Book Review: The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood and Co.)

 


 Summary: When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . .

  For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.
  Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest, most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.
  Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .

Thoughts: Happy Halloween! Here's a spooky read for you all!
     First things first: I don't read  supernatural/anything horror/even remotely intended to be scary as a general rule. Miss Peregrine's creeped me out, even Sherlock got to me on occasion. So, honestly I never thought I'd be reading a story about ghost hunting.
 Epic on the other hand (my sister who also helps run this blog) is made of tougher stuff than I am and has always been a little interested in the paranormal vein. The only problem for her was that it all usually leaned towards being scary and never really had any characters that she liked...which led to her reading more YA fantasy than supernatural (which we should all be thankful for since she introduced me to Artemis Fowl). Long story short, she found this at the library and picked it up for kicks. Two weeks later she had finished all that was out and it was her new favorite series.
 So I had to read it. Setting aside my qualms and fears I read it...in three days. It was amazing! I was blown away by the cast! They are so unique, funny and full of life! It would have been an easy four-star just for that but then the book went and made me hang on every word, jump at every twist...and the ending was perfect! I gave it five stars on Goodreads for simply making me love a ghost story. But it's more than that. The writing is perfect, told in first person by the main protagonist, Lucy Carlyle, it's the perfect blend of horror, action, and those sweet glimpses of 'normal' life in-between. 
 The cast was beautifully done. I love them all, even George and especially Lockwood and Lucy's a darling! Every moment was a blast of action, horror and humor (usually all at once, I kid you not). The way their relationships are portrayed and grow is so good.
 The plot was horrifying. I'm not going to lie, I was scared. But I made sure to read it during daylight hours and usually surround people so I haven't lost any sleep over it yet. I started to guess a bit of the reveal shortly before it happened but I was still impressed with the conclusion. And even the terrifying parts were great.

Content: Well, like I said, it's scary. That's probably the worst of it all. Then there's a bit of language (D*** and H***). At one point Lucy is experience the emotions of a ghost's past life in relation to the ghost's lover and there are moments of 'intense passion'. They are just emotions and nothing more is described but that's there. 
 All in all though, it's a clean read but not for the overly faint of heart. I still recommend it though to anyone looking for a great new cast or some clean ghost reads (great for Halloween)!

Book Review: Skulduggary Pleasant: Playing with Fire

   Summary: Skulduggery and Valkyrie are facing a new enemy: Baron Vengeous, who is determined to bring back the terrifying Faceless Ones and is crafting an army of evil to help him. Added to that, Vengeous is about to enlist a new ally (if he can raise it from the dead): the horrible Grotesquery, a very unlikable monster of legend.
 Once Vengeous is on the loose, dead bodies and vampires start showing up all over Ireland. Now pretty much everybody is out to kill Valkyrie, and the daring detective duo faces its biggest challenge yet.
 But what if the greatest threat to Valkyrie is just a little closer to home?

  Thoughts: This is quickly becoming one of my new favorite series. The writing is hard to beat with it's hilarious back and forth banter between characters! 
 The characters themselves are great! You really can't beat a snappy Skeleton detective and his sassy thirteen year-old sidekick in levels of cool. Especially when they're both magic wielding, action-loving, crazy. 
 And the plot was a lot of fun too. A new villain, bigger and badder, and the beginnings of a steady plot lurking in the shadows. After all, someone has to be pulling the strings somewhere, right?

Content: Language such as H***, D***, and a few others, all about the same level. These are all pretty sparse and scattered but still there. Lots of violence. Vampires (the evil kind). And magic, lots of that. Really though, it's mostly clean, just maybe not great for small children, some of the scenes get a little intense and even creepy.  But a great, fun and easy read for all fantasy/action lovers!

Book Review: The Collar and the Cavvarach

 Summary: Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire's most prestigious tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie's escape. Dangerous people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time. With his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery and abuse?

Thoughts: It took me WAY too long to this book due to me putting it aside for awhile (which was no fault of the book, I just didn't have time for it for awhile). But I have FINALLY gotten around to finishing it! And it was great! The whole concept  of the plot was really well handled. A world just like ours with a few, little differences...like slavery.  The issue of slavery was really well written. It felt like a normal thing and yet still so very wrong. 
 The cast were great, all very much their own characters. Bensin and Ellie especially were well done and adorable. 
 The writing was fluid and perfectly grappled the difficulty of picturing every movement in an action sport. It was really well done!

Content: Violence and some mature topics. While it's never outright stated, many of Bensin's fears are due to his sister being hurt and abused in different ways because she was a girl...if you catch my meaning there. It's never put in any clearer tones but older readers will understand. 
All in all, a clean and exciting read for older readers who want a fantasy that asks some hard questions.

Book Review: Fablehaven

 Summary: For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite.
 Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken -- Seth is a bit too curious and reckless for his own good -- powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world, Kendra and Seth must find the courage to do what they fear most.

Thoughts: This was a cute, albeit somewhat boring, story. The plot moves slowly, building and painting the setting more than anything. It created a good structure but, even when things really got moving, it felt slow and lacked the thrill of the adventure.
  The cast was really well done. I can't say Kendra and Seth were my favorite characters ever but they were amazingly real. They argued and squabbled and forgot about it before they finished. They were real siblings and real kids and real people. All of the cast was pretty realistic and I really appreciated that.
 The writing was solid and never broke it's rhythm. Mull is definitely a good writer when it comes to wording and painting a scene. 

Content: Violence. Magic. One chapter gets fairly scary and I suggest the timid readers (like me) don't read it at night (like I did). Two people are stated to be naked at one but it's not inappropriate, they were clothed quickly and there are no descriptions.
So, all in all, a very clean read and a pretty one too!

Book Review: Lady Dragon, Tela Du

  Guess what's finally here! That's right!

 

It's here! The sequel to Water Princess, Fire Prince!


Summary:

  Amber, the Lady Dragon, has been promised a fifty-year reign over Rizkaland and nothing can stop her from claiming it. But when you've lived six thousand years, fifty is such a pitiful number. Only one person can keep her from making this reign permanent - the Tela Du, a girl who shall share Amber's face.

   The last thing Petra wants is a magical world interrupting her plans for a normal life, let alone an ultimate battle against the Lady Dragon with only one prophesied survivor. She has her childhood best friend, Reuben, at her side, but she's not sure if he's more of a help or a hindrance right now. Though she'd much prefer to just return home and forget about this whole crazy affair, things change when she discovers that the world has surprising connections to her own family - including her sister who disappeared without a trace two years before. Still, Rizkaland can't possibly expect her to risk her very life, can it?

Thoughts: Writing; yes I know I usually comment on this one last but I have to say that I really love watching (or reading) up-and-coming authors as their style develops and you start to see their quirks and strengths. This was a really fun part of this book. Kendra writes with an obviously great love for the characters and story that she is creating and that love moves off the page and to the reader, making it impossible to dislike the cast!

 The characters were quirky and fun! I admit, I thought that they accepted things too easily in the beginning, they just sort of went with whatever was happening, but this was smoothed out as the story progressed. They were all a great cast with a full range of emotions and thoughts that kept them from ever being 2D or shallow.

 The plot was well constructed and thought out and I was surprised by the twist in the ending.

Content: Violence (just a bit, no gore). Kissing. Sixteen year olds are married in here and there are suggestions of intimate relationships between married couples though nothing more than hugging and kissing are ever really shown. One of the couples (sixteen year olds) sleep together at one point and the boy doesn't wear a shirt but nothing happens. There is some talk about duties of a wife to her husband that, while not inappropriate might be a bit mature for kids.

Overall, mostly clean and a nice read for indie and fantasy fans alike!

Author Bio:

Kendra E. Ardnek is a homeschool graduate who picked up a pen at an early age and never put it down. The eldest of four, she makes her home in the Piney Woods of East Texas with her parents, younger siblings, giant herd of giraffes, and honor guard of nutcrackers. 

Blog:

knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com

Official Website:

kendraeardnek.weebly.com

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25873539-lady-dragon-tela-du

Buy the Book:

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JFUF3XE

Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/6354914

Water Princess, Fire Prince will be free for the first five days of the tour (October 19-23)!

https://www.amazon.com/Water-Princess-Prince-Rizkaland-Legends-ebook/dp/B00YTQBTDI/

Book Review: Cress

 Summary: In this third book in Marissa Meyer's bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and prevent her army from invading Earth.
 Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she's being forced to work for Queen Levana, and she's just received orders to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.
 When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is splintered. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a higher price than she'd ever expected. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai, especially the cyborg mechanic. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

Thoughts: I'm finally getting back to this series! Hooray! Not really sure why I put it off so long. I loved the first two and I've had them all sitting on my nightstand for forever (yes, actual nightstand. They watched me accusingly every time I read another book in bed). But anyways, I've finally done it. I read Cress. And it was great! 
 Another fast paced plot that had me reeling with every turn and mad dash to the next twist. Big reveals and shocking events take place so that you never really know what to expect!
 The cast is still me favorite part of this series. Well rounded and developed with great dynamics to each other, each character is unique and wonderful. Even Levana is great in simply being a perfect villain!
 The writing is so good! The sci-fi talk is always there in plenty but it never gets confusing, everything you need to know is explained easily without the need for an info dump. And everything from the action to the slower moments was well crafted and entertaining!

