Roar by Cecelia Ahern

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 352

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Released: 1st of November 2018 

I am woman. Hear me roar.

Have you ever imagined a different life?

Have you ever stood at a crossroads, undecided?

Have you ever had a moment when you wanted to roar?

The women in these startlingly original stories are all of us: the women who befriend us, the women who encourage us, the women who make us brave. From The Woman Who Slowly Disappeared to The Woman Who Was Kept on the Shelf and The Woman Who Returned and Exchanged her Husband, discover thirty touching, often hilarious, stories and meet thirty very different women. Each discovers her strength; each realizes she holds the power to make a change.

What I Have to Say 

This is a book of thirty stories but I could have read a hundred. I loved the titles and how witty it all was. I loved the characters and how every story was a twist on reality. It embraces the absurd, bringing it together with emotions grounded in reality to make a beautiful story that's powerful and feminist and so fun to read. 

The Woman Who Wore Pink was my favourite. It was such a hilarious look on the gender construct and a look at how society would be if these concepts of gender policing were taken to an extreme, with gender police (dressed in pink and blue, obviously) were there to patrol to make sure each gender is staying in their respective lanes: writing in the right colour pen, drinking from the correct colour cup and using the bathroom assigned to them based on the shape of their private parts. It serves to highlight some of the problems surrounding gender expectations in our society by showing it in such an over-exaggerated extreme. 

The other stories ranged between humour and heartbreaking, but all of them had an underlying message of female power and strength. A feminist must read. 

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

The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 600

Publisher: Mantle 

Released: 20th of September 2018 

My real name, no one remembers.

The truth about that summer, no one else knows.

In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe's life is in ruins.

Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist's sketchbook containing a drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?

What I Have to Say 

Kate Morton is a master of creating beautiful places. As much as many of the characters fell in love with Birchwood Manner, it was so easy to fall in love with it as the reader. I'm not a very visual reader, but even so, it's easy to imagine coming out of the trees and seeing the house appear, the many chimneys, the beautiful gardens with the roses and the Japanese maple, tended to nicely or not depending on the time period, and of course the light shining out from the attic window, welcoming you into the safety of the house. These images are so memorable and they feel so real.

I loved the characters, each different voice telling a different part of the story from a different time, part of the house's history and the secrets, both when they're happening an when they're being revealed. It was so fascinating to see each character finding out different secrets and keeping them hidden in various places for Elodie to have to piece together at the end.

My favourite voice was naturally Birdy's. She interwoven so deeply into the house and the story about it, existing timelessly, both outside of the narrative watching what happened and so deeply interwoven with every secret and every story. I think the way she talked about it all and the fairy story that made up the history of the house and how it was passed from person to person were my favourite parts of the novel.

This is the second book of Kate Morton's that I've read and I've been captured and transported by every word of each. They're more than a mystery story, they are a perfect escape from life and into a dark, twisting tale that will leave you guessing.

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

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384 

Publisher: Gollancz

Released: 8th of November 2018 

In a palace of illusions, nothing is what it seems.

Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace’s enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete—all except yōkai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. 

Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yōkai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari’s fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yōkai outcast.

Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku.

What I Have to Say 

This is definitely one of my new favourite books. Set in a world where yōkai live alongside humans, mistrusted and feared so much that they are enslaved, their powers bond by metal collars, it was so interesting to see the tensions between them and the ways that the different yōkai were fighting back against the system. 

I loved Mari. She was a beautiful character with so much strength in some ways and so much vulnerability in others. I loved that she struggled with her yōkai abilities and how she was so kind and different from the rest of the women in Tsuma. It was a really great take on the Crane Wife and showed the strength of women taking power back from the men who would enslave them. 

I loved it all. From the competition between the girls in the season rooms to the range of characters and their interactions in and out of the palace to the perfect ending, satisfying and compelling right to the last page. I loved the romance between Mari and Taro and was heartbroken by the way things changed over the course of the novel. 

There wasn't a character in this book that I didn't love (or love to hate) and I adored the little snips of stories about the gods throughout the book. This is definitely a book that any fantasy lover should pick up. 

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

Blog Tour: An Excerpt from The Curious Case by Julia Golding

Happy Sunday, I'm here to share with you an excerpt from The Curious Crime, a thrilling new middle grade series from award-winning children's author, Julia Golding. The series looks into an alternative timeline in the Victorian era, picturing a world where women are banned from practising science and religion of any kind is outlawed. 

