Review: The Black Flamingo

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Told in free verse, this heartfelt story follows Michael from birth to university as he discovers his identity and finds the people who will stand with him. Mixed in is the poetry he writes to try to understand himself and his reactions and those of the people around him. This is a lovely, quick read with beautiful illustrations. This is a story that will stay with you for a long time.

Be aware, there is a lot of discussion of sex and some drugs.



He puts his arm around me and says,
'Don't worry, you can't score every time
but you still gotta take the shot.
Respect for taking the risk, bro.
I've got a question for you: why did you
ask out the whitest boy in school?
Why not give a brother a chance?'

I laugh, through my tears. 'You're funny.'

'Yeah,' Kieran sighs, 'so are you.
I should go but if anyone gives you any trouble,
you let me know.'
He squeezes my shoulder,
walks to the door.

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Review: D.O.G.S

D.O.G.S by M.A. Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Greer is trying to settle back into school after the horrific visit to Longcross. The appearance of a long lost play catapults her back into a world of mystery, forcing her back to Longcross to lay old ghosts to rest.

So this is the second in what is now apparently a trilogy. As such, not a lot actually happens. There's a secret play that's tied into the Order, a lot of arguing, a visit to Longcross to find part of the play that is mostly not at all about the actual play. However, this is still an exciting, interesting read and I read it in one go, wanting to know what was going to happen next. I loved that we couldn't quite tell which side the characters were on; of the two reveals at the end, one confused me adn one really impressed me. I'm looking forward to reading the third part, but going on history that's a couple of years away at least!


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



'So you're from the Isle of Dogs, right?'

'Yeah.'

'Why's it called that?'

'It was called Isle of Dogs cos it was s'posed to be where Elizabeth I's royal kennels were. So back then it was literally swarming with dogs.'

'Makes sense.'

'There's this pub called the Ferry House where my uncles used to drink,' she went on, 'and there was a crazy old guy who always used to sit at the bar and say that on frosty nights you could hear those Elizabethan dogs baying across the mudflats.'

I shivered. I was back at Longcross, hearing Henry's dogs barking through the dense fog after Nel's blood. If I was a real friend to Ty, could I really let her go to Longcross alone? Yes, I liked the twins, and no, they weren't Henry. But before I could make up my mind she hurried away, probably to catch up with Louis.

I could've stopped her. I could've called her back. But I said nothing, and my own silence made me feel a bit sick.

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Review: Sea Witch Rising

Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The politics get a bit more confusing in this follow up, which sees Evie, our Sea Witch, re-enacting the Little Mermaid by sending Alia ashore without her voice to capture the heart of her prince - the grandson of the boy Evie loved once. Alia's sister refuses to take it lying down, though, and demands to negotiate her own deal.

The fifty year gap between this story and the first one means that some things are filled in on the run, as it were. This one is also rooted in a much more modern time than I had assumed reading the first one. It could, technically, still be as early as the 1850s, but the reference to Germany wanting to cut of Britain's supplies and starve her out seems, to me, to place us in the 1940s. Which makes Havnestad seem really backwards and strange. I guess it could be an alternate world.

Apart from that niggle, though, this is a fantastic read, with lush language and a well thought out magic system. Runa is now my favourite of the heroines, and I enjoyed the ending very much. This was a one day read for me.

A wonderful duology for anyone who enjoys fantasy.



Maybe there's a chance.

Maybe he really does love Alia.

Maybe their love is enough that he'll stop this wedding farce and bring Alia up there instead, marrying her with a kiss so fierce, the magic has no choice but to be satisfied.

Maybe the only sad part of the story is that I will remain human against my will. If Alia is happy and survives, that will be enough for me.

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Review: Sea Witch

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beautiful, magical retelling of the Little Mermaid...sort of. For spoilery reasons, I can't explain, but this book is not quite what you think it is. It is a wonderful, magical - I keep saying that, but it's true - story, though.

Switching time periods can make things tricky at first, but things become clear very quickly. The language is amazing and I'm very eager to move on to the next title in the series. Hoping for a happy ending!



"Happy birthday, Cousin." Eyes laughing, Iker claps Nik on the back and brings him in for a hug, his toned arms fully encasing Nik's spindly-yet-strong form.

