Review - A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1)

Author: V. E. Schwab

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.
 

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.

 

My Thoughts: 

I always found the idea of parallel universes cool. In A Darker Shade of Magic this theme is spiced up with magic and the combination results in a highly enjoyable book. V. E. Schwab’s novel is fast paced, action packed, funny and pulls at your heart-strings occasionally; all in all it is a good start to a series.

Kell is an Antari, a blood magician, one of the two survivors of his kind. He has the rare ability to travel between Red, Grey and White London, cities that were sealed off from each other after powerful magic consumed Black London and its populace. After a token from the fourth world ends up in Kell’s possession hell breaks loose and the Antari is the only one who has a chance to keep the threating wave of black magic in bay and thus save the remaining Londons.

He doesn’t have to deal with the situation completely alone of course, he has a badass sidekick, Lila. Lila Bard is the kind of heroine I cannot resist falling in love with. She is sassy, cool on the surface, but vulnerable inside and craves adventure. She is a cross-dresser wannabe pirate; what’s not to love about her? For me she came across as a much better-rounded character than Kell, but it didn’t bother me since I loved her very much.

I loved the adventure, the speed with which the story commenced, it drew me in, kept me excited and left me wanting to read the second book. It’s great how the Londons are similar, yet completely different, how the connections with magic define the worlds and I also liked that magic is a two-edged instrument in the story. All in all: A+, would recommend.

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Review - The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Title: The Name of the Star

Author: Maureen Johnson

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis: 

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

My thoughts:

I couldn’t have found a better time in my life to read The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson. Like… really. There just wouldn’t have been a better time. I have recently moved to London – a couple of weeks ago. In the beginning of the book Rory Deveaux, American teenager, moves to London – and voilá, suddenly I felt I was the protagonist of this novel. Literally, I had a ’what the hell’ moment at every turning of the page, because I lived through all the ’I’m new in London’ experiences described in the first few chapters.

Luckily I wasn’t greeted with news about fresh Ripper murders like Rory was. That would have been way too creepy, astonishing and scary. I didn’t know much about the Ripper before reading this book, but by the time I was finished I was filled in on the details of all the Ripper murders that took place in 1888. It was quite fascinating, reading about these snippets of dark history and visiting some of the related places while doing my sightseeing rounds in the first days I spent here.

The novel worked as a nice cultural guide as well. I would have absorbed several pieces of new information if I hadn’t known that much about London, England or the English people already. I think sitting down with this book provides a wonderful opportunity for anyone to submerge themselves in an imaginary, yet very real London and get goosebumps along the ride.

Giving the media front stage in the story was a fantastic idea. Modern was combined with old, a haunting chain of murders was reimagined and was given a fresh twist – really, the Ripper was the first serial killer whose rampage got a great amount of publicity, but then, in the 19^th century, only the newspapers carried the news and it took time till he became widely known. How much time do news need these days to spread? Minutes. Every lunatic can have their five-minute of fame. But what if the lunatic in question wants more? And what if he poses as a world famous murderer? And what if all the hullabaloo is just a decoy?

Maureen Johnson’s writing style is highly enjoyable. I read less YA books nowadays because the protagonists tend to annoy me but it wasn’t the case here at all. Rory reacted to every situation like a normal teenager would, she was reflective, afraid when she had reason to be and level-headed when she has decided about the steps she was going to take in the end. She had some seriously crazy stuff going on around her – we are talking about a paranormal book after all – and I appreciated that she never lost her humour, no matter what happened.

I am very, very glad I chose this book to pick up first once I arrived to England and I’m sure I won’t forget how it felt to read it on the tube whilst heading to discover the city. 

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Book promo - Thirst - Blood of my Blood by R. P. Channing

240+ Pages

WITH BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHS

~ Kira Sutherland ~

After a near fatal accident (and getting cheated on by her 'boyfriend'), and beating up the lead cheerleader (with whom the boyfriend cheated...), and being labeled as having 'issues' in her school because she, uhm, sees ghosts, Kira is left with two choices:

 1. Continue her 'therapy' (where she's told the ghost is a hallucination and also gets her legs ogled too often...)

Or

2. Go to Starkfield Academy, a boarding school for "Crazies and Convicts" (as the social media sites call them.)

She chooses the latter...

~ Cory Rand ~

Cory Rand has not had an easy life. His mother died in a car accident when he was twelve, and so did his mother's best friend...sort of. You see, Janice made a promise to take care of Cory just before she died, and so she lingers. Undead. A ghost that watches out for him.

