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Top Reads

Darkest Part of the Forest – Holly Black

An isolated town, a boy asleep for centuries in a glass coffin, a monster that emerges at the reciting of a children’s rhyme. This is just perfection.

Icebreaker – Lian Tanner

I’ve loved every book I’ve read by Lian Tanner, and this was no exception. She takes the risks that other authors shy away from, and puts morals first in her writing without beating readers over the head with them.

Ash – Malinda Lo

One I’ve been meaning to read for far too long. Ash is sweet and enchanting. A much more innocent novel than I had expected.

A Thousand Nights – E.K. Johnston

This one was a bit of a surprise. A wonderful rep from Pan Macmillan gave me a copy, and I’m delighted she did. It’s a wonderful, lyrical recounting of an old tale, and I would never have picked it up myself.

Girl of Nightmares – Kendare Blake

It took a different turn to what I’d anticipated, but overall a wonderful conclusion to Anna Dressed in Blood.

Most Anticipated

Trial by Fire – Josephine Angelini

Sounds like a crossed-worlds situation and I can’t wait to see how it plays out.

Tell the Wind and Fire – Sarah Rees Brennan

Something that looks a bit different to the other things Brennan has written. None-the-less intriguing.

The Knife of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness

This has been recommended to me so many times by people that I trust that I finally bought it. I haven’t even read the blurb. Am just going to throw myself in and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.

Vampire Academy – Richelle Mead

So behind on this one. Have seen the movie and still not read it. 2016 is the year!

Every Word – Ellie Marney

Again, so behind. I’ve read the first book in this series and enjoyed it. Am looking forward to the second and third.

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Joelene:

Cover

The title in red slashes on a dark background. The font is reminiscent of Chinese brush-strokes, which suits the story but the cover doesn’t do the novel justice.

Characters

The story is told through three perspectives. Dai is a fugitive trapped in the Walled City until he can find a way to clear his name. Mei Yee was sold to a high-class brothel by her father. And Jin Ling is Mei Yee’s younger sister who came to the city to save her.

 

Favourite

All of them. I really can’t choose. Jin Ling is more obviously brave, but she doesn’t have the character build up the others do. She comes into the book fully formed and never doubts her task. Both Dai and Mei Yee are more subtle in character. They’re full of uncertainty, so when they commit to an action it costs them more than it costs Jin Ling.

 

Least Favourite

Ambassador Osamu. There are several awful characters in Walled City but out of all of them Osamu was the only one who seemed as though he really had a choice. He saw the suffering around him and could escape it, or help ease it. Instead he adds to it.

Beginning

Jin Ling is trying to survive the harsh city streets long enough to find her sister. When Dai offers her a job that will give her access to the one brothel she has not been able to explore, she jumps at the chance. Even if it means going in to the lair of the terrifying Brotherhood.

Storyline

Time is running out for the notorious Walled City, and for those who dwell within its walls. If Dai can’t broker a deal for his freedom in eighteen days, he will spend the rest of his life in a cell. If Jin Ling cannot find her sister in that same time, she will lose her forever. And Mei Yee finally needs to decide to fight for her freedom, or she will never get it back.

Ending

I could barely handle the suspense. A hundred pages from the end I almost flicked to the back to make sure no one I cared about died.

Thoughts

Loved it. I didn’t think I would because sex trafficking, ugh. But Ryan Graudin handled that storyline well. It wasn’t graphic or gratuitous; nor was it romanticised. What Mei Yee and the other girls went through had psychological consequences, but the novel didn’t treat the girls as nothing but psychological consequences. They had their own minds and they played their part in protecting themselves and each other.

Quote

It’s the Brotherhood’s symbol: a beast the color of luck and blood inked on the walls of every building in Hak Nam. A reminder that they own everything here. And almost everyone.

 

Bel:

Cover

A black and red blueprint lies behind the bold red title. The rules of living in the city are in stark white and the author’s name is in a mid tone grey. It fits the tone of the book perfectly.

Characters

There is no room for innocence in the city this book is set in. Everyone has a damn good reason for you to hate them.

Favourite

Jin, mainly because she’s doing the Mulan thing to track down her sister in this hell hole.

Least Favourite

Kuen, for so many reasons, but being bully is just the tip of that iceberg

Beginning

Jin needs to find her sister who was sold to feed her father’s alcoholism.

