Galley Review: S.T.A.G.S by M.A Bennett

Title: S.T.A.G.S

Author: M.A Bennett

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Release Date: August 10th, 2017

Pages: 294

Nine students. Three bloodsports. One deadly weekend.

It is the autumn term and Greer MacDonald is struggling to settle into the sixth form at the exclusive St. Aidan the Great boarding school, known to its privileged pupils as S.T.A.G.S. Just when she despairs of making friends Greer receives a mysterious invitation with three words embossed upon on it: huntin’ shootin’ fishin’. When Greer learns that the invitation is to spend the half term weekend at the country manor of Henry de Warlencourt, the most popular and wealthy boy at S.T.A.G.S., she is as surprised as she is flattered.

But when Greer joins the other chosen few at the ancient and sprawling Longcross Hall, she realises that Henry’s parents are not at home; the only adults present are a cohort of eerily compliant servants. The students are at the mercy of their capricious host, and, over the next three days, as the three bloodsports – hunting, shooting and fishing – become increasingly dark and twisted, Greer comes to the horrifying realisation that those being hunted are not wild game, but the very misfits Henry has brought with him from school… 

 

I was excited for this book from the first moment I heard about it. The very premise was something that pricked my interest. I was able to get a copy of this book signed by M.A Bennett during YALC this July and I impatiently waited for The Reading Quest to start so that I could start this book. As you can tell, there was a lot of build up and a lot of anticipation for this release.

S.T.A.G.S reached all of my expectations.

From the very first line – “I think I might be a murderer” – I was engaged in this story.

It’s written like almost like a memoir, everything told in retrospect which I think adds to the tension and thriller aspects of the story. You know something happened, you know someone died, you know who is responsible – you just don’t know what it is.

Bennett is really good at keeping the tension up throughout the story. The events of the deadly weekend are paralleled against the posh blood sports that take place each day – day 1, huntin’; day 2, shootin’; day 3, fishin’. Details about each bloody hobby are described and then seen acted out by the perpetrators. It’s a great way of adding foreshadowing – and therefore tension – to each arc of the story.

I really liked Greer’s voice. I enjoyed the moments of uncertainty that she felt, I liked all the movie references because that was something that was distinctly her and gives her a fantastic voice that you can follow with ease.

All the characters really were charismatic and entertaining in their own way. From the ‘Medievals’, blond and beautiful, to Shafeen, who wants to find out the secrets and save those he cares about, to Nel, who just wants to fit in. Each of them have you questioning intentions or feeling empathy deep in your chest for these feelings of inadequacy.

There’s a lot of focus on the modern world vs the old, and the social commentary that comes with that is incredibly interesting to read. Positives and negatives are both raised, the romanticisation of the past repeatedly challenged. In the end, this questioning is something that sets the characters and the world that S.T.A.G.S inhabited apart from everything else.

And as for the plot twist, well, let’s say – M.A. Bennett, is there going to be a sequel?

Galley Review: Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber

Title: Are You Sleeping

Author: Kathleen Barber

Publisher: Gallery Books

Release Date: August 1st, 2017

Pages: 336

Serial meets Ruth Ware’s In A Dark, Dark Wood in this inventive and twisty psychological thriller about a mega-hit podcast that reopens a murder case—and threatens to unravel the carefully constructed life of the victim’s daughter.

The only thing more dangerous than a lie…is the truth.

Josie Buhrman has spent the last ten years trying to escape her family’s reputation and with good reason. After her father’s murder thirteen years prior, her mother ran away to join a cult and her twin sister Lanie, once Josie’s closest friend and confidant, betrayed her in an unimaginable way. Now, Josie has finally put down roots in New York, settling into domestic life with her partner Caleb, and that’s where she intends to stay. The only problem is that she has lied to Caleb about every detail of her past—starting with her last name.

When investigative reporter Poppy Parnell sets off a media firestorm with a mega-hit podcast that reopens the long-closed case of Josie’s father’s murder, Josie’s world begins to unravel. Meanwhile, the unexpected death of Josie’s long-absent mother forces her to return to her Midwestern hometown where she must confront the demons from her past—and the lies on which she has staked her future.

I really enjoyed this book. I read it in about two days – it was really hard to put down.

