Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Sarah Beth Durst invites you to her new standalone novel nestled on a far-away island brimming with singing flowers, honey cakes, and honeyed love. The hardcover edition features beautiful sprayed edges.

Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.

This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes—at least until she’s ready to sail home.

But Terlu can’t return home and doesn’t want to—the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing—causing the death of everything within them—Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again.

This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island—and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.

Funny, kind, and forgiving, The Enchanted Greenhouse is a story about giving second chances—to others and to yourself.

Review:

I was sent an early copy by Tor in exchange for an honest review.

For me a 3-stars is a good rating, it means I enjoyed it and would recommend it, but it didn’t stand out, or had some issues to me

This was an enjoyable read, but I had a few things that didn’t quite make it a 4/5-star read. I haven’t read The Spellshop, but this isn’t a direct sequel and while it is set in the same universe you can read this as a standalone. I went in expecting a romantasy, but I somehow never quite connected with the romance.

He’s a grumpy gardener used to spending all of time alone. She got turned into a statue for years as a punishment for using magic when she wasn’t allowed to. She gets sent to his greenhouse-filled island so she can try and help stop the enchanted greenhouses’ from failing. Overall it’s a good story, with the various enchanted greenhouses providing wonder and interesting backdrops. It’s set in Winter, an odd choice for a Summer release, so I’d argue that you should hold off reading this until the colder months arrive!

I wanted to be invested in the romance but I just… wasn’t. With this genre of books you know who going to be the couple, and yet I still didn’t really see the romance blossoming, and when it was I just wasn’t all that sold? The middle dragged a bit and I think this is when the romance should’ve been in full bloom, but somehow it didn’t do it for me.

I enjoyed the storyline of the long-dead sorcerer, the exploration of the island, the theme of family and forgiveness. It all comes together to make a good story that just dragged on a tiiiiny bit too long. As the cover suggests there is indeed a flying cat, but Emeral stops being a bit part of the story fairly early on, which was quite the shame!

A good story with a romance that just didn’t quite capture me. This is a book for cosying up with in the winter months and for dreaming of your own enchanted greenhouse.

Synopsis:

This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

This is a story about life—
how it ends, and how it starts.

Review:

Tor UK kindly sent me a copy of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil for review.

I don’t know where to start other than I utterly loved this. It gave me big Addie LaRue vibes (which I ADORED), V.E. Schwab writes immortal women well, and she also writes these gorgeous pining, dangerous and heart-breaking romances.

Is Bury our Bones a romance? Well, no. It’s a vampire book where the events are all set out by romance, or love, or sex, however you want to look at it. Each thread of story starts with some form of yearning. Schwab does this so damn well. There’s something poetic and sweet and dangerous about her love stories. She not only writes romance as a positive but as something that can twist and turn vicious and dark. There’s no one out there doing it like her.

At over 500 pages Bury our Bones is quite the beast of a book. And Schwab uses every moment, every page is well-paced and there’s no drag. Weaving three separate stories and times together to create this heart-wrenching meet at the end I found myself utterly gripped. From our first meeting of Maria there’s no time wasted in introducing the vampirism that weaves threads through the entire book.

These aren’t dark and scary vampires. There’s no turning into bats or huge blood baths. It’s more of a quiet vampirism, in girls that draw your eye and Schwab weaves vampire society (what there is of it) into the every day and mundane. It’s a story deeply rooted in our world and it’s all the better for it.

The story broke my heart. You watch Maria from when she becomes a vampire through many stages of her life. You’re also introduced to Sabine, Alice and Charlotte. All girls whose lives are deeply intertwined and changed by each other. It’s a stunning story and I desperately wanted to know how everything & everyone was going to link together.

Read this. If you loved Addie LaRue, read this. If you love vampires, read this. If you love stories with big hearts, read this. You won’t be disappointed.

Synopsis:

House of the Dragon meets From Blood and Ash in this epic, scorching dark romantasy.

A conqueror captivated…
A witch prophesied to save them all…
A world where dragons rule Rome.

From the moment Roman general and nephew to the emperor Julianus Dakkia laid eyes on Malina, he was enthralled by the Dacian dancer. Years later, the fierce beauty stands before him on a scarred battlefield, her life in danger. He instinctively shifts into his fierce dragon form to save her, an action that may mean his head on the imperial gate. But he and his dragon know one thing: she belongs to them.

