Review: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

April 13, 2012April 9, 2012 / beckireads / Leave a comment

A Great and Terrble Beauty by Libba Bray

Title: A Great and Terrible Beauty
Author: Libba Bray
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK (2nd May 2006)
Blurb:

It’s 1895 and, after the death of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she has known in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma finds her reception a chilly one. She’s not completely alone, though . . . she’s being followed by a mysterious young man, sent to warn her to close her mind against the visions.

It’s at Spence that Gemma’s power to attract the supernatural unfolds, as she becomes entangled with the school’s most powerful girls and discovers her mother’s connection to a shadowy, timeless group called The Order. Her destiny awaits . . . if only Gemma can believe in it.

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Review:

A Great and Terrible Beauty is the first book in Libba Bray’sGreat and Terrible Beauty trilogy.

Continue reading →

Review: Nature Mage by Duncan Pile

April 10, 2012April 9, 2012 / beckireads / Leave a comment

Nature Mage by Duncan Pile

Title: Nature Mage
Author: Duncan Pile
Genre: Swords and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: New Generation Publishing (7th September 2011)
Blurb:

Gaspi is an ordinary boy, living in the mountain village of Aemon’s Reach, but life, for Gaspi, is forever changed the day magic erupts in him. He discovers he has a powerful gift – he is a Nature Mage, able to control natural forces and creatures and bend them to his will. It is a rare gift, and no-one has been born with it in centuries, but Gaspi’s powers also have a dark side, and without training they will kill him. He is forced to leave his home and travel to the distant city of Helioport, where the Archmages of the College of Collective Magicks will teach him how to use his powers.

Accompanied by his guardian and his best friends, Gaspi sets off on the long journey to Helioport. The journey is fraught with danger, and Gaspi and his friends discover that there are demonic creatures abroad, intent on finding and killing anyone with magical ability.

As Gaspi begins his magical studies, a shadow hangs over him and over the city of magicians. Gaspi’s story of a demonic attack is not an isolated incident. As these stories multiply, Hephistole, the Chancellor of the college, is growing increasingly certain that someone or something is directing the demonic forces, but who, and to what end? As things unfold, Gaspi finds himself in the middle of dark and terrible times, and can only hope that his powerful gift will develop in time to make a difference when the time comes

Rating:**** (4 stars)

Review:

Nature Mage is the first book of a trilogy, Duncan Pile has recently finished (I believe) writing the second book in the trilogy. It is about a boy who lives in an isolated village who one day discovers that he has magick.

Continue reading →

Review: Betrayed by P.C. and Kristin Cast

April 6, 2012March 7, 2012 / beckireads / 1 Comment

Betrayed by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Title: Betrayed (A House of Night Novel #2)
Author: P.C. and Kristin Cast
Genre:Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Atom (5th February 2009)
Blurb:

All any of us could talk about was Chris’s disappearance and how bizarre it was that he had last been seen so close to the House of Night. I didn’t want to believe it. But everything inside me said that the kid would be found, but he’d be found dead . . .

Things seem to be going pretty well for Zoey Redbird. She’s settled in at the House of Night finishing school and is coming to terms with her incredible new powers. It all seems too good to be true. And guess what?

Someone has begun murdering human teenagers, and all evidence points to the vampyres of Zoey’s school. Which means her first assignment as the leader of the Dark Daughters is finding out which one of her classmates or – gulp – teachers is a killer.

Sigh. And she thought her boyfriends (yes: plural) were going to be her biggest problem this year . . .

Rating:**** (4 stars)

Review:

Betrayed is the second book in P.C. and Kristin Cast’s fabulous A House of Night Novel series. The story takes up pretty much from where Marked left-off, though an indeterminate period of time has passed since the events of Marked.

Continue reading →

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

March 30, 2012March 7, 2012 / beckireads / 6 Comments

Thirteen Reasons Why: A Novel by Jay Asher

Title: TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY: A Novel
Author: Jay Asher
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Razorbill (6th August 2009)
Blurb:

Clay Jensen returns home to find a strange package with his name on it. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker – his classmate and first love – who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

Hannah’s voice explains there are thirteen reasons why she killed herself. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why.

All through the night, Clay keeps listening – and what he discovers changes his life . . .

Forever.

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

I’d heard a lot about this book on the bloggers sphere; all of it good. So I thought I’d give it a go, and see if it lived up to expectations: it did.

Continue reading →

Review: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

March 9, 2012March 7, 2012 / beckireads / 5 Comments

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead, UK edition cover.

Title: Bloodlines
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Razorbill (25th August 2011)
Source: Local library
Blurb:

Sydney protects vampire secrets – and human lives.

Sydney belongs to a secret group who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires.

But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she’s still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. What unfolds is far worse. The sister of Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding. Now Sydney must act as her protector.

The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one. . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Bloodlines is the first book in a new series by Richelle Mead, and is a spin-off her previous series Vampire Academy; it is set within the same world.

Continue reading →

Review: Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast

March 2, 2012March 7, 2012 / beckireads / 4 Comments

Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast, UK edition cover.

Title: Marked (A House of Night Novel)
Author: P.C. and Kristin Cast
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Atom (15th January 2009)
Source: Local library/Own copy
Blurb:

So the bad news was that I’d have to move into the House of Night, a private boarding scholl, known by all my friends as the vampyre finishing school, where I would spend the next four years going through bizarre and unnamable physical changes, as well as a told and permanent life shake-up. And that’s only if the whole process didn’t kill me.

But the good news was that I wouldn’t have to take the geometry test tomorrow.

When sixteen-year-old Zoey is marked by the Tracker, she knows her old life is over. Now she has to leave her friends and family to join the House of Night school, where there’s only one subject Zoey needs to study: Vampyre 101.

Of course, there’s always a catch, and this one’s nice and simple: if you fail, you die . . .

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

Marked is the first book in P.C. and Kristin Cast’s House of Night series. As the book’s blurb suggests, Zoey gets sent to a school to learn how to be a vampyre. So the story is half high-school story, half vampyre story.

Continue reading →

Review: Raven Queen by Pauline Francis

February 24, 2012March 7, 2012 / beckireads / Leave a comment

Raven Queen by Pauline Francis

Title: Raven Queen
Author: Pauline Francis
Genre: Historical Novel, Young Adult
Publisher: Usborne (12th February 2007)
Source: Local library
Blurb:

I have lived the life of a princess since the day I was born. But it did not bring me what I wanted. I am still trapped.

My beloved Ned speaks of love, freedom, a future. To walk with him in the forest, our raven soaring above us, is my only joy. But my father plans that I shall be betrothed to the King and I am afraid. Queens of England have a habit of dying. I have no desire to take the throne, no wish to find myself in the Tower of London.

Wife, Queen – I fear it will bring me to my knees.

Raven Queen weaves a mesmerising take of love and tragedy based on the life of Lady Jane Grey, all too often remembered as just a line in a history book.

Rating: ** (2 stars)
Review:

Raven Queen tells the story of Lady Jane Grey. Francis fictionalised the story in the book, and adds her own characters.

Continue reading →

Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

February 17, 2012March 7, 2012 / beckireads / 1 Comment

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, UK edition

Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster (1st April 2010)
Source: Local library.
Blurb:

When sixteen-year-old Sophie Mercer discovers she’s a witch, she imagines life will be full of magic, fun and . . . well . . . broomsticks! But her first attempt at a love spell goes disastrously wrong and, as punishment, Sophie is shipped off to Hecate “Hex” Hall, a reform school for witches, shapeshifters, and faeries.

By the end of the first day among her fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tag-along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person on campus and the only vampire.

Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students and her only friend is the number one suspect . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Hex Hall is Rachel Hawkins debut novel, and tells the story of Sophie Mercer a 16-year-old with magical powers. Things go a little wonky, and Sophie finds herself shipped off to reform school and a world she knows little about.

Continue reading →

Review: Mastiff by Tamora Pierce

February 10, 2012January 16, 2019 / beckireads / Leave a comment

Mastiff by Tamora Pierce

Title: Mastiff (Beka Cooper Book Three)
Author: Tamora Pierce
Genre: Young Adult, Sword & Sorcery
Publisher: Random House (25th October 2011)
Blurb:

The Hunt is on!

Three years have passed since Beka Cooper almost died in the sewers of Port Caynn, and she is now a respected member of the Provost’s Guards. But her life takes an unexpected turn when her fiancé is killed on a slave raid. Beka is faced with a mixture of emotions as, unbeknownst to many, she was about to call the engagement off.

It is as Beka is facing these feelings that Lord Gershom appears ar her door. Within hours, Beka; her partner, Tunstall; her scent hound, Achoo; and an unusual but powerful mage are working on an extremely secretive case that threatens the future of the Tortallan royal family, and therefore the entire Tortallan government. As Beka delves deeper into the motivations of the criminals she now Hunts, she learns of deep-seated political dissatisfaction, betrayal, and corruption. These are people with power, money, and influence. They are able to hire the most skilled mages, well versed in the darkest forms of magic. And they are nearly impossible to identify.

This case – a Hunt that will take her to place she’s never been – will challenge Beka’s tracking skills beyond the city walls, as well as her ability to judge exactly whom she can trust with her life and her country’s future.

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

Mastiff is the third and final book in Tamora Pierce’s brilliant Beka Cooper trilogy. It is also the fifth series set in the Tortall ‘verse, although it is set before any of the other books in the ‘verse. As such it allows the reader a peek into a time before the world they are familiar with from The Song of the Lioness Quartet or Protector of the Small Quartet. Mastiff shows the work of the Provost’s Guard, as by this point Beka has completed her training, which is similar to the modern-day police.

Continue reading →