They Both Die At The End - by Adam Silvera

Title: They Both Die At The End

Author: Adam Silvera
Published: 5 Sep 2017

Series: -

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: 
On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They're going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they're both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure and to live a lifetime in a single day.

I listened to this one as an audio book and I’m very glad I did. The two different voices of Mateo and Rufus came out well.

I heard about this book from Little Book Owl on YouTube who loved it so I decided that I'd pick it up too.

"You may be born into family, but you walk into friendships. Some you'll discover you should put behind you. Others are worth every risk."

Reading the title, one would think it would prepare you for what's going to happen - that they're both going to die at the end. However you would be sorely mistaken, which is exactly what happened to me. If you decide to read this book, make sure you have a box of tissues with you towards the end.

One good thing about They Both Die At The End is that it's not just the pair of boys finding each other, going for a walk and then oops, you're dead at the end. There's more to it than that. Rufus and Mateo do go for a walk, but there's a party, quite a few life-or-death situations, and love.

"I've spent years living safely to secure a longer life and look where that's gotten me. I'm at the finish line but I never run the race."

I will definitely be reading more of Adam Silvera's books after this one.

Unearthed - by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Title: Unearthed
Author: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Published: 9 Jan 2018
Series: Unearthed #1
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis:
When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.
For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study... as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Mia and Jules' different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.
In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race's secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race...


I managed to go to a signing/Q&A for this book on their Australian book tour, and was lucky to buy myself a copy.

Unearthed is described as Indiana Jones meets Lara Croft in space. Seeing as I love both Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, I was very eager to read the book!

This book has a few different puzzles for the main characters to try and get through including one using music and another using math. They needed to finish the puzzle to be able to move onto the next.

Meagan Spooner has said that this duology series and The Starbound Trilogy aren't intended to share universes because "Unearthed is near-future science fiction and the Starbound trilogy takes place far, far into mankind's future". However, personally I imagined that these books are all in the same universe.

I loved that Jules was the neat one with the brains and Mia was the one who wanted to kick butt and take what she needed - by force if she had to. But towards the end you could see that the two were trying to help each other and learning from one another too.

What was revealed in the final two paragraphs of Unearthed was quite shocking and left me desperately wanting the next book. The downside to reading this book as soon as I got it? Now having to wait until 2019 for the next one...

Spoilers!

One guess that I did make that I was correct with was that Charlotte and Mink were the same person.

Another part of the book that was quite intriguing other than the puzzle was the part with the spaceship at the end.

End Spoilers!

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All books in this series:

    1 | Unearthed
    2 | Undying

The Last Princess - by Jewel Allen

Title: The Last Princess
Author: Jewel Allen
Published: 1 May 2017
Series: Islands of the Crown #2
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:
To the beat of war, crowns are kept and stolen. . .
Spanish Captain Raúl Calderón has accepted a daring mission in the Philippine colonies – to negotiate docking rights in hostile waters for the Manila Galleon. If successful, he can return from exile to be with those he loves. But when he is captured by slave raiders and delivered to the Last Princess, a woman known for killing those who cross her, he is thrust into the center of royal intrigue. The Last Princess is not what she seems, however, and Raúl must stay alive long enough to warn her of the danger in trusting those close to her.
Juliza Alimuddin, The Last Princess, hides behind a cutthroat reputation to protect her beloved islands. But when a mysterious Spaniard, Raúl Calderón, falls into her hands, she decides to go against her allies’ wishes and nurse him back to health. Her heart has been bruised in the past, yet Raúl brings out feelings she never thought she’d have again. Just when Juliza starts to believe in the possibility of love, however, she is betrayed and her family and sultanate put in a deadly situation. Will The Last Princess live up to her reputation when forced to choose between her people and the man she loves?
A clean historical romance from award-winning journalist and author Jewel Allen. Fans of swashbuckling tales will enjoy this action-packed novel, filled with romance, danger and intrigue of 1760s Philippines. Based on true historical events, this is Book Two of the Islands of the Crown series. Although this is part of a series, it reads as a standalone.

I received a copy of this book for free in return for an honest review.

At the beginning of the book, Julia sounds like a badass, but as the book continues she seems to become softer in my opinion.

One thing that bugged me a little was that at one stage it sounded a bit like her father was dying, yet we never found out if he actually was or not. It would have been nice to find out though to get an answer to the question.

