Review: King Cave by Scarlett Dawn

Title: King Cave

Author: Scarlett Dawn

Series: Forever Evermore #2

Publisher: Escape

Publication date: 01 2014

Format: Kindle | 432 pages

Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads

The safe, comfortable world of Lily Ruckler and her fellow Mystical Kings and Queens is rocked to the core by the attacks at King Hall. Not only does Lily have to kill the Commoners attacking her people, she also has to assume the mantle of leadership, and bring the surviving Mysticals to King Cave. 

It should have been too much, but she is not alone. Ezra becomes her rock, her best friend, the one person who understands. As Pearl and Jack struggle with inconsolable loss, Ezra and Lily work to keep the Mys community safe in their new home, and plan a deadly retaliation. 

Their friendship saves them both...but it also draws attention. Whispers. Judgment. It's not normal for Shifters and Vampires to be friends, and when a horrifying truth is revealed, their relationship morphs from unusual to unspeakable. Lily is good at keeping secrets that could get her killed. Is she willing to risk Ezra's life as well?

 

 

My thoughts:

I really don't know what it is with this author and her books. So far in this series, I've come across things that I really hate in books but I just can't stop reading. Seriously, what is it?

I fell in love with the first book. I've read it quite a few times and I still can't get enough of it but I was afraid the writing would be the death of me with this one. I didn't want to be disappointed. There were still the same problems as the first book with the timings jumping around a lot and the rushed writing, but I still adored this book and I still, for the life of me, can't put my finger on why. To be honest, I don't really want to.

Lily and Ezra's chemistry is just off the charts and it was by far my favourite part of the book. Ever since finishing the first book, I've been wondering how they would get together and if it would be anticlimactic or if they would have to really work for it. Boy, it was something alright. It was so well worth the wait. 

I have to say, one thing I was definitely disappointed with was how much Pearl and Jack were featured in the book. As in, they weren't really. The four friends had a really endearing relationship that didn't seem forced and fit into the story really well, but with this read, they pretty much went missing for half the book to fit in Ezra and Lily's new developments.

I'm still in love with all of the characters. There's a great element of humour to these stories which makes these characters work really well together and that in turn, kept me reading.

All in all, I really enjoyed this read. It was by no means perfect, but it was a lot of fun so I don't really care.

My rating: 8/10

 

Scarlett Dawn:

 

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Forever Evermore:

1. King Hall
2. King Cave
3. King Tomb
4. Chosen Thief

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Blog Tour and Giveaway | Confessions of an Undercover Girlfriend

Title: Confessions of an Undercover Girlfriend

Author: Kay Marie

Series: Confessions #2

Format: Kindle 

Publication date: October 11th 2016

Genre: NA | Humour | Romance

Goodreads

Summary:

So, I'm no longer a virgin sex columnist—thank you, Ollie—but if I thought that was going to make my life easier, boy was I wrong! John is back in town determined to win my forgiveness. Blythe is more ready than ever to take me down. Bridget is totally onto the new twinkle in my eye. And, well, Ollie is just as distractingly delicious as usual.

So, naturally, I have a few more confessions to make.

Confession #1: I came up with what I thought would be the perfect plan to keep my relationship with Ollie a secret—pretend to get back together with John!

Confession #2: It backfired. A lot.

My thoughts:

If any of you have read my review of the first book in this series, Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist, you’ll know that I was really liking this series so far. I loved the protagonists quirky personality and the romance made for some hilarity that ended up being really cute. You can read my review for the first book here.

As usual, reading the second book of the series was a little nerve wracking - would it live up to my expectations? It did, it really did. But not in the way I was expecting.

The first book, to me at least, was just funny. It was a lot more than that of course, but I liked it because it let me have a little giggle and forget about my problems for a bit. This one however, felt more real somehow. Skylar really grew up throughout this read and it was more about her figuring herself out than the actual romance.

This book stood out. Cute romance novels like these always follow the same steps in the plot - the guy messes up ( that’s covered in the first book ), the girl gets upset and then the guy wins her back. It’s not the case here - Skylar is a mess. She does things in this book that almost has me banging my head against a wall, but she figures stuff out and she is the one that has to make up for her mistakes. There’s not a lot of books out there that feature a female protagonist being the cause of fights and breakups but this book is all about that and I appreciate it.

Also, I really liked the introduction of the new side of Blythe. It was nice getting to know the real her and she turns out to be a pretty great character. Of course all of the past characters play a big part in this book and it made for a great read. I really like this set of characters. Plus…Ollie is yummy.

All in all I enjoyed this read. It wasn’t as funny as the first book but it offered something different that made it stand out to me. I love Skylar because she isn’t perfect, far from it actually, and that made me relate to this book that much more. 

