Book Review

Review: The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

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The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Title: The Copper Gauntlet (Magisterium, 2)
Authors: Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Corgi Books (3rd September 2015)
Blurb:

WHAT IF YOUR SOUL WAS NOT YOUR OWN?
WHAT IF YOU KNEW YOU WERE DESTINED FOR EVIL?

Callum Hunt has returned from the Magisterium victorious. He is now a mage in his own right – a Copper Year student. He has friends; feels at home in the winding tunnels of the mysterious magical school.

But Call hides a terrible secret.

His soul is not his own. His body is a vessel for a powerful evil mage, wielder of chaos magic . . . murderer.

Salvation would like in the Alkahest, a mysterious copper gauntlet. But it is a dangerous object, with a violent history. It could destory everything Call knows and loves . . .

And release the evil within him.

THINK YOU  KNOW MAGIC? THINK AGAIN.
ENTER THE BREATHTAKING WORLD OF THE MAGISTERIUM.

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

THE COPPER GAUNTLET is the second book in The Magisterium series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. The book continues the story of Callum Hunt who having completed his first year at the Magisterium, is about to start his second but this time he knows a terrible secret that could have terrible consequences. Despite this Call wants to return to the Magisterium and his friends.

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Review: The Landfill War by Luca Tarenzi

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The Landfill War by Luca Tarenzi

Title: The Landfill War (Poison Fairies, 1)
Author: Luca Tarenzi
Translator: Kieren Bailey
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Acheron Books (13 December 2014)
Blurb:

Life in the landfill is hard. Between the ever-present danger of the deadly seagulls, problems with finding enough food, and the fights with other fairy tribes like the fearsome Boggarts, it’s a challenge just to make it day by day.
Needleye decides that things must change and so she convinces her friends, Verdigris and Thaw, to help her steal a car battery from the Boggarts.

Winter is on the horizon and the acid from the battery will provide plenty of energy for her people. It sounds like such a good idea, but then again, bad decisions usually do.

How will Needleye’s brother, King Albedo, react to the unauthorized mission? What is Waspider, King of the Boggarts, plotting? And who’s the mysterious fairy gifted with a Glamour that’s different from any other kind of magic Needleye has ever seen?

Find out in The Landfill War, the first chapter in a trilogy about the most ferocious beings in the entire world: fairies!

(Blurb taken from goodreads)

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

THE LANDFILL WAR by Luca Tarenzi is the first book in the Poison Fairies series, and my edition is translated from the Italian by Kieren Bailey. The novel tells the story of Needleye, a fairy who lives in a landfill. Life is hard in the landfill, as the tribe Needleye is part of has to defend itself from other fairy tribes and from seagulls, as well as remain hidden from man. A battery has been spotted on another fairy tribes land, and Needleye is determined to claim it.

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Review: Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

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Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Title: Wolf by Wolf (Wolf by Wolf, 1)
Author: Ryan Graudin
Genre: Alternative History, Historical Novel, Young Adult
Source: Illumicrate, box 1
Publisher: Indigo (5th November 2015)
Blurb:

Once upon a different time, there was a girl who lived in a kingdom of death. Wolves howled up her arm. A whole pack of them – made of tattoo ink and pain, memory and loss. It was the only thing about her that stayed the same.

Germany, 1956. Over ten years since the Nazis won the war.

Seventeen-year-old Yael is part of the resistance, and she has just one mission: to kill Hitler.

But first she’s got to get close enough to him to do it.

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

WOLF BY WOLF by Ryan Graudin tells the story of Yael who lives in a world where the Nazis won the Second World War, and she is part of the resistance. A decade after their victory, when Yael is seventeen she is given the mission to kill Hitler.

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Review: The It Girl by Katy Birchall

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The It Girl by Katy Birchall

Title: The It Girl (The It Girl, 1)
Author: Katy Birchall
Genre: Contemporary,  Young Adult
Source: Secret Santa
Publisher: Egmont (7th May 2015)
Blurb:

Anna Huntley’s aims in life:
1. To recerate famous film scenes with Dog (her pet Labrador) such as the lift from The Lion King during that ‘Circle of Life’ song.

2. To NOT accidentally set Deputy Queen Bee Josie Graham’s HAIR on FIRE (again).

3. To keep her very first and only two school friends by NOT doing anything in usual manner of socially inept DORK and OUTCAST.

4. To find out whether points 1 and 2 constitute being socially inept – or outcastish.

5. To find a cupboard to hide in with Dog (preferably for life) after her dad gets engaged to one of the most famous actresses ever, the PAPARAZZI move in and the WHOLE WORD is on the brink of discovering why no one wants to be friends with Anna . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

THE IT GIRL by Katy Birchall is the first book in a new series. They story follows Anna Huntley who finds herself moving from invisible new girl, to hanging with the popular crowd at school when her dad gets engaged to a famous actress.

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Review: Jackaby by William Ritter

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Jackaby by William Ritter

Title: Jackaby (Jackaby #1)
Author: William Ritter
Genre: Historical, Mystery, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers (16th September 2014)
Blurb:

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary – including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing the ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villian, but Jackaby is certain the foul deeds are the work of the kind of creature whose very existence the local authorities – with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane – seem adamant to deny.

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

JACKABY by William Ritter is the first book in the Jackaby series. It tells the story of newly arrived English immigrant Abigail Rook, who arrives in New Fiddleham, New England at the start of the book. Whilst looking for a place to work, Abigail comes across an ad for an assistant. Having no luck anywhere else, Abigail decides to try her luck with R. F. Jackaby, investigator of the unexplained.

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Review: The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

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The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

Title: The Wolf Wilder
Author: Katherine Rundell
Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Middle Grade
Publisher: Bloomsbury (10th September 2015)
Blurb:

Feodora and her mother live in the snowbound woods of Russia, where their closest neighbours are wolves. Feo’s mother is a wolf wilder, and Feo is a wolf wilder in training. Like the wolves, Feo has learnt to be wary of humans – even before the soldiers arrive with their guns and threats. And when the soldiers do their worst, she goes on the run with just a fugitive boy and her wolves for company – to rescue her mother and to save her pack . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

THE WOLF WILDER by Katherine Rundell reads like a Russian fairy tale. It tells the story of Feodora and her mother, they live in the snowbound woods of Russia. Feo’s mother is a wolf wilder, so Feo has grown up with wolves and has learnt to be wary of humans. So when soldiers from the Tsar arrive with weapons and take her mother away, Feo has no choice but to try and get her mother back.

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Review: You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day

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You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day

Title: You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)
Author: Felicia Day
Genre: Autobiography
Publisher: Sphere (13th August 2015)
Blurb:

From online entertainment pioneer, actress and ‘queen of the geeks’ Felicia Day, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is a funny, quirky and inspiring memoir about her unusual upbringing, her rise to internet stardom and embracing her weirdness to find her place in the world.

When Felicia Day was a girl, all she wanted was to connect with other kids (desperately). Growing up in the Deep South, where she was ‘home-schooled for hippie reasons’, she looked online to find her tribe. The internet was in its infancy and she became an early adopter at every stage of its growth – finding joy and unlikely friendships in the emerging digital world. Her relative isolation meant that she could pursue passions like gaming, calculus and the 1930s detective novels without shame. Because she had no idea how ‘uncool’ she really was.

But if it hadn’t been for her strange background – the awkwardness continued when she started college at sixteen, her mother driving her to campus every day – she might never have had the naive confidence to forge her own path. Like when she graduated as valedictorian with a maths degree and then headed to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting despite having zero contacts. Or when she tired of being typecast as the crazy cat-lady secretary and decided to create her own web series before people in showbusiness understood that online video would be more than just cats chasing laser pointers.

Felicia’s rags-to-riches rise to internet fame launched her career as one of the most unfluential creators in new media. Now Felicia’s world is filled with creativity, video games and a dash of feminist activism – like her memoir.

Showcasing Felicia’s hilarious and unique voice, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should celebrate what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now – even for a digital misfit.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

YOU’RE NEVER WEIRD ON THE INTERNET (ALMOST) is an autobiography by Felicia Day. It tells the story of her childhood and growing up in the Deep South up to when she was doxxed during the #GamerGate mess.

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Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

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Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (UK edition)

Title: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, 4)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury (1st September 2015)
Blurb:

NO MASTERS.

NO LIMITS.

NO REGRETS.

Celaena Sardothien is cloaked in her assassin’s hood once more. She is back in Rifthold, but this time she’s no one’s slave. She must delve into her most painful memories and fight for her survival, while resisting a smouldering passion that might very well consume her heart. And she will face her former master, the King of Assassins, again – to wreak revenge for a decade of pain . . .

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

QUEEN OF SHADOWS by Sarah J. Mass is the fourth book in the young adult fantasy series Throne of Glass. Celaena Sardothien knows who she is and has returned to Rifthold, in order to collect the debts she is owed. Starting with her former master, the King of Assassins.

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Review: The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman

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The Sandman: Overture

Title: The Sandman: Overture (The Sandman 0)
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrators: J. H. Williams III and Dave Stewart
Genre: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novel
Publisher: DC Comics (10th November 2015)
Blurb:

He is known throughout Creation by countless names. Anywhere that life exists, he and his seven ageless siblings guide the forces that shape it.

He is Dream of the Endless. The year is 1915. And the universe is about to end.

With THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE, New York Times bestselling author and master of modern fantasy Neil Gaiman returns for his first full-length story of the Dream King in nearly 20 years – a stunning prequel to the original SANDMAN saga, illustrated by critically acclaimed artist J. H. Williams III and colorist Dave Stewart. This deluxe hardcover edition collects all six issues of the landmark VERTIGO series and includes more than 40 pages of special behind-the-scenes features, as well as an all-new sketchbook section from Williams.

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

THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by J. H. Williams III and Dave Stewart, is both the first and last story of Dream of the Endless. The story is set before the first part of the Sandman saga, THE SANDMAN: PRELUDES AND NOCTURNES, and explains the series of events that lead to that book’s beginning.

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Illumicrate Unboxing – February Box

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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 second box from Illumicrate arrived in the post on Monday, and like the first one I thought I would do an unboxing video of it. I have also included photos of the boxes contents below, as well as links to the people who made them. Let me know in the comments below what you think.

The items included in the Illumicrate are:

*The book also came with a signed bookplate and a postcard.

You can find my review for The Girl Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick here.