Content: A bit of language (D*** and H***) and lots of violence. A man walks in on a woman showering but he's blind. An unmarried pair pretend to be married and are forced to share a bedroom but they never even sleep in it. Cress has a vivid and romantic imagination which occasionally leads to uncomfortable daydreams of a borderline inappropriateness. A girl is sold as a slave. Kissing. These are all, for the most part, minuscule scenes in the overall story and I would say the book itself is mostly a clean and fun read!

Book Review: Skulduggery Pleasant

 Summary: Meet Skulduggery Pleasant. Sure, he may lose his head now and again (in fact, he won his current skull in a poker match), but he is much more than he appears to be—which is good, considering that he is, basically, a skeleton. Skulduggery may be long dead, but he is also a mage who dodged the grave so that he could save the world from an ancient evil. But to defeat it, he'll need the help of a new partner: a not so innocent twelve-year-old girl named Stephanie. That's right, they're the heroes.
 Stephanie and Skulduggery are quickly caught up in a battle to stop evil forces from acquiring her recently deceased uncle's most prized possession—the Scepter of the Ancients. The Ancients were the good guys, an extinct race of uber-magicians from the early days of the earth, and the scepter is their most dangerous weapon, one capable of killing anyone and destroying anything. Back in the day, they used it to banish the bad guys, the evil Faceless Ones. Unfortunately, in the way of bad guys everywhere, the Faceless Ones are staging a comeback and no one besides our two heroes believes in the Faceless Ones, or even that the Scepter is real.
  So Stephanie and Skulduggery set off to find the Scepter, fend off the minions of the bad guys, beat down vampires and the undead, prove the existence of the Ancients and the Faceless Ones, all while trading snappy, snippy banter worthy of the best screwball comedies.

  Thoughts: I don't normally read stuff featuring skeletons, zombies, werewolves, i only make exceptions on witches for the Harry Potter or normal fantasy type...basically anything that's normally applied to Halloween (I'm a big chicken plus I don't celebrate the holiday). So, I was a little surprised when this caught my attention. But all the other aspects intrigued me. Set in Ireland (home of my ancestors and Artemis Fowl). A fantasy/detective/mystery plot. A twelve-year old girl sidekick. There was too much going for it. And then I found it at the library and couldn't resist. It took me less than three days to finish it and I set it aside starry eyed...which was probably due to the tears of laughter filling my yes. 
 While it's no Artemis Fowl, Skulduggery Pleasant was a book I'm glad I didn't skip out on. It was action packed. No, I'm serious. It was packed. I was comparing this first book to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was a lot to take in. Even so it was handled really well and has me fascinated with how the series was going to continue. Where could it possibly go next that could compare? Needless to say, the plot was great.
 The characters...were good. When it came to happiness, humor, wit, desperation, cunning, bravery or fear; they were perfect. But they seemed to feel little empathy/sorrow or concern for the events around them. I mean, i don't expect much of a reaction to villain's deaths from the adults in the book but Stephanie is a twelve-year old girl who was, until all this began, a normal girl. I felt that she lacked any sort of shock, surprise or...well any emotion to the sudden and chaotic deaths that she was faced with. She just sort of shrugged her shoulders and moved on. I'm hoping this aspect gets developed a little better in the later books but, all in all, it wasn't a big deal and I still really loved the cast (even Stephanie).
  The writing was fun. It kept my interest the entire time while remaining a quick and easy read (did i mention it took me less than three days to finish?) so I was pretty impressed. Landy Doesn't feel the need to insert himself into the story and so let it all unfold through the eyes of his characters which was very well done. As this is a bit of a mystery, he includes clever clues for the cast to find and explain while always ensuring with extra tidbits that the reader is never lost. 

Content: Despite being a kids novel there is some language (D***, H***, along those lines). This is a book written in Ireland for Ireland where these words aren't seen as any worse than Stupid or Blast are in America. So it's a cultural difference. There's lots of violence and even, yes, death but it's never gory. Plenty of magic and there is a walking, talking, Skeleton; plus some vampires and not the Twilight kind. 
 All in all though it was a clean and exciting read!