Beautiful by Juliet Marillier

Released: 2019

Published by: Audible

Genre: Fantasy

Source: Publisher

Length: 7h 18mins

My Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Find it on Audible 

With the Nordic fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon as her inspiration, Juliet Marillier weaves a magical story of a young princess' search for her true self.

Hulde is a queen's daughter and lives in a palace. But her life is lonely. Growing up atop the glass mountain, she knows only her violent and autocratic mother and a household of terrified servants. Then a white bear named Rune comes to visit, and Hulde learns what kindness is. But the queen has a plan for Hulde. When she turns 16, she will wed the most beautiful man in all the world. Hulde has never met her intended husband, and her mother refuses to explain the arrangement.

Hulde becomes desperate to find out more, and seeks the help of a magic mirror. Perhaps someone is coming to her rescue. On her wedding day, Hulde's existence is turned upside down. For the first time she leaves the glass mountain behind, setting out to be as brave as the heroines in her beloved storybook. The journey will test Hulde to the limit. Can she overcome her fears and take control of her own life?

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I'm so glad to have finally ventured into audiobooks, and Beautiful has been a wonderful place to start. This three-part novel is inspired by a Norwegian fairytale, and takes a new turn to become about the unassuming princess who would one day reach out of the confines of her mother's rule and become a Queen of her own.

A fantasy novella such as this was rich in detail and narrated beautifully, which made it easy to listen to. The three sections were each distinct and represented different aspects of Hulde's character development, which was explored in detail throughout. While I did miss the feeling of being able to quickly flip back a page if I feel I missed an important detail, the vivid descriptions of the landscape and adventures which the protagonist encounters on her journey did make this something relaxing to listen to. There is something at once comforting and classic about a novel which has been spun from the strands of a fairytale, and Marillier has injected this story with just the right sense of magic to keep you wanting more as the tale progresses.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Beautiful was my first experience listening to an audiobook, and has definitely made me want to read more from Juliet Marillier!

Review: The Grip of It by Jac Jemc - Unsettling truths and unexplained absences

The Grip of It by Jac Jemc

Released: 1st August 2017

Published by: Macmillan (US)

Genre: Horror

Source: Bought

Pages: 276

My Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

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Touring their prospective suburban home, Julie and James are stopped by a noise. Deep and vibrating, like throat singing. Ancient, husky, and rasping, but underwater. “That’s just the house settling,” the real estate agent assures them with a smile. He is wrong.

The move—prompted by James’s penchant for gambling and his general inability to keep his impulses in check—is quick and seamless; both Julie and James are happy to start afresh. But this house, which sits between a lake and a forest, has its own plans for the unsuspecting couple. As Julie and James try to establish a sense of normalcy, the home and its surrounding terrain become the locus of increasingly strange happenings. The framework— claustrophobic, riddled with hidden rooms within rooms—becomes unrecognizable, decaying before their eyes. Stains are animated on the wall—contracting, expanding—and map themselves onto Julie’s body in the form of painful, grisly bruises.

 Like the house that torments the troubled married couple living within its walls, The Grip of It oozes with palpable terror and skin-prickling dread. Its architect, Jac Jemc, meticulously traces Julie and James’s unsettling journey through the depths of their new home as they fight to free themselves from its crushing grip.

What is worse? To be confronted with an obvious horror, or to be haunted by a never-ending premonition of what's ahead?

This new release from Jac Jemc being coined as 'literary horror' is the type of book which disorients the reader as much as it does the characters. Psychologically unsettling, the story unfolds as a young couple contend with an omnipresent entity in their newly purchased home. Set in a quiet neighborhood with some questionable residents who may know more than they let on, Julie and James become increasingly affected by an unspoken terror which threatens their grip on reality. While the 'big reveal' didn't leave me awestruck, Jemc's command of language was undeniably impressive. 

I remember that I have no answer for where the bruises come from or for where I disappeared when the house swallowed me up, and we have no explanation for the noises - the intonation or the deep breathing in the night or the voices looting our dreams - and no reasons for the drawings or the children in the woods, things we see together, even if we're apart. 

Let me start off by saying that this is not an example of the typical 'haunted house' trope. Yes, strange things happen in the building itself, but there is something altogether more uncomfortable when the cause could just as easily be rationalised as coming from the couple themselves. What makes The Grip of It so chilling goes beyond the already disturbing events of bruises which appear on Julie, or the sounds that keep James awake at night. You wouldn't need jump-scares in a horror movie if it instilled the kind of unease which is present here - something that is difficult to shake, but impossible to turn away from. The short, alternating perspectives let us get to know both members of the couple, as their vices and growing suspicion of each other begins to infiltrate the miasma of fear. There are lots of missing pieces though, and much of the background to the town and its past left me wondering where the story could possibly be headed. Things are dealt with at a slower pace in this novel which is almost entirely character driven, and often confusingly so. However, I can see where the author was coming from, and how it serves the purpose of always keeping you one step behind the truth. 

