Review: Cruel Summer by James Dawson

Cruel Summer by James Dawson
Released: 1st August 2013
Publisher: Indigo
Reason for reading: Loved Hollow Pike and it sounded awesome 

Goodreads synopsis:

A year after Janey’s suicide, her friends reunite at a remote Spanish villa, desperate to put the past behind them. However, an unwelcome guest arrives claiming to have evidence that Janey was murdered. When she is found floating in the pool, it becomes clear one of them is a killer. Only one thing is for certain, surviving this holiday is going to be murder…

A compelling and psychological thriller - with a dash of romance

My thoughts:

Sometimes you go into a book thinking it's gonna be pretty good and it exceeds your expectations to the point you are almost stupefied. This is exactly what happened with Cruel Summer. I mean this in a good way. I loved Hollow Pike and from that I knew that James was very good at creating real, relatable, diverse characters, building suspense and mystery and telling a chilling tale. But Hollow Pike could not prepare me for the masterpiece that is Cruel Summer.

The whole story is so carefully engineered in a way you simply can't fully appreciate until you've turned the last page. It is a masterclass in foreshadowing and characterisation. It has so many twists and turns that I was totally disorientated. Just when you think you have one thing figured out, you get hit over the head with something else (you'll appreciate that when you read the book). 

I went to James' launch for Cruel Summer and he asked who I thought had committed the murder. I confessed that I had narrowed it down to two suspects and James commented that it the 'why' was more interesting than the 'who'. This is bang on. Not only for this book, but for this genre. When you read/watch a lot of crime-y things you get very good at figuring out the 'who'. It's not (usually) to do with stunning detective work on your part but more down to some un-quantifiable algorithm of experience, hunches and clues. But the 'why' is the  fascinating part and it's the 'make or break' part as well. If the 'why' is flimsy, clunky, or clearly created at the last minute when the author realised that the villian actually needed a motive, the whole thing falls down. This was not the case in Cruel Summer. I never guessed the 'whys' (and there were a couple) and they were seamlessly, subtly, and oh so perfectly blended into the plot that I didn't pick up on a lot of the clues that were given. 

Not only was the plot a total knock-out, but the characters were pretty awesome too. From Ryan and Alisha, who narrated, to the rest of the 'cast'. Their personalities, issues, relationships were laid out with almost Rowling-esque care, and, as usual, James made sure that no one was excluded. Ryan's narrative style, treating the adventure as though it were a TV show, was inspired and original. And hilarious. A points it was like watching a film (or a TV show), the scenes were that well described. Ryan and Alisha were funny, sassy and likeable; a winning combination. 

TL;DR: Cruel Summer is a perfect, sangria-like mixture of murder mystery, thriller, horror and contemporary. While the murder mystery element might be the red wine (fitting) it is totally enhanced by the undertones of everything else. A fascinating, beautifully woven story that left me amazed, thrilled, amused and slightly horrified. A perfect blend. 

Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone  (Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo
Release date: 6 June 2013 (New UK edition)
Publisher: Indigo
Source: Received for review
Reason for reading: Everyone has raved about it

Goodreads description:

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.

My thoughts:

I watched the reviews of this book roll in when it was released as The Gathering Dark and thought it sounded really good, but I wasn't a huge fan of fantasy. Then once I got back into fantasy, I really wanted to read it but I figured I should wait until the re-release with the US cover/name. From that moment on I have been impatiently waiting, fighting the temptation to just buy it, so when Nina offered it to me for review slightly early, I couldn't help myself. 

Shadow and Bone was everything I hoped it would be. The world Leigh Bardugo has crafted is rich and interesting and detailed. I loved how it was clearly influenced by Russian culture; the names and words and the outfits and food, everything was inspired in a really interesting way. I love Russian culture so that element of the book was really appealing to me. I wanted to learn as much as possible about the world, the Grisha  ranks and the different types of powers, I was just so fascinated by it all. 