Barber’s writing is immersive and entertaining, balancing fantastic dialogue with just the right about of delving into the emotional journey of our protagonist, Jo, and snippets of modern media – reddit threads, twitter feeds and, the most important, podcast transcripts. All these elements blend together really well, flow seamlessly from one section to the other.

I really enjoyed reading the podcast transcripts and experiencing this murder mystery through the eyes of those outside of the family, especially when these characters crossover with the main body of the story.

It also questioned the sudden popularity of these kinds of shows. Admittedly, I enjoy sitting down and binge watching and passing judgment as an armchair detective, but reading this almost made me feel guilty. It’s strange how, because it seems like a world away, you don’t connect that this has happened to real people, in the real world who are likely still suffering from it. The raising of this moral dilemma and of society’s fascination with crime and murder is definitely an interesting part of the story that I wasn’t expecting to come away thinking about.

As for characters, I really enjoyed reading about Jo and Lanie. As the story is set in present times, Barber focuses a lot on the past, on the twins relationship with each other and how it changed, how they grew apart and why. There so much strain and tension, so much hatred and reading about them reconnecting, trying to find common ground after everything was a really sweet part of the reading experience.

I liked Aunt A and her desperate attempt to keep everyone together, and Ellen with her unexpected loving relationships and caring attitude, and Caleb who is just a darling, so supportive and understanding of everything that’s happening.

In terms of the actual murder mystery, I enjoyed the twists and turns and personally, I fell for the red herring hook line and sinker. I honestly didn’t suspect the outcome at all and that’s a real credit to this story and Barber’s ability to weave doubts into the narrative.

Are You Sleeping is a really enjoyable murder mystery that uses our modern love of true crime investigations in a way I haven’t seen in other crime novels. Barber focuses on the victim’s family and the fall out of a murder and you genuinely feel for every character in this book.

For all you true crime fans out there, this is definitely a book for you.

 

 

Galley Review: Solo by Kwame Alexander

Title: Solo

Author: Kwame Alexander

Publisher: Blink

Release Date: August 1st, 2017

Pages: 320

Solo, a YA novel in poetic verse, tells the story of seventeen-year-old Blade Morrison, whose life is bombarded with scathing tabloids and a father struggling with just about every addiction under the sun—including a desperate desire to make a comeback. Haunted by memories of his mother and his family’s ruin, Blade’s only hope is in the forbidden love of his girlfriend. But when he discovers a deeply protected family secret, Blade sets out on a journey across the globe that will change everything he thought to be true.

The first thing that has to be pointed out is how Kwame Alexander told this story – through poetry, through lyrics, through reflection on the words of other great rock ‘n’ roll songs. It’s wonderfully unique and makes for a fantastic read – not to mention, it fits the story and adds to it in the most fantastic way.

Blade works through his emotions with music and so it makes sense that a story of his journey, from his point of view, would use poetry to tell the events. Alexander’s work is beautifully written and is so easy to sink in to, to get lost in.

Blade, as a character, is definitely interesting to read about, made like that because of the writing style of the prose,  but also because he’s going through something that everyone can relate to – an identity crisis – despite his individual circumstances. He’s the son of a rockstar, Rutherford, who fell off the wagon after the sudden death of his wife, and now is plastered, drunk and drug addled, across worldwide news stations.

The death of his mother and the grief of his father is definitely something that continuously affects his life – I enjoyed reading about how he tries to overcome, how he snaps and breaks and how he doesn’t give his dad the leeway to break again. He’s only 17 years old and he shouldn’t need to have this strength but it’s heartbreaking that he does.

The story is split into two parts – Hollywood and Ghana. Both are important in telling Blade’s story – Hollywood is where he is broken and lost, and Ghana is where he finds himself and builds bridges with his family once more. It’s interesting to see both the differences between the two worlds and how Blade interacts with them.

The only issue I would say I found the book is the way that child neglect and endangerment is kind of skimmed past. It would have been nice to have Blade and Rutherford especially speak about those issues directly rather than just have it as part of a memory. Alexander made such an effort to show how the family was broken and how they came back together that it seems amiss to not include that as part of the reconciliation.

Solo is a beautiful book about finding who you are, accepting your past to move into your future and music. I’d never read a Kwame Alexande3r book before Solo, and this is a book that definitely makes me want to go back and read the entirety of his works.