Storyline

Dai needs Jin to help break open his case

Ending

In a place like this I don’t know if you could really class anything as a happy ending

Thoughts

The sex trade, people smuggling, drugs, gang violence, this really is no fairy tale. The Walled City was based on a real place. The issues within the pages are struggles that are all too common around the world. Ryan has done an amazing job capturing what I would imagine a place like that to feel. The tiny seed of hope is sometimes all anyone needs to get ahead. That can be a dangerous thing for those trying to suppress and control those around them.

Quote

“But I don’t want to be like my mother, either.. Waking up every morning and watching the sun rise on fresh wounds, wondering in the secret chambers of her heart if there was something more. Through the rice fields and over the mountains.”

Krista:

Cover

My favorite cover is the one with white across the top and black along the bottom. Also ….there’s a dragon! The story does not have a dragon in it but represents the culture of the setting of the story.

Characters

DAI, JIN and MEI YEE. Two sisters and a boy. All looking for something. Freedom.

Favourite

DAI-Mostly because I liked his back story most and his kindness.

Least Favourite

Pretty much everybody but the three main characters. The gangs, captors and even the other girls in the house are all pretty nasty people.

Beginning

We are introduced to the three different characters through chapters from their different perspectives. We soon learn that they are all players in the same game and need each other to be free again.

Storyline

Dai is trying to obtain some very private information from the leader of a large crime group. If he succeeds he will have paid back his debts and can return to his family. Jin is in search of her sister who was kidnapped from her home.  Mei Yee is a girl locked in a room who has a rich “suitor” that wishes to take her away from the city.

Ending

I enjoyed the ending there were some surprises that I didn’t see coming: a lot of action, danger and lives in jeopardy.

Thoughts

Slightly based on a real city, The Walled City is full of danger, drugs, crime, sex and money. The story touches on some things that still happen all around the world today. It’s put together nicely with three really fun characters, and I liked learning about each of them. Lots of action and hope.

Quote

“There are moments you wait for. And then there are moments you wait for. Moments you spend every other moment preparing for. Points of your life that click and turn. Push you in a completely new direction.” -Jin

http://www.ryangraudin.com/

Paperback, 424 pages

Published November 6th 2014 by Indigo (first published January 1st 2014)

ISBN 178062199X (ISBN13: 9781780621999)

 

 

 

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When sixteen-year-old Tuesday wakes in Madam Marisol’s Unreality House, she has no idea who she is. And no clue about the fantastic world she is about to be flung into. With the charming but self-serving Quintalion as her reluctant chaperone and a letter from her unremembered self, she ventures out in search of her past.

With a war looming between those who practice the old ways and the daybreakers, and one particularly dangerous daybreaker who seems to have a vendetta against her, Tuesday’s quest will be more difficult than she could imagine. And it will take her to more places than she would have dreamed possible. From the purple-grassed Whispering Plains to the Silk Sea, Tuesday’s journey to find out who she was may just cement who she is now.

Book of Days is Brisbane author, K.A. Barker’s debut novel, and John Marsden probably said it best when he lauded the novel for being ‘dazzlingly different’. It is: both in style and content.

Usually it’s characters that make a fantasy journey memorable for me. There are some amazing characters in Book of Days, but here even they take a back seat to the world built within these pages. From the paper-burning traditions of Beggars End to Lady Fortuna’s Court in the heart of a magnificent floating city, the places in Book of Days are spectacularly sprawling landscapes that I’d love to explore.

The one main weakness in an otherwise enchanting novel is the main character, Tuesday. She has a tendency to make bad decisions, ignore solid advice from people who know the world better than her, and then crumple when her decisions get her in trouble. Her companions are amazing, but I don’t know why they stay by her when they have no reason to offer her loyalty and when her actions often wilfully endanger them.

As I’ve mentioned, the cast of supporting characters are fantastic. Quintalion might be self-serving but he’s also charming; and who doesn’t appreciate someone with such immaculate dress-sense? Hester, a warrior from the North, is as sharp as her sword, and fearless. She is a good foil for Quintalion, keeping him in check where Tuesday can’t. And Jack, the blind assistant librarian is sweet and funny. All together these characters have a dynamic that makes the book a more wondrous place.

Anyone who likes quirky fantasy worlds will devour this novel. Fans of Terry Pratchett or Garth Nix should try it out for the sheer imagination it exudes.