When they release, Iker's eyes go right to me. They're the clearest of blues - like ancient ice in the fjords of the north.

"Evelyn," he says, still retaining an air of formality from his upbringing, but he then shockingly pulls me into a hug.

I freeze, eyes on Nik as he and everyone else on the ship stares. Iker doesn't seem to notice or care and pulls me tighter, his arms wrapped around my waist. Warm from ship work, he smells of salt and limes. His shirt is freckled with water droplets, onyx on the starched gray fabric - the sea leaving her mark.

When the moment is over and he lets me go, an arm lingers across my shoulders. I try to ignore the question nagging me, the one I'm sure everyone else is asking too. Why me? We've known each other since we were children, but he's never shown me this kind of affection before. I'm not his type. I'm not anyone's type. Yet Iker continues to act as if it's all completely normal. He turns to Nik, to the crowd, and grins that perfect smile.

"Good people of Havnestad," he says, his voice commanding yet sincere. Then the grin grows wider. "Let's give the prince a celebration so hearty, he'll never forget it."

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Review: Arctic Zoo

Arctic Zoo by Robert Muchamore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Muchamore is an excellent writer. There's no denying that. This book has adventure, politics, lessons about drone racing and young offender's institutes. But it just wasn't riveting, at least for me. It took the two storylines far too long to come together, so it was more like reading two different books, and they didn't really affect each other much in the end.

There was nothing wrong with it. The prose is brilliant, the characters were good. As always in Muchamore's stories, the violence happens often and is well described, and he'd clearly put a lot of thought into the politics of his little slice of Nigeria. But it's a long way from the highs of the CHERUB series. I'll keep reading him, but I'm not sure we'll ever get that high again.

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Review: I Hold Your Heart

I Hold Your Heart by Karen Gregory
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gemma has just started her A levels when she meets Aaron. He understands her in a way no one else ever has, and soon she's spending all her time with him. Her friends don't understand what it's like. They're jealous. Right?

This book starts out fine; Gemma's studying, playing music, working and hanging out with friends. Even Aaron, at first, seems nice; kind and thoughtful, dedicated to Gemma's happiness. As things go on, though, they get increasingly creepy. Aaron's change in behaviour is slow and subtle and it's easy to understand why Gemma gets caught up with him. It's terrifying to watch; I just wanted to scream at her to get out of there immediately. This is a fantastic read on a very important topic; too many teenagers wouldn't recognise abuse of this kind and it needs to be talked about more. This book will definitely do it.

Between this title and Countless, Karen Gregory is on my must-read list.

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


When she doesn’t answer her messages, or her phone when I call her, that’s when I look. Not before. But I know how to get into her WhatsApp; it’s easy if you’ve got someone’s number.

The first thing I see are the messages from Cal. Way more of them than she said. The winky faces. Kisses. Little in-jokes from a time before I knew her.

I read through each one, feeling the nausea rising.There’s a rational part of me that’s aware her messages indicate nothing more than friendship, though his are screaming he wants more. But a larger part of me feels like a vortex, as though my lungs are collapsing in on themselves and I’m struggling for breath, fighting to pull up and out. Fighting to remember who I am. Before I know it, I’m dressed and driving, taking the corners on the wrong side of the road, not bothering to brake at red lights, the night a blur of looming hedgerows and cat’s eyes flaring at me from the middle of the road.

I kill the engine at the bottom of her track and sit there, holding on to the steering wheel. Go home, a voice is whispering in my head. I try her number again but there’s still no answer. And the need to just see her, to touch her hair, is overwhelming. Too big for me to fight.

I step out of the car and jog up the track.

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Review: The Beholder

The Beholder by Anna Bright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 rounded up.

Selah only wants to help keep her people fed and happy. Their little colony is only scraping by, and she knows her duty is to marry a good, hard working man who will help her take her father's place and led her people. When the man she expects to marry her turns her down, though, she's plunged into a humiliating journey across the sea in search of a husband, in a game between her stepmother and the dreaded Baba Yaga she knows nothing about.