Was Koda in on the rebellion, or did he genuinely care for Juliza? Another question without an answer, unfortunately. I’m not sure whether it could have just been me or whether there actually was no answer for that.

There was also no mention in the entire book (that I can remember) that he was a ‘cripple’. It would have been nice to have that mentioned at least once to tie in with the previous book and give readers as a stand-alone a bit of background of him.

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All books in this series:

    1 | The Spanish Exile
    2 | The Last Princess

The Spanish Exile - by Jewel Allen

Title: The Spanish Exile
Author: Jewel Allen
Published: 4 Feb 2017
Series: Islands of the Crown #1
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:
In the flames of war, men are made and broken . . .
The fires of vengeance burn hot for Raul Calderon. Cast aside, forgotten, and abused by those above him, Raul is forced to make his own way in life. But he has the heart of a fighter who will do whatever it takes to prove himself - including joining the Spanish army. Yet when his sworn enemy becomes his commanding officer, Raul's life quickly goes from bad to worse. Forced to witness the human misery of war and take part in creating that suffering, Raul walks a fine line between doing what's right and obeying orders. But when Conchita, the love of his childhood and now the woman of his dreams, is placed in danger, can he cross the line to save her? Or will he be forced to choose between king and country and the woman he would do anything to have as his own

I received a copy of this book for free in return for an honest review.

I thought that this book had a good plot line and I was interested to see where it went.

About halfway through the book, you tend to forget that he ever had a leg that everyone used to call cripple as it isn't mentioned again. The same goes for the fencing instructor as he never comes up again.

Leandro did my head in. I didn't like him from the first time he appeared.

I would have liked Conchita and Raul to be together, I think. But then the riots and other problems started to arise and proved that they couldn't be. My theory is that she will marry Gabriel and they will continue to do "the people's work" together.

It would have been a nice ending for the book if Raul had accepted Julio's offer and stayed a while with them. Then he may have seen his niece or nephew be born and he may have gotten out of all that mess. However, maybe all that mess would have still happened, but not as well-timed with the king's arrival.


Overall, I think it's a good book though. Plenty of action and some romance too.

Spoilers!

I'm glad that Raul didn't stoop to his level to kill him - I'm glad that they finally managed to part ways while they're both alive.

However I do think that his mother dying was out of the blue as there wasn't really any hint before that that she had a heart condition or any other health issue.

End Spoilers!

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All books in this series:

    1 | The Spanish Exile
    2 | The Last Princess

A Little Something Different - by Sandy Hall

Title: A Little Something Different
Author: Sandy Hall
Published: 26 Aug 2014
Series: -
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis:
The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out.  But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.
Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....


The fourteen viewpoints were an interesting touch with this book as I haven't seen any book with that many before. It was especially interesting as none of the viewpoints were from the main characters themselves - Azalea and Gabe. However there were a couple of viewpoints that I felt could have been left out, such as the bench and the squirrel. Another problem I have with the viewpoints was Victor's point of view as it seemed to me that he hated Lea and Gabe and it felt a little as if his character was forced.

While reading this book, it did make me wish that Australia had a Starbucks, but instead I pictured my favourite local coffeeshop instead - a place called Hudson's Coffee.

The author did do a good job with making the main characters likable though. My favourite secondary character would probably have to be their creative writing teacher though as I would probably have done a similar sort of thing if I was in that position.

Spoiler Alert!

Gabe being in a car crash was also what I had guessed his problem was, but for him to act that way I thought someone had died in the crash. Whether someone died or not, it is still a big deal, definitely. But for him to be stuck on it for that long - that's why I thought someone may have died.

On a happier note, I'm glad that they finally ended up together and when they kissed, it literally made me say "Aww! So cute!" aloud.


End Spoilers!

Black Beauty - by Anna Sewell

Title: Black Beauty
Author: Anna Sewell
Published: 6 March 2008
Series: -
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis:
Black Beauty is a handsome, sweet-tempered colt with a strong spirit. As a young colt he is free to gallop in the fresh green meadows with his beloved mother, Duchess, and their kind master. But when his owners are forced to sell him, Black Beauty goes from a life of comfort and kindness to one of hard labour and cruelty. Bravely he works as hard as he can, suffering at the hands of men who treat animals badly. But Black Beauty has an unbreakable spirit and will, and is determined to survive



Once upon a time, I had a hardcover Black Beauty book with Black Beauty's face looking at you from the front cover. Unfortunately, that was lost during one of our past moves. I have since purchased a box set of Puffin classics and this was one of those books.

