Book Review: Gone

Gone.

One moment your teacher is standing at the blackboard explaining the history of the Civil War and then he’s just not. No puff, no flash of light, no explosion… hes just gone.

In small town Perdido Beach everyone over the age of 15 has disappeared, so no police, no teachers, no PARENTS a dream come true for most kids right!?
but then things start to change...

Kids around you are able to do strange things they couldn’t do before
You start to notice the animals aren’t really the same either
Bullies are taking over the town
The day care is fill of young kids but no-one to watch them 
The food supply is getting smaller and smaller 
Kids are getting hurt 
The strong are picking on the weak

You begin to realize that the adults they were all so happy to be without, are the ones they now need. 

With panic slowly starting to move through town everyone is starting to look at you, Sam Temple, to fix it…. But you have no idea where to start and you’re not 100% sure you want to be the one to 'fix it' . You’re not an adult you’re just a kid who wants to surf, and you’re dealing with your own issues your own strange gift that you don’t want to tell anyone about, and your birthdays coming in a few months. You’ll be 15.

Comic Review: The Prince and the Dressmaker

This has been a very sort after comic and a happy addition to our collection.   

Prince Sebastian is struggling between two worlds, his responsibilities to his kingdom and his secret life as the FaBuLoUs Lady Crystallia!

After the struggling dressmaker Frances, designs a dress that catches the attention of Lady Crystallia both of their lives change forever.

Frances now has the freedom to design whatever she wants but is that enough to only design for one person for the rest of her life…

Lady Crystallia has never felt more beautiful or more confident in Frances designs but is that enough, how does he make this confidence last when he will one day need to put down his tiaras and pick up his crown...

Comic Review: Animosity

One day, all at once, all the animals 'Wake up', they start talking, thinking and acting how the please... including taking revenge on those who have oppressed them.

The world as we know it changes forever, animals vs human, animals vs animals, humans vs humans! and in all the chaos we're following Jesse and her dog Sandor trying to survive in a very hostile world as they try to make their way to Jesse's brother.  Jesse finds herself teaming up with a peculiar group of animals and humans along the way and is forced into solving some crazy, weird and disturbing situations.

Animosity is very action packed and will make you rethink the way you see animals and the way you treat them. 

New comic arriving soon

THE COMICS ARE COMING, THE COMICS ARE COMING!!

Our trolleys are packed double sided FULL of new comics!
Welcome to...

I'll be reviewing as many as I can :) 

Book Review: Lifel1k3 (Lifelike)

Lifelike is a dystopian story about Eve.    Eve is a robot gladiator building whiz, but when her priced junkyard gladiator is smashed beyond repair leaving her undefended and seconds from being ‘smashed beyond repair’ herself, she reveals a dormant secret ability that saves her life but in saving herself she has also doomed herself. What she just did is seen as an abomination by a dangerous group called the brotherhood who's swore oath is to eliminate people like Eve.
Eve quickly hides herself in the fleeing crowd with her best friend Lemon, they then disappear in the twisted metal slums they call home. While trying to make it home unnoticed the two girls witness and fighter plane crash, with their only source of incoming lying in an unusable pile of torn metal Eves plan is to scavenge the wreckage for parts to sell and start again... but the girls find more then they were expecting, a unresponsive lifelike, lifelike's are highly weaponized and expensive robot that look like humans and thought to have been all destroyed years ago, Eve has hit the scavenger jack-pot! But the girls are not the only ones to have seen the crash and quickly discover that a smart mouth and an electrified baseball might not be able to save them this time... but the now awake lifelike might be able too....

Lifelike was in my top 10 most anticipated books this year and it didn't disappoint a definite must read!

Book Review: Legend

Once the western United States is now the Republic. A nation with rich military families that have it all, good military universities, easy access to health care, good housing and plenty of food and the poor families working for them, living in the slums fighting and scavenging for everything. The only way out is to score high on your trials…a test to decide what part of society you belong.

June- born into the one of the Republic wealthiest districts and a military prodigy with a perfect trial score and amazing military skills, is tasked with a mission well beyond her peers…to hunt down Day the republics most wanted criminal, the same boy accused of killing her brother.

