Tag: strong protagonist

5 star, adult

ARC Review: Breathless by Amy McCulloch

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

A high-altitude thriller that will take your breath away–Cecily Wong is on her most dangerous climb yet, miles above sea level. But the elements are nothing compared to one chilling truth: There’s a killer on the mountain.

Journalist Cecily Wong is in over her head. She’s come to Manaslu, the eighth-highest peak in the world, to interview internationally famous mountaineer Charles McVeigh on the last leg of a record-breaking series of summits. She’s given up everything for this story–her boyfriend, her life savings, the peace she’s made with her climbing failures in the past–but it’s a career-making opportunity. It could finally put her life back on track.

But when one climber dies in what everyone else assumes is a freak accident, she fears their expedition is in danger. And by the time a second climber dies, it’s too late to turn back. Stranded on a mountain in one of the most remote regions of the world, she’ll have to battle more than the elements in a harrowing fight for survival against a killer who is picking them off one by one.

**Breathless comes out May 3, 2022**

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

‘There’s a murderer on the mountain. Run.’

Breathless quite literally lives up to its name in this spellbinding story that had me gripped from the moment. Equal parts exhilarating and knowledge seeking, I was thrilled with the tension and mystery as the author intended, but I also learned so much about mountain climbing that I lived these experiences almost vicariously through these characters.

Cecily Wong is part of an exclusive team assembled to climb the last of the 14 mountains greater than eight-thousand-metres above sea level, Manaslu, alongside the legendary mountaineer Charles McVeigh. Unfortunately, she feels she has so much to prove to him (and the rest of the very experienced team) because she’s known as the girl who could NOT summit even a smaller mountain. But getting to exclusively interview Charles on the condition she summits is the chance of a lifetime and everyone plus their mother knows that.

I love Cecily’s perspective throughout this whole book. She’s a rather newbie climber so the logistics and extensive training that comes with mountain climbing is explained in the book for us who have no idea what this world is like. However, I don’t feel it’s too technical and boring at these parts because it’s so ingrained into what is happening in the story. The team requires acclimatization at higher altitudes before they can climb so high so of course, we follow that journey with them. It’s never an overload of information and everything is potentially relevant.

Besides the newbie perspective, Cecily is an empathetic protagonist because she sees people with a less detached attitude. Perhaps it’s because she’s yet to really experience the life and death moments in a place literally called “the death zone” like her fellow experienced climbers. But in this way, her heart and journalistic instinct leads her down a path that may be hold more secrets than she’s prepared to find.

Most importantly, the pacing was fantastic! I never felt bored as the team moved their way up the mountain. The first death occurs not too far into the book so it really sets the tone – is there something more to this death or is it her paranoia? In low oxygen atmospheres, it’s even a possibility hallucinations run rampant so we’re left questioning Cecily’s (and our) judgment of what’s really happening.

I will say this book balanced thriller and mystery very well. There’s the whodunnit if these deaths really were attributed to homicides instead of accidents, but also that tense feeling that something’s not right in the most remote landscape on Earth.

To end off this review, I can’t emphasize enough how much I loved the experience of reading this book. It’s like McCulloch took us on this journey to Manaslu’s summit with the amount of details and descriptions.

The peak stood out, its enormous bulk an ominous black mass against the sparkling night sky. It dominated the horizon, stretching up into the heavens, and the summit wore the stars like a crown.

It’s truly an adventure in a book but also a reminder to sometimes take a breath and admire this world and our tiny place in it. When faced against the elements found at such high altitudes, we may appreciate more what life entails when death may be just a breath away.

Note: all quotes are subject to change upon final publication

Overall Recommendation:

Breathless takes you on the most amazing journey that mankind can partake in – climbing one of the tallest mountains in the world. The prose is so immersive I truly felt like I was there with our protagonist, Cecily, facing the unknowns and her fears. Unfortunately, there’s also something else afoot on the mountain but we may not be able to trust our judgment when the high altitude sickness comes in. This is the best kind of thriller/mystery and Amy McCulloch did it so well. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed if you pick this up.

5 star, adult

Review: The Maid by Nita Prose

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

People are a mystery that can never be solved.

