The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

Pages: 401 

Publisher: Quercus 

Released: 13th of February 2024 

Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi , or life force, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .

Manchuria, 1908.

A young woman is found frozen in the snow. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes involved, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now.

Meanwhile, a family that owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments, but not the curse that afflicts them―their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. Now the only grandson of the family is twenty-three. When a mysterious woman enters their household, their luck seems to change. Or does it? Is their new servant a simple young woman from the north or a fox spirit bent on her own revenge?

What I Have to Say 

I love love love stories about foxes based around Asian mythology. I love the idea of the mischievous fox spirits, shape shifters and trouble makers that go into human society and cause chaos. This telling was based around the Chinese mythology and differed in many ways from the Japanese tellings I've read before, but I enjoyed seeing the similarities. 

I loved Snow's character in this. It was masterfully woven to bring in the wildness of the fox and combine it with human emotion to make her relatable. I enjoyed how the author kept reminding the reader that she was in fact a fox with the base personality traits of mischievousness and troublemaking. She's unlike any character I've seen before. 

I also liked how this story wasn't so romance based. This was a fox spirit who had already been married and wasn't really interested in the romance side of things. And though there was hints at romance, it was a more steadfast kind of love. It was just very different to a lot of the things I read. 

This is honestly just a really great read that I'd recommend to anyone! 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Quercus and Netgalley for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

Something Wicked and Spell Bound by Gretchen Rue

Something Wicked 

Pages: 304 

Publisher: Aria 

Released: 14th of September 2023 

Recipe for a potion to demolish life as you know it:

Step one: pack up your life and move to your aunt’s old house in a small, sleepy town.

Step two: discover that she was a witch.

Step three: discover that you’re also a witch.

Step four: Add a sprinkle of butterflies for your childhood friend (who’s suddenly incredibly hot), a dash of prying neighbours who want you to leave their town and never come back, and – the key ingredient – a murder on the steps of your aunt’s old tea shop (which, as it happens, is also a magic apothecary).

Voila. Your spell is complete.

Spell Bound 

Pages: 314  

Publisher: Aria 

Released: 1st of February 2024 

Since moving to Raven Creek, Phoebe Winchester has had a lot on her plate.

She’s renovating the Victorian manor she inherited from her Aunt Eudora, running a tea shop (and secret magical apothecary), and learning to be a witch. But when she discovers a dead body at an estate sale, and suspicion falls on her, even Phoebe wonders if this is simply too much.

Forced to take action to clear her name, Phoebe enlists Rich Lofting, handsome private detective and childhood friend, to assist with her investigation, all while sorting out her unresolved feelings for him.

Is there something more sinister lurking in the shadows of this small tight-knit town? And does Phoebe really want to find out?

What I Have to Say 

I enjoyed both of these books a lot. Tea, books and cats are a really good combination and adding in a murder mystery and a sprinkling of witchcraft pretty much made it the story for me. It was really nice just immersing myself in the little town of Raven Creek. It had a very Gilmore Girls vibe to it that I really enjoyed. 

During the first book, I found that there weren't enough mystery elements involved. It seemed like the mystery was something that was happening to Phoebe rather than her going out and investigating. The second book really made up for it though. The only thing I would change is, I would like more witchcraft. Again the second book did more of this, but I still felt it was a big lacking

There were also plenty of books and plenty of cat moments. The cat was not an incidental character in the books, he was central to all of the action, especially in the second book, which I found really great. So often there's a cat on the cover and the cat is just there in the background. But not with Bob! Bob is definitely a main character. 

I hope there are more of these books because I'm not quite ready to leave Raven Creek just yet! 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Aria for providing me with this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. 

How to Find a Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok

Pages: 320

Publisher: Hodder's Children's Books 

Released: 21st of September 2023 

A year ago, beloved cheerleader Stella Blackthorn vanished without a trace. Devastated, her younger sister, Iris, launched her own investigation, but all she managed to do was scare off the police's only lead and earn a stern once she turns eighteen, more meddling means prison-level consequences.

