Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan

Blurb

"It happened,
             again and again
             and
again and again and again.

Together
             apart.
In love
             in aching.

Tangled
unravelling.

Ana and Connor have been having an affair for three years. In hotel rooms and coffee shops, swiftly deleted texts and briefly snatched weekends, they have built a world with none but the two of them in it.

But then the unimaginable happens, and Ana finds herself alone, trapped inside her secret.

How can we lose someone the world never knew was ours? How do we grieve for something no one else can ever find out? In her desperate bid for answers, Ana seeks out the shadowy figure who has always stood just beyond her reach – Connor's wife Rebecca.

Peeling away the layers of two overlapping marriages, Here is the Beehive is a devastating excavation of risk, obsession and loss."

Published 20th August 2020
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

Sarah Crossan's freeverse writing style is very engrossing, it's so clever how she can tell a story so succinctly and still create a world of emotions. I've read a few of her children's and young adult books and loved them. This is her first adult novel and the tale of adultery and loss was certainly different to her other books.

Ana has been having an affair with Connor for three years when he dies unexpectedly and she is left grieving but can't let explain to anyone why she is behaving so erratically. I felt sorry for Ana that she has lost someone she loves and also that she had found love in a complex situation that she couldn't find a way to resolve. It gradually emerges that not only she is she sleeping with someone else's husband, she has a husband and children herself. Life and love are complex but I struggled with this storyline at times.

This is beautifully written and emotional at times but Ana and Connor's selfishness frustrated me. I gave this 3 out of 5.

The Author

Sarah Crossan is Irish. She graduated with a degree in Philosophy and Literature before training as an English and Drama teacher at Cambridge University and worked to promote creative writing in schools before leaving teaching to write full time.

She completed her Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Warwick in 2003 and in 2010 received an Edward Albee Fellowship for writing.

She currently lives in NYC.

House of Earth and Blood: Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas

Blurb

"Bound by blood.
Tempted by desire.
Unleashed by destiny.


Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love."

Review

I can't rave enough about this book! Sarah J. Maas has an incredible talent for writing in such a way that I'm instantly immersed in the story and attached to the characters. Even as you plunge into the story and are a bit overwhelmed by the depth of the world she has created, I found myself caught in the current and unable to put the book down.

I love how strong and independent Bryce is and how she fights for what she wants and when she meets Hunt, sparks fly. I won't talk too much about the actual story as I don't want to give any surprises away, but I was completely gripped and went through a kaleidoscope of emotions throughout. There aren't many books which can make you laugh and cry within a few chapters, let alone pages!

This is an incredible new fantasy world and I can't wait to read the next instalment! I give this 5 out of 5.

The Author

Sarah J. Maas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series, as well as the A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Sarah lives in Bucks County, PA, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much tea, and watches an ungodly amount of TV. When she's not busy writing, she can be found exploring the historic and beautiful Pennsylvania countryside with her husband, son and canine companion.

http://sarahjmaas.com/

The Vow by Debbie Howells

Blurb

"Two weeks before her wedding, a stranger stops Amy in the street and warns her she’s in danger. Then that night, Matt, her fiancé, doesn’t come home. Desperate, Amy calls the police – but when Matt fails to emerge, she’s forced to call off her wedding day.

Then another man is reported missing, by a woman called Fiona – a man meeting Matt’s description, who was about to leave his fiancée for her. He was supposed to be moving in with her – but instead, he’s vanished.

Amy refuses to believe Fiona’s lover can be her Matt – but photos prove otherwise, and it soon becomes clear that Matt has been leading a double life. As the police dig deeper, two conflicting, yet equally plausible stories emerge from two women who allegedly have never met.

The wedding day never happened. But the funeral might."

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review

I was really intrigued by the concept of this book but sadly it didn't live up to my expectations. I was keen to find out what had happened to Matt but I thought the execution was a bit clumsy and I found the conversations to be quite stilted at times between the characters. Also, one minute the police were being friendly with Amy, then they were suspicious of her, then they were chatting with her like they were friends... it was all a bit odd.

Amy's character has a lot of secrets, even from herself, and I enjoyed finding out her past as this unravelled alongside the main storyline. It was clever that you didn't really know who to believe between Amy and Fiona, the other woman.

Amy's daughter Jess was the best character in the book and her parts of the story kept me engaged. Although Jess' boyfriend Rik seemed a bit unnecessary to the story as she would ask him to look into something but then find it out herself.

I still think the author had a good idea for the story but the writing could have been improved. I really hate to write a negative review but unfortunately this book just didn't work for me.

