Born Scared

by Kevin Brooks

Elliot is terrified of almost everything.

From the moment he was born, his life has been governed by acute fear. The only thing that keeps his terrors in check are the pills that he takes every day.

It's Christmas Eve, there's a snowstorm and Elliot's medication is almost gone. His mum nips out to collect his prescription. She'll only be 10 minutes - but when she doesn't come back, Elliot must face his fears and try to find her. She should only be 400 meters away. It might as well be 400 miles...

Fawkes

by Nadine Brandes

Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father’s plot to assassinate the king of England.

Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.

But what if death finds him first?

Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.

The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.

The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.

No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.

The Undercurrent

by Paula Weston

Eighteen-year-old Julianne De Marchi is different. As in: she has an electrical undercurrent beneath her skin that stings and surges like a live wire. She can use it—to spark a fire, maybe even end a life—but she doesn’t understand what it is. And she can barely control it, especially when she’s anxious.

Ryan Walsh was on track for a stellar football career when his knee blew out. Now he’s a soldier—part of an experimental privatised military unit that has identified Jules De Marchi as a threat. Is it because of the weird undercurrent she’s tried so hard to hide? Or because of her mother Angie’s history as an activist against bio-engineering and big business?

It’s no coincidence that Ryan and Jules are in the same place at the same time—he’s under orders to follow her, after all. But then an explosive attack on a city building by an unknown enemy throws them together in the most violent and unexpected way.

The Undercurrent by Paula Weston is set in Australia with greedy monopolised corporations, military goons with unknown intentions, uncontrollable protestors, and in the middle of all that, a teen, Julienne DeMarchi, who's electricity current inside of her is literally off the charts! 

The Lies They Tell

by Gillian French

THE FIRE TOOK EVERYTHING. EXCEPT THE TRUTH.

Everyone in Tenney's Harbor knows about the Garrison tragedy. An unexplained fire. A family of five reduced to one. And no leads on who did it. Of course, all fingers point at Pearl Haskins's father, the caretaker of the property, but she just can't believe it. Leave it to a town of rich people to blame 'the help'.

Then Pearl meets Tristan, the last surviving Garrison, and his group of affluent and arrogant friends. Though she's repulsed by most of them, Tristan's quiet sadness and sombre demeanour intrigue her. Befriending the boys could mean getting closer to the truth, clearing her father's name, and giving Tristan the closure he seems to be searching for. But it could also trap Pearl in a sinister web of secrets, lies, and betrayals that would leave no life unchanged ... if it doesn't take hers first.

Ruthless Magic

by Megan Crewe

In the contest to keep their magic, the only options may be die... or kill.

Each year, the North American Confederation of Mages assesses every sixteen-year-old novice. Some will be chosen. The rest must undergo a procedure to destroy their magical ability unless they prove themselves in the mysterious and brutal Mages' Exam.

Disadvantaged by her parents' low standing, Rocío Lopez has dedicated herself to expanding her considerable talent to earn a place in the Confederation. Their rejection leaves her reeling—and determined to fight to keep her magic.

Long ashamed of his mediocre abilities, Finn Lockwood knows the Confederation accepted him only because of his prominent family. Declaring for the Exam instead means a chance to confirm his true worth.

Thrown into the testing with little preparation, Rocío and Finn find themselves becoming unlikely allies—and possibly more. But the Exam holds secrets more horrifying than either could have imagined. What are the examiners really testing them for? And as the trials become increasingly vicious, how much are they willing to sacrifice to win?

The first in a new series by USA Today bestselling author Megan Crewe, Ruthless Magic combines the magic of Harry Potter with the ferocity of The Hunger Games alongside a poignant romance. Fans of Cassandra Clare and Holly Black, look no further for your next urban fantasy fix!

Ink

by Amanda Sun

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

Royal Commentary

Ink by Amanda Sun was actually quite a disappointing read for me. It wasn't terrible, the writing wasn't bad, but the story was just plain disappointing. The story had amazing potential but alas Ink just fell flat for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as others, but it could have also been because of my high expectations. 

Katie Greene has recently moved to her Aunty's home in Japan when her Mother passed away. In a strange land, with no friends and no knowledge of the language…can life get any worse for teenager Katie Greene? Tomo is the school's Kendo team star, local unobtainable bad boy with attitude but an artist behind the scenes. Something tragic and scary stopped him from drawing in public. Can Katie break through Tomo's barriers? 

After reading the above paragraph can we all guess where this story is going? If you can't, then you mustn't have read YA novels lately because this seems to be the recipe that Authors are following lately. An outcasted good girl, and the local bad boy and then their forbidden love. I'm really baffled that Amanda Sun went the route that she did with this story. The surrounding elements behind Ink is just brilliant, and so I'm not quite sure why Amanda Sun wrote the story how she did. The strong elements of set in Japan, moving sketches that come to life and become dangerous with Japanese mythology thrown into the mix, how can you seriously go wrong, but Amanda took the elements she created and then went back to the normal recipe of YA novels, so despite having interesting and original elements, the story of Ink went back to just being another YA book with unoriginal story lines and characters. 

However, I still liked some parts of Ink, most especially Amanda Sun's description of Japanese life, explaining the connections to Japanese mythology, although I had wished she had touched on this a bit more, and she may very well do in the sequel. Amanda Sun's knowledge of Japan and the lifestyle in Japan is astounding and I really enjoyed getting lost in the surrounding that she created. 

Ink by Amanda Sun is a well loved idea, but the story itself and the characters fell disappointingly flat for me. I was looking forward to reading Ink and maybe my high expectation was to blame for my disappointment but after reading the book description, what I expected from Ink is totally what I didn't get out of it, not even close. However, Amanda's writing is good, beautiful even, but the plot line was just bland considering the elements she had to work with, she could have done so much more with this story. I will still be picking up the novella and sequel, just to give this series another chance, because like I said, I love the idea behind this novel, and I am hoping that the execution and story itself gets better.

School Spirits

by Rachel Hawkins

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Rachel Hawkins' delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as the New York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!

Royal Commentary by Paperback Princess 

The Brannicks are descendants from generations and generations of monster hunters, but when Isolde (Izzy) Brannick is nearly drained at a routine vampire vanquishing, Momma Brannick comes to the rescue and puts Izzy in easy ghost hunting duties. Izzy must now go undercover as a normal teen to investigate the ghost activities in a local high school.

School Spirits is like all other Rachel Hawkin stories; ight, funny and certainly entertaining with strong and loveable characters. Izzy is the main character in School Spirits, she's defiant, sarcastic, witty, but she's also strong, respectful of her mother and despite the shell she portrays of strength, after all, she is one of the last standing Brannick woman, she also has feelings of vulnerability like most teens.

The whole researching method for seeing how "normal teens" lived was through watching teen reality drama on DVD, this was absolutely hilarious and I really liked the way that Hawkins interweaved it through Izzy's life, referencing it when relevant. Little things like this is what makes me like Hawkins books. Whilst many may not think this is a relevant point in the story, the originality of the method is what wins points for me.

I absolutely loved the PMS…yes you read right, the Paranormal Management Society. Consisting of Romy, Anderson and Dex, they're the official paranormal investigators at the school. Izzy originally joins their club to investigate the ghost sightings that the PMS was also investigating albeit unsuccessfully with their online-bought "ghost" machines and detectors. Oh my…I just fell in love with this foursome. The interactions and the friendships that bloomed from this group was sweet and genuine and I couldn't help but want to be part of their club, just for the friendship alone. The interaction, dialogue and chemistry between the foursome was definitely a huge highlight for School Spirits. School Spirits is more a character driven novel and whilst the plot had predictable elements, the ending still came as a surprise.

School Spirits is a light, enjoyable and entertaining read. All Rachel Hawkins fan won't be disappointed and whilst this is a spin-off the Hex Hall series, reading the latter series is not a pre-requisite.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the Publishers free in exchange for an honest review. No monetary incentive was given for a positive review. 

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Venom

Synopsis

Paperback Princess Review 

Synopsis

Paperback Princess Review

What's Left of Me is based in a semi-futuristic world where children are born with two souls, but at a certain age the dominant soul takes over and the secondary and weaker soul slowly diminishes till it's completely gone, this is called "settling".  Children are supposed to settle at a certain age, at 15 years of age Addie and Eva are considered hybrids as they still haven't settled. They must keep the fact that they're hybrids a secret as the Government officials think hybrids are a threat to their society so they seek them out and lock them up. Addie tries to pretend to those around her that she has settled, only if they truly knew Eva is still in there, quiet but very much present.

This is the first book in The Hybrid Chronicles by Kat Zhang. I was amazed at the originality of the plot. It made me think of children with imaginary friends and how as they grow older those imaginary friends eventually disappear, it made me curious and thinking, imagine if that was another soul within a child's body as per this story. This story and the theoretical concept within it's pages are unparalleled to other dystopian novels to date and this is where the book really excels.

The Author did well with her characters, I really sympathised with both their situations. I understood Addie is conflicted, despite the fact that she loves Eva, she also wants a bit of privacy in her life, she wants to live her own life without having to worry about Eva's thoughts/wants/needs but at the same time she can't complete let Eva go even if she had wanted to. Eva is more the quiet voice, so I understood why she was the recessive soul, but I also understood her misgivings, I mean, how would I feel if I was within a body I couldn't control, see things I don't want to see and do things I don't want to do!

What's Left of Me is fast-paced, suspenseful and action-packed. It was one of those books that as soon as you cracked it's spine you couldn't put it down till you get to the end. As you can probably tell, I'm biting my nails in anticipation to read the remaining books in the series. There was only one thing that disappointed me in this book and that was the ending, the ending fell slightly flat for me, but I don't know if it's because the rest of the book were so energised that the ending felt a bit bland in comparison. Every chapter within this book was filled with something new, something heart pumping was always around the corner, it was definitely a nail-biting read, so I'm unsure if that's why the ending felt slightly disappointing. Despite this I loved the book and still highly recommend it! My ratings don't give 1/2 stars but I would have given What's Left of Me (4.5 stars).