Come Tumbling Down - by Seanan McGuire

Title: Come Tumbling Down

Author: Seanan McGuire

Published: 7 Jan 2020

Series: Wayward Children #5

Rating: 2 stars

Synopsis:

When Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister--whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice--back to their home on the Moors.
But death in their adopted world isn't always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome.
Eleanor West's "No Quests" rule is about to be broken.
Again.

I listened to this as an audiobook.

While I still love how short and sweet the books in this series are and how slightly twisted they are too, I felt like this one didn't really need to be written -- or at least not added into the series, maybe?

It's good seeing the Moors in a bit of a new light and seeing how they need opposites to keep everything balanced in the world. But did we really need to come back to the Moors? How many other characters in the School for Wayward Children are there that we could have read about? I'd love to see a book about Kade or Cora and what they got up to in their own world's and if they ever get back to them.

This book was still pretty good, don't get me wrong, but I just don't feel like it had the same sort of zing that sucks you right in like some of the others in the series did.

I still don't quite see why Jack and Alexis went back to get some of the other children from the school to help Jack do what she needed to in the Moors as she seemed to do nearly all of the work by herself. The big battle at the end almost didn't need to happen as we didn't hear about it start and then suddenly it's over when we hear about what happened to Jill.

Hopefully in the next book it will be about a new character we haven't heard about before or at least not really seen to add some freshness back into the series.

One moment I did love was when Tsumi said this:

"The world doesn't stop spinning because you're sad, and that's good; if it did, people would go around breaking hearts like they were sheets of maple sugar, just to keep the world exactly where it is. They'd make it out like it was a good thing, a few crying children in exchange for a peace that never falters or fades. We can be sad and we can be hurt and we can even be killed, but the world keeps turning, and the things we're supposed to do keep needing to be done."

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All books in this series:

    1 | Every Heart a Doorway
    2 | Down Among the Sticks and Bones
    3 | Beneath the Sugar Sky
    4 | In an Absent Dream

4.5 | Juice Like Wounds
    5 | Come Tumbling Down

    6 | Across the Green Grass Fields

    7 | Where the Drowned Girls Go

My Brother's Name is Jessica - by John Boyne

Title: My Brother's Name is Jessica

Author: John Boyne

Published: 18 April 2019

Series: -

Rating: 2 stars

Synopsis:

Sam Waver's life has always been pretty quiet. A bit of a loner, he struggles to make friends, and his busy parents often make him feel invisible.
Luckily for Sam, his older brother, Jason, has always been there for him. Sam idolises Jason, who seems to have life sorted - he's kind, popular, amazing at football, and girls are falling over themselves to date him.
But then one evening Jason calls his family together to tell them that he's been struggling with a secret for a long time. A secret which quickly threatens to tear them all apart. His parents don't want to know and Sam simply doesn't understand.
Because what do you do when your brother says he's not your brother at all? That he's actually your sister?

I listened to this as an audiobook.

Unfortunately, I hadn't read any of the reviews of this book before I bought myself a paperback copy -- the main reason I'd purchased it being that it sounded like I might like it and I liked the rainbow-type colours on the front.

I was wrong, however.

While I didn't hate this book, it also wasn't for me. After also having read some other reviews I've noticed that they're thinking along the same sort of lines that I am.

I didn't mind that the point of view was written by Jessica's younger brother, but it was definitely annoying when Same referred to his sibling as "my big brother, Jason" every single time he went to talk about Jason.

The story also isn't as much about Jessica, and more along the lines of Sam dealing with the information he's been given suddenly. Also really didn't like how their parents almost ignored them their entire lives up until the point where Jessica being hot news in the papers ruins their mother's chance at being P.M. -- that's when the parents finally wake up and realise that they've just handed their children off to a million other people besides themselves and now they're teenagers.

I do understand that Sam didn't necessarily understand what was going on as he had been brought up to essentially think that there was no such thing as transgender. However, whether you believe those that say they're transgender or think it's a bunch of bologna -- they exist and they are human beings just like you!

One part I really liked was when the coach of the school football team showed up and wanted to know whether Jason would be leaving the football team thanks to the rumours throughout the school about their family. The coach didn't see a male or a female on the team -- he saw a human being who was a damn good player who he didn't want to lose.

Don't You Cry - by Mary Kubica

Title: Don't You Cry

Author: Mary Kubica

Published: 17 May 2016

Series: -

Rating: 2 stars

Synopsis:

In downtown Chicago, Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her roommate Quinn Collins to question how well she really knew her friend. Meanwhile, in a small town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex Gallo works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more sinister.
As Quinn searches for answers about Esther, and Alex is drawn further under the stranger's spell, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes readers on a taut and twisted thrill ride that builds to a stunning conclusion and shows that no matter how fast and far we run, the past always catches up with us.

I listened to this as an audiobook.

The narrator's tone of voice changes when she changes which character is speaking which is good.

I did have one theory that was neither proven nor disproven, but that was that maybe Esther was Alex's first kiss and she was just going by the name of Lee when they met? One question I have that I may have simply missed the answer to - why was Alex practically stalking the woman he called Pearl?

At times, I did find that some things were a little too descriptive.

I liked the premise of the story - roommate goes missing and remaining roommate has to try and piece together what happened from what's in the missing person's room. I'm not entirely sure why I didn't love this one as much as I could have.

Unfortunately, I only understood the title reference at the end when the lullaby was sung. Not a major issue though, just something I noticed.

Spoilers!

So many theories! Prepare yourself:

- I did guess that Esther abandoned the house on Alex's street, and I was half right by that as it was actually her family that did.

- I also wasn't too far off with my guess that Genevive was alive and had changed her name to Esther - they're just sisters and not the same person. My guess that Pearl was Genevieve's sister was almost right in the opposite way - they're the same person and not sisters.

- I did wonder if the EV that was signed in letters was Alex's mother, but it turns out I was wrong.

End Spoilers!

Illuminated - by Aditya Koppula

Title: Illuminated

Author: Aditya Koppula

Published: 23 March 2018

Series: -

Rating: 2 stars

Synopsis:

"Illuminated" is an anthology of poems on love, pain and hope . It takes you on a profound journey that mirrors deepest emotions we go through in different stages of love. 
You fall in love with Aditya's fascinating felicity and his perception of love as you read through 50 beautifully written poems. 
A must read for everyone.

Poetry has never really been my thing, but this was fairly short coming in at only 55 pages with one poem per page, so I figured that I would give it a go.

I do know that not all poems rhyme, but some of these did and some didn't so that annoyed me a little bit. Just like art in any form, everyone will see poetry differently - no one answer is right or wrong. However I do feel like most people will relate to at least one of these poems.

Some of these were cute and I could picture the scene unfolding, but others I wasn't quite sure about.

The poem title I Love You is a short poem, but it makes sense and shows how some people can feel when they realise that they're in love with someone.

My favourite poem out of all 50 was probably Caressed as I can clearly picture the scene in my head, but it's still short enough that I don't lose interest in the poem.

Your breath has the fragrance of grassland
Your skin is smoother than beach sand
Your sweat has an aroma of natural oil
That can never be found on any soil

One question I have about Smell Of You is about the first two lines - it was a little weird comparing someone breath to grassland, but my main issue is that I personally don't think that beach sand is very soft. Try getting that out your clothes!

Two Sides Of The Same Coin gave me flashbacks to high school though. So did a couple of the other poems.

Another question I have: What's the picture on the cover? My guess is that it's two people embracing, but I can't quite tell as it's a fairly faint sketch. I do the love the font that was used for the title though.

It may not have been for me, but it's short enough that you can always try this one for yourself! Like I said at the beginning - everyone sees poetry differently.

The Paper Magician - by Charlie N. Holmberg

Title: The Paper Magician

Author: Charlie N. Holmberg

Published: 1 Sep 2014

Series: The Paper Magician #1

Rating: 2 stars

Synopsis:

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic… forever.
Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined — animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.
An Excisioner — a practitioner of dark, flesh magic — invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

The heart had the dark to balance out the light, the uncertainty to balance dreams.

The cover was what drew me in originally as it's a lovely cover. I liked the idea of the story and the beginning was quite good.Then I feel like it went downhill a little for me. Half the story was Ceony wandering around inside his heart and it felt like just a long backstory for Mg. Thane.

Ceony has recently graduated, and Mg. Thane feels like he should be in his 30s. So the bit of romance starting around halfway through wasn't for me. Plus after only being with him for about a week and thinking him really rude at the start, she shouldn't really say that she loves him, in my opinion.

The paper folding was nice and it was nice to see how a simple thing like paper could be turned into a skeleton butler or a paper dog or even to add magic to the front of the house to mask it. The magic was probably my favourite part about this book. It would have been nice to see what each of the different types were like a little more in depth though.

Also, the laundry and the cooking. I can understand cooking for Mg. Thane as it's a nice thing to do and it's easier cooking for two than for one, I think. However, I wouldn't be washing my boss/teacher's dirty laundry whether they asked me to or not.

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All books in this series:

    1 | The Paper Magician
    2 | The Glass Magician
    3 | The Master Magician

    4 | The Plastic Magician

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!"

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.