Tag: books

Teaser Tuesday: 13th March 2018

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Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.


This week I’m going for a classic for my teaser with Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. I think this may be my favorite Austen (although it’s a pretty close run thing with Persuasion) as I find it the easiest and most amusing of her books. I absolutely adore all of the gothic elements and how it highlights the dangers of too much reading 😉 I do think Austen is a little harsh on her poor heroine though.

My Teaser

Such were her propensities – her abilities were quite as extraordinary. She never could learn or understand anything before she was taught; and sometimes not even then, for she was often inattentive, and occasionally stupid.

~ page 1 Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

BlurbNorthanger Abbey

Jane Austen’s first novel—published posthumously in 1818—tells the story of Catherine Morland and her dangerously sweet nature, innocence, and sometime self-delusion. Though Austen’s fallible heroine is repeatedly drawn into scrapes while vacationing at Bath and during her subsequent visit to Northanger Abbey, Catherine eventually triumphs, blossoming into a discerning woman who learns truths about love, life, and the heady power of literature. The satirical novel pokes fun at the gothic novel while earnestly emphasizing caution to the female sex.

Review: The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross

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The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross
The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

The Queen’s Rising may seem a little familiar in terms of story but there’s something very intriguing about it and I loved the author’s writing. I’m really looking forward to the next book in the trilogy.

THE BLURB

Born out of wedlock, Brienna is cast off by her noble family and sent to Magnolia House – a boarding house for those looking to study the passions: art, music, dramatics, wit and knowledge. Brienna must discover her passion and train hard to perfect her skill, in the hope that she will one day graduate and be chosen by a wealthy patron, looking to support one of the `impassioned’.

As Brienna gets closer to the eve of her graduation, she also grows closer to her smart (and handsome) tutor, Cartier. He can sense that she is hiding a secret, but Brienna chooses not to reveal that she is experiencing memories of her ancestors – memories uncovering the mysteries of the past that may have dangerous consequences in the present.

A daring plot is brewing – to overthrow the usurper king and restore the rightful monarchy – and Brienna’s memories hold the key to its success. Cartier desperately wants to help Brienna, but she must chose her friends wisely, keep her enemies close and trust no one if she is to save herself and her people.

MY REVIEW

This book really surprised me with just how good it was. This probably doesn’t sound like much of a compliment but I’ve been pretty down on YA and YA fantasy in particular recently so for any book in this genre to impress me is a real achievement.

It didn’t particularly help that this book doesn’t seem to get the best reviews. There are some who love it but there are more than a few who fall on the “it’s too slow” or “it’s not original enough” side of the fence. Needless to say I was a little wary going in (I really need to stop reading reviews before picking up a book). But, while this book did take a little bit to get going there was something about it that I really loved. Yes, it does have some issues (that’s why I couldn’t give it 5 stars) but I found myself being drawn completely into the story and the world that the author created.

I will admit it is absolutely full of the usual YA fantasy tropes, mystery about main character’s background (she doesn’t know who her father is), discovery of unexpected abilities and important role (special snowflake alert), evil dictator style ruler, secret identities and forbidden romance but with likeable characters and an intriguing world I was happy to go along for the ride.

I thought Brienna made for a wonderful main character. She’s clever, inquisitive, brave and more importantly conflicted a lot of the time. She’s often feeling a number of emotions at once and I loved how the author portrayed this confusion, which is just so relatable. She has no special skills or abilities, no real passion for anything (other than finding out more about her background) so is often feeling a little lost, particularly as she’s surrounded in school by the incredibly talented who know exactly what their path is.

This ability of the author to make you relate so strongly to the main character and the way she portrayed emotions was definitely one of the highlights for me. I felt all of the feels and I loved the relationships between the characters. The romance may have been a little bit wrong (I won’t go into the why) but I shipped it so much. Similarly the friendships between the women in the book in particular were so well developed and real. I loved how they supported each other.

Some of the other relationships worked a little less well and I do feel the author should have maybe taken a little more time over them. They developed a little too quickly for me to fully buy into them but this was due to what was my main issue with this story, the pacing. There is just a tad too much time spend on some sections and nowhere near enough on others. I can understand why some reviewers describe it as slow, the beginning in particular feels slow as the author takes a while to gradually build the world and the relationships between certain characters. I personally enjoyed these sections (I was very happy watching one relationship develop) but I can understand it frustrating others. Where I found issue was with the instant relationships. One very brief conversation seemed to be enough to form a lasting bond and intense loyalty which I’m not buying.

