Book Tag: This or That

May 15, 2016 Ali@abookishlife8 Comments

thisorthat

I’ve been falling very, very behind on my book tags but when Cassie at Book Reviews and Haikus nominated me for the This or That tag I couldn’t resist. Cassie has a great blog with lots of reviews, memes and other bookish stuff so I definitely recommend you check it out.

It’s quite a simple and fun tag too so I really have no excuse.

Here are the rules:

Mention the creator of the tag (Ayunda @ Tea and Paperbacks).
Thank the blogger who tagged you!
Choose one of the options for each of the questions.
Tag 10 other people to do this tag and spread the love!

The Questions

1. Reading on the couch or on the bed?

This is a difficult one as I’m a big fan of both. Initially I was leaning towards couch as it’s less of an issue if you have a snack while eating (I hate crumbs in the bed) but I think I have to go with bed. I always seem to be cold so I need my big heavy duvet. It’s also slightly safer as the more of me is covered the lower the risk of cat attacks.

My Choice: Bed

2. Male main character or female main character?

Until the start of this year I would have been very definite that I prefer female main characters to male (I was seriously struggling to think of a male MC I’d liked) but with a few exceptions the guys seem to be leading the field this year. Particularly notable books with great male MC’s are The Chaos Walking Trilogy, A Monster Calls, Red Rising, Carry On, Him, Ink and Bone and Know Not Why.

My Choice: Male (sorry, I know I’m a traitor)

3. Sweet snacks or salty snacks when reading?

Can’t I have both? I’m terrible for snacking while eating but my choice usually depends on the time of day. Morning and early afternoon I like something sweet whereas later in the day I go for salty. One of my absolute favourite snacks though is sweet & salty popcorn.

My Choice: Both (I refuse to give up either)

4. Trilogies or quartets?

This is a little bit of an odd one as I’m not sure I’ve come across many quartets. If done well though I would probably go for a trilogy. I kind of feel like three books gives plenty of time for world building, character development and exciting plots but still has a definite ending. You know when you’re on the third book there’s a big finish coming and you aren’t going to have to read another heck knows how many books to find out what happens. One series I started to read is up to book 27 now I think. Far too long so I’ve given up.

My Choice: Trilogies

5. First-person point of view or third-person point of view?

I don’t feel particularly strongly either way but I probably lean towards first person. I like to be inside someone’s head and know exactly what they’re thinking and feeling.

My Choice: First-person

6. Reading at night or in the morning?

At night, in the morning, at lunchtime, early evening pretty much anytime is good for me. I probably do read most in the evenings or at night though so I’ll go with that even though there is nothing better than waking up late on a Sunday morning and just spending the full day in bed reading.

My Choice: Night

7. Libraries or bookstores?

I very rarely go to a physical bookstore anymore as I find there’s not as great a selection (particularly in terms of YA) as you get online. I am however loving my local libraries at the moment as I can go on to their website, order the books I want and go pick them up. Another recent discovery is that I can get audio books from the library via the overdrive app on my phone. It’s saving me a fortune and if I connect my phone to the car I can listen to books on the move.

My Choice: Libraries

8. Books that make you laugh or make you cry?

I’ll have to go with books that make me laugh. Sometimes I need a good weepy but mostly I look to books to cheer me up.

My Choice: Books that make me laugh

9. Black book covers or white book covers?

White ones while prettier (I think) get dirty and damaged a lot easier than the black covers so I’ll need to go with black.

My Choice: Black

10. Character-driven or plot-driven stories?

Umm….feeling a bit stumped on this one. I do occasionally suffer from a short attention span so I do like a good plot with lots of action, suspense and twists to keep me turning pages. However when I think about it, the books I’ve enjoyed the most have probably been more character driven. I love it when you really get inside the head of a character and connect with them. I think that’s when you get the most feels.

My Choice: Character-driven

And finally, the bit I hate tagging other bloggers. I’m usually very late to book tags and everyone who wants to do them has usually already done them so I apologise in advance. I will limit my tags to the following five awesome blogs.

Thanks for reading!

Ali

Book Review: Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica

May 15, 2016 Ali@abookishlife1 Comment

Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I read and really enjoyed Mary Kubica’s previous book Pretty Baby so I was very excited to get a copy of this book from NetGalley. She has a real knack for writing gripping thrillers, with fascinating characters and lots of twists and turns.

