Review: Witch Finder - Ruth Warburton

Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton, published by Hodder Children's Books on 2nd January 2014

Goodreads synopsis:
London. 1880. In the slums of Spitalfields apprentice blacksmith Luke is facing initiation into the Malleus Maleficorum, the fearsome brotherhood dedicated to hunting and killing witches.

Luke’s final test is to pick a name at random from the Book of Witches, a name he must track down and kill within a month, or face death himself. Luke knows that tonight will change his life forever. But when he picks out sixteen-year-old Rosa Greenwood, Luke has no idea that his task will be harder than he could ever imagine.

Review:
Sticking to a winning formula of witches and magic, 'Witch Finder', the first book in Ruth Warburton's new trilogy, was a wonderful read which quite literally swept me away.  I finished it in one evening because it was impossible to put down.  I loved the Winter series and so I enjoyed getting to see events unfold through the eyes of not only Rosa, a young witch, but also Luke, a witch finder who has sworn to kill her and become part of the Maleus Maleficarum.

What makes the story really interesting and gives it an unusual twist is that although Luke sets out with the intention of killing Rosa and finding the witch that murdered his parents, when he eventually meets her, he realises that she may have magic but she's also a person in her own right.  She's kind and compassionate and beautiful and so all his strongly held convictions are shaken to the core.  This doesn't mean that he immediately strays from his chosen path and he still attempts to take Rosa's life on numerous occasions but his feelings for her grow stronger as he begins to understand who she is.  He has to struggle with his morals as he's torn between which course of action to take.

Unlike her previous books, Ruth Warburton has set 'Witch Finder' in 1880 which lends a historical slant to the story.  We get to see how men have most of the power over women and how Rosa is caught between saving her family and marrying a man she doesn't love.  I enjoyed seeing how people lived during this period and how different classes struggled with many of the problems that we still face today.

I loved this story which flowed so well that I quickly became immersed in the characters' lives.  There are some unusual twists in the plot and I never found it predictable or slow.  I kept getting to the end of each chapter and then wanted to keep on reading to find out what would happen next.  I'm now extremely eager to get my hands on the next book in the trilogy, 'Witch Hunt' which is out later this year. 

Review: A Midsummer's Nightmare - Kody Keplinger

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger, published by Hodder on 6th February 2014

Goodreads synopsis:
Whitley Johnson's dream summer of shopping, partying and tanning on the beach has just turned into a nightmare. Because Dad didn't tell her he doesn't live by the beach anymore, or that he's no longer a bachelor. He's picked up and moved to a tiny, lame town called Hamilton and gotten himself a fiance. A fiance whose son just happens to be what's-his-name from last week's drunken graduation party one night stand. Just freakin' great.

As if the summer couldn't get worse, Dad seems to forget Whitley's even there. She doesn't fit in with his perfect new country club family, and Whitley does what any kid lucky enough to go all summer unsupervised does: she parties. Hard.

So hard that she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a younger future step-sister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't 'do friends') and a smoking hot, sweet guy who isn't her step brother (yet) and who actually seems to care for her. It will take all three of them to convince her that they're not phoneys, and to get Whitley to get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

Review:
I'm such a huge fan of Kody Keplinger and so I was dying to read 'A Midsummer's Nightmare'.  I love her writing style and the fact that her stories are very real and honest.  Her teenage characters mess up and make mistakes, but that's all part of becoming an adult and is one of the things I love about her books.    

Whitley, the main character, is spending her last summer before college with her father.  She's looking forward to a relaxed summer of lazing by the beach and having some quality time with her Dad.  She doesn't however, count on him having got engaged and having a brand new family living with him.  Whitley's situation would be challenging for anyone and although she deals with it pretty badly in the beginning, she does eventually manage to work through her problems and begins to be honest with her parents about how she's feeling.  Families feature prominently in Kody Keplinger's books which I really like because she shows that they're definitely not always perfect but they are an important part of our lives.           

I loved Nathan, who is set to become Whitley's new step-brother.  He was a bit of a mystery at the start and his character had me really intrigued but I enjoyed getting to know him and I loved all the scenes between him and Whitley in the book.  He knows a lot about what she's going through and there's no way she's going to scare him off.  Sparks literally fly when they're together and I absolutely loved the romance between them.  The fact that he was going to be her step-brother didn't bother me at all but I could see how this might be an issue for some readers. 

