Rabbits Review

Conspiracies abound in this surreal and yet all-too-real technothriller in which a deadly underground alternate reality game might just be altering reality itself, set in the same world as the popular Rabbits podcast.

It’s an average work day. You’ve been wrapped up in a task, and you check the clock when you come up for air–4:44 pm. You go to check your email, and 44 unread messages have built up. With a shock, you realize it is April 4th–4/4. And when you get in your car to drive home, your odometer reads 44,444. Coincidence? Or have you just seen the edge of a rabbit hole?

Rabbits is a mysterious alternate reality game so vast it uses our global reality as its canvas. Since the game first started in 1959, ten iterations have appeared and nine winners have been declared. Their identities are unknown. So is their reward, which is whispered to be NSA or CIA recruitment, vast wealth, immortality, or perhaps even the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe itself. But the deeper you get, the more deadly the game becomes. Players have died in the past–and the body count is rising.

And now the eleventh round is about to begin. Enter K–a Rabbit’s obsessive who has been trying to find a way into the game for years. That path opens when K is approached by billionaire Alan Scarpio, the alleged winner of the sixth iteration. Scarpio says that something has gone wrong with the game and that K needs to fix it before Eleven starts or the whole world will pay the price.

Five days later, Scarpio is declared missing. Two weeks after that, K blows the deadline and Eleven begins. And suddenly, the fate of the entire universe is at stake. If I didn’t have such an affinity with wolves, I would absolutely be wanting my spirit animal to be a rabbit right now, and not just any rabbit oh no, no cuddly bugs bunny for me

I want a badass rabbit that wants me to follow it down a rabbit hole into some crazed wonderland that I may never return from.

So why the tangent on rabbits and not talking about the novel? Well buckle up.

This is a dark nerd gamers paradise think DBD meets D and D with masterful twists and turns that makes you feel more than any computer game ever did or could – yeah it is that good. If you love your games on the obsessive, intellectualy and highly playable side then you will love this book.

Imagine playing a game where the it is the world but more than that it takes over everything you have and becomes so much more than just a game.

I refuse to spoil it for people but OMG what a rollercoaster ride and I never wanted to get off, I was adoringly satisfied from opening page to finishing page and I just wanted it to keep going. 5 stars really isn’t enough.

The Colours of Death Review

In an alternative present-day Lisbon, a small percentage of the population have been diagnosed as Gifted – having telepathic or telekinetic powers. Along with the power comes a stigma and suspicion that Gifted Inspector Isabel Reis with the Lisbon Police Force knows only too well.

When Isabel is called to investigate a mysterious and violent death which hints at Gifted involvement, she knows it’s more than just her personal reputation on the line. In a society where Gifted individuals are already viewed with mistrust; Isabel is hiding her own secret and knows she has to tread carefully as a conspiracy emerges and the body count rises.

The first thing that I loved about this novel was that it was set in Lisbon – a setting that I have not encountered in many books so that was a refreshing aspect and the author gave so many vivid descriptions of both the setting and the food in the novel, that I genuinely felt like I was reading this sat on the streets of Lisbon. Some of the translation was slightly off but that did not bother me in the slightest and took nothing from the reading of the novel.

This sci-fi crime thriller – even just those words feel me with pleasure than I can say – is set in a present day yet alternate Portugal where a political party is leading the agenda to rid those of the gifted with telepathic or telekinetic abilities. It really is so refreshing to read crime fiction that has a fresh new twist.  The characters are well written and I enjoyed getting to know them and see them develop as the story developed.

This was a thrilling, highly inventive and incredibly gripping novel and I really don’t want to give anything away by going into more detail but you really need to read this book whether you like thrillers, crime, sci-fi, dystopian or just something new then this book really needs to be in your TBR pile. 5 stars.

The View Was Exhausting Review

Faking a love story is a whole lot easier than being in love . . .

The world can see that international A-list actress Whitman (“Win”) Tagore and jet-setting playboy Leo Milanowski are made for each other. Their kisses start Twitter trends and their fights break the internet. From red carpet appearances to Met Gala mishaps, their on-again, off-again romance has titillated the public and the press for almost a decade. But it’s all a lie.

As a woman of colour, Win knows the Hollywood deck is stacked against her, so she’s perfected the art of controlling her public persona. Whenever she nears scandal, she calls in Leo, with his endearingly reckless attitude, for a staged date. Each public display of affection shifts the headlines back in Win’s favour, and Leo uses the good press to draw attention away from his dysfunctional family.

