Review: Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell

Publication Date: August 25^th 2015
Publisher: Clarion Books
Length: 304 pages

Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home. 
But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.
Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all.

I was very excited to get stuck into this one, and whilst I did really enjoy this fresh take on the Cinderella story (strong independent woman!) there were a few problems that stopped it being the favourite I had been hoping it would turn into.

Nick is a fantastic protagonist. I did have a couple of issues with her and the romance which I will discuss in a moment, but first I want to talk about what I loved. She’s intelligent, she’s feisty and determined, she’s incredibly clever and talented. And the best part? Unlike the original story where she has to rely on her fairy godmother and the Prince to rescue her from her life of drudgery, in ‘Mechanica’ she rescues herself. Yes she has friends and support, but she pulls herself up, she rolls up her sleeves and gets stuff done and turns her own situation around which I really loved.

I loved the steampunk elements – it’s not traditional full steampunk, and anyone worrying that it will be too similar to ‘Cinder’ your fears are unfounded, these are two very different books. The mechanical inventions and magic are worked in beautifully and I loved seeing Nick at work and the little titbits we’re shown of her relationship with her mother. They’re both incredible inventors and I thought that was a truly gorgeous new twist – particularly when we see the attitude towards women and their inventions in this world. I loved how they subvert expectations to create these stunning pieces and the transition from Nick’s mother having to pretend that her inventions are made by her husband, to Nick standing proud beside her inventions. It’s definitely a female empowerment story, and it’s done brilliantly.

However, one of my biggest issues was the romance. Nick meets Fin twice, maybe three times, and yeah ok he’s ridiculously hot and he’s actually been nice to her which at this point in her life is a rarity – crush away dear girl, I completely understand. But then she stars having imaginary conversations with him. She freely admits that she spends most of her time imagining conversations and situations and builds up this entire person in her head that she later says she doesn’t think she could have survived without. This is up there with insta-love for me – a love built up out of nothing. Of imaginings. It really didn’t work for me and I found any of their interactions following that to be really uncomfortable as a result.

The romance and relationships as a whole are handled quite poorly, so if you’re after the traditional happily ever after you’ll be sorely disappointed. Similarly whilst some elements of the friendships worked really well, there were other parts that really didn’t and left me feeling frustrated by various actions and conversations. The pacing is also a little off so the story lags quite terribly in several places, but the imagination that infuses it definitely helps to pick up the slack and kept me interested.

So whilst I loved a lot of this fresh reinvention of Cinderella, there were enough niggles and problems for it not to quite hit favourite status. However I really recommend picking it up, if only for the magical inventions and the empowered self sufficient Cinderella.

Review: Illusionarium by Heather Dixon

Publication Date: May 19^th 2015
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Length: 368 pages

What if the world holds more dangers—and more wonders—than we have ever known? And what if there is more than one world? From Heather Dixon, author of the acclaimed Entwined, comes a brilliantly conceived adventure that sweeps us from the inner workings of our souls to the far reaches of our imaginations.
Jonathan is perfectly ordinary. But then—as every good adventure begins—the king swoops into port, and Jonathan and his father are enlisted to find the cure to a deadly plague. Jonathan discovers that he's a prodigy at working with a new chemical called fantillium, which creates shared hallucinations—or illusions. And just like that, Jonathan is knocked off his path. Through richly developed parallel worlds, vivid action, a healthy dose of humor, and gorgeous writing, Heather Dixon spins a story that calls to mind The Night Circus and Pixar movies, but is wholly its own.

I absolutely loved Heather Dixon’s debut novel ‘Entwined’ a retelling of the tale of the twelve dancing princesses, and have been eagerly awaiting her next novel since then. Which meant there were an awful lot of expectations to live up to before I even opened the book.

Jonathan is a wonderful protagonist. With so many female protagonists it was great to see such an incredible book with a boy at its heart. He’s proper and polite (some of the dialogue and exclamations had me laughing out loud) and funny – best use of footnotes I’ve seen since Jonathan Stroud and Jasper Fforde. And he’s an all around kind and determined young man. He never stops trying to fight to save those he loves, even if that does mean his compass goes a little off course at points.

The supporting characters are also amazing – I loved Lockwood particularly. I kind of want another book that is just Lockwood and Jonathan fighting and bantering. He is genius, and I want to give him hugs, all the hugs.

