New Release Book Review: Waking Romeo by Kathryn Barker

I saw this cover (fabulous) and read a review on this novel a while ago and I was intrigued enough to want to read it and I’m so glad I did. This was a fabulous read, something so different to anything else I’ve read, time-travel, dystopian fiction, romance, built on a classic novel, so many different aspects that made up this unique novel. The world has essentially ended, humans have destroyed the earth and resources are limited, but with the invention of pods, people can travel forwards only, into the future, hopeful of a better life.

When the book starts it is 2083 and Juliet (Jules) is not in a good place, the love of her life, Romeo is in a coma after a tragic accident 2 years beforehand that left Jules with a dead arm and feeling even more on the outer than she did before. The actual events of that night and those leading up to them are uncovered slowly as the story progresses, but all is not as it would appear and Jules will face a lot of truths, ones she has deluded herself into believing, ones she has written into a story The Love Story of Juliet and Romeo, written in the style of Shakespeare, and ones that she has been told are the truth but aren’t.

Ellis, a deadender, a traveller from the future, but also from the past, is charged with the mission to wake Romeo and is transported back to 2083 where he encounters Jules and together they work to do just that. Jules was under the impression you could only travel forwards in time and needed a pod to do so, but Ellis throws this and many other of her beliefs into disarray.

There is a lot to get your head around in this novel, especially the jumping back and forwards in time, the different timelines and how they play out, the memories and Jules’ story, but if you go in with an open mind then you’ll be in for one hell of a ride. This would have been a five star read if it hadn’t been for the final couple of chapters where for the first time I did struggle to get my head around the time travel/ consequences aspect, but I will get this out of the library again and reread those chapters, and hopefully, it will all become clear.

I loved the way the author has played with Shakespears story, but not only Shakespear but another classic author, Emily Bronte for who Ellis was the inspiration of her classic story.

An ingenious novel.

New Release Book Review: The Ghost Squad by Sophie Masson

This was a really great read, I’ve been reading a lot more speculative fiction so far this year, a genre I used to read a lot of, but one I seem to have neglected over the last couple of years.

This is the first book I’ve read by Sophie Masson who has a large number of books to her name.

The Ghost Squad was a really novel idea, one I found very interesting. What if you had the opportunity to find out what was really on the other side when you die? Due to a Pulse that wipes out all electronics, there is an unexpected side effect, one that has been kept from the general public, people who one group call the ‘gulls’, a secret that could change everything. There are two organisations, The Ghost Squad and the Base, both who have their own agendas and both believe they are the right ones. Three different groups of people are discovered after the Pulse, this is the secret that is being kept, (I don’t want to give too much away). Of the three groups of people who come out of the Pulse, I’m not too sure which one I would want to be in, and whether I would want to know if I was aware of them.

Some of the terminology was confusing at the beginning and I wish I’d realised there was a glossary at the back because I probably would have read this first so I didn’t feel so confused, but everything became clear as the story unfolded.

The three main characters Swan, Polly and Kel all come from differing backgrounds. Kel knows all about the secret, he has one of the unexpected side effects to come out of the Pulse. Polly is part of the general public, going about her own business, completely unaware of what is being kept from society, Swan works with the Base, but after meeting Polly and Kel, his beliefs and loyalty are tested. I liked these characters a lot, especially Kel, I had a soft spot for him.

This book was full of twists and turns, conspiracies, relationships, secrets, danger and action. I really couldn’t foretell anything that was going to happen and it wasn’t always clear who to trust or who to believe. There were plenty of people and factions to be wary of along the way and there were some unexpected allies too.

I recommend this if you are looking for something engaging and different. I feel there should be a sequel because I think there is so much more to uncover and fight for, but I’ve been told there is nothing planned at this point. It does end in a way that is satisfactory, I just want more.

Thanks to Midnight Sun Publishing for providing me with a copy of this novel in return for an honest review.

New Release Book Review: Mountain Arrow by Rachel Hennessy

Mountain Arrow, book #2 of The Burning Days trilogy was hard to put down. Picking up from just after the end of River Stone, I was immediately taken straight back to the dystopian world of a time after The Burning, knowing now that creatures, feral or chimera exist, but not knowing how they came to be, only that they possibly pose a great danger to the people of the Mountain and River tribes.

Despite having read book #1 in May last year, I was easily able to remember the trials and the journey that Pan, Bayat and their friends had been on, and the outcomes of that journey.

Separated again, Pan back with the River people and Bayat back with the Mountain people, Pan is trying to make peace with what she knows and with having to once again live for the greater good.

Pan is faced with decisions, does she follow her own path, or live the one her people have laid out for her, (she was only slightly annoying once or twice in this book compared to my annoyance with her in book #1, her indecision between Bayat and Matthew, being my only bugbear).

When Bayat and his people show up asking for help, and then another group of survivors stumbles into their village, along with the issue of Emmaline, who was bitten in book one, turning into a creature, and secrets being unearthed, Pan and Bayat must once again go on a journey, this time to find answers and hopefully their friend Fatima who went missing in River Stone.

There are plenty of secrets unearthed in book #2 and plenty of danger coming from several directions. Mountain Arrow kept me interested the whole time.

I have no idea how the end is going to conclude, but I can’t wait to see if Pan and Bayat manage to achieve the goal they decide upon at the end of Mountain Arrow, I’m looking forward to the final book City Knife, next year.

Thanks to Midnight Sun Publishing for a copy of this novel in return for an honest review.