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Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao – Bitingly Brilliant YA Sci Fi

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Iron Widow was such an excellent read.

Compelling, action packed, female antihero, blisteringly well delivered themes — it did everything right. I also had the pleasure of listening to the audio a few months ago before this review copy surprised me in the mail, but I hadn’t reviewed the story. So it’s high time! This one is definitely going on my Top Ten Of 2022 list. However due to experience this via audio, please be patient with my spelling!! 😂😭 Everything is phonetic in my head (though I’ve tried to look names/words up).

Zetian was amazing. She was absolutely feral and unhinged and I loved that for her. This took the corruption arc and went for it with its whole chest, but more than that: it did it right. By the end I totally feel like Zetian had snapped but at the same time, pfft, I was 100% rooting for her. We support womens rights and womens wrongs here. Something I usually am wary of with #girlboss characters is how their focus is only inward, but it wasn’t the case here. Zetian had such a fervent focus on the other abused and discarded girls forced to face worse fates even than she. She did not bring any “not like the other girls” vibes, and was in fact convinced her high-spirit pressure wasn’t a fluke…other girls were like her and being crushed so the boys could always prevail. Her fight, her willingness to make herself think passed “limitations”, the way she endured and reclaimed her autonomy and her mind and her love for herself — all so well delievered on page.

It’s violently and ferociously feministic. And I also loved how Zetian isn’t just fighting for the other girls: she’s discovering the boys who are abused and suffer too, like Li Shimin.

It’s also refreshingly queer and features a polyamory romance, which is so rare in YA (is it anywhere?!). Finally we get a true triangle 😂 It discusses gender and I appreciated how Zetian frequently mentioned how she didn’t vibe with the concept of gender. Did I mention I love her. I do wish Shimin x Yizhi had more space to develop, especially their feelings toward each other, but fingers crossed that’s coming in the sequel.

It has lots of fight scenes and big magic robots that you control with your chi. I thoroughly enjoyed the concept. At first it felt like straight up fantasy to me, but then the END HITS and wow. I see where it’s going and it’s brilliant and horrible, and I’m craving the sequel like nothing else. It also serves up some hunger games vibes were Zetian and Li Shimin realise they need to win public favour in order to help stay alive, and that sense of self that is sacrificed as they mould themselves for the cameras contrasted with the reclaiming of autonomy that goes down as they gain momentum. Loved that.It is overall quite dark too, and doesn’t hold back from realistically discussing abuse and torture and rape and murder.

it’s a vicious book with a lot to say and the best part is: it says it loud and it says it excellently. Throw in a good dash of bloody vengeance and you have a YA that is thoroughly worth the hype.

Thanks to One World Publications for the review copy!

Title: Iron Widow (#1)
Author: Xiran Jay Zhao
Date Published: September 8th, 2022
Genre: YA Fantasy, Sci Fi
Publisher: One World Books
Purchase: Book Depository, Dymocks
Add it on Goodreads
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​
To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

The Final Gambit #3 by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – Twists Within Twists!

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So I absolutely love the Inheritance Games trilogy and this finale did not disappoint.

The only grief I’m in is that it’s OVER. These books were all brilliant 😭🙌🏻 works of complicated, twisty genius. As much as I enjoyed the reading of them, I also just want to gush over the craft as well. The skill it would take to wield this plot, handle all the numerous reveals, keep all the twists in order…my jaw is on the floor. There were reveals that were set up from book one. Imagine the organisation! The tying up all the loose threads! Impeccable.

See my reviews for The Inheritance Games (#1) and The Hawthorne Legacy (#2).

So the premise of the series (if you’re new here) is that Avery is a bit of a nobody and suddenly finds herself the sole inheritor of a billionaire’s fortune. But the billionaire also happens to have 4 dashing sons and a perchance for extremely complicated riddles and games. Everything is a game. Games within games. And there are mysteries to unravel (why Avery? what’s going on? is so and so really dead? is such and such a threat or a friend?) and the plot is like a nesting doll. Once you unravel one mystery it will lead to a dozen more.

It’s also brilliant to see Avery go from a clever but relatively unambitious teen to an absolute beast of puzzles and game mastery, who manages to keep being a smart, altruistic, compassionate, and kind person even when she’s literally handed the world on a golden platter.

I also loved the Hawthorne boys, as always. (Although I have to be horrible and admit Nash is pretty useless and never does much lmao.) Grayson is having a breakdown, Jameson is being the absolute most beautiful manic pixie dream boy we could ask for, and Xander is being a pure delightful ball of sunshine. These three + Avery could crack any code, truly. I love their dynamics and how the book also explored a bit more of the cracks on the Hawthorne brothers’ facades. Their grandfather manipulated them all growing up to serve his own purposes and they more they learn about him (they learn A LOT about his past in this book too) the more they have to reconfigure their feelings for him. Avery also gets hit with some tougher, emotional reveals as well.

