Humour
Written by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows
Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Published November 1st 2016
416 Pages
Thank you to Walker Books Australia
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★★★★
Edward is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…
Jane who reads too many books is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…
Gifford is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian. Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed, but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.
The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and Gifford are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?
A kingdom is on the verge of collapse, Verities and Eðian have formed a divide while sixteen year old King Edward has been diagnosed with the Affliction. leaving the young Prince with mere months to live. With his trusted adviser Dudley, Edward will need to determine the royal line of succession, bypassing his sisters to name his beneficiary as the firstborn son of his dearest friend and cousin, Lady Jane Grey.
First he must find her a husband.
Sixteen year old Lady Jane Grey is a spirited young woman, self educated through her love of reading. Determined and opinionated, Lady Jane has no intention of marrying despite her mother's insistence but how can she refuse her dearest Edward's request?
From sunrise to sunset, Gifford Dudley is a horse. Literally. An Eðian who believes he is cursed, Gifford succumbs to his father's demands and prepares to marry the headstrong young woman. Jane believes Gifford is little more than a philanderer, Gifford believes Jane is far more trouble than she's worth but as the two begin to appreciate one another and the injustice of the world around them, Jane is named as Edwards heir, bypassing his own sisters and ensuring the first Queen of England's place in history.
From sunrise to sunset, Gifford Dudley is a horse. Literally. An Eðian who believes he is cursed, Gifford succumbs to his father's demands and prepares to marry the headstrong young woman. Jane believes Gifford is little more than a philanderer, Gifford believes Jane is far more trouble than she's worth but as the two begin to appreciate one another and the injustice of the world around them, Jane is named as Edwards heir, bypassing his own sisters and ensuring the first Queen of England's place in history.
My Thoughts
My Lady Jane was absolutely delightful, an alternate history of the first Queen of England infused with a touch of fantasy and hilarity. It was incredibly charming and follows the narrative of Lady Jane Grey, the young King Edward and Jane's betrothed Gifford, a chestnut steed. Lady Jane Grey is a fiercely passionate girl in an era in which men dominate and the fairer sex marry, bear children and master the art of needlepoint. But the sixteen year old only wants to explore fantastically worlds through reading. Although Jane harbours resentment for Gifford, the exploration of their relationship was so incredibly lovely. Both Jane and Gifford find common ground through the atrocities of hardship of the lowly class England and a mutual respect for one another begins their tentative romance and entwined narrative.
I fail to see an upside, except for the possibility that I will one day need a quick escape, in which case it will be useful to have a fast horse.
'No horse jokes,' he said.
'My lord, I apologise for the horse joke. If you put down the book unharmed, I will give you a carrot.'
He brandished the book at her. 'Was that a horse joke?'
'Neigh.'
'Was that a horse joke?'
King Edward has been ruler of England since the tender age of nine years old and until now, has left the fate of his Kingdom to his trusted adviser Dudley. Edward has been diagnosed with the Affliction, a life sentence in which he will never see his seventeenth birthday. Or share his first kiss. Edward is incredibly naive and entitled but throughout the storyline, his narrative matures and he begins to understand the responsibility of leading a country through civil unrest.
The relationships within My Lady Jane were absolutely charming. Jane's friendship with Edward was lovely, the two cousins having grown up with one another and forming a wonderful friendship despite their differences. Being of the era where women are seen as fragile and delicate, Edward wishes for his dear friend Jane to be taken care of, never mind that the tenacious Jane is a perfectly capable young woman of her own devices. Being unmarried and independent is scandalous and reluctantly, Jane agrees to marry rather than deny Edward's last wishes. But Jane is unaware of Gifford's condition.
The romance between Jane and Gifford was delicate, tender and their sarcastic exchanges were absolutely hilarious. But beneath the banter, Gifford begins to care for Jane and despite the overwhelming sexism of the era, Jane is his equal.
Within fiction, the reader is a silent observer and authorial intrusion often feels jarring. In My Lady Jane, it's made apparent that it's an alternative historical retelling but yet the charming authorial annotations are a constant reminder. It was unnecessary and a little too slapstick unfortunately.
