Book review: Aria's Travelling Book Shop by Rebecca Raisin

 Title: Aria's Travelling Book Shop

Author: Rebecca Raisin

Publisher: HQ Digital

Publication date: 8th April 2020

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Source: Review copy via NetGalley

Rating: 5/10

Description: 

Aria Summers knows what she wants. A life on the road with best friend Rosie and her beloved camper-van-cum-book-shop, and definitely, definitely, no romance. But when Aria finds herself falling – after one too many glasses of wine, from a karaoke stage – into the arms of Jonathan, a part of her comes back to life for the first time in years.

Since her beloved husband died Aria has sworn off love, unless it’s the kind you can find in the pages of a book. One love of her life is quite enough. And so Aria tries to forget Jonathan and sets off for a summer to remember in France. But could this trip change Aria’s life forever…?

My thoughts:

On the one hand, this was a light, enjoyable read and a bit of travel escapism while we were all stuck at home during the pandemic. It's a delightful look at some French villages, as the bookshop van travels along. There's a lovely little community of several travelling shops who move along together, including Aria's friend Rosie (who stars in the first book of the series), and there's a really nice friendship between Aria and Rosie. 

On the other, I don't think it holds up to other contemporary romance I've read & enjoyed in the last couple of years; I won't be going back to reread it. The encounters between Aria and Jonathan felt a bit awkward more often than not, and there's a lot of focus on the troubled relationship between Aria and the mother of her late husband. And maybe it's because I was pregnant while I read this, but there's a plotline I found particularly frustrating: one character, who's in a relationship, has some of the stereotypical signs of pregnancy and it takes everyone a long time to realise that's what's happening. Then, once it's confirmed, people try to wrap the woman in cotton wool and comment on what she's doing & what's "safe". I wanted to yell at these 'friends' and tell them she's pregnant not ill. 

So, a light read with some travel escapism, but there are a whole bunch of other contemporary romance books I'd point you to before this one. 5/10. 

Book review: Beach Read by Emily Henry

Title: Beach Read

Author: Emily Henry

Publisher: Penguin Books

Publication date: 20th August 2020

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Source: Review copy from publisher via NetGalley

Rating: 10 stars

Description: He doesn't believe in happy endings.

She's lost her faith that they exist.

But could they find one together?

January is a hopeless romantic who likes narrating her life as if she's the heroine in a blockbuster movie. Augustus is a serious literary type who thinks true love is a fairy-tale. January and Augustus are not going to get on. But they actually have more in common than you'd think:

They're both broke.

They've got crippling writer's block.

They need to write bestsellers before the end of the summer.

The result? A bet to see who can get their book published first.

The catch? They have to swap genres.

The risk? In telling each other's stories, their worlds might be changed entirely...

Set over one sizzling summer, Beach Read is a witty, feel-good love story for fans of The Flat Share and Our Stop.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. January and Augustus are both published novelists. When January's father died, she inherited a lakeside house she didn't know he owned, which she finds out about when his mistress turns up at the funeral to give her the keys. So she's a little conflicted arriving there, and is planning to finish writing her latest novel in some peace & quiet while also clearing out the house to sell. The first night, she has an awkward encounter with the neighbour next door - Augustus. I won't spoil the details, but when they run into each other in daylight, it turns out she's met him before, and knows who he is, although he clearly doesn't remember her. 

They don't get on, but gradually their antagonism leads to the bet described in the blurb: they're going to swap genres for their current writing projects, and they each try to show the other some 'research situations' to help them with the new genre. I read a lot of light contemporary romance of characters being away somewhere for the summer, meeting someone, and having some important realisations over the course of the book. I love that stuff, and Beach Read does it perfectly. But it's like it takes that typical light, quick, contemporary romance read and elevates the writing level a step. I don't know how to describe it better, just that it seemed... deeper, than some things I've read recently. The story itself wasn't so different, but the telling of it made it stand out. You also only get the story from January's point of view, so that adds some more tension to things in particular places, wondering what on earth Augustus is doing or thinking. 

As an aspiring writer myself, and working in publishing, I particularly loved that Augustus and January were writers. It prompted me to do a bit of writing on my own stuff, reading January's struggles! And I love the small town setting, especially being by the water, as that's very similar to the way I grew up. 

Overall, I highly recommend Beach Read. It was one of my favourite books I read last year, and I'd like to get a physical copy at some point so I can reread it and keep it on my shelves. Contemporary romance at its best. 

Book Review: Give Birth Like a Feminist by Milli Hill

Title: Give Birth Like a Feminist

Author: Milli Hill

Publisher: HQ

Publication date: August 2019

Genre: Non-fiction, Pregnancy & parenting, feminism

Source: Review copy via NetGalley

Rating: 10/10

Description: Birth is a feminist issue. It’s the feminist issue nobody’s talking about.

For too long women have been told, ‘a healthy baby is all that matters’. This book dares to say women matter too.

Finally blasting the feminist spotlight into the labour ward, Milli Hill encourages women everywhere to stand and deliver, insisting that birth is no longer left off the list in discussions about female power, control and agency.

From the importance of birth plans to your human rights in childbirth, and including birth stories from women across the world, this call-to-arms will help you find your voice, take an active role in your choices, and change the way you think about childbirth.

My thoughts: So when I started reading this book, I thought it sounded like an interesting topic, and I was planning to start trying to have a baby soon, so it seemed like a particularly good time to read up on the topic. Then over the course of reading, I became pregnant, which made it an even more interesting book to be reading. However, I think it's really important that it's not just pregnant people or mothers who read this book. It's important that these topics come into the general discussion of feminism. 

