The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi- Pearson

Pages: 432

Publisher: Gollancz 

Released: 18th of January 2023 

A century-spanning space fantasy novel that will take you on a whirlwind adventure, from a Regency Era love affair between a time-traveller and the prince waiting for him in the past, to a rescue mission in the 60th century, where a girl desperately races against time as she searches for the sister the emperor stole.

6066: In Emperor Thracin’s brave new galaxy, humans are not citizens. Instead, they are indentured labourers, working to repay the debt they unwittingly incurred when they settled on Gahraan - a desert planet already owned by the emperor himself. Asha Akindele knows she’s just another voiceless cog working the assembly lines that fuel his vast imperial war machine. Her only rebellion: studying stolen aeronautics manuals in the dead of night. But then a cloaked stranger arrives to deliver an impossible message, and her life changes in an instant.

1812: Obi Amadi is done with time-travelling. Never mind the fact he doesn’t know how to cure himself of the temporal sickness he caught whilst anchoring his soul to Regency London, the one that unmakes him further with every jump. Or if the prince he loves will ever love him back. Or why his father disappeared. He is done. Until he hears about the ghost of a girl in the British Museum. A girl from another time.

When Obi’s path tangles with Asha’s and a prophecy awakens in the cold darkness of space, they must voyage through the stars, racing against time, tyranny, and the legacy of three heroes from an ancient religion who may be awakening, reincarnated in ways beyond comprehension.

What I Have to Say 

Prophecy, time travel and gay romance, this book has everything. It had so many threads that I was surprised they managed to fit it all in one book! But they did and it turned out to be a great one. There was a moment when everything was coming together, when I was really blown away by the scope of what was happening. It felt epic. 

I loved Obi and the threads from 1812 a lot. Even though, because of his temporal sickness, they couldn't use the time travel much for the resolution of the plot, I felt it gave him a really interesting backstory. I loved the little references like the one to the cat bus from Totoro, the little reminders that he was from more than just one time period. 

The prophecy, while confusing at first, also added a huge element to the book. Right from the first excerpt, I was excited to see where it would all fit in and become relevant and there was so many places where I could speculate as to what would happen. It was so great to see it all fit together. 

I'm really looking forward to the next book, which will hopefully have more prophecy and more time travel and even more fun. 

4 stars 

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

Alebrijes - Flight to a New Haven by Donna Barba Niguera

Pages: 338

Publisher: Piccadilly Press 

Released: 3rd of October 2023 

This is the story as it was told to me by Leandro the Mighty.

For 400 years, Earth has been a barren wasteland. The few humans that survive scrape together an existence in the cruel city of Pocatel - or go it alone in the wilderness beyond, filled with wandering spirits and wyrms. They don't last long.

13-year-old pickpocket Leandro and his sister Gabi do what they can to forge a life in Pocatel. The city does not take kindly to Cascabel like them - the descendants of those who worked the San Joaquin Valley for generations.

When Gabi is caught stealing precious fruit from the Pocatelan elite, Leandro takes the fall. But his exile proves more than he ever could have imagined - far from a simple banishment, his consciousness is placed inside an ancient drone and left to fend on its own. But beyond the walls of Pocatel lie other alebrijes like Leandro who seek for a better world - as well as mutant monsters, wasteland pirates, a hidden oasis, and the truth.

A thought-provoking and beautifully written novel, creating a whole new imaginative world, that holds a mirror to our own.

What I Have to Say 

This is a really strong and hopeful sci-fi story for young readers. Though I didn't enjoy it as much as The Last Storyteller, it still had a plot and setting that drew me in completely. I loved learning about the society and how the technology they had ran on a single drop of water! 

The story wasn't as smooth as in The Last Storyteller, which was always going to appeal to me more because I love stories so much. But I loved the idea of putting your consciousness inside a drone and flying about. I loved all the animals that Leadro met. I did find though that I quickly forgot which animal was which character though as it was only mentioned when they were introduced. Some of them have the Spanish name for the animals though, so if you speak Spanish, you'll have an advantage remembering them! 

As with The Last Storyteller, this book is filled with Spanish! I loved how bilingual it was, even though I don't speak Spanish. It would be absolutely perfect for bilingual kids. Be advised though, though this was almost standalone, to make sense of the epilogue, you have to have read The Last Storyteller, so the best way to read them is with TLS first and then this one. 