My rating: 8/10

Kay Marie:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

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Review: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Title: An Abundance of Katherines

Author: John Green

Publisher: Penguin

Publication date: 10 May 2012

Format: Paperback | 272 pages

Genre: YA | Contemporary

Goodreads

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a blood-thirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun - but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

My thoughts:

After being dumped by his 19th girlfriend, all of whom were named Katherine, Colin is persuaded by best friend Hassan to go on a road trip to take his mind off his heartbreak. Being the prodigy he is, Colin is on a mission to save everyone the trouble of relationship break ups by creating a formula to predict who will be the dumper and who will be the dumpee.

What I liked most about this read was that it constantly had me laughing, either that or it left me with a huge grin on my face. There was just something about the characters that got to me. Colin's so clever and yet he manages to be so clueless about a whole lot of things, especially relationships. Hassan just has these great one liners that never failed to make me crack up laughing. Colin was cute but Hassan was just downright hilarious.

The plot to this book is pretty simple. It's all about character development, friendship and a little bit of romance thrown in. It's all carried by the characters in my opinion. With such brilliant characters who are truly great friends, you can't help but wish them to figure out where they're going and to make the best of what they've got. And they do. There was a very realistic ending that left a lot open to the imagination but the characters had gotten to where they needed to be. I thought the ending was perfect.

 

I do think that this book would be a hit and miss with a lot of people. I can imagine Hassan and Colin getting on some people's nerves if they're not into books that don't have such a clear direction.

 

Generally I really enjoyed this read, aside from it being a little slow at times, I loved how awkward it was and the situations the characters got into really did make me laugh. It was a good time.

 

My rating: 8/10

 

 John Green:

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Review: Red Glove by Holly Black

Title: Red Glove

Author: Holly Black

Series: Curse Workers #2

Publisher: Gollancz

Publication date: 16 Jun 2011

Format: Paperback | 272 pages

Genre: YA | Paranormal 

Goodreads

Curses and Cons

Magic and the Mob

In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, but now he knows the truth - he's the most powerful curse worker around. He can transform anything - or anyone - into something else. That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Now she's back, but she's been cursed to love him. If Lila's love is as false as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit him to help find the killer. But the mob wants Cassel too - they know how valuable he could be to them. He will have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. Where can he turn when he can't trust anyone - least of all, himself?

My thoughts:

After finding out he's one of the most powerful curse worker's around, Cassel Sharpe can't trust anyone to keep his secret and protect him from being exploited. A lot of people want him to work for them and will use any means to get it to happen - bribery, blackmail and even murder are all on the table where Cassel's involved. The only person he can really trust is himself.

I will say right off the bat that I didn't enjoy this read as much as the first one in the series. I didn't find it as thrilling simply because the element of surprise wasn't there to the same extent. I already knew what Cassel could do and what the rest of the characters curses are. It just wasn't the same.

Those elements were there on a smaller scale though. I liked the mystery involved in this one and how Cassel (or Holly Black I should say) kept the answer secret until the very end, even though he knew who the murderer was quite some time before it was revealed.

What takes the biscuit for me, in both this read and the previous one in the series, was how Cassel dealt with his problems in such a genius way. He waits until he has all the facts possible and then puts them together to plan a huge con. The cons are the best part of the book. When everything comes together and everyone plays their part - pure genius. It gives Cassel such depth and mystery that I can't help but want to get to know him more.

Overall I really liked this read and I can't wait to see more of Cassel and his brilliant ideas. I definitely recommend it.

My rating: 8/10

Holly Black:

Goodreads | Website | Livejournal | Twitter

 

Curse Workers:

1. White Cat
2. Red Glove
3. Black Heart 

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Review: People's Republic by Robert Muchamore

Title: People's Republic

Author: Robert Muchamore

Series: Aramov #1

Publisher: Hodder

Publication date: 05 Apr 2012

Format: Paperback | 432 pages

Genre: YA 

Goodreads

CHERUB's newest recruit is on his first job: befriending a spoilt rich kid whose grandma runs a billion - dollar criminal empire. But twelve-year-old Ryan's got no idea that this routine mission will turn into one of the biggest in CHERUB history…

My thoughts:

I'm a huge fan of the CHERUB series and I've started reading the spin off series, Henderson's boys, too. I started reading these books when I was in high school and I've been following them ever since, albeit slowly. While I finished CHERUB a while back, I've yet to catch up on the other two series, including this one.

This book definitely wasn't disappointing. It had all of the traits I've grown to love from Muchamore, especially his sense of humour. While you can expect lots of action and suspense from his reads, the humour is what separates them from other books featuring a plot based on espionage. 

I will mention, as is the case with a lot of series, that CHERUB holds a special place in my heart. I followed those characters for a long time, so to be reading about the same place and some of the same supporting characters, I missed James terribly. I couldn't help but compare Ryan to James and how he first behaved on the same campus with the same teachers. 

 

This book seemed to be a lot more plot driven than the CHERUB books. The other series focused a lot on James and his character development and for a 12 year old, Ryan seemed a lot more mature than James did in the beginning. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it just gave the book a different feel to the other series and made it stand out quite a bit. It wasn't more of the same stuff.

 

I'm definitely interested to see what happens with this whole Aramov clan - it was interesting to find out that one mission will carry on across a few books.

