Review: Girls of Paper and Fire

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

What a fabulous, clever book. Lei is a very strong heroine who knows what she wants and goes for it. She is a little prone to snap judgements, but at least she'll correct herself afterwards, which is something. I can't wait to read more on the series and find out what happens... especially after that ending!

Be warned, there is rape (man on woman), consensual sex (woman on woman) and a prostitute who talks openly about seduction. None of this is graphic but it's quite clear.

Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.


During the first days of my confinement, I’d tried the breathing technique Mama taught me over and over again to no avail, unable to find comfort in it. Light in, darkness out. Trapped in that tiny room, there only seemed to be darkness, and though I wanted to be set free, I also knew that the moment I was, it would be straight back to my Paper Girl life. And to the King.
But then Wren came along with her stolen food and warm hands, and a spark of something—the barest quiver of light—entered the room. And after that, my breaths came a little easier, a little brighter. Not quite golden, but…sun-touched.
Now I shoot Wren a look out of the corner of my eye, Aoki’s chatter wrapping around us.
She offers me a brief half smile in return. “All right?”she mouths.
I nod. And while it’s not exactly the truth, it isn’t a lie, either.

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Review: Deception

Deception by Teri Terry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's rare for the second book in a trilogy to live up to the first. This is one of those times. Although I didn't like the time jumping aspect ... we covered a stretch of time with some characters, then the same stretch with other characters ... I enjoyed the story very much. There's less focus on the epidemic itself and more on the survivors and immune, this time around. Kai, Shay and Callie all have their parts to play, making and breaking alliances with other characters along the way.

As with Contagion, I saw a couple of plot twists coming before they hit, but others took me by surprise. A lot of things wouldn't have happened if people had just talked to each other, but that's common to a lot of novels, I haven't counted it against this one.

A fantastic read, I can't wait to read the third and see how everything ends up.


That's when I realise there are no windows or doors; at least, none that I can see. There must be: how else did I get in here?
That weird feeling of being watched is still on my skin, as if eyes leave fingerprints I can feel. Could there be a hidden watcher?
I swallow again.
"Hello?" I say, tentative. My voice feels rusty, like I haven't used it for a while.
I try again, and this time it is stronger. "Hello? Is there anybody there?"
My voice seems to echo off the bare walls, ceiling and floor, and bounces back to my ears.
No one answer. Can't anyone hear me?
Panic is rising up inside, waves that build and build, and I'm shaking. Where am I? I don't want to be here.
"Let me out of here! Let me out!"
I say it, louder and louder again, until I'm screaming.

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Review: The Day of the Triffids

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A classic of the science fiction genre, one I've read before but not for several years. I wondered whether I would still enjoy it, since I know the ending and most of the story beats. It's so old fashioned, after all; maybe without the 'newness' I wouldn't like it.

Needless worry. It's old fashioned, especially with regard to the women, but the tone fits well. It's definitely a cozy catastrophe; anyone writing this story today would make much more of the breakdown of society. Wyndham glosses over most of that.

The Triffids are a much smaller part of the story than I remembered from my previous reading, but the rest of the book is interesting enough without them. I can't wait to reread in another few years...


"In the time now ahead of us a great many of these prejudices we have been given will have to go, or be radically altered. We can accept and retain only one primary prejudice, and that is that the race is worth preserving. To that consideration all else will, for a time at least, be subordinate. We must look at all we do, with this question in mind: 'Is this going to help our race survive-or will it hinder us?' If it will help, we must do it, whether or not it conflicts with the ideas in which we were brought up. If not, we must avoid it, even though the omission may clash with our previous notions of duty and even of justice.
"It will not be easy; old prejudices die hard. The simple rely on a bolstering mass of maxim and precept; so do the timid; so do the mentally lazy-and so do all of us, more than we imagine. Now that the organization has gone, our ready reckoners for conduct within it no longer Live the right answers. We must have the moral courage to think and to plan for ourselves."
He paused to survey his audience thoughtfully. Then he said:
"There is one thing to be made quite clear to you before you decide to join our community. It is that those of us who start on this task will all have our parts to play. The men must work-the women must have babies. Unless you can agree to that, there can be no place for you in our community."


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Review: Floored

Floored by Sara Barnard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It always seems to happen that the books everyone is crazy about, I find fine but not amazing, and the books I stumble across on my own I find brilliant. This is a book everyone is crazy about. It's perfectly fine; a chance friendship that grows and deepens, becoming more important than any of the members could have imagined when it all began. But I found it just fine, not amazingly brilliant.

All the events take place on the same day each year, which means the first part of each new section is taken up with what happened in the year we've just missed. There's very little time to get used to the status quo before it shifts again. It's hard to connect to anyone in that short a time. And I personally found it hard to remember which character was which; Hugo and Dawson were ok, and after a while I got Kait, but the others just seemed to blur. It was hard to remember who was crushing on whom in which section.

