liseyp's reviews
1361 reviews

The Two Deaths of Ruth Lyle by Nick Louth

0.0

It’s a massive spoiler, but one of the key plot points is that a character is a Transwoman who transitions because of the influence of a significant death in their past. Utterly relying on the trans person is mentally ill trope. Just no.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Sexism, and Racism

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

adventurous challenging funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you to the author, publishers Sceptre and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review. 

 

In an alternative version of our world a time travel door allows people who were recorded as dying to be plucked from history and brought into the present day. Each of these travellers is supported by a ‘bridge’ who helps to settle them into the 21st century and also monitors them for a secretive government department. 

 

An ambitious debut novel that takes complex social commentary, science fiction and a dose of humour and love to create something uniquely wonderful. 

 

The main character carries a lot of the book, and does it so well that I didn’t realise until quite late on that we are never given a name for her. It’s first person perspective so it’s not difficult to manage, but is unusual. What is noticeable is that even in first person narrative the supporting characters are well developed. Travellers Arthur and Maggie are particular favourites. 

 

The story deals really well with not only the transitions for the travellers, but how their own pasts impact on their experience in the future. From Maggie who embraces feminism and film, to Arthur who finds a time where he can be open about his sexuality but where gender norms still restrain him. 

 

I also really enjoyed the bureaucracy of the whole process. That this amazing world-changing technology is drained of its wonder by the filing of reports and the rules and approval processes for every decision. That the travellers are able to find any measure of joy against this backdrop makes that joy and pleasure even brighter. 

 

A wonderful book. 

Hunted by Abir Mukherjee

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Thank you to the author, publishers Harvill Secker and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review. 

 

FBI agent Shreya Mistry has an uncanny ability to get inside the head of a suspect. But, she’s less able to explain what her instincts tell her making it difficult to get the backing of senior colleagues. She knows everything isn’t how it appears when a young woman is at the centre of an attack on a mall, but as the agency tries to shunt her aside her commitment to the truth unites her with two parents who can’t trust the authorities to find their children, and all three are caught in a race across the country, hunted by forces known and unknown. 

 

An unrelenting thriller that keeps up the pace throughout before hurtling me into an ending that I won’t forget. 

 

Told from different perspectives the novel doesn’t shy away from the challenges of a world where people are judged by perceptions based on the colour of their skin and ancient prejudices, without ever becoming preachy. That hate leads to hate. Challenges perceptions of who the bad guys are without feeling judgmental, and recognising that at the end of the day it is the innocent people with families and feelings who are caught in the cross-fire. And, above all it’s a really good story told well. 

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Kell is one of the last Antari, magical brings powerful enough to cross the boundaries between worlds. Lila is a pickpocket who dreams of adventure. When she picks the wrong pocket and adventure finds her, life will never be the same again. 

 

I had to read this one because my daughter recommended it, and while she rarely reads she’d ordered the two sequels before she was halfway through this one. I’m not as big a fan. Having read more widely I find that this pales in comparison to the Realm of the Elderlings or Mistborn series. 

 

However, the characters are decent. There’s a sense of threat and pacing that carries the story along. And some reasonable world building. But, perhaps best suited to people who are intimidated by longer fantasy series, and are looking for a lighter entry to worlds of complex magic and tradition. 

The Shadow Key by Susan Stokes-Chapman

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Thank you to the author, publisher Harvill Secker, and online book club The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this. This is an honest and voluntary review. 

 

After losing his job as a surgeon in disgrace Henry Talbot accepts the position of family doctor at an estate in Wales. Refusing to believe local legends of ill luck and counter charms, Henry is intrigued at what he believes are more scientific reasons behind the death of his predecessor and the ramblings of the mentally ill lady of the estate. 

 

A compelling gothic mystery. 

 

 I liked both main characters. Henry Talbot avoids being either as stereotypical as the villagers assume he will be, while not being too virtuous either. Linette, as the daughter of the estate family left to basically raise herself is also a well-balanced character. 

 

Although the villains are occasionally almost cartoonishly evil in how unredeemable they are, the plotting is well-paced enough that this doesn’t distract from the story too much. 

Dark Road Home: A tense and gripping Irish crime thriller by Sheila Bugler

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Thank you to the author, publisher Canelo Crime, and online book club The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this. This is an honest and voluntary review. 

 

More than two decades after leaving home Leah Ryan returns to her small Irish hometown at the same time to discover that her high school boyfriend has been murdered and it may all tie back to the night her mother was severely injured in a hit and run incident. 

 

Ambitious story, but story-telling style pulled me out of the plotting too often. 

 

The core story of the woman returning to a small town who know many of the parts of her she tried to run away from then discovering the secrets her friends and family were hiding from her, is a good one. 

 

The main character of Leah is likeable, and there are some decent supporting characters. The story could have been greatly improved with more focus on a couple of them though. The lead detective investigating the murder feels more a source of exposition than of driving the story forward. And the darker characters which would have been more interesting to explore remain quite surface level too. 

 

Plus, and this is absolutely a matter of personal taste, I’m not a fan of story styles where there are info dumps to catch readers up who aren’t paying attention - and it irked me particularly in this one because I thought the author had done a really good job of seeding the back story until one character has to spell it all out for those who weren’t paying attention. One of the advantages of reading on a format where you can see other readers’ reactions and views as they go through the book, means I know many readers appreciated the recap, but it really pulled me out of the story and contributed to that character grating every time they appeared. 

 

Also, and again I’m sure this is also personal preference, but, ‘twists’ that are delivered by people in peril, fade to black, next chapter opens after a time jump when all imminent peril has been removed, just feel like a ‘cheat’ move. And it happens twice. 

 

There is a core of a good story here, and lots of potential in the delivery, and I think that just makes me more disappointed, because it just falls short for me. 

The Puppet Master by Sam Holland

sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.

Not for me. I have no issue with swearing where it helps with characterisation, but this just felt like a 12-year-old showing off by swearing every second word. I didn’t care about the main character and had no sense of world building. There are vampires and semi-vampires so what. Life is too short to keep reading this.

The Collapsing Wave by Doug Johnstone

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

After helping an alien octopus (Sandy) flee across Scotland Ava, Heather and Lennox are trapped. The US Army has taken charge of investigating the aquatic alien lifeforms and are using Heather and Lennox’s connection to the creatures to perform inhumane testing.

 

The found family bond between the four main characters from The Space Between Us continues to be the warm beating heart of the second book in this series. We get to find out more about Sandy and their fellow Encaladons, and unfortunately explore more of the harsh reality of how an encounter with a peaceful alien race would likely play out with military superpowers. 

 

High tension, great characters and big concepts all delivered in fewer than 300 pages without a word wasted. 

The Curator by M.W. Craven

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A criminal mastermind who manipulates other people to commit crimes. Is he simply a myth or a real threat. Sergeant Washington Poe and analyst Tilly Bradshaw are hot on the trail to uncover the truth.

 

A fun read. I found some of the drama of the final resolution was undermined by how many obstacles were put in the way of the dash to rescue. It was pushing the boundaries of how much I could suspend my disbelief.  And the ‘I know but you don’t’ gradual reveal of all of the facts got tired very quickly. But, Poe and Tilly’s relationship provided a strong highlight which kept me interested.