Category: Fiction

‘The second Stranger’ – Martin Griffin

The Second Stranger takes us on an increasingly audacious journey, set in a remote location and featuring a small cast of characters that all seem to be hiding something.

Our main character Remie is the sole worker at the McKinnon Hotel on its last night before winter closing. There are only two guests, and she is counting down the hours until she can leave the next day. Unfortunately, things don’t go quite to plan.

The Hotel is close to a high security prison. With a storm approaching, the news of a disturbance doesn’t bode well. When Remie hears police officer Gaines at the door asking for assistance she lets him in. Though the situation is tense, it ramps up in drama when a second man arrives at the hotel claiming to be Gaines.
Suddenly we have a very different situation. One of the men is Gaines, but which one? And how can Remie work it out?

From start to finish we are placed centre-stage in an increasingly tense scenario. There was a sense of disconnect throughout, which is linked to Remie’s secret, and though this seems rather implausible once we’re given all the details it made for a rather satisfying diversion.

 

‘Friends Like These’ – Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

For fans of Karen McManus and anyone who likes twists in their tales, Friends Like These is a story where you can never wholly trust the characters who are sharing their story.

Our main focus is rich girl Tegan, former friend of Jessica and ex of Jessica’s boyfriend, Jake. Her parties are synonymous with excess, but her end of summer party becomes known for all the wrong reasons.

It’s not giving anything away to say that this group of classmates have a long and complicated history. Things come to a head on the night of Tegan’s party when she kisses her ex and ends up having sex with him…but the whole thing is filmed and shared with their classmates downstairs (including Jake’s girlfriend). When Tegan goes missing the night after the party, people are quick to judge.

Before we know it, bodies are found in the sea. There’s a lot of background to this story, that seems a little distracting but is actually crucial to our understanding of what happened. We learn that a number of people are lying about their involvement in the evening’s events, and once things are wrapped up it made me very pleased to not be a teen today.

 

‘How to Kill Men and Get Away With It’ -Katy Brent

When victims fight back, things get dirty…

Kitty Collins is not a character I have any affinity with. As a beautiful wealthy Influencer, she’s not the type of character I expected to like…her proclivity for murder doesn’t do much to endear her. However, her snarkiness and deadpan delivery really do make her a rather entertaining young woman to spend time with.

Our first meeting with Kitty relays the evening when a sleazy guy from a bar follows her, tries to force her into becoming more physical and then ends up dead when he falls onto a broken bottle. Most people would call the police and hope for the best, but Kitty has form…so she goes home and continues her life.
The situations that Kitty finds herself in are increasingly audacious. Some are very graphic, and while I can’t say I enjoyed the book at times, it was certainly entertaining.

I had my suspicions about Kitty from early on, and it was gratifying to see that I wasn’t too far off the mark. The ending certainly left me open-mouthed and I’m wondering if perhaps Kitty has met her match in Charlie.

 

‘The Sunbearer Trials’ – Aiden Thomas

I’m hugely grateful to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this in advance of publication, and am now excited to read the next instalment.

In what is being touted as a mix of Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games, Thomas creates an action-packed magical competition. We are in a well-established world, where the Gods need to be kept happy. Every decade a competition is held in order to find the winner of the Sunbearer Trials. Their win means that the Obsidian gods can be kept at bay, and the power of the Sol stone can be replenished in order to protect the people of Reino del Sol.

Our focus is the year that proves to be something of an anomaly. For the first time in a century not only Golds – who train for this event – are chosen. Two of the Jades – the lowest in the semidios rankings – are selected, and we see Xia, Teo and his best friend, Niya, collaborate to keep alive and try to be in with a chance of avoiding their intended role as the sacrifice.

Teo is a trans boy, son of Quetzal, the Goddess of Birds, and a large part of the story is about Teo learning to accept his identity and to consider the role he might play in his country’s future. The relationships between the characters were interesting, and I was rather taken aback by the unexpected shift in allegiances towards the end – however, it sets things nicely in place for a most entertaining story in book two.

 

‘Her Majesty’s Royal Coven’ – Juno Dawson

A solid 3.5 stars, with a story that sweeps you up in its embrace and spits you out at the end…desperately waiting to see what comes next.

Slow to get started (at least it was for me) but our focus is Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, a group of witches, and four key women who have been friends since childhood. There’s a lot of backstory to these witches, and we get glimpses into their past, but key elements of the story focus on a battle between witches and warlocks that is never really explained clearly. Moments are alluded to, and perhaps there is a plan to further expand on these in book two.

A central focus of the story is the prophecy that the Sullied Child will rise and destroy the world. Now that they think they’ve found them, Helena is determined to try and work out how to prevent this prophecy coming true. She enlists the help of her old friend Niamh, an incredibly strong witch, to talk with Theo and establish how much of a threat this will be.

It was clear from quite early on that Theo was more powerful than anyone could predict. This is what prompts the need to investigate. However, we soon learn that Theo identifies as a girl…and so we move into a more political exploration of gender and attitudes to trans children.