There isn’t a huge amount of action in this story, for the most part it’s plotting and scheming, unraveling mysteries and travelling across the world but it does have its moments. What violence there is tends to be sudden but I should add a warning that it’s a little gruesome in places and even I found it to be shocking. I did however love the contrast the author created between the two kingdoms Valenia and Maevana, one seeming very cultured and refined and the other brutal and savage and I think this occasional violence illustrated it well.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read and while I think it could have worked as a standalone I will be very interested to see how the story develops over the next two books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. This has in no way influenced my review.

WWW Wednesday: 7th March 2018

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The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

WWW Wednesday

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently ReadingThe Queen’s Rising

I picked up The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross on Monday morning but haven’t made a huge amount of progress on it so far. This is one of those titles that NetGalley tempted me with and I couldn’t resist despite being a little bit down on YA at the moment. I’m starting to wonder if I’ve hit some particular age where I’m too old for it, although my Mum’s 70 and she likes her YA fantasy and sci fi. It’s probably more likely that I’m just reading too much of it and it’s all becoming a bit samey. Ah well, maybe this will surprise me. I’m keeping everything crossed.
The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, #1)

No progress in the past week on the audio of The Black Witch by Laurie Forest. I have been stuck inside for pretty much the last week so no driving which is when I usually listen to my audios. I’ve also been feeling pretty anxious, about everything and nothing, so I’ve found my mind wandering a lot and have been having trouble concentrating. Focusing on an audio is just not happening.

Recently Finished

I had last week off work and ended up trapped indoors by snowmageddon (seriously there were 6 inches which apparently is enough to bring Scotland to a standstill) so I did quite a bit of reading (and snow shoveling) and finished four books.A Man Called Ove

The first of these was A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. This was my pick for RL book club and I think it was a brilliant choice even if I do say so myself. Such an emotional read, I think yet again I cried my way through about half of it and at the most unexpected parts. I adored Ove, he’s such a lovable grump and his interactions with the boisterous family who move in next door are hilarious. I was kind of worried it was going to have a sad ending but without saying whether it was or wasn’t, it was absolutely perfect.

Wye: A Zombie NovelThe second book finished was  Wye: A Zombie Novel by Jack Croxall. This was one of those semi random picks from kindle unlimited and turned out to be a pretty interesting story. It’s told in the form of a journal written by Wye (Theadora) as she travels across England after the zombie apocalypse has killed all of her family and friends. All is not as it seems however and even from the beginning it is clear that Wye is not the most reliable of narrators. This wasn’t without its flaws, it’s a little bit slow in places and I found the jumps back and forward in time confusing as there are no headers or dates, but it’s an intriguing story and I’d read more from this author.

The Truth About AliceAfter Wye I was in the mood for something a bit more positive and uplifting and picked up The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu, an ARC I’d received via NetGalley. I was expecting this to be similar to Moxie which left me feeling all fired up but unfortunately this turned out to have the opposite effect. It’s about the damage rumors can do to a reputation, slut shaming and what lengths people will go to to be part of the popular crowd so it depressed the hell out of me. None of the characters are particularly likable (maybe one) so it was difficult to care about them or what the truth about Alice was.

Bring Me BackThe final book finished was thriller, Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris which I also received from NetGalley. This was one of those completely addictive reads. I swear every chapter ends with some kind of cliffhanger or teaser of what’s to come so you have to keep reading (damn you B A Paris). I ended up reading the whole thing, cover to cover, on Sunday. I probably should have been cleaning or writing up this weeks blog posts but that just didn’t happen. Needless to say I’m writing this late on Tuesday night.

Reading Next

I’ve managed to get my NetGalley shelf down over the last couple of weeks so I would like to reduce it even further by reading Skin Deep by Liz Nugent and The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven. I’m also way too excited about the Shatter Me series finally being available on Amazon. I received the first book from NetGalley and pre-ordered the remaining books as soon as I finished it. I’m thinking it may be time for a full on series binge this weekend starting with Unravel Me.

The Exact Opposite of OkaySkin DeepUnravel Me (Shatter Me, #2)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

Teaser Tuesday: 6th March 2018

Ali@abookishlife1 Comment

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.


