Review: Perfectly Preventable Deaths

Perfectly Preventable Deaths by Deirdre Sullivan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I honestly have no fking clue what the hell just happened.

Alright, look.

I wasn't really sure what this book was about, going into it, and I'm not entirely sure I know much better on the other side of it.

Here's what the blurb says: Sixteen-year-old sisters Maddy and Catlin have just moved to the isolated Irish town of Ballyfrann. Normally close, they find their paths diverging, as Catlin falls in love and Maddy falls ... into powers?

My run down would be similar, but I would expand on Maddy's powers being rather witchy (the fact that every chapter is a plant/herb/flower and its medicinal use is a bit of a hint) and also isolated Ballyfrann being a fkn WEIRD place.

To be perfectly honest, I was pretty bored for the first 200-odd pages, and did a fair bit of skimming. There's a lot of info about how close the sisters (twins, btw) are and how they're having a hard time fitting in, although Maddy is the weird one and Catlin is the popular one. There's a lot of random boring school stuff (which actually doesn't seem to involve any kind of classes), and the older boy that Catlin is interested in hangs out at the school so much that I was trying to figure out if I'd accidentally skipped over the explanation of why this older kid is still a student there (he's not, he's just a creeper who hangs out at the school). There are conversations between the kids that I really didn't care about, and the relationships are so watery and pale and lifeless that I just didn't care anything about them.

As for the characters, I just couldn't really get a read on any of them, except for Lon who was just a creep from the beginning. Did not like him a single bit. Maddy is quirky but she spends so much time focusing on boring things that reading from her POV is super dull. Catlin is the typical 'popular sister' who cares more about boys than her sister even though she professes this to be false. Oona was ehhhh and aside from being French didn't really have much of a personality at all, and Mamo is clearly batsh*t insane and could have been a lot of fun but was basically wasted on Maddy's ramblings. I don't think any of them were really described particularly well, so I never got a feel for who they were or what was driving them. It was a bit disappointing because I feel like there was a lot of potential that was wasted.

So here's me reading this totally boring tween story about fitting in and then there's suddenly random dead animals? Just lying on the side of the road? With no explanation? This is not a spoiler, this happens like on Day 1, and it's just so chill that it's a non-event? That confused me so much.

Here's the deal - most of this book is entirely dull and lifeless but then you get all these random super dark moments and it's like you're reading an entirely different story. I freaking LOVED the dark stuff but it was so jarring and awkward!

There was just so much wasted potential with this story, and the way it ended it felt like it'd just been setting the whole scene for an epic series of witchy adventures but ... it's a standalone? If I'm wrong about that someone please correct me, because the only way this book makes sense is if it's setting up for a series. On it's own its just ... a mess.

Spoiler thoughts:
(view spoiler)[
-Turns out the whole town is full of 'weird' people. Eg. The Collinses are shape-shifters. Why make a town full of strange creatures and then not use any of them?! What a waste!
-Mamo turned out to be kind of a villain at the end? Yet the whole way through, Maddy constantly turns to her for help/advice. The relationship between the two is just super confusing.
-The whole deal with their mum and dad. The whole, secret witchy past. Why not give us the details? This is one of the things that had me mystified about it being a standalone. So many unanswered questions! And what the heck did that ending even mean?!
-What Lon did to Catlin was PROPER PSYCHO. Yet I am confused. We never really find out what he was, why he did what he did, what the deal was with the other girls, and exactly why he was able to get away with everything for so long? YOU HAVE SHAPESHIFTERS IN YOUR TOWN. Surely there should be someone who could hunt this mofo down??
-Catlin's praying and Mary obsession? I am confused. What was the point?
-The entire castle has lots of secret passageways etc but, again, we never get to explore them. What's the point??
-Goddamn when Maddy grabbed that kitten, I was bloody nearly having kittens myself! Finally some super dark, macabre action! But jeezuz that was a dark moment. I did not see it coming at all! That single moment scored the bonus star for this book.
-How long was that ending? It was drawn out for so many extra, pointless chapters. EUGH, the POINTLESSNESS of it all.
(hide spoiler)]

Everything about the way this ended had me convinced it was setting up for a series. I didn't even like this book all that much and I want a sequel. Without a sequel, this whole thing was just pointless.

So in summary it was kinda boring and pointless but it did have some super dark and bizarre moments that kept me entertained, even if I was scratching my head a lot by the end of it. If there's no sequel to this mess, however, it was basically just 352 pages of wasted potential.

If I am wrong, though, and there is a sequel, I WANT IT.

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Review: Station Eleven

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have this habit of not reading blurbs properly, or reading them, buying the book and then promptly forgetting the blurb, so I totally went into this not realising it revolves around a pandemic that wipes out over half the world's population.

