Review on The Felix Chronicles #3 Tides of Winter

The time has come for Felix August to choose a side. Lofton's corrupt government is getting worse by the day, murdering the innocent people who refuse to conform to the New Government. The Numbered Ones, monsters of Lofton's creation are still on the loose, along with a bigger and more terrifying threat, the Deathheads. All Felix wants is to escape and not be a part of the looming war. However, Felix soon learns he is a central part of what is happening. Felix must make a difficult decision, but will he join Lofton, or fight against him?

I was so excited when I got an email from R.T Lowe asking if I wanted to review the third book in his amazing series, The Felix Chronicles. I was surprised to discover I had read the previous book in the series six months ago, so after quickly refreshing my memory by rereading the last chapter in the previous book, I was eager to jump straight back into Felix's world.

The book starts right where the previous one left off, so I was happy there wasn't any time skips between books. The previous book ended on a huge cliffhanger, so I loved that we got to see the aftermath of what had happened. This book was action packed right from the start, and instantly reminded me of why I love this series!

The knowledge of Harper's true intentions made me look at everything in a whole new perspective, and there were times where I wished I could just shout the truth to Felix. I felt as if Harper gave little hints through her facial expressions and reactions when things weren't going her way, which Felix seemed to not pick up on. I felt sorry for Felix, as he trusted Harper completely, and had no idea of her betrayal.

One thing that I adore about this series is the characters. I love that there are plenty of strong female characters, particularly Alison. I adore her character development from the damsel in distress to the all around badass who is constantly saving Felix's life. I loved how the stereotypes were completely destroyed, with Alison being Felix's best friend and sidekick, while the damsel in distress was Lucas. Although I still felt as if Lucas wasn't in the book enough, I loved alll the scenes that included him, particularly the graveyard scene. Although Lucas is not a sourceror, he still managed to help Felix, and I love how he always seemed to notice little details that others don't. I also love how loyal he is to Felix, and often puts himself in danger for the greater good.

Although I have talked about this in reviews of the previous books, I jut have to briefly mention the relationship between Felix and Alison. Although while reading the previous book I was worried Felix and Alison's relationship would turn romantic, that never actually happened and I was extremly happy! It is rare to find a friendship like theirs in YA books, and instead of hinting at a romance, I felt as if it was taking steps to solidify their friendship rather than taking it in a different direction. Unlike the previous books, there was practically no romance in this book, and I adored that it was focusing on the action rather than a romance.

Even though The Numbered Ones return in this book, I was more interested in the new monsters, the Deathheads. The only thing more terrifying than giant spiders is giant spiders that can fly and eat you, so the Deathheads were literally my worst nightmare! I loved Felix's struggle with trying to figure out which side to take, and I loved the message that sometimes choosing sides isn't as easy as choosing between good and evil, and sometimes you just have to choose the side that is the least corrupt. Although this is a fantasy novel, I felt as if the political side to it felt like a more exteme version of current politics.

One thing that I loved learning was that Felix's powers had limitations. Felix is far from perfect, so I loved that his powers were also not perfect. Felix isn't the perfect do good protagonist, and to me he feels more like an anti hero. Felix's thirst for revenge ofter clouds his judgements, which on several occasions stops them from extracting information from their enemies.

Thi book is probably my favourite in the series so far, and I am definitely looking forward to the next one! A character who has interested me for a while now is Carter, a young sourceror who has only just started to discover his powers, and has been found by Lofton's followers. I felt as if Carter was just thirsty for knowledge, and would follow anyone who provided him with it, so I'm looking forward to him finally getting a proper storyline in the next book. I would recommend all fantasy lovers to pick up this seriess!

Tides of Winter is now available to purchase!

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Review on Promised Land

Jack, a young farm boy is always getting in trouble for not doing his chores. That is until one day, Jack and his puppy, Milo, encounter a mysterious tree spirit. Jack soon bumps into Leo, a prince who's mother is under a spell by the evil Gideon. As Jack and Leo grow, so does their relationship, which soon blossoms into love. However, Leo can never be truly happy until he gets his mother back. Will Jack and Leo manage to break the spell on Queen Elena, or will they soon have no choice but to bow down to Gideon?

