A Darker Shade of Sorcery by William Collins

April 18, 20163 Comments

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Heeeellllo readers, hope you’re well – I’m sorry I’ve been a little bit quieter recently. We’ve had some really heartbreaking news recently (my family,) and it’s been a bit of a shock to be honest with you. It came after just not feeling like myself and then to suddenly get hit by a really devastating piece of news was just, horrible. So, I’ve been a little quiet. Give me a week or so, and hopefully all will be a little better.

The lonely and grieving Evan Umbra is the newest Venator to enter Veneseron, the school for demon hunters.

A Venator is a wizard, a spy and a demon hunter rolled into one. They’re taught how to wield their sorcery and enchanted weaponry by orcs, elfpires and aliens alike. Their missions range from battling monsters and saving countless lives in the multiple worlds, to the more peculiar, like wrangling killer unicorns and calming down drunken yetis.

But it soon becomes apparent that Evan is more than just a Venator. Everyone wants to kill or capture him, from demons to Dark-Venators and even people he’s supposed to be able to trust.

Evan reckons he probably won’t survive his first year at Veneseron.

So, the blurb for this book was really really long so I cut it down and now I’m going to re-write this so that might be a little silly but you know me. The book follows the life of Evan, who grows up with his Gran, up to her death. His life now is plagued by a number of bullies and a number of terrifying nightmares. There is also a girl named Brooke; who has always struggled with her family – neither have ever felt particularly close to their homes and it’s because they have magic within them. Brought to Veneseron, ( a little like Harry was brought to Hogwarts,) they learn how to use their magic to save the innocent, but it’s not going to be easy.

So what did I think? Firstly, this book was really FULL ON. You’re immediately thrown straight into the action. If I’m honest because it was so full on I did struggle a little to kind of sink into the book but as I pushed through I found myself unable to put it down if I’m honest. It gains a bit of a rhythm. So don’t stop – once the additional characters start flooding in it all flows again. All of the main characters are really well written with gorgeous character profiling. There are a hell of a lot of characters so I won’t go into each, but they have full-bodied profiles and brilliantly built-up throughout (especially Evan who I really adored.)

There are also a hella number of exciting demons and different shape-shifters and they are so unique. With different body-parts and different powers and qualities each was incredibly original and just part of the fun. It really added a dark edge to the book. The writing is also really brilliantly done; it’s a mix between, action, magic and full on demon fighting. I’ve seen the book being described as like Harry Potter; I get the comparison but this is a lot more gutsy. It doesn’t hold back and because of that we get a full-on in your face whistle stop ride and loved it. Every minute of it, although this author definitely owes me some sleep!

The only slight wobble I would suggest is that I found when we first made it into the world, there wasn’t a lot of time spent creating the world and that it would have helped to place the reader in the new environment. There’s a number of really intense scenes quite soon after we enter the new world and that would be the perfect time to throw in a bit more description about the landscape, but that’s a minor wobble.

So what did I think? I always say this but I don’t like fantasy books that much only a few hold my attention and this one did. From the beginning I loved the writing style – it’s very descriptive and doesn’t gloss over things. I did think a more extensive description of the world could have been included but that’s really only because everything else was so spot on. This author is one to keep an eye on, because I’m expecting big things.

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Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori) by Lian Hearn

January 23, 2016January 23, 20162 Comments

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Hellllllo readers, hope you’re well and not suffering from this horrible cough thing that is still going around; I can’t seem to get over it. It just keeps coming back again and again. I’ve decided this year to try to review some of my old favourite books that I have neglected a little on mylittlebookblog. I’m therefore going back into my book archives to bring you an old favourite of mine that I’ve read numerous times – Across the Nightingale Floor.

In his black-walled fortress at Inuyama, the warlord Iida Sadamu surveys his famous nightingale floor. Constructed with exquisite skill, it sings at the tread of each human foot. No assassin can cross it unheard.

The youth Takeo has been brought up in a remote mountain village among the Hidden, a reclusive and spiritual people who have taught him only the ways of peace. But unbeknownst to him, his father was a celebrated assassin and a member of the Tribe, an ancient network of families with extraordinary, preternatural skills. When Takeo’s village is pillaged, he is rescued and adopted by the mysterious Lord Otori Shigeru.

