Review - "Peter Darling"

Peter Darling
by Austin Chant
rating: ☆☆☆☆
published: 15th February 2017
spoilers? yes

Goodreads

"You read the letter." The queen spread her wings, showering him in dust. "Go north, Pan."

Galley provided by publisher

I have to say, going into this book, I was somewhat wary. The most prominent portrayals of Hook and Pan tend to have Hook as a man probably in his mid-thirties (I'm guessing), and Pan as a boy of about 12 or even younger. Which obviously presents problems with this whole idea of having them get together.

In this, Peter is aged up by 10 years, having left Neverland to return to his family. The book starts with his arrival back in Neverland. The plot put in place to age up Peter was perhaps a little confusing - in the original book John and Michael also go to Neverland, but in this they don't appear to - and it took me a while to get my head around it because it was never explicitly stated. Either way, there still is an age gap, but they're both adults, and so that made it easier for me to deal with (because, about 99% of the time, age gaps make me uncomfortable - authors who can, for me, do it right are few and far between. Austin Chant is one of those authors). Also it's an enemies-to-lovers trope, which is one of the most amazing tropes there is.

In addition to this, the book is much darker than the original (or what I remember of it, although that could easily be influenced by my memories of the animated Disney film). People die in this Neverland. But that made it all that much more interesting a story. I especially liked the twist where it turns out that Hook and Pan (and Ernest) are the only real people in Neverland. The pirates and the Lost Boys are both figments of their imaginations. And how Neverland itself responds to Peter. It's so much better than keeping it as the original story had it. And slightly more sinister too (which is always a good element to add).

So, without spoiling anything, this book is amazing. As in, I'm-gonna-be-reccing-this-to-the-end-of-time amazing.

Review - "The Upside Of Unrequited"

The Upside of Unrequited
by Becky Albertalli
rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
published: 11th April 2017
spoilers? no

Goodreads

Here's the thing they don't tell you about time: there are spaces in between seconds. And sixty seconds is actually a pretty huge number. Three hundred seconds might as well be infinity seconds.

Galley provided by publisher

Becky Albertalli has to be hands down one of my favourite authors. Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda was one of the best books I read a few years back, and The Upside of Unrequited, one of my most anticipated books this year, is more than on a par with it.

I don't really have words for how much I loved this book. I adored almost everything about it. Becky Albertalli's writing style, as usual, was great, and sounded so realistically like the voice of a teenager. I don't think I've read another author that writes such a realistic teenage voice.

Then there were the characters themselves. Even if I didn't like every single one of them, they were so well-written, and they formed a diverse cast too. The only characters I wasn't a huge fan of, were Cassie, on occasion - if only because she insisted in interfering, and also then got annoyed at Molly being reasonably angry at something she'd done - and Mina - I may never forgive her that comment about Reid. I would have liked to see to some extent, Mina get called out for the comment she made - Molly did mention it in her POV but I feel like it might have been better to have her confront Mina with that opinion. Because Mina never appears to change that view (though she only expresses it once), and I'd have liked to have seen that.

Besides that, for me, this book was near on perfect. And it's definitely one I'll be recommending to everyone.

Review - "The Elusive Miss Ellison"

The Elusive Miss Ellison, Regency Brides: A Legacy of Grace #1
by Carolyn Miller
rating: ☆☆☆☆
published: 27th February 2017
spoilers? some

Goodreads

Galley provided by publisher

I'm on something of a regency kick at the moment. No other books have appealed to me so much, so obviously I had to pick this one up.

And, while it shares a lot of similarities with Austen novels in particular, it is a good one. To start with the similarities, in the beginning, it is almost to a T, Pride and Prejudice (in fact, the blurb even makes that comparison as well). Then there are scenes which remind me of Emma (specifically, a certain picnic scene). But if you're going to write regency novels, you're obviously going to run the risk of having an Austenesque plot (which, honestly, is no bad thing, because Jane Austen is amazing).

If anything, the pacing in this book seems a little strange. There's a rapid transition from hate to friendship, followed by a lot slower transition into love. And there are long passages where nothing seems to happen, that feel unnecessary or at the very least, like they could have been shortened. Near the end, there's also 1) a kind of flipping back and forth between 'oh he likes me' and 'he only wants me for ___' which doesn't make sense, and 2) a scene of attempted sexual assault which I thought was pointless, frankly. I mean, it doesn't add anything to the storyline, only gives the male character the chance to rescue the female character, and show how disgusting another male character is, but that whole thing is possible without recourse to attempted rape.

I also wasn't a huge fan of the implication that one can only truly be good if one is religious. Before Lavinia's miraculous recovery from severe influenza, which leads to Nicholas becoming a "believer", it's implied that she could never see him as a good person, because he doesn't believe in God. Which, honestly, is a load of bullshit, but one that I might overlook because it's set in regency times, and that's probably pretty close to what they believed. Even so, there was a whole section in the middle where it gets very religious all of a sudden, and I don't know how I felt about that.

But, in general, it was a great book, with wonderful characters, and I definitely can't wait for book two (especially to see if Nicholas and Lavinia show).

Review - "The Prometheus Man"

The Prometheus Man
by Scott Reardon
rating: ☆☆☆☆
published: 26th January 2017
spoilers? no

Goodreads

Galley provided by publisher

It's been a while since I read an action mystery novel as good as this one. Most of what I seem to read is good, but in a kind of enjoyably bad way. This one, in comparison, is good, and well-written, even if it still rests on the sort of slightly tenuous, co-opted science all the others do too.