Alina was a really interesting character. She grew a lot in this book but still retained her personality. She maintained a healthy scepticism throughout part of this novel, but she accepted her position once it was clear she was Grisha. She struggled at first, but once she mastered her power she really grew in confidence. She clearly was a little insecure in herself, never being special or standing out and being, and feeling, overshadowed by those around her. But she was smart-mouthed in a way I found very entertaining and whilst not the strongest, most resourceful main character, she used her intuition and made the right judgements when necessary.

I can't talk about this book without mentioning the Darkling. I might be in love with the Darkling. Mysterious, funny, bit moody, possibly evil, he's ideal really. Thee scariest thing about the Darkling was that I totally got what he was doing, even if he did go about it in a rather controversial manner. He reminded me a little of Lenin leading the Bolsheviks against the Russian aristocracy (only, you know, more attractive). 

I always love books with journeys and this one has a literal journey that is mirrored by Alina's emotional and mental journey. She grew and discovered so much, both about herself and the world that she lived in. I was tearing through the pages, on tenterhooks through the latter part of the pages and my only criticism is that I wish there had been more: more detail, more story (more Darkling). 

TL;DR: Leigh Bardugo has created a richly imaginative world that I cannot get enough of. I cannot wait for the sequel and am literally counting down the days until its release. 

Shadow and Bone previously released as The Gathering Dark in the UK will be re-released with this new cover, alongside its sequel Siege and Storm, on the 6th June. Thank you to Nina at Indigo for my copy, which was received for an honest review. 

Review: Hollow Pike by James Dawson

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Hollow Pike by James Dawson

Released: 2nd February 2012

Publisher: Indigo

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads description:

Something wicked this way comes... She thought she'd be safe in the country, but you can't escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she's being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn't believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn't believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you're alone in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps... Hollow Pike - where witchcraft never sleeps

My thoughts: 

It's clear that James used to be a teacher. The teenage voices are the authentic creations of someone who has clearly spent a lot of time around them and I really appreciated that about Hollow Pike. It added a level of realism that can sometimes be lacking. The characters all had fully-formed personalities and unique voices in their own rights--though I especially liked Delilah and Jack.  I loved how NORMAL the love interest was. He was just a guy. A cute, intelligent guy, but still. A guy. There was no overly detailed, riddled with adjectives passages about how he was the most mysterious, most attractive most amazing boy in the world and how could she ever live without him. It was a perfectly normal teenage romance and I loved it. 

It was wonderful to read a book set in England (and in the North, wahay!)  and written by an English (and Norther, wahay!) author. It feels somehow more down-to-earth for me than all the American books I read. The setting of Hollow Pike in rural Yorkshire was suitably creepy, and whilst I've never visited Yorkshire (apart from York) I could definitely imagine myself there.

The plot was SO clever. I loved all the witchcraft references, how Lis didn't believe them, and what was actually going on in the atmospheric little town I love how Lis' dreams fitted in to the eventual explanation and once everything was revealed I couldn't help but wonder how I'd never figured it out, it was wonderfully misleading. I think I suspected EVERYONE at one point or another.  The book was fast-paced and tight, I never found my mind wandering or wanting to flick through the pages to get to the action. 

One thing that did bug me was Lis herself. Having suffered bullying at her old school, before her move to her sister's, she was naturally going to be a little fragile. And yet, whilst she stood upto Laura, a bully who represented everything that had forced her to leave her home in the first place, she wanted to run away from what was happening in Hollow Pike. I just didn't understand that. How she could be so strong in the face of one thing that scared her, and yet so weak in another. Plus she was actually going to ABANDON her friends in favour of saving her own life. That just really didn't wash with me. I definitely found Lis to be a bit of a sap, and much preferred the secondary characters. 

This is a fantastic debut, well written and teeming with clever references, witty lines and colourful characters that I fully appreciated. Bang on trend with its witchcraft-y elements and sporting a stunning, eye-catching cover, it's perfect for anyone who loves paranormal YA, but is looking for something just a little bit different.