Then, a year later, the unthinkable happens. Iris's ex-girlfriend, Heather, goes missing, too-just after dropping the polarizing last episode of her true crime podcast all about Iris's sister. This time, nothing will stop Iris and her amateur sleuthing agency from solving these disappearances.

But with a suspicious detective watching her every move, an enemy-turned-friend-turned-maybe-more to contend with, and only thirty days until she turns eighteen, it's a race against the clock for Iris to solve the most dangerous case of her life.

What I Have to Say 

I really enjoyed this. Iris had a good voice and there was a good cast of characters to back her up. My favourite was her former best friend who just had such a distinct personality as the plucky journalist who just wanted to be friends with Iris again. 

The Sapphic edge on this was naturally what I was most interested in. Having all the detective agency characters be Sapphic in some way (the main character is pan, one is a lesbian and the other I think is a non-binary lesbian though I might be wrong about her orientation) was a good idea. It really gave this an edge up on the other mystery books I've read. 

Though with teen detectives, you often have to suspend reality on what they would actually get away with and what they wouldn't, I thought the teen angle was done well here. Iris doesn't have years of experience to fall back on. She's just a kid, trying to do what she can. I really liked that authenticity in our plucky young heroine. 

If you like detective stories and sapphic characters, give this one a try! 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Hodder for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard (audiobook)

Pages: 352 

Publisher: Macmillan Audio 

Released: 7th of November 2023 

The highly anticipated sequel to The Luminaries by New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard.

Winnie Wednesday has gotten everything she thought she wanted. She passed the deadly hunter trials, her family has been welcomed back into the Luminaries, and overnight, she has become a local celebrity.

The Girl Who Jumped. The Girl Who Got Bitten.

Unfortunately, it all feels wrong. For one, nobody will believe her about the new nightmare called the Whisperer that's killing hunters each night. Everyone blames the werewolf, even though Winnie is certain the wolf is innocent.

On top of that, following her dad's convoluted clues about the Dianas, their magic, and what happened in Hemlock Falls four years ago is leaving her with more questions than answers.

Then to complicate it all, there is still only one person who can help her: Jay Friday, the boy with plenty of problems all his own.

As bodies and secrets pile up around town, Winnie finds herself questioning what it means to be a true Wednesday and a true Luminary—and also where her fierce-hearted loyalties might ultimately have to lie.

What I Have to Say 

I love this series so much. Winnie's humour is everything. The books are witty, funny and with a well thought out plot to boot. 

This was my first time audioing this series and I have to say, the voice actress did an amazing job of capturing Winnie's voice. I sank into this book with so much ease just enveloping myself in Winnie's voice like a blanket and it was so much fun. 

I really liked the interpretation of loyalty in this book. Winnie's family have a motto of loyalty, but Winnie doesn't show it as it would be expected - loyalty to the clan. Instead she's incredibly loyal to her family and friends (especially Jay)  and her absent father who has left her a mystery to solve. 

I really cannot wait for the next book to come out as this one added so much more stuff to the mystery and I really want to know what happens next! 

5 stars 

My thanks go to Macmillan Audio for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

Pages: 336 

Publisher: Quercus 

Released: 17th of October 2023 

One woman risks everything to end her family's centuries-old curse, solve her mother’s disappearance, and find love in this mesmerizing novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Spells for Forgetting.

In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm—and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line for as long as anyone can remember. But June is determined to be the last of her name, and in turn, be first Farrow to never find love. The whole town knows of the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance, leaving her daughter, June, to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors. Everyone in Jasper is certain that it's only a matter of time before she finds the same end, but June hasn't told a single soul that it's already begun.

After her grandmother’s death, a series of clues linking her mother's disappearance to the town's grim past emerge, leading June to a mysterious door. Behind it may lay the answer to the mysteries that have always lingered like a dark shadow over Jasper and the Farrows, but the further into the unknown she goes, the more her mind seems to unravel. Upon crossing the threshold, June embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but entangle her fate and her heart in a star-crossed love.

With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant story with romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible—a story you will never forget.

What I Have to Say 

I love magical realism so much because with it you can do something like this! I loved the plot and idea behind it, how June was having to deal with such a mysteries and trying to get away from the curse that plagues her family. 

