The Southern Book Club's Guide To Slaying Vampires | Grady Hendrix | Review

Wednesday, 20 May 2020

The Southern Book Club's Guide To Slaying Vampires | Grady Hendrix | Review

Review copy c/o Quirk Books via Netgalley

Back in 2014 I shared a review of Horrorstör, a brilliantly unique and cleverly designed title from Grady Hendrix, so when I saw this new release pop up on Netgalley I was intrigued to find out more. This title has been hugely popular since it's release last month, with an average Goodreads rating of over 4 stars, and plenty of positive reviews. I'm not usually one to pick up vampire novels so I wasn't quite sure what to expect but based on what I had heard I knew it would have some gory moments.

Set in the 90's this novel follows Patricia Campbell, a housewife who gave up her career as a nurse to settle down and start a family. With her husband always busy with work and her teenage children wanting her to stay out of their business, Patricia's life just isn't quite going as planned. She spends her time looking after her family and attending social events with her neighbours, including a book club with several other women. While this might seem pretty normal, this is not your average suburban book club as secretly the small group of women get together regularly to discuss their shared love of true crime. Little do they know, some of the things found between the pages of the books they've read together may just come in handy in real life someday.

After a very unusual and disturbing incident, Patricia meets a newcomer to town named James Harris, who says he is a relation of a local lady that has recently passed away. James claims to have a medical condition due to something that happened during his childhood causing a serious issue with his eyes that means he has trouble going out in the sun. Soon he has an overly-polite Patricia roped into helping him out with chores and even inviting him for dinner with her family.

Patricia's mother-in-law, who is staying with the family as she can no longer live alone, has a lot to say about the new addition to town but they quickly dismiss her thinking that she simply has him confused with someone else. Of course, as time passes and more disturbing events occur in the local area, including kids going missing on the other side of town, Patricia with the help of a whole bunch of vampire novels, starts to piece together various information that suggests not only may James not be who he seems, but that he may not even be human.

The Southern Book Club's Guide To Slaying Vampires is a tricky one for me to review as whilst I found the concept interesting and there were parts I liked, there were also parts that I didn't really enjoy. Right from the prologue the book really draws you in and is an intense ride but it does get pretty gory and dark rather early on and there were scenes that I found uncomfortable to read, so if that's not your thing this probably isn't the book for you. I feel that I should also mention the book includes themes of abuse and sexual assault.

Overall, the book got off to an intriguing start and the way the story played out was definitely disturbing, living up to its horror genre. Unfortunately I didn't really feel much of a connection to any of the characters which I think took away somewhat from my enjoyment. However, I loved the book club element and the fact that I wasn't ever 100% sure how things would play out definitely kept me on my toes!

Follow

Read more »

No comments

City of Weird | Gigi Little

Monday, 12 December 2016

City of Weird | Gigi Little

*Book and cover provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

This book is a collection of short stories about weird creatures, people, books, and places with one thing in common: the city of Portland. 

Review:

Portland is one of the cities that's been on my "To Visit" list for a few years now. As the headquarters of Dark Horse Comics and Powell's Books, I was really happy to read more stories about the city, even if they are fiction, they show more about the heart of Portland. Each story definitely reflected the charm one would expect from a city that prides itself on being strange. It's certainly reinforced my interest in visiting.

The book is separated into categories based on the type of strangeness: water creatures, from the skies, strange books, etc. Some of the stories felt a little out of place, but that didn't hurt how enjoyable they were to read. There was a wonderful blend of scary, funny and thought provoking stories. If you are at all interested in supernatural short stories or the spirit of Portland, you will like this book. It's a great introduction to a number of Portland based authors! 

Read more »

No comments

Dirty Blood | Heather Hildenbrand | Review

Monday, 22 August 2016

Dirty Blood | Heather Hildenbrand | Review

*Image from book's Amazon page.

