Tunnel of Bones | Victoria Schwab | Review

Friday, 29 November 2019

Tunnel of Bones | Victoria Schwab | Review

Trouble is haunting Cassidy Blake . . . even more than usual.

She (plus her ghost best friend, Jacob, of course) are in Paris, where Cass's parents are filming their TV show about the world's most haunted cities. Sure, it's fun eating croissants and seeing the Eiffel Tower, but there's true ghostly danger lurking beneath Paris, in the creepy underground Catacombs.

When Cass accidentally awakens a frighteningly strong spirit, she must rely on her still-growing skills as a ghosthunter -- and turn to friends both old and new to help her unravel a mystery. But time is running out, and the spirit is only growing stronger.

And if Cass fails, the force she's unleashed could haunt the city forever. - Goodreads


The November prompt for our Blogger's Bookshelf Book Club was 'featuring a ghost'. Thankfully I had just the book already lined up and ready to go.

In 2018, Victoria 'V.E.' Schwab released City of Ghosts, and it followed the story of Cassidy Blake and her adventures around Edinburgh, Scotland. Cassidy's parents are ghost hunters, and host a TV show, but Cassidy can actually see ghosts; in fact, her best friend Jacob is one.

In Tunnel of Bones we follow Cas and Jacob to Paris, France, where things are not as holiday-esque as they'd like. They join Cassidy's parents around the city on their filming locations, but it becomes pretty clear pretty quickly that there's a poltergeist causing havoc. As the story goes on, Cassidy and Jacob try to figure out who the ghost is menacing in the city of Paris, and how to make it stop.

I really like these stories by Schwab. Even though it's a Middle Grade book, it's so wonderfully written and creatively told. I love Cassidy and Jacob as main characters, and can't wait to read their further adventures in Bridge of Souls, which takes place in New Orleans. If you're after a short read but packed full of great characters and even better excursions into the darker, paranormal side of cities around the world, then I highly recommend picking up these books.

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Cupcakes, Trinkets and Other Deadly Magic | Meghan Ciana Doidge | Review

Monday, 10 July 2017

Cupcakes, Trinkets and Other Deadly Magic | Meghan Ciana Doidge | Review

Summary:

Jade is a half-witch who owns a bakery. She doesn't really have much magic, not compared to Gran and her mom, but her magic is unique. She can sense other magic. Then again, living in Vancouver, there isn't much magic around so she doesn't get to exercise it a lot. Imagine her surprise when she senses a vampire at the door to her cupcake shop. That very same night, she senses an entire pack of werewolves on the dance floor with her. There's something going on to draw all these magical Adepts to Vancouver. Unfortunately, she didn't know how much it would revolve around her.

Review:

I was worried this was going to be a paranormal romance, of which I'm not the biggest fan. There was some hinting at it, but it ultimately turned into a nice murder mystery with paranormal goings on. If I read any more of the series, I know it will become a paranormal romance, so I'll just focus on this book, which I did enjoy.

I really liked reading this story from Jade's perspective. She isn't the smartest protagonist I've read, but she's got plenty of common sense that kept me from being frustrated. I can even understand her turning a blind eye to the evidence of who the killer is (though it is pretty obvious). Yes, the book has some sexual undertones, but she's able to make it take a back seat to the important stuff. Like surviving. And not getting bled by a hungry vampire. Or letting her magic get used to destroy others. You know, the important things.

This book has a delightfully simple aspect to it that I greatly appreciated. It all takes place in one town over just a few days. There's no out-of-nowhere surprises. There's no gimmicky explanations. There's no inconsistent character development. The book, the characters, the setting, the plot are all presented as is and I loved that! This is definitely an intriguing world.

If you would like to read a paranormal mystery, maybe a paranormal romance series, I really do recommend this. It's so charming!

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The City of Mirrors | Justin Cronin | Review

Friday, 15 July 2016

The City of Mirrors | Justin Cronin | Review

“All stories end when they have returned to their beginnings.” 

It's okay if you haven't read The Passage or The Twelve - there are no spoilers. 

