Bookshops and Bonedust by Tavis Baldree (audiobook)

Pages: 368 

Publisher: Macmillan UK Audio 

Released: 7th of November 2023 

First loves. Second-hand books. Epic adventures.

Viv’s career with the renowned mercenary company Rackam’s Ravens isn’t going as planned. Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she’s packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk – so far from the action that she worries she’ll never be able to return to it. What’s a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a struggling bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted. Even though it may be exactly what she needs. Still, adventure isn’t far away. A suspicious traveller in grey, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

Sometimes, right things happen at the wrong time. Sometimes, what we need isn’t what we seek. And sometimes, we find ourselves in the stories we experience together.

Set twenty years before the events of Legends & Lattes , Bookshops & Bonedust is a standalone cosy fantasy by BookTok sensation Travis Baldree about the power of good bookshops, great friends and the unexpected choices along the way.

What I Have to Say 

This was wonderful. It's hard to top Legends and Lattes, but I don't think it needs to be topped. This was a lovely prequel, showing Viv and a few new characters on a whole new cosy fantasy adventure! I loved the new setting of a bookshop, because in case you hadn't noticed, I love books. The new characters were just as good as the original characters (I would die for Potroast) and it was a story that was just as good as the first. 

I feel like this book had more action in it than the last. Though there was some action in Legends and Lattes, this one had a bigger overall story with mystery and adventure and murder. For people looking for something cosy and low stakes like Legends, this book still has those cosy moments, but it does have high stakes. Conversely, for people who liked Legends but thought it could use a bit more action, this one could be perfect for you! I feel like Bookshops added action adventure without losing that lovely cosy vibe that the first book had going for it. It got a good balance between the two. 

For anyone asking if the books connect up, they do! Though I don't think you necessarily have to read Legends and Lattes to understand Bookshops and Bonedust, those who've read Legends are rewarded for their efforts! I really think this was the perfect prequel. 

Read for bookshops and well bonedust as well as great characters, sapphic love, found family and a sprinkling of action! 

5 stars 

My thanks go to Macmillan and Netgalley for providing me with this gifted audiobook 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. 

Nowhere On Earth by Nick Lake

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Publisher: Hodder's Children's Books 

Released: 10th of January 2019 

It starts with a plane crash.

There are survivors: a teenage girl and her little brother. They are running from something. But what?

Then the men arrive. They are hunting the girl and boy. And-

And that's all we can tell you ...

What I Have to Say 

Beautiful, unique and with so much heart beneath it all. These are all words I'm coming to relate to Nick Lake's writing. I didn't get along well with the first couple of his books that I tried to read, but Satellite and Nowhere on Earth have been so beautiful and spell-binding. I love his characters and the messages of hope and love that are at the central to his writing, especially with Nowhere on Earth. 

Emily and Aidan were beautiful characters. Emily with her love for Aidan and how much she cared of him, which despite being part of an alien defence mechanism to help Aidan survive, felt so real and beautiful. And Aidan. His love for Emily. The way he's so amazed by the beauty of earth and is apologetic and sad about the way his presence has affected the humans, because he can't help his defense mechanism kicking in and pushing them to look after her. 

The key themes of this novel are definitely empathy and love. It's shown everywhere. The message of how we as humanity view things as threats instantly without asking questions is very much an important reflection of our society and resonated deeply within me. 

Filled with Lake's unique, well thought out concepts of how things might really work in space and with alien life, this book felt as realistic as Satellite. I want everyone to read it. 

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

Desolation by Derek Landy

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 460

Publisher: Harper Collins

Released: 7th of April 2016 

Other Books in the Series: Demon Road

Reeling from their bloody encounter in New York City, Amber and Milo flee north. On their trail are the Hounds of Hell – five demonic bikers who will stop at nothing to drag their quarries back to their unholy master.

Amber and Milo’s only hope lies within Desolation Hill – a small town with a big secret; a town with a darkness to it, where evil seeps through the very floorboards. Until, on one night every year, it spills over onto the streets and all hell breaks loose.

And that night is coming. 

What I Have to Say 

I can't decide whether I like this book better or Demon road. At first I didn't like the fact that it wasn't about the road trip anymore, but then I started to like it because it was a road trip. There were bits about it I liked and bits that I missed about the first book, sometimes there were bits that I liked that I simultaneously was glad they were different and sad that they weren't the same as in the first book. I don't think I'll ever decide which was better, but either way, this didn't have the dip of quality that often ruin the second book in a trilogy. 

I loved the scoobie crew and their van. It was the perfect parody to bring into this series to make it wonderful. I'm especially glad that they came in this book rather than the first one. I also loved Amber's relationship. It was nice to see that despite the chaos of her life, she could find a person to flirt with in a way that didn't seem unnecessary to the plot as a lot of relationships in these types of action packed books seem. 

All in all, I felt it was a brilliant continuation of this trilogy. I think I'll be a little sad once I've read the next book, but at the moment I can't wait to see what happens next. 

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

See How They Run by Ally Carter

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 320

Publisher: Orchard Books 

Released: 14th of January 2016

Other Books in the Series: All Fall Down 

Grace thought finding her mother's killer would bring her peace. But the truth has only made her a target. on Embassy Row, trust is a luxury. Death is a very real threat. And a girl like Grace should be very careful about which secrets she brings to light..

What I Have to Say 

Ally Carter has fallen into this habit of ending her books a few pages too soon. It leaves me distressed and desperate for more, normally in public. It's something that only the best authors can achieve. 

I'm enjoying this series a lot. It's not Gallagher Girls, but it has enough danger and great characters, that I can enjoying without thinking wistfully of the other series. Grace is a strong character, dealing with a lot of mental health issues and guilt which makes her feel a lot more realistic than action characters often are. 

The story is developing really well. I like the depth that Ally Carter has put into the conspiracies and how every time something new is uncovered it shows that the secrets run deeper in the society than they thought, adding a new element of danger. 

I just need less of the cliff-hangers. I don't think my heart can take much more! 

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