Mindless (Short Story) - Louise Cole

Synopsis:

‘My parents chose who they wanted to be and I knew it would end badly. What I didn’t see is I’d be the one to pay the price.’

Everything changes the day Stella is hit by a car outside her London council flat. It’s not an accident. It’s a warning. Her dumb, drug-dealing father and her soppy mother don’t have the sense between them to keep Stella and her little brother safe. Her father Joe has stolen from local mob boss Horse - and then his scheme to repay Horse goes south, and lands Joe in prison. Where he starts to talk.
Horse is coming for them. If anyone is going to protect her family, it will have to be Stella herself. But how far will she go? And who must she become in order to survive?

Tense, gritty and beautifully written, Mindless is the story of a clever girl trapped in a stupid, violent world. It will appeal to young adults and adults alike. Told by Stella itself, the story alternates between the thriller narrative and her later conversations with her psychiatrist.

Review:

Firstly I'd like to thank Louise for providing me a copy of Mindless for a honest review, I hope she likes what I have to say.

So we follow Stella who's clearly an intelligent young woman, she tells us her story and its a tense one at that. Her life isn't perfect but it is what it is and things change one day when Stella gets hit by a car right outside of her council flat in London and I have to admit I flinched at this scene, I physically recoiled which was a clear sign I was really into the book. Stella ends up in the hospital and goes on to recover from the incident and she becomes aware soon after that it wasn't an accident, instead it was a warning for her Father.

Stella clearly has more sense than both of her parents put together and her brother isn't like Stella, she quickly puts together the proof in her mind and a plan to execute, going on to confront her dad and he reassures her he's going to fix it all, but things goes south when the scheme he made to fix it all goes south and puts him behind bars where he can't keep his mouth shut and Stella remains aware throughout, figuring it out that if they can't do a good job of getting to Joe whilst behind bars, they'll hurt him through the people outside of prison whom he loves but Stella is already ready for this as her mind is the only one functioning.

The last part of the middle and the ending of the book blew me away, it was intense action and utterly jaw dropping. Stella is clearly a very strong and determined character well built and portrayed. Although only a short story I utterly loved it, I'd easily fall in love with Stella all over again if she ever resurfaced in any more work of Louise'. A short story indeed, immersive more so, action packed and wonderful I have to give it a 5/5 which it truly deserves. Louise has a great writing style which I fell in love with in The Devil's Poetry when I read it not so long back.

Champions: At Fires End (Champions #1) - Charlotte Jain

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old best friends, April and Kyle, are thrown into the final battle of the Titan and Olympian war. Locked into an endless struggle, the Immortals have finally reached a solution - bestow mortal Champions with control over the elements to wage their final campaign.

Bestowed with control over fire and water, April and Kyle were raised by Immortals with a single purpose - win the war. After finally uncovering the remaining Champions' identities, April and Kyle must launch themselves into their final battle for survival. Winner takes all. But the Immortals are growing restless, and time is running out. 

Review:

Thanks to Charlotte whom provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows April and Kyle, two 17-year olds who've been chosen as two of the four Champions to wage the war for the Olympians against the Titans on earth. Both teenagers were raised and trained by Immortals, and both hold powers given to them at birth which allows them to control fire and and water along with several other abilities which are a little sprinkle pf surprise when they make an appearance. April and Kyle are on a mission to find the remaining two Champions as they come in pairs, but they’re supposed to train and then go on to destroy them. As both of them come to struggle to control their abilities that are slowly but surely wearing them down the inevitable war moves closer and closer and that's all they think about.

First of all, I went in to this book without any expectations, that's mostly down to me not knowing what to truly expect from the book. I really liked how Charlotte's story played out in the end, I loved the vivid descriptions which allowed me to, without much effort imagine each and every setting. Both the main characters and the side characters were well developed and portrayed, I wasn't too fond of Kim for some reason but I was inevitably drawn to Noah whom had this dark presence about him but that's a whole new can of worms that we definitely wont be opening here.

I used to love Greek Mythology as a kid so the mention of it within this book kind of re-awoke the child in me and loved it just as much as I did. I loved each part of the story and definitely wasn't expecting the ending. I got completely lost in the book, fully immersed and in love with what I was reading. April felt like a best friend for me I really hooked onto her or her to me and I was simply unable to not get any sort of emotional or on edge when she was involved in something. I did remain neutral on Kyle though, at first I loved him and all he was and brought to the story but by the time it ended, after all that had happened throughout the book I didn't hate nor love him. But all the characters were greatly written and portrayed and id happily give this book a 4/5 and ill definitely be wanting to see how the rest of this series goes.