June's character was so great. I loved her determination and stubbornness, how determined she was to end this curse once and for all, but the best thing about this story was the mysteries and how it all came together in the end. It was so many things but at it's heart was the murder mystery. It fit so well with the rest of the plot. 

The ending of this was so clever. It all fitted together so neatly. I guess one plot point and there's a bit more that is hinted at from the start, but the way it all worked out was unexpected and thrilling. 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Quercus for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

The Body in the Blitz by Robin Stevens

Pages: 464 

Publisher: Puffin 

Released: 12th of October 2023 

March 1941. Britain is at war, and a secret agency called the Ministry of Unladylike Activity is training up children as spies - because grown-ups always underestimate them. Enter May, Eric and Nuala: courageous, smart, and the Ministry's newest recruits.

May's big sister Hazel has arranged for them to stay on a quiet street close to the Ministry, home to an unlikely collection of people thrown together by the war. And it is in the basement of the bombed-out house at the end of that street that they discover something mysterious. Something that was not there when the Blitz wreckage was first combed through. Something that has been placed there recently. A body...

Could this be the missing Ministry spy that Daisy Wells is on a dangerous mission in France to find? Or could it be someone else - someone a resident of the street wanted silenced . . . ?

What I Have to Say 

I was gripped by this book from the moment I picked it up. There's something truly comforting about Robin Steven's writing. You can fall deeply into the book and just be completely engrossed. I honestly struggled so much to put it down. 

I've always loved the diversity in Robin Steven's books. Bringing in gay characters and Asian characters. This book hit a new high. Not only has Steven's now announced that Daisy has autism, but one of the main characters in this book has ADHD. In this book there's also a character with one leg, a deaf character and characters with different races and nationalities. Although in the case of some of the characters (especially the Neurodiverse ones) she can't say exactly their identity in the book, she has stated it in the Author's Note and made it very clear in the text. The only thing I would like is a bit more empathy towards May's ADHD. I expect it's coming, that the characters will in later books be much more compassionate towards the way May's brain works, because that's the way Robin Stevens writes diverse characters, so I look forward to that. 

I guessed a few things about the mystery which I was pretty proud of, Stevens put in as many twists and turns as usual so I expect it's that I've got cleverer rather than her becoming predictable. All in all a very good mystery as usual. 

If you or you children haven't picked up these books yet, you are seriously missing out. These are the very best in Children's Mystery Fiction. 

5 stars 

My thanks goes to Puffin and Netgalley for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven (audiobook)

Pages: 406 

Publisher: Electric Monkey 

Released: 7th of July 2022 

Ten years ago, four students lost their lives in the infamous North Tower murders at the elite Carvell College of Arts, forcing Carvell to close its doors.

Now Carvell is reopening, and fearless student Lottie is determined to find out what really happened. But when her roommate, Alice, stumbles upon a sinister soul-splitting ritual hidden in Carvell’s haunted library, the North Tower claims another victim.

Can Lottie uncover the truth before the North Tower strikes again? Can Alice reverse the ritual before her monstrous alter ego consumes her? And can they stop flirting for literally fifteen seconds in order to do this?

Exploring possession and ambition, lust and bloodlust, femininity and violence, The Society of Soulless Girls is perfect for fans of Ace of Spaces, The Secret History and The Inheritance Games.

Trigger Warnings: Animal Death, Blood consumption, abuse

What I Have to Say 

I really liked the atmosphere of the book, but the ending let it down. I wanted more from it. I wanted a solution to the mystery that was as clever and well worked as the premise, but it just felt too easy, they didn't even try that hard to find out who the killer was, it just dropped into their lap. 

Also, not everything was explained. There was a whole bit with the cat that they gave no explanation for at all. It was built up but then was just left completely unexplained. This frustrated me the most because I hate when they just leave stuff hanging in books, it felt like the author just forgot about it. 

The narrators were okay. The two different voices were good to distinguish between the two girls and they did a good job of making it creepy and disturbing, but one of them couldn't pronounce Jekyll and said it wrong several times. 