When it comes to cozy mysteries, there’s nothing more interesting than a good protagonist to follow on their journey. The Maid is very different from the regular thrillers and mysteries I usually partake in, but it excelled at bringing to life the world of Molly Gray through her eyes. It’s really a discovery of who she is while wrapped up in a murder mystery.

Molly isn’t like the usual characters I read. I get it, she’s not necessarily unique when it comes to neurodivergent individuals in fiction, or perhaps not even the most well-done. But I rather enjoyed my time looking through her eyes. Yes, she misses cues and cannot read between the lines that are said. However, I enjoyed how that integrated well with the story and her personal growth through the ordeal at her work place, the Regency Grand. I know there are people who want to definitively know if Molly is on the autistic spectrum. It’s never made explicit possibly because she was never diagnosed in her life. I’m not here to say whether it should’ve been made clear or not. I also cannot say whether her perspective was accurate to people on the spectrum. You’ll have to read those reviews elsewhere. What I’m here to talk about is what I got from Molly’s story.

Right away, I knew the writing style and protagonist perspective worked for me. Molly loves order, and what is more orderly than cleaning? She’s made for this work, minus the fact that reading people she has to interact with (coworkers, guests, etc.) makes things a bit tricky. But that’s where her Gran’s lessons come in. I loved her relationship with Gran. Even though she had passed away prior to the events of the story, her presence is very much there through Molly’s memories and thoughts.

The story flow progresses well as we move through what would’ve been a typical work week for Molly that becomes very quickly anything but. The focus is less on the murder, though of course it impacts Molly’s life, and more on the minute changes and details she observes in the aftermath that may come useful in finding out the truth.

There are a slew of characters around Molly. It quickly becomes evident (to us at least) who is friendly and who’s taking advantage of her inability to read between the lines. It made me reflect on all these things that seem obvious to me but perhaps isn’t to everyone. Is a smile always good or do we use them negatively? Does someone saying they’ll “take care of your family” always mean something helpful or good, or can it come across as a threat? It’s just fascinating seeing such an interaction through Molly’s lens. Sometimes Very often I found myself wanting to help her figure out friend or foe before it’s too late!

The one minor disappointment here is that there’s definitely no big part that Molly plays in the mystery solving component. Sure, she’s suspected as the killer but I had hopes she would play a bigger role in untangling everything. It’s no locked room mystery if that’s what you’re looking for.

However, what I came here for (the mystery) was easily outweighed by the marvellous journey it was to see Molly grow and make new relationships after losing her strongest and only ally. It was heartwarming and delightful as we witness the woman she was becoming through this ordeal. The mystery is present and mildly predictable (well, with maybe a twist I didn’t see coming), but the star of the show is truly Molly. Who can’t help loving a book when the protagonist charmed me so very much?

If that’s what you’re looking for, then you’re in for a cozy treat.

Overall Recommendation:

The Maid delivers a riveting story following Molly Gray, a woman who sees the world differently than most of us. Her keen perception of her surroundings make her a great maid, but also a valuable asset when figuring out a murder. I loved reading through her perspective. It made the world a brighter place even when things were not going so well for her. The mystery is definitely second tier in this book, but I find myself hardly caring because Molly is the book and her journey figuring out more of the world and her place in it made my heart grow another size. It’s well worth the read!

4 star, YA

ARC Review: Only A Monster by Vanessa Len

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Monsters #1

With the sweeping romance of Passenger and the dark fantasy edge of This Savage Song, this standout YA contemporary fantasy debut from Vanessa Len, is the first in a planned trilogy.

It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.

But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story . . .

. . . she is not the hero. 

**Only A Monster comes out February 22, 2022**

Thank you Edelweiss and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Vanessa Len’s debut with an anti-hero protagonist and a morally good “villain” has my head whirling around for all sorts of reasons. I’ve barely had time to digest everything but I wanted to put all my thoughts down in this post while it’s all super fresh. I will have to be vague to keep anything from becoming spoilers, but I hope you’ll bear with me.

Joan is a monster. Or at least, half-monster since her father’s side of the family, the Asian part of her, is human. But growing up, she thought monsters were just fairy tales. Who wouldn’t? She had wanted to be Superman as a kid (what an irony, am I right?). Her moral compass seemed on the straight and narrow. Which is what drew her to the hero.

