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.

Review - "Black Wolves"

Black Wolves, Black Wolves #1
by Kate Elliott
rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
published: 3rd November 2015
spoilers? no

Goodreads

But whatever Jehosh might be, he did not have his grandfather's brutal possessive streak, the will to prevent anyone else from tasting a nectar he wanted to keep for himself.

Jehosh loved the pursuit.

His grandfather desired control.

Atani had carved a different path for himself, cut short far too soon.

Kate Elliott is the supreme ruler of fantasy (yes, even better than Melina Marchetta, blasphemous though that may be). George R. R. Martin has nothing on this. Nothing.

Elliott has this way of creating a complex story, but with few enough characters that you can keep track of them all, and half way through you'll think you'll know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are and then something will happen that flips everything on its head, which makes you question everything you thought up until that point.

The characters always feel so real and so human, and you want to punch the arsehole bad guys (*cough cough* Tavahosh) and cry when something bad happens to the good guys (my poor Tyras) and still you don't know whether you should in fact be supporting those people or not. Because Kate Elliott is so good at manipulating you into liking someone then they'll do something and you're left like, should I really have been supporting them?

And then you're left finishing the book at 1am and questioning your life choices.

The only problem I did have, was that this book is long. It's a commitment, frankly, even if you can read it pretty quickly once you've got into it. It's not like it's lacking plot for half of it, like some books do, but I found that, once I'd put it down, for whatever reason I was generally a bit reluctant to pick it back up (probably because the length of it was daunting).

And also, there's no news yet on book 2, which is just cruel.

Review - "Where Dead Men Meet"

Where Dead Men Meet
by Mark Mills
rating: ☆
published: 17th November 2016
spoilers? nope

Goodreads

Galley provided by publisher

I think the problem I have with books like this, historical thrillers, is that I'm always unintentionally comparing them to Aly Monroe's Peter Cotton series, which is incredible. Thus, whenever something of this genre isn't quite as good, it is compounded by the comparison.

That being said, I think saying this is only not quite as good does someone a disservice. Because, honestly, this is very much not as good. I had high hopes for it - the plot starts straightaway, which I appreciated, with 4 people (at least) being killed in the first 20-odd pages. And really, it's not the plot I had the problem with; it was the writing mostly.

Throughout the book, the pacing seems off. After the initial burst of action at the beginning, everything slows down. And then there's another burst of action, and then it slows down again, and this pattern repeats right until the end. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it just doesn't seem to fit with the genre. I was expecting a lot more action-packed a novel. There's also the fact that everything seems to be broken up with flashbacks or reminiscences, which further slow the pace down. Now, they would be fine in moderation, but they're used every time the author introduces a new character, whether they'll appear again or not. And that's just not necessary. I don't need a three page backstory explaining the actions and motivations of a character who won't show up again after they've done what the plot requires them to. It also meant there were a lot of POV switches too (or rather, the focus moved between a lot of characters, as it was in third person). I felt it would have been better to pick one or two and focus on them.

The writing was also not as high quality as I expected. I mean, for sure, it wasn't the worst writing I've read, but there were definitely some lines which had me rolling my eyes and cringing, like "It wasn't Luke's first ever meal in Italy - that, presumably, had been taken at his mother's breast - but it felt as though it was."

And to top it all off, there were just long durations of the book for which I was bored. Like, bored-out-of-my-mind bored. Like, almost-gave-up-on-it bored. It just wasn't for me. Hence, the 1-star.

Best of 2016

Because I've read so many books this year, I figured I'd do a post of the best ones.

The Winner's Kiss, The Winner's Trilogy #3
by Marie Rutkoski

This was such a hard one to choose, because YA fantasy makes up a large part of what I read. I was torn between this and a few others, but this won out in the end because it was a wonderful ending to a wonderful trilogy.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
☆ The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh
☆ Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
☆ The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
☆ The Graces by Laure Eve
☆ The Midnight Star by Marie Lu
☆ Shadowshaper Daniel José Older
☆ Iron Cast by Destiny Soria

The Long Game, The Fixer #2
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Realistically, it was always going to be a Jennifer Lynn Barnes book. There's honestly no other YA author writing mysteries who comes close. And she was the only author I actually considered for this one. That should tell you something.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Illuminae, Illuminae Files #1
by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Illuminae pulled pretty much the single biggest and most effective plot twist I read this year (I mean, alongside The Thief and The Long Game) and actually had me in tears by the end. And then Kaufman and Kristoff went and did it all over again in Gemina.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
☆ Nowhere Near You by Leah Thomas
☆ Valley of Fires by J. Barton Mitchell

Whatever
by S. J. Goslee

This was also a hard one because I've read so many good YA contemporaries, but this one has to win it. It's cute and funny and actually sounds like a realistic teenager.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
☆ Orangeboy by Patrice Lawrence
☆ The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
☆ Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
☆ You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan
☆ The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood
☆ The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis

The Dark Days Club, Lady Helen #1
by Alison Goodman

This is a perfect historical fantasy novel. Complete with the excruciating slow burn couple. I can't wait for book 2 to be out!