There’s also a new villain on the scene. And while I personally think it doesn’t make sense that Tobias Hawthorne didn’t warn them in advance…(and in fact made it a complicated game to find out? lol) I did love how it all played out and how deeply interwoven it was with the whole trilogy. Like there was a poem mentioned in book ONE that had meaning in book THREE. Hello!! I do think the series would be best read all at once though, because you’d notice more references. I did struggle to remember a few of the characters but guess that means I can reread now.

more things to love:

  • adored the snappy, fast-paced chapters
  • rich and ostentatious descriptions that were still brief enough to always keep the pace going at a whip-cracking speed
  • seeing more of the infamous Hawthorne mansion (there is a bejewelled escape room okay)
  • uncovering more family skeletons in the closet (literally…….figuratively….)
  • high stakes, drama, angst
  • absolutely living for how dramatic ALL the Hawthorne brothers are (also adore Jameson and Grayson’s sibling dynamics because they’re awful to each other in the most elegant way and it’s so brotherly accurate)
  • just getting to live vicariously through Avery and pretend I, too, might inherit a mysterious fortune someday

A fast-paced, gloriously twisty and clever series finale that will leave you satisfied (and also itching to play chess). Avery and her Hawthorne boys wield a story that’s worth the hype and it will make your brain work work hard.

Thanks to Penguin Teen AUS for the review copy!

Title: The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games #3)
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Date Published: 30 August 2022
Genre: YA Thriller
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Purchase: Book Depository, Dymocks
Add it on Goodreads
The thrilling conclusion to the global bestselling, BookTok sensation, Inheritance Games trilogy, where Knives Out meets One of Us is Lying.
Avery’s fortune, life, and loves are on the line in the game that everyone will be talking about.
To inherit billions, all Avery has to do is survive a few more weeks in Hawthorne House. The paparazzi are dogging her every step. Financial pressures are building. Danger is a fact of life. And the only thing getting Avery through it all is the Hawthorne brothers. Her life is intertwined with theirs. She knows their secrets, and they know her.
But as the clock ticks down to when Avery will become the richest teenager on the planet, trouble arrives in the form of a visitor who needs her help-and whose presence in Hawthorne House could change everything. It soon becomes clear that there is one last puzzle to solve, and Avery and the Hawthorne brothers are drawn into a dangerous game against an unknown and powerful player. Secrets upon secrets. Riddles upon riddles. In this game, there are hearts and lives at stake – and there is nothing more Hawthorne than winning.

Nothing More To Tell by Karen M. McManus – Most Twisty Thriller Yet!

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Karen M. McManus writes some of my favourite YA thrillers.

They just do not miss?! Ever?!? I always love how interesting the characters are, plus the mysteries are extremely twisty with so many trails to follow, it keeps my brain spinning happily. Addictive and always satisfying. Nothing More To Tell had so, so many layers and secrets — by the end I was just bursting from all the reveals. Like there were a couple of things I had a hunch about, but it’s impossible to guess all the twists. 😂 Love that for us.

You Will Find…

  • small town mystery
  • Brynn is a real Nancy Drew while Tripp is all moody, tortured and handsome
  • huge cast of diverse and well fleshed-out characters
  • cracking open a cold case and suddenly sir it is a hot case now
  • you can suspect everyone tbh
  • secrets leading to more secrets, it is the most tangled web of secrets you ever did see
  • really features the dangers of assumptions, and how deep a mess everyone made with all the conclusions they leapt to

It delivers a very contemporary vibe too, and honestly I love that about it. With thrillers, I often find characterisation takes a backseat while the plot is the focus, but this one does both. Plus the cast is huge, and that actually helps it to feel more real. Although I’m bad with names and there were a lot of people to track. 😂 But Brynn and Tripp were both equally interesting narrators, and I was easily invested in their personal lives and their reasons for cracking open this case. (Or in Tripp’s case, traumatically reliving all his bad decisions for a good cause.)

Brynn is working as an intern for a true crime TV show and asks them to look into the cold case of her murdered 8th Grade teacher, Mr. Larkin. Nothing ever felt right about that crime. Too many random aspects and unanswered questions. And Brynn always loved Mr. Larkin as a teacher so she wants justice. But one of the people who found Mr. Larkin’s body, back all those years ago, was Tripp…and he absolutely lied on that day and Brynn needs to know why.

Brynn is very go-getter and driven, and just the type of girl to hound the clues and not drop it even when it starts to get super dangerous. While Tripp is absolutely a tortured mess, and right up front you know he’s hiding stuff, but what. They had a thing when they were in middle-school before a catastrophic falling out, so there’s a bit of a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers aspect with the romance which pulled off nicely and didn’t take away from the weight of the mystery.