This should have been an amazing read. It's so confused, though, it turned me off a little. As near as I can tell, this is set in a world where England abandoned the Colonies before they could declare Independence. In fact England doesn't seem to have much of an empire at all any more. But also a lot of folklore is happening all at once; Arthur, surrounded by several of the Knights, is in England, and in what's probably Norway she visits Asgard and meets various members of the pantheon, except they don't actually seem to be gods, just people with the gods' names. The overarching villain is known as Baba Yaga and it's never clear (at least to me) whether she is called that because of the mythological figure, or whether the myth doesn't exist there. All the European countries have different names, and while I could puzzle most of them out by context I'm still lost on a few. A map would have been amazingly helpful; maybe the print version will have one.

But it's not all bad. Selah grows into an amazing character, and her determination to return home is never less than endearing. A couple of her suitors are good as well, obvious twist with one aside. Sadly I didn't really follow the political subplot, possibly because, again, I couldn't place the countries involved.

I did enjoy it overall, and I'll watch out for the sequel, because naturally there's a cliffhanger. Not a horrible one, though, so there's that going for it.

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Review: Heartstream

Heartstream by Tom Pollock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cat's dating a member of the hottest boyband around...maybe. And Amy's the hottest streamer on Heartstream, the app that lets other people literally feel your emotions. Both think they've experienced the dark side of fandom. But they haven't seen anything yet.


Where to start with this one? First of all, it does not have the tear your hair out ending that White Rabbit, Red Wolf had, so rest easy on that. Not everything is tied up by the end, but it's enough.

Second, I like this view of fandom; that it can be the best place ever, an amazingly supportive family who will bear you up and support you...so long as you follow the rules. I've been on the edge of some of those fandoms, and they can be hideous or wonderful. Often both at once. It's beautifully portrayed here.

Third, I kind of started to get an inkling about what was going on about halfway through, but I had to keep adjusting my thoughts and shifting things around. Tom is amazing at giving you enough information to keep you guessing but not enough to figure things out, but not so little you get bored. I've no idea how he does it.

Fourth, a small amount of violence and gore, be careful.

Fifth, read it. Get two copies and give one to someone else.



I received an ARC and chose to review it honestly.


Panic and despair welled up in me. I suddenly remembered being tony, maybe four or five, and losing Mum in the bustle of a supermarket, and running up and down the aisles of cereal and vegetables and frozen meat frantically searching for her and not finding her and battling against the growing conviction she was gone, gone, and I was never getting her back, and tears springing up hot in my throat because it was my fault, because she told me to keep hold of her hand.

This felt exactly like that, only edged in a leaden despair, because I knew it would never end, because there was no bored girl with a supermarket PA system who could call her to the customer information desk from where she'd gone now. And then I was back watching the burning house, and then...

And then I sort of lost touch with myself.

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Review: The Virtue of Sin

The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love cult stories, but I feel like this one was confused about what it wanted to say. The rotating PoVs made it difficult to develop any attachment to any character, and nothing much happened until almost the end, when All The Things happened.

It's not awful; it's a chillingly realistic depiction of a cult, and of how easily a clever con man can keep a whole group of people scared and compliant. It just could have been so much better.




“That’s what I used to think, too. But you know what? There is a choice. I could keep being good Miriam, the girl who does what she’s told. The one who goes along with what everybody else wants. The one who keeps her mouth shut.” I step back, farther into the shadows . But if I keep being this Miriam, I may as well disappear altogether.

“Or what?” he asks, leaning forward. “What else can you do?”

“I can start thinking for myself.”

And there arose a disagreement between them, so sharp they parted ways. —Acts 15: 39

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Review: Fan the Fame

Fan the Fame by Anna Priemaza
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Told from three points of view, this novel tackles misogyny and bullying in the world of video game streaming.


If it weren't for Sam's storyline, this would be a lower rating for me. I didn't like the two girls; they seemed amoral and willing to be cruel to get what they wanted. And after the whole buildup of the story, the fallout was briefly dealt with in the epilogue.

However, this made slightly more sense when I read the author's note and realised that Sam's storyline was the whole point of the novel. I loved the friends he made at the con, who accepted him as he was and made an effort to make sure he knew it.

So it's good, but sadly not great for me.


Legs pushes the door open for both of us, and we step into the convention center. It feels more chaotic than last night, somehow, even though there probably aren’t as many people here yet as there were then. Legs and I both step to the side to take it in.

