• Skip to main content

Roz Maclaren

Teen Fiction with a Dark Twist

  • Books
  • Reflections
  • About
  • Contact

Roz MacLaren

‘I was immediately terrified’ – how author Renée Shantel fought her fears

13 July, 2024 by Roz MacLaren Leave a Comment

Renée Shantel is an indie author in Australia. She kindly gave me an ARC of her upcoming book, In The Days Before (and you can find my review of the book here.) She also agreed to let me interview her so we can learn more about her process and work.

Tell us a little about you (and your cats!)
Well, I’m Renée 😉 and I live in Sydney, Australia. I’m in my mid-thirties and I’m still trying to find my place, both in the real world and in the world of indie publishing. By day I work in a major hospital as a billing administrator and occasional laboratory assistant, and I’m about to start a course in Library and Information Services as I consider switching careers. I’m a casual cozy and indie horror gamer, an ex-volunteer concert photographer and music journalist, and the most introverted introvert any of my friends have ever met.

Concert photo

I’m a life-long cat mum! Until recently I had two, but my boy, Jem, passed away in November. He was diabetic and required insulin shots twice a day at twelve hour intervals, and even now I still find myself waking daily at 5am. Now I have Jade, my six-year-old black beauty, who I found on the side of the road one afternoon when she was literally a newborn. I worked in petcare at the time so I knew to wait around (not too close!) and see if the mother cat came back, but there was no sign of her and it was unsafe to leave Jade where she was, literally on the side of a busy road. My mother suspected she’d been abandoned due to being pure black. I spent the first six weeks of her life carting her around with me to work, feeding her every three hours through the night, making sure she kept warm. I had to learn to raise a newborn kitten on the fly, and it was both the most challenging and rewarding thing I have ever done.

These days she’s my editor, and has no problem deleting entire manuscripts if she decides they’re not good enough – or if she’s not getting enough attention!

Adorable Jade at 10 days old

What’s your first memory of writing? I know you began when you were eleven – but what piqued your interest at that age and what did you start writing?
I would have been ten in this memory. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire had just recently been released, and I’d begged my mother to buy it for me from those Scholastic Book Club pamphlets we’d get in school. I wasn’t a reader at the time, so she was hesitant to spend the money on such a thick book that I probably wouldn’t get half way through, so she made me a deal. She’d buy me the first book. If I finished that, she’d get me the second. And so on. I don’t think she expected me to even get through the first one. But I devoured those books, every one of them, to the point that she and my aunt actually had to bribe me to read different books after I’d reread the series for literally the thirtieth time.

One night I was watching the Lindsay Lohan version of The Parent Trap, and I was struck by a thought: what if Harry Potter had a secret twin sister?

I immediately picked up the only notebook I had handy (a week-to-a-spread day planner) and started scribbling little notes and stories about Haylie Potter (because I had misheard Hallie the entire movie). Haylie ended up becoming a core character in the first fanfictions I ever posted online, from the time I was thirteen until maybe sixteen, and then she became an original character in my first original story. I also adopted her as my penname/alter ego before taking on my real name for publishing. Before I was Renée Shantel, you could find me as Haylie Jaed!

So I suppose you could say my interest was piqued by that one thought, that one idea of Harry having a twin and wanting to know what their adventures together would be like. The first “novel” I wrote however was a Marauders era fanfiction I started at eleven that was tragically lost when my old Windows 95 PC crashed. It wasn’t until after this that I learned fanfiction was actually a thing, found my first online community, and started posting my work online. I was thirteen when I posted my first chapter to the Internet!

Tell us about your publishing journey.
When I first began writing original stories and decided I wanted to be published someday, self-publishing was a very new thing.

And it was taboo. It was dirty. It was something “real” authors didn’t do, because “Only people who can’t get traditionally published decide to self-publish.” So for a long time, I didn’t even consider it. There was such a stigma around it, a knowledge that if you self-published you were a failure and no traditional publisher would ever touch you. For a time I wondered if this was my own skewed view developed from seeing comments from people I should have been ignoring, but I recently had a conversation with Cynathia Brubaker (author of the Gomada Academy series) and she had the same experience. If you weren’t aiming for the Big Five, did you even really want to be published?

I’m lucky in the sense that I’ve been writing online for so long that I’ve gained a number of writer friends along the way, and in my late twenties two of them started publishing and were willing to tell me their experiences behind it (Corissa Blakely and Nicole Northwood, for those who are interested!). It was ultimately Nicole who pointed me in the direction of an independent publisher she knew of and encouraged me to submit a short story to one of their anthologies. At the time, I was solely writing on Wattpad and had all but given up on my dreams of ever being a traditionally published author. I believed (and still do, if I’m being honest) that I wasn’t good enough to “make it.”

