Review: Runemarks - Joanne M. Harris

Runemarks by Joanne M. Harris, published by Gollancz on 20th April 2017


Goodreads synopsis:
It's been five hundred years since the end of the world and society has rebuilt itself anew. The old Norse gods are no longer revered. Their tales have been banned. Magic is outlawed, and a new religion - the Order - has taken its place.

In a remote valley in the north, fourteen-year-old Maddy Smith is shunned for the ruinmark on her hand - a sign associated with the Bad Old Days. But what the villagers don't know is that Maddy has skills. According to One-Eye, the secretive Outlander who is Maddy's only real friend, her ruinmark - or runemark, as he calls it - is a sign of Chaos blood, magical powers and gods know what else..

Now, as the Order moves further north, threatening all the Worlds with conquest and Cleansing, Maddy must finally learn the truth to some unanswered questions about herself, her parentage, and her powers.

Review:

I thought that ‘Runemarks’ was magnificent and one of Joanne M. Harris’s best books. I loved ‘The Gospel of Loki’ which I’d read previously and this was just as good, if not better.  

It’s aimed at a YA audience, although the story is so sophisticated and the adventure so thrilling that I think adults would also enjoy it.  

I really love Norse mythology and tales about the Gods – Loki, Thor and Odin. I’ll admit that I don’t always remember every one of the varied cast of characters but I enjoy reading about them immensely, especially Loki the Trickster. I only wish that my knowledge and understanding was better so that I could appreciate all of the nuances even more.

Harris has done an incredible job weaving a story around them. The catalyst for the tale is a young girl called Maddy who lives in the small village of Malbry and has a special mark on her hand – a runemark no less, which gives her magical abilities. She also has an unusual friendship with a one-eyed stranger who visits her every year.     

Maddy and her journey through the World Below with Loki (am I the only one that pictures Tom Hiddleston in my mind every time he is mentioned?!) was thrilling to read and kept me gripped for all 513 pages of this bumper book. There are twists and turns aplenty, as well as tons of excitement and adventure and some life and death situations thrown into the mix too. I loved it all!  

I really need to read ‘Runelight’ now. I didn’t even know that there was a follow-on when I started reading this book but now I want it desperately. ‘Runemarks’ had me enthralled and I can’t wait to continue the adventure.

Review: Fire in You - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Fire in You by Jennifer L. Armentrout, published by Hodder on 27th April 2017
Goodreads synopsis:
Six years ago, Jillian Lima's whole world was destroyed. The same night her childhood love Brock Mitchell broke her heart, her life was irrevocably altered by a stranger with a gun. After years spent slowly rebuilding the shattered pieces of her life, Jillian is finally ready to stop existing in a past full of pain and regret and is determined to start living. The one thing she never expected was the impossibly handsome Brock walking back into her life...

Brock can't believe that the breathtaking woman standing before him now is the little girl who used to be his shadow growing up. Unable to stay away from each other, their tentative friendship soon sparks into something more and the red-hot chemistry sizzling between them can no longer be denied. But falling for Brock again risks more than just Jillian's heart. When the past resurfaces, and a web of lies threatens to rip them apart, the fallout could lay waste to everything they've ever cared about...

Review:

‘Fire in You’ was a sizzling and sensational romance. I absolutely loved it. Jennifer L. Armentrout is one of my favourite authors and she hands down writes the BEST romances.

It’s funny because when I started reading this book, I wasn’t completely sold on the character of Brock. He seemed to have just waltzed back into Jillian’s life on a whim and he appeared overly cocky and arrogant. But then I began to fall for him as he showed his softer more caring side. He won’t give up on Jillian and is determined to prove to her that he is there to stay. By the second half of the book I wanted them to get together so badly.

I loved Jillian. She’s been in love with Brock ever since she was a little girl. She has never loved anyone else like she loves him. She’s also incredibly brave and has had to overcome the events of one terrible night which is continually hinted at throughout the first half of the story. 

I really liked the setting of the book and the backgrounds of the characters. Jillian comes from a long line of Lima’s, who run a very successful family business. They own a string of mixed martial arts facilities where they train fighters. Brock is one of their MMA champions. These are definitely not your traditional occupations but I enjoyed reading about them.   

As Brock begins to break through Jillian’s defences, she starts to open up to him and shows him a side of her that she had long hidden. I loved the scenes where they begin to get to know each other again. They were perfectly written and one of my favourite parts of the book.

‘Fire in You’ was absolutely fantastic and such a treat to read. I’m eager now to get my hands on all of the other books in the series. There were lots of different characters and couples referenced throughout the story and I’m looking forward to reading more about how they all ended up together.:

Review: Crimson and Bone - Marina Fiorato

Crimson and Bone by Marina Fiorato, published by Hodder and Stoughton on 18th May 2017


Goodreads synopsis:
London, 1853.
Annie Stride is a beautiful, flame-haired young woman from the East End of London. She is also a whore. On a bleak January night Annie stands on Waterloo Bridge, watching the icy waters of the Thames writhe beneath her as she contemplates throwing herself in. At the last minute she's rescued by a handsome young man.
Her saviour, Francis Maybrick Gill, is a talented artist. He takes Annie as his muse, painting her again and again and transforming her from a fallen woman into society's darling, taking her far away from her old life.
But there is darkness underpinning Annie's lavish new lifestyle. In London and in Florence, prostitutes are being murdered. There's someone out there who knows who Annie really is - and they won't let her forget where she came from...

