Category Archives: Fiction

Review: Mette Jakobsen – The Snow Laundry

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The Snow Laundry
Mette Jakobsen

“Sixteen-year-old Ally is one of 400 homeless young people who have been promised new and better lives in exchange for their votes. The once homeless children and teenagers are now warm and fed. But they are forced to work for the new administration – and their new home is really a prison. When Ally’s boyfriend Bon vanishes into thin air, her search for him leads her to discovering that the homeless kids are really lab rats intended for scientific testing. And as Ally delves deeper into her search for Bon, she learns the frightening truth behind his disappearance.”

This novel is really just another dystopia end of time book, unfortunately probably best compared to The Hunger Games. All the homeless children have been trapped/rescued into a single building where they slave away in a laundry / kitchen for the right to live.

What I don’t get is why they haven’t wiped out the undesirables of the population already. Everyone is armed, and apart from the clean up if they were shot, it doesn’t seem too different to Maslin’s end game. Is Maslin meant to be Mussolini?

Ally makes herself sick over Bon! For someone who has apparently survived on the street for a long while, she’s not very resilient. She’s got sort-of friends, and sort-of talents, but the situations and solutions she ends up in are highly improbable.

I don’t regret reading this novel, it passed the time on a very long bus ride, but I felt like there could be more substance. 3 stars, and I guess when the follow-up novel is done I might read it.

Review: Karelia Stetz-Waters – Satisfaction Guaranteed

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Satisfaction Guaranteed
Karelia Stetz-Waters

Cade never expected to inherit anything from her family – it’s not like she’s ever fitted in and she’s always privately thought that she must have been adopted. Serena on the other hand hasn’t been able to plan for the future after her last falling-out left her with nothing. Thrown together to try to save a sinking sex toy store, will Cade and Serena be able to save the shop, their sex and their lives?

Cade and Serena are great examples of characters that some people will recognise themselves in (I graviated towards Cade) and others may think are just too stereotypical. The good news is that you don’t have to like them both to enjoy the novel! You also don’t need to like sex toys (it’s perfectly ok if you don’t like or need sex) or art to appreciate the novel.

Karelia and her publisher kindly provided me with a eBook copy – which I promptly failed to review (darn, I hate eBooks). I then waited patiently until my physical copy arrived in the mail, and then began reading it aloud to the other two lesbians in my household. Unfortunately, I was really REALLY invested in the story again, and so I wanted to read ahead of them. So… I finished it without them. My copy is actually looking a little beaten up, which I guess shows how much I love it.

I then wrote a review… and WordPress ate it! Grah! I’m back again now considering my third re-read because I loved it so much. I thought it was much better than the previous novel in this ‘series’ which was Worth the Wait. I’m now waiting impatiently for the next book, Behind the Scenes. If you’re a person who identifies as queer, know someone who identifies as queer (which is surely just about everyone?) – this author is for you.

I passionately recommend all of Karelia’s novels to the Queers in your life. Karelia writes a really enjoyable romance style where the sex is a bonus rather than expected. I find that most of her characters come alive for me, and even though I know what the ending will be, I still feel certain that I might be tricked and there won’t be a happily ever after.

Review: Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments #1-3

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The Mortal Instruments #1-3
Cassandra Clare

Clary’s seeing things that she knows shouldn’t exist, and interacting with demons that can’t be real. Or are they? Clary’s mom has disappeared and her mom’s best friend is acting strangely, and Clary can only think of the ShadowHunters as the enemy. Or maybe Jace could be more than a friend, if only he wasn’t so prickly?

Clary is a decent enough protagonist considering her background as a regular old mundie (mundane) means that she’s at a disadvantage most of the time. Honestly though, I feel like she just kept being told she was too weak and noone bothered to train her. Also, the thing with the stele – wouldn’t you be kind of bothered if you lost it as many times as she seems to? Wouldn’t you put an AirTag on it? I don’t know how well this story will age into the future, but it’s still pretty good (10 years on??).

