Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

Pages: 305

Publisher: Little Brown Book Group 

Released: 30th of June 2022

It's difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you're a young lady with only half a soul.

Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment - a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season - but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs.

If Dora's reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all of high society, then she may yet reclaim her normal place in the world. . . but the longer Dora spends with Elias Wilder, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love, even with only half a soul.

What I have to say

Two regency books in the last few months! What's going on with that! But Half a Soul is regency with a difference. It's a faerie tale that just happens to be set in regency England!

I really enjoyed it. Though I can't say it was an accurate reflection of the time period, or that regency fans would like it, I feel like fans of the fae and fairytales would really like it.

Though Dora has only half a soul and therefore doesn't feel emotions in the same way as everyone else, this book doesn't lack in emotion. She feels what she calls "long tailed emotions" like hurt and passion and slow burning anger.

What I loved most about her was her passionate anger when faced with the injustices of the workhouse and the world. I also felt that there are parallels between her and some neurodiversities!  I don't know if it was intentional, but some of the bluntness in the way Dora spoke and the way she saw the world around her felt really familiar to me and I couldn't help comparing it to my autism. In many ways this felt like a disability story as well. 

So read for: dark irredeemable faeries, swoon-worthy magicians and a sizable helping of magic!

My thanks go to Little Brown Books and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow

Pages: 352

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 28th of June 2022 

The island of Parris: paradise or poison?

Luca Laine Thomas lives in Parris, the beautiful island plagued by the unsolved deaths of young women - most significantly, Luca's best friend. All Luca wants is to heal from the traumatic loss and leave her feelings of guilt and helplessness behind.

Then Luca comes home to find the police at her house. Her sister, Whitney, is dead.

Luca and Naomi, the new girl next door, decide to take the investigation into their own hands, and along the way their connection deepens. Soon, their casual touches and innocent flirtations become something way more real. But finding out what happened on the night of Whitney's disappearance reveals lie upon lie.

Nothing is as it seems. Will Luca's search finally reveal truth about her sister's murder? And will she unravel and escape the clutches of the curse and survive Parris?

What I Have to Say 

I didn't really dislike this book, but I wasn't into it. It fell very flat for me. I liked the relationship between Naomi and Luca in the first half and I was shocked when certain things were revealed. But everything else I just wasn't feeling. 

The main character annoyed me a lot at one point in the book. I felt she believed that a particular person had done it too quickly, even though there were reasons why I thought she should be less likely to believe it. It really put me off the character. I get the author's reasons for doing it and maybe it's realistic to life, but it annoyed me. 

I don't have anything more to say really. There was nothing bad about this book, I just wasn't into it. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hot Key Books for providing me with this copy for review. 

Escape to the River Sea by Emma Carroll

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Released: 9th June 

In 1946, Rosa Sweetman, a young Kindertransport girl, is longing for her family to claim her. The war in Europe is over and she is the only child left at Westwood, a rambling country estate in the north of England, where she'd taken refuge seven years earlier.

The arrival of a friend of the family, Yara Fielding, starts an adventure that will take Rosa deep into the lush beauty of the Amazon rainforest in search of jaguars, ancient giant sloths and somewhere to belong. What she finds is Yara’s lively, welcoming family on the banks of the river and, together, they face a danger greater than she could ever have imagined.

Featuring places and characters known and loved by fans of Journey to the River Sea (including, among others, Maia, Finn, Miss Minton and Clovis) this spectacular new chapter in the story tells of the next generation and the growing threats to the Amazon rainforest that continue to this day.

What I Have to Say 

I haven't read the original Eva Ibbotson, Journey to the River Sea, but I loved Escape all the same. It had all the beautiful characters and engaging storylines you would expect from an Emma Carroll book. It is a great example of a children's book that has danger, emotional themes and heartbreaking scenes, but is still the sort of book that makes you feel happy and comforted. 

There was as much adventure as is expected from a book about the amazon jungle with plenty of danger and excitement. You can really get lost in the main characters reactions to everything and feel just as excited as her about all the animals she catches sight of. 

I also liked that she brought up the idea that wild animals shouldn't be kept in captivity without making it sound too preachy. 

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

If You Still Recognise Me by Cynthia So

Pages: 364 

Publisher: Little Tiger 

Released: 9th of June 2022 

Elsie has a crush on Ada, the only person in the world who truly understands her. Unfortunately, they've never met in real life and Ada lives an ocean away. But Elsie has decided it's now or never to tell Ada how she feels. That is, until her long-lost best friend Joan walks back into her life.

In a summer of repairing broken connections and building surprising new ones, Elsie realises that she isn't nearly as alone as she thought. But now she has a choice to make...

What I Have to Say 

This book was sooooo gay. I loved it. Not only was the main character bisexual, but they represented all manner of bi and gay people. It also shared something about the lesbian culture in Hong Kong and some of how they labelled themselves, which was really interesting to read about. 

It was full longing and crushes, which were beautifully written and I could not tell most of the way through who Elsie would end up with. 

It also had references to an abusive relationship, which the main character Elsie is still recovering from. It also showed the family pressures of not feeling entirely safe to come out around your family, both with the feelings of disapproval that Elsie gets from her own family and the out right homophobia from Joan's father. 

I also adored how much about fandom it was and especially that it was about fandom but without the main character being a writer. 

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