Dangerous Remedy

REVIEW: Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn

1794, Paris and the revolution is in full swing. Camille, the daughter of a revolutionary, leads a group of outcasts as they fight to rescue those unjustly punished from prison before they face the guillotine. There’s Ada, Camille’s lover and wannabe scientist, Guil, an army deserter, and Al, a disgraced aristocrat – together the four of them are the Battalion of the Dead. Their latest rescue mission sees them encounter Olympe, a girl with dark and mysterious powers, and as they try and figure out a way to stay alive, they find themselves caught between the Royalists and the Revolutionaries as both sides want to use Olympe for their own gain.

Dangerous Remedy is the first book in a YA historical fantasy trilogy and boy does it start with a bang. It drops you straight into the action – mid-prison break in fact – and from there the pace, excitement and adventure never really lets up. I read Dangerous Remedy in just a couple of days as it was a really readable book with a lot of action and twists and turns and drama that it leaves you wanting to see what happens next.

I liked the characters a lot though some characters got less focus and some of the relationship dynamics I wasn’t so sure about. Dangerous Remedy is a dual POV story with chapters tending to alternate between Camille and Ava’s perspectives. Naturally this means you see how they both feel about each other but what they say to one another and their actions don’t often tally up with how they feel when you’re in their heads. It doesn’t quite mesh and if I didn’t get their internal thoughts and feelings, I’d sometimes wonder why they were together. Guil is the one in the team I feel we know the least about and he is kind of the character that’d I’d forget about as he doesn’t really have anything that makes him standout. Al, on the other hand, was my favourite as he’s snarky, gay and fluctuates between being a showman and super cagey. (more…)

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Spring 2022 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, I love doing these seasonal TBR posts even though I hardly ever read more than three of the books featured in the post before the next seasonal TBR come around. In May I’ve booked myself a short holiday in a cottage where all I plan to do is relax and read so some of these books will definitely be part of my reading plans then.

Watch Us Rise by Ellen Hagan and Renee Watson
One of my favourite subgenres of contemporary YA is the teen feminist YA. It makes me feel good and they’re often very quick reads for me. I especially like them as I just like the thought of teen girls (and boys) reading these books and getting inspired and exposed to ideas that I very rarely read about myself when I was that age.

Dangerous Remedy and Monstrous Design by Kat Dunn
Recently I learnt the third and final book of this trilogy is being released in June so I thought I should probably read these two for the first time. I’m so bad at reading series nowadays that I only tend to start them when all books are out or the final books is set to be released imminently. My copies are two very pretty Illumicrate editions so I hope I like the actual story.

The Desert and the Drum by Mbarek Ould Beyrouk
My read for Mauritania for my Read the World Project. This is another book where I think I read the first chapter but wasn’t in the right mindset to continue. I did like the writing style and think it’ll be the kind of book that’s very readable.

QuixotiQ by Ali Al Saeed
This is for Bahrain for my Read the World Project and I started reading it last year and found it a bit of a weird story as the way it was written made me unsure if what characters were experiencing was real or almost some sort of simulation. It’s not a particularly long book so if I just knuckled down, I could probably get my head around it and read it quickly.

The Fury and Cries of Women by Angèle Rawiri
My read for Gabon. I believe The Fury and Cries of Women follows Emilienne’s life through her university studies, marriage, children, work, and how she tries to search for what feminism means to her while dealing with cultural expectations and the taboos of sex and motherhood. I have a fair few ebooks for my Read the World Project that I just haven’t been reading as they’re almost easy to forget about as I don’t have a physical copy. This year I’ve been using my kindle a lot more so I hope to get to this one soon.

City of Devils: The Two Men Who Ruled the Underworld of Old Shanghai by Paul French
This is one of my books for the 12 books recommended by 12 friends thing I’m doing this year – I’m pleasantly surprised by how well I’m doing with that challenge as I’ve already read three of them. This is a true crime book about 1930s Shanghai and the two men who built their own criminal empire there before it came tumbling down.

Jade City by Fonda Lee
As I said, I’m not good with series but now all the books are out and I have the option to binge read the series if I do love it. I think I’m finally ready to give this much-loved series a try. I went to Waterstones on World Book Day and finally picked up a copy, there was a double points offer on so it’d be rude not to.

