Category: Contemporary

‘Teen Killers Club’ – Lily Sparks

After being imprisoned for the murder of her best friend, Signal has had to deal with others getting the wrong impression of her. She’s survived so far, but when she’s given the chance to get out of prison she wants to take it…though it’s the most messed-up idea I’ve ever heard.

Signal is taken out of prison and finds herself joining a camp like no other. A camp for killers – those that have been convicted of murder, and who are categorised as Class A.

From her stunned arrival, it’s evident that Signal doesn’t really fit in. Her training experience was bizarre and I found myself fascinated by this group. Though they clearly have done some awful things, they were also capable of looking out for each other.

There’s friendship, romance and plotting that is quite audacious in its boldness.
Of course there’s more to this camp than we were first told. While trying to survive her mission, Signal is also determined to try and prove her innocence. The help she got along the way was unexpected. I’d second-guessed (wrongly) who was responsible, and can’t help but feel the end of this book sets up for a very dramatic second book.

I can’t wait to see where this goes next…

 

‘The Island of Missing Trees’ – Elif Shafak

 

Exploring thoughts about identity, love, tradition and conflict, I found this book a strange experience. As I was reading I found myself caught up in elements of the various stories, but the overall story felt quite disjointed.

Our story spans decades, and through the split narrative we are offered an insight into the lives of our characters and how their experiences impact on them. Set in Cyprus and London, Shafak attempts to show us something of the conflict that caused such chaos and how it continues to impact the lives of those caught up in it, or who come later.

We begin with sixteen year old Ada, a young girl grieving the death of her mother. Her father does not speak much about her mother, and her pain is clear. When she suddenly stands up and screams in the middle of a lesson, she spawns a new social media meme. As part of her school homework she is tasked with interviewing an older family member…and it is this seemingly innocuous task that sets in place the digging into Ada’s family past.

Her story begins many years earlier, in Cyprus, when her mother and father first meet. They enjoy their time together, but because one is Greek and the other Turkish they have to meet in secret. The potential shame at their relationship being discovered results in some unusual choices being made. Their illicit love is mirrored in that of the two cafe owners who welcome them – being from opposing sides, and gay, leads to tensions and events that seem world away from the experience of many.

Finding out the intricacies of the various relationships does not come easy. Much of what we learn is in small pieces, usually revealed by what I came to see as our main narrator – a fig tree. This device is a bit of a tricky one to respond to. It allows for a voice to accompany each character as they are witness to all the events that take place, in some way, and I certainly felt that part of this book was focused on encouraging us to see the tree as a metaphor for our human experience and how we put down roots, the conditions we surround ourselves with and how we need to create the right environment in which to thrive. At times this seemed heavy-handed to me, though it allowed a unique voice and served as a way of encouraging us to consider how we are interconnected to our environment.

I found myself recognising what the author was doing, but I didn’t connect to this in the emotional way that I felt would have given it greater impact.

‘Razorblade Tears’ – S.A. Cosby

There’s so much about this book that should make me hate it – transphobia, homophobia, graphic descriptions of wanton violence being the main ones – but this got under my skin and was a surprising hit.

Razorblade Tears is unflinching in its honesty. Sometimes the things said are very hard to read, but from start to finish this was a book that I found myself fully engaged with.

Ike and Buddy Lee are fathers who feel they have let down their kids. Ike, a black ex-convict, has tried to keep on the straight and narrow but is judged whenever he sets foot outside his home. Buddy Lee is a drunk white redneck (his own description) who is hiding from the fact he has cancer. In spite of their sons being married, the two men don’t know each other. When their boys are murdered, the police don’t seem to be looking too hard for answers, so Ike and Buddy Lee take it upon themselves to try to make up for the way they treated their sons while alive to avenge their deaths.

From the outset it’s clear there is something big at stake here. The gang links and casual attitude to violence were a challenge to read – how anyone can be so casual about disposing of a body in a wood chipper I don’t know – but they help to explain a little where these two very flawed men are coming from.

Neither is without fault, and I can’t imagine taking the law into your own hands, but Cosby paints a sympathetic picture of two men struggling to accept their shortcomings.

This will not be for everything, but it really was an unexpected hit for me.

