Review: WE ARE BLOOD AND THUNDER by Kesia Lupo

We Are Blood And Thunder by Kesia Lupo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In a sealed-off city, a young woman, Lena, is running for her life. She has been sentenced to death and her only way to survive is to trust those she has been brought up to fear - those with magic.

On the other side of the locked gates is a masked lady, Constance, determined to find a way back in. Years ago she escaped before her own powers were discovered. But now she won't hide who she is any longer.

A powerful and terrifying storm cloud engulfs the city. But this is more than a thunderstorm. This is a spell, and the truth behind why it has been cast is more sinister than anyone can imagine ... But what neither Lena and Constance realise is that the stormcloud binds them - without it, without each other, neither can get what they desire.

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Firstly, a huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of We Are Blood and Thunder, a thrilling fantasy novel by Kesia Lupo. I went into this book with high expectations and the story surpassed them.

We Are Blood and Thunder tells the story of two young women, Lena and Constance. Lena is a cryptling, a mage, and very much a likeable underdog who, as the novel progresses, embraces her power. Constance is older, the daughter of the duke of Duke’s Forest, powerful, confident, and a mage-in-hiding with a big secret. The narrative alternates between them, and together, the two work to control the storm cloud spell that’s been haunting Duke’s Forest for years.

The worldbuilding in this book is incredible. I loved it SO much. I’ve studied ritual and religion in Prehistory, and one of the notable things about that is the importance of ancestors in many prehistoric religions. Because of my love of prehistoric societies, I’m always so excited when I see ideology regarding ancestors incorporated into worldbuilding, and honestly, reading this book was a delight. Lena’s occupation as a mortician was really interesting, and seeing how she worshipped the ancestors was great.

I love stories about magic, and the magic system in this book is well thought out and, without giving away spoilers, I loved the idea of Chaos and the inclusion of the gods.

The imagery is beautiful. So evocative and visual and there’s something compelling about the way Kesia Lupo writes. I just had to keep reading. Although it took me over a month to read this (not a reflection on the story—rather I prefer to read fantasy novels over a few weeks to really savour them) I never felt lost when returning to the world after a few days. Instead, the book felt like it was welcoming me with a warm embrace.

Lupo’s characterisation is great. When books are told in third person, I am often wary. I don’t know why but I find it easier to relate to protagonists if they’re written in first person. But I felt like I knew both Constance and Lena and even though it’s third person, the narrative style was sufficiently different so I didn’t get it mixed up as to whom I was reading.

Emris, the love interest for Lena, and a man who we know once was something special to Constance, is often the uniting “factor” between the two narratives (just as the butterfly is), indeed bringing the two women together at the end. The chemistry that he has with both Constance and Lena is well-written and believable, and his romance with Lena is gradual, natural, and slow-burning.

Oh, the villains! Where to start? Lupo is amazing at writing those characters that we just want to hate. But we’re given full backstories for them and understand their motivations for their behaviour, so they don’t feel like token evil characters at all.

And the twist at the end? That had me utterly speechless. I had not seen that coming!

One of the things I really love is to understand where the title of a book comes from, and I found myself both grinning manically and nodding somewhat wisely when I realised the significance of “We Are Blood and Thunder.” It felt very authentic and well-done.

This is a great fantasy story and I highly recommend it.

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Review: A KISS IN THE DARK by Cat Clarke

A Kiss in the Dark by Cat Clarke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Can love survive the ultimate betrayal? A compelling story of love and identity from a bestselling author.

When Alex meets Kate the attraction is instant.

Alex is funny, good-looking, and a little shy - everything that Kate wants in a boyfriend.

Alex can't help falling for Kate, who is pretty, charming and maybe just a little naive...

But one of them is hiding an unbelievable secret, and as their love blossoms, it threatens to ruin not just their relationship, but their lives...

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A Kiss in the Dark is, I believe, one of Cat Clarke’s best books. I’ve read several of her other titles, and this is the first one I read in one sitting, devouring the book in 4-5 hours. I just could not put it down.

This is a complicated story of love, deceit, betrayal, and the difference between right and wrong. The twist that comes at the end of the second chapter blew me away—the whole book pivots around this, and I can’t write a thorough review without giving away that spoiler, so be warned. Don’t read on if you don’t want the spoilers!

Right away in chapter one, we’re introduced to Alex (who I read as male). He’s watching a girl at a gig, a girl he’s met online and arranged to meet up with at the gig. Kate is confident, charismatic, and immediately likeable. I’ll be honest; at first, I wasn’t sure that Alex’s intentions were good. There were some creepy vibes I was picking up on, and I was sure there was something we weren’t being told.

And then, bam. We’re told it. He’s a girl and didn’t mean to deceive Kate into thinking she was a boy. She just likes to wear more unisex clothes, and Kate assumed from the start that Alex was a boy. Alex doesn’t correct her, feeling it would be too awkward and embarrassing, and we’re drawn into a somewhat tangled relationship. At first, Alex is pleased that someone likes her—she has no friends at school, and she likes the company. Then she falls in love with Kate, and Kate’s in love with her too (oblivious to Alex’s secret), very much believing that Alex is a boy.

