After Life by Gayle Forman

 

Ebook provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

3/5 stars 

It's a normal day when Amber cycles home until she walks into the house and her mother screams at her. Because Amber died 7 years ago yet somehow she's back and everything has changed.

This was a really interesting look at how grief affects people and how far-reaching it can be and how many people one death can connect. Told in multiple POV from the many people Amber's death has affected.

I really liked the concept and the way the characters were written even if I wasn't fond of the character themself - Casey was a good example for this, she wasn't a likable person but she felt real.

There were also a couple of side plots that I didn't quite understand the point of or where they came frome. One was an incident when Amber was a child and the other was the breakdown of Amber's mum and aunt's relationship, that was never really explained. I think on the whole it could have done with being a little longer to round some of this stuff out.

Steff Out x 

The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune

 

Hardback bought by myself but ebook previously provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

5/5 stars

Nate has lost his parents in a murder/suicide. Not that he's had much to do with them since they basically disowned him for being gay. Now he's also lost his job so he decides to use his only inheritance from his parents - his dad's truck and their holiday cabin in the mountains - and get away for a while.

When he gets there however he finds the cabin occupied by a giant hulking army guy and a little girl around 9 years old. Alex, who prefers to shoot first and ask questions later, and Artemis Darth Vader, who is not quite normal, however she is obsessed with western novels and bacon.

Yet another stunning novel by TJ. Tightly plotted with characters that are so easy to love and to root for and yet another brilliant example of found family! This was so visually written I can imagine being a fantastic movie, hey Hollywood can you get on that?

Steff Out x 

The Word Trove by Elias Vorpahl

 

Ebook previously provided by NetGalley. Thank you.

4/5 stars 

This was a super short, super sweet little novel. It's set in the world of Language where words live. We follow a young Word who doesn't know it's meaning, once it is spoken it loses it's memory and it needs to find itself by travelling through the world of Language.

Along the way it meets some interesting characters like Mad and his hare friends - easy to see the inspiration for that scene - and some old forgotten words like Looking-glass and Wherefore.

I will say that I thought the Word was going to be something different but I still found the ending satisfying. It was also interesting to read the translator's notes at the end (the original book was written in German) and how some sections had to be changed to still make sense in English.

Steff Out x 

Fig Swims the World by Lou Abercrombie

 

Ebook previously provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

4/5 stars

Fig Fitzherbert is a worrier. Her life is ruled by anxiety not helped by her controlling overbearing mother, known as Mubla. Mubla is constantly setting her goals and resolutions to complete and has a lot of rules.

Mubla's latest resolution is acting classes culminating in a stage role but the thought of speaking in public makes Fig throw up. She decides to set her own resolution! To swim the world! 20 open-water swims across 6 continents. There's just one snag - she can't swim yet!

I really enjoyed this and I really admired Fig's gumption and refusal to give up on her goal. I do think especially at the beginning Fig was a little blind to her privilege but she did realise and I appreciated how she got along mostly on her own.

I do wish there had been more of a confrontation with Mubla and the ending was very abrupt.

Steff Out x 

The Warehouse by Rob Hart

Ebook previously provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

2/5 stars

Set in a non-specified but possibly not too distant future where Cloud *cough*Amazon*cough* is everything. They have squashed small businesses and are pretty much the only option. MotherCloud is where people live and work in various departments from picking to security to medical care.

We follow Gibson, the founder of Cloud, terminally ill and set to announce his replacement, Paxton a former prison guard whose small business was killed by Cloud and Zinnia who has her own agenda.

So I knew early on that this book wasn't going to be gripping enough to be a four star rating because the nature of their jobs - Paxton as security and Zinnia as a picker - was very monotonous and the narrative deliberately played on that monotony but I was feeling a 3 star for a good long while until the last quarter or so. Not a lot happened and then everything happened very quickly without warning, there were elements that could have been taken further, the "big reveal" was underwhelming, we never learn Zinnia's motivation and the ending was very abrupt.

Steff Out x

Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray

 

Paperback read but ebook previously provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

5/5 stars

This was a sad yet hopeful book and beautifully written.

In no uncertain terms Amy is a hoarder. Specific items - green wine bottles, mugs, clocks, ashtrays, cookbooks, ceramic birds, plant pots/vases and newspapers. All items relating to specific moments in her relationship with the man she planned to marry, until the day he and her best friend disappeared without a trace, presumably together.

The book follows a dual timeline of now and then with each then section headed with the item it relates to. In the present day Amy is dealing with an interfering neighbour who is obsessed with her hoard being dangerous. Then a new family move in next door which changes everything.

This was really sensitively written, especially around the hoard and how much Amy clearly cares for her belongings. The word hoard is only used once so as not to stigmatise things further. The mystery of Tim and Chantel's disappearance added an intriguing extra layer.

Steff Out x 

Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray

 

Borrowed from the library but ebook previously provided by NetGalley for review.

4/5 stars

Koffi lives at the Night Zoo with her mother, working off a debt that her late father created. Ekon dreams of becoming a Son of Six like his older brother.

Their paths end up colliding in the hunt for a mysterious wild beast that is allegedly slaughtering everyone but along the way feelings grow, they learn that magic is real and not everything is what it seems...

I loved the way this entwined together and the way things progressed and the religion and magic system but I did find the ending a little abrupt. I will seek out the sequels some time though.

Steff Out x