Review:
I am always eager to read anything by Marina Fiorato because her stories are captivating and her writing is beautifully lyrical and descriptive. Her newest offering, ‘Crimson and Bone’, was a real treat and I devoured it in a couple of evenings.  

The story focuses on a common prostitute, Annie Stride, who at the beginning of the book is ready to end it all. Life has not been kind to her and down on her luck, she decides that she doesn’t want to live anymore. Events however, take a different turn, when she is saved by a handsome painter, Francis Maybrick Gill, who offers her comfort and safety in return for her becoming his model.

At the beginning of each chapter, Annie’s story is accompanied by that of Mary Jane who was Annie’s best friend. At the start of the book, I wasn’t entirely sure why this was included, but as Annie’s story progresses, it made a lot more sense and all the threads of their stories wove together brilliantly at the end.

My favourite part of the book was actually the beginning which was set in London. It was interesting to see Annie adjust to her new surroundings and gradually become more refined under Francis’s tutelage. She revels in no longer having to share her body with a man and in being protected by someone with seemingly pure and good motives. The other two parts of the book are set in Florence and Venice. I could sense Marina Fiorato’s love of these places in the way the language of the book flowed so easily in these sections and in the way she described Annie’s surroundings.
  
The tension built throughout as the story headed towards a revealing and shocking finale.  I was utterly gripped until the final page as revelations about the main characters come to light.  Overall, 'Crimson and Bone' was a hugely entertaining read and one that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Review: One Italian Summer - Keris Stainton

One Italian Summer by Keris Stainton, published by Hot Key Books on 4th May 2017


Goodreads synopsis:
Milly loves her sisters more than anything - they are her best friends. But this holiday is different. The loss of their dad has left a gaping hole in their lives that none of them know how to fill. Heartbreak is a hard thing to fix ...

Still, there is plenty to keep the girls busy in Rome. A family wedding. Food, wine, parties and sun. And of course Luke .... Luke is hot, there is no way around that. And Milly will always have a crush on him. But this summer is about family, being together, and learning to live without Dad. It isn't about Luke at all ... is it?

Review:
I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of One Italian Summer by Keris Stainton. I bumped it straight to the top of my TBR pile. I’ve loved all of the books I’ve read previously by this author so I couldn’t wait to dive right in. Initially, I thought that the book was going to be quite a light and breezy read. The story is set in Rome and follows three sisters and their mother, as they embark on holiday. This, however, is the first time they have been to Rome without their father. His death has hit them hard and they are all dealing with it in different ways. Grief and bereavement are prominent themes in the book which made some parts quite difficult to read. I felt very emotional while reading certain scenes which really packed a punch. This definitely wasn’t what I was expecting and made this title far more than just a summery, beach read. 

I really loved the relationship between the three sisters, Milly, Leonie and Elyse. It was refreshing to see their sibling bond portrayed in such a positive light, as there seem to be so many books where all the sisters ever do is bicker and squabble. It was interesting to see how each of them coped with their feelings about their father’s death and how his passing had changed their lives. 

The middle sister, Milly, narrates the story, so events are seen through her eyes. She is afraid that everything will be different now that her Dad isn’t with them. She has a constant fear of letting the people around her go. She worries that something might happen to them, which in light of events, is completely understandable. She is also afraid to see Luke, the boy that she has had a crush on for as long as she can remember. As readers, we know that something significant happened between them but we’re not quite sure what until later in the book. Although I thought that the issue of grief was handled well in the story, I wasn’t as convinced by the romance between Milly and Luke. I’m not really sure why but I just didn’t particularly see them being together. This made the whole thing fall a bit flat for me. 

Personally, I enjoyed the fact that the theme of family was at the centre of the book. It was interesting to see how the dynamics of their family had changed and adapted and how the summer trip to Rome brought them all closer together.

If you are looking for a YA contemporary read with real heart then look no further than ‘One Italian Summer’.                

Review: Girlhood - Cat Clarke

Girlhood by Cat Clarke, published by Quercus Children's Books on 4th May 2017


Goodreads synopsis:
Harper has tried to forget the past and fit in at expensive boarding school Duncraggan Academy. Her new group of friends are tight; the kind of girls who Harper knows have her back. But Harper can't escape the guilt of her twin sister's Jenna's death, and her own part in it - and she knows noone else will ever really understand.