Read for dystopia, sci- fi and cool drones! 

 

4 stars 

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

The Battle Drum by Saara El- Arifi

Pages: 448 

Publisher: Harper Voyager 

Released:  23rd of May 2023 

Murder. Secrets. Sacrifice: Three women seek the truth of the empire's past. And the truth they find has the power to ignite a war in the sequel to The Final Strife, the continuation of a visionary fantasy trilogy inspired by Africa and Arabia.

Anoor is the first blue-blooded ruler of the Wardens' Empire. But when she is accused of a murder she didn't commit, her reign is thrown into turmoil. She must solve the mystery and clear her name without the support of her beloved, Sylah.

Sylah braves new lands to find a solution for the hurricane that threatens to destroy her home. But in finding answers, she must make a decision, does she sacrifice her old life in order to raise up her sword once more?

Hassa's web of secrets grows ever thicker as she finds herself on a trail of crimes in the city. Her searching uncovers the extent of the atrocities of the empire's past and present. Now, she must guard both her heart and her land.

The three women find their answers, but they're not the answers they wanted. The drumbeat of change thrums throughout the world.

And it sings a song of war.

Ready we will be, when the Ending Fire comes,

When the Child of fire brings the Battle Drum,

The Battle Drum,

The Battle Drum.

Ready we will be, for war will come.

TW:  Miscarriage, Death, Violence, Addition, Genocide, Sexual Content, Animal Death, Child Abuse, Panic Attacks/ Disorders, Past Mutilation, Self-harm, Ritual Sacrifice, Murder 

What I Have to Say

I really love these books, they have so much tension and pain in the pages. I was so gripped during the climax of the book, feeling the character's pain as my own. It does mean though that when it get brutal, it gets really brutal. 

I've put in a warning about this in my review of the Final Strife, but I wanted to put another one in here. When I say these books are brutal, I mean they are BRUTAL. Read the trigger warnings and if you do not like anything listed there, pick a different book to read. 

I really loved the murder mystery element of the book, but I wish it had been more carefully crafted. It felt like the ending was a bit rushed up with everything else that was happening. The name of the murder was just dumped there and it didn't feel so shocking or like a big reveal at all really. 

Still the rest of the ending was really good and it left a lot of open threads for the next book. And I have THEORIES!! I really can't wait for the next book to be released. 

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

Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton

Pages: 411

Publisher: Hodderscape 

Released: 27th of June 2023 

Words sting. Songs kill.

The Cruel Prince meets To Kill a Kingdom in this seductive YA fantasy debut, in which a siren must choose between protecting her family and following her heart in a prejudiced kingdom where her existence is illegal.

Saoirse Sorkova survives on secrets. As the last siren in her kingdom, she can sing any man to an early grave - but her very existence is illegal, and if her true identity were ever discovered, it would be her life on the line.

By day, Saoirse disguises herself as a fae, pretending to be the perfect soldier-in-training. By night, she satisfies her darker urges working as an assassin for dangerous mercenaries. And all the while, she keeps the biggest secret of that she is not always in control of her Siren powers, or her desire to kill.

Then a blackmailer threatens her sister, and Saoirse's investigation takes her to the royal palace, and her most dangerous job personal bodyguard to the Crown Prince.

Saoirse expects to despise Prince Hayes. But he is kind, thoughtful, and charming, and she finds herself increasingly drawn to him . . . until he tasks her with investigating a killer plaguing the kingdom. The the killer is Saoirse.

Trapped by her deadly double life, Saoirse can't leave the palace until she saves her sister . . . but who will save her from herself?

What I Have to Say 

This was a really easy read, which is good because I've had a few tougher ones on the list lately. It was nice to just relax and read about a murderous siren and her unfortunate feelings for the son of the man who is trying to eradicate her kind. It was a great. Typically YA and just what I needed. 

The world was interesting but I feel like we haven't really explored it that much so far. Most of the oppression, we learnt because Saoirse tells us and there isn't much showing. Only that she and her family have to hide.  I'm looking forward to finding out more about the world in the next book. 

I liked the ending. It was suitably dramatic and thrilling. I could really feel the emotions that Saoirse was going though. 

All in all a pretty good book, but not a lot of depth in the society. 