Although an alternative history, My Lady Jane explores historical figures such as King Edward, Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots. The Royal dynasty is wonderfully created as a complex network of deceit and deception, infused with humour and animal enchantment. Although occasionally the humour misfired, it was an entertaining and engaging read that captured my attention until the final page.
Yet To Be Titled Series Book One
Written by Mark Smith
Apocalyptic, Survival, #LoveOzYA
Published June 27th 2016
240 Pages
Thanks to Text Publishing
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★★★☆
Since a deadly virus and the violence that followed wiped out his parents and most of his community, Finn has lived alone on the rugged coast with only his loyal dog Rowdy for company.
He has stayed alive for two winters, hunting and fishing and trading food, and keeping out of sight of the Wilders, an armed and dangerous gang that controls the north, led by a ruthless man named Ramage.
But Finn’s isolation is shattered when a girl runs onto the beach. Rose is a Siley, an asylum seeker, and she has escaped from Ramage, who had enslaved her and her younger sister, Kas. Rose is desperate, sick, and needs Finn’s help. Kas is still missing somewhere out in the bush.
And Ramage wants the girls back, at any cost.
In the sleepy coastal town of Angowrie, they had thought the isolation would have protected the community from the virus that has spread throughout Australia. As the population diminishes, sixteen year old Finn and his companion Rowdy are surviving off the land while hiding in his small off road abode. In an act of defiance against the new world, Sam finds peace in the turbulent waves in between storm fronts crossing the coast and it's there where he discovers Rose, a girl on the run.
Rose is a Siley, an asylum seeker who arrived in Australia with her younger sister and was sent to work on the mainland. After society begun to break down, Rose and her sister are being hunted by the Wilders, a group of violent, rogue men. Females are scarce, the virus having effected mostly women and girls as it spread across the country which makes the liberated sisters a valuable commodity.
But when Rose falls ill it'll be left to Finn to find Kashmala, before the Wilders take her captive or find Rose first.
My Thoughts
The Road To Winter was a wonderful read that lured me in with it's premise and left me wanting more. Finn is a remarkable young man. Having lost his mother two years ago to the virus spreading across the country, his father passing as a result of a violent outbreak in town, Finn's only company is his canine companion Rowdy and the sound of the waves which beckon him. He's self sufficient, hunting, fishing and trading his fresh catches with a local farmer in exchange for fruit and vegetables. It's a meager existence and he's simply surviving rather than living. Until he meets Rose.
Rose's fear is palpable. She's on the run from the Wilders and escaped when she and sister Kashmala were separated and is desperate to find her before the viscous Ramage and his Wilders find them both. Although weary to share her story, Rose's life has been a traumatic struggle of imprisonment and ownership. Having arrived in Australia as an asylum seeker, the girls were given to a local family while adults were placed in detention centers. Siley's are owned by Australian families, used to work on the land and denied an education or a basic duty of care.
I loved the social messages woven throughout the storyline. It touches on the social injustice of basic human rights and the plight of refugees within Australia, gently and with care. The barren Australian coastline was vivid, a simple existence that captivated with so few words. But as much as I had enjoyed the storyline overall, the backstory felt lacking.
As a reader, I need to know how the portrayed world came to be, why does the virus effect more females than males? Before communication was left abandoned, how far did the virus spread? Finn himself also talks about how his town assumed there would be government intervention, a cure or precautions to help stem the deadly virus from spreading. Were capital cities effected? I can understand that a character of sixteen is unable to provide answers, apart from bigoted speculation that those seeking asylum had brought the virus to our shores. I hope that book two in the currently unnamed series is able to provide more information as the storyline progresses.
Overall, it was a quick, yet entertaining read. Although Finn's character is likable, I wanted to feel an emotional connection to his character but couldn't quite get there. It could be that I tend to find the female perspective more enjoyable as a narrative, but that's simply personal preference. Regardless, a wonderful debut and I look forward to reading the next series installment.