Where do I even start with Nick? This star-crossed lovers romance was what I was here for. As Joan realizes more about her monster heritage, is Nick going to be able to differentiate between the parts of herself? Is she truly monstrous? I also thought it’d be like an enemies to lovers kinda thing since, well, he hunts monsters. Doesn’t get more enemy than that. But it didn’t quite feel like that in some ways.

Star-crossed romance…or a love triangle?

I had come in thinking Nick was everything. But he wasn’t – I will get into that in a bit. Due to some really fast paced events that occur LITERALLY right out of the gate, Joan is thrusted into the monster world with, well, another monster. A monster boy named Aaron from a rival stuck-up monster family. Who is exactly the kinda character you can totally see a romance brewing between.

We actually get to know Aaron, dare I say more, than even perhaps Nick because he just has more page time. He goes from a pretentious little bugger to a pretty decent guy (he probably wouldn’t like to be described that way, but oh well) over the course of the misadventures they find themselves on. I don’t normally like love triangles, but there’re certain heartstrings being pulled in his direction.

Nick is also more than he seems. While I would’ve liked to have known him more, there was enough for me at least to start softening to this boy who only fought for what he thought is right. I mean, he has a reason to hate monsters, and a lot of monsters are downright…monstrous. Are his actions justified? I wrestle with that a lot while reading, but I can see where he’s coming from, and more importantly, so could Joan.

However, most of the romance heavy parts are actually at the end of the book and I honestly have no idea what’s to happen next. I’m as stumped as a log and only Vanessa Len knows where she’s going with the romance. And at this point, is it weird to say I actually wouldn’t mind who Joan picks? (The blasphemy!)

Traversing the plot

This book doesn’t know what a slow start means. It really just GOES from page 1. Joan didn’t really know what monsters are as her mother’s family hid it from her all her life so she (and the rest of us) are quickly thrust into the monster world without knowing the rules or ins and outs of it.

This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because who loves pages of information dump? I like it when the world is organically built into the story so we learn as we go. Of course, this may mean it’s rather confusing in the beginning, but that’s the payoff.

There’s time travel in this story and the mechanics of such time travel is still a little fuzzy to me. But the rest of the world building was super great. I loved getting to know a little more about the different monster families, their specific powers and the machinations of this hidden monster world among the humans.

As I mentioned, the pacing is just GO GO GO. It definitely helped to keep me reading because Joan and co. Are constantly moving from one thing to another. The start is the rockiest because it threw me off with how much of the synopsis was revealed so quickly, but the story really picks up from there in directions unknown that was exhilarating to find out.

What’s the best part of this?

We don’t get to know many characters in this story well just based on the way the plot goes, but for character-driven lovers, I think we get to know Joan very well and that’s always a highlight for me. She was new to all of this and her heart was always set towards a moral compass that didn’t love the monster side. Seeing her wrestle with literally herself was an interesting take at certain crossroads.

Did she want to be a monster? Could she do what came so easily to her family and was her birthright?

And what would she do about Nick?

That really is the question, right? And with it, the epic ending that I didn’t see coming. I really can’t say much but I’m left with so many questions. I’m glad this is a trilogy because I really do need more. The world building has been a great intro, but I can see the potential for this to continue blooming.

There’s also the matter of the romance and the unknowns of it all. But most importantly, it’s the ramifications of Joan’s actions and who she becomes that intrigues me the most. I like both Nick and Aaron (and the rest of her small gang she meets), but it’s ultimately the decisions this anti-heroine makes that drives this story for me.

I absolutely cannot wait.

Overall Recommendation:

Only A Monster is an exploration into this new and fascinating world of monsters hidden within the human one as we follow anti-hero Joan in her discovery that she is in fact not a hero but a monster. The pacing just hits you from the very start with time travel and fights with the morally good hero, Nick. There is absolutely so much potential for this world to grow, and the knowledge we gain is organic as we learn alongside Joan how the Monster world operates. Romance lovers don’t have to fear because we not only get a star-crossed romance but potentially a love triangle brewing for Joan as monsters and heroes fight to save their own. While it can be rushed at times and more than a little confusing at the beginning, I love this debut by Vanessa Len and the ending makes me want to see more of who Joan is. I highly recommend you check it out (and if you’ve already heard hype, it’s definitely real).