 

My rating: 8/10

 

Robert Muchamore:

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Aramov:

1. People's Republic
2. Guardian Angel
3. Black Friday
4. Lone Wolf

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Review: Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist!

Title: Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist!

Author: Kay Marie

Series: N\A (no info. yet but seems like there will be a sequel)

Format: Kindle | 304 pages

Genre: New Adult | Romance | Humour

Goodreads

My name is Skylar Quinn. I just moved to New York with my best friend Bridget, and I have a confession. Well, more than one. Okay, quite a few really. Fine, here goes!

Confession #1: I'm a sex columnist. Hold on, that's not really the confession. You see, I'm sort of a virgin...sex columnist.

Confession #2: I'm kind of in love with Bridget's older brother, Oliver. No, I was. No, I am. Wait, was? Am? Crap.

Confession #3: I've been avoiding Oliver for four years. Or I was until today, because he just moved in. Yes, you read that correctly. He's my new roommate. So that night we've both been pretending never happened, well, we might not be able to keep it a secret any longer. 

And trust me, this is only the beginning.

 

 

My thoughts:

Wow…this read was bloody hilarious from the very beginning. I mean really.

The main character, Skylar, had me in hysterics from the first page. I've never connected with a character so fast - her running commentary just had me choking back a laugh and it carried on from there. 

 

Skylar was a brilliant character. She had great relationships and her quirky personality made for some great reading. I loved how she really grew up throughout the read and ended up almost being a completely new character until she brings it back around to her old self again when the opportunity arises. She was a blast.

 

This read was just an all round hilarious, cute romance with lots of memorable characters - I loved every minute of it. I challenge anybody to read this without at least a smile on their face.

 

Memorable Quotes:

The best boyfriend I've ever had was a fictional character.

 

It's hard to be intimidated by someone you've had burping contests with.

 

My rating: 8/10

 

Kay Marie:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

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Review: The Truth About Jack by Jody Gehrman

Title: The Truth About Jack

Author: Jody Gehrman

Series: N/A

Publisher: Entangled: Crush

Publication date: April 14, 2015

Format: Kindle | Netgalley | 192 pages

Genre: YA | Contemporary Romance

Goodreads

Dakota McCloud has just been accepted into a prestigious art school. Soon she'll leave behind the artists' colony where she grew up―hippie dad, tofu since birth, yurt―and join her boyfriend and best friend on the East Coast. It was the plan…until Dakota finds out her boyfriend and best friend hooked up behind her back. 

Hurt and viciously betrayed, Dakota pours out her heart on a piece of paper, places it in a bottle, and hurls it into the ocean. But it doesn't quite go where she expects…

Jack Sauvage finds the bottle washed up on the shore and responds to Dakota's letter. Except what if his straight-laced life doesn’t jive with the free-spirited girl he’s only seen from afar? As Jack creates a persona he believes she’ll love, they slowly fall for each other with each new letter. Now Jack is trying to find a way to make this delicate, on-paper romance happen in real life…without revealing his deception.

My thoughts:

What a cute story!

I've fallen in love with Jack. It's official. Where can I get me one of those?

Seriously I thought this book was adorable on so many different levels. Dakota was a lovely character who was really relatable to readers her age or otherwise. She was struggling with what she wants to do with her life - does she really want to go straight to college or to get some travelling done? We've all been there in some way right? 

I loved how artistic Dakota and Jack were. They really complimented each other and it made their relationship so real and easy going. Nothing was forced so it was something any reader would root for in the end. I couldn't wait for them to get together.

What I loved more than anything though, was the idea that friendship comes first. I hate the idea of the 'friend-zone'. So many people talk about how at the root of every relationship is some kind of friendship. I mean who would hate the idea of loving your best friend? Jack and Dakota were friends first and in the best way possible. They shared a connection - they were both artists, Dakota with her sculptures and Jack with his gorgeous pianist fingers. They understood each other, and that's why they worked so much better than most YA couples.

The only problem I had with this read was that I wanted more. And I don't mean that in the good way. At times I thought the read was a little rushed and I wanted to get to know the characters a lot more than the read allowed for. I wanted a little more of a fight and a little more of a resolved ending where the past is mentioned and there's some kind of closure. Especially for Jack. Especially between Jack and Miles, that was intense.

All in all I really enjoyed this read. It's super quick and it'll leave you wanting more for sure. Go check it out.

My rating: 8/10

Jody Gehrman:

Goodreads | Website | Facebook

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Review: Brigands M.C. by Robert Muchamore

Title: Brigands M.C.

Author: Robert Muchamore

Series: Cherub #11

Publisher: Hodder

Publication date: September 3rd 2009

Format: Hardback | 406 pages

Genre: YA

Goodreads

Every Cherub agent comes from somewhere. Dante Scott still has nightmares about the death of his family, brutally killed by a biker gang.

Dante is given the chance to become a member of Cherub, a trained professional with one essential advantage: adults never suspect that children are spying on them.

