I Read, Therefore I Blog

The Blurb On The Back:

Ned Harrison Arkle-Smith had a good life - a perfect family, a true best friend, and a brilliant secret den - but now everything is ruined! Suddenly his mum and dad want to build a wall right through the middle of his home, Bill has made other friends, and his new neighbour has taken over his special place.

Ned is definitely, completely, totally not happy about this. Until the night he loses his temper and something amazing happens. Something that means maybe he can get everyone to come back round to his way of thinking ...

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The Verdict:

Emma Fischel’s humorous fantasy novel for children aged 9+ is a clever, funny book about a boy who struggles with change, anxiety and his parents’ divorce and who decides that he’s going to use his magical powers to punish and bully rather than for good. I especially liked the fact that Ned is really difficult to like for a lot of the book and a lot of the fun comes from his slow realisation about how unpleasant he is and how he reacts to that.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Birdy Jones is all alone.

Dad’s new family means there’s no room left for Birdy. The only place that feels like home is Grandpa’s pigeon loft, amongst the warmth of the birds she loves to race. It’s also where she meets Dogger - her only real friend.

When Birdy uncovers a message from the past, she thinks it explains why she doesn’t ‘fit’ in her family. But the closer she gets to the truth, the further apart she becomes from Dogger. Why is he drifting away when she needs him the most?

Sometimes it’s those we know best who may be hiding the biggest secrets …

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The Verdict:

Joanna Nadin’s contemporary novel for children aged 9+ is a wonderfully observed story of belonging, friendship, grief and working out who you are. The dialogue really conveys the Leeds location and Nadin does a good job of showing the issues involved with having parents in low paid work without over-emphasising it. The Dogger storyline had a neat magical realist vibe, although I wanted more of a resolution.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

On the stroke of midnight, the costumes come to life. And nobody is going to tell them what to do …

Kit’s father is away AGAIN, and although she’s supposed to be staying with her brother and sister, Kit steals away to visit her grandfather at Moonstone Costume Museum.

Once filled with extravagant wonders, the museum is now an ageing house with creaking floorboards and damp walls. The decadent outfits seem dull and lifeless. The fabrics worn and dusty. But there is still magic within Moonstone’s walls, and Kit soon discovers that the old clothes have a secret of their own … because on the stroke of midnight, the costumes come to life. And nobody is going to tell them what to do …

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The Verdict:

Lara Flecker’s debut fantasy novel for children aged 9+ (beautifully illustrated by Trisha Krauss) is a charming affair about the importance of creativity and coming together to help each other out. There’s a bit of an old-fashioned vibe to the story telling but for me that added to its appeal and I think many readers will relate to Kit’s fear that she’s a disappointment to her successful dad and siblings.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

What should have been a simply pick-up turns into a day-long nightmare for Bad Sam Chapman.

When an operational catastrophe puts a gun in the hands of a young man who then breaks into South Oxford Nursery School and take a group hostage, teacher Louise Kennedy fears the worst. But Jaime Segura isn’t there on a homicidal mission, and he’s just as scared as those whose lives he holds as collateral.

As an armed police presence builds outside the school’s gates, Bad Sam Chapman - head of the intelligence services’s internal security force, the Dogs - battles the clock to find out what Jaime is after, before those who are after Jamie find him first …

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The Verdict:

Mick Herron’s deftly plotted, taut spy thriller (set within the same world as the JACKSON LAMB SERIES and featuring bit player Sam Chapman) is a sophisticated ensemble piece set against the backdrop of post invasion Iraq. I loved how Herron splits the action between the characters to convey their viewpoints and the misdirection is masterly but some scenes are repetitive and I didn’t think the overall narrative voice quite worked.

The Blurb On The Back:

It’s always just been Bonnie and Granda, living off the land, keeping to themselves and out of trouble. Until one day, Bonnie goes scavenging on the beach and finds a battered rowing boat, and a bare-footed boy. He’s cold, hungry and in need of shelter. Bonnie knows it’s a crime to help this stranger boy, but she can’t leave him for the border guards to find.

The longer she cares for this boy, who has travelled across oceans for a new beginning, the more Bonnie longs for her own freedom. Perhaps it’s time to escape the life she’s always known, to move out of the darkness and set sail for the house of light ...

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The Verdict:

Julia Green’s literary dystopian novel for children aged 9+ is a delicately written, lyrical and thoughtful affair about the desperation, fear and hope that drives you to leave everything you’ve known. The world building is subtle and clever, the relationship between Bonnie and Granda heartbreaking and Bonnie is a protagonist who it’s easy to empathise with although I thought the ending was a little too pat.