There were SO many moving parts to this story too. As a writer, I was kind of in awe of all the tracks and trails there were to weave together by the end. And it did come together very satisfyingly. But seriously it was like secrets underneath secrets…and more than once I was just like: BUT WHO DID WHAT AND WHY. And then answers came together masterfully  with more than one surprise at the end. And so many characters had pivotal parts to play and reveals to make. I also love how very dependent on the characters’ personalities the mystery is — like “so-and-so being that kind of person leading to them doing this“. I’m nerding out over the writer aspect, but just really admired it!

A mystery with a bit of angst and murder as two teens cut open the old wound of the past and find nothing is as it seems. Everyone is lying. Everyone has a secret. Totally addictive!

Also as I’m a total McManus fan apparently 😂 you can catch my reviews for One Of Us Is Next, The Cousins, Two Can Keep A Secret, and You’ll Be The Death Of Me.

Thanks to Penguin Australia for the review copy!

Title: Nothing More To Tell
Author: Karen M. McManus
Date Published: 30 August 2022
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Penguin Aus
Purchase: Book Depository, Dymocks
Add it on Goodreads
Someone got away with murder. The most terrifying part is that they’re back – or maybe they never left. . .
Five years ago, Brynn quit Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favourite teacher. The case was never solved, but Brynn’s sure that the three kids who found Mr. Larkin’s body on school grounds know more than they’re telling.
Brynn’s ex-best friend Tripp was one of them. Thanks to Tripp’s testimony none of them were found guilty of the murder and now, five years later, the trio are at the top of the school’s social ladder.
When Brynn gets the internship of a lifetime working on a new true-crime show, she decides to investigate what really happened that day in the woods for herself. But the further she dives into the past, the more secrets she uncovers-about Saint Ambrose School, about Mr. Larkin, and even about her ex-best friend.

[Book Tour] The Valkyrie’s Daughter by Tiana Warner

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Welcome to my MTMC Tours stop for The Valkyrie’s Daughter by Tiana Warner!

I flew through this one (we shall say pun intended since it features Valkyries and their flying horses). It’s a fast-paced fantasy romp with all the classic YA tropes: quests, enemies to lovers (but make it sapphic yes please and thank you), destinies and prophecies, and a good dose of Norse Mythology. It has a few fun twists too 👀👌🏻 to keep you guessing, and an ending that felt tidily satisfactory but with so much room for potential sequels.

Sigrid is a really forthright and earnest main character. She truly just wants to be a valkyrie and is obsessed with chasing her destiny — but make it a cool destiny because she’s super done being a stablehand and picking up lunch for the “real” valkyries. She has the soul of a valkyrie but only a mortal horse mount (say hi to Hestur), so she’s not included in training and given no chances, no matter how hard she tries to prove herself. Sigrid is definitely a flawed teen who has to learn to see beyond her own goals and dreams, and I liked seeing her realise just how precious her friends are and that glory and fame isn’t everything.

When she meets an enemy Valkyrie in battle, Sigrid never expects they’re going to end on a roadtrip across the nine realms in order to find Loki’s son, the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. Mariam is so tough and gruff, and quickly became a favourite 😌👌🏻 Their relationship is terse at first, as they’re only teamed up out of necessity, but then the softness begins and the blushing and the sapphic yearning. 😭  I also loved when they met Fisk, a total chaotic Night Elf, who is basically the runt of his army and everyone teases him. He and Sigrid bond over being under-appreciated. But basically the lesbians and their himbo BFF is a great trope, very appreciated.

There is also lots of horse appreciation and love, and Hestur is a continual hero, let’s be real. (There is an animal death but it’s not permanent.) And we meet plenty of characters known throughout Norse mythology. We don’t see Thor/Loki in this book, but of course Loki’s son is Sleipnir am hoping Loki shows up in the sequel.

A fun YA adventure about chasing your destiny and yearning for the stars, while also appreciating your loyal friends as you take a quick trip to Hel together. As you do!!

Visit my instagram for the INTL Giveaway! Thanks to MTMC Tours and Entangled Teen for the copy.

Title: The Valkyrie’s Daughter (The Helheim Prophesy #1)
Author: Tiana Warner
Publication Date: July 26th, 2022
Genres: YA Fantasy
Purchase a copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Add on Goodreads
A thrilling, intricate, and romantic LGBTQ fantasy that builds on Norse mythology.
For as long as Sigrid could remember, she’s wanted to become a mighty, fearless valkyrie. But without a winged mare, she’s a mere stable hand, left wondering who her parents were and why she’s so different. So when the Eye shows her a vision where she’s leading a valkyrie charge on the legendary eight-legged horse Sleipnir, she grabs the possibility of this greater destiny with both hands, refusing to let go.
Too bad that the only one who can help her get there is Mariam, an enemy valkyrie who begrudgingly agrees to lead her to Helheim but who certainly can’t be trusted―even if she does make Sigrid more than a little flustered. As they cross the nine worlds, battling night elves, riding sea serpents, and hurtling into fire to learn the truth about Sigrid’s birthright, an unexpected but powerful bond forms.
As her feelings for Mariam deepen into something fiery and undeniable, Fate has other plans for Sigrid. What happens when the one thing you think you were meant to do might end the nine worlds?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tiana Warner is an LGBTQ+ author from British Columbia, Canada. Her Mermaids of Eriana Kwai trilogy and graphic novel adaptation have won multiple awards and hit #1 on Amazon bestseller lists. She has a forthcoming valkyrie series with Entangled Teen and many other stories in progress.  Aside from writing stories, Tiana is a former programmer with a Computer Science degree, a lifelong horseback rider, and an outdoor enthusiast who loves to explore BC with her hyperactive rescue mutt, Joey. Website |Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

