Better late than never...

The Sword of Summer
Author: Rick Riordan
Publication Date: October 6th 2015 
Publisher: Puffin
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother's mysterious death, he's lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he's tracked down by an uncle he's never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. His uncle tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .

If you’ve read a Rick Riordan book before and loved it, you’re 99% guaranteed to feel the same about The Sword of Summer. Its trademark Rick Riordan, so here’s a check list we’ve come to know about anything Rick Riordan.

• Easy, likeable characters.

While I couldn’t really connect to Magnus, or any other character, you can relate to them, they’re easy to like and easy to root for. Magnus is sarcastic and even though doing the right thing gets him in trouble, and uh, killed, he does it anyway. Sam’s strong, and logical, and one hell of a multitasker. Heath and Blitz are, well, they’re Heath and Blitz, unique and loyal. Basically, they make one hell of an awesome team. And even Annabeth has a cameo!

• Mythology

This time around it’s Norse! Which, I was psyched about, because apart from the obvious, I don’t know much about Norse Mythology or Valkyries, and what I love about Rick Riordan’s are, you don’t know how much you’ve learned about the chosen mythology until you’ve finished it. And that’s the way you do it, because it doesn’t feel like learning, or reading a book on mythology, it’s done in a way that isn’t overwhelming, which any mythology can be, so you gradually learn who the God’s are, their children, their connection and relationships, and then of course, there’s Valhalla.

• Humour

You should know by now if you’ve read any Rick Riordan’s books, there’s always humour. Lots of it. In lots of places. Even by objects. Yes, objects. And while that makes the book seem light and fun, there are a lot of serious moments, too.

•   Quests

Of course there’s a quest. Duh. It even says so in the synopsis. I won’t tell you much about the quest, because I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say, it’s sneaky, and challenging, and honestly, you need to keep your eyes peeled for hints that start right from start.

• Brings God’s to life in a completely different way.

And sometimes, in a hopeless, unhelpful way that leaves the kids to do the work. Okay, let’s be honest, not sometimes. 

If you’ve read and liked the Percy Jackson series, but thought it was a little too young for you, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is the one for you.

 

 Rating: 4/5

                                 

Things Get Blown Up

The Blackthorn Key
Author: Kevin Sands
Publication Date: September 3rd 2015
Publisher: Puffin

 ~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

London, 1665. Fourteen-year-old Christopher Rowe is apprenticed to master apothecary Benedict Blackthorn. In Blackthorn's shop, Christopher learns the delicate secrets of transforming simple ingredients into powerful medicines, potions and weapons. His beloved master guides him with a firm, steady hand - instilling him with confidence and independence that prove increasingly vital as Christopher learns of a mysterious cult preying on the most learned men in London. The murders are growing closer and closer to home and soon Christopher is torn from the shop with only a page of cryptic clues from his master and the unambiguous warning: 'Tell no one'.

Helped by his best friend, Tom, Christopher must decipher his master's clues, following a trail of deceit towards an unearthly secret with the power to tear the world apart

You know what I loved about The Blackthorn Key? It is so unique, and so interesting, and we’re talking about a middle grade book here, and I know that sounds bad, and I’m being a little harsh, but the problem I have with middle grades, the rare times I read them, is that they feel underdeveloped to me, but The Blackthorn Key is none of those things.

Review: Half Wild

 Half Wild
Author: Sally Green
Publication Date: March 25th 2015
Publisher: Penguin UK
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

After finally meeting his elusive father, Marcus, and receiving the three gifts that confirm him as a full adult witch, Nathan is still on the run. He needs to find his friend Gabriel and rescue Annalise, now a prisoner of the powerful Black witch Mercury. Most of all he needs to learn how to control his Gift – a strange, wild new power that threatens to overwhelm him.

Meanwhile, Soul O'Brien has seized control of the Council of White Witches and is expanding his war against Black witches into Europe. In response, an unprecedented alliance has formed between Black and White witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Black witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fighting alongside both old friends and old enemies. But can all the rebels be trusted, or is Nathan walking into a trap?

