Author: Aylin

Starflight

5. October 2016

Author: Melissa Landers

Pages: 359

ISBN: 978-1-4847-2324-1

Series: Starflight #1

Genre: SciFi

Solara is determined to get away from her miserable life on earth and start new on the outer realms but first she has to find a way to get there. The only way for her, due to a lack of money, was to make someone pay for her trip in exchange for her service on a cruiser. Yet as no other than Doran Spaulding, her tormentor in high school and rich beyond measures, picks her, Solara’s trip is not starting the way she hoped it would.

Being the same spoiled rich kid as always, Solara is determined to get away on the next stop on the journey and continue her way alone. But as this does not goes exactly as planned, on top of that, she is now stuck with him on a ship with secrets in every corner, pretending to be her master and not the other way around.

Using her abilities as a mechanic, she convinces the crew to help her to the outer realm while the crew has to find a way to escape old enemies as well as, with Doran suddenly framed for a conspiracy back on earth, new enemies. That Solara and Doran cannot stand each other does not help and in order to survive and find new hope, they might be forced to reconsider the opinions they had of each other.

Review

Well, the direction this is going should be clear for everyone. So, keeping this in mind, I find the book to be funny, action-packed and with the one or other plot twist, even if somewhat predictable. I am positively surprised because I was not really convinced by Melissa Lander’s ‘Alienated’ series.

I like Solara who’s her life has not been a piece of cake and the only thing she wants to do is escape. I like that she has the dream that everything is going to be better in the outer realms where nobody will look in her direction twice just because she has felony tattoos or engine grease on her clothes or skin. This is because in her eyes, nothing can be worse than it is now, although she will realize that not everything at the edge of civilization is going to be easy.

I also like Doran’s character as he finds out the hard way that just because he is rich does not make him a better person that others. Especially, when he has to rely on the crew he became part of to shelter him and safe his life. They even help him figure out why he was framed for conspiracy and accept him as.

What I like about the crew is that everyone has a background story and somehow everybody has a secret he or she does not want the others to know yet they still work together to keep the others alive. This really reminds me of ‘Firefly’ and because it’s a shame the series only lasted one season, it is nice to have a ‘Firefly’-feeling when reading the book. In general though, I think I would have liked to have some more information on other characters but this will likely change in the sequel which is actually a companion novel.

I can honestly say I enjoyed the plot and also its twist and turns and one of the best things is the fact that it’s a more or less a standalone novel and the story is fully resolved. The author is not trying to find any weak storyline to continue the story of Solara (and Doran) but rather tell the story of two other protagonists of the book.

As already mentioned, if you can accept the ‘rich guy falls in love with the dirty mechanic with a criminal background’ storyline, I think it was actually rather nicely written. I liked the chemistry and teasing between them and it took them quite some time to realize they like each other. They even first only tried to be friends and that was not something that worked well all the time. So, as there was no getting around the love story, at least it was not instalove.

Something that will always make me want to read a book more than maybe others is the genre. I just love SciFi, I mean I grew up with Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate and so many more that Science Fiction will always catch my eye and be something I will be drawn to.

I will almost certainly pick up the companion novel, just because I liked the writing style of Starflight and because I the characters it’s going to be about look to have a really intriguing story.

Ivory and Bone

1. October 2016

Author: Julie Eshbaugh

Pages: 371

ISBN: 978-0-06-239925-0

Series: Ivory and Bone #1

Genre: Fantasy

Kol, his family and their clan is trying to stay alive but food is becoming scarce and when Mya arrives with her family everything is about to change. The arrival of potential new allies is vital for the survival of Kol’s family as they need woman and food to survive. Thankfully, the newcomers are the clan elder and his two sisters who might be willing to befriend Kol’s clan.

When he lays eyes on Mya, he is intrigued and fascinated by her appearance, her strength and the confidence she has. But on a joint hunt, one action by him is about to jeopardize everything and whatever could be between Mya and him is probably lost forever. Even more so when Lo arrives on the shore and a feud between the two girls is becoming obvious.

While Mya stays quiet and keeps to herself, Lo is open and forms some kind of friendship with Kol. When more details about both girls past is revealed by Lo, a deadly dispute is imminent between them and Kol has to choose which side he is on. But as the situation is becoming more and more severe, it turns out that one side planned a war all along.