I had forgotten, as it has been a while since I read ‘Entwined’ just how terrifying Dixon can make things. Illusionarium is definitely very dark and twisted, but it’s done in quite a light way – it’s hard to explain! But I definitely wasn’t expecting to be as terrified reading this as I was. It felt like quite an exciting, colourful journey to start with but the further enmeshed in the story you became the more it tilted into some terrifying carnival of horrors.

I had no real idea what the story would be about going in, and I’m not going to spoil it for you here because it’s quite an exciting story that takes you places that you would never expect. Just know that it is brilliantly written, hugely imaginative, fantasy, dystopia and steampunk all rolled up into one, with a wonderful hero at its heart. Plus, there is very minimal romance, which in the current trend of romance! Love triangles! Is a different and wonderful choice. It meant that there was much more focus on the story without the distraction element of a romance subplot, and it made quite a refreshing change. There's lots of other love though, most notably sibling love and family love and it is so awesome to see a novel only looking at that.
The other refreshing change? It appears to be a standalone. I love that Dixon has created two such wildly different stand alone stories in a world where we are being inundated with series.

This is something very different from what you are probably imagining from the blurb, and also from everything else I’ve read this year. A uniquely brilliant and imaginative story that gets incredibly dark and twisted at points and had me feverishly reading to find out how on earth it all ended. This is a wonderful follow up novel to Dixon’s stunning debut and I cannot wait to see what she writes next.

If you're curious, don't forget to check out the incredible book trailer that Heather created herself - I blogged about it here!

Books I'm Squeeing About in March

It's been a long time since I've posted about books I'm squeeing about, but with some of my favourite authors giving us new and exciting books this month I couldn't resist. So without further ado, here are the three books I am particularly excited to get my mitts on this month! There are so many that it is incredibly hard to choose, but these three have really snagged my attention!

(All release dates are for the UK editions)

12th - Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano (Internment Chronicles Book 2)

After escaping the city of Internment, Morgan and her fellow fugitives land on the ground to finally learn about the world beneath their floating island home.
The ground is a strange place where water falls from the sky as snow, and people watch moving pictures and visit speakeasies. A place where families can have as many children as they want, bury their dead in vast gardens of bodies, and where Internment is the feature of an amusement park.It is also a land at war.Everyone who fled Internment had their own reasons to escape their corrupt haven, but now they’re caught under the watchful eye of another ruler who wants to dominate his world. They may have made it to the ground, but have they dragged Internment with them?

Lauren DeStefano can do no wrong. Her debut series ' The Chemical Garden Trilogy' was incredible. Beautifully written, heartbreaking yet full of hope and with such fresh and exciting ideas, I adored the series, and 'Perfect Ruin' the first book in the Internment Chronicles showed that she was a writer to be reckoned with. It was a fantastic book and left me desperate for more, and I cannot wait to see what happens in book two!

You can pre-order this book on Amazon here

12th - The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski (The Winner's Trilogy Book 2)

Lady Kestrel's engagement to Valoria's crown prince calls for great celebration: balls and performances, fireworks and revelry. But to Kestrel it means a cage of her own making. Embedded in the imperial court as a spy, she lives and breathes deceit and cannot confide in the one person she really longs to trust ...
While Arin fights to keep his country's freedom from the hands of his enemy, he suspects that Kestrel knows more than she shows. As Kestrel comes closer to uncovering a shocking secret, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth.Lies will come undone, and Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them in this second book in the breathtaking Winner's trilogy.

I came late to this series and only caught up last week when I stormed through both book 1 and 2 in a couple of days. I love this series, it is fantastic. Full of beautiful prose and evocative imagery and brutal moves in this cut throat world of spying and politics. This book more than lives up to the high bar set by the first and I cannot wait to be able to talk about this book more! Keep an eye out for my review in a couple of days!

You can pre-order this book on Amazon here

19th - Prudence by Gail Carriger (Book 1 in the Custard Protocol Series)

When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (Rue to her friends) is given an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female would under similar circumstances - names it the Spotted Crumpetand floats to India in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea.
But India has more than just tea on offer. Rue stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier's wife and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis and an embarrassing lack of bloomers, what else is a young lady of good breeding to do but turn metanatural and find out everyone's secrets, even thousand-year-old fuzzy ones?

I adore Gail Carriger's books. They are witty, biting and so incredibly inventive. She is my favourite steampunk author and I am so excited to go back to the world of her debut series with an all grown up Prudence. Ever since the very first announcement I have been desperate to read this, and I am counting down the days this month until I can sink into it!