Under the tutelage of Shigeru, he learns that he too possesses the skills of the Tribe. And, with this knowledge, he embarks on a journey that will lead him across the famed nightingale floor—and to his own unimaginable destiny…

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As the blurb suggests the book is set in medieval Japan where clans are battling for power. Takeo is thrown into the action when his village is overthrown and destroyed by the terrible Lord Lida – but Takeo escapes under Lord Otori Shigeru’s wing. it soon becomes apparent that despite Takeo’s gentle nature he has powers that need training so that he can realise his true purpose; becoming an assassin as it turns out. On the other side of the tale is Kaede who has been taken hostage since the age of 8 due to her being seen as responsible for the deaths of many men who have fallen for her beauty. As their lives spiral closer together we see the two pushed to their limits to escape the destruction.

So that’s a very vague over-view of the plot but it’s quite difficult to get everything in without giving everything away so I’m going to sell it with my review (hopefully) Firstly the writing style is utterly brilliant, not only does it immediately throw us into the action but you get the feeling that Hearn trusts the reader. We don’t need a meandering back story instead Hearn slowly gives over the information as the plot unfurls. It’s refreshingly not spelt out but is instead naturally written, slowly giving out the details and leaving the reader to do the legwork.

The characters are fully fleshed out and well bodied. Takeo is both gentle and yet utterly ruthless and cunning. He has such a wonderful moral spirit and yet his genes, and his back story are completely contrasting. It’s a clever spin the author has created as it allows her pull with the character and create excitement. Otoris Shigeru is also a clever character – I thought the relationship built between him and Takeo really sold the story. Kaede although begins a little frail she is a gutsy full on lady and her side of the story definitely matches the excitement of Takeo’s so the story feels balanced.

The writing is honestly beautiful – the action is there throughout and yet it is written with such understanding of the racial, political and religious implications. It’s all so well thought through and it flows wonderfully. The author doesn’t scrimp on descriptions either – the landscape comes to life before you eyes and it ends up having almost a movie style feel. It all leaps from the pages right in front of your eyes. I have read in reviews that the Japanese cultural elements aren’t always completely accurately represented however for me, it’s a world created to stir the reader’s imagination – it’s more of a Japan-inspired fantasy full of romance, politics, religion, and excitement. This book is a power house.

I would wholly recommend this book – many of you know that my love of fantasy books is far and few but this one is definitely up there with the best for me. It is a little dark at times but just for the prose this book is worth a read. It’s one of those books that just has everything and I for one can’t fault it.

Linnnnnks

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“Sometimes it is better to light –

January 18, 2016January 4, 20161 Comment

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Heaven’s Forgotten by Branden Johnson

January 16, 2016January 16, 2016Leave a comment

Hellllllo readers it’s Saturday which is exciting but also a little bit of a sad day. Some of you will know although not all, that today marks T moving all the way down to London from Stoke-on-Trent. I might write a single post on this but basically my best friend and one of my all time favourite humans is starting an exciting new job. I’m not going to go into how much I’m going to miss him but books are proving a helpful respite – with no more emotional warbling (until the next time) onto le reviewwww.

Moira just wants a normal life for her daughter, Penelope. And sometimes, it seems like she has achieved it. Penelope is a sweet, smart, and precocious four-year-old girl. However, she is also the product of Moira’s affair with an angel. Her parentage gives Penelope strength far beyond what any child should possess. It also makes her the target of fallen angels who intend to use her mysterious powers as their way back into Heaven. Worse yet, one of those fallen angels is her own father. Now, Moira finds herself caught up in a terrifying struggle for Penelope’s life against beings more powerful than she can imagine. And when Penelope’s true power is revealed, it will shake the foundations of reality.

Suspenseful and action-packed, Heaven’s Forgotten demonstrates the power of a mother’s love against the longest odds in Heaven and on earth.

