Orphaned science nerd and maths prodigy Alice Valentine wants to ace her studies. She’s spent all her life struggling to make friends, passed between foster families and care homes, isolated and lonely. Losing herself in academia from an early age, she becomes the first sixteen-year-old at her local university. Her whole world changes, but nothing can prepare Alice for the night she’s attacked by a werewolf.
Welcome to one of the November 25th stops on the blog tour for The Arcane by Andrew S. French with Rachel’s Random Resources. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights and more reviews!
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About the Book
The Arcane
by Andrew S. French
Published 31 October 2021
Neonoir Books
Genre: YA Supernatural Thriller
Page Count: 232
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Orphaned science nerd and maths prodigy Alice Valentine wants to ace her studies. She’s spent all her life struggling to make friends, passed between foster families and care homes, isolated and lonely. Losing herself in academia from an early age, she becomes the first sixteen-year-old at her local university. Her whole world changes, but nothing can prepare Alice for the night she’s attacked by a werewolf.
But even that isn’t as strange as discovering she has an identical twin sister, Cassie.
And Cassie kills werewolves. And all the other monsters Alice didn’t believe existed.
Alice and Cassie set off to discover what happened to their parents, a journey that takes them from northern England to the edge of the apocalypse, unsure if they will save the world or destroy it.
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My Review
My Rating: 4 Stars
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I was granted complimentary access to The Arcane by Andrew S. French as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Rachel’s Random Resources. Thank you to all involved for affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.
The Arcane is the story of “maybe sisters” Alice and Cassie and their zero-to-sixty introduction to one another that involves the fighting and killing of a lot of werewolves. Yes, werewolves. Early college student and orphan who has bounced through the system Alice was just settling in at her new dorm and trying to make friends amongst her classmates when a monster attacks and her doppelganger shows up to save the evening. Who is she? Who is Alice, even? Supernatural creatures exist? It’s all too much for Alice, but she doesn’t have a choice.
I absolutely loved Alice and Cassie as individuals and as a maybe-sister duo. Their dynamic feels so genuine and I love their banter. They might not see it for themselves, but they click so quickly! I also really enjoyed the world-building in this book. This flavour of urban fantasy is right up my alley! I loved Alice’s stubborn attempts to scientifically explain it all and Cassie’s eye-rolling dismissal of every “anything-but-supernatural” excuse Alice can come up with.
My stumbling point is the pacing. Somewhere around the 65% mark it picked up a lot and felt a little too chaotic and rushed. That doesn’t deter me from looking forward to a sequel, I absolutely want to read a sequel, but when Alexa’s voice on my Kindle started reading the “ending credits” data at the back of the book I found myself wondering if I should back-track and listen to the last few chapters again in case I missed something because it went by too fast.
About the Author
Andrew French is a man of no wealth and little taste. He lives amongst faded seaside glamour on the North East coast of England. He likes gin and cats but not together, new music and old movies, curry and ice cream. Slow bike rides and long walks to the pub are his usual exercise, as well as flicking through the pages of good books and the memoirs of bad people.
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