Don’t You Cry is definitely a twisty tale and it keeps you guessing till the very end. It’s well written and has some fantastic character development but I did find it a little bit slow to get going and for some reason the whole thing left me feeling a little bit depressed and disappointed.

It is still one of the better psychological thrillers I’ve come across, I think I was just expecting something more.

WWW Wednesday: 11th May 2016

May 11, 2016May 10, 2016 Ali@abookishlife17 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Here’s this weeks WWW.

Currently Reading

Normal service has resumed this week and I have two books on the go at the moment, an e-book and an audio.

Having put it off for some reason I’ve finally made a start on Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica. I think I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind for a thriller as it’s a book I’ve been really looking forward to. I’m a big fan of Mary Kubica and while it’s early days I have a good feeling about this book.

Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, #1) As I can’t get my hands on any more Harry Dresden audio books at the moment (there’s a wait list) I decided to go for another paranormal series and have started listening to Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost. It reminds me a lot of Buffy the Vampire slayer as the main character is half vampire, half human and spends her time hunting vampires. Despite her hatred of the undead she does however end up teaming up with a vampire called Bones. It’s a bit ridiculous and the narrator does a really bad English male accent but for some reason I’m finding it completely addictive.

Recently Finished

I’m not too sure what’s been going on reading wise over the last week as I’ve been a little all over the place. I think it was maybe a combination of a major book hangover after the ending of Soldier by Julie Kagawa combined with some bad news at work and just generally not feeling too great. This resulted in me veering wildly off my reading plan and looking for some comfort reads.

Serafina and the Black Cloak (Serafina, #1) I did however manage to finish Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty which I was nearing the end of last Wednesday. It’s a children/middle grade book so I’m not exactly the target audience but I liked it a lot. I tend to avoid books for younger readers but I’m very glad I gave this a go. It’s simply written but somehow has some very strong messages, a lot of depth, emotion and atmosphere. You can read my full review here.

It was after this that my book choices became a bit more random and I felt the need to return to Sabrina Paige’s stepbrother romance series with Prince Albert. I was hoping for a bit of escapism but I’m afraid I found it just a little too ridiculous a plot even for me and I wasn’t a big fan of the leading man. He was just a little bit too crude for me.

After Prince Albert I was in desperate need of some cheering up so resorted to some old favorites. I’d meant to just skim and read my favorite parts but somehow ended up reading both Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson and The Nothing Girl by Jodi Taylor from start to finish. They’re both coming of age stories in a way with slightly odd characters. They are also both books that make me smile and leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy. Just what I needed.

Reading Next

Given my wandering off plan, this weeks Reading Next list is very much like last weeks. First up will be The Mirror World of Melody Black by Gavin Extence which is not my usual type of story (it’s about mental illness) but I really need to read it if I’m going to the book club on the 18th.

After that I shall be back to my ever growing NetGalley shelf. There have been some fantastic books appearing there recently so I haven’t been able to resist. Going in order of archive date, first up will be The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L Armentrout which I’m very excited about. I haven’t actually read anything by this author before but I’ve heard a lot of good things and I’m enjoying YA contemporary books at the moment.

In the unlikely event I finish all of these books I then plan on switching back to crime with the Robert Bryndza book The Girl in the Ice. I’ve loved his Coco Pinchard series so I’m excited to see what he does in a different genre and I have the follow up The Night Stalker ready and waiting to read too.

The Problem with Forever The Girl In The Ice (DCI Erika Foster, #1) The Night Stalker (DCI Erika Foster, #2)

Have you read any of the books above or have any other book you’d recommend? Leave comments and links below.

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Book Review: Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

May 7, 2016 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a middle grade/children’s story Serafina and Black Cloak is obviously not meant for me. I’m most definitely not the target audience. But, do you know what, I liked it a lot. It’s very well written, has an exciting story that keeps you engaged throughout and a wonderful cast of characters. I loved it and I think it’s a tale that kids will love too.

While I read a lot of YA books I tend to steer clear of stories for younger children. I’ve found in the past that I just don’t get them, they read that little bit too young for me (unsurprisingly). However when I saw the cover and read the description of Serafina and the Black Cloak I couldn’t resist. It really is one of the prettiest covers I’ve come across and while I know you shouldn’t choose books on that basis sometimes I can’t resist and believe it or not I think the cover does actually give you a good feel for what the story is like.