Galley Review of The Strange Case of The Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss

The Strange Case of The Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss

Published: June 20th, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Synopsis: Based on some of literature’s horror and science fiction classics, this is the story of a remarkable group of women who come together to solve the mystery of a series of gruesome murders—and the bigger mystery of their own origins.

Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture…a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes.

But her hunt leads her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.

When their investigations lead them to the discovery of a secret society of immoral and power-crazed scientists, the horrors of their past return. Now it is up to the monsters to finally triumph over the monstrous.

Diversity: No lgbt+ characters as confirmed yet. No characters of colour but characters that have come from many places across Europe and have language barriers etc to contend with.

Warnings: experimentation on children/child abuse, captivity, mentions of torture

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter is a brilliantly clever novel inspired by science fiction and mystery stories from the Romantic and Victorian eras of writing. Theodora Goss brings together Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein, Dr. Moreau and Sherlock Holmes in this fantastic world of murder mystery and secret societies and scientific advances left unchecked. 

In the story, you follow the daughter of the famous Dr. Jekyll, Mary Jekyll, as she finds out exactly what her father was responsible for before his death. Over the course of the story, she meets these fantastical women, all daughters of famous scientists and all products of their father’s experiments: Diana Hyde, Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.

Goss keeps the era wonderfully. This feels like a book written in the 1800s. Whilst there is a modern pace throughout, time is taken to describe in a lot of detail the rooms in which Mary finds herself, and places that are visited across London. It’s hard to embody a time in history so different from your own, but Goss succeeds brilliantly.

The characters themselves are engaging and sympathetic. They have their limitations, despite their strength or their deadliness, and they slowly integrate themselves into the mystery and into Mary’s life. I particularly liked Beatrice, beautiful and intelligent and deadly to touch or be around because of the poison that her father slowly introduced into her system before birth.

You get a great sense of their voices through something that Goss incorporates through the course of the novel that I haven’t read before. The characters themselves interrupt the story as it is being written to object to the writing, to argue against what they were thinking in that moment, to complain about an event. They converse with each other and fight each other and speak about what they believe now, what has happened since and plainly banter between each other.

Whilst it can break up the events of the story, it also breaks up some of the more dense pieces of writing and gives you a chance to hear a character’s voice in a way that the narrative doesn’t allow for.

I finished the book and hoped that there was more to come in the future. I want to read about how they uncover the secrets of the mysterious Society of Alchemy. I want to know more about their lives together and see how the likes of Sherlock, Watson and Lestrade cope with the Athena Club on the case. I want to know what makes Mary and Diana monstrous, as they are so often referred to as such throughout the book.

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daugther is a fun and entertaining twist on historical fiction, mysteries, and science fiction. It’s easy to read, immerses you into the time period and the world, and will have you constantly wanting to know more.

Galley Review of Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index by Julie Israel

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index by Julie Israel

Published: June 1st, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Synopsis: It’s hard to keep close a person everyone keeps telling you is gone.

It’s been sixty-five painful days since the death of Juniper’s big sister, Camilla. On her first day back at school, bracing herself for the stares and whispers, Juniper borrows Camie’s handbag for luck – and discovers an unsent break-up letter inside. It’s mysteriously addressed to ‘You’ and dated July 4th – the day of Camie’s accident. Desperate to learn the identity of Camie’s secret love, Juniper starts to investigate.

But then she loses something herself. A card from her daily ritual, The Happiness Index: little notecards on which she rates the day. The Index has been holding Juniper together since Camie’s death – but without this card, there’s a hole. And this particular card contains Juniper’s own secret: a memory that she can’t let anyone else find out.

Diversity: Sponge is confirmed gay. No people of colour as far as I am aware.

Warnings: death, grief, parental abuse, invasions of privacy, bullying, mentions of suicide

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index is a look into death and how a person deals with the absence that person has left. It deals with how grief can be different from person to person, how it affects a family and how it takes over your whole life. Most importantly, it deals with getting past that grief and being able to move on with life again.

Julie Israel’s writing style is simple and easy to read. There is enough heart-wrenching detail that, in the hardest moments of the plot, you feel it in your chest but it doesn’t overwhelm you. I read through the book quite quickly because everything flowed nicely from one point to the other, and there wasn’t anything that took away from the point of the story.