Review

Firstly, I cannot say that this book contains much ‘Pride and Prejudice’ for me even though this is oftentimes mentioned together with the book. I did not find that to be something bad though. Although I have some mixed feelings about this book.

I think, it’s an interesting setting and one that has a lot of novelty factor in terms of world building and characters as I this is not a topic or setting often addressed. And while it was very interesting to dive into the world and the characters story, I found it to be very slow-paced. It’s nice to have a lot of world building as on many occasions this is something I miss in other books. Yet, as there was not too much happening story-wise over the course of the book, it somehow dragged on and on for pages.

When something did happen, I think it was very well written as I generally liked the language of the book. For me it fits to the people’s ideas and knowledge and yet simple things are sometimes described very poetically. I found that to be very fitting as it matched the feelings I had when reading the book.

What intrigued me was the way the story was told. We all get to experience the happenings through Kol’s eyes because he tells another character how he saw everything unfolding. So in some way you know something that is happening towards the end of the book but you don’t know how and, obviously, this is not the end of the book, something is still occurring after this situation where he gets to tell his story.

Even though I liked the characters and especially that fact that the further we get into the book, the more information and background on the protagonists is revealed, I did not really get attached to them in a way I would have liked to. Some people’s death would not have made me overly sad or mad. Generally though, I found the main characters were very different in their ideas and believes, fitting their upbringing and their experiences and made them more believable and able to relate to for me.

Something that is always very important to me is the cover because, I admit it, I buy books by the cover. In this particular case I am really glad to have the hardcover (which I actually favour over paperbacks but they are just always so expensive) because you can feel the pieces that are breaking apart from the ivory medallion. And I like the colour combination, that it is simple yet makes so much sense when you read the story.

Overall, while I had some issues with the book, it felt well rounded and it will be interesting to see in which direction the author will take the story in the second book.

The Thousandth Floor

24. August 2016

Author: Katharine McGee

Pages: 320

ISBN: 978-0-00-817997-7

Series: The Thousandth Floor #1

Genre: SciFi

Manhattan 2118. Life will never be the same for 5 teenagers from the tower, a thousand-story building, when their paths cross unexpectedly. The floor you are living on is reflecting the wealth of your family and while life in the top floors seems carefree, people on the lower floors struggle to make a living.

Living from pay check to pay check is Rylin Myers. Being responsible for her little sister after their mother’s death, she gets the opportunity to work for Cord Anderton, she reluctantly accepts. Realising that payment is better when cleaning his apartment, she takes his offer but soon she discovers feelings for Cord she was never expecting.

Leda Cole, normally enjoying the riches and glamour of the upper floors, comes back from the summer holidays which consisted of rehab for her. Nobody of her friends knows that she has been to rehab and especially not the reason for her needing it. She is desperate for nobody to find out and cannot wait to see the person again that got her into this mess.

Watt Bakradi and his family are always in the need for money. That’s also the reason why he is doing hacking jobs – easy when you are a technical genius – next to school to support his mum and dad. When he one day gets approached by one of the rich to spy on somebody, he meets a girl and from then on, everything changes.

Eris Dodd-Radson is living a perfectly happy up tower life until one day it crumbles to pieces and she has to move to the 103rd floor and she gets even more shocking news.

Avery Fuller – genetically designed for perfection – is living the perfect life for those on the outside. Her apartment is the one on the 1000th floor, she is beautiful and has everything one could dream of but on the inside, she is lonely, missing the one person she is forbidden to love.

Review

I received a copy from NetGalley to review.

There are very little things that I can criticise as for me this book tells an overly well-crafted story with various characters and nice little gadgets and technology.

I did like the world building although sometimes it lacked a little detail but in general, the reader is left with enough information about the surroundings and landscape. I liked that due to the protagonists different living situations the details are revealed over time and through various eyes. Sometimes it was very easy to imagine the scenes and the emotions coming with it like describing a park or a narrow street or the monorail station.

The most important thing in the book though are the characters and their development while having to deal with all kinds of situations. Throughout the story, my feelings towards the behaviour and character traits of the main protagonists changed many times, sometimes I liked them, I hated them, I was sick of them, I was annoyed by their actions, I felt sorry for them, I was angry at them, I was rooting for them. It felt like in real life, feelings that you might have towards your family, friends, or colleagues.

I think, my favourite character is Watt and it’s not that the others did not put up a fight for the ‘favourite character award’. I can’t really explain why I like him so much but somehow I felt the most emotions when reading about him. Maybe it has something to do with him being into technology and computers yet be a ‘normal’ person (those hobbies do not mean that you are a nerd or freak or whatever others think!).

Apart from his technology, I really much liked the other technology as well though some would be a little for my taste if we would have it now. That’s something that is really great because the majority of the technology is somewhat realistic for humankind to invent and use in the near future. I think all those gadgets and inventions fit very nicely in the world and they make so many things possible but also show the difference between the people with access to it and those without. I am excited for what the author has in store for the reader in the next book of the series.

Overall, I like that the story just follows the characters up to the point that the reader finally knows how I came to the events from the prologue. Every one of them has a different personality and throughout the book it becomes clear that the outside appearance not necessarily has something to do with the feelings and the character. Every person is unique and has more to it than you initially see. Just like in real life!

It was a great and fun read, can’t wait for the next book!

Nevernight

23. August 2016

Author: Jay Kristoff

Pages: 428

ISBN: 978-0-00-817999-1

Series: The Nevernight Chronicle #1

Genre: Fantasy

Mia Corvere is finally training to be an assassin in the infamous Red Church to avenge her family after she lost everything 6 years ago. After her father was hanged and her mother left to lose her mind in the darks of prison, she was supposed to die as well. She escapes death but has no friends and nowhere to go.

In her struggle to survive, she meets a retired assassin who is becoming her tutor and preparing her to be one of the deadliest killers around. After six years of training and waiting for her revenge, she finally makes the journey to the Rad Church where she is one of many who try to become assassins as well. She is trained in the arts of steel, poison, thievery, and seduction and even with her the help of the ever lurking shadows of the halls, she has to give everything.

Especially when every misstep in their tasks could mean their end and a killer on the loose in the academy. On top of that, everything could be going wrong when secrets of her past start to haunt her before she has the chance to be the hunter herself.

Review

This was really a book I could not wait to start reading as it had the potential to be amazing because it is about assassins. O yes, assassins, I definitely need more books about assassins.

After hearing so many (good) things about the book I think I had quite high expectations to begin with but O they have been fulfilled. I really hoped that the writing would be something different from basically every book I normally read, especially because I loved Illuminae so much. And I dare say I was not disappointed, I was in love after the first chapter. Yet then I was anxious that the marvellous level could be maintained throughout the rest of the about 400 pages. To my delight, I actually had no reason for fear because I loved the footnotes and the language, basically everything about the storytelling which brings me to the next point.

The world building. Such a richly elaborated world which reminded me a little of the ancient Roman Empire. But there were so many elements that are becoming to fit perfectly together the farther the story progresses and I love the three suns, each shining in a different colour (how lovely it would be to see something like that with my own eyes). Throughout the book, there is so much the reader learns about the places and the people and – which is beautiful – ‘unimportant’ aspects as well. And by that I mean things that don’t contribute to the development of the story like the origin of sayings or something about the wildlife. Yet these aspects just show how much though has been put into the construction of the world.

Apart from the story and the writing style, the characters are extremely interesting as well, and as we are told in the story, Mia is no hero and that’s also true for the other characters. Nobody is perfect and with the continuation of the story secrets and background of the people are revealed and they are not always of the happy and friendly kind. Mia, although wanting to avenge her family, is not the bloodthirsty killer she maybe wants to be (seen as). Also, the interaction between the characters is beautifully crafted and leaves no room for wanting more.

Overall it was an amazing read and it was great that it was over 400 pages so I could enjoy the book for a great amount of time. Yet at the same time, I can’t wait for the sequel to see how Mia’s story continues. I hope for more fantastic world building, more assassins and more things assassin. More pages with dark and unexpected scenes that take your breath away and leave you speechless.

What’s left to say, well, I think the cover art grew on me after reading more and more pages. At first, I was a little sceptic of the UK edition and thought the US edition to be way prettier but after reading the book, I would not want to have any other edition. It makes sense, everything, the colours, the pictures, it’s just beautiful when you hold it in your hands.

Oh, and something else, the maps in this book are just plain gorgeous, so detailed… I guess, no, I know there is no reason to not read this book!!

More from Jay Kristoff

Catching Jordan

31. July 2016

Author: Miranda Kenneally

Pages: 281

ISBN: 978-1-4022-6227-2

Series: Hundred Oaks #1

Genre: Contemporary

Jordan’s life is almost perfect, quarterback of her high school football team and respected by her teammates, until Ty turns her life upside down. When he transfers to Hundred Oaks, he also becomes part of the football team and for the first time, Jordan has a hard time concentrating on the sport.

For all other players she is just one of them and that’s how she sees herself as well but in Ty she, for the first time, sees more than a player. Struggling to get her feelings under control and not to blow her chances for a college scholarship, she tries to focus on the game. But when everyone encourages her to go for it, her whole life is changing dramatically.

On top of all that, she desperately wants her father, a famous NFL player, to finally acknowledge and respect her love for football and be as supportive of her as he is for her brother. With all this going on, she has to fight hard to accomplish her dream of playing ball but not losing out on her last year of high school.

Review

Well, sometimes I just need an easy and quick read. That this was about sport and the football star being a girl did make it even more appealing to me.

I love the characters in this book as most of them have more to them than is first let on. Jordan loves football and never had the need for girlfriends but when she develops feelings for a guy she realises that it is not really easy to talk to guys about certain topics. Ty has a story that makes him act the way he does and throughout the book the author reveals more and more about his background. And they are not the only ones as the other important protagonists are not necessarily who they seem to be as well.

Sure, the story is not the deepest ever but there are some nice messages for the reader like chasing your dream and sticking to principles is something worth doing but accepting help and advice form the people near to you is sometimes equally important. In the end, the outcome is somewhat predictable but I like the way the author gets to this point. Especially because the whole plot seems plausible considering the initial situation of the book. Even though this might not be a situation from real life, I love that Jordan is a girl but still chases her dream of playing football. This can stand for so much more as girls are sometimes not taken seriously because of what they are doing (This certainly does also apply to boys). I know this first-hand from studying in a men dominated field (physics) but this does not mean that I was worse or less intelligent then the guys. We should all follow our dreams and let nobody take that away from us.

The best thing for me though was the humour, there were some great one liners and funny situation. And the boldness and sassiness and the interaction between the characters. More than once I was cracking up or going ‘wow, she really just said that’ and ‘I want to come up with responses and phrases like that as well’. Just in general the protagonists have a great personality when it comes to humour and this made it a perfect summer read.

All in all, everything was perfect and I finished the book in one afternoon/evening. In fact, I did not want the story to end but hear more about the characters and their life yet at the same time I liked the ending a lot, it was really nicely done.

Strange Things Done

25. July 2016

Author: Elle Wild

Pages: 304

ISBN: 978-1459733800

Series: -

Genre: Mystery

Jo Silver comes to Dawson City just before freeze up and finds herself in the middle of the strange death of local politician Marlo McAdam.

Jo is a journalist and left Vancouver for a fresh start after a serial killer killed young women and she feels like it was her fault the last victim died. Very shortly after she arrives in Dawson City, a town in the Yukon, the body of Marlo McAdam is found dead and the police is knocking on Jo’s door. She though has hardly any memory of this particular night as she had a little too much to drink at the local pub.

The police has doubts her story that she can’t remember and treat her as a suspect so Jo decides to do her own research. She soon has to find out that nothing is as it seems and people behave strangely. She does not know what to think of the woman she shares the house with, is attracted to the man she was with the night of Marlo’s death yet can’t remember if anything happened between them. The editor of the local newspaper wants to keep this story out of the paper and the police officer in charge gives her strange signals.

After a second person goes missing and freeze up about to happen when the town is basically cut up from the rest of the world, Jo has to make up her mind if she wants to stay and find out more or return back to the relative safety of Vancouver.

Review

I received this advanced copy from NetGalley and Dundurn Press for an honest review.

Normally this is not my kind of genre although I like to watch crime and mystery on TV so I don’t have too much I can compare this with reading wise. Anyway, I really liked the book because of its writing style, the characters, the setting and some things I really did not anticipate.

When I started it, one of my first thoughts due to the setting was: It kind of reminds me of the movie Whiteout. A movie I liked so I was excited.

