The Tattoo Thief - by Alison Belsham

Title: The Tattoo Thief
Author: Alison Belsham
Series: -
Published: 3 May 2018
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:
A policeman on his first murder case
A tattoo artist with a deadly secret
And a twisted serial killer sharpening his blades to kill again...
When Brighton tattoo artist Marni Mullins discovers a flayed body, newly-promoted DI Francis Sullivan needs her help. There's a serial killer at large, slicing tattoos from his victims' bodies while they're still alive. Marni knows the tattooing world like the back of her hand, but has her own reasons to distrust the police. So when she identifies the killer's next target, will she tell Sullivan or go after the Tattoo Thief alone?


One, two, cut a tattoo
Three, four, flay some more
Five, six, my bloody fix
Seven, eight, will not wait

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

There were some characters dealing with things that was nice to see in a book. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) was mentioned as Francis' mother and sister have it,  Francis went to church regularly, and Marni has diabetes. The down side was that diabetes was only mentioned at the start and during the end scene.

While reading the book, I did have many questions, but pretty much all of them were answered. Questions such as: Who's Paul? Who's the Collector? Did the Thief kill Ron? Who's Luke?

It was quite fun to try and guess who he Thief and the Collector were as the book went on too. I'm sure that I guessed nearly all the characters in my quest to find out who it was. I guessed Rory, Steve, Thierry, Paul, Bradshaw, and Tom Fitz to name a few. The real answer as to who the Thief and Collector were did shock me a bit though.

There are multiple points of view in the book, and they're not in a pattern so it did take me a little to figure out who was up to what at the start of each chapter. 

Spoilers!

Finding out that Marni and Thierry were targets was another shock.

Also, when I found out that the Thief was a woman, I actually had to stop reading to try and wrap my brain around that piece of information. It was a bit disappointing that I wasn't able to correctly guess who the Thief was as we had never officially met her along the way.

End Spoilers!

Whisper - by Lynette Noni

Title: Whisper
Author: Lynette Noni
Published: 1 May 2018
Series: Whisper #1
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis: 
Lengard is a secret government facility for extraordinary people,” they told me.
I believed them. That was my mistake.
There isn’t anyone else in the world like me.
I’m different. I’m an anomaly. I’m a monster. 
For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject Six-Eight-Four — ‘Jane Doe’ — has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word.
As Jane’s resolve begins to crack under the influence of her new — and unexpectedly kind — evaluator, she uncovers the truth about Lengard’s mysterious ‘program’, discovering that her own secret is at the heart of a sinister plot … and one wrong move, one wrong word, could change the world.

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

Another book from an Aussie author! This book is also set in Sydney.

Little Abby was adorable, Enzo is awesome, Cami would make an amazing best friend (plus I really want to try her pancakes), and Ward and Kael are tied as my favourite male characters. Also, if Vanik could go fall off a cliff, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm sure a lot of character from the book would too.

The web of a family tree that Cami and Ward have was quite a twist and I wouldn't have guessed who was involved. Another twist was when we find out about Kael's family tree. Another one that I definitey wouldn't have guessed. Both of which do make sense in a way after you find out about them though.

Little Schrodinger was quite cute and the name was quite fitting for him too. I want to pet him on his little fluffy head!

Jane Doe's real name is quite pretty. I won't spoil what it is though.

About Jane Doe's parents? Wow. That's all I'm going to say.

Definitely recommend this book to anyone who thinks they may want to read it.

You are brave.
You are powerful.
You are heard.

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All books in this series:

    1 | Whisper
    2 | Weapon

More Than a Number - by Tia Souders

Title: More Than a Number

Author: Tia Souders

Published: 28 March 2018

Series: -

Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Grace Michaels is determined to be thin, even if she dies trying.
Part of the in-crowd at Providence High, she is steps away from being asked out by the most desired guy at school, winning a prom queen nomination, and her parents’ approval. If she can just get skinny enough, be pretty enough, and popular enough.
But Grace is thin on the outside and fat on the inside. No amount of weight-loss ever seems enough. Convinced the melting pounds will solve her problems, every pound lost brings her closer to her goals. But flesh and bone can only hide the weight of her secret for so long.

Trigger Warning: eating disorder, bullying, body image issues

*previously titled "Something of Substance"*

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

This book was a hard one to read at times and I definitely had to take breaks while reading it. It was about body issues, bullying, weight loss, and it included real high school emotions. 

