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. 

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 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. 

 

The Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 419 

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company  

Released: 9th of April 2019 

Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own.

Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death... because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago.

Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?

In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, debut author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.

What I Have to Say 

This book was great, but a little overhyped for me. So in this review I'm going to try and be objective and see past the fact that I wasn't blown away by how fantastic it was and focus on the stuff that I did really like. I loved the characters. Hesina was a really deep, well thought out character. Joan He did a fantastic job of showing the pressures that are put on rulers and how much it takes to be a good one. 

The murder mystery element was also a fantastic addition. We need more murder mystery fantasy novels. Especially with the high political stakes that this was had. It was made even better by the twists that were revealed later in the book. There was some stuff I guessed, but wow, there was one very major thing I just did not see coming! 

I liked the different factions, the sooths and those that wanted them gone, the neighbouring countries that are ready to use that to their advantage. I liked how much of Hesina's work was a balancing act between all of it, as well as how she quite clearly had a side despite not being able to show it in her role as queen. 

I really really liked this world and these characters and overall, while I didn't get that feeling of amazement and love that I expected to get from this book, I just want to see more of this world. 

My thanks go to Albert Whitman & Company  and Netgalley for providing me with this free copy for review. 

This Lie Will Kill You by Chelsea Pitcher

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK Children's 

Released: 27th of December 2018 

Tell the truth. Or face the consequences.

Clue meets Riverdale in this page-turning thriller that exposes the lies five teens tell about a deadly night one year ago. 

One year ago, there was a party.

At the party, someone died.

Five teens each played a part and up until now, no one has told the truth.

But tonight, the five survivors arrive at an isolated mansion in the hills, expecting to compete in a contest with a $50,000 grand prize. Of course…some things are too good to be true. They were each so desperate for the prize, they didn’t question the odd, rather exclusive invitation until it was too late.

Now, they realize they’ve been lured together by a person bent on revenge, a person who will stop at nothing to uncover what actually happened on that deadly night, one year ago.

Five arrived, but not all can leave. Will the truth set them free?

Or will their lies destroy them all?

What I Have to Say 

This Lie Will Kill You gripped me right from the first page. The secrets, the lies, the mysterious murder mystery dinner party that they're invited to, which they know and the reader knows that is definitely far more sinister than the invitation would suggest. 

It was just perfect. The emotions from each of the characters, the lies and secrets that are revealed throughout the book. It kept me wanting to know more and more without leaving me too long between each snippet of information that I got bored and frustrated. 

And the story when it came out was dark and full of conflict and passion and so many twists. No one is who they seem and everything was captivating. 

Looking for a good mystery? Look no further. 

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

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Released: 3rd of December 2018 (Kindle only, paper release 24th of January 2019)

EVERYONE’S INVITED. 

EVERYONE’S A SUSPECT.

Bristling with tension, bitter rivalries, and toxic friendships, get ready for the most hotly-anticipated thriller of 2019.

In a remote hunting lodge, deep in the Scottish wilderness, old friends gather for New Year.

The beautiful one

The golden couple

The volatile one

The new parents

The quiet one

The city boy

The outsider

The victim.

Not an accident – a murder among friends.

What I Have to Say 

The ending ruined this book to me. The reveal of the murder. Because the author took the same way out that tons of other crime writers do to explain why this person did the things they did. So, SPOILERS FOR MOTIVE OF MURDER BUT NOT THE ACTUAL KILLER: surprise surprise, it was a personality disorder, because why else would someone kill someone? If there were more books about people with personality disorders living healthy lives without being cast as the villain every time, this wouldn't be so big of an issue. The fact is there are people living out in the world with these issues. And every time they see themselves in fictions they are the twist in a crime novel. The world is sending them a message to say that they are destined to kill someone and THAT IS NOT OKAY. 

Until that, I really liked the book. I'm really upset with how that one bit of the book ruined the rest of it for me. Because the plot was really engrossing. The characters were engaging and completely dis-likeable in the way that some plots work with dislikeable characters and the setting was beautifully written. I loved the feeling of beauty all around that was created at the start of the book and the way it changed to an isolated, desolated landscape as the storm hit. 

I wish I could recommend this book, because it really kept me reading and enjoying it for most of the book, but I know the damage it does to people with personality disorders, so I just can't. 

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

Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 336 

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton 

Released: 18th of October 2018 

It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods. 

Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly.

The only thing is: they didn’t do it. 

On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago—no matter how monstrous.

Trigger Warnings: Animal Death, rehab, hoarding, sacrificial style murder 

What I Have to Say 

This book was intense. I loved everything about it from the prologue to that ending (that ending! Okay I'm also a little furious about that ending. But it was completely perfect.) The story was so intriguing, knowing virtually nothing about the suspects except who didn't do it (though maybe they did and it's all just a ruse to make you sure that it's not them?). 

I think seeing how the people who have been accused or arrested, but not convicted of a crime, are treated is a new favourite thing to read about in crime novels. It's so awful how people just assume that person is guilty from the moment they're arrested, despite the mistakes that police can make and it's such an interesting thing to show. These two girls have gone through so much harassment and worse at the hands of a community that is so sure that they're guilty; the way they've suffered and found their own ways of escape for five years, it's emotional but so fascinating to read.  It just makes it so interesting to see a story start from there and work through them trying to prove their innocence. 

