Juno And The Lady by G J Kemp + Giveaway

Having received review copies of all four Acre Series novels and novellas while knowing hardly anything about G J Kemp's writing or the Acre world he has created, I was delighted to find that Juno And The Lady provides such a strong start to the series. While there is obviously a lot to learn about the town of Fairacre and Juno's exclusive boarding school up on  the cliffs above it, Kemp manages to seamlessly integrate this information into the narrative so I never felt as though the story was getting bogged down in too much detail. Indeed, the pace throughout is pretty thrilling with plenty of inspired twists that mean I could never assume that Juno's adventure would follow an obvious trajectory. There were a couple of early moments where I wondered if the continuity wasn't completely accurate, but these didn't impinge on my understanding or my enjoyment.

I appreciated seeing Juno's emotional maturity growing as the novel progresses. I imagine this arc will continue in further books and it gave her character a strongly authentic grounding which I always think is particularly important when a story is set in a fantasy world. My favourite character was Chloe, another young woman finding her place and her role while being one of a group of outsiders living beneath Fairacre's streets. I was impressed with Kemp's plausible portrayals of so many independent female characters, especially the acknowledgements of traditional sexism within Acre society which distinctly reflects our own world. That said, there is also plenty of humour in Juno And The Lady, twins Gem and Jen especially being fun to read about.

This first book does set the stage for the following series so there are plenty of narrative threads left open, but the novel did also feel like a complete story in its own right. I  loved the blend of magic and practicalities, the girls' rooftop and sewer viewpoints giving the book an unusual and memorable perspective. I'm very much looking forward to returning to Fairacre soon.