Day- an unknown boy for the slums who turns into modern-day Robin Hood stealing much need medication and food from highly secure military facilities for the despite families in the slums, quickly becoming the states most wanted criminal but also a shining light for the suffering underdogs.

I soooo can’t give too much away about this story. It’s one of those books you just need to grab and get stuck in. With chapters from each characters point of view, it's a little different from other books I have read. I flew through all three books so fast because I had to know what was happening next. There is a loooootttt happening lying, action, romance, this is another one of my favourite books series and actually just writing this review just makes me want to re-read them

My only negative really was the end (of the third book), don’t get me wrong the books are worth reading right till the end I just think the end was rushed and could of easily been a few hundred pages longer just to finish the story better. But hey people might love the ending so you’ll just have to read them and see. 

What to read after... The 100

Here's why...

Countdown

Countdown sees two teens linked together in a game of life and death not just theoretically but literally (sound familiar) the two teens must work together to get through the deadly tasks given to them by a hidden society and stay alive long enough to figure out a way to get free .... and away for those that are always watching... DUM DUM DUM!

Maze Runner

This is just a different twist on the core theme of The 100 . Maze Runner features a group of teen's stuck together trying to survive in their new surroundings, and just like the 100 there is more to the Maze Runner world then we initially think and just like the 100 series each book just opens up more and more of the world and also the problems.

The Prey

Similar to The 100 in that there are two groups of kids, one that believes they are being trained to be soldiers but soon discover that they are in fact being trained too be hunted for sport to the highest bidder and in their attempt to escape the group encounters the second group of kids that are being experimented on for "The greater good". (Talk about 'Mount Weather' flash backs!) Now the two groups must work together to escape and survive.

Revenge and the Wild

"Revenge and the Wild's Cannibals vs The 100's Grounds? who would win!!!"

Revenge and the Wild is based around Westie a girl determined to find the cannibals that killed her family and took her arm. This book has lots of the same ideas as The 100 but also has massive differences, like werewolves, vampires, orks, and other magical creatures. So if you liked the 100 AND fantasy books this could be the perfect mass-up to read next??

Book Review: Ivory and Bone

First step when reading this book: forget everything! Think I’m insane? Well I’ll explain… if you haven’t read a prehistoric fiction book before (like me) then the first thing you need to do is take a minute… picture a world with nothing, really imagine yourself 3.7 million years ago when everything you know now didn’t exist.

As soon as I did that I enjoyed the book a lot more. Learning small things from the hidden details about how they lived was awesome, of course the hunting mammoths and escaping from saber tooth tigers holds its own level of excitement I really enjoyed the little things, like Kol walking into the clans kitchen and explaining the room with his mother’s carving stones that his father carried back to the camp after a hunting trip and handmade knifes made from all different materials or when Kol and his brothers create a new sleeping hut out of mammoth bones for you and your family the visiting guests and filling it with pelts collected from many different generations of hunters.

The story is told by Kol talking to you Mya a girl from a visiting clan who many believe will soon become your wife … but romance is never easy especially when you clans have a dark history together. Figuring you (Mya) out is the hardest thing Kol has done, your stand-offish domineer and unforgiving untrusting personality is just too much for Kol but when your younger sister and Kol’s younger brother develop strong feels for each other it seems that you will be around each other for longer than he was intending…

The story itself was a different pace then I’m used to with the accurate world building that needed to go into this book the author does really well holding your interest while still staying true to the facts of that time period. I have seen that this book will be a trilogy but you could read this one as a standalone and still be happy.

Book Review: Revenge and the Wild

Westie, our rough around the edges main character, is on the hunt for her families killers, a group of cannibals that left her an orphan and only one arm. As a child Westie was saved and nursed back to health by the Wintu tribe then was adopted by Nigel Butler a local inventor who is also responsible for the new piece of clockwork hardware she calls an arm. Westie and Nigel live in the sanctuary of Rouge City, a western town protected by Wintu magic where humans and creatures can live side by side without killing each other. But now seventeen, Westie wants revenge, and will search high and low if she has too. But fate has other plans for Westie and her crew and with a new troubling discovery about magic and an even more troubling set of visitors Westie is going to need a lot more help and smarts to get the revenge she craves.

