Day of the Accident by Nuala Ellwood

 

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

4/5 stars

Content warnings: child death, suicide plus attempts, eating disorder, grief.

Maggie has just woken up from a coma to be told that her daughter Elspeth has drowned and her husband Sean has left. Maggie's injuries tell the police that she tried to stop the car going into the river but what caused the accident? Maggie has lost her memories of the day. Then she's told that due to her husband leaving she now has no home or belongings and very little money of her own.

This was a gripping, fast-paced novel with nice short chapters. Some of the chapters were separated by letters from an unnamed child in some kind of children's home situation. You might have guesses as to who this child is but you are probably wrong because that particular reveal comes quite late.

The only thing I didn't like was that the whole situation between Maggie and her husband is very brushed over and I feel like it needed more page time.

Steff Out x

The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey

 

3/5 stars

I'm going to call this one of the most disappointing books I've read. The title implies some kind of X-Men style abilities and the blurb gives nothing away apart from a comment about "I don't bite". The reality is much more different.

We open at a facility where a young girl, Melanie, is waiting in her cell to be strapped into a wheelchair and taken to the classroom for lessons, hoping it's with her favourite teacher Miss Helen Justineau. One day two of her classmates disappear, then Helen is told off for showing Melanie affection, then Melanie herself is taken to scientist Dr Caroline Caldwell. But before Dr Caldwell can do what she plans the base is attacked and the three escape with Sergeant Parks and young soldier Gallagher.

What follows is basically a road trip. There are hairy moments along the way and a couple of losses (no spoilers here) and then after an information reveal it basically just ends. There's no clarity on what happens next.

The writing style was engaging on the whole but there's a lack of world-building. It's set in post-apocalyptic Britain, long enough ago that the young soldier is confused by the sight of a broken down bus. I would have liked more information on the start of this whole thing. There's another group of people seen at one point and are considered a great threat but then aren't seen again. It would have been nice to have had more information on them. Who are they? What is their goal?

Also unrelated to the plot etc but apparently there is a film adaptation of this book - script written by the author - and Helen in the book is described solidly as black, the word mahogany is used specifically, yet the film cast the very white Gemma Arterton 🤨😒

Steff Out x

Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan

 

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

3/5 stars

CW: animal abuse and suicide

Detective Alec Nichols has been summoned to a very unusual crime. The discovery of sixteen severed horse's heads partially buried in a field. Alec calls in Veterinary Forensics expert Cooper Allen to assist with the investigation.

Soon blackmail, hidden anthrax, family secrets and more abused animals are revealed.

This book does not go where you expect it. I really enjoyed the writing style but it felt like the author lost track of his plot and didn't know where the story was going. Several threads were abandoned, the ending wasn't exactly explained and also made no sense.

Steff Out x

The Island by C.L. Taylor

 

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

4/5 stars 

6 teenagers are on holiday with their families. Their parents met while pregnant and the holidays have become an annual tradition each year. This year's coincides with Jefferson's birthday and his dad has organised an extra expedition: a week on a tropical island unaccompanied by the adults.

Things start off well enough but then their guide dies of a stroke and the teens are stranded. Twins Milo and Mia, Jefferson, Danny and girlfriend Honor and Jessie who is struggling following a traumatic incident. The group discusses phobias on their first night and then those phobias start appearing...

This was super tense and definitely kept me guessing but the initial idea of them going on yearly holidays because their parents were pregnant together was a little weak. The characters weren't super likable but we also didn't learn a lot about them.

Steff Out x

The Death Sculptor by Chris Carter

 

4/5 stars

Detective Robert Hunter is part of an elite murder investigation team in LA when he gets a call one day about a grisly murder. A district attorney has been killed despite being terminally ill and weeks from death. Yet this isn't an ordinary murder. He has been brutalised with limbs chopped off and used to make a grotesque sculpture, but what does it mean?

This was a gripping, fast-paced novel and the characters were interesting but I did have issues. The author was obsessed with describing everyone... Well everyone female. I don't care if the female bartender has a messy bun, or that the random in the bar has obviously artificial breasts, or that the victim's daughter is five foot five. None of this is relevant to the plot.

