Review: Half Wild by Sally Green

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22429853Half Wild by Sally Green
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary, UKYA
Published by: Penguin UK
Pages: 400
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★.5
Series: Half Bad (#1) | Half Lies (#0.5)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

It’s been quite a while since I read Half Bad, and originally I didn’t think I was interested enough to finish the series. Then I read the novella, Half Lies, and realised I needed to keep going because of Gabriel. I wasn’t disappointed by Half Wild, but it was certainly a lot darker than the first book in the series, and pacing wise it was extremely slow and the action was condensed to, I’d say, the last 15% or so.

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Review: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

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blue lily lily blueBlue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adventure, Supernatural
Published by: Scholastic Press
Pages: 391
Format: E-Book
Rating: ★★★.5
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

For once with this series, I feel I know what’s going on! I decided to pick up ‘Blue Lily, Lily Blue’ quickly after ‘The Dream Thieves’ so the plot didn’t go missing while my head was filled with so many other stories.
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Review: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

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20810072If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
Genre: Contemporary, mystery
Published by: Indigo
Pages: 314
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★.5
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

If You Find Me is a heart-breaking, beautiful debut by Emily Murdoch. It follows the story of Carey and her sister, Janessa, when  their father comes to take them away from the woods they’ve called home for the last nine years. The novel is more about Carey’s slow recovery and adjustment to the contemporary society, that she left behind when she ran away from home, than the mystery thriller the blurb makes it out to be. If You Find Me took a lot of turns that I wasn’t expecting, yet Carey’s ‘secret’ wasn’t very hard to guess and was almost predictable if you’ve watched Gone starring Amanda Seyfried. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful read, and definitely worth the hype it has received.

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Review: The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

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the retribution of mara dyerThe Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Romance
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 470
Format: E-Book
Rating: ★★★★
Series: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (#1) | The Evolution of Mara Dyer (#2)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

This was probably my favourite book in the trilogy. It started out gross. I never thought I’d get to read about someone cutting out another person’s eye. (You can guess I haven’t read A Song of Ice and Fire!) Mara is no longer just troubled but bordering on insane. Everything that’s happening to her is unbelievable and that’s why it’s so interesting to read.

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Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

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evolution of mara dyerThe Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Romance
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 528
Format: E-Book
Rating: ★★★★
Series: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (#1) | The Retribution of Mara Dyer (#3)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

If I thought the first book was serious, then this took Mara’s story to a whole new level. It’s difficult to write reviews about this series because if I say too much then the whole thing will be spoiled, and I think this is the perfect book series to go into knowing nothing about them, in order to really appreciate the plot twists and darkness.

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Review: Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

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22717418Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Genre: contemporary, romance, LGBT
Published by: Electric Monkey (Egmont)
Pages: 238
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★
Where to find: Goodreads | Amazon

I’ve already read Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares and Naomi and Ely’s story was probably my least favourite of the three. I couldn’t connect with the characters as much, and I just din’t really like them. What I did like, that was different to their other co-written works, was the added perspectives of the eponymous character’s friends. If you liked A Little Something Different you would probably like this style of writing!

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Review: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

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The_Mark_of_AthenaThe Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Published by: Puffin
Pages: 572
Format: Hardback
Rating: ★★★★
Series: The Lost Hero (#1) | Son of Neptune (#2) | House of Hades (#4) | Blood of Olympus (#5)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Everyone is back together! Right where they should be! Mark of Athena really kicks of the series, in my opinion. The main enemy has been set out, and the characters are all there are ready to go. Also, character relationships have been planned carefully so conflict can only ensue! I was so excited to continue this series, and boy, has it gotten better. But that cliffhanger. That cliffhanger, thank goodness I don’t have to wait for House of Hades.  Continue reading “Review: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan” →

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

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The UnbecomingThe Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Romance
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 456
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★
Series: The Evolution of Mara Dyer (#2) | The Retribution of Mara Dyer (#3)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I first read this book at the beginning of 2014, and I can still remember the plot. That is probably the biggest compliment I could give a book, as a lot of YA plots seems to just float out of my head a month after I’ve read it.

Mara Dyer is probably one of the most interesting characters I’ve read about. I don’t think I fully understood the power she possessed at the beginning of the trilogy,. and only really appreciated her situation once I’d finished ‘The Retribution of Mara Dyer.’

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Review: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

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Heroes_of_Olympus_-_The_Son_of_NeptuneThe Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Published by: Hyperion Books
Pages: 545
Format: Hardback
Rating: ★★★
Series: The Lost Hero (#1) | The Mark of Athena (#3) | The House of Hades (#4) | The Blood of Olympus (#5)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Rick Riordan, you have outdone yourself, my friend. Percy is back. PERCY. IS. BACK. I could barely contain my excitement! I’d missed him so much! Jason, Piper and Leo were great, but Jason could never replace Percy, so it was lovely to have his charming perspective again. I enjoyed this sequel more than the first. I though Hazel and Frank’s backstories were really interesting, and the quests seemed even more exciting. The Roman camp was so new and different to Camp Half-Blood, I really enjoyed learning about it, and who doesn’t love a bit of Roman mythology?

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Review: The Sleeper and The Spindle by Neil Gaiman & Chris Riddell

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the sleeper and the spindleThe Sleeper and The Spindle by Neil Gaiman & Chris Riddell
Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling
Published by: Bloomsbury
Pages: 63
Format: Hardback
Rating: ★★★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon
Fairy tale retellings are one of my favourite genres. Actually, I’d go so far to say they are my favourite genre. So, when I noticed my school library had ‘The Sleeper and The Spindle’, a Sleeping Beauty retelling, illustrated by Chris Riddell (who I’ve loved since ‘Fergus Crane’) I had to drop everything I was reading and start this right away.

Firstly, I think overall this was a very original retelling of Sleeping Beauty, with a bit of Snow White thrown in for good measure. The subtle blend of the fairy tales was lovely and something I wasn’t expecting. I loved the role of the evil enchantress character and thought the plot was very plausible, and pulled off without manipulating the original tale to an extreme.

The artwork was consistently beautiful, I adored the golden accents and the simple strokes of the illustration. Riddell has such a defined style which perfectly paralleled Neil Gaiman’s writing.

Reading this retelling has interested me in picking up more of Gaiman’s works. I’ve only read ‘Stardust’, but know my library has a copy of ‘The Graveyard Book’ too. This tale felt very Grimms’ Brothers-esque because of the dark toned narrative.

For such a short book the characters were so strong and developed. I felt compassionate and empathetic for both the princess and the queen, and continue to love how females are given more of an active role in fairy tales without relying on princes.

A perfect little read. 5 stars.