“These Violent Delights” by Chloe Gong

Long time no post! I’m currently on the second year of my Masters and reading for that understandably has to take preference. That said, I have been able to read some books for my own pleasure so hopefully I’ll be able to knock a few reviews out over the next few months.
Continue reading ““These Violent Delights” by Chloe Gong”“Kingdom of the Wicked” by Kerri Maniscalco

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.
I will admit my expectations for this book were pretty low. Not for any particular reason other than almost all of the YA Fantasy I’ve read recently have all been rather meh and I thought this would be much and such the same. In this instance however, I was very happy to be proven very wrong.
Continue reading ““Kingdom of the Wicked” by Kerri Maniscalco”
“The Last Story of Mina Lee” by Nancy Jooyoun Kim

Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book tells the story of Mina, a South Korean immigrant to the United States and her daughter Margot. The story is told from two different viewpoints, Mina in the past and Margot in the present day. The story chronicles Mina’s life as an immigrant and Margot’s journey to find out the cause of her mother’s unexpected death.
Mina’s story is definitely the stronger of the two, but I enjoyed Margot’s too. The narrative explores the dark side of the American dream and the challenges faced by undocumented immigrants and the Korean diaspora in the United States which makes for some tough reading at some points. The novel also delves into the enduring effects of past trauma, grief and loss and was often desperately sad.
“The Devil and the Dark Water” by Stuart Turton

Thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was looking forward to reading this book based on the positive feedback I had heard regarding Sturton’s previous book. I wouldn’t say that I’m normally a huge fan of mystery/detective type books but to my pleasant surprise, this was something a little different. There are the usual twists and turns you would expect in a novel of this type but the story and characters elevated it above the norm.
Continue reading ““The Devil and the Dark Water” by Stuart Turton”“Twelve” by Andrea Blythe

Thanks to Interstellar Flight Press and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.
I am not really sure that I would describe these little vignettes as poems, but they certainly have a poetic quality to them.
“The Harpy” by Megan Hunter
“A Tomb With a View” by Peter Ross
Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited to read this book after hearing about it on social media. I’m really interested in graveyards and burial spaces. I don’t care if that sounds weird because it’s actually not. We are all going to die and it’s something we need to face and think about.
“Monogamy” by Sue Miller
Thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve been sitting on this review for a few weeks as I wanted to think a bit more about whether I actually liked this book so I’m going to break it down simply.
“Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I adored Gods of Jade and Shadow, so I was looking forward to reading this book. This book is touted as a “feminist re-imagining of Gothic fantasy” which sounded like it would be a great book to lose myself in and give myself some fun heebie-jeebies.
“Here is the Beehive” by Sarah Crossan
Thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.
Usually, before I write up my review I have noted down my thoughts and rating and have a quick eyeball of other reviews to see if anyone else is on the same page. Having seen a huge list of 5-star reviews and nothing else I think it is safe to say I may have missed something here.