But new girl Kirsty seems to get Harper in ways she never expected. She has lost a sister too. Harper finally feels secure. She finally feels...loved. As if she can grow beyond the person she was when Jenna died. Then Kirsty's behaviour becomes more erratic. Why is her life a perfect mirror of Harper's? And why is she so obsessed with Harper's lost sister? Soon, Harper's closeness with Kirsty begins to threaten her other relationships, and her own sense of identity. How can Harper get back to the person she wants to be, and to the girls who mean the most to her?

Review:
‘Girlhood’ by Cat Clarke is good but I’m afraid that I can’t rave about it like I could with some of her previous books. I did enjoy it and it was well-written but for me, the story itself fell a little short.

It is set at a Scottish all girls boarding school. I love, love, love stories which feature boarding schools. I think this can be traced back to adoring series like the Chalet School and St Clares when I was younger and more recently Robin Stevens Murder Most Unladylike books. It makes for such a brilliant setting for a story.

The first few chapters of ‘Girlhood’ introduce the reader to the main character Harper and her three best friends Rowan, Ama and Lily. There is some background provided to Harper’s family history and Harper confesses that she feels responsible for her sister’s death. Now, at this point, I was expecting the book to develop into a psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns and surprises along the way. That has typically been the formula with most of Cat Clarke’s other books and is something that I always enjoy. Instead, we are presented with a story which focuses mainly on an exploration of the relationship between best friends. In Harper’s case, her friends are like her family. They tell each other everything, spend practically all of their time together and live in each other’s pockets. The close bond between the girls is upset when the dynamic shifts with the arrival of new girl Kirsty. Suddenly their tight little group of four, doesn’t feel quite so cosy anymore.   

When I reflect on the story, I honestly don’t feel that an awful lot happened and that contributed to the slow pace of the narrative. The focus is firmly on how Kirsty’s arrival affects the relationship between Harper and her friends and how things change as they begin to ready themselves for the next step in their lives.

There were some parts which I thought might have been expanded on more, such as the events surrounding Harper’s sister’s death and there were some bits which I felt seemed less than believable, such as the reaction of the girls at the end of the book. With regards to the latter, it appeared that everything was leading up to a big showdown at the end of the story which then didn’t really happen.  

I know that it must sound like I didn’t particularly enjoy ‘Girlhood’ but the truth is that I did. I guess the problem was that I had certain pre-conceived ideas about the book which didn’t match up to the reality of reading it. Although this wasn’t a five star read for me, I have loved some of Cat Clarke’s other books in the past and will still be looking out for new titles by her in the future.

Review: Girls Can't Hit - T.S Easton

Girls Can't Hit by T.S Easton, published by Hot Key Books on 20th April 2017


Goodreads synopsis:
Fleur Waters never takes anything seriously - until she turns up at her local boxing club one day, just to prove a point. She's the only girl there, and the warm-up alone is exhausting . . . but the workout gives her an escape from home and school, and when she lands her first uppercut on a punching bag she feels a rare glow of satisfaction. So she goes back the next week, determined to improve.

Fleur's overprotective mum can't abide the idea of her entering a boxing ring, why won't she join her pilates class instead? Her friends don't get it either and even her boyfriend, 'Prince' George, seems concerned by her growing muscles and appetite - but it's Fleur's body, Fleur's life, so she digs her heels in and carries on with her training. When she finally makes it into the ring, her friends and family show their support and Fleur realises that sometimes in life it's better to drop your guard and take a wild swing!

Review:
‘Girls Can’t Hit’ is the third book I’ve read by T.S Easton and I think my favourite one yet. The story centres around a teenager called Fleur who gets bitten by the boxing bug and soon finds herself itching to get inside the ring.

I found that the story started quite slowly and initially I wasn’t sure if it was going to be my kind of book. The first few chapters focused on Fleur and her friends Pip and Blossom who all live in a small village near to the site of the Battle of Hastings. They spend their Saturdays dressed as Saxon peasants, talking to tourists about the Battle and the history of the site. Although the start was slow, what really got me hooked was when Fleur discovers a local boxing club. What starts initially as a protest against the division between men and women’s’ only boxing nights, turns into a real passion for Fleur.

I loved seeing how Fleur channels all of her time and energy into her new hobby. She starts cycling with her Dad, she lifts weights, she trains hard and she eats like she’s never eaten before! Although I’ve never boxed, I do run and I know the discipline it takes to train and get yourself into physical shape. Fleur’s newfound love of boxing isn’t embraced by everyone though and she finds herself at odds with her Mum and at times her friends, over the amount of time she is spending on it.

There is an underlying message about feminism and equal rights in the book, but personally, what really struck a chord with me, was how boxing makes Fleur more confident and ultimately improves her relationships with those close to her. She has a fractious relationship with her Mum which takes a different turn near the end of the story, her Dad loves getting to spend time with her on their bikes and her friends gradually begin to see a new side of her. There’s also Tarik, a handsome boxer at the club, who definitely catches Fleur’s eye.

This turned out to be a brilliantly entertaining read which at times made me laugh out loud. I’d love a follow-up book all about what happens to Fleur next.