#136 Kindred

 Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Kindred is one of the earliest published (first published in 1979) sci-fi novels by a POC author and that fact alone made me so keen to read this. I picked this one up not knowing absolutely anything about the plot but the new UK cover is stunning so i had to get myself a copy. 

The story follows a woman named Dana who finds that she is able to time travel back in time, she has no control over this and it can happen at anytime, she also doesnt know why this happens. She time travels back from her own time in the 1970's New York to early 19th century Maryland around 1815 i believe. Dana slowly begins to realise that she is travelling back to the same place and encountering the same boy each time, she works out that theres a correlation that anytime this young boy Rufus is in trouble Dana is drawn to him. Rufus's father owns a plantation and in the early 1800's black people are still sold as slaves and he is one of Dana's ancestors which forms the link between them. This is immediatley difficult for Dana as she is taken from the 70's and thrust into a time of being seen as a slave as she is a black woman herself. The men within this society make comments on the way Dana talks, carries herself and even the way she dresses. Its fair to say that they are suspisious of her. 

A really important plot point is that at the beginning of the book Dana cannot control when she travels nor for how long she will stay in the 1800's, when Dana is transported back time has progressed differently to that of her time in the past. Something to note is how feel Dana's relationship with Rufus is written, Rufus is very conflicted as he grows older in knowing that Dana is connected to him and there to help him but hes also being raised in a society where it is the norm for black people to be slaves and seen as lesser that the white man. 

I would say if you are going into this book hoping for a sci-fi novel then you will come away disappointed as this is much more of a historical fiction novel in the way it is written, with some time travel elements thrown in. There are no scientific explanations as to how Dana can travel in time, which didnt bother me but i imagine if you picked this book up hoping for more sci-fi it would. Its more a prop for the author to demonstrate the contrasting societies and how our values have changed over time. 

I really enjoyed this book, dont get me wrong its so harrowing in the topics and can be quite graphic at points but i could not put this book down. There is a lot of violence, sexual assault and discussion of slavery and worth etc. It certainly doesnt shy away from the topic of racism and the difficulty of being a female in that time period which for its time is highly commendable. I especially loved how indepth it was, we get an array of characters and really delve into each characters story. Such an engaging page turner! 

#135 The Girl With The Louding Voice

 The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Dare

This book follows the story of a young Nigerian girl named Adunni, she is roughly about 14 years old and lives in a very poor village in Nigeria. At the beginning of the story Adunni is living with her mother and father and 2 brothers. At the beginning of the story Adunni's mother dies and her father makes the decision to marry Adunni off to a local man in the village as she would be one less mouth to feed. The man that Adunni is promised to already has 2 wives and Adunni dreads the possibility of becoming the third. 

All Adunni wants is an education and to go to school and become a teacher herself. After running from village life and the life of being a mans third wife Adunni finds herself in the city of Lagos. Lagos is very different from anything Adunni is used to the houses have indoor plumbing and the city is full of skyscrapers. Adunni finds herself in the home of Big Madam and is hired as a house maid, it is her job to clean and basically stay out of Big Madams sight. Big Madam is a volatile woman and often beats Adunni for the smallest things. Big Madams husband is an equally awful human and Adunni learns she must avoid him at all costs. 

I wont discuss the plot much more than that in order not to give away too much of the story as theres a lot more to the story. The shining light in this story is Adunni herself, shes so emotionally aware and intelligent as a 14 year old, she knows what she wants and she wont give up on her dream. Adunni's voice is very broken English and is so cleverly done, it made her much more authentic and believeable as a character and you really see her grow and learn throughout the book. 

First of all i was do shocked that this was a debut novel, its honestl so well written that it reads like a seasoned writers book, Abi Dare is a fantastic new voice in the world of fiction and i was so impressed by this story and writing. I cant wait to read more from this author, what a triumph. 