4 stars 

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

A Brief History of Living Forever by Jaroslav Kalfar

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton 

Released: 28th of March 2023 

Set in a near-future America under the dual manipulations of technology and surveillance, A Brief History of Living Forever tells the epic, exhilarating story of a long-lost brother and sister on a mission to reclaim their mother from oblivion.

 

When Adela discovers she has a terminal illness, her thoughts turn to Tereza, the American-raised daughter she gave up at birth. Leaving behind her moody, grown son, Roman, in their native Czech village, she flies to the United States to find the long-lost daughter who never knew her. Yet the country, in the year 2029, is steeped in surveillance and has adopted an unapologetic nationalism—a very different place from the open and accepting one Adela experienced decades earlier, when, as a teenager high on the promise of America, she eloped with a filmmaker and starred in his cult sci-fi movie.

 

Now, in New York City, with time running out, Adela reunites with Tereza, who is working as the star researcher for two suspicious biotech moguls hellbent on developing a “god pill” to extend human life indefinitely. But before Tereza can find a cure for Adela, her mother dies mysteriously. Unbeknownst to Tereza, her body is whisked away by the American government to a mass grave for undocumented immigrants in the swampy wastelands of what was once Florida. Distraught, Tereza travels to the Czech Republic to convince Roman, the brother she’s never met, to join her in rescuing their mother’s remains from oblivion, with the intent of bringing her home to rest in Czech soil.

 

Narrated from the beyond by Adela, A Brief History of Living Forever is a high-wire act of storytelling that demonstrates once more Jaroslav Kalfar’s endless powers of invention. By turns insightful, moving, and funny, the novel blends an immigrant mother’s heartbreaking journey through the American dream with her children’s quest to reclaim her from a country that would erase any record of her existence. Above all, it is a reminder that neither space nor time can sever our connection to the ones we love.

What I Have to Say 

This book was so depressing. I didn't dislike it, I actually really liked some parts of it. But man, it was a grim look at what our future can be. 

I  really liked Adela a lot. She had an interesting perspective on things and she was honestly a really lovable character to get to know. It was really interesting seeing her narrative considering the things that happen in the book. I also really liked parts of her back story. The bits where they were filming the newt movie were really entertaining to read, not least of all because it was a really bizarre concept for a film. 

The ending was just really really grim and quite frankly terrifying. It really made me think about where the world is going right now and I really really do not want it to end up like this book. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book somewhat, but it really depressed me. 

3 stars 

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

Are You Happy Now by Hannah Jameson

Pages: 352 

Publisher: Viking 

Released: 2nd of February 2023 

DO YOU FEEL NOTHING? OR DO YOU FEEL EVERYTHING?

It all began at a wedding. A smile across the room. A moment of lust. A separation long overdue. Then a woman sat down . . . and never stood up again.

Suddenly hundreds, then thousands of people are sitting down. Is it a sickness - or are they simply giving up?

In the search for love, or happiness, or anything at all, is living a choice? Or is it just something that happens to us?

TW: Death, mental illness, medical content, suicidal thoughts, drug abuse

What I Have to Say 

This is not a  book to read when you're depressed, but I really enjoyed it. It was a really interesting look at how the world views mental illness and how it would view a mass suicide pandemic in a fictional scenario. I was disappointed at how quickly the world wrote it off as a choice, but I think that's a reflection on the world itself really. 

I really liked the characters and seeing how they each reacted to the situation. I would have really liked to see a bit more from the journalist character, seeing as she brought us into the book. I also thought that it would be really interesting to see the conflict between reporting on this, especially as there was the question of whether people were being influenced by seeing reports of others sitting down. But the author drifted away from her story and started to look at other characters instead. I liked the other characters and I especially liked the LGBTQ+ representation, but I would have liked to see more of that thread of the story. 

The ending really hit me hard. I saw it coming, especially as the author started to build up to it, but that didn't make it any less hard hitting. I would like to see more of what happened after, but I do think that was the right place to end.  

All in all, my advice is to only read this when you're in a good place but it is well worth the read. 

 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Penguin 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 Last Storyteller by Donna Barba Higuera

Pages: 336 

Publisher: Piccadilly Press 

Released: 1st of September 2022 

An unforgettable journey through the stars, to the very heart of what makes us human. The incredible Newbery Medal-winning novel from Donna Barba Higuera.