But when Dante joins James and Lauren Adams on a mission to infiltrate Brigands Motorcycle Club, he's ready to use everything he's learned to get revenge on the people who killed his family…

My thoughts:

While still including siblings James and Lauren Adams, Brigands M.C. focuses mainly on new character Dante Scott. Before Cherub, Dante was the son of a Brigands M.C member who was brutally murdered in from of him along with the rest of his family. Cherub finally gives Dante the opportunity to get revenge on the man who ruined his life by going undercover and infiltrating the biker gang along with James and Lauren acting as his siblings. 

I was a little apprehensive when I picked up the book and saw that a completely new character was being introduced, especially considering it's almost the end of the series. I have to say though, I loved Dante. I adored his backstory at the beginning of the book and his introduction to Cherub. Dante was a character with an incredible amount of depth and aside from all the action that goes on in this book, the story is more about Dante's journey to acceptance of what happened to his family early on in his life. It made the book stand out from the rest of the Cherub series which was amazing.

In some ways though, this book isn't as action packed as some of the others in the series. A lot of the book isn't involving the mission at all, but Dante's life before Cherub instead. It added a lot of depth and meaning to the mission later on, but it's not as exciting in terms of fighting and actual spying.

 

Overall I loved this read. It had all of my favourite characters and then some, loads of action and a new incredibly detailed character was added which made me one happy reader.

 

My rating: 8/10

 

Robert Muchamore:

 

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

 

Cherub:

 

1. The Recruit
2. Class A
3. Maximum Security
4. The Killing
5. Divine Madness
6. Man vs. Beast
7. The Fall
8. Mad Dogs
9. The Sleepwalker
10. Dark Sun
11. The General
12. Brigands M.C
13. Shadow Wave

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Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty 

Author: Jenny Han

Series: Summer #1

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication date: December 2010

Format: eBook | 304 pages

Genre: YA | Contemporary 

Goodreads

When each summer begins, Belly leaves her school life behind and escapes to Cousins Beach, the place she has spent every summer of her life. Not only does the beach house mean home away from home, but her favourite people are there: Susannah, her mother's best friend, and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has been chasing Conrad for as long as she can remember, and more than anything, she hopes this summer will be different. Despite distractions from a new guy named Cam and lingering looks from Conrad's brother, Jeremiah, Belly's heart belongs to Conrad. Will he offer his to her? Will this be the summer that changes everything?

 

 

My thoughts:

Can someone please tell me why I've waited so long to read this book?

What I loved most about this read was not only was it all about summer, it was about how one girl changes over many summers. There were quite a few flashbacks of past summers with all of the characters living together so it made for some amazing opportunities to get to know the characters a whole lot more. You get to learn what makes them who they are and why they act the way they do in the main part of the story (the present time). The characters were amazingly well rounded and perfectly developed so I pretty much fell in love with every single one of them for different reasons.

The writing really captured the essence of summer - I could imagine all of the settings with ease and be reminded of my own summer experiences just from the tone of the book sometimes. Since it is December while I'm writing this review, this book succeeded in making me look forward to the summer if nothing else. 

 

The plot was also wonderful. It was nothing like I was expecting. I was thinking there would be a huge focus on romance for obvious reasons but there was so much more. This book was pretty heartbreaking at times and it left me in tears more than once. Since I loved the characters so much, everything that happened to them really hit home more than usual. 

 

Aside from the ending, which I hated, I thought this book was a fantastic read. I honestly can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.

 

My rating: 8/10

 

Jenny Han:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

Summer:

1. The Summer I Turned Pretty
2. It's Not Summer Without You
3. We'll Always Have Summer

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Review: The Fall by Robert Muchamore

Title: The Fall

Author: Robert Muchamore

Series: Cherub #7

Publisher: Hodder

Publication date: 15 Mar 2007

Format: Paperback | 352 pages

Genre: YA

Goodreads

 

 

  When an MI5 operation goes disastrously wrong, James Adams needs all of his skills to get out of Russia alive.

Meanwhile, his sister Lauren is on her first solo mission, trying to uncover a brutal human-trafficking operation.

And when James does get home, he finds that his nightmare is just beginning…

My thoughts:

I don't really have much to say about this read apart from 'I loved it'.

If you've read my reviews of the other books in the series, you'll realise I'm mostly just repeating myself most of the time now. I'm a big fan of this series so far, and part of the reason why is that this author has managed to keep the same great characters, amazing action and some hilarious moments running throughout all of the books in the series. The one and only thing that changes every time is the plot.

This plot was a lot more focused on James and Lauren rather than other characters. There wasn't anything at all on what missions the others were on so it was a great book for getting to know more about James and Lauren both individually, and their relationship as siblings. I thought the plot was a whole lot more intense than past books have ever been. There was an element of suspense where James is fearful of being kicked out of Cherub and Lauren is fighting to free girls from a trafficking operation. 

 

Overall this is a great read and as usual, it only makes me look forward to the next book more, especially with what James did towards the end the little idiot.