#134 Shards of Earth

 Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky 

• Pages: 592
• Publisher: Tor 
• Release date: 27th May 2021
• Amazon: click here
• Goodreads: click here
• Genre: adult SFF

Before i begin with this review i just want to let you all know that i utterly adored this book, one of my favourite reads from 2021 so far, possibly even ever! So this will be very gushy, prepare yourself! Adrain is also a super cool guy, ive had a few brief discussions with him on Twitter and i think its awesome how he interacts with his readers! Im mortified that this is the first book ive read of his even though i have Children of Time and Children of Ruin on my shelf and i recently bought my partner Doors of Eden in paperback for his birthday, so lots to binge through! 

Right on to the book, Shards of Earth is the first installment in The Final Architects Trilogy. The story starts off after a great war has destroyed Earth and mankind. Mankind were forced to create an elite fighting army which are basically advanced human beings known as intermediaries. One of those intermediaries is our protagonist Idris, a navigator on the ship the 'Vulture God'. I really loved the cast of characters that formed the crew (Solace was my fav!), it gave me 'A long way to a small angry planet' vibes. Although having said that this book had many unique aspects that ive never seen explored in the sci-fi genre before, it made for a really cool read. 

Idris is a super interesting character as he doesnt age, sleep or eat. He's as far from human as it gets whilst at the same time weirdly human. Our baddie's in this story are known as the Architects who roam the universe destroying everything and anything they come into contact with. When Idris learns that the Architects are making a resurgence he believes that all may be not as peaceful as it once was. 

Overall i found this book to be massively accessible, the world building was rich and detailed leaving the reader wanting more and also great for readers getting into the sci-fi genre, the cover is a little misleading as it makes the book look like hardcore sci-fi and i like my sci-fi but i do find it intimidating but i must say this book is great and i think the majority of readers would take to it really easily! My only ever so slight critisism is that i would have liked a bit more descriptive detail, this world was so vast and it was hard work trying to picture everything especially the different alien races etc, more description may have made that a little easier. All in all the writing is great, some of the best sci-fi ive ever read. Just call me a life long Tchaikovsky fan! 

As always a massive thank you to Dave (@TheWriteReads), Adrian and Tor UK for my gorgeous physical copy of the book. To say i loved it is an understatement, 5 stars from me! 

#133 Things to do before the end of the world

 Things To Do Before The End Of The World by Emily Barr 

• Publisher: Penguin 
• Genre: YA contemporary romance/ LGBT/ Suspense 
• Pages: 368

Delighted to be back with another review for @TheWriteReads gang! Ive been so MIA as life has been so full on lately! We've just bought a house and are knees deep in conveyancing crap and awaiting a completion date, we need to exchange as soon as possible as we need to switch my daughters school place as she starts reception in September. As if that wasnt stressful enough ive decided on a career change amidst all this and have decided to finally go for my dream job, i still have a few stages to go but im hoping it all goes smoothly in the next few months.

Ive been very limited to the books ive been saying yes to reading and reviewing currently but i couldnt refuse this one! such a gorgeous cover and a really great premise. Things to do before the end of the world is a coming of age story with some contemporary romance, LGBT and some suspense elements thrown in. Our main character Olivia is shy and perhaps a little niave, her world comes crashing down when the end of the world is predicted in a few short months. When a distant cousin Natasha gets in touch it unlocks some secrets from the past. Is Natasha everything she claims to be? 

I was expecting a sci-fi heavy story with some science elements surrounding the end of world events but this book focused more on Olivia and he feelings, coming out of her shell and finally focusing on herself. I loved how much Olivia went out of her comfort zone in order to live her best life whilst she could, it really gave me that yolo feeling and cemented that you never know what tomorrow will bring so say yes to everything that you can while you can! 

Ive heard of Emily Barr but had never read any of her books before but will definitely check them out now! This was a really surprisingly uplifting story, the writing was gorgeous and it really hit me in the feels more than i expected it too! It was scarily realistic when it discussed the idea that humans had caused the demise of the earth, not too much of a stretch from the current state of our world. I would have liked more about the end of the world itself and would have liked to have seen that be a bit more developed as a setting for the overall story but i did really enjoy this story and cant really fault it for what it was. I acually have already thought about rereading this! haha. Please pick this book up and give it a go, i promise you its really addicting.