Review: ‘Watch the Girls’ by Jennifer Wolfe

A missing sister? A former teen star? A series of disappearances? A town made famous by horror movies? How has this genius combination of thrills not been combined in a book before now?! I was fascinated by Watch the Girls’ blurb straightaway, which of course led to the concern that the actual book wouldn’t live up to my expectations. But thankfully that concern was unfounded because Wolfe delivered exactly what I wanted. Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pub. Date: 10/07/2018

Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing

Fame and obsession collide in this darkly twisted novel from an incredible new voice in suspense. 

I've been watched all my life. I'm used to being stared at. Observed. Followed.SOMEONE IS WATCHING 

Washed up teen star Liv Hendricks quit acting after her beloved younger sister inexplicably disappeared following a Hollywood party gone wrong. Liv barely escaped with her life, and her sister was never heard from again. But all this time, someone's been waiting patiently to finish what was started...

FOUR MISSING GIRLSNow fifteen years later, broke and desperate, Liv is forced to return to the spotlight. She crowdfunds a webseries in which she'll pose as a real-life private detective--a nod to the show she starred on as a teen. When a mysterious donor challenges her to investigate a series of disappearances outside a town made famous by the horror movies filmed there, Liv has no choice but to accept.

FOLLOW THE WHITE WOLFLiv is given a cryptic first clue: Follow the white wolf. And now a darker game is about to begin. Through social media, someone is leaving breadcrumbs to follow. As Liv makes increasingly disturbing discoveries, her show explodes in popularity. A rapt internet audience is eager to watch it all--perhaps even at the cost of Liv's own life...
Filled with provocative twists and turns as the line between plot and reality blurs in this inventive tour-de-force from breakout writer Jennifer Wolfe. 

Where to begin? A lot goes on in Watch the Girls and it took me until around halfway through the book before I saw what it was that connected the different elements: family. I have said this before, but the idea of family is incredibly potent in literature. Whether it’s Anna Karenina or Coraline, authors have always found inspiration in family relationships. Our family is, in a large part, what shapes us but it is also something we have to depart from at some point to consider ourselves independent adults. You can never quite let it go, of course, and the smallest tensions can lead to major fallouts. But it can also be a fountain of endless love and support, inspiring books likeLittle Women and A Little Princess. In Watch the Girls, Wolfe shows the darker sides of family life: jealousy and fear, the desire to protect and the desire to destroy. In the end it made sense that this potent network of connections is what motivates much of the twists and turns in Watch the Girls.

Watch the Girls follows Liv (Olivia) Hendricks, once a teen star and now a struggling C-lister at best. She wants nothing to do with all the glitz and glam, but she needs money so after being fired from her latest set she crowdfunds a new enterprise: Liv solving mysteries! But her first mystery takes her straight back to her own past. AsWatch the Girls moves between Liv trying to solve the disappearance of young women, young Olivia relives her own trauma of losing her youngest sister and remembering nothing of the night. Wolfe plays interestingly with (social) media, letting the reader see the Tweets Liv gets while also looking at the influence of too much exposure at a young age. And then there are the horror movies that made the locale of the disappearances famous. Wolfe indirectly examines why we are obsessed with what horrifies us, if there is something we can learn from facing our worst fears, and where those fears come from. I loved how Wolfe used the image of the wolf in Watch the Girls. The wolf has always been a fascinating figure, a pack animal with strong loyalties yet also a hunter at night.

I had never read anything by Jennifer Wolfe before, but Watch the Girls has definitely made me a fan. Although there are a number of tropes in the book she manages to avoid it becoming cliché. Her writing feels honest, while also giving you exactly the thrills and scares that you want. There is some truly horrifying stuff in this book, but Wolfe avoids sensationalism. ‘Dead girls’ is a popular topic in modern fiction and it can at times be problematic (click here for a very interesting article on this topic), but Wolfe manages to move around this relatively well. In a sense the world’s obsession with dead or disappeared girls is central to this novel as well, asking us why we think it so important to watch girls suffer on camera or in fiction. What is it supposed to teach us? Who is it really for? In a sense this question is also posed to the reader. Why are we so fascinated with this story of girls and women suffering? Watch the Girls doesn’t give an answer to those questions, but I was glad that aside from being a fascinating thriller that had me on the edge of my seat it also gave me food for thought.

I give this novel..

