Tuesday 30 May 2017

Review: Goodbye Piccadilly by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles


I'll be honest, I was a good quarter of the way through before I started to enjoy this book. It follows The Hunter family through 1914 as Europe slides into war, ending rather poignantly on Christmas Day in the trenches. Having read Cynthia Harrod-Eagles before I already know her strengths lie in a family saga and she is very good at writing from multiple characters perspectives and following their development over time. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series which will carry on and cover 1915.

Tuesday 23 May 2017

Review: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson


This book was simply amazing. I have been meaning to try some Brandon Sanderson for a while now and I saw this sitting on the library shelf so I took it home with me ... just over a week later I emerged from a world of dark lords, thieving crews and Allomancy hungry for more.

This is the story of Vin, a skaa street urchin, who finds herself suddenly thrown into the world of Allomancy (magic that gives people an assortment of powers after burning metals), nobility, power plays and one very outlandish plan to overthrow a dark power. I was hooked from page one, the world is so beautifully written and the magic system is so unique and detailed. Coupled with that is a fantastic assortment of characters to get to know, my particular favourites being the ever philosophical Sazed and of course the man at the centre of it all, Kelsier.

I've not really tried adult fantasy before, however I am a long term fan of young adult so it was bound to happen eventually. I have The Well of Ascension on order at the library and it cannot arrive soon enough. Great fun and something I would recommend to any fantasy lovers to try.

Wednesday 17 May 2017

Review: Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony


Once again a great escape from reality into the crazy world of The People. This time Artemis has to deal with the demon island of Hybras falling out of time and rematerialising in the middle of the ocean. Not as funny as the previous books but I loved the addition of Number One and the warlocks.

Wednesday 10 May 2017

Review: A Lovely Way To Burn by Louise Welsh


This is one of those books that starts really well and I'm really invested in and then I just gradually loose all interest in it. A plague called the sweats has hit London and civilisation is collapsing, this I was very interested in as I have a strange fascination with end of the world fiction. Where it lost me was it's focus on the murder of one man and the heroine's strange obsession with solving a mystery that no one (myself included) cares about. Looking at the blurb for the second book it is told from a different perspective and focuses more on the virus itself so I'm hoping I will enjoy that one more.

Tuesday 2 May 2017

Review: Remembrance by Theresa Breslin


I remember being very affected by this when I read it in my teens and to this day it still has me welling up. It is a beautifully written tribute to World War One, tailored for a younger reader and to give them a broad idea of the War and the changing attitudes on the early 20th century. A haunting tale that I would thoroughly recommend to any young reader.

Review: Never Love a Highlander by Maya Banks


I'm sure this is some people's cup of tea but I just can't put myself through a third outing in this series. I won't repeat myself but if you read my reviews of the previous 2 books (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) you will understand my general feeling about them. Suffice to say I just read a whole chapter about how Rionna is ashamed of her breasts and then her new husband kisses her, she bites him and he enjoys the taste of the blood ... words fail me.