The Sunday Times of Malta published the first official review of M on 17 March 2024. The review can be found here: https://timesofmalta.com/article/m-reviewed-questions-language-writing-identity.1089119
It's written by Dr Stephanie Xerri Agius, a senior lecturer of English, and it reflects upon the major themes found in the novel: ambition, identity, language.
"Finding a voice in the clouds of dust that choke Malta is as elusive as Damian trying to explain the lake metaphor he uses for the girl he falls for. The question of identity is best summed up when Rupert, one of the young writers in the group, states: “The country in which you are born doesn’t give you an identity. It steals it”. This raises the question of whether writers can escape being bound to their country of origin or if they are inexorably shackled to it." Buy M from all Agenda bookstores or online here or here.