thereadingmum's reviews
818 reviews

I was totally sucked in by the cover and the mermaid angle. A few chapters in I was questioning my choice. But then I decidedly shrugged off my cynical old lady mentality and made myself open to the drama of young adult fantasy. 

Nami is your typical impetuous, unthinking young water dragon who gets "banished" to the capital city for trying to steal her unborn siblings manifest as a dragon pearl, the symbol of the fathomfolk's subjugation to the humans. In Tiankawi, she gets drawn into the wrong crowd by a man, of course, and finds out the hard way, that thinking first is the better option. 

Nami is balanced by the straight-edged Mira who happens to be her older brother's girlfriend. The world building isn't super detailed, but detailed enough for me and easy to understand right away, important in this sort of book where you want to get stuck into the action and drama straight away without having to wonder who's fighting who and why. 

It's not the most sophisticated writing, but it is good and not annoying with those repeated phrases that YA writers love to employ. There isn't a lot of spice, but that's ok for me. I also liked how the end was complete enough to give satisfaction with just a few hints of what is to come. 

I heard about this book at the beginning of the year and chose it to feature in my book subscription box immediately. I am happy to report my faith in Catherine McKinnon's work is absolutely founded. 

"It is now, in the middle of this thought, that a light, brighter than the sun, shatters the sky, and in that moment, for as far as the eye can see, all life vanishes."

We follow six point of views over the same time period in three different locations. Each person is crafted so well that I had no problem distinguishing or remembering their story. Lotte and Virgil are a nurse and soldier reunited in Papa New Guinea, bound by a past that split them apart years ago. Yet the feelings, buried resurface in the tragedy of war, helping each of them to cling to hope. Robert Oppenheimer and his wife Kitty are the only real historical figures. Their story is about their relationship and posits their feelings about what they were doing at Los Alamos. Mim is one of hundreds of scientists who were working at the site at that time. She is young, enthusiastic and brings out that campus society quality to the situation. Lastly, we get a glimpse into the life of Hiroko, a mother of two daughters in Myajima, trying to survive while her husband is fighting the emperor's war in an unknown land.

Oddly, I've been reluctant to watch Oppenheimer. It seems very male to me. Perhaps because the focus has been on the actors throughout its hype. Here, with the spotlight on two female characters, the story is much more than just building a weapon of mass destruction, or even one of the best and worst scientific breakthroughs. 

It is rare for a book to reel me in so completely right from the start. It is rare for a book to combine a powerful story, excellent writing and wonderful characters. There are no real monsters or bad guys here because war is both ugly and beautiful. 

The only reason I didn't give this five stars is that I will not read it again. A perfect book for me makes me want to read it all over again, if not right away, then at some point in the future.

I don't understand why publishers allow authors to narrate their own books when they do not have the talent for it. It's just painful. And such a shame because the story and characters were really engaging. 

I like to think I'm a connoisseur of the cosy murder mystery genre, but I'm probably more of an enthusiastic consumer, just short of a fanatic. 

Having read so many, I have a few requirements for the perfect cosy murder mystery. Good characters, closed-community setting, believable plot and satisfying resolution. For the most part, these stories fulfil these parameters. However, I was not blown away. I loved at most two of these, was fairly entertained for the remainder except for one that I did not like at all. 

Maybe I just expected more. I am fairly sure a less demanding reader will enjoy this collection more than I did. 

 Being such a sucker for a pretty cover, I have been ogling Bridget Collins' books for a few years. I have The Binding on my tbr but had not actually read any of her work before this. I'm undecided as to whether this has worked in her favour for The Silence Factory.

I usually start with the pros, but in this instance I will start with what I didn't like and that was the main character, Henry Latimer. I've often come across criticisms of male authors writing female protagonists badly. Well this is the same problem but in reverse. Henry reads more like a woman and a rather irritating one who makes the kind of mistakes a weak-minded woman would. He doesn't really redeem himself by the end either. Hence my rating of 3.5, which is good but not great. 

Other than that, I enjoyed the blend of historical, sci-fi with a dash of mysticism. It just falls short of being fully gothic as there are enough likable characters and uplifting moments to keep it slightly aloft and it is this that holds it back in my mind. If it were completely desolate I'd love it more. 😆 That said, I still look forward to reading more of her. 