A Toaster on Mars
Written by Darrell Pitt
Middle Grade, Humour, Science Fiction, #LoveOzYA
Published 30th May 2016
Thank you to Text Publishing
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★★★
Badde plans on using a device to wipe out all technology and electrical devices on Earth, plunging the planet into a Dark Age unless his demands are met. But after his last investigation resulted in a near death experience, Blake will be forced to take on a partner and none other than Special Agent Nikki Steel.
Nikki is no ordinary agent, she's a cyborg, with golden skin and a thirst for fighting crime and it isn't long before the two agents discover that Badde wants more than monetary gain when he takes Blake's daughter Lisa captive. To secure her release, Blake and Nikki must break into a secure underground facility where they are to steal a computer super virus simply known as Maria.
Along with the help of his former wife, Blake and Nikki have but only days to pull off the impossible heist or risk losing Lisa forever.
The humour is silly slapstick, groan worthy dad jokes and eye rolling cliches but if the intended middle grade audience can forgive the abundance of adult characters, it's still an enjoyable read. With the only likable character being the villainous Badde, the humour didn't work for me unfortunately. I did enjoy the simplistic world building, especially Elvisworld, where Elvis impersonators have been imprisoned.
But strictly for the intended audience though I'm afraid.
Written by Darrell Pitt
Middle Grade, Humour, Science Fiction, #LoveOzYA
Published 30th May 2016
Thank you to Text Publishing
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★★★
Teenagers on skateboards jumped off walkways, dropped a dozen floors and activated rockets to safely land walkways below. Blake took a deep breath, inhaling something that smelt like a cross between burnt plastic and toffee apple.Blake works as an agent for the Planetary Bureau of Investigation, solving temporal crimes that are beyond the realm for the local law enforcement. A recent divorcee, middle aged and balding, Blake works in the busy metropolis of Neo City where his career has been spent trying to capture notorious criminal Bartholomew Badde, who aspires to be history's greatest villain.
Neo City, 2509.
After a series of operational bungles, as well as the accidental death of his partner, special agent Blake Carter’s career at the Planetary Bureau of Investigation is in trouble. To make matters worse, he’s just been assigned a new partner, and the beautiful and brilliant Nicki Steel happens to be a cyborg.
When universe famous criminal Bartholomew Badde steals a weapon capable of destroying whole planets at a time, Blake and Nicki must work together to recover it, an investigation that takes them to all corners of the weird and wonderful galaxy. But things get serious when Badde kidnaps Blake’s teenage daughter, Lisa. Can Blake prove he’s still a first rate agent, not to mention father, and save Lisa in time?
Badde plans on using a device to wipe out all technology and electrical devices on Earth, plunging the planet into a Dark Age unless his demands are met. But after his last investigation resulted in a near death experience, Blake will be forced to take on a partner and none other than Special Agent Nikki Steel.
Nikki is no ordinary agent, she's a cyborg, with golden skin and a thirst for fighting crime and it isn't long before the two agents discover that Badde wants more than monetary gain when he takes Blake's daughter Lisa captive. To secure her release, Blake and Nikki must break into a secure underground facility where they are to steal a computer super virus simply known as Maria.
Along with the help of his former wife, Blake and Nikki have but only days to pull off the impossible heist or risk losing Lisa forever.
A Toaster on Mars was a satirical and fun space adventure that will appeal to lovers of slapstick comedy. Set in the year 2509, it follows the storyline of Blake Carter, middle aged gruff agent who investigates universal temporal crimes and those beyond the capabilities of local law enforcement. Seeing Blake isn't all that likable as a character, thank goodness for his new partner, cyborg Nikki Steel. Nikki is a tough, no nonsense agent who plays by the rules. Thrown together, the two must hunt down the galaxy's most notorious criminal who plans to annihilate Earth through destroying all technological advances. But when Badde kidnaps Blake's daughter, they must work together with wanted villain or his daughter faces a life of torture.My Thoughts
'That's right', Badde said.Although written as a middle grade slash early teen adventure, the main character is a middle aged, gruff man and his cyborg sidekick and unfortunately I tended to lose interest throughout. The reader experiences brief glimpses of Lisa's point of view as she's being held captive, but the main focus was placed on Blake's interstellar adventure. Like most readers, children and teens also enjoy being able to place themselves within a storyline and I feel as though that probably isn't the case here.