Honestly, it maybe didn't start so well as it might have. To give some scientific background, the author starts with a few facts, one of which states that, on receiving an injection of stem cells, ageing mice perform better on the Morris water maze, a "test of cognitive function". My main issue with this statement is that the Morris water maze is not a test of generalised cognitive function. It tests a specific cognitive function, that of spatial working memory. But that's just me being very picky (it's what 8 weeks worth of Behavioural Neuroscience lectures do for you). The good news is, all of the facts that the author presents at the beginning are based on actual research papers (albeit ones which take a bit of digging to find). The point at which this research translates to humans is a little weaker. It's just assumed that because the stem cells have this effect on mice, they would have the same effect on humans. Which is a viable hypothesis to make, when you have no reason to think otherwise, but stem cells in mice are only shown to make their muscles heal quicker, and grow bigger, not necessarily turn them into supermice. But, obviously, if you're going to read and enjoy a book like this, you have to take on trust the science.

Besides the science, which I will always pick apart in books (I can't help it), there was only one small problem I had with this. Every now and then, a character will make a bigoted or offensive sounding remark. Maybe it had a point to it to the author, but that point is never made clear in the narrative, so sometimes you end up being jarred out of the story for a moment.

Otherwise, I loved this book. It's based on the past relationship between two brothers, and the remaining one's desire for revenge on the people who killed his brother. The mystery of what actually happened unfolds gradually, and it's definitely compelling. I pretty much started and finished this book within a few hours, it was that good.

And the writing is definitely a step above a lot of books of this genre. It's also not just explosions for the sake of plot, either. It's more on the mystery end of an action mystery, but with enough action and fighting to pick up the pace of it where necessary.

Even though it's so good, it's kind of disappointing there's only one female character in the whole book. And I did love her, but she didn't really do all that much.

Review - "See You In The Cosmos"

See You in the Cosmos
by Jack Cheng
rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
published: 2nd March 2017
spoilers? no

Goodreads

Galley provided by publisher

See You in the Cosmos is written as a series of recordings, made by Alex Petroski, emulating his hero, Carl Sagan, who sent the Golden Record into space. The story follows Alex as he first treks to a rocket convention, and then home (via a circuitous route), finding new friends and family along the way.

I genuinely don't know how to describe this book. It's a wonderful read, though very emotional, and made even more so by dint of being from Alex's point of view. There were several parts which had me near tears. It may be marketed as a middle grade book, but I think that it's one everyone can read and enjoy.

The characters are also amazing, and I loved every single one of them. They're wonderfully flawed human, and best of all, they're realistic. On occasion, I feel like books aimed at younger children try to simplify things overly, but this book didn't have that problem. It has discussions about love, and family, and even touches on mental illnesses.

I really just don't know how to put into words just how much I loved this book. Everything about it was brilliant, and undoubtedly I'll be going back to it over and over to reread. It's gone straight onto my favourites list, and you can bet I'll be telling everyone to read it once it's out.

Review - "Take The Key And Lock Her Up"

Take the Key and Lock Her Up, Embassy Row #3
by Ally Carter
rating: ☆☆☆
published: 26th January 2017
spoilers? nope

Goodreads

Galley provided by publisher

If I'm honest, I'm a little underwhelmed by this one. I had high hopes, because it's Ally Carter and she always writes good last books, but this one just didn't quite have me as hooked as the others.

It felt like the plot was a little all over the place, much like Grace appeared to be (how she didn't get jetlagged absolutely defeats me). One moment, they're in America, then Paris, then Russia, and all of this happens in the span of a few pages each time. It exhausted me just reading about it.

Perhaps the main problem was that, in this one, unlike the previous books, I found myself having trouble suspending disbelief. I mean, after the second one, I knew Grace was a lost princess, but I didn't have to deal with that beyond the reveal at the end. This one, it got brought up every few pages, and that, combined with the fact this is all taking place in a made-up country, just got to me eventually. I know, I know, it's funny I can suspend disbelief enough for a spy school (and the various, slightly far-fetched shenanigans going on there) and a group of teens committing heists, and yet I get stuck here. Maybe it's just that there were some plot points in this one (like the whole thing with Alexei's mum in that hospital) that really needed some serious disbelief-suspending.

And the whole thing with the prince? It kind of, for a bit at least, looked like it could be heading for a love triangle, which, no thanks. But it thankfully didn't. And I guess you could argue it was necessary in a way, but it also didn't seem that necessary, especially when it came to the fact that it put pressure on Alexei and Grace's relationship. Didn't need that thanks.

I mean, I did overall like the book. I was just somewhat disappointed by it.

Review - "Done Dirt Cheap"

Done Dirt Cheap
by Sarah Nicole Lemon
rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
published: 7th March 2017
spoilers? no

Goodreads

Galley provided by publisher

Where do I start with this book? I genuinely have no words for how much I loved this book. It's only January, but I'm calling it now - this is possibly one of the best books I'm going to read this year.

The writing in this is just amazing. It's so so gorgeous and lyrical and it flows so well. There was never a point where I stopped and thought hold up, that sounds forced, because it never does sound that way. It all works so perfectly and I just have no words. It is so! good!!

What's also amazing is that the whole plot centres around a friendship between two girls. And it's such a beautiful friendship. The author does such a good job of writing its development and the growing trust between them. And they never tear each other down or try to (which, I know, is a low standard to hold books to, but I'm just so happy that never happens here), although there is annoyingly some slut-shaming going on with regard to another character. That aside, this is one of the best girl friendships I've ever read.

Then there were the scenes which had me close to tears, mostly involving Jason and Virginia, though Jason and Tourmaline also had a scene which wrecked me. I loved pretty much every single dynamic in this book (besides, obviously, the ones I wasn't intended to like). It's all just so amazing and I don't! have!! the!! words!!! I loved every aspect of this book and I already know it's going to have left me with the worst book hangover, and I can't even be pissed off at that.