JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

From Twinkle With Love by Sandhya Menon

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to longtime crush, Neil Roy-aka Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man ‘N’ begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she scripted. But will it be enough?

From Twinkle With Love by Sandhya Menon is a heartwarming romantic comedy for young adults. Sandhya is also the author of When Dimple Met Rishi, and both of her novels explore issues surrounding culture, identity and relationships.

I enjoyed this a lot more than Sandhya’s previous novel. I found the storyline really fun and unique, and the characters really varied. Twinkle isn’t afraid to speak her mind and she’s really witty. Sandhya has captured her voice really well. At times she’s self-centered, unable to see the ‘bigger picture’ and makes rash decisions, but teenagers are like that. They can be over confident or immature, but in Twinkle’s case, she’s trying to show her classmates what she’s capable of.

The book is told through letters, email and text messages and is a really fun format. Sometimes the format is not very cohesive though, and I found myself confused and trying to keep up with the alternating formats. Additionally, the tense is a bit jolting. Most of the time, the big events in the book are actually told in past tense so Twinkle would give an introductory paragraph before diving back into what happened, and it felt pretty exhausting as the reader.

Twinkle is really passionate about being a filmmaker, and she grows over the course of the novel. At first, she’s hesitant, anxious and she doubts herself and her ability. But by the end, she knows how talented she is and she knows how important it is to strive for what you want.

“I got the strange feeling that there was a lot more under the surface than what Sahil was saying. But his eyes kept darting around, his jaw was clenched, and his arms were folded across his chest. It felt like he didn’t want me to get too close.”

From Twinkle With Love also explores female friendship and the pressure of being popular and liked in high school. Twinkle’s friend Maddie is in with the popular group, and at times she’s pressured to act a certain way to please the other girls, particularly Queen Bee Hannah MacIntosh. But that’s not who she is, and she often has to ignore Twinkle to push her away because Twinkle is not considered popular or cool. She is self-conscious and even describes herself as being a ‘groundling’. This causes friction between the girls.

I can relate to this a lot. Any girl who went to high school probably can. It was so easy to change your actions because of what others thought of you, and I think Sandhya captured this really well.

“What sucks is Hannah’s having a birthday party at Victoria’s parents’ cabin in Aspen in two weeks but it’s on the same night that Mr. Tanaka has a gallery showing in Denver, so Maddie said she couldn’t go. Hannah didn’t understand and thought it was because Maddie was mad at her about sitting on her turkey sandwich that one time. The way Maddie tells it, Hannah pitched a little fit.”

I liked that Sandhya explored the financial struggles in Twinkle’s life. A lot of teenagers don’t have money, nor do their families, but I don’t see it reflected in YA novels very often. In From Twinkle With Love, Twinkle is often mentioning her family’s financial situation and how she has to budget and be careful what she spends her money on.

“I looked at the menu and sighed. It was almost five dollars for the coffee, which was my lunch allowance for the week. If I bought it, I’d have to do without at school, and hungry Twinkle was hangry Twinkle.”

The ending is predictable, but still enjoyable. I liked the complexities of Sahil’s storyline, particularly his complicated relationship with his brother and how that affects his friendship with Twinkle.

Perfect for young readers, From Twinkle With Love will delight and inspire.

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

From Twinkle, With Love
Sandhya Menon
May 2018
Hachette Book Publishers Australia

War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

Victory comes at a price.

Mare Barrow learned this all too well when Cal’s betrayal nearly destroyed her. Now determined to protect her heart—and secure freedom for Reds and newbloods like her—Mare resolves to overthrow the kingdom of Norta once and for all… starting with the crown on Maven’s head.

But no battle is won alone, and before the Reds may rise as one, Mare must side with the boy who broke her heart in order to defeat the boy who almost broke her. Cal’s powerful Silver allies, alongside Mare and the Scarlet Guard, prove a formidable force. But Maven is driven by an obsession so deep, he will stop at nothing to have Mare as his own again, even if it means demolishing everything—and everyone—in his path.

War is coming, and all Mare has fought for hangs in the balance. Will victory be enough to topple the Silver kingdoms? Or will the little lightning girl be forever silenced?

In the epic conclusion to Victoria Aveyard’s stunning series, Mare must embrace her fate and summon all her power… for all will be tested, but not all will survive.

War Storm by Victoria Aveyard is the fourth and final book in the Red Queen series, bringing the saga to a thrilling and tense conclusion.