Right, so let’s get this blurb out-of-the-way – the book follows the life of fallen angel Michael who decides to his kill his ex-lover in an effort to prove that he has no anchors to the world. However, upon finding where she lives he discovers that he has fathered child, Penelope. As you can imagine this changes everything, whilst Michael makes the startling discovery of how Penelope (as a Nephilim) can be used not only as weapon but also a way to re-enter Heaven or Hell (although named Tatarus here.) With Penelope being essentially an angel and human mix she has two souls meaning she can open both. Can the fallen angels use Penelope to escape being banished? Will she let them use her so they can rule heaven?! All will be revealed in the this fantasy tale.

Still with me? It may seem a little confusing but this ‘fallen-angel’ tales is one of the most convincing I have read for a little while now. In terms of the writing style the pace is full on action, constantly moving, building pace and pulling the reader along. I found myself almost having to stop and pause for breath the pace was so relentless. Saying that I didn’t find myself lost or losing understanding of the plot, instead the author manages to engage the reader without a lull in the plot or pace.

All the characters are well-developed – Michael, Penelope, Moira as the main characters but also the supporting characters such as Jessica. I felt a real connection to Michael and his story. Seeing his change from Angel to almost human and then losing everything and becoming a fallen angel it was hard not to lose a tear to his backstory. Well written and full of emotion I found his story and his change in feeling towards Moira and his daughter (who additionally is an utter joy of a character) a beautiful tale. I really felt like I could imagine the characters leaping from the page which isn’t always an easy task so thumbs up to the author.

So any wobbles? I would have to say – which I have seen mentioned by a few readers that at times Moira is difficult. Okay – that’s an understatement she’s really difficult. Constantly crying and seemingly often relieved when her daughter is away her mothering skills leave a lot to be desired. Additionally the ending didn’t quite work for me – I’m not going to spoil the ending but it just didn’t quite fit.

Overall this was a brilliant fantasy read that even I liked – it has romance, love, feelings, supernatural, fantasy and excitement. The writing has great pace, has a brilliant flow and used suspense and tension to pull the reader in. One for supernatural/ fantasy lovers! A little work on Moira and a more believable ending would have made this a perfect 5 for me.

Linnnnnks

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The Hollow (Hollow’s Charge Series) By Arielle LeClair

January 14, 2016January 14, 2016Leave a comment

Helllllo readers, hope you’re well and happy on this Thursday afternoon. I’ve been working my way back into books after a little dry spell. I think it’s potentially come from not having a break from books but after having a good month or so break, apart from a few really special books, I’m feeling ready to get stuck into my Goodreads challenge for the year. Without further delay onto this review.

An ancient bloodline. A place filled with magic. A quest for Ciyula is under way. A false queen sits the throne and Rosaleen Forlain must find the woman destined to rule in her place. She will have to leave everything behind and race against a sinister plot that Queen Asta is contriving with the enemy kingdom of Enrith. Can Rosaleen find the girl in time to stop the queen’s madness?

She must usurp the tyrannical Queen Asta in favor of crowning a mysterious young woman possessing an ancient bloodline long thought lost to the world. In addition to her burdens, Rosaleen must find this woman before Asta has a chance to join forces with the enemy in order to wage war against a kingdom that has long been Ciyula’s ally. Rosaleen must betray her country and her House, forsaking everything for the Hollow and her new destiny. She must do this quest as a fugitive, avoiding forces sent to capture her by the queen and her own father.
Can she find the girl and stop the impending war before it is too late?

As the blurb suggests the book follows the magic that has been lost in the Three Lands for thousands of years. However, a secret and forgotten but magical place The Hollow, is in need of new keeper. Rosaleen our protagonist has been chosen to take on the role. However, to fulfil her duty she must overthrow the terrible and evil Queen Asta. We watch as Rosaleen, along with a number of new and a couple of old friends must betray not only her house but also her country. Can she overthrow the evil queen without being captured? All will be revealed in this fantasy story.

Onto the ‘nitty-gritty’ of the review. This novel definitely contains all the bits you need when reading a fantasy story. It has the adventure with the quest to overthrow the Queen, the sense of danger, the suspense that builds, there are magical elements and there is a little bit of romance spun through, which for me helped a lot as I struggle with the fantasy genre at the best of times. The writing is spun with tension and excitement and it definitely kept my attention throughout making sure I kept following the tale through, I also liked that although the magic was a central theme it at no point overwhelmed.