Summary:

Tara considers herself a normal teenage girl. She attends high school, has a group of friends (and a mortal enemy) and her biggest struggle is convincing her boyfriend, George, that they're just not right as a couple. Then, as these stories go, something strange happens. A violent something strange. She sees a woman turn into a wolf and gets attacked. Tara accidentally kills the wolf and it turns back into a woman. That's when Tara meets others. People who show her that she is actually from a long line of Hunters and she is woefully unprepared for her future as a new target of the Werewolves.

Review:

When I first started reading this book, I was very afraid it was going to be another Twilight (pretty "meh" definitely not my thing). What I got, instead, was much more of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kind of story. Tara does have some stereotypical weepy teenager moments, but overall, she's pretty strong and relatively smart. 

The best part of this book, for me, was the cast of characters. Every character felt like they had so much of their own story to tell. I especially wanted more pages given to Jack and Fee. Hopefully the next books in the series do give them more time. It was especially fun to see the different personalities and their dynamics as they worked together. My favorite moment was when Tara's grandmother came into the picture. Everyone in this fight is (pardon the language) badass. 

So, despite my general dislike of YA Supernatural Love Stories, I genuinely had a good time with Dirty Blood. While the romance is, sometimes, painfully at the front of the story, the overarcing story of the Hunters vs the Werewolves vs the Council is incredibly interesting. This world is rather engaging and I'm strongly tempted to pick up the next book in the series to see how much of the world gets expanded on. 

If you like YA Supernatural books, this is a good one to pick up. It only has Werewolves and Hunters (so far) but it has a good amount of action and a nice level of intelligence. 

Read more »

No comments

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

Read more »

No comments

The Ceruleans Print Party | Giveaway

Thursday, 9 June 2016

The Ceruleans Print Party | Giveaway

Cast your minds back to April last year, and you may recall a book review of Death Wish, by Megan Tayte. The book, and the rest of the series, was released in eBook form, but this year Tayte's books have been printed in paperbacl To celebrate, Tayte is running a giveaway, and Blogger's Bookshelf are jumping in to support her.

The prize is a copy of each of the 5 books in their newly printed paperback format, and you can enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. You have until the end of the month to enter! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author

Once upon a time a little girl told her grandmother that when she grew up she wanted to be a writer. Or a lollipop lady. Or a fairy princess fireman. ‘Write, Megan,’ her grandmother advised. So that’s what she did. Thirty-odd years later, Megan is a professional writer and published author by day, and an indie novelist by night. Her fiction – young adult romance with soul – recently earned her the SPR’s Independent Woman Author of the Year award.

Megan grew up in the Royal County, a hop, skip and a (very long) jump from Windsor Castle, but these days she makes her home in the village of Standish, Greater Manchester. She lives with her husband, a proud Scot who occasionally kicks back in a kilt; her son, a budding artist with the soul of a palaeontologist; and her baby daughter, a keen pan-and-spoon drummer who sings in her sleep.

When she's not writing, you'll find her walking someplace green, reading by the fire, or creating carnage in the kitchen as she pursues her impossible dream: of baking something edible.

You can find Megan online at: 
Megan Tayte.com
Good Reads
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

You can buy the Ceruleans Series at the following places: 
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

Read more »

No comments

The Darkest Part of the Forest | Holly Black | Review

Friday, 26 February 2016

The Darkest Part of the Forest | Holly Black | Review

I received this book from Hachette Publishing New Zealand, 

in exchange for an honest review. 

Faeries. Knights. Princes. True love. 

Think you know how the story goes? Think again...

In the forest of the small town of Fairfold lies a glass case. In the case lies a horned boy. And he will change everything.

Hazel and her brother Ben have, like the rest of the town and the tourists it brings, always known about the horned Prince in the box. Ever since there were children they would play around his sleeping body, they would slay faeries in the woods, and tells stories to the Prince. Stories are well and good, and you can create a dream around a sleeping person...but when said person wakes and goes missing, all those dreams come crashing down. Not only that, but Hazel thinks she somehow was involved with breaking him out.

Now Severin, the horned Prince, is out of his glass case, there are even more strange going-ons in the town, and Hazel and Ben are caught up in the middle of it. When Hazel discovers there's more to her that she ever though, that the bargain she made with the Alderking all those years ago has much different, much more severe, consequences than she realised, she must figure out what is going on, and how to rid the town of a monster in the woods. As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough? - Good Reads.

