Month: August 2017

‘Reservoir 13’ – Jon McGregor

As in ‘If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things’ we focus on the little details, the easily forgotten minutiae of peoples’ lives…and it will not be to everyone’s tastes.

The story opens with a couple holidaying in an unnamed Peak District village desperately seeking help as their thirteen-year-old daughter has gone missing. Anyone expecting an action-packed thriller as we race to discover the girl/body – or establish what happened to her – will be left wanting. Rebecca, or Bex, fades into the background though her presence remains palpable for those left behind. What we get instead is a languid, dare I say it poetic, account of how this major event affects the village and those living in it.

We watch a huge cast of characters resume their daily lives, getting to know some in detail, and we follow them through the thirteen years following this event.

Setting in a novel such as this is everything, and there’s a real sense of beauty created here by McGregor. I wonder if it would still seem as beautiful if I didn’t live in a village very similar to that described here. Perhaps not, but I admired the sense of charm given to the everyday, the ordinary. Charting the ebb and flow of this village and those who live in it seems to have been a real labour of love.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my review, and though we’re never given all the answers we feel we want there’s plenty to satisfy us.

‘Witchtown’ – Cory Putman Oakes

When I saw this on NetGalley I, along with many others I would imagine, was expecting lots of details about witchcraft and perhaps some focus on exploring how it impacted on people’s lives in this imagined future. I got it, but not quite in the way I expected.

Macie and her mother, Aubra, move into his safe Haven called Witchtown. It is a safe community for those ostracised from the rest of the world when their talents become known. Sadly, it’s the latest mark in this pair’s thieving trail. Only this time, things are different.

Macie has always felt rather reliant on her mother. As a Void (someone with no magic) Macie has depended on her mother’s Natural ability to protect her. This leaves her vulnerable as she can rely on no-one. Yet we are told that in their last residence Macie did exactly that, and it started off what can best be described as an unstoppable source of tension.

Macie is a character who comes into her own in this, with the help of new friends Talya and Kellan. She learns more about who she is, what she wants from her life and what it might cost her to achieve it. Even though her mother is depicted in a rather caricature fashion, there’s something rewarding about watching Macie take a stand against what she’s been told her entire life.

Though there’s some interest in watching Macie learn the truth about herself (which we suspect from quite early on), there’s a lot that just doesn’t add up and this is, ultimately, frustrating.

‘Odd and True’ – Cat Winters

Cat Winters is fast becoming one of my favourite go-to authors for a read that is just that little bit different. Due for publication in September 2017, Odd and True is no exception.

Trudchen and Odette are two sisters who have spent their lives hunting monsters and telling fantastic stories of their family’s involvement with mysterious creatures. A fairytale quality pervades this novel, but it is a world of darkness that will send little shivers down your spine.

The novel begins quite slowly, but we piece together the reality of the girls’ lives. The narrative is split between the present – voiced by Tru – and the past – voiced by Od. Just as one sister claims to no longer believe in the monsters of her childhood, the other sister arrives to take her on a journey that will see them face some of their ‘monsters’. Their family background is intriguing, but I really liked the way we learn the details of their past gradually.

When Tru follows Od on an adventure, following predictions read in teacups, we are plunged into a world of strange creatures. Their relationship was well-depicted, and I became quite absorbed in their story.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication. And a huge thank you to Cat Winters for coming up with yet another deliciously dark delight.

‘Cruel Summer’ – James Dawson

This is a difficult review to write, as I enjoyed this book but it was all just too knowing for me (without some of the elements you get when it’s done really well).

The book opens with a chapter called ‘Fade In’…telling us about the moment Janey died. It’s strongly hinted that she was murdered. The book ends with a chapter called ‘Fade Out’ where we leave our characters with all manner of secrets revealed, and most of our questions answered. In-between this frame we are given a series of scenes telling us the story.

Katie and her group have friends have never really got over the apparent suicide of their friend Janey a year ago. They decide to go away on holiday to Katie’s villa…and, of course, they have questions about that night. Nobody wants to talk about it, but someone is about to force their hand.

So much for a relaxing break and a chance to catch up…another murder is on the cards!