In all, this book is good if you want just a creepy read, but don't expect much from the ending. 

3 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Electric Monkey for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Sentence by Christina Dalcher

Pages: 336 

Publisher: HQ 

Released: 17th of August 2023 

A law intended to end capital punishment.

Prosecutors who seek the death penalty put their lives on the line if the guilty are later found innocent.

A lawyer convinced beyond reasonable doubt.

Justine Boucher is presented with overwhelming evidence in a brutal murder case. Her request for execution is granted.

But what if she’s wrong?

What I Have to Say 

I'd forgotten quite how good Christina Dalcher's books are. The Sentence was well written with well presented arguments and very much intended to make you think. It was interesting to me how a book that so staunchly anti- capital punishment, also looked at the arguments for it.  

This book is dark. I would definitely say don't read it if you're at all squeamish about certain crimes because some bits of the book go into detail about heinous crime. Let's just say, I was really glad I was reading a fictional book about fictional people at some points and while I know that there are real crimes that are just as horrible, I can avoid reading them. 

The ending of the book was understandable. I could see how she was going to end it a few pages before the end and while it frustrated me endlessly, I don't think she could have ended it any other way. It was an ending that suited the book, even if not one that entirely satisfies the reader. 

I'm really glad I had the chance to review this book as I enjoyed reading it immensely and it reminded me how much I originally enjoyed the previous book of hers that I reviewed. 

5 stars 

My thanks go to HQ and Netgalley for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

Death at the Party by Amy Stuart

Pages: 400 

Publisher: Penguin 

Released: 3rd of August 2023 

THE PLANNING TOOK MONTHS. THE MURDER JUST MOMENTS . . .

Nadine Walsh is determined to make her summer garden party the event of the year.

Everyone deserves a celebration after the year they've had. A chance to forget.

As she prepares to welcome her guests, however, Nadine can't help but be distracted. Her husband is of little help to her. Her two grown children are consumed with their own concerns.

But it's Nadine's own secrets that threaten to destroy her perfect party.

By the end of the night, Nadine will be standing over a dead body in the basement.

But which of her guests will she have murdered? And why?

What I Have to Say 

I don't think there was a single character I liked in this book. Maybe the daughter or the niece, but they didn't get a lot of screen time and I'm sure if they had, I would have hated them too. 

I didn't warm to Nadine at all. She seemed to hate and judge all of her neighbours, even the one she was having the affair with and that just set off on a bad foot to me. Then the story was massively predictable. It didn't really matter to me which neighbour she killed because all the ones it seemed likely to be were very interchangeable. 

Honestly I was just bored through most of this book. There was no tension there, not much desire to know more. I'm giving it three stars because it wasn't badly written, but I didn't enjoy it very much. 

3 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Penguin for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

How to Die Famous by Benjamin Dean

Pages: 383 

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's UK 

Released: 20th of July 2023 

From award-winning author Benjamin Dean comes a deliciously dark and addictive YA thriller following the lives of Gen Z’s rich and famous through the lens of an undercover teen journalist. Perfect for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and One of Us is Lying . 

London-born Abel has landed the role of a lifetime for an upcoming blockbuster. On the face of it he’s Hollywood’s latest teen star, but below the surface he’s an undercover journalist on a mission to expose the ‘squeaky clean’ entertainment industry and the part they played in his brother’s ‘accidental’ death.

As Abel steps into the spotlight alongside fellow actors Lucky, Ryan and Ella, he soon discovers that beneath the glittering surface of fame and riches lies a darker world of secrecy, scandal and murder. Nobody is who they seem when the cameras are off, and everybody has something to hide. But who’s next in line to die famous? 

Drawing on his previous career as a celebrity journalist, Benjamin Dean examines the dark underbelly of showbiz, leaving no stone unturned.

What I Have to Say 

It's always fun to come across a book that reminds me of everything I love about YA. How to Die Famous is definitely one of these books. With four queer protagonists embroiled in a manipulative industry, it doesn't hold back in showing the dark side of Hollywood. 

I loved the four characters so much. I think Ella and Ryan were my favourites because I'm always a sucker for a Sapphic couple. Abel was probably the character I liked the least, but I still liked him a lot. Each character was strong and had their own issues going on, but they were so strong together. 

The ending was clever, as all mystery endings should be. I guessed some stuff, but there was still plenty to surprised me. 

Read for a great mystery and fantastic characters! 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with this copy for review. 

Overemotional by David Fenne

Pages: 336 

Publisher: Ink Road 

Released: 6th of July 2023 

Sometimes, emotions can be a little too powerful . . .

Seventeen-year-old Steven has a big problem . . . Whenever he feels intense emotions, weird things happen.

Like when he kissed a boy for the first time, and the boy's head literally exploded.

Fleeing to the miserable town of Grunsby-on-Sea, Steven is determined to not hurt anyone else - but he doesn't count on his best friend Freya, her boyfriend Marcus and American friend Troy following him. And when agents from the mysterious DEMA organisation show up talking about "neutralisation", Steven realises that Grunsby-on-Sea might not be the safe haven he'd hoped for . . .

The first in a wholesome queer YA fantasy trilogy packed with magic, loveable characters and big plot twists from debut author DAVID FENNE. Perfect for fans of TJ Klune, Rainbow Rowell and Adam Silvera.

What I Have to Say 

This was such a good concept. I loved the idea of a teenager trying to get the grips on magic controlled by emotions especially when emotions can be so large and overwhelming when you're that age. It was the perfect magic for a teenage boy to have. 

The story really lived up to the concept as well. I fell in love with these characters and their wins were my wins, their losses were my losses. It was really done well. I loved the town of Grunsby-on-sea as well. I could really see this dismal little British Seaside town. 

The LGBTQ+ representation was what really drew me to this book. And when your gay character is shooting rainbows out of his hands, you can't really make it any gayer. I loved how upfront about Steven's gayness the book was, even when he wasn't ready to be upfront about it himself. 

I can't wait to see what adventures await our little gang next. 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Ink Road and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Hokey Pokey by Kate Mascarenhas

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Apollo 

Released: 8th of June 2023 

A grand hotel, a famous opera star and a psychoanalyst with a hidden agenda. Kate Mascarenhas's third novel offers her readers a glamorous, thrilling ride through murder, madness and the darkest recesses of the mind.

February, 1929. The Regent Hotel in Birmingham is a place of deception and glamour. Behind its six-storeyed façade, guests sip absinthe cocktails on velvet banquettes, spying on their surroundings in the gilt mirrors and perfectly polished tableware, while the hotel's red-jacketed staff scurry through its lavish corridors to ensure the finest service is always at hand.

In the early evening, a psychoanalyst checks in under a Nora Dickinson. Nora is young, diligent and ambitious. Though she doesn't see herself as a liar, she is travelling with an agenda. Having followed the famous opera singer, Berenice Oxbow, from Zurich to Birmingham, she's determined not to let her out of her sight.

But when a terrible snow storm isolates the hotel – and its guests – from the outside world, the lines between nightmare and reality begin to blur and Nora will find herself face to face with a past she thought she had long left behind...

What I Have to Say 

So this novel started out with the glitz and glamour of the nineteen thirties, it set up the premise of a fun historical thriller and then turned into a fantasy novel? It leaves a lot of mystery as to whether the fantasy stuff is in the main character's head for a while, but it was definitely more fantasy than thriller. I like fantasy novels, I review a lot of them, but having such a bait and switch be pulled on me was more than a bit disconcerting. 

The ending was also too easy. It set up big stakes and then just fixed it with barely any effort taken. It was a real let down, but I was glad I wasn't really into the book because it would have fallen really flat for me. 

And honestly it was all a bit weird. The fantasy stuff was only the start. It unsettled me and put me off reading a lot. I liked the sapphic relationship, but everything else was just really odd. This is certainly not a book I would read again. 

3 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Apollo for providing me with this copy for review. 

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu

Pages: 336 

Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK 

Released: 6th of April 

The Hating Game meets Mission: Impossible in Stars and Smoke, a smoldering new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu about a superstar tapped to become a secret agent and the reluctant young spy assigned to be his partner.

