Book Review: Ruin by John Gwynne

Read: March 27-31 Verdict: 4 Stars


WHATTT WAS THAT????? I think I need to sit in a dark room for a little while after that one.

This was, again like the other two books in the series, packed with action both thrilling and heart-breaking from start to finish. I always feel like I read this series with my heart in my mouth because I'm so afraid all the time for all of my favourite characters. Again, my favourite POVs were that of Corban, Veradis and Camlin, and I also really enjoyed Maquin's and Haelan's this time around too. I was a bit disappointed with Cywen's character arc in this story as I felt she became somewhat diminished with everything happening around her and in the other books I had really enjoyed her attitude.

One of the best things about this series in my opinion is the animals and the huge role they play. From Storm and Shield to Craf and Fech and then we also have Buddhai, Pots and Daria in this one, plus a few stinking bears and one horrible draig. They have all become really important to me and it hurts just as much when they get hurt as when a main human character gets hurt . ** (Spoilers regarding this topic below)

I really loved some of the sidekicks we saw in this book, from Camlin becoming Meg's favourite person (Camlin has such a heart of gold under his roguish exterior) and then I really enjoyed Haelan's hero-worship of Corban. I supposed get so confused about the ages of all our main characters now because we started off with Corban at quite a young age, it's almost hard to remember he's almost a fully-grown man now with stubble and bicep muscles.

The ending of this killed me. Everything was going so well and then it all went downhill so quickly I mean Meical? What are we going to do now!!!! I just can't...I hate some of the characters in this - Nathair, Lykos, Calidus and Jael so much it makes my blood boil and I really need their comeuppance in Wrath. I need Wrath like right now. RIGHT NOW!















**SPOILERS




Fech, why!! AND STORM! I refuse to believe Storm is dead, she can't be dead. But because she had her puppies, I think there's a chance she could be dead and Haelan could end up having a new version of Storm in his black-faced puppy. But I really want Storm to live. I just don't see how she can survive that spear to the chest :(

Book Review: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Read: March 21-23 Verdict: 4 Stars

Joel goes to a school that also caters to students studying to become rithamists - a type of magical warrior that can fight against 'wild chalklings' with their own drawings and measurements (yeah, it sounds weird but it's surprisingly easy enough to get the gist of). When rithmatist students start disappearing in strange circumstances, Joel becomes part of the investigation.

I surprisingly enjoyed this. I was expecting a good story cause I had heard great things about Brandon Sanderson's writing, but I wasn't expecting to be quite so sucked in. The build-up of the world was pretty good, though I thought it was a dystopia type world at first, I think it was actually more of an alternate reality to our world today. The explanations of the different types of circles and lines and defences used by the rithmatists did go a bit over my head. I just saw shapes and my math-hating brain shut off, basically.

Joel was a good protagonist and I really liked his growing relationship with Melody. They never deviated from what I expected of them so their personalities really held firm. I also liked the professors Fitch and Nalizar. I couldn't help but think of Professor Slughorn from Harry Potter when it came to Fitch, that bumbling type of teacher and Nalizar's story arc reminded me a lot of how Harry treated and suspected Snape in the Philosopher's Stone.

I'm really hope another book will come out soon as I really feel there's so much more to come with this story and Joel's story.

Book Review: Fractured Dream by K.M Randall

Read: March 25-27   Verdict: 3 Stars

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.

Story Sparks is a dreamer. Or at least she was until one day, she suddenly stopped dreaming and appeared to lose all memories of her previous dreams. One day, Story and her two friends Elliot and Adam are sucked underwater into the In Between land where Story finds out she is The First Dreamer and must undertake a quest to bring the Real World and the In Between together again and save everyone.

This story incorporated the fairytale world in a way that I loved. Having places called Locksley and Sherwood and then a generation of women who are Little Red Riding Hoods who are legendary warriors against The Big Bad Wolves. Yes. I found the world-building pretty good, and I think if there was ever a map of this world it would be really pretty.

The insta-love was a bt much at times between Story and Nicholas (even when it was explained). There is only so many times I can stomach the mentions of swooning at his touch and the want to be swept off her feet and kissed passionately before I get a bit sick. There were times I felt like I was scrambling to keep up with Story's relationships with new characters. She would meet someone and there would be a reunion but then it felt like a while before it was explained who the character was and their relationship with Story. And then other things seemed sooo obvious like why both Brink and Nicholas felt so familiar looking to Story. Come on lady!

Overall, it was a pretty fun adventure with a great twist on fairytales and mythical creatures.

Book Review: Edgewater by Courtney Sheinmel

Read: March 4-5   Verdict: 3.5 stars

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.

Lorrie lives in a dilapidated mansion with her aunt and sister. All Lorrie cares about in the world is making something of herself and her horse Orion but when money suddenly becomes tighter than usual, Lorrie has to start investigating matters and try to save everything in the process.