We’re in a wide hallway, wide enough that there are short faux-leather chairs clustered into seating areas along the right wall behind a row of enormous cream pillars, and there’s still plenty of room for the growing crowd of Legends of the Stone enthusiasts to walk through or mill about or stare up at the huge posters on the wall—including one big one of my brother. I don’t know how I missed seeing that last night. Ick. No one needs to see Cody’s face blown up as big as the sun.

The thing I didn’t realize about geek conventions before is that some of the stereotypes about geeks are actually true. I mean, not across the board, but amid the brilliant cosplay and geek chic, there are the clusters of guys in sweatpants and oversize shirts, with questionable hygiene. Part of me wants to yell at them for giving nerds a bad name, but another part of me wishes I could wear sweatpants and an oversize shirt and not care if people thought I looked sloppy.

Except, don’t actually be sloppy about the hygiene part, folks. Can we all agree right here right now that good hygiene is a vital cornerstone of the society we live in?

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Review: Collision

Collision by Victor Dixen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Leonor and the other colonists have new difficulties to overcome in this final part of the trilogy. As personality conflicts among the team and policital troubles on Earth multiply, they have to use what little power they have to keep themselves alive and healthy.


First, the bad. The translation problems have continued into this one. Although the story is very readable, it's full of flowery phrases and people telling each other things they already know. For instance, the head of Eden foods is asked "Miss Delville, James has just woken from his nap, and hes calling for you. Shall I bring him to you, or are you too busy following the progress of Logan, the new Eden foods-sponsored candidate?" Again, the person being addressed is the head of Eden foods. She knows exactly who Logan is, as does the person addressing her. The only function of that line of dialogue is to tell us who Logan is, and since he never appears or is mentioned again after that line it's a little pointless.

However, apart from that, this is a good read, if a little draggy in spots. I didn't predict most of the twists and I was excited to know what would happen next. As another reviewer has said, it doesn't exactly tie everything up in a neat bow, but we know enough to guess how things will turn out.

I've enjoyed this trilogy immensely and I hope that more of Victor's books will be translated.

I received a copy of this book and chose to write an honest review.


"If you kill him out of selfishness, just to calm your anger, you'll also be killing the one thing we have left," I say, my voice hoarse, struggling to keep my emotion in check. "You'll shatter that one precious thing Marcus himself almost managed to destroy; us."

I catch my breath at that word; us.

I summon all my strength, all my being, to support me, and I repeat it in a voice that is suddenly much more certain.

"Us. Our cohesion. Our mutual trust. What has bound us to one another since the very beginning. What will maybe allow us to make it through this one day. We can't let Marcus's treachery divide us; just the opposite, we need to make it bind us even tighter together. If he has to die, it's up to the gorup to decide. And if the group decides he must, then I'll be the one to execute him. I swear it."

Alexei glances around, at the nine other pioneers frozen in front of Marcus; then, slowly, he puts his boot back down on the floor and moves a few steps away.

"We are going to judge Marcus," I say finally, a lump in my throut, without so much as a glance at the human wreck slumped on the floor. "That's the only way we can survive what he's done to us. But not right away. We need to concentrate on the storm now, and on the space elevator, and on the fact that we're about to go back on the air. We'll shut the accused in the seventh habitat, we'll return to the Garden and later we'll organise his trial."

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Review: Paradise Girl

Paradise Girl by Phill Featherstone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kerryl finds herself alone on her farm, in her town, and possibly in the world, when a highly contagious disease sweeps out of Africa and infects the whole world. Unsure how to deal with her experiences, she writes everything down in her diary, addressing it to Adam, her imaginary friend. But as her predicament sinks in, she leans more and more heavily on Adam, until she's not sure anymore what's real and what isn't...

What a fascinating read! Most of the things I want to comment on would count as spoilers, so I'll only say that I really enjoyed this. Kerryl is an odd character; I felt bad for her, but I didn't really like her as a character. However it didn't stop me reading and wanting to know what would happen next, and if I get a chance I'll pick up the sequel/companion book, too.

Read this if you're interested in apocalypse, teen survival, or psychological thrillers with killer endings.


I received a free copy of this title and chose to leave an honest review.

