#132 The Year of the Witching

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

The Year of the Witching is a story of womanhood, religion, the patrichary, motherhood and revenge. Trigger warnings include physical and sexual violence towards women and traumatic child birth if you are sesitive to either i would suggest skipping over this book although what i will say is that both topic was handled very well by the author, it wasnt dragged out either but if its triggering for you then its probably best to skip over those parts. 

Emmanuel our bi-racial protagonist is born and raised in a small town called Bethel, Bethel is a cult like town which is run by a prophet and most of the women in the town end up marrying the prophet. From birth she is seen as an outsider within the community. Emmanuel's mother was seen as a 'sinful' woman and the community view Emmanuel in the same light. Her family is disgraced due to her mothers past sins (basically she was meant to marry the prophet and ended up having an affair with an outsider instead and getting pregnant. When the prophet found out he killed the outsider and her mother then ended up fleeing into the dark wood. She emerges 8 months later ready to give birth but right before she gives birth she says that the baby is a curse) and as a result Emmanuel dedicates herself to religion and seeks comfort in it. After a few mishaps within the story Emmanuel has always had a calling towards the dark wood and one day finds herself there even though she is told never to enter as it is said that witches were murdered there, when in the dark wood she finds her mothers old journal which unlocks a lot of secrets from the past and our story pretty much takes off from there. 

The book is a marketed as YA but i would say it reads closer to new adult/adult due to the themes involved. I would say my favourite part f this book was how atmospheric it is! I also loved the legends and folklore surrounding the dark wood, it was truly fasinating. The bi-racial rep was done very well in my opinion, Emmanuel's struggle with being an orphan and not knowing her fathers side of the family whilst also not fitting in with her family in Bethel was so interesting to read about and gave her character real depth. This is also a debut novel from Alexis Henderson which surprised me a lot, she writes like a seasoned writer and i am so excited to see what she comes up with next!

#131 Homegoing

 Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 

This is yet another example of one of those books i wish id read so much sooner. Homegoing is an incredibly hyped book across all of the bookish platforms and id honestly never heard a bad review of it or anyone disliking it. The book is set in the 1700's in Ghana we follow a woman who has 2 daughters from different men, 1 daughter is married to a white slave trader and the other daughter is sold into the slave trade and is sent to the America. In this book we get alternating chapers that follow the generatiosn of both of these women. The start of the book has a family tree type diagram so although it is a tiny bit confusing, you can refer back to see who is who and they do interconnect. We follow roughly 10 generations and as i previously mentioned it starts in the 1700's and we are brought right up to near present day. The chapters are fairly short with the reader getting about 40-50 pages on each character. At the very beginning of the book we get longer chapters and longer with each character and i found it got shorter and shorter towards the end of the book. 

The main theme of this book is obviously the slave trade. I found myself being greatly affected by this story when you sit and reflect that this actually happened and it was so despicible and horrendously traumatising. It was written so beautifully written and so raw, i never once doubted the validity of it and found it hard to believe that it was a work of fiction which really attests to the authors skill and story telling abilities. Writing about the slave trade as a topic is so difficult but i think the author did such a good job of showing the sheer contrast of both generations due to circumstance even though they were apart of the same family. 

I did have a few issues with the book, i thought it was overly rushed in parts and we simply didnt get enough time with each character. When i started the book i didnt actually realise how many characters we would be following so it was a bit of a shock when the author tried to fit so much content into 315 pages. I would have preferred a bit more time to get more invested in each character and their individual story. 14-16 characters with each character covering around 50 years of the story and some chapters were as short as 20 pages. That was probably my only big complaint with this book and the main reason why i gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. To write about such a vast history in such a compact way was in my opinion a tad insensitive but thats just my opinion. I still feel that overall this was an excellent novel and it does deserve the hype. I have recently purchased Yaa Gyasi's newest novel on kindle which im excited to get to! 

#130 What Beauty There Is

 What Beauty There Is by Cory Anderson 

Today im bringing you a spotlight post for 'What Beauty There is' by the lovely Cory Anderson. Unfortunately there was a few issues with the netgalley link and i only received my physical copy (which im super grateful for, thank you so much Dave, Cory and the guys over at Penguin) I have started the book but havent finished it in time to post a review, lets blame toddlers and a stressful house move! I must say though that i have been really enjoying what ive read so far and usually if i wasnt so unusually busy i would have flew through this, i will post a proper review on Goodreads and Amazon when i do finish. A massive shout out to the author as shes been so engaging over on instagram and its been so lovely to see! 