Milli Hill highlights from the beginning of the book that in the birth room, people have got too used to saying 'that's just how it is' when experiences are unpleasant, undignified or traumatic, and instead we should be questioning things, exercising human rights, and pressing for change. Women shouldn't be told to 'leave their dignity at the door' or that 'a healthy baby is all that matters'. Of course, we want a healthy baby at the end of the process. But that doesn't mean totally discounting the mother and her experience. 

Some key topics she looks at: 

• Consent during pregnancy & birth
• The urge in some places (mainly first world countries) to push medicalised interventions, and discourage more 'hands-off' types of birth
• Being 'allowed' to do things & the language around permission. (Clue: the mother should be the one in charge. She is allowed to do anything she wants.) 
• Belittling & dismissive language used towards pregnant & labouring people
• Difficulties for women who want to give birth in a way that differs from what's most common & accepted in their area 
• The 'postcode lottery' of what you 'can' and 'can't' expect from your birth experience in the UK
• The colour of your skin affecting your birth experience 
• So many others! 

There are some stories of what a hospital birth was like in the UK for the author's mother & friends of that age that horrified me. There are stories of births in the UK today that were shocking. There are stories of brith practices that happen in Europe, Australia, and the US that made me very glad I'm having my baby in the UK. These stories were shocking because we don't hear about this stuff; people don't talk about this stuff. In my (39 week) experience of pregnancy, it's only at this stage of life that you hear about different policies between first world countries, through places like Facebook and Mumsnet where I've seen women talk about typical timelines and medical interventions that vary from place to place, like the UK vs US vs Australia. Outside of this book, I haven't seen much about what pregnancy & birth are like in other countries. We need to make the stealing of mothers' rights a big part of the feminist conversation, highlight the indignities and inequalities, and change them. 

Milli Hill does a really good job of providing scientific evidence around various policies, from delayed cord cutting, to giving birth lying on your back (did you know it's really not the greatest position to give birth in? I did not) to inductions. 

I could pick out more topics and probably devolve into ranting, so instead I'll say - go and read this book. It's well balanced, it's full of supporting evidence and it shines a spotlight on a topic that I think has been very neglected in our society. It might be very different from most of the books I've read this year, but it's still one of my 'best books read in 2020'. 10 out of 10. 

Book review: Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha

Title: Deal with the Devil
Author: Kit Rocha
Publication date: 28th July 2020
Publisher: Tor
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Romance
Series: The Mercenary Librarians #1
Source: Review copy via NetGalley
Rating: 10/10

Description: The United States went belly up 45 years ago when our power grid was wiped out. Too few live in well-protected isolation while the rest of us scrape by on the margins.

The only thing that matters is survival.

By any means. At any cost.

Nina is an information broker with a mission: to bring hope to the darkest corners of Atlanta. She and her team of mercenary librarians use their knowledge to help those in need. But altruism doesn’t pay the bills—raiding vaults and collecting sensitive data is where the real money is.

Knox is a bitter, battle-weary supersoldier who leads the Silver Devils, an elite strike squad that chose to go AWOL rather than slaughter innocents. Before the Devils leave town for good, they need a biochem hacker to stabilize the experimental implants that grant their superhuman abilities.

The problem? Their hacker’s been kidnapped. And the ransom for her return is Nina. Knox has the perfect bait for a perfect trap: a lost Library of Congress server. The data could set Nina and her team up for years…

If they live that long.

My thoughts: I've been a fan of Kit Rocha for several years now, particuarly the two series they have which are set in the same world as Deal with the Devil, so I was really excited to hear about this new book, and new series, and the fact that they were moving to a major publisher. But the switch (they self published the other series') also made me a bit nervous: would aspects that I loved from a Kit Rocha book be toned down or absent, to try accommodating to that big publisher audience? I needn't have worried. 

We meet Nina first, as she fights off multiple attackers before retrieving a mysterious package. Amongst the fighting, the authors put in enough casual details of the surroundings that you build up a clear image of the run-down city, and start to get a feel for Nina's personality. Knox has been following her, and when the story shifts to his point of view, you get more details about the city, the corruption running through it from the big corporations that rule the place, and the information that both Nina and Knox have some kind of biological enhancements to their genetics. Nina is super fast, and Knox himself is very strong, as well as having a communication chip of some kind wired into his head to help him keep in touch with his team. All of Nina's crew and Knox's Silver Devils have more to them than meets the eye; there's a bit of a superheroes, x-men quality to things, except all of these characters went through operations and years of training to change their bodies, rather than being born with the abilities. 

Knox introduces himself, and offers Nina the job of finding the old server. Nina & co know that it is absolutely a trap of some kind, but decide to go for it anyway, and the two groups set off on a road trip like something out of The Walking Dead or Station Eleven, where you never quite know what kind of little local community you're going to find in the next desiccated town, or round the next bend of the road in the quiet forest. And through it all, both fully aware of the dangers, Knox and Nina start to fall for each other. The tension of knowing about upcoming betrayals and also the hope for a romance between two tired people working out kept me turning pages late into the night. But even knowing that there were big shocks coming for various characters when secrets got exposed, what actually happened did come as a twist to me.

In both the Silver Devils and Nina's little group, there are the found families and their unbreakable bonds that make a key part of any Kit Rocha novel. Other things I was really pleased to find, that I'd been wondering about: the chemistry sizzles between Nina and Knox from their first meeting, and builds to some exciting sexy scenes later on. There's also enough page time for the secondary characters that I'm already looking forward to seeing them get their own books later on in this series, and Kit Rocha has laid the groundwork for another excellent series of a corrupt system gradually being overturned the good guys, and the power of friendship, love and compassion. 