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Review: Meat Market

Meat Market by Juno Dawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jana is scouted by a modeling agency at Thorpe park. Surprised and suspicious at first, she's soon pulled into the fast paced world of high fashion, earning thousands just for walking while wearing clothes. Modeling is not a kind industry, though, and she soon finds herself caught up in the seedy side of things, alone and unprotected.

Juno Dawson has a way of cutting straight to the heart of things. Surprisingly, I found this easier to read than Clean, which was desperately distressing: this one is upsetting, but in smaller doses, so it was easier to keep going. I enjoyed it very much and felt great satissfaction at the end. I was also pleasently surprised when Jana's narration turned out to be entirely innocent; I'd been expecting a magazine exposé or a police interview, but it was much more benign than that.

A fantastic read, I really enjoyed it.




(Note that curses are not hidden in the novel.)

By the end of the shoot, I don't feel quite so ridiculous. No matter how mad I feel pretending to walk on the spot, at least I can see the pictures popping up on Ro's laptop and they do look pretty cool. 'You can't take a bad picture, babes,' Ro tells me. I guess that's why Tom is good at his job - he knows who's gonna look good in pictures, however weird they look in real life. 'I think we're good, Layla. We have so many choices.'

'Yeah? Wicked.' She comes over and gives me a big hug. 'You're a trooper, babe. I wanna shoot you again. I'm serious.'

'Really?'

'Abso-f***ing-lutely. You got it, babe.'

'Thank you.' I sense Arabella is waiting for the same feedback, but Layla doesn't seem to notice she's still here.

'You're a sweet kid. Hang on to that for as long as you can. Don't become a c**t, even if you can get away with it.'

Layla's assistant starts taking the backdrop down and it all wraps up in a flurry of air kisses. I mostly want the shoes off. As I change into my vest and jeans again, I can't help but feel a bit less special, like Clark Kent putting the tie and glasses back on.

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Review: Stepsister

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Ugly Stepsisters never get much limelight in most versions of Cinderella, other than to laugh at their misfortunes. Luckily for everyone, this is not a version of Cinderella, not really. This is about what happens afterwards, when Ella goes with the Prince and the Stepsisters are left at home with a mother they were never good enough for.

This is mostly Isabelle's story; as a child she was fearless, strong and fast, but not pretty. Never pretty. And in the world they grew up in, not pretty was almost a death sentence. When beautiful Ella came into their lives Isabelle allowed jealousy to poison her heart, but now, left alone and crippled, she realises what she's lost and longs to regain it.

This is a wonderful story of redemption and believing in oneself. Isabelle is a wonderful character, surrounded by a cast of other wonderful characters. The interaction between the Marquis and Tantine is one of the highlights of an amazing book.

I really enjoyed this book.


The magician pulled the actress close. She kissed her cheeks and wiped her tears away with a handkerchief. Then she balled the handkerchief up and pressed it between her palms. When she opened her hands again, it was gone and a butterfly was sitting in its place.
As the three women watched, the butterfly took wing, carried aloft by the breeze.
It flew past a little monkey playing with a rope of pearls. Past a violinist and a trumpeter, a cook, a scientist, and three ballerinas, all with scars of their own.
Past a man with amber eyes, raging at the falling dusk. Swearing at the treacherous roads. Building his teetering human tower taller and taller.
A smile, small but defiant, curved the magician's full red lips. "That's what we do with our pain," she said, watching the butterfly rise. "We make it into something beautiful."
"We make it into something meaningful," said the diva.
"We make it matter," whispered the actress.

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Review: The Fandom Rising

The Fandom Rising by Anna Day
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Fandom was Anna Day's love letter to dystopian fiction and the fervour of the fans. The Fandom Rising is, rather more specifically, about fanfiction and the wars they can engender. Rising picks up a year after the end of Fandom. In the interim, Alice and Violet have published the official sequel to Gallows' Dance. However, Nate is still trapped in his coma and the girls have forgotten their adventures. Violet's been dreaming, though, and things are moving in the Gallows fandom. A new fanfic writer is turning everything on its head, and if the girls don't stop him they'll lose any chance of bringing Nate back...

I'm going to start with the only problem I had with this novel, and it's the same problem I have with almost all series; it's been more than a year since the first one was published, and there's no recap or memory jogger beyond a few bits of dialogue and exposition. I am honestly not too sure who a couple of the characters were and what the relationships were in the first novel. But almost all series have this, and I realise that putting in a recap at the start can affect the flow.

