Laura Lam | Books and travelling with Lynn

Goldilocks by Laura Lam

Posted On 4 May 2020

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Goldilocks, Laura Lam

Goldilocks is my first book by Laura Lam and I have to say I enjoyed it although it was quite different than I expected and I did have a few issues.

This is s story set in the near future when the earth is on the brink of giving up. Yes, humans have finally ruined the planet and in fact we’ve found another planet that is inhabitable. Plans are in place, spaceships built and teams assembled but when the mission eventually launches it’s with a rogue crew on board. Five women have stolen the spacecraft destined for adventure and are about to embark on a groundbreaking journey, albeit with the threat of imprisonment looming (although not looming too closely given where they’re heading to). As the spacecraft heads into deepest space however things begin to fracture a little and the small team begin to realise that something much bigger is taking place.

I won’t go further into the plot as there are a couple of twists here that are best discovered during the read.

What I really enjoyed about Goldilocks was that it comes across as strangely prophetic. By taking certain things and exaggerating them only slightly elements of the story have a very real and quite ominous feel. Climate change is the biggest threat with raging forest fires, unclean atmosphere that makes wearing face masks a permanent necessity and a strange denial by the masses to accept the situation and make changes even in the face of such overwhelming evidence.

Oddly enough although science has made leaps and bounds women’s equality has taken a step backwards with women finding themselves with greater restrictions on their freedom. Valerie Black is a rich and ambitious woman who has long held onto a dream and is determined to succeed at any cost. She has assembled an all female crew and masterminded a plan to steal a spaceship and travel to the distant planet of Cavendish situated in the Goldilocks zone.

The two main characters here are Valerie and Naomi Lovelace. Valerie became Naomi’s guardian after her own mother died . The two have not always seen eye to eye but their hopes for this mission have reunited them and helped them to put their past differences aside. Naomi is the botanist aboard the ship. It’s her job to grow plants that will sustain the women during their journey and also eventually become their source of food once they arrive.

I enjoyed the author’s style of writing and thought she managed to paint the two main characters very strongly, although the surrounding characters did suffer a little by comparison. I also found myself really enjoying the parts of the story once the crew had set off into deepest space.

My main issue with the story is that it lacked tension somehow. I can’t really put my finger on why or how because to be honest I had no problem reading this, there was never a point that I wanted to give up and I was keen to see how everything panned out. But, I wouldn’t say I was on the edge of my seat whilst reading. Perhaps it boils down to certain elements of the story being too reflective of the current world crisis or my own lack of concentration but for some reason I never fully engaged with the characters.

That being said, this is a very easy book to read and I really enjoyed certain aspects of the world building like the politics and scheming and I would definitely be keen to read more by this author.

My rating 3.5 of 5 stars.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, or which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Friday Face Off : ‘…Christine, who have torn off my mask and who therefore can never leave me again!

Posted On 10 August 2018

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books by Proxy, Friday Face off, Laura Lam, Pantomime

Comments Dropped 31 responses

Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers. The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book, compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future week’s themes are listed below – the list has been updated to help out those of you who like to plan ahead – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme. This week’s theme:

‘…Christine, who have torn off my mask and who therefore can never leave me again! – A cover with a mask

I had three books in mind for the theme this week but they didn’t work out – hopefully everyone has had an easier time this week than I did. As it happens I’ve gone for a book that I own but haven’t yet read: Pantomime (Micah Grey #1) by Laura Lam.

My covers:

I’m not overly in love with either cover but in keeping with the week’s theme I’ve chosen:

Panto1

Which is your favourite?

Next week – a cover featuring a door ajar (or closed)

Future themes: (if you’re struggling with any of these themes then use a ‘freebie’ of one of your favourite covers)

17th August – ‘Knock, knock… ‘who’s there?’ – A cover featuring a door ajar or closed

24th August – ‘To be a legend, you’ve either got to be dead, or excessively old!’ – A cover with a title featuring the word ‘legend’

31st August – ‘“Come buy our orchard fruits, Come buy, come buy’ – A cover featuring a goblin or dwarves

7th September – ‘Mirror, Mirror on the wall – A cover featuring a queen

14th September – “He had killed man, the noblest game of all, and he had killed in the face of the law of club and fang.” – A cover featuring a wolf or wolves

21st September – ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ – a cover featuring clouds

28th September – Eyes wide shut – a cover featuring eyes

5th October – “He sounded like a man who had slept well and didn’t owe too much money.” – A cover that is ‘noir’

12th October – “The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances.” – A cover for a mystery novel

19th October -“If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear!” – A horror cover

26th October – Trick or treat – A halloween inspired cover

2nd November – ‘Remember, remember the fifth of November,’ – A cover inspired by Bonfire Night

9th November – ‘All right! They’re spiders from Mars! You happy?’ – A cover feturing a critter of the eight legged variety

16th November – There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.’ – A scary cover

23rd November – ‘The child is in love with a human. And not just any human. A prince!’ – A cover featuring a mermaid/man

30th November – “..the children of the night. What music they make!” – a cover with a vampire

7th December – ‘I am Aragorn son of Arathorn; and if by life or death I can save you, I will.’ – A cover featuring a hero

14th December -“Heavy is the head that wears the crown” – A cover featuring a crown

21st December – ‘ho, ho, ho’ – A seasonal cover

28th December – A freebie – choose one of your favourite titles and compare the covers

2019

4th January – A cover that is fresh – New beginnings for a New Year

11th January – ‘I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king’ – A cover that depicts a novel set in the Tudor period

18th January – A cover featuring an Amulet – either in the cover or title

25th January – ‘Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.’ – A cover featuring a monk/priest/person of the cloth

1st February – A comedy cover

8th February – ‘Hi little cub. Oh no, don’t be ssscared.’ – A cover with snakes

15th February – A heart – for Valentine’s day past

22nd February – “Woe, destruction, ruin, and decay; the worst is death and death will have his day.” – A cover with abandoned building/s

1st March – ‘who will buy this wonderful morning’ – A cover featuring a shop or market

8th March – ‘Two little fishes and a momma fishy too’ – A cover featuring a fish/fishes or other sea creatures

15th March – ‘Beware the moon, lads.’ – A cover with a shapeshifter

22nd March – ‘A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse’ – A cover featuring a king

29th March – “I thought unicorns were more . . . Fluffy.” – A cover featuring a unicorn

5th April – ‘nomad is an island’ – A cover featuring a desert landscape

12th April – ‘Odin, Odin, send the wind to turn the tide – A cover featuring a longboat

19th april – ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – A cover featuring a school

‘In my heart of hearts’

Posted On 29 September 2017

Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books by Proxy, False Hearts, Friday Face off, Laura Lam

Comments Dropped 14 responses

Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady – a cover featuring a heart

I struggled this week – I had two books in mind but they didn’t have alternate covers so I’ve gone for a book that I currently own but haven’t yet read – this can be my incentive to get into gear: False Heart by Laura Lam:

My favourite(s) this week? Well, I’m a little bit ambivalent about these covers. I’ve gone for the fourth one which I like but I can’t help feeling the title isn’t very easy to spot:

false1