#Review - Her Fierce Creatures by Maria Lewis

Her Fierce Creatures (Supernatural Sisters)
Maria Lewis
Piatkus, 4 October 2022
Available as: PB, 390pp, e
ISBN(PB): 9780349427263 

I'm grateful to Piatkus and especially to Nazia for an advance copy of Her Fierce Creatures to consider for review.

When I read Lewis's first book in the sequence, Who's Afraid?, I was a little wary. Werewolves? But it was soon clear this wasn't your typical UF, introducing Tommi Grayson, who has a foot in both the supernatural and mundane camps. Successive stories followed Tommi's further adventures as well as introducing a succession of women who are members of different supernatural peoples - a sprite, a medium, a banshee - and their world - oppressed by an authority known as the Treize.

Now the time is coming to turn on the Treize and the stakes are suddenly higher. Her Fierce Creatures is Lewis's necessary final volume in the Supernatural Sistersbut, gosh, how difficult this must have been to write! Unlike the previous books it has too maintain the viewpoints of all four women - Tommi herself, Dreckly (the sprite), Caspet (medium) and Sadie (the banshee). While they have appeared in each other's stories before, those were generally minor, walk-on appearances and each had a full book (or more) in which to develop (my favourite of those being Dreckly in The Rose Daughter, living her life through the long 20th century, encountering all manner of prejudice and adversity and coming out on top).

Here, there is more of a team-up with the need to keep track of parallel events taking place around the world, at the same time as tying off stories, romances, rivalries and foes. That inevitably makes Her Fierce Creatures a slightly different type of story - but Lewis delivers a perfect completion to her saga, resisting any temptation to make this one endless kick-ass battle and allowing each woman some space. For me, that really pays off. These are not just characters, they are friends we've come to know, women whose stories and struggles have struck a chord, and they deserve an opportunity to reflect on that as they await the end.

And this isn't just a story of endings, it also contains new beginnings. Sadia is pregnant - VERY pregnant - with the triplets who may be the hope for the supernatural world. And revolutions are, as we know, built on hope. In making one of the story threads here focus on the challenges and rewards of pregnancy and childbirth, Lewis is still I think - even after seven books in this series - saying something important and new here about that experience. I think it a glorious way to end.

For more information about Hew Fierce Creatures, see the publisher's website here.

#Review - The Rose Daughter by Maria Lewis

Cover by Nick Hayes

The Rose Daughter
Maria Lewis
Piatkus, 7 October 2021
Available as: PB, 352pp, e, audio
Source: Advance copy
ISBN(PB): 9780349427232  

I'm grateful to the publisher for an advance copy of The Rose Daughter to consider for review.

It's good to be back in Maria Lewis's shared supernatural universe, which began with werewolves in Who's Afraid? and has progressed through other magical peoples including witches, ghost, banshees and now, sprites. 

Or rather, a sprite. As Dreckly Jones makes clear in this narrative, split between the present day when she is lying low in Sydney and an account of her life up to that point, a sprite is a very rare thing indeed. Offspring of a selfie and an earth elemental, her kind are outlawed by the Treize (why?) the self-appointed government of all supernatural creatures. So Dreckly's life began in prison, locked up by the Treize with her father. 

Now, a century later, she's off their radar, and determined to stay that way.

I was entranced by the way Lewis uses the story of Dreckly's life to explore the 20th century from below. Stowing away for the New World, she gets involved in the movie business, drifting into espionage as the times darken. Lewis has her witness some significant moments for the history of women: a period of brief and precious freedom and self-expression for women and minorities in the Hollywood of the 20s and 30s which gives way before a growing climate of moral censure and then the chaos of violence and loss that is the Second World War. Lewis has done her research, introducing us to some fascinating characters who provide the perfect milieu for a misfit like Dreckly. Throughout, though, Dreckly remembers her father's advice that she shouldn't try to be a hero. Though she sometimes disregards it.

The Rose Daughter seemed slightly different to some of the other episodes in this extended story of supernatural creatures, as a large part of the narrative is distanced from the immediate conflict with the Treize which has been developing throughout the series. That reality - of their desperation and willingness to commit atrocities growing - has to break in eventually, though, with Dreckly's hard won safety (hard won both in terms of what she's given up, and the guilt she feels for keeping her head down) inevitably threatened. First, though, Lewis explores what makes Dreckly, Dreckly - who she has loved, what and who she has lost in her long life, and what regrets she has. All of that lies behind her desire to stay out of sight, stay safe, not play the hero. It also illustrates what a competent and ruthless soldier she's capable of being when she has to be - one who will I'm sure reappear in future instalments of this fascinating saga.

