An ARC roundup – too many ARCs and not enough time (part 2)

Welcome back to An ARC roundup – part 2! In my last post, I managed to get through a few of my outstanding ARCs and my plan is to finish my roundup in this one. Again, thank you to Netgalley and the respective publishers for the advanced reader copies and all opinions are my own.

The Stars Undying – Emery Robin

I’ll be honest and say that this one took a couple of attempts for me to get into, but once I did and the story began to develop, I was pulled in and really enjoyed this. I loved the reimagining of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar in spaces and I enjoyed the slow burn political drama. There isn’t much in the way of big actions in this – instead, this is a novel that takes its time to build up the world and characters. While moments sometimes felt a bit philosophical and deep, the didn’t bother me too much – I felt that they provided more insight into the characters, rather than detracting from the story.

This is one I think I will be re-reading and I feel like there will be more to uncover second time round. I’m also really hoping there is a sequel to this – if this follows Cleopatra’s life (in a way), I’m intrigued to see what happens next with Marc Anthony’s (or at least the character inspired by Marc Anthony) influence.

The Bandit Queens – Parini Shroff

This is one I’d seen on Twitter and after reading the premise, I though I’d give it a go. The Bandit Queens is a little out of my comfort zone in terms of genre. I will also say that this is a novel that does get dark in places and I would highly recommend checking out the content warnings before picking it up.

This is one that has lingered. Shroff doesn’t shy away from discussing the hardships the women face in their village, as well as exploring the implications that caste, religion and patriarchal values (among other things) have on the women. It’s a lot to pack into a slim novel, but I feel like it is handled well, even if it sometimes feels like there is isn’t enough time to discuss everything in depth. Another thing that I think is done really well is the friendships between the women and how they develop over the course of the novel.

A Restless Truth – Freya Marske

Sequel to A Marvellous Light (which I really enjoyed), A Restless Truth was one I hadn’t expected to come out so soon after the first book. This is another one that took a couple of attempts to get into, but again, once I did, I really enjoyed this.

I loved how the focus shifted to Maude in this one and you really get a chance to learn more about Robin’s little sister. I really enjoyed how Maude came into her own over the course of the novel and how she leans into her own charm and power. A Restless Truth also moves the story along quite nicely as well – there’s a little more lore and history in this and providing a little bit more context to the overarching storyline (sorry for being super vague – trying not spoil!) All in all, this was a really enjoyable entry in the series and I’m very much looking forward to seeing how the series ends.

So that’s it for the vast majority of my arcs! I’ve really enjoyed reading quite a nice mix of stuff and reading a number of new to me authors. I will say though that these will be the last of the arcs I will be requesting for quite a while – I forgot how much pressure I put on myself to read and review everything, so time for a breather!