Review: Volatile Bonds (Prospero's War #4) by Jaye Wells

3 stars for Volatile Bonds (Prospero's War book 4) by Jaye Wells.

.. and so Prospero's war continues to rage in this book 4 of the series where alchemy is the foundation of modern chemistry.

Adepts. Mundanes. Potions. Dirty Magic. Solar eclipse. One wedding. Two funerals. That about sums up this instalment of Kate Prospero's world.

Volatile Bonds may not be as volatile as its predecessors but it is not a case of total static either. The overall story is not too bad save for some annoying repetition about the ghost of the past coming back to haunt Prospero's partner in the Magic Enforcement Agency (MEA) task force and a few loose ends that are - perhaps deliberately - left dangling in the air.

Ok.. frankly speaking, I am kind of disappointed after reading the book, not for the lack in originality but for the loss in potential for more. I guess in a way, I am rooting a lot more for John Volos, Prospero's old squeeze, than I let on.

I really hope this is not the start of a downfall to an urban fantasy series that I quite enjoy reading. Also, I am keeping my fingers crossed on seeing more of Volos and snide remarks directed at him from Kate in the next book. Until then..

Review: Rosemary and Rue (October Daye #1) by Seanan McGuire

2.5 stars for Rosemary and Rue (October Daye book 1) by Seanan McGuire.

After such a long time, seven years at least, I have finally decided to lay my hands on the October Daye series which everyone seems to be raving on about.

However, I have mixed feelings upon finishing the book. I am not sure if this series on Fae and Faerie Kingdom and changelings is an absolute Yes for me to keep going even though I see the telltale potential for more in our protagonist, October Daye aka Toby.

Review: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

3 stars for One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

One True Loves is about life changers, about a moment that splits life in two; the moment that creates a “before” and an “after”. It is about the sharp spike somewhere along the way on our timeline, an event - more so than the others - that changes us and our lives.

"I am finishing up dinner with my family and my fiancé when my husband calls."

Taken verbatim from the book, the story opens with a sentence that is so wrong on every account that I do a double-take. And find myself compelled to continue reading.

The story is good. The writing is polished. I cry reading it. I weep for the protagonist, Emma, when life deals her an unexpected blow. All in all, I find no fault in this novel except that it slows down way too much after the first half of the story that I have to speed read to find out Emma's one true love.

Review: Still Me (Me Before You #3) by Jojo Moyes

3 stars for Still Me (Me Before You book 3) by Jojo Moyes.

From a standalone (Me Before You) to a sequel (After You) to a series (Still Me), Lou's story has indeed come a long way from the time she is hired to work for the Traynor family in England to the Gopnik family in New York now. Since then, Lou has moved on. Time and tide wait for no man. She needs to move on. Yet somehow, it still feels somewhat wrong to have Lou's story continuing in a world without Will.

Following the advice of the late Will Traynor, Lou is now in New York city to start a new life, take up new challenges and go on exciting adventures. The story flows and is easy to read but other than that, there is nothing much compelling about it. Lou is still Lou. But Lou without Will is just not the same. Ever.

Time does not heal all wounds. It is what we do with time that heals. Perhaps that is what author Moyes is trying to put across in Lou's story - another story without Will - to us. Perhaps Still Me is the last in the series. Or perhaps there will be more to come. But no matter how, I stick to my guns that it will have been for the better if Me Before You remains as it has originally been intended to be, that is, a standalone novel.

Review: The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney

5 stars for The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney.

The Girl Before is a tense thriller that is as intriguing as it is creepy about a house, its architect and its occupants.

The story alternates in first person narratives between two female protagonists, Emma (then) and Jane (now). I will say that the author does a terrific job to avoid reader's confusion by cleverly employing the tactic of indirect (for Emma) and direct (for Jane) first person narratives.

Well, the result is, without a doubt, a series of harrowing accounts narrated in dramatic and spellbinding details the lives of Emma and Jane, as well as a minimalist style starchitect whose work is as unshowy as it is profound and of course, the sleek and perfect house designed by aforementioned architect on One Folgate Street without which there is no story.

Just as the plot is lined with unexpected twists and turns, I am totally clueless that author Delaney is actually the British adman Tony Strong, that is, until I am writing this very review. The thing is, I simply am not able to tell from the initials that the author is a man! If I did, in all likelihood, I will not have chosen to read this psychological thriller in the first place.

Well, just so you know, do not judge a book by the gender of its author just as the saying goes: do not judge a book by its cover. So.. read this book!

Review: Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

5 stars for Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty.

Six wakes. Six crew. One starship project.

This story has the novelty of a one-stop shop space opera with cloning, mindmapping, hacking, artificial intelligence and plenty of secrets to go around.

The Dormire, a spacecraft whose crew on board is given the promise of a clean slate and new planet is on an exciting mission; a mission that is not supposed to end with slaughter and rebirth. To ensure their continued existence, the crew seek to unravel the mystery surrounding their circumstances and soon find themselves with no choice but to share their delights and fears and that skeleton in the closet.

Intense and gripping, the mystery and suspense embedded in the isolation of deep space keeps me on my toes from the start right to the end. Come join me on this story that reads like having a front-row seat watching a science fiction movie on the Big Screen, a space mission that is definitely a challenge worth taking up and a journey worth travelling.

Review: How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

4.5 stars for How to Stop Time by Matt Haig.

How to stop Time is a beautiful work of fiction. It is a thought-provoking tale of living with a condition where time stretches out towards an almost infinitely distant point in the future, a condition that sounds like a blessing but which, in itself, is also a curse.

Written with a time perspective that does an impressive job to comfort and terrify, the story flits seamlessly between the past and the present to span centuries where everything changes, yet nothing changes. Chapter to chapter, scene to scene, time to time, flashback to flashback, everywhere but nowhere, everything but nothing, all at once torn between centuries, between place and time, now and then. The author brilliantly delivers an effect which is a poignant combination of mesmerizing surroundings and tragic history. The entire story will have been perfectly executed if not for the slight tweak towards the end which I feel kind of bring the story down a notch.

Estienne Thomas Ambroise Christophe Hazard has many, many names, and been many, many things. Because of a - speed of ageing at 1:15 ratio - condition, he has been roaming Earth for four centuries and then some. This is his story. Read it, live it and join him on his quest on how to stop time.

"What are you scared of?"
"I am scared of time."