Malina can’t believe that the centurion who had once bestowed a secret talisman on her is the Roman general of legendary brutality. His warrior prowess cannot be denied, yet they don’t reveal the secret he hides. All Malina knows is his protection and gentle touch. And she cannot deny how her soul has always seemed to answer his.

As they navigate a world where flying deathriders conquer and burn, their love will ignite a firestorm that can only end in heartbreak or death. Or both.

Review:

I was sent Firebird in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s preface this by saying that this is a slave/master romance, so if that’s not your thing then Firebird won’t be for you. Personally, I really quite enjoyed my time reading Firebird, it’s not trying to re-invent the genre, and I was very invested in Julianus and Malina’s romance.

The setting of Ancient Rome lends it a real-world setting that works well with the fantasy plot – those of noble blood can turn into dragons and it adds another level to the ‘touch her and you die’ troupe. Malina is a strong woman who does stand up for herself, she has to learn to not draw attention to herself and Julianus’ obsession (and his dragons’ obsession) with her adds a tonne of tension to certain points in the story.

Featuring an inner circle trying to overthrow the emperor, a love interest with secrets that could ruin his life, and an fmc with the power of prophecy. There’s a fair amount of threads within this book, and at 400 pages it’s the right length to contain all of these parts. Not too long, not too short.

Honestly read this for a darker romantasy that’ll still have you giggling and kicking your feet at the romance.

Synopsis:

From deep beneath the surface of Azeroth, a mysterious voice cries out for heroes. But before these brave souls heed the call, they must answer to their own voices within . . . .

• Anduin’s wanderings at last lead him to the solitude he seeks, until his peace is shattered in a heartrending tale by Christie Golden.
• Andrew Robinson takes Gazlowe to a struggling goblin city, where he aims to inspire its citizens to more worthy ambitions.
• Thrall grapples with his son’s coming of age in a heartfelt story by Jonathan Maberry about what it means to love and let go.
• Delilah Dawson gives voice to Alleria Windrunner, desperate to connect with her son in a tense, bittersweet journey home.

These tales―besides more from Catherynne M. Valente and Courtney Alameda―portray the poignant, introspective moments set to proceed World of Warcraft’s highly anticipated The War Within expansion.

As these larger-than-life heroes grapple with their next steps, a greater threat looms, one that will lead them to raise arms again to fight for the fate of Azeroth. Despite the chasm of varied backgrounds, allegiances, and choices that divide them, these tales prove that even in the darkest times, home unites us all.

Enhance your experience of The War Within, the first expansion in World of Warcraft’s World Soul Saga, with this immersive short story anthology featuring an all-star cast of bestselling, award-winning authors.

Review:

I was sent a copy of The Voices Within in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been playing World of Warcraft since the launch of Burning Crusade, it was the game that defined my teenage years. I haven’t read nearly as many of the books as I should have, and I’m now actively trying to change that.
Anyone who is playing The War Within likely agrees that WoW has lost a little of it’s ‘war’ identity recently, and is delving more into it’s feelings. So, The Voices Within follows this trend, giving this collection some stand out stories and some that I’m not sure did.

Before we get into talking about the individual stories I just want to take a moment to say that visually this is a stunning book. The naked hardback features some gorgeous stylised art, and each story is proceeded by a stunning full-colour illustration. It’s literally a heavy book and it feels so premium.

Okay, let’s talk a little about each story.

First up is Trials by Jonathan Marberry. Personally this is one of my favourites of the collection. It features Thrall and his children, and the story looks at the trials that Horde children go through. It features a fan-favourite boss from Vanilla and I was very happy with Thrall talking about ‘for all I’ve sought peace, sometimes I fear a world free from war… I can hardly remember the last time I hefted a weapon.’ I loved that it was set in Orgrimmar and Durotar/the Barrens, an area that is always nostalgic. I’m always up for stories that look at earlier lore & this one fit the bill for me.

The Calling by Christie Golden. Christie Golden has written so many incredible books for World of Warcraft and I think she was definitely the best choice for a story about Anduin. This one follows him between the events of Shadowlands and The War Within, when he’s just wallowing in his sadness. This was a fine story exploring the effects of war and mental health, but I’m honestly just not a fan of Anduin in his current state. It’s well-written and emotional, and I really enjoyed the setting and look at the lives of ‘normal’ people.

A Whisper of Warning by Delilah S. Dawson. I did enjoy this one, it’s a lot of walking and talking but it follows Alleria, and as she’s so important to the current story it was nice to learn some of her backstory. This one is set in Sivermoon, a fan favourite city, and the city was written so well and so on brand for the city we know in game. Again this one is a lot about feelings BUT it did give an insight into the void and how it’s affecting Alleria which I really loved.

