I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays (on a Wednesday), the most recent of which was the other 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 The Scarlet Ball by Nghi Vo. Thank you to Del Rey UK for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Judith Ban – convent girl, courtesan, and failed thief – is looking for her next identity. She’s no stranger to wealth or danger, but the glitter of New York’s Gilded Age hides a darkness even she has never imagined. Here, the city’s elite maintain their grip through opulent balls, whispered rituals, and marriages with demons hungry for human devotion.
When she crosses paths with the formidable matriarch of the Howard family, Judith is offered an irresistible bargain: to take the place of a missing debutante in the coming season. With Miss Iphigenia Marshall’s face stitched over her own, Judith becomes white, rich, and ready to risk it all. If she can hold onto her charm, her wits, and her life, her reward will be a husband with undreamt-of power.
But in a world ruled by appetite and ambition, the most dangerous hunger of all might be her own.
CW: death, murder, violence, gore, body horror, racism, sexism, sexual assault, harassment, injury
My Thoughts:
The Scarlet Ball is a decadent descent into hell itself. It mixes this opulent wealth and power with gory scenes that leave characters up to their elbows in blood and guts.
This is a story all about appetite and ambition. It asks how far we would go to make the world bend to our will and raises questions about power, structural inequality and acts of violence as reckonings.
Judith is no stranger to this kind of gameplay with her past but never one quite this deadly. She is pulled into this world by happenstance but then seizes the opportunity presented to her. There is this grotesque body horror through the idea of the replacement of faces and how strongly this discusses themes around race, class and the standard of beauty. It is an inspired idea that showcases the horror of humanity. That is a core theme of the book with these women going to horrific lengths to secure their legacy and cement their power in the world. And yet there is always a ticking clock, there is an inevitable promise of destruction. Even these privileged, powerful women will eventually be destroyed by the symbolic men in their lives.
Vo’s writing is stunning as well, even in the darkness. There is a lyrical quality to the prose that I thoroughly enjoyed. It married the fantastical with the grit and grime of everyday life and then added the bloodshed of these events. You believed in this world and for the pages Vo gifts you, you will step inside it for a while. There was this sense of being lived in that made it believable. There is this pulsating anger in the pages that bursts out and through Judith’s character, you can feel that rush through your veins. It is rage and retribution all tied up together.
The Scarlet Ball is a sumptuous nightmare of a book with plenty of bite.
Next up, I’d like to talk about Yearning Difficulties by Elle McNicoll. Thank you to First Ink for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Zella is co-hosting the student radio show – which would be great if she didn’t have to share it with her horrible ex, Dave.
Her classmate Killian is brash, opinionated – and his mother happens to run the writing seminar of Zella’s dreams.
When Zella suggests he help her out by fake dating her, Killian sees an opportunity. He has his own reasons for getting close to Zella . . .
But when he starts to trip up on his own lies and their friendship begins to fracture, Zella might have to open her heart to the possibility that what she’s looking for has been there the whole time.
CW: ableism, sexism, bullying, harassment
My Thoughts:
Yearning Difficulties is a picture-perfect YA contemporary romance that continues a series that has found a place in my heart. It is essential autumnal reading, curl up with a hot drink, a blanket and let McNicoll sweep you into the story.
Having seen Cyrano de Bergerac for the first time earlier this year, I absolutely adored the parallels and references in the story. It has this inspiration and reverence for the essential heart of the story but transported to this modern love story. McNicoll’s author note at the end really speaks to this and the way it has impacted her in terms of discussing difference and disability. The attitudes presented in this classic play still reverberate today and if anything are getting worse in horrifying ways. This story is all about the power of your voice and choosing your words precisely. It is an ode to love and language with this quick-witted wordplay and dialogue that crackles with tension. It is witty and wonderful and warm-hearted. At the same time, it deeply deals with exclusion and ableism.
Yet again McNicoll’s characterisation shines through. Her writing is so strong but the characters have a way of leaping off the page and straight into your world. Zella and Killian are at fundamental odds over certain aspects of themselves and it is only through introspection that they can move forwards. They are such excellent characters and I enjoyed the journey that McNicoll takes them on. There are many factors at play with some gorgeous and devastating emotional beats in the story and a throughline that really stayed with me but I cannot discuss for spoilers.
Yearning Difficulties is a brilliant book that warms and breaks your heart in equal measure from a defining talent in the space. I also have to commend that title, which encapsulates the book so perfectly.
Finally, I’d like to delve into The Man with the Golden Compass by Vaseem Khan. Thank you to Zaffre for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Fresh from successfully reinvestigating his childhood friend’s mysterious death, Q is hired as a civilian contractor by the police in his sleepy hometown to look into the unsolved murder of tech millionaire turned online antique dealer, Laurence Noble.
Six months ago, Noble was tortured and killed, a circular object made of gold and inscribed with mysterious runes found in his pocket. As Q investigates, he finds himself dragged into a chilling conspiracy where past and present meet in a way he could not possibly have imagined.
CW: murder, death, violence, shooting, indoctrination, racism, facism
My Thoughts:
The Man with the Golden Compass melds together cosy crime with a brilliantly tense thriller with shades of espionage and political ramifications.
This sequel delivers the goods and elevates from the already superb Quantum of Menace. Khan knows how to take a great concept and spin into a smart and compelling story. What this story ultimately explores is terrifingly timely and speaks to the attitudes becoming scarily brazen. There is the deep-seated hatred that feels like it has been hidden behind closed doors and now is coming into the limelight in a way that is normalised and accepted. This is a stark reminder to speak against it, to use your voice and your power where possible. Hatred cannot win.
At the centre of it all sits Q. He’s in a bit of a different place from the end of the first book but still has these complicated relationships with those he loves and is adjusting back to civilian life. Of course he is ferociously smart and unafraid to assert that in any given situation, but we also get a little more of his skills in other areas here. What starts off as a classic murder mystery set-up turns into this skin-crawling nightmare with implications for the world at large. He faces personal and political challenges in this investigation and Khan leaves a few threads dangling, so I am hoping for further stories in this world.
The Man with the Golden Compass is a slick and stylish mixture of cosy crime and spy thrillers that continues an intriguing story.