This is my only problem. Other than that, the story is brilliant. Shifting POVs mean that we're aware of what's happening on both sides of the divide, and a certain character reveal took me by surprise. Another I was expecting didn't materialise, which is good because it would have been upsetting. The settings were great and the action didn't stop at any point.

This sits beautifully as a duology, but I'll be watching out for whatever Anna does next. I'm sure it'll be great.



I need to contact this Fanboy and convince him to stop posting. And I'm Alice Childs, author of The Gallows Song. That must mean something. And if it doesn't, if he won't stop, well, I'll hunt him down and grind his bloody keyboard to dust with my Jimmy Choos.

I go straight to the Fandalism site on my phone. The barbed wire motif suddenly seems all the more jagged, all the more dangerous. I scroll with urgent fingers. There isn't a contact page. I do a bit more snooping, but he isn't on social media or the internet more generally. The guy's a cyber ghost. How on earth did he get so popular?

This complicates things.

Deep breaths. New plan.

I need someone to help me. I'm hopeless with computers. Which sounds daft coming from a girl who spends most of her spare time glued to one. But that's different, that's writing. I know diddly about how to track down another user.

What I need is an IT nerd.

I open Facebook and follow a friends of friends trail until I find the perfect geek. A nerd who I really owe a drink and who, historically, owes me a favour.

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Review: The Hand, the Eye and the Heart

The Hand, the Eye and the Heart by Zoë Marriott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Zoe Marriott returns to low fantasy in this loose retelling of Mulan. No quipping dragons or cheerful training montages here, this is a gritty, serious look at a war with constantly shifting alliances. Set in the same world as Shadows on the Moon and Barefoot on the Wind, in an unspecified time that may be before, after or during either, neither or both of those titles, this expands Zoe's world beautifully.

This book touches on themes of bisexuality and transgenderism, but with a very light hand, never sounding preachy or forced. There was a twist I didn't see coming but very much enjoyed - it's unusual for a twist to surprise me like that one, so well done! - and the characters were intriguing and well thought out. I hope Zoe returns to this world, but if she doesn't, this was an excellent swan song.

I made an effort to put my own worries and misgivings aside as we headed to the barracks together. But even as I chatted companionably to him and went through the motions of settling into the camp, a sense of foreboding descended over me. I had succeeded in convincing my family to let me come here and succeeded in convincing the camp officials to accept me into the ranks of the army. At home, when I planned this, those had seen the biggest obstacles.
But this morning the enemy had been close to killing me without coming anywhere near me. I had made my first and only friend and then almost lost them again, because of who my father was. And nearly incurred the wrath of the first senior official I spoke to without even trying.
With a sensation like falling, I realized that, despite all my preparations to come here, I wasn't prepared for this. I hadn't been prepared for anything that happened today. I wasn't prepared for tomorrow, or the next day, or the one after that. I had no idea what challenges were ahead.

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Review: The Princess and the Fangirl

The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow, the need for fandom knowledge is strong with this one! I know that that's the whole point of this series, but I worry that it will turn away casual readers who may not be too sure what a kamahameha is. However, it shouldn't, as this is a sweet retelling of The Prince and the Pauper dressed up in cosplay. I loved the little references ... the ones I got, anyway, I'm sure I missed some ... and it was nice to return to the world of Starfield. (It did irritate me a little that absolutely everyone curses in Starfield's vernacular. How about a frack or a shazbot thrown in there for variety?)

A brilliant read I will definitely be recommending, and I hope there's plenty more to come in this series.


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


I am the best parts of her, and part of the Amaras I pass in the crowd - the gender-bent one across the aisle, the ten-year-old one with glitter in her hair, the Black Nebula Federation Princess Amara come back from the grave. I'm a part of every Amara at the con, every Amara on the screen - just as the first Amara is a part of me.
And we don't die quietly.
There are stories that you tell and stories that tell things to you; stories that win awards and stories that win hearts. Sometimes the stories you want aren't the stories you need, and the ones you need are the ones you never thought you'd like.
Perhaps this is one of those stories.