When I got sent a request for this book and saw that it was a picture book, I almost immediately dismissed it. I rarely ever review picture books, not because I think i'm above them, but because they're so short I feel that I will run out of things to talk about, and of course I can never do the gorgeous illustrations justice! However, when I saw the topic of this book, I knew that I had to make an exception!

The book follows a young farm boy named Jack, who is given a puppy by his mother to teach him responsibility. Jack and his puppy, Milo, soon become best friends, and explore the forest together. One day, Jack finds Prince Leo, who informs Jack his mother, Queen Elena is under a spell. I loved the friendship between the two boys, and how their relationship developed as they got older. Although the book is very short, their relationship grew over a period of time, and it felt like a very natural progression. The gorgeous illustrations of the two young men spending time together were completely adorable, and I loved how it was shown as such a healthy relationship. I adored that although there was such a huge class difference between them, they treated each other as equals.

One thing that I adored was the complete lack of homophobia. Children's fairy tales often involve a prince falling in love with a peasant girl, or vise versa, and this story felt as if could have come straight from Disney, except the characters who fall in love just so happen to both be male. I adored that although the characters had problems, non of them stemmed from their relationship with each other. I loved how accepting their parents were when they informed them of their relationship, as they acted no differently than if they had been a straight couple, which of course is how all parents should react. We definitely need more books like this to teach children that it doesn't matter what the gender of the person someone falls in love with is, and that love is love.

I have to talk about the map at the start of the book! Although the characters don't actually visit most of the locations on the map, I still loved it, and found it extremely clever that all the locations were named after LGBT celebrities. Although I was a little disappointed the characters never actually visited Mt. Ellen, I was happy that it existed in their world.

The female characters in this book were fantastic! I particularly loved Leo's mother, Queen Elena, and I loved that Leo looked up to her and wanted to grow up to be just like her. She was definitely not a damsel in distress, and I loved how she ended up saving herself and everyone else. I also loved Carol, Jack's mother, who stood her ground against the villain and refused to give up her land. As there is no mentioned of Leo and Jack's fathers, I can only assume that both of these women are single parents who have both succeeded in raising brave, intelligent and kind sons.


The only negative thing I have to say is it was extremely short! Although I do realise it is a picture book and that is just how picture books are, I loved these characters and with all the locations on the map that we never learnt about, I felt as if it had potential to be developed into a children's chapter book. This book has done a fantastic job at normalising LGBT people, and I honestly wish all young children could read it. This was a lovely dedication to the Pulse 49 who tragically lost their lives, and I recommend this fantastic book to all parents who have young children!

Promised Land is now available to purchase!

   | Amazon | Promised Land Store

Reviewing the Classics #8 The Great Gatsby

Goodreads Summary:

Invited to an extravagantly lavish party in a Long Island mansion, Nick Carraway, a young bachelor who has just settled in the neighbouring cottage, is intrigued by the mysterious host, Jay Gatsby, a flamboyant but reserved self-made man with murky business interests and a shadowy past. As the two men strike up an unlikely friendship, details of Gatsby’s impossible love for a married woman emerge, until events spiral into tragedy.

Regarded as Fitzgerald's masterpiece and one of the greatest novels of American literature, The Great Gatsby is a vivid chronicle of the excesses and decadence of the "Jazz Age", as well as a timeless cautionary critique of the American dream.

For my first classic of the year, I have decided to go for one of my favourites! I first read this book as part of my English Literature degree, and I loved it just as much then as I do now. However. As Alma books sent me a gorgeous new copy, I decided it was time for a reread. The book follows Nick Carraway, a man who has recently moved to New York. Nick soon meets his neighbour, Jay Gatsby, a wealthy man with a mysterious past. Of course there are a number of themes that run throughout this short novel, including the American Dream, wealth and social classes. I feel as if this would be too essay like if I went into too much detail about the themes, so I am going to stick with what I do best and talk about the story line and characters!