Synopsis

The story follows Serafina, a 12 year old girl who lives with her pa in a very grand house owned by the Vanderbilts. She doesn’t get to meet the rich people upstairs however as her pa keeps her hidden away in the basement. She creeps around the house but keeps out of sight at all times, something she’s become very good at. It’s a lonely life and she longs for friends but her pa has given her the very important job of C.R.C. (chief rat catcher) to keep her busy.

One night when she’s out hunting rats she hears footsteps and comes across a man in a black cloak. He’s chasing a young girl through the basement. Despite her fear, Serafina tries to help the girl but ends up witnessing her disappearance into the very sinister cloak before having to run to save herself. When her pa doesn’t believe her she tries to find someone else in the house who’ll listen to her tale and ends up telling Braeden, the nephew of the Vanderbilts.

As another child disappears each night and the adults can’t solve the mystery it’s up to Serafina and Braeden to try to track down the man in the cloak. However when it seems the man is after Braeden, Serafina has to take matters into her own hands to save her only friend. This leads to a journey into the forest, where her father has always forbidden her to go, and the discovery of some secrets about her past.

Thoughts

Despite the storyline being very dark in places I thought that at it’s core this was a very sweet and heart warming tale. Serafina is such a lovable character. She’s lived a very lonely life with only her pa for company so she’s desperate to make a friend but is very self conscious and feels like there’s something wrong with her. She knows there’s something that makes her different from everyone else (why else would her father hide her away) and worries that she might be bad in some way. Despite this however she doesn’t hide when someone needs help. She takes that big brave step and puts herself out there even though she knows she could get in trouble and that people may not believe her.

What she finds however is a possible friend in Braeden. He’s an orphan and also a bit of an outsider who prefers animals to people but he actually sees and listens to Serafina. I thought the relationship between them was just sooo sweet. Both are lonely and neither seems to know what it’s like to have a friend but despite a very tentative start they quickly become attached to each other.

I absolutely loved the way the author wrote the relationship between them and in fact the writing was probably the highlight of the whole book. While I often find children’s books a little too simple and superficial this is not the case here. The writing is simple but somehow very powerful and packed full of emotion and feeling. The descriptions and dialogue are excellent and you get a real sense of atmosphere. The pacing is pretty much spot on and the author manages to generate some real edge of the seat tension in places. I have a feeling this is a book that would work well being read aloud and I could almost imagine the words being spoken.

It’s a very difficult story to talk about without spoilers but there is a lot of action and mystery which keep you hooked. It’s a little bit of a twisty tale and while I guessed the truth fairly early on (it is meant for children so it would have been worrying if I hadn’t) it’s enjoyable to watch the characters uncover the secrets and get to the truth.

Overall a great story with fantastic writing. Definitely one I’d recommend for young (and not so young readers).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for a review.

Book Review: You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour & David Levithan

May 4, 2016May 17, 2016 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

You Know Me Well by David Levithan & Nina LaCour

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You Know Me Well is a fantastically well written story about friendship, love and working out what you want to do with your life set during San Francisco’s Pride Festival. As you can probably tell there is a strong LGBT element however it deals with issues that everyone has faced at some point in their lives regardless of sexual orientation.

It’s an enjoyable and emotional read that once I started I just couldn’t put down. Although the time period covered is short, there is a real journey for all of the characters and I found myself really rooting for them and caring for them. I could definitely relate to a lot of the issues and problems they faced.

If you like YA contemporary books with a lot of feels I think you’ll definitely enjoy this book.

Synopsis (from GoodReads)

Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?

Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed.

That is until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.

When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other — and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.

Thoughts

I think I spent around the first third of this book trying to figure out what film it reminded me of. It drove me nuts for ages until I finally figured out it was Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. It just had that indie, crazy night out, quirky character type vibe to it. As you all probably know (but I didn’t) David Levithan co wrote the book the film is based on which is no doubt why it felt so familiar to me and why I enjoyed it so much.

The story starts with Mark and Kate meeting in a bar at the start of the Pride Festival. Kate is supposed to be somewhere else meeting a girl she’s been fantasizing about for ages and Mark has been abandoned by his best friend Ryan, the boy he’s been in love with forever but who may not feel the same. Both are at a bit of a cross roads in their lives, having a bit of personal crisis but discover in each other the person they need at that point in time.

I think most people will have met someone at some point that they just instantly click with and that’s what happens with Mark and Kate. It’s so great to read a story about friendship rather than romance and that’s exactly what this is. It’s about finding and keeping people in your life who will support you, advise you, encourage you to take chances and be there for you if/when it all goes wrong.

Don’t get me wrong there is a little bit of love and romance but it’s the realistic, non perfect kind rather than hearts and flowers and everyone living happily ever after. It’s unrequited love, fear of putting yourself out there and saying how you feel, feeling not good enough and being rejected (or accepted). Basically it’s real life as a teenager at that crucial point in time when you’re leaving school and deciding what you want to do with your life.

Of the two main characters I think Mark was probably my favourite. He’s the openly gay jock who’s madly in love with his best friend Ryan but is scared to tell him as he has a suspicion his feelings aren’t returned. He was just so sweet and nice, devoted to Ryan but terrified of telling him in case he loses him. I was so proud of him throughout the story and just wanted to hug him.

Kate (or Katie) was a little harder to warm up to but I think that was more due to frustration with her than dislike. She’s a talented artist who seems to achieve everything she wants but is terrified of going for it. She’s been accepted to one of the best art programmes, has the chance at an exhibition and is due to meet the girl she’s been dreaming of forever but just wants to run away from it all because she doesn’t think she’s worthy. I could definitely relate to that feeling but it didn’t make it any less annoying. The main thing I loved about her however was the way she supported her friends.

The other characters in the book were also exceptionally well written. I loved them at times, they annoyed me at others but they were just very real. I’ve definitely met at least some of them in my non book life.

Each chapter of the story alternates between Mark and Kate’s perspective and I assume with the two authors David wrote Mark’s chapters and Nina Kate’s (although I don’t know for definite). This works incredibly well and the flow feels very natural and easy rather than in any way disjointed. Overall I thought the story was well paced. It’s contemporary young adult so there’s obviously not going to be a huge amount of action and excitement but it definitely had me hooked and wanting to know how it would all end.

There were a lot of moments that made me laugh and smile and the occasional tear so it’s safe to say I enjoyed it a lot. If you like this genre (and possibly even if you don’t) I think you’ll really like this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. It’s released on the 2nd June in the UK.

Book Review: Unrivalled by Alyson Noel

May 1, 2016 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

Unrivalled by Alyson Noel

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Unrivalled is the first in the Beautiful Idols series by Alyson Noel. It’s set in the L.A. club scene and is all about the quest for fame and fortune and the lengths people will go to. It’s an enjoyable and easy read but despite my excitement there wasn’t anything that really wowed me. The writing is as good as I expected but I felt like it was a little on the slow side and the characters, while well described, were difficult to connect with.

I have a feeling though that this is just an introduction to the world and characters. The potential is there for a great series and I will definitely be looking out for the next book.Read More »

Book Review: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

April 17, 2016April 16, 2016 Ali@abookishlife5 Comments

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reader, I loved it.

I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of this book and it most certainly didn’t disappoint. It’s a darker take on the classic Jane Eyre story with an engaging main character, a fascinating plot and a real atmosphere which completely drew me in to the story.

This is a book that will stick with me for a long time and is one I will no doubt read again and again.

Synopsis

Reader, I murdered him.

A Gothic retelling of Jane Eyre.

Like the heroine of the novel she adores, Jane Steele suffers cruelly at the hands of her aunt and schoolmaster. And like Jane Eyre, they call her wicked – but in her case, she fears the accusation is true. When she flees, she leaves behind the corpses of her tormentors.

A fugitive navigating London’s underbelly, Jane rights wrongs on behalf of the have-nots whilst avoiding the noose. Until an advertisement catches her eye. Her aunt has died and the new master at Highgate House, Mr Thornfield, seeks a governess. Anxious to know if she is Highgate’s true heir, Jane takes the position and is soon caught up in the household’s strange spell. When she falls in love with the mysterious Charles Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma: can she possess him – body, soul and secrets – and what if he discovers her murderous past?

Thoughts

Before I say anything else about this book I should first say that I absolutely love Jane Eyre. It’s one of my all time favorite stories. I’ve read it a number of times and watched pretty much every adaptation there is of it so it’s safe to say I know the story well and in fact could quote parts of it off by heart.

