Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. Tom has lived history--performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life.

So Tom moves back to London, his old home, to become a high school history teacher--the perfect job for someone who has witnessed the city's history first hand. Better yet, a captivating French teacher at his school seems fascinated by him. But the Albatross Society, the secretive group which protects people like Tom, has one rule: never fall in love. As painful memories of his past and the erratic behaviour of the Society's watchful leader threaten to derail his new life and romance, the one thing he can't have just happens to be the one thing that might save him. Tom will have to decide once and for all whether to remain stuck in the past, or finally begin living in the present.

How to Stop Time is a bighearted, wildly original novel about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness.

REVIEW

There are many ways to explain how I felt while reading this book. I felt love, sadness, longing and anxiety, all wrapped up in 336 pages. Oddly enough, one of the main themes of this book is nostalgia and how our past memories can influence the character we become in our personal life story. There is no doubt that Matt designed a masterpiece that could leave any reader dramatically in love. The writing was extraordinary, a trait that dripped off of each page. Matt is one of the most poetic and beautiful writers I've read so far, which made this slow read much more entertaining. 

Tom was initially hard to relate to. Not because he was a grown man. I discovered a while later that Matt had truly created a character that you could just tell lived many lives, through many decades. He was an old soul, a person in love with how simple the world used to be and yet bared the scars to prove that he had truly felt pain during these simpler times. He felt loss and love throughout his life, experiences that ultimately influenced the man he grew up to be. 

Despite loving how deep this character went, I found myself steadily drifting off. Not because the writing hadn't intrigued me. Seriously, Matt Haig is a writer in it's truest form. But, there was so much living to read through. Tom had many interesting and influential memories that just had to be told. But, there were a few memories that honestly could have been left out. The storyline drifted from the point at times, which I could understand because I didn't see one specific point of this novel. 

The description and promotion for the book made it seem like a love story - an epic one at that. But, to be clear for future readers, this is not only a love story. In fact, the 'love' aspect of this story is subtle. It takes a backseat in many parts of the story, allowing the true story to shine. Tom is the story. His quest in life is to find his daughter but in a large way, I felt like Tom's story was about finally belonging. The world had changed, his family has been stripped away from him and he was an anomaly that was encouraged to hide his extraordinary ability. Yes, I understand the secrecy. You have to understand why he chose loneliness in-order to understand who Tom is. Loneliness had become him and as he dove into his past, he allowed us to see why he had become the man he is today. 

The ending took me by surprise because it was all neatly wrapped up in the space of a few chapters. I had walked miles with Tom by this point, which included love stories, famous meetings with great writers and lonely walks in the park with a lovable dog. I simply wanted all of this history and effort to matter in an extraordinary way. The writer clearly knew his history throughout this book, showing off his knowledge on almost every page. And this is why I wanted epic. I needed an epic ending. 

It's a slow read, one that deserves long rainy evenings with a good cup of something warm beside you. Tom might be a bit hard to relate to at first but settle in, let the creativity and pure talent of the writer take you away. 

Book was sent to me by Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

“I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting.” 

REVIEW 

Once the final chapters approached and the ultimate heist/devious plan was hatched, I realized that I had been holding my breath throughout the final part. I'm not sure I can accurately describe how brilliant, thoughtful and amazing this book was. I became a fan of Leigh Bardugo when I read Six of Crows, namely because of her stunning style of writing, her rich world-setting and the characters, who made the long nights and early mornings worth it. My heart was thoroughly pummeled as the pages stretched on and when I received Crooked Kingdom, I knew that I was in for a better adrenaline filled ride. Each chapter was filled to the brim with action-packed storylines, causing your heart rate to constantly bounce around.

There were moments I had to force myself to take a break because I couldn't handle the suspense and betrayal dripping off the pages. Everything was beautifully interconnected, something most writers fail to get the hang of. I've read books before that promise a storyline with backstabbing, betrayal and intrigue but Leigh was the first to get it right. I noticed her flare for plot twist in Six of Crows, which caused me to doubt everything in this final installment- something that added to the tension and I loved it. I loved that Crooked Kingdom was a BEAST and yet, it was everything I needed it to be. The betrayals and clever plans were genius but as always, Leigh wins me over with her characters.

Have you ever read books with characters that attach themselves to your heart and never leave? Well, it happened to me because WOW. Each character had a history, a past that formed them into the thugs and gang members they are today. Ketterdam isn't for the weak and to read about how each character ended up there was what this book needed. In Six of Crows, we got to know the characters and all their dark history. I realized, once I finished Crooked Kingdom, that the first installment was only grazing the surface. This time around, Leigh went deeper and explored everyone's weakness, dreams and aspirations. She managed to add layers to characters that were already interesting.

The infamous Kaz Brekker was undoubtedly my favourite. I know, too expected right? Usually the main character pales compared to the other characters but Kaz, and his heart-breaking history, kept dragging me back. This seemingly heartless boss was so much more than what he showed the world, with the exception of one brave and unrelenting powerhouse by the name of Inej. Part of me expected their romance to evolve but when I read the ending, I realized Leigh had taken the realistic approach. The mental, physical and psychological damage done to these two have embedded themselves into their very being and changing that in one book, for the sake of swoon worthy moments, would just be too much, too fast. Their pace was how it should have been and the ending was what this book deserved. 

“Crows remember human faces. They remember the people who feed them, who are kind to them. And the people who wrong them too. They don’t forget. They tell each other who to look after and who to watch out for.” 

It caused us to want more and need more but since this is the final book, we will eternally be left with that feeling of longing. I could not believe that this was the last time I would read anything about Kaz and all our beloved characters. I'll miss every single one of them but I'm content with the journey each of them are on. I would like to know more about Nina but I have a feeling we'll be reading about her soon in Leigh's next book, King of Scars, which takes everyone back to Ravka.

I haven't read the Grisha Trilogy and after Six of Crows, I knew I would attempt the famous trilogy but after Crooked Kingdom, I am more than ready to get back into this beautiful world.

Book was sent to me by Pan MacMillan Publishers in exchange for an honest review.