Book review and giveaway- Delete by Kim Curran

Today, Faber Academy and I are kicking off the blog tour for Kim Curran's DELETE! It's had a bit of trouble getting out, due to the closure of Strange Chemistry, but it's coming and it's having a blog tour! 

Title:   Delete

Author:  Kim Curran

Series:    Shift #3

Published:   31 March 2015 by Xist Publishing

Length:  230 pages

Source: Strange Chemistry ARC

Other info: I reviewed Shift and Control and really enjoyed them! I’ve also had Kim over to talk about shifting in real life, and about her other book, Glaze (which I also reviewed).

Summary : The country is at war. Beset by enemies within and without. And all because of the decisions changed by one boy, Scott Tyler. In this ravaged alternative reality, Scott hardly recognises himself. He's a war hero, a leader of a unit of Shifters and maybe the only one who can prevent the country's frail defences from crumbling.

But all Scott wants to do is find a way back to the world he knew, without losing the girl he loves. With every Shift he makes, Scott edges closer towards oblivion. With no one to trust – not even himself – how much is he willing to risk to get home?

Review: This is the end of a trilogy, so this review will contain spoilers for the first two books (and you really do need to read Shift and Control before this one). Following the end of Control, Scott finds he has shifted to a world where Britain is at war, and Scott is apparently the Commandant of ARES, or at least its present form, and  everything is completely different. However, unlike most Shifters whose realities change when they shift to accomodate for that shift and they accept that shift as being the one true reality, Scott remembers the more peaceful, less treacherous world, and he wants to get back.

I really enjoyed Shift and Control, and thus I was very excited to read this. When I did get to read Delete, I read it so quickly. I think if life didn’t get in my way, it would be a one-sit-read.

You know how I said Control put the plot on a larger scale to Shift? It’s happened again. Majorly. Again.

I loved the different sides of the characters we got to know. Frankie, Aubrey, and Katie  were all changed but also still them, and Scott...woah. in this world, Scott’s personality is rather different to the one he remembers having, and I loved seeing him struggle with what he remembers, what he thinks he is, what what he has to do in this world.  So much character development.

The plot progressed well. It’s fast, but there are also quieter moments. Especially between Aubrey and Scott as  he tries to find the differences between the past Aubrey and the one now. .

I did have mixed feelings about the end. Initially I really disliked it, but after a little time, I realised how wonderful it was because Scott has learnt things and might be able to make things better and maybe it isn’t as bad an ending as I thought.

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to a brilliant ending to an action packed series examining decisions and their consequences.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website |

Also, there's a tourwide giveaway happening to win all three Shift books. Good luck!
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Book Review- Bombmaker by Claire McFall

Title: Bombmaker

 Author:  Claire McFall

Published:  1 February 2014 by Templar

Length:  336 pages

Source: publisher

Other info:  Claire has also written Ferryman, which I reviewed here and won the Scottish Booktrust Award.

Summary : The English government have closed the borders with their Celtic neighbours. Any Celt found in England is branded with a tattoo, found twice they are executed. Scottish Lizzie is the 'property' of psychopathic London gang boss Alexander. Can Lizzie escape Alexander's deadly grip and at what price her betrayal?

Review: Following bad economic times, England closes the borders with Scotland and Wales  and brings in  a new policy: Celts found in England are branded. Branded Celts in England are killed. Lizzie is one such branded Celt, who is the "property" of Alexander, a gang boss in London, who keeps her around for her bombmaking skills. as time goes on, Lizzie realises she might like a life outside the gang. Which is something that Alexander does not like at all.

I read McFall's Ferryman last year and really enjoyed it. I was looking forwards to this, especially with everything going on about the Scottish Independence referendum. Extreme nationalist governments make good reading (not real life), and so do gangs. Add in promises of a clever awesome female character and I'm sold.

You very quickly get pulled into Lizzie's world, both the political climate and the gang life that she’s part of. It’s a world that is believable, if you imagine that a yes vote leads to extreme xenophobia on the  English peoples’ part (ie just a huge ramp up of how it is now).