The Story

Where to start, where to start. Phoar what a book. What a long, character-filled, in the end pretty good book. The City of Mirrors takes this huge jump into the future for the majority of the book, and suddenly all the main characters have these long lives of days gone by, and they're getting on with life. Peter is the President, Sara and Hollis are happy together doing their Doctor-Librarian thing respectively, the next generation even has children. Caleb is grown up, married, and that generation even has children.

But along with the future jump, we are taken back to Year Zero, and Zero's story, and how it all came into being, how the virals happened in the first place. For over half the book, it's this mix of the future story lines and this jump back to Zero. It took me so long to really get into this book. It wasn't until about the last third that I really actually wanted to pick up the book. This is probably one of the reasons it took me nearly a month to read it. Unlike The Passage, I felt The City of Mirrors was incredibly slow going at the beginning. I did like reading about the new generation, but again, there were characters I just didn't care about and story lines I didn't enjoy reading. It did pick up towards the end of the book, thankfully, and I was able to power through.

In The Twelve (book two) Amy magically becomes older over night - something which I'm very glad is definitely not the way things work in real life - which meant she and Peter were finally actually a similar age. In The Passage and in The Twelve for the most part, they had this sort of odd relationship. They were very close, and were good friends, and I remember thinking 'if only Amy wasn't a child'. And then boom. She's not. Happy days. Or is it? I won't say.

My Thoughts

The writing is excellent, but the paragraphs are long. Like, really long. Cronin writes fantastically, and it always draws you into in the story more (even if it took a while in this book's case), but I found that sometimes my eyes glazed skimmed a page-long paragraph in order to get to the dialogue or the shorter paragraphs. But that's just me. You can decide what you think if you read it.

One of the things that I don't like about The Passage series is the amount of characters in them. I always find when new characters are introduced that I couldn't care less about them. They don't really interest me that much, and I'd much rather just follow Amy and Peter the entire time. I'm far more interested in the main characters than all the chapters about some guy in some place who saw something one time. Sure, those details might be important to the story on a whole, but they're just not that great or entertaining to read.

The ending was pretty good, and I think I was fine with it. It was a nice way to end a great series, though I do think that the last chapter could have been a lot shorter. It was sort of - without giving anything away - in the future, after the main events and happenings, but it was a bit long winded for my liking.

Seriously, guys, though, this is a big book. Big, but overall pretty good.

If you're unsure about diving into this series, then do give it a go. I've found that I definitely enjoyed The Passage more than the other two, but perhaps that's because of the sheer size of the journey you're taken on. I'm glad I read it, but I don't think I'll bother reading it again. To be completely honest, I'm really excited to read something other than this story.

Have you read The City of Mirrors? Or The Passage? The Twelve? 

What did you think? Without giving away too many spoilers for others, did you think it ended well? 

I received this book for free from Hachette Publishing NZ in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this post.
Image from GoodReads

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Demons of Liberty Row | Madeleine Holly-Rosing | Review

Monday, 22 February 2016

Demons of Liberty Row | Madeleine Holly-Rosing | Review

Summary:

Demon hunter/detective Samuel Hunter and his medium/spirit photographer Andrew O'Sullivan find themselves in need of better weapons so they request the help of inventor Granville Woods. Unfortunately, Granville has been burned before and requires help getting rid of the demon from his neighborhood before he will consider helping them.

Review:

I really enjoyed this story and it's sort of steampunk, American history, paranormal setting. It was highly reflective of the attitudes towards the Irish and African-Americans at the time. The steampunk technology is also an interesting way of dealing with spirits and demons. The characters were interesting and it was easy to empathize with them.

Really my only problem with this book is that I paid $1.99 for a short story (69 pages). It was a good story, but I'm used to paying $1.99 for books over 100 pages. I do encourage you to get this ebook for yourself, but maybe wait until there's a sale. 