I picked up books 1-3 and 5 from the opshop for a grand total of $10, thinking that they could be a good fit for the emerging teen reader in my life. I thought I’d better have a quick read of them first to make sure they were good though! I’d previously tried to get into this series by listening to an audiobook (why did things happen so slowly?!?) and testing the TV series (too disconnected and visually distracting). They are pretty dense books and the action is quite slow which is why it didn’t work for me in either of those two media. This time around I knew that I had the next couple of books waiting for me so I could just gobble them up.

I’m undecided about the ‘twists’ in this novel. Ok, so I’m probably weird, but I was totally ok with the fact that they might be siblings and attracted to each other. They were raised individually, so what do you expect?! Anyway, that conundrum is sorted out by the end of book 3, which is why I stopped reading at that point.

I’m giving this three stars – pretty compelling while I was reading it, and I felt quite driven to keep reading the next two inther series. But! Once I finished book 3, I was actually ok with just putting the series down again. What more could I want than darkness vanished?

Review: Rebecca Yarros – Fourth Wing

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Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yarros

Violet has been training to become a scribe like her father, rather than a dragon rider like her older sister, decreased brother and cold mother. At the last moment, Violet must pass the parapet and become a rider – where not all the riders will be chosen by dragons… and not all would-be riders will survive.

Character development? Not really. Amazing world-building? Yup, maybe! Fun storyline where you can’t decide whether you want the protagonist to live or die? 100%! Although I had no real prediction as to how it was going to go down, the ending was highly satisfying.

I’m not sure they are grumpy enough dragons (or that there’s enough dragon time)! I mean, when we get to the final parade in front of them, I felt like they could have incinerated a couple more of the cadets. If they aren’t going to choose them all, why not put the others out of their misery?

Winner! Another main character with a physical disability that doesn’t let it get in the way of what she wants to do (see also: A Curse so Dark and Lonely). Damn, girl! I guessed the ending just a couple of pages out from the end of the book and was 100% paranoid that the book was going to end before I confirmed it.

If you’re sensitive to, well, erotica, this might not be the book for you. Violet definitely spends a fair bit of time thinking about sex, and then it gets worse as you progress through the book! The first half is relatively safe though

For once it’s not a group of 15-16 year olds fighting it out, it’s actual adults. I really appreciated that aspect and it made the violence seem slightly less out of place? I think that the way young children are killed off in something like The Hunger Games very dystopian. It’s an uncomfortable thought to know that although that’s a fantasty world, in the real world children are dying right now anyway.

I couldn’t stop reading it and after some time has passed and the second book is published, I will be all there for a reread.

Hachette | 9 May 2023 | AU$32.99 | paperback

Review: Erik J. Brown – Lose You to Find Me

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Lose You to Find Me
Erik J. Brown

Tommy has been working as a server in a Retirement Village in the hopes of getting a decent reference letter to enrol at the culinary school of his dreams. He’s got his head down despite his sadistic boss and has a good chance of success. But then Gabe shows up – the boy that Tommy realised he was gay for – but Gabe doesn’t remember Tommy…

You just have to laugh at the puns in the blurb. Go on, I’ll wait while you go look. On this occasion, the blurb doesn’t give too much away! Phew. I remembered how much I enjoyed All That’s Left at the World, and the swift shift by this author to a new area was just fine with me. I read it the moment it came in the door.

Tommy! Yes! Go you! Don’t stand for that crappy behaviour. I mean, watch what you are doing with the knives, but don’t tolerate mixed-signals from someone who isn’t right for you. This resonated back to me with Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell where we see the catfisher’s side (is that even a term?).

I particularly liked the sidestory of Tommy’s best friend too. I did wonder what part of the USA this was in, since they seemed to be getting drunk pretty often, and I had a feeling that was a bit of a no-no in most places / hard to organise before college? Ah well, the drinking definitely reminded me of the Australian culture.

