Book Review: Rosario + Vampire Season 1

Hi readers, 

Today I wanted to share with you this manga series that I've been reading. It was written a few years back and its still popular enough. It's a short series with only 10 books in the first season and like 14 in the second. 

The plot is that a high school boy finds himself at a high school for monsters! They are all pretending to be humans as they are practising to fight into the human world. He doesn't have any easy time fitting in though and in fact a group of girls ends up forming around him because they are all in love with him! 

He has a crush on the vampire in the title and she likes him too, however due to her giving him some blood to aid them in the battles with other monsters, he gains vampire powers. 

The plot feels very simple and it's not until a good few books in, once all the main characters have been introduced, that things get interesting. There is a lot of fights and action scene which help speed things along and creates good conflict. There is also conflicted between the girls but this made to come across as being cute. 

The art style is pretty good to, but there are lot of - what I call 'fanboy shots of the girls - lots of down the tops and up the skirts. Which if you don't mind is fine, but there's just too many placed in for my liking. I guess that it helps make this manga more appealing to the young male audience it's aimed at. 

The characters come across well, with each their own wants and problems. I'm hoping that that the second season of manga sees them all further develop. Of course, the vampire is my favourite! There's also the typical manga characters too but they did get little lost in the background, which I don't really mind. 

I really enjoyed reading this series because it's fun and simple. There's enough to keep you entertained too and it's really short which also helps! 

I can't wait to read the second season now and find out what happens. 

Book Review: The Power of The Dark

Hi readers,

Today I'm reviewing the last book I read in December and the final one of 2016. My mum was given this book by a friend who likes to send her interesting novels. She gave it to me knowing that I was a fan of the author. Robin Jarvis wrote my favorite trilogy - Tales From The Wyrd Museum, which is about three sisters who own a museum of historical objects and some of them have supernatural powers. I've not read anything by Jarvis in awhile so I was excited to read his latest and first in a new series novel.   

The Power Of Dark is a children's book but it's similar to Darren Shan novels in that teens and adults will enjoy it too. The plot is a simple one of good verses evil, but aren't all the best stories themed around that? The story is set in the seaside town of Whitby which is one of my favorite places and famous for being the setting of Bram Stoker's Dracula. There's a lot more to Whitby then just that though. It's the home of the very well known Whitby Abbey, the only place to find Whitby jet stone and one of the oldest fishing and whaling industries in England. There's also a lot of myths and legends involving Whitby. So, it does seem the perfect setting for a book centered around the supernatural.    

The two main characters, Lil and Verne, are best friends growing up in Whitby. Lil's parents own a goth themed shop and Lil makes things to be bought in the shop. Lil's parents believe they are witches, However, Lil doesn't believe that, but she still goes along with it. Verne's parents are into Steampunk and are busy making costumes for the up and coming Goth Weekend. I was nicely surprised and pleased that steampunk got a look in here and actually fits in nicely with the finally events at the end of the book. Also, the Goth Weekend is a real event held in Whitby every year. 

One of the other main characters is actually a witch. Her name is Cherry and she the guardian witch of Whitby, of which there has been a long line of. The witch's job has always been to protect and guard the town and people from the myths and legends that surround Whitby, including the plot one of the novel.

This legend involved another witch called Scaur Annie who fell in love Melchior Pike. Tragically though they couldn't be happy together as Pike was working on magical device called the Nimius which needed the tears of a magical creature which Annie knew about. Annie breaks her witch agreement to get Pike the tears and thus comes to realise that Pike never loved her in the first place. Though it turns out they were both set up by Pike's male servant called Dark who wanted the Nimius for himself.

 Now though, they have all come back in ghost form to complete their missions as the Nimius has been found and they all want it. However, it means that Whitby is about to be torn apart by the supernatural forces and Lil, Verne and Cherry must help to stop it. Which of course they do as most good verse evil stories end.

I really enjoyed the plot and the characters, finding it easy to get into the story. The pacing and dialogue was good too, making you want to read on to the end. My favorite part of the story was when a really bad storm hits Whitby and the cliff top graveyard is torn part and comes crashing down into Lil's house. A skeleton flies into her bedroom and seems to attack her. This is actually Annie trying to posses Lil. It's wonderfully described and though it's scary, it's the kind of moment kids really enjoy reading.

Overall, this is a good book for young people and adults a like. The plot and characters are enjoyable and the supernatural elements have a refreshing edge to them. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series now.

Thanks for reading and see you all next week! 

  

(Image from Goodreads)

September Life Update 2 : My Love Life Is A Soap Opera

Hi readers,

So today I was meant to do another book review and it was going to be Interview With A Vampire but then I realized I'd have like a week to read The Vampire Lestat and Interview took me like 3 weeks, so I decided that maybe it was best to wait and then I could also do Queen of The Damn too. Plus, also they seem very fitting for October! Also, I'm meant to be going to a steampunk weekend this week and I want to write about that, so it made even more sense to wait.