I don't want to put anyone off; this is a perfectly fine teenage romantic novel, and I'm sure other people will really enjoy it. I liked Hugo's storyline, and the overall plot was good. There's nothing wrong with it at all. I think my expectations were just that little bit too high.


Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.


I wait until David has staggered off, shaking his head in confusion, and then I can't control my giggles for a moment longer. I laugh so hard, my eyeliner really does run this time. All over my face, and I don't care.
I'm not laughing because it's particularly funny, or laughing at putting David on the spot like that, even though he really did deserve it. I'm laughing because...well, who knew it was so easy? To stand up for myself; to not be silenced; to tell my own story how I want to tell it. It's about power. Hugo realised he needed to start using his for good. I'm only just realising that I actually have some.
It's about time.
'Velvet,' Hugo says with a huge grin, 'you are bloody magnificent.'

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Review: The Restless Girls

The Restless Girls by Jessie Burton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a beautiful updating of a classic story. It still has the feel of a fairytale, helped immeasurably by Angela Barret's fabulous artwork, but there are touches of newness; a telephone, the daughter who love astronomy and the daughter who uses a typewriter. These things give it a feeling of being set anywhere, anywhen.

I loved the ending, too. A very clever solution to the problem. What a lovely message to give children - princesses can save themselves. Five stars.


Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.


Frida walked, head held high, towards the curtain covering one of the windows.
When they realised what she was about to do, the advisors cried in unison for her to stop.
But Frida did not stop..
With one sharp heave, she pulled the curtain back, and a golden vengeance poured into the room.
'Insolence!' screamed the king, and in that moment it was hard to tell whether he was blinded by the light of the sun, or of his daughter.
Frida was moving like a spirit, curtain to curtain, pulling down the black drapes, advisors and maids cringing with their eyes closed, the dust swirling like gold notes around the throne as velvet and taffeta tumbled to the floor. Ariosta rushed to help her, and Bellina followed, then Chessa and Delilah and Mariella, then Polina and Emelia, then Flora and Vita, and finally Lorna and Agnes, twelve princessly pairs of hands making portal after portal of sunshine to flood the room.
No one could stop them,
no one dared go near them,
and thus their father's throne was nothing,
a chair, bleached white by the light of grief.

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Review: The Light Between Worlds

The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A sweet little story, not quite what I was expecting but still beautiful in its way. Perhaps deliberately, it evokes the most famous portal story of them all, and the comparisons are good. This story stands up to CS Lewis, and that's a high bar to reach.

There were a couple of things that threw me - Ev talks about being crowded in her brother's car because of her luggage, then later in the same holiday explains how she has barely any luggage because most of it's still at school; Philippa tells Jack "No one bothers with Philippa, they call me Philippa." Apart from those, though, it's a lovely meditation on love and lose and home, wherever that may be. A fantastic read.

(It is a little strange that Jamie isn't mentioned in any of the promo material, though!)

Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.


Philippa takes a step away. She's quiet for a while before answering, and when she speaks, her voice is colorless. "Even if you can't promise to keep Evie safe, I did.So I suppose it'll be up to me as always, to look after her and to get her home. If that means helping to hold off your war until you're ready, then so be it."
Cervus rests his head on her shoulder, and at last she turns, throwing her arms around his neck, and burying her face in that ruff of rust-red fur. I creep away, knowing she's said things she won't want me to overhear.

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Review: The Rescued Kitten

The Rescued Kitten by Holly Webb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The strength of Holly Webb's books...one of their strengths, anyway...is the relatively predictable plot. Child has always wanted pet, child gets pet, maybe child can't keep pet/loses pet, child keeps/finds pet, everyone's happy. It's a formula that has seen Holly through more than forty of these books, and they're fantastic for newly confident readers who find comfort in familiarity. This story mixes things up a little...the newly discovered kitten isn't in any real danger, but her siblings and mother might be...but the core of the story stays the same.

The other strength of Holly's books is her writing. I often find myself tearing up as I read. Holly has certainly hit on a winning formula here, and long may it continue.


It must be her mother coming back to get her, the kitten decided. Her mother wouldn't abandon her like this. The kitten tried again to wriggle, and then mewed, as loud as she could. Find me, help me, take me home, I'm frightened!
Even though it was her loudest mew, the sound was still very faint. Hardly more than a squeak. She tried again, squeaking and tugging back against the wire as hard as she could. It bounced a little and she squeaked once more, with pain this time as the long fur on the back of her neck pulled and the wire pressed into her skin.
The noise was coming closer and she twisted her body, pulling to try and see what was making it, still calling faintly to her mother. But instead of a cat hurrying to rescue her, the kitten saw two frightened, wide eyed faces. She wrenched at the wire again and the cut on her neck went deeper. It hurt and she sagged down miserably. She was terrified and so, so tired.
She didn't understand. All she could do was close her eyes and hope that whoever this was would go away and then her mother would come.