This week my teaser comes from The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu, author of Moxie. I absolutely loved Moxie so was very excited to receive this from NetGalley and read it at the end of last week. I wouldn’t say I didn’t enjoy it but I’m afraid my expectations were a little too high and it was a bit disappointing. You can read my full review here.

My Teaser

‘I’m not a sideshow attraction.’

And she wasn’t. Not to me.

She was the main attraction.

But I had no way to tell her that.

~ 19% The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

BlurbThe Truth About Alice

Everyone knows Alice slept with two guys at one party.
But did you know Alice was sexting Brandon when he crashed his car?
It’s true. Ask ANYBODY.

Rumour has it that Alice Franklin is a slut. It’s written all over the ‘slut stall’ in the girls’ bathroom at Healy High for everyone to see. And after star quarterback Brandon Fitzsimmons dies in a car accident, the rumours start to spiral out of control.

In this remarkable novel, four Healy High students – the party girl, the car accident survivor, the ex best friend and the boy next door – tell all they know.

But exactly what is the truth about Alice? In the end there’s only one person to ask: Alice herself.

ARC Review: Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

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Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris
Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This may have a familiar plot but it’s packed full of tension and has enough twists and cliffhangers to make it a truly addictive read.

THE BLURB

A young British couple are driving through France on holiday when they stop for gas. He runs in to pay, she stays in the car. When he returns her car door has been left open, but she’s not inside. No one ever sees her again.

Ten years later he’s engaged to be married; he’s happy, and his past is only a tiny part his life now. Until he comes home from work and finds his new wife-to-be is sitting on their sofa. She’s turning something over in her fingers, holding it up to the light. Something that would have no worth to anyone else, something only he and she would know about because his wife is the sister of his missing first love.

As more and more questions are raised, their marriage becomes strained. Has his first love somehow come back to him after all this time? Or is the person who took her playing games with his mind?

MY REVIEW

A truly addictive read I devoured the whole book more or less in one sitting. It is very much the classic psychological thriller but while parts seemed familiar and it was occasionally predictable the quality of writing made it a very enjoyable read.

It is a classic story, man’s soon to be wife disappears following a row and many years later it seems she, or someone connected to her disappearance, may have returned just as he’s about to marry her sister. What do they want, do they really know what happened to wife to be Layla, could they in fact be her or is someone just stirring up trouble?

This is a very twisty story that’s packed full of tension and almost every character seems to be hiding something. The author keeps you hooked throughout by dropping little hints and teasers, usually at the end of the chapter, so you have no choice but to keep reading. It’s frustrating as hell at times but effective. There are maybe a couple of pacing issues, some sections were dragged out a little too long in my opinion, but these are easily forgiven.

The story is told predominantly from main character Finn’s point of view and while I never really liked him, he has a temper, lies, threatens and is abusive, I did find him an intriguing character to read. I do often think however that it’s the horrible people who are the most enjoyable to read.

In the second part of the story he’s joined by another narrator whose voice I wasn’t so keen on. There was just something a little too much about it, but it was maybe just that I’m not a fan of the whole voices in my head thing. It tends to result in lots of eye rolling by me.

I also think the story was a little light in terms of secondary characters. I would have liked them to feature a little more and to get some more insight into their motivations. Finn’s best friend Harry for example is constantly bailing him out of trouble or riding in to the rescue despite knowing what he’s like and being treated badly. Finn is violent towards everyone but they all seem to want to help him. It just didn’t make sense to me.

Despite these niggles I did very much enjoy this story and even the ending which I guessed around halfway through was worth waiting for.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all thoughts are my own.

Review: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

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The Truth About Alice by Jennifer MathieuThe Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An interesting story about slut-shaming and stereotypes but unfortunately while it was easy reading I never really connected to it.

THE BLURB

From the author of Zoella Book Club book MOXIE comes a startling book about stereotypes, slut shaming and the battle for popularity.

Everyone knows Alice slept with two guys at one party.
But did you know Alice was sexting Brandon when he crashed his car?
It’s true. Ask ANYBODY.

Rumour has it that Alice Franklin is a slut. It’s written all over the ‘slut stall’ in the girls’ bathroom at Healy High for everyone to see. And after star quarterback Brandon Fitzsimmons dies in a car accident, the rumours start to spiral out of control.

In this remarkable novel, four Healy High students – the party girl, the car accident survivor, the ex best friend and the boy next door – tell all they know.