This post might feel a bit random, but I thought it'd be something everyone could relate too.

As I child and teenager one of the things I really wanted to do was to grow up. Of course, there were other things I wanted, but to break away from my parents, get out of high school, do what I wanted when I wanted it ect, that was the main one. I guess most under 18's feel the same. Then though when you are over 20 or so, you wish to go back to that time because life was so much easier. You didn't have to worry so much about money, other people, were your life was truly going and love. Being a child is frustrating, but being an adult can be even more frustrating.

And currently my love life is very frustrating. In the first week of July, I wrote an update post about thing, which did center around the dating I'd been doing. The post is here; http://hailscrazyblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/july-life-update-part-1-what-am-i-doing.html. Briefly though I dropped guys B and C as they weren't for me and guy A dropped me- no idea what went wrong there, so I decided to stick it out with guy D, though I did have a a date or two with two other guys in the early days. One actually made a total mess of the after date conversation and totally put me off seeing him again.

I decided to come off the dating website and just enjoy my time with D. He and I do get along, even though I don't feel the same physical attraction to him as he does me. We have a lot in common and all our dates have been good. Going to Blackpool was the best one though! The thing has been that I can't make my mind up about him. I like D, but not in the whole falling in love way. He's a perfect gentleman - really does remind me of a British Victorian upper class, stiff upper lip gentleman really.

I do like that though. D's charming, caring and likes looking after me, but that only plays to one side of me. One of my other sides demands a wild rawness which he has yet to display. Though I also seek softness, passion and slowness. The child in me craves another child like soul to play with and though he's touched on that side of himself I need more. I have another side that seeks being dominated and surrendering. Yet I also have a side the begs for independence, alone-ness and space. My creative side needs D to be more expressive, adventurous and less controlling. My outgoing side needs him to be more confident, outgoing and louder, so that he becomes more in balance with my nature.

So, you can see this is a big undertaking! I don't expect anyone to be able to satisfy all sides of me and it seems I'm like a few persons rolled into one, which is sometimes how I end up feeling anyway. My ex dealt with it well though and perhaps he's slightly to blame for bring more of those sides out. I'm happy like this though, sure I can do with being less emotional, over thinking, over worrying and self-conscious, but wouldn't everyone?  

Actually, my ex is hanging over me like a ghost and so are the shadows of the past. I can't shake him. Too much I think back and compare him to D or one of the other guys I dated. I know it's wrong and I must stop. You can't compare men like they are shoes. They look and fit how they do, each one is different and individual. They all have their pros and cons too. Sometimes they fit, sometimes they don't no matter how hard you try and maybe that's for the best because one day you'll find the perfect shoes. That's a good if strange way to think about men.

I'm now going to use another example to help explain what happened between me and D this weekend. So far everything has be going well and I've been happy with the casual dating. About a month ago, I invited him for a weekend away in Leeds to take part in a steampunk fair. He agreed and we got a hotel for two nights between us. We decided to have a sort of trail run of spending the night together and also more private time. So, I went to his for Saturday night and now comes in my example.

Now, does anyone remember a '90's teenage drama series called The Tribe? Here's a memory jog;

     

I was addicted to this when I was an teen and I still am today. It has a surprisingly large following still. I'm bring it up because there was a lot of characters who had romantic encounters and relationships which were filled with teen awkwardness and lack/ break down of communication. This kids didn't understand the feelings they were going through and of course in the dystopian world they live in there are no adults to help explain things. So, they had to figure things out and also try and survive. Though they never seemed short of make up and clean clothes!

That teen awkwardness and break down of communication is so what happened at the weekend. There were things he and I both should have said and done that we didn't. It was difficult because we were not alone and I think it was harder for him because this was the first time he'd brought a girl to met his mum. The other problem was we did just want my ex and I use to do; sit on the soft and watch stuff. It was a jump back to a past I was trying to escape from and I just felt let down. On Sunday, he wasn't feeling well but didn't tell me that until we had left to go to the train station. I was mean to him and I said some things I shouldn't have said, but at the time I was angry and upset with him. Okay, I wasn't expecting to be treated like a Princess but he hardly treated me like a guest.

It was on my mind last night and has been on my mind all of today. Why and how had that happened? Who was to blame for a bad weekend? How come he'd upset me so much that I didn't want to see him again? The truth is both of us are to blame. I think me more then him though because I clearly need to be the one 'wearing the pants' in this relationship, which is something I've not done before and have little experience of. It's clearly time to learn!