We see events through the eyes of Ryan, our TV star in the making. He views everything as if it was his own personal TV show, which is a form of coping mechanism, but it means everything is elevated to a more significant status in an attempt to show its worthiness. It also means that there’s a rather irritating tendency to self-consciously deconstruct everything to tell us why it’s significant, or to force us into a certain train of thought. However, it does allow us to switch between the various characters in a way that works well.

There’s the standard cliches: jock, good girl, nerd…we think we know what to expect and Dawson plays up to this. We watch these supposedly ‘perfect teens’ implode as secrets are outed. Some of the secrets are given up more easily than others, and some offer more of a motive for murder than others.

Throughout, I felt like I was reading a paint-by-numbers screenplay for a teen scary movie. It was good fun, but didn’t move beyond what we’d expect. If you want to know who did it, you’ll have to read the book. You might well have sussed it very early on, but it’s good fun watching our various characters work things out.

Relentless trilogy – Karen Lynch

Sometimes, when looking for books to fulfil an online group reading challenge, you come across something that you wouldn’t normally think of picking up. This trilogy is one of those reads.

‘Relentless’ was a book that I wasn’t convinced by initially. It introduces us to Sara Grey who found her father, murdered, and has always been determined to find out what happened to him. She hasn’t got far in her quest, but since his murder she has established she can do things nobody else can and there’s a few odd things going on around her. Everything is thrown at us in this book and, initially, it all seemed a bit formulaic. There’s vampires, Mohiri, trolls, dangerous humans, werewolves, fae…a snarky main character who finds it hard to trust people and a brooding male who you just know is going to be more than we expect. However, as things unwind it became a whole lot better than I was expecting. Elements of the story were interesting, but I felt there were some plot-holes and something of a lack of control over the environment which just stopped this from being a really good read.

In ‘Refuge’ we kick off with Sara in her Mohiri stronghold, undergoing training to try ad keep her safe from the Master vampire who’s determined to find her. She gets to learn a little more of her skills-and find new allies. We didn’t, thankfully, have to wait too long for Nikolas to return and the heat between these two was ramped up – while all being very chaste. Our key focus here is the developing power Sara has, and the realisation that a certain someone will stop at nothing to get what he wants. I got a new favourite character of Desmund, and I really liked how we start to learn a little more of Sara’s potential. I’m certainly pleased to say this left me keen to read the final book in the trilogy.

‘Strange Star’ – Emma Carroll

They were coming tonight to tell ghost stories. ‘A tale to freeze the blood,’ was the only rule. Switzerland, 1816. On a stormy summer night, Lord Byron and his guests are gathered round the fire. 
Felix, their serving boy, can’t wait to hear their creepy tales. 
Yet real life is about to take a chilling turn – more chilling than any tale…

For fans of Frankenstein this is a real treat.

We see the story behind the story, so it was great to see the links and what was imagined.

When Felix opens the door of his master’s home one night to a young girl, he is not prepared to hear one of the strangest stories ever told. He listens spellbound as young Lizzie tells him the tale of Francesca Stine and her secretive experiments with electricity. Once she has finished Felix cannot help but see his master’s guests – Mary Godwin and Percy Shelley – slightly differently.

‘The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue’ – Mackenzi Lee

Is this worth reading? To quote one of the main characters, “Abso-bloody-lutely!”

From its opening pages to the climax, this is a rip-roaring read that I loved for many reasons:
1. The evident love of her subject the author shows. Following our characters on their Grand Tour was an experience, with little nuggets of historical information salted away throughout.
2. Felicity. A wonderfully strong female character with a droll sense of humour, intelligence, compassion and utter fearlessness in the way she transgresses the expectations of society.
3. The humour that was evident throughout. From the acerbic wit of Monty to the scenes involving the most hapless pirates ever, I couldn’t help but laugh aloud at many points in the book.
4. The positive depiction of Monty and Percy’s relationship. Whether this would have actually been credible at the time simply doesn’t matter. It was a privilege to watch their relationship unfold, and I was rooting for them.
5. The fact that it hooked me at the start, but just got better and better as the story unfolded.
6. The unexpected tender moments. Scipio recognising a kindred spirit in Monty, and teaching him to stand up for himself brought a tear to my eye.

Let’s be honest, there will be many who will dislike this book for the very reasons I loved it. More’s the pity!

For sheer exuberance this novel will be hard to beat, and it shared something of the spirit of some of the 18th-century novels I studied for my degree. Coupled with its modern sensibilities I think it’s a potent combination.