But exactly what is the truth about Alice? In the end there’s only one person to ask: Alice herself.

MY REVIEW

Umm, I’m really not sure about this book. I didn’t hate it but I’m not convinced I liked it either. I think I’m just struggling to work out what the point of it all was. Plot wise it reminded me a little of 13 Reasons Why, being about a teenage girl who’s slut shamed, bullied and ostracized by her so called friends who would rather be popular than loyal. It looks at the damage rumors and gossip can do particularly to girls giving it a little bit of a feminist vibe.

It is pretty easy, although slightly troubling (are all high school students really behaving like this), reading and I thought the style was very interesting. It’s told from the point of view of four different characters, none of which are Alice, and jumps around in time to reveal the truth behind the rumors.

Some voices were more likeable than others, I kinda liked Kurt, but all were very distinct and you could tell immediately whose story you were hearing. You do get a very real sense of them and what’s behind the stereotypical facade.

My biggest issue though is that the story doesn’t really go anywhere. There are lots of rumors about Alice, we find out if they’re true and if they’re not how they came about but to be honest I didn’t particularly care. The decision to tell the story from other points of view meant I felt no connection to Alice so while I was a little curious I wasn’t invested and the narrators weren’t likeable or intriguing enough to hold my attention.

It was only at the very end when at long last we get Alice’s chapter that I thought “yes, finally I’ll start to feel it” but nope the ending turned out to be the biggest let down of the story.

It’s very possible it’s just me and the mood I’m in right now but given my love for the author’s other book Moxie this was a bit disappointing. There do seem to be a lot of rave reviews so please don’t let me thoughts stop you from picking this up.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy. As always all views are my own.

WWW Wednesday: 28th February 2018

Ali@abookishlife23 Comments

The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

WWW Wednesday

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

IA Man Called Ove had to put my next RL book club book, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, on hold for a bit while I finished off a couple of ARC’s but I picked it up again yesterday morning and I don’t think I’ve put it down since. There is just something I love about Backman’s writing and Ove could be one of my all time favorite characters. He’s just such a grump, always insisting that no one does things properly but he secretly has a heart of gold. I think I’ve spent the past 24 hours alternating between laughing and crying. I am crossing everything that this has a happy ending as I don’t think I could take the alternative.

Speaking of books I suspect may not have a happy ending I’m also reading Wye: A Zombie Novel by Jack Croxall. I picked up X: A Short Story by the author last week because it fit a challenge and it seemed promising so I wanted to read more. I’ve also just been in the mood for a zombie story. I find the human behavior in these types of stories so fascinating.The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, #1)

Finally, on audio, I started listening to The Black Witch by Laurie Forest at the weekend. I’d put a hold on this at the library and completely forgot about it, so was surprised to get the notification it was in. It seems to be quite a long one (around 16 hours) and I’m only a couple of hours in so it’s pretty early days but I do think this could be good. I have some suspicions that it may be a little tropey and possibly slow (hardly anything has happened in 2 hours) but hopefully I’ll still enjoy it.

Recently Finished

Things have thankfully calmed down at work and I’ve had a few days off so I’m finally starting to get back into my reading. I am still struggling to decide what I want to read but I am at least finishing the books I’m starting rather than abandoning them after a few pages (or at least most of them).

The Boy on the Bridge (The Hungry Plague, #2)

The first book finished this week was The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey and I even managed to get a review up. This was one of those books I’d been wanting to read for ages but hadn’t been able to squeeze it in and, if you’ve read the Girl with all the Gifts, you’ll know it was probably not going to be a quick and easy read. I’m not sure I would say The Boy on the Bridge was quite as good but it is worth reading to get answers to a lot questions. It also has an absolutely incredible ending which on its own bumped my rating up at least half a star.

The Last LaughBecause I’m an idiot, the next book I picked up after the traumatic ending of The Boy on the Bridge was The Last Laugh by Tracy Bloom. I have no idea what I was thinking as this was yet another emotional read, it’s about a 45 year old woman who is diagnosed with a terminal illness and discovers her husband is cheating on her (fun times!!!). Thankfully though while I did cry for a large proportion of the story there were quite a few laughs too. This is my second or third book by Bloom and I do like her writing, I flew threw the whole story in more or less a day. You can read my full review here.