The characters are well written and developed throughout. Although Rosaleen is a little stereotypical she is gutsy, has strength and I liked the way the author played with her doubts and played with these through the main plot. Rolan additionally is a lovely character – loyal and sweet I found myself easily accepting the characters and found they felt very real which is always a bonus. I also liked that the author worked the back-stories into the overall plot. The writing overall is strong and has depth, the descriptions are well written and the landscape woven felt very real and exciting throughout.

Couple of wobbles; I found getting into the story a little difficult. I could put this down to my struggles with the fantasy genre but the beginning just didn’t quite grab me which it needs to grab hold of the reader. There were a couple of grammatical/ spelling errors – not too many but a couple. The only final wobble was at times there were sudden shifts in the perspective of the book which as I comment on quite often is really important that it stays coherent. At times there were character shifts during the chapter which made it difficult to follow which was a shame. Finally the cover doesn’t, for me, show the book inside. It just lacks something.

Overall a lovely little fantasy read – I guess for me a little stereotypical in terms of the plot-lines but the writing style, characters (and backstories) helped to add to the interest. One for fantasy lovers I think!

Linnnnnnks

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Gideon and the Crimson Samurai by Ricky Baxter

January 11, 2016January 11, 2016Leave a comment

Helllllllo readers – it’s Monday which is always a bit of a struggle but I have a really exciting and interesting book for you today. Many of you will know how much I adore reading books for the younger reader because 1) they tend to be quite exciting, and 2) they often have some wacky, crazy characters. Many of you will know my Mumma B works in a primary school and when I used to help out you would often find me poring over the books when I should be cleaning up glitter or photocopying music (oops.) Without further reminiscing onto le review.

Gideon Joust is your average twelve-year-old boy, with all the growing insecurities one would expect, following the mysterious disappearance of his father. On one fateful day, the boy’s world is turned upside down – leading to a chance encounter with a brash child warrior: Kibishi the Crimson Samurai.

Gideon and the Crimson Samurai is uniquely written in play format – suited for teens and adults alike.

As the rather short blurb suggests the book follows the adventure of Gideon Joust who is, on the surface, a rather average twelve-year-old boy. However there has always been a question that has concerned him – what did happen to his father? Why and how did he disappear? Where is he now? As he begins his quest to find out what really happened he meets another young boy named Kinishi who turns out not to be a regular boy as like Gideon, but instead a warrior. They go on their mission together – one that will change Gideon’s life forever.

Enough of the blurb, onto my thoughts on the book – the format is really interesting as it’s written in play format which I was really surprised to see. I think the book is targeted at 14/15 year old’s and for me, although I found it a little difficult to get through (namely because I’m not used to seeing a children’s book in this format) I think would really work with the book’s target audience. It definitely allows you to get more into the action and get straight into the tale. The author additionally adds a lot of detail around the writing to help give more of a description and flavour to the book as a whole – for example.

After many long hours of aimless searching and journeying though much greenery and fields, the young Gideon falls flat to the ground, devoid of strength and motivation.

Gideon: I give up – what was I thinking? How big is the outside world anyway? I really need to find that crazy samurai before he gets any further, but how am I supposed to find him when he is probably miles away by now? As Gideon lay on the ground, he smells a delicious and sweet scent that lasts for only a fragment of a second. The young boy leaps to his feet in excitement, as he smells the scent once again. Gideon races onward, following the direction of the scent – desperately traversing over many hills, gasping in awe at the lush scenery of the landscape, filled with rich grass and nearby wildlife under the bright and blue sky.

As you can see this helps to flesh out the book and make it more of a story than just a play script that I think will help to engage readers .

The characters are really well-developed throughout and the friendship that develops between the two is a lovely read. It does have suspense, action and a lot of adventure and I can imagine action loving readers getting incredibly excited about the plot and the quest stile plot. For me the writing was a little basic at times and there lacked a little pizzazz. It felt a little simple and I thought more strength could have been added to the spoken parts however I do understand the target age so it does fit. I also thought the cover worked incredibly well with the story inside and definitely would intrigue readers.

Overall a lovely little read – for me a little predictable in the plot-line and in the telling and I thought the spoken parts could have been stronger but definitely an interesting book. I have heard that this is going to be made into an audio book which I think will work much better in terms of the format! One to definitely get your YA reader getting stuck into an adventure.

Linnnnnks

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The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson

January 2, 2016December 17, 20154 Comments

Helllllo readers, not the greatest start to my reading year but I’m in a bookish slump. This isn’t where I wanted to be, but the last month or so I’ve been in a bit of a rut. A couple of badly written books, a lack of time to reply to comments, a slight obsession with Prison Break and a really nasty lung infection I just haven’t had the time to read. I’ve therefore done what I do best, go back and read something easy, light, and comfortable – this time it’s a book for a younger reader and one I really enjoy. Eva Ibbotson was one of my favourite authors as a child and I thought there really wouldn’t be a better book to get me back on track with reading – apologies it’s a little old but this book is a lovely read.

Under Platform 13 at Kings Cross Station is hidden a quite remarkable secret. Every nine years a doorway opens to an amazing, fantastical island. Nine years ago, the island’s baby prince was stolen on the streets of London. Now a rescue party, led by a wizard and an ogre, must find him and bring him back. But the kind prince has become a spoilt rich boy, who doesn’t believe in magic and doesn’t want to go home. Can they rescue him before time runs out – and the doorway disappears for ever?

As the blurb suggests the book follows The Secret of Platform 13, this secret being that, on a mystical Island, (we’re never quite given the details where) where humans and magical creatures live harmoniously there is a portal that only opens every nine years, that leads to the London Underground. One day, two nurses are taking the infant Prince out for a walk and are tempted into the portal; letting the Prince out of their sight for a minute the terrible Mrs Trottle snatches the baby for her own. A rescue mission is arranged for nine years later to try to find the lost Prince and bring him back to his home; but is it too late?

So what’s good about this book? I loved the fantastical feel of the writing – this book was actual written before the Harry Potter series and I really feel that this was the book that set me up for my utter adoration for Rowling and her magical books. I loved the inclusion of the feys, witches, trolls, hags, mermaids and wizards; there really is a mismatch of different mystical beings each with their own personalities, special characteristics and additions to the plot-line.

The plot follows the rescue mission lead by a hag named Odge, a giant, a fey and a wizard. For the nine days where the portal is open they try their best to find and bring home the prince but to no avail as there seems to be a confusion as to who is the real prince? Odge here begins to take center stage and she really comes into her own as she struggles to find out who the real prince is. Is it the spoiled son Trottles or the sweet kind-hearted Grandson. Here we see the group of misfits struggle to decide and with time racing they must make a decision.

In terms of the writing style it’s got enough description to be interesting and exciting but not so much to bog the reading speed down too much. The book is marketed at children between the ages of 9-12 and that allows for the book to take a slightly darker tone but it’s an enjoyable and funny tale – think a little like Lemony Snicket but a little lighter. Yes the plot is a bit predictable and looking at the reviews many have panned this book for that, but for a younger reader it doesn’t need to be constantly held a secret, as this could cause the reader to become confused and disengaged, so for me it’s right on the mark.

Overall this is a fun book with an intriguing tale – with strong characters, lots of magic and mystery it is the perfect fantasy book for younger readers to get their teeth into. A little predictable but funny, light and exciting with the use of time – a lovely little fantasy read.

Linnnnks

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Dwarves in Space by S. E. Zbasnik

December 5, 2015December 5, 20152 Comments

Helllllo readers it’s Saturday which is kind of awesome and I have a really interesting review for you today that will definitely brighten a few faces. One of the things I adore about running a book blog is the variety of books I have the chance to get my hands on – it’s not every day I pick up a book about dwarves in space but maybe I should. I recently went to a bookshop and had no idea what I wanted to read; with MLBB I kind of just read anything and everything which is perfect really. Enough of the babble and onto the review.