Pretending to be in a passionate romance is one thing, but Win knows that a real relationship would lead to nothing but trouble. So instead, they settle for friendship, with a side of sky-rocketing chemistry. Except this time, on the French Riviera, something is off. A shocking secret in Leo’s past sets Win’s personal and professional lives on a catastrophic collision course. Behind the scenes of their yacht-trips and PDA, the world’s favourite couple is at each other’s throats. Now they must finally confront the many truths and lies of their relationship, and Win is forced to consider what is more important: a rising career, or a risky shot at real love?

If you’re looking for a bit of escapism, this could be the book for you. It’s a bright and sassy novel about celebrity and social networking and it will certainly transport you from your day-to-day life, that is, unless you happen to be a rich and famous film star, or one of those celebs who’s just famous for simply being rich and famous – think Paris Hilton.

You’ll have fun trying to work out who Win Whitman Tagore and Leo Milanowski are based on. I was certainly reminded of a few celebrity stories.

Win is a young British Asian film star who has to deal with the casual racism and prejudice that comes her way on a daily basis from people in the film industry in which she works. Her mum is being treated for cancer, her father died before she became famous, and she relies on her assistant and her publicist for support, as well as her best friend Shift, who’s a musician who’s written a top 40 hit.

Leo is a rich and famous young man who has a vast trust fund to fall back on, and who is basically looking for an easy path through life. He gets drawn into a pretend relationship with Win which is purely for the benefit of the media, so that Win can maintain a screen presence that will make people want to see her films and make her studios rich.

So, Win and Leo embark on a seven year long carefully choreographed “relationship” that will keep everyone wanting to see her in films. And it works. She’s nominated for an Oscar.

I suppose you might have guessed that surely the twist will be that one of the two falls genuinely in love with the other. It doesn’t happen the way you expect. Win and Leo spend a lot of time fighting and hating each other. If you want to know if they finally get together, you’ll have to read the book!

There’s a lot of name dropping in here of sites like TMZ, Buzzfeed, the Daily Mail, and so on. It’s right up to date with contemporary references, so it feels very modern and spicy. There are some sex scenes.

There are also some literary references including Jane Austen, Infinite Jest and Middlemarch.

The racism strand of the story is what I found most engaging. Win’s struggles to be seen as an actor who can be successful as well as British Asian feels very accurate, and very timely. I found it so frustrating that Win had to put up with seemingly innocent remarks – for example the use of the adjective “exotic” to describe her. She doesn’t tell Leo about this, because she’s trying to find her own way through, and in spite of the fact she is a bit spoilt and selfish, she’s also a strong character who I wanted to succeed. Leo’s character felt less rounded to me, but I liked the characters of his mums, and of Win’s mum too. They felt real.

I completely loved this. So much tension, angst, humour, and atmosphere, and stellar writing. So, all in all, this struck me as a great read for when you’ve had a busy day and you want to escape to the bright lights of Saint Tropez and Hollywood.

Bea’s Witch Review

The future can be rewritten.

On the eve of her twelfth birthday, Beatrice Crosse runs away from her adoptive home only to encounter the ghost of England’s most famous prophetess. The witch offers her treasure, but can she be trusted?

Bea must wrestle her past to discover the witch’s secret and find her way home.

The book is full of excitement, pathos and magic. The descriptive and colourful writing vividly evokes each scene in the reader’s mind. The reader is carried alongside Bea feeling her emotions, fears, anger and sadness and hoping and praying that she will be able to work through and come to terms with her young problematic life. I love the idea that everything and everyone, good or bad, past and present are connected, influential and important. Themes very poignant in these present times.

I have had a lot of experience with both adopters and adoptees and so I am more aware than most of the difficulties that these young people have been through previous to their adoption, most of which would seem impossible to many people. Therefore, this novel plays a very important part in literature in the fact that it brings attention to the struggles that these young people go through.

The novel is a stunning read which beautifully weaves reality with story, myth and magic. Fully transportive, it sensitively approaches themes such as identity through the eyes of an adopted child. It provides a valued, reflective and positive nudge towards recognising inner resolve, power and strength, while painting a vivid landscape surrounded in empathy.

It is an immersive and powerful book which highlights struggles with identity, time and place, and is an important read for young people today. As well as adults! I would therefore recommend this book to young people and adults alike. A fantastic story with a vital message.