You can pre-order this book on Amazon here

So those are the top three books that I can't wait for this month, what books are you desperate to get your hands on?

Review: The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross

When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What's left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons—or forfeit her friends' lives. 
With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by the Aether, the young duke's sanity is close to the breaking point. Seeking help, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. When Jack kisses her, Finley must finally confront her true feelings for him...and for Griffin. 
Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily, from Whitechapel's desolate alleyways to Mayfair's elegant mansions. He would walk into hell for her, but the choice she must make will test them more than they could imagine. 
To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist's ultimate creation—an automaton more human than machine. And if she's to have any chance at triumphing, she must summon a strength even she doesn't know she has...

This series and I really have a love hate relationship. Each time I look at the pretty covers and convince myself that it’s steampunk and that the last one wasn’t that bad really and I should really give it another go, and then I end up wanting to throw the book across the room within thirty pages.

The problem for me is that the series has so much potential that just isn’t realised, although there has been some progress as the series has progressed. The characters are underdeveloped, the plot was rushed in places and too slow in others, and so many parts of the book cried out for proper researching – all things that immediately catapult me from any enjoyment and engrossment in the story.

The character’s remained flat caricatures, with no development from the last book. There is no progress, no depth or detail, and as a result I found myself caring less and less about what happened to them. I also struggled to find likeable features in Finley, the heroine, and Sam in particular, as with the last two books. And a heroine that I cannot warm to means the book is pretty much doomed from the start.
The romance didn’t feel like a natural progression, particularly towards the end where it felt like there was an awful lot of loose end tying going on, and no real resolution just a desperate pairing up of characters.

The writing swung from one extreme to the next, on the whole it’s relatively ok, but then there would be turns of phrase that were so glaringly modern that it again jarred me straight from the story.

Whilst it is a story billed as Victorian Steampunk, a lot of the flaws come from the technology just being pilfered from modern day gadgets, with no explanation as to how they might be possible in the day and age depicted. I don’t want a major science lesson and intricate break downs of each machine, but I want to feel like these gadgets could be possible, like the details of the plot that hinge on electronic devices are feasible instead of just cop out substitutes of modern day technology.

On the whole, whilst I am desperate to see more Steampunk fiction, particularly on the young adult shelves, ‘The Steampunk Chronicles’ really don’t fulfil the ideas I have of what Steampunk should be. No doubt there are readers who will find these are exactly the type of Steampunk they are after, but for me personally, I think I’ll stick with Gail Carriger…

Books I'm Squeeing About in February

Happy (very belated) New Year Guys!

Due to personal circumstances out of my control I ended up taking an impromptu hiatus (as you could probably tell from the lack of updates.)
However now I am back! With a new year and lots of new books, so we'll be back to regular scheduling again.

In the mean time there is a truly massive pile of awesome books coming out this month which I cannot wait to get my hands on...

5th - Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to finishing school.

Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners-and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's young ladies learn to finish . . . everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage - in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

There are some authors who I love so much I don't even look at the blurb or anything when I see they have a new book coming, I just pre-order it then and there because I know it's going to be awesome.

And Gail Carriger is one of those authors! This is the start of her new 'Finishing School' series and it's going to be awesome. That blurb! That title! That cover! Be still my heart!

5th - City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster

The girl with no past, and no future, may be the only one who can save their lives. Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a child. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the remote estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city s handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.

Ever since Miriam first announced on twitter that her book was being published I have been desperate to get me hands on it. It just sounds so awesome and I am in awe, and this is one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Now I just have to make my patience last until I can read it!

7th - Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the Fifth were born to lead very different lives - her family are criminal masterminds, while he comes from an apparently perfect dynasty. But both families know how to stay under the radar while getting - or stealing - whatever they want.
When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother's billion-dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there's no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won't let him go that easily, especially after she is tipped off about an elaborate con to steal the company's fortune. Instead of being the heir, this time Hale might be the mark.
Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first she has to decide. Is she willing to save her boyfriend's company if it means losing the boy?

I adore the Heist Society series, and so with this third book so tantalisingly in reach now I am going out of my mind to see where Hale and Kat end up next.

If you haven't discovered this series yet, start with the first book 'Heist Society' - they are a fantastically witty, fast paced and brilliantly written series.

