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 Off With Their Heads by Zoe Hana Mikuta. Thank you to Samuel Bonner at PRH International for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
In a world where Saints are monsters and Wonderland is the dark forest where they lurk, it’s been five years since young witches and lovers Caro Rabbit and Iccadora Alice Sickle were both sentenced to that forest for a crime they didn’t commit—and four years since they shattered one another’s hearts, each willing to sacrifice the other for a chance at freedom.
Now, Caro is a successful royal Saint-harvester, living the high life in the glittering capital and pretending not to know of the twisted monster experiments that her beloved Red Queen hides deep in the bowels of the palace. But for Icca, the memory of Caro’s betrayal has hardened her from timid girl to ruthless hunter. A hunter who will stop at nothing to exact her On Caro. On the queen. On the throne itself.
But there’s a secret about the Saints the Queen’s been guarding, and a volatile magic at play even more dangerous to Icca and Caro than they are to each other…
Publication Date: 23rd April
TW: death, murder, grief, torture, experimentation, body horror, mind control, possession, violence, injury detail, gore, imprisonment
My Thoughts:
Off With Their Heads takes you down the rabbit hole, but not to the Wonderland you may be expecting. This world is dripping in blood and vengeance in a hazy, beautifully written but bloody story.
Firstly, a moment of appreciation for the bizarre beauty that is that cover. I was hooked in by both the premise of the story and that strangely beguiling cover, which epitomises the book’s ability to dig beneath veneers of humanity to the monstrosity beneath. The world-building is exquisite, with a rich and fascinating history touched upon enough to inform the narrative but also keep you wanting more. Mikuta latches on to the surrealist nature of the original tale and dials it up a notch, plunging the darkness latent within that into full blown horror territory. This is not a story that plays around – it goes there and it gets knee deep in gore. At the same time, there is a poetic quality to the writing that gives it this almost blurry feel – it lingers on the edge of the narrative and imbues it with a peculiar sense. You are at once right in the action and hanging on the periphery. There is a beauty to the prose but also a distinctly bizarre and wonderfully weird nature.
Caro, Icca and The Red Queen are our three narrative focuses and their storylines are fascinating. They are driven by their desires and wanting to carve a space for themselves, fractured by their experiences and their powers. The magic system Mikuta has designed here is endlessly fascinating as it is foul. There is a deep focus on body horror and sacrifice, leading to some gory scenes that will remain as nightmare fuel for me for a while. I also loved how unrelenting cruel and conniving these girls were. They firmly do not stick by any moral code other than their own. It’s always interesting to follow flawed and brutal protagonists and these certainly were. If you love twisted characters and even twistier stories, make sure to pick this one up.
Off With Their Heads is a bold and bloody reimagining of Alice in Wonderland that sunk its teeth into me.
Next up, I’d like to talk about When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips. Thank you to Transworld for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Lou Manson is an outsider when she joins the final-year class at Highfield Manor, Dublin’s most exclusive private school. Beyond the granite pillars and the wrought-iron gates is a world of wealth, privilege and potential. But Highfield is also hiding a dark secret – and Lou is here to expose it.
When Lou befriends the beautiful and talented Shauna Power, her plans are thrown into turmoil. Speaking out against the school would mean betraying Shauna, and Lou soon discovers that the Highfield elite will go to any lengths to protect their own reputation…even when the consequences are fatal.
Thirty years later, Lou is called to testify in a new lawsuit against Highfield. But telling the truth means confronting her past – and there is one story she swore she’d never tell…
Publication Date: 2nd May
TW death, murder, rape, sexual assault, grooming, manipulation, gaslighting, suicide
My Thoughts:
When We Were Silent is the type of book that sinks into your skin and fills you with rage.
God, this was one hell of a read. It is a book writhing with anger and concerned with questions of justice and the fallibility of the legal system. McPhillips interrogates the idea of perfect victimhood and whose narratives are upheld as truth, compared to those that are disregarded as falsehoods. We sit with the ideals of truth and justice and how they are complicated by power structures and dynamics. The plot unfolds twofold – in the present and past. This allows us to look at the impacts of trauma on characters throughout the passage of time.
Lou’s story is a difficult read at times, so please be aware of trigger warnings before reading. McPhillips does not hold back with some sickening scenes of manipulation, where you just squirm as you know where this is leading too. It does not feel exploitative or for effect, rather illustrating the horrifying reality. This is particularly in focus in terms of manipulation and gaslighting, constructing a new truth from a web of lies. While reading, your skin will crawl several times but it speaks to the crushing horror of reality. Highfield is a place of privilege, meaning Lou is on the wrong foot from the start coming from the wrong place and the wrong class compared to her peers. Of couse, she has ulterior motivations to entering this space that are slowly revealed. Her search for the truth is dogged and determined, with good reason. It becomes complicated by her relationships with friends and friends who become somthing more. She is a prickly protagonist – with years of building a wall to survive. You empathise with her across both timelines and are rooting for her to succeed.
When We Were Silent puts privileged institutions and the abuses of power they allow to continue firmly in the spotlight. It holds nothing back in this gritty, raw and real examination of the justice system and those it fails.
Finally, I’d like to delve into Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland. Thank you to Zaffre Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the God King Joon.
He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined . . . or sold.
And now each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness-from the hired hitman seeking atonement, a lovely assassin who seeks freedom, or even the prince banished for his cruel crimes. None can resist the sweet, icy lure of vengeance.
They can agree on murder. They can agree on treachery. But for these five killers – each versed in deception, lies, and betrayal – it’s not enough to forge an alliance. To survive, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other . . . but only one can take the crown.
Publication Date: 7th May
TW: genocide, rape, assault, violence, blood, death, poisoning, substance abuse, alcohol, animal abuse, gender-based violence, sex work, suicidal ideation, indentured servitude (taken from start of the book)
My Thoughts:
Five Broken Blades brought me an intense and duplicitous read that had me scheming into the early hours of the morning.
This is such an interesting conceit – with five disparate characters drawn together for the assassination plot of a lifetime. I loved getting to know each of our central characters and unravelling their backstories and motivations. Also, I enjoyed their romances as they were laced with something a bit different that twisted their dynamics subtly. It felt like gradual progressions and certainly have more than a few problems lying ahead for them. Corland cleverly layers these stories together, placing emotional truths that will be explosive once revealed. The connections were often unexpected and added a new dynamic to the entire book. As a reader you felt complicit in holding these secrets to your chest. Of course, there are plenty of twists in store that will shock and surprise you including a final act that stuck the landing impeccably. Corland is a particularly tricksy writer, seeding through little clues that build up to something extraordinary. I am very excited for the sequel and will definitely be picking it up.
The worldbuilding was also really interesting, particularly the sacred artifacts that are the cause of such anguish. I loved the references to other territories we didn’t fully get to glimpse yet, but also the deeply anti-colonial message that runs throughout the book. This is a book mired in guts and gore but keeps humanity as its core focus. The abuse of power is a central theme of the book and motivates several of the characters, with different angles on this allowing for a layered and interesting plot. I certainly have a few theories about where certain threads might lead and I’m itching to find out if I am correct. The tension and pacing is also exquisitely done, keeping you glued to the pages but allowing enough time to develop each character as well.
Five Broken Blades delivers classic fantasy and it does it excellently. A fascinating, fiendish and fantastic read.
A Short Book Lover 
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