I enjoyed this for the most part. I liked Lorrie and her personality, and I definitely loved all the bits around horses and horse-riding. I teared up a lot when Lorrie was faced with having to let go of Orion. The story became a bit predictable at parts but I didn't really mind and i felt it played out well in the end. I do feel it took a while for the plot to unravel,there seemed to be a lot of build up around Lorrie and Charlie's relationship and money issues etc before she really started to look into some family matters. I also feel that Lorrie didn't really 'solve' anything, everything just kind of came together (or fell apart depending how you look at it). I also felt a huge amount of frustration during this book as well because of how Susannah and Gigi were so blasé about the money problems. I wanted to shake them a bit so job well done to the author.

Overall, a good read and I would recommend to people who liked We Were Liars. There's not so much a mysterious 'what the hell is going on' aura around Edgewater the way there is in WWL but there'a the rich community of people living privileged lives and dealing with stuff when shit hits the fan, basically.

Book Review: The Stellow Project by Shari Becker

Read: March 1-3    Verdict: 3.5 stars.

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.

When weird weather suddenly breaks out across New York and climate change seems to come full force, Lilah is shocked when it appears her dad may have something to do with it. Hidden away in a family cottage with her younger sister and then taken into a top secret research facility, Lilah needs to find out what's going on and how to protect herself and your younger sister, and also how her health may be linked to her father's projects.

This book actually surprised me and I ended up quite enjoying it. It was fast-paced and informative for the most part and it really left me constantly wondering what characters I could trust, and who I didn't trust. I definitely got sucked into the story and Lilah had me running along right beside her most of the time.

One of the faults I had with this book was actually Lilah and Daniel's relationship. It was probably just me, and because I never really warmed to Daniel, but I found all of their interactions very forced and I just felt like there was no chemistry between them. It was really the case of Daniel being the only guy around so of course they'd end up in a relationship. I would have been happy enough with Daniel just being a friend. I also didn't like Meena who was a pretty crappy friend all round. Who leaves their friend in the middle of the woods, on their own, with their dad on the run and is just like "sorry, can't talk to you ever again" even though they've nothing to do what's going on. What a cow.

I really liked the revelations at the end, though I definitely guessed them or at least had a strong suspicion, and i would definitely read another book about the Stellow project if one came out.

Book Review: The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

Read: February 21   Verdict: 5 Stars

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.

Suzy is 13 years old and dealing with the death of her best friend who drowned during the summer. When Suzy discovers the vast world of the jellyfish, she decides that a jellyfish sting must be why Franny died and sets out to prove it to the world.

I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did but I absolutely adored it. It was much faster-paced than I expected too. I think because I knew there were a lot of jellyfish facts in it, I thought i would get a bit bogged down in them and it would slow down my reading but nope. I finished this book in one sitting.

Ultimately this is a book about a girl who has just started her teenage years and discovering that the world is a much vaster and confusing place than she originally thought. And with Franny's death, Suzy has to confront the fact that dying is something that happens to young people, and that sometimes things like that just happen for no reason at all.

I really found myself identifying with Suzy. Particularly her issues with friends and everyone growing up that bit faster than her. Her confusion over the sudden gap between her and Franny and why she was suddenly left behind while the girls did their make-up and flirted with the boys. I think a lot of people could feel for Suzy in this one, as she's not the only person who's ever felt left behind.

I loved Suzy's relationships as well. Her family were all amazing. Yes, they did bring her to a therapist to talk about the not talking situation but they never pushed her, or grew frustrated with her. They were there waiting, ready for when she was ready to accept everything and be there for her when she did. Her brother and his boyfriend, yes. I love how there was no big deal about Aaron being gay. There was no in depth story about him coming out or any controversy in the family because of it. Her parents were divorced but still on talking terms, and seemed to still be on pretty good terms considering they were separated. I also loved Mrs Thurton and her quiet observations and suggestions. It's always great to see a good teacher/mentor-student relationship and a teacher really offering that safe haven for a student who just needs that time and space. Ans Justin was just lovely. I really loved his explanations of ADHD and how his medication helped.

This book was such a pleasant surprise and I would really urge everyone to read it, just to see if it will surprise you too.

Book Review: How Many Letters Are In Goodbye? by Yvonne Cassidy

Read: February 13-15   Verdict: 4 Stars

I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.


Rhea is 17 years old, only has one arm and is living homeless on the streets of New York. As a way of exploring her feelings and what's happening to her, Rhea begins to write letters to her dead mother.

This one was a hard one to rate for me. There was a lot going on in this book from themes of exploring sexuality and coming to terms with sexuality, living with a disability, homelessness, the young homeless, sexual assault, depression, suicide. It was certainly diverse in a lot of ways and the story was set in the 90s, so there was no mobile phones, email or instant messenger. Everything seemed that little bit more drawn out because Rhea was writing everything down.

I felt like we did get a real sense of Rhea. She didn't seem to know where she was going or even who she really was but I felt close to her during her struggles. I did get frustrated at her now and again as I felt she was a bit slow in accepting things, particularly in her talks with Jean, but overall I do feel like she's a character a lot of people could identify with.

I'm giving this four stars because the book felt just that little bit too long for me. I think the middle could be trimmed down a lot and it would make the story feel a lot less dragged out.

On a side note, I didn't know this story would have an Irish connection so I was so happy when I read that. And you know an author is either Irish or has spent a great deal of time in Ireland when they talk about 'fizzy orange' and 'Hunky Dorys' and also use the phrase 'I'm grand.'