Mini Review Monday #103

I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays, the most recent of which was last week. In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about. All of today’s books publish later this week, on 13th April!

First up, I’d like to talk about Atalanta by Jennifer Saint. Thank you so much to Caitlin Raynor at Headline Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When a daughter is born to the King of Arcadia, she brings only disappointment.

Left exposed on a mountainside, the defenceless infant Atalanta, is left to the mercy of a passing mother bear and raised alongside the cubs under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis.

Swearing that she will prove her worth alongside the famed heroes of Greece, Atalanta leaves her forest to join Jason’s band of Argonauts. But can she carve out her own place in the legends in a world made for men?

Publication Date: 13th April

TW: violence, death, sexual violence, harassment, sexism, murder, blood, injury

Goodreads | Waterstones

My Thoughts:

Once again, Jennifer Saint knocked it out of the park.

She is quickly becoming one of my favourite Greek mythology re-tellers and her books are instant adds to my to be read piles, with each new one eagerly anticipated. Ariadne and Elektra proved that Saint’s trademark style of books are fascinating, beautifully written re-imaginings of classical mythology with feminist edge that systematically exposes and destroys the toxic masculinity embedded at the heart of Greek myth. They are gorgeous creations and Atalanta joins their ranks as a shining star on my shelf.

Initially, I went into this book knowing very little about Atalanta beyond the legend of her races. However, Saint quickly establishes that you do know this story, you just do not know it with Atalanta as a presence within them. As the only female Argonaut, Saint really interrogates why she is not remembered as an integral part of these famous tales. I adored how explicitly feminist the book was, challenging the erasure of women and the pain inflicted upon them by so-called heroes on page. Atalanta was a fierce, independent and strong protagonist, who quickly endeared me to her. This made later sequences hold that much more weight and intensity due to the stunning character work that made me fall in love with her. Saint also ensures she is surrounded by a cast of three-dimensional characters that are fascinating without overshadowing Atalanta’s story. Also, I did not expect to love the romantic thread as much as I did. It reminded Atalanta and us that she was all too mortal and mortality leads to messy entanglements that defy fate and the gods themselves. However, Saint leaves the ending as one of freedom from the restraining expectations of society and instead to run free forever.

Shining her skills on the most notable Greek heroine, Atalanta, Saint provides another wonderfully nuanced and magical retelling. This is an enchanting and empowering read.

Next up, I’d like to talk about Let’s Play Murder by Kesia Lupo. Thank you to Bloomsbury YA for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Squid Game meets Agatha Christie in this locked-room virtual reality murder mystery, where the only option is to win – or die trying…

Video games have never been more murderous. Veronica wakes up trapped with four strangers in a sprawling manor house in a snow storm with a dead body, a mystery right out of an Agatha Christie novel. It feels so real – but it isn’t.

This is VR and this is THE Game; a rumoured Easter Egg hidden in other VR games that draws you into a competition for a prize beyond your wildest dreams. And there’s no escaping the VR world until the Game is won. But while Veronica and her fellow players are trying to figure out the puzzle, something is not right in the VR world. Blackouts, glitches, NPCs acting strange, and a mysterious figure haunting their footsteps.

Then when a player dies, and also dies in real life, all hell breaks loose. Without warning, the game Veronica thought she was playing gets overshadowed by a much darker, and much more real, mystery: who is killing us? It may not be a game Veronica wanted to play, but it’s one that she has to win – or die trying.

Publication Date: 13th April

TW: death, murder, drowning, terminal illness

Goodreads | Waterstones

My Thoughts:

Let’s Play Murder takes you on the trip of a lifetime with a thrilling and tightly claustrophobic plot, playing excellently with suspense, setting and sinister new realities.

This was a book that I was entirely sold on through its premise – a mesh of Squid Games and Agatha Christie meets virtual reality? Does anything else really need to be said?

Lupo capitalises on this premise brilliantly, with plenty of flourishes and twists that you will not see coming. The setting of The Game is very reminiscent of Golden Age mysteries with the classic antiquated house and family full of secrets. I loved the way the gameplay amongst the contestants created extra levels of intrigue and suspense. Lupo cleverly brings in multiple mysteries, keeping you constantly on your toes. Every time you think you have solved one puzzle, another appears. This layered method of storytelling is endlessly fascinating and engaging. I always love attempting to solve everything and was constantly challenged by something new.

At its core, this is a book that plays with the central themes of grief and guilt and questions how far you would go to solve your problems. There are some serious stakes to this game. It leads to such an intense atmosphere and one that only seems to shrink as you learn more about each character. These are three-dimensional, deeply flawed and yet still lovable characters. Lupo imbues each of them with a quality that you can love, while also casting enough ambiguity and doubt over each of them that they remain a major suspect. Veronica herself is a fantastic protagonist, with so many layers and depth to her. She is the beating heart of the book and you become invested in her story so quickly. Without giving too many secrets away, the way coding and certain glitches comes into play is sheer brilliance as well.

Lupo has crafted a twisted little gem of a book that I highly recommend, with characters that you will not forget anytime soon.

Finally, I’d like to delve into The First Move by Jenny Ireland. Thank you to Penguin Random House Children’s UK for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Juliet believes girls like her – girls with arthritis – don’t get their own love stories. She exists at the edges of her friends’ social lives, skipping parties to play online chess under a pseudonym with strangers around the world. There, she isn’t just ‘the girl with crutches’.

Ronan is the new kid: good looking, smart, a bad boy plagued by guilt over what happened to his brother Ciaran. Chesslife is his escape.

Juliet thinks Ronan thinks someone like Ronan could never be interested in someone like her – and she wouldn’t want him to be anyway – he always acts like he’s cooler than everyone else.

Little do they know they’ve already discovered each other online, and have more in common than they think . . .

Publication Date: 13th April

TW: drug use, overdose, death, grief, medical gaslighting, bullying, chronic pain

Goodreads | Waterstones

My Thoughts:

The First Move is a book that reminded me of the power of love and the hope for the future YA embodies so well.

This was a pleasant surprise for me. It was a book that was slightly on my radar, but boy am I glad I picked it up. One thing I must commend Ireland for is the depiction of grief in its many forms. There is bereavement here and it is nuanced, devastating and impactful. But, there is also the grief for the life you could have had or the opportunities you have missed out on. It is so emotionally raw and tangible. It is still so rare to see disability representation in YA and Ireland provides a vulnerable and honest look at it. There is frank discussion of the impacts it can have on everyday life and how it changes your entire perspective on life.

However, this is no inspiration porn. Instead, Juliet lives with her disability, which does affect every aspect of her life, but she is not solely defined by it. She is a sweet, hopeful and somewhat naive teenage girl, learning to adapt to a world that does not want to adjust for her. It leads to some real moments of anger and frustration that hit home. Ronan is also a fractured, flawed and fantastically human character that I adored. His rage at the world reminds you how rarely you truly know what is going on with someone.

I absolutely adored how much of this book centred around chess. Often dismissed as a nerdy hobby, chess has enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence following the popular success of shows like The Queen’s Gambit. The mix of gameplay and realistically awkward teenage flirting on the online platform is brilliant. Ireland includes these chat transcripts that hold so much joy, hope and chemistry that just pops off the page. You cannot help but root for these two to work everything out. Ireland combines a sweet and highly enjoyable YA romance with a raw and emotionally vulnerable look at grief, disability and the way your life can be changed forever by the tiniest thing.

More people need to add this to their radar immediately.