Meet Winter Young—rookie backup dancer turned global pop phenomenon. His star power has smashed records, selling out stadiums from LA to London. Now he’s bringing his swoon worthy assets to a whole new arena. . .

Infamous criminal tycoon Eli Morrison has just one weakness—his daughter, Penelope. And Penelope has just one wish for her nineteenth birthday—a private concert with Winter Young. When covert ops organization The Panacea Group approaches Winter with this once-in-a-lifetime chance to infiltrate Morrison’s inner circle, Winter must use his fame, cunning, and charisma to pull it off—only he won’t be on his own.

Posing as Winter’s bodyguard is the fiery Sydney Cossette, Panacea’s youngest spy. Sydney may be the only person alive impervious to Winter's charms, but as the mission brings them closer, she's forced to admit there's more to this A-lister than slick dance moves and a handsome face. Panacea's unlikeliest partners just might become its biggest heroes—and maybe even more—if they can survive each other first.

What I Have to Say 

I enjoyed this book, but it struck me as one that I would probably forget in time. The characters didn't stand out as anything special. The romance was good, I enjoyed it a lot, but I'm not really one to remember romance in books. 

An interesting premise: pop star Winter becoming a spy and working with Sydney to take down a criminal. Obviously it wasn't easy as their first plan and there were a lot of twists and turns along the way. I guessed one of the major plot points, which didn't ruin it for me, but it might have for some people. 

I honestly just don't have much to say about this one. It was a good read but nothing really stood out about it. 

 4 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with this copy for review. 

Let's Play Murder by Kesia Lupo

Pages: 400 

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA 

Released: 13th of April 2023 

Video games have never been more murderous.

Veronica wakes up trapped with four strangers in a sprawling manor house in a snow storm with a dead body, a mystery right out of an Agatha Christie novel. It feels so real - but it isn't. This is VR and this is THE Game; a rumoured Easter Egg hidden in other VR games that draws you into a competition for a prize beyond your wildest dreams. And there's no escaping the VR world until the Game is won.

But while Veronica and her fellow players are trying to figure out the puzzle, something is not right in the VR world. Blackouts, glitches, NPCs acting strange, and a mysterious figure haunting their footsteps. Then when a player dies, and also dies in real life, all hell breaks loose.

Without warning, the game Veronica thought she was playing gets overshadowed by a much darker, and much more real, mystery: who is killing us?'

It may not be a game Veronica wanted to play, but it's one that she has to win - or die trying.

What I Have to Say 

This was such an interesting concept! I loved the blend of genres, how it was a mystery but it was also blended with thriller and sci fi themes with an heavy mix of horror added to the balance.  The concept gripped me straight away, but sadly it didn't keep me hooked. The ending completely felt flat to me even though I didn't really see it coming. 

I also really hated some of the characters. The worst was Charlie, she just rubbed me the wrong way from the moment she appeared. I don't think we were meant to like her honestly, but she just annoyed me. 

I was most put off though by the characters using the word "psycho" and "psychotic". These words have long been misused, especially in the horror genre and it's time we took them out of colloquial vocabulary for good. Psychosis is a very real condition and it doesn't even slightly make someone a serial killer.  

3 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Headmaster's List by Melissa de la Cruz

Pages: 400 

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books 

Released: 2nd of March 2023 

Four students. A fatal car crash. Three come out alive – and they will do anything to bury the truth.

One of them was driving.

One of them was high.

One of them screamed.

And one of them died.

When one of their own is tragically killed in a car crash, Argyle Prep is full of questions. Who was at the wheel? And more importantly, who was at fault?

But in a place ruled by pedigree and privilege, the answers can only come at a price.

Set against the glitz and glamour of an elite LA private school The Headmaster's List , Melissa de la Cruz's first YA thriller, is an addictive whodunit perfect for fans of Gossip Girl and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder 

What I Have to Say 

Mysterious, privilege and full of gossip, this book delivered on all fronts. The mystery was intriguing enough to keep me reading and I was interested in the characters and their lives. I really warmed to Spencer quickly and wanted her to succeed in getting to the bottom of the accident. 

