Book Review

Review: Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville

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Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville

Title: Gretel and the Dark
Author: Eliza Granville
Genre: Historical Novel, Horror, Fairy Tale, Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin (6th February 2014)
Source: Penguin Ireland
Format: Finished copy
Blurb:

VIENNA, 1899.

Josef Breuer – celebrated psychoanalyst – is about to encounter his strangest case yet. Found by the lunatic asylum, thin, head shaved, she claims to have no name, no feelings – to be, in fact, not even human. Intrigued, Breuer determines to fathom the roots of her disturbance.

YEARS LATER,

in Germany, we meet Krysta. Krysta’s Papa is busy working in the infirmary with the ‘animal people’, so little Krysta plays alone, lost in the stories of Hansel and Gretel, the Pied Piper and more. And when everything changes and the real world around her becomes as frightening as any fairy tale, Krysta finds that her imagination holds powers beyond what she could ever have guessed . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

GRETEL AND THE DARK is a stand-alone novel by Eliza Granville. It tells the stories of two different girls, in two different counties, in two different times. Their stories unfold in interchanging chapters.

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Review: Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder

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Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Storm Glass (Chronicles of Ixia #4/ Glass #1)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Genre: Sword & Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Mira Ink (2nd August 2013)
Blurb:

Untrained. Untested. Unleashed.

With her unique magical abilities, Opal Cowan has always felt unsure of her place at Sitia’s magic academy – but now it’s time to test her powers in the real world.

Under the threat from a deadly massacre, the powerful Stormdancer clan need Opal’s unusual skills to protect their people. And their plea is impossible to resist, especially when it comes from mysterious, mercurial Kade.

Yet pulling her powers in unfamiliar directions pushes Opal to uncover a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening, with danger and deception rising around her, will Opal’s untested abilities destroy her – or save them all?

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

STORM GLASS is the first book in the GLASS trilogy, and the fourth book in the CHRONICLES OF IXIA. It tells the story of Opal Cowan, who first makes an appearance in FIRE STUDY (review). STORM GLASS takes place five years after the events of FIRE STUDY and sees Opal at Sitia’s magic academy, where she is unsure of her place and powers. Opal has a special ability with glass, and events see her travel with a Master magician to discover what is causing the Stormdancer clan’s deaths.

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Review: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

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Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Title: Antigoddess (The Goddess War: Book One)
Author: Kendare Blake
Genre: Mythology, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Orchard (10th September 2013)
Blurb:

He was Apollo, the sun, and he’d burn down anything that tried to hurt her . . .

Cassandra and Aidan are just your average high-school couple. Blissfully unaware of her own power, Cassandra doesn’t even know that gods exist.

Until now.

Because the gods are dying – and Cassandra could hold the answer to their survival. But Aidan has a secret, and he will do anything to protect the girl that he loves from the danger that’s coming to her. Even if it means war against his immortal family . . .

Stunning romance and relentless suspense – discover the first incredible book in THE GODDESS WAR trilogy.

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

ANTIGODDESS is the first book in Kendare Blake’s new young adult trilogy THE GODDESS WAR. Blake draws characters – both mortals and gods – from Greek mythology and sets the story in a small town in the state of New York. The gods are slowly dying, and not all are disappearing with a whimper. They seek a way to save themselves.

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Review: The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

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The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

Title: The Fiery Heart (A Bloodlines Novel, #4)
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin (19th November 2013)
Blurb:

WHEN PULSES QUICKEN NO SECRET IS SAFE.

SYDNEY ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT ALCHEMISTS WERE BORN TO PROTECT VAMPIRE SECRETS AND HUMAN LIVES – UNTIL SHE MET MARCUS AND TURNED HER BACK ON EVERYTHING SHE ONCE KNEW.

But she’s not free yet. When her sister Zoe arrives, Sydney can only tell her half-truths about her past. And with every word she risks exposure – and the fatal consequences.

Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney must choose her path once and for all. Even if that means harnessing her magical powers to destroy the way of life she was raised to defend . . .

THE SMOULDERING FOURTH INSTALMENT IN THE BESTSELLING BLOODLINES SERIES.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

THE FIERY HEART is the fourth book in Richelle Mead’s brilliant BLOODLINES series which is a spin-off from her VAMPIRE ACADEMY series. It tells the story of Sydney Sage an eighteen-year-old girl who grew up in an Alchemist family – a group of humans sworn to keep vampire secrets and to protect humans. In THE FIERY HEART Sydney is faced with a choice, one final choice, between the rhetoric she grew up with or breaking away from its familiarity.

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Review: Ever After by Kim Harrison

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Ever After by Kim Harrison (US edition cover)

Title: Ever After (The Hollows #11)
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Voyager (22nd January 2013)
Blurb:

The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It’s up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between magic users and humans falls apart.

Of course, there’s also the small fact that Rachel is the one who caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it. Not to mention the most powerful demon in the ever-after – the soul-eater Ku’Sox Sha-Ku-ru – has vowed to destroy her, and has kidnapped her friend and her goddaughter as leverage. If Rachel doesn’t give herself up, they will die.

Forced by circumstance, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack – a partnership fraught with dangers of the heart as well as betrayal of the soul – to return to the ever-after and rescue those she loves. One world teeters on the brink of interspecies war, the other on the brink of its very demise – and it’s up to Rachel to keep them both from being destroyed.

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

EVER AFTER is the eleventh installment of Kim Harrison’s fantastic THE HOLLOWS series. At this point in the series Harrison is starting to wrap things up, and answer some of the threads that have been left dangling in previous books in the series – I believe there will only be thirteen books to the series. In this book Rachel Morgan has to deal with the repercussions of her fight with Ku’Sox and trapping him in the ever-after, as he is not a demon to cross lightly – he threatens to destroy everything with his desire for revenge.