The Five Wounds Review

It’s Holy Week in the small town of Las Penas, New Mexico, and thirty-three-year-old unemployed Amadeo Padilla has been given the part of Jesus in the Good Friday procession. He is preparing feverishly for this role when his fifteen-year-old daughter Angel shows up pregnant on his doorstep and disrupts his plans for personal redemption. With weeks to go until her due date, tough, ebullient Angel has fled her mother’s house, setting her life on a startling new path.

Vivid, tender, funny, and beautifully rendered, The Five Wounds spans the baby’s first year as five generations of the Padilla family converge: Amadeo’s mother, Yolanda, reeling from a recent discovery; Angel’s mother, Marissa, whom Angel isn’t speaking to; and disapproving Tíve, Yolanda’s uncle and keeper of the family’s history. Each brings expectations that Amadeo, who often solves his problems with a beer in his hand, doesn’t think he can live up to.

The Five Wounds – which refer to the five wounds of Christ – takes place during Holy Week in New Mexico, where a religious brotherhood called the Hermanos Penitentes recreate the crucifixion. Amadeo Padilla is a most unlikely Jesus, who has experienced the five wounds of the soul, including rejection, betrayal, and humiliation. His young and immensely pregnant teenage daughter, Angel, whom he deserted as a child, arrives at his door as he prepares feverishly for the role.

The story is beautifully powerful and the author has really filled out her story with wonderful narrative and introduced us to characters so raw and real that they stayed with me long after I finished the book.

The theme is love both as a wonderful thing and an intense challenge and this is evident in the presentation on Angel’s baby who is both a happy baby who brings joy but also presents with a fair share of challenges in more ways than one.  

I adored this book, I adored the writing, I adored the characters and their gritty authenticity tried to slow down but I just could not stop reading. 5 stars

The Silent Listener Review

Deep red scars. Cold dark secrets . . .

In the cold, wet summer of 1960, 11-year-old Joy Henderson lives in constant fear of her father. She tries to make him happy but, as he keeps reminding her, she is nothing but a filthy sinner destined for Hell . . .Yet, decades later, she returns to the family’s farm to nurse him on his death bed. To her surprise, her ‘perfect’ sister Ruth is also there, whispering dark words, urging revenge.

Then the day after their father finally confesses to a despicable crime, Joy finds him dead – with a belt pulled tight around his neck . . .

For Senior Constable Alex Shepherd, investigating George’s murder revives memories of an unsolved case still haunting him since that strange summer of 1960: the disappearance of nine-year-old Wendy Boscombe.

As seemingly impossible facts surface about the Henderson’s – from the past and the present – Shepherd suspects that Joy is pulling him into an intricate web of lies and that Wendy’s disappearance is the key to the bizarre truth.

The Silent Listener is the first novel by Australian editor and author, Lyn Yeowart. George Henderson, a respected member of the Blackhunt community, is dead. His daughter, Joy, called back after a seventeen-year absence to care for her dying father, might be expected to grieve, but does not. Senior Constable Alex Shepherd, summoned to the scene by George’s doctor, is suspicious: did Joy murder her father? If so, why?

In 1942, after a very short courtship, Gwen marries George Henderson and is brought to his newly-purchased dairy farm at Blackhunt in rural Victoria. From his detailed instructions, his rigid rules, his tight control of every aspect of her life, and his physical abuse, Gwen understands that this marriage will never be what she had expected.

Having no alternative, Gwen works hard to keep George happy and seeks refuge in her chooks and her flowers and the tiny room where she makes bouquets and wreaths to earn a few pounds. Within a decade, Gwen has given birth to a son, Mark, and two daughters, Ruth and Joy. She tries to protect them, but without a clear example of mothering in her own life, is less than successful.

Her children grow up learning to fear their father’s mercurial moods, which might deteriorate from the amount of rain that falls or the size of the butter factory cheque or the vet’s bill, or the perceived breaking of one of his countless arbitrary rules; they live in constant fear of the corporal punishment he seems to relish in dishing out to his “dirty, filthy sinners who are going to rot in Hell”.

George is a pillar of the community: An Elder of the Church, active in Rotary, a member of the High School PTA, the Fire Brigade, and the Shire Council committee, always helpful to neighbours, loved and lauded by all. When nine-year-old Wendy Boscombe goes missing two days after Christmas in 1960, no one in the town of Blackhunt could imagine he would have anything to do with it. But Wendy is never found, and Alex Shepherd is plagued by his failure to find her.

The story plays out over three time periods and is told from three perspectives. Readers are likely to wonder from the start about reliability of Joy’s narrative, and will feel vindicated about certain aspects as the facts are revealed, but there are still plenty of red herrings, distractions and twists to keep the pages turning.