@cgdrews ad | thanks to @mtmctours and @Entangled Teen for the copy!! full review on my blog #books @Tiana Warner #bookish #mtmctours #yabooktok #queerbooks #sapphicbooks #reader #bookworm #booktok ♬ original sound – Lord Ethan

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The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake – Dark Academia, Magicians & Ancient Libraries

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I enjoyed myself immensely reading The Atlas Six.

The hype was pretty intense for this one. (It went from self-published book to getting a cult following fandom online and then due to that it was picked up by Tor Books for a big deal…I think it’s even optioned for a movie now? So wild origin story.) And usually I’m at odds with the hype these days (tragically) but this suited me utterly and thoroughly. I also listened to the audiobook and couldn’t recommend it enough. I’s a full-cast narration and has 6 different voices. Usually I find so many narrators overwhelming, but I loved how this one unravelled.

The Atlas Six is about secret societies and the Library of Alexandria. It’s dark academia and uncoils a story around the power of exclusive knowledge, arcane sacrifices, and magicians getting drunk on their own power. It is slam packed with magic, in an academic and somewhat philosophical way. A lot of the science-mathy scenes went over my head, but I still really enjoyed those sections. Compelling if ostentatious. There’s lots of unravelled psyche and messing with heads too, and I loved always love that.

Six incredibly powerful magicians are invited to the exclusive Alexandrian Society. If they get through their first year of initiation, they will be full members. Six are chosen, five can go through. But the five have to kill the one. We have two physicists, an empath, mind-reader, illusionist, and a naturalist.

I loved the insane levels of magic powers, how these six are clever and powerful and academic rivals, each arrogant but also longing to be part of something more. It is so very character driven and the dynamics were fascinating.

Tristan ended up being my pessimistic favourite. Nico and Libby were the ADHD/autistic duo, I cannot be convinced otherwise. (Literally Libby is just so autistic, I adored it. I also liked that though they are locked in a frenemy-enemy dynamic, they aren’t slated to be a couple at all.) I liked Parisa; she definitely wants to burn the world down but she is beautiful and we’d let her. Reina hates people, loves books so thoroughly relatable. And Callum can go choke.

However overall I have to admit…nothing happens. I kept waiting for plot to start, but genuinely it’s full of conversations and discoveries and mindscapes and all that. But that saying, I was not bored! I’m not sure how I feel about the very final twist but I do want the sequel asap.

It’s an academic and twisty introspective dark academia with a rotting undercurrent of magic and power. These six people could make or break worlds and you can’t look away from the process.

Title: The Atlas Six
Author: Olivie Blake
Date Published: March 1st, 2022
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
Purchase: Book Depository, Blackwells
Add it on Goodreads
The Alexandrian Society is a secret society of magical academicians, the best in the world. Their members are caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity. And those who earn a place among their number will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each decade, the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation – and here are the chosen few…
– Libby Rhodes and Nicolás Ferrer de Varona: inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds.
– Reina Mori: a naturalist who can speak the language of life itself.
– Parisa Kamali: a mind reader whose powers of seduction are unmatched.
– Tristan Caine: the son of a crime kingpin who can see the secrets of the universe.
– Callum Nova: an insanely rich pretty boy who could bring about the end of the world. He need only ask.
When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they must spend one year together to qualify for initiation. During this time, they will be permitted access to the Society’s archives and judged on their contributions to arcane areas of knowledge. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. If they can prove themselves to be the best, they will survive. Most of them.

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist — Mysterious, Gothic Madness

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Tripping Arcadia was such a vividly gorgeous gothic delight.

I had a feeling I’d adore this one so I had the audiobook preordered for months. And you know what? Absolutely right. It’s a deadly and gorgeous read, full of the type of aesthetics I crave in books. It’s a whirlwind of enigmatic mystery set against the backdrop of old stunning mansions and gardens of poisons. And it’s also so queer — so basically I will be recommending this one deeply.

The story follows Lena, a desperate ex-med-college student in need of a job to help her family’s financial crisis. Her life is on pause due to burn out from college and indecision on what she wants in life. When she applies for this vague medical assistant position for a very rich family named the Verdeaus…she genuinely has no idea what it entails. She just NEEDS work. And who are the rich if not to pray on the desperate. Lena gets the job and is slowly pulled into the twisted world of rich, cruel businessmen, mysterious boys with mysterious illnesses, dangerous secrets, and a world that is so far removed from reality it feels like a dream. Or a nightmare.

