Hello Cruel Heart, By Maureen Johnson ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Historical Fiction, London, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 6th, 2021

336 Pages

Synopsis: An electric new story of teenage Cruella de Vil in an original novel inspired by the upcoming Walt Disney Studios Live Action Film “Cruella.”

Swinging London, Summer 1967. Sixteen-year-old Estella, gifted with talent, ingenuity, and ambition, dreams of becoming a renowned fashion designer. But life seems intent on making sure her dreams never come true. Having arrived in London as a young girl, Estella now runs wild through the city streets with Jasper and Horace, amateur thieves who double as Estella’s makeshift family and partners-in-(petty)-crime. How can Estella dedicate herself to joining the ranks of the London design elite when she’s sewing endless costumes and designs for the trio’s heists?

When a chance encounter with Magda and Richard Moresby-Plum, two young scions of high society, vaults Estella into the world of the rich and famous, she begins to wonder if she might be destined for more after all. Suddenly, Estella’s days are filled with glamorous parties, exclusive eateries, flirtations with an up-and-coming rock star, and of course, the most cutting-edge fashions money can buy. But what is the true cost of keeping up with the fast crowd—and is it a price Estella is willing to pay? (Goodreads)

I love 101 Dalmatians, so when I heard there was to be a book coming out detailing Cruella’s origin story, and that it was going to be written by one of my favorite YA authors, I immediately became excited. While Hello, Cruel Heart definitely has it’s entertaining moments, it’s a bit rough around the edges at times, which makes it a mixed bag for me. Let me get the negatives out of the way, hopefully without giving too much away.

First, right at the beginning it’s revealed how Estella winds up on her own in London at the tender age of twelve. It involves an irritatingly mysterious scene that seems to end in her mother’s death (after being set upon by a Dalmatian), and Estella simply takes off. Even this early on in the story, it’s obvious Estella is a little, ahem, quirky, but her reaction just didn’t gel with me and I couldn’t stop thinking about it the entire time I was reading. This mystery is a huge plot hole that’s never brought up again, and it persistently kept buzzing around in my brain the rest of the time I was reading the book. I’m assuming there will be a sequel so this is somewhat forgivable as long as that pans out.

The other issue I had was how Johnson makes Cruella, Estella’s alter ego, I suppose in order to make Estella more sympathetic. While there are flashes of the Cruella personality, there aren’t really enough to make this work. I feel it’s an unnecessary plot device, and Estella on her own is actually enough for me. She’s insecure, yet bold, and while her moral compass is definitely skewed, given her living circumstances it’s understandable. Her artistry (and obsession) with fabric and fashion is vividly brought to life, and even knowing the villainess she’ll eventually become, I still found myself rooting for her.

The wild setting of swinging London in 1967 was utterly fantastic. I enjoyed the over-the-top personalities, and the wonderful descriptive details of of both the city and the fashion world. I also loved the dysfunctional family unit that’s made up of Estella, Jasper, and Horace. The boys are likable and surprisingly sweet at times. The ending is okay, in that it wraps up the immediate plot line, yet I was still unsatisfied due to that early mystery that surrounds Estella’s mother’s death. In the end, Hello Cruel Heart isn’t smooth sailing, but it’s a quick read, that has me willing to pick up a sequel. 

The Best Thing You Can Steal (Gideon Sable #1), By Simon Green ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, London, Mystery, Suspense, Urban Fantasy

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 6th, 2021

192 Pages

Synopsis: Welcome to London, but not as you know it. A place where magics and horror run free, wonders and miracles are everyday things, and the dark streets are full of very shadowy people…

Gideon Sable is a thief and a con man. He specializes in stealing the kinds of things that can’t normally be stolen. Like a ghost’s clothes, or a photo from a country that never existed. He even stole his current identity. Who was he originally? Now, that would be telling. One thing’s for sure though, he’s not the bad guy. The people he steals from always have it coming. Gideon’s planning a heist, to steal the only thing that matters from the worst man in the world. To get past his security, he’s going to need a crew who can do the impossible…but luckily he has the right people in mind. The Damned, the Ghost, the Wild Card…and his ex-girlfriend, Annie Anybody. A woman who can be anyone, with the power to make technology fall in love with her. If things go well, they’ll all get what they want. And if they’re lucky, they might not even die trying… (Goodreads)

If you’re a fan of the prolific Simon Green, you know that one thing you can count on when picking up one of his novels, is his delightfully quirky characters. I’m happy to say that in that regard, you will definitely not be disappointed in this first entry in his new Gideon Sable series. I absolutely loved Gideon and his crew and was thoroughly entertained by their backstories and antics. Although Gideon himself is a bit of a mystery, he’s clever and confident, yet self-deprecating. I’m looking forward to learning more about him. The world building as usual, is fantastic with London having this seedy underbelly filled with wondrous and horrifying beings and objects. What isn’t quite as good is the heist itself. Most of the book leads up to Gideon’s grand plan, and the execution of it only plays out in the last 1/4 of the story. I found it a little disappointing and anticlimactic to be honest. Overall though, The Best Thing You Can Steal was a fun, frothy read that took me all of 1 1/2 hours to polish off. I think fans of Green’s Nightside series will be especially pleased by this. I’m looking forward to the next book in which hopefully Gideon and his friends will have a quest that gives their skill sets a little more of a challenging workout.