In fact, whilst I've been writing this post we have been talking on Skype and it seems we have been able to draw a line under that weekend. He wants to put it behind us and fix the attention on Leeds, which promises to be a lot more fun and productive! I do agree, but as I told him, I need him to come out of his shell some more and just be more of himself. He needs to work on his low confidence and we both need to communicate better. I need to let go of the past, move on and stop being so selfish.

Maybe there's hope for us after all, but we'll see.

By the way this photo of a crab was meant to represent me when I get angry and/or upset. I'm too much like my star sign! But it also seemed fitting for what I just wrote too.

If you've got any relationship advice you'd like to share then please do and as always please check out my other blog;  https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/

See you next Monday!



Images from:
https://pixabay.com/
http://www.tribeworld.com/2011/series-1-wallpapers-part-2/t1_wallpaper_lg_20/

Book Review; Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Hi readers, 

Today, I'm continuing with clearing off 'easy' books on my to read shelf and this was next on the list. I know this book came from my one of my favorite shops - The Works- cause it still had the price sticker on it, but the date I got this I don't know and it's more then possible my mum could easily have brought it for me as it's been on the bottom of my bookcase with other vampire novels for a good few years now.

I was a little bit worried that this story would be another 'Twilight'. I feel bad that I'm now judging teenage vampire fiction and sometimes other teenage supernatural novels by that marker. I think the Twilight books just annoyed me a lot, like Fifty Shades Of Grey did and now I'm too quick to say, 'oh, it's just another Twilight!' Every time I start reading that kind of novel. Also, when I took Glass Houses off my shelf I saw it had been sitting behind Interview With The Vampire and I so wanted to read that instead. It's my all time favorite book and favorite vampire novel. I resisted temptation, but my reading of Glass Houses was over shadowed by that urge, which so didn't help.

I'm please to report though that Glass Houses, isn't anything like Twilight, which makes me feel totally better about writing this review. However though, the story and the characters didn't really grab me enough to make me want to buy the next book. When I looked into it I found there was 15 books in The Morganville Vampires series and there hasn't been anymore since the last came out in 2013. Glass Houses is the first and was published in 2006. Which makes me safer to talking about some aspects of the story and characters, that people might see as spoilers. And I do try hard in all my reviews not to do that to people because I so hate it when it happens with me and then it makes me not to carry on or actually start reading a novel. So, you've been warned now.

There's so much I actually want to write about this novel, which isn't a change for me because I normally want to go into a whole essay and pick everything apart, just like every English Lit class has taught me. But I know people don't like reading long in-detailed reviews, more often then not they just want to hear if it was good or bad and worth their time reading. But I feel it can't be helped, I love vampires so much and tonight I'm in the mood for an in depth reviewing - which is shocking cause I've been struggling to write for the last month or so on all my blogs and personal projects! I guess sometimes it can take just one thing to get you back on the writing track.

So anyway, the plot of Glass Houses is that a 16 year old girl called Claire moves into a town called Morganville in Texas, USA where she attends college due to being super intelligent and her parents wanting the best for but not wanting her to grow up too fast and let her go, basically. American readers will get that more then UK readers as here 16 is like the starting age for going to college and we don't really have the very intelligent people fast tracking through the education system either. I think also the divide between 16 and 18 must be bigger in the USA. when I was a teenager I didn't feel like there was a such big gap between the ages like this novel makes out there is.

Claire is being bullied by a gang of girls due to making the leader like stupid in front of a hot boy. She over hears the girl call Monica say that World War 2 had been a Chinese thing and without really thinking about it, Claire corrects her. From that point on, Monica and her gang the Monickettes, which sounds like some pop band of the 1980's or 1990's, have been bullying her. Thus, the opening of the novel begins with Claire returning to collect her clothes washing and finding a note saying all of her clothes have gone down the rubbish chute.

Monica and the Monickettes are waiting for her as she leaves and Claire gets pushed down some stairs. Not wanting to return to the girl's only dorm, she finds an ad for a housemate and goes to visit the house. There she meets Eve - a goth, Shane - who has a tragic past and Micheal who turns out to be a ghost. She moves in with them and Eve tells her that vampires are real and they rule the town. Claire then falls prey to a young vampire and to free her Shane makes a deal of having his blood drunk instead. Claire doesn't want that though and after asking if there's anyway they can get out of, Eve tells her about this power book that the vampires have been searching for.

Of course, Claire finds the book and in the dramatic final a vampire finally gets their hands on it. Turns out this book is about how to turn people into vampires, a knowledge that vampires have lost and it was written by the vampire who gets it back. It also turns out the house they are living in use to be her's as well. The vampire agrees to grant the group protect against other vampires and their human friends so Monica can't bully Claire anymore.

Then though, Shane father's turns up and starts causes trouble after Shane phoned him to ask for his help in defeating the vampires who were attacking them for the book. His dad is like a vampire slayer after revenge. The novel ends on the cliff hanger of Michael being killed.

I found all the characters to be quite well written. I liked how they all had secrets and I can see how they'd develop into friends and couples in the other books. The bully and her gang were also interesting, but there wasn't enough time spent on their characters for me - this might happen in the other books though. As for the vampires, they were mostly in the background and we only got to see like three of them - not counting ones that briefly appear. This to me doesn't satisfy my vampire need enough. Though the actual backgrounds and lore of the vampires did, which I'm always very interested in, especially if it's a different take on how vampires came to be ect. Hopefully, there's more of that in the other books.

The narration of the book is first person and Claire tells the story, so we did only get one point of view. However, she's not your typical 16 year old girl and her high intelligence and scientific mind were a nice changed from the 'stereotypical' teenage girl that has a tendency to appear in this young adult supernatural novels. Though it did take me awhile to actually get into the story. I think the overshadow from one of the best vampire novels as well as one of the worst, didn't help, but it's also the pace, which happens a little bit too fast at the start so we didn't get to know Claire all that well before she get's pushed down the stairs.

That set aside though, I did find this novel easy and fast to read. It's written simply, but effectively and even if the age of the main characters don't give the target audience for these series the writing clearly does. I can understand why a lot of teenagers and young adults would like these books, but they are not for me and I need a lot more 'adult' to satisfy my needs now. (Anne Rice and J .R. Ward are clearly to blame here!)

Overall, I did enjoy reading this book and maybe if I was younger or had more time or had never read/seen Twilight I would look into reading more. As it stands though I'm not interested at the moment. I would recommend this book to teenagers and young adults who like this kind of thing and perhaps haven't read Twilight or are seeking some better vampires to read about.

Thanks for reading and if you've got the time check out my other blogs. Next week is going to be a Life Update post, as hopefully I'll have finally finished a post I started late July/early August about sewing projects for kids. If not, it'll be another book review, so till then.

Image from; Amazon uk and www.korsetpelangsing.biz

Book Review: Heaven by Christoph Marzi

Hi Readers,

I finished this book the night before I went to London, so about two weeks ago now. I brought at the same time as Angelfall and it was another recommended by my best friend when we saw it in the book shop. I wanted to read it because it seemed an interesting fast read. However, I didn't like it as much as Angelfall. 

So this novel is about two teenagers who meet on the roof tops of London and the girl, called Heaven, which is actually her nickname, has had her heart stolen, but somehow she has survived and been able to run away. David, the young man, decides to help her find her heart and the person who stole it. I really liked this idea and at first I thought it was like a modern and different retelling of Snow White. You know, like what had happened if the hunters man had cut out Snow White's heart and she had lived? No. Turns out this story is based around a 'lost' fairy tale; The Fallen Fairy's Heart which the plot states the Earl of Rochester wrote.

Which in itself is pretty interesting and a good plot device, but it didn't help me like this story any better. Anyway, the two main characters do cross paths with the 'murderers' and find out that they are stealing hearts to give to someone. I won't spoil the ending, but it wasn't what I wanted and it felt very weak compared to the rest of the book, even though the ending is happy enough.

The characters get to visit my favorite and still most wanted place to go Highgate Cemetery. The description of the place was well done and also the horror feelings came through. That was my favorite part of the book really.

I'm not going to say that my problems and the overall problems with the book are because it's a young adult novel as that's unfair. I just think the writing style and some of the plot is to blame. I got really into this book and even after I found out the story was based on this 'lost' fairy tale and the idea that fairies are a part of the sky, but then soon after that it just got a bit dull for me, even with the twist about Heaven's parents and other people being murdered, I'm just not sure what is was, but maybe it dragged a little too much. Also, it doesn't help there's a very unrealistic scene at the end of the book. I get the author was going for the dramatic final, but a fight on the London Eye -that's the big Ferris wheel in London, if you didn't know- just didn't do it for me.  

The development of Heaven and David was very good and their falling in love was done nicely in the background. They both grew on me and I liked learning more about them. The villain characters interested me enough with their mystery, but the actual villain, we never got to spend enough time with and even though we learned his story and why he was after Heaven's heart, I thought more could have been done with him. I liked the ghost character who appears as well, Heaven's butler and the owner of the bookshop. In fact, it did seem like the background characters had been given enough attention to make them feel like they were more then just there support the main characters.

The narrative style started to bug me after awhile because a lot of places and street names are brought up. I guess that's useful in a way if you have been to London because you know where these places are. If you haven't been either you are aware of them or you have to guess. I just felt like being told where the characters were all the time bogged down the story. I loved the descriptions of London from the rooftops, though I did find myself humming the chimney sweep song from Mary Poppins  a few times! Doesn't help there's a quote from the song on the dedication page either. But it's very fitting.