My other big issue was the plotting itself. The killer reveal was suitably tense but it did raise questions about things that happened earlier in the novel. There was a scene where the killer poses as a certain trade but I can't imagine it panning out as is but no disguise was ever mentioned.

Elements read as a debut novel rather than the author's fourth but I did enjoy it and seeing how things unfolded and the clues revealing themselves.

Steff Out x

Girl A by Abigail Dean

 

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

3/5 stars

I initially rated this at 4 stars but then reevaluated and edited it to 3 stars after reading some reviews on Goodreads. I guess I got caught up in the drama and was looking through rose-tinted glasses but reading other reviews (not always recommended) helped me see more clearly.

Girl A is Lex Gracie. She escaped her house of horrors aged 15. She and her siblings were starved and chained by their Father. Their Mother did nothing to help. Now Mother has died and Lex wants to turn their old house into a community centre but she needs her siblings signatures.

So when I first finished it I was caught up in how compelling the story and the writing were and how everything just flowed. Abigail Dean has a very easy, readable writing style.

But after some thought I realised there are just too many plot holes. Ethan's involvement, Gabriel's sight, the full story of the cake, the end of Lex's relationship (apparently fertility related but never explained), everyone's reluctance for her to attend the wedding. The twist was a little obvious and then that ending?? Very abrupt, very confusing.

This book frustrated me on the whole because I can see the potential it had to be so much better.

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 

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 

How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie

 

3/5 stars

Grace is on a mission. To kill the family of her millionaire father one by one leaving him for last. When he got her mother pregnant he refused to acknowledge what he'd done and the later existence of his daughter. Grace wants revenge and her rightful inheritance.

I thought this book was rather slow-paced and sluggish with overlong chapters. I kept reading out of curiosity for how things played out, not because of any sort of anticipation. Grace didn't have enough personality to be likable or not and her plans were all rather vague.

I did have hope it could redeem itself (although I was seriously questioning her lifelong best friend's personality transplant and total lack of trust) but then we had a suprise narrator which was just absurd and then the ending was ridiculous and incomplete at the same time.

Steff Out x 

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

 

4/5 stars

Yadriel is a brujo. Or at least he should be. His failure at the feminine bruja healing and his trans status mean his father refuses to let him go through the ritual so he goes and does it alone.

Shortly after the family senses that cousin Miguel has been killed but no-one can find his body so Yadriel gets the idea to summon his spirit and hopefully find out what happened.

Well, Yadriel does summon a ghost but it's not Miguel. It's Julian, a boy from school. He also died in a mysterious manner and Yadriel wants to find the truth.

I loved the characters and culture and I find Aiden's writing engaging and easy to follow. My only tiny criticisms were that I wish we'd seen more of Julian's friends and Yadriel's mum. Also the pacing could have been a little better. The middle section was full of character development but then the last quarter or so felt very rushed and I'm not sure I totally understood everything that happened.

Steff Out x

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

 

5/5 stars

Beautiful, perfection. This series now ranks in my favourite favourites.

We have the same cast of characters but in a more sort of way because they have grown so much, especially Sal! The one who has been through the most trauma and was the most timid but he's now taking charge, having big ideas and challenging the adults on his own terms, my heart 🥹

And little Lucy, it's so much harder for him to make the right choices but he does and he's lovely and I want to give him a hug! I LOVED Talia's comments about her beard and I love her confidence in herself and her appearance!

This book went more in depth about trauma and how it can influence a person and how the government is still totally shit and ignorant and unwilling to accept when they've done wrong.

The ending was perfection and I want an infinite number of these books.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

 

5/5 stars

So this was a re-read before reading the sequel. I first read it back in 2022 and it was a 5 then and it's still a 5 now.

