Tag: review

Mini Review: Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter

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Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter
Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

From the very first page I knew I was going to love this book, hell from the blurb I knew I was going to love this book, and it did not disappoint.

THE BLURB

Dear Logan,
Someday I’m going to write a book: How Not to Die in Alaska – A Girl’s Guide to Fashionable Survival.

I bet you don’t know that a hair pin can make an excellent fishing hook. You may think you can use just any kind of mud for mud masks, but trust me, you CAN’T! In a pinch, nothing starts a fire like nail polish remover. Alaska is tough. You might know this, if you ever replied to my letters.

After Maddie’s Secret Service dad takes a bullet for the president, he takes Maddie somewhere he thinks they’ll be safe – far away from the White House and the president’s son, Logan.

But when Logan comes to Alaska, so does the danger.

If there’s one thing Alaska has taught Maddie, it’s how to survive. And now her best friend’s life depends on it …

MY REVIEW

This book is fast paced, full of action and so so funny. Madison (Maddie, Mad Dog) Manchester is just the best main character. She’s totally kick ass and runs rings around both teenage boys and trained assassins. I do think she’s totally crazy and over the top but it makes for some fantastically fun reading. I love how she has all of these incredible survival skills, is super smart but seems most concerned about her beauty regime and how her hair looks. She plays the stereotypical silly little girl to perfection while really out plotting and scheming just about everyone. I loved how fearless she was and how independent and just how funny she could be.

Unfortunately though being such a strong main character, she leaves pretty much everyone else in her shade. Former best friend and potential love interest Logan is likeable enough and there’s some great banter between them but he’s not as strong a character so gets left behind a little.

I loved the Alaskan setting and the plot has plenty of action and excitement throughout. The writing is short and punchy adding a lot of pace to the story but still giving you a great sense of place and characters.

If I had one criticism, and it’s a pretty minor one, it’s that I thought it got a little bit repetitive in places. We get it Alaska is dangerous and there’s a serious lack of bedazzled weapons.

Other than that I loved it and am off in search of more books by Ally Carter.

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

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

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Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first half of this book was easily a five star read, intriguing and addictive with a style that was truly unique. I felt like it lost focus in the second half but I still can’t wait to read the rest of this series.

THE BLURB

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

MY REVIEW

Okay, I know I am very possibly the last person on the planet to actually read this book and everyone is off reading Restore Me the first book in the new trilogy but for some reason I’ve never really been able to find it. It’s one of those series that everyone seems to go on about how much they either love or hate it but while I was really desperate to read it (so I could make up my own mind) it just wasn’t on Amazon (and okay I could have ordered it from somewhere else but I’m lazy).

Needless to say when it popped up on NetGalley I started hammering that request button like a request button hammering machine (these should totally exist) and hurrah my request was approved (thank you NetGalley gods). As you can probably guess I had to start reading it immediately, and from the very first few pages it blew me away.

The style of it is just so unusual but so absolutely brilliant, I loved it. There was a warning at the start from the publisher that there would be crossed out words, numbers and generally just jumbled sentences and repetition and that this was deliberate (I guess some people have complained) and this really intrigued me and I thought worked so well for the story. Main character Juliette has been locked away, completely alone for almost a year so I think having some slightly scatty thoughts should be expected. I’m not sure what this says about me but there was so much I could relate to in terms of how her mind worked. Becoming fixated on things, getting easily distracted by objects that catch your eye and counting when stressed are all things I have been known to do on occasion so for me this seemed, not quite normal but certainly understandable.

This also made me sympathetic towards Juliette from the very beginning and I have to say that as a character I did like her a lot. I felt incredibly sorry for her, the prison spell is just the latest in a long list of bad things that have happened to her, but for the most part I really admired her. It would be so easy for her to be angry or dark but she fights all of the time to be a good person and to not hurt anyone.

The beginning of this book was definitely the highlight for me and I felt certain this was going to be a five star read. I loved the confined setting and the way the relationship between Juliette and her new cell mate Adam develops, I loved the writing style and how stream of conscious-like it was and I loved how the author slowly introduced this dystopian world through Juliette’s memories and Adam’s updates. I even loved when Juliette was plucked from her confinement and given the option of freedom in exchange for working as a weapon for the Reestablishment.

Captor and potential savior Warner is an absolutely wonderful villain. There’s something about him that could most certainly turn you to the dark side even while he’s being completely evil. He can rationalize everything and almost convince you that he’s right. The scenes between him and Juliette were absolutely wonderful. He tempts and torments and somehow worms his way into her mind, promising everything she could ever want while showing her just how dark he is. I really wanted as much of him as possible.

