Mindbreaker by Kate Dylan (audiobook)

Narrator: Stephanie Cannon

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Hodderscape 

Released: 14th of September 2023 

They saved her life. But at what cost?

Born into a religious cult on the fringe of society, Indra Dyer lives a simple, tech-free existence. But when an illicit trip to the city leaves her with a debilitating – and terminal – condition, Indra must make a choice: die faithful or betray her Order and accept the cure Glindell Technologies is offering.

Forced to sign over full ownership of her life, Indra is horrified to learn the true nature of Glindell’s plans. Instead of saving her body, they upload her mind to a first of its kind MindDrive, housed in a fully robotic shell.

On the outside, Indra still looks the same; on the inside, she’s not so sure. More than once, she finds herself in places she really shouldn't be, with no memory of how she got there, and dangerous abilities she can't explain. So when news breaks of an attack against Glindell's biggest rival, Indra begins to suspect the worst.

With help from her one friend at the company, Tian — a research assistant with questionable morals and a smile that won't quit — Indra must uncover the truth behind the procedure that saved her life, before Glindell can use it to change the face of technology, and what it means to be human, forever.

What I Have to Say 

I love Kate Dylan's style of writing so much. I love the imagination that's put into her world, what's different from ours, what's the same, what's changed during the time that they had the apocalypse. I think I've said this in my review of Mindwalker, but it's just so nice to see someone imagining something after we burn our world to the ground that isn't some desperate scramble to survive. 

I found Indra's cult really interesting. There is a line between the tech that they need to survive and what they can do without and it was good to see the character pointing out the hypercritical nature of it all. I also liked that it gave Indra a very different character to Sil from the previous book. It was a very different outlook and especially early on it was interesting to see how deep the programming in her ran. 

This book is really about what it means to be human and it was touched upon multiple times during the book. Indra doesn't feel human anymore because of the tech that makes up her body and it's fascinating to see her journey to accept her new circumstances. 

The narration was really good. I could really hear Indra's voice through it and I liked some of the other voices that were done for the other characters (especially Tien). I read the first book quite a while ago though and so even though it was the same narrator for each character, it didn't jar me. I don't know how it would be if you read them closer together.

With rebellion, evil tech companies and a great deal of heart, both this book and Mindwalker are well worth picking up! 

5 stars 

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

The Liars by Jennifer Mathieu

Pages: 336 

Publisher: Hachette  Children's Group 

Released: 5th of September 2019 

It's the summer of 1986. Joaquin and Elena, two teenage siblings live in a toxic environment with their alcoholic mother on an island off the Texas Gulf Coast.

Elena falls for a new boy who has just arrived from California. Joaquin must wrestle with his decision to stay on Mariposa Island to protect his sister or flee from his mother's abuse.

As both teenagers struggle to figure out who they are and want to be, they are caught in a web of family dysfunction and secrets from their mother's past. 

What I Have to Say 

This was such an interesting book to read. It was so generational. Showing how the suffering of one generation can lead to more suffering in the next, travelling from generation to generation. It was a fascinating look at abuse and fear and how it can lead to control. 

I don't know much about Cuba, so I was interested to see what it was like there and how the upper classes were affected by the revolution and the evacuation of the children. 

I loved the two different view points and how they lie and rebel against their mother's rules. It was such a good look at lies and deception and how each teenager handled their mothers rules in their own way. 

 My thanks go to Hachette's Children's Group and Netgalley 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. 

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304

Publisher: Head of Zeus 

Released: 11th of April 2019 

1906: A large manor house, Wake's End, sits on the edge of a bleak Fen, just outside the town of Wakenhyrst. It is the home of Edmund Stearn and his family – a historian, scholar and land-owner, he's an upstanding member of the local community. But all is not well at Wake's End. Edmund dominates his family tyrannically, in particular daughter Maud. When Maud's mother dies in childbirth and she's left alone with her strict, disciplinarian father, Maud's isolation drives her to her father's study, where she happens upon his diary.

During a walk through the local church yard, Edmund spots an eye in the undergrowth. His terror is only briefly abated when he discovers its actually a painting, a 'doom', taken from the church. It's horrifying in its depiction of hell, and Edmund wants nothing more to do with it despite his historical significance. But the doom keeps returning to his mind. The stench of the Fen permeates the house, even with the windows closed. And when he lies awake at night, he hears a scratching sound – like claws on the wooden floor...

Wakenhyrst is a terrifying ghost story, an atmospheric slice of gothic, a brilliant exploration of the boundaries between the real and the supernatural, and a descent into the mind of a psychopath. 

What I Have to Say 

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It's a great mystery, full of obsession, madness, demons and all things creepy. Paver is a master at creating an atmosphere that pulls you completely into the scene and keeps you there in suspense, unable to put the book down. 

This book really delves into the dark sides of Christianity. It shows the madness and religious fervour that can be brought on by those who would use it as a form of control, but it also explores the nature of questioning the concept of Christianity. Whilst escaping from the control of her father and his version of religion, she also questions the mortality of it all. The idea that everyone is born in sin and have to redeem themselves. I really liked to see all her thoughts and explorations while escaping from the strict rules of her father's household. 

It was really interesting to see the study of the medieval fixation on the afterlife, the fixation on the punishment and demons in hell rather than the bright happy reward of heaven. This really is a fantastic look at the history of Christianity both medieval and during Maud's time. 

A damn good mystery focused on how things went down and what actually happened. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with this copy for review.