The Dog Who Saved the World by Ross Welford

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 416 

Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books 

Released: 10th of January 2019 

When eleven-year-old Georgie befriends an eccentric retired scientist, she becomes the test subject for a thrilling new experiment: a virtual-reality 3D version of the future.

But then a deadly disease threatens the life of every dog in the country and Georgie’s beloved dog, Mr Mash, gets sick. And that’s only the start of her troubles.

Soon, Georgie and Mr Mash must embark on a desperate quest: to save every dog on earth, and maybe even all of humanity …

… without actually leaving the room.

An extraordinary quest with the biggest stakes of all, and a huge idea at its heart, this is time travel – but not as you know it.

Trigger Warnings: Illness, animal death, dead parent 

What I Have to Say 

DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE A DOG LOVER. From the title, my dog loving heart thought "oh good, a nice heart warming book about a dog saving the world." Never have I been so wrong. I mean, sure I read the blurb and therefore must have seen that there would be a deadly dog disease going around, but I guess I hadn't really connected it to the sort of mad cow disease sort of illness that means mass slaughter of animals. There were some really grim scenes in this book. And though the main character does warn you to look away at certain points, it's probably best not to read it if you get really upset about dogs being killed in books. 

Other than that though, it was fairly good. It left me with the same feeling that I'm coming to know well from Ross Welford though: Nothing quite lives up to the beauty that was Time Travelling With a Hamster. It's probably a case of a really amazing first book that other books just can't reach the same heights as, rather than anything lacking, but it leaves me deflated all the same. No matter how great the characters are, how quirky the story is, it's just not Time Travelling With a Hamster. 

If you push all that aside though, it really was a great book. Easy to read and with some really fun lighthearted moments. It's so interesting to see Welford's depiction of a near future where disease has changed our lives in so many ways, where UV lights and hand-sanitiser are part of the regular routine to keep these things at bay. The quirky professor with an AR machine was also great fun, though I really think eleven-year-old children should know better by now than to go visit a stranger just because they're invited! 

Basically, it's good, but potentially upsetting for dog-lovers. Maybe go read Time Travelling With a Hamster instead. 

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

OtherEarth by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Rock The Boat 

Released: 30th of October 2018 

Simon saved his best friend, Kat, from the clutches of the Company and their high-tech VR gaming experience, Otherworld. But it was at a steep price. Now he, Kat, and their friend Busara are on the run. They know too much. About the Company's dark secrets. About the real-life consequences of playing Otherworld. And about Kat's stepfather's involvement in everything. The group is headed to New Mexico to find Simon's old roommate, who is a tech genius and possibly the only person who can help them reveal the truth about the Company before it's too late and the line between what's real and what's fantasy is erased . . . forever.

Imagine a future in which you can leave reality behind and give in to your greatest desires. That future is now. And the future is terrifying. 

What I Have to Say 

This series is getting so interesting. Even though they were out in the real world for most of this book, Otherworld was very much there and starting to spill into the real world.... I liked the way that Simon was starting to show a slipping grip on reality, not knowing what's real and what's not. Though I have to say, it was hard to believe he didn't know what colour would be weird for a scorpion to be. 

I do feel like Kat and Busara are kind of shoved to the back a bit as characters though. It sort of feels like Kat is only really around to be Simon's girlfriend. It may be a bit harsh a reading, but I'd like to see more of the girls personalities coming through, especially now Elvis is around. Busara was a bit better, with looking for her father being a prominent part of the plot, but again it's Simon doing everything and Kat and Busara just hanging around in the background. 

Despite that, I am still really enjoying the series. It seems to be gearing up towards a really exciting finale in the next book and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Rock the Boat for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Rumour by Lesley Kara

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 320

Publisher: Bantam Press 

Released: 27th of December 2018 

When single mum Joanna hears a rumour at the school gates, she never intends to pass it on. But one casual comment leads to another and now there’s no going back . . .

Rumour has it that a notorious child killer is living under a new identity, in their sleepy little town of Flinstead-on-Sea.

Sally McGowan was just ten years old when she stabbed little Robbie Harris to death forty-eight years ago – no photos of her exist since her release as a young woman.

So who is the supposedly reformed killer who now lives among them? How dangerous can one rumour become? And how far will Joanna go to protect her loved ones from harm, when she realizes what it is she’s unleashed?

What I Have to Say 

A gripping thriller, perfect for anyone wanting to see a real modern day witch hunt. Set in a small town, it showed the way that rumour can spread and how damaging it can be to small town life and anyone caught in the way, innocent or guilty. To me, it also showed how unforgiving people can be, how people can have their lives ruined forever by things they do when they're children. It raises the moral question of whether someone should be forgiven for such actions and how much penance and rehabilitation they would have to do to get to a point where they aren't waiting for their past to catch up with them. 

It was interesting to see how the rumour spread and Joanna's part of it. How her need to be accepted by the other mothers and therefore get her son more integrated into the school. Her actions of spreading what she felt at the time was a piece of harmless gossip and how it escalated was so interesting to see and really puts across the message that you should be careful what you say. 

The ending was perfect. I didn't see it coming at all and it was so gripping. I enjoyed it completely. 

Want a gripping thriller to curl up with in these cold winter nights, this is a great choice. 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Bantam Press for providing me with this copy for review. 

Whiteout by Gabriel Dylan

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 416 

Publisher: Stripes (Red Eye) 

Released: 10th January 2019 

‘She sat us all down and told us a story. About things that lived in the woods. Things that only came out at night.’