The pace was a mix of fast and slow really, but that didn't give me too much trouble because it seemed to be well balanced. There some okay twists in the story too and you do get a mystery feel from the narrative. There is a lot of reference to other books and stories, mainly Dickens. I get this because he was well known for writing about London and the parts people didn't want to see. I think though the author has just assumed you have read Dickens' novels and there for you'll be able to picture/understand the use of Dickens' characters' names and references. The narrative is told in third person, so that we can get a switch between characters at important moments, though I do wonder if it had been better in first person from the point of view of David.

The dialogue of the characters felt real enough, but I think there might have been too much swearing for me. Which is odd to say in a young adult book and coming from me as well, but sometimes it just felt over used and I dislike that. Other then that though, there was nothing special about it.  So, no needed to fear not being able to understand a London cockney accent!

Overall, I want to say I did like this book. I liked the ideas behind it and the mystery too. The problems was, it just didn't grip me all the way through like it should have done. I didn't get the wanting to put it down urge, I just wanted to finish it, but that seemed to take a lot longer then it should have done. I'd recommended this book to teenagers interested in this kind of thing, but if you wanted a fantasy style story set in London I'd say go read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, to this day that story is still with me. (And I just found out I never did a review of it, that needs changing!)

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week for a new book review.

Ps. if you've got the time please check out my other blog;  https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/

Image from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12735319-heaven

Book Review: End Of Days by Susan EE

Hi readers,

I have a confession to make; I've not been able to finish reading this! I'm about halfway and though I'm enjoying it, just I've been super busy doing other things. I've been putting in a lot of extra hours at work covering for people and also I started volunteering on reception. I have been writing stories for my blog like a desperate mad person. But my biggest news of all is that I've been filling out an application form for a new job and it's taken me about two weeks to be almost at completing it. I have also been doing some sewing as practice for activities to run at the youth centre and mother's day presents. That'll all be in my life update post next week now. In addition, I have a cold and a crazy sleep pattern. So yeah, with all that I'm not surprised that I didn't get to finish End Of Days.

I realise that talking about it is going to be much harder, but if I make a start, I can do a part 2 later once I've finished - maybe or else just included my finally thoughts in a life update post. So, it looks like this post is going to be very short!

The plot so far has been that Penryn and Raffe have found Paige. She has made a connection with the locusts and they are like her pets now. Though, she is also attached to Beliel and so they all end up escaping together. Finding safety on a island, Penryn discovers Raffe's worried about an possible attack from her sister - who is slowly staving and struggling to stay herself. Penryn also gets to see how attracted Raffe is to her when they have a soft bedroom scene! Of course then it all goes back to them not being able to be together and trying to keep their growing love inside. I still want to see what happened here!

Penryn then discovers a new power that her sword, Pooky Bear, has and she is able to see Beliel's memories and we learn that he is not who we thought he was and that Raffe's past keeps getting darker. Then they have to flee the island as some demon dog, bat creatures called Hellions escape and set about hunting them. They make it back to the camp and meet the Doc from before, who is very interested in Paige, but could also be Raffe's chance to get his wings back. Of course that doesn't go to plan and Raffe leaves to find an angel doctor. Penryn is then captured and taken to the angels, because they have a bounty on her head for her killing an angel in the previous book. Thankfully, Raffe comes to save her, but now they need to raise support for him to become the Messenger. Currently, they have traveled to The Pit to meet up with Raffe's solider who got sent down for being with human woman.

I can kind of predicated where things might be going but I'm going to read further to see! It's still fast paced, though not as event after event as the first book, but that isn't no longer needed, because the plot is strong enough to carry through without the need for all the then this happened pathways. I still have no idea why the angels started the war on Earth and telling apart the lies and truths is also tricky. But I'm glad of the mystery though!

Penryn hasn't developed that much and the sword is still doing most of the fighting. I feel there's a lot more focus on the angels this time around now since it's coming to the end. Penryn still has moments of acting like a total teenage girl - guess that's understandable, but for me she's never come across like that- but it's nothing wincey. I think I was hoping she'd mature and be able to face things with Raffe. In my head, I'm still trying to read this as an adult novel.

I still really like Raffe, though he's become less sarcastic and funny. Not a bad thing though due to everything he'd got to deal with. I kind of what him to become the messenger and sort things out. But maybe there's going to be a big twist and something else will happen? I so need to go and read more now!

