4.5 stars

SKIPSHOCK is a stunning sci-fi full of multiple worlds where time is different.

I loved the world of this novel, or rather worlds. They are a series of stacked worlds arranged in a dual axes of time and temperature. It was such a clever concept that had been so clearly thought through. What does it mean if there are only two hours in a day in some worlds and twenty in others? What does this do for wealth disparity and economy? How do you use that to control others? It's fascinating and I loved being able to see a variety of worlds.

The way the worlds were organised - dual axes description of temperature and time - was also such a nice, instinctive way of understanding how they related to one another. Go north, and the days get shorter. Go east and they get hotter.

Against this, we have a romantasy (what's the sci-fi equivalent?) about people from very different worlds and outlooks learning to trust each other and work together to survive and maybe start thinking about fighting back. Moon knows this world but his experience compared to her naivety is balanced by the weight he's carrying - secrets and guilt - that stop him really engaging with the worlds or people. While Margo has the willingness to make friends and connections.

I liked that we saw both of their perspectives and that they had such different narrative styles - Moon was told through first person present tense while Margo was third person past. This meant you could immediately work out who was talking even without the chapter titles and alternating structure.

I am assuming this is the first book in a series given it very much ends on a cliffhanger with a big reveal. I am hoping this is right because this was such a fun book and world.

Skipshock is a fantastic YA sci-fi that is completely unique and unlike anything I have read recently. The book is extremely well written with really wonderful world building and characters. It follows 16 year old Margo who is sent to boarding school but something happens on her train journey there and she finds herself in another world where she meets Moon a time travelling salesman. Together they must find a way to figure out how this happened and how to get Margo home. I loved the details in this book and the world building was brilliant. There were lots of plot points which were weaved into the story effortlessly and slowly came together as the story developed and I'm sure I would spot more in a reread! Overall this a unique and refreshing read. It ends quite the cliff-hanger and I am eagerly awaiting for when I will be able to re-join these characters and their worlds.

4⭐

Set in a universe where time is key to power and privilege, this dazzlingly inventive, genre-defying fantasy romance is the first in a duology by best-selling author Caroline O’Donoghue.

The world-building and lore is very immersive and well developed. The little tidbits of information and clues were sprinkled throughout the book so subtle that I didn't realise they were plot twists brewing.

I loved the multiple POVs, but steady writing style. Nothing was flowery, but it had beautiful prose, well-placed. Meaningful language.

Overall, it was an immersive fantasy experience with so many emotional moments and sizzling romance. I cannot wait for the next book!

I wish that there were a "maybe" for the question about whether we would like to use the book in our courses. This is a huge " maybe". It is exceptionally well-written and it pulls me in right from the start with its exquisite writing and world-building. But the world is so different from the world we live in ( which is understandable as it is supposed to be like that) and from anything I have ever read ( which is a fantabulous thing) that I sometimes struggle to comprehend what exactly is going on at first. Yet it is precisely those questions whirling in my head that intrigued me and kept me reading. I wonder if my students will be able to comprehend this. Maybe after a few more years when they are in KS 4, I will use this.

It is a fantastic book, easily one of the best I have read lately.

I love anything Caroline O'Donoghue writes, and it's easy to drop everything to read her latest when she manages to up her game with each new book she publishes. Her latest, an epic sci fi romance for young adults, is out in June from @walkerbooksuk, and is set across a range of different worlds connected by train, on which Irish teenager Margo accidentally finds herself while on the way to boarding school.

Margo meets Moon, a travelling salesman who looks like her could be her age, but is world weary and suffering from Skipshock, a condition brought on by frequent travel between worlds. In this novel, worlds are measured by the amount of hours in a day, and while privileged Southerners have something closer to the 24 hours we take for granted, those in the North age rapidly in days as short as 2 hours each.

Margo soon realises she's in danger of a lot more than aging quickly, and while Moon may be her only hope to get home, can she trust someone with so much to lose?

TI've loved O'Donoghue's work from her first novel is the scale of her ambition, and I think in recent years she's really hit her stride, but keeps moving the bar higher for herself. This is definitely her most complex work to date, both in the premise of the book and what she does with it, but it's a really engrossing and entertaining read, rather than a book that feels bogged down by detail.

It's a book about time travel, I guess, but it's really a book about bodies, and aging, and those with the privilege of time. I thought about young people around the world forced by their geographies or particular circumstances forced to grow up too fast, and those who get to remain innocent of these struggles. I thought a lot about the idea of biological clocks too, and mortality and how our lifespans as well as overall health so closely depend on forces outside of our control.

I also swooned a surprising amount at a tattoo scene - this is a romance for the girlies who love LONGING.

There's just so much to think about with this novel, so I'm glad that it's clearly intended to be part of a series, but I'm absolutely raging that I can't just keep reading more about Margo and Moon now!

Thank you Walker Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was my first book from Caroline O'Donoghue and I did not dive into this book with any expectations but it blew my mind in the best possible way! The first half of the book and the beginning was lagging but other than that, i felt the narrative and writing style was strong as soon as the 25% mark was hit.

The world-building must be the most beautiful part of this book. It's so immersive and compelling that you wouldn't want to stop reading the book at all. The prose is lyrical and descriptions are vivid all throughout!

Moon and Margo are interesting characters to read about. Their backstories and character arcs are compelling to read about!

I cannot wait for the next book after that criminal cliffhanger!

Unfortunately cannot review this due to downloading problems but I can’t wait to read this and it’s an Irish author!! Bonus

unable to read due to download issues so will be waiting until release date. Very excited for this as the story sounds amazing and have heard nothing but good things about Caroline's writing!

Skipshock by Caroline O'Donoghue was such a great story. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.