Linus works for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth and he's been sent to investigate a rather unorthodox orphanage based on Marsyas Island. Unorthodox in the sense that it houses several children considered especially dangerous including Lucy, son of the antichrist, and Sal, a dog shifter who can pass his condition on with a bite, plus Chauncey so rare his species is completely unknown, there are also concerns about the master himself one Arthur Parnassus.

Overall I love this book, the characters are so well-written and the way the relationships develop and they grow into a family are so heart-warming. Found family at it's best 💕

Steff Out x

According to Yes by Dawn French

 

5/5 stars

Rosie Kitto has run away from her life as a primary school teacher in Cornwall to nanny for a fancy family in New York. Glenn and Thomas, their son Kemble and his sons, 28 year old Tommy and twins Red and Three. Kemble is going through a slightly bitter divorce and the whole family under Glenn's influence are stiff and unhappy.

Rosie's presence gradually warms things up, doors open, curtains open, light floods in both literally and figuratively. But along the way things occur which turn everything on its head.

I did want more from the ending, maybe some clarity, but maybe they're leaving it as a Mamma Mia situation, without too much in the way of spoilers that gives a big hint as to the events of the novel. It is a trope I'm not a massive fan of (initials A.P.) but it did work well in this situation.

Overall I did really enjoy this though, I loved how everything progressed and everyone grew.

Stef Out x

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

 

5/5 stars

Well this was fantastic!

Based on South American mythology were the Gods or Dioses are separated into three groups: the Gold "superstars", the Jade important but lowly, and Obsidian, only three named Gods but bad news and were shut away.

Teo is 17 and the trans son of Quetzal, the Jade bird Goddess/Diosa. I loved how casually his transness is talked about, a binder was mentioned but actually he's had top surgery and the binder is for his wings - the downside to being a bird demigod, or semidios, is birds are sexually dimorphic and there are plumahe differences - their colour is the last big dysphoric thing about him.

Coming up are the Sunbearer Trials, a competition where the winner out of 10 is chosen to sacrifice the loser to refuel the sunstone that protects the kingdoms. The last Jade chosen for the competition 130 years ago lost and was sacrificed. This year Teo and fellow Jade Xio are both chosen.

This was so fast paced but also emotional and I loved the world-building and the characters and the ups and downs and that twist ending and I can't wait for the sequel now!

Stef Out x

Ravensong by TJ Klune

 

Ebook previously provided by NetGalley for review and hardback since purchased by myself.

5/5 stars

Book one, Wolfsong, introduced to the Bennett wolf pack via Ox, book two, Ravensong, follows Gordo. Ox's best friend/boss/mentor/surrogate father figure, and the witch to the pack.

We get details about Gordo's childhood, his witch father and his untrusting mother and the way they affected his own ability to trust and lead him to ignore life-changing bonds.

Through Gordo's point of view we also get more details about what happened in the background of book one when Gordo, Joe, Carter and Kelly go off hunting Richard Collins. I really appreciated this extra context and it shows just how intricately that these books have been woven together. So much thought has gone into the planning of the series and it's just beautiful.

The characters are all amazingly written and I love the banter! It can be a life or death scene and someone will say something that will still make me laugh and I love it!

There is a rather spicy scene so these books are definitely not for younger readers. For people who don't wish to read it the run-up is clear enough that it can be easily skipped.

All in all these books have my heart!

Stef Out x

The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

Owned book.

4/5 stars

Long time no review 😅

I wouldn't say that this is my normal sort of vibe at all but it caught my eye sometime and I thought it looked cute. I promptly forgot about it until a few days ago when I came down with a horrible cold and felt too foggy for anything on my TBR list and I was scanning my shelves and spotted this and thought Christmas? That'll do.

Carmen has just been made redundant after the shop she works in closes and there's nothing left in her town. Then her fancy lawyer sister, Sofia, in Edinburgh comes up with a solution. One of her clients owns a failing bookshop and Sofia begrudgingly admits that Carmen was good at her job, maybe she can help him turn things around.

Carmen and Sofia have never seen eye to eye and things are... Tense. Not helped by health-obsessed nanny Skylar - seriously sweets and TV and modern toys are good in moderation. Throw in a self-obsessed self-help book author and a professor of trees and things get complicated.