 

4 Universes!

While reading Watch the Girls it chased everything else from my mind. When I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it. I loved trying to figure out what was happening, moving with the twists and turns and rooting for Liv to overcome everything that was thrown at her.

Books in the News: Odysseus Found

I thought I'd try something new and that is not only keep up with news about literature, poetry and drama but actually share my favourite news with you as well. Whether favourite will always mean happy and positive news remains to be seen, but for now, let's get the news on the road.

The first news story I want to share with you relates to one of my favourite Classical texts: The Odyssey. After fighting in the Trojan War for 10 long years, Odysseus manages to make an enemy of the god Poseidon, delaying his return home for another 10 years. As he travels across the sea and loses his companions he encounters a menagerie of supernatural beings, whether it's the Siren, Circe and a cyclops, before finally being able to return home. The poem is believed to have been composed during the 8th century BC and to have been transmitted orally. The earliest known fragments of The Odyssey, until today, stemmed from the Christian era and were found in Egypt , where they were transcribed onto parchment. 

Yesterday, in a press release, the Greek Culture Ministery revealed 'a particularly important discovery! For the last three years Greek and German archaeologists have been tirelessly working on the Olympia site, but I doubt any of them were expecting to find the oldest fragment of The Odyssey ever uncovered and the first to be found in Greece itself. The clay slab discovered in Olympia contains 13 verses from the 14th book of The Odyssey. This book finally sees Odysseus returning to Ithaca and conversing with his friend Eumaeus, before reuniting with his wife Penelope and son Telemachus.”

The dating of the slabs is still underway, but it was found amid Roman remains and is, for now, assumed to be from roughly 300 AD. I personally think this discovery will also be of major cultural importance to Greece. Many of the most stunning architecture and sculptures are to be found in museums outside of Greece and this has, rightly, been a sore point for a long time. To find a fragment such as this, of a text so integral to the literary and cultural importance of Greece to the rest of the world, and not have it whisked away, will be very meaningful.

From a literary standpoint this is indeed a singular and important discovery as well. I have always been fascinated by the oral transmission of such classic works, how stories changed with every time they were told, slightly altered by each person who told it. It is still debated whether Homer was a single person or if he is himself as much of a myth of Ulysses is. Are the tales he told all fiction or is there a kernel of truth to them? Although the answer to that question may never be found, I am hoping we'll continue to find little pieces of literary history such as the above clay slab, allowing us to trace how out stories have moved through time.

Are you a fan of the Odyssey?

Review: 'Metamorphica' by Zachary Mason

My first introduction to myths and legends was during a holiday in Greece when I borrowed (read: stole) a book of Greek myths from my parents. Surrounded by the Greek landscape the gods and goddesses of Olympus felt as real as anything. I have been devoted to them ever since. Studying Greek and Latin in school didn't manage to defeat my love for them and here I am, still chasing down books about them. The latest is Zachary Mason's fascinating Metamorphica, based on Ovid's Metamorphoses. Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pub. Date: 10/07/2018
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

A brilliant and daring novel that reimagines Ovid’s Metamorphoses 

In the tradition of his bestselling debut novel The Lost Books of the Odyssey, Zachary Mason’s Metamorphica transforms Ovid’s epic poem of endless transformation. It reimagines the stories of Narcissus, Pygmalion and Galatea, Midas and Atalanta, and strings them together like the stars in constellations—even Ovid becomes a story. It’s as though the ancient mythologies had been rewritten by Borges or Calvino; Metamorphica is an archipelago in which to linger for a while; it reflects a little light from the morning of the world.

Ovid's epic Metamorphoses is a classic. In 250 myths, the long poem tracks the history of the world from creation to Julius Caesar. Ovid's masterpiece has had a major influence on Western literature, from Dante to Shakespeare. His metamorphosis myths diver at times significantly from his Greek sources, yet they have become classic in their own rights. At the heart of many of his reworked myths is the idea of love, while humans come across better than the gods. The transformations in the Metamorphoses are often painful and violent, but then, isn't change always? I loved the Metamorphoses when I first read them, and still loved them when I was made to translate parts of it in school. A collection and reworking of past myths itself, it is no surprise that Ovid himself has given rise to reworkings. Up to now, I was never too bowled over by any of them, but Zachary Mason's Metamorphica is a stunner.