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Pivot Point | Kasie West | Review

Wednesday, 26 August 2015

Pivot Point | Kasie West | Review

In a world where a hidden paranormal compound exists within a society exactly like ours, inhabitants use advanced technology as part of their daily life to enhance their mind powers they were born with. Addie is a Searcher - when given a choice, she can 'search' the two paths and be shown each alternate future before making a decision. When Addie's parents tell her they're getting a divorce and she must decide whether she would like to stay with her mother inside the compound or go out into the "norm" world with her father and live without her paranormal powers. Carrying out the longest search she has ever done, Addie views the alternate realities of living with each parent over six weeks. 

With alternating chapters switching between the mother-decision and the father-decision, the storylines became slightly harder to distinguish as the book went on. Each story involved the same characters, but in a different way and at times, I lost which future I was reading about and it took a lot of concentration to think through so I could follow each plot. The way the two stories weaved together was interesting and towards the end, I could see how things would make sense in either future. I didn't particularly feel a connection to any of the characters, although I did enjoy reading the story. I felt as though the story focused on the events and less on the characters themselves. By the end, I didn't really feel like I knew Addie, or anybody else in the story. The romantic aspects are quite heavy in both futures, but again I just didn't feel connected to the characters or the romantic interest aspect.

One of the main ways I give star-ratings on my reviews is by how much I enjoyed reading the book, then any comments within my review expand on my actual thoughts. I settled on four stars for this book as it kept me entertained, had twists and turns that I wasn't expecting and was generally an enjoyable read. Pivot Point felt like more of a contemporary with a slight difference in that the characters could use certain mind tricks, it didn't feel like a typical paranormal story so if you're looking at getting into the genre but don't want to start with anything too heavy, I would highly recommend this book. 

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Remains | Belle Antoinette | Review

Monday, 27 July 2015

Remains | Belle Antoinette | Review

*Image and ebook provided by French Press Bookworks in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

Victoria Wesley is a witch. Her parents and twin brother are also witches, or at least they were until they were killed by vampires and werewolves respectively. Victoria, a teenager, finds herself wandering, looking for answers, never staying in one place for very long. She accidentally builds herself a reputation as The Lone Witch and becomes a bit of a supernatural celebrity.

Review:

This book was sold to me as "a paranormal romance for those who don't like paranormal romances." As someone who has always failed to be interested in that genre, I was intrigued. Not to mention, French Press Bookworks has yet to really let me down.* True to their word, I did like this book. Any story lines that were romance or love based were secondary, if not tertiary, to the overarching story line about a powerful teenage witch looking for who killed her family and why.

The story is very interesting, though at times heavy on "teenage drama". The characters and their roles in the group are thought out and not two-dimensional. The villain of the story definitely appealed to me. He had the charm, intelligence and touch of crazy that I enjoy seeing in bad guys. Stories are always more interesting when the antagonist knows so much more than the heroes.

I will say that the second half of the book had a handful of spelling/grammar errors, but I received an ARC so hopefully those are corrected in the final publication.

Antoinette does a great job of setting Remains up for a sequel. While this isn't my genre, I will say that I am interested in reading the next one. This is an interesting world with many avenues (i.e. military labs that "study" the supernatural) still left to flesh out a bit more. So, if you are looking for a paranormal story with blood and fire, I do recommend this Remains by Belle Antoinette. 


*I'm still waiting for Grim Hearts to be published.

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The Reaper's Daughter | KM Randall | Reviewed by Anjali

Friday, 24 April 2015

The Reaper's Daughter | KM Randall | Reviewed by Anjali

"You may have​ heard of her before ... They call her the Grim Reaper."

Blake is a pretty normal teenage girl - she's got an amazing boyfriend, a funny best friend called Shelby, she is on the cheer-leading squad, and is an adrenaline junky. Things start to change when she turns 18 however, starting with catching the eye of a strange boy in the bleachers, and then with the death of her boyfriend. Blake is suddenly thrown into a world she didn't know, didn't believed, existed. Not only can she see dead people, but they want her to help them cross over. The strange boy in the bleaches turns out to be Rishi, a young death deity, who tries to explain to her that her mother, whom she thought was dead, is alive and wants to meet with her. He fails to mention, however, that her mother is actually pretty well known, at least in some circles; she's the Grim Reaper.