Released on the 7th of November, this fantastic new series is the perfect way to get children to look at science and the rights of minorities in a new way while following Ree and Henri and their menagerie of animal friends on their adventures, for a few synopsis click here!

Chapter One: 

 Of Dodos and Men 

There was a creature trapped in the rock.

Ree ran her fingers over the capital stone, feeling for the shape that lay just under the surface. A fin like a shark. Spindly hind legs like a frog. A beast that inhabited two worlds, walking out of the water to colonize land. Her desire to release it burned in her chest as she took up her chisel. She loved this moment just before she began to carve her picture. 

But what were the eyes like? The museum fossils gave no clues. Perched on the scaffolding, Ree looked beneath her at the display case covered with a sheet. Scuffing at a corner with the toe of her boot, she pushed the cotton aside. Exactly as she remembered, the stuffed turtle gazed mournfully up at her. Eyes like that would be perfect for the creature she was carving, she thought, imagining it leaving the tropical sea for the last time.

The dodo perched on the scaffold next to Ree croaked and deposited a dropping on the planks. “Philoponus, behave,” murmured Ree, picking up her mallet, “or do I have to put you back in your pen?”

Her friend, the last known of the species, made a deep grumble before he pecked up a fragment of stone she had already chiselled off. He hated it when she stopped paying full attention to him and concentrated on her craft. “Are you sure you should be eating that?” She asked absent-mindedly. Phil stretched his neck, his long broad beak with its hooked end pointing at the vaulted glass ceiling. He shook himself. Downy grey feather flew. 

Ree sneezed. “Idiotic overgrown pigeon. Look, I’ve got to work and you know it.” Setting the wooden handle of the chisel in her palm, she raised the mallet and gave a tap on the well-worn end. The blade cut into the sandstone, releasing a trickle of dust. Her fingertips caressed the gritty surface, wiping it clean. Her father had taught her that each block she worked already had its own ideas about what it should become. She had to ease the picture out, not force it against its will.

The boards creaked as her father, the foreman of the works, approached. A stocky man, nose bent on the bridge, he moved with the even pace of one who knew things should not be rushed. His knees clicked as he crouched beside his daughter.

“How is your project coming along, Ree?” 

She took a swig from her water bottle to clear her throat. “Good, Da. I’ve decided to do the animals moving out of the water onto land – you know, like the guides tell visitors?”

“That’s grand.” James Altamira scratched Philoponus’ neck, causing the bird to shiver with delight and lean heavily on the chief stonemason. The dodo really was the most affectionate, if attention-seeking, creature. “But keep your hat on right and tight, darlin’. Lord John and the trustees are making a surprise inspection sometime this week.” 

With a sigh, Ree picked up her cap and pulled it down over her ears, tucking her plaits inside. She wanted to cut her hair short but her father insisted she keep it long, ready for the day when she would have to go back to wearing women’s clothes. It was a dickens of a pain though because the dodo thought it was funny to pluck off the cap when she least expected. The dangerous joke had grown very tired. She had given up wearing the cap this morning, trusting that her high position would keep her hidden. 

“Don’t even think about it,” she warned Phil, recognising the look in his pale eyes, black pupils dilated. Most people would mistake the expression as wide-eyed innocence. She knew it to be mischief. “You’ll get me into hot water.”

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 240

Publisher: Puffin
Released: 4th of October 2018 

The original, magical story with a brand new cover from Quentin Blake! 

October 2018 marks 30 years since Matilda was published! This brand new jacket comes with a never-before-seen illustration of Matilda as the Chief Executive of the British Library - one of the careers that Quentin Blake himself has imagined that Matilda might have at 30 years old.

Matilda Wormwood

A remarkable child with a magical mind.

Mr and Mrs Wormwood

Matilda's parents - liars, swindlers and TV addicts.

Miss Trunchbull

Headmistress of Crunchem Hall and the world's biggest bully.

Bruce Bogtrotter

Chocolate-cake-eating extraordinaire!

These are just some of the unforgettable characters from this classic story by the world's number one storyteller - now with a brand-new cover design from Quentin Blake to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of Matilda.

What I Have to Say 

I grew up as a book loving child in a house full of books. Matilda was one of my favourite movies. I must have watched it hundreds of times over the year. So it seems crazy to me that up until now I hadn't actually read the original book! I have no idea why I never read it, I think it's a book I would have adored as a child. 