I highly recommend Deal With The Devil, and I can't wait for the sequel! Overall, I'm giving this 10/10. 

Thank you Tor for the e-review copy. 

Book review: The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry

Title: The Way of All Flesh
Author: Ambrose Parry
Publisher: Canongate Books
Publication date: 2nd October 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: Raven, Fisher & Simpson, #1
Source: Review copy from publisher via NetGalley

Description: Edinburgh, 1847. City of Medicine, Money, Murder. Young women are being discovered dead across the Old Town, all having suffered similarly gruesome ends. In the New Town, medical student Will Raven is about to start his apprenticeship with the brilliant and renowned Dr Simpson. Simpson’s patients range from the richest to the poorest of this divided city. His house is like no other, full of visiting luminaries and daring experiments in the new medical frontier of anaesthesia. It is here that Raven meets housemaid Sarah Fisher, who recognises trouble when she sees it and takes an immediate dislike to him. She has all of his intelligence but none of his privileges, in particular his medical education. With each having their own motive to look deeper into these deaths, Raven and Sarah find themselves propelled headlong into the darkest shadows of Edinburgh’s underworld, where they will have to overcome their differences if they are to make it out alive.

My thoughts: I went to university in Edinburgh and its one of those places where you can feel the history leaking out of the stones all around you. So a historical story set here, and in one of my favourite historical periods to read about, was a definite 'yes' from me. The book starts just before Will starts an apprenticeship with a doctor. Before he can get there, he discovers that a young woman he'd been visiting has died, and it doesn't seem like natural courses. Will is determined to investigate, even if it jeopardises his new position.

Dr Simpson is wealthy, but treats many patients who could never normally afford a doctor as well, and his specialism is childbirth. Midwifery is a key part of the book, and I found it fascinating and horrifying to see some of the medical practices of the period. It was one of those books where I paused to google quite a few times and learn a little bit more about what was happening in the wider medical and legal community at the time that fell outside the immediate view of the book. Pain relief in childbirth is just starting to be experimented with, but half of the doctors using it have no idea what they're doing, and many women tragically died.

There's a gripping crime plotline through the middle of the book, which I really enjoyed, and an examination of privilege and the position of women at the time through the character of Sarah. But it was the historical aspects that I really found fascinating. Beyond the midwifery, it's woven wonderfully into the story, from the setting of Edinburgh itself, to episodes like when Will spends a day with some photographers and sees how their art is developing.

I really enjoyed this book, and I'm so glad it's the start of a series. If like me you'd like to know more about the author, I was interested to learn that it's actually a writting team: Scottish crime writer Christopher Brookmyre, and his wife, who got interested in some of the topics explored in the book while working on her PhD.

Overall, I'm giving this one 9/10, and I will definitely be reading the sequel at some point.

Book Review: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Title: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
Author: Hank Green
Publication date: 25th September 2018
Publisher: Trapeze
Source: Complimentary copy from publisher
Rating: 9/10

Description: The Carls just appeared. 
Roaming through New York City at three am, twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship - like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armour - April and her best friend Andy make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world - from Beijing to Buenos Aries - and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the centre of an intense international media spotlight. 

Seizing the opportunity to make her mark on the world, April now has to deal with the consequences her new particular brand of fame has on her relationships, her safety and her own identity. And all eyes are on April to figure out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us. 

My thoughts: This is one of those tricky books to review because there are so many twists, and I really don't want to give anything away and spoil the suspense of other readers uncovering things for themselves. So, I'll start by saying I really loved this book.

It's about a lot of things: fame and its consequences; the fickleness of people; the power of the internet; working together; puzzles; friendship; growing up; personal values; consequences. Hank Green's personal experience as someone who not only became well-known through YouTube but also managed to maintain his online presence over time comes through. There were a lot of points where I felt like you could see his interests and history reflected on the page.

I think it's really well written, and I enjoyed the pacing. Something else I enjoyed about it was that April May as a character has the personal background that the decisions she makes and the way she works to stay in the public eye is believable. This isn't just someone getting really lucky. That accounts for the first incident with her making the viral video. But her experience with marketing and branding gives her a starting point early in the book where you see her and one of her friends sit down and properly work out a strategy of what they are going to do, which I think doesn't happen very often in fiction (at least not the things I've read) and added a really good level of grounding to it, balancing out some of the other things. It was one of those small details in a story that helps sell the less-believable aspects.

I did go into the book thinking it was a standalone, which it is not, so beware of that, but I'm relieved that the sequel will be out soon! Overall I'm giving An Absolutely Remarkable Thing 9 out of 10. I was able to attend the blogger launch party for this book in London, and picked up a free copy there, so although it wasn't specifically a copy for review, it was gifted - thank you Trapeze!

Book Review: The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli

Title: The Caged Queen
Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Publication date: September 2018
Publisher: Gollancz
Series: Iskari #2
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy from publisher

Description: Once there were two sisters born with a bond so strong that it forged them together forever. Roa and Essie called it the hum. It was a magic they cherished--until the day a terrible accident took Essie's life and trapped her soul in this world.

Dax--the heir to Firgaard's throne--was responsible for the accident. Roa swore to hate him forever. But eight years later he returned, begging for her help. He was determined to dethrone his cruel father, under whose oppressive reign Roa's people had suffered.

Roa made him a deal: she'd give him the army he needed if he made her queen. Only as queen could she save her people from Firgaard's rule.