The building tension in the story is sometimes relieved by neighbour Robert Larsen’s amusing word confusions (fire distinguisher, a quick trump call, obliviously, a fine lemming meringue pie), Joy’s insidious little acts of revenge, her musings about God, and the images and feelings that certain words convey to her. The easy acceptance of Gwen’s search of the Death Notices for “good ones” highlights the distortion of normality in this family.

Yeowart’s portrayal of setting and era are faultless, and the mindset of this small Australian rural community in each of the time periods is likely to strike a chord with many. Her character development is particularly skilful, and her depiction of coercive control is chilling. Her cop, if tenacious, is not terribly clever, but he does get there in the end. This is a slow burn thriller that richly rewards the reader’s patience.  4 stars.

John Eyre Review

This was my first book by author Mimi Matthews and it definitely will not be my last.

Yorkshire, 1843. When disgraced former schoolmaster John Eyre arrives at Thornfield Hall to take up a position as tutor to two peculiar young boys, he enters a world unlike any he’s ever known. Darkness abounds, punctuated by odd bumps in the night, strange creatures on the moor, and a sinister silver mist that never seems to dissipate. And at the center of it all, John’s new employer—a widow as alluring as she is mysterious.

Sixteen months earlier, heiress Bertha Mason embarked on the journey of a lifetime. Marriage wasn’t on her itinerary, but on meeting the enigmatic Edward Rochester, she’s powerless to resist his preternatural charm. In letters and journal entries, she records the story of their rapidly-disintegrating life together, and of her gradual realization that Mr. Rochester isn’t quite the man he appears to be. In fact, he may not be a man at all.

From a cliff-top fortress on the Black Sea coast to an isolated estate in rural England, John and Bertha contend with secrets, danger, and the eternal struggle between light and darkness. Can they help each other vanquish the demons of the past? Or are some evils simply too powerful to conquer?

I don’t even know where to begin honestly, I have always loved historical fiction – its part of the reason I’m an English Literature and History major but I have not read a book like this for a while. It was a delightful Victorian gothic drama that Bronte herself would have been proud of, intertwined with gender reversal roles, romance and a theme of light and hope. It moves between thriller and mystery that had me gripped and completely riveted at the relationship that starts to form between John Eyre and Mrs Rochester and I really enjoyed following this through the novel.

This book provides so much more than just a retelling of the classic novel Jane Eyre – it also retells a second story but I don’t want to give an spoilers just trust me when I say it is an intriguing mix and it really works.

There is absolutely nothing to dislike about this book the characters are extremely well written, the setting is perfectly described and deliciously gothic and I would go as far as to say that it is even more gothic in setting than Jane Eyre is.  Every chapter in the novel poses a question that leaves the reader literally begging/devouring the chapter to get an answer only to start all over again in the next chapter. Everything that I adored in Jane Eyre was in this novel but Mimi Matthews also elevated it to a new level.

I read this so quickly and has now become a new favourite book of mine as well as Mimi Matthews becoming a new favourite author. Please pick up this book and give her some love, I wish I could give more than 5 stars but sadly I will have to make do with 5.

Fae Away Review

This is an amazing read and I couldn’t put it down so I devoured it in just over a day.

A ROYAL HEIR

A FORBIDDEN LOVE

A DEADLY PALACE SECRET

Celyse is a princess of Faevenly, born into the most powerful house in the faerie realm. Yet even they must abide by the highest law in the land—the law that prohibits tampering with the portals to the forbidden human realm.

Bored with duty and longing for adventure, Celyse dreams of life in the mysterious realm. And when she happens upon a lost portal that promises a private viewing, she seizes the opportunity and finds herself face to face with a gorgeous human. Mesmerized by him in every way, she sneaks away to visit him nightly, forming a relationship with her would-be enemy. But when her official courting season approaches, she is forced to leave her idle fancy behind.

Until her life is threatened by a suitor who accuses her of misdeeds with the portals.

Julio is a normal guy . . . who can see ghosts. With apparitions flitting in and out of his life, he thinks seeing an ethereal girl with silver hair is another part of the supernatural weirdness that just happens to him. But when the very real girl shows up in his room, the pull he feels toward her is undeniable. She claims that her faerie realm and his human realm are in danger, and he can help her.

Julio’s head blares a warning against this deadly path, but his heart urges him to do anything to save her. Including risk his own life.