I love the fact that all the characters are well fleshed out really well. You really get close to them, even if that closeness is not something that you really want to be. Alexander’s creepiness seems to know no bounds. Lizzie, I liked a lot; she’s resourceful, and you want things to go right for her, even though they tend not to. I loved reading about them and how they got where they are and where they want to go.

It’s very very different to Ferryman. McFall writes well in both softer afterlife stories and gritty thrillers. I’m looking forwards to see what she does next.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a fast paced relevant  dystopia.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review-Rebellion by Lou Morgan

Title: Rebellion

 Author: Lou Morgan

Series:   Blood and Feathers #2

Published:  July 2013 by Solaris

Length: 364 pages

Warnings:  gore

Source: publisher

Other info:  Book 1 is called Blood and Feathers

Summary : Driven out of hell and with nothing to lose, the Fallen wage open warfare against the angels on the streets. And they're winning.
As the balance tips towards the darkness, Alice - barely recovered from her own ordeal in hell and struggling to start over - once again finds herself in the eye of the storm. But with the chaos spreading and the Archangel Michael determined to destroy Lucifer whatever the cost, is the price simply too high? And what sacrifices will Alice and the angels have to make in order to pay it?

The Fallen will rise. Trust will be betrayed. And all hell breaks loose...

Review: After the end of Blood and Feathers, Alice knows the angels will want her again, but for now, she just wants to be able to get back to a normal life. she then gets ropes into working for an undertaker, who is also the Angel of Death. Then riots involving Descended and Fallen tip the balance in the ongoing fight for control, and Alice and the angels have a lot to lose.

I left Blood and Feathers thinking “this is so good!” I started the next book in the series literally ten minutes after finishing it, which is something I have never done before. The world and writing is addictive, which is why I couldn’t wait to start this.

All my favourite characters return. Alice, Mallory and Vin. Then there’s new favourite, Adriel, angel of Death, who, form his introduction, I envisioned as Undertaker from Black Butler and he lived up to coolness expectation.  Not sorry. Vin and Mallory are once again sarcastically funny at times with a lot of darkness at others. Marllory, I felt so sad for him when we were told what’s in his books. Zadkiel is awesome and we start falling in love with him and then that happens to him and Lou Morgan is evil.  Can we just talk about how great Mallory, Vin, Alice and Adriel are? The relationships are so real  it’s great spending time with the characters. My love of Lou’s portrayal of angels and demons is on par with that of my love for Supernatural’s, so that’s pretty big (extra points to Lou vs Supernatural for the lack of awful women treating!).

Plot is great. There’s more of the angels vs the fallen, with things getting worse and worse, and an angelic betrayal and things moving on quickly. at the end, I’m left wanting a lot more.

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to a great second book. I have made the decision to read ANYTHING Lou writes.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website |

Book Review-Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan

Title: Blood and Feathers

 Author: Lou Morgan

Series:   Blood and Feathers

Published:  31 July 2012 by Solaris

Length: 384 pages

Warnings:  gore

Source: bought

Other info:  Book 2 is called Rebellion.

Summary : Alice isn't having the best of days. She was late for work, she missed her bus, and now she's getting rained on. What she doesn't know is that her day's about to get worse: the epic, grand-scale kind of worse that comes from the arrival of two angelswho claim everything about her life is a lie.
The war between the angels and the Fallen is escalating; the age-old balance is tipping, and innocent civilians are getting caught in the cross-fire. If the balance is to be restored, the angels must act - or risk the Fallen taking control. Forever.
That’s where Alice comes in. Hunted by the Fallen and guided by Mallory - a disgraced angel with a drinking problem and a whole load of secrets - Alice will learn the truth about her own history… and why the angels want to send her to hell.
What do the Fallen want from her? How does Mallory know so much about her past? What is it the angels are hiding - and can she trust either side?
Caught between the power plays of the angels and Lucifer himself, it isn't just hell's demons that Alice will have to defeat.