If you’re a fan of Greek Mythology like my inner child and Percy Jackson, you may want give this series a go.

Retrograde - Peter Cawdron

Synopsis:

The international team at the Mars Endeavour colony is prepared for every eventuality except one—what happens when disaster strikes Earth?

Mankind has long dreamed of reaching out to live on other planets, and with the establishment of the Mars Endeavour colony, that dream has become reality. The fledgling colony consists of 120 scientists, astronauts, medical staff, and engineers. Buried deep underground, they’re protected from the harsh radiation that sterilizes the surface of the planet. The colony is prepared for every eventuality except one—what happens when disaster strikes Earth?

Review:

I love diving into more genres when I read, Sci-fi isn't a genre I often dive in to so when I first got this book I was apprehensive about how I would feel as I read this book but I was pleasantly surprised by it and actually loved it a lot more than I thought I would. I'm going to try and write this review without spoiling any of the story so please stay with me if at first it doesn't make sense.

We follow Liz and the other 119 people who are living in a colony on Mars. There are the Russians, Americans, Chinese and Eurasia - including UK, Japan, Spain and other countries. Told from the point of view of Liz we get to see the other colony inhabitants that she interacts with which provides us with a few main and some minor characters. Although we have all of these countries to interact with throughout the story there is an understanding that we don't have anything to do with several of the inhabitants. Writing it like this is so clever, it helps us gain a perspective on the size of the colony and its crew without having to make every person a main or minor character. They are all very intelligent characters and every time they do something that i see as incredibly cool or smart which is basically everything the do, it blows me away.

The characters are strong and well developed, I instantly loved Liz and all of those we read about, even those who aren't shown in the great light we wished everyone was. We have US Commander Connor, who is the ex military self taught astronaut who is right hand man to Harrison who's the gruff loud type who is soft underneath. We have more people, James and Michelle are the most notable. We see a small amount of the Eurasian contingent but of the Russian contingent we see their leader Vlad and their Dr, Anna. The other group we see more of compared to the Eurasians and Russians are the Chinese, with Doi as their commander and Jaiyun who is Liz's love interest. With all of these people interacting together throughout the story it's a great interplay of culture, emotions and personalities and it's done perfectly.

The plot is brilliant and maybe that's because the statement is coming from a girl who hasn't read much Sci-fi in her life? or maybe it is brilliant because well...it just is? the jury is still out on that one. As I read the first chapter I was just praying to myself that the book wasn't going to be hard to get into and wasn't going to drag out but it was a pleasant surprise to be hooked by the first chapter and every other chapter after. I was automatically trying to figure out what was going to come but I wasn't right with what I ended up with. There are so many great things about this book, most notably the great twists it holds, its incredibly suspenseful in parts. I feel like there are undertones of uniting no matter who we are, where we come from or the political issues going on that continue to have a hold on our world.

You can easily tell how much research and thought went into this book, it screams volumes and is incredibly effective. I think I had a mini emotional roller coaster as I read this novel and part of me wants way more from Peter that goes with this book, I'd happily have a 20 part series really and that's no lie. Thanks to Peters high volume of accuracy in detail it was easy for me to put the book down and still see all of what had happened. I was hooked and in love, the imagery was beautiful an I couldn't control myself when it came to talking to my mother about this book.

Cawdron has done an amazing job with this novel, its an easy 5/5 from me and I definitely want to check out more of his work.

An American Cage by Ted Galdi

Synopsis:

Three inmates break out of a maximum-security prison in Texas, one of them Danny Marsh, a suburban kid in his twenties who landed in jail because of a crime he never intended to commit.

An American Cage follows Danny and his two escape partners over a twenty-four-hour period as they struggle to cross Texas to freedom in Mexico. On this dangerous journey, Danny has to evade the rabid Texas authorities, and even worse, the schemes of one of his closest allies, who isn't who he seems.

Review:

So I managed to read this book in like 6 hours, it was so good I really couldn't put it down so it wasn't much of a surprise for me to read it all in one go. 

