Suffragettes And The Fight For The Vote by Sarah Ridley

The Blurb On The Back:

While the First World War still raged on, another battle was finally seeing some results. In February 1918, British women over the age of 30 finally gained the right to vote in general elections. The hard-won victory was the result of a long struggle. This book takes up the story in the mid 19th century, when the first petition was presented to Parliament, and traces the fight for the vote through the work of suffrage organisations and the suffragettes. From peaceful demonstrations to violent campaigns and prison hunger strikes, the story is brought to life through fascinating historical photos and artefacts.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

2018 will mark the centenary of women in Britain first being granted the vote (albeit it was initially restricted to women aged over 30) and this book by Sarah Ridley for children aged 12+ is a timely and broad if also superficial account of the struggle by Suffragettes and Suffragists to gain it.

SUFFRAGETTES AND THE FIGHT FOR THE VOTE was released in the United Kingdom on 8th June 2017. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

Blackwing by Ed McDonald

The Blurb On The Back:

The Misery is a wasteland: a dangerous, corrupted frontier between the Republic and The Deep Kings.

When traitors, thieves and spies try to flee they run for The Misery, and often as not it’s Captain Ryhalt Galharrow’s job to bring them to heel beneath the fractured skies – provided they haven’t already fallen prey to the twisted creatures that inhabit the shifting polluted sands. It’s a deadly place, even for a man of Galharrow’s experience.

But it’s a necessary place. Because the Republic’s only other defence against The Deep Kings is Nall’s Engine, a weapon of incomparable power that protects the wasteland’s border. As long as it doesn’t start to falter …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Ed McDonald’s solid debut fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) has great world building, an interesting political and magical system and an ambivalent view to wizards but I found that Galharrow tries too hard to be morally ambivalent, the female characters (particularly Ezabeth) are under baked and I found that although the time jumps kept the plot moving, it meant that the story didn’t have time to breathe.

BLACKWING was released in the United Kingdom on 20th July 2017. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.

Playing With Death by Simon Scarrow and Lee Francis

The Blurb On The Back:

FBI Special Agent Rose Blake has faced evil and survived.

Haunted by a failed undercover mission, Rose is finding it hard to shake the memories of her close encounter with a ruthless serial killer – one who is still free, and could strike again without warning.

The call to investigate a suspected arson attack that’s left a man dead is a welcome distraction. It’s not the kind of case usually assigned to the FBI, but nothing about this crime is usual. As Rose digs deeper, she finds herself confronting the sort of imagination her son might see in the fantasy worlds of his video games.

But when your opponent is a killer, nothing feels like a game …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Simon Scarrow and Lee Francis’s tech thriller (the first in a new series) has some interesting ideas but is ultimately a leaden, two-dimensional affair where most men are rapists or sex creeps, the antagonist is every serial killer cliche imaginable, the protagonist dull and worthy and the twists eminently guessable so that it was an effort to get to the end.

PLAYING WITH DEATH was released in the United Kingdom on 13th July 2017. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.