From Russia, With Love

The Wolf Wilder
Author:  Katherine Rundell
Publication Date: September 9th 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

Feodora and her mother live in the snowbound woods of Russia, in a house full of food and fireplaces. Ten minutes away, in a ruined chapel, lives a pack of wolves. Feodora's mother is a wolf wilder, and Feo is a wolf wilder in training. A wolf wilder is the opposite of an animal tamer: it is a person who teaches tamed animals to fend for themselves, and to fight and to run, and to be wary of humans.

When the murderous hostility of the Russian Army threatens her very existence, Feo is left with no option but to go on the run. What follows is a story of revolution and adventure, about standing up for the things you love and fighting back. And, of course, wolves.

I’m torn about The Wolf Wilder, because there was just something about it that felt missing to me, I enjoyed it, but at the same time I was expecting something more. I don’t have a lot to say about The Wolf Wilder, it’s pretty short, and not a lot is going on, so I’m doing a little more What I Liked vs What I Had a Problem With.

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: Drive Me Crazy

Drive Me Crazy
Author: Terra Elan McVoy
Publication Date: April 28th 2015
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Buckle up…

Lana and Cassie have met only once before, at the wedding of Lana’s Grandpa Howe and Cassie’s Grandma Tess two months ago. They didn’t exactly hit it off—in fact, depending on who you ask, that first meeting was either an embarrassment or a disaster—but they’re about to spend an entire week together, just the two of them and their honeymooning grandparents, road-tripping in Cassie’s grandmother’s Subaru.

Lana thinks a summer road trip sounds like fun, but the backseat is a crowded place for two tween girls with two huge secrets to hide, and this bumpy road to friendship is full of unexpected twists and turns. Like it or not, they’re in this together, full speed ahead on the adventure of a lifetime.

This review is going to be short, so more of a mini review, mainly because it's a middle grade, there's not much to talk about. And swearing at said middle grade's review is probably frowned upon. I don't know how old Cassie and Lana are, it probably was said at some point-or maybe not-but I can't remember, but since it is middle grade, you get the age range. Which makes me realise, I do not miss being that age. At all. Nada. If I acted anything like Cassie did, I wouldn't blame anyone for slapping me-and believe me, this girl needed a slap-hell, I'd slap myself, because fu freaking hell, she was a bi challenge.

Review: The Eighth Day

The Eighth Day
Author: Dianne K. Salerni

Publication Date: April 22nd 2014
~A copy was provided by Harper Collins and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review~

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In this riveting fantasy adventure, thirteen-year-old Jax Aubrey discovers a secret eighth day with roots tracing back to Arthurian legend. Fans of Percy Jackson will devour this first book in a new series that combines exciting magic and pulse-pounding suspense.

When Jax wakes up to a world without any people in it, he assumes it's the zombie apocalypse. But when he runs into his eighteen-year-old guardian, Riley Pendare, he learns that he's really in the eighth day—an extra day sandwiched between Wednesday and Thursday. Some people—like Jax and Riley—are Transitioners, able to live in all eight days, while others, including Evangeline, the elusive teenage girl who's been hiding in the house next door, exist only on this special day.

And there's a reason Evangeline's hiding. She is a descendant of the powerful wizard Merlin, and there is a group of people who wish to use her in order to destroy the normal seven-day world and all who live in it. Torn between protecting his new friend and saving the entire human race from complete destruction, Jax is faced with an impossible choice. Even with an eighth day, time is running out.

Stay tuned for The Inquisitor's Mark, the spellbinding second novel in the Eighth Day series.

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If a week ago you'd tell me I'd actually enjoy a middle grade, I would've laughed in your face. To put it nicely. I haven't read a MG since the beginning of Harry Potter and I was in middle grade, so that hardly counts.  

Maybe it was the subject and my little obsession with the legend of Arthur and Merlin, because seriously, no swearing, no romance, which only leaves you with the characters and plot for a distraction or to carry on. Which, can be a very bad thing, but thankfully The Eighth Day pulled it off amazingly well, and it wasn't even a distraction because it was simply fascinating.