Category Archives: Reviews

Just Finished…The Goddess Test

The Goddess Test…Overall grade C+ “Must try harder”

I didn’t get a great feeling about The Goddess Test: within the first couple of chapters I realised I wasn’t overly fussed with our heroine Kate, which for a book told in the first person, from her perspective didn’t bode well. It’s not an awful book, there’s just not a lot happens tbh.

Normally I try to avoid spoilers in a review, but I think I may veer in that direction, so you have been warned 🙂

The premise of the book sounded good: dying mother (their relationship was nicely – if briefly – done) and mysterious chap who turns out to be Hades. But in the early scenes Kate lost me: after seeing the apparent miracle of seeing someone brought back to life, she just toddled off – not seeming to contemplate in any kind of depth what had actually happened – who would do that?

Kate had some strong shades of Bella Swan about her in my reading: lots of ‘selfless’ actions which weren’t especially well thought through. Having done Twilight already, I didn’t need a repeat of the character. And I felt that most of the characters were quite flat in all honesty.

As the book got going, I expected something to happen, but unfortunately it just didn’t. Not wanting to spoil too much, but for a book called The Goddess Test and based on the idea a girl being tested to achieve immortality and a seat with the Olympians, you expected there to maybe be a test or two, but there is nothing overt. There is very little action in the book – it felt like a rather long ‘scene setting’ piece from Harry Potter in the early years (you know when they eat lots of food, play some fun Quidditch and get Christmas presents).

Perhaps I just expected more from a myth based book with tests and tasks in the style of Perseus or Jason…as I recall Perseus’s task of bringing a suitable gift didn’t mean bobbing down to John Lewis for a nicely wrapped piece of porcelain, nor did Jason’s quest for The Golden Fleece lead him to the pub in the high street. I can understand the author’s rationale behind the ‘tests’ undertaken in the book – that would fit with the role Kate was hoping to perform in terms of judging people – however, I feel this would have been done much better if the secret tests were matched with some genuinely (or even mildly) epic tasks as well. As it is, I thought it was mainly fluff about fairly flat characters.

Overall Verdict: 3* Some romantics may like it; expect most people with any interest in classical mythology will find it lacking. Don’t expect adventure, tests or Goddess-like behaviour on the whole.

Just Finished…Underneath by Michael Cargill

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Synopsis

Look at the person sitting just across from you. It doesn’t matter whether they’re a loved one, a friend, or a complete stranger.
Now look at their face. Are they happy? Are they sad? Or are they angry? Can you even tell?
How well do you actually know the people closest to you?
Have you ever seen the real person that lies just underneath what you see…?

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Sounds creepy? Well, it should because the main character we follow throughout the book – Hugh – is a scary chap!

Underneath is a relatively short book – more a novella I’d say at circa 50k words – and flits between two worlds: Hugh-land and Copsville. Hugh’s world is an interesting one, as you see a lot of his life from his own confused and skewed perspective: one minute he’s happily shopping and buying garlic, the next he’s freaking out at the automated till and then forgotten where he is or why he’s there. His psycholigical switches and memory lapses quickly show the reader that Hugh is not firing on all cylinders, but as the story progresses, very scarily he also seems to be very aware of his own flaws and a-human responses (particularly in his relationship with a certain young lady).

Very early in the book I started to get an American Psycho feel, with a nice British twist – and it certainly gave you this as things developed. One of my favourite things about Michael’s writing is his ability to ‘be real’ – he gets right into the heads of his characters, making their responses and thoughts very realistic – from the mundane to the outright terrifying, he seems to be able to ‘get people’ when he writes about them.

This style continues in the sections of the book revolving around Claire and Robert – ‘Copsville’ for me. The introduction of these other characters is nicely done in a ‘sliding doors’ type moment and there are several more of these tying the plot together as the story progresses. I think Robert is my favourite character in the book: he is the bacon sandwich king! Again he and Claire are very ‘real’ and I believed in their personal motivations, thoughts and actions as they are presented in the story. The banter and interplay between them feels genuine and – even on mundane subjects – the dialogue works well, all centred in the work-world they inhabit.