Unpopular opinion time: I never really got along with Roald Dahl. I read a lot of the books but there were only a couple that I actually liked and if I'm honest, even those I liked the movies more than the books. I just find them a bit gross. The descriptions of a lot of the characters, especially the villains, the way that Dahl as the narrator talks about the kids... Reading this as an adult, made the bits that I didn't like really clear to me. Especially as I could compare the bits I really enjoyed about Matilda to the bits  I really didn't like about the other books. Such as the Twits, which I really hated and is mostly comprised of the gross grotty bits.

Aside from my dislike of Roald Dahl, I really did enjoy reading this book. Despite how I feel about it, Dahl is a massive part of my childhood and it really took me back to that and to the movie that I really loved. It was nice to see the new illustrated cover by Quentin Blake (be sure to check out the other covers that have been released for the 30th anniversary) and it's so great to finally know that I've read this book and what I've thought about it. 

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

 

Spooky Reads for Halloween!

If you've been a regular reader of this blog for a while, you might know that I'm a complete wuss when it comes to scary stuff. Books are easier for me than movies which tend to give me sleepless nights because I can't get the imagines out of my head, but some books still scare me so much.

That said, there are some scary books that I've really loved, so here are a few of the ones I'd recommend.

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood and Co.) by Jonathon Stroud 

When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood and Co. step in . . .

For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.

Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest, most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.

Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .

Some of these books have scared the life out of me and left me reading until daylight because I'm scared to turn the lights off, others have been milder, but it's still a series I really enjoy. The characters and plots are worth being so scared and yeah okay, maybe I enjoy it just a little. 

I tend to find these books alternate with the first, third ect. being super scary but the second, fourth ect. being a lot milder. I'm not sure if this is deliberate or if it has just happened to land that way, but for me it's helps me feel prepared. I prefer the milder ones, but they're all fantastic. 

The Name of the Star (Shades of London) by Maureen Johnson 

Jack the Ripper is back, and he's coming for Rory next....

Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him - the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target...unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to turn the tables.

I read these so long ago now, it's high time for a reread! I didn't find these books particularly scary. They were more fantasy/ adventure to me. But there's ghosts so they totally count.

The Name of the Star was my favourite, mostly because of Jack the Ripper. I loved to see an American take on England though. It was interesting to see my country and the boarding school experience through a different perspective. Maureen really did her research well though and has been over here a lot so I would say they're pretty accurate in terms of Britishness.

As I Descended by Robin Talley

“Something wicked this way comes.”

Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.

But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line. 

This one frightened me a lot. I read it during the day so I luckily was able to get the stuff out of my head before I had to go to bed, but there were some really creepy scenes. 

This a retelling of Macbeth but set in an elite boarding school and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both girls. It's lesbian Macbeth! I loved it so much: it was an amazing retelling and knowing the original play fairly well made me really enjoy seeing the way it was adapted to the setting and different versions of the characters. 

So that's just three of my top spooky reads.  Have you read them? Do you want to? What are your favourite books when you're in the mood for something a little creepy? Let me know in the comments! 

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 374 

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Released: 6th of November 2018 

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honor they could hope for...and the most cruel.

But this year, there's a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she's made of fire.

In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it's Lei they're after--the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king's interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king's consort. But Lei isn't content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable--she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.

Trigger Warnings: Kidnap, sex trafficking, forced prostitution, rape, animal death.

What I Have to Say 

I have been looking forward to this book ever since I heard about it, which was a very long time ago. Every step in between from seeing the cover to finally getting hold of a copy at YALC this year has added to the excitement. It was so, so amazing to read it after all this time. I'm so glad it was good, because with that amount of hype it would have been a huge letdown! But it lived up to my excitement and now I'm desperate for the sequel. 

So lets talk about girls. This book is LGBT and the girl that Lei falls in love with is my new crush. A beautiful, bad-ass girl with hidden secrets that just make me love her more. The LGBT representation in YA has been so much more geared towards male pairings that it's just so amazing for me to have such a beautiful fantasy book that has two girls who are madly in love at it's centre. 

The world building was beautiful. Gorgeous and inspired and so wonderful to see so many of the different parts of Asia represented in the girls. I hope we'll get to see more of the world in the next book. I could do a whole paragraph on the world-building, but the girls are at the heart of this novel and I've only had time to talk about two of them! Every one of the girls is wonderful. I loved all of them. It was interesting because I couldn't help but love each character for the way they affected me, but at the same time I found myself hating a couple of them because of their actions.  I am fully invested in all of them though. I want to see them reach their full potential and get out of the horrible position they're in!

I really cannot wait to find out what happens next. These girls have far from reached their full potential, because like the title says, they may be paper, but at their hearts they are fire.

My eternal gratitude goes to Hodderscape for having ARCS on their stall at YALC.