The Lilac and the Stone by Catherynne M. Valente. This one examines Moira and Dagran, another couple of characters we’ve seen often in The War Within. I found this one to be good but not stand out, basically a relic has been found and all of the Dwarven Clans are arguing over it, interesting in theory but the main focus is on Moira worrying that Dagran won’t be able to lead them properly if we won’t even face the clan leaders. The writing is good, but I think the story focus just falls too much into feelings.

The Goblin Way by Andrew Robinson. With the whole Undermine patch being about goblins I was interested to see more of their society. This book came out before the Undermine patch and it’s clear that Robinson was given a brief of the goblins no longer being a ‘get profit at all costs’ group, and now starting to work together in unions group. Again not my favourite lore change, but Robinson did a great job with what he had.

Little Spark by Courtney Alameda. This story finishes The Voices Within on a high. This follows Faerin before she joins the Lamplighters. I really loved this as I genuinely think the lore of the Arathi and Hallowfall is fascinating. Alameda does an incredible job of making Faerin a real paladin, using skills that are so recognisable from the game itself. This was such an incredible story and a real highlight of the collection. It’s also the story that contains the most action.

Overall, if you’re a WoW fan this is worth picking up for the backstory and the lore. Yes, it falls into a lot of the issues that WoW is currently facing with it’s story telling, but even if you only read a few of the stories you’ll get some enjoyment from this collection.

Synopsis:

Lanie Stones is the necromancer that Death has been praying for.

Heartbroken, exiled from her homeland as a traitor, Lanie Stones would rather take refuge in good books and delicate pastries than hunt a deathless abomination, but that is the duty she has chosen.

The abomination in question happens to be her own great-grandfather, the powerful necromancer Irradiant Stones. Grandpa Rad has escaped from his prison and stolen a body, and is heading to the icy country of Skakhmat where he died, to finish the genocide he started. Fortunately for her, Lanie has her powerful death magic, including the power to sing the restless dead to their eternal slumber; and she has her new family by her side.

Grandpa Rad may have finally met his match.

Review:

was sent a copy of Saint Death’s Herald in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s start by saying I ADORED Saint Death’s Daughter. My review states:

I loved Saint Death’s Daughter for its complexities and characters and chaos and I think this will remain one of my top reads of 2022.

I still loved Saint Death’s Herald, but where Daughter was sprawling and wild and chaotic Herald is linear and focussed. Lanie is still our main focus as she hunts down Grandpa Rad, Herald hits the ground running and never stops. It’s been 3 years since I read Daughter but Cooney does a great job at making sure you’re never lost, or never more lost than you’d expect to be. Characters are re-introduced with ease and Lanie’s love for them shines through even when they’re far apart.

I think the standout moment of the book for me is when Lanie encounters the Gods. Her love and adoration is written with such love that I found myself also paralysed with love for these Gods Cooney has invented. It’s part of what makes this series so special, Cooney has this ability to write with love that almost feels rare right now. Lanie is unashamedly herself & unashamedly adores all of the Gods, not just Saint Death.

Why isn’t this a 5-start read? Honestly, it kind of is, but when sat next to Daughter I think this one shines a little less bright, it’s more focussed on one story (chasing down Grandpa Rad) which left less room for Lanie to meander through the world, the chaos is a little less… chaotic. It’s still an incredible book, Herald just follows more of a formula that Daughter had thrown out of the window with joy.

We meet shape-shifters, new religions, new ideas and Cooney adds more to this endlessly sprawling world. Lanie is the perfect MC because she has no fear, and she embraces everyone and everything around her.

Saint Death’s Herald is a triumph once again, just a slightly dimmer once compared to it’s predecessor. I can’t wait to see what Lanie gets up to next, and I hope it’s as chaotic and full of love as these two books have been.

Synopsis:

She was commanded to kill him with a single strike to the heart. She didn’t expect her own to betray her.

Sylina has sacrificed everything for her goddess–her soul, her freedom, her eyes. Life in service to the Arachessen, a cult of the Goddess of Fate, has turned Sylina from orphaned street-rat to disciplined killer, determined to overthrow Glaea’s tyrannical king. But when a brutal vampire conqueror arrives on their shores, Sylina faces an even deadlier adversary. She’s tasked with a crucial mission: infiltrate his army, earn his trust… and kill him.

