Paranormal
Tenth Anniversary Special Edition
The Iron Fey Book One
Written by Julie Kagawa
Paranormal, Young Adult, Romance, Faeries
464 Pages
Published June 15th 2020
Thank you to Harlequin Australia
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★★★★
My name is Meghan Chase.
In less than twenty four hours, I'll be sixteen. Countless stories, songs and poems have been written about this wonderful age, when a girl finds true love and the stars shine for her and the handsome prince carries her off into the sunset.
I don't think it will be that way for me.
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan Chase's life, ever since her father disappeared when she was six. Ten years later, when her little brother also goes missing, Meghan learns the truth, she is the secret daughter of a mythical faery king and a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she loves, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.
Enter a fantastical world of dangerous faeries, wicked princes and one half human girl who discovers her entire life is a lie. This special edition of The Iron King includes the bonus novella Winter's Passage and an exclusive excerpt from the new Iron Fey book, The Iron Raven.
Meghan Chase is on the threshold of her sixteenth birthday, celebrating the milestone without her father who disappeared ten years ago. Her mother has since remarried and although Meghan cherishes her brother Ethan, her relationship with her stepfather is another story. Luckily she always has her best friend Robbie to depend on when her brother Ethan is captured and taken into the Faery Realm, replaced by a angry, destructive Changling. Of course Meghan's life isn't that simple when she learns that her best friend is actually Robin Goodfellow, a faery who has taken his position of watching over the almost sixteen year old very seriously. Danger is afoot my friends and Meghan is about to discover why you never bargain in the Faery Realm.
Meghan Chase is a wonderful young woman, intelligent and takes the Faery realm in her stride. Whether it's the trauma of her brother being taken or if she's incredibly adaptable, she's a young woman on a mission to retrieve her brother.
The Faery Realm is an intricate society of segregated communities. Assisted by Grimalkin, an intelligent and machiavellian feline, Meghan discovers that she is the estranged daughter of the Summer Court King, a renowned and esteemed monarch, Meaghan becomes a commodity within the tentative alliance between the Summer and Winter Courts. Prince Ashallayn of the Summer Court is intrigued by Meghan's arrival and reluctantly agrees to assist her across the Nevernever to retrieve her brother in exchange for her freedom once Ethan has been rescued.
The attraction between Meghan and Prince Ashallayn is smouldering, a Montague and Capulet romance between monarchs destined to reign and carry the burden of their respective kingdoms. Robin Goodfellow and Prince Ashallayn are adversaries, long before the emergence of the estranged Princess. The group dynamic is intensely exhilarating and along with feline companion Grimalkin, journey to find the Iron King who is believed to be holding Ethan.
The communities of the Nevernever are vibrant, intricate and terrifying, living amongst a beautifully imagined landscape of kingdoms, dark forests and antarctic environments. The Iron King is wonderfully atmospheric. The forest of the Nevernever is decaying, displacing many creatures and members of the isolated and ostracised faery communities. The Iron King absorbing the environment is symbolism for our urban cities, deforestation and a reminder of the importance of sustainability and environmentalism.
The Iron King is a whirlwind adventure, a sizzling romance and an enchanting narrative of family and the ties that bind us.
contains sensitivities such as suicide, famine, wartime, neglect and emotional abuse.
V. E. Schwab
Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Adult
560 Pages
Published October 2020
Thank you to New South Books
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★★★★★
When Addie LaRue makes a pact with the devil, she trades her soul for immortality. But there's always a price, the devil takes away her place in the world, cursing her to be forgotten by everyone.
Addie flees her tiny hometown in 18th Century France, beginning a journey that takes her across the world, learning to live a life where no one remembers her and everything she owns is lost and broken. Existing only as a muse for artists throughout history, she learns to fall in love anew every single day.
Her only companion on this journey is her dark devil with hypnotic green eyes, who visits her each year on the anniversary of their deal. Alone in the world, Addie has no choice but to confront him, to understand him, maybe to beat him.
Until one day, in a second hand bookshop in Manhattan, Addie meets someone who remembers her. Suddenly thrust back into a real, normal life, Addie realises she can't escape her fate forever.
Adeline Larue leaves her legacy upon the world in glimpses, the twenty three year old woman defined by the constellations bestrewn across her nose. Her life begun at eventide of the seventeenth century in a small riverside community in France. Adeline dreams of the freedoms beyond the confines placed upon young women, choosing adventure, freedom and independence.
Adeline is betrothed to a widower within the small town, losing his wife and now searching for a woman to care for his four children. Adeline's friends have long since married and created families of their own while Adeline discovered the beauty of her world. On the eve of her arranged marriage, Adeline prays to a higher being for escape, to abscond her small community and chase freedom into the wide unknown. Darkness responds to her distress, bargaining an agreement. Her freedom in exchange for her soul. Lucifer, the handsome stranger with piercing green eyes has granted Adeline with immortality, ensuring only he will remember her.
The nonlinear narration fluctuates between Adeline's life as a young woman throughout Europe, enduring conflict, wartime, revolutions, lovers both male and female and famine and present New York City. Traversing three hundred years. Adeline is a remarkable young woman, the devastation and heartbreak she's endured throughout the centuries is entirely distressing. A lonely, isolated existence and although Adeline has influenced artists over various generations, no one will remember her beyond her immortalised constellation of freckles.
The essence of The Invisible Life of Addie Larue is human interaction and the ability to leave our legacy upon the world. Throughout our lives, we imprint on one another and for the immortalised twenty three year old, her imprint remains in the creations of former lovers in galleries all over the world until she happens across Henry Strauss managing a small, independent bookstore in New York City. Henry lives on the fringe of society, preferring his own company although feeling thoroughly alone.
Twenty eight year old Henry Strauss has endured addiction, loneliness, relationships and heartache, feeling directionless and unmotivated. Identifying as pansexual, both of Henry's long term relationships have ended in heartbreak and a series of unsatisfying sexual encounters followed. Henry's feelings of worthlessness is palpable. He experiences the world profoundly and throughout his narration, we discover the source of Henry's loneliness and distress, until he happens across Adeline.
Adeline and Henry's relationship is one of companionship rather than a consuming romance, providing one another with a sense of solace and intimacy. They found one another through circumstance and become an aspect of their respective journeys.
The writing is absolutely immaculate and breathtakingly envisioned. From the desperation of Adeline as a young woman burying her meagre possessions along the riverbank and praying to a higher power to rescue her from the small town monotony, the Seine during the revolution, wartime, Venice and London to present New York City. It's wonderfully atmospheric with a beauty and breadth rarely seen in literature, infatuating and categorically enchanting.
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue is phenomenal, a masterpiece of modern literature.
See my review for Monuments
Monuments Book Two
Written by Will Kostakis
Fantasy, Adventure, LGBT, Australian
256 Pages
Published August 27th 2019
Thanks to Hachette Australia
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★★★★
Newbie gods Connor, Sally and Locky want to change the world, no biggie. But they're soon drawn into a centuries old conflict that just might destroy the world they're striving to make better. Book two in the Monuments fantasy duology from young adult superstar Will Kostakis.
With the Monuments gone, newbie gods Connor, Sally and Locky must stop the rebel gods from reducing the world to ruin. Trouble is, they don't know how.
While Sally searches for answers and Locky makes plans to change the world, Connor struggles to keep up appearances as an ordinary teenager. But when a rebel god offers them a deal to end the chaos, their lives are turned upside down and they're forced to reckon with the question: who should decide the fate of the world?
