Tin by Pádraig Kenny

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 352

Publisher: Chicken House Books

Released: 1st of February 2018

Christopher is 'Proper': a real boy with a real soul, orphaned in a fire. He works for an engineer, a maker of the eccentric, loyal and totally individual mechanicals who are Christopher's best friends. But after a devastating accident, a secret is revealed and Christopher's world is changed for ever... What follows is a remarkable adventure, as Christopher discovers who he really is, and what it means to be human.

What I Have to Say 

This was amazing! It was an adventure story that explored the fine line of humanity and what makes someone a person. I loved the characters and how every worked together and banded around one another. I feel it really showed how family doesn't have to be related. Because the mechanicals are Christopher's family and he's theirs. 

It was definitely a different story to what I expected, but I was happy about that. It really surprised me, especially the twist near the start. I think if it hadn't changed so dramatically, I wouldn't have liked it so much. 

I loved the characters, especially the different mechanicals. They all had such great personalities and habits. They're the sort of characters that I don't think I'll forget for a long time and that I'll remember with fondness. 

I'd love to see more from this concept and these characters. 

 

My thanks go to Chicken House for providing me with this copy for review. 

Take Back The Skies by Lucy Saxon

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

My thanks go to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for supplying me with this e-ARC. 

Pages: 378
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Released: 5th of June 2014

Catherine Hunter is the daughter of a senior government official on the island of Anglya. She’s one of the privileged – she has luxurious clothes, plenty to eat, and is protected from the Collections which have ravaged families throughout the land. But Catherine longs to escape the confines of her life, before her dad can marry her off to a government brat and trap her forever.
So Catherine becomes Cat, pretends to be a kid escaping the Collections, and stows away on the skyship Stormdancer. As they leave Anglya behind and brave the storms that fill the skies around the islands of Tellus, Cat’s world becomes more turbulent than she could ever have imagined, and dangerous secrets unravel her old life once and for all...

What I Have To Say 

Steampunk dystopian. Just the idea made me fall in love. And I liked it. I liked the characters. They were all very well rounded and had great personality, except maybe Alice who just seemed like "the wife" the typical woman who cooks and coos over everyone like they're her children. But Cat was awesome and Fox was surly and irritable and cool even if his tragic back story was rather mundane.

In hindsight, there was quite a lot not to like, but there were only two things that I really didn't like about it whilst I was reading it. Everything else I quite enjoyed. Those things were mostly plot and setting based. The plot was... Well it was readable, and maybe it's just that I've read too many dystopians, but it only surprised me in one case, and even then, it was something that I had wondered if it might be leading too, even if I had dismissed it as unlikely.

The other thing was the technological part of the setting. They had newsports in most houses and androids for the rich, but aside from the obvious part of the plot, there wasn't so much technology involved. Even the screens just seemed to be thrown in occasionally because the author had just remembered there was meant to be technology there.

Maybe it's the sort of book that's best for people who haven't read too much dystopia. Or maybe I wasn't in the mood for it. In all it was good, as long as you don't pick it up wanting something with lots of shocking twists and turns.

 

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 565

Publisher: Walker Books
Released: 19th of March 2013
Other Books In The Series:
                                       Clockwork Angel
                                       Clockwork Prince



London 1873 shape-shifter Tessa Gray 16 is engaged to Jem Carstairs 17, dying of addiction to demon drug, all bought up by evil Mortmain. 

The "clockwork prince" controls an army of automatons to abduct Tess, kill the Shadowhunters, and blackmail Charlotte Branwell, head of London Institute. Will and Tessa hide their love, for love of Jem.

What I Have To Say

There is so much to say about this book, but it's a little hard to express without a whole lot of fangirling, squealing and as usual with the books I like, weeping. I'm filled with a lot of emotions, but most of them are sadness about this series being over. 

I didn't really get into the Mortal Instruments series. It may have just been the first book that didn't quite feel special to me, so I'm going to try reading the rest of the series. But this series, the Infernal Devices caught me from the first book. I feel in love with Will and Jem and Tessa and with their whole world, their whole lives. 

With this book I fell in love with new characters. Cecily, who is so like Will and so her own character in just the right ways. And with Gabriel, who I never expected to like, but ended up liking anyway. 

I just wish that I had more books to read about the London institute. That the series hadn't just ended at three books. I know that we may see some of the characters again in other books, but it just won't be the same. 

That said, if you haven't read this trilogy yet, you have to. The characters are witty and funny and so lifelike and it is just a series where you can fall in love with everything and everyone.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Synopsis (From Goodreads)

Pages: 448
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 1st of October 2009

Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

What I Have to Say

It took me a while to get into this one. I found it a bit overly detailed, especially towards the start, but once I got the fact that it was a parallel of World War One, I managed to get into it. The fact is though, I get put off by too much political stuff in books. I appreciate that for some books it's needed, but if I have to process too much information in order to understand the book, then it just puts me off. 


I really do recommend this book though. Politics aside, the world he's created is just as creative and interesting as the Uglies universe. 


I especially like the Darwinists. It was a really interesting take on steampunk, to have the traditional steam powered walkers and then to have a different branch of technology running alongside it where they have used animals and evolution to create their tech. I haven't read much steampunk, but I have never heard of this idea before. Westerfeld is a genius. 


In all, I would recommend this book to steampunk fans especially. Also, people who are interested in History, especially the First World War. But anyone who likes sci fi can find a lot of enjoyment from this book really.