This is a fantastic addition to #ownvoices fiction. Ok, so the premise could be a little more exciting, but I still loved it and couldn’t put it down. I’m giving it 4 stars because I don’t think it’s a reread for me. It was still great fun though – even if I could have gone a few more puns!

Hachette | 9 April 2023 | AU$19.99 | paperback

Review: Adam Silvera – The First to Die at the End

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The First to Die at the End
Adam Silvera

Orion has been waiting to die his whole life from a heart condition, surrounded by people who love him. Valentino has been waiting his whole life to live and love free. A chance meeting in Times Square, and the two are suddenly End Day buddies but only one of them gets a fateful call. There’s one question: Can Death-Cast actually predict when someone will die, or is it just an elaborate hoax?

That twist! At the end! Woah! Not what I was expecting (even if I harboured a little hope in my head). I can’t say anything about it otherwise it’ll all be ruined. Is it creepy to want to know more about the Heralds? Now I vaguely want to reread the original (They Both Die at the End) in this series to see if I’ll learn anything extra about how long Heralds last etc.

I could have done without the perspectives of Matteo and Rufus, honestly. I get that this is a prequel, but it didn’t need to link together! Just hearing about the beginning of Death Cast was awesome. Does the author even know how Death Cast works? Will the Silvera’s readers ever find out?

I can’t speak for the authenticity of the Puerto Rican perspective, but from what other readers have been saying, it’s lovely to have some more gay boys of colour! More representation in Queer literature? Sign me up.

I requested this from the publisher, but wasn’t selected as a reviewer this time. I instead requested both the audiobook and the ebook from my local library. Neither is my preferred format, but I was very keen to read it! I received access to the audiobook first, and listened to it while I put dirt in gardenbeds (don’t let anyone tell you that growing your own veggies is cheap, not even The Smart Veggie Patch!). I enjoyed that it had three different readers and it made it extremely easy for even a distracted reader like me to follow along.

I’ll continue along enjoying Silvera’s excellent novels that include the What if it’s Us duology. I’ll give this one four stars – I’m not convinced it’s an immediate re-read for me, but it was still pretty good!

Simon & Schuster | 4 October 2022 | AU$19.99 | paperback

Review: Jodi McAlister – Can I Steal You for a Second?

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Can I Steal You for a Second?
Jodi McAlister

Amanda is keen to get over her last relationship – surely a break in a house full of other women and a single Romeo is the way to go? She has nothing to lose and everything to gain from a potential relationship. Or maybe she’ll find love? There’s two Dylans to choose from after all!

Mandie is such a sympathetic character. She has low self-esteem and her list of things that she is good at does at least get a little longer during the course of the book. Unfortunately, I didn’t really feel like she had made real progress. She’s definitely just fallen for a person too quickly. Being trapped with someone during COVID lockdowns in Melbourne forces quick relationships (a great example is 56 days if you are looking for a psychological thriller).

I think that the author creates understandable characters but I am left wanting more substance. I know it’s just ‘fluffy romance’ and I should be grateful for non-Caucasian, non-heteronormative relationships at all, but I wanted to see more convincing character growth in general. The marketing brief is so proud that the author is a Lecturer, rather than ‘just’ a romance writing – but I still expected more.

This book is to be read in parallel with Here for the Right Reasons. I actually think you should read this one first, as there would be less spoilers that way (but of course there’s still a happily ever after). I’ve read another romance book from this author (Valentine), and it’s clear the author has a ‘type’. But the end of this one promises that there will also be a Lily and Murray book. WHY? Move on, deliver me a new story!

I’m giving this four stars, which is perhaps a bit generous. I did definitely have some real laugh out loud moments (not a spelt-out lol) and there were several bits where I needed to share the text with someone else! Worth reading, but perhaps not worth owning unless you want to relive reality TV during a lockdown more than once.