Then a chance arises to right every wrong--an opportunity for Roa to rid herself of this enemy king and rescue her beloved sister. During the Relinquishing, when the spirits of the dead are said to return, Roa discovers she can reclaim her sister for good.

All she has to do is kill the king.

My thoughts: I loved so much about the first book in this series when it came out - it was one of my absolute favourite reads of 2017. So, I had high hopes coming into The Caged Queen, but I was also nervous: that was a lot for it to live up to! Dax and Roa were both introduced as secondary characters in The Last Namsara, with Dax in particular playing a crucial role. His actions in the last few chapters of that book are now bringing out consequences. It was really interesting to see how he handled the new challenges that came to him, and how he tried desperately to balance the needs of Firgaard, and helping and appeasing his wife.

There were parts of the book where I didn't like Roa much. I could understand some of the motivations for how she was feeling, but I thought she was being a bit hard on Dax a lot of the time. Maybe that's just because we'd seen more of Dax's story and background in book one, and I was biased to see him as a 'good guy', but I found it frustrating that Roa had made firm decisions in her mind about some things and wasn't going to re-examine those.

Another thing I enjoyed (and still found frustrating to read at times) was that Dax and Roa might have a political marriage, but they're still very much relearning each other, after being close as children and then spending years apart with a lot of history and politics falling into that time apart. They also both care a lot for each other, something that's very clear to the reader, but doesn't seem quite as straightforward to the pair of them! There is the usual mixture of misunderstandings, half-confessions, and attempts at denying feelings that you often get in romance plot lines, but even anticipating how some of those issues could lead to disasters I really enjoyed reading their journey.

I'm giving The Caged Queen 8/10. Thank you Gollancz for the review copy!

Book Review: From Distant Stars by Sam Peters

Title: From Distant Stars
Author: Sam Peters
Publication date: 19 April 2018
Publisher: Gollancz
Genre: Sci-fi
Rating: 8/10
Series: From Darkest Skies #2
Source: Review copy from publisher

Description: Inspector Keon has finally got over the death of his wife Alysha in a terrorist attack five years ago. The illegal AI copy of her - Liss - that he created to help him mourn has vanished, presumed destroyed. His life is back on track. But a deadly shooting in a police-guarded room in a high-security hospital threatens to ruin everything. Who got past the defences? Why did they kill the seemingly unimportant military officer who had been in a coma for weeks? And why did the scanners pick up the deceased man the next day on the other side of the planet, seemingly alive and well?

As Keon digs into the mysteries he begins to realise that the death was connected to a mysterious object, potentially alien, discovered buried in ice under the north pole. Someone has worked out what is hidden there, and what its discovery will mean for mankind. Someone who is willing to kill.

And another player has entered the game. Someone who seems to know more about Keon than is possible.

Someone who might be using Liss's information against him.

Or who might be Alysha, back from the dead.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was keen to see what happened in the sequel. Author Sam Peters didn't disappoint. Keon is the sort of officer who is determined to get to the truth of an incident. In this book, he gradually realises how big the powers he's trying to disagree with and look into are, and then what the significance of the things he's learning might be. It also seems like there's still more to the story of his wife's death than he uncovered in book one. He's wrestling more with the big question of 'where did we come from' and 'what happened to life on earth to push us out to these planets'. It seems like there might be more to things than what everyone has always been told.

In its simplest view, this book is a police procedural in space, with a tight-knit group at the centre. But From Distant Stars has intricate twists and turns, and needs you to be paying attention. I know that when I read the next book in the series, I'll need to come back to this one first to properly refresh my memory!

It's a really exciting book, and I couldn't put it down. If you love science fiction or crime novels, I think you'll really enjoy this book. Overall, I'm giving it 8/10. Thank you Gollancz for the review copy!

Book Review: Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

Title: Throne of Jade
Author: Naomi Novik
Publication date: 1998 (more recent editions available)
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Bought
Series: Temeraire #2

Description: When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo – an unhatched dragon’s egg – Capt. Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon he named Temeraire. As new recruits in Britain’s Aerial Corps, man and dragon soon proved their mettle in daring combat against Bonaparte’s invading forces.

Now China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands – and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. But Laurence refuses to cooperate. Facing the gallows for his defiance, Laurence has no choice but to accompany Temeraire back to the Far East – a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await.

My thoughts: This is the second book in the Temeraire serious, although it had been about ten years, probably, since I read the first so maybe I should have done a reread! There were a few characters who I didn’t remember from the first book, and some nuances of the internal politics in the fictional Britain of the book that I know I wasn't catching. Even so, I really enjoyed the book. It’s a lovely historical setting and I like the measured pace.

Temeraire is still very young, and over the course of the book, both he and Laurence are forced to look at slavery, servitude and duty in different guises, and consider their opinions on different issues. It’s a very interesting look at culture, I think.

I love the feel of this world, and although Throne of Jade felt like a bit of a set up book for things to come, I still really enjoyed it. I’m really excited to get to the rest of this series. I’m giving this book 7/10.

Book Review: Paris By The Book by Liam Callanan

Title: Paris By The Book
Author: Liam Callanan
Publication date: June 2018
Publisher: HQ
Genre: Contemporary/Literary Fiction
Source: Review copy from the publisher

Description: In a city of millions, it’s easy to lose someone…

Twelve weeks before Leah Eady arrived in France, her husband disappeared. Early one morning, he walked out the door and never came back. All he left behind was a scrumpled note in a cereal box, leading her to the bustling streets of Paris.