 

My rating: 8/10

 

Robert Muchamore:

 

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

 

Cherub:

 

1. The Recruit
2. Class A
3. Maximum Security
4. The Killing
5. Divine Madness
6. Man vs. Beast
7. The Fall
8. Mad Dogs
9. The Sleepwalker
10. Dark Sun
11. The General
12. Brigands M.C
13. Shadow Wave

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Review: The Riddle by Alison Croggon

Title: The Riddle

Author: Alison Croggon

Series: The Books of Pellinor #2

Publisher: Walker Books

Publication date: May 2nd 2005

Format: Paperback | 512 pages

Genre: YA | Fantasy 

Goodreads

Maerad is a girl with a tragic and bitter past, but her powers grow stronger by the day. Pursued by both the Light and the Dark, she and her mentor, Cadvan of Lirigon, seek the Riddle of the Treesong - the key to restoring peace to their ravaged kingdom. As she travels  from terrifying seas to vast stretches of glacial wilderness. Maerad is drawn ever closer to her enemy the Winterking, the auther of her sorrows and the strongest ally of the Nameless One - the greatest tyrant of all.

My thoughts:

The Riddle is the second book in The Books of Pellinor series - I've been a big fan of this series for quite a long time now so reading this book again was pretty nostalgic for me. It reminded me of a lot of things, mostly of how it felt to read this book for the first time, but also of what I was doing at the time. I was still in high school back then and I remember being bombarded with so much work that I had to catch bits of a chapter here and there - I was so desperate to finish this book to find out what happened to the characters. I would put off my friends at lunch just so I could stick my nose in this book until the bell rang for another lesson.

 

What I love most about this read is most definitely the characters. Without question, these characters really stuck with me from the very beginning. I loved how Maerad became more sure of herself in this book - after being freed from a life of slavery, she became more and more at ease with her freedom and right to voice her opinions. Don't get me wrong, she has some pretty stupid ideas about herself and those around her in this read, but this time, she has no problems voicing them. It gives her the chance to learn more about herself and those around her when people question her opinions - she's made all the better for it. 

 

I didn't enjoy the plot as much as the first book in the series, The Gift, just because in the beginning of the series, everything was so new to Maerad. I loved how everything became a challenge to her - from talking to new people, to being able to have a hot bath. There was a certain charm to her that this book didn't have so much. Aside from that, I enjoyed the new characters introduced and how they played a part in the story, especially the Winterking, he was interesting to say the least. 

 

Overall I love this book for more reasons than I can put down into words. I really recommend this series to anyone who is a fan of this genre and characters that will keep a place in your heart for a good while. 

 

My rating: 8/10

 

Alison Croggon:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter

 

The Books of Pellinor:

1. The Gift
2. The Riddle
3. The Crow
4. The Singing

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Review: Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Lament

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Series: Books of Faerie #1

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication date: October 8th 2008

Format: Paperback | 356 pages

Genre: YA | Fantasy

Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old Dee is a cloverhand - someone who can see faeries.

When she finds herself irresistibly drawn to beautiful, mysterious Luke, Dee senses that he wants something more dangerous than a summer romance.

But Dee doesn't realise that Luke is an assassin from the faerie world.

And she is his next target.

My thoughts:

 

I'm a big fan of Stiefvater and one of the things I love about her most is the way she writes. She has the ability to completely draw me into the story from the very first page as if I was always a part of the world she's created. This book was no exception.

 

I fell in love with the characters of Lament straight away. Dee was so relatable and vulnerable at times that I couldn't help but hope she got a happy ending. Luke was the perfect enigma for a story like this - I loved his mystery and the way Dee had to figure him out. 

 

The plot revealed no secrets until the very end - the ending of this book was a complete surprise to me which was brilliant since I hate being able to predict what will happen. Lament was packed full of suspense even when there wasn't much action involved. I couldn't help but wait for the moment that everything would go wrong for the characters.

 

Overall I really liked this read, despite my usual aversion for books involving faeries. I would definitely recommend it for both fans of this author and of this genre.

 

My rating: 8/10

 

Maggie Stiefvater:

Goodreads | Facebook | Blog | Website

 

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Review: Maximum Security by Robert Muchamore

Title: Maximum Security

Author: Robert Muchamore

Series: Cherub #3

Publisher: Hodder

Publication date: April 14th 2006

Format: Paperback | 277 pages

Genre: YA 

Goodreads

Over the years, CHERUB has put plenty of criminals behind bars. Now, for the first time ever, they've got to break one out…

Under American law, kids convicted of serious crimes can be sentenced as adults. Two hundred and eighty of these child criminals live in the sunbaked desert prison of Arizona Max.

In one of the most daring CHERUB missions ever, James Adams has to go undercover inside Arizona Max, befriend an inmate and then bust him out.

My thoughts:

I'm starting to really love how in your face these books really are. This book was pretty much nonstop action - it was incredibly exciting, intense and engaging. For a book that is mostly plot driven, I seriously couldn't put it down.

