Review - Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

 

 

 

Title: Alone with You in the Ether

Author: Olivie Blake

Pages: 272

Publisher: Tor Books

Release Date: 1st June 2022

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes an intimate and contemporary study of time, space, and the nature of love. Alone With You In The Ether explores what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as if you're not broken.


Chicago, sometime —
Two people meet in the armory of the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy.

After their meeting, those things do not change. Everything else, however, is slightly different.

Both obsessive, eccentric personalities, Aldo Damiani and Charlotte Regan struggle to be without each other from the moment they meet. The truth—that he is a clinically depressed, anti-social theoretician and she is a manipulative liar with a history of self-sabotage—means the deeper they fall in love, the more troubling their reliance on each other becomes.

 

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My Review:

 

 *I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Tor and NetGalley*

Charlotte Regan is a volunteer tour guide at an art museum who has been in trouble for making counterfeits.

Aldo Damiani is studying for a PhD in maths and is obsessed with bees and time travel.

When the two meet, they are instantly drawn to each other.

Aldo and Regan both have their own struggles, but can they make things work between them?

I wasn't a big fan of the previous book that I read by the author, but I decided to give them another go and requested a copy of this book on NetGalley.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. It felt rather messy at times, but it was also very honest about mental health struggles.

I didn't feel that I particularly connected to either Aldo or Regan, but out of the two of them I preferred Aldo. I did find Regan to be an interesting character at times, and I did feel for her, but I didn't find her very likeable.

The plot was mixed for me. I definitely preferred the first half as it felt like not much happened during the second half and I lost interest a little.

I struggled with the writing style at times, especially at the beginning, and I wasn't sure I would even end up making it to the end.

I am disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more, but I have to admit that I did go into this book thinking that I probably wouldn't love it.

Overall, this was a mixed read.

 

 

 

Review - The Splendid City by Karen Heuler

 

 

 Title: The Splendid City

Author: Karen Heuler

Pages: 275

Publisher: Angry Robot

Release Date: 14th June 2022

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 In the state of Liberty, water is rationed at alarming prices, free speech is hardly without a cost, and Texas has just declared itself its own country. In this society, paranoia is well-suited because eyes and ears are all around, and they are judging. Always judging. This terrifying (and yet somehow vaguely familiar) terrain is explored via Eleanor - a young woman eagerly learning about the gifts of her magic through the support of her coven.

But being a white witch is not as easy as they portray it in the books, and she's already been placed under 'house arrest' with a letch named Stan, a co-worker who wronged her in the past and now exists in the form of a cat. A talking cat who loves craft beers, picket lines, and duping and 'shooting' people.

Eleanor has no time for Stan and his shenanigans, because she finds herself helping another coven locate a missing witch which she thinks is mysteriously linked to the shortage of water in Liberty.

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My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley*

Eleanor has been sent to the new state of Liberty as a punishment for transforming her co-worker Stan into a talking cat.

Sharing an apartment with Stan is bad enough, but there is something very strange happening in Liberty - water is rationed, people are taken away in vans, and a witch has disappeared.

While Eleanor investigates what happened to the witch, Stan is determined to win a treasure hunt and will do anything to reach it first.

The premise for this book really intrigued me, especially the fact that the protagonist turned her co-worker into a talking cat.

Eleanor was a likeable and relatable protagonist. I really liked that she wasn't perfect.

Stan was an pretty awful character, but it was interesting to read from his perspective.

The setting of Liberty was interesting, and I can easily imagine something like that happening in real life.

The plot was mixed for me - while I did enjoy finding out more about Eleanor, Stan, and what was happening, my interest did wane and I struggled a little with the writing style.

I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.

Overall, this was a mixed read.

 

 

Review - The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

 

 

 Title: The Warm Hands of Ghosts

Author: Katherine Arden

Pages: 387

Publisher: Penguin

Release Date: 13th February 2024

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

The sweeping new novel from New York Times bestselling author Katherine Arden.

World War One, and as shells fall in Flanders, a Canadian nurse searches for her brother believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise in this gripping and powerful historical novel from the bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale.

January 1918. Laura Iven has been discharged from her duties as a nurse and sent back to Halifax, Canada, leaving behind a brother still fighting in the trenches of the First World War. Now home, she receives word of Freddie's death in action along with his uniform - but something doesn't quite make sense. Determined to find out more, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about ghosts moving among those still living and a strange innkeeper whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could this have happened to Freddie - but if so, where is he?

November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped under an overturned pillbox with an enemy soldier, a German, each of them badly wounded. Against all odds, the two men form a bond and succeed in clawing their way out. But once in No Man's Land, where can either of them turn where they won't be shot as enemy soldiers or deserters? As the killing continues, they meet a man - a fiddler - who seems to have the power to make the hellscape that surrounds them disappear. But at what price?

A novel of breathtaking scope and drama, of compulsive readability, of stunning historical research lightly worn, and of brilliantly drawn characters who will make you laugh and break your heart in a single line, The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a book that will speak to readers directly about the trauma of war and the power of those involved to love, endure and transcend it.

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My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley

A nurse in the First World War, Laura Iven is back home in Halifax, Canada after being discharged.

Laura's brother, Freddie, is still fighting as a soldier in the war, but one day Laura receives his uniform in the post.

Desperate for answers as to what happened to Freddie, Laura makes her way back to Belgium.

Laura hears whispered stories of ghosts walking alongside the living, and a man with a violin who can make people forget their troubles.

Will Laura find out what happened to Freddie?

The premise for this book really intrigued me, and I was excited to read it.

I really liked Laura as a protagonist - she was likeable and relatable. She had been through a tough time, but was still determined to help others despite still grieving herself.

Freddie, Pim, Winter and Jones were all characters that I liked, but Laura was my favourite.

Faland was an interesting character, and I liked the mystery surrounding him. He was quite a complex character, and I was never entirely sure how he would react.

The setting of Belgium in the First World War was interesting, and I thought the author did a good job of capturing some of the horror of what happened.

The plot was enjoyable and held my attention. I did find that my enjoyment dipped in the middle to second half, but only a little.

I enjoyed the split perspective narrative of Laura in her present, and then Freddie several months previous. It was interesting to see how they lined up/came together.

The writing style was easy to follow and I am interested to see what the author does next.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend.