reliures's reviews
397 reviews

Those Left Behind by N.C. Scrimgeour

4.5

Space opera with elements of cosmic horror and first contact, following a group of human colonists trying to find a new planet to live, stumbling upon other civilisations but triggering the arrival of an more ancient threat while passing through an old waystation . 

This was a really good book. I loved the world building, the different alien species. As the first book in a trilogy there was a lot of exposition but not too much info dumping which made for a fast paced story. The threat of an unknown enemy was well done, and I specifically loved the parts set in the waystation that really felt creepy in a very Alien way. 

More plot centric than character driven , the different characters were all compelling and complex, though some points of view and their plot points I cared less about. The story was also straightforward and there wasn’t much plot twists that could have upped the tension more. 

A very good debut to a trilogy I’m looking forward to read the rest of the series. 

Mongrel by Hanako Footman

4.5

 

Literary fiction following the lives of 3 women as they navigate the trials and tribulations of their lives identities, and relationships: Mei who tries so hard to fit in England trying hard to erase the heritage of her deceased Japanese mother; Yuki a young violinist who comes to London and falls in love with her teacher; Haruka, a sex worker coming from the countryside to live in Tokyo after the death of her mother. 

This was a stunning book and an incredible debut from Hanako Footman. 

Her writing is gorgeously lush and evocative, showing the emotions of her character with a profound honesty and tenderness, while tackling various important themes of belonging, racism, misogyny, sexuality, family. 

The author’s dual ethnicity shines through her depiction of both countries painting the atmosphere of England and Japan with dreamy and detailed imagery.

The first part I liked, but I wasn’t invested completely. I have to confess the second half of the book really pulled me in emotionally, as Haruka enters the story and the plot evolves into one of my favourite tropes (that I won’t mention to avoid spoilers). 

Being a white Belgian Italian queer woman who has lived in Belgium all my life, i have a distant relationship to my father’s country, and since my mastery of the Italian language isn’t good, I kind of related to several moments in the books. 

Overall an incredible debut novel and I’m looking forward to read more work from Hanako Footman. 

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

4.0

Horror thriller following Charlie and Eve who recently moved into an old house in the mountains. One day, as Eve is alone, a stranger and his family asks to come inside the house that was his childhood home. 

I really liked this debut novel, there are some true creepy moments though it didn’t felt super scary to me . 

I loved the main character, her anxious and people pleasing personality made the tension higher as I didn’t know how she would react. 

The world building was super interesting, I loved the lore being slowly built through interviews, codes, forum posts and news articles. Sometimes though I feel something was missing, like there were some elements I wished the author would delve into, with several loose threads.  

The pacing felt a bit off especially at the beginning which dragged and I felt the ending a bit abrupt (though I didn’t dislike what the author went for). 

Overall a very good debut novel and I’m looking forward to the next work by this new author. 

The Employees by Olga Ravn

4.25

Absolutely devoured this weird little sci-fi novel(la?) that satires work culture while examining broader philosophical questions about humanity, life and death.
Through a series of staff reports from the crew of an interstellar ship, composed of humans and humanoids, we see how the discovery of weird objects on a remote planet will affect them. 

Sometimes confusing, sometimes not delving enough, it  reminded me of a crossover between The Office, Blade Runner and 2001 Space Odyssey. Definitely an interesting quirky little book to read in one setting. 

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

4.0

Literary ecological thriller following Birnam Wood, a gardening collective as they stumbled across a farm that could make their enterprise a real success, until they realise it is also zone of interest for a certain Robert Lemoine, a mysterious American billionaire. 

I really liked the themes in this book, about ecology, politics, capitalism, corruption, privilege, environment, etc 

The book felt very wordy as in no chapters and long sentence but the writing felt easy to read. 
This was a lot more political than I thought, and sometimes it felt too much, I think I would have preferred less dumps of political/social monologues/dialogues and more dispersed throughout the novel. 
Most of the characters had positive and negative sides (like a bit insufferable and a bit naive) so they were entertaining to read especially Robert Lemoine because he felt like a proper James Bond villain. 
Some of the other dialogues/descriptions felt too superfluous, so the pacing felt a bit off to me. 

I did like the plot, the different point of views showing each major events, the different twists and I literally gasped at the end of part 2 where shit really hit the fan. The last 30 pages were insane, especially the last 5 and I actually liked the ending the author went for. 

The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

4.25

Historical mystery set in 50s Hollywood following the making of a movie on the semi mythical princess Salome, is played by newcomer Vera. Becoming the talk of town, she’s also subject to the jealousy of another cast member, Nancy, who’s desperate at making it as an actress. 

Just like her previous books this was gorgeously written in SMG usual lush prose, immediately transporting the reader into the past, whereas its 50s Hollywood or ancient Judea.  

I love how the writer tackled themes of racism, colourism, misogyny, fate, jealousy, lust for power, celebrity culture, vapid Hollywood in the various points of view. 

I loved Vera as a character, her resilience and dignity, how she stood up for herself. Nancy was a properly nasty person and her awfulness was perfectly rendered throughout her point of view. 

It was also great seeing minor characters offering their points of view, it felt very documentary like. 

The parts retelling Salome’s story were interesting and well written (especially the parallels between her, Vera and Nancy) yet I don’t think it added anything substantial to most of the story. 

Aside from the pacing I had problems with, I felt the ending was a bit too rushed. I also didn’t care about Vera’s love story. 

Overall not my favourite book from SMG but this novel still shows her strengths as a storyteller. 

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

4.25

Historical fantasy following several characters from various cultures in an Al-Andalus inspired peninsula during the time surrounding the Reconquista. 

I loved how GGK used historical events and real civilisations to talk about broader themes of religion, faith, destiny, culture, love, family etc. Being familiar with the history of Spain during Al-Andalus and the Reconquista eras, it was great to recognise many events and reading this while vacationing in Andalusia, amongst the areas that inspired this novel, felt like even more profound reading experience. 

His writing is stunning with a gorgeous poetic prose perfectly recreating the atmosphere of an elegant medieval society. His characters were all compelling and complex people and I especially loved Jehane and Ammar. 

I wasn’t a fan of how some important events being told rather than shown, deaths about seemingly important secondary characters happening off screen. 

I really liked the ending and I was happy seeing how some of the characters ended up though I would have liked to learn about the other side characters’ fate. 

Overall a great historical fantasy with gorgeous writing and interesting characters, I will definitely be reading more of Guy Gavriel Kay’s books. 

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

5.0

I don’t know if I’ll do a longer and more detailed review since I’ll be on holiday but let me already say : I loved this book so much I absolutely inhaled it ! such a heartfelt office comedy that made me cry several times, the romantic subplot was cute but what really touched my heart was the main character. 

I just loved her awkwardness, selflessness, empathy, petty and unhinged moments, her relationships with her colleagues etc, she was such a complex and compelling character to read about. I also loved the author touched upon her Persian heritage. 

Overall an incredible novel and debut by this author, I’ll be looking forward to reading her next books! 

Babylonia by Costanza Casati

4.5

Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova

4.0

Horror fiction following Holly who starts to work in an old movie theatre, desperately trying to be accepted by the other workers. 

This was a truly weird book but I didn’t dislike it.  

Th atmosphere was manic, with a fever dream quality too it as the scenes went on faster and crazier, like watching a train wreck. 

There was also a sense of filth to it with lots of gory and of bodily fluids moment that felt absolutely disgusting to read. The « visions/hallucinations » experienced by the main character added to that surreal atmosphere. I loved how the straightforward writing rendered the gruesome moments very vividly though I wished the other parts were more developed or at least more shown and not told. 

I like the idea that the movie theatre was somehow the setting/location for everything bad happening, like reproducing fiction in real life, a hellish setting. 

All the movie references were a great homage to cinema especially the use of movie titles for each chapters that gave an idea of the content.