Thousands of years after the jewelry’s destroyed, the sword reforged, the dragon ridden, and the indecipherable prophecy translated into a recipe for sugared biscuits, the dwarves turned to that final frontier: space. And along came the elves, orcs, gnomes, trolls, ogres, and those vermin-like upstarts, humans.

The Elation-Cru is not the flashiest ship, nor the newest, or even has all of its bolts attached; but she can fly. Well, sort of wade through space, and that’s when all the parts are working. She supports a sugar addicted dwarven pilot, an elven engineer, an orcish doctor, a silent djinn, and the lone human trying to hold the entire thing together with duct tape. Variel, the captain, has been hiding from a secret for the past five years and time’s finally run out.

When she goes against her common sense and fights to save her onboard assassin/renter from a job gone sour, she finds herself before an ex-colleague that knew her in her previous life as the Knight of the realm. The entire ship is sent on a mad dash across the universe — from a decaying space station, home to the wackiest species the galaxy has to offer, down to the Orc homeworld, which wouldn’t be so bad if Variel hadn’t spent most of her previous life fighting in the war against them. Chances of survival are nil and slipping fast.

I’m not going to comment hugely on the blurb because I want to just go straight into pulling this apart and looking at all the great things this book manages to do. I don’t normally like fantasy/science fiction books they’re just not for me, but, I enjoyed reading this. The plot although a little heavy was interesting and dotted with exciting events, battles, relationship struggles and there are dwarves in space so – good. I thought the characters were built up well and given strong character straights – I personally found Ferra a really interesting and intriguing character and I liked watching them all develop and their relationships grow throughout the tale. They come across very human (if that makes any sense?) You can imagine them each distinctly.

I liked that this is a real mixture of genres; sci-fi, romance and humour and it’s a brilliant mix as for a reader like me I found the balance made this easier to enjoy. Also in terms of the romance it’s not your cupcake sweet romance but one that builds naturally and develops as the book continues – it feels like a grown-up romance rather than something manufactured for the science fiction genre which I have seen numerous times before (ie space junk) and that made me very happy. There is a lot of action too if you were wondering; it’s punchy, written with guts and isn’t too flouncy which worked. You can get too much emotion and back-thought but here it’s just in your face attacks. It also works with the story line that’s occurring it’s not added for the sake of adding it so thumbs up.

There is a big wobble though and it’s aggravating but the writing style is quite difficult to get used to and to a point understand. Some of the more complex passages I had to read through a number of times to understand what the author was trying to tell me and at times I just had to move on hoping I hadn’t missed something vitally important. It’s just too boggy at times. I thought that the writing improved as I continued but there were a couple of times I thought of just giving in and calling it a DNF. I’m glad I didn’t but if I was in a less determined mood I might have done which means others may.

Would I recommend this? For the humour the intriguing characters and the style of the story I would yes, but there are parts that are a little tricky to get through and if you make it through the first slightly painful chapters it does get a lot better as the author finds her feet. An interesting read and one that I enjoyed but I thought had more potential.

Linnnnnks

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Comrades We by A. Louise Olsen

December 5, 2015November 16, 2015Leave a comment

Hellllllo readers – today I have a bit of an apology before I throw us into the review. A few of you will have seen that I have closed my review requests box until I can catch up with the books I already have waiting to be read/written/posted. Unfortunately because I’ve been so swamped a few have been lost in the depths of my email inbox but I’m getting to them all one at a time. Today’s is one that ended up being a reviewed a little later than promise so big apologies and a slapped wrist, but I hope the review more than makes up for it (maybe.)

Comrades We is the story of the adventures of six friends as they grow up together, learn magic, encounter bad stuff, and try to fight their way out of trouble.

This is a fantasy novel. There is magic. There are swords. There are mysterious and cryptic gods. There are some really bad guys and there are good guys who are mostly ordinary and trying to do their best with what they’ve got. And if needed, there is always tea

First thing to mention is I really like the blurb for this book it doesn’t really give anything away and I like that – I think it’s because I recently went into a bookshop for the first time in a long time and I looked at the blurb and thought what do I really want to read about. I just couldn’t decide, but here it was kind of made for me.

