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Gemina
At first glance, Gemina feels familiar. Instead of on the science vessel Hypatia we’re on the Jump Station Heimdall: a wormhole that ports between several points in the universe. Here, as in Illuminae, claustrophobia and enemy agents threaten the survival of our two new protagonists: Nik and Hannah (honestly, it’s amazing how many heterosexual couples … Continue reading
Carry On
Harry Potter has become such a large part of our cultural consciousness that Rainbow Rowell’s obvious spoof is brilliant in and of itself. Irreverent and tongue-in-cheek, Carry On has its own kind of heart that makes this pastiche a warm novel you can’t help but smile about. Off to a slow start, Carry On takes … Continue reading
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Let’s be honest. I can’t really add anything to the countless reviews that already sing the praises of this wonderful book. So really this is just an opportunity for me to insist that you buy Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe RIGHT NOW. Now. Do it. Closer in tone to the movie … Continue reading
PS. I Still Love You
Despite the best intentions of those around me, who eagerly dismissed it as chick-lit, PS. I Still Love You was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Having read of the trials and tribulations of Lara Jean in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, I was eager to return to the lives … Continue reading
Front Lines
There’ve been plenty of World War Two narratives in the history of fiction, but one thing that’s been missing from all of them is the presence of female privates, sergeants, corporals – even generals. That’s because they didn’t exist back then. Women were not permitted to fight, were not drafted, could not enlist. Which makes … Continue reading
Illuminae
Part zombie-apocalypse, part sci-fi, the most obvious difference about Illuminae is the way it’s been told – in a found-footage style dossier, taken from various sources such as chat transcripts, camera feeds, diaries and artificial-intelligence data streams. It’s beautifully presented – each page designed to look like the document that’s printed on it – and … Continue reading
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
As in We Were Liars, Lockhart seems preoccupied with rich ruling America. This time through the eyes of Frankie Landau-Banks; sophomore-to-be at one of America’s finest private schools. Consistently underestimated by her family, friends and boyfriend, and fed up of being adorable, cute and ignored, she stumbles across a brilliant way to prove that she’s … Continue reading
Railhead
If one were to describe it bluntly, one could say that Railhead is Thomas the Tank Engine on steroids – a comparison Reeve isn’t unaware of when he nicknames the Network Emperor the Fat Controller. Yet Reeve’s locos aren’t crassly talking toys but engines with a Treebeard-like gravitas; large beasts with their own sensibilities and … Continue reading
Stand Off
Just as life doesn’t stop for a real tragedy, nor does that of Ryan Dean West; a 15 year old senior bereft of his best friend. Smith’s extension of West’s story, begun in 2012’s Winger, feels wholly organic; it’s hard to imagine the story without this second instalment that deals with the aftermath of Winger’s … Continue reading
Department 19: Darkest Night
As Dracula rises to power, Blacklight is faced with deep and critical changes to the status quo. Opinions amongst the general public have become divisive as the existence of vampires has been revealed and those who drink blood and those who do not are increasingly at ends. The stakes have changed; so too has Blacklight’s … Continue reading
Black Dove, White Raven
In recent years, Wein has made a name for herself writing superb historical fiction that heavily features female protagonists and flying, so it’s hardly surprising that her latest novel, Black Dove, White Raven is an extension of her success with Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire, even if it is set on a new … Continue reading
How to Repair a Mechanical Heart
Two gay boys, Brandon and Abel, are strictly business partners when it comes to their sci-fi fandom vlogs, Screw Your Sensors. They spend most of their time debunking slashfiction theories about their favourite characters Cadmus and Sim; captain and android of Castaway Planet, but both have secrets. Brandon is slowly being eaten away by guilt … Continue reading
Half Wild
The sequel to UKYA’s largest export in quite some time is finally here and with it, an audible sigh of relief! Starting off almost exactly where Half Bad finished, in a lovely alpine location somewhere in Europe, Nathan – having been endowed his three gifts by his Father – is waiting for Gabriel to find … Continue reading
Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda
How to describe this book, which took me on a whirlwind tour of my own experiences as a gay teenager coming out and falling in love? It’s hard. I cannot put into words how honest and authentic Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda is; at times it felt like I was reading my own story … Continue reading
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
The title may be catchy but as is so often the case, it’s not quite representative of what’s between the front and back covers. Whilst boyfriends past, present and future do play a large role in Lara Jean’s life, I’m not convinced they’re the real crunch point of the story. Lara Jean’s been in love … Continue reading
Golden Son
If Red Rising was confined to the red planet, then Golden Son looses Darrow from his moorings on Mars. Two years after the relatively confined bloodshed of the Institute, Darrow is in the last legs of completing the program at the Academy. Castles and forts have been replaced by huge warships; the terraformed landscape of … Continue reading