Israel handled grief in this book incredibly well. It was open and honest and wasn’t clean. Juniper clearly suffers from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder and, although it would have been nice to have this addressed more certainly, it was obviously there. I also liked the idea of all these different ways to grief rubbing up against each other, causing friction and pain that no side means to cause – Juniper wants to surround herself with her sister so that she doesn’t ever forget her, whereas her mother has slipped into depression and doesn’t want that memory of her daughter disturbed in any way and her father is desperately trying to be understanding of his wife, and in doing so misunderstands his daughter. It’s a complicated situation and as things come together, you see these tangles of separate grief becoming something that can be tackled together.

The characters were easy to relate to. Juniper desperately wanting to make up for what happened before her sister died. Kody wanting her bullying to end. Angela desperately searching for a love she thinks dead. Nate trying to make amends for something he couldn’t control. Brand hiding his biggest secret even as he reaches out for the person he cares about. Sponge becoming more than just an amazing brainiac. They’re each explored in this book and they come together in such a brilliant way.

Unfortunately, this is done through an initial invasion of privacy that is revealed towards the end in a rather cruel way. Not to say that I don’t think it was handled well in the story, but if this is something that makes you uncomfortable, it’s worth knowing about.

The only issue I really had with the book is the mystery that remains a mystery. I don’t want to give too much away, but whilst I appreciate the idea that maybe the conclusion doesn’t even matter, it’s a bit of a disappointment to start a story with a question and then just not answer it.

The romance I found sweet for the most part. Brand is understanding of what Juniper wants in terms of closure and Juniper finds emotionally happiness outside of the grief-stricken cloud over her house. There are issues though, which are addressed and apologises are given. It’s important to have awareness of mistakes and that is there in the book.

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index is a delve into how to deal with life after death and I think it was handled with care. It’s a quick read with engaging writing and I enjoyed my time reading it.

Galley Review of One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M McManus

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Published: June 1st, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon

Synopsis: One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.

Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.

Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.

Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.

Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.

And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

Diversity: Bronwyn is half-Colombian. There are lgbtq+ characters.

Warnings: abusive relationships, verbal abuse, depression, mentions of drug use, mentions of suicide, homophobia.

 

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

One of Us Is Lying is a modern locked room murder mystery inspired by the Breakfast Club.

The most important part of murder mysteries are the hints throughout the book that cast suspicion on each character and ultimately lead you to the killer. McManus succeeds in dropping hints without making it too obvious and giving away the game. Without spoiling anything, regardless of opinions on the killer, you will read this book with the killer in mind for the entire time without realising who it is.

McManus also succeeded in her POV characters. Nate, Bronwyn, Cooper and Addy are all completely different people – they go through different experiences, have different views of the world and are brought together because of this violent act that they are the prime witnesses for. When written, they have different voices with different thoughts and concerns and to make such clear character voices is a feat in itself.

They each go on character arcs, but admittedly, it’s the stories of Cooper and Addy that I find most entertaining and inspiring. Again, I don’t want to give too much away because if you read this book, I’d want you to go in blind – but both of these characters have to deal with similar massive secrets and fallouts both in their personal and public lives. During the story, they find the strength to love themselves and be who they are and overcome their own demons.

I finished the book so proud of Cooper and Addy.

There is a romance that takes up a good chunk of Nate and Brownyn’s stories, but I didn’t find it overwhelming or too much. Perhaps a little cliche – the good girl and the bad boy falling in love – but it was sweet and drawn out, with a lot of history that they both had to explore once more. Even when mistakes happen, Nate and Brownyn are very reasonable and healthy in their thoughts and how they are expressed – a nice change from the usual stereotype that usually glorifies abuse.

This book follows the usual points of a locked room mystery, but with all the media circus that the modern age brings and the gossip of high school. It felt realistic in the sense that yes, this is what would happen if something like this happened today rather than in an Agatha Christie novel. There were news vans and invasions of privacy and a crime show that covers the story. Gossip and rumour and social media also play a significant part in a very familiar way.

One of Us Is Lying is an interesting twist on the Breakfast Club and high profile murders in a modern setting. It’s tense and keeps you questioning exactly who is responsible. No one and everyone seems like they could be, and I highly recommend going into this story as blind as you can to fully appreciate the twists and turns.

Galley Review of It Started With Goodbye by Christina June

It Started With Goodbye by Christina June

Published: May 9th, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.