Review: Alice is not having a good day. And it all gets worse when her dad is killed in front ofher and two angels, Gwyn and Mallory, drag her into the war between Angels and the Fallen. The Angels fight contstantly to stop the Fallen getting too powerful, but the Fallen are slowly gaining the advantage. This is where Alice comes in. Due to her heritage, she will be very useful in the upcoming war. Therefore, she has to go to hell.

I’d seen Lou’s stuff around for ages, and seen how nice she is, but didn’t get round to this for ages.

I instantly fell in love with the characters, especially Mallory. At first, he seemed quite easy going, funny, and even adorable. By the end of Blood and Features, he’s done some very un-adorable things, but I still love his complete badassery. Alice is really cool, with unique powers and the fact that she doesn’t instantly pick everything up makes her lovelyly real. Also on the side of angels is Gwyn, bad cop to Mallort’s good, and Vin, who I loved (just cos of the Cantonese. I’m not sure if he’s meant to look asian, but he did in my head, so that’s all awesome). For the Fallen, there’s Xaphan and Rimmon, and a whole host of other fallen angels, who are creepy.

I love the way that Heaven and Hell have been presented-the way angels on Earth work, the relationship between the Archangels and the normal angels, the layout of hell, Charon (she’s a thing in ice!), that Lucifer can bodyhop his league, and so on.

The writing is sarcastic in some places, and funny in many places,  and in other places, very gory and graphic. The action scenes are described really really well.

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to one hell of a read. Can’t find anything to fault. Will read book 2 asap.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website |

Book Review- Dark Eyes by William Richter

Title: Dark Eyes

 Author: William Richter

Series:  Dark Eyes #1

Published:  15 March 2012 by Penguin

Length: 383 pages

Warnings: sex, not too detailed. Quite a bit of violence. Drugs TW sexual abuse, 

Source: Spinebreakers

Summary : Wally was adopted from a Russian orphanage as a child and grew up in a wealthy New York City family. At fifteen, her obsessive need to rebel led her to life on the streets.
Now the sixteen-year-old is beautiful and hardened, and she's just stumbled across the possibility of discovering who she really is. She'll stop at nothing to find her birth mother before Klesko - her darkeyed father - finds her. Because Klesko will stop at nothing to reclaim the fortune Wally's mother stole from him long ago. Even if that means murdering his own blood. But Wally's had her own killer training, and she's hungry for justice.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for teens, this debut thriller introduces our next big series heroine!

Review: Wally is a Russian, adopted into an American family. Age 15, she moves out, onto the streets of New York. This is the story of a year later. On a visit to  Brighton Beach postal-shop-copy-place-thing, where they cater to Russian customers,  she gets given a mysterious envelope with her Russian name on it. in it-a letter from her Russian mother. From there, she learns more about her family. For example, the fact that her father is a mafia boss. And he wants to find his ex-lover/wife/whatever (I’ve forgotten). And he’s not picky about he finds her.

Being adopted, I took a bit more interested in this. I’ve never tried to, or wanted to find my birth parents (something I don’t think would be easy with a pool of a billion people) but it must be interesting when you get details of your birth family just given to you without warning.

Wally takes this fairly well, and takes lots of things in her stride.  She’s a very strong girl, who is good at finding things out after learning things that capture her interest. She’s also a great friend to Ella and Tevin and Jake. There’s such a strong sense of bond between them. However, I didn’t connect with her, or any other character. She doesn’t have as much to worry about compared to the others, so I didn’t really care for her either.

There’s a lot of action, and a fair bit of violence. The first chapter involves a murder. The mafia are involved. People die. It’s definitely a big thriller. Lost of twists and turns, many predictable. Some things do happen a bit more easily  that I’d have liked or would have been interesting. The ending was...er, ok. Not saying that in the it was mediocre way. I’m saying it in the ......*long pause* *hesitant er* Ok way. can’t find a gif to sum this up. But yeah. The ending. I liked it. this would definitely play out well as a film, what with the really fast pacing and turnabouts.

I found it quite confusing. I’m not sure why, I just didn’t get into it. The writing is ok, but there were some annoying things about it. it’s a bit too street, and it doesn’t really fit.

