Tag: #Capitalism

The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton

On By @f33lthesunIn #YALeave a comment
Cover illustration by Katt Phatt

Blurb

A glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.

At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.

But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.

And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.

With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn protectors–turns her world upside down.

Review

I do love a fairy tale inspired story and The Notorious Virtues does not disappoint. As it turns out, this is the first in a series, and whilst ending on somewhat of a cliffhanger, it felt an appropriate place to do so. I need the next book…NOW!

Told from multiple viewpoints, which works well to keep the reader on top of what is happening, this story at is heart is about family. The family in question being the powerful Holtzfall’s, who own and hold all the power in Walstad. The matriarch leader, Mercy, uses her power and magic to control the family and keep the traditions alive…but as the younger generation prepare and endure the trials to decide the next heir to the fortune, they start to uncover deep secrets and infighting. Whilst searching for answers and trying to outmanoeuvre each other, the girls must also be prepared for trials to win a chance to be heiress. These trials are undisclosed (but linked to the virtues) until they happen and can be anything from troll attacks, helping others or not being tempered in stressful situations.

The history of the family and the traditions they keep, including that of their sworn knight protectors, the Rydders, is told in chunks interspersed throughout the main storyline and is their own origins fairy tale, linked to an immortal being in the woods and an honest, hardworking woodcutter who asks no more than to be able to cut wood to help his family survive the winter. How the family has changed these ideals and their use of magic over the generations enables themes of capitalism, dictatorship, family secrets, resistance, betrayal and rebellion. As one of the characters whose point of view is shared with us is a journalist, we also see the power of the press being used to manipulate how individuals and situations are perceived by the general population.

All this sounds heavy, but believe me, this story is anything but. It is fast paced, builds intrigue, suspense and unforeseen twists, whilst also maintaining a fairy tale-esque style.

Thank you to @TheWriteReads, the author and Faber for a copy of this to read and review.

About the book

Genre: Fantasy

Age Category: Young Adult

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Number of Pages: 368 Pages

Publication Date: March 27, 2025

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38347283-the-notorious-virtues 

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/3e6e7d9c-5b37-413b-9773-4550a1b42233 

Amazon: https://a.co/d/8vVbAG9 (Canada) https://a.co/d/hLVzjdb (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/i8QYXs5 (UK)

Or my preferred method, buy at a local independent bookshop.

Look out for the other blogs on this tour.

Feast of Ashes by Victoria Williamson

On By @f33lthesunIn #Dystopian, #SciFi, #YA1 Comment

Yes, it is another Victoria Williamson book, I am quite the fan. This time Victoria moves from MG to a dystopian adventure for a YA audience. I am long past YA status, but as with her children’s books, adults will enjoy this too.

Blurb

The Earth’s ecosystems have collapsed and only ashes remain. Is one girl’s courage enough to keep hope alive in the wastelands?

It’s the year 2123, and sixteen-year-old Adina has just accidentally killed fourteen thousand seven hundred and fifty-six people. 

Raised in the eco-bubble of Eden Five, Adina has always believed that the Amonston Corporation’s giant greenhouse would keep her safe forever. But when her own careless mistake leads to an explosion that incinerates Eden Five, she and a small group of survivors must brave the barren wastelands outside the ruined Dome to reach the Sanctuary before their biofilters give out and their DNA threatens to mutate in the toxic air.

They soon discover that the outside isn’t as deserted as they were made to believe, and the truth is unearthed on their dangerous expedition. As time runs out, Adina must tackle her guilty conscience and find the courage to get everyone to safety. Will she make it alive, or will the Nomalies get to her first?

Review

The author has created an unfortunately believable future world caused by corporate greed and subsequent cover ups at global government level, but at the heart of this story are the relationships between the various characters. Their personalities and character lead the narrative, as they struggle to survive and reach safety.

Like a typical teenager, Adina has her own agenda. Whilst she is intelligent and good at her job as a technician in the Dome, helping to keep the machinery working, she is often distracted from this by other tasks she would rather be doing which, as expected, are not aligned with her responsibilities and lead her into trouble more often than not. She fully justifies her decisions to herself, she sees them as benefitting others, not herself, but they ultimately lead to her taking responsibility for the destruction of the dome and the deaths of all but a few occupants. Keeping this a secret from her best friend, Dejen, and the other survivors means her relationship with them becomes strained as she pushes them away to stop them working it out.

As I have said in a previous blog, books are either mirrors or windows for the reader. Most of this book was a window for me given the futuristic setting, but Adina’s conscience and the projection of her fears onto her perception of the reasons others look at her as they do is a mirror for my own. No, I have not accidentally (or even deliberately) killed thousands, but her feelings of guilt and how she perceives what others think about her and her actions rings true for me. I often make more of something in my head then find out I needn’t have. Moral of this…talk to people, don’t keep feelings internalised.

Once again, Williamson is not afraid to cover many big issues in her writing. In Feast of Ashes these include keeping secrets, family disfunction, global corporate greed that impacts on the people and eco systems in Africa, government secrets, death and making sacrifices.

This is the first of a series and I look forward to the next instalment.

The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson, illustrated by James Brown

On By @f33lthesunIn #Mystery, Children Upper KS2, Fantasy2 Comments

Blurb

In a strange little village called Witchetty Hollow, eleven-year-old Florizel is the first to run into the curious visitors who’ve come to open a brand new Daydream Delicatessen and sack-baby factory.

At first, it seems the daydream confection and cheap sack children are the best things that could have happened to the poor folk of the Hollow – after all, who has the money to rent their child from Storkhouse Services these days? But after a few weeks, Florizel starts to notice something odd happening to the adults of the town. First, they seem dreamy, then they lose all interest in their jobs and families. Soon they’re trading all their worldly goods in the newly-opened Pawnshop for money to buy daydreams. With no money for rent payments, the children of Witchetty Hollow are being reclaimed by Storkhouse Services at an alarming rate. Florizel needs to act.

Review

This is a dark, sinister story that made my skin crawl at times but it is ultimately filled with hope.

Victoria Williamson has cleverly created a deeply creepy, Grimmesque fairy tale world, covering themes of greed, addiction and capitalism alongside those of friendship and community suitable for young readers (9+) that will have them fearful for Florizel and Burble but also page turning hopefully to find out what happens next.

There is a wide range of characters, from mostly good to downright wicked, in particular the child repossessing “nurses” who are just as ominous and scary as the infamous child catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Illustrations by James Brown

The dark and light of the story is reflected in the descriptions. The Dream Delicatessen and Pawnshop evoke scenes bursting with colour and sparkle, in stark contrast to the rest of the town, which is shrouded in gloom and despair. James Brown’s black and white illustrations capture the drama and atmosphere perfectly.

In Scotland, dressing up at Hallowe’en and visiting other houses is called guising. The fear inducing Gobbelino guisers, in their cloaks and masks, made me reminisce about a childhood Hallowe’en where someone (a friend of my parents) came guising to our house in a huge coat and mask and, to this day, I still do not know who it was. This story is as creepy as I felt that night.

Thank you to Tiny Tree Books and The Write Reads for a free digital copy of the book for review purposes.