Book Review: Cleo

Author: Lucy Coats

Rating: 2/5

Publication date: May 7th 2015

I was so looking forward to this and was extremely disappointed. I've never read historical Egyptian fiction before so my mind was completely open to the idea of it. Cleo is a modern twist on this and I will definitely not be basing my idea of the genre off of this one novel.

"Her precious mother is dead - and it isn't an accident! The young Cleopatra - Pharaoh's illegitimate daughter - must flee the royal palace at Alexandria or die too. As her evil half-sisters usurp the throne, Cleo finds sanctuary at the sacred temple of Isis, where years later she becomes initiated into the secret Sisters of the Living Knot. But now Isis's power is failing, Egypt is in danger, and Cleo must prove her loyalty to her goddess by returning to the Alexandria she hates. She must seek out the hidden map which is the key to returning Isis's power - on pain of death. But will she be able to evade her horrible sisters? And will she find dreamy Khai, the über-hot Librarian boy she met as she fled Alexandria years before? Cleo's powerful destiny is about to unfold..." (From Goodreads)

I found the plot incredibly anti-climatic. There's this initiation type thing concerning the character Cleo and the Goddess Isis. Now, it was set up in a very you either live or die way and yet the result was kind of brushed off as if it wasn't much of a big deal. It should have been a big deal!

I also struggled to connect with Cleo as a narrator. I found myself wanting her friend Charm to join the scene to make my reading experience slightly more enjoyable. I don't know whether it was because the voice of Cleopatra was used in a teen character or something else that makes me dislike Cleo. I just don't know. She was difficult to sympathise with. In the story she suffers from the loss of people she loves but somehow forgets about them quite easily.

This book is the first in a planned trilogy and is the ending quite obviously sets up for this as there is no real concluding chapter. I think there is potential for the next books to be more engaging than this one but I can't see myself reading them.

Overall, I liked the ideas behind the story but, for me, it just didn't work.

Thank you for reading!

Book Review: All I Know Now

Author: Carrie Hope Fletcher
Rating: 5/5


Blimey! This is such a fantastic read! While reading I felt like I was genuinely sitting down with Carrie, having a cup of tea and a chat about the ups and downs of life with a bunch of comical anecdotes tagged on.

All I Know Now is a manual for those in the 'Teen Age' who need an Honorary Big Sister to help guide them through life based on said sister's experiences. The sister, in this case, being Carrie.

The book itself is split into eight acts, each of which are based on a particular subject such as the Internet and Turning That Frown Upside Down. I thought this made the book extra fun compared to the standard chapter-per-subject idea. (It's also rather fitting considering that Carrie is Eponine of Les Mierables.)

The thing I loved about this was that it didn't feel like some flawless pro-at-life was dictating how to go about being a person. Carrie's filled this with anecdotes from her not perfect but incredibly amusing Teen Age and reflected on how she sees herself now. That's it. She is giving advice to her younger self that may help you. She doesn't sit down and say 'right, here's what I think and you better jolly well do this'. She simply explains how she thinks positivity helps and gives ideas based on her own experiences.

Book Review: Bomb

Author: Sarah Mussi
Rating: 3/5
Publication date: May 7th 2015

When Genesis goes on an internet date she is only anxious that this latest guy won't be 'The One'. She's not at all worried about meeting a dodgy bloke or getting in too deep. And when her date appears she texts her best mate, Jackson, to let him know that she thinks this time, he just might be 'The One'. And he texts her back with a huge: I LIKE.
It's the one all right. But not in the way she expects.
For when Genesis wakes up the next day, she can't remember a thing. She can't remember where she is, or how she got there. And she can hardly move because she is strapped into some kind of body armour ... and then a voice sounds in her head: 'Get on to the 37 going north. You are strapped to a vest made entirely of explosives. At the push of one button I can detonate you right where you stand.'
To her horror, Genesis has become an agent of mass destruction. The countdown to detonation begins now... (taken from Goodreads).

I received Bomb through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I think it may have been a draft edition due to my copy being 100 pages over what is stated on Goodreads. I'm hoping that this condensed version is a lot more gripping than what I read. I felt that some parts were extremely gripping but the whole novel lacked this on a whole. Some chapters were very much there purely for transition. 

Book Review: The Night Circus

Author: Erin Morgenstern
Rating: 5/5

THE CIRCUS ARRIVES 

WITHOUT WARNING. 

NO ANNOUNCEMENTS 

PRECEDE IT... 

IT IS SIMPLY THERE, WHEN 

YESTERDAY IT WAS NOT.

Now that's an enigmatic synopsis if ever I read one! The Night Circus takes place over more than two decades around the beginning of the 20th century. Expect some Gothic codes as we are in the heart of Victorian England. Note: pay attention to those dates at the top of each chapter otherwise you will be lost time-wise in this world.