• Publisher: Penguin 
• Page count: 360
• Release Date: 8th April 2021
• Genre: YA mystery/thriller 

Blurb (taken from Goodreads) 

Winter. The sky is dark. It is cold enough to crack bones.

Jack Morton has nothing left. Except his younger brother, Matty, who he'd do anything for. Even die for. Now with their mother gone, and their funds quickly dwindling, Jack needs to make a choice: lose his brother to foster care, or find the drug money that sent his father to prison. He chooses the money.

Ava Bardem lives in isolation, a life of silence. For seventeen years her father has controlled her fate. He has taught her to love no one. Trust no one. Now Victor Bardem is stalking the same money as Jack. When he picks up Jack's trail, Ava must make her own wrenching choice: remain silent or help the brothers survive.

Choices. They come at a price. 

Author 

Cory was born in Idaho and grew up an outdoor-girl in the rugged Middle Rockies. Her father, a park ranger, encouraged her to explore the woods and find “what beauty there is” in the world. He taught her to camp, and how to survive in the forest in winter. She later learned they didn’t have a lot of money, but as a child she never knew it. She had two best friends: Nature, and books.

All Cory’s life she’s felt the strong bonds of family and siblings. Her writing is based in these close relationships, and in the gritty experience of growing up in the wild Rocky Mountains. 

(continued on the authors website here) 

Links:

Twitter

Instagram

Amazon UK 

#129 The ABC Murders

 The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

Ive very recently gotten into Agatha Christie's books and ive heard a lot about this book in particular so it was one of the highest on my list to check out. Ive since made a list of both the Poirot and Miss Marple novels and im trying to pick them up and read them in order now. Since reading this one i have also picked up The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Poirot #1) and Murder at the Vicarage (Marple #1), the only other AC books ive read are And then there were none and Murder on the Orient Express so im developing quite a taste for her books to say the least!

The ABC Murders is a Poirot novel written in the 1930's and is the 13th book in the series and from what ive seen on Goodreads, Booktube and Bookstagram this is one of the most beloved AC novels. The book starts off with Poirot receiving an anonymous letter from someone who only refers to themself as 'ABC' and he claims that he will commit a series of murders that both Poirot and the police will not be able to solve. The main plot of the book is that the murderer kills a person with a name beginning with A, the victim also lives in a place beginning with the same letter. The second victims name begins with a B and so on. Poirot is immediatley at a loss of how he will solve these murders and apprehend the murderer. 

Ive heard that this book is very different and unique from the main series that AC has written. Having only read a few Poirot novels i havemt fully got a sense of the style just yet but what i do know is that Poirot is a good detective, very observant and a little bit of a know it all, of all the other Poirot books ive read there is a basic investigation which Poirot tends to keep his cards to his chest and then there will be a chapter towards the end where Poirot reveals the murderer and explains how he worked it out. The ABC Murders is a little different in the sense that Poirot seems stumped for the majority of the book. The killings in this book are very random whereas in the other books there also seems to be a motive and one person that benefits from the victims death more so than the others. There are also very minimal clues to go on which is another unusual aspect of the book. The other thing that sets this book apart is that it is following a serial killer whereas most of the other books revolve around a singular murder. All in all these elements made for a really good read. 

I found this book to be fast paced, interesting and an all round good read. It was a different read from her usual novels. I always love guessing the ending but the ending always has me stumped. I think this would be a good starting place for people wanting to check out AC! I cant wait to continue reading more by her. 

#128 The Castaways

 The Castaways by Lucy Clarke 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Harper Collins UK for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

When i requested this one i had no clue what it was about but the cover gave me The Island by CL Taylor (which was another Netgalley arc) and Lord of the Flies vibes. I really adore survival stories and find myself straying towards them more and more. After the first few chapters i realised this was a story about a plane crash that left the remaining surviving passengers stranded on an island off the coast of Fiji. 

The story follows the story of sisters Lori and Erin who were meant to be going on a luxery holiday to Fiji to escape their lives in London. Lori has just split from her husband after he admitted to having an affair and Erin is living from paycheque to paycheque doing a job that doesnt make her happy. The sisters are planning on taking the holiday to reconnect but when the night before the flight they have a huge argument only Lori makes the flight.

The story is told is past tense Lori during and the aftermath of the plane crash and present day (2 years later) Erin who has never given up on knowing what happened to sister and her search for answers. At the very beginning of the story the planes pilot Mike Brass turns up in Fiji very much alive with only one problem, hes not talking. Erin immediatley realises there is more to the story and flies out to Fiji to get her answers. 