This cover is actually quite good looking and it's a nice hard cover too. I kept up with what page I was up to in the physical book while I mainly listened to it as an audio book.

There were actually many life lessons to be learned from this novel too. A couple of examples of this are on page 67 where it is said "There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast then it is all a sham - all a sham, James, and it won't stand when things come to be turned inside out and put down for what they are."

Another example is on page 204 where it is said "My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt."

Spoiler Alert!

Towards the end, we lose a good character, who was a friend of Black Beauty's, to death: Ginger. This made me actually pretty sad, but I wasn't quite wanting to cry. The wording was done very well for that scene though, I think.

However, at the end of the book when Black Beauty ends up at his original home with his original name and back with little Joe Green who was originally at his home too, just older now like he was, made me very happy and actually shocked me a little.

End Spoilers!

This book is good for bringing animal cruelty and animal abuse to the surface. It is tough to read if you are sensitive to animal cruelty, but someone needs to talk about it in a way that will make people listen, which is what Anne Sewell has done.

Peter Pan and Wendy - by J.M. Barrie

Title: Peter Pan and Wendy
Author: J.M. Barrie
Published: 25 Aug 2015
Series: -
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:
Meet Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up; Tinkerbell, the mischievous fairy; the Lost Boys; and the villainous Captain Hook. A swashbuckling children's adventure classic for generations, this edition has beautiful illustrations by beloved illustrator Shirley Hughes.





This was a cute little book with really nice illustrations to look at every few pages or so.

As I've seen the Disney film Peter Pan a few times before, that's all I could imagine Peter, the Lost Boys, Wendy and the other to look like. About halfway through I imagined the illustrations as the characters instead except Wendy.

This book is just a little darker than the Disney film showed us all it to be as there is death - Peter creates much of it himself - but it is sort of skirted around.

"They little dreamed that the unprincipled Hook would ambush them about 7 p.m. The consequence was, that they nearly all perished."

Was still a good book to zoom through though.

Asking For It - by Louise O'Neill

Title: Asking For It
Author: Louise O'Neill
Published: 3 Sep 2015
Series: -
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis: 
It’s the beginning of the summer in a small town in Ireland. Emma O’Donovan is eighteen years old, beautiful, happy, confident.
One night, there’s a party. Everyone is there. All eyes are on Emma.
The next morning, she wakes on the front porch of her house. She can’t remember what happened, she doesn’t know how she got there.
She doesn’t know why she’s in pain.
But everyone else does. Photographs taken at the party show, in explicit detail, what happened to Emma that night.
But sometimes people don’t want to believe what is right in front of them, especially when the truth concerns the town’s heroes…

Trigger Warning: non-consent, suicide

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

It didn't take me as long to read this book as I thought it would because I have been in a massive reading slump for months. However it did make a lot of powerful points.

"No one forced them to wear that. They're just asking for something to happen to them like that."

No.

No one forced the perpetrator to do what they did either, but they did it because they wanted to do it.

The main point of his book is that no one is ever 'asking for it' because of what they wear, how they act, and so on. Victims of sexual crimes shouldn't be made to feel punished for something that isn't their fault.

When the main character, Emma, had that happen to her, she didn't know how to cope. Yet no one takes her side and believes her (not even her best friends). This is because she wasn't the nicest person (even to her best friends), she dressed what could be classed as inappropriately, and she had slept with people before. But that's sort of the point - non-consented sex can happen to anyone of any age, race, gender, or personality type.

"They are all innocent until proven guilty. Not me, I am a liar until proven honest."

This is a book that I urge you to read. This is a book that I urge everyone to read. Especially those in high school. It's hit-you-in-the-face honesty that we live in a world like this, and Louise O'Neill doesn't sugar coat that fact.

This is a book that will stay in your mind.

A Court of Thorns and Roses - by Sarah J. Maas

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Published: 5 May 2015
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis: 
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin-one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin-and his world-forever.
Perfect for fans of Kristen Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!