Once she arrives, she discovers a mysterious unfinished manuscript written by her husband, and set in the very same city. Hoping to uncover more clues, Leah takes over a crumbling bookshop with her two young daughters, only to realise that he might just be closer than any of them ever imagined…

…but what if he doesn’t want to be found?

My thoughts: From the description and cover, I was expecting a light, charming story about a woman running a bookshop in a foreign country, trying to trace clues of her missing husband and struggling with life alone in a new place trying to look after her daughters. Well, the first big difference to that is that it is not light and charming. I found it incredibly boring and slow in a lot of places. It's trying hard to be 'literary', I think, which does not come across in the cover at all.

A good portion of the book is set before the family arrive in Paris. It covers Leah meeting her husband, their hopes and dreams, and how they don't actually communicate very well with each other. It's a look at a not-particularly-strong relationship. Then we get to him disappearing. I found all these flashbacks a bit frustrating, when I was promised a story about a bookshop in Paris. There isn't even much focus on the bookshop when the story does get there. Leah isn't really looking for clues - she's jumping at shadows, looking for her husband around every corner and on every stranger's face, unwilling to move on and accept that he walked out on her and their daughters.

Overall, I found this a very boring book, and I think it must have been one of the last ones that I pushed through until the end before I started embracing more of an acceptance for DNF'ing (did not finish-ing) books. Life is short, there are lots on my shelf I do want to read, so I'm not going to force myself to carry on with books I'm not enjoying. Paris by the Book by Liam Callanan gets 4 stars from me.

Book Review: Sunshine at the Comfort Food Cafe by Debbie Johnson

Title: Sunshine at the Comfort Food Cafe
Author: Debbie Johnson
Publication date: 8th March 2018
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Comfort Food Cafe #4
Source: Review copy via NetGalley

Description: For Willow, the ramshackle café overlooking the beach, together with its warm-hearted community, offers friendship as a daily special and always has a hearty welcome on the menu. But when a handsome stranger blows in on a warm spring breeze, Willow soon realises that her quiet country life will be changed forever.

My thoughts: I love Debbie Johnson's Comfort Food Cafe series - while they've always got some really sad bits (and are quite formulaic with that aspect) they're real celebrations of found-family and how communities can come together. Willow has been in the series from the beginning, a young woman who spends most of the time caring for her mother who has Alzheimers. I was pleased to hear that she was a main character in this book, because we've seen her as a continual side character, and I was eager to find out more about her. Also, she's younger than some of the main characters have been, and at a more similar stage of life to me, so I thought I might relate to her situations more than I have with the characters who already have kids, for example.

When she's not looking after her mum, Willow works as a cleaner, with a business she set up and runs by herself. She's been employed to clean up a big local house, which used to be a children's home, and soon meets her employer, who turns out to be surprisingly handsome and surprisingly young. I loved that Tom was a bit of a geek, interested in sci fi & fantasy and how to survive a zombie apocalypse - a man after my own heart!

They have the usual mix of ups and downs, and deal with problems like Willow's strained relationship with her siblings, the trials of looking after her mum, and the interference of well-meaning neighbours who have seen her work so hard & just want her to be able to have some nice things for herself sometimes. It's an emotional ride in places, but as with the rest of the series, very uplifting and - as you might guess from the name - comforting. I love this series as a quick read to perk up a weekend. Overall, I'm giving it 8/10.

Book Review: The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes

Title: The City Stained Red
Author: Sam Sykes
Publication date: 10th September 2015
Publisher: Gollancz
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 7/10
Series: Bring Down Heaven, #1
Source: Review copy from publisher

Description: Cier'Djaal, the City of Silk. This is the great charnel house where poor men eat dead rich men and become wealthy themselves.

Thieves and cultists clash for supremacy of the city's underworld. A religious war is brewing within its walls. The fury of the savage races in its slums is about to explode. Demons begin to pour from the shadows, the language of dead gods upon their lips. 

And it is here that the adventurer Lenk and his unfortunate companions find themselves in the middle once more. 

And the city bleeds...

My thoughts: I believe this is the second trilogy Sam Sykes has written, although this book is my first foray into his work. The story starts with a group of misfits who clearly already know each other well arriving at the port city of Cier'Djaal, armed with a large bag of money with which they will all start their new lives. Very shortly after arrival, the money is stolen.

The City Stained Red feels like a typical 'band of misfits thrown together to save the world' kind of story, with strain between some members of the group, and a budding romance between others. At the same time, it has the added interest of also feeling like "what happens to that band of misfits after they've saved the world?". There are problems in the growing relationship, ties that kept people together seem to be fraying fast, and there's the question of what mercenaries do in peacetime to keep a roof over their heads. I enjoyed this set up, and I think you can read the book happily without having read the previous trilogy, but I think some people might find the gang a trope that they've read before. I found it really fun to look at this aspect, what happens to them next, quite interesting though, as I think it gets to go a bit deeper into how strong the ties formed between people during an intense, stressful experience can really be - or not be.

Another thing I felt like while reading this was like I was playing a fantasy RPG. There was a main aim to begin with - getting into the city, and getting the money back - then side quests came along, and quests that turned out to be much bigger and more important than the initial aim, and romance subplots, and marauding locals getting you caught up in skirmishes, and a host of other fun things! I actually really enjoyed that, but again, I'm not sure it would be everyone's cup of tea.

I did enjoy this book, and Gollancz kindly sent me the whole trilogy, so book two is on my upcoming reads pile. Overall, I'm giving this one 7/10 stars.