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Review: Angels’ Flight by Nalini Singh

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Angels’ Flight by Nalini Singh

Title: Angels’ Flight (Guild Hunter 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, and 3.5)
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz Fiction (10th January 2013)
Blurb:

Open the cover for four fabulous novellas set in the world of Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series.

Angels’ Pawn is a tale of flirtation and danger set in the Guild Hunter world. Ashwini and Janvier have no reason to be drawn to each other – but they are. Will the spark between them be fanned to become flames . . . or are they both the pawns of angels?

In Angel’s Judgement Sara and Deacon are Guild Hunters; their life’s work is catching and capturing – or killing – rogue angels. They have to make life or death decisions in a moment, but when judgement comes, should love be allowed to get in the way . . . ?

In Angel’s Wolf Noel may have been promoted, but in the Guild Hunter world that’s not always as positive as it sounds. And now that he’s working for the beautiful, dangerous, seductive Nimra there are a whole host of new risks he has to contend with . . .

And in the compelling never-before published Angels’ Dance read the compelling story of Jessamy, a beautiful flightless angel who has always held her own in a world of angels and archangels . . . until she meets Galen, and begins to dream of flying . . .

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

ANGELS’ FLIGHT is a compilation of four short stories written by Nalini Singh and set in her GUILD HUNTER series. Three of the four stories have already appeared, with ANGEL’S DANCE being the only new addition to the compilation. In the short stories Singh gives voice to the stories of characters who have only been minor players in the main series – readers of the GUILD HUNTER series will recognise them because although they are only minor, each has played an important role in the main series.

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Review: Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

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Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

Title: Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2)
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster (29th August 2013)
Blurb:

The link between Kami and Jared has been cut.
But can their bond ever be truly broken?

ON THE SURFACE, SORRY-IN-THE-VALE is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. The Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love who she chooses. But who should that be?

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

UNTOLD is the second book in Sarah Rees Brennan’s gothic inspired paranormal romance series THE LYNBURN LEGACY. It deals with, and starts not long after, the events of the first book in the series UNSPOKEN (review). UNTOLD follows the story of Kami Glass a would-be reporter, and her friends, as they deal with the revelation of Rob Lynburns’ plan to “bring back the old ways” – putting all non-sorcerers at risk.

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Review: Omens by Kelley Armstrong

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Omens by Kelley Armstrong, UK edition cover.

Title: Omens (A Cainsville Novel, #1)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Sphere (20th August 2013)
Blurb:

A life shattered in one moment

Olivia Jones has lived a life of privilege and good fortune. But on the eve of her wedding she discovers two shocking facts. One – she was adopted. Two – her biological parents are notorious serial killers. And now the secret’s out, she’s in immediate danger.

A young woman forced on the run

Running for her life, Liv must face reality in the most brutal and terrifying way. But then she is confronted by a tantalising hope – is it possible that her parents weren’t guilty of the murders after all? And if so, who did commit them?

And the mysterious town that gave her sanctuary. At a price.

Arriving at the remote town of Cainsville, Liv believes she has found the perfect place to hide while she uncovers the truth. But Cainsville is no ordinary town – and Liv’s arrival no accident.

Kelley Armstrong’s brilliant new novel is a gripping and atmospheric thriller about a town where secrets are soaked into every stone – and omens should never be ignored . . .

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

OMENS is the first book in Kelley Armstrong’s exciting new adult series CAINSVILLE. In it we follow the story of Olivia Jones the only child in a wealthy family who discovers that she is adopted just as the story of her origins breaks. Needing time and space to get her head together, Liv finds her way to the remote town of Cainsville through a series of coincidences (which might not be quite so coincidental after all).

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Review: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

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Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Title: Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2)
Author: Veronica Rossi
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: ATOM (8th January 2013)
Blurb:

WORLDS KEPT THEM APART. DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has struggled to build a life for herself outside Reverie. It hasn’t been easy adjusting to life in the wilderness, but the struggle has been worth it with Perry by her side.

But Perry has other challenges. His people are looking to him for answers. Answers about what happened to his nephew, and what’s happening to their world. And they don’t trust the privileged Aria, one of the enemy, in their midst.

Soon Perry’ll be forced to choose between the tribe that looks to him for leadership and the girl that looks to him for love.

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

THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT is the second book in Veronica Rossi’s fantastic UNDER THE NEVER SKY trilogy. It continues the story of Aria and Perry, that started in UNDER THE NEVER SKY (review), as they struggle to find and fit into their place in the world. Both have obligations that threaten to tear them apart.

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Review: After Dead by Charlaine Harris

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After Dead by Charlaine Harris

Title: After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampire Mysteries #13.5)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz (31st October 2013)
Blurb:

Dead Ever After marked the end of the Sookie Stackhouse novels – a series that garnered millions of fans and spawned the hit HBO television show TrueBlood. It also stoked a hunger that will never die . . . a hunger to know what happened next.

With characters arranged alphabetically – from Ancient Pythoness to Bethany Zanelli – bestselling author Charlaine Harris takes her readers into the future of their favorite residents of Bon Temps and environs. If you’d like to learn how Michele and Jason’s marriage fared, what happened to Sookie’s cousin Hunter, and whether Tara and JB’s twins grew up to be solid citizens, this is the book for you.

Charlaine Harris will even reveal the details of Sookie’s own happily-ever-after . . . !

Rating: ** (2 stars)
Review:

In AFTER DEAD Charlaine Harris wraps up the unanswered questions in her SOOKIE STACKHOUSE/SOUTHERN VAMPIRE MYSTERIES series. Beginning with A and ending with Z, Harris relates what happens to the characters in her series once the events of DEAD EVER AFTER (review) ended.

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