I really enjoyed this book. Holly Black is an incredible world-maker, creating characters and stories and worlds that draw you in and refuse to spit you back out. While Hazel was a bit of a you-know-what with the boys of the town, and she was selfish and didn't blink an eye when it came to using people, she knew it. She knew who she was (at least that part of her), and though this was the case, as the story went on, it became apparent that that was more just a show, just an act because her true feelings scared her.

Ben, at first, seemed to be in the shadow of Hazel. He thought that even though they had both loved Severin as children, before the met him in real life, that Severin would be destined to fall for her Hazel, and that broke him. Ben's best friend, Jack, is a changeling, and while his human brother, Carter, is barely a character at all in this story, I really liked Jack and his connection to the faeries.

It's written in third person, and while it centres mostly on Hazel, Ben also has his moments in the spot light, and I really liked that. It was easier than reading the whole thing from Hazel's perspective, even if it was in third person.

If you enjoy YA books that are about small towns, about betrayal, loyalty, love and with a supernatural twist, then definitely give The Darkest Part of the Forest a go. While it is currently a stand-alone, from what I've read online, it seems Black isn't closed to the possibility of writing more books, and creating a series. If this is the case, then I will be reading any more she writes. But if not, it ends in such a way that it could happily remain a stand alone.

What about you? Have you read this book? 

Thinking about it? Let me know what you think!

Image from Good Reads. 

Read more »

No comments

The Rest of Us Just Live Here | Patrick Ness | Review

Friday, 6 November 2015

The Rest of Us Just Live Here | Patrick Ness | Review

What if you aren’t the Chosen One? 

The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, 

or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom 

and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before 

someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, 

and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.  

*********

Mikey is mostly your standard teenager - dealing with school, girls, family, OCD - but what he's not is the chosen one. Mikey lives in an earth which is the same as ours, except that previously there have been all sorts of crazy supernatural going-ons ... and the characters know that something like an apocalypse, or a zombie attack is a actually something that is likely to happen. The Rest of Us Just Live Here is a fascinating angle of a story we don't really read. Mikey and his crazy family, and his school life and friendships are the characters in stories we never hear about.

What were all the other students doing at Hogwarts while Harry was off defeating Voldemort? Did the other people in Sunnydale realise Buffy was kicking butt and saving their lives every night? Patrick Ness takes those characters, the ones that don't usually get a main spot light, and makes them the main story line. At the beginning of each chapter, you read a short snippet of what the Chosen One is getting up to, how they are saving the world or fighting zombies, but the rest of the chapter, the 'real' story, is about Mikey and his friends. Their every day lives, their own struggles and flaws, their real life battles, their relationships with each other and their families, and this all plays out like nothing else is happening around them.

I actually listened to this as an audio book, so at first the chapter beginnings were a tad confusing, because I couldn't see the difference...if that makes sense. But I loved this book a lot. It was so clever, and I was so excited to see/hear that someone had actually written this story. It's one of the things I'm always wondering in books and movies - but what about that other character? What are they up to? It was a fantasy story, with supernatural elements, but it was also your standard YA teenage-issues books, which took place in the foreground of the Chosen One saving the world.

It was a brilliant book, and I recommend it if you haven't read it yet. Definitely worth picking up. If you're interested in he audio book, here's one you can get on Audible. 

Have you read it? What did you think? 

Image and synopsis from Goodreads

Read more »

No comments

The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe | Peter Clines | Review

Monday, 15 June 2015

The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe | Peter Clines | Review

*Image courtesy of Amazon.com

Summary:

Most of us are familiar with the story of Robinson Crusoe, stranded on a deserted island for nearly three decades with only his wit and perseverance to help him survive it's many perils. In this book, Peter Clines takes the original story and combines it with elements of Lovecraft to create a supernatural version of the classic tale.

Review:

I'm almost always a fan of the retelling of classic stories with an unusual twist. Be it Pride, Prejudice and Zombies or Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century (90's cartoon). I greatly appreciate when an author is able to breathe new life into a classic story.

