Stormwalker by Mike Revell

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304

Publisher: Quercus

Released: 7th of June 2016 

Ever since his mother died, 11-year-old Owen has felt lost. He's drifting apart from his dad, his grades are dropping, and the only thing keeping him sane are the soccer trials coming up.

Then, in the middle of school one day, he is sucked out of real life and thrown into a desolate alternative world, a largely deserted wasteland where a menacing storm of Darkness plagues the city, threatening his life and the lives of the people who dwell there.

Terrifying as this new world is, Owen recognizes it--his dad is an author, and this is the setting of his new novel. Fueled by his grief over the loss of his mom, Owen's dad has conjured a world so real and so fraught that Owen is transported to it every time his dad sets pen to paper. And he has to live out every word in the story.

But each jump devours chunks of his real life. Owen misses days of school, and even a key soccer game that threatens his chances of having a shot at appearing in the tryouts at all. Owen desperately wants these events to stop, but doesn't want to plunge his dad any further into the well of unhappiness that threatens to drown them both. 

With social services threatening to ship Owen off to his aunt's house and his school career spiraling out of control, what if finishing the story and battling the Darkness is the only way Owen can save himself . . . and his dad?

What I Have to Say 

This book was such a lovely surprise. It was such a complex and beautiful story about grief, suffering and the road to recovery all interspersed with an intriguing Dystopia written by his father. 

I really enjoyed the chapters with the story in. It was well constructed and the presence of Owen made it funny and a refreshing take on Dystopia. I was almost disappointed when Owen woke up back in the real world, but it was that backdrop of trying to help his father recover from the death of his mother that made it as special as it was. 

The thing that made this book so special was the uniqueness of the idea. I've read plenty of books about people going into stories, but none of them have had the same grief and desire to help his dad that made it more than just the basic story. 

This book is definitely something that I'll remember for a long time. 

Mystery and Mayhem edited by Katherine Woodfine

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304

Publisher: Egmont

Released: 5th of May 2016 

Twelve mysteries.

Twelve authors.

One challenge: can YOU solve the crimes before the heroes of the stories?

What I Have to Say 

As a massive mystery fan, this was obviously a title that I was eagerly anticipating, but I was kind of disappointed. There were some really great short stories, especially from Robin Stevens, Katherine Woodfine, Francis Hardinge and Helen Moss, but some of the earlier stories seemed a little lacking in tying things up at the end. A few left out the motive, which personally I think is pretty important in a mystery, or otherwise left things seeming a little unfinished, I think this was partly due to the shortness of each story, but I was left unsatisfied 

That said, on the whole, I enjoyed the book. I like the sections that everything was split into, meaning that you can flick through to the type of mystery you want to read, whether it's about poisons or dogs. 

Naturally, I enjoyed seeing authors I already liked, but this was also a good way to find new authors. There are some authors that I'd like to read more from, like Helen Moss and and Sally Nicholls. Also, some of the stories were connected to already established series that I hadn't heard of. This was a really good way to read a small piece as a taste of the series. 

Although I was disappointed, I would definitely recommend this to people. There were some fantastic stories from some really great authors so it's well worth reading just for those! 

3.5 stars 

My thanks go to Egmont and Netgalley for providing me with this copy to review. 

A Seven Letter Word by Kim Slater

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 305

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books 

Released: 24th of March 2016

'My name is Finlay McIntosh. I can see OK, can hear perfectly fine and I can write really, really well. But the thing is, I can't speak. I'm a st-st-st-stutterer. Hilarious, isn't it? It's like the word is there in my mouth, fully formed and then, just as it's ready to leave my lips . . . POP! It jumps and ricochets and bounces around my gob. Except it isn't funny at all, because there's not a thing I can do about it.'

Finlay's mother vanished two years ago. And ever since then his stutter has become almost unbearable. Bullied at school and ignored by his father, the only way to get out the words which are bouncing around in his head is by writing long letters to his ma which he knows she will never read, and by playing Scrabble online. But when Finlay is befriended by an online Scrabble player called Alex, everything changes. Could it be his mother secretly trying to contact him? Or is there something more sinister going on?

What  I Have to Say 

Often in books, I find that when there is dialogue to show stuttering, it just irritates me. But with A Seven Letter Word, I found it very easy to read those parts. It may be that it was well researched so the stutter was very realistic, or just that I felt more sympathy with the character, but it didn't seem to trip me up or slow down my reading or any of the other things that normally put me off. 

This book was the sort that you can fall into. The characters and the world are as easy to sympathize with and understand. Finlay'se attempts to find his mother and win the scrabble championships are ones that you can fully support and get behind.

I also really loved Maryam. I think that a fiery female former scrabble champion in a hijab was exactly what this book needed. Without her, it wouldn't have been the same book and she made a wonderful friend for Finlay while adding a bit of diversity to the book. 

With mystery, bullying and scrabble, you really can't go wrong with this A Seven Letter Word 

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

Knights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 368

Publisher: Puffin

Released: 7th of April 2016 

Denizen Hardwick is an orphan, and his life is, well, normal. Sure, in storybooks orphans are rescued from drudgery when they discover they are a wizard or a warrior or a prophesied king. But this is real life—orphans are just kids without parents. At least that’s what Denizen thought. . . 

. 