You know how much I loved Half Bad last year, right? It was just everything I'd been waiting for when it comes to the witches/magic genre since Harry Potter. With an original magical system, and prejudice that mirror's real life, and characters you're going to love and champion on and characters you're going to hate and want to stab, it set-up the Half Bad world and gave us a glimpse into how life is for the Half Codes and Black Witches. To describe Half Bad in one word, brutal. It was absolutely brutal, which of course, means Half Wild is no different and is absolutely brutal, too. Half Wild is darker, and if you thought Half Bad was bad with some of the actions against Nathan, the whole line between White and Black witches get's desperate, and intense and you get the impact of fight or be killed. We also get more than a glimpse into just how deep that prejudice runs and how quickly the world can go to hell with someone dangerous in charge.

Project Blue Monday: All the Bright Places

Blue Monday is supposed to be the most depressive day of the year, some of us teamed up with Penguin for Project Blue Monday, and to make it a little brighter we were sent signed proofs of All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven and a lot of swag to give out to whoever you wanted to give it to, to make their day a little brighter, and we were to record their reactions, or find out their bright place, or anything involving All the Bright Places.

Review: All the Bright Places (Just go buy it)

All the Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Publication Date: 8th January 2015
Publisher: Penguin Random House
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this compelling, exhilarating, and beautiful story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven

I honestly don't know where to start with this one, so this is more of a feeling and reaction review than a straight up review, the same as I did with We Were Liars. Because, All the Bright Places is another book where whatever you say it's not going to be enough, it'll never be enough to say in a few paragraphs how much you love and got a book so much that you literally stared at it for half an hour just thinking and trying (unsuccessfully) not to cry. Because it affected me in a way no other book has done before, not even The Fault in Our Stars or  Heart-Shaped Bruise (as much as I love them)  or even Speak, that changed everything for me and got me reading in the first place. But, this is why I read. Beautiful, beautiful books like these are what keeps me reading.

Novella Review: Half Lies (The Half Blood Trilogy #0.5)

Half Life
Author: Sally Green
Publication Date: November 13th 2014        
Publisher:  Penguin ~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Set in the months before Half Bad, Half Lies takes the form of a diary written by Michele, the sister of Gabriel, Nathan’s Black witch friend. Having fled Europe for Florida, Michele falls in love with a local White witch boy. There, she finds that the divide between the Black and White witch communities is just as dangerous as it was in the life she's left behind.

HALF WILD, the sequel to HALF BAD will be published in March 2015. You can pre-order your copy now here! and read the first chapter here.

I don't usually read any novella's, mainly I only read the ones from my favourite series, and I can count on one hand how many I have, Half Lies being one of them. As you can gather, I loved Half Bad, and Gabriel was one of my favourite characters, so it was nice to be able to get to see more of him before he became the Gabriel in Half Bad, and since this was focusing on his sister, Michele, and getting to know her through the diary entries, and seeing how her end came to be.

Half Wild by Sally Green: First Chapter Reveal

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday (#53)

 "Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

Half Wild by Sally Green
 

Expected publication: March 25th 2015 by Penguin UK

 

 

 

 

After finally meeting his elusive father, Marcus, and receiving the three gifts that confirm him as a full adult witch, Nathan is still on the run. He needs to find his friend Gabriel and rescue Annalise, now a prisoner of the powerful Black witch Mercury. Most of all he needs to learn how to control his Gift – a strange, wild new power that threatens to overwhelm him.Meanwhile, Soul O’Brien has seized control of the Council of White Witches and is expanding his war against Black witches into Europe. In response, an unprecedented alliance has formed between Black and White witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Black witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fighting alongside both old friends and old enemies. But can all the rebels be trusted, or is Nathan walking into a trap? 

 

 

 

 

 

There was no doubt what I was going to pick this week after seeing the cover reveal. I know a lot of people didn't really love Half Bad, but I did, it just really worked for me, so of course I can't wait to continue the series!

 

What are you waiting on?

ARC Review: Half Bad

Half Bad (Half Life Trilogy #1)
Author: Sally Green

Publication Date: March 3rd, 2014    

~A proof copy was provided by Penguin in exchange for an honest review~

 

 

 

 

 

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A stunning, magical debut. An international sensation.

In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his sixteenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?

In the tradition of Patrick Ness and Markus Zusak, Half Bad is a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive, a story that will grab hold of you and not let go until the very last page.

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Oh, Half Bad, you were delightfully cruel. I may love you a little. A lot.

I read quite a few "witches" in the genre last year that really just didn't do it for me, even with the ones that were supposed to be to do with witch hunts,  but ended up being about love and love triangles and all that sappy stuff  that made them fall flat.

But this. This.