I like the fact that things happen suddenly. Even if you are expecting them, the very bad, very major things happen so suddenly it is realistic, and everyone has to adjust in short periods of time.

For a book market at teens, it is gritty. It’s nice not to be talked down to. Nothing’s pulled back, we get all the sad and gory details. Having never read  The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I can’t comment too well on the fitting of this as a teenage version. From the little I saw of the film, this is in a similar vein, and probably does live up to its tagline.

Overall:  Strength 3 tea to a fast thriller, that wasn’t as good as I’d expected.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review- Insignia by S. J. Kincaid

Title: Insignia

 Author: S.J. Kincaid

Series:  Insignia #1

Published:  2 August 2012

Length: 444 pages

Warnings:  violence, romance, suggestive situation 12+

Source: publishers

Other info: This is S.J’s first novel.

Summary : More than anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom’s drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.
 Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone’s been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he’s offered the incredible—a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom’s instincts for combat will be put to the test, and if he passes, he’ll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War Three. Finally, he’ll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom’s always wanted—friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters—but what will it cost him?

Review: Tom Raines, fourteen years old, spending life in a virtual reality parlour, trying to win a living. His life isn’t really going well...until one day, he’s picked out to join the Combatants-teen soldiers fighting World War III.  But it’s not like they’re going out getting killed-they’re safe on Earth. As WWIII is fought by robots in space. He soon fits in with friends, makes enemies, and gets by in the way that teenagers do in a stepped up boarding school. But then Tom starts finding out things about the other side. And then questions the rules.

I was expecting something good. I got even better. We skip easily through Tom’s normal VR gambling life, and soon end up at the US Military base. Action happens frequently, friendship bonding happening between that.

The school-style setting is really nice, and you get the stock characters that go with it-the couple that may or may not get together, the bully, the insane teacher. But this being Insignia, we get a technological twist on all of these. For example, one of the assignments is to use viruses on your fellow classmates.

Tom, Vik, Wyatt and Yuri make a great friendship group. Vik especially knows what to say, what to do, and the one that everyone loves. I’d love to be part of this world just so I oculd have friends like these.

I don’t normally enjoy romance, but Wyatt and Yuri make such a perfect pair. Yuri, with all the suspicion surrounding him due to his Russian background, and his misunderstanding at most things, at least in the first part, makes you feel really sorry for him, and his fail attempts at chatting Wyatt up (partially due to her romantic obliviousness) adds to this. I love romantically awkward geniuses. 

The whole idea of Tom falling for Chinese soldier Medusa was slightly predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless. It’s really interesting seeing romances form when you can’t tell who you’re talking to and so on. 

The technology in this is mindblowing. Anything can happen. We start learning that all military personnel have computers implanted, meaning they can process large amounts of information quickly, and pick up on details such as names and ranks of everyone nearby.  This can also be used in a darker way, with Tom’s computer being used against him later on. Also-an entire war fought in space-how amazing is that? There were times when I wondered how S.J. Kincaid got to the conclustion that America and India would form an alliance though...

There’s so many twists and turns that further the plot and character development. The sense of competition and high stakes is prevalent, and keeps your heart racing. Action happens on many levels, from interfriendship fights to world war scale.

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to a great mix of action, technology, and friendship.

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review- The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

Title: The Hunt

 Author: Andrew Fukuda

Series:  The Hunt #1

Published: 8 May 2012 by St Martin’s Griffin in the USA. Simon and Schuster in the UK

Length: 293 pages

Warnings:  violence 13+

Source: Netgalley

Summary : Don’t Sweat.  Don’t Laugh.  Don’t draw attention to yourself.  And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.  Gene is different from everyone else around him.  He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood.  Gene is a human, and he knows the rules.  Keep the truth a secret.  It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.  When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him.  He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?
 

