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 Arcana: The Lost Heirs by Sam Prentice-Jones. Thank you to Hot Key Books and Nina Douglas for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
In a world ruled by ancient spells and silent power, five young witches are about to discover that the truth is the most dangerous magic of all.
James, Daphne, Koko and Sonny have always known the Arcana – a secretive society of witches governed by the enigmatic Majors – as home. Eli Jones, however, hadn’t even known other witches existed . . . until he meets James.
Inducted into the Arcana, Eli soon finds more than just spells and secrets within its walls, including the family he never had and a blossoming romance with James.
But beneath the Arcana’s magical surface, something sinister is stirring. And when the group delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the deaths of their parents and the Majors’ ascent, they discover that the Arcana’s power comes at a cost – and they may be the ones fated to pay it.
To break the curse, they’ll have to confront the past. To save each other, they’ll have to risk everything.
Publication Date: 29th January
CW: death, murder, fire, injury
My Thoughts:
Arcana: The Lost Heirs is an incredibly strong debut, sure to be a smash hit. It has a wonderful blend of fantasy, mystery and romance with characters that steal straight into your heart and a story that casts a spell over you.
Graphic novels are such a difficult medium. I absolutely adore the blend of visual and written art and also think they are such a difficult medium to nail. There is such immense skill in delivering the story in this artform. It is a compact one where story has to be told effectively and with such style. Prentice-Jones smashes it out of the park. Both the story and visuals are amazing and I cannot wait to pick up the next part of this duology. The story is compelling with some fascinating twists and turns in store and open up the world-building. Already the magic system is brilliant and has these inspired flourishes that speak to the level of attention being paid to detail. However, there are hints at more to discover and I am fully on board.
The illustration here is astounding. It is so vivid and imaginative with gorgeous details to pour over and a brilliant knack for creating these characters and making them lodge in your heart so quickly. In a few sketches, you have a great sense of who these people are and can almost recognise them in your life. All five of them are layered and believeable and totally lovable. They have their own issues to carry with them but they also have this wonderful dynamic between the group that forms that brings sheer joy. I also have to recognise the incredible queer representation. In times like this, it is wonderful to see and heart-warming for it to be such a queer-normative world.
Arcana: The Lost Heirs is an intriguing opening to a spell-binding story and I cannot wait to see what Prentice-Jones does next. We’ve found something special here.
Next up, I’d like to talk about Warning Signs by Tracy Sierra. Thank you to Viking for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
There’s something out there in the darkness.
By morning, bones lie in the snow, picked clean.
Zach knows the moods of the mountains – his mother taught him before she was gone. His father and the other men on the ski weekend think they know better though.
Drinking and boasting, they laugh in the face of the icy conditions.
But Zach understands what danger looks like. Can he survive the wilderness, and all the monsters within it?
Publication Date: 12th February
CW: death, murder, violence, avalanche, abuse, domestic violence, grief
My Thoughts:
Warning Signs was an enthralling read that keeps your heart in your mouth throughout. It is a pulse-pounding thrill and I highly recommend picking it up.
Nightwatching was one of my favourite thrillers I have ever read. It was atmospheric, petrifying and pulsing with a danger that cuts close to the heart. It was one of the most chilling books I have ever read. So, I had very high hopes for Sierra’s sophomore outing and Warning Signs proves that Sierra is no one-trick pony. This is tight, taut and brilliantly atmospheric with the danger of nature as an overpowering force in the face of these deeply privileged characters. Zach has been brought here by his mother and has a familiarity with survival techniques as a result. Those from a more pampered bubble of privilege do not have the same luxury. That eerie feeling of being utterly alone and stranded from civilisation clashes with the simmering tensions within the group and the inherent motivations and dynamics that have led to them coming together in the first place.
She has this wonderful knack of creating atmosphere that presses down on you while reading. It feels like a force has sprung from the page and has this wonderful marriage of setting and characterisation. Often the most monstrous things are the people within the story, but the isolated mountain setting does let your imagination run wild. There is a throughline about nature being a great leveller, contrasting the extreme social climbing and scrambling for wealth and power that acts as a backdrop. The avalanche does not care who you, it will destroy you anyway. I also liked the thematic depths explored here and how they tied into the setting. All of this builds into an explosive conclusion as tempers flare and secrets emerge from the shadows.
Warning Signs is the type of book that leaves you reeling and thinking about for days after you’ve turned the final page.
Finally, I’d like to delve into How to Kill a Crime Writer by Sarah Lotz. Thank you to HarperFiction for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
When bestselling author Annie Morrissey is found dead, her daughter Niamh knows in her gut it’s no accident – even if the case needs a good edit.
The village is strangely uneventful.
The suspects are suspiciously normal.
The leads quickly turn into dead ends…
But when Annie’s final manuscript lands on the doormat, the pages humming with mystery and suspense, the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.
This can’t be a coincidence.
Because if Niamh learnt anything from her mother’s crime fiction, it’s that there’s no such thing. And that village secrets never stay buried for long…
Publication Date: 26th February
CW: murder, death, grief
My Thoughts:
How to Kill a Crime Writer is a marvellously meta cosy crime novel that explores grief, legacy and learning to live in a world turned entirely upside down.
I really enjoyed this meta murder mystery that delved into tropes of the genre and played with them wonderfully. It was such an entertaining read and I would read more books featuring this unlikely duo. The premise is just genius and exactly the type of thing I am always going to be drawn to. There is just something about stories about stories that will forever captivate me. Lotz goes for an interesting and different take here that is a little more off-the-wall, but really speaks to the way that we take these stories into our hearts. We all have characters that we love and they are a balm against a cruel world. The crime/thriller space is dark and unrelenting but also provides a form of escapism, letting readers lose themself in someone else’s story for a while.
Niamh is all too aware of this, having shouldered the weight of her mother’s fame and the implications that has for how people consider her. She is a great protagonist, smart and driven to discover the truth. Throughout the book, she is balancing her own issues with her mother with the way the world has viewed her and her grief over her death. She may be the only one that is questioning the truth and therefore fighting an uphill battle in a tightknit rural community keeping its own secrets. Her trajectory is brilliant and layered. Lotz allows plenty of room for development and room for the story to breathe without compromising on the pacing and tension. The stakes are high and I adored reading extracts from the manuscript alongside Niamh. Without giving anything away, the way the stories intersect is fantastic.
How to Kill a Crime Writer reminded me why I enjoy the cosy crime genre and provides a wickedly fun meta twist on a familiar set-up.
A Short Book Lover 