 

‘The Island of Lost Girls’ – Alex Marwood

In light of some of the things coming out recently, this book struck a nerve. Money can buy you a lot, and the contempt I felt for some of these characters was visceral. It was too easy to see how some of these predators engineered situations to exploit the vulnerable, and I really hope people who pick this up will stick with it.

Mercedes is a young girl living on a beautiful island and she, like many in her hometown, is rather taken aback when multi-millionaire Matthew Meade arrives with his daughter. The glamour and wealth they bring has its allure…and we soon see how certain people are prepared to look the other way if they can benefit from their association. Mercedes is one of the first victims, when her father takes a huge payout in order to encourage his daughter to befriend Tatiana Meade.

While Tatiana has some redeeming qualities as a child, we also see her as an adult exploiting her relationship with Mercedes. There are hints of behaviour that sets alarm bells ringing, but the true horror is not revealed quickly.

As we follow Mercedes going about her work, we also follow the story of seventeen year old Gemma and the mother seeking her runaway daughter. Their stories inevitably link, and when they do we see the full horror hidden beneath the glamorous surface.

A mesmerising read, and one which feels unsettlingly relevant. I’m grateful to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this prior to publication.

 

‘Every Summer After’ – Carley Fortune

A second-chance doesn’t often work in a romance since if you broke up once, I can’t help but wonder why you think things would be different second time round. However, that really wasn’t the case here and I found myself hoping Sam and Persephone (Percy) would sort out their issues.

Early on we learn that these two first became friends when Percy’s family moved to the lake. They become next door neighbours and seem to have a lot in common. Before we know it, they’re spending a lot of time together…but, for ages, nothing happens between them.

When we first meet Percy she’s in her thirties and has just received a call to say Sam’s mother has died. Having been close to her once, Percy goes…but is worried by the fact that she hasn’t been there for years.

As we work through the book we see that their friendship shifts to a relationship. We know they didn’t last, so it becomes a case of trying to work out why. When we finally learned the truth I was rather surprised, but couldn’t help be happy that it wasn’t the proverbial nail in their coffin.

 

‘My Mechanical Romance’ – Alexene Faros Follmuth

My Mechanical Romance is a cute romance, immersing us in the world of robotics…and having been an avid watcher of Robot Wars when I was younger I could understand the appeal (even if the creation of these things was not in my sphere of interest).

Bel is reluctant to think too deeply about the future. She is a capable student but hasn’t considered her future, isn’t sure what she wants to do at college and hasn’t even thought about how to make herself an interesting potential student. Teo, on the other hand, has his future planned with precision. He’s single-minded in his pursuit of academic excellence and is scarily focused on his extra-curricular activities being tailored to give him maximum advantage. Each has their reasons for behaving like this, both of which are revealed as we read, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for any young adult caught in this kind of academic pressure-cooker.

The focus on academia sounds heavy, but it is very much in the background. Our key interest is Bel’s involvement in the Robotic club and their preparations for National competition. It’s intense! There’s a couple of moments that had me rolling my eyes in frustration – the well-timed illness and the annoying sexist opponents- but these do offer something to the narrative.

I enjoyed the developing relationship between Teo and Bel, and it was certainly an interesting read to look at women in STEM and the institutionalised barriers that may impact on those wanting to get involved/feeling they can’t get involved.

For a YA romance this was a little more nuanced than I was expecting (and that was a good thing) and it has reminded me that I really need to get on with reading Atlas Six (penned by the author under another name)…

‘They’re Watching You’ – Chelsea Ichaso

Due for release in January 2023, I was thrilled to get a copy of this via NetGalley. The cover and blurb had me tingling in anticipation…and now I’ve finished, I can’t wait to recommend this to others.

Ichaso strikes the right note here. At the outset, I was sucked in by Maren’s quest to find out what happened to her friend. She is gutsy, a little reckless, but it soon become obvious that someone was toying with her and that this game could be a lot more serious than she imagined.

What Maren learns is that Polly had become part of a secret society in their exclusive boarding school. Maren digs until she finds a way in…and then we started a curious cat and mouse game.

From the moment the Society is mentioned, Ichaso ramps up the tension. There’s a love triangle (of sorts) but it’s never clear who can be trusted, and Maren herself falls prey to this. Some of the challenges seemed rather childish…but it was evidently part of a much bigger plan. As we learn about the scope of the Society we start to see how serious this could be.

Once underway, this was a hard story to put down. It exploited the fears of the characters very well, and was written in a way that always left me with a niggling suspicion.