Book Review: A Debutante In Disguise by Eleanor Webster

Title:  A Debutante In Disguise
Author: Eleanor Webster
Publication Date: 30th May 2019
Publisher: Mills & Boon
Genre: Historical Romance
Source: Review copy from the publisher

Description: A society lady... with a secret! 
Determined to help people, Letty Barton has a double life – she’s a trained doctor! No-one must know 'Dr Hatfield' is actually a woman. Called to an emergency, she comes face to face with her patient’s brother, Lord Anthony Ashcroft… They’d once shared a spark-filled flirtation – now he’s a brooding, scarred war-hero. But how long will it be before he recognises her, beneath her disguise, and the sparks begin to fly once more…?

My thoughts:  Letty has been able to train as a doctor, disguising herself as a man and with the help of her brother and his wife. She is popular with the poorer people in her area, respected as a doctor, but lives with the constant fear of discovery. She is determined that she will not marry, never having cared for a man and determined to keep practicing as a doctor.

Tony lost both his best friend and his brother at the Battle of Waterloo, then his father soon afterwards. He’s left with scars, nightmares, and the responsibility for his family estates. He’s heavily dependent on alcohol when he meets Letty and his pregnant sister befriends her. It’s a huge risk for Letty to keep spending time with Elsie when Tony ask Dr Hatfield to be Elsie’s doctor, but she can’t suppress her need to help people.

I loved Letty’s conviction about being a doctor. She is absolutely set on what she is doing and why. She’s not one of these historical romance heroines who either finds a noble calling right at the end of the book, or realised that they can set aside what they’ve always planned to do in favour of marrying the hero. It was also good to see a hero who isn’t the gorgeous rake everyone finds attractive.

 While there were many aspects of this book I enjoyed, I felt like there was a lot of potential that went unexplored. I would have liked to see a much more detailed development of Tony coming to terms with his scars and more of a look at him coping (or not) with the after effects of the battle. We very briefly see that he’s clearly an alcoholic, then all of a sudden he’s not drinking anymore. While some people can choose to just stop, most people who are dependent on something have to fight to build new habits without those vices. The author never explains why Letty is called ‘Lettuce’, either. It seems like it was just to make one small joke in the opening chapter. Those complaints aside, it was an enjoyable read, a nice little escape, which is what I always hope for with a historical romance novel. I’m giving A Debutante In Disguise 7 out of 10.

Book Review: Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Title: Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertali
Publication date: April 2015
Publisher: Penguin
Genre: YA Contemporary
Source: Library

Description: Straight people should have to come out too. the more awkward it is, the better.

Simon Spier is sixteen and trying to work out who he is - and what he's looking for.

But when one of his emails to the very distracting Blue falls into the wrong hands, things get all kinds of complicated.

Because, for Simon, falling for Blue is a big deal …

It's a holy freaking huge awesome deal.

My thoughts: I had heard great things about this book, and planned to read it before Love, Simon (the film adaption) came out last year. Then I ended up getting early tickets with a group of my friends, so I actually came to the book with expectations and impressions for the film. I have a bit of a hit & miss relationship with contemporary YA, and find a lot of it either feels like I've read it before or the stakes just don't feel high enough for me to care about the story, but I was quickly sucked in to Simon Vs.

Simon already knows that he's gay at the beginning of the book, and when someone leaves an anonymous post with the pseudonym Blue on the local community message board, Simon sets up his own anonymous email account to reply. The book is a portrayal of friendship, growing up, and making mistakes, mixed in with a lovely epistolary love story. I enjoyed that with the book, you got to see so much more of Simon's friendships, and his encounters with both the person who turns out to be Blue, and people who Simon thinks might be.

It was a quick, enjoyable, mostly-light-hearted book that I really enjoyed and definitely recommend to fans of YA. I also think that if you enjoyed the film, you should definitely try the book too - as always with a book-to-film adaption, the original has way more stuff packed in, giving a much more emotional journey. Overall, I'm giving Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli 7 stars.

~Ailsa

May Reading Goals

One of the reasons I've not been blogging much recently is that I've been talking about books on my YouTube channel as well. As I get back into the habit of writing out my reviews, I'm going to be cross-posting my videos to here as well. So without further ado, here are my May reading goals!

Books mentioned:
Smoke in the Glass by Chris Humphries
Carrying Albert Home by Homer Hickam
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Leaf By Niggle by J. R. R. Tolkien
Picnic in Provence by Elizabeth Bard
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Have you read any of these? Let me know what you think of them! And if you have a booktube channel of your own, leave a link in the comments and I'll check it out.

~Ailsa

Book Review: Smoke in the Glass by Chris Humphreys

Title: Smoke in the Glass
Author: Chris Humphreys
Publication date: 16th May 2019
Publisher: Gollancz
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy from the publisher

Description: A thrilling new dark fantasy series about immortality, war and survival, from the bestselling historical author Chris (CC) Humphreys
Three lands, peopled by humans and immortals. In Corinthium a decadent endlessly-lived elite run the world for profit and power. But when a poor, honest solider dies, and is reborn, everything changes. In wintry Midgarth, where immortals are revered as deities, one of them has realized that something - or someone - is killing the gods. And in Ometepe there is only one immortal, for he has murdered every other. Until one woman gives birth to a very special baby. Yet there is a fourth, hidden land, where savage tribes have united under the prophecy of 'the One': a child who is neither boy nor girl. Now they plan to conquer the world. Unless a broken soldier, a desperate mother and a crippled god can stop them...