Diversity: Belen, Tilly and Blanche are from Chile – Tilly being first generation born in the US. Seamus is biracial with an Irish mother and Kenyan father.

Warnings: N/A.

It Started with Goodbye is a story of developing who you are a person, growing into a positive future and understanding those around you.

It starts with our main character, Tatum, recounting events of her unexpected cooperation in a case of grand larceny. While she isn’t arrested for aiding and abetting, she is given the punishment of a £500 fine and 100 hours of community service – and something far harsher from her parents: a lack of trust.

This book follows Tatum building a business from the ground up, making new friends and finding new love, whilst melting the ice of the frosty relationship she has always had with her stepmother, Belen, and stepsister, Tilly.

In a lot of ways, It Started with Goodbye read like a Cinderella retelling, especially in her relationship with Belen and Tilly. Tatum describes thinking that they believed her to be lesser than, not as good as, and that she is treated as such – its only through her new business that she finally forms a relationship with the distant Tilly, and through the soft words of Blanche – her stepgrandmother – that she begins to understand what made Belen who she is.

It was wonderful to see these kinds of relationships shown in a positive light. YA fiction seems to be filled with evil stepmothers and snobby stepsisters, so to read a book that shows it depicted with so much realness to it is refreshing. No relationship is going to be perfect, it will be filled with misunderstands and personalities rubbing wrong against each other – but in the end, that cavern between them is beginning to be bridged and smiles can be shared.

In regards to the Cinderella comparison, she also has her ‘ball’ – Sol Jam – and her prince charming – Seamus Kipling, who she meets on the night of the ball and who whisks her away with sweet cello compositions and toasted marshmallows.

The romance was something I found quite adorable – they bonded over a love of art and of the intelligent discussions of that art. SK is something of a mystery to Tatum for most of the story – although, admittedly, I only saw half the plot twist coming. They were very cute together and seemed to care about what the other said. No insta-love here either!

It’s a quick read, despite being over 300 pages long, and Christina June’s writing makes it seem even faster. She gets the point, doesn’t use poetic language to tell her story but what she does display is a real honest view of being a teenager, of struggles between child and parents, of trust and love and finding a passion that will guide you through the rest of your life.

It Started With Goodbye is a short and sweet read about growing up and loving those around you. Well worth a read!

Galley Review of How To Make A Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

How To Make A Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

Published: May 2nd, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon

Synopsis: All seventeen year-old Grace Glasser wants is her own life. A normal life in which she sleeps in the same bed for longer than three months and doesn’t have to scrounge for spare change to make sure the electric bill is paid. Emotionally trapped by her unreliable mother, Maggie, and the tiny cape on which she lives, she focuses on her best friend, her upcoming audition for a top music school in New York, and surviving Maggie’s latest boyfriend—who happens to be Grace’s own ex-boyfriend’s father.

Her attempts to lay low until she graduates are disrupted when she meets Eva, a girl with her own share of ghosts she’s trying to outrun. Grief-stricken and lonely, Eva pulls Grace into midnight adventures and feelings Grace never planned on. When Eva tells Grace she likes girls, both of their worlds open up. But, united by loss, Eva also shares a connection with Maggie. As Grace’s mother spirals downward, both girls must figure out how to love and how to move on.

Diversity: Eva is biracial and lesbian. Grace is openly bisexual. Both have mental health issues very clearly as a result of aspects of their life.

Warnings: sex, neglective parenting, death, alcoholism, mentioned posting of sexual texts online

 

 

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

How To Make A Wish was a sad and ridiculously sweet look at two girls falling in love and finding themselves after the impact of their mothers on their lives.

I adored this book just as much as I hoped I would. Ashley Herring Blake’s writing is so easy to read – I flew through this book in less than two days, reading like 250 pages in one day because I just couldn’t put it down. Blake understands her characters well and continuously plays with the idea of outward perception and reality – who Grace’s mother appears to be and who she really is, who Grace is, who Eva is.

Grace is a great protagonist. Witty and relatable in all her loyalty and her fears that play such a strong role in this novel. I adored her passion for music and my chest hurt for her love of her mother and need to protect her as if she isn’t the child in need of protection. Personally, as someone who also identifies as bisexual, I loved the fact that she just was bisexual. She used the word, she knew that about herself without any fear. She has history with guys, she has history with girls and no one around her questions that.

