REVIEW: Goodnight Mister Tom - Michelle Magorian

Title: Goodnight Mister Tom
Author: Michelle Magorian
Publisher: Puffin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 358 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

London is poised on the brink of World War II. Timid, scrawny Willie Beech -- the abused child of a single mother -- is evacuated to the English countryside. At first, he is terrified of everything, of the country sounds and sights, even of Mr Tom, the gruff, kindly old man who has taken him in. But gradually Willie forgets the hate and despair of his past. He learns to love a world he never knew existed, a world of friendship and affection in which harsh words and daily beatings have no place. Then a telegram comes. Willie must return to his mother in London. When weeks pass by with no word from Willie, Mr Tom sets out for London to look for the young boy he has come to love as a son. 

Believe in the Impossible Readathon

Added from the #Believeathon Twitter Page

During November, I am going to join in with the Believe in the Impossible Readathon (#Believeathon) hosted by Gavin over at GavinHethrington (see the announcement video from the man himself down below)

REVIEW: Court of Shadows (#2) - Madeleine Roux

Title: Court of Shadows (#2)
Author: Madeleine Roux
Series: House of Furies
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Hardback
Pages: 416 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

After the frightful events of last autumn, seventeen-year-old Louisa Ditton has settled into her role as a maid at Coldthistle House, but she has not settled into what that means for her humanity.

As Louisa struggles to figure out whether she is worthy of redemption, the devilish Mr Morningside plans a fete— one that will bring new guests to Coldthistle House. From wicked humans to Upworlders, angelic beings who look down upon Mr Morningside’s monstrous staff, all are armed with their own brand of self-righteous justice.

Even a man claiming to be Louisa’s father has a role to play, though what his true motive is, Louisa cannot tell. The conflicts will eventually come to a head on the grounds of Coldthistle House—and the stakes include Louisa’s very soul.

REVIEW: Every Heart a Doorway (#1) - Seannan McGuire

Title: Every Heart a Doorway (#1)
Author: Seannan McGuire
Series: Wayward Children
Publisher: Macmillian Audio
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Cynthia Hopkins
Time: 4HRS 44MINS
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

REVIEW: Horrorstor - Grady Hendrix

Title: Horrorstӧr
Author: Grady Hendrix
Publisher: Quirk Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 243 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

REVIEW: Days of Blood and Starlight (#2) - Laini Taylor

Title: Days of Blood and Starlight (#2)
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Publisher: Hodder & Staughton
Format: Paperback
Pages: 513 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

REVIEW: The Near Witch - V. E. Schwab

Title: The Near Witch
Author: V. E. Schwab
Publisher: Blackstone Audio Inc
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Heather Wilds
Time: 9HRS 28 MINS
Rating: ⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger-a boy who seems to fade like smoke-appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi's need to know about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

REVIEW: Slayer (#1) - Kiersten White*

Title: Slayer (#1)
Author: Kiersten White
Series: Slayer
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's UK
Format: Paperback
Pages: 401 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*RECEIVED FROM NETGALLEY FOR AN HONEST REVIEW - PAPERBACK COPY BOUGHT BY MYSELF WITH MY OWN MONEY*

Goodreads Blurb

Into every generation, a Slayer is born…

Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. It’s hard to be when you grow up at the Watcher’s Academy, which is a bit different from your average boarding school. Here teens are trained as guides for Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness. But while Nina’s mother is a prominent member of the Watcher’s Council, Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle. Instead, she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as the school medic.

Until the day Nina’s life changes forever.

Thanks to Buffy, the famous (and infamous) Slayer that Nina’s father died protecting, Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period.

As Nina hones her skills with her Watcher-in-training, Leo, there’s plenty to keep her occupied: a monster fighting ring, a demon who eats happiness, a shadowy figure that keeps popping up in Nina’s dreams…

But it’s not until bodies start turning up that Nina’s new powers will truly be tested—because someone she loves might be next.

One thing is clear: Being Chosen is easy. Making choices is hard.

September 2019 Wrap Up

Where has September gone, I know I say that about every month but it is still surprising.

October 2019 TBR

So it is the start of October tomorrow, I know I always write it but where has this month gone too?

I have already posted some TBR's for the Hocus Pocus Readathon and the Supernatural-athon, and they can be found by clicking the links above.

The books you will find here are the books that will just fill out my monthly TBR of 24 books so there should be 12 books.