The Lost Apothecary, By Sarah Penner ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction, London, Mystery, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Park Row for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 2nd, 2021

320 Pages

Synopsis: A female apothecary secretly poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them—setting three lives across centuries on a collision course.

Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.

Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley, in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose—selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary bottle near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive. (Goodreads)

The Lost Apothecary is a solid debut by Sarah Penner that seamlessly travels from 1791 to the present day, and connects these three strong characters in surprising ways. I’ll be honest and say that it was Nella’s and young Eliza’s lives and their developing relationship that captured my attention the most, but I enjoyed Caroline’s mudlarking and sleuthing in the present day as well. There were a couple of things that prevented this from being a perfect read for me. The first, is that I could have done without the drama between Caroline and her unlikable husband. While I realize that the twist with them in the last half of the book, is coincidentally connected in more than one way to the events of the past, I thought for the most part, their relationship to be an annoying and unnecessary distraction. My second issue, was that in both timelines, obstacles and hindrances were cleared up a little too quickly and neatly. However, these are very minor dislikes, and overall I quite enjoyed this book from beginning to end. The Lost Apothecary is a captivating tale about secrets, friendships, and three women determined to control their own fates.

One Word Kill (Impossible Times #1), by Mark Lawrence ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

1980s, Cancer, Coming-of age, London, Romance, Science Fiction, YA Fiction

Thanks to Netgalley and 47North for providing an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

201 Pages

Synopsis: In January 1986, fifteen-year-old boy genius Nick Hayes discovers he’s dying. And it isn’t even the strangest thing to happen to him that week.

Nick and his Dungeons & Dragons-playing friends are used to living in their imaginations. But when a new girl, Mia, joins the group and reality becomes weirder than the fantasy world they visit in their weekly games, none of them are prepared for what comes next. A strange—yet curiously familiar man—is following Nick, with abilities that just shouldn’t exist. And this man bears a cryptic message: Mia’s in grave danger, though she doesn’t know it yet. She needs Nick’s help—now.

He finds himself in a race against time to unravel an impossible mystery and save the girl. And all that stands in the way is a probably terminal disease, a knife-wielding maniac and the laws of physics.

I’m a big fan of Mark Lawrence so when I saw One Word Kill on NetGalley I knew I had to request it and I’m so glad I did because it’s further convinced me that this prolific author can do no wrong. Why is this may you ask? Well, there’s the setting of 1980’s London, time-travel, Dungeons & Dragons, and except for the villainous psychopath, a lovable cast of characters. I swear, only Mark Lawrence could successfully combine a terminally ill teen, D&D, and quantum mechanics with a sweet, heart-wrenching, coming-of-age/love story. And, this is all accomplished in just over 200 pages! In essence, read this for the quality of writing, creativity, memorable characters, and page-turning, nostalgic storyline. I’ve already ordered the sequel, Limited Wish, which just came out on 5/28, and I’m preordering the third book, Dispel Illusion which is due out 11/14/19.

 

 

Smoke ~ By Dan Vyleta – 2.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Alternate History, Fantasy, London, Mystery

Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: An England where people who are wicked in thought or deed are marked by the Smoke that pours forth from their bodies, a sign of their fallen state. The aristocracy do not smoke, proof of their virtue and right to rule, while the lower classes are drenched in sin and soot. An England utterly strange and utterly real.

An elite boarding school where the sons of the wealthy are groomed to take power as their birthright. Teachers with mysterious ties to warring political factions at the highest levels of government. Three young people who learn everything they’ve been taught is a lie–knowledge that could cost them their lives. A grand estate where secrets lurk in attic rooms and hidden laboratories. A love triangle. A desperate chase. Revolutionaries and secret police. Religious fanatics and coldhearted scientists. Murder. A London filled with danger and wonder. A tortured relationship between mother and daughter, and a mother and son. Unexpected villains and unexpected heroes. Cool reason versus passion. Rich versus poor. Right versus wrong, though which is which isn’t clear.

I’ve really enjoyed Dan Vyleta’s previous books, particularly his historical mystery The Quiet Twin, so I was quite excited when I was approved on NetGalley for an e-ARC of his first historical fantasy. Despite its fascinating premise though I felt the story was overlong, and too convoluted in places, which kept me from enjoying it fully. Another problem I had was with the characters. Except for Thomas and Charlie, two of the main characters, I couldn’t stand any of the others. This includes Livia who rounds out the trio of heroes. She’s snobbish, judgemental and a religious fanatic. Unlike Thomas and Charlie she has very little personal growth through the book which makes the love triangle that develops between her and the two boys completely unbelievable. I also found myself wishing that the world building had been more fully developed. Beyond the concept of Smoke, there weren’t any other mystical elements which could have added some much needed layers to the story. For me, wrapping an entire book around one element is always risky, and in this case it just didn’t work. Smoke has been compared to Harry Potter and Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, but in my opinion it doesn’t really live up to the hype. However, it has already garnered many positive reviews, so if you do like historical fantasy or alternate history novels, I encourage you to try this.