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Blog Tour: Incendiary (Hollow Crown #1) by Zoraida Cordova

April 28, 2020 Yvonne Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

36115268. SY475 - Blog Tour: Incendiary (Hollow Crown #1) by Zoraida Cordova

Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova
Published by Hodder & Stoughton on April 28, 2020
ISBN: 9781368023801
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Epic, Action & Adventure, Survival Stories, Romance, General
Pages: 464
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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four stars - Blog Tour: Incendiary (Hollow Crown #1) by Zoraida Cordova

Set in a lushly drawn world inspired by Inquisition Spain, Zoraida Córdova's hotly anticipated new fantasy is an epic tale of love and revenge perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir and Sarah J. Maas. I am Renata Convida.I have lived a hundred stolen lives. Now I live my own. Renata was only a child when she was kidnapped by the King's Justice and brought to the luxurious palace of Andalucia. As a memory thief, the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria, Renata was used by the crown to carry out the King's Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people. Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown. The Whispers may have rescued Renata years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred-or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she drained during her time in the palace. When Dez, the commander of her unit-and the boy she's grown to love-is taken captive by the notorious Principe Dorado, Renata must return to Andalucia and complete Dez's top secret mission herself. Can she keep her cover, even as she burns for vengeance against the brutal, enigmatic prince? Her life and the fate of the Moria depend on it. But returning to the palace stirs childhood memories long locked away. As Renata grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the fate of the entire kingdom-and end the war that has cost her everything.

Incendiary. The Ability to cause fires, and boy does this book burn up in your hands. Agreeing to take part in this book tour is one of the best decisions I have made. The book cover, the title and the words contained within was a dead cert to win hearts and capture aspirations. I opened the first page and I was lost to the magnificence and by the end I knew I would never be the same again. A maze of enchantment, the words melded into one and I was lost.

Upon turning the final page on this piece of art, I knew this would be a difficult review to write. Where would I find the right words to do the plot justice, the right words to capture the magic, the right words that will hypnotise your mind just like I had experienced. This review is going to messy, raw and gritty and by hook or by crook I hope I do this book justice.

Renata Convida. A woman. A warrior. A lover. The will to survive coursing through her blood, putting everything on the line to succeed in the ultimate goal. She is ready for anything. She is ready to lace those boots and kick some ass. She takes names, sheds some blood and unearths deep seated secrets. She has type of magic that strips away your memories and becomes her power. A power she can use. A power she can use against you. Give her the chance and she can take it all way from you. Leaving you nothing but a hollow. She is dangerous and never as dangerous as those she works with, The Whispers. They are a renegade team that are working to annihilate the crown that wishes them gone. They want to strip their power away, leave them with nothing and no ability to fight against them. Her lover and commander is captured by the system and Renata captains a team to go in and rescue him. It goes wrong – badly wrong and it will have lasting consequences for the team and Renata.

Incendiary is a magnificent take on the coming of age tale. It is a tantalising exploration of what makes us us. How events and trauma not only define us but strengthen us. The author at no point cowers away from storylines that makes the reader scream with frustration and anticipation. Our reactions make us face reality that we are not in control of how Renata reacts and tackles situations. Rest assured you are in good hands with the author. She will steer us right, she knows just how guide us to the end point, with ease.

The narrative is outstanding. The story moulds into something else as Renata grows and develops. Her magic doesn’t transform her into a higher being, but it takes its toll. As she takes more memories she loses a part of herself – her own early memories. Lost in grey. She knows what she must become to survive but just how does she do that? She must evolve. What came before? How does that translate to the battle that she must now face?

Incendiary is a testament to resilience and strength of character. It fizzes and crackles with electricity. A true coming of age fantasy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zoraida Author Photo 19 225x300 1 - Blog Tour: Incendiary (Hollow Crown #1) by Zoraida Cordova

Zoraida Córdova is the author of nine fantasy novels for kids and teens, most recently the award-winning Brooklyn Brujas series, Incendiary, and Star Wars: A Crash of Fate. Her short fiction has appeared in the New York Times bestselling anthology Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, Come on In: 15 Stories About Immigration and Finding Home, and Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft. She is the co-editor of Vampires Never Get Old: Eleven Tales with Fresh Bite. Her debut middle grade novel is The Way to Rio Luna. She is the co-host of the podcast Deadline City with Dhonielle Clayton. Zoraida was born in Ecuador and raised in Queens, New York. When she isn’t working on her next novel, she’s planning a new adventure.