Brought up in an abusive home, Cory quickly falls into a life of disreputable behavior. After his third offense (which was prompted by a girl, as usual - he has a weakness) he's left with two choices:

1. Be tried as an adult and share a cell with a guy named Bubba (he thinks...)

Or

2. Go to Starkfield Academy, which Cory is pretty sure is run by vampires. But, hey, at least he'll get an education.

He chooses the latter...

It's at Starkfield that Kira meets Cory Rand, a boy with an insatiable Rage who sees ghosts, too. As well as other things, other things from his past, things that confuse him, things like fire and witches and demons.

Things he's always ignored.

Until now.

Genres:

Young Adult Romance

Paranormal Romance

High School

Vampires, Demons, Witches

Dark Fantasy

Horror 

Buy Links

Amazon US
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018M5GTLI
Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B018M5GTLI

Kindle Unlimited

$20 Amazon Gift Voucher Giveaway

At the back of the book there is a giveaway link. Once the book hits fifty reviews on Amazon, one of those reviewers will win a $20 (US Dollars) Amazon Gift Voucher!

Author Bio

R P Channing started writing three years ago, but never published anything even after churning out over a million words of fiction. Thirst: Blood of my Blood is the first book he dared to publish. When asked why, he said, “Because it’s the first thing I wrote that my wife actually enjoyed reading.” When not hammering away (most literally) at his keyboard, he can be found buried in a book, reading anything from romance to horror to young adult to non-fiction to comedy.

Author Links

Website
http://blog.rpchanning.com

Twitter

@rpchanning

Amazon

http://amazon.com/author/rpchanning

Review - The Heartbeat Thief by A.J. Krafton

Title: The Heartbeat Thief

Author: A.J. Krafton

Publication date: Sept 18, 2015

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

In 1860 Surrey, a young woman has only one occupation: to marry. Senza Fyne is beautiful, intelligent, and lacks neither wealth nor connections. Finding a husband shouldn’t be difficult, not when she has her entire life before her.
But it’s not life that preoccupies her thoughts. It’s death—and that shadowy spectre haunts her every step.

So does Mr. Knell. Heart-thumpingly attractive, obviously eligible—he’d be her perfect match if only he wasn’t so macabre. All his talk about death, all that teasing about knowing how to avoid it…

When her mother arranges a courtship with another man, Senza is desperate for escape from a dull prescripted destiny. Impulsively, she takes Knell up on his offer. He casts a spell that frees her from the cruelty of time and the threat of death—but at a steep price. In order to maintain eternal youth, she must feed on the heartbeats of others.

It’s a little bit Jane Austen, a little bit Edgar Allen Poe, and a whole lot of stealing heartbeats in order to stay young and beautiful forever. From the posh London season to the back alleys of Whitechapel, across the Channel, across the Pond, across the seas of Time…

How far will Senza Fyne go to avoid Death?

I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

My thoughts:

Deliciously poetic and hauntingly dark – The Heartbeat Thief by A. J. Krafton takes you on a journey through time and an extremely long life to show you the real nature of Death.

There is a period in everyone’s childhood when we are afraid of dying. That fear is so palpable, so real that even the mere possibility prevents you from sleep… because what if you never wake up again? This dread passes eventually as we accept that death is part of life and we move on knowing we can’t stare Death in the face every passing moment.

But there is a girl who can’t let go. Senza Fyne meets Death sitting by her grandmother’s bed at the tender age of 17 and from that day on, she is followed by a dark shadow. When a strange but captivating young man offers to free her from the fate every living thing is bound to meet in the end, she is eager to accept the new life he promises to give her. And so the endless days begin.

I adore Edgar Allan Poe and his short story The Masque of the Red Death, so when I read this book has something to do with it I felt I should give myself a favour and read it.

The atmosphere of this novel was truly amazing. Very heavy, very dense, yes – death takes center stage here after all –, but very effective at the same time. I’m not sure I could have read The Heartbeat Thief in one sitting, even if I had the time, because of its weighty subject, but then again, I don’t think it’s a book one has to read hastily. There is a lot to savour, a lot to contemplate while going through it.

The heroine is more and more likable as the story grows, she definitely becomes wiser and more mature as the plot plays out. However, she makes mistakes all the time, no matter how old she is and by her imperfectness the human nature is emphasized – we all tend to make mistakes and it wouldn’t change even if we lived through centuries. I think this is a beautiful thought.

The side characters are also well written and interesting, each a milestone in Senza’s journey, since each conveys a lesson Senza has to learn. Every meeting and every goodbye has its reason here, you can see the nicely built structure of this book as you read it.

I have to say I didn’t expect the ending, although I should have. It was so obvious, really. But I’m glad I didn’t, because it was more of a surprise and I like surprises.

I love stories that are set in different time periods and this novel was certainly a treat for me. I’d recommend it to lovers of historical fiction and gothic literature.

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