Half Bad by Sally Green review

Half Bad by Sally Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Half bad was a really shockingly good read the main character Nathan is an outcast he is what the council of witches calls a half code. His mother was a white witch and his father a black witch but Nathan is living in his mother community. All Nathan has ever really got from people is hate and mistrust. He spends his time with limited contacted with others and mostly sticks with his brother and while I read this I felt for him his isolation and horrible treatment. it made it so easier to like him and it felt like I knew Nathan as a character. The more the book went on the more I got to see what his life was like and I struggled to understand how people could hate a person they did not really know all because of what he was. It was strange how much I felt like yelling at these people for being pig headed monsters but it made for a great storyline and helped me as a reader get into the story.

The book had a really unique beginning before pulling you into the how's and why's of how he got there and the book was divided into parts with interesting chapter headings the way it was all put together made me feel while reading it that I was inside Nathan's head rather than seeing it from a birds eye view or being someone along for the ride which I really liked.

The storyline was jam packed with this unique story that had been built up with lots of thought behind the whole thing and you could tell that a lot of hard work and deep thoughts went into each new thing in the book. I loved the whole white and black witch and all the information and the witches system of working. The whole thing was different and intriguing and I loved the fact that nothing was easy to guess that I felt shocked and excited about each new detail and whole the book steamrolled forward never letting up with the none stop joyride that is Nathan life.



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Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage review

Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Trenton is smart and creative only problem is in the cove it's against the law to be creative to make new things to think outside of the box. Trenton tried to stick to the law but everything inside him wants to make and improve the tech that keeps the city of cove running. Cove is an underground city each person is bound by the laws and the life set out for them by the council that run the city. The cove is protecting them from the world above a place where the air is poison and the tech has all but wipe the world out. The Cove is safe but when Trenton makes something, not on the approved list of things his punishment happens to make him stumbles upon something new something not approved. He soon finds his life spinning out of control and he has to either keep within the law or follow his creativity.

Where do I start, I wanted to read this book the moment I saw the cover and after reading the books information I knew this was something I had to read. The moment you start the book you are pulled in by the author amazing writing style and the picture he portrays with his words it was that easy to get into the book. The Author has a way of describing everything that just helps you visualize the characters and the places it was truly breathtaking. Trenton was a super likeable character and he made me smile while I read the book which made becoming invested in the outcome of the book easily. You wanted him to keep going.

The story was packed with adventure and mystery that had you on the edge of your sit the whole time you was reading it. The story also made me think about my own creativity and how I would feel if I could not do that anymore. I felt for the characters and what was going on around them to a point that I wanted to stay up late finishing it needing to know what would happen. The ending of this book was fantastic I felt like almost all my question had been answered but the author had left just a few leaving me wanting more.

The book as a whole was outstanding I could not have wished for more and it was different from what I normally read and I loved and enjoyed the world and the story that lay within the pages wanting for you and I just know that I will happily read this to my daughter and she will love it. It's that kind of book that would make people of all ages happy.



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Heartless by Leah Rhyne review

Heartless by Leah Rhyne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I first saw the book I thought great a modern-day version of Frankenstein which really called to me. When I started the book I thought this is going to be a happy fairy tale sort of book which I would not have minded. Boy was I wrong this book was not some happy sunshine and rainbows book.
This book was outstandingly good the storyline was not what I thought it was going to be it was far better than anything I thought it would be.

The storyline was unpredictable and exciting while the book followed a teenage girl and her boyfriend and best friend it was not some light-hearted teen book it was something more. It was deep using more fact when it come to Jo and what she had been through. I felt all kinds of emotions for Jo and the people she cared about and it made me invested more and more in the book and the people in the story. The details and progression in the book all worked towards making me feel more and needing to see it all workout and be ok. By the end, I felt like a nervous reck waiting for it all to come to a close.

The ending of this book had me completely and there are no words that can fully prepare you for it. I had my own thoughts about the way the book was going to play out but the Author shocked me at each turn of the book and that made the book even more amazing.

To sum up this book it pulled you in gave you dark and creepy in waves then slapped you with emotions that left you teary eyed. This book had it all and I'm so glad I got the chance to read it. I can't wait to read more from this amazingly talented Author.