I gave this 2 out of 5.

The Sight of You by Holly Miller

Blurb

"Would you choose love . . .
. . . If you knew how it would end?

Joel is afraid of the future.

Since he was a child he's been haunted by dreams about the people he loves. Visions of what's going to happen - the good and the bad. And the only way to prevent them is to never let anyone close to him again.

Callie can't let go of the past.

Since her best friend died, Callie's been lost. She knows she needs to be more spontaneous and live a bigger life. She just doesn't know how to find a way back to the person who used to have those dreams.

Joel and Callie both need a reason to start living for today.
And though they're not looking for each other, from the moment they meet it feels like the start of something life-changing.

Until Joel has a vision of how it's going to end . . ."

Published 11th June 2020 by Hodder & Stoughton (first published June 9th 2020)
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review

You would think that being able to see the future would be a useful skill, but for Joel it is a constant torment. He lives in fear of the next dream about someone he loves where the dream predicts something terrible happening. Meanwhile, he is hiding his secret from everyone he knows which is making his life very lonely. I felt really sorry for Joel as he has lost hope for his own future and being able to do anything with his life.

Callie has been putting off following her passions and has recently lost one of her best friends.

As soon as they meet there is an undeniable connection between Joel and Callie but Joel is afraid to let anyone else into his life. He already lives in fear for his family and friends. They way the author writes about their relationship as it grows and changes was really lovely. I also enjoyed the cast of characters surrounding them both.

This was an incredibly moving and heartbreaking story, which is beautifully written between Callie and Joel's points of view. The only thing that I didn't like so much was when some parts of Callie's story were set further in the future than the main story which gave some things away before they happened - beyond the predictions of the future by Joel.

This was a beautiful read. I gave this 4 out of 5.

The Phone Box at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina

Blurb

"We all have something to tell those we have lost . . .

When Yui loses her mother and daughter in the tsunami, she wonders how she will ever carry on. Yet, in the face of this unthinkable loss, life must somehow continue. Then one day she hears about a man who has an old disused telephone box in his garden. There, those who have lost loved ones find the strength to speak to them and begin to come to terms with their grief. As news of the phone box spreads, people will travel there from miles around.

Soon Yui will make her own pilgrimage to the phone box, too. But once there she cannot bring herself to speak into the receiver. Then she finds Takeshi, a bereaved husband whose own daughter has stopped talking in the wake of their loss.

What happens next will warm your heart, even when it feels as though it is breaking."

Published June 25th 2020 by Manilla Press (first published January 14th 2020)
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review

Set after the tsunami which devastated Fukushima in Japan in 2011, the story follows Yui who lost her mother and daughter in the tsunami. The story moves back and forth in time between the days immediately following the disaster and the years that follow.

When Yui discovers the phone box hidden in rural Japan where people go to talk to their lost loved ones, she makes the long journey to see if it will help her, but when she gets there she doesn't feel ready to speak yet. She starts to build new connections with the other people who visit the phone box in Bell Gardia who speak into the wind to feel closer to their loved ones. The author tells their stories tenderly and sensitively.

Originally published in Italian as Quel che affidiamo al vento (What we entrust to the wind), the book is based on a real place run by a couple in Japan which can be visited by those who are grieving.

This is a really beautiful novel exploring loss, grief and finding hope when so much has been lost. I gave this 4 out of 5.

The Author

Laura Imai Messina è nata a Roma e si è laureata in Lettere all’Università la Sapienza.

Si è trasferita a Tokyo a ventitré anni per perfezionare la lingua e da allora abita stabilmente in Giappone. Ha ottenuto un dottorato di primo livello in Culture Comparate presso l’International Christian University con una tesi sulla scrittrice giapponese Ogawa Yōko e ha conseguito presso la Tokyo University of Foreign Studies un PhD con una tesi comparativa sul tema della materialità nella letteratura giapponese ed europea. Attualmente è docente a contratto di lingua italiana in alcune delle più prestigiose università della capitale.

Laura Imai Messina was born in Rome and graduated from the Sapienza University of Rome with a degree in literature.

She transferred to Tokyo to perfect the language and now lives permanently in Japan. She obtained a first level doctorate in Comparative Culture at International Christian University with a thesis on the Japanese writer Ogawa Yōko and at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies she obtained a PhD with a comparative thesis on the subject of materiality in Japanese and European literature. She is currently a contract teacher of Italian in some of the most prestigious universities in the capital.

Website: https://www.lauraimaimessina.com/