This story is full of amazing characters including a vampire with an agenda of his own, werewolves, a boy with a clockwork mask, Orks and other mythical creatures that all still manage to fit the western theme of the story. I loved the relationships Westie has with the different characters and found myself loving them all in the same ways she does. I haven't read a stand alone book in a while and it was nice to have the 'situation' resolved all in the one book, it also made the story flow quickly

This is a good book to read between series or while your waiting for the next book in a series to be  published! (like i was HURRY UP WAR STORM haha), or if your just wanting a 'bookpallet' cleanser because this books is definitely 'interestingly different' .

Book Review: The Last Namsara

Who would have thought telling a bedtime story could be a dragons weakness.

We dive into this amazing story with Asha (that’s our kick ass heroine of the story) luring a dragon out so she can kill it. She succeeds but not before she is burnt by the dragon as he takes its last breath, being burnt by dragon fire is deadly.

When she tries to treat her burn in secret is when she meets a slave. (You’ll like him). He isn’t afraid of her, everyone is afraid of her. He bandages her burn without flinching or shying away. Why isn’t he scared? It’s against the law to look at her let alone touch her, so why is he risking his life helping her?

To not have to marry her jerk of a fiancé she must complete a dangerous mission, a mission that completely turns on its head. Showing our heroine that love ones don’t always tell you the truth, sometimes that can burn deeper than a dragon’s burn.

This story is fast pace, page turning and has a grip on you that you absolutely NEED to know what happens next. There are short stories within the story so you are never lost about what’s happened or how something started.

LOVED IT! Give it a go!

Review by Ema

New Arrivals

Book Review: Brotherhood of Thieves

Brotherhood of thieves is set back when horses were how you got home on time, you didn’t leave home without your sword and life on the streets leaves you cold, miserable and hungry… so when main character —orphan and street thief— Caspan gets given the chance to compete to join the brotherhood of thieves (a secret order sanctioned by the king) how could he pass it up.

The secret order specialise in treasure hunting, exploring ancient temples long left by an ancient race that lived on earth many moons ago, leaving behind their magical artifacts that are much needed by the kings army in a war against the Roon, the invading ork army .

After completing the first part of their training the five young apprentices – Caspan, Roland, Lachlan, Sara and Kilt - receive a very special gift reserved only for those in the Order… their own Wardens, a magical beast that they will train with to help them with their task, but when the group are sent on their first mission things don’t go to plan and the trainees must rely on each other and work together to survive.

This book would suit any reader that enjoys dragons, sword fighting, magical pets and funny banter. Also great for younger teens stepping up into teen books.

Comic Review: Captain Marvel

I've not been the biggest DC or Marvel fan because they normal require that you have read lots of other DC or Marvel books to understand whats happening and I can never keep track of them all. In saying that though I've decided to drive in and just blunder my way through for a while #mangareaderproblems.

Even though I'm pretty sure Captain Marvel has a series before this, it wasn't to hard to follow because she has started a 'new job' at the space station meant to guard earth, so the problems that ensue are new.
(please forgive my storyline ignorance, I'm learning okay :P)

Captain Marvel herself has a sense of humor i liked and the Elite Force she is teamed up with has some amusing characters too. This book pulls together #1-#5 but was still a good quick read

Book Review: Red Queen

I was very late to the party on this one and I don’t know why I left it for so long but now I can see why people said I was crazy for not reading it sooner

Red Queen is about a kingdom divided by blood type. The silver bloods born with abilities like control fire (like the royal family), water, iron or even the mind and Red bloods who have been controlled by silvers for hundreds of years, but when Mare Barrow falls to her death from a balcony while working and survives the story begins. Mare Barrow knows that when she is cut she bleeds red, so when a lightning bolt shots from her hand no-one is more surprised than her… and doing it in front of a stadium full of elite silver families wasn't what she thought would happen when she woke up this morning, but it’s also probably the thing that saves her life.