I do Lena. She is very forthright and full of feelings, and her burn out and indecisive nature were very relatable 😭 She longs to do good and is so loyal to her family — but when she sees just how wretched Martin Verdeaus is (as a depraved business man) she quickly goes from “rich people are annoying” to “EAT THE RICH.” Softly though. She is also hesitant and not the heroine who will plunge into the plot and take it by the reigns. That’s the only thing I did find frustrating…Lena never pushed for answers, even on when on the cusp of them. But the dose of realistic reaction also made sense. She didn’t want to risk her job and, quite honestly, she had no idea what was going on.

Vivid, extravagant parties of debauchery. Mansions with endless rooms. Strange pills that do terrible things. The yearning of connection and the entrancing addiction to a life that seems just out of reach.

I did also love the different ways the book touched on addiction. With people like Martin flinging drugs around, Jonathan unable to stop drinking, but also Lena…addicted to this world of class, poise and mad wealth.

I also loved the chaotic and utterly unhelpful Verdeaus siblings. Lena is hired because Jonathan is very very ill, and she’s assisting his personal physician. What’s he ill with? What pills is he taking? What is even going on with him? YOU DON’T GET TO KNOW. Jonathan is the perfect languid, ailing Victorian boy, utterly breathtakingly beautiful and delicate and drunk and useless. Then there’s the enigmatic and loveable Audrey Verdeaus, who Lena is halfway in love with. Audrey has been shunted aside from inheriting in favour of Jonathan (even though he’s younger and, arguably, dumb) and she’s doing her best to work the family business even as she’s pushed aside. Both siblings were so mysterious and gorgeous and I did love that Lena sort of had a crush on them both.

The writing was such a treat — absolutely adored it. The only thing that grated on me was how often it deflected from giving answers…like I get it was for the plot, but when almost every conversation is a cut off sentence…hm. And the ending had a few holes, but I could look passed because it was fantastic otherwise 😭😭.

The entire book is stuffed with mystery, poisonous gardens, and gothic obsession and unhinged characters, and quite frankly I adored it and want more.

Title: Tripping Arcadia
Author: Kit Mayquist
Date Published: February 22nd 2022
Genre: Adult Gothic Thriller
Publisher: Dutton
Purchase: Book Depository, Blackwells, Amazon
Add it on Goodreads
Med school dropout Lena is desperate for a job, any job, to help her parents, who are approaching bankruptcy after her father was injured and laid off nearly simultaneously. So when she is offered a position, against all odds, working for one of Boston’s most elite families, the illustrious and secretive Verdeaus, she knows she must accept it—no matter how bizarre the interview or how vague the job description.
By day, she is assistant to the family doctor and his charge, Jonathan, the sickly, poetic, drunken heir to the family empire, who is as difficult as his illness is mysterious. By night, Lena discovers the more sinister side of the family, as she works overtime at their lavish parties, helping to hide their self-destructive tendencies . . . and trying not to fall for Jonathan’s alluring sister, Audrey. But when she stumbles upon the knowledge that the Verdeau patriarch is the one responsible for the ruin of her own family, Lena vows to get revenge—a poison-filled quest that leads her further into this hedonistic world than she ever bargained for, forcing her to decide how much—and who—she’s willing to sacrifice for payback.
The perfect next read for fans of Mexican Gothic, Tripping Arcadia is a page-turning and shocking tale with an unforgettable protagonist that explores family legacy and inheritance, the sacrifices we must make to get by in today’s world, and the intoxicating, dangerous power of wealth.

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros — Hello My New Favourite!!

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You know what? I’m just going to slam this book down on the table and say: NEW! FAVOURITE!

I absolutely adored this book, and I’m softly kicking myself for waiting a month after I finished listening to the audiobook to review it. Brain is dusty on the details already 😭 But I need to tell you how so so good it is because it deserves way more hype and love. It’s one of those stories that’s intensely well written, with gorgeous attention to detail, and characters who you grow to love and respect and root for with total passion. I fell into this book and I could not get up.

Also it literally gives you humour, plot twists, harsh historical truths, murder, ghosts, and heart-wrenching gut-punches. I am like, WRECK ME AND LOVE ME, and this book complies.

THE STORY
We follow Alter Rosen in Chicago, 1893, as he works for a pittance in several jobs trying to earn money for his sister and mother to come over from Romania. Alter is Jewish and the book is lovingly, angrily, and powerfully Jewish to its very core. There are also a lot of cultural details and history — it really peels back the layers of Jewish life and lets you see the bleeding corners, and also the fierce pride and joy. So so loved reading that. But the casual to violent discrimination Alter faces everyday is sobering. He just wants a better life for his family, and he’s so dedicated to sending money to them. He’d just eat potatoes and nothing else for weeks if it meant saving them.

