Book Review - Steelheart

Steelheart
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Series: Reckoners #1
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 26th September 2013
Source: Borrowed
Rating:

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics.. nobody but the Reckoners.

A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning - and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

By now I think that everyone has heard about or read something by Brandon Sanderson, but I as always came very late to the party. Growing up I've always loved the fantastical worlds more than reality, so I was pretty shocked that I hadn’t heard of him before a few months ago. I first talked about him in Who Wore it Better post, not really knowing who he was or much about his stories but it seemed like after that I noticed him everywhere. I'm not even exaggerating with you, I started watching Booktube finally (late again) and it was like everyone and their next door neighbour was talking about him. So what did I do? I like any other normal person searched high and low for any of his book until I finally I hunted down Steelheart, I prepared myself for what was sure to be an excellent book while still trying to keep my expectations low and I was blown away. He isn't for everyone though, I'm not sure if Amanda would fangirl with me but for me, it was everything I wanted and more.

Book Review - The Dream Thieves

The Dream Thieves
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Boys #2
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 19th September 2013
No. Pages: 464
Source: Borrowed
Rating:

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same.

Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life.

Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

The following review may contain spoilers concerning earlier books in the series.
If you have not read the previous installments, please proceed with caution.

*slow claps* The blogging community did well when recommending me this series. No, I've not fallen in love with the series - well, I have fallen in love, there's something so unlike anything I've ever read before about this series that just produces so many emotions in me, it is one of the strongest series in any number of ways that I've read in a while, but will I ever completely and utterly love it? I'm not so sure. For now, I can settle for being in awe, inspired and completely enthralled in this series, and Dream Thieves especially.

Book Review - The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Boys #1
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 19th September 2012
Publishers: Scholastic
No. Pages: 454
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

Blue has spent the majority of her sixteen years being told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. When Blue meets Gansey's spirit on the corpse road she knows there is only one reason why – either he is her true love or she has killed him.

Determined to find out the truth, Blue becomes involved with the Raven Boys, four boys from the local private school (lead by Gansey) who are on a quest to discover Glendower – a lost ancient Welsh King who is buried somewhere along the Virginia ley line. Whoever finds him will be granted a supernatural favour.

Never before has Blue felt such magic around her. But is Gansey her true love? She can’t imagine a time she would feel like that, and she is adamant not to be the reason for his death. Where will fate lead them?

Book Review - Blood of Olympus

Blood of Olympus
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus #5
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 7th October 2014
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 592
Source: Borrowed
Rating:

Though the Greek and Roman crew-members of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen - all of them, and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood - the blood of Olympus - in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it might be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already.

And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

Book Review - The Assassin's Blade

The Assassin's Blade
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #0.1 - #0.5
Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories | Young Adult
Release Date: 4th March 2014
Publishers: Bloomsbury
No. Pages: 448
Source: Borowed
Rating:

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.

Book Review - Article 5

Article 5
Author: Kristen Simmons
Series: Article 5 #1
Genres: Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 31st January 2012
Publishers: Tor Teen
No. Pages: 362
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. have been abandoned.
The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police - instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior - instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes, and one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings - the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Book Review - House of Hades

House of Hades
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus #4
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 8th October 2013
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 608
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus. Will any of them make it home alive?

Book Review - The DUFF

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend
Author: Kody Keplinger
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 7th September 2010
Publishers: Little Brown
No. Pages: 277
Source: Borrowed
Rating:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush, who calls Bianca the Duff--the designated ugly fat friend - of her crew.

But things aren't so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Book Review - Cruel Summer

Cruel Summer
Author: James Dawson
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: August 1st 2013
Publishers: Indigo
No. Pages: 324
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones

A year after Janey’s suicide, her friends reunite at a remote Spanish villa, desperate to put the past behind them. However, an unwelcome guest arrives claiming to have evidence that Jane was murdered. When she is found floating in the pool, it becomes clear one of them is a killer. Only one thing is for certain, surviving this holiday is going to be murder..

Book Review - All The Bright Places

All The Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 7th January 2015
Publishers: Penguin
No. Pages: 400
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death. He constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the 'natural wonders' of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It's only with Violet that Finch can be himself - a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who's not such a freak after all. And it's only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink.

Book Review - How to Love

How to Love
Author: Katie Cotugno
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 1st October 2013
Publishers: Balzer + Bray
No. Pages: 389
Source: Borrowed
Rating:

Before:
Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he's never seemed to notice that Reena even exists until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated - and pregnant - Reena behind.

After:
Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she's finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn't want anything to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said Sawyer's being back wasn't stirring something in her. After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

Series Review - Spooks Apprentice: Books #2-4

  

The following is a three-book collection of reviews from The Spooks Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney.
Each installment is reviewed individually and given a rating reflecting my thoughts on only that installment.
The collection may later contain spoilers concerning events in previous installments. Proceed with caution.

Book Review - Mark of Athena

The Mark of Athena
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus #3
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 2nd October 2012
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 574
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy - after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera - it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can't blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: 'Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me.' Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find - and close - the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side..

Book Review - The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus #2
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 4th October 2011
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 513
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, God of the Sea, has woken from a very deep sleep and come face to face with two snake-haired ladies who refuse to die. But they're the least of his problems. Because Percy finds himself at a camp for half-bloods, which doesn't ring any bells for him. There's just one name he remembers from his past. Annabeth.

Only one thing is certain - Percy's questing days aren't over. He and fellow demigods Frank and Hazel must face the most important quest of all: The Prophecy of Seven.

If they fail, it's not just their camp at risk.
Percy's old life, the gods and the entire world might be destroyed..

Book Review - Zom-B Baby

Zom-B Baby
Author: Darren Shan
Series: Zom-B #5
Genres: Paranormal, Horror, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 26th September 2013
Publishers: Simon and Schuster
No. Pages: 215
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

B has spent the last few months bunking with the Angels, a group of teens dedicated to eradicating the evil dead from the face of the earth, beginning with the undead roaming the abandoned wreckage that was once London. But the Angels' mission is a bit more complicated than that, and B takes to the streets of a very changed London to decide: is it a mission really to be believed? But instead of answers, B finds a horror beyond imagining

Book Review - Zom-B Angels

Zom-B Angels
Author: Darren Shan
Series: Zom-B #4
Genres: Paranormal, Horror, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 20th June 2013
Publishers: Simon and Schuster
No. Pages: 240
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

After spending the last few months wandering around London - a city filled with the dead - B Smith has given up hope for any sign of normal human existence. But then B finds strange signs all over the city - a 'Z' plus red arrows. Following them, B finds The Angels - a group gathered in the hopes of combating the evil dead and the forces that introduced them. But all is not as it seems and it's up to B to find out: what battle are they truly waging?

Book Review - Dare Me

Dare Me
Author: Megan Abbott
Standalone
Genres: Mystery, Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 27th August 2013
Publishers: Back Bay
No. Pages: 320
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Addy Hanlon has always been Beth Cassidy's best friend and trusted lieutenant. Beth calls the shots and Addy carries them out, a long-established order of things that has brought them to the pinnacle of their high-school careers. Now they're seniors who rule the intensely competitive cheer squad, feared and followed by the other girls - until the young new coach arrives.

Cool and commanding, an emissary from the adult world just beyond their reach, Coach Colette French draws Addy and the other cheerleaders into her life. Only Beth, unsettled by the new regime, remains outside Coach's golden circle, waging a subtle but vicious campaign to regain her position as 'top girl' - both with the team and with Addy herself.

Then a suicide focuses a police investigation on Coach and her squad. After the first wave of shock and grief, Addy tries to uncover the truth behind the death - and learns that the boundary between loyalty and love can be dangerous terrain..

Book Review - The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus #1
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 10th October 2010
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 551
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Jason has a problem. He doesn't remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper. His best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for 'bad kids', as Leo puts it. What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea - except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret. Her father, a famous actor, has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he's in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn't recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to some-place called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?

Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What's troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper's gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all - including Leo - related to a god.

Book Review - The Body Finder

The Body Finder
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Body Finder #1
Genres: Paranormal, Mystery | Young Adult
Release Date: 16th March 2010
Publishers: HarperCollins
No. Pages: 312
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her 'power' to sense dead bodies - or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer - and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer.. and becoming his prey herself.

Book Review - Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Grisha #1
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 5th June 2012
Publisher: Indigo
Pages: 358
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life - a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha.. and the secrets of her heart.