When I saw Jane Steele was described as a gothic retelling of Jane Eyre I couldn’t resist. Unlike a lot of the other classics, retellings of Jane Eyre seem to be few and far between. The addition of the gothic element made the prospect even more exciting. While I loved Jane I have to admit I sometimes wished she’d taken more of a stand and fought for what (or who) she wanted and who doesn’t love a bit of gothic storytelling every now and then.

This isn’t your typical retelling however as Jane Eyre, as a work of fiction, is frequently referred to by our main character. She often comments on the similarities between their life stories and backgrounds but their reactions and behavior in response to events are very different. Miss Steele is at times very critical of Miss Eyre and seeks to avoid the pitfalls she fell into.

Their stories are most definitely similar, both girls are orphaned, end up estranged from their remaining family, attend the most horrendous boarding school to get their education and end up working as governesses, but, while Miss Eyre turns to the spiritual world for guidance and follows a strict moral code, Miss Steele is rather more flexible. She admits herself she has no conscience and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. If she happens to kill a few people along the way so be it.

“Though I no longer presume to have a conscience, I have never once lacked feelings.”

Despite her claim of having no conscience, I have to admit I absolutely loved Jane Steele as a character. She makes a lot of mistakes over the course of the story but she owns those mistakes, learns from them and is probably harshest on herself. She lies, she cheats and she kills but for those she cares about she’s fiercely loyal, forgiving and will go to any length to protect them.

This need to protect those she cares about and to be loved is first demonstrated in the boarding school where the girls are subjected to constant physical and mental abuse. They’re encouraged to turn on each other by a tyrannical head teacher but while some of her so called friends throw her under the carriage (so to speak) to save their skin, she never does. She’s highly intelligent and quick on her feet so is often able to talk her way out of trouble. When that fails she takes whatever punishment she has to rather than turn on a friend.

While I did enjoy the boarding school scenes what I loved most however was her relationship with Charles Thornfield. He enters her sights when he inherits her former home, one she believes is hers by rights. Jane changes her name and obtains a job as governess for Mr Thornfield so she can investigate but finds herself strangely drawn to her new master.

“It would be inaccurate to say that my heart skipped – nothing whatsoever happened to that poor excuse for an organ. My breath quickened, however, and my hands fretted, and all other outward manifestations, manifested.”

Charles Thornfield is definitely a good match for her. He has a number of eccentricities of his own, a dark past and a number of secrets but with Jane playing a role could they have any hope of a future.

The writing style in this book is very Jane Eyre esque so it took me a while to get into the flow of it but once I did I found it mesmerizing and addictive. I was reading on my kindle so spent a lot of time highlighting quotes and descriptions that I loved.

For the most part the story is well paced (I wasn’t too sure about the London section) and very well written. There is some incredible dialogue and Jane’s voice is captivating. There is also a great sense of time and place which really draws you into the world and the period. What makes it even better is that this shows the darker and more exotic side of Victorian times. In her time in London, Jane stays in the less salubrious parts and mixes with criminals and prostitutes rather than the upper classes.

As a Jane Eyre lover however I have to say I absolutely adored the nods to it within this story. Every chapter starts with an excerpt, Jane refers to her namesake’s actions regularly (mostly disdainfully) but most of all I loved the more subtle references. Lines and scenes lifted almost directly and then flipped and roles reversed or changed. This is a regular occurrence in the scenes with Jane and Charles. One of my favourite scenes is when Jane is thrown from her horse after it spooks on coming across Charles out walking. Her reaction is priceless.

As well as the references to Jane Eyre I also felt like there was a bit of a nod to Sherlock Holmes in there as well. There is a detective investigating the trail of bodies Jane has left in her wake in addition to another mystery around Charles and his ward Sahjara. It does make for a mixture of genres but the author balances them incredibly well and it somehow all works.

In case you can’t tell I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to everyone. I just wish I could do it justice with my review (it’s so difficult to review a book you love). I have to admit I’ve been pestering everyone I know to read it so I have someone else to gush over it with.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review but I think this is a book I will be going out to buy. I’ve already picked it up three or four times since finishing to read read bits here and there and I suspect this will be a regular occurrence.

Book Review: Who’s That Girl by Mhairi McFarlane

April 16, 2016 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Who’s That Girl? by Mhairi McFarlane

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is how chick lit should be written.