I loved the excerpts of Lovelorn and the fanfiction that the girls wrote as well. Especially as it was so integral to the plot. It was great hunting for details in every excerpt to try and work out whether it was important. The only thing I'd say that was not so great about this book was how gory some of it was. 

Honestly, if you're still unsure about whether to read this book, read the prologue. It left me breathless with excitement for the rest of the book. 

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

The Towering Sky by Katharine McGee

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 320

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Released: 6th of September 2018 

Welcome back to New York, 2119. A skyscraper city, fueled by impossible dreams, where the lives of five teenagers have become intertwined in ways that no one could have imagined.

Leda just wants to move on from what happened in Dubai. Until a new investigation forces her to seek help—from the person she’s spent all year trying to forget.

Rylin is back in her old life, reunited with an old flame. But when she starts seeing Cord again, she finds herself torn: between two worlds, and two very different boys.

Calliope feels trapped, playing a long con that costs more than she bargained for. What happens when all her lies catch up with her?

Watt is still desperately in love with Leda. He’ll do anything to win her back—even dig up secrets that are better left buried.

And now that Avery is home from England—with a new boyfriend, Max—her life seems more picture-perfect than ever. So why does she feel like she would rather be anything but perfect?

In this breathtaking finale to The Thousandth Floor trilogy, Katharine McGee returns to her vision of 22nd-century New York: a world of startling glamour, dazzling technology, and unthinkable secrets. After all, when you have everything… you have everything to lose.

What I Have to Say 

I am really going to miss these teens and their drama. It was a really great conclusion. It wrapped up everything despite all the tangled mess of the whole thing. I'm still just not a fan of Avery and Atlas, but I loved Avery's ending otherwise. I've always been interested in her story of fame and perfection and how trapped she was by being Avery Fuller, so it was really nice that there was a resolution for that and not just the relationship with Atlas. I loved her so much better in Oxford with Max, but I didn't expect much to come from that, so I'm not that disappointed. I'm fairly happy with how things turned out. 

The same can be said of the other characters. They all had really good conclusions, getting things that they wanted but also making sacrifices. I especially liked Watt's ending, I'd really like to see a sequel about him and how he copes with what happened at the end of the book. 

The ending itself was a roller-coaster. Through all the books there've been shocking twists and turns and new things to throw things into chaos, and this book definitely delivered exactly what I've come to expect from Katharine McGee, something completely unexpected! 

I really do think this was a fantastic series, despite the incest. A fantastic murder mystery series in such a unique setting. 

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

It Ends With You by S. K. Wright

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 256

Publisher: Atom

Released: 6th of September 2018 

'If I'd told the truth, it would have been fiction'

Everyone loves Eva. Beautiful, bright, fun, generous - she's perfect.

So when her dead body is found in a ditch in the local woods the only thing anyone wants to know is: Who could have done this?

It has to be Luke, her boyfriend. He has the motive, the means, the opportunity and he's no stranger to the police.

Even though the picture is incomplete, the pieces fit. But as time passes, stories change.

What I Have to Say 

I took a while to really get going with this book, but it certainly was an interesting look at secrets, lies and prejudice. The way that from the start the police are so fixated on Luke, a boy from a less well off family, with scruffy clothes and a perchance to get into fights. But as it goes on, you see that what seems to be a basic case of prejudice and profiling, may actually be being used to cover up more involvement. 

Though in general, I liked the twists and turns the story came up with, there were maybe just a bit too many. Every time it seemed like we might be getting an idea of what happened, some startling new evidence came out to change everything. I liked this at first, but I really like a mystery where you can look back afterwards and see that there are clues you missed and that it all adds up and makes sense. With this one, there were new suspects added all the time and it meant that you couldn't really work out to tell who it was. 

I liked the different view points though and the insight that they threw up. How we saw the investigative side with Carolina and her father and also the suspect's point of view with Luke. Then there's the opinions of the other people in Eva's life and how they react to everything. It really worked well with the allegations against Luke and showing how people's opinions get set very early on. 

I don't think this is one I'd read again, but I'm glad I read it. 

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

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 308 

Publisher: HQ

Released: 25th of July 2017 

Reality is in the eye of the beholder…

Even among the many unusual members of the travelling circus that has always been her home sixteen year old Sorina stands apart as the only illusion-worker born in hundreds of years.

This rare talent allows her to create illusions that others can see, feel and touch, with personalities all of their own. Her creations are her family, and together they make up the cast of the Festival's Freak Show.

But no matter how lifelike they may seem, her illusions are still just that—illusions, and not truly real.

Or so she always believed…until one of them is murdered.

Now she must unravel the horrifying truth before all her loved ones disappear.

What I Have to Say 

This is my new favourite world. I was so sad to leave it. Both Gomorrah and the cities it was travelling through were so well built. The tension outside of Gomorrah with the people against Gomorrah and the people who reside within it made such an exciting background to such a personal story of family and loyalty. 

The illusions were wonderful. I loved the way that Sorina's family were introduced and how the illusions were all introduced through the performance. The emotions within their family quickly got intense after they started to be murdered. Aside from the rather creepy drawings throughout depicting how the murderer was planning to kill them, which were really unnerving but added nicely to the atmosphere of the book. 

Though I guessed the ending, it didn't feel predictable at all. It was such a brilliant plot, woven beautifully to create a creepy wonderful murder mystery. 

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