For a book about secret societies, deadly rituals and with potentially life-threatening scenarios this was great fun!

 

‘Bad Things Happen Here’ – Rebecca Barrow

To the outside world, Parris is a beautiful town full of people whose lives are to be envied. What they don’t see is the dark side to the town, the secrets that lurk in the shadows and which keep those who live in Parris trapped.
Our main character is Luca Laine Thomas, from one of the wealthy families who everyone knows. Her life might seem easy, but Luca believes in the curse that is rumoured to haunt the town. Her best friend, Polly, was found dead and though it was ruled accidental, Luca is convinced there’s more to the story.
My initial thoughts on Luca and her friends were not particularly positive. While they expressed unease at the events taking place in their town, they seemed to be as much a part of the problem as anyone else. Their behaviour towards the new neighbour, Naomi, felt a little patronising and yet I hoped things would not be quite as I thought.
Once Luca learns that her sister, Whitney, has been found dead after a party, things got a lot more interesting. Luca cannot accept what she’s being told and decides to carry out her own investigation. What she learns shows that nearly everyone has something to hide.
I found myself caught up in this once the story got underway, and fans of The Cheerleaders or Kit Frick will no doubt love the approach taken. The ending left me rather stunned, but it was nice to see Luca grow in self-belief as she made her way through events. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this in advance of publication.

 

‘Something Wilder’ – Christina Lauren

Quite a departure for Christina Lauren, but great fun and it was hugely entertaining to follow this through from start to finish.

Lily Wilder has always, a little, resented her father Duke for his obsession with treasure hunts and riddles. A celebrated treasure hunter Duke was rumoured to have discovered money that was stolen by Butch Cassidy. There’s no suggestion that this is the case as Duke sold the family ranch, had a stroke and then left his daughter with nothing.

When we first meet Lily she is preparing for one of her wild tours, taking rich City types to the wild and allowing them to play at finding treasure. However, this particular tour goes very much off page…partly because one of the party is Leo, the man Lily fell in love with years ago, but also because one of the group has an ulterior motive for joining in.

While I was invested in the rekindling of Lily and Leo’s relationship I loved the way we veered into a true treasure hunt. We never quite know how this is going to pan out, but the temptation to risk everything just for a chance to fulfil a dream is quite an inspiration.

There’s danger, more than I expected, and there’s a nerdy delight in puzzles and codes. On more than one occasion it could have gone either way, but this had a lovely feel good factor to it that left me with a smile on my face.

I’m grateful to NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this before publication in exchange for my review. I also wonder where they’ll go next…

 

‘The House Across the Lake’ – Riley Sager

The House Across the Lake was a story I was so excited to get my hands on, and parts of it really were exciting. However, as a whole, it felt messy and just too much to take in.

Our main character is recently widowed actress Casey Fletcher who has been banished to her lakeside home (the place where her husband died) by her mother who wants her out of the public eye after one too many drunken incidents. In what felt like a Rear Window homage, Casey takes to watching the home across the lake from her…home to supermodel Katherine Royce and her media husband Tom.

Casey’s first meeting with Katherine is when she fishes her out of the lake and saves her from drowning. The tentative steps to a new friendship are forged, but Casey is convinced that things in the Royce household are not what they seem. Obsessive, alcohol-fuelled stalking events occur and it’s hard to workout whether Casey is deluded or if there’s some truth to her fears about Tom.

In the background of this bizarre situation is a local writer, an ex-cop whose wife died and three missing women. From the moment each element is introduced my brain went into overdrive trying to work out what was a red herring, what was plausible and what was a diversion. Casey lurches from one imagined scenario to the next and things ramp up once Katherine goes missing and Tom starts acting suspiciously.

It was at this point that the book went to a whole other level and I had to check if I was reading the latest Sarah Pinborough. I have no problem with the introduction of the supernatural to a story, but in this instance it felt like a gimmick. It served merely to offer a hitherto unthought-of reason for what was happening, but it also served as a diversion to another element of the plot. It felt as if bets were being hedged here as to what type of book was the ultimate aim, and the truth is that it feels as if we don’t get a satisfactory answer.

I’m grateful to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this before its scheduled July publication, but I’d have been so gutted to have waited for release date and spent the amount I’ve had to on previous Sager books to then get this. I’m afraid this didn’t work for me.