Review: Gene is not like the rest of the population. He smiles instead of scratches when he finds something funny, sweats, and doesn’t have a taste for flesh and blood. Being exposed as a human, or in the terms of this society, a heper, could get him ripped to pieces. And so he pretends he is one of them, something he is actually quite good at-at least until he’s chosen to take part in the Hunt. A small amount of hepers are being kept at an institute, and a few lucky winners get to hunt them down. It’s a chance that all of society would literally kill for. But this game could soon become deadlier than Gene imagined as the hunter becomes the hunted.

At first, it’s confusing. Very confusing, at least until you decide to be sensible and remind yourself of the summary. It’s easy to infer that the narrator is human-that’s easy enough to guess. But the details of the society takes quite a bit of time to get the basics of. I spent ages wondering “So, he’s human. right. What’s everyone else?” Once we work out the basics though, its easy to imagine the rest of it.

Vampire society is something that seems to be getting a bit more of attention, after the surge of dystopian (thinks of Immortal Rules and other things) where humans are enslaved, the minority, or both. The idea of a human protagonist passing himself off as a vampire was interesting though,  original, and done quite well in The Hunt.

There are definitely influences from other books that are really noticeable. 1984, with the government layout and a slight extent, the Big Brother thing with having to be on his guard. Also, we see a fair bit of the Hunger Games-a random lottery, training sessions, no tying, and an inevitable bloodbath.

It’s really awkward when you’re halfway through a novel and you suddenly remember you don’t know the main character’s name. And then, 51% through, you find out. It’s an interesting technique that I didn’t really like.

 Gene and Ashley Jane (we get told her name at the start) are believable and work well together. It may be because it’s written by a male author, but I’m glad the romance didn’t take over the book. And I’m immensely glad that Gene didn’t fall for Sissy, the sole female heper who he is meant to be hunting.

The best thing bout this was the fullness of the society that they live in. They’re not refered to as vampires, because in this society, they’re the norm. The fact they see humans simply as food is very clear from the attributes from obvious things like what they say to subtle things like referring to humans as “it”.

The other great ting about The Hunt was the detail in the action. It picks up towards the end and is fast, thrilling and totally pulls you in.

Overall:  Strength 3 tea to a book that’s really good as long as you can get over the highly confusing start. I would like to read the next book in the series though.

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review- Psyren vol 2 by Toshiaki Iwashiro

Title: Psyren vol 2

 Author: Toshiaki Iwashiro

Series:  Psyren #2

Published:  January 2012 by Viz

Length:182 pages

Warnings: violence 13+

Source: Library

Summary : Physically drained after surviving his first trip to Psyren, Ageha's psionic powers begin to awaken! Newly reunited with his formerly missing friend Amamiya, now Ageha must meet with a PSI mentor who holds key information about the terrifying rules of the Psyren game!

May contain spoilers for volume one. Which I thought I reviewed, but I obviously didn’t.

Review: Ahega’s been to Psyren again, and while he’d rather not, he’s still going to be called back. However, he’s going to need to get much stronger if he wants to keep on surviving. Luckily, Sakurako knows someone who’s already been to Psyren, and beaten it-her old mentor-Matsuri. Ahega, and Hiryu (Hiryu  Asaga, fellow Psyren drifter) begin to learn how to train themselves to fight Psyren-but they must also learn some other things about the game they’re playing.

I found the concept of this really intriguing, even if very slightly (aka heavily) based on Gantz. And while the first volume wasn’t amazing, I still wanted to read on.

So, most of the action takes place in present day Japan, as opposed to Psyren, like last volume. There’s still a bit of fighting though, to be expected with a shonen manga. There aren’t that many twisty turny plot developments, more world building, explaining the rules of the game and building on what we got in volume one.

As well as the seriousness of the training, we are also treated to a fair bit of comedy. Sakurako’s  treatment of Ahega and Hiryu during their training, and of course, their really bad attempts at trying to master the psi energy. However, none of this detracted from the main plot-which is good, because there wasn’t that much to this volume.

The characters are believable. My favourite was Matsuri-a world famous pianist with a complete disregard for schedules and managing to fight her way through Psyren without dying? What’s not to like about her? Ahega-I’m still not loving him. Or Hiryu. But I do like Hiryu’s hair. They’re good characters, stock ones really, but quite amazing and a little interesting.

