Category: Young Adult

‘The Gifts that Bind Us’ – Caroline O’Donoghue

I enjoyed book one, but hadn’t loved the book as much as I’d hoped to. However, this was a much more engaging read. Darker in tone, focusing on a range of concerns and the magic felt more natural in this.

Moving on from the events surrounding Lily, the group are practising their magic and preparing to move into the next phase of their lives. They’re all looking forward, and a substantial part of the book focuses on how it feels when something so momentous starts to fragment.

Maeve is the one most affected. Unsure of her academic potential she seems destined to stay in their town, and is struggling to understand why the others are so determined to leave. She fears losing Roe and her friendships with Fiona and Lily come under pressure.

When events begin it wasn’t clear where we’d end up. The girls head back to school and are shocked to see signs of the Children returning. This toxic group has worked their way into school, trying to establish a hold on those susceptible to their message. However, it soon becomes apparent that they’re after something much bigger.

As events unfold we learn more about Maeve and her friends, their skills and the way groups such as the Children operate. There’s some unexpected developments regarding some familiar figures and it was lovely to see certain elements developed more fully here. Dramatic moments, plenty of witchy action and a wonderful focus on friendship.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this before its scheduled February 2022 publication.

 

‘Only a Monster’ – Vanessa Len

Monsters are, traditionally, the things we hate but in this fascinating story we not only get to learn more about the monsters but we also are encouraged to side with them. Nothing is quite what it seems.

Our main character, Joan, is aware of feeling different. Her family background is a mix of cultures, and though she loves her father’s family she also enjoys the time she spends with her mother’s side of the family. When we first meet her she is spending the summer with her grandmother and spending time working at a local historical house. She was drawn to the place, and is excited to be going on a date with Nick, another volunteer.

On the day of her date, Joan learns something about herself that she could not have foreseen. The truth about her family is revealed, and it sets in place an awful chain of events with Nick at its heart.

Without giving too much away we learn that monsters walk the earth. We don’t know how they came into being, but they can travel through time…only they have to steal time from humans to do so. Joan is half-monster. Nick is the hero created to destroy monsters – so him falling in love with a monster is never going to be a good idea!

What we get is a tense and dramatic time-travel fantasy story, with lots of potential strands for development. I am desperate to learn more about the history of the monsters, and am pretty sure that we have not seen the last of the characters that make this such an exciting read.

Though not due for publication until early 2022, I’m grateful to the Secret Readers for allowing me the opportunity to read it in advance of publication. Exciting stuff!

 

‘The Coldest Touch’ – Isabel Sterling

Our main character, Elise, has been struggling to find happiness after her brother’s death. She blames herself, and ever since this accident Elise has not wanted to touch anyone as she can foretell a person’s death if she does.

Initially, it was hard to tell what was going on with Elise. However, there is a young woman following her. Claire seems to know more about Elise than she should, but we don’t get to know much initially.

What we eventually learn is that Claire is a vampire. She has a vested interest in getting to know Elise…but there’s someone else trying to get to Elise. Someone who has the potential to make things very difficult for her.

The story of two sides battling one another for control is not a new one. The humour and developing romance offer us something to get interested in…and there’s definite hints that this is far from over.

Thanks to NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this before publication in exchange for my honest thoughts.

 

‘These Deadly Games’ – Diana Urban

A huge thank you to Diana Urban (via her reading team) and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this in advance of publication. A thriller that is predictable in part, but with enough tricks up its sleeve to keep most readers happy.

Our main character is Crystal and the whole focus of the story centres around her love of games. However, this is a game with deadly consequences.

On what starts as a fairly typical school day, Crystal is sent a video of her younger sister who appears to have been kidnapped. She is told to tell no one, not to contact the police and to do everything she is told if she is going to see her sister alive.

Initially these ‘games’ are fairly innocent. The stakes are high enough to keep Crystal playing…and as they escalate in seriousness, it’s ever more apparent that this is part of a much bigger plan.

I found Crystal’s willingness to follow the plan quite unlikely. However, there is a reason for this, and it centres on a secret that Crystal and her friends have been keeping for years. The way the games develop is engaging, though the seriousness of these events took me rather by surprise. Crystal’s reluctance to trust others was adequately explained, and while I may not be wholly convinced by the ultimate plan I found myself desperate to know whether or not we’re going to see more of these characters.

 

‘You’ll Be the Death of Me’ – Karen McManus

For readers of an age to have actually been around for Ferris Bueller in his original incarnation that’s something of a lure. A vibrant character playing on their luck and exploiting everyone they interact with in order to have a fun-filled day…of course, that’s going to appeal. Unfortunately, for the target audience of this book the reference may be rather meaningless…

Our main characters are Ivy, Cal and Mateo. Three students who used to be great friends, who’ve barely spoken to each other in years and who are all – for reasons we don’t learn entirely – having a tough time. They turn up at school one day, decide to ditch and have an attempt to recreate their magical moment.