Meanwhile in Lori's chapters we get to know the other survivors, Mike, Daniel, Felix and 4 month old Sonny. It has a very Lord of the Flies feel in that you dont know who you can trust and as rations dwindle the group become more and more tense. I was constantly wary of Daniel and Felix and less so but sometimes of Mike too and the fear of what might come of the baby was terrifying! 

For me the thing i really enjoyed about this was that the chapters felt like very different stories but they merged so beautifully. Lucy Clarke is an excellent writer and definitely one to watch. Just when i would find myself favouring one timeline over the other the author would draw me back in with a little twist or mini cliffhanger and i was constantly left wanting to know more. I enjoyed both sisters and they were so realistically done, they felt so real to me and that really amped up my enjoyment levels. This book is 100% worth a read, i wont say too much more as i dont want to ruin the mystery/thriller elements of it but pick it up and read it. 

#127 The Aether Ones

 Aether Ones By Wendi Coffman-Porter

Publisher: Brown Books Publishing Group

Release date: October 13th 2020

Genre: Scifi/Mystery

Pages: 280

I am excited to be taking part in yet another @TheWriteReads blog tours! Today is is for the wonderful 'Aether Ones'. I was immediatley drawn to this one as the cover reminded me of Ready Player One which is my favourite sci-fi book of all time. I do love the genre but dont tend to read as much of it as i should really. 

Synopsis:

'Leilani Falconi is a top agent for the Imperial Investigative Service, tasked with policing the veil between two realities. Long ago, the Great Sundering tore the universe into two mirrored halves; aether space, which progressed using magical energy or eldrich, and kuldain, which advanced via electromagnetic technology. But now a series of suspicious deaths stretching back more than a decade has the agent trapped directly between secretive bureaucracies and their peoples. If she can’t solve the mysterious crimes in time, existence as she knows it could erupt into chaos.'

The book is a mystery with softer sci-fi elements which ive never really read before, so refreshing! The book was a nice mix of sci-fi, mytsery with just a touch of fantasy. 

One of my biggest struggles with the book was the lack of world building, i wanted to know more and a bit of expansion on the world would have really put the story in context. We are from the first page thrust into the action without much of an introduction which was unusual, I must admit i struggled with the writing at first but i got used to it the more i read and i did end up really enjoying this book. There was so much fast paced action to keep me enthralled throughout. 

Leilani was an interesting protagonist for sure, she was smart, interesting and independent with a little dash of sass for good measure. I enjoyed reading about her and constantly felt myself wanting to know more. 

I read a ton of SFF and have recently been straying more towards adult rather than YA so i do wonder if that has in some way affected my reading experience of this book but none the less i did enjoy it and i was glad the main story was somewhat wrapped up in the first book. Im excited to check out more from this author as this book was packed to the brim with potential. 

Rating: 

#126 Bad Habits

 Bad Habits by Flynn Meaney

Thank you to @TheWriteReads for another amazing blog tour, this time for Bad Habits by Flynn Meaney. I was immediately drawn to this book due to the amazing cover! The synopsis also drew me in, i love feminist stories especially in YA!

Bad Habits follows the story of rebel Alex from San Francisco, when she finds herself in an elite catholic boarding school called St.Marys in Minnesota. Side Note: (I also went to a catholic school called St.Marys! so i immediatley related haha). Alex is spunky, outspoken and a raging feminist in the best way, Alex misses her life in San Fran and her friends so makes it her mission to get expelled from St.Marys by any means necessary but ultimately decides that her best chance of success is by putting on a show of The Vagina Monologues through her feminist society which she hopes will shock the nuns so much that they will have no choice but to kick her out.  

This book is such a quick read, Alex reminded me a lot of myself finding herself in a super catholic school when she really didnt want to be. The writing is funny and moments had me laughing out loud. I enjoyed a few of the side characters mainly Mary-Kate who is Alex's hopeless romantic roommate. Mary-Kate is the absolute polar opposite of Alex, she is a good girl, innocent, a great student and a rule follower but she is so sweet in every way, i couldnt help but root for her even more so that for Alex. 

The book is so fun, its basically one girls exploration of how far she can go to get kicked out of her boarding school. I must admit i did get confused between all the nun and priest characters and couldnt keep up with who was who. I would have liked to have seen more of the ice hockey as that was a really fun element too. I loved the coming together at the end and the new members wanting to join the feminist club, it really felt like Alex had found her tribe and that she had a clear focus going forward. I also would have really liked more from her family as they werent mentioned too much. 

All in all i would say i really enjoyed this book, it was fun, quick and everything i would have wanted to read as a teen!