Habia una vez...

There lived a girl named Petra Pena, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth will soon be destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.

Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

What I Have to Say 

This book felt important. It presents big ideas about learning from mistakes and dictatorships, showing Petra fighting against brainwashing and a society that would try and erase all differences and it showed the power of stories, as a powerful force that can fight back against such things. Woven with beautiful south American folklore, it was a beautiful story full of power and difference. 

For a story that had so much culture and imagination in it, it actually took place in a small amount of time, in a small space. So much of it happens on the spaceship or on the tiny bit of the planet that they're trying to inhabit, but it really didn't feel like that. It was so bursting with life and stories, that I found it really absorbed me and took me away from reality for a while. 

The folklore was fascinating and the Spanish phrases that were a big part of the stories she told were an important part of that. It was wonderful to see her taking her heritage with her so far from Earth. I enjoyed the stories she told and her relationship with them immensely. 

4.5 stars 

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

 

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

Pages: 304

Publisher: Harper Voyager 

Released: 18th of August 2022 

Sunyi Dean's The Book Eaters is a contemporary fantasy debut. It's a story of motherhood, sacrifice, and hope; of queer identity and learning to accept who you are; of gilded lies and the danger of believing the narratives others create for you.

Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book's content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries.

Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon—like all other book eater women—is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairytales and cautionary stories.

But real life doesn't always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger—not for books, but for human minds. 

What I Have To Say 

I think I read this book at entirely the wrong time. It wasn't nice to read about women being treated poorly and being forced to have babies at a time when abortion laws were being passed to do precisely that. It just made me so tired with the state of the world. 

The other parts of the book were interesting though. I really liked the descriptions of the houses and the peek into book eater society that we saw. I wonder if maybe there could have been more viewpoints or a bit more time when Devon was ignorant of how bad it was, just to give us a bit of a break from the doom and gloom. I'd have liked to enjoy a world where books can be absorbed just by eating them and whole languages can be learned in a single bite but there was no time for that. 

Perhaps if I'd read this book at a different time of my life, I would have felt differently, but for now it was just not the book for me. 

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

 

The Everlasting Rose by Dhonielle Clayton

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 342
Publisher: Gollancz
Released: 7th of March 2019

With a price on her head, the evil Queen Sophia out for blood, and no idea who to trust, Camellia Beaureguard, the former favorite Belle, must race against time to find the ailing Princess Charlotte, who has disappeared without a trace. Sophia's imperial forces will stop at nothing to keep Camille, her sister Edel, and her loyal guard, Rémy, from returning Charlotte to the palace and her rightful place as queen.

With the help of an underground resistance movement called the Iron Ladies--a society that rejects beauty treatments entirely--and the backing of alternative newspaper the Spider's Web, Camille uses her powers, her connections, and her cunning to outwit her greatest nemesis, Sophia, and attempt to restore peace to Orléans. But enemies lurk in the most unexpected places, forcing Camille to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice to save her people.

What I Have to Say 

I loved the Belle so much, so I was really excited for this one! It was so easy to sink back into the world of Belles and Beauty work where everything is so defined by how you look. The writing is so evocative and I just love how Clayton shows so many different definitions of beauty in her books. She shows people picking out any skin colour or eye shape even while showing the dark side of this obsession with beauty and pushing the limits of what's possible. 

Everlasting Rose really upped the stakes for Camille and the other fugitive Belles. They really did deep into how much the Belle system is being abused and Sophia tightening her grips on the society. Sophia is such a frightening character. She shows the abuse and addiction of both the thrill of power and of the beauty work that the Belles do. 

I have so many questions about the world. I want to know more about the Iron Ladies and the Gris. I feel like there are more lies to be uncovered and so much more to tell about the world. I look forward to seeing what comes next. 

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

Fated by Teri Terry

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 448

Publisher: Orchard Books 

Released: 7th of March 2019 

I'm just one girl. What can I do?

Sam's cosy life as daughter of the Deputy Prime Minister is about to end. These are turbulent times. Borders have closed and protests are turning violent. The government blames the country's youth, and is cracking down hard. Mobile phones are blocked, gatherings are banned and dissent is brutally crushed.

Sam is torn between family loyalty and doing what is right. when she meets Ava and Lucas her mind is made up.