Simon and Schuster | 5th April 2023 | AU$22.99 | paperback

Review: Non Pratt – Every Little Piece of my Heart

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Every Little Piece of my Heart
Non Pratt

Sophie has been abandoned by her bestie, Freya. Sophie’s trying to deal with her chronic illness, having no friends at school and just generally feeling abandoned. When she receives a parcel with her name on it, she can’t wait to open it. But the parcel isn’t even for her, she needs to pass it on to someone she barely knows…

It’s nice to have a character with a chronic illness that makes it difficult for her to be a main character! It’s very unfair and biased that many heroes are strong or even just plain healthy when the reality is that many people live with unseen conditions. Spoons! So in a way that almost made this book redeemable, but not quite.

This book also suffered from multiple perspectives. I say suffered because I didn’t feel like it was done particularly well. Despite flipping through the four view points, each doesn’t add anything particularly new in my opinion. Ok ok, we see four different people but I don’t think that there’s enough depth that each seemed unique. Maybe it passes for teen fiction, but not YA fiction.

Average. So, so average. And the ending was terrible – was it left open for a sequel where there’s a big happy reunion? I mean, I finished it, but only because I was hopeful that the end would answer some big questions I had. It didn’t. If you love books with open endings, you’ll love this one. I’m giving it 3 stars, which is extremely generous of me.

Review: Jenna Miller – Out of Character

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Out of Character
Jenna Miller

Cass is a fat lesbian who knows who she is and who she likes. When her mom up and leaves (for an internet guy no less) she is left a little lost and dressless (literally and figuratively). Cass has her online roleplay friends to fall back on, but she also still needs to exist in the real world. She’s finally dating her crush, but is it actually the happily ever after she was looking for?

Aw, how cute! I liked this novel because the main character was fat, and didn’t care, and was a lesbian, and didn’t care. She even had the freedom to do that! But she definitely fell into the category that she still wanted to hide some of her identity. The author didn’t harp on about her being queer or anything, which was quite refreshing. I did however feel frustrated with how stupid Cass was sometimes. I’m really not sure how you can get from being a B student to a D in the space of a term without twigging that there’s something wrong…

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I participated in some role-play forums. It sounds like it has moved on so far from that now though! Discord is the way of the future. I still wasn’t 100% sure how the logistics of the server worked or how many people were actually involved. The most similar book I can think of at the moment is Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl – go on, go and read both!

It’s truly delightful how many queer YA and teenage novels there are at the moment. Previously I might have kept reading a poor quality queer novel because I had nothing else inthe genre to read. Now I can afford to be choosy! This novel isn’t groundbreaking, but it is still comforting fiction.

Review: Chris Colfer – A Tale of Magic

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A Tale of Magic
Chris Colfer

Brystal Evergreen dreams of a world where she gets to do something other than clean houses and marry a man. She desperately wants to be specific – and she desperately tries to read every book that passes her by. Unfortunately she’s not going to fly under the radar for much longer.

This is a kiddie book! Everything is explicitly spelt (haha) out, there is no independent thought involved. The reader is told how to react to each ‘revelation’ and everything is foreshadowed so much that you can see the ending coming from a mile away! Everything every character does contains why they did it, how everyone reacts, and how the reader should react. The big secret isn’t really a secret.

The main character is of course lovely and kind and compassionate, and magic is something you pick between being a fairy and a witch (which doesn’t work, everyone knows that fairies are another species and witches are just evil humans). Also, anyone else feel a bit odd about the fact that all of the magic-users were females… except one boy who liked to play with dolls? I’ve revisited how I feel about that, and I still don’t know. I read the preview into the next book in the series, which continues to go along with the toxic masculinity vibe. Oh well, the typical, intended audience isn’t going to care.

This book was very happily gobbled up by a 11 year old girl who pronounced it ‘very good’. That’s probably the upper limit of the age for this book, as I found it too easy to read. So many words! 3 stars.