For book, tv, & film rights related inquiries, please contact Victoria Marini.

Zoraida Cordova

Review: Docile by K.M. Szpara

March 16, 2020 Yvonne Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book contains themes unsuitable for readers under 17. Contains drugs, sex and or abuse

docile by k m szpara - Review: Docile by K.M. Szpara

Docile by K.M. Szpara
Published by Tor Publishing on March 3, 2020
ISBN: 9781250216144
Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Hard Science Fiction, LGBT, Gay
Pages: 480
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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four stars - Review: Docile by K.M. Szpara

K. M. Szpara's Docile is a science fiction parable about love and sex, wealth and debt, abuse and power, a challenging tour de force that at turns seduces and startles.
There is no consent under capitalism.
To be a Docile is to be kept, body and soul, for the uses of the owner of your contract. To be a Docile is to forget, to disappear, to hide inside your body from the horrors of your service. To be a Docile is to sell yourself to pay your parents' debts and buy your children's future.
Elisha Wilder’s family has been ruined by debt, handed down to them from previous generations. His mother never recovered from the Dociline she took during her term as a Docile, so when Elisha decides to try and erase the family’s debt himself, he swears he will never take the drug that took his mother from him.
Too bad his contract has been purchased by Alexander Bishop III, whose ultra-rich family is the brains (and money) behind Dociline and the entire Office of Debt Resolution. When Elisha refuses Dociline, Alex refuses to believe that his family’s crowning achievement could have any negative side effects—and is determined to turn Elisha into the perfect Docile without it.
Content warning: Docile contains forthright depictions and discussions of rape and sexual abuse.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Wow, if Docile has afforded me one thing – its that I am eternally grateful for how my life is (even with the current health crisis.) Docile has nailed it home just how easily the world and humanity can sink into the depths of depravity and self-indulgent when capitalism rules with an iron fist. It is a stark reminder of just what I don’t want life to be like. If you’ve ever wondered what life would be like if you were able to do as you wished, then read Docile – it’s a shocking portrayal of the rich getting richer and the poor becoming more objectified and more desperate.

The novel tackles many themes through many different objective angles. A dystopian Maryland. Bankruptcy. Generational debt. Social gaps becoming colossal. Contractual partnerships. Questionable medication. Beware a medication that turns you into a docile quite literally. It might all seem like a comfortable life so long as you can get on board with the idea that you are allowing your partner (more like an owner) to do with you as you wish. Everything is controlled from your diet to your exercise regime to the way you wear your hair. With wealth beguiles power and with poverty relents every freedom you ever had.

Elisha Wilder’s family have crippling debt – think in the millions. There is no tangible way out…but one. Elisha volunteers to enrol in the docile programme to protect his sister from that fate. He knows that his life as he knew it was over but never in his wildest imagination did, he think that Alex Bishop III of Bishop Laboratories would choose him as a partner. The very same family that developed the Dociline formula. The formula that makes a wilful and independent individual into a compliant docile – one that will happily do as they are told without complaint or hesitation. Just as Elisha didn’t expect being partnered with Alex, Alex also didn’t expect what he got in meek Elisha.

Docile is seriously creepy and darker than a black hole. K.M. Szpara has erected a winding staircase of deceit. Just when we think we have gotten to grips with the events that take place, the stairs change shape and we collapse. It trips us up, leaves us postrate and pleading for help. He seems to take pleasure in blindfolding the reader and leading them down a winding maze – our senses are on high alert. Our sensibilities for knowing what is morally reprehensible in a modern society left me deeply unseated and I was very uncomfortable reading certain scenes. Let’s make it clear – you are MEANT to be uncomfortable – this isn’t a lovely visit with your grandmother this is akin to be smacked around the head until you forget which way is up and, in this case,, who knows?

