#139 Echoes Of Gravity

 Echoes of Gravity (Tapache's Promise Trilogy) by James Murdo

• Page count: 337
• Genre: Sci-fi
• Publisher: Cranthorpe Millner 
• Release Date: 29th June 2021(UK) 

Blurb: Ancient machine intelligences. Resurrected species with no memories of the past. Creatures composed of gravity strings. What is hidden in the void between galaxies? Tapache, a machine intelligence with great power, has revived the Roranian people from their derelict remains. It has gifted them the Great Ship to voyage through space, and given them a purpose: to discover the truth about a weapon capable of unthinkable devastation. An unexpected attack, followed by hundreds of years in stasis, scuppers those plans. Hope seems lost for a small group of Roranian survivors, until something far greater draws them in: a megastructure beyond comprehension. The megastructure is far from safe. There are incumbent species that already lay their claim, all with secrets of their own, and a strangely smart information network that exists where it has no right. Was Tapache lying?

The lovely author James reached out to me over on instagram asking if i would like a copy of his upcoming sci-fi novel in exchange for an honest review and promotion over on instagram. I get a lot of these requests over on my bookstagram (@rach_the_reader) but this one was different as James had actually taken the time to look through some of my posts and had noticed that i had recently reviewed an arc of 'Shards of Earth' by the amazing Adrian Tchaikovsky (@aptshadow) and loved it, it meant a lot to me that James had taken the time to look through my posts and check out one of my recent reviews to see if i would be the right kind of reader for his new book and let me tell you i devoured this book in 2 days! I dont want to go into too much of what the book is about or the plot as i think its one of those books where its best to go in blind. All i will say is that we follow Diyun who is a member of the humanoid alien race, he wakes up from a period of stasis and finds himself in an unfamiliar place. This sets into motion Diyun trying to save his friends whilst questioning everything he thought to be true with some political conflicts thrown in. 

Echoes of Gravity is phenomenal, i wasnt sure what to expect going into it but my mind was blown with every chapter i read it was a tiny bit of a slow start and it does feel like a lot of information all at once but once you get over that bit its all smooth sailing. James does a wonderful job with the world building, its so expansive and vast. The descriptions used allow you to paint an amazing picture of this universe, i would put it up there with some of the best world building ive ever read! Im still in awe everytime i think about it. It also has a glossery which was so so helpful! Not every fantasy or sci-fi book includes that and it can sometimes be the downfall of the book if the reader cant follow what you are saying, i didnt have this problem with this book but did enjoy referring back to it sort of like bonus material. 

This book reminded me of so many other sci-fi books i love and deserves a worthy space amongst them. I must say it had a different feel to it than a typical sci-fi novel, there were so many twists and turns in the story that i honestly couldnt put it down! Im hoping and praying that James does a bit of a Sanderson/Tolkien/Martin/Hobb (take your pick) and writes multiple books in his Wanderer Universe. I loved this book and its 4 main characters but kept thinking throughout just how much potential the world has to follow so many different characters in different settings. 

*edited to add* So silly me, James has already become a Sanderson/Tolkien/Martin/Hobb as this book is one of many set in the same universe (facepalm) haha

Thank you to both the author and the publisher for yet another great blog tour and for reaching out to me! This book is currently also £1.99 on kindle, a total bargain that you should snap up quick!

Thanks for reading :)

#138 Mirrorland

 Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone

Yet another great blog tour for @TheWriteReads gang! Thank you as ever to Dave, the publishers and the author for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Boy oh boy was i sucked in by this one! The book follows El and Cat who are identical twins, at the beginning of the story we learn that El has gone missing whilst on a boating trip and that Cat is travelling back to Scotland from California. Cat is returning back to the home that she grew up in with her sister that El and her husband Ross later bought at auction. Cat had not been back for 12 years and the twins have been estranged in that time. We learn that Cat and El are mirror twins and Cat is convinced if something bad had happened to El that she would be able to sense it, she returned to find out what game El is playing and why she has dragged Cat back to where they grew up after all these years. 

We as readers are slowly fed drips and drabs of a place the twins invented called Mirrorland. When Cat arrives back in Scotland she is immediatley flooded with memories from the past and everything she ran away from. 

This is definitely a book to annotate and take notes for, it reads like a mystery novel as there is so many layers and things we need to discover. There are a lot of hidden details and meanings that you really need to take your time and pay attention to, the writing is so intricate and i really must applaud the author for how well thought out things were. I would find myself reading a part and thinking 'hmm thats odd not sure how that will be relevant later' on only for a few chapters later to say 'ahhh that all makes sense now!'

I really enjoyed the magical realism elements to the story and when it veered down a more fantasy route with the twins childhood imaginings. I dont tend to read a lot of contemporary so i was really glad that this book was so multi layered with its genres, it felt like there was something for everyone. I really enjoyed the world building and immediately wanted to read more from this author. 

My only critique is that the book had a very slow start, i would say it took me over 2 hours to get to 10% of the way through. It didnt begin to feel more fast paced until around 30% for me but i fully put this down to getting used to the writing style and the story itself, once i was in i was fully in and it began flowing much better. 

#137 Not That Bad

 Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxanne Gay

Not That Bad is such a deeply important read, its so underrated and something i rarely see on bookstagram or booktube which is such a shame. The book is an anthology of essays written by a different author and covers an array of topics surrounding rape culture. Rape culture can be such a triggering and difficult topic for so many but i feel like so much can be learned from this book and that although parts of it can be triggering and upsetting it is such an important read. This book does not shy away from the hardest parts of rape culture to be delved into, it is very emotional and heavy in certain parts. 

I really admire Roxanne Gay for putting these stories together, they arent a fun read or even pleasant to read in certain circumstances but each and every story deserves our attention and deserves to be heard regardless of the subject matter surrounding it. These things happen every single day and it shouldnt be taboo to speak about it. The statistics are correct that 4/5's of young men and women in the UK have been sexually harrassed never mind assaulted so we shouldnt be turning a blind eye in order to live in blissful ignorance in my opinion. 

I listened to these essays on audiobook and it was even more powerful than reading it physically. It was told wonderfuuly by 3 different narrators and it really gave life to each story. It really gave each story a spotlight as these arent stories we hear everyday and we certainly dont get the point of view from the victim and how it affected them. I found it to be uplifting and empowering overall. The diversity, subject matter and scope within these essays is what makes it so unique, every other non fiction book ive read that covers topics such as feminism or rape culture is usually written by and for white women but this covered so many different people with different circumstances and what i loved was that it included the male voice and this isnt just something that affects women and that is so often forgotten about. It also included voices from the LGBTQ+ community which was so good to see and read as some of those groups are already so oppressed and it was nice to hear a different point of view from that of the white, middle class woman. 

The topics covered within this anthology range from cat calling to sexual assault even covering topics such as sexual abuse against children. We get to see so many different points of view but it all summarises how much of a problem rape culture still is within society and how we need to do better and educate. Educate our daughters, our sons, our family and our friends. 

The over arching topic of things being .not that bad' was so poignant throughout. No one has the right to judge some one elses story, what happened to them or how it made them feel and they certainly dont have the right to make it out like it was less than it was. It actually gave me myself a lot to think about when im having banter with friends not specifically about rape culture but more general things such as a disappointment, illness or even something like a fall and how that might actually make them feel deep down and how its not my place to judge the situation. It also made me think about how i will teach my young daughter to behave and how to better educate herself against rape culture. All in all one of the most important non fiction books ive ever read. 

#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.