The third and final book finished this week was The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin, which I listened to on audioThe Lathe of Heaven. I have to confess I listened to the last couple of hours on double time (I don’t recommend this) because I had to get it finished by a specific time for a challenge. Unfortunately as a result I didn’t get to appreciate the ending which I’m sorry about as I was finding it fascinating. This is the one and only book by LeGuin I’ve read, it’s probably not something I would have sought out, but I enjoyed it so much more than I expected. Hopefully I can pick up some of her other books soon.

Reading Next

Pretty much all of my reads over the last couple of weeks have been rather emotional so I’m feeling a bit fragile. I think I therefore need something more up beat and happy, or possibly super dark and violent, just not another sob fest. I do have a few rapidly approaching ARC publication dates so I’m leaning towards The Truth about Alice by Jennifer Mathieu or Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris. I’m also going to see Holly Black and Alwyn Hamilton at the end of March so I may go for one of their books.

Bring Me BackThe Truth About AliceHero at the Fall (Rebel of the Sands, #3)Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales, #1)

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

Teaser Tuesday: 27th February 2018

Ali@abookishlife9 Comments

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purple Booker. If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of The Purple Booker.


This week my teaser comes from A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, yep at long last I’m finally reading it. I swear this has been on my TBR forever but I put it into the hat at my real life book club and it finally got picked. I’ve spent most of today reading it and have been absolutely loving it. Ove is just so lovely and even though he’d hate it I just want to give him a cuddle 🙂

My Teaser

Ove presses the soles of his shoes into the snow. He has certainly not begun this day with the intention of letting women or cats into the house, he’d like to make that very clear to her. But she comes right at him with the animal in her arms and a determination in her steps.

~ Pg 139 A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

BlurbA Man Called Ove

At first sight, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He thinks himself surrounded by idiots – neighbours who can’t reverse a trailer properly, joggers, shop assistants who talk in code, and the perpetrators of the vicious coup d’etat that ousted him as Chairman of the Residents’ Association. He will persist in making his daily inspection rounds of the local streets.

But isn’t it rare, these days, to find such old-fashioned clarity of belief and deed? Such unswerving conviction about what the world should be, and a lifelong dedication to making it just so? In the end, you will see, there is something about Ove that is quite irresistible..

Review: The Last Laugh by Tracy Bloom

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The Last Laugh by Tracy Bloom
The Last Laugh by Tracy Bloom

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Often heartbreaking, occasionally hilarious and always very real and touching. I very much enjoyed this story. One to be read in the house with a big box of tissues on standby.

THE BLURB

‘I’ve googled it, how to die,’ Jenny says to Maureen. ‘It was full of climbing this mountain, swimming that sea, becoming a marathon runner and raising millions for charity.’

‘Sounds like bloody hard work. You can make it more fun than that surely?’

Jenny discovers her days are numbered at the same time she discovers her husband is having an affair…

Frankly, her life was tough enough already. Two tricky teenagers, her mother’s constant complaints, friends who aren’t up to the job and a career which has been spiralling downwards since she won ‘Sunseeker Tour Rep of the Season’ twenty years ago.

And now this: a cheating husband and a death sentence.

Enough is enough. Jenny vows to keep both catastrophes a secret. She takes her life – and death – into her own hands and decides to live as she did when she was happiest… in 1996. She plans a spectacular 1990’s themed party in place of a wake that she herself will attend. But will she be able to keep her secrets for long enough to have the party of a lifetime?

MY REVIEW

Based on the synopsis I had a sneaky suspicion that this was not going to be a happy book (it’s about a 45 year old woman who finds out she has cancer and that her husband is having an affair on the same day) but while it is heartbreaking and poignant there is something very positive and uplifting about it. I may have cried my way through around 75% of the story but the other 25% had me laughing out loud.

Bloom’s writing is very real and easy to fall into and from the very first page I was totally behind main character Jenny. My life may be in a completely different place but there was something very relateable about her and the situation she finds herself in. She’s such a likeable character, down to earth, funny and far too nice and caring, she’s the type of person I’d want as a friend so watching her going through this was heartbreaking.

While the story is about how Jenny deals with her diagnosis the focus is definitely not on living with cancer. Things like treatment, pain and other complications are mentioned but as Jenny is trying to ignore them, they’re generally glossed over quickly. Instead the focus is very much on the relationships in her life and the author portrays them brilliantly. Again there was so much to relate to and many of the situations felt very familiar, spending time with family but never having a real conversation, the one upmanship and judgement from so called “friends” and how sometimes even the best of friends drift apart over time.