It is however around this point that I felt the book began to lose its way and what began as an intriguing dystopian turned into more of a romance. I do like a good romance and was definitely on board with that ship but it seemed to take over the whole story and was focused on at the most inappropriate of times. Yes, they may be on the run, seriously injured, possibly dying but let’s just have a big long conversation about our feelings, rather than ya know running, getting help. Added to this the wonderful style used in the beginning was gradually phased out as Juliette became used to being around other people. I do understand this, it makes sense with the story but combined with the focus on the relationship it became a little bit average (sorry).

It is for the most part an intriguing and exciting story and had the focus not shifted this would have received the full five stars from me but unfortunately the second half was a little too heavy on the romance (and I read a lot of romance). I am however very excited about reading the rest of the books in the series and pre ordered the lot. I’m keeping everything crossed it returns to form, I really think it will.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. As always this has not influenced my review.

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.

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.

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.

Review: Goodbye Perfect by Sara Barnard

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Goodbye, Perfect
Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodbye Perfect has some wonderful character development and depth but while Barnard handles a difficult topic with real skill I’m afraid the storyline just wasn’t for me.

THE BLURB

When I was wild, you were steady . . .
Now you are wild – what am I? 

Eden McKinley knows she can’t count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with the boyfriend Eden knows nothing about five days before the start of their GCSEs. Especially when the police arrive on her doorstep and Eden finds out that the boyfriend is actually their music teacher, Mr Cohn.

Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie’s location, and that’s the way it has to stay. There’s no way she’s betraying her best friend. Not even when she’s faced with police questioning, suspicious parents and her own growing doubts.

As the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend and herself.

MY REVIEW

Hmm As a huge fan of Barnard I really wanted to love this book but for some reason it just didn’t happen for me. It may just have been that the story, about a girl whose 15 year old best friend runs off with her music teacher, made me uncomfortable or it may just have been that I was in the wrong frame of mind when reading it but I just didn’t connect with it the way I have with the authors other books.

It is very well written as you would expect from Barnard and even though I didn’t love the story I did find it very readable and flew through the whole thing in a couple of days.

There were elements about it I absolutely loved, the relationship between main character Eden and her adoptive family (the fact that the main character was adopted), inclusion of a teenager who is a carer for his mother, the way it looks at how people are judged based on their background. All wonderfully done and so great to see in YA fiction.

I am not sure I necessarily connected with Eden but she was very different from what I expected and from what you usually find in these type of stories. She’s not had the easiest of lives, is argumentative and immature in some ways but her attitude and goals are very grown up in a lot of ways. She’s just full of contradictions, which I thought was wonderful, and she’s not the only one. Almost every character has layers and depth, something I loved, and I really liked how both they and the relationships between them developed through the story.

The pacing is maybe a little on the slow side and I did find myself getting frustrated with it, particularly in the start. I felt like a lot could have been resolved much faster and much easier and far too much time was spent with Eden going back and forward trying to decide whether to tell everyone what she knows. With my general uneasiness around the teacher student relationship I just wanted it to be resolved and for the story to move elsewhere.

I think these are me issues however rather than any kind of problem with the book and based on the other reviews I can see that a lot of people have really loved it. It is definitely a worthwhile read even if just to get some discussion around the issues it raises.

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

ARC Review: Force of Nature by Jane Harper

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Force of Nature by Jane Harper
Force of Nature by Jane Harper

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

The second book in Harper’s Aaron Falk series is just as good if not better than the first. Atmospheric and packed full of tension, this story of a corporate retreat gone wrong and a missing woman is absolutely riveting.

Please note that as this is the second book in the series it does follow on from the Dry but could easily be read as a standalone as there are only some very mild spoilers and very little overlap. This review is therefore spoiler free.

THE BLURB

FIVE WENT OUT. FOUR CAME BACK…

Is Alice here? Did she make it? Is she safe? In the chaos, in the night, it was impossible to say which of the four had asked after Alice’s welfare. Later, when everything got worse, each would insist it had been them.

Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along the muddy track. Only four come out the other side.

The hike through the rugged landscape is meant to take the office colleagues out of their air-conditioned comfort zone and teach resilience and team building. At least that is what the corporate retreat website advertises.

Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk has a particularly keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing bushwalker. Alice Russell is the whistleblower in his latest case – and Alice knew secrets. About the company she worked for and the people she worked with.

Far from the hike encouraging teamwork, the women tell Falk a tale of suspicion, violence and disintegrating trust. And as he delves into the disappearance, it seems some dangers may run far deeper than anyone knew.

MY REVIEW

I was a little late in discovering just how good Harper’s first book The Dry was, it felt like everyone had read it but me, but as soon as I finished it I knew I needed more. It was just so atmospheric and I found main character Aaron Falk very likeable and someone I wanted to know more about.