When the average person thinks of a classic, they probably think of books with hundreds of pages that are often long winded and contain archaic language. One thing that I love about The Great Gatsby is how short it is. I do feel as if some classics can drag out and get a little boring, so I love how The Great Gatsby is short and to the point while still feeling that it is enough to fully immerse you in the story, and not feel as if it is too short to tell Gatsby's story. I feel as if this is the perfect book for anyone who wants to read a classic, but finds Jane Ausen and Charlotte Bronte's books to be a little overwhelming, as this book can easily be read in one sitting.

I have always adored the setting of The Great Gatsby, as I love reading about The Jazz Age. I think everyone has wished at some point that they could attend a party just like Gatsby's, and I love reading the party scenes! I also love how American this book is, and I especially love that it is set in New York.

The characters in this book are interesting, with their different beliefs and class status'. I love that non of these characters are perfect, as even Nick has his own problems. I think that the character who we all mutually hate the most is Daisy's husband, Tom Buchanan. Along with cheating on his wife, Tom is extremely classist ans racist, believing in white supremacy. Tom believe he is better than others because he is a rich white man, and the book makes it extremely easy to hate him. I think it's interesting that although Tom is a terrible person, he doesn't suffer any consequences for it, which really shows the truth that money talks, and rich, corrupt people tend to do well in society.

One thing that has always drawn me to Gatsby's character is how mysterious he is. Few facts are known about his past, and each character who Nick comes across seems to have different theories about his past. Although Nick describes Gatsby as being his friend, he is not even aware that he still has living family members, and is shocked when Gatsby's dad shows up.

The Great Gatsby has certainly earned it's title of being a classic, and I love how many of the issues raised are still relevant almost 100 years later. This book will forever be one of my all time favourite classics!

The Great Gatsby is now available to purchase!

 Alma Classics  | Amazon | Book Depository 

Review on Damage

Gabi is grief stricken after he grandfather dies. Her mother refuses to talk about him, and she doesn't want to weigh her friends down with her own burdens. The only thing that ever seems to take her mind off it is skateboarding at her local skate park. Soon, even this isn't a good enough distraction for Gabi, and she turns to self harm. Gabi's friends must help her through these upsetting times, and make he realise that she doesn't have to bare the burden alone, and it is okay to ask for help.

I always find it the most difficult to read and review book on sensitive subjects such as this one. This book focuses on self harm, an upsetting but important topic that shouldn't be ignored. It is a myth that young people self harm for attention, and a fact that many don't let their friends and families know they are self harming. Books like Damage are extremely important in helping people receive a more accurate interpretation of what it's like for young people who self harm.

The book focuses on Gabi, a fifteen year old who has recently lost her grandfather. Although the first few pages of the book did immediately draw me in, I did feel as if it was overall too spoilery, as it is actually a repetition of a chapter towards the end of the book. It is not difficult to work out what is about to happen, so I felt as if it was a little anti-climatic that half of the book was building up to an event that we already knew was going to happen. As the blurb on the back of the book mentions Gabi having a terrible secret, I wasn't too sure if revealing that secret to the reader in the first few pages was the best idea.

The book is split into two parts, with half of it focusing on Gabi's present life, and the other half on the build up to the death of Gabi's grandfather. I loved that I was equally interested in both parts of the story, as usually when this happens in books, I tend to prefer one story over the other. Although the main focus of the book is self harm, I loved that other important topics were also briefly dealt with, such as alcoholism, anxiety and depression. I loved Gabi's best friend, Amira, and as someone who has anxiety, she was the character who I related to the most. Amira is constantly worrying about little thing that to most people would seem trivial, but to people with anxiety can feel like the end of the world. I also loved the pre-party scene, as I know I would have reacted exactly like Amira in that situation.

Gabi is reluctant to let her friends and family know she is self harming. However, she does post on a self harm forum, and talks to strangers online who are going through the same thing as her. I loved that although she felt unable to tell anyone she knew, she did realise that she couldn't face her problems alone, and needed help. Talking to a stranger can often be easier than talking to a family member, so I loved how she was getting advise to seek help. However, the sad truth is that there are a lot of trolls online, who could do more harm than good, so although the forum did help Gabi, I felt as if it could easily have gone wrong, and people in a similar situation to Gabi should instead call a confidential helpline.