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Between by Dora Hilburn review

Between by Dora Hilburn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the book a solid story line with up's and downs that pulled readers in. A great build up leading you to the end. I liked the idea behind the story and how it played out and while I would have loved a happier ending but it was also easy to like the reality that not all books have the ending you think you want and you learn that sometimes the best endings are the ones you don't see coming.

There are a few things that I would have liked the book to have been longer and more depth but that's just me being picky. The book is a nice fast read that was easy to get into and like with an end that might leave you feeling more than you thought you would.

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LINK by Summer Wier review

LINK by Summer Wier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

To start I need to say how different this book was to the ones I normally read. The book has a lot of talk of stars and space but the way the author weaved the story with talk of stars and its influence on worlds was fascinating. There was a few time that I did find I had to reread a part of two but the book was worth it.

The characters are interesting and easy to like and hear about. I struggled to decide if I liked Zane or Evan because both seemed like really nice guys and both seemed to bring something different to the book and I felt pulled one minute to one and then back to the next. Kira was an easy character to like and follow and by the end I felt like she had grown and seemed to have become more forward and stronger which intrigued me to see how she will grow as the series goes on.

Like most books I read, I find there is also one thing that normally shines brighter than other things sometimes I can be the people or the environments sometimes it can be a mix of things. This book was easy to see the story itself was so unique and brilliant. The way the book worked and changed from one place to the other and how the story worked so well as a whole. The information and explanations worked so well and it had me dazed and amazed. I loved the feeling you get when you find a book that is not only a good read but so completely different and new from what you have read before that it leaves you feeling happy and so glad you found and read it.


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Gambit by C.L. Denault review

Gambit by C.L. Denault
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The moment I saw the cover of Gambit by C.L.Denault I was intrigued it’s a stunning cover and it’s unique after that I read the description and I knew that this was a book I really wanted to read. The whole book screams read me and I prayed that the books lived up to what I had in my mind.

The book is set in the future in a stunningly built world that is both beautiful and dark with a lot of political gameplay. The author builds up this world and was clear when explaining the running of this world and its people. There is also a lot of amazing tech and human changes and its kind of scary to think about the power the government has over the people. I was stunned at the work and brilliance that was put into not only creating this one of a kind story but the time that was put into each environment that readers got to see.

To say the book surprised me would be an understatement I had hoped that it would be a good book but this went far beyond what I had hoped for. The whole book was easy to read its rich detail and character building all went toward making this an astoundingly brilliant book. I felt that the author covered all the things I wanted in a book and never over detailed things to death she seems to know the right amount of information and action to give the reader. It was a refreshing change to read a book that did not remind me of any other book.

I have to say once I finished the book I wanted more I wished I had the next book so I could see what happened next and I know the wait is going to kill me. This is one of those books that will linger long after you have read it. This is a must read book because if you don’t read it you really are missing out.


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Night Study by Maria V. Snyder review

Night Study by Maria V. Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I want to start by saying I am a massive fan of the world the author has created I remember when I first read the study series books and then the glass series I loved the book so much that whenever I found that I was struggling to read any book I would go back to those books as it would help me out of my reading block.

The moment I started reading this book I got this strange feeling like I’ve been home sick all this time and the first page was like finally getting home and knowing that’s where you want to be. I loved the fact that the book is sticking within the world readers had grown to love and the people that you have spent so much time reading about and watching their lives unfold.

The new books are forward from the last books and while they have the charters we love it has a new storylines and more information about the people we love to read about. Once I started reading I hated having to put it down to sleep all I wanted was to stay within the world the author had created. I have loved all the authors books before and now this one to. It’s full of the things we love and packed with excitement and so much more. If magic was real, I think the authors power would be to weave such magic and power into each word on each page of her book because once I start I’m pulled in and gripped to the very last page.

Normally when I write a review I try and put in bits that I disliked or struggled with but I can’t I loved each and every page in the book and I was so pleased with it and by the end all I wanted was the next book to pick up and read so I did not have to stop. I really hope the next one is just as good and I look forward to reading it.

To sum up this book it was a mix of everything I love about this world and all the new and exciting stuff that a new book brings.


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Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder review

Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved the study series I loved the glass series and I always hoped there would be more and this book was not a disappointment. The book has all the characters I had grown to love and the storyline was amazing. I was so pleased about the whole thing. I think a lot of people worry when new books come out from the same world you loved and you pick the new book up you have this fear that it’s not going to live up to all the books before but that was not the case at all this book was everything I had grown to love and more.