Tell ya what though: if you want an immersive reading experience, I highly recommend reading this during a global pandemic. *nervous laughter*

The main reason I picked this one up is because I read The Glass Hotel and loved it so now I want to read everything by this author, and I knew this one was quite popular.

Happily, I loved this one for all the same reasons I loved The Glass Hotel and more. It's one of those stories where it's less about the action and more about where it takes your thoughts. Normally I prefer action but Mandel's writing has a way of drawing me in, getting me invested in the characters while at the same time making me question how I'd react if it was me in these situations (Spoiler alert: I am highly unlikely to survive a pandemic of the magnitude described in this book).

This isn't a story about the apocalypse, or even really about the characters. It's a story of human nature, and learning to appreciate the diversity of life and all it encompasses. It gets you thinking about the things you consider important, and the insignificant things you overlook every day. There is a gentle appreciation for life here, and it's soft and poetic and warm.

They'd all seen the post-apocalyptic movies with the dangerous stragglers fighting it out for the last few scraps. Although actually when she thought about it, Annette said, the post-apocalyptic movies she'd seen had all involved zombies. "I'm just saying," she said, "it could be much worse."

This quote spoke to me, and is so much of why I loved this story. I HATE the 'stragglers fighting over scraps' and I HATE the zombies and the fact that this book had neither was such a blessing. It's not about the hardships. It's about finding unity, and life beyond basic survival.

This is one of those books that's so fancy it has 'Discussion Questions' in the back. That's how you know there's a lot of subtext to absorb. Normally I spurn these sections but I just really enjoyed the places this story took my mind so I genuinely did mull a few of these over. In particular, I loved dwelling on the concept of 'survival is insufficient' and how it relates to this story, to other stories, and to life in general. I love it. I love the way it's used.

There's also the beautiful weaving of the storylines, with fragments drawing everyone together slowly and gracefully. The characters are connected in unique ways that never feel contrived, and it adds such a great layer to the story. Particularly as we also weave through time; learning about the lives of these characters both before and after the pandemic.

I still have a lot of questions, but that's part of the beauty of the story. It leaves you thinking about it long after you've finished, but not in an unsatisfied way. It's just ... enjoyable. It makes me feel rather contemplative, and whimsical.

It was a genuine pleasure to read, and I'd highly recommend it to all book lovers.

However, if you do find yourself a little anxious over the current pandemic running rampant worldwide, maybe save this one for a few months.

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Review: On a Barbarous Coast

On a Barbarous Coast by Craig Cormick
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

*heavy sigh*

Honestly, I hate writing reviews like this for books given to me by publishers, but WOW was this a piece of work.

My biggest problem with it - aside from being incredibly boring - is that it basically feels like an old white dude trying to cram anti-racism down your throat. I'm all for supporting anti-racism, but the delivery was all wrong and I found it so patronising.

There's also just no story to it. It's so dull! I blame Jock Serong's Preservation for giving me unrealistic expectations for this book. I was expecting a fascinating survival story set in the early days of Australia. I was expecting unprepared white fellas confronted by harsh climate, unforgiving scrubland, and the perplexing conundrum of interacting with the local Indigenous population when they're (the white dudes) all racist bastards. I was expecting insight into the fascinating practices, customs and general way of living of older Aboriginal cultures. I was expecting a thoughtful exploration of this early racism in the midst of a great story.

What did I get?

White dudes fighting with white dudes. White dudes complaining about everything. White dudes talking about murdering the locals coz they're black. One white dude reflecting on FRIGGING EVERYTHING instead of ACTUALLY TELLING THE STORY.

Not gonna lie, I skimmed the last 200-odd pages HARD.

This was supposed to be a 'fierce, intriguing and thoughtful retelling' and none of those things are true. The basic history is that the English invaded Australia, murdered a bunch of the locals then spent their lives trying to convert the rest of them to the 'white people' way of living. This book doesn't even come close to turning that on its head. This book is essentially just white people complaining and I had no time for it. Then you've got random chapters here and there finally told from the point of view of a local, and he just wants to throw random words at you and tell you random Aboriginal legends. This book STILL doesn't care about telling his story.

I just found the whole mess so frustrating.

When there are man-eating crocodiles around and I'm still bored, it's a bad sign.

There is definitely a lot of interesting information about the practices of Aboriginal people, but if I was interested in the facts of things delivered as bluntly as this I'd pick up a non-fiction book (I am, in fact, slowly working my way around to Dark Emu, which has been highly recommended for this kind of information). This book purports to be an intriguing re-telling, which automatically suggests everything about the story is false, and then it doesn't even give a story worthy of all the 'what if?'s.

It was utterly disappointing.

There were some moments that were interesting, but they were so scarce it felt like too little, too late. For a book that implies a necessary appreciation for the importance of Indigenous culture, it was told an awful lot from a white guy's point of view, and is predominantly about the discomfort of these white dudes. I HAD NO TIME FOR IT.

