TL DR: A brilliant story that is filled with mystery and beautiful world building and is also inclusive of disabilities.I once heard a classical musician being interviewed. She studied English at Oxford University and now lives in Oxford, England. The Authorįrances Hardinge spent her childhood in a huge, isolated old house in a small, strange village, and the two things inspired her to write strange, magical stories from an early age.

But given the fact that there were quite a lot of loose ends to tie up, I think that the author did a brilliant job of not creating a ‘cliff hanger’ ending just to earn a sequel to it as we see in new books nowadays. The ‘thriller’ part of the story felt a bit too long and predictable towards the end. Of all the books that are touted as being good advocates for mental health, I think this one came very close to being relatable even though it was fantasy. It was very real in descriptions of PTSD and childhood trauma. It talks of the necessity to walk away from unhealthy relationships and manipulative behaviour. I was glad to see that it addressed co-dependence in relationships and of the pressure to please someone else in a friendship at the cost of your self-confidence. The book talks of friendship and growth in relationships in a very healthy manner. They had developed an exclusive community that celebrates their difference rather than hides it much like the deaf community in our world where being deaf is not considered a disability. Their loss of hearing was seen as a badge of honor. But with Deeplight, people with disability were an integral part of the story. However, of late I’ve noticed that authors add gay characters or people of color just to cater to the audience even if the story does not warrant it. The perfect holiday read for that end-of-the-year feeling. It was warm and cozy while being thrilling and mysterious. This was to be my last book of 2019 and I wanted it to be something special. They are scavengers: living off their wits, diving for relics of the gods, desperate for anything they can sell.īut now there is something restless stirring beneath the waves, calling to someone brave enough to retrieve it. “ On the jumbled streets of the island of Lady’s Crave live Hark and his best friend Jelt.

I read it as a part of the PanMacIndiaYAReadathon hosted by Pan Macmillan India and it was brilliant! It was such a pretty cover that I fell in love with the book even before I began reading it. I received Deeplight in the Secret Santa organised by The Big Book Box. This year I took part in four separate Secret Santa gift swaps.

The lost conspiracy frances hardinge