When
Jamie Carpenter’s mother is kidnapped by strange creatures, he finds himself
dragged into Department 19, the government’s most secret agency.
Fortunately
for Jamie, Department 19 can provide the tools he needs to find his mother, and
to kill the vampires who want him dead.
But unfortunately for everyone, something much older is stirring,
something even Department 19 can’t stand up against…
Review:
"Lux
E Tenebris: Light Out Of Darkness"
One night Jamie Carpenter's dad Julian came
home early. That night there was something outside - that Jamie
knew. What... he had no clue…
That same night Julian was shot dead by the
police, after pulling a gun on them...
He told Jamie nothing, only to take care of his mother.
The next day, they were informed Julian was
a terrorist, a traitor, and their life hasn't been the same since.
Two years later, Jamie's mum is taken; by
the same things Julian was so scared of all those years ago... Jamie is
desperate to find his mum, but he has no idea how.
Until Department 19 break through his
door. Department 19, the reason
the world is still living, the ones who battle the vast army of undead.
But something even they cannot deal with is
threatening to rise. Can Jamie save his mother in time, or will the whole
world die first...?
I love a good action novel, especially if
it includes butt-kicking lead characters! Department 19? Ah-maz-ing!
With non-stop action, the most amazing mythology and a gadget-packed,
super-secret agency whose job was killing vampires, this was a book I fell in
love with from the word go. I raced through it, eating it all up.
And y'know what? I wanna be a Department 19 agent! Failing that, give me lots, lots, lots more books
in this series please, Mr Hill!
I loved all the characters, our hero Jamie
in particular. He was curious and sweet
and brave and determined, and just felt so much like a real teen boy. A teen boy I
loved absolutely to pieces! Another one
I loved was Larissa, who was a vampire and a character who caught my interest
from the moment we first met her. I loved learning more about her past
and how funny she was, teasing Jamie!
She was really strong and sweet and brave, and not at all a
monster! But I think my favourite may
just be Colonel Victor Frankenstein, AKA Frankenstein’s Monster. He was a little scary at first, but when you
got to see how sweet and cheerful and caring he was, when you got to see into
his past and how he became who he is you just can’t help loving him! And man
our villain was terrifying! Alexandru
Rusmanov, a vampire – a scary vampire. Animalistic, violent and pure evil, he really gave the
super-scary-heebie-jeebies. He was, literally, an "immortal psychopath"!
And Larissa and Jamie's relationship was
brilliant. Admittedly, it didn’t start of great, what with Larissa trying
to kill Jamie and all, but slowly trust – and more – developed. It was
really sweet and really real.
I just loved
the writing, how I got to see into the past and into Department 19 – especially
how it was created. Seeing it all from Jamie's POV let us see this world
in a new and amazing light - we were discovering it all right along with
him. And all the other action we got to see, all the other characters, were
so well thought out, so real. This was amazing and unprecedented for me -
I've never met such amazing in-it-for-one-chapter characters! And the plot was just incredible! Full of twists and turns and just non-stop
action, Department 19 had me constantly on the edge of my seat.
Full of twists and one heckuva conspiracy, it was just so darn addictive!
Although I had suspicions about where everything was going, I was still hooked
and was constantly surprised. As for the ending? Oh.
My. God. I, quite frankly,
had to read Book Two the second I
finished!!
I loved
the vampire mythology! It was brilliant! And I loved how the Dracula story tied in, the legend.
It was awesome and new, yet traditional. And it wasn't just vamps either, something that made me super
excited! Overall? Awesome and so rich! And it was all so believable in a totally
supernatural way. Or maybe that's 'cause I'm weird and just want it to be real 'cause I WANNA BE IN DEPARTMENT 19!! Or
maybe it's just the rich backstory and history, the utterly believable
characters, the oh-so convincing spy-ish-ness of the Department. Oh
well. Whatever it was, I loved EVERY
SINGLE SECOND!
With a top secret government agency,
vampires everywhere and one boy caught in it all, Department 19 was action-packed, addictive and just all round amazing.
007 and MI5 are no longer cool: give me Department
19 and Colonel Frankenstein any day! I simply cannot wait to read The Rising.
I've been wanting to read this for ages and love the sound of it! Can't wait to read it!
Earthfall (Earthfall, Book One) by Mark Walden (Goodreads | Amazon)
The Battle Starts Here
I've already read this one - it's! Alien action scene and witty kids! ;)
Masque of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death, Book One) by Bethany Griffin (Goodreads | Amazon)
This looks amazing - and my first Steampunk! I can't wait to read it!
Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, Book One) by Sarah J. Maas (Goodreads | Amazon) A Heart Of Ice. A Will Of Steel. Meet The Assassin. This is probably the book I'm most excited about. I mean, a Cinderella inspired story, only Cinderella's an assassin?! I mean, who can resist that?! Oh, and check out the UK cover: here.
A friend was giving away her old books, so I took these two in. It's a way of trying to please Sammee from I Want To Read That - see Sammee! I got romance books! ;)
Well, that's me! Thanks to everyone who sent me books! :D
You have no
idea what it’s like having a freak for a sister.
Rebecca
Born first,
prettier, Hephzi’s always been the more popular one.
The Father
When he was
busy with his bottle we were usually safe.
Usually.
The Mother
Her
specialist subject was misery and lessons of painful silence…
Hephzibah and Rebecca are twins.
On beautiful, on disfigured.
Trapped with their loveless parents, they dream of
a normal life. But when one twin
tragically dies the other must find a way to escape. Because if she doesn’t she’ll end up like her
sister…
Review:
The day after reading this, I went to the
cinema. I was going to see a great film, one I really loved. But I
kept thinking about Black Heart Blue.
I could not get it out of my
head. That was a few weeks ago now. And it's still just as much in
my head now as it was the second is finished it. That there is the sign
of an amazing book…
Hephzibah and Rebecca are twins.
Hephzi is bold, beautiful and confident.
Rebecca is quiet, always living in her
sister's shadow.
Now Hephzi is gone and Rebecca is all alone,
alone with the lies and the secrets and abuse.
Rebecca has to escape her dreadful and
prison-like home - before she shares her sister's fate...
I'm sure you all know by now that I love contemps. I knew this would
be a very powerful read… What I wasn’t
expecting was the pain I felt, the lump that was constantly in my throat, the
tears in my eyes. This was a seriously
dark book but somehow it was also so full of hope. Nonetheless, I felt my heart break a million
times as I felt completely in love with both twins and hated The Parents with
everything I had. This was not a light
read. It will mess with your emotions,
your head, your heart, it will grip you from the very first page and never let
you go. And even once you’ve finished
and started a new book; it won’t leave your head or heart.
And yes.
It is seriously that absolutely, breaktakingly good.
The characters just stole the show for
me. They were all so amazingly real.
Brave, vibrant Hephzi, who was so alive and desperate for freedom, but
needed her sister more than anything.
Rebecca was broken inside and also the strongest person ever. As I heard her history, it just broke my
heart: she was so sweet and pure and strong and I loved her so, so much. The bond between the two of them was amazing
too: so real, they trusted the other with their life and this bond stretched
beyond the grave. And while it had
characters I loved so, so much, it also had some I hated equally. Namely The Father: I could have physically murdered him, even though he’s
fictional. And the Mother was almost as
bad. Their family was suffocating and
full of terror, fear, pain and endless violence. It made my skin crawl – and made me love Reb
and Hephzi even more.
Some of the supporting characters were
amazing too – Danny in particular, and his wonderful family. They reminded me that not everyone are atrocious
people like The Father, that there are truly good people too.
The writing was incredible: it was split
between Hephzi and Rebecca, switching between them, and they both sounded so
different. The writing was haunting, beautiful, suspenseful and just
amazing. Which brings us to the incredible and horrible plot. One twin told us about “Before” and the other about “After”. Having the look at "After" made me desperate to find out what happened. I couldn't put Black Heart Blue down; I was so wrapped
up in the story. I knew much of what happened would be bad, but I never
saw any of it coming. Amazing…
The themes in this were really, really
dark. Reid tackled some seriously tricky
issues with grace, really getting into my head and making me think, but without
making me want to stop reading. This
book just really got inside me head and heart.
Just like Rebecca, this is “a
story inscribed hard on my heart”.
And the emotions were even stronger: nonstop
and overwhelming. They hit so hard it
hurt. Overwhelming emotions you could
just drown in. I felt every single thing the girls felt. Yes, this book will shock you, scare you and
touch you more than you ever thought possible.
You will be so overwhelmed by emotions – hate, fear, pain, love, hope –
that you will think you are about to drown in it all. And you will love Every. Single. Second.
Scary vampires are fun and I can deal with,
because they’re not real. But Black Heart Blue… I knew that somewhere,
maybe nearer than I’d like to think, this was happening to someone. A girl getting hit by her father, mother, a
boy being beaten, a house suffocating with fear. This is why books such as this are worse than
any kind of horror story. They’re the realhorror
stories…
With a house controlled by an abusive
father and two girls trying desperately to escape, Black Heart Blue was a book that broke my heart while making me
hope til it hurt. This was one of the
most powerful books I’ve ever read; a book that left me breathless and shaken
up inside. I still haven’t gotten it out
of my head. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get it out of my head. Louisa Reid wrote a stunning debut that I’ll
never forget. I honestly can’t recommend
this book enough.