I'm just incredibly frustrated by how much this missed the mark. Maybe others more detail-oriented will appreciate it but for me it was too much about the author trying to make his own points rather than any kind of decent story.

If you are interested in a great story from the early days of Australian settlement, I'd highly recommend Preservation, my review of which can be found HERE
I also want to link to a friend's review of Dark Emu because it provides some great insight into the book, as well as other resources to check out. You can read Patty's review HERE

With thanks and apologies to A&U who sent me an ARC to read and review

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Review: Waiting For Doggo

Waiting For Doggo by Mark Mills
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a pretty bland excuse for a story. It's dull and pointless and goes so out of its way to use the dog as a symbol that it just ends up trying too hard. It's all over the place and there's a lot of elements that are thrown in seemingly to add layers but fall short of achieving any serious depth. The protagonist is unlikable, and you never actually learn much about him, and his relationship with Doggo changes without evidence of growth. It's simplistic, but tries too hard to pretend that it's not.
The story doesn't count for much - he works in advertising, comes up with a good idea here and there. That's it. There are people he likes at the office, and people he doesn't. This causes minor dramas that last a page or two. Doggo is ugly but everyone likes him anyway. There's a side arc about questionable paternity. It's all very ... meh. Honestly, this was very, very close to my 'utter trash' list. (view spoiler)[I'm also constantly infuriated by books where the unappealing douchebag edges out the confident hot fella to win the knockout younger girl. I just don't get it. (hide spoiler)]
To be perfectly blunt, this book adds nothing to the world of literature. But it does have a dog in it, so I guess there's that.

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Review: Silver Bay

Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

By the time I finished it it had become moderately entertaining but overall it was a little tedious and far from Jojo Moyes' best work. It was fairly predictable, so another book that's more about the journey than the 'shock twists' you see coming a mile away. But despite the simplicity of the story, it took a long time, wandering a lot of side paths on the way but never properly exploring them. I was thankful it didn't pull out too many Aussie stereotypes but a tiny coastal town is just not an entertaining setting for me. The characters have to make up for it and while these were well painted I didn't find myself particularly attached to any of them. The main romance was cliche from start to finish so held little interest for me and its 'save the wildlife' message was a bit too heavy-handed. It was written simply enough so as mentioned I did eventually find myself entertained but overall it was a bit of a disappointment.

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Review: The Six Sacred Stones

The Six Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Re-Read 07/20

Goddammit.

(view spoiler)[I forgot this was a cliffhanger. (hide spoiler)]

The story leads on a little from the first book in the series, with new events loosely related to things that occurred previously, featuring most of the characters we fell in love with in the previous novel. Not all of them, you understand, because this is a Matthew Reilly novel and we all know that not even the good guys are safe in one of those.

Be warned now: this review may contain spoilers for Seven Ancient Wonders in the form of names, or the distinct absence of names.

So this time Jack and co are looking for stones and can I just say, even though there are only six that are specifically sacred, I got a little confused with what all the stones and pillars etc were actually for. Thankfully we get lots of pictures and diagrams again and the characters like to ask each other all the questions I'm thinking myself which is very helpful with staying on track.

We're globe-trotting again and yes, there's a nice tight deadline because of course nothing is ever easy. *Le sigh* There are some new faces along for the ride which is fun - I confess, I have a soft spot for Astro - but of course there are some nice grizzly deaths, too. I'm starting to suspect Reilly gets a particular joy out of feeding people to animals and I am 100% on board with that. Plus more traps! How fun are booby traps!

It's kind of a 'Part One' really, with this novel setting us up for an epic conclusion in the next novel. As such, it's a little long and more info-dense than the previous. There is a lot more history here, and more cultures involved, so the story itself is a bit more drawn out, though the action is still fierce. I never get bored with this series. It just keeps me on edge. It's also written in such a way that you can really see it playing out like a movie - all the tense moments, dramatic pauses, eleventh hour saves ... it's fantastic.

The biggest draw of the series, though, is the characters, and how they work together. I love how they all have their roles, but they're family, too. I love their loyalty to one another and, yes, the relationship between Stretch and Pooh Bear is one of my faves (and can we just take a moment to appreciate that moment in my original review down below where I coin the term 'Legolasian'? Nice, Krystal, nice.) but the dynamics between each of them is really cool to watch. Zoe also gets a thousand times more badass in this book and I am firmly in her corner. Also they're all so humble about doing all these crazy things and it totally melts my heart for them more. Case in point:

'I knew you had a reputation for daring, Captain, but this, this borders on rank impudence. You really are a bold one.'
'Yeah, real bold.' West headed aft in the direction of his quarters. 'Now, if nobody minds, I'm going to boldly take a shower and then I'm going to boldly hit the sack.'

Sass levels are here to stay.

Also, SO AUSTRALIAN. What a hero. You have earned your nap, Sir.