A Court of Thorns and Roses (also nicknamed ACOTAR) is the first book in a new trilogy by Sarah J. Maas and is a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story. Luckily there is a guide in the back for those hard to pronounce names such as Feyre (Fay-ruh) and Rhysand (Ree-sand).

I still can't quite get my thoughts together about this book but I do know that I absolutely loved it, even as I think that I'm coming into a reading slump. There were points when I wanted to cry yet didn't. However, there was one moment when I lost it and just broke down.

There is a divide between a lot of people over whether Feyre should be with Rhysand (with a 'ship' name of Feysand) or whether she should be with Tamlin with the lovely 'ship' name of Feylin. Until today, I was firmly in the camp of Feylin, but now I have one foot each side of the line.

I think that it was good that she went home even just so that we could find out what happened to her sisters and to give us peace of mind to know that her family was okay.

The only thing that slightly bugged me was the way that Rhysand left at the end, only as I badly want to know what happened there but there is no hint to what that is yet so I assume it will be shown in the next book.

Spoiler Alert!

This, my friends, would be the part where Feyre died and how Tamlin reacted when he knew that she was gone. Also following that too when all the High Fae gave her a little sprinkle of magic or something along those lines to bring her back.

End Spoilers!

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All books in this series:

    1 | A Court of Thorns and Roses

    2 | A Court of Mist and Fury

    3 | A Court of Wings and Ruin

 3.1 | A Court of Frost and Starlight

    4 | A Court of Silver Flames

The Ice Dragon - by George R.R. Martin

Title: The Ice Dragon
Author: George R.R. Martin
Published: 4 Dec 2014
Series: -
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis: 
In the world of A Song of Ice and Fire the ice dragon was a creature of legend and fear, for no man had ever tamed one. When it flew overhead, it left in its wake desolate cold and frozen land. But Adara was not afraid. For Adara was a winter child, born during the worst freeze that anyone, even the Old Ones, could remember.
Adara could not remember the first time she had seen the ice dragon. It seemed that it had always been in her life, glimpsed from afar as she played in the frigid snow long after the other children had fled the cold. In her fourth year she touched it, and in her fifth year she rode upon its broad, chilled back for the first time. Then, in her seventh year, on a calm summer day, fiery dragons from the North swooped down upon the peaceful farm that was Adara's home.
And only a winter child-and the ice dragon who loved her-could save her world from utter destruction.


I bought this book from a local Big W as it was short and looked quite interesting from the cover. (Yes, I know. 'Don't judge a book by it's cover'. But this one matched up well.) That it was written by Mr George R.R. Martin was also a plus for me.

Later on I found out that it was classed as a children's book. It could be read by anyone older too though as it's written very well. Even though it is essentially classed as a children's book it still includes dragons, a lot of death and the idea of 'Winter is Coming' from the Song of Ice and Fire universe.

While reading this book I spent more time looking at the illustrations than I did reading the words. The illustrations were amazing and very detailed.

Circle of Nine: Beltany - by Valerie Biel

Title: Circle of Nine: Beltany
Author: Valerie Biel
Published: 24 Sep 2014
Series: Circle of Nine #1
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis:
“Since I was a little girl I've been labeled a freak in my small town. There’s no blending in when your mom practices an ancient pagan religion and everyone believes she’s a witch. On my 15th birthday my secret wish is the same as always – to just be normal. But that’s not what I get. Not even close.” – Brigit Quinn
Instead, Brigit is shocked to learn she’s descended from a legendary Celtic tribe - powerful people who serve as guardians of the stone circles of Ireland. A spellbound book of family history reveals the magical powers of her ancestors. Powers that could be hers - if only she wanted them.
And when someone sinister and evil returns to steal her family’s strength, Brigit has to make a decision. Fight to keep her unique heritage or reject it for the normal life she’s always wanted.

I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Circle of Nine: Beltany was a very well written book by Valerie Biel. This was the first time that I have read about Ireland or it's history and I actually quite liked reading about it.

My favourite part of this novel would have to be getting to read the book that was given to Brigit Quinn by her mother about their ancestors. It felt like I was really looking through her ancestors eyes and seeing what they got up to in each of their own eras. I think that it would be cool to read a copy of the ancestry from each woman's point of view rather than just the few though.

Brigit may have thought that her mother seemed weird to other people, but I agree with her and think that her mother was pretty cool.