Even before they set off it’s clear this isn’t going to go well. They end up following another student from their school who is also truanting…and when he is found dead in a room they decide that they should run away and try to investigate this crime themselves, rather than let the police know what they’ve seen and sort things out.

The start of the book requires that we suspend our disbelief and follow them as they make up their minds what to do next. There’s a bit of wandering round, some unnecessary faffing about to establish that each of them has things they’re trying to hide and that others around them may be more than a little keen to keep things quiet. Eventually we get some details about what might be behind this death.

Once we learn a little more about the death, we are taken to a realm of quite ridiculous scenarios. These three behave in ways I can’t imagine, but I still found myself sucked in and desperate to piece it together.

We do, eventually, get our answers. Some were less obvious than others, and some of the predicted curveballs never got thrown in. It was quite preposterous, but entertaining and will definitely have its share of fans.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this before publication.

 

‘You’ll be the Death of Me’ – Karen McManus

For readers of an age to have actually been around for Ferris Bueller in his original incarnation that’s something of a lure. A vibrant character playing on their luck and exploiting everyone they interact with in order to have a fun-filled day…of course, that’s going to appeal. Unfortunately, for the target audience of this book the reference may be rather meaningless…

Our main characters are Ivy, Cal and Mateo. Three students who used to be great friends, who’ve barely spoken to each other in years and who are all – for reasons we don’t learn entirely – having a tough time. They turn up at school one day, decide to ditch and have an attempt to recreate their magical moment.

Even before they set off it’s clear this isn’t going to go well. They end up following another student from their school who is also truanting…and when he is found dead in a room they decide that they should run away and try to investigate this crime themselves, rather than let the police know what they’ve seen and sort things out.

The start of the book requires that we suspend our disbelief and follow them as they make up their minds what to do next. There’s a bit of wandering round, some unnecessary faffing about to establish that each of them has things they’re trying to hide and that others around them may be more than a little keen to keep things quiet. Eventually we get some details about what might be behind this death.

Once we learn a little more about the death, we are taken to a realm of quite ridiculous scenarios. These three behave in ways I can’t imagine, but I still found myself sucked in and desperate to piece it together.

We do, eventually, get our answers. Some were less obvious than others, and some of the predicted curveballs never got thrown in. It was quite preposterous, but entertaining and will definitely have its share of fans.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this before publication.

 

‘Chloe Cates is Missing’ – Mandy McHugh

Chloe Cates is Missing has all the ingredients for a perfect thriller: dysfunctional family; a death; an abduction; secrets from the past and an alarming focus on social media and the extent to which it influences our lives. From start to finish it was a book I couldn’t put down, and the ending was delightfully ambiguous in a way that will torment readers long after the story ends.

The book focuses on Chloe Cates, the teen sensation of an internet blog. Thirteen year old Abby Scarborough has known no life other than a life played out on screen. Her every move is crafted and filtered, and the whole family depend on the revenue the blog created around her on-screen persona brings in. When she was a child Abby complied with her mother’s demands, but as she matures she becomes increasingly reluctant to have her key life moments played out for the entertainment of others.

One seemingly normal weekend morning, the Scarborough family have their lives turned upside down when they realise Abby is missing. Detectives are called in and, conscious of this girl’s online presence, they take this threat seriously. Detective Emelina Stone is heading up the investigation, but she soon realises she has a closer link to the family than she’s comfortable with. The secret Emelina is keeping had me on tenterhooks, and I was desperate to see how it would be relevant. This secret isn’t given up easily, but it is VERY relevant to the events in the present.

As the investigation progresses, a body is found. Suddenly, there seems to be a link between the disappearance of Abby and the murder of this missing girl. Trying to work out exactly what had happened drove me crazy, but I loved reading the way this unfolded in front of me.

Without giving away important details, this was such a clever thriller. You could never be sure who was hiding what, and though my reading of the ending may not be accurate I like to think that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree on this. Nobody comes out of it well, but it made for such an entertaining read.

I’m grateful to the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this before its scheduled January 2022 publication.

 

‘The Missing Hours’ – Julia Dahl

The Missing Hours is a book that will infuriate many readers. Though it is a book focused on a deeply triggering topic, our character takes action and this could seem a positive step. However, by the end it’s fairly evident that little has changed for our main character and such an incident could easily reoccur.

