XXXXXXXXXX
A strange side effect of successful movies and TV is that their stars get frozen in our heads. We rewatch beloved blockbusters and box sets, where characters never age but the actors – like us – succumb to time passing. We’re powerless to resist ‘where are they now?’ style listicles, showing photos of once-youthful stars alongside their current selves. Reunion programmes for TV shows follow similarly, with an almost guaranteed audience eager for a complicated, heady mix of surprise and wistful nostalgia. Yet, as an audience becomes older, they also grow a little wiser. Unlike images, seeing now-older stars discuss events in hindsight can turn black-and-white fact into murky and confusing grey. This is the premise behind Caitlin Devlin’s debut The Real Deal : Belle Simon, once the star of a reality show set in a Brit School style talent academy, is approached for a reunion with her classmates 13 years after the show ended in controversial circumstances. The action jumps between now and then, as Belle wrestles with taking part in the show and setting the record straight. Meanwhile, young Belle enters the academy, plucked from obscurity by megastar Donna Mayfair, and begins training under her hesitant mother’s watchful gaze. Belle and her friends become overnight sensations, but with producers adjusting the content of every scene and cutting reactions to fit storylines, does anyone know the truth of what happened back then – even Belle herself? An enjoyably diverting read for any lover of reality TV – one worth adding to your to-read pile for the summer months. THE REAL DEAL BY CAITLIN DEVLIN
House of Flame and Shadow This review will be a little unusual because, if you’ve not heard of the immediate global bestseller House of Flame and Shadow ( HOFAS ), I’d advise against reading it. Resist that glossy foiled cover, the frenzy of #BookTok posts and those long reads on ‘romantasy’, alongside Maas’s domination of bookseller charts. If you’re curious about it, I’m going to point you toward another of Maas’s novels from an entirely different series. You’ll need a copy of A Court of Thorns and Roses , first published in 2015. That’s your ticket into the Maas-verse, and you can thank me later – 16 books later to be precise, which is when you’ll finally be ready to read this newest novel. Don’t worry, you won’t be alone on this journey; sales of Maas’s back catalogue rose 79% last year, while readers increasingly discovered the magic of her writing. Despite debate about the correct order to read her books, leaving the Crescent City series (of which this newest is the final part) for last ensures the most satisfying surprises. It’s difficult to say much about its story without spoilers – but, as expected, HOFAS picks up after the second book. It follows irresistible, pink-trainer-wearing hero Bryce Quinlan and her companions on their quest to right the wrongs committed against their world. If you know about this book, you almost certainly had it on pre-order and probably already finished it. This much-anticipated novel immediately shot to the top of bestseller lists and will no doubt stay there for some time. Of course, there’s a chance it may not click; you might be completely turned off by the entire idea of the genre, and Maas’s work is admittedly not without issues. But, if you do fall under her spell, there’s no going back. These books are a true delight and a total escape from reality, making you feel like a teenager reading late into the night, desperate to find out what happens next. Welcome to the Maas-verse; you’re one of us now. BY SARAH J. MAAS
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK MARCH 2024 25
Powered by FlippingBook