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.
First up, I’d like to delve into Bellegarde by Jamie Lilac. Thank you to Atom Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Evie Clement has perfected the art of avoiding attention as she works at her family’s bakery and dreams of a life where she can trade dusting flour for designing dresses. Her focus is on honing her sewing skills – she doesn’t need to be fawned over by some teenage boy.
Least of all Beau Bellegarde – the playboy of Paris, the second son of the ultra-wealthy Bellegarde family, the most popular guy in their prestigious high school. Others may swoon over his rakish charm and winning smile, but not Evie.
Unfortunately for Evie, Beau needs her. His conniving step-brother has roped him into an impossible bet: turn the biggest wallflower they know into the winning Bellegarde Bloom at the annual Court of Flowers Ball, or lose his entire fortune.
Evie can’t understand why Beau has taken an interest in her, but she can’t help but be intrigued. As she befriends Beau, entering a world of high-status parties, she has to ask herself one question… why?
Publication Date: 11th July
TW: classism, sexism, homophobia, racism, attempted sexual assault
My Thoughts:
Bellegarde is a flirty, frothy and endlessly fun YA historical romance. It is so reminiscent of Bridgerton for a YA audience.
Evie was a character that I fell in love with early on and I do not think I ever fell out of her spell. Here was a kind, caring and deeply lovely person, trying her best for her family and secretly harbouring her dreams. Watching her trajectory over the course of the book was heart-warming. Her chemistry with two significant characters were sparkling in their own ways. Lilac’s dialogue was spot on, allowing tensions to rise, dynamics to shift and also including the subtleties of romance. Every little gesture meant something in the wider scale of it all.
This is such a brilliant book, resplendent in its gorgeous and evocative writing. Every detail was captured, allowing me to imagine the lush ballgowns and splendid parties. Lilac really captures your imagination. Upon first requesting this title, I was not aware of the She’s All That historical romance retelling marketing behind it. However, I can now say that captures this book to a T. I mean, one of my favourite 90s romcoms transported to 18th century Paris – you have got me hook, line and sinker. I really liked how Lilac brought in elements of class, race and sexuality. They were both normalised and acknowledged in the difficulties faced. In particular, class was something that was a core facet of the tensions and issues prevalent in the book.
Evie is constantly driven by wanting to protect her family and is keenly aware of the knife’s edge they live on in terms of money. In stark contrast to this, you have the world of elitism, glamour and privilege through the Bellegarde Bloom contest. Those two worlds clash, but also find striking harmonies in unexpected ways.
Let Lilac draw you into this sumptuous world of fashion, fame and fortune. Join the dance and whirl through the streets of 18th-century Paris.
Next up, I’d like to talk about The Boy You Always Wanted by Michelle Quach. Thank you to Usborne for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
A girl, a boy, a grandfather and a plan.
The girl: Francine. Model teenager, dutiful granddaughter, absolutely no chill.
The grandfather: Francine’s beloved a gung. He has one final wish, a male heir to carry on the family traditions. It’s an outdated idea, but Francine loves him, and she has a plan to bring him the boy he always wanted.
The boy: Ollie. Family friend, former crush, no idea how Francine has convinced him to get mixed up in her off-the-wall, and totally sexist, honorary grandson plan.
The plan: might work. But as Ollie and Francine’s worlds collide, their secrets get tangled, and so do their feelings. Sometimes what you really want, isn’t at all what you expected.
Publication Date: 3rd August
TW: cancer diagnosis, terminal illness, sexism, racism
My Thoughts:
The Boy You Always Wanted is a stellar example of YA contemporary at its finest. Michelle Quach has just become an auto-buy author for me.
With this and Not Here To Be Liked, Michelle Quach just hits that sweet spot of YA contemporary romance and coming of age narratives that I adore. She just gets it. There is an authenticity and an aching honesty that informs her work. Her characters are fallible and facing the challenge of finding their place in the world.
For Francine, that involves finding her place in her family and particularly shouldering the legacy that her a gung has placed upon her shoulders. The way that impacts her and her relationships with everyone around her is a key tension of the book. Quach allows for nuance and depth in this discussion, providing no easy answers. This is an ethical dilemma that just leads to more and more.
The core themes of family and legacy are ones filled with questions around tradition and the continued relevance of it in the modern age. This is particularly challenging with Francine’s family history and the cultural erosion she feels, ostracised from all sides. Quach opens up an important dialogue here around shouldering the legacy of your forebearers and the rising levels of expectations placed upon generations of those who have been squashed by the world. In particular, the experience of immigration really shapes that legacy.
At the same time, this is also a heart-warming and sweet romance tale. I loved watching their dynamic fluctuate and their chemistry grow. Quach just writes those moments so well. You can feel your heart melt and just root for these characters to wake up and realise what they have in front of them. Like the rest of the book though, this is not without its own challenges and heartbreaks.
The Boy You Always Wanted takes a slow-building, chemistry-filled romance and combines it with a poignant exploration of family and legacy.
Finally, I’d like to talk about Masters of Death by Olivie Blake. Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Tor for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book is about an estate agent. Only she’s a vampire, the house on sale is haunted, and its ghost was murdered.
When Viola Marek hires Fox D’Mora to deal with her ghost-infested mansion, she expects a competent medium. But unbeknownst to Viola, Fox is a fraud – despite being the godson of Death.
As the mystery unfolds, Viola and Fox are drawn into a quest that neither wants nor expects. And they’ll need the help of a demonic personal trainer, a sharp-voiced angel and a love-stricken reaper. And it transpires that the difference between a mysterious lost love and a dead body isn’t nearly as distinct as you’d hope.
Publication Date: 17th August
TW: death, blood, psychological torture, murder, alcohol consumption, parental deaths, gore, body horror, possession
My Thoughts:
Masters of Death is an unconventional novel – an epic romance, quest saga and exploration of one of the best games I have read about for a while.
This has such a fantastic premise and really lives up to it. It is just like nothing else I have read before. At once this is a fantasy novel, murder mystery, romance and philosophical deliberation on life, death, the universe and the existential dread of mortality. Every single element of this is well-executed and balanced in a way that allows for a seamless blend of these varied genres.
Blake has such a way of capturing these complicated characters and making you fall head over heels for them, flaws and all. Our cast here is a unique band of rogues. I loved them all imminently and that only grew as I got to know them more. In particular, I really enjoyed how the conceit of the game served to reveal the truths of dynamics and secrets buried in the pasts of the characters. When Death is staring you down and everything is at stake, there is nothing left to hide.
As always, the themes being interrogated here are deeply fascinating. Blake weaves in explorations of life, family and facing Death, while celebrating the multiplicity of the forms of love. Each of these topics is given room to breathe and for the reader to digest, while also keeping the plot relentlessly marching on. However, it is not a straightforward read. Blake employs a non-linear narrative that perfectly matches the fragmented nature of the plot. You piece together relationships, dynamics and devious acts through snapshots across all of time and space. Death does not exist in a fixed moment and therefore neither can this book. I adored this style of narration so much. It added an extra layer to an already gorgeously interwoven book.
Masters of Death is a puzzle box of a book – complex and stunning.
A Short Book Lover 
Ahh definately adding the boy you always wanted onto my list to read!
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It’s brilliant, I hope you enjoy it and looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
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