For Charlie, a school ski trip is the perfect escape from his unhappy home life. Until a storm blows in and the resort town is cut off from the rest of the world. Trapped on the mountain, the students wait for the blizzards to pass, along with mysterious ski guide Hanna. 

But as night falls and the town’s long buried secrets begin to surface, the storm is the least of their problems….

What I Have to Say 

A good old fashioned vampire story. I'm not ashamed of liking vampire romances, but I do feel this was a good way to start bring vampires back into YA. It's about time to get a few back in, in my opinion. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next. But I do think, that bringing back scary Nosferatu inspired vampires was the perfect start. 

I was a little disappointed this wasn't a bit more creepy. I have to admit, I was in this for scenes of vampires creeping around in the blank whiteness outside while the characters were hiding and hoping not to be found and there was less of that and more of vampires trying to break down doors, but it was still really gripping. 

I loved the characters. It was good that the characters thrown together by the events were people who didn't know each other that well. It created great tensions between the characters and watching them come together and get to know each other, when they had only before known themselves in passing. 

I loved the vampire mythology they used too. This is definitely a great point horror vampire book. 

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

The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 180

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 27th of September 2018 

Martha can tell things about a person just by touching their clothes, as if their emotions and memories have been absorbed into the material. It started the day she fell from the tree at her grandma's cabin and became blind in one eye.

Determined to understand her strange ability, Martha sets off to visit her grandmother, Mormor - only to discover Mormor is dead, a peculiar boy is in her cabin and a terrifying creature is on the loose.

Then the spinning wheel starts creaking, books move around and terror creeps in . . .

What I Have to Say 

I loved the mythology in the book and the way the author weaved it into the story, how everything fitted in to the myths and legends of Norway. I loved Martha so much. She was an interesting character, I loved how she could read clothing. It seemed like such an interesting ability and one I hadn't come across before. 

The creepiness was a good level for me. I wasn't too scared by it but it did have a creepy atmosphere that sent shivers down my spine. The isolation and the storm made the whole thing feel so much more risky. I wanted so much for them all to survive, especially Gandalf, the dog. 

It was just a good story with a solid foundation of mythology adding to the story. I loved the way that it all worked perfectly as a story, the world of gods and norns fitting smoothly into a modern setting. 

Definitely great for mythology fans. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hot Key Books for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Growing Pains of Jennifer Ebert, Aged 19 Going on 91 by David M. Barnett

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304 

Publisher: Trapeze 

Released: 15th of November 2018

Nineteen-year-old Jennifer is regretting her hasty move into Sunset Promenade, an unusual retirement home taking in students to save money. Despite their differences in age, Jennifer and the older residents thrive and embark on a series of new adventures. But when Sunset Promenade is threatened with closure, cracks begin to show, and this quirky group of friends must work together to save their home.

What I Have to Say 

This combined my love of old movies with my love of books that have a different take on what's normal. I love the idea of uni students lodging in a care home with old-aged pensioners and it really highlighted the tensions that we have going on between generations at the moment. Add in some mysterious disappearance of personal items and Jennifer's love of old movies and a strong desire to reinvent herself and become Lauren Bacall and it's a wonderful book full of mystery, hijinks and people who aren't quite what they seem.

But of course Lauren Bacall, traditional femme-fatale and oh so glamorous movie star, doesn't quite fit Jennifer's actual personality and the constant strain of trying to be someone she's not inevitably gets to Jennifer and it turns into a lovely story about identity, about finding herself and working out how to bridge the gap between who she is and who she wants to be.

The story has so much more than this, but if I go into everything I loved about it, it would become one of those reviews that says more about what happens in the story than what makes it good. Just know that it has a thrilling mystery, amazing characters that not only are quirky and fun but also feel very real and sinister goings on that will make you feel like you're in an old film-noir.

I got this book because it sounded fun, but I didn't realise quite how good it would be. I absolutely loved it and I hope you do too!

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

This Lie Will Kill You by Chelsea Pitcher

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK Children's 

Released: 27th of December 2018 

Tell the truth. Or face the consequences.

Clue meets Riverdale in this page-turning thriller that exposes the lies five teens tell about a deadly night one year ago. 

One year ago, there was a party.

At the party, someone died.

Five teens each played a part and up until now, no one has told the truth.

But tonight, the five survivors arrive at an isolated mansion in the hills, expecting to compete in a contest with a $50,000 grand prize. Of course…some things are too good to be true. They were each so desperate for the prize, they didn’t question the odd, rather exclusive invitation until it was too late.

Now, they realize they’ve been lured together by a person bent on revenge, a person who will stop at nothing to uncover what actually happened on that deadly night, one year ago.

Five arrived, but not all can leave. Will the truth set them free?

Or will their lies destroy them all?

What I Have to Say 

This Lie Will Kill You gripped me right from the first page. The secrets, the lies, the mysterious murder mystery dinner party that they're invited to, which they know and the reader knows that is definitely far more sinister than the invitation would suggest. 

It was just perfect. The emotions from each of the characters, the lies and secrets that are revealed throughout the book. It kept me wanting to know more and more without leaving me too long between each snippet of information that I got bored and frustrated. 

And the story when it came out was dark and full of conflict and passion and so many twists. No one is who they seem and everything was captivating. 

Looking for a good mystery? Look no further. 

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