The Quarry by Ben Halls

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Dialogue Books in exchange for an honest review.

I am not usually a fan of adult contemporary books in general. There's nothing wrong with them but it's very rare for one to catch my eye. The Quarry stood out to me because it focused exclusively on telling stories of men living in a desperately poor and unpleasant area. I had no idea of what to expect but I am so glad I took the chance and picked this up.

Halls' writing is truly phenomenal. It took me a few stories to get into the style and tone of this anthology but as an author, he pulls no punches with topics. Almost every character is vibrantly brought to life with his prose and he gives weightier issues all of the focus and nuance that they deserve. There are common themes throughout the stories-addiction, poverty, troubled relationships-but the content never feels repetitive and almost all of the stories earn their place here. Some of my favourites include the ones focused on the postman, alcoholic, gambling addict and the final story. All of them are good but these had the strongest sense of heart.

Several of the stories intertwine with each other but I'd actually hoped for a bit more from this element. A few stories have open endings and I half-expected them to be subtly resolved in later stories in the anthology. This sadly wasn't the case which left some endings a little unsatisfactory but I understand, that is how real life goes. The worst offender was the first story which felt like it would have had massive ramifications (for example, I would have expected a story from the POV of the manager left to deal with the fallout) but instead is never mentioned by anyone ever again. These are minor niggles but they did prey on my mind whilst reading which was a shame.

Overall though, I was incredibly impressed by this anthology. As a debut book, this has made me very excited to see more of Halls work and I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes character-focused stories with a unique twist. This is a tightly-written, wonderfully themed and very enjoyable collection and I am so glad I read it.

Overall Rating:

The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O'Neill

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Oni Press in exchange for an honest review.

Oh boy, this just about melted my heart and I am so so happy I read this. The Tea Dragon Society is an absolutely lovely graphic novel/webcomic that you can read entirely online for free (you can also buy a bindup). It tells the story of a young girl who is learning to be a blacksmith when she stumbles upon another potential profession-caring for these small creatures called tea dragons. The Tea Dragon Festival is the followup to that story, though it is not a sequel and you don't need to read the first one for this to make sense. Instead it is merely set in the same world and features some of the same characters.

In this story we follow Rinn, a nonbinary person who loves foraging ingredients and supplies for their town. This village communally cares for a group of tea dragons who are the adorable titular creatures. One day Rinn comes across a real dragon called Aedhan who has been asleep for 80 years. With Rinn's help, Aedhan must now assimilate back into village life and find the creature who caused him to sleep for so long.

I'm not sure how many times it is appropriate to use the word 'adorable' in one review but it perfectly encapsulates this whole graphic novel experience. The art style is absolutely gorgeous, the characters are likeable and the story is compelling. After reading this I was just filled with so much joy and love for the world the artist had created. I could read a thousand stories in this world and never be bored. It is the ultimate feel good experience.

The representation in this is also topnotch and it makes me so happy to see so many concepts in a children's work. I think people of all ages could enjoy this graphic novel but it is definitely kid-friendly as well and I love how effortlessly the artist incorporates diversity. This is how it should be done!

There's not much to be said about this apart from I loved it and I want as many people as possible to experience the joy this work brought me. If you're looking for a cute graphic novel, this is the perfect example. If you like dragons, tea, fantasy worlds, slice of life stories featuring a ton of diversity, romances that aren't overt or take over the plot, compelling characters or beautiful artwork, then please please read this. You will not be disappointed.

Overall Rating:

The Years After You by Emma Woolf

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Amberjack Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

This book is absolutely not my usual genre but I read an excerpt of it in the Buzz Books of 2019: Fall/Winter edition and I was intrigued enough to request the full ARC. The Years After You is a book about two women linked by one man: his wife and the woman he is having an affair with. That is in essence the entire plot and I can't really say much more without giving stuff away. It is told in dual perspectives from both women's POV, though the bulk of the focus is on Lily's POV who is the mistress in this scenario.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this story. Lily as a character was very well-written and I liked and identified with her a lot. Pippa's (the wife) part of the story was less important and while I could see why it was included, her passages almost peter out entirely towards the end. I do think there was a missed opportunity in (highlight for spoilers) not having the two meet and have a conversation about Harry. The ending was poignant but also it would have added a bit more depth if they had been able to share their grief. Instead this moment was done silently which resulted in less of an impact in my opinion.Harry was a bit of an unusual character and I think again, the story would have benefited from Pippa's sections being expanded upon as then we would have got more of a detailed idea of who he was as a person seeing more of him from a different perspective.

Overall, this was a very solid slice of life contemporary story. It has a bit more depth than your usual fluffy contemporary and the pacing and characterisation are all done very well. There could be a little more expansion in certain areas but this is worth checking out if you like more serious contemporary romances.

Overall Rating: