Hour of Mischief

****

4 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Curiosity Quills Press for giving this book to review.

17 year old Janet has not had a good start in life and does not believe that she owes the Clockwork Gods anything. When I heist goes wrong and her gang and her ends up in prison she makes a deal with Itazura, the God of Mischief. To get her friends out of a deadly prison she must convince the gods to warn humanity about the danger they face from the Elder Gods. It is a lot harder than Janet was expecting especially when she is sure that Itazura is keeping something important from her.

Hour of Mischief is a very good steampunk fantasy novel. It is fast paced, has action, twists, mystery and a hint of romance. While good, I did found that the solutions to the problems were a bit easy. I like the mythology in this book with the Clockwork and seasonal gods, and the world that was created.

Janet is reckless, impulsive and sarcastic, but also loyal to her friends, no nonsense and insecure about failure and her mum. However, I did feel that Janet’s name did not fit her character. Itazura is cocky, sneaky and charming but while annoying he is also witty and respects and is protective of Janet. Laelatia is a fun and caring character. I hope we get to see more of the Pendulum gang in the next book.

There are lots of unanswered questions left at the end of this book and I hope they are answered in the next book. I would recommend Hour of Mischief to fans of Raven by Pauline Creeden and Thief’s Covenant by Ari Marmell.

Origins

***

3 Stars/5

Orphan stable boy Arcturus life changes forever when he reads a scroll and discovers that he has the ability to summon demons. Arcturus with his demon Sacharissa, are sent to Vocans Military Academy to learn about his ability but as the first commoner with this ability he finds he has enemies. With only Sacha on his side, Arcturus has to prove himself as a worthy summoner.

Origins is the prequel novella in the Summoner series, which is fast paced, enjoyable and easy to read, and it was great to see Arcturus’s beginning. While he is similar to Fletcher, I felt Arcturus is more street wise and I felt more protective towards him. After this novella I am hoping for some romance between Arcturus and Elaine Lovett in the next book. One thing I found irritating was that almost all of the adult characters from The Novice and The Inquisition were in this novella. I would recommend Origins to fans of the Summoner series. 

The Inquisition

****

4 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Children’s Group for giving this book to review.

Imprisoned for a year, for a crime he did not commit, Fletcher has to face the Inquisition who will decide his future. With the trial led by those who hate Fletcher they will do anything to see him suffer. When the origins of Fletcher’s birth came to light, he has little time to deal with it before the king announces a challenge that involves entering orc territory. The odds are stacked against him and he must use his cunning, demons and friends to defeat a new evil.

The Inquisition is the sequel fantasy adventure novel in the Summoner series, and I enjoyed it more than the previous book as I found it more gripping and not as rushed. I like how this book is Pokemon mixed with Lord of the Rings. It is fast paced and has lots of twists, even if some were predictable.  

Fletcher is kind, naïve and a natural leader, as he has matured since the last book, courageous and has a strong sense of right and wrong. Othello is moral, loyal and clever, and Sylva is bossy, eager to prove herself and sensible but I still think there is more to her than we have seen so far. I wish the bad guys were more complex and not so much black and white.

This book ended on another massive cliff-hanger and I am looking forward to reading the next book. I would recommend The Inquisition to fans of the first book The Novice.

The Crown

****

4 Stars/5

Thanks to HarperCollins Children’s UK for giving this book to review.

Princess Eadlyn has never felt more alone, with her twin brother married and in France, her mother just having had a heart attack and her father never leaving her side. Eadlyn must cope with running the country and finding love with one of the remaining boys in the selection. With everything in turmoil and the people not trusting her ruling ability, Eadlyn must make some hard choices about what to do with her kingdom, as well as her heart.

The Crown is very enjoyable final book of The Selection series. It is very fast paced as I stayed up very late just to see how it finished, and had some minor twists I didn’t see coming. There was not as much romance in this novel compared to the other books and while I was very happy about her choice and I felt it worked well in the story, I would have liked more.

Eadlyn is strong and a responsible and capable ruler who cared for her people and while spoiled would sacrifice anything for her kingdom’s happiness. Kile is intelligent, considerate and inventive, while Hale is confident and friendly. Henri is happy and innocent and Eric/Eikko is down to earth, shy and compassionate.

The Ending wrapped everything up but was a bit rushed. I am looking forward to seeing what Kiera Cass writes next. I would recommend The Crown to people who have read and enjoyed The Selection series, especially The Heir. 

Standing

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to China Dennington for giving this book to review.

Gale has always been afraid of the sea but when she rescues her sister from drowning, she discovers a group of technologically advanced mermaids who need her help. Because of her genes she can travel into the future and the mermaids need her, along with another human Force, to go to 2212 to stop the apocalypse. Will they be able to stop two tyrants before it is too late to go back to their time?

Standing is an enjoyable and unique story as it is mixture of paranormal, sci-fi and dystopia. It was predictable and a bit naïve story but still a fun light read. I tend to have problems with time travel but I liked this one. I feel the story could have been fleshed out a bit more with a 100 more pages. Also the beginning was too fast and I found I struggled to work out what was going on.

All of the characters are likeable (apart from the baddies) if a bit one-dimensional and I would have liked to have seen both good and bad sides of them and for them to act their age. Gale is intuitive, kind and a strong leader but I would have liked her to have panicked a bit when discovering everything rather than calmly accepting it. Force is smart, sensible but also fun-loving and curious.

While this book is not perfect, considering the age China Dennigton wrote this book, it was good and I look forward to seeing her grow her writing talents and see what she writes next. I would recommend Standing to fans of unique paranormal novels.

Azurite

**

2 Stars/5

Thanks to Megan Dent Nagle or giving this book to review.

Zora has been denied the right to be heir to the Samarian throne by her mother Queen Evangeline. Zora loves her country and the people but she is sent to Cara to be married off, but on the journey she discovers she can wield Ithillium. Will she be able to master her ability in time to save the country she loves from her own mother?

Azurite is a good story idea but I struggled with it, but this may be because I had a lot going on when I was reading it. I found it hard to figure out what was happening and why, and I feel there should not have been as many POVs as there was.

The characters are not the most compelling or complex, as while I felt sorry for Zora and how her mother treated her, I felt that it was too forced. I liked Milo and how his character was not who I was expecting him to be.

I found Azurite hard to get into and I DNF at 48% but I think I struggled with it because I was distracted by the ‘real world’ while reading it and I might want to give it another go sometime.

The Secret Fire

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for giving this book to review.

French teenager Sacha cannot die, until he turns 18, which will trigger his death and an apocalyptic event. Taylor is a straight A student who believes she is normal until she discovers that she can short out lights with her brain. They discover that Taylor is the only one who can save Sacha but they live in different countries and deadly forces are trying to stop them. Will they be able to break this curse in time?

The Secret Fire is a paranormal novel which is fast paced and has a hint of romance. I liked that this book was set in a different place than USA, as I feel that quite a lot them are set there,  I especially enjoyed the parts that were in the UK as I could relate to it.

Taylor is likeable but too perfect and good at everything, as she is responsible, considerate and hard-working. I preferred Sacha as he is wounded, sarcastic and comes across as rude and distant but this is a defence mechanism which hides how kind and lonely he is.

I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the next book, The Secret City. I would recommend The Secret Fire to fans of the Ceruleans series by Megan Tayte and The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain.