Review: Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

January 11, 2020

by J. K. Rowling
Published by Pottermore Publishing Genres: Action & Adventure, Boarding School & Prep School, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction, General, School & Education, Wizards & Witches, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction
Format: Paperback

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone -- or something -- starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects . . . Harry Potter himself?

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets is the second instalment in the hugely successful Harry Potter franchise. The book opens up during the summer break, therefore, Harry is back with his mother’s sister, Petunia and his uncle Vernon and their disgusting son, Dudley. The abuse of Harry is still very much apparent, and he is longing for summer break to be over, so that he can be back with his friends. The friends that haven’t bothered to write to him all summer. No communication. Nothing. He needs to be back with his own people not with family that don’t treat him like family at all, but, how will he get there?

Harry’s first year brought shocks and anguish after discovering that the wizard that killed his parents and tried to kill him is still alive, although in more of a half-life. He has been using others to drain the energy from – finding a way to regain his power. The man who must not be named – Lord Voldemort. This book really opens the door into Voldemort. Harry discovers an enchanted diary that gives him an unadulterated view into the memories of Voldemort. What happened in his school years to turn him into the monster he is now? What kind of power does he have over people? Is he just as smooth as it is believed he was?

Ron’s younger sister, Ginny, becomes entranced by him. He reaches out to her through the diary. Ginny is his perfect target. She pours her heart out to the diary and he is an understanding, attentive ear. She tells him her deepest secrets and fears, including, for her wish to have Harry Potter notice her. This goes on months and all the while Voldemort uses her as a vessel to get stronger. He’s becoming stronger and as a result of this manages to get Ginny to unleash a monster that petrifies the victim. This runs alongside Harry hearing a voice that apparently only he can hear – it is discovered that this is because he is a parselmouth – the ability to talk to snakes. This is an extremely worrying development as the founder of Slytherin was also one.

Ominous messages appear in the school threatening that non-full-blood student will die. This seriously concerns Harry and Ron as their best friend, Hermione is one such student. It also signals the point when the Chamber of Secrets has been reopened. The last time was fifty years ago. The trio investigate and discover that Hagrid was expelled during that time for harbouring a dangerous, man-eating spider. Will they find out who opened the chamber before the monster kills someone?

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets was one of real intrigue. The writing was captivating, and I read it all within one sitting. Rowling incorporates themes of child naivety and the teenage horror, therefore, discovering that the adults can’t always protect you. I would have enjoyed reading more about Lord Voldemort and his past. I’m looking forward to getting immersed into the next book. The strength of the main character base is still hugely enjoyable with some new characters adding complexity and human emotions into the mix.

Check out my review to book one Here

Review: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma @TabithaSuzuma

September 17, 2019

Forbidden

Author: Tabitha Suzuma

Release Date: May 27th 2010

Publisher: Definitions

Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 418

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Depository| Watestones|

synopsis 2 - Review: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma @TabithaSuzuma

She is pretty and talented – sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But… they are brother and sister.

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

synopsis 1 1 - Review: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma @TabithaSuzuma

Wow wow wow

I added this to my TBR about five or six years ago and I have just finally got around to reading it…why did I wait so long? This book is one of the few to have extracted such an emotive and raw reaction from me as a result of its beautiful prose. Its outstanding in a complex and devastatingly crushing way. In all honesty it made me grateful for the quiet, uneventful childhood that I experienced. Some children aren’t so lucky. Some children have to fight, have to hide, have just get through each damn day never knowing if tomorrow is going to be the day where everything comes crashing down. This book made me SOB. Inconsolable tears. It ripped my heart out, stomped all over it and made some lame attempt at putting it back in my chest and sewing me up…I felt destroyed. It’s a damn good book that can engage its reader in such a way. Suzumas skill is magical wizardry.

This novel tackles the taboo subject of an incestual relationship between brother and sister, Lochan and Maya. It’s written beautifully and taken from a different angle – not the usual disgust from onlookers but how it develops under an extremely stressful home situation. It’s a situation that is borne from children having to grow up very quickly and act like adults. The only solace they have is each other.

You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel.

I’ll warn you – this doesn’t have a HEA. There’s no flowers, no butterflys, no skipping into the horizon without a care in the world. The ending will break you, just like it did me. Its an utterly devastating book.

The premise of the story had me extremely nervous – why wouldn’t it? It’s a story about forbidden love between a brother and a sister. This is my first apprehensive walk into the world of forbidden love, maybe that’s why it has taken me so long to get around to reading it. I think in order to be able to read this story you are going to have to let go of any preconceptions, any judgements around the topic and just let the story guide you. The story is incredibly tragic but you do find yourself rooting for their HEA.

Lochan and Maya are seventeen and sixteen year old siblings. Their life is incredibly hard. They are left to run things in the home, sort out their younger siblings everyday – thirteen year old Kit, Tiffen and Willa. Their mother is the worst kind of mother anyone could have. She’s selfish, she’s got a drink problem and doesn’t give a damn about any of her children. Its painful to read and she really had the red mist settling around me. What mother could care so little? Nothing is more important than her children. Lochan and Maya have always felt more than siblings – they are each others best friend and they both confess that they are each others soul mate. The situation they are in is screwed up and I think its this that pushes them together. They are dealing with a hellish situation. Kit is struggling with the behaviours of their mother. He’s self destructive, angry and lashes out at any moment. He needs the love of his mother – a love he is never going to get. Tiffin is mischievious and he is confused about the what is happening to his family. Willa is the baby but even she can see the destruction of her family happening all around her. The two eldest siblings have an impossible task but they keep trying to drag them out of the mess. They are suffering with exhaustion of trying to get through their A levels and coursework and do everything else as well. They fear that Social Services are just around the corner. They will do anything to keep them altogether and under one roof. Its this stress that is pulling them together like an invisible magnet, pulling and pulling until they have found themselves falling in love. They are aware its wrong, they know its not right and if anyone finds out about them, they are going to have more troubles than they do right now.

“He is my soul mate, my fresh air, the reason I look forward to getting up every morning.”

The book is told in Lochan and Maya’s POV. The romance building, although extremely taboo is written beautifully and it seems very natural and compassionate. Don’t forget that they have both been through and are GOING through hell. They have no one else to confide in except each other. They both know the implications of their forbidden love and its always at the forefront of their mind but its like an itch you can’t scratch, once you know its there, you just cant stop.

“But the downside to that taste of pure happiness is that, like a drug, a glimmer of paradise, it leaves you craving more.”

The author has an impeccable way with words. The story doesn’t read as disgusting or cringy despite the theme of the story. The realism is just too real. The family situation, the utter loneliness all the children feel and just that pure need to be wanted by another soul screams from the page.

This story will stay with me for a very long time. Now pass me the tissues *sob*

Review: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

August 22, 2019

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Published by Random House Children's Books on May 7, 2019
ISBN: 9781524720988
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, General, Action & Adventure, Romance
Pages: 496
Format: Hardcover
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

From the New York Times and internationally bestselling authors of the Illuminae Files comes a new science fiction epic . . .
The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch . . .
A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasmA sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates A smart-ass tech whiz with the galaxy's biggest chip on his shoulderAn alien warrior with anger-management issuesA tomboy pilot who's totally not into him, in case you were wondering
And Ty's squad isn't even his biggest problem--that'd be Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler's squad of losers, discipline cases, and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.
NOBODY PANIC.

We the Legion,

We the Light

and burning bright against the night

Aurora Rising is dangerously dark, action packed, and an addictive kick off to Kaufman & Kristoff’s Trilogy Aurora Cycle. For someone that is a virgin to this dynamic duo’s writing – I was blown away into outer space. I’m going to miss the draft – intriguing opening line, who doesn’t love a bit of angst on the opening page? This awesome tale reminds me of a Guardians of the Galaxy X Battlestar Galactica – Be still my geeky heart!

Tyler Jones – Alpha of the squad, general hotbod and all-round good guy.

Aurora Lie-Jin O’ Malley – Frozen cryogenically, Crazy as a mofo superpowers, half Chinese, feeling like a fish out of water trying to get used to life 200 years in the future.

Scarlett Jones – Tyler’s older twin sister by mere minutes, badass extraordinaire, hot mama and could flirt with a cardboard box get it turned on.

Kaliis “Kal” Idraban Gilwraeth – Could start a war in an empty room but not really because he’s a freaking softy really…belongs in middle earth or my hot dreams – the things he can do with his wrists!

Zila Madran – Uber cool space scientist, mega jealous of her gravity defying earrings.

Finian – bisexual alien, gorgeous personality, exoskeleton weirdness.

Cat- My favourite character, badass warrior goddess. Think Lagertha in Vikings (at least that’s how I imagine her), can handle herself in any fight. Fucking impressive phoenix tattoo on her throat.

Straight away we know we aren’t in Kansas anymore. We meet Tyler the alpha of the squad who has answered an SOS call out and finds himself in the unprecedented situation of saving a 220-year-old cryogenically frozen girl. He’s running out of oxygen, he’s missing the fucking draft and is more than damn sure he’s going to die out there. Almost like magic both him and the mysterious girl are back on the ship and even more magical is the fact his lungs are full of oxygen and not deflated and pulverised from the abyss of space.

This book has everything I adore about Sci-fi (and I do have a love hate relationship with the genre because I have read so many that just annihilate the premise of space and shit over something that should be an amazing fucking world building opportunity). Kaufman & Kristoff nail it to the fucking floor. The Aurora interstellar training camp, heists to reclaim artefacts, creepy plants that remind me so much of those creepy AF creatures in the Alien Franchise. Want Aliens? This novel has it by the motherload.

I enjoyed reading the POV’ from all the main characters. I loved Cat’s, Kal’s and Aurora’s the most. Kals POV was fucking awesome. I love a torn character and his was obvious and heartbreakingly painful. He struggled with his ascension to joining the Aurora Legion (A modern space idea of The United Nations). He was a war breed and it was his natural instincts was to be stoking the fire of conflict. His people ended up obliterated during the war and Kal struggles with the internal battle of wanting to end people and wanting to bring peace to the outer reaches of space.

The hilarity in the story had me full on belly laughing. The references to The Lord of The Rings were the best though – high five to Aurora being able to confuse these aliens with the best one liners. The technical descriptions were believable but intelligent enough to flummox me at points. I loved the diversity in this book and I have it on very good authority that Kristoff is the King of inclusion. I think there is going to be a LGBQT+ relationship and it’s going to be a slow burn into the next two instalments. Finnian seems to be bisexual and is happy to have flirtatious thoughts for both the Jones twins. Interested to see just how this plays out.

Aurora Rising is a fantastic YA fantasy that fires into hyperdrive and doesn’t stop. If you want a book with the thrills, the aliens, the drama and humour then look no further. Kaufman & Kristoff bring the squad goals.

The Misfit Tribe and The Secret of Mystery Island by B.J. Rowling & D.G. Lloyd @BJRowling @dglloyd66 @BOTBSPublicity

July 31, 2019

The Misfit Tribe and The Secret of Mystery Island

Author: B.J. Rowling & D.G. Lloyd

Publication Date: October 25^th 2018

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Olympia Publishers

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Depository |Waterstones |Wordery

synopsis - The Misfit Tribe and The Secret of Mystery Island by B.J. Rowling & D.G. Lloyd @BJRowling @dglloyd66 @BOTBSPublicity

Some secrets are best kept hidden… and some are just too magical not to share.
Teenagers, who unexpectedly acquire a vast collection of magical, mystical powers and abilities, find an ancient map. This map leads them on a quest for buried treasure to a mysterious island filled with hidden secrets, booby traps and a ruthless villain who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. What could possibly go wrong? A lot!

synopsis 1 1 - The Misfit Tribe and The Secret of Mystery Island by B.J. Rowling & D.G. Lloyd @BJRowling @dglloyd66 @BOTBSPublicity

I was provided a copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. Thank you to the Authors and Sarah @ Book on the BrightSide for my place on the blog tour.

Well this was a thrill and a half. This really did take me back to my childhood enjoying stories such as the Famous Five, Goosebumps and even The Chronicles of Narnia. If this is what this author sandwich is capable of, I most certainly look forward to reading more in the future. You’ll meet characters you can relate to, I can see elements of yourself in these kids and you can get on board with their thirst for adventure and inquisitiveness. This story which has been likened to The Famous Five is fresh and unique without being a regurgitated story that we have read time and time again.

Whilst I was scrolling through the Twittersphere one day and saw a sign up for this blog tour how could I pass it by? I’ve been a bit of a slump of late, but this was just what my brain needed. I had spent the few weeks leading up to reading this being immersed in serious and deep psychological thrillers and this just brought a fantastical story of Bravery, Trust. A true coming of age piece of fiction.

Picture it- A group of teens of varying backgrounds and stories. Each one is interesting, and I have a feeling that each reacts to events due to previous backstories and I would love to learn more about each one. J.J (our main character) overhears his parents talking about the fact that the bank may foreclose on the house. They are having major money problems and its looking likely that they will have to move in with his grandmother. Whilst in the cellar both him and his brother Aaron come across a treasure map in an old war time cannon and trinkets in a bureau. Could this be the answer to all his family’s money worries?

The friends end up using the journal and the treasure map to investigate the Island and try to find his family’s long buried treasure. The fun takes a bad turn when they come across Roberts and his goon. Strange things keep happening, the map takes them through dangerous tunnels, sarcophagus and uncontrollable rapids. What on earth is the treasure that it has to be buried with such mystery?

I really enjoyed the working together element of the story. The clues were ambiguous and deliberately misleading – likely to stop the wrong person claiming the treasure. We have Genius who is well a genius. Digger the military freak. Aaron for all of his outward bravado is the family man and the girls Sandra and Karli are girly girls that bring the necessary grounding for the group. Between them all they work out the clues together and they all keep one another safe.

The Misfit Tribe and the Secret of Mystery Island is such a complex rite of passage story. I enjoyed the emerging relationships, the fight to survive and the unbreakable bond of trust that the individuals have.

review 4 - The Misfit Tribe and The Secret of Mystery Island by B.J. Rowling & D.G. Lloyd @BJRowling @dglloyd66 @BOTBSPublicity

b.j rowling d. g. lloyd - The Misfit Tribe and The Secret of Mystery Island by B.J. Rowling & D.G. Lloyd @BJRowling @dglloyd66 @BOTBSPublicity

B. J. Rowling, a native of England, is an author, screenwriter, producer, actress and cousin of Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling.

D. G. Lloyd is an American-Australian author, screenwriter, producer, actor and script coverage analyst.

blog tour 5 - The Misfit Tribe and The Secret of Mystery Island by B.J. Rowling & D.G. Lloyd @BJRowling @dglloyd66 @BOTBSPublicity

Review: I Hold Your Heart by Karen Gregory @K_Gregory33 @KidsBloomsbury

July 17, 2019

I hold your heart

Author: Karen Gregory

Publication Date: July 11^th 2019

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Pages: 320 pages

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Depository| Waterstones | Wordery|

copy of synopsis - Review: I Hold Your Heart by Karen Gregory @K_Gregory33 @KidsBloomsbury

The tense, tender must-read book of the summer – perfect for fans of Louise O’Neill and Sara Barnard

‘You make me feel like there’s something good in the world I can hold on to,’ Aaron says. He kisses me again, draws me so close it’s almost hard to breathe. ‘I love you, Gem. And I promise I’ll hold your heart forever.’

When Gemma meets Aaron, she feels truly seen for the first time. Their love story is the intense kind. The written-in-the-stars, excluding-all-others kind. The kind you write songs about.

But little by little their relationship takes over Gemma’s life. What happens when being seen becomes being watched, and care becomes control?

Told in both Gemma’s and Aaron’s words, this is a raw, moving exploration of gaslighting in teenage relationships that skewers our ideas of what love looks like

copy of synopsis 1 - Review: I Hold Your Heart by Karen Gregory @K_Gregory33 @KidsBloomsbury

I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

It is always a welcome surprise when you receive a book especially in the YA category that blows you away both for the storytelling and the absolute importance that story carries. Where on earth was this story when I was an impressionable 17-year-old girl? This is the story I needed but I’m so very grateful that young adults have this. If you’re a parent of a teenage girl BUY THIS BOOK NOW for them. I hold your heart is the first novel of Karen Gregory’s that I have read and boy it didn’t disappoint. This piece of work is an important work of fiction, stunningly flawed and bursting with hope and pain.

When I started this book (literally only 10 hours ago) I knew that it would grip me, but I also knew it would be hard going and extremely close to the bone for me personally. The author sang to my soul. I can’t emphasise just how much this book touched me. I had confidence early on that this author was going to nail this one home and boy did she ever.

Domestic Abuse, Gaslighting and the naivety of youth – all very harrowing themes but handled with care and respect. Now, I’ve read some books that have tried but failed in highlighting the importance of these issues and but never quite hit home just how important it is that the youth of today realise the signs and get out of that situation and accept all the help that is given to them- family, friends and the authorities. There was no sweeping this under the rug from the author- Domestic Abuse isn’t the big bad evil that is easy to spot. Domestic Abuse is the kind eyes, sweet words and the reeling you in with beautiful gestures. Domestic Abuse is all around us…your family or your friends are enduring this right now. That person beside you on the tube, on the bus is suffering. Know the signs, end the suffering.

Gemma is an aspiring singer with mind-blowing talent, she’s a sister, a daughter and a friend. She doesn’t have the perfect life – she feels like she plays second fiddle to her brother, the super talented football player with a bright future. Their lives revolve around football – spending weekends at football matches, washing her brothers’ dishes, washing her brothers kit and eating specialised meals that benefit her brother, did anyone care to ask about her? What did she want to do? Karen really started the seeds just within that family setting. How easily Gemma just went along with the situation, was she susceptible to the attentions of Aaron? More likely he preyed on it but still it made for interesting thoughts. This book was so close to my own experience of being 17 it was actually quite frightening. The events are near enough the same to matter and it just connected with me on such a deep and meaningful level. This novel was a door to my past, but I walked through it all the same.

I really felt for Gemma. On one hand she is a naive girl who is trying to find her place in the world but one who ultimately has the confidence knocked from her every being. Getting knocked down so far you do seriously start to question everything around you. A girl that carries on through pain and suffering but still believes in love and destiny.

This brings me front and centre with Aaron. He appears on the surface to overly sensitive but caring and extremely loving to Gemma. He starts off being a likeable male protagonist and you’re almost willing to look past his odd behaviours because on the surface he seems to really like Gemma but there is a fine line between love and obsession. However, from early on you get this feeling that you can’t shake that something is majorly wrong with this boy. He loves all the things Gemma does, turns up where she is (even though she hasn’t told him), and his experience with his ex Cherine just sets all kinds of alarm bells going off – the seriously ear-splitting type. You are sucked into the story and it is horrifying to witness just how systematically he operates – planting seeds of doubt about her family not needing or loving her quite like her brother. It didn’t take much for this to take hold and its heart-breaking to watch. Everyone could see how he was changing her – to an extent even she knew it, but nothing is quite as blind as love. Everything suffers in her life – her friendships, her family, college and most painful of all – her love of music.

The story was told mostly in Gemma’s perspective, but Aaron had some chapters and boy let me tell you it gave a much darker insight in his psyche and gave a deeper dimension into the story. The insight it brought us really made us understand that he was not of a sane mind but one that was Obsessive, controlling, disturbed and broken.

The one question that was all on the tip of my tongue was….Will she actually leave him though? Well you’ll need to read that for yourself to find out.

I’m not ashamed to say that I cried during parts of this book. The plot is just so utterly horrifying but not like in horror books but the pure fear that this is actually happening all around us and we wouldn’t even know. I received an e-copy of this book but upon finishing it I purchased a paperback of it.

I hold your heart is deeply compelling. The most important YA read of 2019 and one that every parent of a YA should read. Emotions hang in the balance, fear runs rampant. Relationships in tatters. Karen Gregory has smashed the boundaries and brought us the novel we all need.

