After my tragic reading slump of September, I am back in action and devouring books again. Sometimes all one needs is a break and breather to come back raring to go. Read all about The Great September Reading Slump here as I explain the reasons behind my decline in reading and motivation to pick up book and fall head first into a new fictional world.
October has been the month of love. I have read a mix of genres from a cheerful Christmas romance, a workplace romance that made me relate far too much to working as an intern in a corporate company to an intense adult high-fantasy. This month I have endured an emotional rollercoaster of first loves to corrupt nobility front and back stabbing friends and enemies. Once again thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC ebook for one of the novels in exchange for an honest review.
Books of October
Wreck the halls is a festive romcom where the children of two famous female rockers, Steel Birds, team up to bring the band back together at a reunion like no other. Melody Gallard and Beat Dawkins grew up in the limelight always being questioned about their famous mothers and why the band split. Mel chose to live a simple and quiet life away from the spotlight, whereas Beat is all smiles for the camera. However, once a blackmailer comes knocking on Beat’s door with a ransom that is too big to keep a secret, he agrees, with Mel’s help, to reunite their mothers for a life-changing fee. But in the true spirit of Christmas Beat and Mel are pining for each other.
For starters, I really couldn’t get past the male protagonist being called Beat. It was very cringe worthy from the start. I’ve read several Tessa Bailey books so I have a good idea of her writing style and plot format. However, this novel was messy. The romance between Beat and Melody didn’t really grow or develop, it was very quick and then they broke up etc and it all became very complicated and I was unsure what was happening between these two characters.
Tessa Bailey is very skilled at creating interesting characters with quirks and in-depth back stories and wreck the halls is no exception. All the main characters are personable and have a likeable personality from Octavia and Trina to Danielle and Joseph. However, the novel’s villain Fletcher Carr is very vague and his arc is finished very quickly. Beat being blackmailed by Fletcher doesn’t really add much to the whole Steel Birds reunion plan, he is an afterthought. I think he is only used to created tension between Beat and Melody. While this novel is marketed as a Christmas themed story and is set in December, I would say this novel is not at its core a Christmas story. It has a whiff of Santa and jingle bells but could be set in any month of the year.
Overall, I really struggled to finish reading this novel. It started off great with the idea of Mel and Beat both living parallel lives in the spotlight – and Tessa explores the stress and pressure created when living in the public sphere. But around the 30% mark I was finding the story difficult to get through, there was a level of second hand embarrassment when reading that made the whole experience painful. Then around the 50% mark things get better and then Beat has to open his mouth and say something cringey. I enjoyed the concept but I found the pacing of the relationship off and it didn’t really go anywhere – both characters have a crush on each other from the start and it is revealed to each other very quickly. I was disappointed as I do enjoy Tessa’s skill at crafting captivating characters and interesting angles in their backstory. But this one was a struggle, sadly.
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest opinion.*
Sincerely Yours, Anna Sherwood is a coming of age novel where Anna is grappling with entering the corporate adult world and navigating falling in love and trying to discover her place in the world. This workplace romance is explores the genuine anxieties and experiences of university graduates and crafts a narrative that readers can relate to through Anna.
Beth Reekles has written a very polished story that follows the trials and tribulations of being 18, 19 and having that first taste of the adult world. Reekles skilfully articulates the worries and anxieties of starting an internship in the corporate world and as a reader who has experienced the stress of starting an internship in a big company or having to find work experience, I can relate to the way that Annalise feels and thinks. The novel started with an interesting, albeit predictable, premise where two strangers connect and kiss and then both discover they work in the same company. The way that Annalise is angry at Lloyd for pretending they didn’t know each other was unfair, his reasons were completely valid and was doing her favour. So she could show how good she was at the job and her skills, instead of her hard work and success being attached to Lloyd. This was a sticking point when reading as tension and conflict was made out of nothing.
The writing style is very polished and concise, I did find that there was too much ‘work chat’ of what Annalise’s day-to-day tasks were and this became repetitive and irrelevant to the wider story. This made the pace a little off. The romance between Lloyd and Annalise was patchy. I didn’t feel that they were a good fit and Annalise became annoying at always taking out her frustrations or inadequacies on Lloyd. On the other side of this, Lloyd was always the one trying to help and being pushed back and I don’t think he should have returned back to the relationship as quickly as he should. Due to the first person narrative, the reader is presented with a one sided view and it would have been nice to see Lloyd’s side of the story to have a deeper connection to his character. I also felt that their romance was too polished and too structured to be believable at points. The novel’s villain, Tasha, is one that the reader is hinted at as too smug or too calculating, but this is only from Annalise’s perspective. I think having her fellow interns discuss this character throughout the narrative would have been beneficial to creating a deeper understanding of their motives and personality. Also, if Annalise and Tasha had worked together at points during the internship instead of being on separate teams the reader could understand their dynamics and see how Tasha tries to undermine Annalise in a competitive way. Otherwise Tasha’s motives are vague and told to the reader rather than shown.
Overall, this is well-written and structured novel that artfully explores the anxieties and messy start to the working world that graduates and students can experience. I would have liked a deeper exploration on the other interns to create a bigger picture of their friendships and a better cohesion of all the various pieces of conflict like Tasha, Annalise’s mother and her romance with Lloyd.
I was very fortunate to meet Cassandra Clare and have my Waterstones exclusive edition signed, read more about the event and my experience here.
I was very generously accepted to receive the first eleven chapters as a sample of the book before release through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, however I did purchase a copy of the book myself and have no affiliation to the publisher or author. This is my honest review after being a fan of Clare for several years and eager to read her latest novel. Read my review of the Netgalley Sample here.
Sword Catcher is Cassandra Clare’s adult high-fantasy novel that follows Prince Conor and his body double Kel, and female physician Lin through deadly plots of murder, debauched criminals and power-hungry nobles. After reading the first 200 pages through Netgalley, the scene was set and the characters had become established – note this is a slow burn – where the corruption of Castellane begins to unravel itself. Conor becomes engaged with a foreign princess but is double crossed, Kel is at a cross road between his loyalty to Conor and the crown, Prosper Beck and the enticing Ragpicker King. Lin also becomes embroiled in a crossfire of confused loyalties between Conor, Kel and Mariam and the Ragpicker King. Nothing exciting happens in terms of action until the last 50 pages and then in classic Clare fashion the reader is left on a cliffhanger. But what the reader is presented with, is beautifully detailed scenes, character interactions and a general deep look into the various locations in Castellane and how the quality of life differs depending on race, class, money and power. I am eagerly awaiting book two due to be released in 2025 and I have a feeling that this will be a faster pace now that this world and cast of characters have been established. I hope Clare explores the Ragpicker King and his cohort in more detail, they were very exciting to read about. I can understand why fans might be put off by the length and pace of the novel but I truly believe this is worth the pace and this world has so much potential.
Overall, I wasn’t sure what to expect and the slow pace was jarring in comparison to Clare’s YA novels but I was pleasantly surprised and when reading I think it is best to see this book as the setting-the-scene and future publications is where the action happens. A world this size and intricate does need a whole novel in itself to allow readers to become fully immersed. It was not until I attended the Sword Catcher Q&A signing that I realised this fact and listening to Clare discuss her inspiration helped me appreciate the craftsmanship that has gone into creating Sword Catcher. I cannot wait for the next book and see where this story takes me.
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