The art is good. The shading and drawing style are typical of this kind of manga, but it’s not  my favourite kind of art style. There’s also something out of place with Sakurako’s face. Too soft for her character. And there’s some other annoying little things.

The ending is a little cliffhanger. Someone turns up and we don’t know who it is. Until volume three, anyway.

Overall:  Strength 2 tea to a nice continuation, but nothing special.

Links: Goodreads

Book Review- Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Title: Blood Red Road

 Author: Moira Young

Series:   Dust Lands #1

Published:  June 2011 by Marion Lloyd, Simon & Schuster

Length: 492 pages

Warnings: Violence, (fictional) drugs, slight romance 12+

Source: Library

Other info: This is Moira’s debut novel. The sequel, to be published later this year, is called Rebel Heart.

Summary : In a lawless future land, where life is cheap and survival is hard, Saba has been brought up in isolated Silverlake. She never sees the dangers of the destructive society outside. When her twin brother is snatched by mysterious black-robed riders, she sets outon an epic quest to rescue him. The story's searing pace, its spare style, the excitement of its fabulously damaged world, its unforgettably vivid characters, its violent action and glorious lovestory make this a truly sensational YA debut novel.

Review: Saba has lived in the Dustlands ever since she was born, and nothing out of the ordinary has ever happened. Until she is eighteen, when her brother is stolen away by men who appear out of a dustcloud and have been waiting for him ever since they were born. Saba is determined to get Lugh back and sets out on a quest with her sister Emmi, her crow Nero and a group of people she meets along the way. Nothing will stop her from getting him back.

I was initially put off this book by the writing style. There is a clear lack of conventional spelling and punctuation: the word “and” being replaced by “an”, an “ing” at the end of a word having its “g” lopped off, “says” being continually used with “I” and no speechmarks to be found throughout, initially made me think “I can not be bothered right now to put this into something I can understand”, but I got used to all of it surprisingly quickly. It gave Saba a really unique voice, and a personality of her own.

The plot starts out with something quite typical for an action story-giving a reason for  a quest, then going off and doing it. Some things were really predictable though. The variety of places she gets to is huge. My favourite, because I think it’s the best imagined, is the cage fights. All of them are quite well imagined, with the Dustlands becoming a real world to me.

I never really cared for Jack. Or any of the minor characters. While I did enjoy reading about them, all that really mattered to me was Saba and Emmi. Saba goes through a lot, so most of my care-for-characters-quote was used up on her.

The pacing meant something was always happening, no matter where you were in the novel. It also meant that there wasn’t really many convenient places to put it down. Well, there were. But you just didn’t want to put it down. You wanted to read on and on and see what happened.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a fast paced action filled novel. Can’t wait to see how the next one will turn out.

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website (on Simon&Schuster)  

Book Review-Department 19 by Will Hill

Title: Department 19

 Author: Will Hill

Series:  Department 19 #1

Published:  31^st March 2011 by Razorbill

Length:540 pages

Warnings: moderate fantasy violence, a lot of gore, vampires, mythical creatures

Source:Library

Other info: This is Will Hill’s first book. The sequel, The Rising, will be released in April 2012.  PARAJUNKEE’S VAMPIRE CHALLENGE #15

Summary : Jamie Carpenter's life will never be the same. His father is dead, his mother is missing, and he was just rescued by an enormous man named Frankenstein. Jamie is brought to Department 19, where he is pulled into a secret organization responsible for policing the supernatural, founded more than a century ago by Abraham Van Helsing and the other survivors of Dracula. Aided by Frankenstein's monster, a beautiful vampire girl with her own agenda, and the members of the agency, Jamie must attempt to save his mother from a terrifyingly powerful vampire.

Review: Jamie carpenters mother is, one night, suddenly kidnapped. Jamie has no idea who, what or why it happened, but afterwards he is taken to Department 19, a secret part of the government. It turns out that Department 19 has the things needed to find his mother and kill the vampires that took her. So Jamie, vampire girl who turns up Larissa and Frankenstein(the monster who took his creator’s name after said creator dies) and some more soldiers go after her. Meanwhile, someone is trying to bring back Dracula.