'I have an entire box set of The Brady Bunch and I'm prepared to use them.'
The humour is silly slapstick, groan worthy dad jokes and eye rolling cliches but if the intended middle grade audience can forgive the abundance of adult characters, it's still an enjoyable read. With the only likable character being the villainous Badde, the humour didn't work for me unfortunately. I did enjoy the simplistic world building, especially Elvisworld, where Elvis impersonators have been imprisoned.
But strictly for the intended audience though I'm afraid.
Written by Lance Rubin
Contemporary, Science Fiction, Humour
Published March 2015
352 Pages
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia
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RATING ★★★★
Denton Little's Deathdate takes place in a world exactly like our own except that everyone knows the day they will die. For seventeen year old Denton Little, that's tomorrow, the day of his senior prom.
Despite his early deathdate, Denton has always wanted to live a normal life, but his final days are filled with dramatic firsts. First hangover. First sex. First love triangle, as the first sex seems to have happened not with his adoring girlfriend, but with his best friend's hostile sister. His anxiety builds when he discovers a strange purple rash making its way up his body. Is this what will kill him? And then a strange man shows up at his funeral, claiming to have known Denton's long deceased mother, and warning him to beware of suspicious government characters… Suddenly Denton's life is filled with mysterious questions and precious little time to find the answers.
Debut author Lance Rubin takes us on a fast, furious, and outrageously funny ride through the last hours of a teenager's life as he searches for love, meaning, answers, and, just maybe, a way to live on.
Denton Little lives in a world dying isn't left to fate, genetic testing is now able to diagnose when you will die. Denton is classed as an Early, his Deathdate strikes before the seventeen year old can experience life... But that is about to change. On the day of his wake, in which Denton is the guest of honour, he wakes up with not only a hangover, but in his best friends sister's bed. He can vaguely remember his girlfriend breaking up with him the night before, or can he?
He may have known since he was only five years old, when his father and step mother decided to tell Denton that he would never become an adult, but nothing could prepare you for your life ending and how. It could be the strange purple rash that is rapidly spreading on his leg, the school dope smoker than insists on trying to plow him down with his car or girlfriend Taryn's former boyfriend, who is clearly crazy enough to take the dying boy out.
But when a strange man at Denton's funeral warns of government conspiracies and once knowing his deceased mother, Denton needs answers that his gruff father is unable to provide. The clock is ticking and Denton's life could expire at any moment. Who would want to kill an already dying boy... Unless Denton plans on living.
MY THOUGHTS
Denton Little's Deathdate is a hilarious story of dying, living and what you do with the in between. Denton isn't popular, nor is he a ladies man. He's intelligent, conforming and a teen that parents would be proud of. But in a society where at birth your date of death is determined, Denton realises that he's never truly lived his life. He's never had a hangover, he's never felt a wild abandonment and he's certainly never had sex. But when Denton wakes up after a night of drunken sex, he can cross two more achievements off his list and a girlfriend that is none the wiser.
With his best friend and partner in crime Pablo, Denton is in for forty eight hours of fast living and mayhem, all before he kicks the bucket. An elderly police officer who is ready to strike, a gun toting former boyfriend of his current but not for much longer girlfriend, slowly turning purple and now a stranger who claims to have known his late mother, warns him of government conspiracies.
It was a strange of blend of contemporary and science fiction elements, Denton Little's Deathdate is nothing short of incredible. Denton is not only likable, but the cast of secondary characters inject personality and a lightheartedness throughout the storyline. Lance Rubin should be applauded for creating a brilliantly unique debut novel.
THE VERDICT
I laughed, I sniggered and snorted my way through reading Denton's
story. It's fun, it's hilarious and never guilty of taking itself too
seriously. It's the perfect release for those who enjoy the sillier side of fiction, myself included.
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