Promising Young Women by Caroline O'Donoghue - Review

I bought this on Kindle at some point last year when it was 99p, because I've previously enjoyed her Young Adult books and I've heard good things about her adult novels. I liked this a lot; I think she's a decent writer and will read other things by her. 

The protagonist of the book is Jane. She is twenty six years old and she lives in London and works for an advertising agency. She has been living with her boyfriend Max, but they have recently broken up. She's moved into a shared flat with a woman called Shiraz. Max is seeing someone new - Kim, who has a much more successful career and seems much more put together than Jane. Jane is obviously jealous. 

At work she has two friends - Darla, who is her 'best friend' and who has recently moved to a different department and is doing better than Jane. And Becky, who is very anxious about everything and who Jane really looks down upon for most of the book, but who is a very loyal friend and keeps a look out for Jane. 

She gets the opportunity to work on an ad campaign and when technology goes wrong she saves it for the team. This puts her in the good books of the owner, Howard Mitchell, and she is promoted. She has a bit of a crush on a colleague, David, and he seems quite into her, too. But then Clem happens. 

He is older than Jane by like twenty years, and he is married. He gives her the usual clap trap about his wife and marriage. They start an affair. And it's exciting for Jane! She likes the secrecy and she likes being Clem's little project. She's barely speaking to her mum and she's drinking way too much and so on... 

I liked the incremental way Jane's life fell apart. I liked the outcome, but I think it could have ended a bit differently. I liked a lot of the commentary on being a young woman in her early career and how men really do take advantage of that. I am giving this four out of five. 

The Gifts That Bind Us by Caroline O'Donoghue - Review

 

Where did I get it? I had it on pre order in paperback because I loved All Our Hidden Gifts, but I was also granted access to it by Walker Books on Netgalley, so thank you very much to them. 

What's it about? It's the second in the series about Maeve and her friends. It's set in Ireland and in the first book Maeve, Roe, Lily and Fiona discover that they all have magical abilities. They have to go up against a spirit called the Housekeeper in order to save Lily from the river, where she has become the river. In doing this ritual they have alarmed all their families, who think it was some kind of attempted suicide pact. Now we're back a few months later, over the summer, where all four are spending lots of time in Roe's car just chilling out and having a good time. Things aren't exactly right between Maeve and Lily, but they're working on it.

They break into the school grounds and discover that the school has bought some land behind their grounds and have expanded, with a tennis court. The four spend a lot of time there, working on their magical gifts. Fiona and Lily discover that if they work together they can use both of their gifts together. But they're worrying Maeve too - Lily seems permanently changed from her time in the river, and Fiona keeps harming herself so that she can heal herself. Maeve can also tell through her telepathy that her parents are very worried about her.

The girls start school and find it's all changed inside too. The basement has been turned into classrooms, and The Chokey has been turned into a guidance counsellor's office. Miss Banbury is the new guidance counseller, although Maeve has already met her from when she was a customer in Nuala's shop, where Maeve is now working. But The Chokey's walls soon start to sprout mould, as if what was there before just can't be stopped.

And of course there's the Children of Brigid. Maeve has a few run ins with Aaron and then they turn up in school too, spouting their purity culture rhetoric. School starts to go loopy but only Lily, Fiona and Maeve seem to have noticed. Maeve does something which puts a wedge between her and Fiona, and Roe, meanwhile, is off on tour and he seems to be living his best life, and is forgetting his gifts. Maeve knows that next year she's going to be left alone in Kilbeg, which she finds very hard to cope with. 