I love that at the start of the story you don’t know much about any character and because it’s told from Jo’s perspective the reader only finds out what she does too. The reader has to piece the puzzle back together just as Jo as even she can’t remember what happened in the night that changed everything.

Something that I would normally rather see very sceptically is the oftentimes sudden change in location and time. But it just adds to the mystery of the book and it made me want to continue reading as the story sometimes seems unfinished and I desperately wanted to know more.

One other great thing about the book are the characters. Nobody is perfect and in this town, they don’t want to reveal too much and when the reader gets some new information about one person, it mostly leaves a lot more questions open. Almost everyone ‘important’ has a background story and maybe even something to hide. This is also why it was hard for me to predict the things happening next as you could not be sure of anyone’s motives or actions. It also made me change between liking and disliking the characters throughout the book.

The end was maybe somewhat predictable still I could not put the book down for the last third as it captivated me to know exactly how it’s going to end.

I loved the writing and the setting and the characters and I feel like reading more mysteries and thrillers after having had such a good experience.

Snow Like Ashes

25. July 2016

Author: Sara Raasch

Pages: 422

ISBN: 978-0-06-228693-2

Series: Snow Like Ashes #1

Genre: Fantasy

Meira and the other escaped Winterians are on the run from the cruel and vicious Spring king for 16 years trying to get their home back.  She is part of the group that was able to escape when Spring attacked the Winterian capital Jannuari and their queen Hannah was killed. Meira was just a baby, just like the future king and son of Hannah, Mather. They grew up together learning how to fight and survive and now Meira does not know what to do with her feelings for her future king.

Their leader of their little group, whom Meira simply calls Sir, a former general of the army, leads them and tries to get the locket halves back that contained the magic of the queen. The problem, king Angra always moves the parts around so they last free Winterians have a hard time getting it back.

Getting back the locket is the only hope they have in finding allies to fight against Spring and free the thousands of slaves in the work camps all over the brutal kingdom.

When the group finally has some success and meets the king of Cordell, another kingdom far to the north of their homeland, he agrees to help them but the price for this assistance is high and there is no guarantee that everything will work out in their favour.

Review

This book was waiting on my shelf for quite some time and after hearing so many good things, I wanted to finally make up my own mind.

I can understand that you can get totally lost in the world as everything is so beautifully described and the surroundings are really almost coming to live around you. This is always nice because it shows that a lot of thought have been put into the creation of a new fantasy world. And a new world it is. The idea of kingdoms named after the seasons and the conditions in them are like the name is interesting. Also that there are other kingdoms as well that they are all connected to each other through history is nice.

I think though that the story is not something never seen before and that’s exactly where my problem lies. Some things just don’t add up and when comparing them to other magic worlds I had a hard time being too enthusiastic about the book. The very reason for Meir and her group to be able to find the first half of the locket was not making sense to me. Why would the evil king not just lock away the medallion to keep the Winterians form stealing it? It can’t be that hard to protect it against less than 10 people and if they are coming that it should be easy to kill them… I know that the story somehow has to get going but when a book starts that way, I somehow have a hard time getting into it. No matter how fabulous the rest is, I cannot forget the beginning.

And yes, the rest was really good, the characters have debt, they get more and more layers the farther the story progresses even though we only get to see them from Meiras point of view. The only thing that bothers me a little is the fact that they are mostly too black and white.

I like though that, apart from the initial flaw, the history of the kingdoms and magic is getting explained very well and in a nice way as well. It all makes sense which makes it even harder to forgive the not logical start of the book.

Most of the plot twists were quite clear but nevertheless the writing style made up for that and I truly liked Meira because she seems like a proper character to me. Meaning, she is very confident that she can do things and then they don’t necessarily turn out the way she expected. And she has a hard time overcoming some of those following insecurities afterwards but somehow can muster the strength to try again.

The ending left a good foundation for the continuation of the story yet I have to say that I don’t really feel the need to pick up the next book straight away. But if you are looking for a well-developed and fascinatingly detailed fantasy world, this is a book to love (if you don’t mind little flaws).

Coming to an end, I have to say that I sometimes just looked at the cover for a few minutes before reading because it captures the essence of the book in a tremendous way. And it is wonderful.