My thoughts: 

I thought the concept of a society where everyone knows immortals exist, but you don’t discover someone is immortal until they die, was really interesting and I couldn’t wait to see how the story unfolded. Told in third person, it dips into other narrators from time to time but for the most part we follow three people: Luck, an immortal in the cold country that sounds quite Nordic; Atisha, in a warm but mountainous country with volcanoes nearby; and Ferros, in a slightly less-defined country that has hills, grasslands and some sea areas. There are four countries in this world, each divided from the others by unclimbable mountains, uncrossable seas, etc etc, so while people might suspect that there is something else beyond their borders, no one has ever come from or gone to those places. In each country immortality works slightly differently, which I enjoyed seeing too.

At first, the stories of our three main protagonists exist slightly separately, but very quickly Chris Humphreys starts to connect them with the impending threat from the mysterious fourth country. As the reader you can see how the events in one place will affect the others, and for me that made it more compelling and added to the tension in each person’s storyline.

It’s a book about tyrants (and how to overthrow them), bringing diverse tribes together (when all they want to do is fight) and coming to terms with a new life path (when you we’re perfectly content before). And it’s about the enduring power and effect of hope.

I loved that the ‘gift’ of immortality had slightly different forms in each of the counties, and that within the plot Chris Humphreys explores how that has lead to different developments of society, without the exploration slowing down or detracting from the overarching plot. I think it’s a very clever idea, and not one I’ve come across before.

Chris Humphreys skilfully weaves together several different storylines without any feeling like they’re rushed over and still manages to keep the momentum of the plot going throughout the book. It’s an intriguing new look at immortality in a fantasy novel, and I highly recommend it. This is the first in a series, and I’ll definitely be looking out for the sequels. I’m giving Smoke In The Glass 8 stars!

The Earl's Countess of Convenience by Marguerite Kaye

Title: The Earl's Countess of Convenience
Author: Marguerite Kaye
Publisher: Mills & Boon
Publication date: 4th April 2019
Genre: Historical Romance (Regency)
Source: Review copy via NetGalley

Description: Eloise Brannagh has witnessed first-hand the damage unruly passion can cause. Yet she craves freedom, so a convenient marriage to the Earl of Fearnoch seems the perfect solution! Except Alexander Sinclair is more handsome, more intriguing, more everything, than Eloise anticipated. Having set her own rules for their marriage, her irresistible husband might just tempt Eloise to break them!

My thoughts: The book opened with several pages of serious info-dumping as Eloise and her family discuss their past and set up the facts of the story opening: that the Earl has written to propose a marriage of convenience with Eloise. The slew of telling went on to the point that I completely lost track of who was being talked about. Despite that quite off-putting start, I did quickly get drawn in once Alexander Sinclair arrive at Eloise's house and they started talking. Each had formed various opinions about the other and now found that not only were those ideas quite wrong, but actually the other person was quite attractive and they were really enjoying talking to them.

I loved that the drama of the story is totally built around their relationship. Often in the historical romance books I've read, there is some kind of dramatic event near the end - a duel, a kidnapping, blackmail - that causes the hero and heroine to realise their true feelings for each other. In The Earl's Convenient Countess, Marguerite Kaye keeps the focus on the evolving relationship between Eloise and Alexander, looking at how time changes their opinions of each other, how they modify their behaviour based on what the other is saying or doing, and how they questions their own plans and desires. It gets so much more into the little actions that affect dynamics of a relationship than some historical romance novels do.

Marguerite Kaye's writing really flows, and I thought her descriptions of people and places were just right: bringing a scene to life without it feeling laboured or overdone. It's not a book full of glamorous parties (although there are some nice dinners and a shopping trip) or too much intrigue, but I don't think that detracts from the story in any way or made it feel like less of the kind of historical romance I was expecting. Overall, I'm giving The Earl's Countess of Convenience 7 out of 10. I found it a really interesting study of a relationship and it definitely lived up to my expectations of Marguerite Kaye's writing, which I've always enjoyed in the past.

Book Review: White Rabbit, Red Wolf by Tom Pollock

Title: White Rabbit, Red Wolf
Author: Tom Pollock
Publication date: 3rd May 2018
Publisher: Walker Books
Source: Review copy from publisher
Genre: Young Adult Thriller

Description: 
Seventeen-year-old Peter Blankman is a maths prodigy. He also suffers from severe panic attacks. Afraid of everything, he finds solace in the orderly and logical world of mathematics and in the love of his family: his scientist mum and his tough twin sister Bel, as well as Ingrid, his only friend. However, when his mother is found stabbed before an award ceremony and his sister is nowhere to be found, Pete is dragged into a world of espionage and violence where state and family secrets intertwine. Armed only with his extraordinary analytical skills, Peter may just discover that his biggest weakness is his greatest strength.

My thoughts:
I’d read one of Tom Pollock’s other books before, which has a strong fantasy element, and while this is very different I knew going in that I liked his writing, and I was intrigued by he fact it deals with an eating disorder and other mental health issues. White Rabbit, Red Wolf gets started very quickly, and is one of those books that's packed with twists and turns, making it very hard to talk about without spoilers!

The portrayal of Peter's panic attacks and how they link in to compulsive eating and other actions was fascinating. I've read that Tom Pollock has an eating disorder himself, and I wonder if that's part of what made it feel so authentic, understandable and real. Peter's best friend in the book, Ingrid, also has OCD and their mutual problems are part of what help them bond so strongly.

While there was the odd twist that I could anticipate, for the most part, I was completely surprised by them. Unlike some books where the 'surprising twists' just seem to crush the story so far and laugh at the reader for how they've been misdirected, the turns in White Rabbit, Red Wolf felt totally believable within the story. It's fast paced, dramatic, and one of those books that when I finished it, I immediately wanted to reread it knowing what you do by the end of the book. I completely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a thriller, even if you wouldn't normally read YA. Overall I'm giving it 8 out of 10.