To be honest, I only ever read the Great Illustrated Classics version of Robinson Crusoe. As a result, I may have missed some details of the original book that would have made it a lot less boring. To me it was a survival story without a lot of survival but with a lot of luck. That's what I was looking forward to this retelling. Crusoe as a werewolf gives his survival more credibility. It's easier for me to believe that a werewolf could survive almost 30 years on this island as opposed to a regular mortal man.

The inclusion of some Lovecraft elements, predominantly Cthulu, also gave the story a bit more flavor and even some legitimately scary scenes. It also helped to explain why the natives on nearby islands found this particular island to be sacred ground for their church, rather than another island to live on. Clines' inclusion of supernatural elements actually does help the overall story to make more sense than the version of the original that I had read.

Of course, for me, there were still some boring parts. This retelling still stays fairly true to the original, so it's not surprising that there were times when Crusoe's story seemed mundane. But, if you enjoy a classic with a twist, or supernatural elements as commonplace, I definitely recommend The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe. I happily give 4 out of 5. 

Read more »

No comments

Unnatural Creatures | Neil Gaiman | Review

Monday, 1 June 2015

Unnatural Creatures | Neil Gaiman | Review

*Image courtesy of Ann Arbor District Library

Summary:

This book is a collection of short stories, new and old, written by authors from as far back as the late 1800’s to as recent as 2011. All the stories, chosen by Gaiman, are about supernatural creatures. Some of these creatures are as normal as bees and wasps that can write and create detailed maps, others are as obscure as a meat-eating plant that looks like an ink blot.

Review:

At 465 pages, Unnatural Creatures is not as easy a read as a collection of short stories usually is for me. I’ll admit, some of the short stories felt a bit longer than I would have liked. That being said, however, I had a wonderful time reading this. The diversity of the authors made sure that the entire book was never boring and that there was something for everyone. I’ve even written down several of the authors to read more of.

With one or two exceptions, the stories in Unnatural Creatures make for a good read for anyone with a short attention span and, considering the reading slump I was in, this was very helpful to me. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is in the midst of a slump or is trying to find something new. You can always trust Gaiman’s judgement when it comes to selecting good stories.

Read more »

No comments

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

Read more »

No comments

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. 

Read more »

No comments

Unbreakable | Kami Garcia | Reviewed by Anjali

Sunday, 5 October 2014

Unbreakable | Kami Garcia | Reviewed by Anjali

"Kennedy Waters didn't believe in ghosts, until one tried to kill her."

I bought this book nearly a year ago, and it was sitting on my book shelf, unread, for that long too. Until recently, when I found myself not knowing what to read next and wanting something short and sweet, and a bit different to the books I had been reading. When I bought this book I didn't really know what it was about, only that I recognised the author as being one who co-wrote Beautiful Creatures (Kami Garcia). But I can tell you now that I'm glad I bought it last year, and I really enjoyed it.

Unbreakable is the story of Kennedy, a 17 year old who one days finds her mother dead in their house. As if things couldn't get any worse, she's seeing ghosts and one even tried to kill her. But then she meets Jared and Lukas Lockhart, twin brothers who tell her that her mother wasn't really who she said she was, and that she was keeping things from Kennedy. Kennedy soon discovers that her mother was one of 5 members of Legion, a small secret society responsible for protecting the world against evil supernatural beings. These 5 members of Legion were all killed...on the same night.