Ok that's about it! Loved it as usual and devoured it nice and fast. And since I seem to have forgotten so much I'll be continuing my re-read with rapt attention.


*Original Review 10/15*

Another immediately thrilling ride, but a much more ambitious and epic story than the first novel in the series. I love the history stuff, the archaeology of it all, the mystery of ancient civilisations and how these are all drawn together into a rollicking adventure story. The characters are a lot of fun in their diversity, and their similarities to other characters from literature make them fun and more appealing rather than tired and cliche. My love of LOTR probably has a lot to do with why I so much enjoy the relationship between the Gimli-esque Pooh Bear and his Legolasian friend, Stretch. Likewise, Harry Potter fans will no doubt enjoy this book's own red-headed troublesome twins. These are only two of a vast array of similarities between this novel and the two aforementioned series, but the references to the series means this is almost a dedication to inspiration. For me, it simply added extra appeal. Subtracting that, this is just another fantastic Matthew Reilly adventure. The action never stops, and the turns keep coming. I'll be making an emergency dash to the bookshop to get the next one in the series ASAP!

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Review: Uprooted

Uprooted by Naomi Novik
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A Recipe For Disaster

Ingredients:
1 Peasant girl
1 Grumpy mentor
1 Sidekick
1 handful random royalty (Include a daring prince who is actually a jerk for extra zest)
2 buckets of superiority complex
1 sprinkling of monsters
Approx. 6 cartloads of magic and spells
1 Evil Wood (Make sure it's definitely evil. Super dooper evil.)

Method:
1. Don't even worry about it. Just smoosh it all together and see what happens
2. If it seems too bland, add more spells. Then more. Then a little more.And then more to garnish.
3. If it still seems tasteless, mix the monsters and the royalty, add some blood. And more spells.
4. Oh yeah don't forget the sidekick. I don't know what it does, but throw it in anyway
5. Bake it. Freeze it. Mix it. Bake it. Fry it. Refrigerate. Bake it again. JUST KEEP COOKING IT. FOREVER.
6. Don't forget to throw the buckets of superiority over the whole mess

Serving Suggestion:
Don't.



So I guess you could say this book didn't really work for me.

Bonus star for the mantises though.


Full list of complaints:
(view spoiler)[
- The ROMANCE. The Dragon is over 100 years but because 'he looks almost my age, super cute, what are the chances?' she's totally DTF. HE'S OLDER THAN YOUR GRANDPARENTS, KID. It made me want to throw up in my mouth a little.
-The Dragon himself should have been so awesome with a name like that but he's RUDE and a JERK and STUFFY and he totally acts like a crotchety old man so despite him being 'oh so handsome' I kept picturing him like Merlin from Disney's The Sword in the Stone. Only in appearance, though, coz Merlin was actually cool.
- Kasia. WHAT IS THE POINT OF HER. At first I thought it was going to be a lesbian love angle but it just ended up being ... oh she's a badass and so much stronger and braver than Agniz (I'm not even going to attempt to spell her name. I just mentally called her Agniz - it was easier) but OH WAIT LOOK AGNIZ IS A BADASS AFTER ALL, SUCK IT, KASIA! But wait she's my BFF and I will do anything for her ... I mean it was just so frustratingly pointless. I cared nothing for Kasia. I was ready for her to be left in the wood to rot.
- The Wood is so full of evil things, and this world is full of monsters, but we get such a small taste of them. Instead the evil wood just inhabits people and makes them do bad things. The mantises were so cool because finally we got some carnage, we got to see the evil actually being properly evil, and it was such a relief. But otherwise, considering the evil of the wood I just was not impressed.
- The entire story goes on for way too long. Journeys here and there, overnight stays, more journeys, carts, wagons, horses ... DON'T CARE. Don't even get me started on the pointlessness of her going to court and making nice with nobles. It was stretched out so much, and it just seemed to want to cram in as many fantasy references as possible. Honestly, it was a mess.
- The cheesy layering of characters was a bit much. I'm all for grey characters in my stories, but you get the prince to attempt rape on the MC and then turn around and try to tell me how he's just a poor broken soul who wants his mamma and I'm gonna struggle with that. JUST LET ME HATE HIM FFS. It just kept trying to put the 'I am a good person who sees the good in everyone' spin on EVERYTHING and it just ... mellows everything. It takes away the fun.
- Wow how amazing is it that Agniz, this one-woman disaster, suddenly becomes this all-powerful wizard who is more powerful than all of the wizards who have been doing spells for centuries? SO BELIEVABLE.
-EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK MADE ME MAD. (Except the mantises. You're excused.)
-Basically it's boring, when it shouldn't be, and I hated ALL the characters, and the whole thing hinges on an evil wood that basically just needs a hug.
-I'M DONE.
(hide spoiler)]

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