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

May 11, 2019

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus
Published by Random House Children's Books on January 8, 2019
ISBN: 9781524714727
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Social Themes, Friendship, Thrillers & Suspense
Pages: 336
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

"A must-read YA thriller" (Bustle) from the New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying!
Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.
The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone has declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.
Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she's in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous--and most people aren't good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it's safest to keep your secrets to yourself.
Praise for Two Can Keep a Secret 2 STARRED REVIEWS!
"Tightly knit and well-placed plot elements...keep pages turning until the revelation of the murderer's identity and motivations, as well as some other secrets that turn out satisfyingly well." --Bulletin
"[A] twisted mystery...[that will have readers] speeding their way to the end."-Booklist
Praise for Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is LyingA New York Times BestsellerAn EW.com Best YA Book of the Year A Buzzfeed Best YA Book of the Year A Popcrush Best Young Adult Book of the Year
"Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club....so make room for One of Us Is Lying in your bags, because this is one carry-on you won't want to put down." --EW.com
"You'll tear through this juicy, super-fun (if murder can ever be fun?) thriller." --Bustle
"A whodunit with a Breakfast Club twist...following four unique voices on a chase to find the killer, this one will keep you guessing until the very, very end." --Popcrush
"This is no ordinary whodunit...surprising and relevant."--USA Today

Ellery and her twin brother Ezra arrive in Echo Ridge after their mother, Sadie has a mental breakdown. Their introduction to the town is somewhat foreboding of what is to come after discovering a dead body on the road. Ellery discovers that the town is drowning in secrets, several murders and disappearances of girls. The one things in common is that they are all homecoming queens or in the present day scenario, voting into homecoming court. Ellery is especially interested in the dark history of the town as her Mother’s twin sister, Sarah disappeared around twenty years ago in similar suspicious circumstances.

Lacey is the next victim who is found dead by strangulation. Fast forward 5 years and Ellery is caught up in the re-emergence of chilling messages, another girl gone missing. The events that take place seem on the surface to be unrelated but are they?

I gave this book a solid 4 stars out of 5. I really enjoyed this book, when I really emersed myself in the story I couldn’t put it down. This was my first outing with this author and can categorically say that I will read others by her too. I enjoyed the two perspective takes in the chapters and it gave us a useful insight too the multicomplexity of the themes used throughout.

It was a suspenseful book and it had me gripped especially in the second half. The plot was well developed and the flow just worked beautifully in my opinion. I enjoyed the character arcs of all the intertwining personalities – it just WORKED. I had estimated a guess at who was responsible and I was completely wrong (and usually I’m not too far off). It was a shock!

If you enjoy Young Adult and thrillers then give this a go, you will not be disappointed.

Stain by A.G Howard

May 6, 2019

Stain Published by Abrams on January 15th 2019
Genres: Adaptations, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Fantasy, General, Romance, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 512
Format: Hardcover
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

"Once upon a nightmare, her fairy tale begins...

This high-fantasy gothic fairytale, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Princess and the Pea, is set in an alternative medieval world split apart by magic. To win back her kingdom of perpetual day, save her night prince, and reunite the sun with the moon, a princess incapable of speech or sound must prove herself everything a traditional princess is not: tough enough to sleep on a bed of nails, and loud enough to be heard without a voice."

Once upon a nightmare, a princess was born in the kingdom of perpetual daylight-a fine-boned babe who killed her queenly mother upon her entrance to the world
A.G. Howard

I thought this was a very good take on the regular fairytale story with some dark gothic drama that had you questioning whether everything was as it first seemed. Lyra (the heroine) is a princess whom is named in a prophecy to be married to the Prince Vesper. The Prophecy foretells the two coming together to repair the two broken kingdoms and bringing balance once more to the Day kingdom, Eldoria and the night Kingdom, Nazereth.

Lyra, doesnt have the capability of spoken speech but instead has a lyrical voice. She has stunningly beautiful silver hair and Silver eyelashes (the descriptive pieces detailing Lyra is just beautiful). She can will the shadows and creatures of the night to do her bidding and for once I just LOVED that, she wasn’t the little princess who shied away from things of the dark, she freaking embraced them.

The road to the betrothal isn’t plain sailing and many things stand in the way – I won’t spoil it but I was rooting for it all to come together the whole time.

3.5 Stars from me. I wanted to completely LOVE it, it had all the neccessary ingredients for me to fall in love with the story but it just didn’t completely grab me enough to shout from the rooftops. I did enjoy it for portraying a strong, independant princess that was more than capable of making her way.