Danny Marsh is 24 years old, after one error of judgment one night after a dinner out with his colleagues he ends up behind bars at Crick Maximum Security Prison located in Texas. He was often a victim of panic attacks until he was housed with a new cellmate, the soft spoken Professor Phil Zorn who's forty-ish and a neuroscience researcher and was able to offer Danny father-like support and encouragement. It is then no surprise that when Phil plans a prison break, Danny, as well as ghetto raised Monty Montgomery support the escape plan.

I don't want to run through the book bit by bit and ruin it from anyone so I'll leave it there but as soon as you open the book you are thrown right into the action, it's a gripping piece of writing all the right way through. We see all of this over a 24 hour period, the time is filled by great characterizations and relentless action which helps the time pass super quickly. The characters are perfectly crafted and well developed throughout the story which juts makes it all the more wonderful. 

Although there are three main characters and point of view, we see some of the story through other characters eyes which only deepens the link between story and reader. It was lovely to see the book broken up by changes in the POV which helped give the reader a look a all angles of the story including the police and the family of those involved. 

I wasn't expecting the ending to play out like it did, it was a great surprise and I actually loved it more than I probably should. This books was truly great, even much so that on Instagram where I was hosting a book tag in August I named this book my favourite book of the year so far. Ted Galdi crafted a great book with great characters and executed it all perfectly and even though I didn't know what exactly to expect from this book when I first opened it, I fell in love with what came from it in the end. I cant give this book anything less that the 5/5 it deserves, and I can only recommend this book to anyone out there who wants to be surprised and immersed in action.

Than you to Ted who provided a copy of the book for an honest review, it was an honour.

I Know Where She Is - S.B Caves

Synopsis:

An explosive, gripping thriller for fans of Karin Slaughter, Linwood Barclay and Karen Dionne, don’t miss this heart-stopping debut.

On the tenth anniversary of her daughter Autumn's abduction, Francine receives an anonymous note containing just five words: I KNOW WHERE SHE IS

When a young woman approaches her the next day claiming to have sent the letter Francine wants to dismiss it as a cruel, twisted joke.

But the stranger knows things that only Autumn would know.

It soon becomes clear that Francine must go to dark places in order to learn the truth about her child’s kidnapping.

She will discover that danger comes from unexpected sources. She will do things she never imagined herself capable of.

But will Francine get her daughter back – or is it too late?


Review:

I didn't know what to expect as I went into this book but whatever it was I was completely blown away by the whole thing.

Francine who is visibly struggling with the anniversary of her daughters abduction, its been nearly 10 years but then one night she gets a note under her door and at first she think it's an incredibly sick joke  being played on her because her name isn't listed anywhere, neither is her number, she's basically incognito so things like this don't happen. The following day whilst at work she notices someone lingering by her car and she confront them, only to find out her name is Lena, she sent the note and she knows where Autumn is.

And there Francine begins the riveting roller coaster ride as she follows her gut to reunite with her daughter dead or alive. Francine is completely human, flawed and utterly believable and true. Her ex Will however is a complete swine, he seems to have given up all hope on finding his daughter, he's married again and now there's a child on the way and when Francine approaches him about something to do with their long lost daughter he's quick to shoot her down, thinking there is something wrong with his ex but I can see where he's coming from with it all I mean some people lose hope after 10 years but Francine is a fighter and is full of hope.

As the book goes on the whole situation behind Autumns kidnapping unravels and we're shown the brutal and deprived world that had everything to do with it. I'm not even able to imagine how heart breaking and all losing a child in such a way would truly be but I can feel the determination in Francine throughout the book as she follows her mothers instinct and gut. It's a beautiful book, it shows the determination of a mother to find and protect her daughter even though she believes she failed years ago when her daughter was taken from her. It's a book showing strength and resilience but also corruption and the sick, unhuman acts on innocent people.

A gripping page turner, I was gripped from the very start and I was on a rollercoaster with Francine as she goes through all of these situations. My heart broke, mended but still cracked and so much more. If you like your thrillers then this is definitely one you should check out. It's a 5/5 from me and I'll be keeping my eye out of S.B Caves in the future because I'm sure his future work will be just as great at this debut.

Wrecking Balls - J. Giambrone

Synopsis:

Charleston and Gary are on the verge of comic greatness: broke, wasted, and floundering through life. As Charleston turns 30 he faces an existential crisis. His comedy career in the gutter, he considers leaving the life. That is until Gary pilfers one of his joke ideas. Then it's comedy Jihad to the death, and there can be only one.


Review:

This book was a book of which I had alot of expectations for, mostly down to hoping the jokes within were going to have an affect on me.

