JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

River Stone by Rachel Hennessy

Pandora, of the River People, wants more than her village can provide. When disaster comes to her people, Pan has the opportunity to become their saviour and escape her inevitable pairing with life-long friend Matthew. She wants to make her own choices. Deep in her soul, she believes there is something more out there, beyond the boundaries, especially since she encountered the hunter of the Mountain People.

A story of confused love, difficult friendships and clumsy attempts at heroism, Pan’s fight for her village will bring her into contact with a whole new world, where the truth about the past will have terrifying reverberations for her people’s future survival.

River Stone is the first book in a new dystopian YA series from Australian author Rachel Hennessy. The story is about survival and bravery, but it’s also about family, legacy and expectation.

At first, I thought The River People were a cult. The village is small, ruled by a male elder, and teenagers are told who they are to be paired with. They don’t get to choose who to have children with, and who or what they want isn’t really taken into consideration.

It all seemed very cultish, and I guess it kind of is, but in a dystopian setting. Most of the world was wiped out after a mysterious virus started infecting people, and The River People are just doing their best to survive and continue procreating so that they don’t die off. In the blurb, it says “when disaster comes to her people”, and I half expected that to be a mass suicide like you see in cults, but I was just overthinking it. Pandora’s people are struck down with the mysterious virus and it’s up to Pandora and her friends to travel into the city and find the cure.

“Caro chews on a large piece of meat. He and Bayat have prepared a piece of the cougar on a long, whittled spear which they’ve placed over there pit, held up by two forked branches driven into the ground. They have turned it sporadically over the course of the afternoon and then carved slices off it.”

Young readers will be drawn to Pandora’s resilience, determination and strength. She’s worried for her parents, but she’s also worried for her village. She doesn’t want to let anyone down and she certainly doesn’t want to fail on this mission.

Pandora has to navigate this new world if she’s going to succeed. But she also has to navigate a love triangle, and the group of friends she’s traveling with. Tensions rise and friendships are damaged.

“At the very least, the training had ensured I could just keep up with Bayat and as we sped along the path to the caves, I realised my muscles were stronger than they’d ever been.”

As an adult, I picked up on a few things about the plot that I thought could’ve used some work. Firstly, there’s a lot of travel involved in this book, which is something most commonly seen in the second book of a series. Travel is very important in fantasy or dystopian fiction, but it can also be a little boring. I certainly felt like the travelling in River Stone could’ve been condensed, or sped up.

Secondly, I found it awfully convenient how easy it was for Pandora and her friends to gain the Mountain People’s trust. Things seemed quite….easy for the team. They’re trained in both information and combat, and they’re given pretty much everything they need to succeed in their mission. It seemed a little unrealistic.

But, I’m an adult. Whilst I certainly think teenagers are at risk of getting bored of the travelling, I don’t think Pandora’s quick connection with the Mountain People will deter young readers.

River Stone entertained and intrigued me enough to want to read the sequel. The premise is refreshingly unique, and whilst the plot is a little slow at times, and the pacing lagging, I think teen readers will be enthralled by the story. I recommend this for readers aged 11-15.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

River Stone
Rachel Hennessy
May 2019
Midnight Sun Publishing

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton

From the author of The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender comes a haunting maelstrom of magic and murder in the lush, moody Pacific Northwest.

When Rona Blackburn landed on Anathema Island more than a century ago, her otherworldly skills might have benefited friendlier neighbours. Guilt and fear instead led the island’s original eight settlers to burn “the witch” out of her home. So Rona cursed them. Fast-forward one hundred–some years: All Nor Blackburn wants is to live an unremarkable teenage life.

She has reason to hope: First, her supernatural powers, if they can be called that, are unexceptional. Second, her love life is nonexistent, which means she might escape the other perverse side effect of the matriarch’s backfiring curse, too. But then a mysterious book comes out, promising to cast any spell for the right price. Nor senses a storm coming and is pretty sure she’ll be smack in the eye of it.

The Price Guide to the Occult is a young adult fantasy novel from Leslye Walton, about a young girl and her journey towards facing up to her villainous mother.

Nor is the youngest of the Blackburn women, cursed for generations. She just wants to lead a normal teenage life, until she stumbles upon a book — written by her mother — that can cast any spell. She’s thrust into a world she doesn’t fully understand, and her evil mother — who once tried to kill her — returns into her life to wreak havoc.