Overall thoughts: I really like Michael’s writing style; it’s clear, concise, often funny and I enjoy the realisim of his characters. As an extended piece – I’ve previously read his short stories – it works well and follows similar themes and ideas to his previous work. I enjoyed Underneath and it works as a thriller, but have to say I think I prefer something with a slightly more supernatural twist, like Borger the Bunny when Michael’s writing. (See my review for Shades of Grey, also my Michael Cargill here).

Just Finished…Being Human

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So…a YA book about vampires – sounds familiar? Well, you’d be wrong! 🙂

Being Human takes the interesting perspective of Tommy, the recently turned vampire. The novel is written from his first-person POV, with only five chapters (incredibly long and semi-interior monologue in style); the chapters cover five distinct stages of his vampire life and experience.

In the world of Patricia Lynne’s vampires, when a human is turned they remember nothing of their former human life – nothing really of their human selves or values – which is why they often return and kill their own families it seems. When Tommy does exactly this, it is only some inante recognition of the special bond he shares with his twin brother Danny that stops him from killing him as he does their parents.

In the early stages of the book, I struggled to like Tommy – he’s heartless, unhuman and is quite blunt. Oh yes – I forgot, that’s because he’s supposed to be that way! He is a vampire after all. Once I got into this, he actually was quite cute and funny – certainly when he was trying to get his head around the intricacies of human/teenage life as his twin experiences it. As you see the new relationship develop with Tommy and Danny, you really see what the novel is about: the examination of what it is to ‘be human’. Tommy asks and examines the questions throughout the book, that we often overlook in everyday life, but that are absolutely necessary in making us what and who we are. I’ve seen this done quite similarly in sci-fi, with books like Human Is?, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and more recently Cinder – it was well done in Being Human.

The examination of various types of love – twins, family, children, romantic – is also very nicely done: the relationships feel authentic and give a greater depth than some other vampire books I’ve read. The main focus of Being Human isn’t a romance, but a family bond which trumps survival, human nature and vampire instinct.

Overall Thoughts: A well-considered vampire book, with interesting elements and world-building for a ‘post-knowledge setting’ where humans are aware of the existence of vampires. The examination of humanity as Tommy actually goes through the process is interesting and well-thought out: many novels I’ve read with human-esque vamps begin way after they’ve already embraced their human side. Enough action and blood for a vampire book, but not actually the main draw in this case. Good stuff!

Just Finished…Last Stop This Town

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How much fun was this book to read? LOADS! 🙂

Last Stop This Town is a great graduation/road trip story: it keeps you laughing regularly throughout the story with fantastic dialogue, heart-warming (and non-cheesy) guy-bonding relationships. Some of the set pieces are familiar but done well or with quirky twists – and in honesty there are so many truthful elements to the scenes that I found myself genuinely caught up in the story page after page.

Being a book written by a successful movie screenwriter (including American Pie 2) there is a definite ‘filmic’ quality to the novel, but it reflects only in a positive way. Dialogue is realistic, punchy and very well done throughout. The novel has great pace too – shifting through a range of character perspectives and interesting scenes with enough detail and development without getting bogged down.

What I really liked about this was reading about the crazy world of your late teens from a guy perspective – you’ve seen it in plenty of films, but a book like this takes you deeper ‘behind enemy lines’: some of it is exactly as you’d expect (girls, boobs, sex and silliness, lol), but other parts are more touching and genuine than I think you get from TV/film. I liked the unstoppable carnage of the boys’ road trip and adventures in New York (think Catcher in the Rye, but actually being fun and with characters you don’t want to poke in the eye with a stick just to get them to shut up). I think most people who’ve been to college have had these kinds of days, you know, you go out for bread at 3pm on a Wednesday and next thing you know you find yourself sleeping in the corridor outside your dorm room at 4am Thursday, without the bread you originally went for. It’s so much fun dropping back into that world and reading a book like this. There are also some good mottos to live by if you’re a guy:

(on being offered a threesome) “On the way out the door, Pike asked Haley, “Your roommate’s not a dude, is he?” “No.” “Is she a fattie?” “Uh, no.” “Does she have two legs?” Haley stopped him. “Do you want to do this or not?” “Yes, yes I do.” They continued out the door.