I loved that although Gabi assumed that her friends would judge her, that wasn't the case at all. They were extremely understanding, and tried to help her as best as they could. We all deal with grief in certain ways, but the most important thing to realise is we never have to suffer alone, as there is always help out there. I found it upsetting that Gabi's mother would shut down every time Gabi tried to talk to her about her grandfather, as I felt as if it would have been extremely beneficial for both of them to be able to talk about their problems.

One thing I didn't like too much was that the ending was rather ambiguous. Although it is up to the reader to be optimistic, I would have preferred it if the reader had been driven towards the direction of Gabi getting help. It is extremely important for readers who are self harming to see that there is help available, and I was a little disappointed that Gabi wasn't used as a better role model.

I loved that there were helplines and websites at the back of the book, and I feel as if any book that deals with important topics like this should include these. I have learnt a lot about self harm from reading this book, and think Eve Ainsworth has done a brilliant job writing on such a sensitive subject.

Damage is now available to purchase!

   | Amazon | Book Depository 

Review on Rasputin's Supernatural Dating Service

Eli Kowalski works as a Certifier for Rasputin's Supernatural Dating Service, where he must sort out the fakes from the real supernatural creatures. However, when he meets Meri, a witch with a bad dating history, Eli gets involved in more than he bargained for. Meri's ex boyfriend has stolen an ancient tablet which has the power to kill all supernatural creatures. With the help of Meri, Rasputin, Frankenstein and H.P Lovecraft, Eli must stop him from using the tablet before it is too late.

So this is the third book by David Hammons that I've read, and I am quickly becoming a fan! Although I wasn't too keen on Alice Takes Back Wonderland, I did adore Don't Eat the Glowing Bananas, and as this book seemed to also be going down the comedy route, I thought I would give it a go. The book follows Eli, a man who works for a dating website for supernatural creatures. I thought the idea of Raspuin still being alive and running a dating service hilarious. However, from the book title and the cover, I assumed that setting supernatural creatures up on dates with each other would be the main plot, so I was a little d isappointed that this ended up being more of a subplot, with the main focus being on trying to stop Meri's ex boyfriend from killing all Supernatural creatures.

I found the antagonist of this book hilarious. Maxwell is a rogue, fedora wearing witch, who believes that women never want to date “nice guys.” Maxwell plans to destroy all supernatural creatures so that guys like him have a better chance at dating women. Maxwell was practically the embodiment of a man child. Although Maxwell seemed to be a satire, the sad thing is that I have seen guys who act exactly like Maxwell!

Although I did find certain parts of this book funny, I didn't find it quite as funny as Don't Eat the Glowing Bananas. I did love some of the minor characters like H.P Lovecraft, Steve and the ghosts, but I didn't care too much about the three main characters. I felt as if Raputin had potential to be a really funny character, so I was disappointed that he wasn't in the book more. As I adored Lewis in Don't Eat the Glowing Bananas, I was hoping that there would be a character similar to him in Rasputin's Supernatural Dating Service, but unfortunately I didn't find a character who I thought was as funny as Lewis.

The storyline itself was ridiculous, and although it wasn't what I was expecting, I still loved it. The humor is very immature, and I feel as if more serious, adulty adults might not find it funny. Although I didn't find it as funny as I thought I would, I adored Rasputin and Steve the troll, and felt as if they needed to be in the book more. I did however love the anime con scene, and especially loved Steve being an anime fan, and everyone hating bronies.

As most of the books that I read have serious topics, I felt as if this one was exactly what I needed to take a break. The moral of the story is to not be a fedora wearing douchebag who treats women like objects, which I think is beautiful. On a more serious note, I adored Eli's conversation with his dad, and although 90% of this book is silly, it did make a good point that yo u can't run away from your problems forever, and you'll have to face them eventually.

I overall enjoyed this silly and fun read, and although I do feel as if it could have been better, it was a nice change from the books I'm used to reading. It has definitely made me want to go outside my regular genres more often and read more comedy books!

