Here are the 2022 books I have left for review! I am pretty excited to not review a single thing until 2023 heh.

A Million To One by Adiba Jaigirdar
No Accident by Laura Bates
Grime by Sibylle Berg, translated by Tim Mohr
The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

---

A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar
Published by HarperCollins on December 13, 2022
Pages: 368
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

Adiba Jaigirdar, author of one of Time's Best YA books of all time, gives Titanic an Ocean’s 8 makeover in a heist for a treasure aboard the infamous ship that sank in the Atlantic many years ago.

A thief. An artist. A acrobat. An actress. While Josefa, Emilie, Hinnah, and Violet seemingly don’t have anything in common, they’re united in one goal: stealing the Rubaiyat, a jewel-encrusted book aboard the RMS Titanic that just might be the golden ticket to solving their problems.

But careless mistakes, old grudges, and new romance threaten to jeopardize everything they’ve worked for and put them in incredible danger when tragedy strikes. While the odds of pulling off the heist are slim, the odds of survival are even slimmer . . .

Perfect for fans of Stalking Jack the Ripper and Girl in the Blue Coat, this high-seas heist from the author of The Henna Wars is an immersive story that makes readers forget one important detail— the ship sinks.

I will post this review in its entirety after Harper Collins reaches an agreement with the union. You can (and should!) support this author with a purchase. And sign the thing, graphic links:

Bottom Line: Pay people livable wages. Commit to hiring diversely. Support unions.

---

No Accident by Laura Bates
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on December 6, 2022
Pages: 288
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

The Wilds meets One of Us is Lying in this survivalist YA thriller about seven teens who are stranded on a desert island, and the one who is out for revenge.

No matter how you try to hide it, the truth will always come out . . .

When a small plane crash ends with a group of seven teens washed up on a deserted island, their first thought is survival. With supplies dwindling and the fear of being stranded forever becoming more of a reality, they quickly discover that being the most popular kid in high school doesn't help when you're fighting to stay alive.

And when strange and terrifying accidents start to occur all around them, the group realizes that they are being targeted by someone who was on the plane, and that the island isn't their only danger. A terrible secret from a party the night before the flight has followed them ashore--and it's clear that someone is looking for justice. Now survival depends on facing the truth about that party: who was hurt that night, and who let it happen?

**Content Warning provided at start of book: “This book deals with issues including rape, coercive control, and sexual bullying.”

This was definitely entertaining and fast paced, and I do love a survival story! And, when you mix in a survival story with a whodunit, you have the recipe for a book that is quite unputdownable, which No Accident certainly was.

Obviously, the stakes are going to be high when the characters find themselves washed up on a deserted island. They have few supplies, and as the days pass, their hopes of rescue seem to dwindle. But something else seems to be afoot on the island. Is it a series of bad luck coincidences? Or is something (or someone) more sinister at play? Obviously, you’ll need to read for yourself to find out all the answers, which I was flying through the pages to discover.

The book also delves into a lot of relevant social issues, including rape, consent, and bullying, among others. There are a lot of really great discussions that happen during the course of the story, which leads to some equally wonderful character growth.

Bottom Line: Love a sinister survival story, even more when it explores socially relevant topics along the way.

---

Grime by Sibylle Berg, Tim Mohr
Series: GRM: Brainfuck #1
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on December 27, 2022
Pages: 448
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

Rochdale is a town in post-industrial Britain, but it could be anywhere on the digitalised, environmentally decimated planet: a place devoid of hope, where poverty, violence, and squalor are the near-future consequences of decisions being made at this very moment. Grime is the dazzling multi voice story of four teenagers haphazardly brought together by individual tragedy and a collective love of grime, the music genre that replaced punk as the sound of the angry and the dispossessed: martial-arts-obsessed Don(atella); Peter, a traumatised Polish boy; Karen, a tech-savvy girl with albinism; and Hannah, an orphan from Liverpool. Despite the increasingly sophisticated workings of an authoritarian surveillance state, the four set out to exact revenge on the people they hold responsible for their misery. But what starts out as a teen hit squad evolves into a makeshift family as the four kids attempt to create a home on the fringes - both physically and mentally - of society.

In this stylistically innovative epic, acclaimed novelist Sibylle Berg addresses the question currently being debated around the world: where will climate change, artificial intelligence, the rise of right-wing populism, and the inexorable expansion of surveillance lead? This masterful dystopian satire is a merciless and surgically precise evisceration of neoliberalism, and beneath its rage and brutality beats a deeply human heart.

Grime spent 25 weeks on European bestseller lists and won the Swiss Book Prize.

First, let me say that while there was not an actual content warning in the advanced copy I read, there is a lot of stuff that probably requires one. This is a dark book, and includes plenty of abuse and violence, including some pretty awful stuff that happens to children.

What I Loved:

• The characters having to deal with the changing world around them felt really realistic. We first encounter our friend group as children, when the world is starting to fracture (in, scarily enough, very similar ways to the fractures in our current landscape). As they grow, they not only have to deal with the usual difficulties of growing up, they have to do so very alone, and in a world that presents new challenges every day.
• The world is super dark, and it makes sense how it gets that way. And it really just gets worse as time goes on, which is to be expected. For the most part, I enjoy a dark world, especially one that is realistic and well developed, which this one is. I had a qualm with it, which I address below, but for the most part, it works.
• The story weaves all the characters and the world together in interconnecting ways. This, I certainly appreciated. We have a lot of different characters introduced, and at times it could be a bit overwhelming. That said, none of them were really throwaways, they all connected to the lives of one of the more main characters in some (usually fairly significant) way.
• Bits of humor infused are necessary. Honestly, without some humor, it would have been flat out too dark and depressing, so it was nice to see bits of light- though be aware, they are not many. Enough to make it consumable, thankfully.

What I Struggled With:

• There were times it was draggy. And maybe a little convoluted.  This is really my biggest issue with the book, and I suppose my only issue, at the end of the day. It just felt like a lot. And maybe it all wasn’t totally necessary? Especially in the middle of the book, I felt like perhaps some of the details could have been pared down a bit to make things move a bit faster.
• In the same vein, maybe also more brutal than necessary? Look, I love a dark book. I have no actual problems with darker fare, so I have no issues with that. But there are some scenes, especially involving children, where I think that the message could have been delivered without such graphic brutality.

Bottom Line: Very dark, but also very relevant and timely, be aware of the content before you dive into this one!

---

The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper
Series: Wolf Den Trilogy #2
Published by Union Square Co. on September 6, 2022
Pages: 472
Format:Hardcover
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review

The life of a courtesan in Pompeii is glamorous yet perilous...

Amara has escaped her life as a slave in the Wolf Den, the city’s most notorious brothel, but now her survival depends on the affections of her patron: a man she might not know as well as she once thought.

At night in the home he bought for her, the house with the golden door, Amara’s dreams are haunted by her past. She longs for her sisterhood of friends—the women at the brothel she was forced to leave behind—and worse, finds herself pursued by the cruel and vindictive man who once owned her. To be truly free, she will need to be as ruthless as he is.

Amara knows her existence in Pompeii is subject to Venus, the goddess of love. Yet finding love may prove to be the most dangerous act of all.

This is the second installment in Elodie Harper's acclaimed Wolf Den Trilogy, which reimagines the lives of women long overlooked.

I found the first book in this trilogy, The Wolf Den, to be quite powerful and well done. So, of course I was looking forward to diving into this sequel! I’ll be keeping this review short, as I don’t want to give anything away from either this book or its predecessor (and all the events in this book basically spoil the entire first book, so).

What I can tell you is this: We’re still following main character Amara in her journey in Pompeii. She was born and raised in Greece, so we get to explore the city along with her, really, which I think provides a great way for the reader to really feel immersed in the city. (Had Amara always lived there, she would likely not take notice of all the aspects she does, so again, great choice for many reasons.) This installment really delves deeper into the social hierarchy of Pompeii, and the time period. It’s fascinating, and the author does a tremendous job of making the reader feel like we’re travelling along with Amara.

Indeed we also have a lot of character development and growth. She has had to learn to keep her feelings and thoughts buried, but she also wants to retain her humanity, despite the often inhumane ways she and others in her circle are treated. In this book, we get a glimpse of how reprehensibly slaves are treated, as in book one, but also at how low women in general rank in this society. It’s also a very emotional sequel, as I personally have become quite invested in the characters, and they all certainly experience quite a bit of pain.

It’s less brutal than its predecessor, outwardly. But the fear undercutting every aspect of Amara’s life may in fact be just as horrible as everything she experienced in book one, albeit in a different way. I cannot wait to see how the series wraps up!

Bottom Line: A very solid sequel that will tug on your heartstrings and terrify you at how little humanity really grows.

---

The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
Published by Grand Central Publishing on December 6, 2022
Pages: 336
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

Florida is slipping away. As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels gradually wreak havoc on the state’s infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker; his pregnant wife, Frida; and their two sons, Flip and Lucas, prepare for the worst. When the boys go missing just before the hurricane hits, Kirby heads out into the high winds to search for them. Left alone, Frida goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm that ushers her into a society closer to collapse than ever before.

As Florida continues to unravel, Wanda grows. Moving from childhood to adulthood, adapting not only to the changing landscape, but also to the people who stayed behind in a place abandoned by civilization, Wanda loses family, gains community, and ultimately, seeks adventure, love, and purpose in a place remade by nature.

Told in four parts—power, water, light, and time—The Light Pirate mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick, sometimes slow dissolution of the world as we know it. It is a meditation on the changes we would rather not see, the future we would rather not greet, and a call back to the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness.

I do love an apocalypse novel, especially one that seems beyond realistic, in this case, driven by climate change. This one is also very character focused, which I am also a fan of. In Light Pirate, we meet a woman who is very pregnant at the start of a major hurricane- one of many that have hit the area in recent years, and certainly not the last of the violent storms we’re to see. Freya is scared, and finds herself alone, and about to deliver her baby while a storm named Wanda wreaks havoc on her home.

The story undergoes many time jumps from there, as we follow the aptly named baby Wanda throughout her life. She is basically born at the point of no return for society- when people can no longer go on pretending that life will ever return to “normal”. I really enjoyed reading Wanda’s story, and that of her family, as they come to terms with the new world they can no longer deny. Interestingly, Wanda faces a lot of the same struggles as many kids, though she faces them in an extra difficult world, one in which today’s creature comforts keep becoming fewer and farther between.

I absolutely loved how realistic this world felt, how the author did a wonderful job of painting a picture of how our lives would change as the grid collapses. I also loved reading the generational differences between those who had been used to the world Before, and those like Wanda who only knew the new, broken world.

There is an element of magic/light fantasy included, which I won’t lie, kind of threw me off a bit? But I just kind of ignored it and went about my reading and it was mostly fine. Maybe it will make more sense to you, but if not, it’s pretty easy to overlook.

Bottom Line: Always here for an apocalypse novel that feels realistic, both in world and character.

Have you read any of these books? Plan to? Let us chat about them!