12th -Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black
Dancing with someone is an act of trust. Elegant and intimate; you're close enough to kiss, close enough to feel your partner's heartbeat. But for Vanessa, dance is deadly - and she must be very careful who she trusts...

Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school - the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister's shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances - she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames . . . Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Justin, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead - and the burning forces about to be unleashed...

Oh this book is creepy! It's fantastic but there is this horrible sense of terror and dread that permeates the entire book and leaves you terrified!
It's got a fantastic premise, a beautiful cover and really good writing all in its favour, and a healthy dose of fear just to tip it into the truly brilliant.
Review to come soon.

28th - Darcy Burdock by Laura Dockrill
Ten-year-old Darcy Burdock is one of life's noticers. Curious, smart-as-a-whip, funny and fiercely loyal, she sees the extraordinary in the everyday and the wonder in the world around her.

In this first book, we are introduced to her family: Mum, who Darcy loves as much as her favourite fried egg and chips, Dad, who is kind and fair if a bit hopeless, and little siblings Hector and Poppy, who Darcy likes dressing up in ridiculous outfits and having dance-offs with, respectively. Plus there's her non-bleating pet lamb, Lamb-Beth and best friend, Will, to have adventures with.

Darcy learns that turning into an angrosaurus-rex and causing chaos just gets her in trouble, trying to run away from home with a reluctant lamb in tow leads to sore kneebows, it's best not to throw a massive strop just before your surprise birthday party, Hallowe'en is all about spider costumes and having a pumpkin with a wonky eye, and if she's ever in a situation at home or at school where she's not sure what to do, she should write a story around it and the truth will be illuminated by her imagination.

This book is a much lower age range than the ones usually reviewed on here, however it is too damn awesome to not be read.

Laura has created a fantastic heroine in Darcy - she's smart, sassy, incredibly funny and very believable. The book is absolutely brilliant (complete with illustrations!) and I cannot recommend it enough!

Review to come soon!

So those are my excitements for this month - it's stuffed full of awesome! But what books are you looking forward to most?

Books I'm Squeeing About in August

July has been an utterly hideous month, yet has contained some truly awesome books. A trend that I'm hoping is going to continue into August. Looking at the titles I'm squeeing about I have no doubt that this is going to be a truly spectacular month for books, including the much hyped 'Throne of Glass' by Sarah J Maas, and a book I've been waiting for (not particularly patiently) all year 'Unspoken' by Sarah Rees Brennan finally gracing our shelves!
So without further ado, here are the books I'm squeeing about in August!

2^nd– Turf by John Lucas

Jay's life seems pretty sorted: 15 years old and already a rising member of the notorious Blake Street Boyz gang, he takes his lessons from the street. With a knife in his pocket and his best friend Milk by his side, their days are spent fiercely defending their turf.
When Jay gets the chance to step up and become a senior of the Boyz, he faces the biggest decision of his life: he must stab and kill a classmate - and rival gang member - or face the consequences.
It doesn't take long for Jay's world to spiral out of control. As the line between right and wrong begins to fade, he finds no escape. Jay has to act, but at what and whose cost?
Set against the backdrop of London's inner-city tower blocks, in a world where killing can be easier than choosing what chocolate bar to eat, Turf is a story of intense friendship and brutal gang violence, of loyalty at any cost - even to the price of your own soul. 
It's the kind of story that continues to dominate front page headlines (see attached) and this powerful novel shows us just how violent life can be for people living under street gang rule.

Utterly harrowing, at times funny and beautiful and completely heart breaking, TURF is an incredible book that came out of nowhere and swept me away. I didn’t expect it to truly make the gang life and idea seem real without making  an unintentional mockery, but Lucas’s skill with words utterly blew me away. I was completely engrossed in Jay’s life, in the choices and decisions that shaped him, and the impossible situation he found himself in. Not at all my usual type of book, but I am so glad I read it, it turned out to be a very thought provoking read.

2^nd– Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.
Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.
Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Throne of Glass is everywhere at the moment. Everyone is buzzing and talking about it, and no wonder, it is one of the best young adult fantasy books I’ve had the pleasure of reading this year. Maas has quickly flown up onto my list of authors to watch with an incredibly strong debut with a fantasticly kick ass heroine that I had no trouble cheering on. You can read my review of the book here.