Rasputin's Supernatural Dating Service is now available to purchase!

    Amazon 

Book Club Picks #8 Margot & Me

When Fliss's mum decides to spend some time living on Fliss's grandmothers farm in South Wales, she is reluctant to go. Fliss's grandmother, Margot, is mean, and Fliss hates her. Fliss soon comes across Margot's diary, which she had kept during the war as an evacuee. Fliss decides to read the diary in an attempt to find something she can blackmail Margot with. However, she soon discovers a horrible and shocking truth.

 I was so excited when HotKeyBooks sent The Book Club Margot & Me for our January read! I adore Juno Dawson's work, and I was so happy to be one of the first people to receive it! The book follows Fliss, a fifteen year old girl who has been forced to leave her home in London to live with her grandmother on a farm in a small village in South Wales.

Fliss's mother is in remission from cancer, and tells Fliss she wants to recover in the countryside before returning to work. However, Fliss struggles with the move, missing her friends back home, and hating such a huge change. I loved that although Fliss was a likeable character overall, she was far from perfect. She was initially selfish and stuck up, thinking she was better than her fellow classmates because she was from London and knew what was fashionable. I loved that she was soon brought down to earth with the knowledge that she wasn't going to be popular, and that the two friends she did make were considered to be nerds.

The book is split between two stories, taking place in the same location in different time periods. The main narrative focuses on Fliss's present life, while we are also told Margot's story from 1941. I feel as if skipping between stories can often be confusing, but Juno has set this out perfectly, making it extremely clear who's narrative we are currently in. Although I was more interested in Margot's story than Fliss' I still adored seeing Fliss develop as a character.

One thing that I adored about this book was the setting. The book is set in South Wales, with a large portion of it being set in the 90's. I feel as if the majority of contemporary novels are set in the year that they were written, so this felt like a nice change, and with typical 90's themes being brought up, such as dial up internet and The Spice Girls, it all felt very nostalgic and made me miss the 90's. I was also extremely happy to discover that the book is set in Wales! I adored the Welsh characters, and as a Welsh person myself, I felt as if the way they spoke was extremely accurate! I also loved how a few Welsh words were thrown in. Juno has obviously done her research, and made the characters accurate and believable.

Something that made me cringe quite a bit was Fliss's crush on the school librarian. I think most of us are guilty for having a crush on a teacher at some point in our lives, but I found it uncomfortable that Fliss believed she had a chance of making it work. Teachers can get into serious trouble for having a relationship with a student that isn't a strictly student/teacher relationship, and Fliss clearly didn't realise what her actions could do. I loved that her friends tried to explain to her why she couldn't pursue a relationship, and was happy that things got sorted out instead of turning into a huge scandal.

My favourite part of the book has to be Margot's diary entries. I am a huge history nerd, and I adore reading fiction set during the World Wars. I adored young Margot, and some of the things she had to endure were heartbreaking and chilling. Juno has done a brilliant job of portraying Margot's emotions, and it is impossible to not sympathise with her. Margot is an extremely strong and brave character, and the diary entries give us a clear understanding of why Margot is now the way that she is.

There were some great plot twists towards the end of the book, and although they were heartbreaking, I was not expecting them at all! This book is very character driven, and I loved how there were some diverse characters in the form of Andrew, Reg and Danny. I adored Margot's reaction to discovering one of her friends was gay, as we all know homosexuality was a s crime during the 1940's, so I adored how Margot accepted her friend for who he was, and didn't treat him any different because of it. I also loved how Fliss mirrored her grandmothers actions when one of her classmates used a homophobic term towards her friend.

The book has some important but upsetting themes, such as racism, homophobia and dealing with the repercussions of life threatening illnesses, including cancer and HIV. It definitely does not have the traditional miraculous happy ending, but shows us that life has its ups and downs, and sometimes terrible things happen that you have no choice but to recover from. I loved how Fliss managed to create her own unconventional happy ending, and started her journey on moving forward. Juno Dawson has once again manged to captivate me , and remind me why she is one of my all time favourite authors!

Margot & Me is now available to purchase!

   | Amazon | Book Depository