I picked this up on a whim in a very brief visit to Waterstones purely based on the comp to Jane Eyre (a very formative book for 4.5 stars ~ [8.34/10]
I picked this up on a whim in a very brief visit to Waterstones purely based on the comp to Jane Eyre (a very formative book for me.) I love that feeling of going into a bookshop, picking up a book you've never heard of (and haven't seen anyone talk about), reading it straight away and loving it. Something that doesn't happen often the more entrenched you get in the book world. And, it might just be that I've taken a bit of a step back in the last few months, but I'm kind of shocked this book hasn't got more of a buzz around it? Jane Eyre, yes. Gothic, yes. Romantasy, yes. All very buzzy things as far as I'm concerned. I thought the writing was lovely, I really enjoyed how vital the side-characters were to the story, I thought the forbidden romance was very dreamy and the ending - quite controversial in some circles - but it really hit a sweet spot for me. Will definitely be keeping this author on my radar! ...more
I've absolutely fallen in love with this series this year and for a year where I've not had as much time to prioritise reading, it5 stars ~ [9.13/10]
I've absolutely fallen in love with this series this year and for a year where I've not had as much time to prioritise reading, it feels good to have added some new all time favourites to my collection. ...more
If anyone knows anything of my reading tastes it is that I am forever on the hunt for genre-mashing adventure romance. My favourit5 stars ~ [9.57/10]
If anyone knows anything of my reading tastes it is that I am forever on the hunt for genre-mashing adventure romance. My favourite movie of ALL TIME is The Mummy precisely because it blends all of my favourite genres into one perfect 2 hour movie. There are so many ways that that movie could have felt crowded or directionless, but the miraculous result was true pure entertainment - there's a reason it has stood the test of time.
I was starting to think that exact vibe could never be captured in book form. Yes, I've read some really good adventure romances but there was never anything that felt like it truly captured why The Mummy resonated with so many people (the closest I've come to it previously were the Veronica Speedwell books,) and that's probably because the temptation might've been to get too close to it, to the point where it began to feel too much like an imitation rather than it's own thing. However, I think you can do a mash-up of history, comedy, horror, mystery, fantasy, adventure, with the throughline connecting them all being the emotional journey of the romance whilst still telling a fresh story.
I cannot stress enough how much this book hit every mark for me. The writing was polished and the voice was so vibrant, the history was fascinating and the comedy moments were actually funny, the adventure had me on the edge of my seat and the scary moments really did spook me, the mystery was well-seeded throughout and the fantasy elements didn't feel like they came out of nowhere. But above all, the romance was deftly handled, it felt earned and left me wanting more (perfect for the first book in a series, imo!)
The characters of Ellie and Adam were definite archetypes and probably the element of the book that most closely resembles The Mummy. Their approaches to this adventure didn't surprise me in any way; she is studious, a little prickly and very new to adventuring, and he is the quintessential action-hero - a tough-shelled rule-breaker with hidden depths and a soft underbelly. Yet, these recognisable characters were the thing that immediately drew me in... the character art on the front of the book cover was the thing that made me read the blurb and ultimately buy the book. I think having that immediate recognition was the most comforting aspect of this reading experience because I felt like I knew them before I'd even started getting to know them - I was primed to have an affection for them just because they reminded me of characters I already know and love.
The greatest success of this book has to be how much the author understands rising stakes. The first action sequence is fairly early on in the book and, as the reader, we know very little about the characters and the situation they're in but we clearly understand who our heroine is, why we want her to succeed and how disappointing it would feel if she didn't succeed. The stakes at this point in the book feel relatively high but, as the plot develops from there, the author keeps building on those stakes throughout the whole book and right up until the explosive ending! The origins of the stakes are varied, some are driven from the action on the page and some are more subtle in that they come from the characters' inner emotional lives or through conflict with how the characters feel about the morals/ethics of a situation - it made the entire book feel rich and really brought it to life.
I also appreciated how much the book engaged with the topics of imperialism and colonialism. It's something that often gets swept aside in these types of stories (including The Mummy,) but there's a very 21st century lens that they're viewed through. It's important to note that this is not an own voices novel about Mesoamerican culture and it is not pretending to be. The author explores the cultural history mainly through the eyes of a white British woman and a white American man, but engages with the topics from the point of view of people understanding how their privilege and power has impacted these cultures. This could have come off as if the characters were veering into white saviour territory, but there are certain scenes within the novel that clearly depict how much these characters are still impacting these cultures even though their intentions are on the noble side. Their actions have consequences and they're not fully absolved from those consequences. I don't think it is perfect, but I do think there was an extremely delicate balancing act that needed to be performed here in order to acknowledge the atrocities without sugarcoating them whilst also keeping the reader planted in the historical period, and I think the author had a good crack at it.
I'm so excited to have randomly discovered this book in a newsletter, I'm even more excited that I loved it as much as I did and I'm dying for the sequel, which is due to be released later this year! I will definitely be shoving this book on all my reader friends as much as possible and I'm already calling this a favourite of 2024!...more
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