Faeries with a Twist

Faery Swap by Susan Kaye Quinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I almost missed the chance to read this book, as the Netgalley invite had somehow found its way into my "spam/trash" folder (thanks gmail - not) but I am so very glad I found it! It was a quick and most entertaining read, devoured within approximately 24 hours and now being happily digested.

The writing style is excellent - rich in detail and strong in characterisation. Finn and Erin, American children suddenly plunged into England (I loved the interjections with English slang etc) and then - just as Finn has started to settle down and see his sister off to school, a faery possesses his body and sends him away to the land of the Fae. But is Finn deterred? Well, slightly, but he is also very determined and will not let his sister be left alone.

Each chapter focuses on one of the two main characters - Finn and Zaneyr (the faery prince who "steals" his body). Together it weaves the story and brings us to a conclusion that is both satisfying but also makes us wish for more.



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Exceptional Fun for the Young (and Young of Heart)

The Last Akaway by Gary Karton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A cute adventure story aimed at young boys - 7-10 at a guess, and designed to encourage them to play outside instead of spending their time in the computer-game world.

This book was a LOT of fun - the characters of Jake and Brody were immediately likeable and immediately realistic. I did find the jumping viewpoint a little confusing at first: the chapters are so short that one minute you're in Jake's head, the next in Brody's, but once I slowed down my reading speed a little it became rather easier. The random conversation topics spattered throughout the text were highly entertaining, and I am wondering if the author garnered them from his own two boys, whom I imagine are a lot like Jake and Brody.

Some of the plot seemed a little forced - the fact that Jake stayed up all night basically reading every single book about the spirit animals that he could find seemed rather a convenient excuse to give him instant knowledge on everything important, but I would very much doubt a teenage boy would read that fast and retain that much. Still, this is not exactly a logical book - it is a tale to entertain and amuse the young fellows, who will not be analysing everything: like how a fish could walk and whether the Crab skittered sideways.

Overall, this was a great romp and would be exceptionally fun to read to a young audience. If I ever find myself in the situation where I have my tablet and are required to amuse a young boy (aged 6-9) then I shall certainly be reading this one! Heck, maybe it might inspire them to put down the game console and go outside, climb a tree or throw a snowball (but not a rock) and get in touch with their own spirit animal.



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You'll laugh, you'll cry... but you won't put it down!

Stim by Kevin Berry

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I highly enjoyed the story of Robert, a university student with Aspergers Syndrome. Robert's story is candidly told - his view of the world clearly described and just a little bit different. Some parts will have you gritting your teeth ("I can't believe he just said that!"), and others snorting with laughter. It is also deeply poignant, and very moving, especially as you watch Robert and Chloe's friendship grow, and also experience the understanding of their NS flatmate, Stef.

Berry has captured Robert's voice extremely well - with his precise, slightly formal way of speaking; his straightforward, honest-to-the-point-of-innappropriate; his little quirks - it is the sort of book that could only be written by someone with a deep insight into the aspie mind.

I would highly recommend this to everyone over the age of about 16/17 - NS or aspie: for the former it will offer a deeper insight, and for the latter, open the awareness that you are not alone.

I look forward to reading more in the future.

Thanks to Kevin for the almost-advance reading copy!

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Colourful Fun with a hint of Steampunk.

The Queen and the Nobody Boy by Barbara Else

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A colourful and fast-paced, action-packed and entertaining romp in the ever-so-slightly-magical-but-also-quite-scientifc world of Fontania.

Else has a real knack for creating quirky characters - in this case, Sibella the "little" Queen, who follows protagonist, Hodie when he runs away, and more-or-less, by accident or intent, ropes him in to helping her save her kingdom from the pompous emperor of Um'Binnia.

The plot bounces along, twisting and turning in topsy-turvy rhythms with some totally madcap moments and a hearty dose of humour. The description of the technology is nifty - it could be steampunk, but it has the playful colour and fun of rather crazy, over-the-top inventions, maybe what Dr Seuss would invent.

With giant toads, ogres, dragon-eagles and much more, this is one adventure that you will want to be whisked up and away on!

This is the second in her Fontania books - the first being the "Travelling Restaurant", but they are stand-alones and I have not read the previous one, although I feel now I should. Previously, the only Else novel I have read was her adult historic novel, "Wild Lattitudes", which was also populated with a cast of rather quirky characters and is definitely worth venturing into, although it does have a certain outrageousness not usually found in historic novels.

I do wonder, was there some deeper metaphor/meaning to the ugly squirrel? I suppose bad deeds will come back to bite you, yes?

Special thanks to NetGalley and Gecko Press for providing me with the review-copy ebook.

Speaking of Gecko Press - they are purveyors of quality literature for children and I have seen some beautiful books come out of their publishing house. If you want something slightly different, a bit - or a lot - special, then definitely look their way!

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A Fowl Kind of War.

The Dirty Bombers by Ed Taylor

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a lover of Watership Down and a writer of animal protagnoist novels, I jumped at the chance to read this title. Gulls have always held character to me - garrulous, greedy and bold. I did enjoy this book. It moved along at a clipping pace, showed the situation from both viewpoints, allowing the reader to both sympathise with the gulls and the poor villagers being besieged by these fowl bombs.
Animal protagonist books can usually fall into two or three different categories - there are the allegory type ones, like Jonathan Livingstone Seagull and Animal Farm; the semi-realistic ones like Watership Down, the Kine Saga and the fantasy ones like Tailchaser's Song and Redwall. This falls into the second camp and does so in a manner that is more-or-less convincing - the gulls behave much as gulls are expected, with the addition of structure and military organisation.

I enjoyed it, the plotting is tight and the characters - both human and avian - entertaining. Whilst the gulls plans for non violent protest may seem sound to them, there is an ever increasing sense of dread as you realise that their "peaceful" actions are condemning them to the probability of a cull. The ending seemed rather sudden, but I am not sure more was required.

My main issue is that I am not sure how well considered the audience is for the writing. It is listed as a "teen" book and considered an analogy of the Palestinians and Israelis conflict. However, given the "dirty bombs" delivered by the gulls, I feel it would probably garner more interest to the younger readers - it would have made a pretty neat plot idea for the 7-10 age range. However, the writing style is entirely unsuited for this age group, with a few (rather tame) curse words, rather mature concepts and relatively complicated prose. I do not think that there are many teens who would be interested in reading a book where the main characters were gulls. However, I could be wrong - and I certainly have devoured animal novels my entire life. So, in summary, it's a decent and enjoyable read, but I am not sure of the intended market.

Interestingly enough, soon after I started reading this, a news article popped up in my Google Newsfeed about the scourge of black-backed gulls in one of our major cities - they are carting rubbish from the local tip and depositing it and their droppings on high end businesses in the seaside district. A cull of their numbers may be approved.

eARC received courtesy of Troubador and NetGalley.

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A Light, Magical Tale

Spellbound and Determined by Dax Varley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this fun, quick read. It is a "Scavenger hunt" style story with an entertaining plot; a quick-thinking, witty protagonist; a cute geeky boy; a somewhat crazed best friend and an adorable ferret. Whilst quite a lot of time was spent on High School Hi-jinks (specifically in relation to best friend Reade's foolish crush on the temperamental, and not particularly smart, Troy), the exploits that these three must undertake to collect the ingredients for their magic spell are rather fun. The "grey guy" antagonist could be better developed, he did not radiate particular menace to me, but overall it proved to be easy to pick up, difficult to put down, and had a cute ending (and an adorable ferret).



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The Bounty Hunter, Stephanie Plum

The "Stephanie Plum" series is an excellent blend of chick-lit and crime novel. Highly addictive, they are also best read in singles or pairs as I suspect reading three or more in a row would dampen the enjoyment. And thus I began reading this series in 2005 and really had to dig deep to track down my original reviews. After some seeking I finally managed to unearth my 2003-2005 book reviews website - http://thebibliofiles.xi.co.nz which I updated religiously for two years or so, before I got bored with it. With any luck, this blog will last longer. And maybe earn more readers?

