DNF Review: 13 Days of Midnight

13 Days of Midnight
Author: Leo Hunt
Publication Date: July 2nd 2015
Publisher: Orchard Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

 When Luke Manchett's estranged father dies suddenly, he leaves his son a dark inheritance. Luke has been left in charge of his father's ghost collection: eight restless spirits. They want revenge for their long enslavement, and in the absence of the father, they're more than happy to take his son. It isn't fair, but you try and reason with the vengeful dead.

Halloween, the night when the ghosts reach the height of their power, is fast approaching. With the help of school witchlet Elza Moss, and his cowardly dog Ham, Luke has just thirteen days to uncover the closely guarded secrets of black magic, and send the unquiet spirits to their eternal rest. The alternative doesn't bear thinking about.

This is going to be a short review, because I don't have much to say about Thirteen Days to Midnight, bar the last 25%, it was boring me to death, pun not intended. Okay, I'm being a little mean, it wasn't that bad, but it seemed like a first in a series, which is not, I don't think, and it felt more like a spoof of a mixture of things of sorts.

Review: House of Ivy & Sorrow

House of Ivy & Sorrow
Author:  Natalie Whipple

Publication Date: April 15th 2014
~A copy was provided by HarperTeen and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review~

 

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Josephine Hemlock has spent the last 10 years hiding from the Curse that killed her mother. But when a mysterious man arrives at her ivy-covered, magic-fortified home, it’s clear her mother’s killer has finally come to destroy the rest of the Hemlock bloodline. Before Jo can even think about fighting back, she must figure out who she’s fighting in the first place. The more truth Jo uncovers, the deeper she falls into witchcraft darker than she ever imagined. Trapped and running out of time, she begins to wonder if the very Curse that killed her mother is the only way to save everyone she loves.

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I was pleasantly surprised with The House of Ivy and Sorrow, after Transparency, which let's say, I hated didn't really like all that much. Probably since it was being compared to X-Men, and it didn't even come close, and I'm very protective of X-Men. It's serious, okay?  And since The House of Ivy and Sorrow had nothing to even remotely to do with that, what the hell?

And I enjoyed it. (I know.)

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.

EARC Review: A Breath of Frost

A Breath of Frost
Author: Alyxandra Harvey

Publication Date: January 2nd 2014 

~~A copy was provided by Bloomsbury Childrens, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.~


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In 1814, three cousins-Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope-discover their unknown family lineage of witchcraft. Beyond the familiar manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, a dangerous, alluring new underworld visible only to those with power is now open to the cousins.
But unbeknownst to them, by claiming their power, the three cousins have inadvertently opened the gates to the Underworld.
Now the dead, ghouls, hellhounds-and the most terrifying of all: the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters-are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers.
And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders...because she keeps finding the bodies.
Can the cousins unravel the clues and mystery behind their heritage and power before their gifts are stripped away ...or even worse, another witch is killed?
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Firstly, don't let my rating reflect how amazing this book is, it would have been a full five, because it is, amazing, it was quirky and funny and dark and dangerous and the romance electric. Just as all of Alyxandra Harvey's books' are.

The characters are fleshed out, and personality prominent, they're very much real and once you get into it, the voices are definitely distinguishable, but you have to get there first, which brings me to...

Teaser Tuesday (18)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

 

 

 

Title: A Breath of Frost

Author: Alyxandra Harvey

Release date: January 2nd 2014         

Publisher:  Bloomsbury Childrens UK

Page: 222

 

 

 

Emma Day and her two cousins, Gretchen and Penelope, are uninterested in their debutante lives. All the boring balls, tiresome curtsying and polite conversation leave much to be desired. Then a girl is found dead, frost clinging to her lifeless body, and the murder is traced to Emma. As their world is turned upside down, Emma discovers more about herself and her cousins, from her connection to the murders to the secrets of her family legacy. Now the girls must embrace their true Lovegrove inheritance in order to stop the chaos, even if that means risking their lives. Dangerously handsome Cormac Fairfax wants to help Emma – but, with secrets of his own to hide, can she trust him?

 

 

 

 

 

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"You are a fool," he whispered, his hand tightening around hers. He leaned in until his mouth was barely inches from hers. He smiled crookedly, wickedly. "If you think that."

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Yup, I'm using the same book as last week, I only got so far and wasn't really feeling it, so I moved onto another book, and went back to this one yesterday, and now I'm getting into it, so yay. Cormac's a great character, even if I do want to slap him half the time.
 

What're you reading? :)