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 talk about Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite. Thank you to Walker Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The royal court of Galla is as dangerous as it is glamorous… Kalothia will need every ounce of courage and wit, if she is to avenge those she loves … and stay alive.
Kalothia has grown up in the shadows of her kingdom, hidden away in the East after her parents were outed as enemies of the king. When assassins attack her home on her sixteenth birthday, she must flee to the king’s court – a beautiful but lethal nest of poison, plots and danger, overseen by an entrenched patriarchy. Can Kalothia navigate this most worldly of places to find her own role? What if she must choose between her country and her heart?
Publication Date: 1st February
TW: death of parent, grief, murder, abandonment, poisoning, stabbing
My Thoughts:
Goddess Crown is a sumptuously written, imaginative and rich YA fantasy.
Lapite’s writing was just delectable. It was so immersive and pulled you straight into this detailed world full of magic and power plays. I loved how heavy on the court intrigue the plot was, especially the murder mystery threads that continue throughout the book. It shows the darkness and danger within humans, as well as an intriguing look at divine intervention, fate and the limitations of both of these. The theme of legacy is also well-explored and I particularly enjoyed how the ending set up what might be to come for Galla and its people. It reads brilliantly as a standalone but I also know more books in this world are coming and I’d be interested to pick them up!
Kalothia was an excellent protagonist – driven, loyal and just trying to find her feet in a world that was always shifting beneath her. Combine that with a hefty legacy stained with blood and the constant attempts to belittle, undermine and even murder her and you have someone facing every challenge thrown at them. However, I really liked how Lapite kept her grief at the forefront. Her vulnerability and emotional moments do not mean a lack of strength and forthrightness, both of which really endeared me to her. She was incredibly smart and had the drive to survive, whether that be smiles that hide villainy or outright daggers coming towards her. I also enjoyed her character dynamics with the supporting cast, including one friendship that dazzled and enlightened her and one that might become a bit more than friends. Both had believable dialogue and interesting dynamics.
Goddess Crown is a YA fantasy full of ornate and character driven writing that compels the reader and introduces them to the treacherous world of Galla.
Next up, I’d like to talk about Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead by Jenny Hollander. Thank you to Constable for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Nine years ago, Charlie Colbert’s life changed for ever.
On Christmas Eve, as the snow fell, her elite graduate school was the site of a chilling attack. Several of her classmates died. Charlie survived.
Years later, Charlie has the life she always wanted at her fingertips: she’s editor-in-chief of a major magazine and engaged to the golden child of the publishing industry.
But when a film adaptation of that fateful night goes into production, Charlie’s dark past threatens to crash into her shiny present.
Charlie was named a ‘witness’ in the police reports. Yet she knows she was much more than that.
The truth about that night will shatter everything she’s worked for. Just how far will she go to protect it?
Publication Date: 6th February
TW: murder, suicide, death of a child, mental illness, PTSD, grief, alcoholism, stalking, addiction
My Thoughts:
Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead kept me hooked through the pages, staying up far too late into the night to uncover its secrets.
This is captivating writing – the type of all consuming, must read writing that forces you to keep turning the pages. It goes behind the headlines and the true crime industry into the real life people caught up in an infamous case that they have either used to define their life or tried to eskew entirely, or fallen somewhere between the two. Hollander asks probing questions about the impact of trauma upon every aspect of your life and how you can use it within your life, particularly in a true crime context. Some of these moves are manipulative and exploitative – all to do with controlling the narrative yourself before it is twisted by everyone else. Charlie is the pinnacle of this, who is trying to work out herself what really happened and to what extent she is complicit. To start with, you know so little and Hollander leaves these breadcrumbs that build up this staggering picture. It is all so character driven and complicated by the messiness of human relationships – it is just so human.
Hollander marries this with the use of unreliable narrators and flashbacks. You are as in the dark about what really happened as the rest of the world until the very end of the book. It just works to completely hook you in and keep you guessing. It is dark and delectable and completely compelling. At the same time, it makes you another one of the voyeurs picking apart this narrative and determined to discover the truth. Hollander has created something so interesting here with that innate contradiction.
Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead is an explosive, exhilarating read that simmers away in your brain and consumes your every waking thought.
Finally, I’d like to delve into Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra. Thank you to Viking for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
There was someone in the house.
Home alone with her young children during a blizzard, a mother tucks her son back into bed in the middle of the night. Then she hears a noise – old houses are always making some kind of noise. But this sound is disturbingly familiar: it’s the tread of footsteps, unusually heavy and slow, coming up the stairs…
In that split second, she has three choices.
Should she hide? Should she run? Or should she fight?
Publication Date: 8th February
TW: death, murder, violence, torture, misogyny, gaslighting, kidnapping, paedophilia
My Thoughts:
Nightwatching was one of the scariest thrillers I have read for quite some time.
This was just incredibly chilling writing. Right from the start, I could not look away from this book. It was a fight or flight extreme situation that only seemed to get darker as the pages went on. The atmosphere was thick and choking. Sierra has crafted lightning in a bottle here. It is dangerous and deadly and slithers under your skin, leaving a mark and a deeply uncomfortable pit within your stomach. Every page oozes suspense. The plot starts with a bang and does not stop from there. For me, this is a book that rooted itself into my brain and has not left since. It is an exceptional debut and I will be devouring whatever Sierra writes next. She has a gift for thrillers that are terrifying and twisted and torment the reader but in a way that provokes questions.
This is a book you need to go into knowing absolutely nothing beyond the synopsis. It took my breath away several times reading, for both the horrifying scenes unfolding and the razor-sharp twists that often followed. It is so well plotted and impeccably paced. Things just go to unexpected and brilliant places. At its heart, you have the mother and her children and they are characters you root for instantly. I loved how Sierra does not include names – they are nameless, faceless victims. They could be anyone, anywhere and you can easily pick up aspects from the headlines. It is just such a clever narrative device that makes you relish the story so much more. Unpicking what is happening to them and why is sickening, surprising and such a thrilling ride to get there. Please, if you like a damn good thriller, just pick this book up.
Nightwatching was atmospheric, petrifying and pulsing with a danger that cuts close to the heart. It is incredibly written and one of the most chilling books I have ever read.
A Short Book Lover 
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