A gloriously page-turnery novel that sheds new light on the revolution boiling up against the Treize, meshes nicely with the earlier books (even including some earlier scenes them a different perspective) and introduces a bold and distinctive new character. What else? Well, of course we have handsome, smouldering werewolves, some energetic sex, and plenty of peril. And signs of a team-up that should make the Treize very, very scared indeed.

I'd strongly recommend for fans of paranormal fiction, lovers of a good, exciting story and anyone interested in some of the less well known corners of 20th century history.

For more information about The Rose Daughter, see the publisher's website here.

 

Review - The Wailing Woman by Maria Lewis

Cover by Sam Sephton

The Wailing Woman
Maria Lewis
Piatkus, 30 April 2020
Available as: PB, 403pp, e
Read as: advance PB copy
ISBN: 9780349421322

I'm grateful to the publisher for a free advance copy of The Wailing Woman to consider for review.

In a further instalment of her shared-world urban fantasy sequence (following Who's Afraid?, Who's Afraid Too? and The Witch Who Courted Death) in The Wailing Woman, Maria Lewis looks at the banshee, the bean sidhe, the otherworld woman whose voice heralds death.

Dangerous women. Powerful women. Women who, perhaps regrettably, must be hushed - for the good of all, you understand.

There's, obviously, strong feminist potential in this and the point won't be lost on the reader but it is also - indeed primarily - a story of growing up, finding one's voice, of falling in love, doubting one's love, and of holding onto that love in a hostile world.

The story opens with a monstrous (I use the world deliberately) being done to nine year old Sadie Burke, youngest in a family of seven banshees living in Australia to which all of her people were exiled two hundred years ago. Forced ever since to abide by the "Covenant", which circumscribes their powers and keeps them weak and dependant, the banshees are almost outcast, forgotten by most of the supernaturals and only watched, it seems, by the Askari, the police of the supernatural world. It's one of the Askari - Andres Contos - who does Sadie that wrong and it's Andres's son, Texas, who comes back into her life years late, a fully fledged officer of the Askari, entering into all his power and privilege.

Can there be anything between them?

Can Sadie trust her feelings?

Can she trust Texas Contos?

This is a powerful book, but it's also great fun. We feel some familiar figures again, and learn more about Lewis's supernatural world. I loved the fact that there is opposition here to a brutally hierarchical setup rather than acceptance of it because of what might happen if the order is upset. I loved the fact this position is people - supernatural people of all types - rather than a side effect of some sort of external or diabolic plot. It's politics, it's the desire for freedom and justice, it's liberating.

It isn't the sort of read where what's happening is obscure and has to be pieced together from hints and clues, the broad lines are clear and it's only really detail that is filled in. So, yes, we learn that the banshees aren't what is generally believed - but all the same they are being held down and appressed, which is the main point.

It is the sort of read where the action can erupt into a no holds barred fight, with some gruesome consequences - this is not a safe world - as Sadie and Texas find their world upside down and have to save themselves. In calmer moments (well perhaps not so calm...) they discover a great deal about themselves and each other - but that basic issue of trust remains and Lewis makes Sadie's dilemma clear, faced with danger to herself and danger to those she loves, what is she to do?

A book I really enjoyed and clearly Lewis isn't done yet. This series goes from strength to strength.

And finally: I know you're not supposed to judge a book by the cover. But. LOOK AT THAT COVER!

For more information about the book see the publisher's website here.

Who's Afraid Too? by Maria Lewis: COVER REVEAL!

I really, really enjoyed Maria Lewis's debut, Who's Afraid so it's exciting to know that the sequel, Who's Afraid Too?, is on its way - and to take part in the cover reveal!

Book Two in the bestselling Tommi Grayson series is a gutsy, fur-flying, feminist read for fans of urban fantasy and strong heroines. If you love Darynda Jones, Keri Arthur, Kelley Armstrong or Harley Quinn, don't miss Maria Lewis!

After the sh*t show that was her family reunion, Tommi needed to get gone. Leaving Lorcan behind, she’s spent the last few weeks trying to understand her heritage - the one that comes with a side order of fur as well as her Maori history and how she can connect to it.