One girl, one choice. She can make a difference: she must. Even if her life - and her heart - are on the line 

What I Have to Say 

I loved the Slated series so much and though my reread put me off it a bit, I was still really excited to read the prequel. It caught the feel of the original series really well while giving us a really good look into what happened to change everything into the Dystopian society we see in Slated. 

It felt a bit bleaker reading this book than it did originally reading Slated. For one thing, some of the things that triggered the world to change are actually happening, most importantly Britain Leaving the EU. Slated was always a world where things were startlingly close to real life, but reading Fated , things felt way too close for comfort! 

I really liked seeing how the world came to be. How little things that change, slowly taking away the rights of teenagers, can change the country into something so scary and controlling. A lot of dystopia takes place after major wars or world changing events, but Slated showed little things that can be used to slowly place control on people while they don't notice. It's the way that real places change, real dictators take control, so it's both fascinating and really interesting to see. 

I loved the characters. The two girls had great voices and made the story really good to read. I loved them both so much. They were also both super attracted to each other and f/f relationships make my heart melt from happiness, so that made it even better! 

If you're a fan of the Slated series then this is a must read!! 

My thanks go to Orchard books and Netgalley for providing me with this free copy for review. 

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. 

Killer T by Robert Muchamore

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 377

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 6th of September 2018 

Our world is about to change in ways we can barely imagine. KILLER T is a novel about growing up in that world. 

Harry and Charlie are teenagers whose lives are shaped by a society that's shifting around them. He is a lonely Brit in his first term at a Las Vegas high school. She is an unlikely friend, who gets accused of mixing a batch of explosives that blew up a football player.

The two of them are drawn together at a time when gene editing technology is starting to explode. With a lab in the garage anyone can beat cancer, enhance their brain to pass exams, or tweak a few genes for that year-round tan and perfect beach body. But in the wrong hands, cheap gene editing is the most deadly weapon in history. Killer T is a synthetic virus with a ninety per-cent mortality rate, and the terrorists who created it want a billion dollars before they'll release a vaccine.

What I Have to Say 

It took me so, so long to get into this. For a start, it started years before the actual plot came together and had, I think, about four or five time skips? I lost count by the end of the book. It makes sense when you look at it as a whole and realise that it's showing the rise of gene editing, but most of the time while I was reading it, I was bored. It would have been better if it had at least been started after Charlie got out of prison, I think. 

I liked Charlie quite a bit, but I honestly completely hated Harry. He was fairly okay at the start, but as time went on he just became more and more of a prick. I hate how he treated Charlie so much when he didn't even tell her that he liked her. Charlie deserved so much better than him. 

The world was really interesting, especially after the epidemic, seeing the world slowly rebuilding itself and putting together more protections for the next epidemic. I have to say, I did like a lot how it ended and how Charlie ended up. 

I think it was worth reading, but I really, really wish it had been shorter. I think a lot of stuff could have been cut out while still showing a nice overall picture of the rise of gene editing and Charlie and Harry's life. 

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

Vox by Christina Dalcher

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384

Publisher: HQ

Released: 23rd of August 2018

On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial--this can't happen here. Not in America. Not to her.

This is just the beginning.

Soon women can no longer hold jobs. Girls are no longer taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke sixteen thousand words a day, but now women only have one hundred to make themselves heard.

But this is not the end.

For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice.

What I Have to Say 

This was powerful, intelligently written and completely terrifying when looked at alongside real life. From the blurb, you may think that it seems a bit far fetched, the sort of dystopia that needs a lot of explanation of how it happened. But actually playing on the "traditional values" that certain types of people love so much, the government shown in Vox manage to easily, realistically bring such a thing to pass. 

As you can expect from a book built so much around language, words and communication was such a important part of the book and Dalcher had obviously put so much thought into it. With only 100 words to speak a day, women and girls have to put so much thought into exactly what to say, when to nod or shake their head. It was so interesting how not only did they confine their words so much, it was training them to keep quiet without being obvious. 

Jean was a good character. Intelligent and fierce, caring so much about her little girl that she would do anything to get her out of this world that she's found herself in. I loved how much she thought about the past, about how much she and the other women like her could have done to prevent this from happening. The daughter was also a perfect glimpse into what they were teaching the girls at school. The range of characters coming into the novel from just one family, just one woman's viewpoint was really great. 

