Book Review: The Only One Left by Riley Sager

 The Only One Left by Riley Sager

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC of The Only One Left for an honest review.

The Only One Left follows Kit McDeere sent to work at Hope's End to care for Lenora Hope famous in the town for apparently murdering her Mother, Father and her Sister. Only the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she left Hope's End her home and the mansion where the massacre occurred.

Lenora was rendered mute from a series of strokes, her only means of communication with Kit are by tapping out sentences on a typewriter. One night Lenora tells Kit that she wants to tell her everything.

As Kit helps Lenora write out her story it becomes clear that there is more to the story than people know. Kit starts to wonder if Lenora is as harmless as she first thought.

I really enjoyed this thriller novel! Riley Sager's other books have always been either a hit or a miss with me but this one captured my attention and kept it right until the end.

There were so many twists and turns and secrets that came to light. Normally I am able to figure these stories out before reaching the end but there were a couple of big twists towards the end that surprised me and I just did not see them coming.

If you are a fan of Thriller novels I recommend picking this one up it is definitely worth the read! 

Thanks For Reading! 

Book Review: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

 Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for the ARC to read for an honest review.

Some Desperate Glory follows Kyr who has been trained her whole life to avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised on Gaea station with the last of humanity, they are all training to face the Wisdom a reality shaping weapon that aided the Majoda in their victory over humanity.

However when Kyr's brother is assigned to certain death and relegates her to nursery Kyr knows she must take the mission into her own hands.

Alongside Avi a friend of her brother and a captive alien she's escapes from the station into a different universe to what she was taught that is more wonderous than could be imagined.

I have to admit I did not think this story was going to be for me and I will admit that I was completely wrong. This book was a fantastic queer Sci-fi novel.

It was smart, well plotted out and very well written.

Kyr our main protagonist can be hard headed and frustrating at times throughout the story. However her character has the most growth and the book gives a good message on learning to be empathetic in a cruel world.

The book has so many twists and turns and time slips that it's impossible to guess how the ending is going to go.

If you are a fan of the science fiction genre I would really recommend this story and I fully regret skipping the Illumicrate box that had this book in it. 

Thanks For Reading! 

Book Review: In The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

 In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC of In The Lives of Puppets for an honest review.

The story follows Victor Lawson a human who lives in a strange little home built into the branches with his inventor and Android father Giovanni Lawson, Nurse Ratched a pleasant yet sadistic nurse machine and Rambo a hoover with insecurities looking for love and attention.

One day Vic salvages and repairs an android labelled HAP this opens up a dark history shared between Gio and HAP relating to the Humans.

After HAP accidentally alerts other androids to their whereabouts the family are no longer hidden. Gio is captured and taken back to his former laboratory in the City of Electric dreams.

The rest of the family together decide to journey across the forest to rescue Gio and salvage their home.

I really enjoyed this story it was very different from my usual read and was very much in the science fiction drama. The description pens it as a Pinocchio retelling of sorts and while I see aspects of that I would say the rest of the story is very much its own work. Even with shades of The Wizard of Oz I would say following their journey to the City of Electric Dreams.

I loved the dynamic between Victor, Nurse Ratched and Rambo we then added HAP to mix and that just made the dynamic even better.

I also very much enjoyed the messages this story conveyed with teaching about love that isn't unconditional and the important message of family and treasuring the time that you have together.

Definitely worth a read if you are interested in the Sci-fi/fantasy genre and I will definitely by reading more of TJ Klune's books following this one. 

Thanks For Reading! 

Book Review: Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

 Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the advance reader copy of Yellowface by R. F. Kuang.

The story follows authors June Hayward and Athena Liu both were at the same year of Yale, both had their debut published on the same year. However Athena is classed as a literary darling and June didn't even get a paperback release on her book.

When June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident she impulsively steals her just finished experimental novel on the unsung contributions of Chinese labourers to the British and French during World War 1.

June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent. She gets a new publisher and rebrands as Juniper Song complete with a new ethnically ambiguous author photo. After all doesn't this piece of history need to be told no matter who by.

However June is stuck in Athena's shadow  and evidence emerges threatening to bring June's successes down around her. How far will June go to protect her secret?

After struggling to get through Babel I thought I would give another of Rebecca's books a go and I am glad that I did.

I finished this book in a day and found it an enjoyable read which raises debate and social commentary on alot of important topics surrounding the publishing industry and diversity.

I really enjoyed the in depth look into the background of the publishing industry. This book is told from June's perspective in first person and while you know that it is not going to end well you just cannot stop reading.

June is not a saint she is two faced and dishonest and it is amazing the lengths she goes too to manipulate those around her and the narrative to keep hold of the success she has achieved from the stolen manuscript.

I also found it fascinating how we learnt more about Athena's character as the book went on through the perspective of June and how her character is crafted through these experiences and memories.

This book definitely felt like a social commentary on how the world of publishing works and an authors struggles within it and I was gripped by this! 

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to seeing what R. F. Kuang comes out with next! 

Thanks for Reading! 

Book Review: Shanghai Immortal by A. Y. Chao

Shanghai Immortal by A. Y. Chao

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the advance reader copy of Shanghai Immortal in exchange for an honest review.

Shanghai Immortal follows Lady Jing who is half vampire and half hulijing fox spirit. Pawned to the King of Hell by her mother when she was a child she has spent the past ninety years running errands, trying to control her temper and dodging the cruel taunts of the other hulijing courtiers.

When she hears of their plot to steal a dragon pearl from the king she seizes her chance to expose them.

However she has been tasked to watch over a mortal who is helping the King set up the Central Bank of Hell. With him in tow she starts searching for answers however as things start to get more dangerous she begins to question if this is worth the risk.

I really enjoyed this book I thought the ideas throughout were quite original, the world building was good and the characters were well crafted.

I really enjoyed Jings character despite her childish tendencies at the start and her relationship with Mr Lee throughout the book made this a sweet read. 

I noticed this was classed as adult fiction which was surprising as it read more YA despite the swear words used throughout. 

However that did not stop my enjoyment of this book. 

A fun story for fantasy fans with interesting world building and enjoyable characters. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. 

Thanks for Reading! 

Book Review: Babel by R. F. Kuang

Babel by R. F. Kuang

3.5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for the Audiobook version of Babel by R. F. Kuang to read in exchange for an honest review.

Babel is set in 1828 and follows Robin Swift an orphan from Canton brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. Here he is trained in Latin, Ancient Greek and Chinese to prepare him for the day he will attend Oxford University and the institute of translation known as Babel.

The tower is the world's center for translation and magic, specifically silver working which is the art of finding lost translation using enchanted silver bars.

For Robin Oxford is a utopia but as his time there continues he realises that as a Chinese boy in Britain he is betraying his motherland. As his time progresses he is recruited by the elusive Hermes society an organisation dedicated to stopping imperial expansion and the unjust war against China.

My thoughts on this book were mixed areas of the title I vastly enjoyed and I was wrapped up in the story other areas I felt could be cut down or not included at all.

This was an incredibly long audio book at 14 hours and it took me a while to finish it. The audio narration was very good I will say that but due to the length and wordiness of the book this title at points dragged, mostly due to a vast amount of reputation from the author or I suppose wordiness of sentences.

I wanted to love it as I had heard such great things but I had to deduct stars for that alone.

Overall I really enjoyed the characters and the group dynamic between Robin, Rami, Letty, and Victoire. This portion of the story I found incredibly interesting. However I am not sure I would ever reread this title again.

 

Thanks for Reading!