And I Darken

16. June 2016

Author: Kiersten White

Pages: 498

ISBN: 978-0-552-57374-0

Series: The Conqueror's Saga #1

Genre: Fantasy

Away from their home, Lada and Radu are growing up at the Ottoman court after their father, leader of Wallachia, left them as a kind of tribute. Lada has always been the strong fighter and tried to impress her father whenever she could though mostly with little success as she is a girl. Radu on the other hand, a little younger than Lada, has never had his sister’s strength and was oftentimes her victim. He more relied on his nurse to take care of him but when they one day have to leave their home in the middle of the night, he only has his sister.

Because their father’s reign is too weak, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire demands them to be educated in the palace amongst their enemies. There, the experience of Lada and Radu is quite different. Radu is finding peace and help in religion but Lada is not really putting an effort into fitting in. She is not afraid not to obey orders and finds herself in trouble more than once.

One day, the siblings meet the youngest son of the sultan, Mehmed, who is left to live his life away from the capital. They from then on grow up together and form a friendship but Lada can never forget her home Wallachia while Radu seems to have found a home in the foreign country. Lada might have to leave one part of her heart behind, her brother, and return to the other part of her heart, her home.

Review

I received this galley from NetGalley to give an honest review. I can’t really describe how happy I am that I was able to read this book before it comes out.

The best thing to begin with: I adore Lada. She is from now on my most favourite character of all time. She is strong, and not just physically. She is the kind of girl/young woman that should be the main character in more stories. She is not pretty, so whenever people like her, it is not because they ‘looked into her face and were captivated by her beauty’. She earns the respect of the people around her by the way she acts and also because she takes decision that are not always the easy ones. She does not shy away from taking responsibility when she has to and she protects the people she loves even if they are not always aware of it. Though, it is so hard to tell how amazing I think she really is without giving away the story.

The second best thing which is everything else because I cannot complain about anything. The story is based on an historic background. So we learn a little about history though it is only based on true events as for example Lada is not a real character. Lada is originally male but I like that the author took this freedom to give us one of the strongest female characters I know. So we get a little history lesson while being extremely well entertained.

The other characters in the story are beautifully developed as well, the further the story progresses, the more we learn about the people and most of them are more than they appear to be. Even though we only get the story from the siblings’ point of view, the other protagonists get more and more layers the more interaction there is between them. Sometimes I did not like one person in the beginning and then over time as there was more information it changed. That happened the other way around as well, I started with a positive feeling for some people which turned out be negative in the end. It was just like in real life and therefore made it so much more believable and realistic for me.

I liked the description of the world and the scenes as it gave me every information I needed to use my fantasy to be able to imagine the world myself. Sometimes it could have used a little more detail but then again I would have had less time with my favourite person!

Oh yes, I realise that I keep coming back to Lada but how can I not?!

So, back to the rest: I first was a little sceptic about religion playing such a big role but after realising the historical background, everything was put into perspective for me. I like that the book does not state that one belief is superior to another but in history, religion is an important issue when it comes to ruling and who has the right to rule so it being part of the book is totally necessary.

Overall it is so difficult to put my thoughts into words and not just because English is not my mother tongue. I probably would not be able to do it in German as well. The book just gave me such an extraordinary magnificent feeling I did not want it to end and I cannot wait for the next one.

Withering Rose

1. June 2016

Author: Kaitlyn Davis

Pages: 314

ISBN: 978-1533020635

Series: Once Upon a Curse #2

Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling

10 years ago, an earthquake made Omorose’s and the human world collide. Humans want to destroy the magic that came with it and that she has. Having to live a lie among humans, she can no longer bare to stay as controlling her magic gets harder and harder every day. Telling her father that she wants to be free, she runs away into the mountains which are protected by magic. It is said that a beast is living there but Omorose hopes that the beast can understand her.

After meeting the king of beasts for the first time, she is scared and has doubts if running away from her father was the right choice. As she spends more time with him though, she starts to see beneath the hard shell and discovers her own bravery. Slowly, more and more secrets about the magic and what it caused are revealed and together they start on a journey to search for a way to end their curses.

In the process, Omorose has to accept that there might not be a way to escape her curse and as the lives of not only her are on the line, she has to make a decision that will rescue the people she cares about. Or is she going to be selfish and use every time she has to find a cure for herself.

Review

I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review. The first book in the series did not really convince me but I thought I give it another try especially because it is my favourite genre. Maybe because of that I have high expectations and want the books to blow me away.