The main concept is that there is a game. A game that started when six year old Celia Bowen was given back to her father, Prospero the Enchanter (and yes, that Shakespeare reference is intended and Prospero does try to call her Miranda). The opposing contender is called upon by a mysterious man in a grey suit who presents Marco. The game itself is unknown to both the players and us as readers throughout most of the novel. We know, and they know, that there is a game. But neither us know what that game is or when it will happen.

The circus itself is there venue for the game, although that is not its only function; it is a fully running circus full of illusionists, contortionists and alike. The circus is the central point for all the individual vines of plot to congregate and join together. This was something I adored about the book because there was always something happening even if it was the subtlest thing!

If you're looking for a plot-driven and fast-paced read then this may not be quite for you. The Night Circus requires dedication to read as it's not one of those books you can just read a chapter of and stop. You really need to sit down for a couple of hours and read a hundred or so pages to appreciate what is going on. Each and every detail is described to pull you into the world (you even get to taste the food, it's that great).

Book Review: Mind Games

Author: Teri Terry
Rating: 4/5

Mind Games is a dystopian thriller which takes the idea of living virtually to the extreme. With a theme of "what makes you different makes you dangerous" it is perfect for fans of Veronica Roth's Divergent series.

"Luna has always been able to exist in virtual and real worlds at the same time, a secret she is warned to keep. She hides her ability by being a Refuser: excluded by choice from the virtual spheres others inhabit.
But when she is singled out for testing, she can't hide any longer.
The safest thing to do would be to fail, to go back to a dead-end life, no future. But Luna is starting to hope for something better, and hope is a dangerous thing..." 

I received an uncorrected proof copy through Goodreads so my opinion is not based on the final version of the novel. Also it's worth mentioning that Teri Terry is the author of the well-known Slated series, and there are some allusions to this in Mind Games.

Book Review: Portal 24

Author: Meredith Stroud

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Portal 24 is a Young Adult sci-fi novel which plays with the idea of time travel. The story is set around the life of teenage con-artist, Darius, in the city of Memphis. On the hot streets he cheats tourists out of their money to make a living for himself. When a mysterious woman starts following him in her car he thinks he might just have been caught for his trickery, but she turns out to be quite the opposite. She comes with a dangerous message and offers to recruit Darius into the world of Project Oberon - an organisation capable of time-travel in order to save disasters. Though there is a limit to their time travelling: they can only go back by twenty four hours and then time is up.

After having a read through Portal 24 I had mixed feelings over the plot. I thought some aspects were intriguing whilst I felt other aspects could have been further explored. In my opinion, some of the supporting characters such as Constance, Leon and Malik could have been further developed because by the end of the book we still don't know a great deal about them other than their fighting abilities.

Book Review: The Token

Author: Natasha Rogue
Rating: ★★★★☆

The Token is a fantasy novel intertwined with romance, a classic mix for YA fiction. The main character, Callie, labels herself as a typical sixteen year old apart from her one true talent for singing.  She gets caught up in a love triangle involving a childhood friend and her best friend's brother (let the screaming drama begin). But nothing is all as it seems as Callie starts to notice suspicious behaviour from almost all her peer students at school including her best friend, Tammy. 

I loved reading this. I would have given it five stars but I'm not sure I would read it again as one of the great things about the narrative is the mystery of who all the characters are. At first, I thought it would be another okay-ish read but honestly? I could not stop reading! There are so many plot twists but not enough to overwhelm you. As you read through the story, the person who we think is the villain is suddenly the good guy and another person takes his/her place.

Book Review: Peilis

Author: Kit Masters
Publication date: 31st July 2013
Rating: ★★★☆☆

   Last year I won Kit Master's novel entitled Peilis through a goodreads give-away via the website's First Reads scheme. I put off reading until this year as it is so different to what I usually read.

   The title comes from the Lithuanian term for knife which is a huge theme throughout the novel. Told from a twenty-nine year old teacher's point of view, the story explores the dangers of adolescent school chaos. This narrator is very much an observer who exposes the reader to the social infection which is rapidly tearing through the education system.

Book Review: The Drowning of Arthur Braxton

Author: Caroline Smailes
Publication date: 11th April 2013
Rating: ★★★★★

   Wherever you may live there is always that one building of mystery and suspicion.  What if that building was an Edwardian bathing house called The Oracle?

   The Drowning of Arthur Braxton is a contemporary fairy tale set in the familiarity of an urban territory. It is a pool of morals and consequences to dive into for the characters; each of who we get to know through the multiple narrative voice which allocates each chapter to a character and their classical element.

   The chapters are, for the most part, quite short. This makes it perfect for the busy reader. Each character has a distinct voice, and the style changes from prose and script to create a little variation.

   Smailes references Waterloo Road multiple times, using the programme length of one hour as a unit of time for Arthur. Dora the Explorer is mentioned - "I'm like Dora the Explorer but less Spanish" - which I haven't been able to get out of my mind since I came across it! The human brain is a strange but beautiful place.