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 Vile Lady Villains by Danai Christopoulou. Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
You are Lady Macbeth. You have plotted your king’s death and now you need to flee. You turn to the Three Witches for help, but their spell casts you out into an unrecognisable new realm.
You fall through a door only to stumble upon another woman’s blood-soaked triumph: you meet Klytemnestra as she stands over her husband’s corpse. But as this Queen of Mycenae mistakes you for a spirit, she chases you through another mysterious door into the world of stories.
Hunted by wraiths in an unfamiliar land determined to destroy you both, you are forced into alliance. Castles crumble. Myths collide. In the chaos, your dark rivalry gives way to a fiery attraction no one could have predicted.
To survive, you must choose: return to the tragedies that define you, or burn those stories’ pages and rewrite your ending, together…
Publication Date: 2nd April
CW: murder, death, violence, gore, blood, sexism, child death, grief, misogyny
My Thoughts:
Vile Lady Villains is a bold and brilliant reimagining of some of the most iconic women in art, for better or for worse.
Right from when I heard about the concept, I knew I had to snap this book up. I mean, a stabby sapphic reimagining of some of the most infamous villainesses in literature? Sign me up immediately.
Lady Macbeth and Klytemnestra are such unforgettable characters. Christopoulou builds on the information we have from their original stories and adds new layers to them, giving us more to love and loathe in equal measure. These are women forced into extreme circumstances by the stories crafted around them, but who are they outside of those narratives? That complexity and texture is what Christopoulou seeks to examine. We flip between their narrative perspectives and get this gorgeous sense of animosity between them flourish, change and evolve over the course of the book. It is a delectable concept to have drawn them together but the chaos that erupts from then on is even better.
The world-building in this was excellent. It is such a varied landscape and it is peppered with other references to literature and art. You feel as though you could wander forever, selecting different doors and seeing what havoc would be wrecked with each. There is a lot that is thematically rich within this world and certain choices and details that are included. I have a particular plot thread that I really enjoyed but won’t discuss in depth here for spoilers. All of this to say, readers who enjoy imaginative, fleshed-out fantasy worlds will feel satiated after picking up this book. There is ripe ground to imagine your own stories long after the final page.
Vile Lady Villains delivered the goods and then some with a beautiful meditation on legacy, love and recrafting the narratives woven for us.
Next up, I’d like to talk about The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss. Thank you to Hot Key Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Six months ago, season four of the hugely popular reality TV show THE ESCAPE GAME ended in horror when contestant Alicia Angelos was found murdered in the escape room on set. Now season five is underway, and new contestants are ready to put their skills to the test solving the show’s trickiest escape rooms.
There’s Adi, the cryptographer; Carter, the math whiz influencer; Beck, the escape room enthusiast and wannabe game master, and…Sierra Angelos, the girl who got away with her sister’s murder. Or so everyone believes. But Sierra’s not just here to win. She’s here for justice…and revenge.
As the contestants progress through the rounds, they begin uncovering clues that hint at the identity of Alicia’s true killer: the stakes aren’t just high in this competition, they’re deadly. If these teens want to escape, win and survive, they must solve the biggest mystery of all: who killed Alicia Angelos?
Publication Date: 7th April
CW: murder, death, violence, shooting, grief
My Thoughts:
The Escape Game was everything I love in a YA thriller: it had great characters, a brilliant concept and a story that keeps you in its clutches until the early hours of the morning. It’s the type of book that you cannot put down, because you just need one more page to unlock more of its secrets.
This was such a compelling YA mystery that poked behind the scenes of reality TV competitions but also included fascinating escape games that were so fun to experience with the characters. Both of those elements on their own are inspired but combined were like lightening in a bottle. I thoroughly enjoyed the puzzle-solving aspects and how the way different characters navigated these games revealed plenty about themselves and their path through the world. It is such a detailed and intriguing set-up with plenty for readers to piece together before the big reveal. You wish the show was real purely to be able to play the game, not for the twisted secrets and lies hiding within.
I also really enjoyed how Meyer and Moss explore the structure of reality TV and that interplay between reality and fantasty. It puts the mirror up to the idea of ‘scripted reality’, playing into those classic tropes and the way real people are twisted to fit these caricatures. Each of them is aware of their overall arc within the show, their camera time and how the audience will perceive them. That adds a huge weight to their shoulders and that’s before you start delving into the murder. This is such a compelling and dynamic story. The twists and turns were great, as were the characters and their evolving dynamics. Everything builds to a brilliant conclusion and I cannot wait to see what is coming next from this collaboration.
The Escape Game is a fiendish puzzle box of a book, an ode to cracking the case and finding family where you may not expect to.
Finally, I’d like to delve into A Deadly Pledge by M. A. Bennett. Thank you to Tempest for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
A case of mistaken identity means Eddie Dontay is hurled into the exclusive world of New Haven School. Pretending to be Bartholomew “Brat” Van Buren III, the sole heir to a rich family, who mysteriously disappeared a year ago, Eddie is sent undercover to expose the dark secrets of the Gloomth society.
But all is not what it seems. Eddie must participate in a series of difficult initiations, which prove his fitness for the club, competing against other students. An increasingly deadly contest culminates in the most dangerous challenge of all at a horror-filled, legendary Gothic house.
Is joining the Gloomth really worth dying for?
Publication Date: 9th April
CW: death, murder, violence, hazing, bullying, classism
My Thoughts:
A Deadly Pledge is a deeply atmospheric Gothic YA thriller. It’s a pacy and engaging read that keeps the pages flowing as you move further and further into this dark world.
I have long enjoyed M. A. Bennett’s work. I think she absolutely nails that tightknit claustrophobic bubble of privilege that can be formed in certain circles. It’s Dark Academia with a specific focus on issues around class. It is sharp and insightful. We can all recognise certain types and traits in some of the characters, feeling like you are getting a peek behind the curtain into another world. Eddie is drawn into this dark world through an elaborate subterfuge that threatens to unravel everything he loves.
This is taken to another level with the immersion in literature and I adored all of the references Bennett includes. They add texture to the story and pay homage to the history of the genre. As a lover of Gothic literature, this book is a dream come true for me. The parelles with the classroom discussions and the nefarious activities are so darkly humorous and yet chilling. There is this slavish devotion that has tipped the pages into real life and often distorted them. All of this builds in a great mystery for Eddie to uncover the truth behind his deception. Bennett packs the pages with intriguing character dynamics and revelations that flip this story on its head. No spoilers here but one of my favourite tropes is used. It is a nightmarish book filled with tension and palpable suspense throughout. You are on the edge right from the first page with these macabre visions and rituals.
A Deadly Pledge is a twisted gem of a book. It’s a love letter to the Gothic genre and it is perfect for those who already devotees as well as those diving into the dark waters for the first time.
A Short Book Lover 