Truthfully, I don’t see this novel holding the attention of a child or teenager. It struggled to hold my attention, and I’m in my late twenties. The prose is very descriptive, which at first made me admire the book, but after a while, I realised the book is actually just very overwritten and the pace very slow. The book sits at 278 pages, and if it were any longer I think I would’ve given up before the end.

“Nor watched her mother’s blood inch its way across the roof, then stop. Weakened and defeated, Fern slumped to the ground as Nor breathed a shaky sigh of relief. Perhaps the madness was finally over.”

Despite the ominous setting and the murderous plot, the stakes never felt high enough in the book. The characters never felt realistic or complex enough for me to sympathise for them, and the villain never scary enough for me to fear her. Additionally, I never really warmed to the love story or the romance of the book.

My favourite part of the book was the prologue, however it’s about Nor’s ancestor Rona and so the rest of the novel isn’t about her.

“Nor was dreaming again. In her dream, she was standing in a cold and unfamiliar room. The walls and floor were made of stone. The room had a foul door to it, a mix of rot and decay, and the metallic scent of blood. The only way out was a winding stone staircase.”

The pacing is one of the major reasons this book didn’t work for me. It takes a long time before the conflict between Fern and Nor arises, and the book weaves between past and present so often that it’s easy to get confused by events.

This book has an amazing backstory. A truly wonderful prologue. But unfortunately the rest of this book wasn’t for me.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Price Guide to the Occult
Leslye Walton
April 2019
Walker Books Australia

The Secret Runners of New York by Matthew Reilly

‘The windows on all the skyscrapers are smashed…
No power, no lights, no people…
It’s a parallel New York of some kind.’

THE COMING END
When Skye Rogers and her twin brother Red move to Manhattan, rumours of a coming global apocalypse are building. But this does not stop the young elite of New York from partying without a care.

CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?
And then suddenly Skye is invited to join an exclusive gang known as the Secret Runners of New York.
But this is no ordinary clique – they have access to an underground portal that can transport them into the future.
And what Skye discovers in the future is horrifying.

RUN! AS FAST AS YOU CAN!
As society crumbles, Skye and Red race to figure out how to use their knowledge to survive the impending annihilation, they soon discover that the chaotic end of the world is perfect time for revenge…

The Secret Runners of New York is a new standalone YA novel by well-known Australian author Matthew Reilly.

When Skye Rogers moves to Manhattan to attend an expensive private school, she befriends a group of popular girls. One of the girls — Misty — has an amulet that allows them to be transported approximately 20 years in the future, where they can run beneath Central Park.

Skye is shocked to find that 20 years in the future, the world is a wasteland. After some time, the group work out that on St Patrick’s Day in the present year, a doomsday, apocalyptic-style event had occurred that destroyed the earth.

“It was like I had been knighted or damed or whatever the hell the female equivalent of being knighted it. Both at school and outside it, Misty ushered me into her inner circle. I was in.”

Reilly’s world building is really strong, and the premise of the story is intriguing and interesting to the reader. However, this book wasn’t for me. There’s so much potential for this to be an amazing book but it fell flat.

Reilly’s shift from adult protagonists in his other works to a teen protagonist in this book isn’t the main issue.

The main issue is the lack of backstory, character development and authentic voice. The pacing is really fast, making the reader feel like the story is skipping important information, and also making us feel like the book is really rushed.

The characters are adequate, but two-dimensional. The love story feels forced and there’s very little chemistry between the characters. It feels like the romance is there because it should be, rather than needs to be. Additionally, the plot was too easily signposted and the ending very predictable.

“Even though it was only my second time inside the tunnel, it felt like my third. I think I’d mentally appropriated Red’s initial run as my own. And this run was actually more of a walk. It was not the late-night scramble that my first one had been with the larger group.”

Fans of Matthew Reilly’s previous works will discover this book, but may not necessarily enjoy it. This strays too far from his other works and is not the strongest of his collection. And if I’m being perfectly honest, I don’t think this book successfully captures the teenage female voice, or the teenage female experience.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Secret Runners of New York
Matthew Reilly
April 2019
Pan Macmillan Publishers

White Stag by Kara Barbieri

As the last child in a family of daughters, seventeen-year-old Janneke was raised to be the male heir. While her sisters were becoming wives and mothers, she was taught to hunt, track, and fight. On the day her village was burned to the ground, Janneke—as the only survivor—was taken captive by the malicious Lydian and eventually sent to work for his nephew Soren.