Coming to terms with their newfound Godly status, friends Sally, Connor and his totally dreamy boyfriend Locky are determined to find the estranged Rebel Gods before they wreak havoc upon the world. What's the point of being a God if you can't change the world for the better? When Locky decides to spread joy on the lawn of the local parish, turning their grass into the rainbow flag in opposition to their queerphobic agenda, he's suddenly thrust into the spotlight and making their task of keeping their Godly duties on the down low even harder. Sydney is awash with speculation, could the Gods really walk among the people? For Connor and Locky, it's no easy task dating a God but now with his newfound rockstar slash miracle status, Locky may have inadvertently placed their lives in even more danger, despite the threat of the two dangerous sisters living in the otherworld that threaten life as we know it.
Adventure is afoot my friends as Connor begins to accept the fate thrust upon him, a God that will never age, never able to stay in one place any longer than a few years or risk exposure and of course, telling his dear mother. The other light of his life. Although the Monuments duology is steeped in modern mythology and moments of hilarity, the heart of the narrative is friendship and finding our way into the world. Although generations of teens aren't supernatural godly beings, it's still entirely relatable. Teens invoking change and being the change they want to see within the world.
Rebel Gods explores the deeply queerphobic aspects of religion, those condoning intolerance and prejudice under the guise of religious ideology. Locky challenges the local parish, exposing himself in the process and although the Monuments series explores the urban fantasy narrative of Sydney, the characters are exposed to societal and community issues. It provides a realism beyond world ending scenarios and one of my favourite aspects of the series, besides the brilliant and entirely likeable characters.
A brilliant conclusion to the duology from one of Australia's most loved authors.
Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children Book Five
Written by Ransom Riggs
Fantasy, Paranormal, Time Travel
Published January 21st 2020
336 Pages
Thank you to Penguin Teen Australia
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★★★★
Do you trust me?
An instant bestseller, A Map of Days launched readers into the previously unexplored world of American peculiars, one bursting with new questions, new allies, and new adversaries.
Now, with enemies behind him and the unknown ahead, Jacob Portman's story continues as he takes a brave leap forward into The Conference of the Birds, the next instalment of the beloved, bestselling Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series.
Welcome to the world of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children. To celebrate the release of The Conference of the Birds, the fifth installment in Ransom Riggs' delightfully peculiar series, I'll guide you through the world of Peculiardom.
Jacob Portman and Peculiardom
Sixteen year old Jacob Portman is Peculiar. Growing up in the small coastal town of Englewood, Jacob was captivated by his grandfather and his fantastical tales of the Peculiar Children. When his grandfather Abraham Portman was slain by a monster, Jacob carries the tales of his grandfather to Wales and the orphanage where his grandfather was raised, the derelict stately house an entrance to Cairnholm, an island of yesteryear and the home to Miss Peregrine and her Peculiar Children.
Jacob is the series protagonist and discovers he inherited the ability of seeing Hollowghasts, the monster who fatally wounded his grandfather. Throughout the series Jacob is introduced to the world of Peculiardom, communities of those with extraordinary abilities hidden in Loops from a particular moment in time. Those bound to a Loop cannot enter the modern world without ageing rapidly. The Peculiar gene is recessive and although is inherited, bypasses a generation. Jacob inheriting his ability from his grandfather.
The Peculiar Children
The Peculiar Children are unequivocally delightful. Emma Bloom is a pyrokinetic. Enoch O'Connor a necromancer. Millard Nullings is invisible. Horace Somnusson experiences prophetic dreams. Olive Elephanta's peculiarity is levitation. Fiona Frauenfeld is a Peculiar horticulturist, enduring selective mutism and traumatic stress disorder among many other children who inhabit the Peculiar world. The children and adolescents are guided under the tutelage of an Ymbryne, women who can manipulate time and are dedicated guardians of the children. The children guided by Miss Peregrine, experience the traumatic the bombing of Cairnholm each day, once the bombing decimating their home occurs, the Loop is reset only to endure the same day over and over again.
In Map of Days and The Conference of the Birds, Noor Pradesh is uncontacted, a young woman who can manipulate light. Miss Peregrine's children are established Peculiar and although they resemble children and adolescents, the Peculiar children have resided within Cairnholm for close to a century, except Jacob and Noor, the latter coveted by the organised syndicates of New York City.
In Map of Days and The Conference of the Birds, Noor Pradesh is uncontacted, a young woman who can manipulate light. Miss Peregrine's children are established Peculiar and although they resemble children and adolescents, the Peculiar children have resided within Cairnholm for close to a century, except Jacob and Noor, the latter coveted by the organised syndicates of New York City.
Miss Peregrine and the Ymbrynes
The Ymbrynes are responsible for the care and guidance of Peculiar children, they can manipulate time and metamorphose into feathered friends of the Peculiar, hence the names Miss Peregrine, Miss Avocet, Miss Finch and Miss Rhen. Although common and revered throughout Europe, in The Conference of the Birds we learn that American Ymbrynes are an exceptional incidence, the Ymbrynes pursued and slain by humans, Hollowghasts and Wights, former Hollowghasts who have transformed and the antagonists of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children. Miss Peregrine is leader of the Council of Ymbrynes, founding a home for Peculiar children on the small island of Cairnholm, Wales.
Villains
Wights disguise themselves as neighbours, relatives and educators, observing Peculiar children alongside the devolved Wights, the Hollowghasts. Caul Bentham is a Wight, sustained by consuming Peculiars and amassing an alliance of extremists and the only Wight known to retain his Peculiar abilities, the brother of Miss Peregrine also transforming into a Peregrine Falcon. Hollowghasts are only visible to Librarian Peculiars such as Jacob Portman and his grandfather.
The Conference of the Birds
Journeying to New York City, Jacob Portman is resolved to retrieve Noor Pradesh, an uncontacted Peculiar forsaken to the New York City syndicate and charlatan Leo Burnham. Discovering that Noor is one of seven Peculiars of an ancient prophecy foreseeing doomsday for Peculiardom. Noor is imperative and when Jacob is entrusted to delivering Noor to a mysterious location, to an associate of Jacob's grandfather who can shelter the young woman against the Wight onslaught and Leo Burnham's henchmen.
An uprising against the Ymbrynes is fermenting, Peculiars frustrated with their secrecy and totalitarian leadership. The Council of Ymbrynes are aiding in the negotiations of a treaty in New York City as a young Peculiar is captured, the Wights escape the Devil's Acre penitentiary bringing to fruition The Prophecy of the Seven, when the prisons are blown to dust and chaos reigns.
The Conference of the Birds is a magnificent installment of the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series and foreword to a remarkable finale of this endearing and fantastical series. A whimsical narrative of the curious and wonderful. Lyrically beautiful and immersive.
Written by Kate Alice Marshall
Mystery, Paranormal, Horror
400 Pages
Published October 1st 2019
Thank you to Walker Books Australia
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Mystery, Paranormal, Horror
400 Pages
Published October 1st 2019
Thank you to Walker Books Australia
Add to Goodreads
Once a year, a road appears in the forest. And at the end of it, the ghost of Lucy Gallows beckons. Lucy’s game isn’t for the faint of heart. If you win, you escape with your life. But if you lose...
Sara’s sister disappeared one year ago and only Sara knows where she is. Becca went to find the ghost of Lucy Gallows and is trapped on her road. In the sleepy town of Briar Glen, Lucy’s road is nothing more than local lore. But Sara knows it’s real, and she’s going to find it. When Sara and her skeptical friends meet in the forest to search for Becca, the mysterious road unfurls before them. All they have to do is walk down it. But the path to Lucy is not of this world, and it has its own rules. Every mistake summons new horrors. Vengeful spirits and broken, angry creatures are waiting for them to slip, and no one is guaranteed safe passage. The only certainty is this: the road has a toll and it will be paid. Sara knows that if she steps onto the road, she might not come back. But Becca needs her. And Lucy is waiting.
