, but how would you tempt people who don't know about it yet to read it?"

We set out to write the kind of story we love to read – a high-speed thrill ride through a dirty and dangerous setting. Black Arts is adventure cooked the old-fashioned way. First we mixed half a pound of revenge with a hefty pinch of diabolical evil, a spoonful of humour, several pints of human blood and a cheeky dollop of resourceful heroism. Then we baked the mixture in our oven of plot for five years.
When we took it out of the oven we glazed it with telling historical detail. It should be served lightly chilled and consumed in one sitting.

"How did the book come about? The concept and the collaboration?"

We have been collaborating since we were in the sixth form, when we edited our school magazine together. After university we embarked on a ludicrously ambitious, epic project – the re-explaining of all recorded history in comic-book form. We managed to finish fifteen pages of this before reality intervened and we had to get jobs.

Then, five years ago, we were sacked. We had been writing animation scripts for an aquarium tycoon/sushi restaurateur/would-be manga magnate, and for some reason we thought it would be a good idea to strike out on our own writing comic books. One of the scripts we prepared was set in Elizabethan England. It was going to be about the foiling of the Spanish Armada, set in a world of secret intelligence, religious persecution and fraudulent magicians. So certain elements of Black Arts were already there.

No one wanted to make the historical comic, it turned out – but a couple of publishers liked the idea of an Elizabethan spy story; we got a book deal out of it; and over the years, some of the stranger concepts from our first, deranged collaboration began to resurface. Weird magical rituals. Secret, world-spanning conspiracies. Immortal guardians charged with protecting the very fabric of History itself. The story mutated, like a fungus growing inside a nuclear reactor, into Black Arts.

"How did the writing process work?"

We have leaned that it is best to plan everything out very carefully. This takes many long walks, and cups of strong coffee.

We then go our separate ways. We realised long ago that writing in the same house is disastrous. We take alternate chapters (or several chapters at once, depending where the natural breaks are), and go away and write. After each of us has finished, we swap and edit. By the time a chapter is finished it has usually been edited and re-edited seven or eight times.

"Who was the voice of reason in the process?"

Both of us have our moments. The best thing about collaboration is that there is always someone there to talk to. The worst thing about collaboration is that sometimes they are right and you are wrong.

"How were the harder decisions made when writing, was there a nominated person who had the final say?"

Total gridlock doesn’t happen very often. There are battles, and it usually comes down to stubbornness: one person will almost always care more, and end up getting his way. In extreme moments we resort to the ultimate decider: paper-scissors-stone, best of seven.

"Can you tell me a bit about the research that went into the book? For example the lock picking tools, I'm curious, are they real names etc? And did you get to practise so it would be easier to write?"

Our research was almost entirely reading – both history books and original sources like plays, and letters, and demon-hunting manuals (they had them!). Quite a lot of terms we used in the book are accurate, although we’ve found that good research is all about making sure that the stuff you do make up feels right. Once you’ve written a few lines of authentic Elizabethan thieves’ cant, you get into a groove where you can invent the rest and it’ll sound good.

We never practised any lock-picking, but we do try to pick each other’s pockets from time to time. We aren’t very good at it.

"What was the most exciting part of the process for you?"

The most exciting part is seeing how the story evolves when we both are working on it. One of us will have an idea, which will then provide the solution to a problem the other was worrying about, changing along the way into something strange and different that neither of us would have thought up on his own. Chapters start off one way, go through several different phases and emerge a totally different beast at the other end. It’s always exciting to see what the other guy has done.

"And what was the most challenging?"

Accepting that what you thought was amazing needs to be cut. We have got much better at dealing with this over the years.

"Will you be working on anything together in the future? And what can we hope to see from you (either together or individually) next?"

The Books of Pandemonium is planned as a series of four books. We are very excited about where this story is going to go in the future. The second book is well underway, and is going to be better than the first.
After that, who knows? We are always thinking of more stories – and we can’t wait to tell them. 

I want to say a huge thank you to Andrew and Jonathan for taking the time to talk to me about the book - and for providing some of the most entertaining answers to questions I've ever been offered!

I will continue to shamelessly plug 'Black Arts' for the rest of the year (you have been warned) and will be onto the next book as soon as we know more... In the meantime, if you haven't already go and read the book!

Author Q & A with Ed Hogan

Today marks the release of yet another awesome young adult book 'Daylight Saving' by Ed Hogan - a brilliant ghost story and thriller all rolled into one with some incredibly strong characters. It's one of my top picks for February, and marks Ed's first foray into young adult. To celebrate the occasion Ed was kind enough to answer some questions about the book, his writing, and what we can read from him next.