A litte drink?

I do like teen comedies: the quirky, the ironic, the smart and admittedly – to a certain point – the crass ones. I like the American Pies, I like daft guy banter, one-upmanship, mockery and plain-and-simple bullying – what can I say? 🙂 Coming from this – I knew I’d like this book, but Last Stop This Town was even better than I’d thought: the relationships between the guys run deeper than I expected and the physical/action humour translated really well in the novel, which I had wondered about: the scene with the homeless guy at the start probably works better than in a film and had me guffawing as everything escalated. Love Pike. There are also scenes which made me realise that during these years in some ways girls do have it easier than guys.

Overall Verdict: great for fans of teen comedy, guy-bonding/road trip type stories and anyone in need of some light relief (only in the context of reading obviously). I’d certainly be looking out for anything else David Steinberg does.

Just Finished…Zed by Stephen Herfst

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I first came across this book when the author came on board for the Indie Author Month on Aside From Writing and I loved the cover 🙂 It fits perfectly with the book / blurb and really made me want to read it. And so I have…

The Blurb

The story revolves around a teenage girl’s promise to save Zed from the human hordes.

Zed is not your typical zombie. He is cursed with the affliction of thought … although he tries to make the best of a bad situation. The goals for his unrest are simple: to improve his stride, to taste a lightly-seared pork loin once again and avoid Activists at all costs.

His life was predictable, controlled and good until chaos crashed the party. In just one day his world is destroyed and his ability to survive is tested. Would he be able to get through this in one piece? And would he somehow be able to survive the unstoppable force that goes by the name of Chase?

The Review

Let’s start with the obvious: Bruce Willis was wrong – Zed’s not dead, he’s undead – which is way more fun!

I am a big sucker for zombie films, but have never actually read a book about them before – so this could go one of two ways. Thankfully for me – this is a great zombie book! I loved the quirky idea of seeing everything from a zombie point of view – albeit a very smart, Mr Darcy-esque zombie in his thoughts and language. Because he is a smart ‘thinking’ zombie Zed is an interesting creature to be inside the head of.

In the first few pages I was hooked on this book: the do-gooder activist humans who want to help train and re-educate zombies to integrate back into society; Zed’s sarcastic and intriguing thoughts on human behaviour seen from a zombie POV and the wonderful backstory of Gumbies, chewable Zombie Treetz TM used to reward good behaviour. For fans of zombie stuff the inversion of the genre in this book is very well done and should give you some laughs.

The action in the book is done well and on the whole moves on at a pace. Also, I think most people will enjoy the antagonistic relationship Zed has with his accidental companion. In parts Zed’s thoughts can ramble on a bit – perhaps that’s the zombie in him getting his brain stuck in a loop? And there were a few occasions where I really had to think about what was written and am still not sure I actually understand the point…maybe I’m not as deep or intellectual as Zed?

Stephen Herfst does a great job of making Zed real and believable. He writes very descriptively and builds an interesting and well-thought out world where the action takes place: it sits clearly within the genre with familiar themes and features, but at the same time gives you more to think about when you actually start to look at zombies as creatures/individuals, rather than a mass horde of sluggish-walking brain feeders. It was these details that made the book for me – that took you deep into a world that you don’t even bother to consider when you’re watching a zombie film and rooting for the grizzly guy at the front to take out the zombie in the supermarket with a banjo-related-decapitation.

Rating: 4* – Zombie fans and lovers of sarcastic heroes should enjoy this!

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With my review sorted, I’m off to watch some Zombieland, Walking Dead and 28 Days Later…I’ve got me a hankerin’ for the undead in a non-sparkly-glittery vampire way…And let’s face it – zombies are probably the real undead anyway…They’re not so pretty and a bit stinky, but at least they’re honest when they maul you and don’t try to baffle you with beauty and sex!

Just Finished…Shades of Grey by Michael Cargill

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I’ve not read a short story collection for a long while so, as it turns out Shades of Grey, was a perfect choice – because it is fantastic!

