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Book Review: The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary

This was my first experience reading Sarah Hilary, and I went into it hoping to discover a new detective series to follow. Overall, this turned out to be an enjoyable read, though one that clearly feels like a series opener. The beginning was on the slower side, focusing heavily on introductions, backstory, and the private lives of the characters. While this is often necessary in the first book of a series, it did make the pacing feel a bit drawn out at times. One aspect that didn’t fully work for me was the inclusion of characters seeing and speaking to ghosts. I understand the intention behind it, showing how the past lingers and haunts, but I personally felt there were more effective ways this could have been conveyed. Where the book really worked for me was in its twists and character work. The writing was strong, the mystery kept me engaged, and both the DI and DS felt layered and well-developed. By the end, I was invested enough to want to see where the series goes next. Overall,...
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Review: The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi

Did you ever pick up a book mid-series and immediately think, “Oh no… I hope I even understand what’s going on”? Because that was me when I got offered to review The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi via NetGalley.


I’d read When the Moon Hits Your Eye before and loved Scalzi’s trademark wit, his sly social commentary, and the way he manages to weave serious observations about society into a fast, funny sci-fi story. So of course, I jumped at the chance to read more.


Good news for anyone who’s new to the series: you can absolutely read this one without having read the others. The first few chapters fill you in on what happened before, and Scalzi does it with enough humor that it doesn’t feel like a slog of exposition. Still, I think readers who’ve been following the series will get an extra layer of satisfaction out of it.


As always, Scalzi delivers on the humor. The dialogue snaps, the pacing moves quickly, and the satire hits just right. He has this way of writing about interplanetary politics that feels suspiciously close to home and I love it.


One of my favorite details? Apparently beer has a very distinct taste to aliens and their description of it was both hilarious and weirdly accurate.


My only minor complaint: there aren’t proper chapters. Everyone who knows me knows I struggle to stop reading when there’s no clear chapter break… which means I stayed up later than I planned. Again.


Overall, The Shattering Peace is fast, witty, and layered enough to satisfy regular sci-fi readers while still being accessible for newcomers. A solid 4-star read for me and a reminder of why I love Scalzi’s writing so much.

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