I bought the book based on the blurb thinking I had an idea of what the story was about. Well...I wasn't entirely wrong but had I known it was partly about a race of giant, intelligent spiders I probably wouldn't have picked it up because a) I really can't stand the beasts and b) it would have sounded too ridiculous for my taste. However, I started to read it and once I realised what was going on I somehow wanted to find it silly but I couldn't, I got entirely drawn in. The civilisation building was amazing - I'm always in awe of someone who can imagine something like that. It did drag a little in places but I think that was just because I wanted to find out what was going to happen. When it came to the show-down I couldn't decide who I wanted to win. It felt like a mixture of Doctor Who's Planet of the Spiders mixed with The Face of Evil episodes (yes, I am a Doctor Who fan) add some Rama to it and finish it all off with Kim Stanley Robinson's Aurora and still it had a flavour all of its own. Fantastic!

This book blew me out of the water! There are so many things I can say about it but I don’t even know where to begin. I downloaded it on a whim and ended up staying up the entire night because I couldn't put it down. The closest thing I can think of to compare it to is the movie Red with Bruce Willis. Monk is very gifted writer who puts her own spin on a hitman romance.

First, I must say that I absolutely love every character in this book no matter how big or small. Island, the lead female protagonist, is hilarious but also realistic! I found myself relating to her on multiple occasions. March, the male lead opposite of her, was enigmatic with just the right amount of charm. I felt like each character was well developed regardless of their role. I became so invested in the story, I think I actually cried at one point. While the overall plot wasn't so complicated that I was blindsided, it was satisfying to watch everything fall into place.

The only real issue I had with the novel was that sometimes the author would be describing something and I had no idea to what she was referring to. I would have to return to a couple paragraphs previous to understand what I was supposed to be currently reading.

Spoiler though, the ending is a bit of a cliffhanger. I am so angry that this book isn't even out yet because I can’t wait for book two. Spotless is one of the novels that digs itself inside you and makes you want so much more. I feel that right now, no book can possibly compare and I will be stuck in reading limbo until a book half as worthy catches my eye.

A frighteningly plausible apocalytic scenario that I find myself revisiting on a regular basis. Books like this make me think I should stock up on tinned goods and bottled water and maybe do some combat training...you never know!

This is a hard review to write because I was so emotionally involved in Mary Eleanor's plight. Like so many of her female contemporaries she spent her early years in luxury - protected, nurtured and formally educated. Unfortunately, it was exactly this kind of upbringing which would leave these girls so vulnerable and so completely unprepared for their fates.In Mary Eleanor's case this would be intellectual repression in her first marriage and abuse, poverty and at least one attempt on her life in her second. Unlike her sisters in misery, however, her case was so bad that even the courts were on her side - something virtually unheard of in Georgian society. She obtained a divorce, had her inheritance and even her children returned to her. I wish she could have known that one day her descendants would sit on the throne of England; it might have given her some comfort at least.

Despite the heavy contents, the book was well written and easy to read, with just the right amount of detail for the casual reader of biographies.

The only thing that I can really say is....

I can't fucking wait for the next one!