2^nd– Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel

When does obsession become madness? Tragedy has forced sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein to swear off alchemy forever. He burns the Dark Library. He vows he will never dabble in the dark sciences again, just as he vows he will no longer covet Elizabeth, his brother's betrothed. If only these things were not so tempting. When he and Elizabeth discover a portal into the spirit world, they cannot resist. Together with Victor's twin, Konrad, and their friend Henry, the four venture into a place of infinite possibilities where power and passion reign. But as they search for the knowledge to raise the dead, they unknowingly unlock a darkness from which they may never return.

Oh wow. ‘This Dark Endeavour’ was a dark, terrifying and utterly brilliant look at a young Victor Frankenstein, and the world and events that shaped him into the man we know in Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein.’ And now we’re back for another dose! After the harrowing events of the first book Victor pushes the boundaries further, explores deeper, and the events get even darker than before… Utterly delicious and terrifyingly brilliant, the second book manages to more than keep up with the high standard set by the first.

14th - The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent

In an alternate London where magical creatures are preserved in a museum, two teens find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, deception, and danger.
Vespa Nyx wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life cataloging Unnatural creatures in her father’s museum, but as she gets older, the requirement to become a lady and find a husband is looming large. Syrus Reed’s Tinker family has always served and revered the Unnaturals from afar, but when his family is captured to be refinery slaves, he finds that his fate may be bound up with Vespa’s—and with the Unnaturals.
As the danger grows, Vespa and Syrus find themselves in a tightening web of deception and intrigue. At stake may be the fate of New London—and the world.

There has been a serious hole in my life since the end of Gail Carriger’s ‘Parasol Protectorate Series’ finished earlier this year, and I’m hoping that this new YA Steampunk book might go some way to easing the pain. I’m a sucker for covers and this one has well and truly caught me. Now to see if the book lives up to the prettiness!

20^th– The Vampire Diaries Season 3 DVD Release

So ok, this one isn’t *technically* a book, but I’m so excited about it that it had to make it onto the list anyway… I love this series, it is one of the best things on TV at the moment, and series three is no exception, I can’t wait to re-watch the series in preparation for the start of Season 4, and to see what extras and commentaries will be included!

30^th– Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton

Paranormal romance fans who are looking to up the ante will be drawn to this tale of horror, fantasy, and romance. For Mab Prowd, the practice of blood magic is as natural as breathing. It's all she's ever known. Growing up on an isolated farm in Kansas with other practitioners may have kept her from making friends her own age, but it has also given her a sense of purpose—she's connected to the land and protective of the magic. And she is able to practice it proudly and happily out in the open with only the crows as her companions. Mab will do anything to keep the ancient practice alive and guard its secrets. But one morning while she is working out a particularly tricky spell she encounters Will, a local boy who is trying to exorcise some mundane personal demons. He experiences Mab's magic in a way his mind cannot comprehend and is all too happy to end their chance meeting. But secrets that were kept from Mab by the earlier generations of blood magicians have come home to roost. And she and Will are drawn back together, time again by this dangerous force looking to break free from the earth and reclaim its own dark power.

I loved ‘Blood Magic’ last year, it was a fantastically strong debut from Gratton and left me desperate to see what she’d produce next. And that was all the encouragement I needed to get this book onto my wishlist. I can’t wait to see where she takes me in this next book.

30^th– Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met... a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.
But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

You guys, this is one of the biggest excitements of the year for me. I love Sarah Rees Brennan’s books, they are some of the funniest, most fantastic young adult books out there. So this new series is the icing on my book year cake. And the cherry. I can pretty much garuantee that if you like witty dialogue, fantastic characters and a brilliant plot, this is a book you will love. So go out and pre-order it now! Because the best is most definitely being saved until last this month.

Review: The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

This dark and thrilling adventure, with an unforgettable heroine, will captivate fans of steampunk, fantasy, and romance. On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian, Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House. A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to confront her deepest fears.

I had really high hopes for ‘The Peculiars’ – everything about it appealed to me, from the blurb and the cover to the reviews and snippets of conversation I kept hearing about it. And for the most part it lived up to my expectations, but there were a few things that fell short and knocked it down from five stars to four.

The concept was fantastic and for the most part the execution was as well, what let it down was the inability to decide on one story line to take the characters through. It felt like there were two stories trying to be told. Ideally that would have been split into two books, the first involving Lena and her attempts to discover the secrets at Zephyr House, and the second the escape through Scree. But because both were crammed into one book neither were given the attention they deserved and as a result the book was an odd jumble of the two and never really took off.

