Book Review

Review: Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

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Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

Title: Throne of Jade (Temeraire, 2)
Author: Naomi Novik
Genre:  Alternative History, Fantasy
Publisher:  HarperVoyager (20 February 2009)
Blurb:

Captain William Laurence, formerly of His Majesty’s Navy, has had only a few months to adjust to his new life as the captain of a fighting dragon, but now he can’t imagine a life outside the British Aerial Corps and Temeraire.

But now the Chinese have demanded the return of their Celestial dragon, and the British government cannot afford to refuse them, even if it costs them the most powerful weapon in their arsenal. Laurence and Temeraire must journey to Chine, knowing that once they arrive in the exotic east, they could be seperated forever.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

THRONE OF JADE by Naomi Novik is the second book in her fantastic Temeraire series. The book continues the stories of Captain Will Laurence and the dragon Temeraire. Having settled into life with the British Aerial Corps, Captain Laurence and Temeraire’s lives are disrupted when the Chinese demand the return of their Celestial dragon. As the British government cannot afford to refuse them Temeraire and Captain Laurence are forced to journey to China to find out what future awaits them.

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Illumicrate Unboxing 3 – May 2016

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This post has been one I’ve wanted to write for a while, but unfortunately I managed to tweak my right arm which has made typing challenging. So, sorry for the delay.

The video of my unboxing for this quarter’s Illumicrate is a little different from the previous videos. If you decide to watch it I would love to hear your feedback – did you like it? If you want to skip the video then there are pics below it.

So for those of you who haven’t heard about Illumicrate before:

Illumicrate is a UK based subscription service. It is a box that contains a book and some other bookish goodies. It costs £29.99 (plus P&P if you live outside the UK). You can find out more information and sign-up for updates about the next box here: http://www.illumicrate.com/

The items in the May 2016 Illumicrate are:

  • Book Club Mug by The Art of Escapism
  • To Read List Note Pad by Goodnight Boutique
  • Bookworm Clip by My Bookish Mark
  • Ex Libris Stamp by Little Stamp Store
  • Readers Gonna Read Pin by Literary Emporium
  • When We Collide by Emery Lord + signed book plate
  • Jenny McLachlan Badges
  • The Square Root of Summer Recipe Card
  • Mystery and Mayhem Postcard
  • Strange The Dreamer by Lani Taylor Sampler

I think this is a complete list, please let me know if I’ve missed anything.

Review: Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

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Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Title: Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands, 1)
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Faber and Faber (4th February 2016)
Blurb:

Tell me how you want your story to go, he says, and we’ll write it straight across the sand.

Dustwalk is an unforgiving, dead-end town. It’s not the place to be poor or orphaned or female. And yet Amani Al’Hiza must call it ‘home’.

Amani wants to escape and see the world she’s heard about in campfire stories.

Then a foreigner with no name turns up, and with him she has the chance to run.

But the desert plains are full of dangerous magic. The Sultan’s army is on the rise and Amani is soon caught at the heart of a fearless rebellion . . .

An epic story of swirling desert sands, love, magic and revolution.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

REBEL OF THE SANDS by Alwyn Hamilton is the first book in a new trilogy. It tells the story of Amani Al’Hiza an orphan who lives in a dead end town, where she is beholden to her uncle. Amani dreams of escaping the place she was born, of being able to see the places she has only ever heard about in stories. And this time she might just have a chance to escape.

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OUR SONG by Ashley Bodette | Release Day

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This is a little different to my usual post, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Our Song by Ashley Bodette is published today, May 31st 2016.

Becca:
I broke up with Trip four months ago. But with the exception of my parents, I haven’t told anyone why. Not my friends, not my little sister, not even Asher.

Asher:
I’ve been missing my best friend every day for the last nine months. Even though Becca broke up with Trip months ago, she’s still been distant, even when we’re in the same room.

Trip:
She thinks she can break up with me and then go on a “family” vacation with him? I’m going to prove to both of them that she never should have left me.

Book Links:
Add to Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords | iBooks

About the Author

Ashley Bodette is a soon-to-be MA publishing graduate from Kingston University London. She started her venture into the book world as a book blogger, never imagining that one day she’d write a book. Now, you couldn’t stop her from writing if you tried.

Along with writing and providing editing and other author services, you also might find Ashley crocheting, watching British television shows on Netflix, playing piano, singing around the house, or, of course, curled up with a good book.

AUTHOR LINKS:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumblr | Instagram | LinkedIn | Google + | Wattpad

Review: My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal

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My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal (uncorrected proof copy)

Title: My Name is Leon
Author: Kit de Waal
Genre: Contemporary
Source: Publisher
Publisher:  Viking (2nd June 2016)
Blurb:

Leon is nine, and has a perfect baby brother called Jake. They have gone to live with Maureen, who has fuzzy red hair like a halo, and a belly like Father Christmas. But the adults are speaking in low voices and wearing Pretend faces. They are threatening to take Jake away and give him to strangers. Because Jake is white and Leon is not.