Atrius is a terrifying warrior carving an unstoppable path through Glaea. Yet when Sylina becomes his seer, she glimpses a dark and shocking past–and a side of him that reminds her far too much of parts of herself she’d rather forget. Sylina’s orders are clear. The conqueror cannot live. But as the blood spilled by Glaea’s tyrant king runs thicker, her connection with Atrius only grows stronger. A connection forbidden by her vows. A connection that could cost her everything.

Slaying the Vampire Conqueror is a standalone fantasy romance set in the Crowns of Nyaxia world, full of heart-wrenching forbidden romance, dark curses, and epic battles – perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom and the From Blood and Ash series.

Review:

I was sent a copy of Slaying the Vampire Conqueror in exchange for an honest review.

It’s safe to say I’m a fan of Carissa Broadbent and the Crowns of Nyaxia series. Slaying the Vampire Conqueror is a standalone in this universe, but don’t write it off as I’m pretty sure it’s going to be important later down the line – Broadbent does confirm that we will be seeing more of Sylina and Atrius in later books.

Slaying the Vampire Conqueror is action-heavy, and it makes it a strong read. Sylina is an acolyte of Arachessen, basically a cult who follow the Goddess of Fate, they give up their eyesight and instead can ‘see’ through the threads of fate. It’s a cool concept and pretty much allows for Sylina to still be able to see throughout the book, so her blindness doesn’t really affect much. It’s arguably a plot hole as the ‘threads’ sight at the start of the book feels quite different from the one at the end. Atrius is of the House of Blood, a house we’ve encountered before but this time they felt a lot more human, rather than the more barbaric house we’ve met before.

I really did enjoy their romance. They’re both very strong and powerful people, and their romance felt like it happened naturally. Yes, you know they’re going to get together, it’s the whole point of the genre, but there’s something fun about watching the relationship unfold knowing that eventually they’ll get there. It’s not the sizzling romance from some of the other books, but I was rooting for them.

The story definitely stands on its own. Atrius is attempting to conquer Glaea, and the story follows Atrius as he sweeps across the kingdom. Sylina is tasked with stopping his march, but it becomes apparent that maybe this conquering force isn’t as bad as her people think it is. I really enjoyed seeing a lot of Glaea through this story, from it’s various warlords to it’s interesting cities. Broadbent has made sure that while the kingdom is cohesive it never feels like you’re in the same place.

We do get some new/built-upon goddess lore which I’m always here for. Plus we meet some of the goddesses and it made for a really great climax to the book. They’re a constant backdrop to the universe and I love any & all glimpses we get of them!

I’d say that this is a weaker book in the series, but I think it’s going to be important later down the line so it’s definitely worth reading. Broadbent introduces and wraps up the story really well in just 350 pages, while setting up for some important worldbuilding developments.

Synopsis:

In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill.

Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher—the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but Kel knows that his destiny is to die for Conor. No other future is possible.

Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls within the city, but Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge.

After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but as they descend into his world of intrigue and shadow, they discover a conspiracy of corruption that reaches from the darkest gutters of Castellane to the highest tower of its palaces.

As long-kept secrets begin to unravel, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? Can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?

Review:

I was sent a copy of Sword Catcher in exchange for an honest review.

I have a confession. This is my first ever Cassandra Clare book, despite being the perfect age when The Mortal Instruments came out they somehow never made it onto my radar. So this is a review from someone who is brand new to Cassandra Clare’s writing.

I really, really enjoyed Sword Catcher. The characters were all interesting and the world-building was solid & effortlessly woven into the main plot. It felt like all of the events of Sword Catcher were meant to happen & I’d argue there weren’t really any plot twists that took me by surprise, I could see where things were going but I was happy to be right about my theories!

I can’t pick a favourite between Lin, Kel and Conor. They all live in the same city but have such different lives, even Kel and Conor are totally different people despite having the exact same upbringing. Kel never quite forgets his orphan roots and it allows for Lin to easily become a part of the trio. Lin is an Ashkar physician, a group of people who are ostracised from everyone else because they’re seen as being responsible for the disappearance of magic. Clare weaves in this old story through book extracts woven in between chapters. I liked this as extra flavour text and it didn’t feel like an info-dump to me. Lin herself helps add extra context to this story and it all comes together eventually.