Alex comes up with increasingly drastic ways to keep this allusion going—bandaging her breasts, creating a fake “penis”, wearing her brother’s clothes, and Skyping Kate from her brother’s room.

As much as I wanted to dislike Alex for this deceit, the narrative voice was compelling and I found myself wishing there was a way forward for them and that Alex could be truthful to Kate. I could feel their love, though based on lies it was. I desperately wanted to see this relationship last—even though we know from the start that it doesn’t; the book is told in two parts, before and after Kate finds out. Alex narrates the before section, and Kate the after.

And at the end of part one, Kate does indeed find out Alex’s secret at a point where Alex is convinced it’s all over, having been persuaded by her brother (who learned of what was going on) to break up with Kate and avoid hurt. Yet Kate’s hurt deepens upon the discovery of the deceit. This revelation turns her bitter and looking for revenge—and she goes down the path of accusing Alex of sexual assault.

Immediately, this false accusation annoyed me. I hated Kate (it seemed really out of character, from what I thought I knew of her) and I was desperate for things to turn out okay for Alex who’s facing prison due to Kate’s accusation.

In this book, we see both main characters making a terrible decision that snowballs out of their control and has dire consequences on those around them. It was certainly a captivating read. And the writing itself is lyrical and just wouldn’t let me stop reading.

Neither Alex or Kate identify as LGBTQA+, both insisting at various times that they’re straight, yet by the end both realise they’re in love with each other. This is a powerful exploration of love, free from the restrictions of labels or categorisations being imposed on it, and I’m glad that Kate does admit she’s lying and prevent Alex from going to prison—in part due to the interference of Jamie, Alex’s brother.

Jamie was possibly my favourite character. He’s the kind older brother who’s 18 and into girls and the “uni life”, but still has a logical and sensible head on his shoulders. He definitely plays the role of peacekeeper in this book and always advocates for the truth to be told. When he finds out about his sister’s lies, he tells Alex she can’t continue. Alex is too scared to break up with Kate, so Jamie persuades her to end it and avoid Kate being “stringed along”. And when Kate lies to the police, falsely accusing Alex of assault, it’s Jamie who seeks her out and begs her to do the right thing and not ruin Alex’s whole life. Jamie provided a nice contrast to both characters and was real and believable.

All in all, I highly recommend this read.


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Review: TRULY DEVIOUS by Maureen Johnson

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.”

Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.

True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder. 

The two interwoven mysteries of this first book in the Truly Devious series dovetail brilliantly, and Stevie Bell will continue her relentless quest for the murderers in books two and three.

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Truly Devious is the first book by Maureen Johnson that I’ve read, and all in all, this is a solid mystery.

The narrative voice is refreshing and slightly humorous, with plenty of personality in Stevie’s sections. Integrated with Stevie’s story are third person narrative sections and documents about the original mystery at Ellingham Academy, the kidnapping of a mother and daughter and a student at the school. This is the mystery that Stevie, a budding PI, is investigating 100 years later as her personal project when she’s at the school. Yet it’s not until one of Stevie’s classmates shows up dead does she begin to get answers about the original mystery too.

The writing itself is sophisticated but friendly and there’s definitely a soft YA tone, yet there’s definitely no “writing down to teens”. I’m always a bit wary of books in the third person too—I don’t know why, but I usually find them hard to get into—but Truly Devious pulled me in right away. I think that’s because it starts with the events 100 years ago and we meet Dottie, a very interesting student, and witness her murder, before we even really know what’s happening. This creates lots of tension and ensured I kept reading to the point where I met Stevie and noticed similarities in their characters.

There’s a real sense of character around the school and it feels very real and authentic. I love stories set in boarding schools, and just the tone of the school was really intriguing. We go into the story knowing that the school was the site of previous serious crimes, and it definitely adds a sinister atmosphere, despite Johnson’s efforts to overcome that in the present-day narrative.

The wider setting was one of my favourite things about this book. The school is on an isolated mountain and it reminded me of the “locked room” mysteries of Agatha Christie. References to other crime writers and fictional detectives pop up so many times. You’ve got a lot of Sherlock and Christie references which I loved, and these books have clearly influenced Stevie.

The MC has anxiety! This is one of the first YA stories I’ve read where the central character has anxiety, but the book isn’t solely about that. Stevie’s mental illness isn’t the central thing to the story and she proves that she can get things done and be a true MC even though she has anxiety.

The characterisation is also really done. All the central characters are well-written, constructed realistically, and they have flaws that they themselves acknowledge.

Plus, there’s a little romance! No spoilers here, but I did find the love interest a bit confusing. I never really understood him and was wary of him at several points—but the ending made it clear that this was intentional.

And the ending—this is the reason this book is a 3.5 I’m afraid. Until the ending, this story was a solid 4 stars, maybe even higher. I went into this book knowing that it’s the start of a trilogy, but for me it seemed like the story was just cut off at the end. Too many things were left in the air, and it lacked a sense of resolution to all the major plot points in book one. We don’t get the answers we’re seeking (only half answers), and instead we’re suddenly faced with a big piece of new info, which I felt wasn’t given enough time to breathe. Stevie hints to us that she knows how it could be related to the past and present-day crimes, but for me there just wasn’t enough solid info given. I’d expected that we would’ve found out what happened to Iris and Alice Ellingham (who killed/kidnapped them) but it’s left vague. We’re also given a potential suspect for the present-day murder, but that too is left vague. And it’s this vagueness that unfortunately really disappointed me—to the extent that I’m not sure I’ll pick up book two as I’m worried that we’ll only really get answers in the final book.

