Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

Pages: 512 

Publisher: Hodderscape 

Released: 16th of May 2023 

Let’s get one thing straight—Vanja Schmidt wasn’t trying to start a cult.

After taking down a corrupt margrave, breaking a deadly curse, and finding romance with the vexingly scrupulous Junior Prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja had one great mystery left: her long-lost birth family… and if they would welcome a thief. But in her search for an honest trade, she hit trouble and invented a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out. Now, that lie is growing out of control—especially when Emeric arrives to investigate, and the Scarlet Maiden manifests to claim him as a virgin sacrifice.

For his final test to become a prefect, Emeric must determine if Vanja is guilty of serious fraud, or if the Scarlet Maiden—and her claim to him—are genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja is chasing an alternative sacrifice that may be their way out. The hunt leads her not only into the lairs of monsters and the paths of gods, but the ties of her past. And with what should be the simplest way to save Emeric hanging over their heads, he and Vanja must face a more dangerous question: Is there a future for a thief and a prefect, and at what price?

What I Have to Say 

Despite the fact that my favourite character from the first book was barely in this one, I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a good adventure with the same level of excitement and creativity as the first book. It's a series that takes tropes like hauntings and virgin sacrifices and turns them on their head, making something original and unique. Really this is exactly what I want to see in a book, especially a fantasy book. 

I really like the relationship between Emeric and Vanja and this book was all about them getting ready for the next step in their relationship. In short, they're getting towards the point where they might, maybe be ready to have sex and they need to talk about it. I honestly thought it was a really good portrayal of the awkwardness and need for assurance that comes into these conversations. 

I really liked the ending of the book. I had a wonderful moment just before it was all revealed that it all came together and I figured exactly what was happened, which gave me the fun sense that I worked it out by myself, without it feeling obvious. 

Really looking forward to the next book in the series! 

4 stars 

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

The Secrets of a Teenage Heiress by Katy Birchall

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Publisher: Egmont 

Released: 11th of January 2018 

Flick's family have owned The Royale – one of London's most prestigious hotels – for generations. But Flick isn't that interested. She is interested in the newest guest – superstar celebrity Skylar Chase, and Sky's mega-famous group of friends, including dreamy YouTube star, Ethan Duke. But just as Flick gets the chance to join their glittering squad, she gets grounded following an unfortunate incident involving a prince, a wardrobe and a selfie stick (it could have happened to anyone!). With only her Instagram star pet dachshund, Fritz, for company, will Flick find a way to escape The Royale and join the fame game?

What I Have to Say 

Katy Birchall's books are always a load of fun. She shows realistic teenagers getting into high jinks and escapades and generally getting into trouble. She doesn't shy away from the personality traits that teenagers often show, simply by being young. Flick is very self-centred and isn't very aware of people around her, something that we see change throughout the course of the book. 

I loved the general atmosphere of the hotel. I loved the family feel with the workers and the two families at the centre of the book. I love the idea in general of living in a hotel and having your family run it. I don't think that's something I could ever get tired of, because there's so much possibility for interesting characters and scenery. 

And Fritz was wonderful. Dogs in books usually are, but the way he had his own little fan club and all his outfits, it added a bit of adorable background to the book that I loved. 

I'm hoping this becomes a series. 

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

Satellite by Nick Lake

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 464

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books 

Released: 5th of October 2017 

A teenage boy born in space makes his first trip to Earth.

He’s going to a place he’s never been before: home.

Moon 2 is a space station that orbits approximately 250 miles above Earth. It travels 17,500 miles an hour, making one full orbit every ninety minutes. It’s also the only home that fifteen-year-old Leo and two other teens have ever known.

Born and raised on Moon 2, Leo and the twins, Orion and Libra, are finally old enough and strong enough to endure the dangerous trip to Earth. They’ve been “parented” by teams of astronauts since birth and have run countless drills to ready themselves for every conceivable difficulty they might face on the flight.

But has anything really prepared them for life on terra firma? Because while the planet may be home to billions of people, living there is more treacherous than Leo and his friends could ever have imagined, and their very survival will mean defying impossible odds.

What I Have to Say

 I really enjoyed this book. It was a surprise since I often find Nick Lake books to be a little slow, but this one had such a good concept and was written well enough for to hold my attention. It went into things that I would never even consider. No sci fi book I've ever read has even touched upon the significant differences in the way a child's body would develop when they have spent their entire life without gravity.

It was still slow, but I found that the slowness just didn't matter. I enjoyed taking my time over it and discovering more about Leo and how he adapts to life on Earth. The fact that there were always mysteries surrounding their birth and why Leo couldn't get in touch with Orion and Libra helped a lot, but I do think that the main thing was just the fact that it was so interesting and well thought out.

The only thing I didn't like was the fact that it was written with u instead of you and c instead of see. It's something that just really annoys me. I'm not even sure teenagers write like that anymore. Without constraints on the number of characters, why would they need to?

In all though this was an amazing book, so different from anything else I've read.

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