Having discovered one of my friends owns all the books, I have been borrowing them off her in steady increments. And pacing myself.

High Five
Janet Evanovich

Genre: Chick-lit/Crime
Audience: Women with a good sense of humour
Rating: 4/5

Our favourite sassy bounty hunter is back - and once again - she's broke. Her only job - a bad-tempered computer nerd who's jumped bail on a concealed weapon charge. But no Stephanie Plum tale can be so ordinary. Before we know it, she's hunting for an old man that may have been kidnapped by aliens; a psychotic murderer is on parole and on her tail; she's got a midget hiding in her closet; an Italian watching her every move and she's forced to take work from the mysterious Ranger, who has ethics of his own. And to top it all off, there's Joe Morelli as well, still pursuing her with determination (and lust) in his eyes...

My reviews of the earlier titles:

One for the Money
A very quick and easy read, with enough light-hearted comedy intermingled with action, violence and some frankly quite frightening scenes to keep you on your toes and turning the pages.

Stephanie Plum is down on her luck - she's lost her job, sold off half her stuff and not only that, she has to face a meal with her dinner-at-six parents. It is then that they suggest she takes up working with cousin Vinnie, a "debt collector" of a different kind - he brings in felons that have failed to appear in court. Thrown into the job as a bounty hunter, Stephanie is given the mission to bring in one Joe Morelli, a former ex-cop wanted for murder. He just also happens to be the irresistable macho pig that took her virginity and then wrote the details on the bathroom wall of Mario's Sub Shop. Not only that, but there's also the problem of the heavyweight stalker...

Looks like Stephanie really has her work cut out for her - especially since she doesn't even know how to load her gun.

Two for the Dough
The return of Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter not-so-extraordinare with her usual flare of luck and with a new felon to catch, and a very nasty one. And to make things worse, he's cousin to that charming bastard, Joe Moreilli. He's also a twisted sadist and when pieces of embalmed bodies start showing up, Stephanie can only hope she hasn't gone one case too far.

More light-hearted fun and crime from Evanovich, a good and easy read for a rainy day. I think, however, I might wait a few months afore delving back into the world of Stephanie Plum.

Three to get Deadly
Another fun, fast-paced crime novel with a feisty heroine, sexy men, exploding cars, wise-as-ex-prostitutes and an all round crazy plot. Great fun for a quick, relaxing read.

Four to Score
An entertaining aeroplane read. Enjoyable, as always with some nifty sex scenes. If you like that kinda thing. It's classic Evanovich - she's one of those tongue-in-cheek (and in some cases, hand-on-cheek) with bitchin' heroines, sexy, mysterious men, a rollicking mystery that seems to tie in three different threads. Sassy and fun, with a bit of excitement for good measure.

Return of Bartimaeus

Ring of Solomon
Jonathan Stroud

Genre: Historic Fantasy
Audience: Young Adult (10+)
Rating: 4/5

Bartimaeus is back! This is the fourth novel featuring the willful, sarcastic Djinni and he is in fine form indeed. Set before the Bartimaeus Trilogy ("Amulet of Samarkand" etc) this tale focuses on King Solomon. A powerful Egyptian king who keeps his people in check by possessing a very strong spirit, trapped in a ring. Bartimaeus is at his typically irreverent best, savaging his master with his cutting wit and sharp tongue. This does not lead him to make many friends, and indeed leads to him falling into the grasp of an assasssin, a young woman sent to kill the king. Charged with an utterly hopeless mission, with sure death as its goal, Bartimaeus takes it all in his (grudging and sarcastic) stride and gives us a most entertaining tale indeed.

If you like this, I would urge you to also check out:
The Bartimaeus Trilogy
Amulet of Samarkand
The Golem's Eye
Ptolemy's Gate