For a while I thought Carmen was going to make the wrong choice but everything worked out in the end. I wish the ending itself has been more fleshed out though. It seemed very abrupt and I wanted more of a coming together scene between the sisters.

Stef Out x

Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary

 

2/5 stars

I liked the characters and the plot was interesting but I felt like there were too many things being juggled and some got dropped. They were originally going to talk to Ayana but then her storyline got all but abandoned. They made a massive thing about Marnie having tattoos and they may have been seen by the wrong person but I didn't understand the relevance of the tattoos and them being seen by this person was forgotten.

Also the writing style itself could use a bit of pruning. Near the beginning a character's only description was "obese girl in a black tracksuit". Are you telling me there was no better way to describe her than that? It feels very dehumanising. Also Marnie was referred to as a child as living in "near-autistic" silences. That just made me cringe. A lot of autistic people are not silent. And then there was the chapter opening where two or three sentences were used to describe thunder. The "then" and "now" chapters could have been clearer. The ending felt very rushed as well.

Stef Out x 

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

 

(Review copied from Goodreads)

Original review March 15: I liked and didn't like this story. The characters were well-developed and interesting and very real as modern teenagers but Tori is so unlikeable. She improves slightly throughout when she realises that shock horror she's allowed to care! I found myself wanting to know more about Michael and I really want a more detailed story about Charlie, he was so sweet! There also wasn't much detail given about the situation with Ben and the conclusion of Lucas was a little obvious and cliched. I also found all the conversations about shipping and fandoms and the sexual tension between Sherlock and John in BBC's Sherlock very odd as despite them being popular topics of conversation these days - particularly online - I haven't come across those sort of conversations in books before now.

Re-read Oct 19: I still sort of agree with some of my previous thoughts but now I find Tori relateable in her pessimism and some of the rest I just don't care about. I just enjoyed the book. I do still want to know more about Ben's situation though. I don't know if it comes up during Heartstopper at all? I seriously need to read that sometime!

Re-re-read May 22: Ben's story makes so much more sense having read Heartstopper. Also having read Heartstopper I wanted more Charlie and Nick! On this reread I barely noticed most of the fandom stuff although there is a lengthy Harry Potter based conversation in the opening chapter. I've come to appreciate Tori more with each reading. I did want to know more about the other guys involvement in Solitaire though.

4/5 stars

Stef Out x 

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

 

Book I own. Read January 2022.

5/5 stars

This is a book that doesn't hold back and it feels like such a necessary read.

All white people should read this and especially white men. Stop fetishizing black women, stop using and abusing them.

I loved Queenie, she was strong but in a fragile way. I loved her growth throughout and how she gradually realised that she needed help and accepted it. I really appreciated that it showed the divide in family attitudes towards getting help.

Her friends were a great mix but I hated Cassandra and her lack of faith in her supposed best friend!

Overall I loved this book but it's a difficult one to review. The summary is just read it.

Stef Out x

Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge

 

4/5 stars

CW: small amount of transphobic language, misgendering and use of outdated terms.

This was so nearly a 5 star book! The story was ever so gripping and drew me in straight away.

Pairs of victims are being kidnapped, held in a secure location and starved. They are left a gun with a single bullet and an instruction to kill or be killed.

The DI on the case - Helen Grace - is a strong, stoic character who is struggling to find the reason behind the crime. Soon another pair appears, seemingly unconnected to the first but clearly the same perpetrator, and unusually a woman!

I loved all the different points of view and the descriptiveness of the author's writing. The characters and story were engaging and the pacing was good overall but the ending was seriously lacking.

The killer's explanation was vague and sparse, I had to guess her motives and even then I'm unsure overall.

I did appreciate the overall reveal though. But after the killer is apprehended everything just stops and that's it, the book is over.

There was an extract from the next book in my copy which picks up a short time after and presumably gives a lot more of the aftermath, so it's disappointing that it's not included in this book. However I enjoyed it enough to seek out more in the series.

Stef Out x