I actually liked this better than the first although the beginning was a little weak. I did not like the story which causes Omorose to flee. I felt it was rather black and white, she is a loner because she is from another realm and can’t use her magic which starts to get problematic as she feels the urge to do exactly that. This all leaves her with no friends but then one day she gets invited to a party just to be left standing ashamed and on the verge of tears. This was just too predictable and overused for me.

Continuing on, I was a little confused due to the story sometimes as some things were left open. Even though they were explained later on, I had the impression that those storylines were just put into the book with not much though and they were clarified whenever it was convenient. It was not really making sense to me.

Another weak point I see is the fact that Omorose is getting stronger (mentally) and braver when Cole is by her side, touching or kissing her. Even if it is a fairy tale retelling, I would very much appreciate the characters growing as a person because of what they’ve been through not because somebody is standing by their side and holding their hand. I mean we live in the 21st century, if others things get a change than we can at least make the characters a little stronger as well. Going through this transformation because somebody helps you see things differently is fine rather than needing the physical support to be strong.

On the other hand, the author did a great job in describing Omorose’s feelings as she uses a very flowery language to make her point. That for me was one of the best parts of the book. We don’t get the other protagonists inner feelings as it is only narrated from her point of view. Sometimes the precise description is also used for the surroundings which made me feel like I am actually part of the world, not just a bystander that gets all the information told.

Additionally, there were some twists in the story that surprised me positively, they made the story richer and the world more elaborate.

All in all though, I believe that you can enjoy the book much more if you want to read a love story and don’t particularly care about some flaws in the plot.

Dear Amy

6. June 2016

Author: Helen Callaghan

Pages: 352

ISBN: 978-0718183752

Series: -

Genre: Mystery

Margot Lewis is writing an advice column for a local newspaper. One day she receives a letter from a girl that has been missing for years. The letters are signed with the name Bethan Avery. The mysterious thing, a few weeks before the first letter, a girl from St Hilda’s Academy, where Margot works as a teacher, went missing. The police investigated for some time but could not find any evidence of an abduction and stopped the search. A theory concerning Katie Browne is that she ran off on her own.

Because of missing Katie, Margot is not sure what to do with the letters and eventually goes to the police but they only laugh at her. They say that this is just a fake but when other letters arrive, Margot starts to research Bethan’s case on her own and she keeps telling the police. After some time, she gets an email from Martin Forrester, a criminologist who is interested in the new evidence and wants to analyse the handwriting of the letters and compare them to Bethan’s.

It is confirmed that the letters are most likely written from Bethan and because of that, Margot is urged by Mr Forrester and the police to appear on TV in a reconstruction of the old case to appeal to Bethan to tell the officials where she is. With all of that, Margot’s life gets more and more stressful, being in the process of divorcing her husband, working on her column and teaching in school.

As they try to find out where Bethan is, the life of Katie hangs in the balance as it gets more and more obvious that the disappearance of her has something to do with the case of Bethan Avery all those years ago.

Review

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. This is not normally the genre I read but the book generally left a positive impression. I liked the read for the most part although the ending was more and more predictable as the story progressed.

A really strong characteristic of the book are the detailed descriptions of Margot’s life. I like how her mental state is made very clear, especially by the choice of words. There is a full inside into her life and what is going on with her. Also the surroundings and other people are described extensively and with that the reactions that Margot has because of everything that she experiences. Sometimes this makes it a little hard to read and it feels like it is dragging on but generally I think this mirrors the atmosphere of the book and the plot.

I also liked the way that the farther the story goes, the more Margot’s issues and problems are shown. For me this rounds of the picture of a real person as everyone probably has the one or other difficulty to master in life.

The way the story is told is also nice as one perspective is Margot’s and the other ones is from the newly missing girl Katie. This depicts how the police and the people in Katie’s surroundings see her disappearance and what happens to her in the meantime. Both characters are written from the first person point of view so we only get to read how those two perceive other people and their situation which adds an aspect of mystery to the story.

On the other hand, at some point it was quite obvious how the story would end. This made me lose the interest a little and so the last fourth of the book dragged on for quite some time. In general I was not very eager to get to the end of the story even though I liked the style for the most part, it just did not capture me.

Overall that makes me have mixed feelings as there were so many things right that it is sad I could not feel the excitement to just read and read and read.It