Review - I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver

 

 

 

Title: I Wish You All The Best

Author: Mason Deaver

Pages: 336

Publisher: Push

Release Date: 14th May 2019

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents' rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.

But Ben's attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan's friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.

At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity.

 

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My Review: 

 *I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Macmillan Children's Books and NetGalley*

Ben De Backer is kicked out of their family home when they come out to their parents as nonbinary. With no other options, Ben calls their older sister, Hannah, who they haven't seen or spoken to in years.

Hannah and her husband, Thomas, who Ben has never met, let Ben move into their home, and to finish off the rest of senior year at the school where Thomas teaches.

Ben just wants to keep their head down and not draw attention, but a fellow student called Nathan seems determined to befriend them.

I had heard good things about this book, so I was excited to read it.

The book throws the reader straight into the deep end, with Ben being thrown out of their home right at the very start. I found this jarring, as I hadn't had time to get to know Ben, but that may have been the author's intention.

Ben was a likeable and relatable protagonist for the most part - while I did empathise with them, and knew that I couldn't even begin to know what they were going through, I did find the self-pity a bit annoying at times.

I liked the supporting characters and the relationships that Ben developed.

The plot was interesting and held my attention. However, I felt that from the beginning, I was never fully immersed or invested in what happened, which I think was down to the jarring opening.

I can see this being a very important book to a lot of people, and it is certainly an important topic, it just didn't hit home for me, unfortunately.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

 

 

 

Review - When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

 

 

 

 Title: When Among Crows

Author: Veronica Roth

Pages: 171

Publisher: Titan

Release Date: 14th May 2024

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

Step into a city where monsters feast on human emotions, knights split their souls to make their weapons, and witches always take more than they give.

Pain is Dymitr’s calling. To slay the monsters he’s been raised to kill, he had to split his soul in half to make a sword from his own spine. Every time he draws it, he gets blood on his hands.

Pain is Ala’s inheritance. When her mother died, a family curse to witness horrors committed by the Holy Order was passed onto her. The curse will claim her life, as it did her mother’s, unless she can find a cure.

One fateful night in Chicago, Dymitr comes to Ala with a her help in finding the legendary witch Baba Jaga in exchange for an enchanted flower that just might cure her. Desperate, and unaware of what Dymitr really is, Ala agrees.

But they only have one day before the flower dies . . . and Ala's hopes of breaking the curse along with it.

 

Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

 

 

 

 

My Review:

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

Note - I ended up reading the audiobook version of this book.

Monsters are real and there are people that fight them.

Dymitr is one such person, and one night he finds himself making a deal with Ala, a monster Dymitr would usually kill.

Dymitr offers Ala a cure to the curse that has haunted her family for years, in exchange for her help in finding the location of Baba Jaga, the legendary witch.

With a time limit on the cure, can Dymitr and Ala work together?

The Polish folklore in this book really intrigued me, as did the cover, so I was looking forward to reading it.

Dymitr and Ala were both likeable and relatable protagonists. I also liked Nico a lot. It was enjoyable to read the interactions between the trio.

The setting of a Chicago with what the Holy Order perceived as 'monsters' was interesting, and I really liked the fantastical element. I would have liked to find out more about the Order and the different 'monsters'.

I really liked that Polish was used in this book, and it made me interested in finding out more about the folklore.

The plot was interesting and immediately grabbed my attention, making me invested in the characters. The book is only short, and it was fast to read, but I would have liked it to have been longer.

I would happily read a sequel or a book set in the same world.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

 

Review - The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins

 

 

 Title: The Silence Factory

 Author: Bridget Collins

Pages: 383

Publisher: The Borough Press

 Release Date: 9th May 2024

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

Henry dreams of silence.

A world without the clattering of carriages through cobbled streets, the distant cries of drunken brawls, the relentless ticking of the clock.

Then he meets a fascinating, mysterious gentleman who sells just that. Precious silk that can drown out the clamour of the world – and everything Henry is so desperate to escape.

Summoned to Sir Edward’s secluded factory to try to cure his young daughter’s deafness, Henry is soon drawn deeper and deeper into the origins of this otherworldly gift: a gift that has travelled from ancient Mediterranean glades to English libraries.

Ignoring repeated warnings from the girl’s secretive governess, he allows himself to fall under the spell of Sir Edward and his silk… but when he learns its true cost, will it be too late to turn back?

Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

 

 

 

 

My Review:

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

Note - I ended up reading the audiobook version of this book.

In 1820, Sophia Ashmore-Percy and her husband travel to a Greek island. While there, Sophia's husband searches for a special spider and Sophia grows close to one of the village women.

Several decades later, widower Henry Latimer finds himself in the home of Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy, a man in the silk business whose daughter's deafness Henry will try and cure.

Sir Edward is an ambitious man whose silk is made by spiders and has the ability to block out sound. However, the silk can also harm those around it.

As Henry becomes entangled in Sir Edward's business, he learns that perhaps there is more to Sir Edward and the spiders than there appears.

I hadn't read a book by this author before, but I'd heard good things about their previous books, so I was looking forward to reading this one.

Sophia and Henry were both likeable protagonists. However, I did like Sophia more, and did find Henry a little annoying at times, but I could understand why he acted the way he did. I felt sorry for both Sophia and Henry, as neither of them had an easy time of things.

The plot was enjoyable and held my attention, but nothing that happened surprised me, and I wasn't gripped. I also didn't feel particularly invested in what happened to Sophia or Henry.

The writing style was easy to follow and I would read another book by the author.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.