Briar Glen is synonymous with the the name Lucy Gallows, a young woman that wandered into the forest and never returned. Her last known whereabouts was on a road to nowhere, being lead by an unknown male assailant. Throughout the years the fable may have interchanged but the instructions remain the same, find a partner, find a key, find the road.
On the eve of the anniversary of Lucy Gallow's disappearance, Sara Donoghue's adoptive sister Rebecca was lured into the fated fable, whispered conversations and a notebook left behind, evidence she planned to find fifteen year old Lucy. Sara has maintained hope that Sara is still alive, the police labelling the adolescent as a difficult young woman who disappeared with Zachary Kent, a young man she barely knew.
Although Rebecca was adopted as an infant, Sara Donoghue and sister Rebecca shared an everlasting friendship. Rebecca was the center of their universe, a group of friends who dissolved shortly after her disappearance, Sara has endured depression and isolation. Her journey to find her sister is harrowing, captivating and a breathtaking paranormal thriller that will captivate the imagination of readers until the final page.
Find a partner. Find a key. Find the road.
Atmospheric and haunting, Rules for Vanishing is told from the perspective of Sara Donoghue through a series of interviews, transcripts, eyewitness accounts and photographic evidence while Sara recollects her journey upon the once believed to be mythological road. The legend of Lucy Gallows has been idolised by the teens of Briar Glen since her disappearance, speculation that her brother killed her and left her to ruin on the forest floor the logical conclusion. What happened to Lucy has always been a mystery but those who believe in Lucy's story can hear the young woman calling for help, including Becca, according to her sister Sara. Sara refuses to accept that she ran away with her new boyfriend when Becca and Sara's best friend were clearly attracted to one another, only Anthony didn't believe in the local legend which left Becca to find someone who was willing to follow her onto the road.
Although Sara's self isolated after Becca's disappearance, her former group of mutual friends have come along for the ride. Disbelieving in the supernatural, I don't think anyone expected to have stumbled upon the road, now finding themselves in a strange and eerie purgatory between worlds, where darkness is no friend of the weary traveller and you must follow the rules to survive. Take a partner, hold their hand and under no circumstances should you leave the road. What ensues is a creepy as hell storyline that left me jumping at shadows and reading long into the night. Despite my better judgement and skyrocketing anxiety.
The travellers are a motley crew of characters, all varying degrees of unreliable so as a reader it's difficult to establish what's real and what has been created by the trauma of the situation or outright untruths. Regardless, it makes for a fascinating narrative that blends a contemporary storyline with urban legend, infused with paranormal elements and everything in between. Reminiscent of the Blair Witch Project and Small Spaces by Australian author Sarah Epstein.
My favourite element of Rules for Vanishing was the ability to surprise readers. By now we've all read enough paranormal to fill a warehouse, this is one book that needs to be celebrated for being unique and creating the mystery and intrigue to captivate even the toughest of readers, not to mention creep us the hell out.
You know what, just read it. The element of surprise is all in the discovery of the urban legend and those who seek answers. Just a word of warning to leave the light on, Lucy seems to dwell in the dark.
See my review for A Curse of Ash and Embers here
Daughter of Lies and Ruin
The Witches of Blackbone Book Two
Written by Jo Spurrier
Paranormal, Witches, #LoveOZYA
352 Pages
Published September 24th 2019
Thank you to Harper Collins Australia
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★★★★
If they didn't want to get turned into beasts and used to fuel a ritual, they shouldn't have attacked a witch. That's all there is to it.
There's something strange brewing in this tinder dry forest, a girl with a sword and a secret, a troupe of vicious bandits vanished without a trace, beasts that don't belong and a witch with a macabre plan.
Elodie hasn't been learning witchcraft for long, but she knows enough to be worried, and the fact that her mentor Aleida wants to pack up and leave in short order isn't helping to settle her nerves.
Elodie just hopes to get everyone out of this mess unharmed, but it's looking more unlikely with every passing hour. And when the strange witch's ire falls on her, Aleida's wrath sparks a fire that threatens to scorch the earth itself.
Elodie Blackbone is an apprentice sorceress, bygone is the young woman denied an education and labouring on her family farm, now disciplined in the artistry of witchcraft under the guidance of Aleida Blackbone. The two new companions have departed the Black Oak Cottage in Lilsfield and travelling the dusty, lonely roads when ambushed by a band of roadside bandits ransacking the wares and treasures of stagecoaches and travelling merchants.
Elodie is no longer the naive young woman summoned to the Black Oak Cottage and although she's wisened to the world of sorcery and alchemy, the young apprentice is continuously experimenting with her newfound abilities under Aleida's guidance. Elodie has the ability to inhabit the body of wildlife and birds, often soaring high about the landscape and observing their journey from the skies. Unlike Aleida, Elodie also has the ability to walk between worlds, opening a fissure and guided by an ethereal sprite.
Aleida slayed Gyssha Blackbone and the protege has now become the mentor, albeit cursed by her predecessor. Weakened by the fissure opening to the otherworld, Aleida and Elodie depart the cottage, along the journey they meet the stoic and resolute Kara, being held at the local abbey since her father disappeared. Armed with her sword, Kara has enlisted the aid of local bandits to escape and is searching for her father, an outlaw masquerading as a mercenary while throughout the arduous, backbreaking landscape, an otherworldly disturbance is gathering. Men have become monsters, manipulated by a mage taking shelter in the desolate mountains.
Kara is an interesting character, surly and unapologetically ambitious. Kara has been unwillingly taken into the care of the abbey, devising her escape to find her father as the arrival of Aleida and Elodie provides the opportunity to disappear under the cover of darkness. Although her father is an outlaw, Kara remembers her father for his kindness, a gentle father and loyal friend and after Elodie's insistence, Aleida reluctantly agrees to assist the young brusque woman. The conflict and intensity within Elodie and Aleida's tentative friendship emanates from Kara and their conflicting opinions. Elodie's humble beginnings have resurfaced as a humanitarian crusade, playing the role of saviour especially where Kara is concerned. She constantly undermines Aleida, questioning her judgement and expertise. It's frustrating but an important learning moment for Elodie, it also brought out a compassionate and gentleness from Aleida who masks her emotions.
The subtle attraction between Elodie and Kara is enchanting, although it seems to impair Elodie's judgement and her ability to make rational decisions. Given her interest in Kian in A Curse of Ash and Embers, Elodie may identify as being bisexual. Friendship and sisterhood are the central focus of the Witches of Blackbone series, independent women in an environment where women are chaperoned by men, often dominated by men and their significance determined by men. Capable women with the ability to slain grown men, those who share a quiet resilience, who encourage and endure. The sisterhood who are reclaiming their sovereignty.
Simply magical.
Simply magical.
May contain mild spoilers for Gap Year in Ghost Town. See my review here
Ghost Town Book Two
Written by Michael Pryor
Paranormal, Ghosts, #LoveOZYA
Published July 2019
320 Pages
Thanks to Allen and Unwin Australia
$19.99
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★★★★☆
So, how's my gap year going? Is it giving me a taste of the ghost hunting business or is it just dumping me into situations where I could end up dead, or worse?
Lingerers. Moaners. Thugs. Weepers. So many ghosts. Not enough graveyard shifts in a night.
When an extreme ghost plague descends on the city, Anton and Rani must work overtime to keep the city safe and to find the source of the new aggressive ghost outbreak. And it amps up to another level after ghost hunters become the hunted.
Anton and Rani will need all their wits and wiles about them if they are to manage the ghost influx, get to the truth about the Elsewhere and navigate the night with all their limbs intact.
When eighteen year old Anton Marin decided to spend the year contemplating whether or not to carry the Marin family legacy, meandering the streets of Melbourne at night in an age old tradition of easing the passage of spirits into Elsewhere with his new colleague and friend Rani Cross. A Former Londoner and member of the Company of The Righteous. Weepers, Moaners, Lingerers and ghosts who manifest as Ragers haunt the abandoned streets and landmarks of Melbourne but although of late, have become malevolent and menacing and soon the ghost hunting partnership is overwhelmed by their assignments.
Clearly something is amiss in old Melbourne town but thankfully Anton and Rani are on the case. Their friendship is so incredibly lovely, platonic and it's so refreshing to see a male female friendship with no prospect of romance within young adult literature. Incidentally, Rani and Anton's childhood friend Rebecca are in a relationship, now living together while Rebecca attends university and volunteering in the Marin family archives in her spare time. I loved the gentle female romance, the moments of tenderness were beautiful and although their group dynamic has now changed, they all remain steadfast friends.
As the ghosts become increasingly aggressive, we're introduced to Kirsten and Jamie, hailing from the Ghost Hunting Order of Scotland. With their brogue accents and appreciation for malarkey and mayhem, the sibling ghost hunters are always up for an adventure but what they didn't anticipate was the emergence of the Ragged Sisters, an archaic ritualistic faction capturing ghost hunters to sacrifice. What ensues is a headache of mammoth proportions as the veil between our world and Elsewhere begins to thin.
Darker than its predecessor, Graveyard Shift in Ghost Town amplifies the adventure and upheaval, blended with an intriguing mystery. Spirits are engulfing Melbourne in an epidemic, attaching themselves to their human host and draining their vitality, resulting in a spate of unexplained hospitalisations. The emergence of the Ragged Sisters is disturbing and a subtle warning of scenes that depict torture and death, as some readers may find these distressing.
I absolutely love the Ghost Town series, it's hilariously entertaining and written with an incredible wittiness and charisma. Michael Pryor's writing absolutely shines! From the suburbs to our historical buildings and lane ways of Melbourne, it's a wonderful celebration of Melbourne and all her glory. Simply magnificent.
Written by Lauren Oliver
Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal
416 Pages
Published October 18th 2018
Thank you to Hachette Australia
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★★★★☆
It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods.
Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly.
The only thing is, they didn’t do it.
On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago, no matter how monstrous.
The nonlinear narrative accompanies Mia and Brynn, known as The Monsters of Brickhouse Lane, as they investigate potential suspects in the ritualistic death of their friend Summer. Summer Marks is a foster child, her mother a substance abuser, her only possession a novel acquired from her maternal mother. The Way Into Lovelorn is a fantasy novel written by Georgia Wells and despite being published, the novel is incomplete. A point of contention for Summer, inspired to create her own The Way Into Lovelorn sequel.
Although barely adolescent, Mia Ferguson, Brynn McNally and neighbour and suspect Owen Waldmann were ostracised by the community despite being acquitted of her death. Mia was unrolled from school and tutored privately, Owen migrated to Scotland to complete his education while Brynn endured the abuse and aggression of her peers, unafforded the privilege of a private education. Brynn escaped her torment by entering rehabilitation for substance abuse, providing positive samples to remain within the counsellors care, her relationship with her mother and sister fractured.
Mia is returning to Twin Lakes on the eve of the anniversary of Summer's death to help her mother, a hoarder since the tragic incident that finds solace within her abundance of possessions. As Mia's mother enters counselling, Brynn is released from rehabilitation and for the first time in five years, the two former friends reunite to investigate Summer's murder.
The narrative centres on Summer and her interaction with Mia and Brynn as teens, their adoration of The Way Into Lovelorn and the importance of the fictional sequel the three friends created. It explores the motives behind the killing, from her relationship with Owen at Mia's expense, her manipulation of Brynn and her feelings for Summer and her character development from child to a manipulative and often malicious young woman.
Although I've enjoyed Lauren Oliver's novels in the past, Broken Things is considerably her break out novel. The nonlinear narrative is well paced, a blend of mystery and suspense as the storyline adds upon layers of intrigue. Very much a classical whodunit novel that readers will thoroughly enjoy.
Written by Katya de Becerra
Fantasy, Mystery, #LoveOZYA
384 Pages
Thank you to Allen and Unwin
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R.R.P $16.99
★★★★☆
On her eighteenth birthday, Hayden inherits her childhood home, on the condition that she uncover its dark secrets.
Hayden has tried to put the past behind her, and so far it's worked. She's getting ready for college, living in a Brooklyn apartment, and hanging out with her best friend and flatmate, Del. But now it's all catching up with her, her mother's mysterious disappearance a decade ago, her father's outlandish theories about a lost supernatural race, and Hayden's own dark dreams of strange symbols and rituals in the Colorado woods where she grew up.
As soon as Hayden arrives at her hometown, Del in tow, it begins. Neighbours whisper secrets about Hayden's mother; the boy next door is now all grown up in a very distracting way and Hayden feels the trees calling to her. And among them, deep in the woods, Hayden will discover something incredible, something that threatens reality itself.
Hayden Holland has lived an extraordinary life. The daughter of a renowned physicist, Hayden vividly remembers the wilderness of Promise Colorado, an adventure beside her vivacious mother into the neighbouring forest surrounding the Holland Manor residence. Until her mother disappeared, Thomas Holland impetuously relocating his daughter to New York.
Hayden has inherited the Holland Manor, her mother declared deceased in absentia and bequeathing the now abandoned estate upon rigorous conditions. Discover the possessions of Ella Holland within the stately manor. Use those possessions to destroy her heaviest burden and trust no one. Especially the ravens. The ambiguous testament is reminiscent of how Ella Holland prevailed, whimsically and surreptitiously, wandering into the forest instinctively and often compelled by a greater force.
Hayden now resides in Brooklyn and embarking on her first year at university, her mother is a continuing presence despite intensive clinical psychological therapy throughout her adolescence. Hayden experiences impulsive moments, perceived as a violent, neurotic child after an altercation at school. Thomas Holland is now a dishonoured physicist. Motivated by the disappearance of Ella, Thomas Holland is a conspiracy theorist, researching Germanic mythologies in particular the Nibelung since the loss of his university tenure. Unbeknownst to her father, Hayden is journeying home to Colorado with best friend Delphine Chauvet, a French Sengelease University student.
Hayden is an intellectual young woman, finding solace within scientific reasoning and thought. The disappearance of her mother rendered her relationship with her father as fractured, as Hayden was removed from the Holland residence and friend Shannon Reaser. Inseparable childhood companions. Returning to Promise is a demoralising situation for Hayden and although Delphine speculates that Hayden isn't forthcoming with information about the disappearance, she is a source of unconditional companionship. Delphine appeared suspiciously accepting of each new revelation, how Ella Holland disappeared within the scorched forest, the insistence of Thomas Holland of otherworldly intervention and the apparitional possession she scarcely remembers, compelled as a conduit to guide Hayden to uncover the burden placed upon her mother.
The mythology woven throughout the narration was enchanting. The Nibelung is Germanic and Old Norse referring to a mythical dimension of a supernatural monarchy declaring warfare. Upon her return, Hayden and childhood companion Shannon reestablish a tentative friendship, although his contribution as a potential romance for Hayden is underwhelming. His friend Santiago is enamoured with Delphine, creating an intense environment for Hayden and Shannon.
Atmospherically, Promise Colorado creates an impression of peculiarity and a religious idolisation of the Nibelung mythology as Hayden is coerced into a congregation of residents engaging in ritualistic, sacrificial bloodletting.