So Gary and Charleston have shared the same dream since they were kids growing up together, to become top notch comedians with fans and the spotlight on them. They tumble through life doing gigs here and there as many as they can, finding nothing much like the success that they want. Out of the blue Gary steals one of Charlestons jokes from his line up so naturally they both having a fall out which consists of jokes gone awry and vengeful videos online, each of them trying to outdo the other and let me say its crazy.

The stand up parts of this book were actually funny, so much so I had a good hearty laugh even though they push the limits of being acceptable. Through the stand up parts of the book Giambrone highlights how sensitive America is, and not essentially just America but almost every other place on the earth. With each stand up moment there is also a great insight of how the whole thing actually works which makes it even more enjoyable to read. 

I have to be honest when I'm writing these reviews, I don't like to write of negative things but this one isn't negative as such, it was more of a complication I faced. When I first begun reading the book it took me a couple of chapters to really get into the book as I found it hard to gain some sort of understanding of what was going on but I was able to catch on not too late into the book. I really loved Gary and Charleston, I think they would look great on stage in a small run down bar.

I love how Giambrone was able to write 3 different comedians in this book and managed to give each of them all their own different audience and view on the world and the issues going on. They all stood out as individuals on the stage, and I feel like  making that happen is hard to do. I was really impressed by Giambrone' ability to do so much with 3 completely different characters within a story. Some of the jokes throughout the book had me laughing hard, it was quite nice to be able to laugh at certain of the jokes. I'm giving it a 4/ 5 , that's really not the books fault really because I didn't laugh at all of the jokes and I felt if I did I'd have given it a 5/5 but I wasn't laughing all the way through even though I thoroughly enjoyed the whole story and some of the jokes. If you're into comedy then this is definitely a book for you.

Juniper Limits (The Juniper Series, #2) - Lora Richardson

Synopsis:

Celia has spent her life waiting for the next crisis. When the tension at home begins to ease, she wonders if she’ll finally be able to relax. Her father has stopped drinking, her cousin Fay has moved back to Juniper, and it seems like Paul might really care about her. But trust is an uphill battle for Celia, fighting against doubt the whole way.

Paul has been drawn to Celia for as long as he can remember, and she is finally giving him a chance to show her how he feels. But when Celia can’t stop worrying everything will fall apart, and when things in Paul’s own life take a turn for the worse, can they learn to rely on each other?

Review:

Having read and reviewed Lora's work which is the first book of The Junpier Series called The Edge Of Junpier and fell in love I was more than happy and honoured to read Junpier Limits. This time we follow Paul and Celia throughout the book, watching their friendship strengthen and blossom.

I was so happy to be back in Juniper and seeing who felt like old friends, this story takes place so close to where The Edge Of Junpier ended and it all fitted so well. Celia's father Tedd is staying sober after being within the hold of alcohol for so long which we got to see in the previous book. it was ice to finally have faith in Tedd and wish he would follow the sobriety all the way through. At the end of the previous book we find out that after leaving Junpier, Fay is moving back and the trio she left behind are excited for her to return. All the while Paul is trying hard to show Celia how much he cares for her and he means it all but Celia doubts him all the way having struggled with trust for a long time.

It's beautiful to watch them both blossom with each other, I knew in the previous book that Paul cared and he was being true. Paul is a breath of fresh air. He isn't a bad boy, just a funny and cheery guy who is persistent in his pursuit of the only girl he's set on getting, but much like Celia his life isn't perfect and my heart really goes out to him, he's caring and sympathetic and yet he's strong and way beyond his years.

What struck me (yet again) about Juniper Limits is how realistic it feels. The dialogue and humor shared between Celia and Paul was so true and relalistic. When it came to how Celia dealt with the stress at home, her reactions felt so believable. Between the sadly true to life situations Celia and Paul were dealing with, Celia's reluctance to trust not only Paul but anyone, and Paul's conflicted feelings about his mother, there was a feeling of authenticity that ran throughout the book. Richardson perfectly captured Celia's tough outer shell, her constant worry, her fear to hope for better, and the shred of hope she allowed herself to feel anyway.

I don't think I can score any lower than 5/5 here, Lora has blown me away again and it was incredible to be able to see their faces and Juniper once again. I went through so many emotions whilst reading this book, all of them with the characters and that just shows you how great Lora writes. It was sad to have to leave them behind when I closed the eBook but I hope ill be seeing them again sometime.