            On a particularly dark night, the gates of Crosscaper Orphanage open to a car that almost growls with power. The car and the man in it retrieve Denizen with the promise of introducing him to a long-lost aunt. But on the ride into the city, they are attacked. Denizen soon learns that monsters can grow out of the shadows. And there is an ancient order of knights who keep them at bay. Denizen has a unique connection to these knights, but everything they tell him feels like a half-truth. If Denizen joins the order, is he fulfilling his destiny, or turning his back on everything his family did to keep him alive?

What I Have to Say 

I felt this was a good start to a series. With a series like this, the first book is always a similar story, so I find that it's best to look beyond the main story line and see what is there that sets it apart from the other books like it.

In Knights of the Borrowed Dark, the characters were the main thing that stuck out for me, there was a good range of characters with a variety of backgrounds that set them apart from each other and makes me want to know more about them. The other thing was the way that Rudden used words to evoke emotions in a way that few writers are capable. 

The only thing that really bothered me about the book was the orphanage, because orphanages don't really exist any more or at least not in the way that they were shown in the book. I can forgive it as a part of the world, but I would like to have had it explained. 

I think that this series could go either way, but that Dave Rudden has many great things in his future, I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. 

3.5 stars 

Unrivalled by Alyson Noël

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 368

Publisher: MIRA Ink

Released: 10th of May 2016 

EVERYONE wants to be someone.

Layla Harrison wants to be a reporter.

Aster Amirpour wants to be an actress.

Tommy Phillips wants to be a guitar hero.

But Madison Brooks took destiny and made it her own a long time ago.

She’s Hollywood’s hottest starlet, and the things she did to become the name on everyone’s lips are merely a stain on the pavement, ground beneath her Louboutin heel.

That is, until Layla, Aster, and Tommy find themselves with a VIP invite to the world of Los Angeles’s nightlife and are lured into a competition. The prize, or rather the target? Madison Brooks.

Just as their hopes begin to gleam like stars through the California smog, Madison Brooks goes missing. . . . And all of their hopes are blacked out in the haze of their lies.

What I Have to Say 

Although not a bad story, this was a book about people I didn't like going head to head in a competition that frankly, I didn't care about. The start captured my interest, but then the entire book was the build up to that moment, with no real clues given to what happened. Basically, anyone who wants even a small bit of closer, must read the next book in the series. 

I'm just really disappointed, because I love Alyson Noël as a writer and I just expected more of her. I think if I liked any of  the characters or had any sympathy with them, I might have liked the book more, but I just felt like they were terrible people, although technically not bad characters, just unlikable. 

The story was entertaining enough though and to be fair, I will probably get the next book to find out what happened to Madison, This book really just wasn't for me though. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and MIRA Ink for providing me with this copy for review. 

Desolation by Derek Landy

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 460

Publisher: Harper Collins

Released: 7th of April 2016 

Other Books in the Series: Demon Road

Reeling from their bloody encounter in New York City, Amber and Milo flee north. On their trail are the Hounds of Hell – five demonic bikers who will stop at nothing to drag their quarries back to their unholy master.

Amber and Milo’s only hope lies within Desolation Hill – a small town with a big secret; a town with a darkness to it, where evil seeps through the very floorboards. Until, on one night every year, it spills over onto the streets and all hell breaks loose.

And that night is coming. 

What I Have to Say 

I can't decide whether I like this book better or Demon road. At first I didn't like the fact that it wasn't about the road trip anymore, but then I started to like it because it was a road trip. There were bits about it I liked and bits that I missed about the first book, sometimes there were bits that I liked that I simultaneously was glad they were different and sad that they weren't the same as in the first book. I don't think I'll ever decide which was better, but either way, this didn't have the dip of quality that often ruin the second book in a trilogy. 

I loved the scoobie crew and their van. It was the perfect parody to bring into this series to make it wonderful. I'm especially glad that they came in this book rather than the first one. I also loved Amber's relationship. It was nice to see that despite the chaos of her life, she could find a person to flirt with in a way that didn't seem unnecessary to the plot as a lot of relationships in these types of action packed books seem. 

All in all, I felt it was a brilliant continuation of this trilogy. I think I'll be a little sad once I've read the next book, but at the moment I can't wait to see what happens next. 

My thanks go to Harper Collins and Netgalley for providing me with this copy to review. 

Soldier by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 416

Publisher: Harlequin UK 

Released: 26th of April 2016

A fighter dedicated to saving humankind from dragons in strictest secrecy.

That was what Garret Xavier Sebastian thought he was part of as a soldier of the Order of St. George. What he learned from a fiery dragon hatchling twisted all he believed in and set him on a collision course with certain death-but not without a chance to put things right.

Betrayed and on the run again, Ember and rogue dragon Riley discover an unthinkable truth about Talon and St. George. They'll need Garret's skills and insider knowledge of the Order to negotiate an impossible deal-and if they fail, there will be no way to stop all-out war. 

What I Have to Say 

I don't know what it is about this series, but I'm just not as into it as Kagawa's other books, which I adore. I was so excited for Talon's release, but it just fell flat for me. My interest picked up a bit with Rogue, but it seems to have dipped again with Soldier. I think part of the reason is that I'm just completely bored with love triangles. It was never something I was that interested in to start of with and the more they were inserted into books that just didn't need them, the more bored I become with them. 

That said, I really liked the ending. It was as epic as I have come to expect from Julie Kagawa and SPOILER there's a really cool sword fight. It had a lot of intense emotion and really made me look forward to seeing what's going to happen in the next book. 

Even though I'm still just not into this series, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next,