As Leon struggles to cope with his anger, certain things can still make him smile – like Curly Wurlys, riding his bike fast downhill, burying his hands deep in soil, hanging out with Tufty (who reminds him of his dad), and stealing enough coins so that one day he can rescue Jake and his mum.

Evoking Britain in the early eighties, My Name is Leon is a story of love, identity and learning to overcome unbearable loss. Of the fierce bond between siblings. And how – just when we least expect it – we somehow manage to find our way home.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

MY NAME IS LEON is the debut novel by Kit de Waal. It tells the story of nine-year-old Leon, in early eighties Britain who ends up living with Maureen when his mum can’t cope after the birth of his baby brother Jake. The story focuses on Leon’s story as he struggles to cope with the changes in his life.

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Review: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

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Title: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli
Genre: Contemporary, GLBT, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin Books (7th April 2015)
Blurb:

Simon Spier is sixteen and trying to work out who he is – and what he’s looking for.

But when one of his emails to the very distracting Blue falls into the wrong hands, things get all kinds of complicated.

Because, for Simon, falling for Blue is a big deal . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

SIMON vs. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli is a standalone young adult novel that tells the story of sixteen-year-old Simon Spier. When the book starts Simon is exchanging emails anonymously with someone named Blue, who he forms a connection with. After he forgets to log out of his email account at school these emails fall into the wrong hands and life gets complicated for Simon.

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Review: Dreams of Distant Shores by Patricia A. McKillip

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Dreams of Distant Shores by Patricia A. McKillip

Title: Dreams of Distant Shores
Author: Patricia A. McKillip
Genre: Fantasy, Short Story
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Tachyon Publications (June 2016)
Blurb:

Featuring three brand-new stories and an original introduction by Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn.

Bestselling author Patricia A. McKillip (The Riddle-Master of Hed) is one of the most lyrical writers gracing the fantasy genre. With the debut of her newest work, Dreams of Distant Shores is a true ode to her many talents. Within these pages you will find a youthful artist possessed by both his painting and his muse and seductive travelers from the sea enrapturing distant lovers. The statue of a mermaid comes suddenly to life, and two friends are transfixed by a haunted estate.

Fans of McKillip’s ethereal fiction will find much to delight them; those lucky enough to be discovering her work will find much to enchant them.

(blurb from here)

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES by Patricia A. McKillip is a collection of seven short stories. All seven of the stories have a fantastical element to them, but some have more of a horror of science fiction twist. None of the stories are connected, and they all vary in length from quite short to fairly long.

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Review: A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

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A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

Title: A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, 2)
Author: V. E. Schwab
Genre: Alternative Universes, Fantasy
Publisher: Titan Books (23rd February 2016)
Blurb:

Kell is one of the last magicians with the ability to travel between parallel universes, linked by the magical city of London. It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into his possession and he met Delilah Bard. Four months since the Dane twins of White London fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body back into Black London.

Now Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila. And as Red London prepares for the Element Games – an international competition of magic – a certain pirate ship draws closer. But another London is coming back to life. The balance of magic is perilous, and for one city to flourish, another must fall . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

A GATHERING OF SHADOWS is the second book in V. E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series. It continues the stories of Kell and Delilah Bard, and takes place several months after the events of A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC (review). Whilst Delilah is seeking adventure, Kell is facing the consequences of the choices he made, and another London is coming back to life.

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Review: Lover Mine by J. R. Ward

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Lover Mine by J. R. Ward

Title: Lover Mine (A Black Dagger Brotherhood Novel, 8)
Author: J. R. Ward
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (3rd February 2011)
Blurb:

In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. The city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race – the warrior vampires of the BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD.

John Matthew has come a long way since he was found living among humans, his vampire nature unknown to himself and to those around him, and taken in by the Brotherhood. No one could have guessed his true history – or his true identity. Indeed, the fallen Brother Darius has returned, but with a different face and a very different destiny.

Xhex, a symphath assassin, has long steeled herself against the attraction between her and John. Having already lost one lover to madness, she will not allow a male of worth to fall prey to the darkness of her twisted life. When fate intervenes, however, the two discover that love, like destiny, is inevitable between soul mates.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

LOVER MINE by J. R. Ward is the eighth book in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. This time the story focuses on John Matthew and Xhex, who have both appeared as minor characters in previous books. John Matthew struggles to deal with the repercussions of the events at the end of the previous book, and also to gain justice for Xhex.

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Review: Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

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Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Title: Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson, 9)
Author: Patricia Briggs
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit (8th March 2016)
Blurb:

MECHANIC. SHAPESHIFTER. FIGHTER.

Mercy Thompson is back, and she’ll soon discover that when the fae stalk the human world, it’s the children who suffer . . .

Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could help avert out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.

Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans and the fae, Mercy, Adam and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

FIRE TOUCHED is the ninth book in the fantastic Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Tension between the fae and humans risk coming to a head in this book when the pack are called upon to stop a rampaging troll from wreaking havoc in the Tri-Cities. Mercy and her husband Adam, the pack’s Alpha, find themselves caught in the middle of something that could cause in a war.

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