There is a serious rape scene that is disturbing but paramount to the story. It could trigger certain emotions in some readers so just to be wary of it. The book is very hot is one of the best representations of LGBTQ+ that I have had the pleasure of reading. It has achieved more in this book than I have experienced in all the LGBTQ+ books I’ve read. It doesn’t fade into the background, it is strikingly brilliant, I have never read anything like it, and I think I might be hard pushed to find anything again like it.

Docile brings to the table a new formula for dystopian fiction. An immersive storyline takes the old and makes it new. K.M. Szpara takes character development and uses it to enrich the worldbuilding. A breath of fresh air in a well-worn genre!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

K.M. Szpara is a queer and trans author who lives in Baltimore, MD, with a tiny dog. Kellan always has a good manicure, likes whiskey cocktails, and thinks pants are overrated. His debut alt-/near-future novel, DOCILE (March 3, 2020; Tor.com Publishing), explores the snowballing debt crisis, consent, and privilege, and can be described as “really gay”.

His novelette, “Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time,” was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards and Long-Listed for the Tiptree. Like Kellan, the protagonist is a gay trans man. Unlike Kellan, he’s bitten by a Daddy vampire with an Ikea fetish. More of Kellan’s fiction can be found in venues such as Uncanny, Lightspeed, and Shimmer. So far, all of it contains sex, which he insists is both about feelings, characters and social dynamics, but also, definitely, butts.

Kellan has a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, which he totally uses at his day job as a paralegal. He is a graduate of the Viable Paradise workshop and the editor of Transcendent: The Year’s Best Transgender Speculate Fiction (Lethe Press), which received a starred review in Publishers Weekly. You can find him socializing into the night at literary conventions, chatting in two hundred eighty characters or fewer on Twitter at @KMSzpara, or in print as K.M. Szpara.

K.M. Szpara

Blog Tour: Safe House by Jo Jakeman

October 31, 2019 Yvonne Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

safe house by jo jakeman - Blog Tour: Safe House by Jo Jakeman

Safe House by Jo Jakeman
Published by Penguin on March 10, 2020
ISBN: 9781984802101
Genres: Fiction, Thrillers, Psychological, Suspense, Women
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
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four stars - Blog Tour: Safe House by Jo Jakeman

She's paid the price for giving her ex a false alibi, and now she's moved to a seaside village to escape her past--but more than her lie follows her there in this chilling and twisty psychological thriller from the author of the acclaimed The Exes' Revenge.
One day, a woman turns up in a remote coastal village. She's bought a crumbling, long-vacant cottage and calls herself Charlie Miller. Charlie keeps to herself, reluctant to integrate with the locals. If they ever find out who she really is, and what she's done, she'll lose what little she has left.
Charlie served two years in prison for providing a false alibi for a murderer. It was the mistake of a woman in love, a woman who couldn't believe her boyfriend was guilty--or lying to her. All she desperately wants now is a fresh start.
As Charlie slowly lets down her guard and becomes friendly with her neighbors, she can't shake the feeling that someone is watching her, someone who knows what she did. When one of her new friends suddenly disappears, Charlie's worst fears are confirmed. She must confront her past head-on, but as she knows all too well, everything is far more dangerous than how it appears.

My huge thanks to Mia Quibell-Smith for my spot on the blog tour and for my copy of the book, It’s a stunner! All thoughts are my own. Safe House examines the ramifications of loving and protecting the wrong man. Should love bend irrefutably? It makes the connection of just how far you’d be willing to go for the one you love. If you are a fan of dark humour you are going to be in for a treat. Safety doesn’t happen by accident.

Being an avid psychological Thriller fan, I get extremely excited about the premise of a new, fresh idea. I’ve read hundreds in this genre, so I can end up feeling jaded when I pick up a new one and it doesn’t take me long to decide if it’s for me. The prologue swallowed me whole and ensured I had fastened my seatbelt for the rollercoaster ride that lay ahead of me.