This is definitely one for the boys(and girls like Katy and I who prefer vampires to be scary not sparkly).a little romance is hinted at, but it is in no way the focus of the story. From start to finish there is full on action.

I love the whole mix of creatures in this. Ok, there aren’t many, but big points to Will Hill for including Frankenstein’s Monster in such a prominent part. And more points to him for making Shelley and Stoker’s creations not just fiction in the world of Department 19, making me excited to see if any other classical creatures (Maybe the chuthlu, or whatever that is, that thing that Lovecraft made up) will turn up in the sequel.

I liked the vampires in this. I like the way their status in life is presented. It shows them kind of like humans-some living in luxury, some working boring jobs. The chemist vampire, the one that produces Bliss, blood mixed with other stuff sent out to stop vampires going on killing sprees, is a particular favourite of mine. Frankenstein was written very well, with his personality being like he is in Shelley’s book. Other characters taken from classics, such as Morris, were also kept well to the originals.

There were quite a few surprises along the way, such as the werewolves appearing out of nowhere, and the fate of Jamie’s mother. However the events in the second epilogue are not surprising at all, as it was easy to guess that that would be the set up to the sequel.

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to a fun action packed vampire story that I can’t wait to see more of.

Links: | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review- King of Thorn vol 1 by Yuji Iwahara

Title: King of Thorn vol 1

 Author: Yuji Iwahara

Series:  King of Thorn #1

Published:  12 June 2007 by Tokyopop

Length:192 pages

Warnings: semi-graphic gore and violence

Source:Library

Summary : Twin sisters-separated by fate, drawn together by a horrific illness. Kasumi and her sister Shizuku were infected with the Medusa virus, which slowly turns the victims to stone-and there is no cure. Hope for salvation rests in Kasumi and a select few who are put into a cryorgenically frozen state until a cure is found. But Shizuku is left behind, and in the not too distant future, Kasumi awakes to find herself in an unfamiliar world with terrifying beings roaming the terrain. Resolving to unlock the mysteries of the disease and the fate of her twin sister, Kasumi struggles to survive in this treacherous world.

Review: Kasumi was infected with a virus called Medusa, an uncurable virus that turns its victim to stone. She is sent to be cryogenically frozen until a cure is found. Then she wakes up with thorns growing all around, and dinosaur-like creatures everywhere. The majority of the people waking up get eaten. She and a small group of survivors must work out what it takes to live in this new dangerous world. Kasumi is also looking for something else; her twin Shizuku who wasn't chosen to be frozen and saved. Kasumi now wants to know what became of her sister, which shouldn't be too difficult if they're in the near future. All this while slowly turning to stone.

The concept is very different to what I'd normally read. This is more an action/science fiction manga more than the romantic comedies I tend to read. So a bit different, but very good. The cover shows the main characters, a beast in the background, and a few thorns, without giving too much away.

The opening chapter happens very quickly, with the majority of the characters dying halfway through and a group of  survivors being established by the end. The rest of the book follows these survivors break out of the cryogenics centre, find somewhere to shelter, and uncover a few secrets regarding one of the character's backstories.

So yes, a lot happens. And it's happening throughout. The characters get a couple of pages to rest, then are thrown into another life or death situation.

The characters were interesting. They had very clear personalities, and stories could be worked out from looking at them and their actions. Which is good, as we aren't explicitly told exactly who they were. I found it interesting how we only get told three names-Kasumi, Shizuku and the tattooed guy, who's name and backstory would be a spoiler, so I won't include it. I'm still deciding whether the lack of names is good or bad.

The art is almost completely in black and white, the shading being done with lines varying distances from eachother, and very occasionally being done with screentone. The action scenes are fairly detailed, but leave a little to your imagination. Which, with the amount of action, is very good.

Overall: Strength 4 tea to an action manga series I'll definitely try and find the next volumes.

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