What I love about this author is that he makes his writing somewhat realistic. I know there are no kid spies, but in this story, the CHERUB kids still behave like children. It puts it all back into perspective when they mess up purely because of their age and I like that. 

The only problem I had was that I have a feeling James is going to become a character that's really hard to like. So far I love his character, but there are hints of him becoming a little too arrogant. As for the rest of the characters I love them. There wasn't a lot of mention of all of them which was a little disappointing, but there was a lot of focus on Lauren this time. Lauren is on her way to become my favourite character in the CHERUB series.

Overall I really loved this book and this series is becoming a must read for me. I can't get through them fast enough - for all the right reasons of course.

My rating: 8/10

 

Robert Muchamore:

 

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Cherub:

 

1. The Recruit
2. Class A
3. Maximum Security
4. The Killing
5. Divine Madness
6. Man vs. Beast
7. The Fall
8. Mad Dogs
9. The Sleepwalker
10. Dark Sun
11. The General
12. Brigands M.C
13. Shadow Wave

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Review: Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind

Title: Stone of Tears

Author: Terry Goodkind

Series: Sword of Truth #2

Publisher: Gollancz

Publication date: 10 Jul 2008

Format: Paperback | 1040 pages

Genre: Epic Fantasy 

Goodreads

The veil of the underworld has been torn.

And Darken Rahl, from beyond the veil, has begun to summon a sinister power worse than any he has wielded before.

Armed with the Sword of Truth, Richard Cypher, now become Richard Rahl, must learn to control his own new-found power; or the world will spin into darkness unending.

The Sisters of Light promise help. While Richard journeys to their forbidden city, his beloved Kahlan sets out for Ayindril, citadel of the old wizards, in search of Zedd and the help only he can lend. War, suffering, torture, and deceit lie on their paths. So, also, does their destiny...

 

My thoughts:

Wow this was one monster of a book!

So far in the series, I'm really enjoying the writing style of the author. There's just enough description for me to believe I'm really there whilst not being so detailed to bore me to tears.  I love getting to know the world the characters live in and appreciate the imagination that's gone into it.

I also really loved the new characters introduced, especially Gratch. They interacted really well with each other and every character had their part to play in the story. I hope I see more of some of them in the books to come.

The plot was a little all over the place at times since there was a lot of focus on subplots. The author switches the point of view of the characters almost constantly so the story doesn't really come together until the very end - with a book this size, it seems like a very long wait.

Overall I enjoyed this read. It was exciting and full of suspense - I can't wait to see what's in store for all of the characters.

My rating: 8/10

Terry Goodkind:

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Review: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Title: Magic Bites

Author: Ilona Andrews

Series: Kate Daniels #1

Publisher: Orion

Publication date: April 1st 2007

Format: Paperback | 288 pages

Genre: Adult | Urban Fantasy

Goodreads

Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren't for the magic…

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate's guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she's way out of her league—but she wouldn't have it any other way…

My thoughts:

I'm a big fan of this genre so of course that would mean I read a lot of it. It's started to take a lot more for me to fall in love with a series like this one, but I found myself impressed very quickly.

I felt a little out of my depth when I first started reading - the author didn't waste any time with introducing a load of characters and information about the world this book is set in. It didn't take long to get used to though and I steadily grew to love being able to figure out the ins and outs of this 'version' of Atlanta by myself. It made things a little more interesting.

What I loved most of all was the characters. Kate has a load of flaws - more than most protagonists - and she knows it, she doesn't cover them up. She also has her moments where her strength shines and that's where the read gets very exciting. I don't really know what to say about Curran. I actually didn't like him at first, I found him to be really brash and slightly too arrogant but he's really, really grown on me. I really enjoyed the way he and Kate interacted - it made me laugh at times, and at others I got incredibly excited to find out what was going to happen between them. Kate brought him back down to earth with how much she challenged him, so their relationship really worked. 

Overall I loved this book - it was full of action and suspense, but most of all, the romance was put aside for the most part so it wasn't the main focus of the story which was great. 

My rating: 8/10

Ilona Andrews:

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Kate Daniels:

1. Magic Bites
2. Magic Burns
3. Magic Strikes
4. Magic Bleeds
5. Magic Slays
6. Magic Rises

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Review: The Recruit by Robert Muchamore

Title: The Recruit

Author: Robert Muchamore

Series: Cherub #1

Publisher: Hodder

Publication date: April 15th 2004

Format: Paperback | 329 pages

Genre: YA 

Goodreads

A terrorist doesn't let strangers into her flat because they might be undercover police or intelligence agents, but her children bring their mates home and they run all over the place.

The terrorist doesn't know that one of these kids has bugged every room in her house, made copies of all her computer files and stolen her address book. The kid works for CHERUB.

CHERUB agents are aged between ten and seventeen. They live in the real world, slipping under adult radar and getting information that sends criminals and terrorists to jail.

For official purposes, these children do not exist.

 

My thoughts:

This read was definitely not what I was expecting. I've been planning to read this series for a while and I found myself having no problem getting stuck in!