Jo Jakeman is a new author for me and I haven’t had the pleasure of reading her other story, Sticks and Stones. I will rectify that immediately. She is purveyor of bone chilling dread, she has created the anti- hero. A girl you feel you shouldn’t like very much due to the severe consequences her actions have led to, but her skill flicks a switch and you struggle to not like her. Not feel gut wrenching emotion for her. Not wanting her to continue suffering. As the saying goes, love is blind. There is never a truer saying than that. We want to be able to trust our own instincts. We all believe we are impeccable judges of character, we all want to see the best in people. No-one wants to accept that we are living with the monster, no dark alleyways but an evil figure lurking just behind you. They don’t just reside in your home, but they make a bed in your head…can you escape it? The eerie undertones contained within this gem of a book not only had me looking over my shoulder but checking my door was locked also. It may be more a case that I’m a bit of a masochist when it comes to the thrillers I typically enjoy reading but this emitted all the emotions and fear that I need to feel in order to LOVE a book. I love that it had me gasping, questioning human emotion and making a completely relatable character. Is it really such a stretch that love would have us making misinformed choices? The human condition doesn’t just fit nice and neatly into a box, it’s stretched, it’s torn but most of all its complex.

A psychological thriller is only as strong as its main character. Charlie, or should I say Steffi Finn Loved beyond measure, she thought nothing could separate her and Lee. She loved him without question. So, when asked to provide an alibi for Lee on the night of the murder of a woman she did so. Even though he treated her appallingly. Even though he didn’t feel half of what she did for him. Even though he used and abused her. No matter what she stood by her man. Now, I know what you’re thinking, why on earth would you lie for him? She was a manipulated woman; would you want to believe that your fiancé was a murdering piece of shit. She had no reason to believe he was lying. The police were only trying to fit him up, right? WRONG!! How wrong can you be? Wrong enough to allow another murder to take place and you ending up with a ten-month prison sentence to just nail it home.

We meet Steffi as she completes her sentence. She’s navigated the harsh conditions in prison, she’s struggling with guilt. Her parents have both died whilst she was inside, friends have moved on and the community have a long memory. She has no-one. I have to admit I struggled to warm to her at this point. She was involved with the actions of her fiancé, she enabled him to kill again. I didn’t have a lot of sympathy for her. Could she turn it around? Could a fresh start help her move forward?

Oh yeah, even though she needs a fresh start, there are people that believe she doesn’t deserve it, people that would be more than happy to make her very sorry for her part to play in the murders.

The narrative in this novel was simply dynamite. It was hard hitting, with its multi POV’s, both from the past and the future. The dark humour etched within the story was also a great touch and kept me captivated from page 1 until the end. The newspaper articles gave an unreliable narrative some edge to what she was going through, it was real and raw, and I loved it. My head constantly felt as though it was on red alert. You had Steffi’s feelings and emotions, you had Ben’s (wait until you meet that twisted individual) and you had the newspapers squiffing it all up, giving you a distorted view of the events. This psychological thriller has dialled up the paranoia metre up to 100. Steffi was living her life looking over her shoulder, and boy with good reason.

I loved the way we get catapulted into Steffi’s anxious psyche. Let’s be honest, it isn’t a healthy place to be. She’s on edge, she’s paranoid, she reads small details to be significant. Surely nothing is a coincidence anymore? She’s a hard character to fully support, I mean you lived with the guy, how couldn’t you have known he was murdering scum? But the dark, cold truth is…anyone of us could be Steffi. It’s an uncomfortable realisation to make, but it’s there all the same, love is blind, but love can also be uncomfortable.

I can’t ruin the delicious twists and turns but just know that the author has lain treasure for you to uncover, how far you dig for that treasure is up to you. The author has penned a different and authentically unique take on the genre and that takes guts and a magician’s wand…luckily the author has both. The slow burn makes it all the more satisfying and just rest assured you are in good hands with Jo Jakeman who delivers a cold and heart rendering tale of deceit, love and a price to pay. Trust no-one not even yourself.

JO JAKEMAN was the winner of the Friday Night Live 2016 competition
at the York Festival of Writing. Born in Cyprus, she worked for many years
in the City of London before moving to Derbyshire with her husband and twin boys. Safe House is her second
novel and Sticks and Stones was her debut thriller.

Buy Safe House Now. It’s only 99p through-out November on amazon.