Anyone reading this is likely to draw parallels between Helena, our trans-hating coven leader, and a certain female writer whose views on trans-rights are widely criticised. Dawson tries to allow Helena’s views to be aired, but the vitriol she spews and the reactions of those who fight against her establish clearly where our sympathies are meant to lie. In the portrayal of Theo we have a character who is simply fighting to be, and the happiness she radiates as people express their acceptance of her makes it hard not to want to champion her cause.

The background of the coven allows some context to the events taking place. Certainly, as we draw to the close and see Niamh’s sister setting something in motion I found myself very keen to get my hands on the next instalment. Unfortunately, the constant Spice Girls references grated on me and the pacing at the start was too slow to warrant a higher rating.

 

‘Cackle’ – Rachel Harrison

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this in advance of publication. Cackle is not necessarily what I would deem horror (and I’m unsure why someone might regard it as such) but it does use witchcraft to explore the theme of friendship and it has plenty of good-humoured moments.

Our main character has been dumped by her boyfriend. She moves to a new town, where she knows nobody, and is befriended by Sophie. Sophie is beautiful, glamorous and everyone in the town seems in thrall to her (though some are happier about this than others).

As Annie settles into her new routine, she starts to feel more and more indebted to Sophie. She heard rumours about her new friend, and when she is gifted a spider as a housewarming gift we know there’s something odd about her.

The question soon becomes about how quickly Annie is prepared to accept these changes to her life. She veers between desperate to salvage her previous existence and determined to forge a bright new path. Ultimately something of a middle ground has to be found, but Annie learns what is important to her and what boundaries she is prepared to put in place to live her life.

‘The Weight of Blood’ – Tiffany D. Jackson

Carrie for the modern era, and what a read!

Maddy is a biracial teenager who has lived her life following the rules of her deeply religious father. She passes as white, but when she is caught in a storm during cross-country, her peers learn the truth about her identity. This shouldn’t be a big deal, but in their town it is.

The ingrained racism was tough to read about. This was a town where students were educated together, but any attempts to challenge racial stereotyping are ignored and separate events are held for teens of different backgrounds. While Maddy’s secret caused a fuss, it’s the bigger secret that she’s kept from everyone that is going to cause more of a scene.

Those familiar with Carrie will know the plot. Those who aren’t, may have to suspend their disbelief for the paranormal elements…but this was a solid retelling of a much-loved story.

 

‘Skin of the Sea’ – Natasha Bowen

Skin of the Sea is a story that grabs you from the outset, with its blend of African mythology and links to The Little Mermaid. Evocative and enchanting, with an ending that had me very relieved to have a copy of book two on hand to find out what comes next.

Our main character, Simi, is a mermaid; someone who was human but rescued on the condition that she played her role in saving the souls of the dead.

Unfortunately, her memories of her human life make it harder for her to fully accept her instructions. When she finds Kola he is injured and she cannot let him die. At risk to herself, she rescues him…and sets in motion a chain of events that could have grave repercussions.

The pair journey to his home as he needs to find his twin siblings. Along the way both are challenged and forced to think about what is important to them. We see a journey fraught with danger, and though we sense things are not going to go quite according to plan there were moments that really took me by surprise.

Though I didn’t quite predict the ending, Simi’s decision makes sense…though I hope she’ll be afforded a better deal in book two.

 

‘The Last Graduate’ – Naomi Novak

I feel it’s fitting to have closed the pages on this instalment with only a week or two left until book three comes…because I would be going mad if I had to wait ages to find out what on earth happens after that.

El is in her final year at The Scholomance, and from the outset it seems things are being made tough for her. The school has given her more classes than anyone else, she’s being taught in rooms susceptible to attack and she quickly comes to realise that her lack of planning for the future could be problematic.

Every student knows just how hard it is to graduate. With so many students killed every year, El starts to wonder whether there might be something behind the punishing schedule. Could the school be trying to ask for help?

There’s no doubt El has power that could be very dangerous. She seems to want to use it to benefit others, and I’m curious to see if this remains the case.

Her relationship with Orion seems an distraction, and I did wonder quite what the point was. However, by the time we get to the end – and I really didn’t see that coming – it sets up a very interesting dilemma for what El does next.

So, now the clock is ticking for book three…

 

‘Belladonna’ – Adalyn Grace

Belladonna is a story which works perfectly well on its own, though I’m intrigued by the prospect of a sequel.

The story opens with us being introduced to Signa, a young girl who has the ability to see Death. Throughout her early years she finds herself in increasingly difficult situations, facing death but never being taken. Guardian after guardian dies, leaving Signa in a vulnerable position, and though people fear her we are not sure why.

When another guardian dies, Signa is taken to live with the family of an aunt. She finds herself communing with Death, and trying to investigate the death of her aunt Lillian with the help of the mysterious Sylas. Happy to finally be somewhere she feels welcomed, Signa does what she can to work out who was responsible and who might want her cousin Blythe dead.

A strange relationship between Signa and Death, and I liked the way that Signa was given the opportunity to escape some of the expectations for a young woman in her position.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this prior to publication in exchange for my honest review, and now to find out when part two can be expected.