As Blake tries to come to terms with the fact that her mother is the Grim Reaper, and her best friend, who dabbles in the occult, is all rather accepting of this news, and that she herself is a death deity, she must travel with Rishi and Shelby to the Underworld, a place where her mother has been banished from, to retrieve the scythe, which is the source of Grim's powers and ability to be able to reap people. To do so they have to sneak into the place where Hades has it, and get back out alive.

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun (if not deadly) take on the story of the Grim Reaper, and was full of travel and adventure. The characters were great, and I especially liked Shelby, and how she is connected to the story so much more than some of the other books these days. The best friend had a key role in the story, rather than being someone who was sort of put to one side as new people and characters and drama take over the protagonist's life. I did enjoy the story line, and the explanations given for the things, like how there are different death deity for different parts of the world, and how some of the supernatural things work. I find that sometimes in supernatural/paranormal stories little details are overlooked and you just sort of have to accept them for what they are, and not think about the flaws too much. But I think that Randall did a great job in creating a whole world, rather than just bits and pieces sort of story.

While there were parts that were predictable, and moments I got really frustrated with Blake (something that's quite normal for me and main characters), I did really enjoy the story. I think I would have liked to have read more about Grim and have her in more scenes, but it's the beginning of a series, so I suspect she'll be more in the follow book/s. The Reaper's Daughter comes out on May 9th, so if this sounds like your type of book, make sure you grab a copy.


Thank you to KM Randall, via Erin Latimer, for providing me with a copy of this book for an honest review. 
Image from Good Reads

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Death Wish | Megan Tayte | Reviewed by Anjali

Friday, 10 April 2015

Death Wish | Megan Tayte | Reviewed by Anjali

"Seventeen-year-old Scarlett Blake is haunted by death. Her estranged sister has made the ultimate dramatic exit. Running away from school, joining a surfing fraternity, partying hard: that sounds like Sienna. But suicide? It makes no sense. 

Following in her sister’s footsteps, Scarlett comes to the isolated cove of Twycombe, Devon, with grand plans to uncover the truth. Alone. But she hasn’t reckoned on meeting two boys who are determined to help her. Luke: the blue-eyed surfer who’ll see the real Scarlett, who’ll challenge her, who’ll save her. And Jude: the elusive drifter with a knack for turning up whenever Scarlett’s in need. 

As Scarlett’s quest for the truth unravels, so too does her grip on reality as she’s always known it. Because there’s something strange going on in this little cove. A dead magpie circles the skies. A dead deer watches from the undergrowth. Hands glow with light. Warmth. Power. 

What transpires is a summer of discovery. Of what it means to conquer fear. To fall in love. To choose life. To choose death. To believe the impossible." - description on Good Reads. 

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great combination of chick-flick-let's-fall-in-love, of supernatural/ paranormal, of suspense and mystery, and a definite sense of 'what till happen next'. Scarlett as a character is very likeable. She is young still, but so much has happened to her that she has a strong character and she is has this great sense of determination about her. But it's her friend Cara, whom I really love. She is everything a side-kick, best friend should be: funny, loyal, a little bit crazy, and everything that Scarlett needs. Cara's brother, Luke, who teaches Scarlett to surf, is just the sweetest and from the beginning I wanted he and Scarlett to be together. On the other hand, there's Jude, the mysterious guy who shows up at random times, just when Scarlett needs him most. Dun dun DUN! (that was me singing dramatic music, guys)

In terms of story line, I really liked the plot and the flow of the story. Tayte has a brilliant writing style and it was easy to follow, and easy to read 'just one more chapter'. One thing I did find a little annoying was the paranormal/supernatural element didn't really kick in until well into the last 3rd of the book. There were snippets of strange things happening throughout, of course, but it didn't really come to light as to what was happening until right at the end. I think I would have liked to have read more about it a little early on, but I know that there are several more books to come, so no biggy. 