The book opens with a graphic account of our main character, Chloe Castro, waking up the night after an evening out. From the description of her it’s clear she’s been attacked, but we’re not given the full horror until later. Chloe is a girl who, on the surface, seems to have it made. She’s from a wealthy background, is friendly and doesn’t have to worry about much. But, the Chloe we meet at the start of the book is one who is very far from okay and who you cannot help but feel sorry for.

The attack that took place on Chloe was perpetrated by people she knows, a guy she dated in the past and a new acquaintance from college. One raped her, the other forced her to perform oral sex and they filmed it. This sickening act is described a number of times as one of them sends the video to Chloe and a couple of her friends.

I found the way this incident was treated fascinating. Chloe’s initial reaction is to hide away and though she deals with some of the practical issues arising from such an incident, the emotional impact is ignored. Once the video is released, family members try to step in and prevent anyone learning of it…and the focus is very much on damage-limitation. I struggle to understand how anyone could see such a film, know a criminal act had been committed and not do anything to challenge it.

Certain people within the book blame Chloe and there are some distressing moments that clearly indicate why so many victims never bother to report such events. Chloe is in the position that many might envy…she has the money and means to do something about her attackers.

Vengeance is a key element of the book. While Chloe’s actions cannot be condoned, they are understandable and those impacted are such unpleasant characters that you almost feel like turning a blind eye.

This is a murky read, nothing is clear cut and I liked the way we are presented with the facts and left to judge for ourselves. However, it still felt as if the victim was to blame for things and I found it hard to deal with the lack of closure by the end.

I’m grateful to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this prior to publication and it’s one I would, with caution, recommend.

 

‘It’s Behind You’ – Katherine Foxfield

A reality TV show that is losing viewers is about to start filming what could be its last series. The producers want to ensure it packs a punch so they plan to send the five contestants into a series of caves that are rumoured to be haunted by The Puckered Maiden, a supernatural entity who eats the hearts of her victims. All they have to do is survive the night, and whoever lasts until morning wins £10,000.

Our five contestants are – naturally – not all they claim to be. From the outset we know that some of those involved are hiding things…the question is, how relevant are these secrets to what is happening in the caves during the course of the show?

While the characters themselves are irritating on occasion, things get wrapped up far more quickly than I felt made sense and I HATED the fact that the epilogue was left so open-ended, I can’t deny that this was the kind of pacy YA thriller that cannot fail to entertain. From the first ‘accident’ we know there is more to this show than seems to be the case. Like Lex, we can tell these events have their foundation in something that happened in the caves years earlier. The book manages to walk the fine line of horror and thriller well – awful things are happening around them but the characters’ sense of knowing produces what are often amusing responses.

 

‘This Poison Heart’ – Kalynn Bayron

This Poison Heart is the first in what promises to be a most exciting series. I’m grateful to NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication, and am genuinely wondering what will happen next.
Our focus for this story is Briseis, a character with a most unusual talent. She has an affinity with plants and is able to bring anything back to life and help it bloom. This skill comes in very handy in the florists her mums run, but the fact she has seemingly no reaction to poisonous plants suggests there’s more to this than Bri realises.
Introducing us to Bri’s talents early on is a great way to get our attention, but her lack of knowledge about what she can do means many of our questions are not answered. We are given time to get to know Bri and her mums. Their relationship and interactions are warm and caring, and spending time with them means we genuinely care when we learn of the financial pressures they are under.
Bri is adopted, and when she is told that an aunt has bequeathed her an estate just outside New York we – like Bri – have questions. They travel to what can only be described as a spooky mansion, to find over-run vegetation, mysterious people hanging round their property and a run-down apothecary filled with strange ingredients. People turn up requesting help, and it is soon obvious there is more to this arrangement than we might expect.
Naturally curious, Bri wants to find out more about her family. She unearths letters from her aunt and learns that she appears to have immunity to deadly poisons. There is talk of her lineage being traced back to the ancient Greeks, and though this would be exciting enough…there’s more.
Bri meets all manner of people in her new town. Her position lends her some respect, but it also brings great danger. For what is clear is Bri’s natural family have been guarding a great secret…something that some will stop at nothing to learn.
From the beginning I found myself really caught up in this. I loved Bri and her characterisation. The introduction to mythology lent an interesting element to the story, and there are a few characters that definitely pique your interest as you try to figure out their link to Bri and the repercussions for any friendship developing.
My only criticism of the book was how the pace picked up in the last quarter and was then relentless. We had a lot of info thrown at us, and – on occasion – it didn’t feel as if it made sense. The dramatic end to this book was, naturally, not an end at all and that is highly frustrating…but a very good incentive to have me racing to pick up book two when I can.