Not one for the faint of heart, Vox is the perfect look into what could become of our world if we keep letting politicians regress us back to the 50s mindset. 

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

The Survival Game by Nicky Singer

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books 

Released: 26th of July 2018 

In a world full of checkpoints and controls, can love and hope defy the borders? A searing, timely story, as arresting as it is beautiful. 

Mhairi Anne Bain owns only two things: a gun with no bullets and her identity papers.

The world is a shell of what it once was. Now, you must prove yourself worthy of existence at every turn, at every border checkpoint. And if you are going to survive, your instincts will become your most valuable weapon.

Mhairi has learnt the importance of living her own story, of speaking to no one. But then she meets a young boy with no voice at all, and finds herself risking everything to take him to safety.

And so Mhairi and the silent boy travel the road north. But there are rumours that things in Scotland have changed since she has been away. What Mhairi finds there is shocking and heart-breaking, but might finally re-connect her to her sense of self and to the possibility of love.

What I Have to Say 

I adored the first half of this book, but the second half was really, really dull. I don't think I've ever been this divided about the book. The first part is an amazing journey of survival in the face of immigration and guards who will lock anyone up for trying to cross the boarders. The second half though is all waiting and laws and although it was vaguely interesting to see the laws in place in Mhairi's home, I just really didn't need to read it. 

Mhairi's journey across to Scotland though was amazing. It was gripping, suspenseful and full of the ways that Mhairi has had to cope with things she's done and seen, all the trauma that she has to compartmentalise because dealing with it is impossible to do while also trying to keep herself and the boy alive. 

I loved Mhairi' character, her communication with a boy that can't speak. The flashbacks to what happened in her life before she got to Heathrow and the journey that she had to make, avoiding the guards and escaping capture. 

It really was great. It's worth reading just for the first half. I just wish that the second part had been as good. 

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

Final 7 by Kerry Drewery

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 224

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 11th of January 2018

Martha and Isaac have escaped, but are now on the run - the government has branded them rebels and a danger to the public. Despite the rewards being offered for turning them in, Martha and her friends are safe in The Rises, the area of the city full of the poor and the powerless. But then the Prime Minister orders a wall to be built around The Rises. Is it for the the safety or the poor - or is it to imprison them? Martha needs to act, and to act fast, in a tale of breathtaking treachery that reaches right to the heart of government... 

What I Have to Say 

This is such a great series and a really great book, but I have to say, it scared and depressed me. When this series started it was an awesome dystopia that was a little frightening because it was something that seemed like it could actually happen. But since the first book came out, reality has moved even closer to fiction and it seemed to mirror our situation and the way the government feel they can get away with lying too us a little too close to comfort. 

The book itself was really good though. As always, Kerry Drewery's writing was beautiful and the book was filled with so many twists and secrets, right up to the very end. 

The end wasn't to my tastes, but it was an interesting way to end it. I like books that end happily really. I like things that come together nicely and give at least most people what they want. Sad endings just make me feel sad and that's the feeling I take away from the book. 

This is definitely a book to get but I feel like maybe it's one to leave on your TBR pile for happier times. 

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

The Book of Fire by Michelle Kenney

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Publisher:  HQ

Released:  25th of August 2017 

Life outside the domes is not possible. At least that’s what Insiders are told.

Twins Eli and Talia shouldn’t exist. They’re Outsiders.

Their home is a secret. Their lives are a secret. Arafel is a secret.

An unexpected forest raid forces Talia into a desperate mission to rescue her family while protecting the sacred Book of Arafel from those who would use it as a weapon. As Talia and her life long friend Max enter the dome, she makes some unexpected discoveries, and allies, in the form of rugged Insider August, that will change the course of her life forever.

She’ll stop at nothing to save her family but will she sacrifice her heart in the process?

What I Have to Say 

I have to say I wasn't as impressed by this book as I hoped I would be. The idea sounded great and at the start I was really interested in Arafel and their lifestyle. The Roman based life in the Dome was also really interesting, but beyond that, nothing really hooked my attention. 

Talia as a character was good, but she was so determined to get her family back and for most of it, she did nothing but what others told her to do. There was so much waiting around as she predictably got involved in a love triangle and got distracted from her goals by it. 

