REVIEW: The Miserable Mill (#4) - Lemony Snicket

Title: The Miserable Mill (#4)
Author: Lemony Snicket
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's
Format: Hardback
Pages: 195 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Dear Reader,

I hope, for your sake, that you have not chosen to read this book because you are in the mood for a pleasant experience. If this is the case, I advise you to put this book down instantaneously, because of all the books describing the unhappy lives of the Baudelaire orphans, The Miserable Mill might be the unhappiest yet. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are sent to Paltryville to work in a lumber mill, and they find disaster and misfortune lurking behind every log.

The pages of this book, I'm sorry to inform you, contain such unpleasantries as a giant pincher machine, a bad casserole, a man with a cloud of smoke where his head should be, a hypnotist, a terrible accident resulting in injury, and coupons.

I have promised to write down the entire history of these three poor children, but you haven't, so if you prefer stories that are more heartwarming, please feel free to make another selection.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

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: Four - Veronica Roth

Four - Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent
Publisher:  Harper Collins Children's Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 285 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

The Transfer," "The Initiate," and "The Son" - follow Tobias's transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless, his Dauntless initiation, and the first clues that a foul plan is brewing in the leadership of two factions. The fourth story, "The Traitor," runs parallel with the events of Divergent, giving readers a glimpse into the decisions of loyalty - and love - that Tobias makes in the weeks after he meets Tris Prior. Exclusive scenes included!

REVIEW: Unravel Me (#2) - Tahereh Mafi

Unravel Me (#2) - Tahereh Mafi
Series: Shatter Me
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 461 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

It should have taken Juliette a single touch to kill Warner. But his mysterious immunity to her deadly power has left her shaken, wondering why her ultimate defence mechanism failed against the person she most needs protection from.

She and Adam were able to escape Warner’s clutches and join up with a group of rebels, many of whom have powers of their own. Juliette will finally be able to actively fight against The Reestablishment and try to fix her broken world. And perhaps these new allies can help her shed light on the secret behind Adam’s—and Warner’s—immunity to her killer skin.

REVIEW: Shatter Me (#1) - Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me (#1) - Tahereh Mafi
Series: Shatter Me
Publisher: Harper Collins
Format: Paperback
Pages: 338 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

I have a curseI have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong colour.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

REVIEW: Blood of Wonderland (#2) - Colleen Oakes

Blood of Wonderland (#2) - Colleen Oakes
Series: Queen of Hearts
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 322 Pages
Rating: ✮✮✮

Goodreads Blurb

Dinah has been exiled from Wonderland. The vicious father she always feared has framed her for the brutal murder of her brother and turned the kingdom against her.

Now hiding in the lush and mysterious Twisted Wood with only her war steed at her side, Dinah is faced with a choice. She could leave Wonderland forever or return and fight her father for her throne—a fight she knows would only result in bloodshed.

When a chance encounter with one of her father’s long-lost enemies brings Dinah more allies than she ever could have imagined, war starts to feel inevitable. But before Dinah can lead her people into combat, she must confront certain truths about her heart and her destiny—no matter how dark those truths may be.

Revolution is rising in Wonderland.

Dinah’s battle has begun.

REVIEW: Queen of Hearts (#1) - Colleen Oakes

Queen of Hearts (#1) - Colleen Oakes
Series: Queen of Hearts Saga
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 306 Pages
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Blurb

Dinah is the princess who will one day reign over Wonderland. She has not yet seen the dark depths of her kingdom; she longs only for her father’s approval and a future with the boy she loves. But when a betrayal breaks her heart and threatens her throne, she is launched into Wonderland’s dangerous political game. Dinah must stay one step ahead of her cunning enemies or she’ll lose not just the crown but her head.

Evil is brewing in Wonderland and maybe, most frighteningly, in Dinah herself.

This is not a story of happily ever after.

This is the story of the Queen of Hearts.

REVIEW: Sabriel (#1) - Garth Nix

Sabriel (#1) - Garth Nix
Series: Abhorsen
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's
Format: Paperback
Pages: 367 Pages
Rating: 4/5 (really liked it) ★★★★

Goodreads Blurb

Sabriel is the daughter of the Mage Abhorsen. Ever since she was a tiny child, she has lived outside the Wall of the Old Kingdom--far away from the uncontrolled power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won't stay dead.

But now, her father is missing and Sabriel is called upon to cross into the world to find him, Leaving the safety of the school she has known as home, Sabriel embarks upon a quest fraught with supernatural dangers, with companions she is unsure of--for nothing is as it seems within the boundary of the Old Kingdom. There, she confronts an evil that threatens much more than her life, and comes face to face with her hidden destiny.