Janneke’s survival in the court of merciless monsters has come at the cost of her connection to the human world. And when the Goblin King’s death ignites an ancient hunt for the next king, Soren senses an opportunity for her to finally fully accept the ways of the brutal Permafrost. But every action he takes to bring her deeper into his world only shows him that a little humanity isn’t bad—especially when it comes to those you care about.

Through every battle they survive, Janneke’s loyalty to Soren deepens even as she tries to fight her growing attraction to him. After dangerous truths are revealed, Janneke must choose between holding on or letting go of her last connections to a world she no longer belongs to. She must make the right choice to save the only thing keeping both worlds from crumbling.

White Stag by Kara Barbieri is the first book in a new dark fantasy series, featuring a large cast of magical creatures and abilities. This book was originally self-published and after it became a success, White Stag was picked up by a major publisher for print distribution.

Before the story has even begun, there are trigger warnings — There are things in this book that you may find distressing or disturbing. Be warned there is content in this book that may trigger you. — and an author’s note where Kara addresses to readers what you can expect to come across in the book. Trauma, sexual violence, rape, assault, mutilation, eating disorders and body dysmorphia are all topics that come up throughout the novel. I think readers who have experienced violent pasts will appreciate these notices, and it will help them decide whether or not this is a book they would like to read.

Janneke is a human girl who was kidnapped when her entire village and family were murdered over a century earlier. She was taken across the border by goblins and has been living as a goblin thrall in a land called the Permafrost — she ages slowly and her body adapts to live with goblins. She starts to become like them, against her will.

“If I could forget where I was, who I was with, what I was doing, it was almost as if I were back home so many years ago, hunting for my family. My heart sank in my chest; that would never happen again. Even if I managed to escape this and live in the human world, there was a nagging part of me that feared I would never belong.”

Lydian abused and mutilated Janneke for just under one year before passing her off to his nephew Soren. It’s been 100 years since Soren claimed ownership of Janneke, and her pain is very much still present and raw. She has flashbacks over what Lydian did to her, but Soren seems caring and trusting and he treats her better.

At its core, White Stag is about identity. Janneke doesn’t know who she is anymore, or who she wants to be. She’s not really fully human anymore, but not full goblin either. If she could leave Permafrost, would she want that? If she could become goblin, would she want that either?

Janneke really learns what she wants out of her life, and she discovers who she is among all these strangers and villains. She morphs into who she is meant to be.

You do have to suspend your disbelief a fair bit for this book, because even though this is fantasy and therefore anything is possible, the idea that a human can turn into a goblin because she’s been among them for so long does seem a little farfetched.

“The hurt in the young girl’s voice was clear. Perhaps whatever you were, you loved your family in some way. Perhaps knowing you were being taken to your likely death was just as painful as knowing you were being taken as a thrall. I shook myself. Attempting to humanise them would only make this worse.”

This first novel is really about the ancient goblin hunt. The Goblin King dies and so there’s a hunt to find the next goblin king. Soren and Lydian go up against each other, and there are high stakes involved. Janneke is at risk of being returned to Lydian. Soren is at risk of death.

Janneke accompanies Soren on this ancient hunt, and that’s when she must choose who she is meant to be. Her humanity is starting to fade and the goblin spirit within her is developing and growing stronger. It scares her.

Humans living in the Permafrost usually die after a few years, so the fact that Janneke is still alive after a century shows you just how strong and determined she is. She’s smart and she’s resourceful, and she and Soren bond over the course of the novel. They both need each other; they make each other stronger.

“He reached out and brushed my cheek with his thumb. i shivered, but not from fear. There was something burning deep inside of me that was beginning to make itself noticed. Something about his soft words and caresses, the strange mingle of fury and concern drew me close.”

Recommended for fans of fantasy, science fiction or paranormal fiction.

