Review: The Geomagician

The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A decent story, but too much politics and not enough dinosaurs.

From the beginning, it had promise - a woman finds a pterodactyl egg that hatches in her hands, leaving her with a live dinosaur specimen. She's big on science, so her first instinct is to get in touch with her mentor so that she can share this special find with the scientific community.

Naturally, there's a romance sub-plot, so enter her ex-fiancé that she hates (i.e. still loves) for some abstract reason that's clearly all one big misunderstanding, and they have to grudgingly work together. But oh it turns out he's actually quite nice and helpful and, oh, damn how handsome he is.

So Mary travels to London with her mentor, her ex and her witchy BFF, where drama ensues as Mary tries to prove herself to the scientific community while witchy friend gets embroiled in politics and cue me starting to drift off.

There just wasn't enough of the fantasy/magic element to suck me right in. The scientific aspects were interesting but this was mostly overshadowed by Mary's womanhood and how inappropriate it was in a world of science, etc. Obviously set in the Victorian era, it's accurate treatment, but it just wasn't interesting to me. I wanted more interaction with Ajax - not for her to just leave him in a cage at the pleasure of others.

The magic aspects were interesting, and I enjoyed their integration with science. There were some interesting ideas in the competing theories, but the obstinance from characters could be quite frustrating at times.

Speaking of, Mary herself is not particularly likeable. She's stubborn and proud and acts as though her opinions are the only opinions. It does get rather tiring.

Add in all the political machinations of the best friend and I did find my mind drifting off, dreaming of dinosaurs.

I do think those interested in the Victorian era will be entertained by this, and I don't think a love and/or appreciation of dinosaurs is necessary. You could substitute Ajax for any big scientific discovery and it would be about the same. The history is the emphasis here, with the fantasy coming in second.

It wasn't a bad story at all, it just wasn't what I wanted from a dinosaur story. Underwhelming, but will be better appreciated by fans of historical fiction looking for something with a unique, magical twist.


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Review: Her Frankenstein

Her Frankenstein by Norikazu Kawashima
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun little horror story, simple but twisted.

A sick girl, and a boy who is desperate to impress her - what follows is a bizarre story of devotion and identity, as the boy puts on his Frankenstein mask to become Hers.

As with all of the Smudge titles I've read, I enjoyed the randomness of the story, and the twisted nature. This one was much more straightforward, and as such I found I enjoyed digging into the themes a little more. There's plenty to unpack here if you have the time.

Another fun installation in the series, but also a great standalone horror story.


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Review: Paper Girls

Paper Girls by Alex Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun crime story, simple to follow but still with enough action to drive it. An interesting cast of characters and a likeable protagonist.

I liked this from the outset. We've got a detective who's trying to move on from the disappearance of his wife (leaving the case in the hands of his capable colleagues) so he's relocated to a new town with his three daughters. Unfortunately, he's moved to a town where girls have gone missing, and he soon finds himself caught up in the case.

This was well-balanced in terms of the police work and the family life. There are some humourous moments involving the kids, and they add a lightness to the story while also emphasising the importance of finding the missing girls. There's also plenty of action and typical police work to round it all out.

The case was interesting, and there was enough momentum to keep me invested.

I enjoyed this so much that I went straight into the sequel. This is the beginning of a fantastic new crime series and I highly recommend it, particularly to those who have Kindle Unlimited as this one's a freebie right now (so, I believe, is the rest of the series).


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Review: Watch Her Run

Watch Her Run by Jennifer Moorhead
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Narrated by Jess Moran, Pete Cross
Presented by Brilliance Audio

An underwhelming thriller but still a twisty sort of read with lots of red herrings and plenty to keep you guessing!

I think my biggest issue was I just didn't like the protagonist from the outset. She's the rich girl with the overbearing mother who is all about reputation, and her footballer fiance who is more concerned with his career than his impending marriage. And for some reason, everything is being done on camera, because our girl is a STAR despite seemingly having no interest in anything that's going on.

I won't lie - this is an audiobook I did eventually find myself tuning out of. It's a Misery -esque set up, where Jade finds herself waking up in a stranger's house after a dramatic accident. The woman claims she's only helping Jade, but things don't seem to add up.