I’ve read a couple of Mhairi McFarlane’s other books and enjoyed them but I think this may be her best yet. She somehow manages to create very real characters who don’t always act they way you want them to but who you can’t help but get behind. It isn’t your usual predictable chick lit but I think that’s why it really works. I laughed, I cried and I was completely hooked and didn’t want it to end.Read More »

Book Review: The Sign of One by Eugene Lambert

April 11, 2016 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

The Sign Of One by Eugene Lambert

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I had high hopes for this book but unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to them. As a YA dystopian, road trip type book it should have been perfect for me but despite being well written I felt like there just wasn’t anything new or original. It’s possible I just picked this up at the wrong point in time but it left me feeling a little bit “been there, read that”.

It is a first novel from this author and there is potential, it’s just not quite living up to it yet.

Synopsis (Goodreads)

ONE FOR SORROW, TWO MEANS DEATH.

In the Barrenlands of Wrath, no one dies of old age. Kyle is used to its harsh laws, but the cold-blooded separation of identical twins and execution of the ‘evil twists’ at the Annual Peace Fair shocks him.

When Kyle himself is betrayed, he flees for his life with the reluctant help of Sky, a rebel pilot with a hidden agenda. As the hunt intensifies, Kyle soon realises that he is no ordinary runaway, although he has no idea why. Fighting to learn the hideous truth, their reluctant, conflicted partnership will either save them – or kill them.

Thoughts

At the start it reminded me quite a lot of the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness as there are quite a few similarities in storyline. The main character Kyle is a teenage boy, growing up in a brutal land of settlers who feels like he doesn’t quite fit in. There is the fanatical religious belief, in this case that in every set of twins one is evil and must be executed, and secrets around Kyle’s past that make him unique. It even has Kyle going on the run and forced to team up with a girl his own age (Sky).

Where it differs though is that this is a much bigger book in terms of scale. The first book in Chaos Walking focused very much on one slow journey and the relationship that developed between the two main characters. This book also has a journey and a developing relationship at its core however it feels much wider and I’m not sure this is to its benefit as there is a heck of a lot going on.

It is the first book in a series so there is a lot of world building, possibly too much. The characters seem to travel around the whole planet and go from a fair in a mining town to barren wastelands, to a swamp, to a shanty town and a military base. As it is an alien land there are different plants, dangerous wildlife and advanced technology. That combined with a lot of characters, different factions and new terms and language make it a bit difficult to keep track of everything.

The writing is pretty good but I think it lacks a bit in terms of description, something which I very rarely say (I’m not a big fan of long winded descriptions of things). I found it difficult to picture the world and at times struggled to work out what certain things actually were (is it a plant? is it an animal?). I get the feeling that the author may have sacrificed some of the detail to keep up the fast paced action.

The story is definitely fast paced and a lot does happen in it but for me possibly too much. I think I would have preferred a slightly slower story with a bit more detail and character development.

The story is told from the perspective of Kyle who I have to admit I didn’t particularly like. Kyle was always playing the victim, “why is this happening to me”, “I don’t want this” etc and I think spent most of the story moaning. When he wasn’t moaning he was doing the most ridiculously stupid things ever. He does have some skills and knowledge but seems to lack common sense and a survival instinct. If anyone deserved what happened to them it was him (and personally I thought he got off quite lightly considering the fate of some of the other characters).

Unfortunately my feelings toward the female lead Sky weren’t much better. She is the tough girl, who has to put up with Kyle and spends most of her time teaching him about the world and keeping him alive. I do like a tough girl but she was maybe a little bit too unsympathetic and rude. She is passionate but has a bit of a tendency to over react which is a little annoying.

While there are a lot of other characters within the book I felt like they didn’t get enough development. They were introduced and then seemed to quickly disappear never to be heard from again. One particular, and very important, character towards the end literally just got a couple of pages. I think this is part of the reason that I couldn’t really connect with the story. I didn’t like the main characters and no one else was given enough time for me to get to know them.

This is the first in a series so I’m sure there will be a lot more development in subsequent books but I’m not sure I will be rushing out to get them. There just wasn’t enough in this book that was original and engaging to make me desperate to read on and find out what happens next. It’s too similar to a number of other books and is just suffering in comparison, or at least it is for me.

It’s not a bad book. In fact as a debut novel it’s a pretty good effort, I think I’ve just read too many great books recently that do it better.

I received a copy of this free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.