I loved the concept, the world building was really good and I could have quite happily read a book twice its length to explore even more of the world. It’s was beautifully constructed but I was a little baffled as to why it was labelled as a steampunk book, as aside from a couple of wacky machines and a dirigible there is absolutely nothing that would tie it to steampunk, no development and construction that affects the whole world with these leaps forward in technology, so I kind of felt a little let down and mislead by that. However apart from that I thought the world building was great.

The narrative was a little uneven, there were some flashbacks towards the start of the novel that suddenly disappear a few chapters in with little to no reasoning behind them. It felt a little jagged and I was left feeling like they had just been shoved in to provide some information for the reader that they otherwise wouldn’t have had, there was no reason or development of these to make them a solid part of the narrative.

I was also a little concerned by some of the ideals and beliefs that Lena holds to. It was a great coming of age story but I felt that some aspects were handled a little indelicately. For example Lena is terrified because she thinks that being a Peculiar means she’ll have no soul, she’ll be unable to help the terrible things she’ll inevitably do, and Peculiar’s are treated as second class citizens. They’re rounded up and sent off to the mines, and they aren’t allowed to own property are just a couple of examples of how this is portrayed. And most are desperate to remove the things that make them peculiar, to stop the abnormalities and fit in as 'normal' people. However at the end of the novel Lena comes to accept her peculiarities not because it makes her strong and equal, but because they make her special. She also signs over her property, her life and her way of earning a living to a man (who yes seems quite nice sure) because she is a woman, a peculiar and is therefore not human or worthy enough to take control of her life, even out in the wilds of Scree where no-one would really know and/or care, and in doing this she is praised by those around her. She becomes completely dependent on this man to look after her, provide for her and not kick her out into the wilds of Scree – this place that should be rights be hers. It just seemed a little too close to the line. Lena is forward thinking and strong for a lot of the novel and it really felt like this undermined her. It was also the way that women are portrayed as weaker and subservient to the male characters, and all of the male characters, including Jimson are arrogant, cocky and completely despicable at some points. It left me with a bit of a nasty taste in my mouth when I finished, which is a sham given how well everything started out.

It took a very long time to really pick up speed and get going, which wouldn’t have been too much of a problem if the two storylines weren’t battling for supremacy in the second half of the book. All in all there were some great ideas and some lovely writing and concepts, but a lot of it ended up being obscured by some slightly twisted ideals and portrayals and a plot that was so tangled around itself that it never really took off.

Review: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling - or dangerous. 
Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper, hauled off by bounty hunters. But Jasper is in the clutches of a devious former friend demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves. 
One false move from Jasper and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens. And tightens.

The Steampunk Chronicles and I appear to have a bit of a love hate relationship. On the one hand there are some things that are truly appalling about the books, and yet there is something incredibly compelling about them as well, for no matter how peeved I may get with elements of it, and the number of times I chuck the book across the room, I have to finish it, I have to know what happens, and as a result I have to read the next book.

I had a lot of issues with the first book in the series ‘The Girl in the Steel Corset’ and thankfully some of my grumps were address in this book – thank god Emily’s hair is only referred to as ‘ropey’ once in this book, as opposed to the three times a page in the last book. The writing has, by and large, improved. Yes there were still awkward passages and some threads of the story that were incredibly weak (they did fit into the whole, but I was thoroughly underwhelmed by Tesla’s thread of the story.) But for the most part this was a much stronger book than the first one.

The biggest frustration for me was the characterization. There’s a lot of telling instead of showing going on throughout the book, and the characters remain two dimensional for the most part, which is tragic because there are some truly stunning ideas and concepts that are attempted. I love the idea of the characters, but they never truly came alive for me. The secondary characters remained weak at best, and I never really felt like they became real, they were just a backdrop and provided plot devices. I’d love to see Sam developed, at the moment he is the weakest character for me, and I want to see more of the relationship between Sam and Emily. Finley and Griffin remain very stiff for me, there’s no real spark between them, and very sudden and abrupt changes in mood and feeling towards each other. I want to love these characters, I want to root for them, I want to cry and laugh with them, and really feel what they’re going through – there is something so completely captivating about the story, but it never really takes off in my eyes.