I feel this threat to our credibility sharply behind my eyes. The inability to trust ourselves is the most menacing danger. I fear what we could find here. I fear what we wont. 

I love how Jemc has contrasted such elegant prose with her darker subject matter. It's definitely made me want to read more of her work, as she is able to articulate human instinct and emotion in even the most surreal circumstances. She challenges the reader to question where the figments of our imagination begin and reality ends. Is there a true boundary between the two? This book excels at asking that exact question. As for the answer...well, I challenge you to take on The Grip of It and see what conclusion you reach.

We can mark the place that indicates This is how much we can take; we can monitor it, but that line, nevertheless, constantly moves. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

It can be hard to judge a book when I'm not even completely sure what had been going on at times, but perhaps that's the catch with a story like this - realising that the thought of the impossible is the most threatening of all. 

Review: Charisma by Jeanne Ryan - The high price to pay for popularity

Charisma by Jeanne Ryan

Released: 1st December 2016

Published by: Simon and Schuster

Genre: YA Thriller

Source: Publisher

Pages: 372

My Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

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An edge-of-your-seat thriller from the bestselling author of, Nerve, the book behind 2016's hottest YA film, starring Emma Roberts, Dave Franco & Juliette Lewis.

A chance at the ultimate makeover means deadly consequences... Aislyn suffers from crippling shyness - that is, until she’s offered a dose of Charisma, an underground gene therapy drug guaranteed to make her shine. The effects are instant. She’s charming, vivacious, and popular. But strangely, so are some other kids she knows.

The media goes into a frenzy when the disease turns contagious, and then deadly, and the doctor who gave it to them disappears. Aislyn must find a way to stop it, before it's too late.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Australia for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

We live in a society full of different personalities. Some are the life of the party, possessing the ability to strike up a conversation with anyone and exude that general air of confidence in whatever they do. Others however can experience the opposite, and like Aislyn in this book suffer crippling social anxiety. Then of course, there is the whole range of in-between on the introvert/extrovert spectrum; though the question posed in this novel is - who would want to be the 'average' level of sociable when you can be the star? Charisma is a quick read which does go some way in exploring the controversial topic of gene therapy and its implications, as well as the importance of finding other ways to be yourself; and own it. 

Who'd have thought I'd hang out with folks from the Nova Genetics teen group, with at least two of us acting way more extroverted than usual? And way happier. Thank you, Charisma.

Before learning of Charisma and how it could supposedly improve her life, Aislyn is no stranger to the opportunities which gene therapy creates. Her brother Sammy with cystic fibrosis is a regular visitor to Nova Genetics and Dr Sternfield, where it is hoped that he'll be accepted into a new clinical trial for a drug that could be the cure. So, when she learns of a top-secret trial from Sternfield which involves the 'CZ88' drug 'Charisma', she boldly takes the chance. However, with a drug previously untested on humans before the risks are high, and when her friends Rosa, and even party-boy Shane seem to have also taken it and are experiencing side-effects, Aislyn may just be second-guessing herself. 

While I did find some parts of the plot a little too predictable, and the trope of 'trying to get popular to win over the nice cute guy who would never like me otherwise (even if he does already)' somewhat cliche, I could appreciate the fast pace of the story. I also hadn't read any YA novels which had this focus on gene therapy before, and the author's notes at the end did reinforce the possibilities of where more research into that area will take us in reality. In an age where especially in the realm of social media there is a silent competition to see who really does 'have it all' - the most friends, the witty comments, and perfectly worded captions, this book provided a glimpse into the dangers of going too far to reach that level of fame. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

In all, though it wasn't a perfect read for me, Charisma is still worth trying for its glimpse into a controversial topic, and the importance of having a good support network to ultimately feel comfortable in your own skin. 

Review: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - Can true evil lurk within?

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Released: 27th September 2016

Published by: Titan Books

Genre: Horror

Source: Borrowed

Pages: 363

My Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

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The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia. To her parents' despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie's descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help.

Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts' plight. With John, Marjorie's father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.

Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie's younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface - and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.

As winner of the Bram Stoker prize in 2015, scary enough to spook Stephen King and commended by Megan Abbott, one of my favourite authors, it's fair to say A Head Full of Ghosts had a lot to prove. I'll be the first to admit that horror isn't a genre I'll typically venture into, but this dubiously twisted novel is one I don't regret giving a chance. Paul Tremblay knows exactly how to keep readers invested in the fate of this dangerously dysfunctional family. If you want to look deeper though, I feel the essence of this book is that he retains a sense of ambiguity which leaves you questioning whether the source of the chaos is of this world, or another realm altogether. 

She kept talking and she kept talking. I thought she would never stop. Standing there, I felt the sun pour through the windows, setting and rising on my back. The sunroom had become a sundial measuring the geological age of my psychological torture.

A Head Full of Ghosts may not have outright 'scared' me, but it definitely was a mind-bending experience. The story is told largely from Merry's perspective recounting the events which unfolded regarding her sister, and the reality TV show The Possession which documented the lives of her family. Comparisons can be made between her reaction to Marjorie's behaviour as an eight-year old, and fifteen years later when being interviewed by a reporter. Merry's childhood innocence tainted by the terror of an older sibling morphing into someone unrecognisable, seems to have shaped her into cloistered horror blogger she had become, but calls into question the reliability of her narration.

It is ironic and quite 'meta' that as 'Karen Brissette' Merry is able to publish posts to 'The Last Final Girl' about all things relating to the genre, referencing other renowned horror films when dissecting the episodes of The Possession. I'm sure horror aficionados would appreciate these allusions more than a novice like myself, but I do commend the author in weaving all these narrative elements together in such a way that we're always on the brink of discovering the truth - and yet at every dark turn it eludes us once more. 

Or maybe. Maybe. Maybe I'm just a lost, confused kid, scared of what's happening to me, to my family, to the world, and I hate school and I have no friends, and I spend my days sleeping with my iPod cranked up as loud as it'll go, trying not to go completely crazy, and with all that time alone I'm looking shit up on the Internet, looking up the same stuff over and over, and I memorize it all because I'm wicked smart, because I have to fill my head with something other than the ghosts.

When the facts of Marjorie's diagnosis are obscured by the idea that her father is convinced she is 'possessed', in conjunction with the sensationalism of reality TV, the plot takes on an even more labyrinthine quality. Is her father's proselytism justified for the right reasons? Is Marjorie actually putting on a teenage 'cry for help'? These fundamental questions are what kept the pages turning for me, and even upon finishing the book you'll be left pondering them, and others, even more. There were definitely some disturbing twists towards the end which pull back part of the curtain obscuring the skeleton of this story, but I think it would take a second reading to truly grasp it all. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

A Head Full of Ghosts is an eerie read presenting a dichotomy in the sanity of its characters, while simultaneously teasing the minds of those who brave its pages. 

Review: Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers - Revenge is sought and lives 'clipped' short

Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers

Released: 22nd August 2016

Published by: Harlequin Teen Australia

Genre: YA Fantasy

Source: Publisher

Pages: 424

My Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

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In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames.

The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down. Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.

With shades of The Godfather and Romeo and Juliet, this richly imagined fantasy from debut author Sarah Ahiers is a story of love, lies, and the ultimate vengeance.

Thank you to Harlequin Teen Australia for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Even though YA fantasy isn't usually a genre I'll reach for, Assassin's Heart still provided enough intrigue to keep me interested. Though it did take a few chapters to really convince me of its merits, towards the end there were a number of twists and a solid message to take away. 

Maybe Family wasn't stronger than family. And maybe family was what we made of it. 

The bounds of familial loyalty and a quest for vengeance lie at the heart of clipper (assassin) Lea's plight. Her family, the Saldana's are the 'First Family' in the kingdom of Lovero. However, a  secret romance with a member of the rival 'Second Family' the Da Vias, is ultimately the cause of their demise. It's interesting how this book features masks as identifiers - both literally and figuratively. While each of the Families have their own unique colour scheme or pattern which identifies them, it's clear that some are able to hide their emotions without them, and betray one another when you'd least expect.

They were so different, Val and Les. Val was arrogant and believed everyone was below him. Les was kind to people, even those who tried to push him away. Val tried so hard to be the person he was, with his appearance and his manner. Les didn't try at all, and his nature came through in a way that made my heart stutter, my breath catch in my throat.

Lea as a character was one I definitely wanted to see succeed. She definitely delivered as a badass assassin who, although not perfect - was flawed enough to make her realistic. Her strength and enduring loyalty to avenge what happened to her family were elements which gave her character complexity. While at first there may have been a slight 'love triangle' between Val and Les, ultimately these relationship dynamics gave Lea a chance to discover who she wanted to be, and what she would stand for. Another element to note was the touch of the paranormal with some ghosts making an appearance, and the spiritual emphasis on their god Safraella who dealt with souls in the afterlife. Though detail was lacking in terms of the physical worldbuilding, it was nice to have some insight into where the character's values and motives came from. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

In all, Assassin's Heart proved to be a satisfying read featuring an edgy protagonist and a hint at the paranormal. As a debut novelist, I can definitely see that Sarah Ahiers has a lot of potential.