becandbooks's reviews
1118 reviews

Another adorable volume of this wholesome little manga series. The second volume explores the growing and changing relationship between Sabu, the kitten, Jin, the ex-yakuza and the ongoing cast of animals and seemingly-scary humans. The series is growing into something that really speaks to kindness and compassion, as well as the timeless concept of not judging a book by its cover.

While this wasn't the most mind-boggling Ruth Ware novel, it was glorious to read her contribution to the sphere of dark academia mysteries. The It Girl takes place at Oxford, where a rich girl who bought her way into the college is roommate to the book's main character, Hannah. Hannah is a small-town girl who has worked her way to get into Oxford's English program.

While cliche, it is incredibly entertaining to dive into this popular trope of an English Oxford student dealing with the murder of her IT girl best friend and roommate. There are many players throughout the story - most of them lovable - and while readers may guess the whodunnit before the final page, the uncertainty truly sticks around until the end. This is a pretty classic mystery, with good pacing, great characters and the ever-engaging writing style of Ruth Ware. 

A fantastic retelling novella of Sleeping Beauty, Thornhedge is perfectly instilled with a fairy-tale atmosphere. The princess is not the main character. Toadling was raised by fairies and then was also asked to bless a child. Now, she guards a tower covered in brambles lost to folklore. All that changes when a knight comes to break a rumoured curse.

Kingfisher brings this small story to life, building a world and story readers think they know through the memories and background of Toadling. Despite its length, there is a depth to the storytelling that will hook readers and cause them to wonder how the real tale transpires. The book introduces fantastical characters with a grounded authenticity – these aren’t the ever-beautiful characters heroic or in-distress characters of fairytales gone by. And while the story travels down a path unknown to the classic, it has the recognised blend of fantasy and ugly reality.

For readers chasing a short read and that fairytale atmosphere, this is the perfect book to pick up. 

 This is a book about poverty, desperation and an undying focus on possibility and survival. Transported to another time, readers will find a story that while gut-wrenching and engaging in its content, is frustrating with a sad but repetitive narrative.

Liza has unbelievable hope about the dire nature of her circumstances. It demonstrates the stark nature of desperation for hope, but it also leads to incredible foolishness and unnatural blindness to her circumstances. While a time of poverty and extreme classism would no doubt cloud judgement and skew trust, it often feels disjointed and forced for the sake of the narrative. As well, the overarching mystery element of the story that threads throughout feels drawn out and slow, with the character repeatedly having the same conversation and thought process with the same repeated result for the majority of the story.

Scott has done an incredible job with the story's world-building, but the plot and characters leave something to be desired.
 

 An absolute must-read for readers with a dark and spooky heart. While not traditional horror, with elements of humour and intrigue, Grim is chock-full of dark and gritty, but gorgeous illustrations with a stunning colour palette. It follows the story of Jessica Harrow. She is dead. She is also now a reaper. But unlike other reapers, she has no idea how she died. 

With a couple of perfect side-kick-esque friends, this story pulls from traditional elements of death and grim reapers to create a brand-new story with stunning characters, an intriguing plotline and a contemporary setting. Things are not how they are supposed to be and Jessica doesn't understand why her memory, but no one else's, is lacking. The first volume is fast-paced and will hook you into what is no doubt going to be a great ongoing story. And the end of the volume will without a doubt have you in for the long haul. 

 Gentill has written a lot of her author journey into the book, with a main character that is exploring a style of writing completely beyond her popular multi-novel mystery series, drawing parallels with her own Rowland Sinclair. And it pays off. The nature of writer exploration within this book is genuine and interesting. But that is clearly not the highlight of this book. 

Following the stunning and unique iteration of The Woman in the Library, Gentill wraps readers up in another unreliable, mind-spinning and unforgettable mystery tale. Meta elements, while they may confuse some, drag readers beyond the standard writer-creates-story format, instead warping the traditional author experience. This is a prime example of brilliant meta-fiction as book characters and authors blend, becoming irrevocably intertwined. The duet of "main characters" are wildly different, with literary and mystery genres contrasting brilliantly within a single book cover. This is a perfect book for readers who just want something completely different to their typical crime or mystery story.