I liked the change of setting and pace, this book was a lot faster in pace and really kept things ticking along at a great speed. I liked that there was less of a push to describe some of the steampunk aspects like the clothes, and leave that to the readers imagination, because that was one of my big problems with the first book. As far as I’m concerned, Steampunk books have to have a solid foundation in the reality of the era before branching out into the weird and wonderful stuff, and that includes clothes. There has to be some basis in reality, some real and believable shift that would cause changes in clothing, like goggles and weighted dresses and hair-muffs for dirigible travel (see Gail Carriger’s ‘The Parasol Protectorate series.’) And Cross took a few too many leaps in the first book with women’s clothing that were a bit beyond the stretch of imagination. To go from the Victorian era where even showing ankle was a shocking thing, to Finley effectively wearing a Victorian style of hot pants and a corset were really a bridge too far in my eyes… So it was really nice to have that side of things left to the reader’s imagination. I loved a lot of the technology we saw, although again, I would have loved a little more of a scientific explanation about how these things were possible, but that’s just something I personally love seeing. I really felt that a lot of the things that I love about Steampunk books are not really looked at, or stretched beyond all reason.

Whilst I loved the conflict, I really, really truly loathed Mei. And not just because of her name… In fact can we take a moment to look at that name. I wouldn’t have spotted it ( or at least not for much longer) if Finley hadn’t made a big deal about pointing it out. Why call a character such a ridiculous name and then make a big deal about pointing it out? Mei Xing. I’m sorry but from the point that her name was revealed I couldn’t take her seriously, I wanted to scream every time her name was mentioned. Now maybe this is just me, maybe other readers will see that, have a chuckle and move on, but for me to name a character like that, deliberately, and with no real purpose behind it except that one moment of Finley noticing it and thinking it’s ridiculous, is just asking for your character to not be taken seriously from that point on. Any further characterization was, for me, ruined because I just wanted to throw things at her every time she entered a room.

However, despite my grumps, as I said there is something very compelling about this series. You want to read on and find out what happens. You want to see how they’ll get out of this, and what sort of world building excitements are coming up. The premise is fantastic, the writing is much better than the first book, but there are still some weak moments. My only real problem now is the characterization, so I’ve got all my hopes pinned on this next book that maybe the third time really will be the charm for me, and the third book and I will finally hit it off. At that point it will all have been worth it.

Review: Timeless by Gail Carriger

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle. 
Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

Ah me, if someone were to ask me what my favourite steampunk series in the world is, I would have to answer ‘The Parasol Protectorate’ Series by Gail Carriger. This series is by far one of the most imaginative, wittiest and fantastically written that I have ever had the pleasure to read, so it was with equal parts excitement and sadness that I approached this, the final book in the series.

And it was fantastic. Completely and utterly fabulous. It had all of the elements that I have come to love in Carriger’s series, and more besides. Her writing remains fantastic, equal parts witty splendour and elegant prose. The characters we have come to know and love were all back in abundance, and I particularly liked getting to know Biffy better. He has been one of the most intriguing characters from the start, and I have loved watching his arc, so to see him come all the way round to this was fantastic. I was sad not to see more of Lord Akeldama, but la, we cannot have everything, and what parts he was in he was his usual fabulous self.

It was a novel of tying up all the loose ends, of bringing all the intrigue and mystery to a head and finding out just what her terrible Italian father had been up to. The novel skips on a few years from the birth of the Infant Inconvenience, and we get to see Prudence as a toddler, just learning the word ‘No’ and how Lord Akeldama is taking to fatherhood. With aplomb, it has to be said. It was fantastic after the last two books build up to finally see Prudence in action, and it was fabulous to get some answers to some very intriguing questions after all this time. This is most definitely a series that I will go back to and read again to make all the little pieces slot into place – and then again just for the fun of it.

All in all this was a brilliant finale to an utterly fabulous series. I don’t want to go into too much detail for fear of ruining it for those of you who haven’t yet read it. But I assure you, this is a truly fantastic series and this book is the perfect end to it. We get answers and questions, character development and dirigible rides. Supernatural creatures, beautiful romance, and above all Ivy Tunstall and her husband’s new play, which was truly epic… But the most fantastic of all? We get to see Alexia and her ever doting husband as they grow together, fight together, and have a fantastic final escapade together. 

Carriger’s writing is fantastic, her imagination even more so, and this series will be going into the immortal ‘all time favourites’ shelf in my room.

You can read an interview with the lovely lady herself here!