Nicola Marsh

Banish is Nicola Marsh's début YA novel, a who-done-it mystery combined with Wiccan supernatural elements that kept me engaged and amused throughout. I liked the novel a lot, and although I think the story is perfect on its own, wouldn't mind a follow-up book or two!

The YA aspect of the novel is handled very well, in my opinion, with the protagonist, Alyssa, painted as a mature, fiercely independent young woman who didn't have the best parental support growing up. Now living with her show more maternal aunt, she's trying to make a normal life for herself and get over the death of her ex-boyfriend. However, coming from a family that believes in Wicca and the supernatural, and not believing any of it herself, Alyssa's hard pressed to figure out who she is. It's this struggle for a sense of self that I found the most intriguing about her, and I identified with her in a lot of ways: she won't let anyone get in her way, and is infuriating and stubborn at times!

I think the book is somewhat let down by the murder-mystery aspect - it's painfully obvious who the perpetrator is from about half way, after which we get treated to Alyssa turning a blind eye to the clues, until the climax where she's confronted with the facts. It wasn't particularly surprising, but I did find that the motivation of the 'enemy' to be very interesting, and it was cool to see the pieces slowly come together.

My favourite aspect of the novel is definitely the romance - simply because the whole 'oh there's a cute guy' and 'omg he looked at me / touched me briefly' stages have firmly passed by the time the novel begins. Ronan and Alyssa clearly have feelings towards one another, and begin to explore them early on, which is awesome, because I'm sick of the formulaic way YA protagonists go about falling in love these days. And no love triangle (although I was, briefly, very afraid there would be one). Perhaps some readers will dislike the book because of the way the romance is handled, preferring to witness the butterflies in the tummy and rushing heat propagating out from where they touch, and all that, but I loved it!

I really like YA novels inspired by Wicca and witches, but inevitably end up comparing them to my personal favourites, Cate Tiernan's Wicca (or Sweep in the US), series. I think Banish does an admirable job of living up to this standard, although I would have loved for the supernatural aspect to be explained more in-depth. There are terms thrown around fairly carelessly and the implications of Alyssa's supernatural journey are left too open-ended for my liking.

I recommend Banish to readers who are looking for a read that combines light-hearted humour with mystery and a hint of the supernatural. I really enjoyed it, and will be looking out for more of Nicola's books in the future.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. show less

After a horrible break-up last year, Harper Ryland has been in a self-imposed man ban. That breakup, coupled with her parents' surprising separation, brought on a terrible case of vitiligo due to all the stress. She's decided to focus on growing her Food Styling business. Her best friend's wedding presents a perfect opportunity to showcase her work (and hopefully gain a few clients), that is until the best man Manish Gomes makes some very disparaging remarks about the food placement. Harper show more isn't one to let that kind of thing slide and embarrasses Manny in a very fitting way.

When Harper and Manny run into each other at a hotel in Auckland (she on a job, he at a conference), they continue to butt heads. When Manny helps Harper out of a sticky situation, they both realize that they work well together and they begrudgingly admit they like each other. Neither of them is looking for anything serious or permanent, but how do you keep things casual when you connect with someone on another level?

Manny was a standout character from the first book. I loved his humor and his friendship with Samira in [book:The Boy Toy|51631162]. I was very happy when we learned that Manny would get his own story. I liked the depth we got to his character. There's more to him than being the carefree good-looking doctor. But I still felt like he kind of play second fiddle to Harper (whom I don't remember if we met her in the previous book or not).

I really loved Harper right from the start. The moments seeing her determination and how she would stand up for herself, were some of the best. Within the banter between Harper and Manny you could see their spark and connection. I wished we had gotten the same strong-willed Harper when she was dealing with her parents. They pull her into the middle of their separation, then tell her it's none of her business what is going on between them. I understand feeling that divide between parent and child, but Harper is a grown woman. I don't think it helps that she hides her vitiligo condition from them when the stress of their separation contributed to the flare up in the first place.

Manny is also dealing with difficult family. His in the form of his grandmother Izzy who would love to see Manny married before she dies to a nice Indian woman despite Manny's strong stance that he never intends to marry. Izzy was a complicated character for me. I know why she wants to see Manny settled, but there was just something about how much she pushed that did not endear her to me.

At the center of everything though is Manny and Harper and I loved them together. These seemingly different people who wind up having more in common than they thought. The person who just gets you and makes you rethink your plans. The fact that it's ok to change those plans.

Overall, another good read from Nicola Marsh. I wouldn't mind getting another story in this same bookworld. Samira and Harper's friend Pia would be an interesting choice. Although most of her story with her husband happens off page. I think a prequel book would work nicely (hint hint please!) show less

Samira is returning to her childhood home in Australia after being away for five years. She's already preparing for the barrage of questions from her mother about her relationship status. She'll be surprised if her mother hasn't already been matchmaking in anticipation of Samira's return.