Beyond the Rice Fields by Naivo
This is the first novel from Madagascar to ever be translated into English and it’s set in the nineteenth century and it’s about the relationship between a slave and his master’s daughter. It’s another ebook that I hope to read soon.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
I’ve heard nothing bit great things about Legendborn and as the sequel is out later this year, now feels like a great time to finally read it. Plus, the TV show Merlin was one of my favourite things when I was a teenager so I’m always down for an Arthurian retelling/twist.

What books are you hoping to get to soon?

Magical Readathon: Orilium – The Novice Path

The Magical Readathon is the brainchild of Gi at BookRoast on YouTube and this edition of the month-long readathon will take place in September. Previously it was a readathon based on the exams in the Harry Potter universe but now Gi has truly outdone herself and created a whole new world with its own history, magic, university, and people. Her video announcing the prompts for this readathon and how this world works is fantastic and that along with all the documents she’s made to support this world will answer any questions you may have.

As this is a whole new world, this readathon is like an introduction to it all. Instead of being thrown straight into the university exams, this readathon is based on the journey to the Orilium Academy. There are seven prompts on that journey but you only have to complete two of them in order to successfully reach the Academy but naturally you can try and complete them all. As the Magical Readathon has a no doubling up rule that means you have to read two books to “pass” this readathon.

There are also prompts to help build your character who will be attending the Academy next year when the next Magical Readathon happens in April. You don’t have to complete the character prompts in September, they can be used to build another TBR later this year, as long as you’ve completed the character prompts by April 2021.

So, onto my TBR. As usual I’ve found books that match up for each of the prompts and the character prompts so either I have a lot of choice or I can push myself and try and read ten books in September. Not sure how likely that is when I’m lucky to read four books in a month at the minute.

The Novice Path Entrance: Read a book with a map
Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn
This has a map on the end pages so that totally counts in my mind. Plus this is the first book in a series and if I read this book, the sequel can fit another prompt.

Ashtorn Tree: A book that keeps tempting you or is at the top of your TBR
Beka Lamb by Zee Edgell
This is one of my most recent purchases and it’s a coming-of-age story about a 14-year-old Belizean girl. Like with past Magical Readathon TBR’s, I’m trying to have a mix of Read the World Project books and YA/fantasy that’ll give me a varied TBR.

The Mist of Solitude: Read a standalone
The Purple Violet of Oshaantu by Neshani Andreas
All I know about this book is that it’s about a woman, who was an unhappy wife, and after her husband dies, she’s expected to weep and not talk ill of the dead but she refuses. Thus, making her a pariah in her village.

Ruin of the Skye: Read a book that features ghosts, a haunted house or supernatural elements
It’s Behind You by Kathryn Foxfield
This is the only book that even has a mention of ghosts in the blurb. I’m not sure if the ghost is actually real as the premise is a spooky reality TV show.

Obsidian Falls: Read a thriller or mystery
Dr Mabuse by Norbert Jacques
I’m pretty sure this falls under the mystery umbrella as the titular character is a criminal and maybe even a super-villain – it’s listed as a mystery on Goodreads anyway. I’m not really sure but it was first published in 1921 and the character was apparently the embodiment of the rising Nazi Party.

Tower of Rumination: Read a 5-star prediction
Hawkeye: Freefall by Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt
It’s always a good idea to have a comic on a readathon TBR and as Clint Barton is one of my favourite characters ever, there’s a very good chance I’ll end up loving this comic.

Orilium Academy Arc: Read a book with a school setting
Weeding the Flowerbeds by Sarah Mkhonza
This is a memoir about Mkhonza’s childhood at a boarding school where growing up is takes place under strict hostel rules in the seventies.

Character prompts

Background – Wilding: Read a book that’s largely set in a forest/outside
An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie
This has been on my TBR loads of times so maybe this’ll finally be the time I read it. The title pretty much explains it and I think a lot of this book will be set outside as it follows Kpomassie’s journey to Greenland and his experiences there.