At one stage I did think that Bigit was going to end up with someone else in Ireland, but I think that the author was right to keep Brigit's boyfriend and her together as it also kept his grandmother in the picture - giving Brigit's mother a reason to tell the story of their past together.

If you like reading about the history of Ireland, or even Ireland itself then I would say this book is one you might like to read.

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All books in this series:

    1 | Beltany
    2 | Novella Collection

    3 | Sacred Treasures

These Broken Stars - by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Title: These Broken Stars
Author: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Published: 1 Dec 2013
Series: Starbound #1
Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis:
It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets to the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.
Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they're worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.
Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other's arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder - would they be better off staying in this place forever?
Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won't be the same people who landed on it.
The first in a sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds.


This book had only sat on my shelf for a couple of weeks and I'd also bought the second book in The Starbound Trilogy before picking this up. It was a good thing I did though.

I think both Lilac and Tarver were my favourite characters within this book. Lilac because you could see how she transformed from a pretty party girl who's known throughout the universe into who she had become when the book finished. However I also loved Tarver as he had been through so much before he met Lilac plus he then had to trek across a planet with a party girl in tow with an approaching deadline.

My least favourite character, however, was Lilac's father: Roderic LaRoux. Once I'd found out what'd he'd done I was none too impressed. Now that I think about it, technically he's the one that made his daughter crash land on the planet -- he should tahnk Simon for teaching her about electronics or else she'd be dead (along with Tarver but I doubt that Mr LaRoux would have cared about him too much).

There was no part in this book that I would count as my favourite as it was amazing all round. From the planet's description to the pair of opposite characters only to find out that deep down, maybe their not quite so opposite to each other after all.

I can't find any fault with this book in my mind. Wow. Just, wow... This book was amazing. You should definitely go check it out.

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All books in this series:

    1 | These Broken Stars
 1.5 | This Night So Dark
    2 | This Shattered World
    3 | Their Fractured Light

Harry Potter: The Prequel - by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter: The Prequel
Author: J.K. Rowling
Published: 11 June 2008
Series: Harry Potter #0.5
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis:
The Harry Potter prequel is an 800-word story written by J. K. Rowling, and was published online on 11 June 2008. Set about three years before the birth of Harry Potter, the story recounts an adventure experienced by Sirius Black and James Potter.
At the bottom of the card, JKR wrote: "From the prequel I am NOT working on - but that was fun!"
There is no official 'cover' for this short story, seeing as it was penned (By JKR) on an A5 card for the auction by bookseller Waterstone's, in aid of two reading charities, Dyslexia Action and English Pen. It was auctioned off for £25,000.



I read this online on Goodreads. This was only a short story so I can only give it a short review.

It was good to see what James and Sirius would have gotten up to together before James was killed though.

In the beginning I imagined a young Sirius and James on Hagrid's motorcycle, but it turned out that I was only half right.

However it would have been nice in the end to find out what they were doing with magic in the Muggle world and also who the three others were. Plus where Lilly was and if she and James were together.

So many questions!

__________________________________________________

All books in this series:

0.5 | Harry Potter: The Prequel

    1 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

    2 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

    3 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    4 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

    5 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

    6 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

    7 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

    8 | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One & Two

The Puppet's Tattered Clothes - by Alan Bray

Title: The Puppet's Tattered Clothes
Author: Alan Bray
Published: 25 August 2014
Series: -
Rating: 2 stars
Synopsis:
When Kevin meets a family of traveling puppeteers, he finds a glimmer of hope in his broken life. Intrigued by the inner workings of the complex and delicate puppets, Kevin accidentally breaks one while exploring the potential secrets that lie within. Will Kevin be able to repair it without the owners finding out, or will his careless mistake cost him the chance for a new future and the affection of a young woman?




I received a signed copy of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway.

While I really liked the idea behind this book, it wasn't written as in depth as I would have liked it to be. I would like to know what happens between Kevin and his mother in the end and what happens after the family goes on tour some more.

I personally think that the book needed to be fleshed out a bit more as it only read as roughly 43 pages long.

At one stage in the book some of the puppet's are sitting in a chest leaning against the sides while the broken puppet lays in the middle -- as this happens I thought that it was a Toy Story sort of moment where the puppet's come to life and all the others don't want to be his friend any more, etc, and saying that "You're not a real puppet any more; you're just a broken toy" but in a way I was sad to see that this never actually happened.

