Friends and Relations - Edith Bowen

"Friends and Relations follows the exploits of four wealthy families
whose lives are changed forever by a torrid affair. The Studdart sisters each take a husband; for beautiful Laurel there is Edward Tilney, and for the introverted Janet there is Rodney Meggatt. But the marriages are complicated by changeable passions, and each character must navigate the conflict between familial piety and individual desire. With Bowen’s signature blend of tragedy and comedy, Friends and Relations is truly an investigation into the human heart, and the book is as beautiful, mysterious, and moving as its subject."

After reading Bowen's The House in Paris with no idea of the author and being completely blown away by it, I was deeply intrigued to read more of her work. 

Bowen's prose is truly a wonder to behold. The true master in show don't tell, her writing leaves you at once confused and deeply moved. A writer that I feel is fully writing for herself, she barely explains her work but it is so emotionally raw. Leaving you to just sit, and think.  Much like we often don't fully understand other people's feelings or thoughts, why should you be able to fully understand the feelings and emotions of her characters? You aren't allowed the easy emotional clarity offered in so much fiction, you are left in the dark just like in real life. This makes her books a deeply feminine experience, with them being rooted solely in emotions rather then logic or motive while never tipping into sentimentality. 

However, I do have a few gripes with this book. It felt less tight and polished then The House in Paris. There are too many characters and while they're sketched with skill, they can become unwieldy and confusing to keep track of. Following Theodora to school also feels like an unnecessary interlude. 

And, for all my great admiration of Bowen's style, there where sometimes when I wondered what people's deals were? Most specifically Edward.  His mother had an affair with a man and, so, was socially "ruined." But this happened when Edward was very young, he had barely, if any, understanding of what was going on. So, when he got older, I couldn't fully understand why he was so caught up on that event. Why had it so deeply scarred him that he wanted to remove his children from the house when the two people who had once had the affair, his mother and the man, are reunited? 

Another thing that was more obviously brought into my focus was the class dynamics. All these drawing rooms, well-kept gardens and country houses are maintained by servants who are barely perceptible in the novel and the sense of entitlement can be an irritant. 

Age Rating 15+. Nothing untoward but some more difficult prose. 

There will come a Darkness - Katy Rose Pool

"The Age of Darkness approaches.

Five lives stand in its way.
Who will stop it... or unleash it?

For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations―until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared.

All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As chaos takes hold, five souls are set on a collision course:

A prince exiled from his kingdom.
A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand.
A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart.
A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone.
And a dying girl on the verge of giving up.

One of them―or all of them―could break the world. Will they be saviour or destroyer?"

This is a strange book. So much happened, and yet… nothing actually happened??? The way I see it, this book was a long introduction to a story that is yet to actually come.

It book follows five different POVs. Five seemingly unconnected people with five different goals and five different plot lines. However you soon start to see how they interconnect and link with each others lives. 

Honestly this book is a masterclass on how to write multiple POVs correctly. More often than not, when several main characters are present, all with their own POV/chapters, things can go downhill. The plot gets easily lost and confusing, some characters get developed better, others end up being unlikable, some POVs are slower paced and more boring than others, etc. the list can go on. But this is the first story where I enjoyed every character and there is no POV that is lacking. Each perspective helps the plot instead of hinders it.

I also really enjoyed the Roman inspired setting, a setting honestly not used enough in Fantasy. However I did find this section of the world building odd, they have trains yet the rest of the world building feels very ancient, there are paladins with swords for goodness sake. It threw me a bit, one second I was imagining everyone in togas and then trains, which means a whole different aesthetic to me, like Roman steampunk... I hope that gets dived into more.

The characters are diverse with plenty of POC and even some LGBT representation, which was handled well. It wasn't spotlighted or made into a major plot point, just kind of like yeah why wouldn't these people be here. So the right why to go about writing a diverse cast. I also hope we find more about the characters different cultures as they all seem to come from countries modelled on vastly different cultures, it would be interesting to see if that is explored. 

This is the book where the world and the characters are set up but where nothing much happens plot-wise. We got introduced to all the major players and plotlines and then are left hanging, waiting for the sequel. 

The main villain, The Hierophant, is talked about constantly and yet we meet them in the last 15% of the novel for two scenes in which they do nothing that lives up to all the talk we’ve heard of them. Even the prophecy that connects all the characters and drives the plot forward has no real bearing in this specific book. It’s just sort of there to serve as a plot device.

Even the characters are just introduced. We only know the basics of them. We’ve yet to dive deep into their minds and see them as their truest selves. Basically, this book was the preview. Still, in spite of all that I just said, I actually enjoyed the story.

It was easy to read through, the writing was pacey and fun. It was interesting and I liked seeing the prophecy come together as the story went on. I did call a lot of the plot twists but there were definitely a few that I didn’t see coming and I appreciate that.

The characters were all interesting, even Hassan that I didn’t love, and I can’t wait to read more about them and see how the prophecy unfolds.

This might have just been the introduction, but I am excited to see what comes next in the sequel when Pool can really get into her stride. 

Age Rating 14+. Abuse, murder, large scale death.