I just couldn't connect with the character and the story. I think she was just a bit too isolated? I listened up to the last 2 hours and I could've just finished it but I had taken a break and couldn't remember the story anymore. 

You can kinda tell from the cover that this is going to be one of those amusement park rides - thrilling, rickety and quick, but fun. It was all that and a great "literary cleanser". It's a book you read after a heavy thinking or feeling book. It's a book you read when you don't want to engage too much and just want to be entertained.

I have to say though that Nicola grated on my nerves. Where her daughter and mother are strong, clever women, she is nervy and floppy, which doesn't gel with some of her actions.

As with any thriller, there's not much you can reveal about the plot in a review without spoiling it. I really don't think that ending "moral" is appropriate, but maybe I'm just a prude who thinks killing people who deserve it isn't really something to be applauded.

I was initially attracted by the cover of the book and that it seemed to be a cosy murder mystery. Yet I was surprised to find such a low overall rating for the book here. I read a few of the reviews and they mention that the story is darker than they expected. So even though I would really rate this a 4, I'm giving it 4.75 to help even out the bad press. It makes me reconsider all the low ratings I've given for bad marketing and wrong expectations because that's not the author's fault at all and honestly, it should just remain unrated or dnf if you don't fancy the genre.

On to the review proper. There is a murder mystery, but there is also a touch of the supernatural and folklore. It's more psychological thriller than mystery and definitely gothic. So no likeable characters and overly harmful relationships. I also realised after flipping to the author info, that I've read her previous book, The Thief on the Winged Horse, which is similar in feel, and I loved that one too. 

I must say that Mascarenhas paints a very different England than anyone else. Even given the time period. Her Birmingham feels more like a small town in another European city. I imagined Switzerland or Austria. I loved the setting of an art-deco hotel serving absinthe and with a wishing well in the basement. 

I was intrigued by the Nora's Asperger-ish interactions and thought processes. It made the story more stark and added more to the gothic flavour. She's quite clearly an unreliable narrator from the start. Due to my love for Agatha Christie and her Poirot, I guessed the murderer before the reveal, but I still enjoyed their confrontation with Nora. The climactic scene was a bit gory but there was enough satisfaction in the come-uppances to overcome that.

There was a bit too much vagueness and innuendo in the ending for my liking, though I can see the artistic merit of it. 

This is exactly how I remember the story of Sun Wu Kong being. It's more a series of vignettes with a loose over-arching storyline.

A mountain lays this stone egg which hatches a monkey. This monkey goes on to wreak mischievous havoc on everything and everyone until finally the goddess of mercy puts a magic ring on his head that contracts when a spell is recited. She tells this to a monk, Tripitaka, and then instructs monkey to accompany Tripitaka on his quest to the west to bring Buddha's sacred scrolls back to China. 

The main story is that of this "Journey to the West", which is a book in itself, but adds Monkey's origin story at the beginning so you fully comprehend the extent of his mayhem. 

The one thing that really annoyed me was that the narrator, given his name and if he's the actor, his profile on IMDB, being Chinese, couldn't pronounce the Mandarin words properly. It wasn't terrible, but I expected better. He did a great job with the voices and the dramatic element though, which helped me overlook that defect. Perhaps the other version of this narrated by Kevin Shen would have been better.

What do you think of when you look at the cover of Black Silk and Sympathy? 

I thought of dramatic historical fiction in the same vein as Jessie Burton or Kate Morton. Something bordering on gothic with lots of mystery and dark characters. 

This is not that. It is historical fiction, but think Karen Brooks instead. 

Feisty young female main character - check.
Left almost penniless and without family - check.
Somehow managing to forge ahead in a man's world - check.
Reprehensible male characters getting in her way - check.
Many liberties taken with historical facts and overcompensating for female empowerment - check.

But also:
Great historical setting with vivid details and imagery - check.
Lots of loveable characters to make up for horrible ones - check.
Fascinating tidbits about something I knew nothing about - check.
Intriguing plot to hold my attention - check.

And finally while it was a bit happy clappy, the ending had a surprise tragic taint that gave it a pleasing flavour.

Recommended for an easy, entertaining read as long as you're not the type to balk at tweaked history.