The characters had grown and yet still the people we had read and loved and wanted them to do well and keeping going and this book while showing you the character’s life forward a little in time since we last saw them but it was like you now knew what happened after the book you last read and you also got to see how they changed and what they are doing now but most of all you got more information and views into the characters.

The author is one of my favourites and reading this book reminded me why that was.


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Girl of Myth and Legend by Giselle Simlett review

Girl of Myth and Legend by Giselle Simlett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I saw this book on NetGalley it looked really inviting a beautiful cover and the description just pulled me in promising stuff that I was really into and I knew I had to read it.

Starting the book with the first few pages I will not lie I did kind of, not struggle but tried to get to grips with what was going on. Things happened fast and I worried that I may miss something in all of the excitement but by the time I was a few pages in everything seemed to take this nice flow.
Leonie was a character that was both hard and soft at the same time. She wanted to be a rock and be able to be all the things everyone thinks she is but she’s hurting and has this feeling of emptiness and feelings of being alone. The author really got that across and I felt she also made it clear that Leonie was still a kid she still needed to grow and because of this she made mistakes. Korren had to be my favourite he was a bit prickly and sometimes a little mean but he was also in pain and had been through so much and I loved reading from prospective.

The storyline in the book really took hold of me and I found myself up at 4 am reading not wanting to stop which is always a good sign when starting a new book. The world within the pages is beautiful and it was inviting and interesting. I loved how the story progressed and never slowed like some book do it carried at this nice speed and something was always going on to keep you hooked and glued to the book. While there was this magic and beauty to the book there was also so much darkness and layers of things going on that you found yourself thinking about what was really going on who could you trust it was amazing.

Overall the book was well written and had a new and vibrate story that pulled you in and made falling in love with the places and characters easy I really can’t wait for the second book to see what is to come next.


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Kill the boy band Goldy Moldavsky Review

Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kill the boy band Goldy Moldavsky
Review
Kill the boy band is about four fans of a boy band called the Rupert’s. They live for everything Rupert related they buy every album, pick their favourite members, kiss posters, buy tickets to shows the moment they are available, wait hours in the pouring rain to get a glimpse of their teen obsession. The normal fandom but at what point does being a fan become insanity kidnapping a band member. Maybe even murder? Who would have guessed that having fan’s could become so deadly?

I was unsure about this book, at first, it’s not my normal read but once I started I found that it was dark humoured that made me chuckle and made me think about what each character said. The moment I started I felt like I had stepped on the crazy train and the author was taking me down a path of madness but in a funny and insane storyline that had me laugh and think about some really weird things like the fans of today and at what point does being a fan become unhealthy. I felt like was watching the story unfold from the inside of a teenage girl’s head and I was seeing the crazy unfold before my eyes and at each point the girls got themselves deeper and deeper and it made me want to read on and see how it would all end.

The book was fun in a twisted and sometime dark way but it was easy to get into and while it was a work of fiction it did make me think about what fans of today are like and the steps people go to for signed stuff from their favourite actors. The fact that sometimes people cling to things rather than dealing with the real problems or that sometimes it’s best to just say no and do the right thing. It was madness what this book made me think really because over all the books was simply brilliant and crazy and I felt like I was slowly getting deeper and deeper as the book went on.

To sum this, book up it’s simply dark twisted and deeply funny and once you start you just welcome the crazy.


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Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Angelfire follows a teenage girl Ellie to anyone looking at her she comes across as any normal teenage girl. She has her best friend Kate and a small group of friends. Ellie could be any girl but under that she has horrible nightmares that show her monsters the kind that keep you all up night and leave you shaken. Her dad has changed into a person that frightens her but Ellie tries to keep going but the day of her 17 birthday everything changes. Ellie has to face a lot more then nightmares and teen drama she has to face the monsters that await her in the dark.

I have to say I really enjoyed this book Ellie while getting to grips with her character I did have my worries while all was going to hell she seemed to want to party and be with her friends rather than facing what she needed to. Once I had let myself give her a chance I found that I liked her she was both strong and soft and seemed to want to do the right thing. She grows throughout the book and by the end I was invested in her and hoped for a good outcome. Will was the main guy in the book and while he can be hot and cold over I enjoyed what he added to the book I do hope that we will learn more about him in the next book.