I’m probably making this sound like a really depressing story but it’s really not. There are so many funny moments scattered throughout I found myself crying one second and laughing the next. Jenny’s attempts to bring 1996 back and her family’s reactions are hilarious and elderly friend Maureen’s no nonsense and practical approach had me laughing out loud. I also loved the freedom Jenny found to speak her mind to those around her, I was cheering her on the whole way.

If I had one quibble with this book though, it’s probably the ending. It was a little too sudden for me and seemed to come from nowhere. I can’t think of a better ending but it just felt a little incomplete to me.

Overall though this was a really great read and I found myself flying through it. I would recommend though that if you do read it you keep the tissues handy. It’s an emotional rollercoaster.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all views are my own.

Review: The Boy On The Bridge by M.R. Carey

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The Boy on the Bridge (The Girl With All the Gifts #2)
The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Wow, Carey has done it again. The Boy on the Bridge is incredibly clever with some wonderfully complex characters and an ending that will leave your jaw on the floor.

Warning: There may be some spoilers for The Girl with All the Gifts, so go read it before reading this review (or watch the movie). It’s really good.

THE BLURB

Once upon a time, in a land blighted by terror, there was a very clever boy.

The people thought the boy could save them, so they opened their gates and sent him out into the world.

To where the monsters lived.

MY REVIEW

The Girl with all the Gifts turned out to be an unexpectedly brilliant read and while I had high hopes for sequel/prequel The Boy on the Bridge I will confess I also had some doubts. Did we really need another book, could it ever be as good? The answers to both of those questions is a very definite YES!!!

This has all of the elements that made The Girl with all the Gifts so wonderful (and is fairly similar in terms of plot) but, if like me the first book left you with a lot of questions, this is the story with the answers… well some of them.

It’s very much a character driven story as it follows a team of scientists and their military escort as they set out on an expedition in an armored lab on wheels (with a very familiar name) to try and find something that will help them fight the infection that has destroyed the world. This is a long trip with not a lot of personal space for the crew so as you may expect tensions rise. Add to that the split between the civilian scientists and the military, different beliefs and a mixture of personalities and there is almost more conflict amongst themselves than with the hungries.

The story is told from the point of view of the various members of the team giving different perspectives on the same events but also giving a real insight into the reasons for their actions. In the beginning I did struggle to remember who was who (my feeble brain struggles with lots of names even with the handily provided list) but I soon came to recognize each of the individual voices.

Some characters and personalities do feel a little familiar but the youngest member of the team Stephen Greaves is truly unique and absolutely fascinating to read. His brain doesn’t work the way everyone else’s does making him a bit of an outcast from the others and the one who’s either going to save everyone or get them all killed. He could be a genius or he could just be a very troubled and traumatized child and he’s ostracized by almost all of the crew who view him as the latter.

Unsurprisingly given the mission of the team and the number of scientists there is a lot more science in this story. It’s incredibly detailed and well thought out, explaining how the infection began and it’s effects on the host but I have to confess it became a little too heavy for me at times and lost me. It is interesting to learn more about the hungries and their behavior, and I’m sure those more knowledgeable about biology and chemistry will find it fascinating, but it was a little too much for me and I may have skimmed a little.

Even with this focus on the science and the characters, there is enough action to keep the story moving forward and the reader on their toes. There are moments of extreme violence (some which made me squirm), they’re generally sudden, unexpected and over quickly but have a lot of impact. There are all of the best zombie story tropes and it raises those intriguing ethical dilemmas around sacrificing for the greater good and following orders which will leave you pondering whether the characters actions are right or wrong and just what you would do in that situation.

I wouldn’t necessarily say it was a fast paced story, it’s a little slow in places but there is a gradual build in tension throughout and the ending when it comes is absolutely jaw dropping. Those characters who I wasn’t too fussed about had somehow snuck their way in and I was truly invested in what happened to them and without spoilers, it was horrifying, heartbreaking and absolutely wonderful. And, I kinda want more….

Overall, this is an incredibly well written and intelligent story with a focus very much on the characters. It’s a little heavier on the science than I would like but the ending more than makes up for any quibbles I may have had along the way. If you read and enjoyed The Girl with all the Gifts I’d really recommend you read this.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this.