With too many people seeing the spectacle the royal family knows that getting rid of her will raise to many questions, so what better way to hide a secret then to hide it in plain sight so Mare Barrow is transformed into Mareena Titanos, a dead silver lords lost child, now found and brought home again…. Mare has no choose but to play along it’s that or an “accident” that leaves her dead. But the more time she spends with these pretentious, spoiled elites the more her ability hums for rebellion and with the help of an unlikely companion the struggling red rebellion might finally have their chance…

The red queen series has so many hidden scandals and back stabbings (sometimes literally) that it hurt to read it, just when you think yes yes yes! the storyline turns to a nooo no why nooo ;)  With the addition of handsome princes, steampunk’esk machinery and a ragtag rebellion this book ticks a lot of boxes.

And might I just add the characters ’abilities’ are really well done.  There isn't to many of them so you don’t lose track of who can do what and the creativity of them is unlike other books I have read  (okay fire and water control are your norm but being able to manipulate iron into a dress that can also kill someone that needs a high five) 

Book Review: Defy

“How do I look?” My voice wobbled but I refused to let myself cry again. The army would be here any minute.

“Like me,” Marcel said

Together, we hurried to pick up all the hair and throw it into the flames that were consuming what was left of our cottage. The long strands, years’ worth of growth, curled up and burned away in moments. Gone. Like my parents. Like my home. All taken, burned, hewn down, and turned to ash.

It always irritated Alexa how similar she looked to her twin brother Marcel. Her jaw was to square for a girl and she was too tall, her hair was the one feature that made her look like a girl apart from that she could easily pass as her brother’s twin brother not twin sister, but that’s exactly what saves her after the Blevon army attacks her village killing her parents and making Alexa and her brother orphans and in their king’s care… where all orphaned boys are forced to join the king’s army and all orphaned girls are sent to the breeding house… to one day make more boys for his growing army.

So Alexa has no choose but to live out the remainder of her life as Alex, Marcel’s twin brother and become a solider in the king’s army but after displaying her talents with a sword in training the twins are quickly transferred to the elite prince’s guard. Were they must now guard the young prince day and night… yea that will be easy for a girl hiding out as a boy...

With that main set up happening in the first 20 or so pages it leaves a lot of story left and there is a lot of amazing story left.

This series has enough to please everyone, a love triangle, witty writing, sword fighting, a girl hiding in a boy’s world, battling for what’s right from within, characters that aren’t all that they seem and my personal favorite kick ass main characters!!!

The series is nice a quick to with each book only being a few hundred pages long so if your looking for a quick series to read or just wanting something to read while on break I recommend giving it a go.

The breeding house isn’t graphically explained but is differently part of the story and will need a slightly older readers to understand what’s going on. 

Ready for Reserve

Book Review: Cirque du Freak

I have read this whole series and I loved it! Easily one of my favorite series.

In my opinion the first book is just there as the 'set up' book for the rest of the series, it’s where we meet our main character (Darren) and his best friend (Steve).  

They attended a freak show that’s in town for the night and there they see Larten Crepsley (the 204 year old vampire but only Steve realizes this).  Larten Crepsley is preforming with his rare poisonous spider, Madam Octa, Darren has always been amazed by spiders and has never seen anything like Madam Octa, after the show he decides to sneak into Larten’s room after the show for a closer look. When Darren can hear people coming he decides to steal Madam Octa!

While in Darren's care Madam Octa bites Steve which leaves him in a very dangerous coma. Darren’s only choice is to return to the freak show before it leaves town and ask for the antidote from Larten Crepsley.

Larten Crepsley agrees to give Darren the antidote but only if he becomes his assistant... Darren reluctantly agrees, he has no chose its either become a vampires assistant or watch his friend die. (something he already blames himself for)

Basically once we get passed all that (in the first half of the book) it transforms! 

We are introduced to our new home at the travelling show and there we meet all kinds of interesting characters - including a lizard boy and a tremendous show conductor.   The series itself revolves around a bigger vampire story but there is no sparkles or teen drama in this vampire story.. the strongest will only survive in this story. 

Suitable for Pre-Teens and great for reluctant reads

What to read after... Throne of Glass

Why you may ask ??

Carve the mark
Carve the Mark shares some of the great elements of Throne of Glass - Strong characters, characters with more than human abilities and hidden plans that keep you turning the pages way past bedtime - but its set in a totally different genre so there is a whole new amazing 'planet' to discover . With strong protagonists, an evil prince and an underground rebellion I don't know what more you need but just encase there is also inter-planet fighting, amazing airships and its set in space .... come on! 