But things get complicated when Alter’s roommate (Yakov, a Russian Jewish immigrant) is murdered and his ghost attaches to Alter. If Alter wants to be free, he needs to find out what happened to Yakov.

CHARACTERS
Time to cry over Alter Rosen 😭🙌🏻 The absolute most softest and loyal boy ever, who just has an absolute heart of GOLD. He is somehow so uptight in his goodness and yet so soft and often insecure that he makes your heart melt. He also focuses super hard on work + future plans, so that he doesn’t have to acknowledge his sexual identity. Alter is just like, so gay. And he denies it to himself because he thinks it’s against his religion too.

Also side note? I appreciate how the book took time to unpack religious bigotry against queer people. Even the moments they talked about the bible’s mistranslations. Some of Frankie and Alter’s conversations about it were brief but amazing.

Now we talk about FRANKIE, AKA MY FAVE. Basically if Nikolai x Kaz (from the Grishaverse) had a baby, it would be Frankie. He is a smooth-talking, charming, utterly morally grey thief 😂  Okay he has his own moral code, which he follows with cheerful dedication while he’s flirting and throwing about quips. He is just so anti-establishment and also, super pretty while he’s at it. Queer, Jewish, and in love with Alter (WHO IS TRYING NOT TO LOVE HIM BACK).

Alter worked with Frankie briefly as a thief when he was destitute, but then Alter and his Golden Boy Conscience fled and the story has only just started when Alter, now working in a print shop, stumbles into Frankie again. And everything goes terribly right and wrong at the same time.

There is almost a tiny love-triangle? Alter had a crush on Yakov, but now that Yakov is a ghost haunting him, and Alter is working with Frankie to solve the mystery…his feelings for Frankie are back. Or really, they never left. We do stan a flirt x serious boy x dead boy triangle though. Especially when Frankie is like: “am i competing with a ghost” and is not too pleased.

Also shout out to Raizel, who is a teen girl who Alter was meant to be matched with, but since he is very much too gay, they are just friends. She is so anti-establishment, abolish the upper class, let’s-protest-everything, eat the rich. I love her. 😂

AUDIOBOOK
I loved it!! Such excellent narration, plus the narrator occasionally did those old-style Chicago accents (I think that’s what it was okay, I am too Australian for this) and it was just really good 😍👌🏻 I loved it so much I also went out and bought a physical copy too.

So basically…

  • incredible characters who are so complex and thoughtful and beautiful
  • gorgeous writing that hones in on details to make every scene dimensional and poignant
  • rich historical setting
  • ghost story but also murder mystery
  • tackles anti-semitism and historical queer oppression
  • commentary on the cruelties that immigrants face
  • take you all over Chicago in the 1800s
  • SOME HUMOUR TOO
  • Stalking Jack the Ripper vibes meets some Six of Crows vibes (not the heist, but the characters)
  • the ending will PUNCH you but also rebuild you but also punch you a little more
  • gay panic + there’s only one bed + the flirt x the serious one tropes

At risk of never shutting up from my gushing, this is an absolutely incredible book and I think about it all the time.

Title: The City Beautiful
Author: Aden Polydoros
Date Published: October 5th 2021
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Purchase: Book Depository, Blackwells
Add it on Goodreads
Chicago, 1893. For Alter Rosen, this is the land of opportunity, and he dreams of the day he’ll have enough money to bring his mother and sisters to America, freeing them from the oppression they face in his native Romania.
But when Alter’s best friend, Yakov, becomes the latest victim in a long line of murdered Jewish boys, his dream begins to slip away. While the rest of the city is busy celebrating the World’s Fair, Alter is now living a nightmare: possessed by Yakov’s dybbuk, he is plunged into a world of corruption and deceit, and thrown back into the arms of a dangerous boy from his past. A boy who means more to Alter than anyone knows.
Now, with only days to spare until the dybbuk takes over Alter’s body completely, the two boys must race to track down the killer—before the killer claims them next.
Death lurks around every corner in this unforgettable Jewish historical fantasy about a city, a boy, and the shadows of the past that bind them both together. 

 

You’ll Be The Death of Me by Karen M. McManus – Three Teens Having The Worst Day Ever

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It’s time for a new McManus thriller!!

I really enjoy this author’s thrillers, my favourites being Two Can Keep a Secret and The Cousins. So I’m always keen to get my hands on the latest one. I totally devoured this in a day  😌👌🏻 and I really enjoyed the chaos element to this. The three main characters manage to make a huge mess, confess their worse secrets, and stumble into a drug ring ALL because they decided to skip school for one day. Stay in school, kids.

The story is about Ivy, Cal and Mateo, who used to be friends but drifted apart as highschool progressed. They decide to replicate this One Great Day where they skipped in 8th grade and never got caught — and skip again now, as seniors. Ivy is avoiding facing the guy who one class president instead of her. Cal is desperate for friends again. And Mateo wants to forget all his problems at home with his cousin doing sketchy things and his mum suffering from severe chronic pain. So what could go wrong, right? WELL GLAD YOU ASKED–

Basically, they stumble upon the murder of one of their classmates and it’s a huge case of: here in the wrong place, wrong time. Someone tips the police off that a “blonde woman” was there (Ivy is blonde too) and so she’s sort of “wanted”.  While Cal and Mateo make the dumbass decision to flee the scene crime, etc etc. It just goes so wrong, so fast.