But she can only escape for so long - when an unspeakable evil, thought long destroyed, returns, Tommi needs every bit of the skills she's learned. With the help of allies both old and new, it’s time to take the fight to the enemy . . .

Blogtour: Who's Afraid - some Q&A with Maria Lewis and a giveway

Maria Lewis's new book Who's Afraid? is out on Thursday 14 July from Piatkus. My review is here but in brief it's emotionally rich, scary and very, very readable.

To celebrate, Maria dropped by to answer a few questions about the book and her writing. I'm really excited to welcome her here, so enough messing about, let's go!

Maria, thank your for taking some time to answer some questions.  First, how did you get started with your writing career?

I landed a journalism scholarship to university which saw me work full time as a cadet reporter at the local newspaper while studying by correspondence and that was kinda it. It was a job I loved immediately and I’ve been working as a professional journalist for the past 11 years writing for everything from The Daily Mail and Empire Magazine, to Penthouse and my current gig working on television series The Feed (which is a nightly news program in Australia).

How has it been so far - and how does it compare with what you expected?

My background as a journalist has been a very different experience to being a published author. Firstly, your work has a much longer life: generally speaking if you were writing for a newspaper, online or even with the TV series I work on presently your work only has a life of a few days at most. With Who’s Afraid? one of the most amazing aspects has been getting to meet people in person who are about to read the book, have just finished it for the first time or on their second or third reading. Getting to engage with readers and get nerdy is the absolute best, as that’s something I always loved doing with the authors I adored and I feel very fortunate to be on the other side of that. In Australia I’m almost exclusively invited to pop culture conventions where you get a large number of people who are all passionate about some form of fandom and you get to have some really great interactions.

Where did Tommi Grayson come from?

I’ve been wondering that for the past six years, honestly. Consciously, I have no idea: I was plotting a graphic novel at the time based on Egyptian mythology when Tommi Grayson strutted into my brain and refused to leave. Subconsciously, I’d say she’s an amalgamation of the women I grew up loving in pop culture: Lt Ripley, Uhura, Buffy, Scully, Huntress, Veronica Mars, Xena, Ardelia Mapp, She Hulk etc. Tommi in a lot of ways was a direct response to me getting frustrated with all the genre stories I was reading at the time which were being told by white, 15-year-old girls who could save the world while simultaneously negotiating the difficulties of a love triangle. In short, that felt like bullshit and I wanted a heroine – or anti-heroine, if you will – who felt real, which included her having flaws and complexities and werewolf claws for a few days of the month.

Who's Afraid covers a lot of ground. Did you scout out all the locations yourself - and more generally, do you do a lot of research?

The novel is set 70 per cent in Dundee, Scotland and 30 per cent in New Zealand and the locations will expand further as the series rolls out over five books. Who’s Afraid Too? – for instance – is set in Wigtown, Scotland and Berlin, Germany. For Who’s Afraid? though it was simply a case of doing my research. New Zealand is my home country and even though I’m from the South Island, I knew the North Island and Rotorua area well enough that I thought I could do it justice. Dundee was a different story: I spent a few months reading up on the history, going through census data and interviewing Dundonians living in Australia. Eventually for the final stages I flew over and lived in Dundee for three months, reworking the story and making tweaks to the first book and aligning sections for when the series continues.

Did your characters come to you before the plot or did the plot come to you first?

It wasn’t so much ‘characters’ as ‘character’: I had Tommi Grayson first, then I had to build everything else around her. That included the world, the mythology, the back-story and the friendships and relationships that define her. The plot and arcs came quite naturally after that.

How much control do you have over the characters? Did the book ever take completely unexpected turns?

Haha yes, well, sometimes I was a little surprised at my own brutality to be honest. I’ve had the series plotted for quite some time and have been working my way through it. So slowly as the books develop I’ve been able to return to particular chapters and moments and adjust them after thinking about it for a wee while and deciding that maybe that’s not something that particular character would do or perhaps it would be more like x instead of y.

What’s next? (More Tommi, I hope!)

Yes, I love that enthusiasm! Lots more Tommi! Like, tonnes of Tommi! Book two is done, dusted and about to be sent off to the printers within a matter of days and I’m excited for people to join the metaphorical wolf pack and go on the next journey with her. The Who’s Afraid? series is planned for five novels, so rest assured she’ll be back … and back and back and back.

Do you know in detail where the rest of the series is going? Or is it still fairly open?