Rather than one connected narrative, Mason's Metamorphica casts each god and goddess as a star and tells the constellations of stories around them. I adored the star charts which started each new section dedicated to a new god or goddess, as well as the mini summaries at the beginning of each story. Rather than give anything away, these mini summaries tie the different stories together, show how each myth is somehow connected to the others. The stories vary in length, some no more than two paragraphs while others span for pages. Yet each brings a surprising new twist to what we know of the stories. Taking an almost psychoanalytical take to these stories, Mason brings out a new side to what we know. While Ovid's Metamorphoses was written entirely from a male view point, Mason frequently switches between male and female narrators, letting Clytemnaestra tell her own rage and allowing the reader to feel Narcissus' emptiness through his own words. Despite having read these stories over and over again, Metamorphica brought me something new and I absolutely devoured this collection of stories. I felt saddened when it was over, but also enriched.

Zachary Mason's writing is poetical and beautiful, both honest and fantastical. There is real grief and pain in his pages, but also beauty and joy, however fleeting. No Greek myth can be accused of having a happy ending and Mason doesn't gloss over that. There is a lot of tragedy in Metamorphica but it is of a kind of beautiful tragedy, the kind which is fated and therefore inevitable. Mason's writing matches this, laying everything on the table while maintaining the mystery of his tales. His takes on these Greek and Latin myths are sharp and to the point, not covering up the ugly truths contained in these myths but almost revelling in them. I adored how he dissected some of the stories, giving me a way to accept Circe's sudden obeisance to Odysseus, for example. Considering how much I have read about these myths I myself was almost surprised by how immediately I fell in love with Metamorphica. I am actually already in the middle of rereading it. Thank you Zachary Mason!

I give this collection...

5 Universes!

Metamorphica completely blew me away. Beautifully written and heartbreaking, Mason rewrites Ovid's Metamorphses in a way that felt both modern and ancient. I'd recommend this to anyone who has an interest in Greek and Latin myths.

Short Review: 'The Brontë Family: Passionate Literary Geniuses' by Karen Kenyon

Aah, the Brontë sisters! What geniuses they were and how miserably short their lives. And yet their few years continue to fascinate their readers. Sadly I am still far away from visiting Haworth, but it has been on my list ever since I first read Jane Eyre. As a devout Brontë fan I try to get my hands on every book written about them and the latest instalment is The Brontë Family by Karen Kenyon. Thanks to Endeavour Media and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of this book.

Pub. Date: Endeavour Media
Publisher: 01/07/2018

The authors of such literary classics as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Agnes Grey, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë were extraordinary not only because they were successful female writers in Victorian England, but also because they were sisters. 

Growing up, all three sisters’ writings were significantly influenced by each other, but perhaps most importantly by their troubled brother, Branwell. 

This fascinating account of each sister’s unconventional life, astounding talent, and tragic death draws readers into the minds of the gifted authors whose passionate tales have enthralled readers for more than a century and whose voices still resonate with modern readers.

I love the Brontë sisters. Once I discovered English literature through the brilliant Jane Austen I swiftly fell for Charlotte, Emily and Anne as well. I must admit, however, that Emily is my undoubted favourite. There is something so visceral and wild about Wuthering Heights that has, in my opinion, never been topped. But this is true of all the Brontë sisters. They were true in a way that was rare, honest almost to the point of painful and undoubtedly gifted. What fascinates me is how they penned three fascinating novels simultaneously by candle light, huddled over the kitchen table after a long day of work. The creative spirit that must have surrounded them is something I'm amazed and inspired by and it is no surprise they have continued to inspire people for years.

In The Brontë Family Karen Kenyon captures the lives of Charlotte, Emily and Anne in short chapters dedicated to some of the most powerful and some of the most tragic moments in their lives. Whether it is the first sparks of their literary genius, their hardships at school, the brilliancy of their talent, the tragedy of their ends, \Kenyon covers it all in short yet insightful chapters. Although there is not much that would be new to Brontë fans, Kenyon's The Brontë Family covers them very well. I liked how every chapter began with a quote, whether from the Brontë sisters directly or from someone close to them. Kenyon also covers Branwell's life, how he brought both pride and shame to his family before his untimely end.


I give this novel...

3 Universes!

Short and to the point, I enjoyed reading The Brontë Family. In a few chapters, Kenyon highlights some of the high and low points in the lives of the Brontës, her love for the three sisters clearly shining through. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in finding out some more about the Brontës.