There is no end to the action in this book. It's just constant excitement from beginning until the very end to the extent that I didn't put the book down - I read it entirely in one sitting. There are so many fight scenes, intense 'boot camp like' moments and an insane amount of violence for the age of the characters.

At times, it felt a little weird when the ages of the characters were mentioned since they seem so much older than they are. You'll see what I mean if you read the book. I have to admit it made me a little uncomfortable, but I digress.

The plot was a little here and there. A lot of events seemed to be packed into this book - in one book James gets put in a children's home, introduced to CHERUB, trained to become a CHERUB agent and partakes a small mission. Don't get me wrong, it was all amazing to read about, but it didn't flow very well as a story.

The characters are brilliant. What I loved most about this book actually. They all had their strengths and weaknesses, their own distinct characteristics and they were, above all, realistic. Apart from the whole spy business, they acted like kids - they made fun of each other, messed up, got punished and then moved on from it…they developed really well.

Overall I love this book. It's most definitely one I'll be coming back to over and over - I can't wait to see where the series goes from here.

My rating: 8/10

Robert Muchamore:

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Cherub:

1. The Recruit
2. Class A
3. Maximum Security
4. The Killing
5. Divine Madness
6. Man vs. Beast
7. The Fall
8. Mad Dogs
9. The Sleepwalker
10. Dark Sun
11. The General
12. Brigands M.C
13. Shadow Wave

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Review: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Title: Etiquette & Espionage

Author: Gail Carriger

Series: Finishing School #1

Publisher: Atom

Publication date: 05 Feb 2013

Format: Paperback | 307 pages

Genre: YA | Science Fiction | Steampunk

Goodreads

 Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners—and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realises the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage—in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

My thoughts:

I'm a big fan of Gail Carriger's books so when I heard she was writing a YA series I was beyond excited.

I immediately fell in love with all of the characters. I thought Sophronia made a brilliant heroine whilst still being a young girl and acting as such. She had a great personality that made me laugh quite a few times right from the very beginning of the book - I really can't wait to see more of her in the next one.

The plot was a little simpler than I would have liked but enjoyable nonetheless. I found this book enjoyable mostly due to Carriger's impressive writing style. There really is no end to the humour, wacky scenarios and quirky characters in any of her books. 

Overall this is a very quick, light hearted read that will make you giggle. I really enjoyed it just as much as the other books by this author so I sincerely recommend both this read and Gail's other books.

My rating: 8/10

Gail Carriger:

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Finishing School:

1. Etiquette & Espionage
2. Curtsies & Conspiracies - 2013
3. Waistcoats & Weaponry - 2014

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Review: Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick

Title: Shadows

Author: Ilsa J. Bick

Series: Ashes Trilogy #2

Publisher: Quercus

Publication date: 27th September 2012

Format: Paperback | 518 pages

Genre: Horror | YA | Zombies

Goodreads

Alex and Tom, un-Changed, face unthinkable horror in their desperate struggle to find each other.

But the biggest terror of all is the monster within. Because no one yet knows which young people Change, or why.

And no one knows who will be next…

My thoughts:

Wow. This book is intense!

I pretty much went into this read with an open mind and no expectations. It wasn't anything to do with the first book in the trilogy, I just hadn't had the best of luck with the books I'd read beforehand. Of course, that meant that pretty much anything would have impressed me at that point. But this book really did blow me away.

The first thing that surprised me was that it's totally different to the first book. It has a completely different layout with different characters and their point of views. The writing gave off a different vibe and the action was just ongoing throughout the entire book. I've seriously never read a book with that much action. Not ever. 

The plot was great. It was so exciting the whole way through and it had me biting my nails at points. This author definitely loves teasing her readers with little cliffhangers at the end of chapters - sometimes they would drive me crazy (in a good way) but it would only get me reading faster. I loved how high the levels of suspense got in various points of the story. Definitely the polar opposite to a dull read.

There were a lot of new characters introduced which made me a little apprehensive. The main problem, or honestly, the thing I'm not sure about, is the fact that at times I felt like the focus was being taken away from Tom, Alex and Ellie. Ellie basically disappeared and even though there's a reason for that, I felt that the new characters took too much of the focus. I really liked getting to know the new characters and I'm so anxious to find out what happened to them, but I definitely wanted more of Alex especially.

Overall I thought this was a fantastic read. Ilsa did what any author should do when it comes to a sequel, she kicked it up a notch, making this one brilliant book.

My rating: 8/10

Ilsa J. Bick:

Goodreads | Website | Facebook | Twitter

Ashes trilogy:

1. Ashes (review)
2. Shadows
3. Monsters - published Sep 2013

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Review: King Hall by Scarlett Dawn

Title: King Hall

Author: Scarlett Dawn

Publisher: Escape

Publication date: 08/2013

Format: Netgalley

Genre: New Adult | Paranormal

Goodreads

A fresh, meaty, sink-your-teeth-in-and-hold-on-tight new adult fantasy series kicks off with King Hall…
 
King Hall — where the Mysticals go to learn their craft, get their degrees, and transition into adulthood. And where four new Rulers will rise and meet their destinies. 
 