It's one of the reasons, after her failed marriage twelve years prior, that Samira left Australia for LA to start her own physical therapy practice. Samira has grown used to living her life on her own terms, show more her own timeline. But she has agreed to help her cousin, Pia, with her startup clinic. So Samira is back for six months and already dreading the confrontation with her mother that she knows is coming.

Pia suggests a casual fling will ease her stress. Samira is fully against it, until she meets Rory.

Rory has been working as a stuntman as a way to make money, but also as a way to keep from having to reveal his stutter. It's something he's had to work around his entire life, and also something that holds an immense amount of shame for him. But when the opportunity to audition as the host of a new reality show is given to him, he's nervous that someone will finally catch on about his stutter, but he could also use the money to help others that are dealing with the same thing. The night he meets Samira he's just trying to work off the nerves he's built up over his audition.

Neither Samira or Rory are thinking of starting anything serious. But they'll both learn that sometimes the best things aren't the things you plan.

I'll admit I was initially drawn into this story about an older woman and a younger love interest. I thought that would be the main focus of the book. I wasn't prepared for everything else that Nicola Marsh throws into the story, but it was a lovely surprise. There's a lot packed in here, but I think that Nicola Marsh handles everything really well. It doesn't feel too packed. I think of it along the lines of, people do not just deal with one thing at a time, we're multi-taskers if nothing else, contending with different things from all aspects of our lives. Sometimes those aspects intersect as is the case with Samira's relationship status being connected with her failed marriage which crosses with her overall relationship with her mother and the connections to what is traditional in the Indian community.

And sometimes are issues run parallel with each other such as with Rory's lifelong struggle with his stutter, but also the fact that he doesn't have a great relationship with his father since his mother left them when Rory was really young. The point being, we're always dealing with something, even the small things. It's part of what makes us who we are, part of what informs our lives.

I really liked the comparison between Rory and Samira's different (yet very similar) relationships with their parents. Both have single parents, both have trouble communicating with that parent. This was a very singular journey for each of the characters. I loved when they separately cleared the air with their respective parent, when they saw things from the other perspective.

If anything I thought there could have been just a bit more focus placed on Rory and Samira together. I felt like it was more of an individual journey they each had to complete in order to come together, which was great, but didn't leave as much time to focus on what makes their relationship click.

Although maybe that, in itself, is the answer, non-answer. When someone's right for you they're just right. There's very little explanation needed.

Overall, an impressive read that shines the light on many topics. I know there will be another book featuring a secondary character (as told to us in the sneak peek at the end), there are definitely a couple of characters that a I feel deserve their own HEA so I hope Nicola Marsh gets around to everyone in due time. show less

Excellent Case Study In Storytelling. Over the last month, I've read all three of the books Marsh is releasing (from three different publishers) over the course of six weeks from early October 2020 through mid November 2020 (when this, the last of the books in this "series", releases). And each has been dramatically different from the last, which speaks to Marsh's true skill as a storyteller. Second Chance Lane, the first of the series, was a Hallmarkie romance. My Sister's Keeper, the show more second, was a weaving, winding, soap opera of a tale that my wife says would work well as a Lifetime Movie.

And here, with The Boy Toy, we get arguably the most cinematic of the three books, in the vein of a multicultural Knocked Up / Hundred Foot Journey. We get an older lead female. We get a look at various facets of Indian culture (that as my friend Ritu says in her own review, many of Western cultures won't be as familiar with - more on that momentarily). We get a more-balanced-than-usual look at the struggles of infertility as it relates to those who actually want children. (Vs childfree people like me that *don't* want children and thus infertility is actually a blessing of sorts.) We get an age-gap *ish* romance with the *female* being the older person in the couple.

And yes, we get sex. A lot of it. And all over the place, beginning as little as 10% into the book. If you're looking for a "clean" / "sweet" romance... you're not gonna want this one. ;) Similarly, getting back to the cultural issues... Marsh does a good job of not hiding at least one Indian equivalent of what I call "Talibaptists" in the US. She does a great job of showing the pressure they can wield socially and the damage it can wreak, and she doesn't shy away from this aspect at all - instead giving a solid example of how to overcome it. Every culture has these types, sadly, but Marsh shows them in depths not often explored, particularly in a romantic comedy, and again - shows her strength as a storyteller in doing so.

Ultimately though, this is a fun and funny romantic comedy that hits all the right notes, discusses some heavy topics, but leaves you satisfied in every way text on some surface can. Very much recommended. show less