Kennedy is thrown into a world she never knew existed, grouped together with people she's never met, and to make things worse, the town thinks she's gone missing and there's a man hunt on the go for her. As Kennedy, the twins and the two other members of the newly formed Legion, Priest and Alara, start a supernatural scavenger hunt for the pieces of a weapon that will destroy the demon that killed the previous members, Kennedy is not only learning about different weapons, and symbols, and salt lines to keep demons out, but she's attacked by vengeance spirits, and can't shake her feelings for one of the boys.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked Kennedy as a character and found that even though there was evidence right before her eyes, she took her time accepting the news things that were being thrown at her, and I think that's something that a lot of books don't really do very well. To me, it seems that too often characters accepts these huge secret reveals and life changing events all too easily, but I felt that with Kennedy it took longer, which was a lot more realistic. The other characters were also great, and I found myself liking all of them for various reasons. Each had very different personalties, and skills, and back stories, and it was great to read. The story line was pretty good, and I liked the scavenger-hunt type feel to it. It was also scary. I'm not one for reading horror books or even ones that I think are going to scare the socks off me, so I'm not really used to it. In hind sight, this book probably wasn't scary at all, but I did read parts thinking 'ohmygosh that's terrifying'.

If you like supernatural books, with evil ghosts and secret societies, teenagers falling for each other in the midst of life-threatening situations, then give this book a go. At only 300 ish pages, it's a fast read, and the story clips along at a good rate.


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

Read more »

No comments

The Bone Season | Samantha Shannon | Reviewed by Ria

Monday, 9 June 2014

The Bone Season | Samantha Shannon | Reviewed by Ria

*image via Goodreads

Paige Mahoney is a clairvoyant and in this world her gift is seen as a threat which could have her arrested. The only place she can call home is within the depths of London's criminal underground, hiding from the city's security force - Scion - as part of the an illegal ring of clairvoyants called the Seven Seals. Her job, as a clairvoyant dreamwalker is to break into other people's minds.

But Paige is soon captured by the Scion police after using her gift in public and is taken to Oxford, where she meets an even bigger foe…the Rephaim. This new species are an ancient race who have been collecting voyants for centuries to train them to become their own personal army.

Paige is hellbent on getting her freedom back at any cost, even if it means learning something about her mysterious Rephaite keeper, Warden, and indoctrinate herself into this twisted new life.

So what’s my verdict?

After the absolute onslaught of hype and promo for this book, I think it’s safe to say I had big expectations for The Bone Season, and it did start of well. Paige Mahoney is a tough, Irish born and bred female protagonist who’s not afraid to look you in the eye when she’s angry, I loved her resilience and slightly roguish quality in the way she acted during the book. 

The first few chapters were cinematic but once the story reached Oxford and the plot lines with the Rephaim, I felt the pace slow to a point where I wasn't quite sure what was going on. There’s no doubt Samantha Shannon has created a universe that is rich detail, but keeping up with the different traits of certain clairvoyants, the entire history of the Rephaim and Scion can feel a bit overwhelming and there were times where I wished information was actually held back a little to keep a little mystery about the world.

Despite this, I can't fault intricate detail of Shannon’s universe, she’s really thought of everything in terms of history, current society (both the good and bad aspects) and even colloquial slang. I also found myself intrigued by the colourful host of diverse characters throughout the book, all of whom I'm hoping we'll get to see more of – especially Paige’s criminal cohort of the Seven Seals, all of whom seem like a pretty fascinating bunch. 

All in all, what really drew me into The Bone Season is the world and concept of the novel. Clairvoyancy is a facet of fantasy I haven't personally read, especially in this depth, so it was refreshing and original to me. I'll also give Shannon credit for the last few chapters of the book, I definitely felt the writing found its footing but it’s a shame it didn't happen sooner for me. Hopefully the second book in the serious, The Mime Order, will focus more on driving the plotline and characters forward, now the world of Scion and the Rephaim have been established, and I definitely see potential for the sequel to be greater.

Reading Soundtrack:

House of Cards: Radiohead; Fire: Kasabian; Spectrum: Florence + The Machine; Bad Blood: Bastille; Death Rattle: Mallory Knox; Vox Populi: 30 Seconds To Mars; Room To Breathe: You Me At Six

For lovers of…The Discworld series, Neil Gaiman, and JK Rowling.

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

Read more »

1 comment

Angelfall | Susan Ee | Review

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Angelfall | Susan Ee | Review

“I never kid about my warrior demigod status."