I found the book easy to read and get into it was one of those books that once you started you felt the need to keep going to find out what happened next. The storyline was fast and exciting with lots going on and a good number of twists and turns that I really enjoyed. There were only a few things that made me pause mostly small things like Ellie’s ability to go party while her life falls apart seemed a little bit out weird. There was also Landon who seemed to be a little bit up and down for me. The book as a whole is a great one and its one that I could see myself reread again and again. I’m really glad I took the time to read the book.


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Books to look out for next month (March 2016)

Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)

by Cassandra Clare

March 8th 2016 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1)

by Alwyn Hamilton

March 8th 2016 by Penguin

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from. 

Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.

The Great Hunt (The Great Hunt #1)

by Wendy Higgins

March 8th 2016 by HarperTeen

Kill the beast. Win the girl.

A strange beast stirs fear in the kingdom of Lochlanach, terrorizing towns with its brutality and hunger. In an act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage.

Princess Aerity understands her duty to the kingdom though it pains her to imagine marrying a stranger. It would be foolish to set her sights on any particular man in the great hunt, but when a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention, there’s no denying the unspoken lure between them…or his mysterious resentment.

Paxton is not keen on marriage. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast and protecting his family—yet Princess Aerity continues to challenge his notions with her unpredictability and charm. But as past secrets collide with present desires, dire choices threaten everything Paxton holds dear.

Inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ tale, “The Singing Bone,” New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins delivers a dark fantasy filled with rugged hunters, romantic tension, outlawed magic, and a princess willing to risk all to save her people

2015 reading challenge. What I've read so far this year.

Splintered by A.G. Howard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence.

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own
Reread this book again and have to say its just as amazing as the first time i read it. I really need to get around to getting the other books that follow and seeing what happens.


View all my reviews Enclave by Ann Aguirre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters - or Freaks - who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight - guided by Fade's long-ago memories - in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs.

Ann Aguirre's thrilling young adult novel is the story of two young people in an apocalyptic world- - facing dangers, and feelings, unlike any they've ever known.
Picked this book up at random and from the moment i started it i was hooked. I loved the main character she always went on even when things looked there worse and i loved that she seemed to always have hope when others did not have any. I enjoyed the world that the author pulls us into. The way the people have changed and twisted it's dark and interesting.


View all my reviews Pure by Julianna Baggott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost--how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.
Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked: Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss--maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.
When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.
I really enjoyed this book such a great way to start the series. There was so much going on and the character all different and wonderful to follow i loved the fact the author gave you a chance to see from each person and get to really know them. I the book was so dark and twisted and i really loved that about it. i did have a few mishaps and lost my way a few times but i soon recovered and got pulled back into the book again.


View all my reviews The BFG by Roald Dahl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Captured by a giant! The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater, the Bonecruncher, or any of the other giants-rather than the BFG-she would have soon become breakfast.
When Sophie hears that they are flush-bunking off in England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!
My daughter loved me reading the book to her. begging me to read a little more each night till we finished tonight she loved the loved the whole book and asked questions and the end blow her mind so pleased she seem to have the same love of reading and book that's i do.



View all my reviews The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

They were taken from their beds one frozen night, when the world was covered in snow. The silhouette of a tall, thin man has haunted Kate ever since.

Ten years on, Kate, Michael and Emma have grown up in a string of miserable orphanages, and all memories of their parents have faded to a blur. Arriving at Cambridge Falls, the children quickly realise there is something different about this place - and Kate feels sure she has seen the dark, crooked house before.

As they explore, they discover an old, empty leather book. The moment they touch it, an ancient magical prophecy is set irrevocably in motion, and the children are thrown into a dangerous alternate reality of dark enchantments and terrifying monsters. Only they can prevent the terrible event that will ruin Cambridge Falls - and stop the world from falling into complete devastation.
I first read this book in 2011 and liked then and i thought i would reread the book and move onto the next book in the series which i have not read before. The book is so well done a great thought out storyline it was one of those stories that you really had to commit to and take you time with the story. The books story really shined for me and i enjoyed it. I did have a few times where i had to reread a page to be clear but other wish i found the book perfect. There is so much going on in the book that you can't get bored and i felt like while the book is pretty big it was needed that way each page was worth the time.

Over all really happy with the book and a great start to the series.

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