Review: The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

October 18, 2019 Yvonne Leave a Comment

The Ice Dragon by George R. R. Martin
Published by Harper Voyager on October 21, 2014
ISBN: 9781466885783
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Animals, Mythical Creatures, Fantasy, Epic
Pages: 128
Format: Hardcover
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five stars - Review: The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

The Ice Dragon is an enchanting tale of courage and sacrifice for young readers and adults by the wildly popular author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Song of Ice and Fire series, George R.R. Martin. Lavish illustrations by acclaimed artist Luis Royo enrich this captivating and heartwarming story of a young girl and her dragon.
In the world of A Song of Ice and Fire the ice dragon was a creature of legend and fear, for no man had ever tamed one. When it flew overhead, it left in its wake desolate cold and frozen land. But Adara was not afraid. For Adara was a winter child, born during the worst freeze that anyone, even the Old Ones, could remember.
Adara could not remember the first time she had seen the ice dragon. It seemed that it had always been in her life, glimpsed from afar as she played in the frigid snow long after the other children had fled the cold. In her fourth year she touched it, and in her fifth year she rode upon its broad, chilled back for the first time. Then, in her seventh year, on a calm summer day, fiery dragons from the North swooped down upon the peaceful farm that was Adara's home. And only a winter child—and the ice dragon who loved her—could save her world from utter destruction. This new edition of The Ice Dragon is sure to become a collector's item for fans of HBO's megahit Game of Thrones.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

This little book is a family favourite in our house. I originally heard it on audio years ago and fell in love with the beauty of the story. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a massive fan of GRRM. I read the Song of Ice and Fire series before I got around to this gem, but I could never be disappointed with GRRM beautiful prose. The illustrations are the finishing touch to a beautiful yet devastating story. No-one can write fantasy and capture the magic just like George can. He brings life and vitality to his characters, they grow up with us, they stay with us and we introduce them to our children like a family member to care for them once we’re gone. George’s stories will stand the test of time, his are the stories that borne my love for the fantasy genre.

It’s a hauntingly devastating story. It is penned as a children’s story, but it is for sure murky waters and there are some very adulty themes. It has Martin’s impeccable ability to incorporate the fragility of life and the darkness of the human condition. The writing as per usual is perfect. Everything is tightly wound together, and character development is well developed and systematic. A book by Martin is always going to be a winner.

The story is based around Adara. She lives on her father’s farm with her brothers and sisters. There’s always going to be an interesting back story with Martins characters and this family is no different. Adara’s mother died in childbirth with her. This is the kind of thing lifelong fans of Martin have come to expect from him (told you that real life is unkind, and he doesn’t sugar coat shit). Adora has a beautiful and kind nature and is known as the winter’s child. This reminds me so much of the idea of the undead wight children in the TV show, I can completely imagine her made of ice, with bright shining eyes and a captivating look about her. Devastating beauty. Being a winters child means she is completely unaffected by staying outside in the harsh winters. Cue her uncanny relationship to the Ice Dragon. This would lead to a strong bond of trust between them and her ability to ride the Ice Dragon.

Like I said this is an equally beautiful but heart-breaking tale of the fragility of life. We have a soulmate in life that doesn’t always take the form that is expected. A complex tale of love, war and death.

Review: Normal People by Sally Rooney

September 1, 2019 Yvonne 2 Comments

Normal People by Sally Rooney
Published by Random House Publishing Group on April 16, 2019
ISBN: 9781984822192
Genres: Fiction, Coming of Age, Literary, Psychological
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
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Goodreads

two stars - Review: Normal People by Sally Rooney

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE • COMING TO HULU IN 2020 • SALLY ROONEY NAMED TO THE 2019 TIME 100 NEXT LIST
“A stunning novel about the transformative power of relationships” (People) from the author of Conversations with Friends, “a master of the literary page-turner” (J. Courtney Sullivan).
NAMED ONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’S TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly • People • The New York Public Library • Slate • Harvard Crimson AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Dwight Garner, The New York Times • The New York TImes Book Review • O: The Oprah Magazine • Time • NPR • The Washington Post • Vogue • Esquire • Glamour • Elle • Marie Claire • Vox • The Paris Review • Good Housekeeping • Town & Country • Kirkus Reviews • BookPage • BookRiot
“Absolutely engrossing and surprisingly heartbreaking with more depth, subtlety, and insight than any one novel deserves.”—Stephanie Danler
Connell and Marianne grew up in the same small town, but the similarities end there. At school, Connell is popular and well liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation—awkward but electrifying—something life changing begins.
A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.
Normal People is the story of mutual fascination, friendship and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find that they can’t. Praise for Normal People “[A] novel that demands to be read compulsively, in one sitting.”—The Washington Post “Arguably the buzziest novel of the season, Sally Rooney’s elegant sophomore effort . . . is a worthy successor to Conversations with Friends. Here, again, she unflinchingly explores class dynamics and young love with wit and nuance.”—The Wall Street Journal
“[Rooney] has been hailed as the first great millennial novelist for her stories of love and late capitalism. . . . [She writes] some of the best dialogue I’ve read.”—The New Yorker