I read quite a lot and I have to say that it has been a long time since I found myself so ‘transported’ by a book – to the point that the descriptions and world built in the story feel so alive and real that I feel I could turn my head and actually see what the character is looking at – but that was a regular sensation when I was reading this.

So…what about the stories themselves?

Shades of Grey – Thrust into the tortured mind of an intelligence officer undergoing interrogation the story propels you through this flawed character’s disturbing life and memories in a interesting stream of consciousness style. I liked the erratic jumps through time, which felt right for the character and situation he’s in. The frequent f*%$ language also fitted with the situation. It’s a bit of a roller-coaster ride and reminded me a little of books I’ve read in this genre (Ian Flemming, Robert Ludlum). What is done particularly well is the dissection of the main character’s mind – it felt very realistic and vivid.

There and Back Again – Where Shades of Grey takes you deep inside someone’s mind, There and Back Again takes you into the world of war. Although you again get inside the minds of the main characters, for me it was the landscape and horrors of being a normal human being walking through a world torn apart by war that stood out. The difficulties of trying to get your mind to reconcile the brutality of what you see and do with your rational mind are nicely drawn out and explored in this short story.

Down the Rabbit Hole – I actually think this was my favourite of the three stories – there’s a slightly King-ish vibe to the story: the uneasiness of normal life being pushed slightly out of kilter – and I loved Tom! The depiction of a child’s acceptance of the unusual, the painful and interesting was perfectly delivered and I really wanted to step into this story – aside from the fact it creeped me out! – and put my arm around Tom to keep him safe.

My Overall Thoughts: The writing style is great – I liked the immediacy, the vivid reality created in the minds of the characters we meet in these short stories. Each is quite different in the content of the story and the perspective it’s written from, but at the same time there is a clear voice of the author.

One of the things Michael Cargill does very well is crawl into the ‘heads’ of the characters, places and objects he depicts: whether it’s the convoluted inner workings of a tortured, disturbed intelligence officer; the war-torn landscape of WWII France; or the playtime friend of a lonely little boy; his ability to bring the various aspects of a story to life was spot-on for me and I would heartily recommend this collection to people who like a rollicking good read – you’ll race through the stories and enjoy every minute.

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Shades of Grey – along with a whole host of other books – will be in the massive giveaway at Indie Author Month on Aside from Writing taking place in May – so make sure you enter to win!

Reading Challenges…Heaven or Hell?

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Have many of you signed up for reading challenges this year? Up until recently I’d not really done anything too strenuous for this, just given myself the reasonable target of reading a book a week, so 52 for 2012 on the Goodreads challenge…but then there was the March Dystopia challenge (which was just five books for my target) and I got through them. It was quite nice to blast through some books from the tbr pile, looking at what everyone else was reading and chatting about the BotM.

I thought that might be enough, but it seems that challenges of all shapes and sizes exist and they’re very popular with fans of sites like Goodreads and feature on book blogs all over the place. There is no way I’ll be able to read with the speed that some people do (one girl did over thirty books in a month for one challenge!) but they are actually a very good way of focusing your reading in a particular area and encouraging you to blast through a few books. I imagine that for some readers and especially book bloggers this could be very useful and motivating 🙂

Taking part in the challenges is also a really good way to meet other bloggers and readers with similar book tastes, find new blogs you might want to follow (as with blog hosted challenges you report back your reviews and reads) and basically have a bit of fun reading books you enjoy anyway. So, with that said, what am I going to be doing? Well, I know I can’t read that many books, because if I did I’d never write anything of my own again 🙂 But in Goodreads Group Books, Blogs, Authors and More we’ve created an ‘Reading Olympics Challenge’ – yes, participation in this is about as sporty as I’ll be getting this year – and so I’m entering a few ‘events’ there, which are great as they allow a variety of books. I also really liked the sound of Auggie-Talk’s ‘Heavenly Challenge’ (plus the button is gorgeous!) and as a recent convert to this genre, I think I’ll tackle this too. Besides that I’ll not commit myself now, but you never know, I do like a challenge! 😉

Just Finished…The Tower by Jade Varden

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Synopsis: Death brings some families closer, but it’s ripped mine apart. I wanted to convince the police that they had the wrong suspect…but I never expected them to start suspecting me. Now, I have no choice but to keep searching for the truth, even if all my relationships fall to pieces around me.