Have you read this trilogy? What did you think? Leave a comment and let me know.
Also don't forget to check out my other blog: https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/

Image from: Goodreads

Book Review: World After By Susan EE

Hi readers,

Once again, I'm pre-writing this post because I finished this book so fast and now I need to move on to the third, so I've got to get this one out of my head before I do. If you've not read my last post about the first book then please do, because this one follows straight on and I want to avoid repeating myself.

So, the second novel opens with Penryn seemingly died but back with her family and the Resistance. Of course, she turns out to be okay, but her sister Paige isn't. She's become some kind of monster doll and she ends up running away from the Resistance camp after an incident. Penryn, her mother and the woman she escaped from the angels at the end of the first book, set out to find Paige.

They track her to Alcatraz, where they find that people are being kept for experiments by the angels. Penryn escapes and manages to get herself to the new angel hang out. There she sees Raffe. Which is great because they both think each other is dead. Then a fight breaks out and they are forced to flee over the ocean. They take shelter in a house and have a catch up, before heading out to find Paige. They find her at the angel hang out, save her and all leave together, though the ending is very open.

Also, Penryn's connects to Raffe's sword and she begins to have dreams/visions which turn out to be the sword's memories. We learn a lot about Raffe from these scenes and it's a useful way to give the reader information without having to rehash things or have he characters talking it over. The sword also teaches her how to fight, which is interesting and does work. There's also some funny moments with the sword's name that had me bursting into laughter too.

We get a little more insight into the angels and what they are up to, though it's still no clear why they came to Earth and destroyed it. They are determined to take it over though and this can be seen in the angel hang out scenes. There's still the focus on the dystopia world and the breaking down of humanity, though this does take a bit more of  back seat then from before due to there being a lot of action in this book.

I found once again that the characters all developed well. Penryn and Raffe are falling for each other though and the scene with them eating peanut butter really brought this home to me. I know why there has to be romance, but my problem is I know they can't be together. Raffe really knows it too and I think it'd be interesting to see how they overcome this in the third book. Raffe is my favorite character though, a love his wit and his determination. He's the good guy who wants to set everything right even though everyone is standing against him. I really wish we could learn more about him and it'd be good to hear his side of things.

Penryn's mother is still out of her mind and somehow managing to survive through everything and track her daughters -though how she does this is revealed and we get to learn more about the before her and her husband. As for Paige, I feel sorry for her and what has happened. She's never going back to normal now and I don't think she's going to have a better life either. It feels like she's gone from one disability to another in away, but it sort of reflects how people can see others with disabilities and how we need to stop judging them.    

To be honest I'm also enjoying the sword as a character. I know that's a bit weird, but I have this thing about sentient weapons. I guess it comes from my interest in fantasy and magic. Plus, it's slightly different too and just adds another layer to the novel.

The pacing of this book was very much like the first one, though I didn't think it rushed from event to event as much. I found parts were it slowed down and there was moments of reflection, but these worked well and were needed by the characters. Like I said at the start, I did really rip through this book because it's just so easy to read. Of course that leaves me wondering that if it was rewrote with an adult audience in mind and the characters being older, how would it turn out? There'd need to be more description of the settings and characters, more time would be needed looking at the relationships too and Penryn and Raffe would possibly have to get together.

I did really enjoy reading this and I just hope that the third one is as good or better. I want to find out more about Raffe and the main angels. What's going to happen to Penryn and her family? Will she get with Raffe nor not? And will the world start to be put right? Looks like there's lots more to find out. I also saw on someone else's review that there is actually going to be five books. It said that Susan EE had posted it on her blog, but I didn't actually find the post and no one else seems to be stating that. So, I'm not sure. It is possible for later this year though, so have to keep my eyes out.

I'd recommend this book to teenagers and twenty-somethings because that's audience whom the books are aimed at and they'll get the most out of them. I think adults might find it not engaging enough, but if you are looking for a quick easy read then I'd say go for it. And now I'm off to start reading the third book and I'll be back next Monday with the review!

Please check out my other blog;  https://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/ for a new short story every day and feel free to follow me. Thanks for reading.

Image from: Goodreads

Book Review: Angelfall by Susan EE

Hi readers,

I fancied something different to read and though I had lots of books to choose from, when I was out shopping with my best friend two Fridays ago, she spotted this book and recommended it to me. She is a massive reader like myself and we both have almost the same taste in books. I was little worried it being a YA dystopia novel that I wouldn't like it that much as every other book at the moment seems to be that! 

I really enjoyed it though and have gotten the other two books -as it's a trilogy- and now plan to read and review those for the last two Mondays of February. Angelfall is set in the aftermath of an apocalypse by angels and tells the story of Penryn trying to find her disabled seven year old sister and her crazy mother. She ends up saving an angel from death and getting him to help her. Raffe has dark secrets of his own though and things really don't look great for him at the end of the book. Nor for Penryn, her sister or mother either.