"Oh. My. God." I lower my voice, having forgotten to whisper. "You are nothing but a bird with an attitude. Okay, so you have a few muscles, I’ll grant you that. But you know, a bird is nothing but a barely evolved lizard. That’s what you are.” - Susan Ee, Angelfall 

It's been six weeks since earth was attacked by angels, and it's not looking good for the humans. Penryn and her family are leaving their home to find a safer place to stay. On their journey through he night Penryn sees something terrifying, a single while feather falling from the sky.

I wasn’t quite sure about picking up this book because a novel with angels didn’t sound like my cup of tea at all. But after reading only positive reviews about this book I caved in and decided to give it a try. And boy, was I pleasantly surprised! The thing that usually scares me a bit about novels with angels is that they’re going to have a strong religious message and that’s not something I’m that interested in reading. But that’s not really the case with Angelfall  by Susan Ee. The novel even has something as original and refreshing as an angel who isn’t sure if he believes in God or not.

But let’s leave the whole discussion about religion because I guess everything is open for everyone's own interpretation. So, let’s talk about my over all thoughts about the book instead. You know what my first thought was after I finished reading it? Wow! This is what I hoped Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor to be (I’m one of those few people who was quite disappointed with that book). Angelfall  is a fast-paced, original and apocalyptic urban fantasy. Being a person who usually enjoys apocalyptic novels way more that urban fantasy I found it to be a refreshing take on the genre. To be completely honest, this is not a perfect novel. The characters are to some extent a bit stereotypical and Susan Ee’s writing style isn’t mind-blowing (but absolutely good enough). But over all this was a very fun and pleasant reading experience. The story includes some interesting and very original plots and it’s a true page-turner and I also really enjoyed the apocalyptic take on urban fantasy. So, I really recommend Angelfall to anyone who’s looking for a fun, fast-faced and original urban fantasy to read. I give Angelfall by Susan Ee 4/5 stars.

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

Read more »

4 comments

Struck | Jennifer Bosworth | Review

Sunday, 3 November 2013

Struck | Jennifer Bosworth | Review

"My name is Mia Price and I am a lightening addict. 

I want the lightning to find me. I crave it like lungs crave oxygen. 

Nothing Makes you feel more alive than being struck."

With a description like that, I was intrigued. But I was a little disappointed.

Struck, by Jennifer Bosworth,  follows the story of Mia Price, who lives in the city with her mother and brother, just trying to get by. The story begins just after the biggest earthquake ever has hit, and nothing is like it used to be. People are homeless, and those with homes are only just getting by. Kids like Mia and her brother Parker are able to get food rations if they attend school as usual, so, in an attempt to help their mentally sick mother, they do so. Their mother, who never leaves the house, watches Rance Ridley Prophet on TV, a crazy man who is, essentially, the leader of a religious cult. At school, Mia discovers that, along with the Followers of Prophet, there are another group of people among them, the Seekers, who tell Mia that she has the Spark, and is the one who is going to stop both Prophet from getting into people's minds, and also the storm that is fast approaching.

That's the main gist of the story, but as I got past the first few chapters, I began to discover that it wasn't really what I was expecting. I think I expected more lightning, more storm chasing, or more of this lightning addiction that was mentioned in the description. It became quite clear that it was more about Mia saving or destroying the world and stopping a false prophet and his crazy followers, than what I thought. Which was fine, in itself. I don't think many of the books we read are what we thought they would be, but I did find myself getting bored with it. I didn't really care for any of the characters, the love interest was a bit creepy, and while the story line had it's cool moments, over all, I don't think it was the book for me.

However! If you like books about religious cults, TV shows, and secret societies that run out of high schools, with a stalker-ish love interest, then you might enjoy this book. Don't let my negative views on it stop you from reading it. I've given it 2 stars, because, going with Good Reads rating system, it 'was okay'. I liked the idea of being addicted to lightning strikes, but I feel it didn't come through enough.

Read more »

No comments

Thin Space | Jody Casella | Review

Monday, 2 September 2013

Thin Space | Jody Casella | Review

Image via Goodreads
When we first meet Marshall Windsor he is consumed by grief after losing his twin brother Austin just a few months ago in a car accident where he was driving. One month after the accident elderly neighbour Mrs. Hansel also passed away, but not before she explained the Celtic idea of ‘thin spaces’ to the boys. The theory is that if someone comes into the world and dies in the same place a small space where the living can step through and visit the world of the deceased is created. Convinced that she will create her very own thin space upon her death she shares the details with Marsh as a possible way for him to make peace with what happened to his brother.