Please note the trigger warnings. I found some of the scenes very graphic and very violent and distressing. I can’t begin to imagine how sexual assault survivors may react to this book, so if that’s you, be aware before diving into this story.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

White Stag
Kara Barbieri
January 2019
Pan Macmillan Publishers

The Girl King by Mimi Yu

Two sisters become unwitting rivals in a war to claim the title of Emperor in this sweeping tale of ambition, sacrifice and betrayal for readers of Tomi Adeyemi, Kendare Blake and Samantha Shannon.

All hail the Girl King

Sisters Lu and Min have always known their places as princesses of the empire. Lu is destined to become the first female emperor, while Min is resigned to a life in her shadow. When their father declares their male cousin heir instead, his betrayal throws both their lives into chaos.

Determined to reclaim her birthright, Lu must flee the court in search of an ally. Her quest leads her to Nokhai, the last surviving wolf shapeshifter. After years in hiding, Nok is forced into an uneasy alliance with the girl whose family killed everyone he ever loved. Now they need an army to take back the throne.

Left alone in the volatile court, Min’s hidden power awakens. It’s a forbidden, deadly magic that could secure Set’s reign . . . or allow Min to claim the throne herself.

But there can only be one emperor, and the sisters’ greatest enemy could turn out to be each other . . .

The Girl King by Mimi Yu is the first book in a new fantasy series, about two sisters who become unwitting rivals in a war to claim the title of Emperor. This book explores issues surrounding family, sacrifice, ambition, prophecy, destiny and betrayal, perfect for young adult readers.

This debut is amazing — refreshing, unique, enthralling and extraordinary. I went into this book completely blind, having never heard anything about it. It was delivered to my door as an unsolicited request from Hachette Publishers, and I’m so so glad they sent me a copy. I demolished this book, and I’m now so eager for the sequel.

There are many characters in the book, but the main protagonists are princesses and sisters Lu and Min, and Nok, an apothecarist’s apprentice living in a poor village in the city’s North. When Lu flees home, she crosses paths with Nok — who has his own special abilities — and they work together to overthrow Set and his army.

Lu is determined but naive, which aligns with her privileged upbringing and her young age. She is determined to be the dynasty’s first female ruler, and her father’s betrayal is not going to stop her from being Empress.

“Chaos broke. Shouts went up from her men — there was a flash of steel as weapons were drawn. A crossbow twanged and someone in Hu reds fell to the ground. Lu tried to track who it was, who had shot — who, if anyone, was on her side, and who was the enemy.”

Lu is very flawed and the people she meets on her journey are not shy in acknowledging that. It’s refreshing. Lu is too young to possibly know everything she can in order to overthrow and rule her family’s dynasty. She needs to grow up and mature, and she needs allies. She needs to learn to trust others and honour promises, and she needs to learnt to connect with people so that they can trust her as a future ruler.

Set may be young, but he’s a great villain. He’s cunning and clever, he’s brash and careless. He’s also overconfident; he’s not as skilled as Lu in combat or swordplay. He’s a child. He’s unprepared for what he’s been thrust into, and once the Empress pulls the right strings to allow Set to be the new Emperor, he disregards her and pushes her aside and that’s probably one of the biggest mistakes he makes in this book.

Min is forever overlooked. The second sister, never destined to rule. She never receives the same kind of attention or training from her father. But she is not to be ignored. Unbeknownst to her, she harbours very powerful and effective magic that once unleashed, changes the empire and has a big impact on the war between her and her sister Lu.

“Lu felt a familiar pinprick of annoyance. Sisters, she was fairly certain, were supposed to present a unified front against their parents. Min acted more like a twice-shot, over-burdened messenger, running ragged between Lu and their mother, trying to keep the peace. Their mother was a tyrant, true, but if only her sister would stand up herself now and again.”

The plot moves quickly and the characters are all three-dimensional, full-fleshed out. It’s easy to become lost in the story, reading chapter after chapter, desperate to get to the end. The writing is smooth and visual, with effective dialogue and vocabulary used to allow the reader to visualise what’s happening.

I felt like Min’s magic, and her abilities, weren’t really explained as clearly as they could’ve been. I don’t 100% understand the magic she is able to do, and what the magic inside her means for her surroundings, but I believe this may become clearer as the series progresses.

Despite this, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. This is my first 10/10 for 2019, and I think anyone who loves fantasy books, or sagas or series will love this. But truthfully, I think all readers — young and old — will enjoy this story.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl King
Mimi Yu
January 2019
Hachette Book Publishers

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