Supernatural-athon

I am really over-exerting myself this month, I'm joining in with the Hocus Pocus Readathon, I'm also taking the kids to Disneyland and now I have decided to join in with the Supernatural-athon (what am I thinking?)

Photo from Supernatural-athon twitter

REVIEW: And I Darken (#1) - Kiersten White

Title: And I Darken (#1)
Author: Kiersten White
Series: The Conqueror's Saga
Publisher: Corgi
Format: Paperback
Pages: 475 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point. 

Hocus Pocus Readathon

I love Halloween, and I especially love it as it is time to break out Hocus Pocus (I love that movie), and I have decided to join in with the Hocus Pocus readathon created by Pages and Ink on youtube, this runs between the 1st October till the 13th October.

REVIEW: Wonder Woman: Warbringer - Leigh Bardugo

Title: Wonder Woman: Warbringer
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: DC Icons
Publisher: Penguin Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 364 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Daughter of immortals.

Princess Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mortal. Diana will soon learn that she has rescued no ordinary girl, and that with this single brave act, she may have doomed the world.

Daughter of death.

Alia Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who think her very existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.

Together.

Two girls will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. Tested beyond the bounds of their abilities, Diana and Alia must find a way to unleash hidden strengths and forge an unlikely alliance. Because if they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.

REVIEW: The Secret Lives of Superhero Wives - Joynell Schultz

Title: The Secret Lives of Superhero Wives
Author: Joynell Schultz
Series: The Superhero Wives World
Publisher: Wet Dog Press
Format: E-Book
Pages: 316 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Nobody said being married was easy, but try being married to a superhero. Not only is there laundry, cooking, and a career to balance, but throw in a few supervillains and your day’s booked.

Ariana, Victoria, and Emma’s men spend more time saving the world than doing dishes. These wives want some semblance of a normal married life but would settle for an uninterrupted meal together. Besides, how can they compete with saving the world?

When a catastrophic earthquake devastates Shadow Town and crime spirals out of control, it appears the city needs all the help they can get to clean it up. Everyone expected the resident superheroes to save the day, but nobody expected the wives’ help too…

REVIEW: Charmcaster (#3) - Sebastien de Castell*

Title: Charmcaster (#3)
Author: Sebastien de Castell
Series: Spellslinger
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Format: Hardback
Pages: 417 Pages
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

*DIGITAL COPY RECEIVED FROM NETGALLEY FOR AN HONEST REVIEW - HARDBACK COPY WAS BOUGHT BY MYSELF OUT OF MY OWN POCKET*

Goodreads Blurb

'I was getting almost as good at running away from enemies as I was at making them in the first place. Turns out, I wasn't running nearly fast enough.'

Kellen has begun to master his spellslinging and the Argosi tricks for staying alive, and he and Reichis have found a career that suits them both: taking down mercenary mages who make people's lives miserable. But Ferius is concerned that Kellen is courting disaster . . .

REVIEW: Hidden Bodies (#2) - Caroline Kepnes

Title: Hidden Bodies (#2)
Author: Caroline Kepnes
Series: You
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Format: E-Book
Pages: 449 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past ten years, this thirty-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he’s heading west to Los Angeles, the city of second chances, determined to put his past behind him.

In Hollywood, Joe blends in effortlessly with the other young upstarts. He eats guac, works in a bookstore, and flirts with a journalist neighbor. But while others seem fixated on their own reflections, Joe can’t stop looking over his shoulder. The problem with hidden bodies is that they don’t always stay that way. They re-emerge, like dark thoughts, multiplying and threatening to destroy what Joe wants most: true love. And when he finds it in a darkened room in Soho House, he’s more desperate than ever to keep his secrets buried. He doesn’t want to hurt his new girlfriend—he wants to be with her forever. But if she ever finds out what he’s done, he may not have a choice…

REVIEW: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (#1) - Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (#1)
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Format: Paperback
Pages: 418 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that colour. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

REVIEW: After (#1) - Anna Todd

Title: After (#1)
Author: Anna Todd
Series: After
Publisher: Gallery Books
Format: E-Book
Pages: 593 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She’s got direction, ambition, and a mother who’s intent on keeping her that way. 

But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos, and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to. 

But he’s also rude—to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin. And she does—until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before. 

He’ll call her beautiful, then insist he isn't the one for her and disappears again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper. 

Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her? 

Unless…could this be love?

REVIEW: Sweet Torment - Georgia Cates

Title: Sweet Torment
Author: Georgia Cates
Publisher: Georgia Cates Books LLC
Format: E-Book
Pages: 130 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Bram—
My best friend’s little sister—that’s all Claudia Bliss is to me.
My head keeps trying to convince my heart, but both know it’s a damn lie. 

It’s her face I see every time I close my eyes.
It’s her lips I long to kiss.
It’s her touch I crave in the dark.
She’s the one I love … but wanting Claudia is wrong. 

She’s been like a little sister to me since the day she was born. Now, everything between us is changing—including the special bond we’ve always shared. It’s stronger than ever … and becoming something so different. Something so hot. Something so forbidden.

My little dove is growing up.
Doesn’t matter how wrong it is, I can’t stop wanting her.
I will have her.

Claudia—
Bram Windsor. I have loved him my entire life.

For years, I was nothing more than one of the boys to him. Owen’s little sister. The pest who tagged along everywhere the boys went. But now, everything has changed.

I’ve grown up and it’s time Bram sees me for what I am. A woman. A sexual being who wants him. A virgin more than ready to give herself to him.

I don’t care what our friends or family say. I love him and everything about being together feels right.
I will have him.

REVIEW: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Moby Dick (#2) - Gideon Defoe

Title: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Moby Dick (#2)
Author: Gideon Defoe
Series: The Pirates!
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Format: Paperback
Pages: 220 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

They’re back!!! The Pirate Captain and his irascible crew of scoundrels return in their soggiest saga yet. 

Fresh from their mishaps with Charles Darwin and the evil Bishop of Oxford, the Pirates set sail in a bouncy new vessel——purchased on credit. 

In order to repay his debts, the Pirate Captain is determined to capture the enigmatic White Whale, hunted by the notoriously moody Ahab, who has promised a reward. 

Chaos ensues, featuring the lascivious Cutlass Liz, the world’s most dangerous mosquito, an excerpt from the Pirate Captain’s novel in progress (a bodice ripper, of course), whale ventriloquism, practical lessons in whale painting, a shanty-singing contest in a Las Vegas casino, and a dramatic climax in which the Pirate Captain’s prize ham saves the day! Move over, Herman Melville.

REVIEW: The Wide Window (#3) - Lemony Snicket

Title: The Wide Window (#3)
Author: Lemony Snicket
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Format: Hardback
Pages: 218 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

If you have not read anything about the Baudelaire orphans, then before you read even one more sentence, you should know this: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are kindhearted and quick-witted; but their lives, I am sorry to say, are filled with bad luck and misery. All of the stories about these three children are unhappy and wretched, and this one may be the worst of them all. If you haven't got the stomach for a story that includes a hurricane, a signalling device, hungry leeches, cold cucumber soup, a horrible villain, and a doll named Pretty Penny, then this book will probably fill you with despair. I will continue to record these tragic tales, for that is what I do. You, however, should decide for yourself whether you can possibly endure this miserable story.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

REVIEW: The Dark Day's Pact (#2) - Alison Goodman

Title: The Dark Day's Pact (#2)
Author: Alison Goodman
Series: Lady Helen
Publisher: Walker Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 500 Pages
Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

June 1812. Just weeks after her catastrophic coming-out ball, Lady Helen Wrexhall—now disowned by her uncle—is a full member of the demon-hunting Dark Days Club. Her mentor, Lord Carlston, has arranged for Helen to spend the summer season in Brighton so that he can train her new Reclaimer powers. However, the long-term effects of Carlston’s Reclaimer work have taken hold, and his sanity is beginning to slip. At the same time, Carlston’s Dark Days Club colleague and nemesis will stop at nothing to bring Helen over to his side—and the Duke of Selburn is determined to marry her. The stakes are even higher for Helen as she struggles to become the warrior that everyone expects her to be.

REVIEW: Saga Vol. 9 - Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Title: Saga Vol. 9
Author: Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
Series: Saga
Publisher: Image Comics
Format: Paperback
Pages: 152 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

The multiple Eisner Award-winning series returns with a spacefaring adventure about fake news and genuine terror. Get ready for the most shocking, most impactful SAGA storyline yet.

March 2019 Wrap Up

I make a TBR to try and get through the books that I currently own (I keep trying to place a book ban on myself but it just goes by the wayside at the moment).

