Category: Diversity - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

Fancy a Firestarter?

10/9/2023

Not Here to Make Friends (Marry Me, Juliet #3)
by Jodi McAlister

I received this ARC from Simon & Schuster Australia (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Murray O’Connell needs to produce another season of reality show Marry Me, Juliet and he has to do it without his best friend, Lily Ong. Or so he thought. After a year of silence, she's back - as Lily Fireball, not a producer and not the woman he knew, but the villain of his season. She could completely derail his plans...or help him make the most brilliant season of reality television ever.

I don't often get obsessed with a series. I'm extremely obsessed with this one.

I devoured the first two books, so of course I did my damndest to pick up an ARC of the third instalment. I was not at all disappointed! It was so much fun to read about two MCs who are such a mess - especially when they are so delightfully messier when put together. Lily Fireball is one of the most complex characters I've ever encountered and you will easily find yourself rooting for the "villain" here. McAlister has done it again - and yes, I'm still obsessed.

Phase II: The Quest for More Money

14/8/2023

Quest for Planet X (Star Wars: High Republic)
by Tessa Graton

Padawan Rooper Nitani should stay on Batuu and wait for word from her Master, but galactic communications have been unreliable since the unrest on Jedha. Rooper has only the Force to guide her when she is swept up into the Hyperspace Chase; she wants to help her friend, Dass, in his pursuit of Planet X. It won't be an easy quest... especially if the Path of the Open Hand gets involved...

This was a fun entry of Phase II and I quite enjoyed it. The premise was more interesting than some of the other stories set in this era, which certainly helped. And I'm such a sucker for a "maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way" storyline. I find the Path of the Open Hand annoying but their presence was minimal in this book (thank goodness). Rooper is also very likeable.

But oh my gosh. I lost count of the amount of times I saw the spelling error "feellings" in my copy. I suspect someone was a bit careless with the find/replace function...

Red, White & Hell Yes

22/7/2023

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Alex Claremont-Diaz, First Son of the President of the United States, has a nemesis. Prince Henry, British royal, bland, boring and absolutely infuriating. Alex cannot stand him. But after a very public incident at a royal wedding - involving the cake no less - he and Henry are forced to portray a fake friendship for the media. But that friendship might soon become something more political volatile.

Gosh. I just loved this book so much and moved mountains so I could finish it without interruption. The story starts out being utterly cute and then becomes deliciously angsty. My kind of romance. And yay, bi rep! It's nice to feel seen, because I too had that "so if I like the opposite gender, I must be straight" thing going on until my early twenties. Now I must impatiently wait until August 11 for the film adaptation.

More Heir than Spare

2/7/2023

My Spare Heart by Jared Thomas

Phoebe doesn't want to go to a new school or move in permanently with her dad and his girlfriend - and she definitely doesn't want to do yoga! She just wants to play basketful like her heroes. While settling in isn't so bad, it does mean that she can't see her mum as often as she'd like...and it'd help if her mum actually showed up when she promised she would.

Jared Thomas has a gift for writing YA fiction that feels real, isn't unbelievable or OTT, and is accessible to teens who might not usually read as a hobby. For some adult readers, this means the prose isn't as elegant as in some other YA novels, but you're not the intended audience. Thomas grapples with some very difficult issues here, including having an alcoholic as a parent and dealing with micro-aggressions. This is a solid Australian story.

Train Wreck Central

5/6/2023

Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang

June Hayward has spent years watching Athena Liu become publishing's brightest star. Now it's finally June's turn to shine. Never mind that she stole the manuscript from Athena's apartment after her so-called friend choked to death on pancakes. Never mind that June has to use a racially ambiguous name for marketing purposes. She's definitely earned all of this success, hasn't she?

I ripped through this book at a breakneck pace, thanks to the fascinating subject matter (i.e. the publishing world) and Kuang's masterful writing. June is the most amazing train wreck of a character and I couldn't - didn't want to! - look away. Never have I met such an unreliable and fantastically awful narrator. June is like a much darker version of myself, if I'd taken a hundred wrong turns lol. Unfortunately, Yellowface suffers from recurring heavy-handedness and a lacklustre finale... but gosh it was fun while it lasted.

A Mess of Prequel Proportions

11/4/2023

Cataclysm (Star Wars: The High Republic)
by Lydia Kang

Sorry, folks. This got kind of long.

The Battle of Jedha has halted the peace treaty between Eiram and E'ronoh. Fighting could re-erupt at any moment, the rulers' heirs now being wed and doing all they can to keep their planets in concert. To complicate matters, The Path of the Open Hand are clearly up to something. It's time to take the fight to them - many Jedi are dispatched to Dalna. Not all of them will return.

Well, I'm glad I finished the Jedha-based audiobook the day before I started reading this. But my opinion remains unchanged: this project suffers greatly when major plot points are farmed out to media that AREN'T the main adult novels. Multimedia projects have multiple types of audiences. It seems the High Republic folks didn't understand that when planning this out. Sure, use the other mediums to explore events and characters in a different way - but your main thrust has to remain in one consistent medium (i.e. the adult novels - Phase One actually managed to do this, for the most part). Phase Two's adult novels feel...strangely like an afterthought.

Right. I better review the book itself! So I liked Axel's journey and how he missed various moments of redemption (which is more realistic in a sentient being). I loved Xiri and Phan-tu, long may they reign (when it's time!) - they're frankly adorable and I would take a blaster bolt for them. But it's hard to be invested in the Jedi characters because if they find out about the Leveller, they're either going to die - or will decide to keep it a secret for ~reasons~. Phase Two's placement in the timeline has destroyed any potential for tension in its stories.

Also, it's difficult to figure out the logic of injuries in this novel. Fatal wounds seemed to either be shrugged off or completely kill a character, depending on what was needed for the plot. Kind of annoying, actually.

In summary: this book contains likeable characters and an underwhelming storyline, a problem mostly generated by the flaws of the High Republic project itself.

Reality TV Bites

28/2/2023

Here for the Right Reasons (Marry Me, Juliet #1)
by Jodi McAlister

Cece is in desperate need of money, which is definitely NOT the right reason to be on the reality dating show Marry Me, Juliet. But she only lasts one episode before being eliminated. Game over - right? Nope! The pandemic has stranded her on location. The show's Romeo, Dylan, offers to help Cece out with some extra screen time. Cece accepts: a decision that definitely won't come back to bite her. Ha!

AHHHHHHhhhh ommmgggg squeeeeee. Right, that's dealt with. I think I remember how to do words now. I discovered this series via an ARC of the sequel, which I loved (bi rep wooo!) and I thought I might like this one too. Didn't expect to love it just as much! Cece bulldozed her way into my heart and I was desperate for her to have her HEA. She and Dylan were such an amazing couple too. This book was amazing and I need more.

I just have one question. Lily Fireball book - when?

A Match Made in Sydney

27/2/2023

The Matchmaker by Saman Shad

Saima is a matchmaker with a string of successes - and a lot of debt. She has no choice but to take on new clients, even though she's already met their son and she absolutely cannot stand him. The dislike is mutual. Kal doesn't appreciate Saima's opinion on his life and his choices, but she wears him down and he agrees to go on some dates. But his perfect date might actually be his matchmaker!

Great setup, great start, great chemistry - I was so keen. And I have such a weakness for stories that use Sydney as a setting! I spent most of this book thinking it would make a fun movie on Stan, but towards the end I got quite fed up with Kal. Also... I don't like MCs who hook up with another character 81% of the way through the book. Somewhat spoiled the fun for me.

Simply Wonderful

6/2/2023

Can I Steal You for a Second? (Marry Me Juliet #2)
by Jodi McAlister

I received this ARC from Simon & Schuster Australia (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Mandie is a longtime watcher of reality show Marry Me, Juliet, but she would never have applied to be on it - before she got dumped by her toxic girlfriend, that is. She's not even sure she has the courage to go through with it. But then she meets Dylan, another romantic hopeful - who should be her competition, not her new obsession! After all, they're on the show for a chance at love - with a man.

How can you not love that premise? Two contestants on a Bachelor-style show falling in love (which has actually happened IRL!)? Sign me the heck up! To say I enjoyed this would be a vast understatement. There was plenty of delicious drama to be had, so much heart-twisting angst, and a strangers-to-friends-to-lovers tale that had me up past my bedtime.

But the best part? Representation. Oh my gosh. YES.

I don't usually see myself in romcoms. I will devour ALL the sapphic romances, but I'm always keenly aware that bisexual women like myself are generally not going to be the heroines. Unicorns are more visible than us lol. So imagine my delight to discover that both heroines were bi!

And pandemic fiction is my biggest weakness atm, so I ate up that aspect of the story. xD

Oh No Never Again

13/8/2022

Vows of Empire (The Bloodright Trilogy #3)
by Emily Skrutskie

Separated, the heirs of opposing blood lines, Gal and Ettian would rather this whole galactic war thing went away so they could be together without A) weakening someone or B) killing several someones. But what they want won't be possible...without a heck of a lot of manoeuvring and a buttload of shenanigans.

...oh dear. Vows of Empire never stood a chance with me. I really hate these kinds of "hehehe we're unfolding a big damn plot that we've kept hidden from the reader/viewer" storylines. I find them sloppy and boring. This was no exception to the rule. Where was the momentum of the previous two books? Where was the delicious pining? We didn't get a real ending...just a cop out. I wish I'd never bothered with this trilogy in the first place.