I wanted to cuddle Jake and make him my best friend, Dex was kind of rude and a bully, Jen and Lindsey were bitches and bullies, and Cara is the best friend everyone wants in their lives.

The multiple roses with notes was quite cute, along with the speech after Grace finally has them all. I also correctly guessed who gave Kelly a rose, even though I was sure I had to be wrong.

I felt like Grace felt insignificant against her twin sister Kelly, wanted her parents to be proud of her, was fat shaming herself, like she felt inadequate, and like she was seeking popularity.

However this book also tells us about the issues faced when you lose too much weight - period loss, always being cold, being tired all the time, and having your hair fall out. I was confused by the couple of hospital scenes before it was explained too as it felt a little like they were randomly spread out.

At the end, Grace realises that happiness is all that matters though which is definitely the positive message to end this book on.

This book is a bit of a wake up call about what can happen, so please seek help with eating disorders!

"You can."

This Shattered World - by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Title: This Shattered World
Author: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Published: 19 Nov 2014
Series: Starbound #2
Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis:
Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.
Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.
Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.
Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.

You dragged me out of my bar, shot me, forced me to breathe chemical fumes, took me into the middle of nowhere, drugged me, then tied me to a post in an underground cave. How do you THINK I'm feeling?

I listened to this as an audiobook.

As the book goes on, you get to see Flynn and Jubilee go from enemies to allies to friends, which I love. You get to watch the relationship between the two change and grow.

My favourite thing about Lee was her sarcasm. She had similar responses to what I might have said myself.

"My hero," the words pop out, dripping with malice before I can stop them. Mock the guy AFTER you get your water, I remind myself.

I  cried when the explosion went off though. If you've read the book, you'll know why.

For some odd reason, I also pictured McBride as Jai Courteney who plays Eric in the Divergent movie. Couldn't tell you why, but that's how I pictured him. Maybe because they're both jerks and super mean?

I'm the one who wants to talk to you. She's the one who wants to break your legs. Let's start with the talking.

I like how this book ties in with the first in this series, These Broken Stars, as we see a bit of Tarver and Lilac, and we also hear things from the Whispers.

Amie and Meagan do a wonderful job of writing these books together and can't wait to read the last one!

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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

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue - by Mackenzi Lee

Title: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
Author: Mackenzi Lee
Published: 27 June 2017
Series: Guide #1
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis: 
Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.
But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.
Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.


"Alright, everyone into the study, NOW," Felicity barks in a tone that is essentially verbal castration, and not a one of us protests.

I listened to this as an audiobook.

I'd heard good things about this book and that the main character's voice sounded a bit like melted butter, so I decided to try it. Just an FYI, they were right about his voice!

It's beginning to feel like he's shuffling his way through the seven deadly sins in ascending order of my favorites.

I think that Felicity was my favourite character as she didn't take shit from anyone. They want her to be a pretty girl in her dresses who simply sits and sews, but she didn't want that. Behind the covers of sappy romance novels, she actually reads surgical books - books from a man's world.


Ladies haven't the luxury of being squeamish about blood.

Henry sounds like he's probably an alcoholic, always looking for the next drink and counting down since the last one he had.

"What we once were, that you are now. What we are now, soon you shall be."

When Henry and Percy both realised that they loved each other and that it was reciprocated was quite cute. I'd spent nearly the whole book wondering if they knew or if the other loved the other boy too, so when they had the talk at the end of the book was quite lovely.

We are not broken things. Neither of us. We are cracked pottery, mended with laquer and flakes of gold. Whole as we are, complete unto each other Complete and worthy and so very loved.

Spoilers!

Percy having epilepsy is an unusual point to have in this book, it also made me realise that I don't think I've read a book where a character has epilepsy yet in my life. It was interesting watching Percy deal with everything life dealt him through Henry's eyes though - a male of colour, having epilepsy, and being sent to an asylum after their tour.

The panacea being inside a human heart is an interesting turn of events too. I'd never thought about anything being like that before. When you hear about the cure-alls or something similar, your first thought is probably the same as mine where you'd think that it's something you drink - but having to eat the human heart is a new thing to see for me.

End Spoilers!

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All books in this series:

    1 | The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

 1.5 | The Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky

    2 | The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

    3 | The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks

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