Someone is trying to make me look guilty. I never thought my mission to prove my own innocence would lead me to more family secrets. I thought I had already discovered the truth about myself. But every answer raises more questions, and everything I think I know is about to change…again.

I have to find the truth, no matter how much it hurts — before I get charged with murder.

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When I read Justice, the first book in Jade Varden’s Deck of Lies series, earlier this year I was looking forward to the release of the follow-up book The Tower after being left with a doozy of a cliff-hanger. You can read my review of Justice at Aside from Writing blog.

So…after the wait, did The Tower deliver? Absolutely! 🙂 I stayed up reading with one eye it was that good!

Normally I struggle with “Second-Book-Syndrome” – I love the first then find the second one less than satisfying (Twilight, The Hunger Games, Hush Hush series and Darkest Powers series all had this for me) – with The Tower I actually liked it better than Justice and would agree with the idea that you could read this book without having read the first. Although the characters and story continues from the first book, The Tower is written in a way that also allows it to work as a stand-alone book, which I think is great.

It is a difficult book to review without giving spoilers, but I’ll try…in contrast to Justice which focuses on the mystery surrounding the kidnapping of a baby girl and her subsequent reuniting with her real family over a decade later, The Tower is more a murder mystery. It reminded me a little of the Point Horror books I used to love when I read young adult fiction the first time around, where someone in the middle of the action needs to solve the riddles the police cannot, although it is written with much more depth and sophistication. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing and another good cliffhanger to seal the end of the book. I liked the epilogue particularly in how it drew the themes of the story back to the symbol of the tarot card ‘the tower’ – very neatly done.

Overall, I’d say 4.5* for me – it was practically perfect – I did get a little lost in twists in the middle (just like Rain I wanted paper to map them out) and missed a character who featured heavily in Justice, but it was great seeing Sawyer in more depth and I liked the relationship between him and Rain as they work through the mystery. Jade has a really good writing style: well-described, interesting and believable characters, who work well in the events of the novel. I absolutely have my suspicions as to who has done what…but I’ll need to read the next book to find out! So I’m looking forward to the next instalment.

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So – do you think this sounds good? Well – the author has kindly provided me with ebooks of her books so that one lucky reader could win both Justice and The Tower to read for themselves. The competition starts tomorrow and you’ll have a week to enter, so visit my main website and ‘like’ this review or follow on Twitter and get yourself in it to win it!

Enter Competition at http://cusick-jones.com/giveaway.php

Just Finished…Alice Parker’s Metamorphosis

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Thanks to author Nicola Palmer for providing me a copy of Alice Parker’s Metamorphosis this week. I’ve really enjoyed reading this fun, fantasy story about feisty thirteen-year-old Alice.

This is a really well-written book, perfect for the target ‘middle grade’ audience of 7+, with strong, defined characters who are both funny and believable. The relationships in the story feel genuine, especially between Alice, her brother and best friend. I really enjoyed the early scene-setting at Alice’s school – certainly brought back some memories 🙂 – and once you get the big reveal about Alice’s recent issues, the story transitions to an action-mystery.

Nicola Palmer is a great writer for children and this is a good debut. Alice Parker’s story is well-constructed with interesting twists and turns, great description and enjoyable characters. Overall, I’m sure this will appeal to a range of readers. Rating: 4*

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Thirteen-year-old Alice Parker knows something isn’t right. Aches and pains have started, she hardly sleeps and her craving for fruit is out of control. Suddenly she is top of the class in every subject. Feeling at odds with the world and being bullied by the ‘coven’ at school, Alice can’t take much more. Only when she collapses and experiences a life-changing transformation does she learn why she is different. But with this new identity comes responsibility and Alice isn’t convinced she can rise to the challenge. She just wants to be normal! The fact is she’s anything but.

Forgotten tales of a magical society are catapulted into the daily life of strong, memorable female characters who readers will grow to love. An intriguing blend of realism, suspense and fantasy, a must-read for girls of 7+.