Goldilocks, Laura Lam

Oh boy, here I am finally, reviewing this. It’s been a heck of a year, and this wasn’t quite the right book for me earlier this year — I didn’t even get to the pandemic part, it’s just that the portrayal of a world slid out of control was too much for me in general. Goldilocks portrays a future version of Earth with women forced back out of the workplace, climate change out of control, and temperate areas overpopulated and struggling. A small crew of women are heading for a new planet, Cavendish, with the hope of finding and making a new home there, to save everyone.

Things turn out darker than that hope, in a way that’s difficult to talk about without giving too much away. There are some twists that are worth experiencing as part of the story, with its multiple timelines and carefully timed revelations. I’m usually pretty good at guessing ahead, but one or two twists caught me on the hop.

In the end, one particular character came across as a little too straightforwardly villainous for me. I didn’t have an ounce of sympathy for their aims or their choices on the way there, and that sat oddly with my earlier impressions of them. I’d have welcomed something that felt a little more nuanced, perhaps, though I did find Naomi’s reaction to them was nicely ambiguous. The ending seemed to suggest that things were meant to be that way, but after a certain point, they just went beyond the pale for me.

Overall, though, I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Rating: 4/5

Masquerade, Laura Lam

I was pretty much glued to this for a train journey in which I just ate it up. There are some very satisfying reveals, and one particular plot element I was somewhat dreading was actually handled in a way that made me feel not so terrible about it. Content note, though, if you have problems with addiction — there’s quite a few references to drugs and craving in this one. There’s a lot I still want to know — how can Cyan be Matla and Micah, Dev? What exactly did Doctor Pozzi do? And other aspects wrapped up a little too easily; the change in the aristocracy was just, whomp, suddenly there in the epilogue.

But it was still really satisfying, and what I really loved is the relationship between Drystan and Micah. I wasn’t sure I’d support it from the first book, got fully on board in the second, and have now decided they’re a definite favourite fictional couple. I adore that they make mistakes and have trouble with communication, but they deal with it. And where authors often have adversity tearing characters apart, straining the relationships almost to breaking point, Drystan and Micah turn to each other even more, and that’s just… yeah.

Also, shoutout for Cyril as a pretty awesome secondary character in his unwavering acceptance of his sibling, always.

Rating: 4/5

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False Hearts, Laura Lam

I originally received this to review, and then didn’t get round to it, because I suck. So I bought the paperback last week, picked it up to read a page — and looked up 170 pages later. Suffice it to say, it sucked me in and I’m glad I finally read it — and that I have an eARC of Shattered Minds to read. And Lam’s other trilogy, too! Her writing works really well: it’s not stylised and beautiful like, say, Patricia McKillip or Ursula Le Guin, but it’s competent and strong and she brings across the voices of her characters. That makes it both easy to read and absorbing.

The best part about it is that the whole thing relies on the bond between the sisters, Taema and Tila, and Taema’s trust for Tila. The whole drive behind the story is the sisters’ need to protect one another, and that’s what makes solving the mystery and going through all the tension worth it. The thriller aspects in themselves aren’t revolutionary, but coming at it from this angle made it feel fresh and urgent.

I enjoyed the supporting characters, too. It’s a little odd to be reading a book in which people seem to be, on the whole, good. Sure, Mana-ma and the Ratel don’t exactly have people’s best interests at heart, but Nazarin and Kim, Taema and Tila, the other characters they come across — they’re all trying to do the right thing. It’s a nice antidote to the total cynicism of other books I’ve been reading lately, in this genre and others. There are bad things, but there are good people too. And there are good people who get caught up in bad things, and regret it, and remain good people.

The ending of the book feels good; it all unfolds smoothly and stops just at the right point, with Tila and Taema reunited — for good or for bad.

Rating: 4/5