I always say this at the beginning of every month, but where has the month gone too, they are flying by so fast.

April TBR

It's time for another TBR, and seriously where is this year going.


During the month of April, I am joining in with the O.W.L's Readathon so for the 12 subjects I have chosen books that match the prompts

REVIEW: Day Shift (#2) - Charlaine Harris

Title: Day Shift (#2)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Series: Midnight, Texas
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

There is no such thing as bad publicity, except in Midnight, Texas, where the residents like to keep to themselves. Even in a town full of secretive people, Olivia Charity is an enigma. She lives with the vampire Lemuel, but no one knows what she does; they only know that she’s beautiful and dangerous.

Psychic Manfred Bernardo finds out just how dangerous when he goes on a working weekend to Dallas and sees Olivia there with a couple who are both found dead the next day. To make matters worse, one of Manfred’s regular — and very wealthy — clients dies during a reading.

Manfred returns from Dallas embroiled in scandal and hounded by the press. He turns to Olivia for help; somehow he knows that the mysterious Olivia can get things back to normal. As normal as things get in Midnight...

REVIEW: The Paper Magician (#1) = Charlie N. Holmberg

Title: The Paper Magician (#1)
Author: Charlie N. Himberg
Series: The Paper Magician
Publisher: 47North
Format: Paperback
Pages: 214 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic… forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvellous than she could have ever imagined — animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner — a practitioner of dark, flesh magic — invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

REVIEW: Hidden Huntress (#2) - Danielle L. Jensen

Title: Hidden Huntress (#2)
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Series: The Malediction Trilogy
Publisher: Angry Robot
Format: Paperback
Pages: 458 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Sometimes, one must accomplish the impossible.

Beneath the mountain, the king’s reign of tyranny is absolute; the one troll with the capacity to challenge him is imprisoned for treason. Cécile has escaped the darkness of Trollus, but she learns all too quickly that she is not beyond the reach of the king’s power. Or his manipulation.

Recovered from her injuries, she now lives with her mother in Trianon and graces the opera stage every night. But by day she searches for the witch who has eluded the trolls for five hundred years. Whether she succeeds or fails, the costs to those she cares about will be high.

To find Anushka, she must delve into magic that is both dark and deadly. But the witch is a clever creature. And Cécile might not just be the hunter. She might also be the hunted… 

REVIEW: First Man In: Leading from the Front - Ant Middleton

Title: First Man In: Leading from the Front
Author: Ant Middleton
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher Ltd
Format: Audiobook
Time: 6HRS 59MINS
Narrator: Ant Middleton
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

No one is born a leader. But through sheer determination and by confronting life’s challenges, Ant Middleton has come to know the meaning of true leadership. In First Man In, he shares the core lessons he’s learned over the course of his fascinating, exhilarating life.

After 13 years service in the military, with 4 years as a Special Boat Service (SBS) sniper, Ant Middleton is the epitome of what it takes to excel. He served in the SBS, the naval wing of the special forces, the Royal Marines and 9 Parachute Squadron Royal, achieving what is known as the ‘Holy Trinity’ of the UK’s Elite Forces. As a point man in the SBS, Ant was always the first man through the door, the first man into the dark, and the first man in harm’s way.

In this fascinating, exhilarating and revealing book, Ant speaks about the highs and gut-wrenching lows of his life – from the thrill of passing Special Forces Selection to dealing with the early death of his father and ending up in prison on leaving the military – and draws valuable lessons that we can all use in our daily lives.

REVIEW: Demon Dentist - David Walliams

Title: Demon Dentist
Author: David Walliams
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: David Walliams
Time: 4HRS 46MINS
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Darkness had come to the town. Strange things were happening in the dead of night. Children would put a tooth under their pillow for the tooth fairy, but in the morning they would wake up to find… a dead slug; a live spider; hundreds of earwigs creeping and crawling beneath their pillow.

Evil was at work. But who or what was behind it…?

REVIEW: Mortal Engines (#1) - Philip Reeve

Title: Mortal Engines (#1)
Author: Philip Reeve
Series: Mortal Engines Quartet
Publisher: Scholastic
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

The great traction city London has been skulking in the hills to avoid the bigger, faster, hungrier cities loose in the Great Hunting Ground. But now, the sinister plans of Lord Mayor Mangus Crome can finally unfold.