I’m a little OCD to be honest, so everything but the fifth book is written. I’m currently going through and editing the fourth while on this UK book tour but the third had been delivered (pending editor notes, naturally). I’ve always had a solid skeleton for the books and known where it was going, and given the years I’ve had to work on this thing there have been elements that have evolved naturally or things I’ve been fortunate enough to change as I’ve decided a different solution might work better. Your debut novel is a tricky one, because you have to deliver a world and characters that are really going to punch readers in the gut and make them come back for more. Yet simultaneously you can’t overwhelm them with too many personalities or an info-dump of mythology and supernatural structures. It’s difficult for me in that regard because I want to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks, so I have to restrain myself and be more patient. That’s one of the reason I’ve enjoyed writing the sequels so much as it has given me the space and time to gradually expand the universe.

Any advice if I should meet a werewolf ever...?

Check your lunar cycles, make sure said meet up is not on a full moon and you should be mint. If it’s on the days leading up to the full moon it can’t hurt to have a raw, juicy steak with you as a diversionary tactic or a small country’s worth of sugary treats.

Finally, a question that isn't about the book. You're trapped in an abandoned lighthouse and the rescue party will take several days to reach you. You have plenty of food, and you can have one book with you. Which would it be?

I love this question and also hate it – one book? God damn it man. It would probably be the collected volumes of Brian K Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man as that’s a hefty tome and a brilliantly entertaining work that could keep me entertained until I’m screaming “WILSON!” at washed up sports balls on the island beach.

Thank you Maria for those insights into Who's Afraid and its world - best wishes with the publication and the rest of the series!

You can buy the book at your friendly local bookshop, or here, here or here.

Now, to add to the excitement we've a giveaway - courtesy of Maria's publishers, Piatkus all these lovely goodies are up for grabs:

For a chance to win, comment on this post or RT. (This is UK only I'm afraid). I'll pick a winner at random on Thursday evening, and the pack will come calling...

Who's Afraid

Image from www.littlebrown.co.uk

Who's Afraid
Maria Lewis
Piatkus, 14 July 2016
PB, 340pp
Source: Advance copy from the publisher

You'll want to get your teeth into this one....

Tommi Grayson is a young woman, living her life, having fun, working putting together exhibitions in the Dundee art world. When her mother dies, Tommi  decides to take a break and visit New Zealand, where she was born. She wants to investigate a side of her family she knows little about. She does know that there is a dark secret - and she wants to confront it. What she couldn't suspect is how bad things really are. The moon is nearly full, and the pack is ready.

I just loved this fresh take on the whole werewolf thing (OK, strictly that's a spoiler - but go on - that title? the blurb?).

Tommi's been brought up outside her clan - deliberately: her mother hoped she'd never turn. She's an ordinary girl. We probably don't need to fear Tommi going rogue. Probably.

But genes are genes. It's more of a concern that the Ihis - her estranged family - are determined to have her in their pack, and her unpleasant half brother Steven has no scruples about how he makes this happen: for him, a young female is there to be used as he wishes - mixing up both human and werewolf gender politics, this story makes no bones about the threat that faces Tommi.

But she's resourceful, and she acquires allies. What made the story for me was that aspect: not so much the fighting and the running, but the relationship between Tommi and the mysterious Lorcan. I was impressed how Lewis gets into Tommi's head and makes her so, so real. I mean, how would you feel if you suddenly discovered that you will transform for three days every full moon and can rip open a deer with your teeth? Tommi is conflicted, to say the least. She is guilty. She is scared of what she might do to those close to her. She is also afraid of the Ihis and of what they might want for her.

One of the strengths of this book is the way it operates on two levels - we have Tommi's werewolf self but also her closeknit group of friends. She continues to be a sociable young woman - on the outside - but what happens to her in New Zealand leaves scars, and not just physical ones. Tommi's preconceptions and relationships are turned upside down: it seems, in fact, that she'll have to grow up and that's actually a more scary prospect that the full moon, hair-and-claws thing.

It's a great read, not afraid to poke a bit of fun at its own urban fantasy genre in places (as when Tommi quizzes Lorcan about what sorts of monsters really exist, or when he admits to his true age), confident in handling both romance and gruesome, furious violence and with a truly engaging hero.

Bring on the next full moon, and the next book...

This review is part of the Who's Afraid blogtour - look out for the other stops coming up on the tour!

And don't forget the Q&A with Maria and the giveaway here.