It was really wonderful to see a service dog! Service dogs work really hard and can be useful plot devices but I rarely see them in books! I think this is only the second book I've read where the character has a service animal! So that was really good to see, 

 I guessed a couple of the plot points which made me feel really clever but I always question whether that means that they were obvious because I am not good at guessing plot points usually! But I do think in this case that I just picked up on one or two clues in the text. Maybe I'm just getting better at guessing! 

If you, like me, eat up books about terrible things happening to privileged teenagers, this might be the book for you. 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Macmillan and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

 

The Shadow Order by Rebecca F. John

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Firefly Press 

Released: 15th of September 2022 

One year on from the day the shadows shifted - showing people their truest selves rather than just their shapes - best friends Teddy, Betsy and Effie plan to risk all and watch the winter sun rise over Copperwell, in defiance of the Shadow Order.

But from their hidden vantage point the three shocked friends witness a mysterious woman shouting a dire warning, before she is arrested, beaten, and dragged away in handcuffs.

The event leads them on an extraordinary series of dangerous adventures to save their city as they begin to learn the truth about the Shadow Order, the world surrounding Copperwell, and themselves.

What I Have to Say 

This was a good story. The characters were lovely, the plot was mysterious and intriguing and the background was really interesting. I loved seeing the way the government were using the shadows to control everything by restricting their movements in the day time and forcing them to stay out of light for fear of casting a shadow. 

It just felt a bit unplanned. Even when the characters had plenty of time to strategize, it felt like they were making things up as they went along and things just slid into place for them without that much effort. 

I liked the vagabond society a lot. I liked the fact that they rode on deers and lived in nature. It was a nice contrast to the Wellian's society of nighttime and fear. 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Firefly Press for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Lies We Tell by Katie Zhao

Pages: 352

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA 

Released: 15th of November 2022 

Anna Xu moving out of her parent's home and into the dorms across town as she starts freshman year at the local, prestigious Brookings University. But her parents and their struggling Chinese bakery, Sweetea, aren't far from campus or from mind, either.

At Brookings, Anna wants to keep up her stellar academic performance and to investigate the unsolved campus murder of her childhood babysitter. While there she also finds a familiar face – her middle-school rival, Chris Lu. The Lus also happen to be the Xu family's business rivals since they opened Sunny's, a trendy new bakery on Sweetea's block. Chris is cute but still someone to be wary of – until a vandal hits Sunny's and Anna matches the racist tag with a clue from her investigation.

Anna grew up in this town, but more and more she feels like maybe she isn't fully at home here -- or maybe it's that there are people here who think she doesn't belong. When a very specific threat is made to Anna, she seeks out help from the only person she can. Anna and Chris team up to find out who is stalking her and take on a dangerous search into the hate crimes happening around campus. Can they root out the ugly history and take on the current threat?

The Lies We Tell is a social activism/we all belong here anthem crossed with a thriller and with a rivals-to-romance relationship set on a college campus. 

What I Have To Say 

The first 200 pages of this book were a delight to read. Then I guessed the ending really easily, which I can never do with mystery books, so I felt it was a bit of an obvious ending. Then the situation with the two bakeries was magically resolved with no real explanation of how it happened. And then when everything was resolved and I was ready to put the book down, there was at least 50 pages more of dance contests and talk about court trials and pressing charges. I just didn't need so much ending on a book! 

It was just such a disappointing because until then it had been a really pleasant read. Really easy to read with strong themes tackling racism and secret societies. The only complaint I had up until the last 100 pages was that she wasn't using her connection to Melissa Hong to get information (because I think people are much more likely to talk if you say you're asking because the girl used to be your babysitter rather than just being nosy). 

All in all, I'm just extremely disappointed. This could have been something great, hell, it WAS something great until the ending. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with this copy for review. 

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske (audiobook)

Pages: 400 

Publisher: Tor 

Released: 10th of November 2022 

Magic! Murder! Shipboard romance! The second entry in Freya Marske's beloved The Last Binding trilogy, the queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light

The most interesting things in Maud Blyth's life have happened to her brother Robin, but she's ready to join any cause, especially if it involves magical secrets that may threaten the whole of the British Isles. Bound for New York on the R.M.S. Lyric, she's ready for an adventure.