The depiction of sexuality was brilliant in this book. Both Eva and Grace are open and proud of their love, what they identify as themselves, and even about the issues that come along with that sexuality in their own lives. Also, no homophobia in the piece was a massive bonus on an already great book for me.

Eva and Grace’s relationship was just straight up adorable. They’re both in a tough place, trying to figure out their futures after the death of a mother and with a mother who never really acted like one, and they have this genuine connection and understanding of each other. Their first encounter on the beach just a few chapters in sold me on the beauty that would be their relationship.

Blake’s display of grief was really wonderfully. She showed the reality and the dangers and how much it can affect your life and those around you. With Grace’s mother, Maggie, you see the most devasting of impacts – a child who had to grow up too fast, who sees too much and has to put up with too much. You also see Emmy, the mother of Grace’s best friend and Eva’s guardian, struggling to find footing on solid ground to truly help Eva get through her grief and her desperate need to help and make better something that can’t be fixed like that.

Following that, there is also a conversation about unhealthy grief, when it becomes an illness that needs to be treated, and the support for getting help, going to therapy or rehab in these moments, is stated and encouraged in the book.

How To Make A Wish is just a wonderful book with queer girls trying to live their lives to the fullest. It speaks on grief and mental illness and not just accepting what life has dealt you. It speaks on love and sexuality and race. I just loved every moment of it.

Galley Review of 180 Seconds by Jessica Park

180 Seconds by Jessica Park

Published: April 25th, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon| The Book Depository

Synopsis: Some people live their entire lives without changing their perspective. For Allison Dennis, all it takes is 180 seconds…

After a life spent bouncing from one foster home to the next, Allison is determined to keep others at arm’s length. Adopted at sixteen, she knows better than to believe in the permanence of anything. But as she begins her third year in college, she finds it increasingly difficult to disappear into the white noise pouring from her earbuds.

One unsuspecting afternoon, Allison is roped into a social experiment just off campus. Suddenly, she finds herself in front of a crowd, forced to interact with a complete stranger for 180 seconds. Neither she, nor Esben Baylor, the dreamy social media star seated opposite her, is prepared for the outcome.

When time is called, the intensity of the experience overwhelms Allison and Esben in a way that unnerves and electrifies them both. With a push from her oldest friend, Allison embarks on a journey to find out if what she and Esben shared is the real thing—and if she can finally trust in herself, in others, and in love.

Diversity: none that was obviously stated

Warnings: mentions of rape and sexual assault, terminal illness plays a part in the story.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

180 Seconds is a sweet, romantic and heart-wrenching story about university life and being able to move on from your past, however bad it might have been.

I found this book really entertaining. Jessica Park’s writing is easy and simple to read, meaning it feels as if you’re flying through chapters – even the emotionally weighty ones.

Allison was a protagonist that I found easily relatable. She had her flaws and her dark past that had informed her life and while her specific dealings in the foster care system wasn’t something I would directly relate to, her mental health due to it was. Park spent great care to focus on this idea of growth and overcoming your own limitations to become more. Allison is a girl who finds it difficult to trust, has to have everything in a very specific way to feel ordered, and over the course of the story, she forces herself to leave her own self-isolation and place herself in the world she has been shielding from.

And it all starts because of 180 seconds.

Esben was an interesting character. He was hard to feel any bad feelings towards – he was understanding and careful and genuine and a truly good person. In parts, he feels almost too perfect. Park’s doesn’t allow for a lot of time to be focused on Esben’s shortcomings – although they are very clearly depicted – and with his social media experiments and his need to do so much good in the world, he can seem almost too perfect. But those true moments of kindness he shows is really heart warming. Park’s used a lot of real moments of human beauty and kindness in this book, including the little girl who had no one show up to her birthday party until a post on social media had people deciding to band together and make the day as special as possible. Using these made the story more entrenched in our world as we see it –

Using these made the story more entrenched in our world as we see it – we recognise those online stories and it almost makes Esben real – and by extension Allison.

Their romance is, like I said above, sickeningly sweet in so many places. Esben is so attentive and Allison goes through so much growth because of their relationship. It’s wonderfully healthy and positive, which is how I like my relationships to be. It is the focus of the story, but it shares that along with Allison’s development as a person.