Review: 'Thirteen' by Steve Cavanagh

I adore crime thrillers! Give me all the mystery, the twisted minds, the detectives or private investigators putting it all on the line to get their bad guy. It's a predictable story line, usually, which is part of why the genre is so comfortable. You go in expecting to be shocked, to be horrified but to know, in the end, that evil has been locked away and everything is once again safe. So naturally I jump at every chance to read a new thriller come my way and Thirteen was the latest. Thanks to Orion Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pub. Date: 14/06/2018
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group

They were Hollywood's hottest power couple. They had the world at their feet. Now one of them is dead and Hollywood star Robert Solomon is charged with the brutal murder of his beautiful wife. 

This is the celebrity murder trial of the century and the defence want one man on their team: con artist turned lawyer Eddie Flynn. 

All the evidence points to Robert's guilt, but as the trial begins a series of sinister incidents in the court room start to raise doubts in Eddie's mind. 

What if there's more than one actor in the courtroom? 

What if the killer isn't on trial? What if the killer is on the jury?

Part of my love for psychological or crime thrillers comes from how they let us face the dark without forcing us to actually encounter it. Everyone has a bit of darkness inside them and always suppressing it can lead to bad things (watch The Babadook and you'll see why!). We also love to be horrified, it is why horror is such a potent genre. It goes back to Julia Kristeva's theory of the abject. It is what disturbs our normal order, it is how we define what is 'of us' and what isn't, it is how we place boundaries between our society and everything outside of it. We define ourselves by saying what isn't us or shouldn't be us. I think the same comes into play with these kinds of novels (and films). We read about what horrifies us, fear it, and overcome it, making these novels a kind of catharsis. Some of them are more on the pure entertainment side, while others dig more deeply into our psyche, but I enjoy almost all of them. And yet, as I said above, some of them can be a bit repetitive, the story lines of various novels blending into one another

Thirteen is a great twist on the usual psychological thrillers, as the blurb tells. Initially I was worried that too much had been given away. From the beginning we know of a killer trying to get on the jury for the trial of a murder most likely committed by him. From the very beginning we follow both Eddie Flynn, a lawyer standing up for the little folk, averse to corrupt police officers and overcoming his own personal demons, as well as Joshua Kane, the murderer, the mysterious jury member. My worry was how Cavanagh would maintain the novel's pace and suspense if both sides were plain to see for the reader, and the middle of the novel did flag here or there. Going through the trial, seeing it from both Flynn and Kane's points of view, was interesting but there is a sense of just waiting for the big reveal, for the moment when our hero and villain clash. Some of the twists were straightforward and expected, but then towards the end there was a twist that literally made me gasp out loud. And that is when I realized that Cavanagh had been playing with the reader and the genre. Just like both of the protagonists, we have certain expectations of where the plot will go, what the characters will do, who is good and who is bad. I majorly enjoyed the twist, but I still wish the cover and blurb didn't give quite so much away.

Steve Cavanagh knows what the readers want. His narrative is driven and moves at a good pace, not lingering too long on things that don't need it but providing enough background for his characters and their actions. Thirteen is less focused on the crime than on the legal side of things and Cavanagh really knows how to ramp up the tension of the courtroom. I had never read a Steve Cavanagh book before and only guessed around halfway through the book that it was part of a series. This is indeed the 4th book in Cavanagh's Eddie Flynn series, but thankfully there was no sense of having missed out on something. Everything I presume had come before was nicely fed into the narrative in a way that didn't feel forced. I didn't feel as attached to the characters as has happened before but I enjoyed spending a few hours in their company. I would definitely check out another Steve Cavanagh book, although I'm not necessarily out to hunt down the other Eddie Flynn books.

I give this novel...

3 Universes!

I really enjoyed Thirteen and its surprises. Cavanagh moved through his plot at a great pace and I always found myself curious as to where he would take us next. I'd definitely recommend this to any fans of legal and crime thrillers!

Review: 'Rare Books Uncovered: True Stories of Fantastic Finds in Unlikely Places' by Rebecca Rego Barry

My love for books is both my family's pride and the bane of their existence. As a young child my parents would be thrilled to see me reading and infuriated to find my still reading at midnight. No matter where we are, no bookstore can be passed without a visit. And too often I turn pleading eyes onto my family members and beg for 'just 10 more minutes'. I can spend hours in bookstores, especially when they're the kind of bookstores you can get lost in, where the shelves reach to the ceiling, where old meets new, literary fiction meets art history and music theory settles in next to science fiction. So how could I resist Rare Books Uncovered? Thanks to Quatro, Voyageur Press and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pub. Date: 27/02/2018
Publisher: Quatro, Voyageur Press

Feed your inner bibliophile with this volume on unearthed rare and antiquarian books. 

Few collectors are as passionate or as dogged in the pursuit of their quarry as collectors of rare books. In Rare Books Uncovered, expert on rare and antiquarian books Rebecca Rego Barry recounts the stories of remarkable discoveries from the world of book collecting. 

Read about the family whose discovery in their attic of a copy of Action Comics No. 1--the first appearance of Superman-saved their home from foreclosure. Or the Salt Lake City bookseller who volunteered for a local fundraiser--and came across a 500-year-old copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle. Or the collector who, while browsing his local thrift shop, found a collectible copy of Calvary in China--inscribed by the author to the collector's grandfather. These tales and many others will entertain and inspire casual collectors and hardcore bibliomaniacs alike.

My obsession with antique books is really my family's fault. I think it started when my granddad one day decided that since I liked history I could help him riffle through a chest (I'm not kidding!) of old papers, photos and books that had been there for who knows how long. Not only did we discover we're related to George Friedrich Handel (again, I'M NOT KIDDING! It was an exciting day!), but we also unearthed a centuries old Latin copy of Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico. We went to the local library the next day to have it assessed and almost 8 years later my grandfather gifted it to me. That day spent with him lit a fire in me for antique books because I began to appreciate how wonderful those old books are, how they have passed through countless hands and how imbued with history they are. So from then on my trips to bookstores included hunting down books that struck me with that sense of history, books whose plain covers hid fascinating content. It started a passion that hasn't abated and probably never will. I own 7 different editions of Wuthering Heights and have stacks of books waiting at my father's house for me to get my own apartment with actual bookshelves. I may have a problem...

Rare Books Uncovered is the perfect book for bibliophiles and collectors like myself. Barry fills the book with short chapters dedicated to extraordinary finds, whether it's superhero comics or Dali's Alice. For someone who delights in boxes of books and dusty bookstores, these chapters are a delight. I found myself excited by these finds, laughing at the sheer serendipity of most of them, and inspired by the collectors' clear passion for books of whatever kind. Not each find pulls at me equally. I'm much less interested in driving manuals than in Frankenstein, and yet each chapter held something of interest for me. The chapter that struck me most was 'Scarce Scottish Imprint Hiding in the Stacks' in which Barry describes a surprising find in the St. Andrews Rare Books library. The library began a program called 'Lighting the Past' in which they started working their way through their backlog. While doing my Master's Degree in Medieval English at St. Andrews I actually spent time myself helping dig through the Rare Books and cataloguing them, comparing them to other copies in WorldCat and other collections. The work done on 'Lighting the Past' happened in the room next door. I loved the mornings I spent there, surrounded by books, and I felt a surge of pride reading about it in Rare Books Uncovered.

Rare Books Uncovered could easily be a dry and boring book. After all, it is simply a collection of book titles, dates, names and prices. But Rebecca Rego Barry brings these stories to life. Each chapter feels like a mini mystery, and the interviews she has done with the collectors and discoverers brings a personal touch to their stories. There is a love for books in Rare Books Uncovered and it is a love that is shared by Barry, the people she interviews and us, the readers. One thing I especially adored were the little asides in the book that explained certain lingo like 'provenance', 'ephemera' or 'marginalia'. It makes the world of book collectors a little bit more accessible and, in my case, gives me the vocabulary to describe some of the things I have found in my years of book collecting. Rare Books Uncovered is probably not for every reader. If you love reading but don't feel the need to collect them then this book will perhaps not fill you with the same sense of recognition as it did for me. Some of the stories will be interesting and you'll enjoy leafing through it. But if you're like me then this book is close to inspirational. I will have to hunt down a physical copy of Rare Books Uncovered because reading it filled me with joy.


I give this book...

5 Universes!

God I adored this book! Barry has written a book for book collectors, full of anecdotes, surprises and passion. Although book collecting has changed a lot in the last few decades, the spirit remains the same. It's about the joy of knowing anything could be anywhere and that maybe you'll find it. I'd recommend this to anyone who knows how addicting book collecting can be.

