Review on Dawn of Steam #1 First Light

In 1815, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, two of England's wealthiest lords place a high-stakes wager on whether a popular set of books, which claim that the author has travelled to many unknown corners of the globe, are truth or, more likely, wild fiction. Former aide-de-camp, Gregory Conan Watts tells the story through a series of letters and journal entries, describing his adventures travelling aboard an airship with his crew, which include a wide variety of characters, including the airship's owner, war hero, genius, and literal knight in steam-powered armour Sir James Coltrane. The crew are in a race against time, as the crew hired by the other side of the wager seem willing to win by any means necessary.

I have not had much experience with Steam Punk novels, so when I was asked to review this book I was unsure of what to expect. Although it started off slow, it picked up it's pace once the crew had been assembled together and the main part of the adventure had started. Being an epistolary novel, the story is told from the protagonists point of view through the writing of letters to his fiancée and boss, and his own personal journal. The writing style varies slightly depending on who Gregory's intended reader is, which gives the story some variety. There is little dialogue between Gregory and other characters, which makes it difficult to understand what the crews thoughts and feelings are. However, the lack of dialogue is compromised slightly by some of the other characters writing their own letters home. I adored the character of Sam Bowe from the start, and although soon after joining the crew there was a plot twist involving this character that I was not expecting, Sam has remained my favourite character throughout the novel. As the novel is set in 1815, it is interesting that the gender roles of the characters are not set in stone, e.g , Harriet is a good mechanic, while another female member of the crew is a true heroine, and is just as good at fighting, if not better, than some of the male crew members. Most strong female characters in both books and movies are sexualised, but with this book, it was not the case, which I loved. I feel as if their adventure could have been more widespread, as it was limited to England and America, but as it is the first book in the series, I am sure the sequels will cover a larger area of the world.



First Light will be available to purchase from February 28^th

For more information on this series please visit http://www.dawnofsteam.net/

Cover Reveal

The cover for the third and final book in Chris Colfer's The Land of Stories series has been revealed! I've loved reading this series, and even though I’m excited for the final book in the trilogy, I will be sad to say goodbye to these wonderful fairy tale characters. But for now, let's talk about the cover. I always have high hopes for the covers in this series, and this one does not disappoint. It is just as bright and beautiful as the previous two books, and has it's own unique colour scheme. The cover is just as action packed, with new and exciting characters, plus old favourites including the twins, Mother Goose and Lester. Oh and that's right, there's a dragon! In my opinion, you can never go wrong with dragons. If the story is exciting as the cover, which I'm sure it will be, this book looks set to be yet another huge success.

The Fault In Our Stars trailer

So I realize this isn't a book review but it's a movie trailer of an adaptation of a book that I really love so I'm posting this anyway. So without further ado I present to you The Fault in Our Stars trailer!! I've been worried about this movie as I really love the book and I hate it when movies stray so far away from the plot of the book that it doesn't even seem like the same story. I wasn't too keen on the actor choices at first, and seeing promotional pictures of Hazel without her oxygen tank worried me, but after seeing the trailer my worries have been set aside and I am really looking forward to seeing it. My only problem now is that the release date is five months away and waiting for so long is going to kill me, but I know that the wait will be worth it to see Hazel and Augustus come to life. Feel free to share your opinions in the comments and remember, DFTBA.

Review on The Land of Stories #2 The Enchantress Returns

Twins Conner and Alex Bailey return to the Land of Stories in this sequel. When they learn that the evil Enchantress has kidnapped their mother, they must return to the fairy tale world to save her and end the reign of the Enchantress once and for all. The twins team up with some familiar faces, including Froggy, Jack,Goldilocks and Queen Red Riding Hood, and must go on a quest to find all the ingredients they need to create the Wand of Wonderment, the most powerful wand in the world. However, the twins journey will be perilous, and they will face many dangerous and deadly foes along the way. Will they be able to save their mother and the fairy-tale world before it is too late, or will the Enchantress rule over all the Kingdoms for-evermore?

I thought this was a brilliant and exciting sequel. Although the plot was similar to the first book, with the twins having to travel around the fairy tale world to collect various items, there was still many themes to keep the story original. Characters that we know and love from the first book return, but we also have the addition of Mother Goose, who is a brilliant and funny character, and also some new villains. Although I think each task could have been spread out over more than one chapter, it was still well thought out. There are certain problems presented near the start of the novel that are not resolved until the last chapter, and this keeps you guessing throughout the novel what it means. It takes a while to get into the main quest of the story, as the twins have to find a way into the Land of Stories and also find out a way they are able to defeat the Enchantress before they can start the quest. The climax has a good moral to it, and will teach children a valuable lesson. I am looking forward to the third installment in this series.

Cover Reveal

As frequent visitors to my blog will probably know, I love The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. The final instalment of the series is due for release May 27^th, and I am excited to find out how the adventure concludes. I overall like the cover, but it's not really my favourite out of the series. I love how Clary looks, but I'm not too keen on the portrayal of Sebastian. The addition of wings is confusing to me, as although he is a Shadowhunter, anyone who has read the series so far will know that he is anything but angelic. I would like to know the opinions of my fellow Shadowhunters, so please share your thoughts in the comment section.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my followers! Thank you for sticking round and taking the time to read my reviews. I'm hoping to read and review as many books as possible in the coming year, and make more frequent posts. As I got given a ton of books for Christmas, I will be starting with reviewing those, but if you have any suggestions on what I should review please leave them in the comment section below. Also, a reminder to any authors that I am willing to read and review your books. Just leave me an email [address is in the contact details at the top of the page] and give me a brief synopsis of what the book is about and in what format you are able to provide me with a copy. I do have a tablet device which I can read ebooks on, but I am old fashioned when it comes to books so if you can provide me with a physical copy then I will probably be 90% more likely to review it.

Hope you all had a wonderful time over the holidays!