I loved the character development and the amazing history of the world they are inserted, as well as the mystery and forbidden love itself. I loved every second with it and just could not put the book down. Can´t wait to read the second one and see what happens to my beloved Celyse, who I strongly identified with.

This is an amazing story with twists and turns, action, and romance. The story kept me on my toes. I recommend this story highly, it’s a must read. Well done Rose Garcia.

Wendy Darling Review

Holy Hell where do I start with this book. I think in fairness I have to tell you that I adore everything to do with peter pan, the books, the Disney, the merch, the movies EVERYTHING. So, it doesn’t take a lot for me to gravitate towards peter pan items but it has a high expectation to live up to and oh boy it didn’t just live up to it – it exceeded it.

For those that lived there, Neverland was a children’s paradise. No rules, no adults, only endless adventure and enchanted forests – all led by the charismatic boy who would never grow old.

But Wendy Darling grew up. She left Neverland and became a woman, a mother, a patient, and a survivor. Because Neverland isn’t as perfect as she remembers. There’s darkness at the heart of the island, and now Peter Pan has returned to claim a new Wendy for his lost boys…

Wendy, Darling takes us to a Neverland that has become coated in dread and unveils the darkness at the heart of Peter Pan. It’s the horror-tinged feminist Peter Pan retelling I never knew I needed. A.C. Wise has taken a story where the women have remained in the background and brought them to the forefront, weaving the perspectives of Wendy, her daughter, and Tiger Lily in a brilliant re-imagining of a classic boy’s club story.

This is up there with my favourite dark retellings and I would liken it to Disney’s retelling of The Wizard of Oz, Return to Oz and believe me when I say that it is an amazing thing. It is dark, mysterious, magical and the perfect fairy tale for adults.

There are some very dark moments and I don’t want to spoil it for all of you so I will only bring up one. In the opening scene of the book Peter is scolding Wendy for becoming a grown up before absconding with jane who he then keeps referring to Wendy – miles away from the loveable and energetic boy figure from my youth but amazing all the same.

I was expecting Pan like this

but in this book he is definately more like this

This book literally gave me goosebumps and the hair stood up on my neck with both delight and also the feeling that something just isn’t right with Pan the man. I really empathised with Wendy and spent a lot of the book wanting to hug her and tell her everything would be alright, even though I wasn’t entirely sure it would be.

It will be no shock to know that I couldn’t put this down and I actually finished it really quickly I intend to read this many more times and I will probably end up annotating this book. Deliciously creepy and highly recommended. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would but this is a very high 5 star read for me.

The Braver Thing Review

When I came across this book that was described as Treasure Island meets Lord of the Flies I just had to read it because there is something about pirates, ever since reading peter pan and treasure island as a child I find them equal parts fascinating and scary. I was curious to see if these pirates would be depicted as the Halloween-costume replicas we expect in popular culture; talking parrots, eye patches, missing teeth, you get the idea. I also liked the idea of reading a book set on a pirate ship, a unique adventure novel I never knew I wanted to read until now. The Braver Thing by Clifford Jackman did not disappoint because it had all I wanted and more: skulls and crossbones, chests of gold coins, billowing sails snapping on the high seas, and rum in abundance.
What I found truly appalling was the treatment of black people. We all know it happened, yet every time I’m faced with the brutality, it’s a cruel reminder what kind of past these people rose from. There is one scene in particular that still haunts me. The pirates loot a castle on the coast that holds slaves before shipping them west, but before the pirates begin collecting their treasure, they free all the slaves that were being held. Realizing the futility of their escape as they were surrounded by colonies who would re-capture them, most of the slaves simply walked into the surf, drowning themselves rather than face the potential of another capture. Even the pirates were moved by this heartbreaking display, and out of all the violence (of which there is a lot) that occurs in this story, this scene remains the hardest to read.
Readers familiar with the golden age of piracy will recognize many of the names and places mentioned in this gripping maelstrom of pirate adventure. Jackman’s knowledge of the time period, the history, and the psyche of these men are so intricately intertwined that readers are transported back in time to experience firsthand just how perilous going on the account could be. Throughout this fictional journey, he keeps within the bounds of history, straying only where facts cease to exist, such as concerns Benjamin Hornigold and what became of him after he disappears from the historical record. However sometimesit is hard to keep track of all the characters – so thank god for the character list at the front of the book. I also would have like more character development so that i felt like I at least got to know one of the characters in depth but it was still enjoyable.
The Braver Thing is one of the best novels to portray pirates in recent years. 4 stars