Clocking in at 647 pages, War Storm is an epic finale full of politics, war, schemes and new allies. The pacing wavers, but the characters are fleshed out and the tension is high. If you love this series then it’s definitely worth reading War Storm because all of the loose ends are tied up and all narratives concluded.

I’ve recently created a new rule for myself when it comes to YA series, and that’s ‘I will not go back and re-read’. I pick up the sequel and start reading, and eventually I remember what happened in the previous book.

I did that with War Storm and I found it rather easy to jump back into the series, and slowly, all of the events of the previous books came flooding back to me.

“The mountains in the distance loom closer with every passing second. They look more like a wall than any mountains I’ve ever seen. Fear tries to eat at my resolve, but I don’t let it. Instead I narrow my eyes and sharpen my focus on the task at hand, leaving little room for anything else.”

Mare has definitely matured over the course of the series, and I found her internal thoughts to be much more consistent with her characterisation. She’s smart, savvy and she’s strategic.

Evangeline is probably my favourite character in the book, because you feel sympathetic towards her and so you feel emotionally invested in her storyline.

I also think the characterisation of Iris is fantastic — she’s a total badass. She puts herself first and even though she has no regard for anyone other than her family; she really helps propel the story forward and keep the reader guessing.

“The interior fort is an experiment in chaos. By now Cal will have begun his own assault, marching his battalion up and out of the tunnel system Harbor Bay is built on. It is an old city, well preserved through the ages, with deep and twisting roots. The Scarlet Guard knows them all.”

The plot is a little chaotic in the book, so you aren’t too sure where it’s headed. It’s a really long read, and the story drawn out. I think the pacing could’ve been tightened in the middle of the book, because I did feel really exhausted by the time I reached the end of the novel.

In saying that, the conclusion did feel a little rushed and quiet. I was expecting a big showdown between Cal and Maven, but after hundreds of pages of slow pacing, the final conflict in the book wrapped up rather quickly.

“The snarl of transports echoes outside the holding bunker. The soldiers must have returned, and I wonder if they managed to track down anyone in the swamps. The noise filters through the high windows cut into the concrete slab walls. The room is cool, partially underground, bisected by a long aisle dividing two rows of barred cells.”

When sequels come out so far apart, it’s hard to remember everything and if you choose not to go back and re-read like me, then you feel like you’re treading water for 100 pages just trying to remember what’s been going on up until the start of the book.

Readers will only pick this up if they’ve read the first three books in a series, but I would recommend this series to young readers who love fantasy books. Now that the series is complete, you can pick up all of the books and read everything closely together.

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

War Storm
Victoria Aveyard
May 2018
Hachette Book Publishers Australia

The Art of Friendship by Lisa Ireland

We all expect our friendships from childhood to last forever…

Libby and Kit have been best friends ever since the day 11-year-old Kit bounded up to Libby’s bedroom window. They’ve seen each other through first kisses, bad break-ups and everything in-between. It’s almost 20 years since Libby moved to Sydney, but they’ve remained close, despite the distance and the different paths their lives have taken.

So when Libby announces she’s moving back to Melbourne, Kit is overjoyed. They’re best friends – practically family – so it doesn’t matter that she and Libby now have different…well, different everything, actually, or so it seems when they’re finally living in the same city again. Or does it?

The Art of Friendship by Lisa Ireland is a candid novel about the complexities of female friendship. This is a multi-layered story that also explores marriage, careers, parenting, domestic violence and relationships. All of the characters in the novel are flawed, just like people in the real world.

Libby’s life changed direction when she got married and had a son. Her painting has taken a backseat in her life, and her focus has been redirected towards her son Harry and his upbringing.

But now Harry is grown up and in high school, and her husband Cam has been offered a new job in Melbourne. Libby is hesitant about moving, but the perks of the job are impressive. And Cam is a persistent — and in my opinion, controlling — man. And so they move, and Libby is once again living in close proximity to her best friend Kit.

Libby struggles to fit in with the new neighbourhood of Arcadia Lakes — it’s got a very Stepford Wives feel. The men work and the women take care of the children and the home, and it’s hard for Libby to adjust to and it’s also hard for Kit to witness. She’s a bold, outspoken woman who is not afraid to tell Libby what she really thinks. This causes a lot of friction between the women, and cracks start to appear in their once-solid friendship.