One of the favourite pastimes of Kel and Conor is visiting brothels. Early on in the book they visit a brothel and I’d argue that while it isn’t a distinctly unnecessary part of the story it definitely felt like this was Clare going ‘I’m writing adult books now’. The only reason I mention it is because there aren’t really any other explicit scenes in the rest of the book, so it stood out somewhat as it was so early on, and so different. That being said the book overall does feel like an adult fantasy, even if the characters do appear to be on the younger side (I’d argue they all come across as being in their early twenties). To me Clare doesn’t seem to be stuck writing YA and this is a great way to debut her adult novels.

There’s romance in Sword Catcher but don’t mistake this for a romantasy. At least in this book it’s distinctly more of attraction based romance that never quite comes to fruition, but I suspect book two will be a different story. I enjoyed trying to work out who would fall for who as there’s no insta-love here and everything is a very slow burn.

This is a great read with elements of classic fantasy that I grew up reading. An old story that has effects on the current world, small magics, sword fights and royalty. I was hooked from the start and it felt like it deserved the full 600+ pages.

I can’t wait to dive into The Ragpicker King and spend more time in this world!

Synopsis:

USSR, 1941. In the frozen desolation of Siberia, a shaman unleashes an ancient entity from its slumber deep within an abandoned salt mine.
England, 1996. The echoes of that distant ritual reach across time as Meren-Ptah, a foe the RPI Gran Maestro occultist Gino Marcotti once vanquished, returns. With the line between the living and the dead blurred, Gino and Carter Williams must unravel the mystery connecting the past to the present. What dark force has been awakened, and how can the mistakes of history be undone? When the past and the paranormal collide, only the dead hold the key to saving the living.

Review:

Thank you James for sending me an early copy for review.

A Crack in the World: The Reckoning is another very strong book from Mordechai. Introducing both new characters to the story and revisiting Gino and Carter the story effortlessly weaves in details from the first book while quickly getting into the action. This can be read either standalone or as a sequel, Mordechai has made sure that no reader will be lost.

Intertwined throughout the book are chapters from Atom, an Armenian physicist who travels to Siberia and encounters horrors in and around a salt mine. This part really reminded me of the Dyatlov Pass incident, as at first it seems like Atom and his team are running from unknown somethings that get most of them killed (I’d also watched a programme about it recently so it was at the forefront of my mind).

Our old foe Meren-Ptah is at the centre of the story again, and he’s once more causing chaos. A second visit to the same demon plane we went to in the first book shows it as a barren and abandoned place. I particularly loved some carvings that Mordechai introduced here as it was not only a really great look back at the events of book 1, but added a whole new sense of creepy to the book.

Carter really shines in The Reckoning. There are points where he is alone and can’t lean on Gino for the occult, and so he comes into his own to figure out some occult things by himself. No spoilers though, sorry.

Mordechai is a wonderful storyteller and while Reckoning doesn’t necessarily have the big world-ending scenes from book 1 it takes a slightly quieter (relatively) approach to ending the world. Demon planes, museums, occult and Gari the dog having his moment. Reckoning is fast-paced and will drag you right into the story. I’m fairly sure Mordechai could throw any occult words or idea and I’d run with it. The confidence and knowledge the book oozes makes it so easy to get lost in the occult.

This is such a fun read and I had the best time revisiting these characters and story.

Synopsis:

They looked into darkness. The darkness looked back.

An utterly gripping story of survival on a hostile planet from Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time.

A commercial expedition to a distant star system discovers a pitch-black moon alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is deadly to human life, but ripe for exploitation. They named it Shroud.

Under no circumstances can a human survive Shroud’s inhospitable surface – but a catastrophic accident forces Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne to make an emergency landing in a barely adequate escape vehicle. Alone, and fighting for survival, the two women embark on a gruelling journey across land, sea and air in search of salvation.

But as they travel, Juna and Mai begin to understand Shroud’s unnerving alien species. It also begins to understand them. If they escape Shroud, they’ll somehow have to explain the impossible and translate the incredible. That is, if they make it back at all . . .

Review:

I was sent a copy of Shroud in exchange for an honest review.

This is Adrian T doing what Adrian T does best. Writing stories that’ll make you sympathise with the aliens.

Shroud is an incredible first contact story that looks at both the impact on the humans and the impact on the aliens. The book starts on The Garveneer, a ship sent to scout a star system to see what mankind can harvest from it. Imagine capitalism but dialled up to 1000, with wage-worths and the ability to be put in stasis until you’re needed again (or maybe forever if you do something wrong). Here Tchaikovsky introduces you to a bunch of humans who are conditioned to put work above all else. They’re looking at a moon called Shroud and once they send Drones down to the pitch-black surface they start to see glimpses of alien lifeforms.