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Review: We Set the Dark on Fire

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A great read, a very clever imagining of a deeply divided culture. Dani is a great character, a girl doing her best to survive in a world almost designed to make sure she can't.

I do wish Mateo hadn't been so pantomime-villian evil - think what a great story it would have been if she hadn't been sure which side he was on! - but I enjoyed it very much and will look out for more in the series.


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


It took Dani a moment to turn to stone this time. A hundred shades of a girl, he'd called her, and though she hadn't appreciated the delivery, he'd been right. Dani slid into her lies like second skins. It was part of survival. She had no doubt she could do what he was asking her to do. The only question was, what would she be setting into motion when she did?

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Review: We are Blood and Thunder

We are Blood and Thunder by Kesia Lupo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lena has grown up as a cryptling in Duke's Forest, tending to the revered dead and forbidden from venturing above ground. A pestilence has been attacking the town for several years, and the people fear magic. When a body Lena is tending moves, the brutish Justice has her flung from the city to be hunted down by his dogs.

As Lena is desperately trying to escape, Constance is trying to get in. Having fled the city years before, she's now returning, determined to find the source of the spell that holds Duke's Forest in its grip. Although they don't know it, these two women and their strange connection hold the future of Duke's Forest in their hands.


This is a good, but not great, story. I enjoyed it, but I feel like a lot of Lena's storyline was basically just passing time until Constance caught up. However, I didn't think that while I was reading, only when I got to the end and looked back. There was a twist that looked like it was going one way but then went the complete opposite way, which I appreciated. I'm not sure if this is a series; I thought my copy said 'trilogy' but when I looked again it didn't, but I'd gladly read more titles set in this world. It's an intriguing place and we've only just scratched the surface of it.

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

'He is not like us, Lena. He could never understand.'
'What?'
'We are not like other people,' Constance said softly, her glowing cane hovering over Lena's heart, ready to continue her work. 'Other people are flesh and bone and sinew, and they wander through life like cattle or sheep, aimless and happy. But we are different.' She smiled a hidden smile. 'We are blood and thunder.'

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Review: Music and Malice in Hurricane Town

Music and Malice in Hurricane Town by Alex Bell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(Apologies in advance if I use any pejorative terms, please correct me and I will alter.)

Baton Noir is a city of magic, gods and spirits known as legba. Sadly, not all the magic is good or kind. Jude finds herself caught up in vengeance from beyond the grave when a cajou queen locks on to her, determined to see her plans carried out even after death. Unraveling it will take luck, strange allies - and maybe a little magic.


Alex Bell is the queen of horror stories. This is less bone chilling than Frozen Charlotte, more creepy than downright terrifying, but it's a fascinating world and Alex has clearly done her homework on Southern magic. There's a level of detail here that really creeped me out. I'm looking forward to reading more in this universe; there's a lot to unpick.

The romance story didn't do much for me, although I liked the male character in all other respects; I just thought the romance part was kind of tacked on. That's entirely like me when it comes to romance, though. I liked the characters, and a twist near the end took me by surprise, which I always love.

I'll be looking out for more in this series, I'm very eager to find out what happens next.


An hour or so after she'd laid down, she realised Beau was on the bed with her, curling his large body round her in a way that was strangely comforting.
"How did he get here?" Jude asked. "And how did he appear before, in the Ghost Station?"
He can sense where I am, and so where you are, Ivory said. He's never far away. And he can use the spirit world to travel around. It seems like he's taken a bit of a shine to you. In fact, he's been more affectionate to you than he was with me in recent years. She sighed. I suppose he never quite forgave me for killing Betty.
"But...then why didn't he appear at the Blue Lady?" Jude asked. "When you were murdered?"
The cajou queen was silent for a moment. Then, she said, (sic)"I'm not sure. Perhaps...perhaps he sensed that he wouldn't be able to do anything against a magical attack? It hardly matters now."
The snake tucked his flat head into the groove of Jude's shoulder and she felt the same glow of warmth as before, her fear lessened and so did the piercing pain in her finger. She ran her fingers slowly down the snake's smooth skin. With him there she suddenly felt safer and the thought of bats no longer troubled her.
"Thank you, Beau," she said.
The warmth from the snake glowed a little brighter and, soon afterwards, Jude fell asleep.

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