The pace of this novel is really fast and that's the real reason why I got into it quickly and struggled to put it down. There is no real slow/stopping points and there is always 'something is going to go wrong' moments that just keep you on your toes. Even though it was one thing after another or very goal/obstacle/goal patternized, it was written very well and with nice little details. I can only hope the other two books are the same because they look bigger and I now have a time scale to keep! Also, and typical of YA novels aimed at girls, Penryn is the narrator, so everything comes from her point of view.    

The characters are well written and do seem realistic. Though Penryn is too well set up to fight to my liking. Her mother made her take fighting/self-defensive lessons, which then do come in use for Penryn escaping and rescuing people, though she does struggle to hold her own sometimes. There was also a scene at the end of the book where I did question how much Penryn could actually see from her line of sight, because it seemed a lot more then she should have been able too. 

Raffe - without spoiling anything- I found to be fascinating character and I always wondered if he was like a different/special angel just because of his behavior. The twists with him are really good and I didn't see those coming really. Be interesting to see where his story goes in the next book. I didn't feel that the angels came across as being like new or different, they just felt typical. Perhaps, things will be explored more in the other books, but for me I'm just happy that they are what I'm use to really. 

Penryn's mother is a schizophrenic. She has visions and believes in demons ect and comes across as being out of her mind most of the time. However, she still has strong motherly instincts towards her daughters and does try to help throughout the novel. I found her to be a very different character from what I was expecting and I image that she might have been a challenge to write. I like the idea that she had issues before the apocalypse and that having to survive in a dystopia world has made her worse. 

The settings in this novel come across really well even though we don't spend a lot of time in one place. The description of the destruction worked well for me and I was able to picture a great deal in my mind. Also, I guess because of my fascination with abandoned places these destroyed- semi-abandon settings really appeal to me. I also liked the fact that the timeline was like 6 months after the angels invaded and everything was still in the aftershock of it. So, unlike some other dystopia novels people haven't had time to set up new societies and leaders yet, meaning that everyone is slipping back to a caveman like life style, which is interesting. 

Overall, I'd so recommend this book to everyone because I do think it's very good. Of course, if you are a fan of The Hungry Games then you might like it, but it doesn't really flow in that same vein and I actually found it better and more to my liking. On to the next one! 

  

Image from: Goodreads

Book Review: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Hi readers, 

Today, I've chosen to look at another book I've read a number of times and really enjoyed. Artemis Fowl is aimed at older children and young teenagers, but I read this book as an adult and feel that adults would enjoy it just as much. It is the first in a series of eight- of which I've read all but the last one- and I did like all of them. It was published in 2001 and is set in Ireland, the home of the author Eoin Colfer, who is known for his children's books. It has won a number of awards and is currently being made into a movie.    

The plot  is that Artemis, a twelve year old genius boy, sets up a trap and kidnaps a fairy called Holly. As it turns out, these fairies are not the average kind and they also work with other creatures like centaurs and dwarfs. Holly is a member of the fairy police force and though she has a caring nature is also very determined and tricky. Whilst her friends try to rescue her, she plots her own escape and Artemis demands a ransom and also questions her about her people. The ending is really good and the whole plot feels really thought out and realistic, even though it has fantasy elements.

The characters are easy to connect with and likable. Mulch the dwarf has to be my favorite character because he is funny and lovable rouge of a character. All the characters seem to have goals and do develop over the course of the novel. I think young people would find them ease to relate too as well. All their dialogue is well written and each has a distinctive 'voice' created by accents, but this hasn't been over done. Some of the other background characters do appear in the other books too and some even get more development. 

The themes that appear deeply connect with the characters and plot as the main ones are; greed, family/friends, conflict, nature, technology/science. I'm sure that a young audience could connect with these as well as an adult one could. Also, I like that Artemis first appears as the villain, but later is shown to have done things to try and help his family and that he didn't really mean any harm to the fairies. 

Overall, I would recommend everyone giving this book a go. It has a really interesting story, the characters are enjoyable and it doesn't just feel like another children's book, it does reach out to try and include all ages. Even if you're not big on fairies/fantasy, there could be something else you like about it. 

Next week: another random book review and my monthly update! 

  

Image from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249747.Artemis_Fowl

The Tribe- TV Series Review

Hi readers,

As I've still not finished the next book I want to review, I thought I'd write about something different, but still give it a review. For the last few months, I've been addicted and having nostalgic moments to The Tribe TV series. As a teenager I watched this as it was shown on Channel five on Saturday/Sunday mornings. Though for some reason I remember seeing the first few episodes in a Saturday evening time slot. I didn't take to it, however, it started to grow on me and I become addicted to the series 3,4 and 5. 