Katya de Becerra has created a deliciously and intensely sinister, an infusion of a contemporary and paranormal narrative entrenched with the atmospheric Colorado timberland. A wonderfully intellectual and exceptional read from a remarkable debut author.
The mythology woven throughout the narration was enchanting. The Nibelung is Germanic and Old Norse referring to a mythical dimension of a supernatural monarchy declaring warfare. Upon her return, Hayden and childhood companion Shannon reestablish a tentative friendship, although his contribution as a potential romance for Hayden is underwhelming. His friend Santiago is enamoured with Delphine, creating an intense environment for Hayden and Shannon.
Atmospherically, Promise Colorado creates an impression of peculiarity and a religious idolisation of the Nibelung mythology as Hayden is coerced into a congregation of residents engaging in ritualistic, sacrificial bloodletting.
Katya de Becerra has created a deliciously and intensely sinister, an infusion of a contemporary and paranormal narrative entrenched with the atmospheric Colorado timberland. A wonderfully intellectual and exceptional read from a remarkable debut author.
Tales of the Blackbone Witches Book One
Written by Jo Spurrier
Paranormal, Witches, #LoveOZYA
368 Pages
Published September 24th 2018
Thanks to Harper Collins Australia
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★★★★
A dead witch. A bitter curse. A battle of magic. Some people knit socks by the fire at night. Gyssha Blackbone made monsters.
But the old witch is dead now, and somehow it's Elodie's job to clean up the mess.
When she was hired at Black Oak Cottage, Elodie had no idea she'd find herself working for a witch; and her acid tongued new mistress, Aleida, was not expecting a housemaid to turn up on her doorstep.
Gyssha's final curse left Aleida practically dead on her feet, and now, with huge monsters roaming the woods, a demonic tree lurking in the orchard and an angry warlock demanding repayment of a debt, Aleida needs Elodie's help, whether she likes it or not.
And no matter what the old witch throws at her, to Elodie it's still better than going back home.
Elodie Foster is forsaken. Isolated to the family cottage, Elodie maintains the small, ramshackle homestead, illiterate and denied an education. Elodie is verbally and emotionally abused by her stepfather, her mother remains passively apathetic, accusing her daughter of antagonism and initiating conflict. A mysterious correspondence arrives providing salvation, an opportunity for employment in the small pastoral community of Lilsfield, migrating to the infamous Black Oak Cottage, escorted by a local farmer, his daughter and a destitute magician on her journey.
Returning to the small ramshackle cottage, Aleida Blackbone tenaciously liberated the Lilsfield community from the subordination of Gyssha, a malevolent crone pleasured by consuming the small town. Fiercely independent, the confrontation has diminished the once apprentice to an ailing woman needing assistance to endure the forthcoming catastrophe. The apparitional cavalrymen.
Elodie and Aleida are contrasting characters. Aleida is assured, confident and perceptive. An apprentice to Gyssha as a young woman, exploiting her humanity to ensure her compliance. Elodie and Aleida have experienced a callous manipulation, remarkably similar as they find solace within their tentative companionship.
On her journey, Elodie encounters a young magician. Although charming and eccentric, he abandons his travelling companions rather peculiarly, perplexing why his character was introduced within the narrative.
All The Women Who Are Independent... Throw Your Hands Up At MeElodie is an intelligent young woman, despite denied an education. As a young lady, her biological father passed away, survived by his daughter and destitute young widow. Elodie is isolated from her community and although is forsaken by her abusive stepfather, reluctantly accepts the position of servitude. An ancient sorceress befelled by her young apprentice, monstrous creations arisen from the land and a small community encompassed in folklore.
Returning to the small ramshackle cottage, Aleida Blackbone tenaciously liberated the Lilsfield community from the subordination of Gyssha, a malevolent crone pleasured by consuming the small town. Fiercely independent, the confrontation has diminished the once apprentice to an ailing woman needing assistance to endure the forthcoming catastrophe. The apparitional cavalrymen.
Elodie and Aleida are contrasting characters. Aleida is assured, confident and perceptive. An apprentice to Gyssha as a young woman, exploiting her humanity to ensure her compliance. Elodie and Aleida have experienced a callous manipulation, remarkably similar as they find solace within their tentative companionship.
I Don't Want No ScrubsAlthough Elodie is enchanted by local huntsman Kian, neither Elodie or Aleida are interested in pursuing a romantic relationship. On occasion entrusting neighbour Attwater for assistance. Aleida is independent, inspiring Elodie to discover her own bravery and heroism, becoming Aleida's caregiver during her recovery. A Curse of Ash and Embers reiterates that female characters are individuals and independent, unreliant on male characters or masculinity to further their own narrative.
On her journey, Elodie encounters a young magician. Although charming and eccentric, he abandons his travelling companions rather peculiarly, perplexing why his character was introduced within the narrative.
Legends And FolkloreThe Lilsfield folklore is captivating. The monstrous automatons created from the fertile earth, Laurel the dryad and her companion Attwater, the apparitional warlocks and the Blackbone legacy. The atmospheric Black Oak Cottage creates a foreboding whimsicality, enchanting and captivating throughout the narrative of sixteen year old Elodie.
We are the eye of the storm. We are the darkness behind the stars. We are the glare of the sun, and nothing touches us unless we let it.
A Curse of Ash and Embers is a charismatic narrative of enchantment and folklore, of independent women and shared experiences. Wonderfully characterised, beautifully illustrated and emphatically captivating.
Contains sensitivities such as abuse, post traumatic stress disorder and self harm
Written by Leslye Walton
Magical Realism, Witches, Romance
288 Pages
Published April 1st 2018
Thank you to Walker Books Australia
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★★☆
From the author of The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender comes a haunting maelstrom of magic and murder in the lush, moody Pacific Northwest.
When Rona Blackburn landed on Anathema Island more than a century ago, her otherworldly skills might have benefited friendlier neighbours. Guilt and fear instead led the island’s original eight settlers to burn the witch out of her home. So Rona cursed them. Fast forward one hundred some years, all Nor Blackburn wants is to live an unremarkable teenage life. She has reason to hope. First, her supernatural powers, if they can be called that, are unexceptional. Second, her love life is nonexistent, which means she might escape the other perverse side effect of the matriarch’s backfiring curse too. But then a mysterious book comes out, promising to cast any spell for the right price.
Nor senses a storm coming and is pretty sure she’ll be smack in the eye of it. In her second novel, Leslye Walton spins a dark, mesmerizing tale of a girl stumbling along the path toward self acceptance and first love, even as the Price Guide’s malevolent author, Nor’s own mother, looms and threatens to strangle any hope for happiness.
Flames consumed Anathema Island as the Blackburn matriarch retaliated against the patriarchal society, men who colonised the small north western island. Accusations of witchcraft coincide with eight generations of Blackburn women, blighted abominations including the estranged Fern Blackburn.
Abandoned by her neglectful and abusive mother, Nor Blackburn is a wonderful young woman, friend and granddaughter, her grandmother and her partner creating a nurturing and environment. Although Nor is supported within a fostering environment, she continues to endure the torment and violence of her mother, comforted upon the harm she inflicts upon her body. Her anxiety is palpable and as the youngest Blackburn daughter, she was a causality of abuse and family violence.
Abandoned by her neglectful and abusive mother, Nor Blackburn is a wonderful young woman, friend and granddaughter, her grandmother and her partner creating a nurturing and environment. Although Nor is supported within a fostering environment, she continues to endure the torment and violence of her mother, comforted upon the harm she inflicts upon her body. Her anxiety is palpable and as the youngest Blackburn daughter, she was a causality of abuse and family violence.
The legacy of each Blackburn child is her ability, each generation fostering aptitudes from their matriarch. The village smouldered as the lineage is condemned to isolation, each Blackburn woman enchanting a lover for three days of passion to produce an heir. Fern Blackburn was consumed by her unwilling suitor, using incantations and her daughter as a blood sacrifice as entrapment. Fern has returned from isolation with The Price Guide to the Occult, monetising the Blackburn legacy, amassing a congregation of loyal disciples and darkness is descending upon Anathema Island.
The mysticism is captivating, predestined to isolation through the legacy of their matriarch. The Blackburn name continues to be a formidable presence throughout the Pacific Northwest Islands. Unfortunately the narrative is incomplete. Characters are introduced without significance to the narration and despite the compelling compensation, the characterisation is rudimentary and the narration becomes monotonous.
Although I enjoyed aspects of the narration, The Price Guide to the Occult is an exasperating novel. Unfortunately not for me.
Written by Vikki Wakefield
Contemporary, Mystery, Paranormal, #LoveOzYA
309 Pages
Published May 2017
Purchased
Published by Text Publishing
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★★★★★
Everyone knows seventeen year old Grace Foley is a bit mad. She’s a prankster and a risk taker, and she’s not afraid of anything, except losing. As part of the long running feud between two local schools in Swanston, Grace accepts a challenge to walk the pipe.
That night she experiences something she can’t explain. The funny girl isn’t laughing anymore. She’s haunted by voices and visions, but nobody believes a girl who cries wolf.
As she’s drawn deeper into a twenty year old mystery surrounding missing girl Hannah Holt, the thin veil between this world and the next begins to slip. She can no longer tell what’s real or imagined, all she knows is the ghosts of Swanston, including that of her own mother, are restless. It seems one of them has granted her an extraordinary gift at a terrible price.
Everything about her is changing, her body, her thoughts, even her actions seem to belong to a stranger. Grace is losing herself, and her friends don’t understand. Is she moving closer to the truth? Or is she heading for madness?
Grace Foley is an adventurer, creating mischief and mayhem in the rural town of Swanston while continuing to endure the loss of her mother, the causality of a pedestrian accident. Swanston is acquainted with despair when Hannah Holt disappeared over twenty years ago, a presumed casualty of local teen William Dean who was then ostracised from the Swanston community, committing suicide and plunging from the quarry. Now Swanston adolescents are descending on the abandoned quarry including seventeen year old Grace. A night of frivolity is interrupted as Grace begins to hallucinate.
At home Grace is barely surviving, her father and brother Cody continue to mourn while Grace is increasingly isolated. Best friend Kenzie has become estranged and tiring of Grace and her antics, preferring the company of boyfriend Mitchell. While her friends have matured, frustratingly Grace believes they have abandoned her, except for her delightfully freeloading friend Gummer. Her terror is palpable as Grace begins to experience an apparition, believing Hannah Holt has materialised seeing Hannah's body has never been found. Authorities believe William Dean's unrequited love for Hannah lead to the young woman's demise, fascinating and incredibly disturbing.
Grace is an unreliable narrator compensating for her anguish with exhilaration. As children, Grace created bilateral friendships with other remnant children, those who were ostracised. On the verge of becoming adults, Grace displays an incredible amount of resentment especially towards best friend Kenzie, her relationship with Mitchell and popular friend Amber. Although Grace often appears conceited and obnoxious, Kenzie had already begun to distance herself from Grace's destructive behaviour. The circumstances of Hannah Holt and William Dean are sobering for Grace as she withstands an incredible character transformation.
Ballad For A Mad Girl may become a point of contention for readers, is Grace psychologically unwell or spiritual, a contemporary novel or paranormal. Determined by the disposition of the reader. Vikki Wakefield is a formidable author, the ambiguous narrative is intriguing and captivating. Absolutely phenomenal.
Written by Michael Prior
Fantasy, Paranormal, #LoveOzYA
336 Pages
Published August 2017
Thank you to Allen & Unwin Australia
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★★★★☆
Let's get this straight, ghosts are everywhere. I can see them. You can't. And, see them or not, they're dangerous. This is why my family has hunted ghosts for hundreds of years to protect people like you.
The Marin family are outcasts of the ghost hunting world. They run a two man operation in inner city Melbourne. Anton has the Ghost sight, but his father does not.
Rani Cross is supremely skilled in hand to hand combat, with enhanced speed and strength thanks to her magical initiation into the Company of the Righteous.
When it comes to ghost hunting methodology, Anton and Rani don't see eye to eye, Anton likes to ease their passage to the next world, while Rani's all about the slashing. But Melbourne is under threat, with a massive spike in violent ghost manifestations, Anton and Rani must find a way to work together to keep supernatural forces at bay.
And what with all the blindingly terrifying brushes with death, Anton must decide if he really wants in on the whole ghost hunting biz anyway.
Throughout the quiet, darkened streets of Melbourne, eighteen year old Anton Marin searches for ghosts, delicately releasing their spirits from Earth by easing their passage. Anton is a delightfully charming young man who is reluctantly pursuing paranormal investigation to appease his father. The Marin spectre legacy now falls upon Anton, the Sight ability escaping his father who documents each encounter, maintaining the Marin archives from a hidden retreat in the family owned bookstore.
Rani Cross is a graduating member of the Company of The Righteous, a prosperous organisation abundant in tradition, emigrating from London with her foster parents, Company of The Righteous employees. The Company of The Righteous believes in the disposing of spirits through violent methods, disciplined soldiers instructed in weaponed combat and Rani is conflicted by Anton's gentle approach.
Gap Year In Ghost Town is magnificent. Melbourne provides an affluent Victorian landscape of ghostly apparitions, Weepers, Moaners, Lingerers and ghosts who manifest as Ragers. Anton and Rani begin to investigate the increase in spectre apparitions when they discover a slain body and a grieving widow summoning Rogue spirits.
Readers will appreciate Anton and Rani's tentative and platonic friendship, Anton and friend Rebecca and in addendum, Rebecca and Rani. Facile and charming. Anton's relationship with his father was lovely, a wonderful presence who challenged Anton. Anton's father is a fascinating character who continues to mourn his the death of his youngest child, his marriage and his sister's disappearance.
From the city to the suburbs of Melbourne was enchanting and atmospheric. As Anton accompanied Rani throughout the city and her suburbs, I was fascinated by the history of Melbourne folklore. Readers will appreciate the diverse Australian characters and Rani, who although from Britain is of Assamese, Chinese and Malaysian heritage.
Theatrical and charismatic, Gap Year In Ghost Town is wonderfully written with humour and finesse. Simply brilliant.
Check out my review for The Bone Season and The Mime Order
The Bone Season Book Three
Written by Samantha Shannon
Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance
384 Pages
Published Match 7th 2017
Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia
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★★★★☆
Following a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London's criminal population.
But, having turned her back on Jaxon Hall and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilising the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging.
Little does Paige know that her reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community and the world as they know it…
It begun as a revolution on the streets of Ireland now Paige Mahoney is determined to conquer Scion London. Recovering from her injuries sustained in the endeavor to become Underqueen, martial law has now been imposed while authorities begin the search for the former Seven Seal. Scion military technology Senshield is threatening the existing of The Mime Order, separated into factions after The Pale Dreamer challenged her Mime Lord Jaxon as Mollisher for the prestigious title.
The clairvoyant community is hostile and to achieve accord, Paige will need to prove worthy of the Underqueen reign, destroying Senshield and ensuring the freedom for her Mime Order.