Lily Ruckler is adept at one thing:  survival.  Born a Mystical hybrid, her mere existence is forbidden, but her nightmare is only about to start. Fluke, happenstance, and a deep personal loss finds Lily deeply entrenched with those who would destroy her simply for existing — The Mystical Kings.  Being named future Queen of the Shifters shoves Lily into the spotlight, making her one of the most visible Mysticals in the world. But with risk comes a certain solace — her burgeoning friendships with the other three Prodigies: a wicked Vampire, a wild-child Mage, and a playboy Elemental. Backed by their faith and trust, Lily begins to relax into her new life. 
 
Then chaos erupts as the fragile peace between Commoners and Mysticals is broken, and suddenly Lily realises the greatest threat was never from within, and her fear takes on a new name: the revolution.

My thoughts:

I'm so glad I got to read this…

This was definitely a book I enjoyed reading. It was by no means perfect, but I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. It had a little bit of everything - humour, romance, action and quite a lot of heartbreak. 

The plot was a little different to the average Paranormal Romance which I loved. Humans were the main enemy of the supernatural creatures involved in the story which I haven't come across very often. I also really enjoyed the idea of the main characters being prodigies destined to be the next kings and queens of different supernatural creatures. This book wasn't just about magic, vampires and shifters. It also touched on discrimination in a way, with it being frowned upon for two different supernatural creatures (e.g a vampire and shifter) to have a relationship. It had a few original elements in it which is always a plus for me.

Like I said, it wasn't perfect. Sometimes the writing got a little sloppy and rushed. Also, there were quite a few time jumps in the story which I thought interrupted the pace the story was going at. A little frustrating. However, the story seemed to more than make up for anything I found a little annoying. I just couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen.

I also really loved the characters. There were a couple of characters in the beginning that were only mentioned a few times even though they were supposed to be important to the main character. Eventually, towards the end of the book, they completely disappeared, but I forgot about it after a while.

The main characters though were great. The Kings made me laugh with their means of punishing the prodigies and the prodigies, in turn, made me laugh with the way they interacted with each other at times. There's quite a bit of humour interspersed throughout the story which is another plus for me. 

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be getting my own copy when it comes out. I seriously can't wait to find out what happens next with that ending.

My rating: 8/10

Scarlett Dawn:

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Review: Thin Spaces

Title: Thin Spaces

Author: Jody Casella

Publisher: Simon Pulse | Beyond Words

Publication date: September 10th 2013

Format: Kindle | Netgalley

Genre: YA | Paranormal

Goodreads

Ever since the car accident that killed his identical twin brother, Marshall Windsor has been consumed with guilt and crippled by the secrets of that fateful night. He has only one chance to make amends and set things right. He must find a thin space—a mythical point where the barrier between this world and the next is thin enough for a person to step through to the other side.



But when a new girl moves into the neighbourhood, into the exact same house Marsh is sure holds a thin space, she may be the key—or the unraveling of all his secrets.



As they get closer to finding a thin space—and closer to each other—March must decide once and for all how far he’s willing to go to right the wrongs of the living…and the dead.

 

 

My thoughts:

 

 I'm really happy I got to read this one on Netgalley. I haven't read such a captivating book in a while.

 

What I really liked about this book at first was how different it was. The characters really weren't afraid to speak their minds and since they were incredibly well rounded and full of depth to boot, speaking their minds was a great reading experience.

 

I know a lot of people have already said they don't like the narration because of the protagonist Marshall. He was definitely hard work to begin to understand at first but after a while my heart just kept warming to him until my heart almost broke at the end. Marshall was relatable to me. Some people do incredibly weird things when they lose someone so close to them, so from the beginning I kind of took Marshall with a pinch of salt until his reasons behind his odd behaviour became clear. I understood his anger, frustration and self loathing quite a bit before the end of the book, but I guess for some readers, that kind of grief would be hard to read through.

 

So I definitely loved Marshall, he fit the needs of the story perfectly. But I also loved Maddie. She seemed so innocent to me in a strange way. She refused to listen to anybody about Marshall until she got to know him and formed her own opinion about him. I adored the way Maddie started to help Marshall in the simplest ways- just by being patient, giving him space and listening when he finally started spilling secrets. Both Marshall and Maddie seemed to need each other to have some semblance of a normal life.

 

The plot was original which was great. It had a touch of the paranormal genre to it with the idea of thin spaces - rare places where you can step through to the other side and speak to the dead. The story didn't completely revolve around that though which was refreshing - it was more about a journey of acceptance. Marshall and Maddie both sought to go to other side to speak to someone from their past so that they could move forward. Definitely enthralling from the start.

 

Overall this was a great read. Very quick to finish with well rounded characters and a great back story. Definitely recommend it.

 

My rating: 8/10

 

Jody Casella:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

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