But my short story was accepted! And so in 2017, I became a published author of one short story.

After that, I spent years debating. Do I go back to dreaming? Or do I give up on my writing and focus on trying to make a career out of something “real”? It didn’t seem doable anymore. I was struggling a lot to stick to any of my manuscripts, and nothing I ever wrote was good enough to be published. I took a chance and submitted the last novel I’d written to a big name publisher who didn’t require an agent, and never heard back. I moved on.

But I kept watching my friends, kept seeing them putting themselves out there, and I kept debating.

In early 2023, I was struggling. I was working as a laboratory assistant at the time, and wearing gloves all day, every day had done a number on my hands. I had what I suspect was a minor eczema flare-up that started as a tiny patch near my pinky knuckle in maybe mid-2022 that by Christmas of that year had turned into a weeping wound on the back of my right hand. I was in agony daily, but I’d become so good at hiding it that nobody suspected a thing until the day I asked my manager to be excused from work because my hand was burning and I was going to step out and go to the emergency room. A trip to my doctor later, I ended up on worker’s comp with a strict NO GLOVES policy. Something that’s almost impossible when you work in pathology and handle blood, urine, and other body-related things on the daily. This ultimately ended up with me switching into administration.

It was in the middle of all this that I saw Nicole share a post on her Instagram about her then-publisher, Silver Shell Publishing, being open to submissions. I missed my lab work and didn’t know what was going to become of my job at that point, but it was this that made me take a serious look at my passion for writing and decide that I wanted to give it a real shot. We chatted for a bit, she gave me the courage I needed to shoot my shot, and I sent the email off. I was immediately terrified, but also doubtful that things would go anywhere.

But then my debut Lost was accepted by Silver Shell Publishing, and it felt like a sign.

I haven’t looked back. I’m so thankful to Corissa and Nicole for opening my eyes about indie publishing, because it has 100% been the right choice for me. I love having full control of everything, I’m enjoying learning the ins and outs of social media and marketing, and I love not having a schedule and deadlines, because I suck at those!

Your latest novel is out in October – tell me more about that. What sparked off the idea? What was your favourite part of the writing process? Without spoilers, what’s your favourite part of the book? Who is your favourite character and why?
In the Days Before is a novel about an aspiring YouTuber, Audrey Herringbone, who prides herself on making content about missing persons. Her own father went missing when she was a child, and she’s working on building up her viewership so she can share his story and hopefully find out what happened to him all those years ago. But the novel begins when Audrey’s best friend goes missing, the same day that she and Audrey argue about the content of her channel, and focuses on Audrey as she attempts to figure out what happened and bring her friend home safe.

I’m a true crime junkie, and I got the idea for this story watching Kendall Rae on YouTube. I ended up writing it for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2022, the whole time watching Kendall and Bella Fiori and Danielle Kirsty. They definitely inspired Audrey’s character and her drive. As an introvert, I could never put myself in front of a camera, but like Audrey I absolutely love researching, and one of my favourite parts of writing any novel is getting to do the research behind it. I spent a long time researching how missing persons investigations are conducted in Australia and tried to keep things as accurate as possible. Also, if watching Criminal Minds counts as research, I watched a lot of that to understand both the minds of criminals and the sorts of things aspiring criminologists and police officers might know.

My favourite part of the novel is definitely the reveal! I think everyone who writes a thriller must spend the entire novel looking forward to writing that part, because I sure did!

I think my favourite character is probably Detective Flanagan. He takes his job seriously and doesn’t want Audrey meddling in things and putting herself in the path of danger, but I like to think that he’s secretly rooting her on from the sidelines. He’d love to be helping her out if it wasn’t for the fact that she was an untrained teenager!

How do you balance a day job with writing, editing and running socials?
Ah…I don’t. 😂 Lately life has me down and I’m mentally exhausted, so I’m struggling with everything.

I mentioned that I get up at 5am. I work Monday to Friday and usually arrive at work around 6:30am, but my shift doesn’t start until 8am. So I have an hour and a half there that I will usually use for reading, writing, or brainstorming, whatever I feel like doing on that particular day. Lately I’ve been using it to respond to messages on social media, because I’ve been getting a lot! I suspect this will die down as my book releases and I slow down with my marketing, so I’ll start using that time for my writing again.

I try to get most of my writing done on the weekends, or in the evenings if I’m not too tired. I find editing a lot easier, and can do that pretty much whenever I have a spare moment. I spent a lot of 6:30-8am’s editing In the Days Before, then continuing in the evenings and on the weekends. Running my socials is something I’ve only recently begun getting serious about, and I’ll do that mostly on the train ride to work and in the evenings when I get home. I find those are the best times for me, because it’s a good crossover between when Australia is waking up and when North America is waking up, and most of my followers are from these locations.

If you can tell us, what are you currently working on?
Everything and nothing. I’m very much a mood writer, and at the moment I’m struggling to get into anything. So I can’t say for sure what will be coming next from me, but I’m trying to work on a YA paranormal trilogy, a NA paranormal that I hope to turn into a series, a YA paranormal crime, and three other YA crimes. And now that people have been asking, I’m also actively trying to plot and write a sequel for In the Days Before.

What are you currently reading?
My current paperback is The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson. Current ebook is Her Soul to Take by Harley Laroux. Current audiobook is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.

What is your all time favourite book?
At the moment, I’d have to say If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio. It was recommended to me by a coworker, and I have never been so captivated by an author’s writing style! It’s a whodunnit perfect for Shakespeare nerds.

Put your Spotify on shuffle and tell us the first three songs that come up.
Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off by Panic! At The Disco
Show Yourself from the Frozen 2 Soundtrack
Blood On My Hands by The Used

Overall, a pretty accurate representation of me!


Thank you so much, Renée, for taking the time to answer my questions and share an insight into your creative journey.

In The Days Before is out on 23 October. You can (and should!) pre-order it now.

Filed Under: Interviews

Win a signed copy of Venom and Blaze!

10 July, 2024 by Roz MacLaren Leave a Comment

My complimentary author copies of Venom and Blaze arrived yesterday! To celebrate, I’m running a giveaway over on my Instagram page.

The competition runs until Venom and Blaze‘s official release day: July 16. So make sure you get over to my Instagram account and follow the instructions so you can be in with a chance to win.

I’ve also been advised that, for those of you who have ordered hard copies, they’ve already been received! I’m looking forward to hearing what you all think of my debut novel.

Some of my ARC readers have already left me feedback and reviews on Goodreads – which is so lovely.

Want to read it for yourself?

ENTER NOW

The boring (but necessary) bits

  • Sadly, the competition is open to UK residents only. Sorry, everyone else!
  • Entrants need to be over 18, as the book contains several trigger warnings. Please familiarise yourself with them first as Venom and Blaze isn’t going to be for everyone.
  • By entering, you agree to supply with me a postal address so I can send the prize on. More information on how I use your data can be found in my privacy policy.

Filed Under: Mirrordom, Venom and Blaze

Book review: In The Days Before by Renée Shantel

9 July, 2024 by Roz MacLaren Leave a Comment

10/10

WARNING: SPOILERS

In The Days Before by Renée Shantel is now available for pre-order.

Unputdownable is not a word I use lightly. But I’m using it for this book. The book tells the story of Audrey, an earnest, wholesome girl who makes videos about missing people. When her best friend goes missing and she becomes a suspect, her work suddenly takes on even greater importance.

What I loved…

What makes In The Days Before shine is its pitch-perfect descriptions. Renée is gifted at creating a vivid picture in just a few words. I very rarely highlight in my Kindle, and yet I’ve highlighted hundreds of her amazing descriptions simply because they’re brilliant and I want to read them again. I also particularly loved the description of the formal dance, where Audrey expected a movie-esque scenario and it turned out to be much more low-budget. It’s clear the author has a brilliant sense of humour, since I found myself laughing quite a few times.

The characters. There’s a cast of great characters, each really well developed. Audrey’s motivation for creating these videos is fleshed out nicely, without turning into a cliché. The author has done a brilliant job at balancing this.

The twists. I like to think I’m fairly good at figuring out mysteries, but I only saw the truth right at the very end… The plot. I love twisty mysteries and this did a great job at keeping me hooked all the way through. I was torn between wanting to race through the book and also not wanting it to end!

What I didn’t love so much…

Absolutely nothing. If I could give more than five stars, I would. Do yourself a favour and pre-order it now.

The fact that there’s no sequel out yet. (Seriously, I think there’s scope for another book. I’d absolutely love to see Audrey solve the mystery of her father’s disappearance. And maybe Matt could move closer to hers so he ends up going to her school, as I really liked him as a character and it would be great to see their relationship play out.)

I received this book as an ARC and this review is my own, honest opinion. Thank you so much for the ARC copy, Renée.

Filed Under: Book Reviews

What’s going on in Mirrordom?

8 July, 2024 by Roz MacLaren Leave a Comment

I’ve just finished the first draft of the fourth book in The Mirrordom Legends. At present, the series is now planned to be five books long. Each book is a standalone story, but the series will make more sense if read in order.

The fourth book

I’m currently letting it marinate for a while (in other words, I do absolutely nothing with it and let my brain reset.) Once the fallow period is up, I’ll take another look as I need to flesh out the storyline a little more. In other words, there’s plenty of editing to be done!

In case you’re wondering what the image above has to do with the fourth book in the series… well, let’s just say one of the characters has a pet panther. Because why not? The beauty about writing fiction is getting to explore the impossible – and if I could tame any animal and keep it as a pet, it would absolutely be a jaguar or a panther. As this is never going to happen, I may as well live vicariously.

Pre-order Venom and Blaze!

Venom and Blaze, the first book in The Mirrordom Legends, is currently available to pre-order. You can read more about it over on the Bookshelf page. I’ll be hosting a giveaway for a signed copy on Instagram, so do make your way over to my page and follow it so you don’t miss an update.

Thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered and who has already reviewed their ARC copy or given it a shoutout on social media – it does make such a huge difference.

PRE-ORDER NOW

ARC reading

Aside from writing, I’m also reading and review a couple of amazing ARCs. One I’m particularly enjoying is In The Days Before by Renée Shantel. I’m about 70% of the way through it and utterly hooked. In The Days Before is out in October so make sure you pre-order it. I’ll be writing a detailed review on it as soon as I’m finished.

Anything else?

There is some exciting news coming soon, so watch this space! In the meantime, I’m working on my standalone book a thousand years in the future. It’s currently with my second beta reader. Both my beta readers are invaluable – it’s extremely helpful to have someone say “Hey Roz, this makes absolutely no sense” or “Hey Roz, you need to fix this glaring plot hole”. All of this helps ensure the finished product is as perfect as I can make it.

Filed Under: Writing

Pre-order Venom and Blaze!

5 July, 2024 by Roz MacLaren Leave a Comment

Venom and Blaze is now available to pre-order! It will be released on July 16.

About time! Where can I order?

Here are all the places you can place your order:

AMAZON
BARNES AND NOBLE
SMASHWORDS
KOBO

I’ve forgotten what the book is about. Remind me?

Here’s a reminder of the synopsis:

For anyone using an e-reader, the synopsis is typed below.

“During a time when unicorns roamed free and dragons cast shadows across the sun, the wise men and women of the land told stories of a troubled future. The legends whispered of a time when every baby born would be blonde, genial and entirely Good. But straight after it would emerge a baby with black hair, dark eyes – and an entirely different nature. They would be called Mirrors and nobody would know from whence they came or what to do with them once they arrived.”
Venom… wants a normal life where no one can tell her what to do. (Especially her father, King Viper.)
Blaze… wants to be free. (After all, he has been imprisoned in a dungeon since he was a baby.)
Thorn… wants to get the girl. (Which is a shame, because the girl has other things on her mind.)
At least one of them is going to be disappointed.

Will you be hosting a giveaway?

I’m glad you asked. I certainly will. I’m planning to host a giveaway on my Instagram, so keep your eyes peeled for that nearer the release date.

Once I’ve read the book, where can I review it?

Reviewing books makes such a difference to authors. I’d especially appreciate it if you left a review on Amazon, but you can also review on Goodreads. Even if you hated the book, I’d be interested in your opinion. I understand my book is definitely not for everyone. I saw another writer say a good review lets them know what they did well and a bad review teaches them what to work on. So I take the same approach.

Filed Under: Mirrordom, Venom and Blaze

Writing the fourth book in The Mirrordom Legends

4 July, 2024 by Roz MacLaren Leave a Comment

I’m currently writing the fourth book in The Mirrordom Legends. It’s still a work in progress and there’s a lot to do but this book is set almost entirely on Mirror Island and will explore what goes on there.

I had a lot of questions about the Mirrors’ culture and how they rule themselves. What laws do they have? What is the island like? Why can’t they just swim off and escape?

All these questions will be answered in the fourth book.

Who are the main characters?

The female main character is Flame, a Mirrorless girl who discovers she’s not who she thought she was when she’s able to defend her sisters and kill a wild boar that’s about to hurt her family. This event prompts Flame to realise that, based on her blonde hair and ability to kill, she must be Mirrorless. But who are her parents?

The male main character is Phoenix, a Mirror who has a very traumatic experience in the second chapter. I can’t reveal too much about it, but it sparks a terrible chain of events in motion.

Our villain is called Vex, which I think is a perfect name for a villain and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. Writing villains is, for me, often more fun than writing the main characters. It allows me to get creative with my imagination and writing about a character that’s truly despicable is often really enjoyable.

How long will the series be?

At present, I have five books planned in the Mirrordom Legends and I do believe that will be the end of it. I’m not going to say I’ll never write another book about some of the characters or perhaps a prequel, but I don’t have any plans at the moment.

Will any other books, unrelated to Mirrordom be in the pipeline?

I’m currently working on a sci-fi novel set in the year 3034 that I’ve just submitted to a publisher. If it goes anywhere, I’ll be sure to update the blog.

When will the first book in The Mirrordom Legends be out?

Venom and Blaze will be out in July 2024 and I’ll update the Bookshelf page with links on where you can read it.

Filed Under: Flame and Phoenix, Mirrordom

Why I decided to try and get published

3 July, 2024 by Roz MacLaren Leave a Comment

When I was about five, my mother bought The Railway Children on VHS (yes, I’m that old). During the scene where the children’s mother made a (albeit meagre) income from writing stories and poems, my ears pricked up. This was my first inkling that you could potentially make a career from writing. And that was my plan when I was a child. Of course I would be a novelist. Of course I would write children’s books. Of course people would want to read them.

I would painstakingly print off manuscripts and send them to publishing houses (always the Big Five, because I didn’t have the Internet and the only way I could figure out where to send a manuscript was to get a book and look at the address in it. Hodder & Stoughton, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry for all the novels I subjected you to.) These companies would always very sweetly write back and tell me to keep going and to purchase a copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook. (I couldn’t afford one on £3 a week pocket money, nor did I know where to get one, as this was before I knew about Amazon.)

My logic was based on knowledge that writers get a ton of rejections and if I got those rejections out the way now, I’d have more chance of success later. Rather than, you know, actually writing a decent manuscript and putting thought into a submission. (I was only eight or so.)

At the age of seventeen, I went into journalism and my novelist career took a back seat. In fact, although I continued to write novels for my own enjoyment, I never tried to get any of them published.

It wasn’t until watching a TV show where the main character would get to know other people’s hopes and dreams (mainly in order to manipulate the people, but okay) that I thought: “I wonder what I really want?” After a few days of careful pondering, I worked it out. “I want to get a book traditionally published.” Okay then. How do I make that happen?

Write something worth reading

Or, perhaps, I should say “Write something you would want to read.” Either way, my first step was to write the book. I’d had an idea lurking in my phone notes for many years about a girl called City. I thought the name was pretty. In fact, the note literally was: “City could be a good name for a character.” I combined this note with another one about “mirrors” and then proceeded to write City and Shadow. I like books with dark twists and have a strong appreciation for psychological thrillers. Even with a YA audience in mind, City and Shadow is quite a dark book. But that was what I liked about it.

I’m not sure if the timing was just very coincidental, but when City and Shadow was completed, I had a feeling I’d never had before about anything else I’d done. The feeling was strongly that this book needed to go out into the world, this was The One.

Choose your target

Unlike eight-year-old me, with my somewhat misguided belief that every rejection made an acceptance closer, I submitted City and Shadow to a select group of publishers. I also finally bought a copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook. I was very determined that I didn’t want this to be either vanity published or hybrid published. (Note: I don’t necessarily think there’s anything wrong with hybrid publishing – as long as the publisher is up-front about everything and continues to provide the author with support after they’ve taken their money. In fact, there was actually an article in the copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook about hybrid publishing’s merits. It sounds like a good way for small presses to work with new authors. Please research carefully if you are looking into hybrid publishers.) I was determined that if my work was good enough, somebody would want to take a risk on it. In hindsight, this was probably a really rubbish way to think – because there are so many awesome books that don’t get published through no fault of their own. But it was my benchmark and I had a point to prove to myself.

I submitted City and Shadow to 36 publishers, keeping meticulous notes so I could look back on it. Five of them turned out to be vanity or gave me slightly concerned vibes. I walked away. 24 said nothing at all. Six sent back polite rejections. But one of them, and this was the one I really wanted, said “YES!” (Okay, they didn’t send back an all-caps email with just the word “Yes.” That would be a little unsettling.) And, best of all, they were a traditional publisher with a catalogue of books that I thought City and Shadow would be right at home amongst.

They were also supremely understanding when I told them “Hey, I know I said quite categorically this was a standalone novel… but I’ve written a bunch more in the series now.” Venom and Blaze ended up becoming the first book in the series and is due out next month. My publishers couldn’t have been sweeter or more patient when I said “Look, I’m really sorry, I think there needs to be another book in between Venom and Blaze and City and Shadow. As it happens, I’ve written it and it’s called Fable and Legend.” I also solemnly promised this would be the last time I’d muck the order up! So far, I’ve managed to keep to this promise.

If you’re interested in what goes on behind the scenes during the writing, editing and getting-ready-for-publication process, I’ve published a blog series called What’s Involved In Writing A Book and updating it at various stages in the journey. Part of my aim with this website was always to document what was happening so I could look back later – and maybe an aspiring author will find it useful.

It doesn’t end

That sounds more ominous than I meant, but the whole business of writing is quite constant. Not only do you need to write the books (a process which, for me, includes daydreaming, snacking, walking around, dreaming, napping, thinking and a little bit of putting pen to paper or fingers to laptop keys), you need to craft your submission carefully (I really haven’t gone into detail about this above and I probably won’t because I’m absolutely not an expert and there’s a wealth of other blog posts about how to create an amazing submission if you’re interested) and, once you go through all the editing process, choosing cover art, more editing and more editing again, you need to promote the book somehow. I’m still figuring that one out, but trying to grow my socials, write this blog and get the word out about my upcoming debut novel.

Conclusion

In life, I’ve found there are a few moments where you feel utterly compelled to do something. Getting The Mirrordom Legends out there and published was one of those feelings. Maybe you’ve felt something similar in your life or maybe you’re reading this and thinking “What fresh drivel is she on about now?” but when I get those feelings (and it doesn’t happen often), I have to do my best to follow through. If you have a book inside you, bursting to get out, maybe it’s time you wrote it. And maybe, one day, I’ll get to read it.

I am so grateful to my publisher, for taking a chance on a brand-new baby author; for all my beta readers; for everyone who’s taken time out of their day to read something I wrote or like a post I made or just show some support.

If you are a recently published author, how did you find the journey? What steps did you take to ensure your book got the attention it deserves?

Filed Under: Writing

Book review: The Midnight Prince by Jennifer Ascienzo

2 July, 2024 by Roz MacLaren Leave a Comment

10/10

WARNING: SPOILERS

I received an ARC of The Midnight Prince by Jennifer Ascienzo and this review contains my honest thoughts.

The Midnight Prince continues where Foiled Stars left off in a seamless follow up. Autumn has been taken away from Earth and forced to marry Dante, who is one of those blundering good guys that you feel incredible empathy for in spite of all his misguided actions. Autumn, for the majority of the book, doesn’t share such empathy for Dante and wants nothing more than to escape and go back home.

What I loved…

The storyline is exciting and gripping, with a cast of colourful characters and sub plots. The author does a particularly excellent job at creating villains – few people can so masterfully portray vile villains the way Jennifer Ascienzo does. Dante’s father in particular is especially heinous.

The descriptions. I can truly visualise the alien planets and lifestyles. From their currency to their architecture, the author has given careful thought to what alien culture might be like and describing it in such a way that I can imagine it perfectly.

The short chapters. I love the fact you can pick up one of the author’s books and tear through it so quickly. Not only are her stories eminently readable, but every piece of the action is divided into bite-size chunks so you can easily read through it in your lunch break or waiting for the kettle to boil.

Autumn’s new pet!! I want a ling.

What I didn’t love so much…

I’m being very harsh here but Dante’s dialogue was originally very formal, which set him apart from the way Autumn and her contemporaries spoke. This may be a deliberate choice on the part of the author, but the way Dante speaks has become much more human. Perhaps this symbolises Autumn’s influence on him, but I miss the way he used to speak. And this isn’t really something not to love – more just something I picked up on.

Overall, the book has earned a five star rating from me and I can’t wait for the final installment in the trilogy.

Thank you so much, Jennifer, for the ARC – I thoroughly enjoyed your latest novel!

Please note: do check the trigger warnings before you pick up this book.

Filed Under: Book Reviews

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 8
  • Page 9
  • Page 10
  • Page 11
  • Page 12
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 14
  • Go to Next Page »
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use



Copyright © 2025 Roz MacLaren



Contact | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use


Developed by Optic Jam