This review copy came with a personal note from Lisa, explaining why she wrote the book. Essentially, it’s about what happens when childhood friends grow up.

Plenty of female readers will find the friendship between Libby and Kit incredibly relatable. I’ve got a couple of friends who I’ve known since childhood and we’re still really close today. But I often wonder, if I met them right now, would we be as close? We’re really different and our lives have taken different paths, so I think not. But we share that history together. Those personal jokes and hilarious stories. We have spent decades together, and even though we may not have as much in common anymore, that doesn’t mean we’re not still very close. Female friendship is a complicated beast, and Lisa Ireland captures it really well.

“Coming today had been a mistake. She’d thought spending the day with Libby would be fun. She’d thought it would take her mind off the fact that it was the first time in her life she would be completely without family on Christmas Day.”

I was concerned about the characterisation of Libby’s husband, Cam. In the first half of the novel, I hated him. I found him controlling and manipulative, not really wanting to listen to Libby’s opinion but completely talking over the top of her and dismissing her feelings as unnecessary. In fact, I thought that this novel would explore the breakdown of their marriage just because of how he was portrayed in the beginning of the novel.

“A jolt of anger flashed through her. No wonder things had been great between Cam and her this past month or so. He was getting everything he wanted. Now that she wanted something the pendulum was swinging back the other way.”

And then, rather quickly, Cam becomes a decent guy. He talks sense into Libby and he’s rational and understanding? This felt rather abrupt to me. He was so selfish in the beginning, and the guy in the second half of the novel seemed like a completely different character. Normally, this could be put down to character development, but the novel really isn’t about him. And his change in personality seems so abrupt that it’s not believable.

“Why the hell had she gone there? Even as the question formed in her mind she knew what the answer was. Because she’d wanted to hurt her, that was why. Kit’s words about Harry had stung and she’d retaliated with a barb designed to inflict as much pain as possible.”

This book will appeal to women who have reached a certain point in their lives — they’ve drifted away from old friends, they’ve made new ones, or perhaps they’re trying to do both and maybe it’s working and maybe it’s not. Sometimes you just can’t stay friends with the same people your entire life. You change. They change. It’s life. Anyone who knows what that’s like will really relate to the characters in The Art of Friendship.

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

The Art of Friendship
Lisa Ireland
May 2018
Pan Macmillan Publishers Australia

Six Tudor Queens: Jane Seymour by Alison Weir

Eleven days after the death of Anne Boleyn, Jane is dressing for her wedding to the King.
She has witnessed at first hand how courtly play can quickly turn to danger and knows she must bear a son . . . or face ruin.

This new queen must therefore step out from the shadows cast by Katherine and Anne – in doing so, can she expose a gentler side to the brutal King?

JANE SEYMOUR
THE THIRD OF HENRY’S QUEENS
HER STORY

Acclaimed, bestselling historian Alison Weir draws on new research for her captivating novel, which paints a compelling portrait of Jane and casts fresh light on both traditional and modern perceptions of her. Jane was driven by the strength of her faith and a belief that she might do some good in a wicked world.

History tells us how she died.
This spellbinding novel explores the life she lived.

The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir is the third volume in her six-part series about the wives of Henry VIII. Each novel focuses solely on one of Henry’s wives and their short-lived, unfortunate reign. The first two novels are Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen, and Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession.

Jane Seymour held a brief reign over England; she died after giving birth to her son and Henry’s first male heir. But very few of us are taught about Jane’s life and who she really was. The Haunted Queen introduces us to Jane’s family and her quick path to being Queen. We learn her fears, doubts, concerns and her presence within the Court.

Alison brings to life a very compassionate, empathetic Jane Seymour. She’s devoted to her family and her values, originally desperate to be a nun.

After a brief time, she changes her mind and leaves home to be a maid of honour to Katherine of Aragon, who is the Queen at the time.

“Jane took her place with the other maids-of-honour, her heart racing. The previous evening, when she had learned what would be required of her this day, she had gone to the chaplain who usually shrove her, and blurted out, under the seal of the confessional, all her fears.”

Jane has a unique vantage point from this role. She witnesses Henry’s affair and Katherine’s demise. She grows very fond of Katherine, and is horrified by the controversial rise (and downfall) of Anne Boleyn.

If you’ve read the first two volumes in the series, then a lot of the events in this book will seem repetitive. It’s the same information, just told from a different perspective.

