Unapologetic Reviews

I read Child X by Jamie Mustard for the 2026 PopSugar Reading Challenge, for prompt number 36 “A book about a mob (fiction or nonfiction)”. I interpreted “mob” more loosely here, as a high control group rather than organised crime. Though honestly, when it comes to Scientology, the book could fit the original intent of the prompt as well. This book is Jamie Mustard’s memoir about being born into Scientology and eventually leaving the movement at nineteen. I ended up feeling quite ambivalent about it, because there were parts I genuinely loved, and parts that I found frustrating. One of the strongest aspects of the book is just how intelligent it feels. Mustard constantly references history, literature, films, music, philosophy, and cultural events. The narration itself is also extremely sharp. His use of language is thoughtful and deliberate, and there is a real sense that this is somebody who thinks deeply about everything around him. Even ordinary moments are layered with associatio...

I received an ARC of Bloodstone by M.K. Deoradhán from the author in exchange for an honest review. I’m giving it three stars. I enjoyed the story, but there were enough issues that kept pulling me out of it. The novel follows Mel Hawkins, a 22-year-old American archaeologist, in 1936. It opens in Egypt and then moves through places, mainly in Italy. The premise is strong, and the beginning reflects that. There is no slow introduction. Things start happening immediately. You are dropped into movement, danger, and decisions from the first pages, and that sense of constant forward motion continues throughout the book. This is an adventure that keeps going. Mel is a first person present tense narrator, so we are fully inside her head at all times. That becomes one of the book’s biggest weaknesses. She constantly revisits earlier events, repeating what has already happened. It feels like the story does not trust the reader to remember. During action scenes, this becomes especially frustra...