THE HOUSE OF LIGHT was released in the United Kingdom on 6th June 2019. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what’s expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This’ll be the third boyfriend Ayoola’s dispatched in ‘self-defence’ and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede’s long been in love with him, and isn’t prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other ...

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The Verdict:

Oyinkan Braithwaite’s debut literary thriller (long listed for the 2019 Booker Prize and shortlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction) is a tightly written, fast paced and enjoyable account of family ties, secret crushes and casual murder although the story itself is very thin and I was left unconvinced by Korede’s protective attitude towards the selfish, sociopathic Ayoola, Tade is underdeveloped and the ending was, for me, quite weak.

The Blurb On The Back:

We are different ages, genders and traditions ... but tonight we all SLAY

By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is a college student, and one of the only black kids at Jefferson Academy. By night, she joins hundreds of thousands of black gamers who duel worldwide in the secret online VR game, SLAY.

No one knows Kiera is the game developer - not even her boyfriend, Malcolm. But when a teenager is murdered of a dispute in the SLAY world, the media labels it an exclusion isn’t, racist hub for thugs.

With threats coming from both inside and outside the game, Kiera must fight to save the safe space she’s created. But can she protect SLAY without losing herself?

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The Verdict:

Brittney Morris’s debut YA polemic is a mixed bag that’s strong on racial politics, micro aggressions and political pressures within the African American community and it’s great to read a celebration of black American culture. However, the plot is filled with improbabilities and inconsistencies and the focus on the Black American experience comes at the expense of global black experience while toxic masculinity gets a disturbing pass.

SLAY was released in the United Kingdom on 3rd October 2019. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

The case is closed.

Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final-year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

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The Verdict:

Holly Jackson’s debut YA thriller is a page turner that’s perfect for SERIAL obsessed readers that cleverly mixes third person narration with extracts from Pip’s report notes to provide background, advance the plot and allow readers to take stock. However, there’s perhaps too much plot for this novel and some strands don’t get developed as much as they should, while the revelation at the end didn’t quite convince in terms of motivation.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

You’re driving home from work to your husband and children.

Suddenly a woman is in front of your car. She’s being attacked.

You call the police and they tell you to stay in your car.

But what if you got out to help? What might the consequences be?

You save the woman, but the attacker takes your handbag. And your car.

And then, the next day, when you think it’s all over, your husband disappears.

He’s gone without a trace.

And then he texts you. I’m sorry.

But is it really him?

Nothing could prepare you for what happens next ...

Driving home one rainy night, Cassie Larkin sees a man attacking a woman on the side of the road and makes a split-second decision that will throw her sedate suburban life into chaos. Against all reason and advice, she gets out of her car to help.

She saves the woman, but while she helps the victim, the attacker steals her car. Now he has her name. Her address. And he knows about her children.

The next day - Halloween - her husband disappears while trick-or-treating with their six-year-old daughter. Are these disturbing events a coincidence or the beginning of a horrifying nightmare?

As she desperately searches for answers, Cassie discovers that nothing is as random as it seems, and that she is more than willing to fight - to go to the most terrifying extremes - to save her family and her marriage.

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The Verdict:

Heather Chavez’s debut thriller heavily relies on the reader suspending their disbelief and I found it too difficult to overlook the coincidences and contrivances that build the plot to enjoy it - especially as the antagonist proves to be from the stereotypical “bad and mad” stable that made me roll my eyes - such that although it is a pacy read, I can’t say I’ll rush to read her next novel.

NO BAD DEED will be released in the United Kingdom on 20th February 2020. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Siglufjörour: an idyllically quiet fishing village in Northern Iceland, where no one locks their doors - accessible only via a small mountain tunnel.

Ari Thór Arason: a rookie policeman on his first posting, far from his girlfriend in Reykjavik - with a past that he’s unable to leave behind.

When a young woman is found lying half-naked in the snow, bleeding and unconscious, and a highly esteemed, elderly writer falls to his death in the local theatre, Ari is dragged straight into the heart of a community where he can trust no one and secrets and lies are a way of life.

An avalanche and unremitting snowstorms close the mountain pass, and the 24-hour darkness threatens to push Ari over the edge, as curtains begin to twitch, and his investigation becomes increasingly complex, chilling and personal. Past plays tag with the present and the claustrophobic tension mounts, while Ari is thrust even deeper into his own darkness - blinded by snow, and with a killer on the loose.

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The Verdict:

Ragnar Jónasson‘s debut Nordic Noir crime thriller (translated into English by Quentin Bates and the first in a series) makes full use of its atmospheric location to create a sense of choking claustrophobia but the plot meanders and I found myself bored by the emotionally immature Ari Thór and his girlfriend woes, especially as Ari Thór‘s investigation is driven more by happenstance by evidence, such that I am unlikely to check out the sequel.