 

The Book of Days – K.A. Barker

 

Pan Macmillan (September 1, 2014)

 

ISBN: 9781742614175

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After spending eight months away at college, Ella is finally about to go home for the summer break. She is not relishing the prospect; not when she’s spent the better part of a year trying valiantly to reinvent herself, and especially not when she has left behind her best friend, and the only person she could ever count on, without an explanation – or even a goodbye.

Demons don’t wait, as Ella is about to find. And nor does Micha. Her gorgeous best friend has spent the past several months searching for her and, now that she’s back, he has no intention of letting her go again. Or of letting her forget who she really is.

Seeing Micha again stirs up all sorts of feelings that Ella had hoped to leave behind. However much he might want it, remembering who she is isn’t an option – it would mean remembering her past and Ella has done her upmost to bury all of that.

With a set up like the one in The Secret of Ella and Micha, it’s impossible not to get dragged in from the start. What has happened to Ella that is so bad that she’s abandoned everything she knows – including the boy she loves? Worse than that, what has happened that has made her want to become someone else? Someone dispassionate and disconnected from the world when she had always been one to embrace life wholeheartedly?

This is a tale that explores the impact of poverty and broken homes on the teens who experience them. Neither Ella nor Micha have had stable lives, but they had always found stability in each other until something snapped and – for Ella – everything came undone.

The Secret of Ella and Micha has some adult themes that makes it an unsuitable read for middle grade and tween readers; but it is still essentially a book for readers younger than myself. Classed as New Adult, I’d recommend it for older teens or possibly readers in their early twenties. While the storyline is compelling, it doesn’t have the depth of analysis that Ella and Micha’s circumstances call for. Their background is mostly for the sake of conflict and, while it is an interesting conflict, it conveniently fades out to make room for the romance.

The Secret of Ella and Micha is a light romance with a bit of background angst and some mystery. It’s the quintessential beach read – one of those books that you can fly through and enjoy while relaxing on holiday. It’s a safe, friendly read that won’t have you in tears at the end of the whole thing.

 

The Secret of Ella and Micha – Jessica Sorensen

Little Brown (February 12, 2013)

ISBN: 9780751552287

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To save her sister she must face a demon.

For many years a cruel king has demanded that his people provide him with brides. They come from all of the districts in the city and all of the towns. They always die – some on the first night. Now it is her village’s turn to provide a wife. She knows that he will choose the most beautiful girl her village has to offer; her sister.

She will not allow it. Whatever the price of keeping her sister alive, she will pay it.

Before long her sister’s life will not be the only thing she is fighting for. With an inter-species war looming, she will have to fight for her family, her people, and the soul of a king…

When revisiting traditional stories, there’s always the possibility that the outdated morals will taint a modern day adaptation. In few stories is there more danger of this than the Asian/Middle Eastern story of One Thousand and One Nights. The story of Scheherazade regaling her royal husband with half-told tales to stay her execution for another night does her credit but obliterates any understanding a modern reader could have for him.

Because of this, I was reluctant to begin a book based on the One Thousand and One Nights tale, but curiosity overcame me. I cracked the spine and read the first page. Then the second. Before I knew it, I was halfway through the book and it was hours past my bedtime.

Suffice it to say that A Thousand Nights is a fantastic novel. It’s a short book, but makes the most of the words it uses. The writing is vivid, lyrical and precise. This book is a luxury to read, and it’s a surprise to find that each beautifully crafted sentence moves the story forward. No words are superfluous.

Unlike the original story, women are the front and centre of A Thousand Nights. In the traditional tale most of the women were present only to die. Even Scheherazade, who survives, is a framing device to tell stories mostly featuring men. In A Thousand Nights, women are the driving force for every major event. The unnamed main character decides her own fate without applying to anyone for permission. Her sister, though the one being saved, is no plot device to disappear once her part is over. She and the main character are connected even across the distance, and neither gives up on the other as they both work toward their goals.

In many ways this is a fairy tale flipped on its head. The bride is no damsel awaiting rescue. Instead it is the humanity in her husband that needs to be saved. He is helpless to free himself and she is his only hope.

A Thousand Nights is a lovely retelling of the tale of Scheherazade. With a focus on character rather than action, it manages to keep the fairy tale-like feeling of the original while exploring the intricacy of emotions a little deeper.

A Thousand Nights – E.K. Johnston

Macmillan (October 22, 2015)

ISBN: 9781447284116

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