For me the highlight of this book was yet again the setting and character development. Unlike The Dry however there are no high temperatures and no drought but rather a cold, wet and rugged landscape where five women set out on a corporate team building event which ends in disaster. As they lose their way (and their supplies) in this remote and isolated location, the bickering and disagreements on how best to find their way or get help begin and in the end only four of them make it out. It’s one of those classic survival stories, mixed with a missing person investigation and I absolutely loved it.

This has a slightly different format to previous book but the writing is just as good. In The Dry the author interspersed flashbacks to different time periods and events within the narrative (something I found a little jarring at times) to give an insight into the characters motivations and thoughts. In Force of Nature however Harper alternates between two separate timelines, the first following Falk as he investigates the disappearance of his key informant and the other following the five women on the retreat.

I have to say I preferred this format but I did find myself more gripped by the women’s story than Falk’s investigation. It felt like Aaron and his partner Carmen were pushed a little to the side particularly in the first half of the book where they’re getting everyone’s story but that may just have been because I was rushing through their sections to get back to the retreat.

The sections on the corporate retreat are told in more or less chronological order and I found it absolutely riveting to read the changing dynamics within the group as their situation goes from bad to worse. Watching their relationships and attitudes shift as they move from their corporate personas and roles to their more natural, and at times primitive, behavior was by far the highlight of this story. It does make you wonder how well you know your work colleagues and how you would react in that situation. Would you really pull together or would it be every man for himself? What would you do if you thought your life was on the line and someone in the group was risking it?

As it’s told from the points of view of each of the women you do get a real insight into their characters and motives but it still keeps you guessing as to what happened between them until the very end. Did Alice really set out alone and get lost or did she push the others in the group too far?

Added to that there is a mystery around a serial killer who previously operated in the area and Falk’s current investigation into the shady dealings of the company Alice works for. Could someone associated with the killer have taken up where he left off, could someone have found out Alice was informing on them? There are so many potential options for what could have happened to her and so many red herrings thrown in that it’s impossible to figure it out and I suspected everyone at one point or another.

Like the previous book this isn’t necessarily a fast paced story but it’s no less gripping as a result. Yet again Harper creates real tension and atmosphere in the story and while I would have liked a bit more time on Falk I very much enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next one in the series

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

Review: The Dry by Jane Harper

Ali@abookishlife11 Comments

The Dry by Jane Harper
The Dry by Jane Harper

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Believe the hype. This book is just as good as everyone says it is.

THE BLURB

A small town hides big secrets in this atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by an award-winning new author.

After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead.

Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets.

MY REVIEW

Everyone kept telling me how good this was but did I listen? I really wish I had as this book is absolutely brilliant especially when you consider it’s the author’s first. It may not have a wholly original plot (is there an original murder mystery?) or be particularly fast paced, but it has some great characterization and such a wonderful sense of atmosphere that it’s difficult to put down.

The setting of a small farming town in Australia is absolutely central to this story and for me was by far the highlight. There has been a long term drought, the weather is hot and so are the tempers creating such a powerful atmosphere. The whole town seems ready to ignite with the smallest little spark and it’s a close knit community where everyone knows everyone’s business and grudges are never forgotten.

This is the town where policeman Aaron Falk grew up before he was driven out of town. He’s forced to return when childhood best friend Luke becomes the victim in a triple shooting. The police believe it to be a murder suicide, he killed his wife and son before turning the gun on himself, but his parents aren’t so sure. They convince Falk to stick around for a few days and look into things. As he works with the local policeman Raco he also begins to have his doubts that everything is as it seems but what motive could someone have for killing them and how long can Falk stick around in a town where almost everyone seems to hate him.

There isn’t a huge amount of action in this story but it’s still gripping reading. Aaron Falk makes for an intriguing main character with a dark past. Yep it’s a little cliched, detective forced to return home and face his past while investigating a case, but Harper does it so well that you don’t mind. I particularly liked that the author didn’t go down the route of lone detective going against the authorities but instead had Falk forming a partnership with the local police officer and the relationship between them was brilliant.

I loved the methodical nature of their investigation and how they followed the clues, interviewed witnesses and suspects to get to the truth. There isn’t any super high tech forensics or moment of inspiration but rather a good old fashioned investigation where one clue leads to the next. That’s not to say there isn’t the odd red herring or that it’s easy to guess the ending as this story certainly keeps you guessing. I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers but I can honestly say the ending of this surprised me.

If I had one small niggle, and this is just my personal preference rather than a fault with the story, it’s that I felt the author wrapped up a little too much. That’s not to say everything is fully resolved, there is a lot that’s left open (it is the first book in a series after all), but there was one answer in particular that I didn’t want.

This is definitely one I’d recommend if you’re looking for a great mystery that may not be fast paced but is absolutely packed full of atmosphere and tension. I can see Harper becoming one of my favorite authors.