Review: YOU by Caroline Kepnes (with references to the Netflix show)

You by Caroline Kepnes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When aspiring writer Guinevere Beck strides into the bookstore where Joe works, he is instantly smitten.

But there's more to Joe than Beck realises and much more to Beck than her perfect facade. And the obsessive relationship quickly spirals into a whirlwind of deadly consequences...

A chilling account of unrelenting, terrifying deceit, Caroline Kepnes' You is a thriller more perversely clever and dangerously twisted than any YOU have ever read.
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(This review contains spoilers for both the book and the Netflix show)

So, I only discovered this book because of the Netflix show. Usually I like to read the book first, but I’d just finished the show when I saw the ebook was on sale, so I snagged a copy. Having watched the tv adaptation meant that I was constantly reading YOU through the lens of the show. I was constantly comparing, noting the similarities and differences, examining how the different mediums added—and detracted—from the story. Therefore, this review is going to contain a lot of comparisons between the story in both mediums, as I can’t really review the book without comparing it to the show, given the complex narrative style that is present in both. I also believe my reading of the book was informed greatly by prior knowledge of the show, so as I was reading it with the show in my mind, I feel my review should reflect this.

From watching the show, I hadn’t expected the narrative voice of the book to be as strong—you’ve got a voice over in the majority of the scenes in the show—and I was curious as to how the book would portray Joe’s commentary. I’d even doubted whether it could portray it to such a powerful extent, but I was wrong. How’s commentary was stronger in the book than a show. I recognised many of the same lines which was a delight, but whereas Joe’s voiceovers in the show were added to scenes and we still saw the action, in the book, it pretty much feels like absolutely everything is given to use through Joe’s direct address commentary where he talks in his head to Beck, and recounts her dialogue and their conversations amid this internal monologuing. It’s almost exhausting to read.

Joe is a truly fascinating character. He’s cold, ruthless, a murderer, stalker, and a psychopath, yet he justifies all his actions to us in his narration. He’s strangely likeable and there was something disturbingly alluring in reading his narrative. His voice just grabs you and keeps you reading as you wonder just how far he’ll go to pursue Beck.

Unlike the show, the book tells us early on that Joe has murdered before he meets Beck. (Spoiler ahead—skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to read it.) Whereas the show reveals Candice is alive, the book tells us early on that Joe murdered her when she broke up with him. Knowing how dangerous Joe is, right from the start, really heightens the tension and makes us concerned for Beck.

Beck, the female MC, is just as interesting in the book as she is in the show. She’s a writer, she’s lost, she sleeps around, she’s insecure and looking for validation, she has huge ambitions. Yet, with the book however, I found her slightly harder to picture, in that she didn’t feel as “true and real”. By that I mean, her characterisation is still strong and well written, but we see her only through Joe’s eyes in the book, rather than the more omniscient point of view in the show. This meant for me that I found it slightly harder to root for Beck as a character when reading her; I didn’t feel like I really knew her, and this was only added to by the use of direct address—Joe constantly refers to her as “you”. This book is his love letter to Beck, and he writes it as an explanation of why he (spoiler alert!) murdered her. This narrative voice means there’s distance between the reader and Beck, and I firmly believe that’s the author’s intention as where our connection to Beck lacks, our bond with Joe strengthens.

The show had many added characters—such as the boy who lives next door to Joe—and the book had equally many characters who didn’t appear in the show. Or who appear in a different way. Whereas Ethan is a permanent fixture in the bookshop in the show, he’s only in the book from about the 50% mark onward. But I was glad to see the book still has his romance with Blythe. She was definitely one of the most interesting characters in the show, and her personality and voice is portrayed beautifully in the text too, despite seeing it all through Joe (who predominantly only hears of her from Beck). It’s definitely a framed narrative/Chinese Box kind of story with Blythe, and I loved how this raised questions of reliability. In the book, do we ever know the true Blythe as nearly everything we learn of her is told to us via Joe who has his own agenda and biases?

Both the book and the show deliver a harrowing warning about social media, a story of stalking and murder (which I found myself also comparing to the narrative in A LONG FATAL LOVE CHASE by Louisa May Alcott, which begins and ends in the same way), and warns readers beautifully that you can never know the true thoughts of someone around you. This is a story of lies and deceit, of passion and insanity, of love and murder. There’s also *a lot* of sex in the book. A lot more than the show.

YOU is a complex story, beautifully written, and I’ve never read anything like it before. But I believe that I only enjoyed it as much as I did because I had the context of the show as background. I already had a framework to map this story onto as I read. And given how unique it’s narrative style is, this helped immensely. I’m sure if I’d come to the book first, I’d have felt lost and not quite sure what was happening at several points.

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