Tuesday 12 November 2013

Book Review: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes


  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Quercus (7 Nov 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 1780876823
  • ISBN-13: 978-1780876825

Cassie Hobbes can tell you what you will do before you do. She can tell what kind of person you are, how you will react and how you will behave. But she can’t tell you what happened to her mother.

Cassie is recruited by the FBI, identified as a ‘Natural’, one of few who are uniquely gifted in human behaviour, emotional reading, lying or statistics. Cassie is a natural born profiler, and the FBI want her to join it’s team of teenage naturals to solve cold cases and to hone her talents. For Cassie, it is a rare opportunity to perhaps work on the inside and find out what exactly happened to her mother that night in the dressing room that Cassie found drenched in blood.

Pretty soon Cassie is living with four strangers. People who can answer her questions before she’s even asked it, read her feelings off her face, call her out on lies and tell the exact probability of certain situations. Life isn’t easy and Cassie has to figure out the two boys and her feelings for them, all while a serial killer has locked their gaze on Cassie. Pretty soon the case the Naturals focus on aren’t so cold...but active.

Okay, first of all, let me just say that I LOVED The Naturals. I’m a huge fan of movies like The Silence of the Lambs and TV shows like Criminal Minds. This was like an amazing mash up of the two and maybe The. O.C. Boy drama, girl drama, and serial killers. 

It was expertly written and very clever. I didn’t get lost in the information or the details, but sunk fully into the story as though it was happening all around me. Dean was probably my favourite character...and more than likely will be for a lot of people. After all, we’re all suckers for the dark, brooding type, aren’t we?

I seriously couldn’t put this book down and very much hope there will be another one to follow on. 


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Tuesday 5 November 2013

Book Review: Crash Into You by Katie McGarry


  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • Print Length: 352 pages
  • Publisher: MIRA Ink (26 Nov 2013)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00CMOXV0S
Rachel and Isaiah are two totally different people with two totally different lives. Rachel is the girl with the good school marks, designer clothes and on the surface, the perfect life. Isaiah is the boy with the sketchy past, the guy people cross the street to avoid. He’s a foster child he relies on person - himself...anyone else will just disappoint you.

But they share one thing - their love of cars. Rachel literally crashes into Isaiah’s life. After Beth, Isaiah never thought he would meet a girl who would catch his interest, but then he see’s Rachel who looks like an angel and knows he has to get her far away from his world before something happens to her. 

What he does is ensure they are thrown together for at least six weeks where they battle the odds to save their lives. Neither one thought they would fall so far into each other. How they would lose everything if only it meant the other would be saved.

Ok, let me just say one thing....holy smokin’ Isaiah, batman! I’ve loved all Katie McGarry’s previous books and hoped and prayed and crossed everything that Isaiah would get his own book. And it does not disappoint. Not in the least. He’s the quintessential bad boy with the heart of gold. On the outside he’s tatted up and pierced and so scary Chuck Norris better watch out. But on the inside, he’s just a boy. 

Rachel was one of the more interesting female leads of this series. I really felt for her and at times could feel just how restricting her family was and how they were choking the life right out of her. Rachel and Isaiah often appear two sides of the same coin - Isaiah, the boy no one wanted or watched out for, Rachel - the one who barely has a second that isn’t monitored or unaccounted for. They both crave freedom, Rachel from her brothers and Isaiah from the social work system. 

There is so much more to this book than you would ever think. My heart broke for these two characters and I have never rooted so hard than I did for this pair. From the outside looking in, it’s a bit of a YA version of Gone in Sixty Seconds (only, Rachel doesn’t have blonde dreds). But as soon as you scrape the surface you discover a great big beating heart of love and trust and friendship. 

Noah and Isaiah’s brotherly bond was one of the most interesting aspects of the book. Though not blood, they care and would literally do anything for the other. 

Really, I could gush about this book all day long. It’s a fantastic read, beautiful romance and exhilarating adventure. Not to be missed.

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Friday 1 November 2013

Book Review: Iron Prince by Julie Kagawa

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Mira Ink (1 Nov 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 184845189X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1848451896


After the events of Iron Prince, Ethan Chase is dealing with the fallout of going missing for a week. His parents worried sick, he is banned from ever seeing his girlfriend, Kenzie, ever again, and Kenzie herself is dealing with poor health after the adventures. All Ethan wants is to get back to normal. To date Kenzie and forget all about the fey.

But unfortunately for Ethan, his sister is queen of the Iron fey, and desperately needs his help. His nephew, Keirran, has gone missing and no one has any idea where he is. Except Ethan. He knows his nephew would do anything to save the fate of the summer faery he loves with all his heart...even potentially fracture the gap between the human and faery worlds.

Once again Kenzie and Ethan are thrown into the tumultuous world of faeries - of bargains and betrayals, hidden agendas and life-threatening decisions. When Keirran and Ethan’s fates are entwined, it is up to Ethan to pull Keirran from the darkness he is falling into...and hopefully save them all in the process.

Iron Traitor felt a lot darker than its predecessor. I’m really enjoying Ethan’s spinoff series, and he is a fascinating character. And while Megan’s books are wildly different from Ethan’s, they are very similar in the natures. Both would do anything to save the people they care about, both feel the weight of duty and expectation on their shoulders. Ethan is way more upfront in his feelings and has no issue in telling it like it is. He’s a tortured yet refreshing character and though he probably wouldn’t say the same about himself, is about as loyal and dependent as they come.

The story was a roller-coaster ride of adventure and danger and intrigue. I quite simply couldn’t put it down, and happily let myself be pulled into the Nevernever to catch up with friends - old and new. I do really like that we see glimpses of past characters (though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see more of Ash...) but am very much liking the new set of characters. Keirran and Ethan are the two alpha males and together create a storm of testosterone. 

There was never a spot I felt like I wanted to put the book down. After each chapter I had to know what happened next and gobbled up this book like a giant fat-free chocolate cake. The way Ethan struggles with trying to keep a normal life when the fey keep throwing themselves into it really made me feel for him. In a way, Megan threw herself whole-heartedly into her heritage but Ethan still craves to be ‘normal’. 


I simply cannot wait for the next part of Ethan’s story, and the wait is sure to be excruciating. 

Many thanks to Mira Ink for the review copy.

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