It’s actually really interesting going from Anne Boleyn’s volume (where you come to understand her determination and her drive) to Jane Seymour’s volume. You view Anne from an outsider’s perspective, and you find yourself quite repulsed by her behaviour and how she manipulated Henry VIII.

Despite knowing that Jane will eventually die, I enjoyed reading about her time with Henry. He seems overcome with happiness, love and joy for the entirety of their time together.

As a result, we sympathise for Jane and her young child and we are left wondering how events would’ve played out if she had’ve lived.

“After he had gone, Jane was in turmoil. Part of her felt horror at this affair of the Queen; another rejoiced at the deepening understanding between herself and Henry. It gave her hope that when the time came – if it came – she might be able to plead for mercy for Anne. Hate her she might, but she could not have her blood on her conscience.”

Like all novels exploring this period, it’s hard to determine fact from fiction, but Alison Weir researches her subjects meticulously and illustrates them in such a realistic, relatable manner. I’m so excited to read the rest of this series, and I recommend these books to anyone with interest in this era and these wives.

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

Six Tudor Queens: Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen
Alison Weir
May 2018
Hachette Book Publishers Australia

The Outcast by Taran Matharu

Enter an immersive world where the chosen few have the ability to summon demons …

Arcturus is just an orphaned stable boy when he discovers he has the ability to summon demons from another world. He is sent to Vocans Academy where the lost arts of summoning, spell craft and demonology are taught to the noble children of the Empire.

As the first commoner gifted with this ability, his discovery challenges the nobility and the powers that be and Arcturus soon makes enemies. With no one but his demon Sacharissa by his side, Arcturus must prove himself as a worthy Summoner …

The Outcast by Taran Matharu is the prequel novel to the bestselling children’s fantasy series, Summoner. It’s about young kids who have the rare gift of being able to summon demons from another world.

This novel is most enjoyable, taking the reader on a fun, adventurous journey full of orcs, dwarves, demons and magic. Whilst the characterisation is pretty weak — the characters are not really relatable and their motivations seem very stereotypical — the pacing is great. Each chapter ends on a note that wants you to keep reading, and the book definitely drew comparisons to the Harry Potter series.

‘Prince Harold, why do you think your father has sent me away?’
‘Lord Forsyth, the reasons are threefold. The first is that in the last dwarven rebellion, the noble families suffered several deaths, and this could happen again if the ongoing altercations with the orcs become any worse. With commoners to swell our ranks, we will be able to take fewer risks, giving the more dangerous missions to them.”

At its core, the novel explores racism and prejudice. Everyone is so surprised that a commoner has the ability to summon a demon, but they treat Arcturus terribly and two students even try to kill him. However, over the course of the novel, Arcturus learns to trust other students and he forms strong friendships with a few other kids in the academy.

The novel is subject to quite a few significant flaws. It’s unrealistic how Arcturus is privy to so much sensitive information, even from the the beginning of the book. This is noticeable in most scenes where Obadiah is present — a powerful man like that wouldn’t tell him as much as he does, and he wouldn’t have his students discussing and understanding all of the political knowledge of the land and school. It feels a lot like an info dump to the reader.

“Now he could see the animals, like the deer of the north but with twisting horns and a ribbon of black separating their white-furred bellies and the sandy coat above. They were strange creatures to be sure, and he had no idea what they were.”

Arcturus actually spends very little time at the academy learning how to control demons and magic. He’s there for a very short time before he’s out in battle trying to stay alive. Realistically, he should be terrible. He’s a novice. But somehow he seems really experienced? This is very unrealistic.

The ending of the novel is also unrealistic. It ends too abruptly. This prequel storyline is too complex to be captured in a four-hundred page novel. The pacing may be good, but Taran has squished too much information and history and plot into this novel.

“Arcturus fell to his knees, the pain of Sacharissa’s injury flaring like lightning across his brain. He could barely see through the agony, only feel the tremors of the Phantaur’s approaching steps.”

Younger children will love this, but adult readers aren’t the target audience. This is not a crossover fantasy series, so I’d recommend this to young eyes, and to parents/family looking to buy a gift for a younger reader. The Outcast is a prequel, so no prior knowledge of the series is required. I haven’t read any of this series and I followed along just fine.

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

The Outcast
Taran Matharu
May 2018
Hachette Book Publishers Australia