This book has won multiple awards and was longlisted for The Man Booker Prize in 2018. However, this was a book I just couldn’t get along with. I know this is either a book you loved, or you hated but unfortunately, I was the latter. Warning to those choosing to give this a shot – Trigger Warning of sexual assault, domestic violence, depression, anxiety and suicide. If I’m completely honest I would have probably DNF’d this one, but I genuinely wanted to see if it would improve especially since it is an award-winning book. I am left feeling and wondering why is it an award winner? I can’t see any reasons why this piece of fiction deserves such high accolades. It obviously worked for others, but it just wasn’t a good fit for me. It’s always hard to go against the grain with popular or hyped books but you have to be honest with yourself and this definitely fell flat for me. I’ve spent a few days working out how I would write this review and I’ve concluded to be completely honest about my feelings towards it. The disconnect I felt towards this story is one I haven’t felt in a long time in my reading journey but boy did this story floor me in regard to that.

Instead of this book fitting neatly within the genre of contemporary it had the feel of a Young Adult story (in no way dissing YA, I frequently read it and enjoy it.) Described as an exquisite love story it felt anything but that. It told the story of Marianne and Connell through school and college. Connell was a vain and self-serving arse who was more interested in what people thought of him rather than the harm that he was doing to those around them. Marianne was marginally better, but she was naive and possibly lacked the social skills to cope with the situation that she was allowing to develop. Their “relationship” (if you can honestly call it that) was an off/on, off again and on-again rollercoaster. This was just a car crash being repeated in slow motion throughout their college years. This was a couple that should have just stayed apart. I personally felt they were damaging for each other and created toxic relations between them.

Part of my problem with this book was how it was written. It took me a good few pages to realise that the author had chosen not to use quotation marks for speech between the characters. Quite frankly it was odd, I mean you get used to reading it that way, but it was just the why it perplexed me so much.

The character development of the 20 – something isn’t my experience of being in college. How many young people of that age have that level of insight or life experience that they appear to be highly intelligent, majorly cynical about life and have more than a slight insight about political issues. When I was that age in college the students were more interested in getting drunk, getting laid and partying. Has life changed that much? I don’t think so, but I might be wrong. Both the primary and secondary characters just read as very wooden and 2D and I felt next to nothing for them and they didn’t reach out to me. I struggled with the writing and it certainly wasn’t able to keep the story afloat. Descriptions were badly worded and flat, and I just felt bored reading it, for example – ‘It’s true she is Connell’s type, maybe even the originary model of the type:’ What the hell does that even mean? I’ve probably missed the whole point of the book but for me it was all about “I love you, let’s have sex, I can’t tell anyone about this, lets break up, let’s get back together” times infinity is basically what the entire book is about. It was repetitive and boring. I just don’t get it. I’m not going to bother reading Sally Rooney’s other works because I doubt I would get along with them either so its best I just steer clear. This was an overwhelmingly disappointing read and I’m not sure I have ever rolled my eyes so much whilst reading a book.

Review: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

August 22, 2019 coycaterpillar 13 Comments

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Published by Random House Children's Books on May 7, 2019
ISBN: 9781524720988
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, General, Action & Adventure, Romance
Pages: 496
Format: Hardcover
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five stars - Review: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

From the New York Times and internationally bestselling authors of the Illuminae Files comes a new science fiction epic . . .
The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch . . .
A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasmA sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates A smart-ass tech whiz with the galaxy's biggest chip on his shoulderAn alien warrior with anger-management issuesA tomboy pilot who's totally not into him, in case you were wondering
And Ty's squad isn't even his biggest problem--that'd be Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler's squad of losers, discipline cases, and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.
NOBODY PANIC.

We the Legion,

We the Light

and burning bright against the night

Aurora Rising is dangerously dark, action packed, and an addictive kick off to Kaufman & Kristoff’s Trilogy Aurora Cycle. For someone that is a virgin to this dynamic duo’s writing – I was blown away into outer space. I’m going to miss the draft – intriguing opening line, who doesn’t love a bit of angst on the opening page? This awesome tale reminds me of a Guardians of the Galaxy X Battlestar Galactica – Be still my geeky heart!

Tyler Jones – Alpha of the squad, general hotbod and all-round good guy.

Aurora Lie-Jin O’ Malley – Frozen cryogenically, Crazy as a mofo superpowers, half Chinese, feeling like a fish out of water trying to get used to life 200 years in the future.

Scarlett Jones – Tyler’s older twin sister by mere minutes, badass extraordinaire, hot mama and could flirt with a cardboard box get it turned on.

Kaliis “Kal” Idraban Gilwraeth – Could start a war in an empty room but not really because he’s a freaking softy really…belongs in middle earth or my hot dreams – the things he can do with his wrists!

Zila Madran – Uber cool space scientist, mega jealous of her gravity defying earrings.

Finian – bisexual alien, gorgeous personality, exoskeleton weirdness.

Cat- My favourite character, badass warrior goddess. Think Lagertha in Vikings (at least that’s how I imagine her), can handle herself in any fight. Fucking impressive phoenix tattoo on her throat.

Straight away we know we aren’t in Kansas anymore. We meet Tyler the alpha of the squad who has answered an SOS call out and finds himself in the unprecedented situation of saving a 220-year-old cryogenically frozen girl. He’s running out of oxygen, he’s missing the fucking draft and is more than damn sure he’s going to die out there. Almost like magic both him and the mysterious girl are back on the ship and even more magical is the fact his lungs are full of oxygen and not deflated and pulverised from the abyss of space.

This book has everything I adore about Sci-fi (and I do have a love hate relationship with the genre because I have read so many that just annihilate the premise of space and shit over something that should be an amazing fucking world building opportunity). Kaufman & Kristoff nail it to the fucking floor. The Aurora interstellar training camp, heists to reclaim artefacts, creepy plants that remind me so much of those creepy AF creatures in the Alien Franchise. Want Aliens? This novel has it by the motherload.

I enjoyed reading the POV’ from all the main characters. I loved Cat’s, Kal’s and Aurora’s the most. Kals POV was fucking awesome. I love a torn character and his was obvious and heartbreakingly painful. He struggled with his ascension to joining the Aurora Legion (A modern space idea of The United Nations). He was a war breed and it was his natural instincts was to be stoking the fire of conflict. His people ended up obliterated during the war and Kal struggles with the internal battle of wanting to end people and wanting to bring peace to the outer reaches of space.

The hilarity in the story had me full on belly laughing. The references to The Lord of The Rings were the best though – high five to Aurora being able to confuse these aliens with the best one liners. The technical descriptions were believable but intelligent enough to flummox me at points. I loved the diversity in this book and I have it on very good authority that Kristoff is the King of inclusion. I think there is going to be a LGBQT+ relationship and it’s going to be a slow burn into the next two instalments. Finnian seems to be bisexual and is happy to have flirtatious thoughts for both the Jones twins. Interested to see just how this plays out.

Aurora Rising is a fantastic YA fantasy that fires into hyperdrive and doesn’t stop. If you want a book with the thrills, the aliens, the drama and humour then look no further. Kaufman & Kristoff bring the squad goals.

Hardcover

Incendiary is a testament to resilience and strength of character. It fizzes and crackles with electricity. A true coming of age fantasy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Docile brings to the table a new formula for dystopian fiction. An immersive storyline takes the old and makes it new. K.M. Szpara takes character development and uses it to enrich the worldbuilding. A breath of fresh air in a well-worn genre!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

We the Legion,

We the Light

and burning bright against the night

Aurora Rising is a fantastic YA fantasy that fires into hyperdrive and doesn’t stop. If you want a book with the thrills, the aliens, the drama and humour then look no further. Kaufman & Kristoff bring the squad goals.

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