Review: 'Skin' by Ilka Tampke

I adore British history. There are so many different time periods, cultures and languages that came together to create the Britain we know now. One of the most mysterious cultures to have populated England were the Celts. An intensely secretive group, all their secrets and mysteries were passed along orally, yet authors and directors have never let that stand in their way of trying to reinvent the Celts. Ilka Tampke's Skin might be my favourite attempt every. Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Pub. Date: 06/08/2015
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Imagine a world where everyone is born with a 'skin' name. Without skin you cannot learn, you are not permitted to marry, and you grow up an outsider amongst your own people. 

This is no future dystopia. This is Celtic Britain. 

It is AD 43. For the Caer Cad, 'skin' name determines lineage and identity. Ailia does not have skin; despite this, she is a remarkable young woman, intelligent, curious and brave. As a dark threat grows on the horizon - the aggressive expansion of the Roman Empire - Ailia must embark on an unsanctioned journey to attain the knowledge that will protect her people, and their pagan way of life, from the most terrifying invaders they have ever faced... and it is this unskinned girl who will come to hold the fate of her people in her hands. 

SKIN is a standout, full-blooded debut which invokes the mesmerizing, genre-transcending magic of novels such as Jean M. Auel's Clan of the Cavebear; it combines epic storytelling with a strikingly unique plot set during a fascinating period of Britain's history.

As I said above, many authors have tried to capture what they think the Celts were like. We see shades of them in old, wise, bearded men travelling the country side, for example. They are often tied to the Arthurian myths through Merlin, as well. Tampke does away with a lot of what has been done before and lets what we know of the Celts work for her concept of 'skin'. And perhaps that is why it works. Tampke gives the Celts a defined religion, a shared culture, and thereby makes them less vague. And before I go into reviewing the rest of the novel I want to spend some time discussing the idea of 'skin' in her novel. It is a mystical, mythical thing, and yet it is deeply tied to every single moment of her character's day. It's how you greet people, it is how you declare love, it is how you know you belong. It is deeply religious but it is also social. It divides people, and the exclusion of those without has almost racial undertones. Tampke lets Roman and Celtic culture clash in Skin, but she doesn't shy away from showing some of the progress of the Romans and the darker sides of the Celtic culture. All in all, Tampke creates a fascinating portrait of a long-lost culture which feels tangible and real.

Ailia is what centres this novel. Although Skin could spin out of control with its combination between historical fiction and fantasy, Tampke puts Ailia solidly in the middle, holding both the "real" and the "other" world together. She is a young girl, aware of her skin-less state yet burning for more. She is dedicated to her adoptive mother and sisters but she is also still looking for a home that is truly hers. What I found most recognisable about Ailia was her desire for more and her willingness to bend the rules for it, yet also her crushing fear that society is right and that she is nothing. Told her whole live she has no right to anything and she should be happy with what she has been given, her drive and desire are at the heart of this novel. She is surrounded for this by a plethora of fascinating characters, many of which are interesting female characters with their own motivations, fears and desires. As Ailia plunges further and further into the mysteries of the Mothers and discovers her power, the novel's quick but solid pace drives the reader forward, desperate to find out what will happen with Ailia and those she loves. Her mystical experiences were my favourite parts of the novel, elevating it above historical fiction into something mythical.

Tampke's writing style is almost dreamlike and yet she manages to capture everyday life in the Iron age in great detail. Tampke did a great amount of research into Iron Age Britain and it really shows, whether it's in the descriptions of the clothes, the houses or the stark contrast with the Roman Empire, it all strikes true. And on top of that she adds the fantasy element of her novel, the skins, the Mothers, the Journeymen who can travel between our world and the other. That fantasy is as rooted in detail as the "historical fiction" part of the novel, yet these details feel oddly familiar, as if you've read them before in a myth or legend. The winding rivers that lead girls astray in the woods, the handsome strangers who seem only half of this world, and the rituals of fire and stars. Tampke doesn't fall into the trap of trying to mimic old time-y English, but her modern English serves her plot well, still creating that magical feel Skin thrives off. One thing Tampke deserves major props for is her ending. I don't want to spoil anything but it is a brave ending that both closes of Skin and sets up a number of potential stories for the second novel Songwoman. I personally cannot wait!


I give this novel...

4 Universes!

I utterly adored Skin! I read it voraciously and thought about it when I couldn't read, wondering where Ailia would go next, what she would do. Tampke creates a magical world in her novel, bringing to live Iron Age Britain in an engrossing way. I'd recommend this to fans of Historical Fiction and Fantasy.