I can't get enough of Kody Keplinger's books.  She's an amazing author and a writer that teens can really identify with.  'A Midsummer's Nightmare' was just as good as 'The Duff' and a five star read.  I can't wait for more by her! 

Review: Dead Silent - Sharon Jones

Dead Silent by Sharon Jones, published by Orchard Books on 6th February 2014
Goodreads synopsis:
When Poppy Sinclair and her boyfriend visit snowy Cambridge, she doesn't expect to discover the body of a student - arms outstretched in the act of smearing bloody angel wings on the chapel's floor.

Suddenly, Poppy is faced with the possibility that the one closest to her heart might be the one committing the most malicious of crimes.

Dodging porters and police, dreading what she might find, Poppy follows the clues left by a murderer bent on revenge...

Review:
‘Dead Silent’ by Sharon Jones was an exciting and fast-paced read in my new favourite YA genre, crime thriller. Poppy is back and embroiled in another mystery when she goes to visit Cambridge with her now boyfriend Michael. What starts out as a perfectly normal trip for a university interview, turns out to be far more dangerous than anticipated when bodies start turning up dead. With someone very close to Poppy looking suspiciously guilty, she sets out to prove their innocence and solve the string of murders.  

I loved the setting of this book.  Cambridge is steeped in history and this made it a brilliant place to unravel a crime, drawing on some of it's secret traditions. The campus itself also felt like its own small community, which lent an air of claustrophobia and suspicion to proceedings. It was hard to know who could be trusted among the Oxford elite.

I really like the way that although the crime itself embroils Poppy deeply, we still get to see her dealing with day-to-day problems, such as whether or not to take the next step with Michael and repairing the fractured relationship between her and her father. She’s a very interesting character and in ‘Dead Silence’ it was intriguing to see some different aspects of her personality and beliefs being explored in more depth. I’m curious to see how this will be developed in further books in the series. I love the transition of Poppy and Michael’s friendship into romance as I was dying for them to get together in the previous book. I only wonder how they’ll cope in the future being at different universities.

The story was gripping from start to finish and extremely unpredictable. I had no idea who the guilty party was which meant that the unveiling of the truth was incredibly exciting. If you love crime novels, or even if you don’t, you definitely need to read ‘Dead Silent’ which is perfect for fans of contemporary YA who also love a good mystery, a dash of romance and a strong, entertaining and intelligent female heroine.

I hope that there are lots more Poppy Sinclair mysteries on the cards from Sharon Jones in the future. 

Review: Earthfall - Mark Walden

Earthfall by Mark Walden, published by Bloomsbury on 6th February 2014

Goodreads synopsis:
Sam awakens to see strange vessels gathered in the skies around London. As he stares up, people stream past, walking silently toward the enormous ships, which emit a persistent noise. Only Sam seems immune to the signal. Six months later, he is absolutely alone.

Or so he thinks. Because after he emerges from his underground bunker and is wounded by a flying drone, a hail of machine-gun fire ultimately reveals two very important truths: One, Sam is not, in fact, alone. And two, the drone injury should have killed him—but it didn’t.

With his home planet feeling alien and the future unstable and unclear, Sam must navigate a new world.

Review:
The author of the H.I.V.E series, Mark Walden, has turned his imagination to envisioning the coming of aliens to earth.  'Earthfall' is the first chapter about school boy Sam and his fellow survivors, who band together to create a renegade group, intent on thwarting the unwanted intruders to their planet. 

From the opening chapter, the reader is thrust straight into the fight as our as yet unnamed hero battles against a drone-like creature - an octopus type object with deadly tendrils.  This left me in no doubt that the rest of the book was going to be a rollercoaster ride for survival. 

I thought Mark Walden did a really good job of depicting the world as its now become.  The majority of humans have become Walkers, as Sam calls them and among them are his mother and older sister.  There's quite a detailed and slightly complex explanation of events near the end of the book which provides a fresh perspective on things which have happened.  This was a bit hard to follow at first but I gradually began to make sense of it all and found it fascinating.

I would have liked to have seen more of Sam's progression in the book, as his training was skipped over quite quickly.  Although he's wily and tough from the beginning, I think after having been on his own for such a long time, that it would have taken him longer to adjust to being part of a group.  It would also have been interesting to have found out more background to some of the other people that he joins up with. 

'Earthfall' was a promising start to the series which will appeal to slightly younger readers, boys in particular. There's lots of action and excitement which will have them totally hooked!

Review: Pawn - Aimee Carter

Pawn by Aimee Carter, published by Mira Ink on 3rd January 2014

Goodreads synopsis:
For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.

If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister’s niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.

There’s only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered. The same one that got her killed…and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that’s not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she’s only beginning to understand.

Review:
This is the first book in a new trilogy by Aimee Carter, whose Goddess series is a big favourite of mine.  'Pawn' is set in a future America where overpopulation is a huge problem for the government to deal with.  Too many demands on food, housing and other such commodities, has led to people having to take a test.  This test assigns them with a number which dictates how their lives are led, what sort of job they get, how many children they are allowed and where they live. 

Kitty is one of millions of Extras - second children who are taken away from their parents and given the surname Doe.  She's grown up in a group home and is in love with her best friend Benjy, who she's always had to rely on and help her with her dyslexia.  When she takes the test and is given a III, she fears that she'll hold Benjy back from the future he deserves.  A chance opportunity to elevate her rank, seems too good to pass up but this decision leads to her becoming embroiled in a conspiracy more twisted and complex than she could ever have imagined. 

I really loved Kitty.  She's brave and strong and was my favourite character in the book.  She may not always make the best decisions but she tries to do what's right and is very protective of those she loves.  I thought that Benjy could have been fleshed out a bit more as I felt his character was a little one-dimensional at times.  It certainly came across how much Kitty loved him but I would have enjoyed more good ol' romance between them.

In 'Pawn', I thought Aimee Carter had come up with an interesting idea for a future America.  The story raised lots of questions about how society can operate as a meritocracy and about the part that people have to play in contributing to the world they live in.  The idea of Elsewhere - a place that people are taken when they have no way to contribute was pretty scary and horrifying. 

Engrossing, thrilling and with an abundance of secrets just waiting to be spilt, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I'm eagerly awaiting the next instalment 'Captive' so that I can find out what awaits Kitty next.     

Review: The Academy: Love Match - Monica Seles

The Academy: Love Match by Monica Seles, published by Bloomsbury on 13th February 2014

Goodreads synopsis:
After a star performance in the semi-finals at a tennis competition, Maya is labelled The Next Big Thing and books a high-profile modelling job. The only problem is her co-star in the campaign is her super-hot ex-boyfriend, Jake Reed – and this is a job that her rival, Nicole, wants! Maya’s only just put the betrayal by Jake and Nicole behind her and now Maya is being drawn back into a circle of jealousy and desire. Luckily, she knows Nicole’s latest secret and gossip is a powerful weapon at The Academy!

Review:
'The Academy: Love Match' is the second book in Monica Seles's series about promising tennis player Maya, who finally seems to be getting her fair share of the limelight.  I enjoyed the first book last year and although I liked the fact that it combined sport with lashings of drama and gossip, I did wish that the tennis angle had been played up a bit more.  I wanted to be given more details and insights into what it meant to be a full-time player trying to make it on the big on the professional circuit and the sacrifices that this entailed.  Sadly, this wasn't remedied in 'Love Match' as I felt like I never really saw the blood, sweat and tears that Maya should have been putting in to achieve success.  That aside, I still enjoyed the story and I found it a light, entertaining read which I finished in one evening. 

At the end of the previous book, things were left in a bit of a mess between Maya and her boyfriend Jake and I was looking forward to seeing how this was going to be resolved.  Their romance was however put on the back burner for most of the story and it wasn't until the very end that this thread seemed to be picked up again.  There was a lot more Travis than Jake throughout which was a shame because I think Travis is definitely the more one-dimensional of the two brothers.

I love the friendship between Maya and her friends Cleo and Renee.  They've really formed a strong bond and it was nice to see them helping each other out and supporting Cleo through a difficult situation.  I imagine that the environment they're living in fosters intense competition between athletes but also provides them with a built-in support system because everyone understands what they are each going through.

Although a little light-weight on plot, I'm sure sports fans will lap this up.  I still feel invested in Maya's story but I do hope that the next in the series will remedy some of the issues I had with 'Love Match'.  I'd love to see Maya finally put some of the petty dramas behind her and really step up to the plate.  I know she has it in her to do so.