My Thoughts
The Song Rising begins shortly after the Rose Ring completion, Paige the Mollisher who challenged her Mime Lord Jaxon after learning of his involvement within Scion London. Paige may be victorious but cannot command her Mime Order, lacking the respect and confidence of the Clairvoyant community. Paige is a determined young woman who continues her plight to expose the cruelty of Scion, selling Clairvoyants into slavery under the reign of the Rephaim. With her newly appointed Mollishers Nick and Eliza, Paige will secure freedom for the Mime Order by destroying Senshield, Scion technology that is being used in domestic warfare against those deemed Unnatural and Paige understands the tragedy of warfare.
Although Paige is Underqueen, she cannot independently rule without the assistance of Terebell, Rephaite sovereign elect of the Ranthen, leader of the covert revolutionaries and Warden, her loyal mercenary. The attraction between Paige and Warden had begun as Paige was held captive in Sheol, their friendship and tentative relationship is quiet and does not overwhelm the narration. Paige continues to place the importance on her community rather than her own personal journey.
Warden is frustrating and although he is gentle with Paige and often seeks consent before the softest of touches, he continues to serve Terebell and places his loyalty with the Rephaim leader. Considering he also served as a leader during the Bone Season at Sheol where Paige and her Clairvoyant peers were imprisoned and trained as fighters against their will. When it comes to Terebell's leadership, his backbone seems to have deserted him. I'm assuming Warden may be detrimental to the narration in the remaining series installments but the formality and lack of emotion are beginning to aggravate me.
The atmospheric world of Scion London is so incredibly vivid and The Song Rising also explores a derelict Ireland still grasping onto independence. Although Paige has spent the past thirteen years in London, she maintained her Irish heritage and is often referred to as Brogue. Irish characters typically only exist in young adult novels as being a mythical stereotype.
Samantha Shannon is extraordinary and The Bone Season series is a phenomenal fusion of fantasy, and science fiction occupying a dystopian United Kingdom. Atmospheric, breathtaking and exceptional.
Samantha Shannon is extraordinary and The Bone Season series is a phenomenal fusion of fantasy, and science fiction occupying a dystopian United Kingdom. Atmospheric, breathtaking and exceptional.
Written by Suzanne Young
Mystery, Paranormal
Published October 4th 2016
304 Pages
Thank you to Simon And Schuster Australia
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★★★
Stay tonight. Stay forever.
When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.
Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions, including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn’t have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.
The more Audrey learns about the new people she’s met, the more her curiosity grows. She's torn in different directions, the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an inbetween in a place that is so much more than it seems…
Welcome to the Ruby.
Amid the silence, Audrey Casella remembers her mother. After her mother passed mere months ago, Audrey and older brother Daniel were emotionally abandoned by their father, a man unable to come to terms with his despair and have arranged for both Audrey and Daniel to live with their estranged grandmother. Weary travellers, Audrey and her family check into the Hotel Ruby, an opulent hotel offering the illusion of contentment and indulgence. For just one night, Audrey wants to forget.
Truth is, Dad stopped seeing us. he looks through us like he can't bear our resemblance to our mother. Like we're invisible. Daniel and I have lost both our parents, even though one is sitting next to me now.
The Ruby is breathtaking. The lavish invitational grand ballroom soiree, her gilded and ornate suites and the dashing Elias Lange who has captured Audrey's curiosity. Her glamour and prestige, the essence of the Ruby is exuberance, indulgence and passion that mask the mystery of the grand old hotel and Audrey is determined to discover her secrets.
My Thoughts
Hotel For The Lost is haunting and peculiarly entertaining, a concoction of mystery and paranormal with the opulence of a charming historical fiction novel. The hotel was magnificent, the protagonist, not so much.
Audrey's destructive behaviour after her mother's passing sees Audrey and Daniel being taken in by their estranged grandmother, their father not able to care for his children and since the death of his wife months prior. Audrey and Daniel continue to emotionally support one another, their own grief internalised while their father continues to withdraw from society. Audrey was incredibly judgemental of others, her honesty was often disrespectful and not as charming which may have been seemingly intended.
Weary, Audrey's father decides to reserve three rooms at the grand Hotel Ruby, continuing with their journey once the sun rises. The Hotel Ruby was vividly imagined, beautifully breathtaking and indulgent, her colourful patrons a blend of wealthy elites or travellers resting before their final destinations. The hotel herself is a mystery, captivating my interest until the final page. Intoxicating for both patrons and readers alike.
The secondary characters and hotel personnel were cursory but incredibly charismatic and engaging, breathing life into the old establishment. Elias was absolutely lovely, a boyish rogue and philanderer who's family once owned the Ruby. Although Audrey had only recently ended a long term relationship with a young man she disregarded, she now finds herself attracted to Elias, a handsome distraction for the night. The romance didn't appeal to me unfortunately. I enjoyed the passion and attraction between Audrey and Elias but Audrey conceding she was falling in love after only a few moments together felt insincere. She was generally more concerned with Elias and gallivanting around the Hotel Ruby, than the absence of emotional responses from her Daniel and her father, besides her hallucinations.
Nevertheless, Hotel For The Lost was engaging, entertaining and unexpected, holding me captive until the final page.
Nevertheless, Hotel For The Lost was engaging, entertaining and unexpected, holding me captive until the final page.
The Worldwalker Trilogy Book One
Written by Josephine Angelini
Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic
Published September 1st 2014
384 Pages
Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia
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★★★★
Published September 1st 2014
384 Pages
Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★
Love burns. Worlds collide. Magic reigns.
This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying many of the experiences that other teenagers take for granted... Which is why she is determined to enjoy her first, and perhaps only high school party. But Lily's life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class Lily wishes she could just disappear.
Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem, one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruelest of all the Crucibles is Lillian... Lily's identical other self in this alternate universe. This new version of her world is terrifyingly sensual, and Lily is soon overwhelmed by new experiences.
Lily realizes that what makes her weak at home is exactly what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. It also puts her life in danger. Thrown into a world she doesn't understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.
But how can Lily be the savior of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?
Lily has never felt quite herself. Since developing life threatening allergies, Lily understands that she'll never experience life without abandon. Caring for her mother who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, Lily experiences moments of elevated body temperature in a rare disorder that still remains undiagnosed. When an incident leaves Lily heartbroken, she fears the whispers may be a manifestation of schizophrenia and following in her mother's footsteps. But the whispers aren't a figment of her imagination as she wakes in Salem, summoned by the Lady of Salem despite her feeble health and spirit.
In her own world, Lily is a frail and pallid girl but now Lily is tenacious and capable, although desperate to return to her mother. Lily has been brought to this world by the Lady of Salem, Lillian is more than her namesake, she's conquered towns, villages and governs Salem with malice and cruelty and expects Lily to carry on her legacy.
In a world fuelled by Lillian, Lily joins forces with Rowan, Lillian's former Mechanic and the love who once shared her bed. Rowan is out for revenge and reluctantly offers to cultivate Lily's power and avenge the deaths of his community, the Outlanders who are at the mercy of Lillian's genocide.
Tristan was little more than a pretentious womaniser while his friendship with Lily felt dubious and unrealistic. Lily may not have shared the quintessential teen experience but she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself and refused to allow Tristan to hurt her again.
Lily's heartbreak is palpable as Lillian summons the teen to her realm in an archival Salem, a world where the brutal monarch decrees the Thirteen Cities whilst looking for an heir to her empire. In Lillian's world, Lily is no longer a delicate girl, but infused with a power to rival her namesake. Leaving behind her sister and ailing mother, Lily is desperate to return home believing Lillian's world is merely a hallucination. She's frightened but refused to accept the gravity of the situation until she stumbles across Rowan.
