At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.

But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.

And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.

With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn protectors–turns her world upside down.

Review

The Notorious Virtues is the first in an all new YA fantasy series from Alwyn Hamilton. The story follows two young women who must compete in a competition to decide who will be the heir to their family. The Holtzfalls own everything, they are the most wealthy and magically gifted family in the country. Nora always thought she would inherit after her mother, but when her mother is found murdered, Nora must compete against her cousins for the chance to inherit, while also trying to uncover the truth about her mother’s murder. Meanwhile, Lotte has spent most of her life living in a Convent, only to discover she’s actually a Holtzfall. Lotte is suddenly thrust into a new world of glitz and glamour but most of her family want her dead. Will Lotte and Nora be able to survive this deadly game and uncover the truth behind their family?

I read Alwyn Hamilton’s Rebel of the Sands series a long time ago and absolutely loved it. It remains to this day one of my favourite YA fantasy series so I was incredibly excited to pick up The Notorious Virtues and I must say, this has got to be one of the most addictive, compelling stories I have read in a long time. I ended up reading this till the wee hours of the morning and had to force myself to put it down to get some sleep.

Hamilton’s writing is beautiful and engaging and she has created such a fascinating world in this story. I loved the glamour and the decadence, it felt very 1920’s New York with magic. The story is quite quick paced, full of twists and turns and there’s plenty of tense, edge of your seat moments. The world-building was excellent in this story, everything felt incredibly detailed and I found the magic fascinating. There’s a bit of everything from mind reading to weather magic.  There are quite a lot of moving parts to this story and I think Hamilton did a brilliant job weaving all the narratives together. There’s family drama, a murder mystery, a competition and a spot of romance. This story definitely has something for everyone and I cannot wait to see where the story goes in book two.

Hamilton’s characters are well crafted in this book and I loved both Nora and Lotte. Nora might look like the spoiled heiress on the surface but she’s so much more than meets the eye. I really liked the banter between Nora and August and I thought their dynamic was excellent. The story focuses on four different POV characters – Nora, Lotte, August and Theo. I thought they were all really well developed and each character’s story arc felt very compelling.

Overall The Notorious Virtues is a gripping, unforgettable fantasy tale, one that will have you gripped right till the very last page. If you’re looking for a story that’s unique, full to the brim with magic, mystery, conflict and rebellion, you absolutely don’t want to miss this one. It will absolutely be on my favourite books of 2025 list.

They looked into the darkness and the darkness looked back . . .

New planets are fair game to asset strippers and interplanetary opportunists – and a commercial mission to a distant star system discovers a moon that is pitch black, but alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is anathema to human life, but ripe for exploitation. They named it Shroud.

Under no circumstances should a human end up on Shroud’s inhospitable surface. Except a catastrophic accident sees Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne doing just that. Forced to stage an emergency landing, in a small, barely adequate vehicle, they are unable to contact their ship and are running out of time. What follows is a gruelling journey across land, sea and air. During this time, Juna and Mai begin to understand Shroud’s dominant species. It also begins to understand them . . .

If they escape Shroud, they’ll face a crew only interested in profiteering from this extraordinary world. They’ll somehow have to explain the impossible and translate the incredible. That is, if they make it back at all.

Review

Shroud is the newest release from Children of Time author Adrian Tchaikovsky. The story follows a group of people on a mission to find planets they can use for assets and make a profit from. When they find a remote moon that seems promising, they name it Shroud and start to gather data. The surface is inhospitable and all research is done from the ship, however when an accident leads Juna and Ste Etienne stuck on Shroud, they face a horrifying journey across Shroud’s surface to find safety. As they attempt to find safety they meet those that call Shroud home and start to realise there is much more to these creatures than meets the eye.

This is my fourth book from Adrian Tchaikovsky and I could not put it down. This was such an intense, compelling tale. It has such an intriguing premise and I was captivated from the outset. Tchaikovsky does an incredible job of bringing this strange alien world and strange alien creatures to life. It all felt incredibly vivid and well crafted. I thought I knew where the story was going to go but Tchaikovsky took the story in directions I didn’t expect. I also really liked that not only do we get the point of view of Juna and Ste Etienne, but also we see things from the perspective of those that live on Shroud.

The story focuses very much on our two main characters and given they are stuck in a confined vehicle for a large portion of the story, it was fascinating to see the dynamics at play between Juna and Ste Etienne, particularly as they continue to battle such difficult conditions on Shroud. This is an expertly crafted science-fiction story that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. If you’re looking for a gripping, thought-provoking alien encounter story, Shroud should definitely be your next read.