Shroud is a truly inhospitable place, and once Ceelander and Ste Etienne crash land on it’s surface in nothing more than a prototype vehicle they start an epic journey to try and get home. The entirety of Shroud is experienced through camera feeds and in the claustrophobic space they have. The gravity is so high that they’re stuck in these gel couches unable to even reach each other.

Once you get introduced to the aliens (from here the Shrouded) that’s where for me the story became something completely unique. The story starts being told in ‘Light’ (humans) and ‘Darkness’ (Shrouded). At first the Shrouded chapters are simple thoughts and enquiries, but by the end they’re this fully fledged species with it’s own society and knowledge. You see them learn about the humans and you see how they learn and react to this new creature in their midst. Neither party can speak with each other but there are moments where maybe they understand, or understand enough to survive.

Adrian T has crafted a whole working world on Shroud. They’re not just another human society and they learn/see/feel/exist completely differently to the humans with evolutionary history too. Alternating the chapters between the Shrouded and the humans was so fascinating as you saw the story from both sides, while also rooting for everyone involved.

I could wax lyrical about this book for ages. It completely captured my imagination and despite the fact that you never see much of Shroud due to it’s complete darkness (lights and cameras can only go so far) I could picture this whole world in my head. The Shrouded are unlike anything I’ve read before and there’s something infinitely weirder about aliens that don’t look like any lifeform we can describe. Honestly just pick this up and experience it for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

Shroud is a masterclass in worldbuilding and in making your reader sympathise with alien lifeforms. Every time I think Adrian T has written his best book he releases another one that somehow tops it, and this is a perfect example.

Synopsis:

World War III rages, and the scientists at the South Pole are thankful for the isolation – until a group of Chinese scientists arrive at the American research base with a dead man in their truck. The potential for a geopolitical firestorm is great, and, with no clear jurisdiction, the Americans don’t know what to do. But they soon realize the Chinese scientists have brought far more with them than the body…

Within seventy-two hours, thirteen others lie dead in the snow, murdered in acts of madness and superhuman strength. An extremophile parasite from the truck, triggered by severe cold, is spreading by touch. With rescue impossible for months, it is learning from them. Evolving. It triggers violent tendencies in the winter crew, and, more insidiously… The beginnings of a strange symbiotic telepathy.

From an exciting new voice comes this propulsive SF-thriller, infused with authentic details about life in one of the world’s harshest, most mysterious landscapes, Antarctica.

Review:

Thank you Angry Robot for sending me an early copy of Symbiote.

Symbiote is a ride and I was there every terrifying step of the way. Described as Contagion meets The Walking Dead I knew this was going to be something I really enjoyed, and I wasn’t disappointed. Nayak takes an already terrifying idea and dials it all the way up. Because what’s scarier than a parasite that turns your co-workers into rage-fuelled cold-loving hosts? When you’re stuck so far from civilisation that you have no hope of escape.

In an author letter that came with my early copy Nayak talks about how he has actually been deployed to the South Pole, and how he wrote the book while he was there. It makes every single part of the book so much more real because Nayak knows what it’s like to live at the South Pole, to experience the isolation and the bitter cold. It firmly roots this story in the real world.

Coming in at just under 400 pages I still had no idea how it was going to end at page 350, because Nayak put the remaining crew in such a tough spot, and it felt like it could go either way all the way until the very end. And I believe it’s been confirmed that there’s going to be a second book… I’m so in.

I’ll admit that at first I didn’t like any of the South Pole crew. The vast majority of the crew we’re introduced to are not good people, they’ve all got secrets and issues and it makes everyone in the book that bit more real. No one is perfect, and it provides the perfect breeding ground for the anger the parasite induces. Symbiote has those moments where you see people make a bad decision or trust the wrong person, and you find yourself shouting internally as you watch the events unfold knowing what they’ve just done to themselves.

The parasite itself almost becomes a character. It changes and evolves throughout the book until it’s almost unrecognisable. It keeps the pace of the book high and keeps the story fresh. It definitely had me cringing as I got into the later stages of the book, something about it just gave me the creeps.

I loved Symbiote. From the fast pace of the story, to the worldbuilding through interjected excerpts from a book (a really great way to give context imo), there was never a dull moment. This is a sci-fi thriller with a dose horror that will keep you reading late into the night.