May Reviews

In May I read 14 books and really enjoyed most of them and I’m looking forward to June.

The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave 4.5 Stars – The opening to The Deathless Girl interesting and most definitely gripping, we are introduced to Lillai ‘Lil’ and her twin sister Kizzy who are part of a Travellers group with many others including their mother and younger brother, Kem. When the Travellers come of age the undergo their divining day in which their futures are read to determine their paths and the twins are unique as they were born under a blood moon. Kizzy hopes to be a seer or a bear-rider like their mother who has a bear named Albu that has been a friend to the girls since they were born. However, while they are out gathering mushrooms one day their camp is attacked with many being killed or burnt in their wagons including their mother but Lil manages to free Albu from his post and get the bear to take Kem with him before she and Kizzy are captured along with some other including Fen, the boy who loves Kizzy. They realise that these men are employed by a Boyar and they are being taken to him possibly as slaves and for Kizzy and Lil this means they will never get their divining day and learn what paths they should have taken in life. Already I am intrigued by the characters and the magic system and can’t wait to see more of it as the novel progresses.

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Of Poseidon by Anna Banks 4.5 Stars – The opening to Of Poseidon introduces us to a lot of characters and lore so it was a little tricky to get everything straight in my head. We are introduced to Emma as she runs into a guy on the beach with her best friend, Chloe and this guy happens to be Galen. Galen is the Prince of the Syrena, who are merpeople and his is also the ambassador to the human race. He is informed by a friend, Dr. Milligan that there is a human that can communicate with fish and Galen comes to land with his twin sister, Rayna in order to investigate it. Galen believes that the human is Emma since he can sense her on land which is something other Syrena can’t do. A little later on when Emma and Chloe are surfing a shark attacks Chloe and drags her beneath the water. Emma calls for help but she is too far away from the shore but unaware that Galen is already heading to her aid. When Galen reaches the pair he sees Emma holding Chloe and fighting with the shark over her but she possesses a strength that isn’t normally for humans and she is able to hold her breath for a long time. When Emma tells the shark to stop it does and even swims off at her command which makes Galen sure she is one of them but he can’t figure out why she didn’t transform because if she did her friend would still be alive.

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski 3 Stars – The first two books in The Witcher series are anthologies of prequel short stories that introduce us to the characters, their backstories and their relationships to each other especially Geralt and Ciri since the main series focuses around them and Yennefer I believe but apart from that I didn’t know much about it going into it. The opening to Blood of Elves was interesting as it takes place about a year after Sword of Destiny. While Geralt rescued Ciri from the Battle of Cintra many people believe that Ciri is dead and that Geralt has vanished but Dandelion’s ballad about the battle stirs up some questions and lands him in some serious trouble. Dandelion even when he is being tortured for information won’t betray his friend even when the thing he loves most is at stake. Fortunately he is rescued by Yennefer and I have a feeling that the pair will be meeting up with Geralt and Ciri at some point in the future. The relationship between Geralt and Ciri so far is parental as he comforts her when she has nightmares and I can’t wait to see more of that as the novel progresses.

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett 4 Stars – The opening to Mostly Dead Things was interesting as we are introduced to Jessa-Lynn and her brother, Milo. Their father is a taxidermist running a business he inherited from his own father and he has slowly been teaching his children the trade. He had been hoping for Milo to take over but he believes that Milo is too sensitive and begins teaching Jessa who is very similar to her father. We see some great moments between father and daughter but this is overshadowed when Jessa finds her father’s body after he commits suicide. In his suicide note he leaves the business which now has a lot of debt to Jessa and this is where the story really begins. A year after their father’s death Jessa is running the business, dealing with alcoholism and a seemingly mad mother. Milo has had to deal with his wife leaving him five years earlier and their children and Brynn happens to be the woman that Jessa was in love with too. The siblings don’t know how to cope with their mother who seems to be going with the father’s death by using the stuffed animals to make increasingly erotic “art” which Jessa despises but it does help her sell a particular piece which she can use to keep the business afloat despite Milo telling her they should consider selling it. There is also some incredible tension between these siblings and I am excited to see what happens.

What We Didn’t Say by Rory Dunlop 5 Stars – The opening of What We Didn’t Say was interesting, we are introduced to a married couple Jack and Laura who have been separated for two years. Obviously something happened between them but we don’t know what yet only that two people Zac Ford and his girlfriend, Claudia are involved. Jack and Laura met at university where he was a lecturer and she was a student, there isn’t a huge age gap between them only eight years but it was interesting to see. Two years after they separated Jack returned to London but the meeting with Laura didn’t go well so they begin emailing each other. Jack sends Laura his diary to read about the time they were together and apart but she remembers things a little differently so she makes corrections and comments on the diary. We also know this is all in the past since Laura wrote a letter to their son, Michael telling him the emails and diary would explain her relationship with his father.