Province – Kerador: Read a book in an ongoing series
Monstrous Design by Kat Dunn
And here’s that sequel I mentioned. I don’t really read series and often when I do, they’re finished so these are the only books I have for a series where there’s books still to be published. Not sure if it’s going to be a trilogy or more.

Heritage – Elf: Moon or stars on the cover or in the title or, Human: Read a contemporary or non-fiction book
Cadence of the Moon by Oscar Núñez Olivas OR Milena & Other Social Reforms by Olja Knežević
As I don’t know if I fancy being an elf or a human, I’ve got a couple of books to choose from. Cadence of the Moon is about a serial killer in Costa Rica (this could also fit Obsidian Falls prompt if I change my mind) while Milena & Other Social Reforms (which I have as an ebook) is about a young woman who lands the job of being the president’s interpreter.

Are your taking part in the Magical Readathon next month? I hope to be sharing my progress on Twitter as an extra motivational tool.

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Purple, Yellow, and/or Green Book Covers

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. In honour of Mardis Gras today, this week’s theme is to share book covers that are purple, yellow, green or a combination of the three. Turns out I don’t have many purple books but yellow and green ones are more common on my shelves.

Allah is Not Obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono
To Best the Boys by Mary Weber
Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun

Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin
Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn
Trout, Belly Up by Rodrigo Fuentes
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou

Are there some really obvious purple, green or yellow books that I’ve completely forgotten about?

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Summer TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. I don’t often take part in Top Ten Tuesday (I forget or it’s not a topic I feel I have ten books that fit etc) but I do always do the seasonal TBR posts. That’s mainly because I find it interesting and somewhat entertaining to see how many times a book ends up on a TBR – please do go through my TBR tag if you also want to see books repeatedly appear. It’s not because I don’t want to read them, all books I mention in my TBR posts are books I own and want to read, it’s just that I’m a mood reader and easily distracted by other books.

So, after that bit of context, here are ten books I’d like to read in the coming months but who knows how many of them I actually will.

Life for Each: Poems by Daisy Zamora
This poetry collection is literally 70 pages long. I could read it in the morning before work it’s that short.

Three Summers by Margarita Liberaki
An historical fiction about three sisters growing up in the countryside in Athens before the Second World War. It’s a coming of age story with romance, secrets and family drama. From the title alone it seems like a good book to read during the summer months.

The Restless by Gerty Dambury
Set in 1960s Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, The Restless follows a nine-year-old girl who is struggling with the sudden disappearance of her teacher and her father at the onset of a workers’ strike.

Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn
Had not heard of this book before I got it in a subscription box but it seems to be a story about a ragtag group of outcasts in Revolutionary France and it has some Frankenstein elements? Sounds good to me.

Scarlet Odyssey by C.T. Rwizi
An epic fantasy set in a landscape inspired by the history of southern and eastern Africa and its myths and magic. I got this via Amazon’s First Reads as the premise of a young man who wants to become a mystic in a society where women do magic and men are warriors caught my eye.

Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun
This is another super short book of less than 100 pages and is a collection of short stories – both things making it something that I should read quickly and soon.

Hawkeye: Kate Bishop Vol 1 – 3 by Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero, Michael Walsh and Jordie Bellaire
I’m kind of cheating and combing three books into one choice here, but it’s a graphic novel series and as I have them all, I will be reading them one after the other. I love Hawkeye – both Clint Barton and Kate Bishop – and have been meaning to read Kate’s latest story arc for a while now.

The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag
Another book I got in a subscription box and it’s a story of four sisters trying to find one another and there’s magic I think? As you may probably tell, when it comes to subscription box books I haven’t heard of before, I like going into them knowing as little as possible. I do know The Sisters Grimm is set in Cambridge which is where I work so it’ll be cool reading a book set somewhere I know pretty well.

13 Colors of the Honduran Resistance by Melissa Cardoza
Feminist author and activist Melissa Cardoza tells thirteen stories about women from the Honduran resistance in the aftermath of the 28th June 2009 coup against President Manuel Zelaya.

A Phoenix First Must Burn edited by Patrice Caldwell
Guess what, this was a book I got from a subscription box! It’s a collection of short stories by Black authors that explore the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic.

What books are on your TBR for the next few months? If you’ve read any of these and think I should read them ASAP, please let me know.