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Review: Slave Day

Slave Day by Rob Thomas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Slave Day was interesting, but it could have been so much better. Each 'chapter' is only a couple of pages long, and they move between eight different characters, so it's hard to connect to any of them. I couldn't pick out a 'plot', as such; it's just a bunch of stuff that happens on this one particular day. Maybe I missed something; I'd be glad to learn I did.

Because this should have been a brilliant book. It tackles real issues, issues that are very important now, and some of the characters are much better than others...Jen and Brendan spring to mind. As it is, though, it's only so so, and that's a real shame.

Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.



"I AM ROBERT E LEE, and you've named your school after me."
A couple of the same brothas who told me to speak up start booing. Boys better be booin' the speech and not the speaker. Some people got no sense of humour.
Stump Milton yells "Somebody shut him up."
Right, Stump. You tell fag jokes all day, last period Dr Pepper was spewin' out your nose when you were watchin' me pick up cotton balls, but this pisses you off. I look down at the next lind of the speech. Ain't no way I'm reading this. The warning bell rings, keeping me from havin' to flat out refuse.
I am Robert E Lee, and if you were a slave, I slept with your mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives. You named your school after me.
I wonder if that's true.

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Review: Access Restricted

Access Restricted by Gregory Scott Katsoulis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A brilliant sequel to All Rights Restricted, picking up very soon after the end of that book. However, while it's been mere hours for the characters, it's been much longer for me and I found myself struggling to remember exactly what happened to what character when. A recap of some kind would have been very welcome.

That aside, though, this is a fantastic read. Speth's world expands in this one and we get to see a lot more of what's left of America. Saretha seemed much younger than her age this time, griping and complaining at Speth all the time. It grated on me but it never made me stop reading.

I think the series is over now; it seemed the right stopping point. But I'll be watching out for more by Scott.

Be aware the main character and others are tortured with electric shocks and nauseating patterns and sounds.


"How do you know? A name could be anything."
"Nah. They took our names, priced 'em out. You ever look at the Spanish Word$ Market? See what they charge? They don't want us to have a history. They don't want us to know each other and don't want us to know ourselves."
...
"Friends. Family. Words. Even our past. Cut us off from everything. Want us to have nothing, so we'll feel like nothing. They don't want your fight. S'why they hate you so bad. When they come to Indenture, they don't want anything left but strong hands and backs."

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Review: Ten After Closing

Ten After Closing by Jessica Bayliss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An exciting read about a hostage situation gone very, very wrong. I enjoyed all the parts in the 'now' section; however, I found myself skimming the past sections. I'm sure they were meant to make points about the characters, but I found them dull and uninteresting and I didn't need them to understand what was happening.

A great read, one I'll heartily recommend.


"Ok, everyone," Pavan whispers to us as he comes around the counter with Twitch's coffee. "Just calm down. Those guys will be back soon. If you're saying we're still defenceless, we'd better come up with a way to remedy that."
I'm such a stupid, useless ass.
Everyone's martyr...
Except it's the martyr's job to die. With my rash decision, I may have killed us all.

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Review: Exile

Exile by S.M. Wilson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A great second parter to the series. I do wonder, if it keeps on, how many more excuses S M Wilson can find to bring the team back to Piloria? This one worked well, but five books down the line...

I've also taken one star off for all the times someone licked their lips. After a while it was really throwing me out of the story. But other than that, this is a fantastic read, full of action, adventure and heartbreak, and I can't wait to read the next one and see what happens now. It did end on an almost literal cliffhanger, after all!


Lincoln spoke clearly. "I told you I met Kayna. I told you I met Caleb."
Blaine nodded his eyes wide. Then something happened. Part of his brain must have clicked into gear. "But, what about..."
Lincoln gently slipped his arm around Jesa's back and edged her forward. "Blaine, this is Jesa. Your daughter. The person you just slapped." He watched as the words registered, then leaned forwards and kept his voice low. "Touch her again and I'll kill you myself."

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Review: And the Ocean Was Our Sky

And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is up there with A Monster Calls as Patrick's finest work. This is amazing, a fantastic re imagining of Moby Dick from the whale's point of view, with real thought put into how the whale society functions. Absolutely amazing. I'll be looking forward to seeing the real illustrations, but even the samples here add immeasurably to the story. Just fantastic.


Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.


"I do not wish to kill you," I said, surprising myself by saying it out loud, though quietly, for only Demetrius to hear.
"That much is obvious," he said, though not happily. "You have let me live far beyond kindness out of your own fear." He dropped his head. "But you will kill me. Before the end. And nothing between whale and man will ever change."
I breathed from the bubble in my throat. There was no further delay I could make. He said he did not know what the upside-down ship meant, so he was right:
I would kill him.
And that would be the end. So many ends.

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