The Remains in the Pond - by Ann Swann

Title: The Remains in the Pond
Author: Ann Swann
Published: 13 Nov 2017
Series: -
Rating: 2 stars
Synopsis:
Senior prom is the happiest night of Gabi’s life. Her crush has just revealed that he is every bit as infatuated with her as she is with him. When he has a car wreck and is transported to the hospital in a coma, Gabi feels as if she’s taken a knife to the heart. But his jealous cousin, Rose, sees her chance to give the knife an even harder twist. She convinces Gabi to meet her at a local parking spot outside town. It's a night that will change several lives forever. One of the girls will return, and one will become known as the remains in the pond.



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

This book sounded intriguing to me and like a mystery and, to a certain extent, it was.

The characters weren't too bad - I think Reece or Matt were probably my favourite, followed by Asa.

To me, the let down of this book was that it was less about the remains in the pond overall and more about Gabi's life and how she was getting on.

The answer to the remains in the pond were wrapped up in the final few chapters and felt a bit rushed. I personally would have preferred to hear more about the remains and less about Gabi's life during everything that was happening.

Besides that point, I think that the book was written well. Some creepy things did happen to Gabi which made me turn around when I heard a noise down the hall from my room, so I'd count that as a plus.

Also, to quote a Disney movie here, "You can't marry a man you just met!"

Neverland - by Margot McGovern

Title: Neverland
Author: Margot McGovern
Published: 1 April 2018
Series: -
Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis:
Kit Learmonth would rather die than grow up and leave Neverland…
When she was twelve, Kit Learmonth watched her parents drown in a storm as their boat sailed over the Tranter Sink Hole. Now seventeen, Kit doesn’t remember the incident, and she doesn’t want to. In fact, her only clear memories from before her parents’ death are of the fantastical stories of pirates and mermaids that she and her dad invented about the small island where she grew up, a place she calls Neverland. 
Following Kit’s parents’ deaths, her uncle and guardian, Doc, transformed the island into a boarding school for mentally ill teenagers and sent Kit away to school on the mainland. But when Kit tries and fails to end her life, Doc brings her home to the island and places her in the care of his colleague, Dr Hannah Ward. 
Resisting her treatment, Kit instead pulls her friends deeper into her world of make-believe. It’s only when Kit and her new boyfriend, Rohan, take the fantasy too far and land themselves in very real danger that her faith in Neverland is shaken, and Kit must find a way back to reality.

Trigger Warning: self-harm, eating disorder, drugs

Strange how two people can look at the same thing and see such a difference.

I managed to go to a book launch for this one and even got it signed. Plus, she's an Aussie author, so A+ for that!

This is an amazing book, and it's also Margot's debut book. There are references towards Peter Pan (obviously), Game of Thrones, the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, and even the Illuminae Files series. 

The cover is quite nice and includes things that we hear about in the book such as pirates, selkies, mermaids, and the seaside daisies.

There is some coarse language, so prepare yourself. 

Doc called us 'les enfants terribles', which roughly translated, means 'precocious little shits'.

I thought that the book would might make me cry and I was right. So maybe I should have thought ahead and got the tissues ready just in case. There were mainly sad tears, but some of happiness towards the end too.

I'd have to say that I think Dr Ward is my favourite character out of the entire book, and that if I met her in reality then I'd probably try and befriend her.

I don't personally have a mental illness, but to me the characters who had one were portrayed very well. I do sort of hope that Rohan finally got well in the end though.

Nice try, but no. You messed up, you apologise.

Absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down!

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay - by J.K. Rowling

Title: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
Author: J.K. Rowling
Published: 19 Nov 2016
Series: -
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:
Explorer and Magizoologist Newt Scamander has just completed a round-the-globe trip in search of the most rare and unusual magical creatures. Arriving in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when Newt's case is misplaced and some of Newt's fantastic beasts escape into the city, it spells trouble for everyone…




"My philosophy is that worrying means you suffer twice."

There are a few things that tie this book into the world from the Harry Potter series. The Lestrange family name, the fact the Newt Scamander wrote Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them which we were told about in the Harry Potter series, along with the mention of Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore.

The front cover design of this book is stunning and the illustrations within are just as beautiful, both of which are done by MinaLima.

Mary Lou: "Are you a seeker? A seeker after truth?"
Newt: " I'm more of a chaser, really."

I'd like to think that after the end of the book, Tina and Newt would be great friends and together would begin to educate the Wizarding World of the curious and wonderful creatures that lived within it.

The way that Newt cares about his creatures is similar to the way a mother loves every one of her children, no matter how naughty they may be.

" Please don't hurt my creatures - they are not dangerous."

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All books in this series:

    1 | Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

    2 | Fantastic Beasts - The Crimes of Grindelwald: The Original Screenplay

Obsidio - by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Title: Obsidio
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Published: 13 March 2018
Series: The Illuminae File #3
Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis:
Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion? 
Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha's past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. 
With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heros will fall, and hearts will be broken.

"We remember."

Wow. Pack the tissues, boys and girls. The end 1/4 of this is going to break your heart. By now in the series, we all know that not everyone is going to make it out alive, but it still hurts your emotions with who does and doesn't make it to the other side.

"We remember them, so in some ways they're always with us."

I'd never thought about the military having military issue briefs before, so that was a new thing to make me think about. And I'm still not sure how I feel about Duke talking in third person about himself.

"A soldier's first duty is to their conscience."

The pictures were gorgeous - there's even a couple of pages drawn graphic novel style. Plus one spread that looks like a photo has been taken of the landscape on Kerenza IV.

"It only takes one pebble to start an avalanche."

Family isn't always blood relations - it's who's been there for you through everything and has been your rock through thick and thin, and who always will be. Ezra, Kady, Rhys, Asha, Nik, Hanna, Ella, and Mr Biggles II in the end all became like family to one another - along with a couple of others, they're basically the only family they had left. I loved the little Mouse though.

"Of all the things I have seen and all the places I have been, you were the one who felt most like home."


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All books in this series:

0.5 | Memento
    1 | Illuminae
    2 | Gemina
    3 | Obsidio

Queen Heir - by Jaymin Eve & Leia Stone

Title: Queen Heir
Author: Jaymin Eve & Leia Stone
Published: 13 Dec 2016
Series: NYC Mecca #1
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:
Arianna is a queen heir and at 20 years old she's now eligible for the crown of wolf shifters. Heirs are trained and groomed so that they're ready, should the queen perish during their time of eligibility.
Of course, there's little chance of that happening. The Red Queen has stood for a century, and her power is beyond reckoning.
Or so Arianna believes, right up until the final tolling of the bells. The queen has fallen. Four heirs will now fight it out for the crown.
Let the summit begin.


I listened to this as an audiobook.

There were a few quirks that I liked about this book. The fact that there are not only wolf shifters, but bear shifters - and that these two types of shifters have been fighting each other for years trying to hold the most land in New York. Another nice thing about this book was that there are so many heirs that could possibly take over when a queen dies who have to fight for it, rather than just one who automatically takes over and who may not be a good leader.

The summit is an interesting take on things too. It is where all eligible heirs fight to be the next one to become queen - sometimes literally fighting to the death. Otherwise the heirs that survived and did not become queen go back and are disgraced heirs.

I also liked that there wasn't just one family of wolf shifters who could become queen. It could be any eligible heir from any of the four houses - red, green, purple, or yellow.

My favourite characters were also probably Kade and Calista.

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All books in this series:

    1 | Queen Heir

    2 | Queen Alpha

    3 | Queen Fae

    4 | Queen Mecca