Thaddeus Valentine, London's Head Historian and adored famous archaeologist, and his lovely daughter, Katherine, are down in The Gut when the young assassin with the black scarf strikes toward his heart, saved by the quick intervention of Tom, a lowly third-class apprentice. Racing after the fleeing girl, Tom suddenly glimpses her hideous face: scarred from forehead to jaw, nose a smashed stump, a single eye glaring back at him. "Look at what your Valentine did to me!" she screams. "Ask him! Ask him what he did to Hester Shaw!" And with that she jumps down the waste chute to her death. Minutes later Tom finds himself tumbling down the same chute and stranded in the Out-Country, a sea of mud scored by the huge caterpillar tracks of cities like the one now steaming off over the horizon.

REVIEW: Renegades (#1) - Marissa Meyer

Title: Renegades (#1)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: Renegades
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 552 Pages
Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Secret identities. Extraordinary powers.
She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies―humans with extraordinary abilities―who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone . . . except for the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice―and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

REVIEW: Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (#2) - M. C. Beaton

Title: Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (#2)
Author: M. C. Beaton
Series: Agatha Raisin
Publisher: C & R Crime
Format: E-Book
Pages: 224 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Feisty Agatha Raisin, former London PR exec, retired to quiet Cotswold village. Handsome vet Paul Bladen accidentally kills himself while attending Lord Pendlebury's horse. Agatha and attractive neighbour James Lacey investigate the curious lack of sorrow shown by his divorced wife while a killer plans another "accident".

REVIEW: Noughts & Crosses (#1) - Malorie Blackman

Title: Noughts & Crosses (#1)
Author: Malorie Blackman
Series: Noughts & Crosses
Publisher: RHCP Digital
Format: E-Book
Pages: 410 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Two young people are forced to make a stand in this thought-provoking look at racism and prejudice in an alternate society.

Sephy is a Cross -- a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a Nought -- a “colourless” member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood, but that’s as far as it can go. In their world, Noughts and Crosses simply don’t mix. Against a background of prejudice and distrust, intensely highlighted by violent terrorist activity, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum -- a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger. Can they possibly find a way to be together? 

REVIEW: Ruby Red (#1) - Kerstin Gier

Title: Ruby Red (#1)
Author: Kerstin Gier
Series: Precious Stone Trilogy
Publisher: Square Fish
Format: Paperback
Pages: 322 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Sixteen-year-old Gwen lives with her extended - and rather eccentric - family in an exclusive London neighbourhood. In spite of her ancestors' peculiar history, she's had a relatively normal life so far. The time-travelling gene that runs like a secret thread through the female half of the family is supposed to have skipped over Gwen, so she hasn't been introduced to "the mysteries," and can spend her time hanging out with her best friend, Lesly. It comes as an unwelcome surprise when she starts taking sudden, uncontrolled leaps into the past.

She's totally unprepared for time travel, not to mention all that comes with it: fancy clothes, archaic manners, a mysterious secret society, and Gideon, her time-travelling counterpart. He's obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking guy she's seen in any century . . . . 

REVIEW: Saga Vol. 8 - Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Title: Saga Vol 8.
Author: Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
Series: Saga
Publisher: Image Comics
Format: Paperback
Pages: 146 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

After the traumatic events of the War for Phang, Hazel, her parents, and their surviving companions embark on a life-changing adventure at the westernmost edge of the universe.

February 2019 Wrap Up

Welcome to another wrap-up, I hope you had a good February and also a good Valentine's Day.

Well let's get on to another wrap-up

1. Noughts & Crosses (#1) - Malorie Blackman (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
2. The Paper Magician (#1) - Charlie N. Holmberg (⭐⭐⭐)
3. An Eye for an Eye - Malorie Blackman (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
4. The Next Together (#1) - Lauren James (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
5. And I Darken (#1) - Kiersten White (⭐⭐)
6. Unearthed (#1) - Megan Spooner & Amie Kaufman (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
7. Charmcaster (#3) - Sebastien de Castell (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
8. Asylum (#1) - Madeleine Roux (⭐⭐)
9. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Moby Dick (#2) - Gideon Defoe (⭐⭐⭐)
10. Hidden Bodies (#2) - Caroline Kepnes (⭐⭐)
11. The Miserable Mill (#4) - Lemony Snicket (⭐⭐⭐)
12. The Battlemage (#3) - Taran Matharu (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Overall I ended up reading 12 books (which isn't bad, that's half my TBR), I got through quite a lot at the end of the month after I was recuperating from surgery.