If you're after a pull-you-in sort of supernatural story with great characters and a fun storyline, give Death Wish a read. You can get it as an eBook from Amazon. You can also get the second in this series, Forget Me Not, on Amazon. I know I'll be reading the next one. 


Thank you, Megan Tayte, for providing me with a copy of Death Wish for an honest review. 

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The Woman in Black | Susan Hill | Reviewed by Niina

Wednesday, 4 June 2014

The Woman in Black | Susan Hill | Reviewed by Niina

“A man may be accused of cowardice for fleeing away from all manner of physical dangers but when things supernatural, insubstantial and inexplicable threaten not only his safety and well-being but his sanity, his innermost soul, then retreat is not a sign of weakness but the most prudent course.” - Susan Hill, The Woman in Black 

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill is a classic ghost story set on the English moor. Arthur Kipps is a young solicitor who travels from London to attend the funeral and tie up the loose ends after the death of Mrs. Alice Drablow, one of his company's clients. When Arthur arrives in Crythin Gifford, an isolated small town he discovers that the people who live there seem reluctant to talk about Mrs. Drablow and her estate, Eel Marsh House.

I've loved ghost stories as long as I can remember. I've always been interested and fascinated by the things that scare us. After years of watching too many horror movies and reading hundreds of pages of zombie fiction, I'm not easily scared. But there was something about The Woman in Black that I still found really creepy and I have to admit that I had to turn on all the lights when I was reading it home alone at night. The story-line is pretty predictable but I think Susan Hill did a great job with building that eerie feeling that a good ghost story needs. I also think that Susan Hills' writing's beautiful and I really enjoyed the descriptions of the house, the town and the people. I could clearly imagine everything in front of me. To be honest, not much happens in this novel but I still couldn't put it down. I just liked the eerie atmosphere in the story and I kind of enjoyed being a bit scared. I've read quite mixed reviews about The Woman in Black and I think the whole reading experience in this case depends on if you get the right feeling or not. If you don't get scared you're probably going to think it's a pretty boring book. 

So yes, I thought that The Woman in Black was a really enjoyable (and creepy) read. It's a short novel and a perfect read for a rainy day in October. I would recommend it to all of you (especially if you like classic ghost stories), but I still think a few of you won't like it as much as I did. But hey, it's a short book so it's worth taking a chance! I give The Woman in Black by Susan Hill 4/5 stars. 

This post was written by regular reviewer Niina, get to know her here.

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Alone | Robert J.Crane | Review

Sunday, 16 June 2013

Alone | Robert J.Crane | Review

Since getting my Kindle a few months ago, I've downloaded a good dozen or so free books. Free books are the best. However, sometimes free books are a bit of a hit and miss. And Alone, by Robert J. Crane, has me confused as to whether or not it was one of those hit and misses. You'll see what I mean...

We first meet 17 year old Sienna Nealon, the main character, in her house, slightly freaking out because her mother has vanished and her home is being broken into by ruffians. In the first chapter, we learn that Sienna is no ordinary girl - she has lived alone with her mother in their small house all her life, never leaving it, never having contact with the outside world, trying to follow all the rules that her mother had drilled into her head for so long. Basically, Sienna is a prisoner in her own house. Escaping the house, Sienna is on the run. As the story goes on, she discovers that the ridiculously huge man pursuing her is named Wolfe, that there's a agency called the Directorate who want her to join them, that her mother wasn't the person Sienna thought she was, and Sienna knows very little about everything, including herself.

I was really drawn into it just by the first page, but then I found myself drifting into the 'meh' and the 'whatever' zones, for some reason. I can't really put my finger on it, but there was something about it that suddenly changed and I didn't like it as much as the first chapter or so. Nevertheless, it was a nice short read that had some good parts in it, and some fun characters. Sienna herself is an interesting character, and although we're probably supposed to cheer for her and want her to do well etc, I found myself almost shocked at some of the things she said and the character in her that emerged more and more as the story went on. Perhaps it was because I didn't really know what I was expecting in the story (or from the characters), that I found it difficult to keep reading at points, and I found it hard not be annoyed by Sienna and her actions.