Beautiful. Horrible.
Unforgettable. I don’t think I’ll
ever forget this story. Ever.
In August 2012 Bloomsbury will publish Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas across the globe. If you like the sound of a Cinderella-inspired story, a brooding romantic hero, a deadly plot, a wardrobe full of gorgeous gowns, some seriously impressive battles and one awe-inspiring lady who is ready for a fight, then this is the book for you!
It's set to be Bloomsbury's biggest book of the year, and I could not be more excited about it! Just look at that gorgeous, gorgeous cover!!
Oh, and keep your eyes on Hooked on Books for loads more exciting Throne of Glass stuff!!
For more info about this amazing book, check out all these links:
A twisted tale of evil djinns,
flying carpets and deadly revenge.
Necessity Bonkehill has unleashed an evil djinn
from his bottle. Now she has just seven
days to put him back. But the djinn has
a different plan, and returning to his prison of three thousand years isn’t
part of it.
With her friend Azuli and a fierce flying carpet,
Ness must race against time to stop the djinn from carrying out his deadly last
wish – whatever it takes.
Review:
"With
Wishing Comes Grieving"
(Traditional Proverb)
Neccessity Bonehill's uncle sent her a
bottle, along with instructions to never,
ever open it.
Only she did.
What Ness didn't know is that her uncle and
six others summoned a djinn. And when she opened that bottle, she
unleashed it on the world.
She has only seven days to repair her
mistake. If she doesn't manage to get the djinn back in the bottle, he
will destroy the world Ness knows...
Can she succeed? How can one girl,
her new-found friend Azuli and an untameable flying carpet unravel the
conspiracy and destroy one of the most powerful magical beings - the last djinn
Zaakiel...? Before he carries
out his final, destructive wish...?
I love
the Arabian Nights, the Victorian era
and djinn - so this book was right up my alley! I found out only after
reading this that it is the third in a series set in the same world. As I
adore this world and can't wait to dive right back in, I'll be getting my hands
on those two books ASAP! I loved all the characters, the world, the
magic, the writing, the setting, the... well, everything! An incredible
book that left me wanting more!
Ness was amazingly kickbutt and could
totally hold her own! To begin with she was a real piece of work - a
bully - but I loved how she grew and developed. She was just so alone, so
young despite her toughness. And as stubborn as a mule! I felt so
sorry for her - her name said it all "Neccessity".
No wonder she didn't feel loved.
Azuli was brave, impulsive and
dedicated. He just wanted to prove he was worthy, to be accepted as a
Lashkar. He was kinda withdrawn to begin with, but I quickly came to love
him! He was also a teeny bit arrogant - but Ness soon knocked that out of
him!
All of the characters were so well padded
out, and so many of them completely surprised me. I loved Sergeant Major
Morris, the scatter-brained, determined, funny and loyal man who taught Ness to
fight. And I also loved how Mayhew wrote
the djinn Zaakiel. Sure, he was creepy
and hell-bent on vengeance, but his story was so…. Rich and believable and he
just had so many levels. He was the most
amazing and utterly compelling villain ever, and I loved how strangely relatable
he was! I also adored how the main characters changed and grew as well... Mr
Mayhew sure know how to write wonderfully strong characters!
The writing was amazing - I really felt
like I'd gone back in time! And I could see everything! It was all simple,
descriptive, beautiful addictive, spooky and rather gory - and I loved every
second! I adored all the creepy Proverbial-snippets at the start of each
chapter. They were majorly spooky! I just adored Mayhew's writing
and also the plot: it was so addictive! As it says of the back of the
proof copy, this book really is "Arabian
Nights meets Indiana Jones"! Awesome!!
I loved the quest-like-adventure feel of the book. It was action-packed,
spooky, addictive! I was left wanting more, more, more!
And the setting was just amazing - so rich
and vivid and real. Again, like
I'd gone back in time! And all the magic and history was just stunning - breath-taking
and amazing. I especially loved the djinn and Lashkar mythology!
And all the supernatural things in this world... well, I have to get my hands on the other books - I can't wait to see more
of this world! I loved how the Oliver-Twist-London was made new, exciting
and exotic by the magic and djinn. Man
I love this world!
A djinn bent on revenge, a secret society
bent on stopping him and a girl caught in the middle... An amazing,
magical, addictive, action-packed, mythical, awesome book that had me hooked
from start to finish. I sped through this book and was left desperate for
more. I will be getting my hands on Mr Mayhew's other books as soon as I
possibly can - I adore this world and everything about this book, and simply must get back into it!