March 2019 TBR

Welcome to another TBR, again where are these months going, the year just seems to be disappearing so quickly.

• Sapphire Blue (#2) - Kerstin Gier
• Predator's Gold (#2) - Philip Reeve
• The Austere Academy (#5) - Lemony Snicket
• The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists (#3) - Gideon Defoe
• Nevernight (#1) - Jay Kristoff
• Slayer (#1) - Kiersten White
• Magonia (#1) - Maria Dahvana Headley
• The Sun is also a Star - Nicola Yoon
• The Extinction Trials (#1) - S. M. Wilson
• Knife Edge (#2) - Malorie Blackman
• Warrior Witch (#3) - Danielle L. Jensen
• Wonder Woman: Warbringer - Leigh Bardugo
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue (#3) - Maggie Stiefvater
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone (#1) - Laini Taylor
• Leviathan (#1) - Scott Westerfeld
• The Infinite Sea (#2) - Rick Yancey
• Flying Too High (#2) - Kerry Greenwood
• The Ask and the Answer (#2) - Patrick Ness
• The Loneliness of Distant Beings (#1) - Kate Ling

------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Dumplin' (#1) - Julie Murphy
• Long Dark Dust (#2) - J. P. Smythe
• Alice (#1) - Christina Henry
• Three Dark Crowns (#1) - Kendare Blake
• The Invisible Library (#1) - Genevieve Cogman

Wish me luck in March with this TBR

REVIEW: Final Promise - Alexa Riley

Title: Final Promise (#4)
Author: Alexa Riley
Series: Promises
Publisher: Unknown
Format: E-Book
Pages: 117 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Liberty has spent years watching her mom work as a maid for the powerful Spade family. It’s hard for her to see everyone around her have money, but it’s even worse when she falls for one of those rich men. Devlin is someone she can never have and all her desires for him are wrong. Maybe taking a job as his secretary was a mistake? 

Devlin Spade was born and bred to be a certain man, have a certain job, and live a certain life. But when he meets Liberty everything changes. He’s willing to give it all up if it means having her, but she won’t stop pushing him away. He can’t let her go, even if she tries to run. 

REVIEW: All About Me (#2) - Joanna Mazurkiewicz

Title: All About Me (#2)
Author: Joanna Mazurkiewicz
Series: Love & Hate
Publisher: Unknown
Format: E-Book
Pages: 222 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

I’m the monster, a bloody human incapable of emotion

I soon realise that my revenge didn’t make me feel any fucking better about myself, instead, it pissed me off to realise that I’m in love with her.

Two days later the letter addressed to me arrives in the post and the ground moves beneath my feet, because the whole truth about India is out in the open and the pain punches me so hard that I can’t breathe, darkness crawls through me, sparking all the insecurities and fears about my dead brother back to ugly reality.

Then off I go with my apology, trying to fix this fucked up situation but she doesn’t want to listen. Every time I do something the guilt is burning my gut, pushing her further and further away from me. 

She even goes an extra mile making me feel like a prick and she gets involved with someone else just to get back at me. She pretends that the event in the restaurant didn’t mean anything to her like she is immune to my actions. 

India’s pain is raw, deep and whenever I lay my eyes on her I remember the cruel things I’ve done.

The next couple of months I focus on getting her back. This is the only thing that matters to me now. I must redeem myself; forget about anger, other birds and parties. 

India is the only person that I want, I love her and only her but the problem is that she hates my guts, so I’m the last person that she wants.

I must prove to India that I’m worthy of her love.

REVIEW: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (#1) - Gideon Defoe

Title: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (#1)
Author: Gideon Defoe
Series: The Pirates!
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Format: Paperback
Pages: 197 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Worried that his pirates are growing bored with a life of winking at pretty native ladies and trying to stick enough jellyfish together to make a bouncy castle, the Pirate Captain decides it's high time to spearhead an adventure.

While searching for some major pirate booty, he mistakenly attacks the young Charles Darwin's Beagle and then leads his ragtag crew from the exotic Galapagos Islands to the fog-filled streets of Victorian London. There they encounter grisly murder, vanishing ladies, radioactive elephants, and the Holy Ghost himself. And that's not even the half of it.