An issue, however, is possibly the suggestion that love can conquer all. Whilst not all problems are fixed, there is a notable decrease in the number of times Allison’s anxious habits are displayed over the story until, practically, they aren’t there anymore.

Parts of this book made me cry and – without spoiling the book too much – I found those moments to be written so beautifully and honestly, even with the ridiculously over-the-top but enjoyable moments that proceed it. There were three or four chapters of welling up before the actual tears came.

180 Seconds is an adorable contemporary read with a genuinely healthy romance and a brilliant message about not letting your past define you and being able to overcome the boundaries of anxiety.

Galley Review of The Walworth Beauty by Michèle Roberts

The Walworth Beauty by Michèle Roberts

Published: April 20th, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon| The Book Depository

Synopsis: 2011: When Madeleine loses her job as a lecturer, she decides to leave her riverside flat in cobbled Stew Lane, where history never feels far away, and move to Apricot Place. Yet here too, in this quiet Walworth cul-de-sac, she senses the past encroaching: a shifting in the atmosphere, a current of unseen life.

1851: and Joseph Benson has been employed by Henry Mayhew to help research his articles on the working classes. A family man with mouths to feed, Joseph is tasked with coaxing testimony from prostitutes. Roaming the Southwark streets, he is tempted by brothels’ promises of pleasure – and as he struggles with his assignment, he seeks answers in Apricot Place, where the enigmatic Mrs Dulcimer runs a boarding house.

As these entwined stories unfold, alive with the sensations of London past and present, the two eras brush against each other – a breath at Madeleine’s neck, a voice in her head – the murmurs of ghosts echoing through time. Rendered in immediate, intoxicating prose, The Walworth Beauty is a haunting tale of desire and exploitation, isolation and loss, and the faltering search for human connection; this is Michèle Roberts at her masterful best.

Diversity: Mrs Dulcimer is a black woman. Tony and Anthony are a gay couple that romance and love and marry over the course of the story.

Warnings:  Infanticide, frequent sexual descriptions, racial slurs, derogatory terms for women

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the chance to read this in advance.

The Walworth Beauty is the story of life, spread over time but connected by space.

In this novel, you follow the lives of Joseph and Madeline. The twist? Joseph is from 1851 and Madeline from 2011. This isn’t a novel that is carried by plot – it’s carried by characters and moments of their lives, all focused around two things – Apricot Place and the lives of women.

The first thing to note about this story is the strength of the author’s voice. Michèle Roberts has so much beauty in her writing. Eloquent and elaborate, the language wraps this book in dramatic metaphors and wonderful description that really sets the world as something tangible.

This is a story about place and that place is London. With so much history and so many lives that have lived and died there, everything has a history. Everything has had a life before. Joseph walks streets that Madeline walks over a century later, streets that you have walked down yourself. This familiarity of this London makes it easy to imagine, to put yourself in place of the characters and see what they see.

The use of women – and particular the discussion of what women throughout history have gone through – is really interesting to read about. Joseph works for Mayhew, historic creator of the London Poverty Map, and over the course of the story and has been given the task of documenting the lives of the prostitutes on Surrey side. In doing this, he gets too close, reacts too personally with those he comes in contact with and from here, begins to understand this difficult world for women much better than he had before.

Both Joseph and Madeline were interesting to read about. Coming from completely different worlds, with different beliefs and social structures around them, they are written from completely different points as they experience the same places. But their conflicts feel real, they’re uncertain is real, their loneliness and their attractions are real.

Any criticisms of the characters fall onto the Joseph point of view chapters, which have a strange focus on sex – with his ex-wife, Nathalie; with his current wife, Cara; with sex workers, and a few strange paragraphs or two that brought his mother into this. He also has a penchant for eavesdropping on private conversations, usually that of two women in the privacy of a closed room, and thus makes him much harder for him to be likeable.

The way to the two worlds overlap is interesting. Whilst not what was originally expected, it remains very interesting, like reading companion pieces with hidden easter eggs. 1951 and 2011 overlap through the steps most travelled – through names on gravestones and treasures found at the bottom of a garden.

There are flaws in this novel. It took a while for any kind of interest in the characters to form. It’s also quite a slow start and the heavy description that Roberts uses in her work aids that – it becomes heavy, dense to read. It feels like you’ve been reading forever but so little has actually happened, so few pages have been turned.

Crossposted to The National Student.