It's written in first person, which was actually perfect for the story, I think, as there were things we didn't realise/didn't find out about until deep into the book, simply because Sienna hadn't revealed it to us, or to any of the other characters. So that put an interesting spin on things. Overall, I think I would give it a two and a half stars (couldn't figure out how to take half a star off up there). I liked the original idea (or rather, what I thought it was going to be about - I think I expected something like that movie Hanna, but it ended up sort of like X-Men or something similar, which was fine, but not what I was thinking), but then it got a little bit 'samey' near the end. 'Samey' as in the same, or similar, to a lot of other ideas out there. I might, however, read the next one and see where it goes. But it won't moving up to the top of my 'to-read' list.

Image from Goodreads

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The Name Of The Star | Maureen Johnson | Review

Monday, 27 May 2013

The Name Of The Star | Maureen Johnson | Review

Jack the Ripper is on the loose on the streets of London, murdering the innocent and terrifying the nation. But this isn’t England in the 1800’s anymore…nope this is the 21st Century and new spree of serial murders are terrorising modern day London.

Enter Rory Deveux. A teenage year old girl from Louisiana, whose moved here and due to start Wexford, a prep school in London. Her arrival coincides with the first of the ‘Ripper’ murders, all of which are mimicking the infamous serial killer from centuries past. Not that she’s supposed to be worrying about that, she has to stumble her way through British life, mountains of schoolwork, boy trouble and hellish Hockey P.E. sessions.

But Rory is soon forced to care as the police force struggle to piece together serial murders with no other witnesses, evidence or leads…except for the fact that Rory saw a man that no one else could see, who’s now the prime suspect who’s being hailed the new Jack the Ripper. As the only eye witness Rory’s seemingly quiet life is thrown into the world of the paranormal, near death experiences and secret police force with some unique talents. 

So what’s my verdict?

Having gone into this novel without the knowledge it was a ghost story and knowing that Maureen Johnson’s style was geared towards teen coming-of-age novels, I can safely say this book surprised me at every turn.

First of all, the premise of the book itself was brilliant. The humble ghost story is one we’ve seen countless times before, but Johnson manages to create a fantasy lore that’s both honest and believable. As Jack the Ripper 2.0 stalks the streets the setting only aides the tension throughout the story. The grey skies of London, cobbled streets and aesthetic of the ‘old City’ lends to the Gothic tone, but kept alongside Rory’s narrative the traditional ghost story is fast forwarded into the present day.

Speaking of Rory…fumbling and talkative Rory is certainly your typical teen Mary-Sue at the beginning of the novel, but her character evolves with her new found knowledge. She proves she can be the hero yet still be the girl-next-door. And then there’s the host of secondary characters, Stephen Dene (tall, dark and focused on the job), Callum (butch, laddish yet brave), Boo (a TOWIE girl with major smarts), Jazza (Rory’s adorable new best friend) and many other colourful characters both alive and dead. But don’t be fooled by the YA stamp on this, Johnson can get graphic especially as the story climaxes. It’s a classic 'whodunit' with a paranormal twist and I couldn’t recommend this book enough and…

…it’s a series! The sequel The Madness Underneath is already out and book #3 The Shadow Cabinet is set for release at the end of the year (so far away, wah!), so get reading!

Reading soundtrack:

Panic: The Smiths; Bubbles: Biffy Clyro; The Dark Of The Matinee: Franz Ferdinand; Hide & Seek: Imogen Heap; Overture: The Phantom of the Opera OST; Faint: Linkin Park; Monster: Paramore

For lovers of

The Mortal Instruments, Beautiful Creatures, Being Human and Supernatural

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Jenny Pox | J.L. Bryan | Review

Sunday, 7 April 2013

Jenny Pox | J.L. Bryan | Review

Recently, I purchased a Kindle. This isn't a post about that, don't worry. But ever since I got it, I've been downloading free e-books like a maniac. Jenny Pox, by J.L. Bryan, was one of those books. Because it was slightly a 'oh-hey-look-a-free-book-that-has-a-weird-title' book, I didn't really know what it was about, or even what genre it was. All I knew was it was free. Sad right?

Turns out it was actually a good book! It follows the story of Jenny Morton, a teenage girl living in Southern America who has a secret: one touch from her, and you will die. She has 'Jenny Pox', a nick name so given to her by her own hate-club, Ashleigh, the school head cheerleader and all around horrible person. Jenny and Ashleigh had an encounter when they were little, and Ashleigh, though people said she made it all up, hasn't forgotten about it. If Jenny touches someone, blisters and boils and all things puss-ridden cover them and quickly eat away their flesh. If she doesn't control it, people die. Turns out it's kind of a horror story. Jenny barely gets through each day of torment at school, being bullied and called names because of the gloves she always wears to ensure she doesn't touch anyone and kill them (it's actually quite considerate, really). She can't even touch her own father, who has to cover up completely to give her a hug. Basically, her life is void of all human contact and has been since the day she was born.

That is, until, she discovers there is someone she can touch: cue boy and love-interest of the story. Seth is the only person Jenny can touch without killing...and it's because, he too, has a secret. Dun dun dun! I won't tell you what it is, but the story follows Jenny and Seth trying to be together and staying away from Ashleigh (who was actually Seth's ex-girlfriend). As well as this seemingly normal love story element, Jenny Pox is a bit of a supernatural-horror-fantasy sort of genre, but at the same time, I'm finding it a bit difficult to pin down one specific genre. Some people around the internet have said it's young adult...but I would be hesitant to label it as so. It's probably not really suitable for readers under 18, though...but then again, I don't know what people are reading these days.

Written in third person, but jumping between the three main characters' perspectives, it's well written and Bryan has done a good job creating a crazy world that is hard to get out of. With supernatural/paranormal powers, evil and manipulative characters, a three-legged dog (or is he?), a loving father, a couple of sex scenes that probably weren't needed (and were a bit explicit for me...be wary if this isn't your thing!), a town full of highly religious southerners and an ending that I did not expect, Jenny Pox was a quick read and an un-put-down-able one. I read it in about 3 hours, and am really looking forward to the next three books (all of which are under £4 on the Kindle store and I've already bought). 

I haven't read much horror or paranormal novels, so I can't think of novels that are similar, but if you like a bit of supernatural romance, or paranormal with blood and guts and a bit of love, then you'll probably enjoy this!

This review was written by regular reviewer Anjali, get to know her here. 
Image from GoodReads. 

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The Graveyard Book | Neil Gaiman | Review

Wednesday, 21 November 2012

The Graveyard Book | Neil Gaiman | Review

“It's like the people who believe they'll be happy if they go and live somewhere else, but who learn it doesn't work that way. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you. If you see what I mean.” - Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book is a story about a boy called Nobody Owens (called Bod by his friends and family). The peculiar thing about Bod (apart from his name) is that he lives in a graveyard. Why does he live in a graveyard then? Because he's adopted by two ghosts, Mr and Mrs Owens who adopted him when his whole family got murdered by a man called Jack. The Owens family and their ghost friends keep Bod in the graveyard to keep him safe from Jack who's for some reason still out to get him.

Bod's days are filled with playing with ghost children among the graves, having conversations and getting educated by ghosts who all lived during different centuries. And then there's Silas. Bod's mentor and guardian, someone who Bod really cares about but can't quite figure out. While all this is going on Bod still feels the need to communicate and interact with humans, But while gets closer to the human community he also gets closer to danger...

The Graveyard Book is the second book I've read by Neil Gaiman. While I was pretty disappointed by Stardust I really enjoyed The Graveyard Book. The book is mainly directed to a younger audience but I think both adults and children can really appreciate this story. I really liked the fact that the story is set in a graveyard. There can't be any place that's more mystical and interesting than a graveyard? And the whole idea that Bod can communicate with ghosts who've lived through different centuries is so fascinating! Just think about all the wonderful stories Bod gets the opportunity to listen to! I almost wish I grove up in a graveyard myself. I also really found the characters in this novel really well-written and interesting. Bod is a really likable yet different kid and Silas is a really mysterious yet lovable character. And of course I loved the ghosts, because like I said before, the ghost really give the story an interesting twist. Like any good children's fantasy this story also touches a lot of important and real subjects like friendship, family, trust and identity.