The Dinner Guest by B. P. Walter 4.75 Stars – The opening to The Dinner Guest was interesting as it opens with the murder of Matthew shortly followed by the arrest of Rachel. We learn that Matthew and Charlie are a same sex married couple and Matthew has a son Titus and they live a normal life in the Chelsea borough of London although certain parts are staged for Charlie’s Instagram. These posts are seen by Rachel and she sees their life as perfect and wants to be a part of our so with the money she left from her mother she quits her job and moves to London. Rachel ends up meeting Charlie in Waterstones for the first time and shortly after in M&S Matthew invites her to his book club to Charlie’s surprise. Knowing Rachel deliberately moved to London to be near the family and instigated a way into their lives makes her seem crazy. However, we learn in the present timeline since the novel bounces between the day of the murder and the year leading to it that Titus asks why Rachel would confess to Matthew’s murder when she didn’t do it so this is going to be a journey of learning whether Rachel actually killed Matthew or if Charlie, Titus or someone else is responsible.

Daddy’s Dirty Boss by Jade West 5 Stars – Jade West is an insta-read author for me along with Katee Robert as they write some of the best erotic fiction I have read in recent years and are up there with the big name authors like Laurell K. Hamilton and J. R. Ward and Daddy’s Dirty Boss is no exception to this. This novel centre around Faith and her father’s friend, Miles Lindon who have known each other since Faith was a baby since Miles and her father are friends. Miles is a very central person in Faith’s life and it wasn’t a surprise when she became developing romantic and sexual feelings towards him in her teens which only increased when she spots him sleeping with one of the office girls at her sixteenth birthday party. After this Miles distances himself from the family and waits for the sexual feelings Faith has to die down and we jump forward two years to a few weeks before Faith’s eighteenth birthday as she is going to work for Miles during the summer before heading off to university.

Santa Baby by Cassie Mint 3.5 Stars – I haven’t read anything by Cassie Mint in the past but her Christmas themed novella seemed like a good place to start. I know this is holiday themed but I never have the urge to read these kinds of books during the holiday seasons for some reason so I am reading it in the summer. This novella only took me about 20 minutes to read from beginning to end so I would recommend the kindle edition if you can get it because it is so quick to read. The story is following Clara, a teenage runaway who is taken in by a bar owner named Jack who is the kindest, most caring person I have ever read about. He gives Clara a job and a place to live and when we meet her at the beginning of the story she is now 22 and has known Jack for several years and has a major crush on the older man.

The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu 5 Stars – I picked up The Truth About Alice because it seemed like a quick and easy read and while it was quick I read it in a couple of hours, the subject matter at times wasn’t easy. We are follow four students from Healy High discussing the scandal surrounding another student, Alice Franklin. The other perspectives are that of Elaine, Kelsie, Kurt and Josh, at one of Elaine’s parties Alice allegedly slept with two boys, Brandon Fitzsimmons, the high school quarterback and Tommy, a local whose leaving for college soon. Just a few weeks later Brandon dies in a car accident and the reason for the crash as Josh mentions to the police is Alice sending him suggestive text messages. So, Alice becomes not only the school slut but a killer as well in the eyes of her fellow students. When the rumour emerges because of Elaine, Alice goes to her best friend, Kelsie and denies them but Kelsie isn’t sure if Alice is telling the truth or not. Kelsie stops being friends with Alice to protect her own reputation which she has worked hard for but it means Alice has no one to support her now. Josh, Brandon’s best friend, was in the car when he died but survived and it is Josh who starts the text messaging rumour by accident to protect himself even though both boys were drunk at the time of the crash.

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 4.75 Stars – I read The Inheritance Games in September of last year and really enjoyed it but I am only now picking up the sequel because I was waiting for the final book to be released so I can read them closer together. The opening to The Hawthorne Legacy picks up where The Inheritance Games left off with Avery and Jameson trying to figure out how his grandfather knew that Toby who alive and why he picked Avery for the game. As Avery doesn’t want to be used by the boys she makes a bet with Jameson about who can figure this mystery out first and it seems that Jameson has a head start because he is a member of the family and has access to people that knew Toby that probably won’t talk to Avery. She is also dealing with the cold Grayson, the eccentric Xander and the seemingly uninterested Nash along with her sister, Libby who is doing more harm than good right now. Avery is still trying to adjust to this new life and she realises that Toby who she knew as Harry is already in the wind again but the purpose of the game seems to be finding him and bringing him back into the family and repairing the broken bonds here. There is also a secret surrounding Avery’s birth that needs to be solved since it seemingly went to the grave with her mother and her deadbeat father has now re-entered the picture.

Asking for It by Kate Harding 5 Stars – Recently I decided to look more into rape culture since I am survivor of rape myself but didn’t have many issues in getting my case brought to court and getting justice like so many other women have had. Asking For It seems to break down what is rape culture, what rape myths are, why these things came into being and what we can do about them. The introduction and the opening chapter introduces us to what rape culture is and where it originated and the seven main rape myths. While Harding briefly breaks down these things she will go into further depth later on in the book. The rape myths are things many women and men have heard many times over the course of their lives, whether they have said it, had it said to them or heard about it from friends, family or colleagues. The fact of the matter is when you look at the numbers very few rapists are convicted, rape reports are low and statistically one in five women and one is seventy one men are likely to be raped at any given time and this will normally be committed by someone known to them. When you look at these bare facts even without going into depth it is hard to understand how rape culture can even exist but we have to take into account that over the decades victim blaming, slut shaming and many other things have prevented women from coming forward and getting justice for what was done to them.