"Your first Young Adult book 'Daylight Saving' is out today, can you tell us a little bit about it and how the story came about?"

Well, I tend to wake up very early in the morning, and spend half-an-hour writing down whatever comes into my head.  One morning, I started to think about a family holiday we took - at a sort of leisure village - when I was a kid.  I really liked sports, so I had a good time, but I started to wonder how it would be for someone who didn't like sports.  I started thinking about such a boy (Daniel, in the book), and wrote a scene where he sees a girl swimming in the lake at the leisure village.  When she gets out of the water, Daniel notices that she has cuts and bruises, and that her watch is ticking backwards.  He also quickly learns that Lexi - for that is the girl's name - is a very funny and clever and strong young woman .  I just took that scene and went from there, really.  I've always been very interested in time, and that's one of the major themes of the book, I reckon.

"You've written adult novels prior to this release, how did you find the transition into the realm of Young Adult?"

I'd been reading a lot of YA stuff before I wrote Daylight Saving, and I'd been so impressed by the vibrant originality in the books.  People like B.R. Collins, Patrick Ness, and Mal Peet manage to put together extremely compelling stories that move very quickly but still contain these huge intellectual ideas.  I really loved writing Daylight Saving.  As well as being my first YA book, it was the first time I'd tried to write a thriller.  Handling a plot like that, with twists and turns, was a new thing for me.  I hope I did okay!

"And is it somewhere you like? Can we hope for more young adult books from you in the future?"

Yes!  My second YA book is called The Helmstown Messengers, and it should be published in 2013, all being well. It's set by the sea-side, and is about a man and a girl who share a strange gift. That's as much as I'm giving away at the moment!

"What drew you to writing? Is it something you've always wanted to do?"

Totally.  It took me a while to realise that it was something I could do as profession, but I suppose I've always been writing stories.  It used to be a very private thing, and I've always found it a great comfort.  People often say that reading and writing is an escape, and I understand that, but it's also something that has helped me to confront difficult things, rather than run away from them.

"And how did you make that jump from wanting to write to becoming a full time published writer?"

I'm not sure I'll ever be a full-time writer!  I still have a day job, and that's quite important to me.  It's good to get out of the house, and to meet people (so I can write about them!!)  In terms of the route to getting published, I did an MA in Creative Writing, which was very useful training.  The MA was partly funded by a literary agency called David Higham Associates.  They liked a short story I'd written (about a teenager, actually), so they gave me some money to do the course.  I met my very brilliant agent, Veronique, because of the bursary.  She sold my first book, Blackmoor, in 2008.

"Do you have any habits or rituals that come with writing? Music or times of day that are most productive for you?"

The earlier the better.  I usually get about three hours in before I go to my day job.  I haven't really worked out the best system for writing, yet.  One thing that works for me is carrying a little notebook.  I find that I have lots of my ideas when I'm walking to the train station.  When I get home, I try to turn the notes into little scenes, which I write down on index cards, and put in a small box.  I don't listen to music because I find it very hard to do two things at once (my brain capacity is quite small!)  I do, however, often take little breaks to mess around on the guitar.  I'm not very good.

"What's been the most exciting part of the writing and publishing process for you?"

The most exciting part is always the writing.  The first week of writing Daylight Saving was just brilliant.  I knew I'd got a decent idea, and I just walked around the flat, and around town, with my notebook, making up little scenes and getting a hold on these two characters, Daniel and Lexi.  I really loved writing Lexi.  She's had some traumatic experiences, but she never allows herself to be a victim.

"And what has been the most challenging?"

The challenge for new writers, I think, is finding time.  At the very start, you have to write when most of your friends are socialising, so that requires some willpower.  You sometimes have to accept that you won't have much money for a while, either.  Holidays are out of the question!  But that's actually fine, if you love what you do.  My friend Daniel describes writers as 'off-peak people', which is about right.

"What are you working on at the moment?"

With the help of my editor, Mara, I am revising The Helmstown Messengers.  I'm also doing some early research for the third YA book.  My second novel for adults, The Hunger Trace, is out in paperback next month, so I'm doing things to plug that, too (like mentioning it in Q+As!)

"And finally, will you be doing a tour or signings in the future?"

I'm definitely going to be doing some events in schools, and I'll be visiting some bookshops to sign stock.

'Daylight Saving' is available now from Amazon and all book stores, go forth and buy!


And enter the book giveaway I currently have open for a copy of Daylight Saving now!

You can read my spoiler free review here!