The Tribe is about the aftermath of a virus which has wiped out all the adults, leaving everyone under 18/19 still alive. They now have to survive and rebuild the world. It's set in a near-future styled New Zealand city, though it looks very late nineteens (the time it was made and filmed) The focus was on one Tribe in particular; The Mall Rats. The stories of individual characters were told as well as showing how the youngsters were trying to work together to improve many things. Though there were subplots that look at the other Tribes/characters the Mall Rats were conflicting against or working with.    

In the first series, the characters start off in a world similar to that of a post-apocalyptic one. There is no law, rules, money, protection, guides, power, mains water or fresh food etc. In some aspects it is what most teenagers wish for! However, to go alongside these there is also danger, fear, sadness, loss, confusion and anarchy. Suddenly, having total freedom goes to the young peoples' heads -as it would do- and some go crazy with power lust. This is actually a theme throughout the series. Because of this and to do with the loss of their families and friends, the young people start to band together in tribes. Within the first few episodes, the Mall Rats come together as a tribe. They learn to be a family and overcome the difficulties; clean water, food, power, morality, for their new world. 

They also have to deal with typical teenage themes throughout all the series like friendships, betrayal, ambitions, love, loyalty, education, trust, dealing with fears, growing up, responsibilities, addiction, babies and finding their own ways. If that wasn't enough to deal with, they also have a third lot of things to overcome! These are trying to make and sustain peace, bring back laws and rules, overcome other tribe leaders who are seeking full control of the city, bring back education and hospitals and have things sort of the way they were before the virus. 

Across the other series, the characters do get chances to sort these issues and a lot more out. Progress is made on a lot of things and it can seen that the young people know they must start again from scratch to fix things. However, the city doesn't much change even though other tribes have tried to improve things, but when they leave things seem to go backwards again. Also Mall Rats come and go -especially in series 3 and 4. Thankfully the main ones do stay or else you know they will soon reappear. 

       

The main audience was teenagers, but it also attracted children and young adults. The Tribe had five full seasons before it was cancelled. I keep reading that a movie is due out this year, which rounds things off. Hopefully, it's true as I'd just love to see that! 

The next thing, I wanted to look at was the acting and the actual sets, but I'm aware of how much I've already writing, so I'm just going to touch on a few things. The acting does seem bad and clumsy at times. Being younger it didn't distracted me as much as it does now -maybe that's also because I have a film critic boyfriend- Of course I realize that they are all young people, most acting for the first time and that the Tribe probably had a low budget. There are one or two characters during the first and second series that really bug me, but later on you get to see that their acting has improved somewhat. 

There are also some plot lines and ends that are a bit silly or else don't make much sense. I've noticed that if a character goes 'missing' and the others don't look or seem to be looking for them that they aren't going to come back. Whilst if an effort is put in to find them, then you know that they'll be appearing soon. Also characters spend a lot of time 'looking' for each other. Okay, I get that there is no means of communication now and there is a lot of danger around, but it sometimes seems that these characters have nothing better to do then play hide and seek! Some of the teenage issues do begin to grate on you, but a number which are looked at, such as pregnancy, babies, bulimic and depressing are handled really good.

Being low budget meant that some of the cut scene which show parts of the set are constantly reused or rehashed. There's nothing much wrong with this because normally its only on screen for a few moments and just used to show a change in place and/or time. What bugs me though is when they use the older images for these cuts and you wonder why the editor couldn't get it right. Like for example; there is a graffiti wall in the Mall Rats home which during some cut scenes has different graffiti on it which dates back from different times. That bugged me for awhile. 

Lastly, the soundtrack. The same opening is used for all the episodes and that song 'Keeping The Dream Alive' gets stuck in you head, but it's not bad. Then there are two different end songs, both of which are good. (though you should beware that they reveal main plot points in the end credits) In series 1-3 the soundtracks mostly stay the same and are very limited. In the next ones, a new soundtrack was added and this gives a fresher tone to things and also there is a lot more variation. One thing I hate though is the low, defeated trumpet/trombone noise that gets played when a humorous or comedy relief moment happens. It's not need at all and sometimes you have to wonder why they put it in at the point because it doesn't make sense. 

Overall, if you've not seen The Tribe or you've done when you were younger, I'd say watch it. The pros of it do out way the cons and yes, not everyone is going to like it, but the plots and the themes it deals with are good and you can relate to them. Most of the actor and characters are good to watch and there are some cute ones. Though sometimes the costumes and make up choices leave you puzzled or else laughing your head off.         

Websites;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tribe_(TV_series)
http://thetribe.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

Images from;
http://www.ebay.com.au/bhp/the-tribe
http://thetribe.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Series_1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Series.5.main.cast.jpg