Okay so all of the characters were kind of…awful. I don’t mind this in thrillers, because the plot is more what I’m interested in. But as they unwrap their layers of foolery, you kind of go 💀👌🏻 gee, kids, ever make a good decision ever. Mateo was truly my favourite because he’s really just trying to help his family. 🥺 Cal annoyed me because he has great dads and a nice life and YET THE THINGS HE DOES. Ivy is the straight A uptight student, and totally ruled by her insecurities. A realistic character, honestly, if so self-involved. (Also her brother, Daniel? Dislike.)

The mystery element relied on them making a LOT of mistakes. This isn’t a Nancy Drew trio, let’s just say 😂 They find answers by accident or from sheer blundering into them. There’s lots of double-crossing each other and evasion too, so it makes for a page-turner. I was disappointed by the end though — the villains got sorted out in mere chapters and were so incompetent it was hard to be scared of them. So while it’s not a thriller here to be hardcore or spooky or worried for the main characters’ lives, it IS one that’s twisty and captivating and leans into the real life everyday issues teens face too. Plus murder on the side.

Overall, a totally fast-paced and twisty thriller that I rocketed through! Engaging writing and train-wreck characters you can’t look away from — definitely fun.

Thanks to Penguin Australia for the ARC!

Title: You’ll Be the Death of Me
Author: Karen M. McManus
Date Published: 30th November, 2021
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Genre: YA Thriller
Purchase: Book Depository, Blackwells
Add it on Goodreads
Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be close. Now all they have in common is Carlton High and the beginning of a very bad day.
Type A Ivy lost a student council election to the class clown, and now she has to face the school, humiliated. Heartthrob Mateo is burned out–he’s been working two jobs since his family’s business failed. And outsider Cal just got stood up…. again.
So when Cal pulls into campus late for class and runs into Ivy and Mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. They’ll ditch and go into the city. Just the three of them, like old times. Except they’ve barely left the parking lot before they run out of things to say…
Until they spot another Carlton High student skipping school–and follow him to the scene of his own murder. In one chance move, their day turns from dull to deadly. And it’s about to get worse. It turns out Ivy, Mateo, and Cal still have some things in common. They all have a connection to the dead kid. And they’re all hiding something.
Now they’re all wondering–could it be that their chance reconnection wasn’t by chance after all?

The Hawthorne Legacy (#2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – Billionaire Angst & Puzzles in a Brilliant Sequel!

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I’m such a fan of The Inheritance Games series and SO glad it got a sequel.

Excuse me while I settle down with this book and a hot chocolate for some pleasurable wish-fulfilment (referring to inheriting an eccentric billionaire’s fortune fyi — not the murder attempts Avery goes through….pass on those). But I am here for TIPS 🙌🏻 10/10 would like a fortune too.

The sequel kicks off directly where book 1 left off. You can catch my review of The Inheritance Games here! I didn’t have time for a reread, but I lowkey wish I had because there are a LOT of characters. It does a bit of a recap, but I was struggling to remember some of the minor characters. (The Laughlin family tree left me fuzzy, but that’s on me.) We launch instantly into the new puzzles and twists: with Avery and Jameson making a bet on who can solve the mystery first. Is Toby Hawthorne still alive.

I really don’t want to spoil anything but just know that there are a LOT OF TWISTS. There are twists that double back on themselves just to leave you pleasantly spinning. A lot of it is about family trees and the past too, so we get to unpack the mystery behind Toby’s “death” and start chewing through more clues on WHY Avery was chosen to inherit the Hawthorne fortune (also why Tobias disinherited all his kids too). The whole book is so thoroughly unpredictable too. I love that. I love how I never knew what would happen next, which twists would toss me off the next proverbial cliff, or who would even be telling the truth.

“Allow me to let you in on a Hawthorne trade secret, Heiress: There are no rules that matter more than winning.”

Avery really does NOT rest or catch a break through all of her powering through the clues and unravelling mysteries. Which like I get, but also (a) girl is not enjoying her fortune very much, and (b) I want to know how Mr Hawthorne even had time to amass his billions because all he seemed to do was leave clues and puzzles within clues and puzzles for his kids/grandkids to solve 20 years later. There is a lot of rich people angst here, but pfft, it was fun.

Also the characters continue to be my favourite!! I love Avery. I love how she’s still an overwhelmed, rough-around-the-edges teen who gets annoyed at rich people protocols and literally has no idea how to enjoy being famous. She is very reserved still, very unwilling to want things in case they’re snatched away. Also I lowkey love her relationship to her lawyers/surveillance team 🥺 I know it’s just their job, but Alisa and Oren are the best and care for her so much.

And those stupid Hawthorne boys 😪👌🏻 I love them. Greyson, the composed cool calm and collected young mister business man. Jameson, the absolute charming suave little shit who is all about puzzles and games and being enigmatic while a little bit tortured. Xander, who is just cheerful and fun and isn’t into his older brothers’ dramas and always inventing some robot contraption. Jameson is my favourite, I will not lie. I just love his devil-may-care attitude until he realises that he does, in fact, care quite a lot. Also Greyson/Jameson are drama queens with their brotherly challenges to each other and I love them but they’re also idiots 😂 (Also I realise Nash is the fourth Hawthorne brother, but let’s agree he’s useless.)

Games, twisted secrets, ridiculous wealth, and shocking revelations — this is such a deliciously enjoyable mystery series and so unputdownable. I need more.

Thanks to Penguin Australia for the review copy! It’s out Sept 14th, 2021.

Intrigue, riches, and romance abound in this thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Inheritance Games, perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.
The Inheritance Games ended with a bombshell, and now heiress Avery Grambs has to pick up the pieces and find the man who might hold the answers to all of her questions – including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery, a virtual stranger, rather than to his own daughters or grandsons.
As the mystery grows and the plot thickens, Grayson and Jameson, the enigmatic and magnetic Hawthorne grandsons, continue to pull Avery in different directions. And there are threats lurking around every corner, as adversaries emerge who will stop at nothing to see Avery out of the picture – by any means necessary.
With nonstop action, aspirational jet-setting, family intrigue, swoonworthy romance, and billions of dollars hanging in the balance, The Hawthorne Legacy will thrill Jennifer Lynn Barnes fans and new readers alike.

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Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé – Only The Best YA Dark Academia Thriller of 2021!?!

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So everyone has been raving about Ace of Spades and I knew it’d be excellent, but STILL– I should have read it sooner!!

I am still in that exhausted post-incredible-novel haze where I’m still absorbing all the twists and betrayals and cruelties that Devon and Chiamaka went through. Easy 5 stars 😩👌🏻 This is so darkly compelling and exceptionally well written.

I really really don’t want to give too much away, because I think the less you know about the plot, the harder the twists hit. So!! Just know it’s about two Black teens in an elite rich school (everyone else is white) and how they are just striving for the top of their class, to be something someday and live their dreams, when they get targeted by an anonymous bully who sends vicious text messages to destroy them. They have to figure out who it is, but in the meantime they’re being emotionally manipulated and destroyed.

“I’m tired of having faith things will work out, only for any hope I have to be violently crushed.”

I loved Devon instantly 😭 He’s a soft musician, gay but mostly closeted because he lives in a tough neighbourhood, and he also is scared his mum won’t accept him. His mother is working like 3 jobs and they’re poor, so Devon is under so much pressure to make this expensive school worth it. He is just SO NICE and his ptsd is so obvious from just existing in this world carved cruelly to hate Black kids, Black boys even more so. Also there’s a scene about his dad that fully made me tear up… Just. Devon goes through a lot.

Then there’s Chiamaka, who is like the mean girl badass popular top of the class prefect, who plays the mind games with the white kids and is untouchable. She’s going to be a doctor. She’s going to THRIVE, no matter what she has to go through. I didn’t like her at first because she treats even Devon like a dirty rug to walk over, but by the end I loved her fiercely and I think she’s exceptionally well written. Her arc is powerful, and so is her personality and character the whole way through. She is unapologetic about wanting to be the best– and WHY NOT. You go Chiamaka.

I stop myself from apologizing-because what would I even be sorry for? Existing too loud?

And omg the TWISTS. The whole book balanced perfectly between being chilling and disturbing, but also realistic in everything that goes down. It’s horrible what they go through, but I would not be surprised if it was real. Truly. This world sucks. By halfway through I knew there was no pausing. I needed to finish it in a day. I needed ANSWERS. It’s also a stark critique of “dark academia”, and the white supremacy and elitism that twists through our society.

Bold, fast-paced, and sobering in a chilling way; this is a thriller not to be missed.

Going to say shout out to my library for buying this one on my request 😂

Gossip Girl meets Get Out in Ace of Spades, a YA contemporary thriller by debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully.
When two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are selected to be part of the elite school’s senior class prefects, it looks like their year is off to an amazing start. After all, not only does it look great on college applications, but it officially puts each of them in the running for valedictorian, too.
Shortly after the announcement is made, though, someone who goes by Aces begins using anonymous text messages to reveal secrets about the two of them that turn their lives upside down and threaten every aspect of their carefully planned futures.
As Aces shows no sign of stopping, what seemed like a sick prank quickly turns into a dangerous game, with all the cards stacked against them. Can Devon and Chiamaka stop Aces before things become incredibly deadly?
With heart-pounding suspense and relevant social commentary comes a high-octane thriller from debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé.

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