Added to this, there's a lot of patchy references to Jade's secret past that never quite deliver enough to be satisfying OR intriguing. None of it seems relevant, even though we all know it will be eventually.

So I guess the setup, while intriguing, didn't really work as much as I wanted it to. It felt a little too jumbled and there were a lot of things mixed into the story that made it more confusing rather than interesting.

The twists and turns were many, and eventually I think I kind of stopped caring. I enjoyed the videographer narration but even that fell flat for me towards the end, so by the time his identity was revealed I'd kind of forgotten we cared who it was.

This may be one that would have entertained me more if I'd physically read it. I think the narrators did a fine job, and they injected plenty of character into the voices, but there wasn't really enough excitement in the read to keep me captivated. I may have had better luck trying to puzzle things out through a physical read.

It's not a bad book at all, and I think crime fans will still enjoy it. It was just a little underwhelming to hold my attention the way I wanted it to.

With thanks to NetGalley for a copy

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Review: The Thicket

The Thicket by Noelle W. Ihli
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed the story, but it was definitely an underwhelming finish.

It begins with murder, and we leap pretty quickly into the viewpoint of the killer, so there's not a whole lot of mystery there.

This is more about how one deals with grief and guilt, as the sister of one of the victims is our main protagonist. She feels responsible for what happened to her brother, and she doesn't quite know how to move on. So she re-visits the site of the murder - The Thicket - hoping to find closure, but gets more than she bargained for.

The Thicket of the title is a Halloween spectacle, full of terror and twists that have people screaming constantly. It includes haunted horror cabins and a spooky corn maze, plus food trucks that sell mini-doughnuts because that is also important.

We get a few different eyes on things - the sister, Norah, her classmate, Taylor, and of course, the Killer. It gives us a well-rounded look at the thing, from victim, perpetrator and bystander. I enjoyed that aspect of this story, because it did help really round it out.

Naturally, the killer comes back for round 2, otherwise this wouldn't be much of a horror story. What follows is underwhelming in execution, though it does feel necessary to the story.

I think maybe it was trying too hard to clean things up. My favourite part of the story was getting to know the characters, and how they all felt about the initial murder. The rest felt inevitable and it was fun enough but it just didn't quite hit the mark.

Still, a great Halloween read with a great setting and some interesting character exploration.

With thanks to NetGalley for a copy

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Review: Until the Last Light Goes Out

Until the Last Light Goes Out by Courtney Gould
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Crazy addictive! Could not get enough of this, but also couldn't read before bed because it was spooky! 😂

An abandoned island resort is our setting where, 25 years earlier, all but 5 students from an entire senior class were found dead. Now the daughter of one of those survivors has returned for a memorial, only to discover her best friend has gone missing. Paige knows KJ was obsessed with the mystery, so she has no choice but to enter the resort that haunts her if she wants to see her friend again.

This is a supernatural horror that still manages to feel quite real, and I really enjoyed embracing the story. From the get-go, things are strange and don't seem to add up, and as a reader you're really left scratching your head, trying to figure out what's happening.

The tension is real, and I genuinely had to put it down early to avoid nightmares! This is the kind of story that creeps under your skin and makes you think about all the 'what if's. I loved it!

The character progression and growth was quite interesting, and I enjoyed the dual timelines as it gave more questions than answers and I was keen on unravelling the mystery.

All in all, it was a brilliantly creepy book, perfect for the Halloween season! Highly recommend for horror fans who don't mind a twist of the supernatural.

With thanks to NetGalley for a copy

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Review: The Serial Killer Survivors Club: The Bold and Heartstopping Thriller from Bestselling Author Fiona Cummins

The Serial Killer Survivors Club: The Bold and Heartstopping Thriller from Bestselling Author Fiona Cummins by Fiona Cummins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun new take on serial killer tropes.

I enjoyed getting know the cast, though I did want a little more of the awesome foursome rather than just Sulky and Bliss.

The in-between chapters were well written, and I thought it was cleverly detailed.

The tension stays solid in those chapters, but the rest of the story is more about trauma bonding and friendship.

At times the story felt a little slow, but it did well with character exploration in those moments so I didn't mind.

Honestly, I enjoyed it from start to finish, and it had some great moments. I'd easily recommend it for crime fans.

With thanks to NetGalley for a copy

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