Book Review: The Governess Game by Tessa Dare

Title: The Governess Game
Author: Tessa Dare
Publication date: 23rd August 2018
Publisher: Mills & Boon
Genre: Historical Romance
Source: Review copy from the publisher via NetGalley

Description: The accidental governess…

After her livelihood slips through her fingers, Alexandra Mountbatten takes on an impossible post: transforming a pair of wild orphans into proper young ladies. However, the girls don’t need discipline. They need a loving home. Try telling that to their guardian, Chase Reynaud. The ladies of London have tried—and failed—to make him settle down. Somehow, Alexandra must reach his heart... without risking her own.

The infamous rake... 

Like any self-respecting libertine, Chase lives by one rule: no attachments. When a stubborn little governess tries to reform him, he decides to prove he can’t be tamed. But Alexandra is more than he bargained for: clever, perceptive, passionate. She refuses to see him as a lost cause. Soon the walls around Chase’s heart are crumbling . . . and he’s in danger of falling, hard.

My thoughts: I'll start by saying that this is the best historical romance I've read in a long while. The writing is very smooth, the plot flows along at a good pace, and the characters are very likeable and fun to read about, with the secondary characters seeming just as well developed as the main pair. Beyond that, it does a few particular things which I enjoyed reading about.

Alexandra, or Alex as she's known to her friends, works for a living and is lucky enough to know a trade: she maintains clocks for wealthy customers in London. She's very practical, but that hasn't stopped her from daydreaming about the man who literally bumped into her in a bookshop several months ago. When they meet again, he thinks she's there to fill the vacancy of Governess to his two wards. The encounter leaves her flustered, and she ends up losing the mechanical piece she needs for her clock-setting business. Instead of accepting help from her close friends, she returns to Chase and takes up his offer of the governess position.

Right from the start, there is a lot of sexiness between them. She's very attracted to him, and he to her, and all of their interactions sizzle. In the last few years, I've become much more aware of the significance it can have on a 'relationship' when one person has power over another. Although Chase is employing Alex, none of their kisses (or beyond, and there is *plenty* of beyond-kissing) felt like Alex was in an uncomfortable position. She can leave this job if she wants to; her reputation isn't watched as closely as it would be if she was on his social level.

That ties in nicely to one of my other favourite things in The Governess Game: consent. There is a lot of emphasis on her consenting to things. Chase even says "I need to hear you say it" at one point, when Alex has just nodded. I love that Tessa Dare included things like that, and made it sexy in itself.

The final aspect I want to mention is Alex's friendship group. I gather that there may have been a previous book with one of these women as the main character, who is married in this book, and I'll be looking out for that to read it as well. The women are from slightly different societal backgrounds, but they haven't let that get in the way of their friendship. There is a hugely deep loyalty between them all, and they're very protective of each other. They are slightly unconventional for their time, without it ever coming across as there being a 'you're not like other girls' aspect to it in Chase's relationship with Alex.

The Governess Game was a really lovely, sexy book, and a perfect example of Regency romance. Beyond the romance, the importance of family, and building a found-family, is such a key theme and brought me to tears several times as it looked at the bonds being built between the wards and Alex and Chase. I highly recommend this to all fans of the genre, and will be looking for more Tessa Dare books to read soon. I'm giving it 9 out of 10.

Book Review: Lady Olivia and the Infamous Rake by Janice Preston

Title: Lady Olivia and the Infamous Rake
Author: Janice Preston
Publication date: 23rd August 2018
Publisher: Mills & Boon
Genre: Historical Romance
Source: Review copy via NetGalley

Description: 'He’s completely unsuitable… he’s a rake.'

After being plucked from peril by resolute bachelor Lord Hugo Alastair, Lady Olivia Beauchamp is secretly outraged that he doesn’t even try to steal a kiss! He’s a notorious rake amongst the ton and as a result, utterly forbidden to an innocent debutante like her. But their attraction is magnetic. Will she risk her reputation for a passionate encounter?

My thoughts: Lady Olivia Beauchamp has had a very fortunate life. Her family are high in British society, she has two older brothers to secure the future of the family, they're well off financially and her father is able to provide a good dowry for her so she needn't worry too much about her future husband being wealthy himself. She knows how to behave in public to appear as a proper young lady, but in private she's a little more rebellious. Her brothers have always overshadowed her, and she feels like her sex has held her back from a lot of opportunities in life. That leads her to the situation at the beginning of the book where she has disguised herself and persuaded her brother to take her to Vauxhall Gardens one night while their father is away. Unfortunately, things go wrong, and Lord Hugo steps in to rescue her.

They then meet several times through various circumstances and despite knowing he has a reputation as a rake, Lady Olivia finds herself very attracted to him. I liked Olivia for her daring, and the way she balanced the lady she needed to appear as to society against the person she was inside. There are a couple of times in the book where she makes very silly decisions, without really thinking about possible consequences, which was a bit frustrating but I think that's an accurate reflection of the fact that she's eighteen and just doesn't have a clear picture of the harsh realities of the world yet.

While you don't get to see much of what the secondary characters are up to, there are references to some adventures which I think must play out in the other books in this sequence, called 'The Beauchamp Heirs'. I'd be interested to read more, I think, but I'm not necessarily going to seek them out over other historical romance books that might be available to me when I'm next choosing something.

Lady Olivia and the Infamous Rake was a light, easy read and that was exactly what I was looking for. It's nicely written Regency romance, and I'd read other books by Janice Preston in future. I'm giving this book 6 out of 10.