The only complaint I might have is that I struggled a bit with getting into the story through the first chapters, and I kind of wish that I had gotten the opportunity to read this when I was younger because I think I would've appreciated it even more! So this is definitely a book I'm going to read for my future (hypothetical) children! And it also made me interested to read more of Gaiman's books (if you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments!) So, yes, I gladly give The Graveyard Book 4/5 stars.

This review was written by regular reviewer Niina, get to know her here.

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Guest Review | Her Fearful Symmetry | Audrey Niffenegger

Tuesday, 13 November 2012

Guest Review | Her Fearful Symmetry | Audrey Niffenegger

  Book Cover image from Goodreads  

Hey everyone! My name is Anjali, and I blog over at This Splendid Shambles. I’m really excited to be guest posting today, and to be a part of this great new blog project! I’ve been doing book reviews over on my blog for a while now, but I was really pumped to be able to contribute to this one. Just a few quick things about me: I’m a New Zealander who has recently moved to England after finishing my Philosophy Degree at the end of 2011. I love books (obviously) and movies, and like to think that I am an artist, musician, photographer and occasional writer. I love DIY and am forever making things and filling up my house with bits and pieces where ever I can find room. Oh and I have a slight (okay…quite large) obsession to Harry Potter. Nice to meet you!

Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger

I picked this book up in a charity shop about a month or so ago, and the main reason it caught my eye was that it was written by the same author who wrote The Time Traveler’s Wife. I love that book, and I seem to recall giving it a 5 stars on my blog. If The Time Traveler’s Wife was anything to go on, then Her Fearful Symmetry, I thought, would be a good book. And for the most part, it was.

The book is about twin girls Julia and Valentina Poole who left their American home to move to London, England into a beautiful flat overlooking Highgate Cemetery. Their aunt, Elspeth (their mother’s twin sister), had just died and left them the flat, with a few conditions – they had to live there for a year and then they could decide whether or not to move on, and the girls’ parents were not allowed in the flat at all. Strange terms, I know, but there we have it. The story follows the girls as they arrive in a new place, meet the neighbours, explore London and figure out the Underground, and later on discovering that their Aunt actually never left the flat at all – and it becomes a ghost story.

For all of you who like a bit of the supernatural in your novels, this isn’t really your typical ghost story at all. Without giving too much away (sometimes I feel like I do that), Niffenegger writes Elspeth-the-Ghost into the story as though it’s the most natural thing in the world. Much like her time-travelling man in The Time Traveler’s Wife, she has taken a supernatural element and made almost…well, natural. There is a mixture of themes/topics/issues, such as friendship, love, loss, separation, family secrets (BIG family secrets!!), a man who won’t leave his flat, and sisterhood bonding and the need for individuality.

The book is easy to read with just the right balance of description and conservation, and though I found that there were a few chapters that probably really didn’t need to be in there as they didn’t seem to add to the story at all, it was quite an enjoyable read. I also found that it was quite funny in some points, because Niffenegger writes about what the girls thought of London and England, there were many times when I thought “Yup! That’s exactly how I find it too.” For me, it was easy to relate to some of what the girls went through, because, being a ‘stranger in this land’, as my Mum puts it, there are a lot of things that I have to get used to being here, and it was the same for Julia and Valentina.

All in all, it was an easy going, makes-you-want-to-believe-in-ghosts story that, even after a slow-ish middle section, really picked up at the end with some startling events. I recommended this book for people who perhaps, don’t really like the supernatural/fantasy sort of genre, but feel they should read something in that area anyway. Does that make sense? It’s naturally supernatural, and that, I think, is something that Audrey Niffenegger does really well.

Review written by guest blogger Anjali.

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