Other than having to flesh out the plot quite a bit more, I did like the story and the characters. Especially Carly as she was my favourite character.

The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly - by Paul G. Day

Title: The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly
Author: Paul G. Day
Published: 5 March 2013
Series: The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly #1
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:
Once every thousand years, in the kingdom of fairies, a creature quite unlike any other is born. And with her birth comes fear. For she is the rarest creature born among fairies, with skin as black as night and hair as white as snow. Seen as an evil omen, she is doomed from the very moment she is born and cast aside to live on the fringes of the kingdom, where she must fend for herself, shunned, abandoned, alone. It is here, among the creatures of the forests and swamps, Lilly forms a friendship with a dragonfly. She is happy for a while until she learns the fairies have all mysteriously vanished and despite being cast out, she nevertheless feels compelled to find them. Driven by strange dreams and visions, Lilly will discover the world beyond her home is more magnificent, more terrible and far more beautiful than she could have imagined. So begins an incredible adventure, a fairy tale like no other.
This is a story so unusual, so unique, that it almost defies its genre and challenges the reader to think differently about fairy tales. The world the reader is presented with is a wondrous, dangerous and beautiful place. Lilly's journey will take her from the fringes of the fairy kingdom, to the hills of dancing fire, all the way to the mystical mountains and deep into the hidden underworld. She will meet Queens and Lords and be confronted with a terrible evil, which seeks to tear her world apart. But Lilly's differences are less to do with her color and more to do with the magic contained in the deepest part of her soul. A magic so powerful that if it were revealed, even the Dark Queen Eglartharious herself may tremble at the sight of it.

I liked the first two books that I have read of Paul's novels so I decided to try this book and it's sequel by him too.

The idea of fairies shunning another was an interesting concept as we usually see fairies loving and caring for one another. As was the idea of having one fairy a very different colour than the others were.

What I did find annoying though was the way that the dragonflies continually said the same thing but in different sentences directly after saying it the first time. Such as: "Well, yes of course. Of course you must," answered Vanos. "We will allow it. But not alone. No never alone. Not this time, not ever..."

My favourite character was Lilly though because after all the other fairies put her through such as bullying and ignoring her, she still wanted to save them and she still powered on through what she had to do no matter how scary it was to her.

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All books in this series:

    1 | The Black Fairy and the Dragonfly
    2 | Escape From the Dark Queen

Star Child: The Cosmic Birth - by Paul G. Day

Title: Star Child: The Cosmic Birth
Author: Paul G. Day
Published: 29 March 2013
Series: Star Child #1
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis:
Almost 900 years into the future, the aging Starship Destiny is nearing the end of its long voyage. On board is the only survivor of Earth, a young girl called Tamsin. Raised by Destine, her humanoid companion, she struggles to comprehend a past she was not part of and a future she finds difficult to accept. Surrounded by robots on board a sterile ship, Tamsin will discover that Destiny has many secrets and that Destine is not who she appears. Over three sprawling books, Tamsin unravels the past, piece by piece, while she comes to terms with her own destiny and the fate of all humanity.



I chose to read this book as I recently read another of Paul G. Day's books called Children of Mars which I found to be very good. I liked the story a lot and I can't wait tot read the next book in the Star Child series by this author one day too.

My favourite character would have to be Tamsin followed by Destine. Not only do I love both of these names, but I can see the bond between them even though Destine is still, at her basics, a robot companion that helps run the space ship that they're on called Destiny. I'm not entirely sure why as I can't quite place my finger on it, but I do know that they're my favourite two.

The only problem that I can think of with this book is that at the end I'm not one hundred per cent sure whether they lived or died when coming down to the planet whose scientific name in the book was "Kepler 62f". That is probably explained in the next book though or else I may have just been over-tired when I was reading and overlooked it somewhat.

This may have only been the second book I have read by Paul G. Day, I have found that he writes the Science Fiction genre and female characters of the future very well.

Would I like to hear anything more of the planet they arrived (or didn't arrive) on? Sure I would! But again, I have a feeling that may be in the next book once again.

Now to try and get my grubby little bookworm hands on a copy of the second book in the Star Child series!