The book kicks off with a short prologue which briefly explores the car accident that now haunts Marsh on a daily basis. Unable to find the thin space that Mrs Hansel believed her death would create for him and desperate to be re-united with his brother, Marsh has spent the last two months pacing around town barefoot in the middle of winter in the hope that he will stumble across another thin space. So, when Maddie and her family move in to Mrs. Hansel’s old house Marsh sees an opportunity to get back inside the room where she believed the thin space would be formed.

The concept of thin spaces was new and intriguing to me and therefore made the story stand out as something a little unusual and refreshing different within the YA genre. Not usually one to opt for anything ‘supernatural’ I actually really enjoyed this element as although it was important to the story it wasn’t always the focus and I didn’t feel as though it was overpowering.

As a main character I actually found Marsh very likable. Of course due to the point in his life that we enter the story his situation makes the reader instantly feel empathy toward him however also in general I found myself enjoying his narration. I also found the supporting characters to be well-rounded and described with just enough information to give the reader a good idea of who they are without feeling overwhelmed with unnecessary background information that would slow the story down.

Thin Space does come with a twist, a mysterious secret Marsh can’t bring himself to share, which I’m a little disappointed to say that I did predict before the reveal. Despite having a good idea of what the secret might be (there are definitely clues!) I was still kept intrigued to find out just how it would be revealed and what repercussions it would have. Following on with this theme the book concludes with a powerful one word ending that will leave you wondering just what might have happened next and hoping that things will work out for Marsh.

The writing style is very easy to follow throughout and I didn’t find myself getting confused or lost at all. Coupled with good pacing, a unique plot and a page count of only around 250, Thin Space is a quick and captivating read which is definitely worth picking up on it’s release next week.

Click here to pre-order your copy now!

This post was written by regular reviewer Erin, get to know her here
*Review copy c/o Netgalley

Read more »

No comments

Dark Summer | Lizzy Ford | Review

Sunday, 14 July 2013

Dark Summer | Lizzy Ford | Review

Yet another freebie on my Kindle. I actually quite enjoyed this book. I think perhaps because it has a school-like feature through it, and I really enjoy that. The description on Goodreads says:

A school for Witchlings. The ultimate choice between Light and Dark...Where the price of a mistake is your soul. Sixteen-year-old Summer doesn't expect her new boarding school to be any different than the rest: a temporary stay, until her uncontrollable magic gets her thrown out again. In her mind, there’s no point in getting too friendly with anyone. That is, until she notices Decker, the boy who will become the Master of Night and Fire on his eighteenth birthday.When she learns that this special school has attracted others with magic in their blood, she is hopeful that this time around, things may be different. Besides, she can’t deny her interest in Decker, and when he rescues her one night from the dark forests of the Rocky Mountains, their connection is instant.Yet a relationship with Decker may prove to be Summer’s downfall, forcing her to choose between Light and Dark, life and death, love – and their souls.One choice. One soul. One price.

Sounds kinda silly, but I quite liked it. Summer, the main character, arrives at this new school, one she is sure she will be kicked out of, and doesn't try hard to fit in or make friends. But then enter boy number one, who, it turns out, isn't the right boy...so enter boy number two.

The characters were quite typical of any teenage sort of story: The main character who feels like she doesn't fit in/she's different etc., the handsome popular boy, his brooding brother, the popular girl who is the biggest cow on earth, and the crazy friend who is just a little bit weird. There's even the trusty side-kick animal in there too. But even though they were typical characters, I found myself liking them anyway, and I actually thought the main character, Summer, was half-way decent. Normally, as you may know by now, I'm not really one for main characters - there's always another character I like better - but I think that Ford did a good job at writing her, so she had just enough damsel-in-distress/'I'm so different etc' and also a bit of kick and I'm-gonna-stand-up-for-myself-ness.

The end came only as a little of a surprise to me, as I had accidentally read the blurb of the second book, so slightly knew what was going to happen (guys, don't do that), but if I hadn't have read that, then I think it would have been a 'oh, really? What?' kinda moment.

For another free book, it was pretty good. Not as good as other books, but good enough, I think, that I will read the next one.

Image from Goodreads

Read more »

1 comment

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. 

Read more »

No comments

The Vampire Chronicles | Anne Rice | Review

Friday, 25 January 2013

The Vampire Chronicles | Anne Rice | Review

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice hands down have to be my favorite 'traditional vampire books' apart from Dracula. They are absolutely amazing. I know they span more than three books (about 7 in total) but these three are the main babies. I've read these more times than I can probably count, their just so good!

First of all, Interview with a Vampire meets our three main characters, Louis, Lestat and Claudia. We get told the story our these 3 vampric souls from the words of Louis spoken to a reporter in a bid to write down his life story. Within this book we get introduced to some old souls of Armand and tales of the old within the Theater of Vampires. This first book is what sucked me in, the description, the life and the time period amazed me. I love anything old and this was set in around the 18th century and it drew me in.

Second, the Vampire Lestat we meet even older beings with Marius and and Gabrielle. Here we get the full and tragic story of Lestat which is a very different tale to the one told to us by Louis. Very different indeed, here we go back even further in time to the 16th century and then even further to the old legends of Marius and his becoming. At first I rather disliked this book, I just found it annoying and whiny and a little boring but the more I read the more it grew on me!

Lastly, Queen of the Dammed. Now this one, it always takes me a while to read. I just seem to struggle through it, I adore the story and the characters. I rather dislike Lestat and prefer everyone else so much more. It did contribute to the story with the real Queen of the Dammed but I just felt like it slightly bored me and it just took a little time to get going I guess. However I would consider this book the end to these books, I feel with this book they are over. I feel as if the other books just slightly ruin what has been built up and created by the earlier ones.

These books are filled with wonderful vampires who are old and traditional and just so full of love. They are by far my favorite. If you haven't read them yet and you like vampires, I urge you to read them! 

This review was written by regular reviewer Elle, learn more about her here.

Photo credit to Elle.

Read more »

1 comment

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children | Ransom Riggs | Review

Sunday, 20 January 2013

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children | Ransom Riggs | Review

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs tells the story of sixteen year old Jacob. After witnessing his grandfather's death, Jacob's life is not the same. He is sent to therapy to try and help his grief and fear of a monster which he's not sure is real or an item of his imagination. But nothing can help him from his nightmares. As  the book develops, Jacob starts to think about the last few things his grandfather said to him before he died. Slowly but surely, the clues present themselves and the only way to investigate further is to go to a small island in Wales. His grandfather spent his childhood there under the care of Miss Peregrine. As Jacob starts searching for some answers, he begins to realise that the stories his grandfather used to tell him of the other children are more than just stories.

I really liked the storyline of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. It was a proper journey that Jacob had to go on in order to find the answers of what his grandfather's childhood was really like. I found it really interesting how the author developed the book.  It's kind of hard to explain but I just found it really unexpected and then I was encouraged to read more. I really enjoyed the pictures, although I found some of them quite disturbing.

I don't know whether it was because I have been busy recently, but I found it really hard to get into the book and that it was quite slow moving until you reached a certain point in it. Another disadvantage about this book, for me, was that I didn't like Jacob as I do for most characters I read in books. I don't know why, I just couldn't empathise for him in certain situations.

I will give Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children a 3 1/2 star rating because, although I liked the story, I just couldn't sympathise with the characters. Also, I really like a book which keeps me engaged throughout every chapter, and I prefer it when the chapters aren't too long.

If you are at all interested in reading scary books or books which have a bit of a thrill to them then I would recommend this to you. I know we all have our own different preferences so even though I had my disadvantages, it still is a very good book.

This book was reviewed by regular reviewer Lucy, get to know her here.

Photo from Goodreads 

Read more »

1 comment