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin
☆ Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

The Hanging Tree, Peter Grant #6
by Ben Aaronovitch

My favourite Peter Grant book so far! Stakes are raised and finally, finally we know the identity of the Faceless Man.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson
☆ Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell

Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil
by Melina Marchetta

Melina Marchetta never disappoints. This book is the first new one by her in a number of years and it's just as good as the rest. With all the themes that usually appear and a wholly wonderful new cast.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch
☆ The Little Death by Michael Nava

Invisible Planets
edited by Ken Liu

This is quite possibly the best anthology I've ever read. There is not a single weak story in this, though there were some I liked more than others.

Barracuda
by Christos Tsiolkas

I don't read a lot of adult contemporary books. A lot of the time nothing happens in them and I get bored. That was not the case for this one and, while I did have issues with it, I loved it.

The Last Kingdom
by Bernard Cornwell

I love historical fiction done right, and this was definitely that. Everything was well-researched and the writing was evocative. Definitely need to read the rest of this series.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ Dark Serpent by Paul Doherty

Iron Cast
by Destiny Soria

This was one of my hugely anticipated reads for the last year and it really did not disappoint. It was a slow burn but when it kicked into gear, it really got going. And it was really original too.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh
☆ Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
☆ The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
☆ Into the Blue by Pene Henson
☆ Whatever by S. J. Goslee
☆ Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
☆ The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Into the Blue
by Pene Henson

This book has one of my favourite tropes ever, best friends to lovers. And Pene Henson wrote it so beautifully, it had me almost crying so many times.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ Timekeeper by Tara Sim
☆ The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
☆ Iron Cast by Destiny Soria

The Hating Game
by Sally Thorne

Aka one of the best tropes ever, enemies to lovers. And there was so much tension in this, it was almost unbearable.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ Into the Blue by Pene Henson
☆ The Right of First Refusal by Dahlia Adler
☆ Adrien English by Josh Lanyon
☆ Plumber's Mate by J. L. Merrow
☆ The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

Breaking Away
by Patrick O'Sullivan

This is a very important book, and I'm glad I read it, as hard a read as it was.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt
☆ A Universe From Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss
☆ The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard

Spiderman: Miles Morales
by Brian Michael Bendis

I didn't read all that many comics this year, but this one stood out as the best easily. Miles Morales is my favourite spider-person. Alongside Silk, that is.

HONORARY MENTIONS
☆ Silk by Robbie Thompson
☆ The Pack by Paul-Louise Julie
☆ Monstress by Marjorie Liu
☆ Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch

Review - "How to Make a Wish"

How to Make a Wish
by Ashley Henning Blake
rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
published: 2nd May 2017
spoilers? a little

Goodreads

Galley provided by publisher

This book is a good example of how to write a book about LGBT+ characters that isn't about coming out. The fact that the main character is bisexual and falls in love with a girl is incidental to the story (that is, there are no Oh my God I'm in love with a girl moments, no "gay panic" and no coming out).

It took a little while for me to get into this book, but then I met Eva, the love interest, and suddenly I couldn't stop reading. Eva, although this may be a bit of a harsh assessment, carried the book along for me. Before she showed up, I was getting a little bored by it all. So I guess it's good that she turned up early.

The one, kind of big, problem I had was with the dickhead ex-boyfriend. Who the main character is having to live with, on account of her mother getting together with his father. When Grace, the main character, broke up with Jay, the dickhead ex, he posted all of her sexts online - which, besides, was it really a necessary plot point?. Because he's an arsehole. So, understandably, Grace isn't too happy with this arrangement.

And then there's the fact that he genuinely doesn't see what's the problem with his actions. And sure, it's there in the narrative, because we get everything from Grace's point of view, but she never tells him (though she shouldn't have to, but as I said before, he's an arsehole).

He also has this scene where he tries to force himself on Grace, pulling her towards him by the belt. In the bathroom of the house. Which makes what happened next all the more annoying for me, and is the reason I'm reluctant to round up for this rating.

About halfway through the book, he changes and becomes a not-a-dickhead ex, after Grace becomes nicer to him. Bearing in mind, he is still the arsehole who did what he did to her. They get friendlier with each other, but he never apologises for what he did. He's not sorry for it, we still don't even know if he recognises what's wrong with that. And that's what's frustrating to me. I wouldn't mind this whole "redemption" kind of thing, if he genuinely recognised what a dick he'd been and was sorry for it, but none of that happens. Granted, I don't think Grace forgives him, per se, but she's definitely less angry with him for it by the end.

So overall, it's a cute book. And I liked that Grace described herself as bisexual. There aren't enough books that do that. But the whole plotline with the ex-boyfriend made me like it a little less.