It's like an ultra realistic look at that last year of school, when you know it is coming to an end, but with added magic and very villainous bad guys. This is a proper middle book of a trilogy - the stakes are higher, the body count is higher, and everything you thought you knew is turned on its head. 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, Roe is non binary but still using he/him pronouns. There's some discussion about which word to use for him in relation to Maeve - he's not a boyfriend but partner feels too old, etc. I liked this. I also like the very realistic portrayal of Roe wanting to get out of a small town to avoid bigots like the Children of Brigid, and of him desperate to be free. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes Fiona is Filipino, and like Roe, some of why she wants to escape is that she is sick of racism thrown at her. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? I think all the girls do have some kind of PTSD from what they went through in the spring, and it's coming out in different ways in each of them. It's not explicit though. 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, and while it's not graphic I do want to touch on it. Maeve and Roe decided not to have sex with each other until Maeve is ready, but they do in this book, and... I get WHY Maeve says it, but I'm not sure - as an adult - that she has the best motives. Just be sure of WHY you're having sex if you're ever in that position, okay

Are drugs mentioned or used? Only magical ones! 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, lots. It's not particularly graphic but there are graphic parts to the novel. 

Are there swear words? A few, not loads 

 

What criticisms do I have? Not many really. The book took me a while to read because it's so dense. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes, especially if you liked the first one. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I was just desperate to get to it! 

 

What do I think of the cover? I love it, it fits in perfectly with the first one and a friend of mine on Instagram said she really liked it too. 

How many stars? Four out of five. 

 

Where is the book going now? I'll definitely keep it!

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it. Someone I follow on Twitter was raving about it and I thought it sounded like my kind of thing, so I bought it. 

What's it about? The book is set in Ireland, somewhere near Cork I think. Our heroine is Maeve, who is a pupil at a girls school set up by an ageing nun, Sister Assumpta. Maeve is the youngest in a family of five, but only her sister Jo remains at home. Maeve is quite hot headed and gets into trouble. As a punishment, she's told to clear out a cupboard in a basement classroom, a cupboard nicknamed 'The Chokey'. 

In the cupboard she finds an old Walkman and a mix tape from 1990, and also some tarot cards. Maeve doesn't know tarot, but she takes the cards anyway and starts to learn about them. Some girls at school want her to do readings, so she does. And it turns out she's good at doing accurate readings. Fiona, a girl who is a bit of an outcast, starts taking bookings for Maeve for about every girl in school. 

But then there's Lily. Lily and Maeve used to be really good friends and had been since being little. Maeve used to be close to Lily's brother Rory, too. She meets him on the bus and sparks fly between the two, and he tells her something about himself that she didn't know. Maeve feels awful for how things ended between her and Lily, which deep down she knows was all her fault. So when the girls at school tease Lily and insist she has a tarot reading, Maeve really doesn't want to do it, but she does anyway. The two girls fight and Maeve says, "I wish you would just disappear!" One of the cards that Lily chose was a card Maeve hadn't seen before, a card of a woman with a knife in her mouth. It's the Housekeeper card. 

And then Lily does disappear. A couple of days later at school the Gardai arrive to ask everyone questions. Maeve is a suspect due to the two girls falling out. She and Fiona become friendly and even though she's been told to avoid Rory, Maeve can't help but go and speak to him. The sparks keep flying... 

Maeve and Fiona are messing around one afternoon in a clothes shop when two people come in to complain. Then there's a protest in town, and Maeve's sister and her girlfriend are attacked. This is the mysterious Children of Brigid and their charismatic leader, Aaron. 

Lots happens in the book, there's lots of magic and intrigue, all mixed up with modern happenings and social issues. I loved each main character, I loved Maeve especially. I loved the romance with Rory, I loved Maeve's family, and I loved the magic. It's such a good book, and I'm hopeful there'll be more in the series because it would lend itself perfectly to there being a sequel at least. 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, but no spoilers. Maeve's sister Jo is gay too. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Fiona is part Filipino, and I loved how her culture was portrayed and used within the book. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? There's some trauma stuff going on for a couple of characters, I didn't think it was triggering but take care of yourself.  

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No I don't think so 

Is there any talk of death? Yes but it's not graphic 

Are there swear words? Hardly any 

 

What criticisms do I have? Hardly any, I absolutely loved the book and the setting. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes totally. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I just knew I wanted to get to it soon and I'm so glad I did 

 

What do I think of the cover? I like it, it looks a bit like a ouija board kind of thing 

 

What other books is it like? It really reminded me of The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle. 

How many stars? Five out of five

 

Where is the book going now? I think I know a couple of people who might like it, so I might lend it out!