The Lost Prince
Now full honesty this book just reminds me of Aedion :) So it's more of a 'what to read after you finish book 5' .   Following unavoidable events Ethan the Main character is forced to hide out in the magical world that he has spent years trying to avoid and hes not alone.. Mackenzie St.James, the cute reporter from the school paper, is now court up in the dangerous world not meant for mortals and with a destiny that wont leave him alone and a cute girl that refuses to return to safety Ethan's got his work cut out for him if their every going to get home. The Lost Prince is a great book for everyone

The Demon king
Okay take a minute with me and imagine two medieval schools side by side and at one you study how to control high magic and at the other you learn how to fight for the best armies ... Now if you haven't gone there already imagine the Throne of Glass characters a few years younger (or in some cases a few hundred years younger) attending those schools !!  The Demon king trilogy is sooo good and I'm not doing it justice with this explanation but seriously this book goes toe to toe with Throne of Glass, its full of magic and action , with two very solid main characters and two intricate stories . You'll find this hard to put down and with each book having no less then 500 pages they look daunting but they are super easier to read and the language is not overly intricate so you'll find yourself finishing and grabbing for the next one faster then you think .

Frostblood
So with my 'no spoilers' rule this one is hard to explain why is a 'read next' but basically for fans of the "Throne of Glass queen" and her "warrior prince" (if you get my drift 'cough cough') then read this! I loved it , the focus on just the two blood types was interesting and meant the author could really build the world and characters . It would be a great book to read if you enjoyed Carve the Mark too. Basically a bit of the throne of glass world but the character building of Carve the Mark and hey I'm not upset with that :P .

Book Review: Waer

This book intrigued me from the start and I wasn’t disappointed. I was expecting to read a story like many others I had read -the big scary wolf saving the day      stories- but I was pleasantly surprised by the different turn this book took.

The story begins with Lowell finding a girl (Lycaea) washed up on the river bank -presumed dead- while teaching his younger brother how to change and hunt. Lowell can smell that she is alive and also a fellow waer, so him and his family take her in and nurse her back from the brink of death. (Don’t worry no spoilers this happens very early in the book). My surprise with this book was the way the author betrayed waer… let’s just say they’re not your typical out of control, hiding in the woods living in caves type of waer which don’t get me wrong can also make a fantastic book but I was interesting to read a book like this one still packed with intrigue and action but with its own twist.

Book Review: Hunger

Read book 1 of the GONE series before reading this review of book 2 Hunger :)

Three months has passed.

Three months since you discovered a dome has appeared around the FAYZ.

Three months without adults.

The food has all gone.

Everyone is starving.

More and more kids are evolving, gaining powers.

The normal kids are getting agitated.

Tensions are rising.

Normal kids against mutant kids.

You’re in charge.

You need to make a plan.

Save the day again.

But no-one wants to help.

No-one has any idea.

The Darkness is growing stronger.

Buried deep in the hills, it calls to them.

Guiding them.

Manipulating them

Book Review: The Headhunters Race

Being sentenced to prison at thirteen for a crime you didn't commit is hard enough but then you add in the fact that your step-father — the same man that owns the prison — is the one who sent you there for being an accomplice to your own mothers killing and you have me intriguing.

The author throws us straight into the deep end on the first page with an opening paragraph that will make you feel like you’re standing alongside Avene, tiptoeing to get the small bit of semi fresh air coming through the top window before having to venture into the death and disease full prison.   The first few chapters gives us a good description of how terrible the prison is to live in and being a dystopian novel you can already imagine how horrible it will be. With food.. well more accurately slop.. only dispensed into a large troughs twice a week with no-where near enough food to feed everyone only the strong and canning survive. The only way out is to compete in the headhunters race which sees prisoners racing to find and kill a wanted man/woman and the first to find them is granted their freedom. Avene has been denied every time until now ... and with the wanted man being Gavin (the boy truly responsible for her crime) maybe its the perfect time for Avene to right some wrongs.

The headhunters race is only 187 pages long so is a great quick read by page 43 we're starting the race and then the story has you hooked.

New Arrivals

Book Review: Spellslinger