There was so much there that would have been great but for the most part it was just the same as every other dystopia book out there. There was nothing there that set it apart and there needs to be something, especially in this genre. 

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

We See Everything by William Sutcliffe

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books 

Released: 21st of September 2017

Lex lives on The Strip – the overcrowded, closed-off, bombed-out shell of London. He’s used to the watchful enemy drones that buzz in the air above him. 

Alan’s talent as a gamer has landed him the job of his dreams. At a military base in a secret location, he is about to start work as a drone pilot. 

These two young men will never meet, but their lives are destined to collide. Because Alan has just been assigned a high-profile target. Alan knows him only as #K622. But Lex calls him Dad. 

What I Have to Say 

This was another book that just didn't dragged through most of the book. I liked the  setting a lot and it seemed really interesting, but so little happened except at the beginning and end. 

Alan was slightly more interesting than Lex, because it was interesting to see into the mind of someone who is so willing to kill people. It was interesting to see how he justified it to himself and how his world was shaken when it came to Lex. 

Lex however seemed only really to be there to have the romance. It just seemed rather pointless that there wasn't more to the plot like that. 

The ending was good, but I would have liked to see more that happened between the attack and the ending. I would have liked to know what happened to change everything so much. 

This book just disappointed me really and I wish it had been better. 

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

The Death House by Sarah Pinborough

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 288

Publisher: Gollancz

Released: 12th of November 2016 

Toby's life was perfectly normal...until it was unravelled by something as simple as a blood test. 

Taken from his family, Toby now lives in the Death House; an out-of-time existence far from the modern world, where he, and the others who live there, are studied by Matron and her team of nurses. They're looking for any sign of sickness. Any sign of their wards changing. Any sign that it's time to take them to the sanatorium. 

No one returns from the sanatorium. 

Withdrawn from his house-mates and living in his memories of the past, Toby spends his days fighting his fear. But then a new arrival in the house shatters the fragile peace, and everything changes. 

Because everybody dies. It's how you choose to live that counts

What I Have to Say 

This book was good, but I didn't get caught up in it in the way I do with most things. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, I just didn't really care about what happened. I had no real curiosity about anything, which as there wasn't that much explained to us about the illness or anything really other than hints about the society that has led to the creation of the Death House, it's probably a good thing that I wasn't anxious to know more. 

I didn't really like Toby that much really. He was a little dull and I guess that was partly from the depression of being in a house like that, just waiting to die. But Clara, I liked much better. She was lively and she climbed trees and she seemed to genuinely care about the other characters. I liked seeing her make Toby a better person. 

The background characters were more interesting as well. I really liked Will and Elinor and some of the other smaller characters. 

I think I'd have liked it much better if they were actually fighting against it more. It wasn't that nothing happened, but most of the plot just centred around the characters interacting with each other and there wasn't much to grip me, 

It's a good book if you like good relationships between characters, but otherwise I just wasn't into it. 

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

Day 7 by Kerry Drewery

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 448 

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 15th of June 2017 

Other Books in the Series: Cell 7 

Martha Honeydew has been released from the terrifying Cell 7. But despite her new freedom, the corrupt judicial system is still tracking Martha's every move. And Isaac, her only trusted friend, is now imprisoned in the very same cells she was. Isaac saved Martha's life, it is only right she now saves his. 

But with Martha still a target, her chances of saving Isaac are remote. Martha begins to question whether it is ever possible to escape government scrutiny. 

Will Martha and Isaac ever reunite? 

Will they ever live in a better world?

What I Have to Say 

I loved Cell 7 so I was really looking forward to Day 7, but it made me feel a bit disappointed when I found it a little repetitive. For a lot of it, it kind of felt like the same plot as Cell 7 but with Isaac in the cell instead of Martha. It was different enough to keep me interested, but I think it could have been more different. 

I love the whole concept of it though. Everything is a conspiracy. Everything is manipulation and I feel like in this book we saw more of that. We saw how everyone's strings are being pulled behind the scenes. Not just the presenters of the TV shows but even Martha and Eve and everyone else. I love reading about manipulation and how hard it is to escape from this kind of thing. 

I'm looking forward to the next book a lot. I don't like the repetitiveness, but I still love the whole idea and everything else about, Kerry Drewery's writing is beautiful and the different styles really bring it all together. 

I can't wait to see what happens now. 

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