As the blurb states that’s kind of what the book entails; a number of characters learning, living, and casually battling magic with swords – you know just the day job. The author manages to weave a lot of energy into the different characters despite there being six of them which you may worry lacks a little detail but it works here. I did feel like each of them was give specific characteristics which helped you to keep an eye on them and keep up with their story. I did feel that each of the characters could have been delved into more but that’s just me, I think the author could have built the profiles more strongly and created a more intensive character profiling. Saying this Gilli and Tomas were my favourites; I liked seeing their relationship grow and develop. I would profile in all our characters but there is just too much to write – go and discover for yourselves.

There is a good mix of the fantasy writing, landscape descriptions and the warfare that is described as we follow the characters as they battle their way through the different dangers they are placed in. As I mentioned earlier I liked learning about the characters as they improved their magic skills and the descriptions and adventures of them at school and then moving that into the real world and the danger that added. The plot definitely moves with pace and at times I did wish the plot would slow a little and allow us to look at the characters a little more for me although the plot is important it needs strong characters to hang from and become a complete storyline. For me I thought that could have been more description of the landscapes, it has more of a YA feel which I like but I thought with the fantasy genre a little more description of the landscape would have helped draw the reader in more.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I think if your favourite genre is fantasy with a YA feel this is definitely one to get a hold of. For me I think I could have done with a couple less characters as I worked more into the story I did feel a little lost and had to flick back. Reading on a computer does make that more difficult but I think with strong character profiling this could have drawn me in more and made each more memorable. I thought the amount of ‘magic’ was perfect for me and I enjoyed watching the different relationships. The ending was also strong and definitely had me wanting to find out more too. A really lovely self-published book from a lovely author and one I definitely want to read more from in the future.

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The Bedtime Book Tag

November 27, 2015November 27, 201519 Comments

Helllllllo readers – it’s Friday which mean it’s nearly the weekend and that makes me toooo excited because I finally get to have a lie in and not wake up at 7am. I always mean to go to bed at a reasonable time but at the ripe old age of 22 I still can’t quite manage my own bedtime. It seems a little appropriate that I’m going to answer The Bedtime Book Tag which I found on Tash’s blog The Bookie Monsters. Such a brilliant blog that you really should follow – yes you should. Without further Lizzy warbling onto le tag.

1. What book kept you up all night reading?

Just couldn’t put this down if I’m honest with you – this was exceptionally good writing and the author gave me one of the most wonderful comments that when reading the review she had forgotten she had written the book and wanted to get hold of a copy which was just so lovely to hear. This book really was just that good – see for yourself here.

2. What book made you scared to go to sleep?

I didn’t sleep easily for weeks after reading this book – it honestly terrified me so much I have not read anything from this author since because I just couldn’t cope. I’ve bought this book to remind me how incredibly terrifying the human word can be but I’m yet to read it all the way through again.

3. What book almost put you to sleep?

At times I found this a really tedious y read; I just couldn’t get into it and despite many a try this is a DNF that I don’t think I will be trying again anytime soon.

4. What book has you tossing and turning in anticipation of its release?

*CHEAT BOOK.* I know this is out and has been since August but I haven’t got hold of it yet and I am tooooooo excited to. If only I wasn’t cutting down on spending this month – maybe someone lovely will buy it for me. *cough cough hint hint wink wink.*

5. What book has your dream boyfriend/girlfriend?

I couldn’t just pick one but Nick from On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah is pretty goddamn delicious. Both utterly sweet and a hot mess he is just perfection. *drools*

6. What book world would be your worst nightmare to live in?

I can’t decice whether this would really cool and exciting or utterly terrifying. I’m a real wimp so if everyone suddenly left to escape the glade I would really have no idea what to do. The unknown utterly freaks me out and I am terrified of the dark so would be terrible for me.

7. What book has a nightmarish cliffhanger?

Not quite a cliffhanger but it was left so creepily ambiguous that I was seriously freaked out by this. Pretty incredible ending but also horrible all the same.

8. What book cover reminds you of night time?

I guess this is just because it’s a dark cover but I always think this cover is just a little dark and scary and that reminds me of nighttime. Scarrry.