Rowan exudes power. Lillian's former mechanic feels an attraction to Lily as he watches her stumble through the city streets, believing she is his Lillian. With animosity flowing through his veins, it soon becomes apparent that Lily is her own and not the Monarch that had sent his father to death. Rowan is the only character who is not apparent in both worlds, he is an original and perhaps why both Lillian and Lily are drawn to his prowess.
Rowan is a Native American who's Outlander community faces decimation, both from the engineered monsters known as the Woven and Lillian's genocide. Lily is no ordinary girl, she's a Witch yet to realise her own destiny and the reason why Lillian summoned her to her barren world. With Rowan's guidance, Lily begins to discover her artistry and emerges as a potential source to confront Lillian and end her reign over the Thirteen Cities. The chemistry between Rowan and Lily smoulders but learning his history with Lillian, the romance felt as though Lily was merely a substitute for the Lillian Rowan had once fallen in love with. Lily struggles with her feelings for Rowan, still in love with Tristan believing her feelings for her former best friend being unrequited. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline, the romance was awkward and dubious at best.
The world building was incredibly vivid, I loved the landscape of Lillian's world and the comparisons between both dimensions of Salem. I enjoyed Lily's character development from a sickly and bland girl who most likely would have been an isolated adult driven by the responsibility of caring for her mentally ill mother, to the strong and determined young woman who was torn between her family and becoming the conductor who was entrusted to contend with the ever increasing hostile Lillian.
Josephine Angelini is a wonderful storyteller who is able to immerse and engage readers. Although the romance was loathsome at times, Lily's character development and the vivid world building will leave readers enthralled until the final page. One of the few traditional paranormal romances I've thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommended.
Trial By Fire was a wonderful blend of fantasy with the element of atmospheric interdimensional travel, driven by an intense romance and the plight of one girl to save a world that is not her own. Lily was a sickly child, often hospitalised with severe allergies and a constant fever in which she was ostracised by her peers. All except Tristan. For Lily, their friendship consists of watching Tristan's female conquests while seeing her peers enjoy the life Lily so desperately covets. Until the parameters of their friendship begin to change and will leave Lily grief stricken.My Thoughts
Tristan was little more than a pretentious womaniser while his friendship with Lily felt dubious and unrealistic. Lily may not have shared the quintessential teen experience but she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself and refused to allow Tristan to hurt her again.
Lily's heartbreak is palpable as Lillian summons the teen to her realm in an archival Salem, a world where the brutal monarch decrees the Thirteen Cities whilst looking for an heir to her empire. In Lillian's world, Lily is no longer a delicate girl, but infused with a power to rival her namesake. Leaving behind her sister and ailing mother, Lily is desperate to return home believing Lillian's world is merely a hallucination. She's frightened but refused to accept the gravity of the situation until she stumbles across Rowan.
Rowan exudes power. Lillian's former mechanic feels an attraction to Lily as he watches her stumble through the city streets, believing she is his Lillian. With animosity flowing through his veins, it soon becomes apparent that Lily is her own and not the Monarch that had sent his father to death. Rowan is the only character who is not apparent in both worlds, he is an original and perhaps why both Lillian and Lily are drawn to his prowess.
Rowan is a Native American who's Outlander community faces decimation, both from the engineered monsters known as the Woven and Lillian's genocide. Lily is no ordinary girl, she's a Witch yet to realise her own destiny and the reason why Lillian summoned her to her barren world. With Rowan's guidance, Lily begins to discover her artistry and emerges as a potential source to confront Lillian and end her reign over the Thirteen Cities. The chemistry between Rowan and Lily smoulders but learning his history with Lillian, the romance felt as though Lily was merely a substitute for the Lillian Rowan had once fallen in love with. Lily struggles with her feelings for Rowan, still in love with Tristan believing her feelings for her former best friend being unrequited. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline, the romance was awkward and dubious at best.
The world building was incredibly vivid, I loved the landscape of Lillian's world and the comparisons between both dimensions of Salem. I enjoyed Lily's character development from a sickly and bland girl who most likely would have been an isolated adult driven by the responsibility of caring for her mentally ill mother, to the strong and determined young woman who was torn between her family and becoming the conductor who was entrusted to contend with the ever increasing hostile Lillian.
Josephine Angelini is a wonderful storyteller who is able to immerse and engage readers. Although the romance was loathsome at times, Lily's character development and the vivid world building will leave readers enthralled until the final page. One of the few traditional paranormal romances I've thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommended.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Book One
Written by Ransom Riggs
Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery
Film Edition Published August 15th 2016
384 Pages
Thank you to Penguin Random House Australia
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★★★★★
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen year old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow, impossible though it seems, they may still be alive.
Growing up, sixteen year old Jacob was always fascinated by his grandfathers fantastical stories. A man who escaped Poland before the approaching second world war, his parents sending him alone on a train to Britain only to have perished, leaving his grandfather orphaned and taken in by Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in Wales. This is no ordinary children's home as Jacob is about to discover.
Along with his father on a bird watching expedition, Jacob now stands among the ruins of the once loved children's home. In the hope of rekindling his wondrous childhood, Jacob believes his fate is wrapped up in the derelict home where his grandfather was once young and free spirited. Armed with a collection of vintage photographs and his grandfathers stories, Jacob will discover a world parallel to his own. A world of wonder, enchantment and a world on the verge of destruction.
My Thoughts
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was fantastical, a wonderfully rich and picturesque world that enchants and delights. Sixteen year old Jacob stands among the ruins of the once stately Wales manor, formerly an orphanage for children during the second world war including Jacob's grandfather. As a young boy, Jacob was raised on the tales of mythical children who were extraordinary. Invisibility, levitation, creating, shaping and enchanting the children's home where taught by Miss Peregrine herself.
As the modern realm advances, the children are protected by a time loop and live each day with endless possibilities knowing that the sun will rise again. While Jacob's grandfather enlisted in the war effort, returned, married and begun a family of his own, the children of Miss Peregrine's haven't aged. Perpetual children who are loved, cared for and given refuge against a cruel world.
So incredibly whimsical, the children were lovingly created and their world vividly painted. I was captivated. Throughout the first installment, the reader is treated to a collection of images of the children under Miss Peregrine's care. It was incredibly atmospheric and immersive.
Told through Jacob's point of view, Jacob is teen lashing out after tragedy befalls the Portman family. He's antisocial and insists on retracing his grandfathers childhood tales with his unemployed father in tow. His father has never understood the connection his own father shared with Jacob, but under the guise of a bird watching expedition and advice from Jacob's therapist, the duo adventure to the small Welsh island.
What makes Jacob extraordinary himself is the children of the orphanage. Dapper Horace who has premonitions of the future, Hugh who is seemingly made of bees, Enoch who can animate the dead, the invisible Millard and Emma Bloom who is the homes resident pyrokinetic, able to create and control fire. Emma and Jacob are attracted to one another especially given her connection to his grandfather, but their attraction is a gentle companionship rather than a passionate teen romance.
It was nothing short of breathtaking. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children's whimsically eerie storyline of the curious and wonderful. Lyrically beautiful and immersive, I absolutely adored it.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
will be released in Australian cinemas on September 29th 2016.
What makes Jacob extraordinary himself is the children of the orphanage. Dapper Horace who has premonitions of the future, Hugh who is seemingly made of bees, Enoch who can animate the dead, the invisible Millard and Emma Bloom who is the homes resident pyrokinetic, able to create and control fire. Emma and Jacob are attracted to one another especially given her connection to his grandfather, but their attraction is a gentle companionship rather than a passionate teen romance.
It was nothing short of breathtaking. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children's whimsically eerie storyline of the curious and wonderful. Lyrically beautiful and immersive, I absolutely adored it.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
will be released in Australian cinemas on September 29th 2016.
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