What she actually finds is a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and a beautiful stranger in Violet Debenham, who is everything—a magician, an actress, a scandal—Maud has been trained to fear and has learned to desire. Surrounded by the open sea and a ship full of loathsome, aristocratic suspects, they must solve a murder and untangle a conspiracy that began generations before them. 

What I Have to Say 

This book fell completely flat for me and I honestly don't know why. I really liked A Marvellous Light, I adore sapphic romances, I love a good mystery, but this didn't hit the spot and there's nothing in there that explains it. I didn't dislike the characters, in fact I really liked Violet a lot. I was interested in the magic society and exploring the way it intersects with regular society in a way that we didn't get to see in A Marvellous Light. 

I suppose the main thing was that I didn't get very into the relationship, which is a big part of the book. There were three really long sex scenes, which I just found left me bored, though that's not unusual, I'm not really one for spicy books. And there was just no heat in the relationship. I didn't feel the passion and the love that I love to feel. It felt too easy and not very romantic. 

I'm very disappointed because I was ready to really love this book. I was looking forward to it so much. 

3 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Tor for providing me with this copy for review. 

 

Duckling by Eve Ainsworth

Publisher: Penguin

Released: 1st of April 2022

What if your neighbour asked you to watch her seven-year-old daughter for an afternoon, and didn't come back?

Lucy's life is small, but safe. Every day she goes to work, checks in on her unstable, alcoholic father, then spends her evenings watching old Columbo reruns, isolating herself away from the rest of the community on her South London estate.

Her routine is all that she can handle, given what happened in her past.

So when her new neighbour Cassie asks Lucy if she could look after her seven-year-old daughter Rubi, she is reluctant to agree.

Then when the hours pass, and then days, and Rubi's Mum doesn't come back, Lucy's worst-case-scenario is now her reality. Lucy is not only responsible for herself anymore. She is responsible for a scared little girl who needs her help.

Something has happened to Cassie, and Lucy must find her before it's too late.

What I Have to Say 

I enjoyed this book a lot. It's not my usual sort of book. I prefer contemporary YA, but it didn't have the sorts of things that put me off adult books (stress about jobs, worrying that they haven't done enough with their lives ect.) It was up to Ainsworth's usual quality of writing, had characters that I could really care about and love and had a great mystery element to it that was really great to read. 

The mystery was really the big thing about this book for me. It's what hooked me in and made me keep reading. It was well done, though perhaps not as gripping as I would have liked. But it was well set up and had a conclusion that really made sense. 

I loved Rubi so much. All the characters were great, but Rubi was really sweet. My favourite thing about her was how she kept listening in on all the adult conversations. 

In all, this was a great book. I'll definitely read more of Ainsworth's adult stuff in the future. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Penguin for providing me with this copy for review. 

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace (audiobook)

Pages: 416 

Publisher:  Hodder & Stoughton 

Released: 30th of August 2022

For as long as Signa Farrow has been alive, the people in her life have fallen like stars...

Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her well-being – and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy.

Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger, and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.

Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer, though, is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful – and more irresistible – than she ever dared imagine. 

What I Have to Say 

I loved this book and I also didn't. I loved the writing and the atmosphere and the romance between Signa and Death, but other parts of the book weren't so good for me. I would have liked it to be more of a mystery: with clues and investigation, but it wasn't. It felt like Signa spent most of the book trying to fend off the effects of the belladonna and save her cousin and then when she actually bothered to look for the killer it all just sort of fell into her lap. 

There were also certain things that were revealed a bit too late, leaving me floundering to match everything up in my head, because Signa had come to realise stuff that wasn't told to the reader until much later. The biggest thing about this was to do with Margery, though I won't say much more because of spoilers. 

But oh the romance. Death was such a great character and Signa worked so well with him! The narration was just spot on with his voice which added to this. And with that ending I'm definitely going to read on to the next book! 

(3.5 stars) 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with this copy for review.