Demon Road by Derek Landy

Series: Demon Road, Book One

Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks

Format: ARC**

Published: 27^th August 2015

Number of Pages: 512

Book: For Review*

Genre:  Fantasy, Horror, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Action-Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death, Cannibalism, Swearing

Author's Site: Derek Landy Blogs Under Duress

Blurb From Goodreads:

Full of Landy’s trademark wit, action and razor sharp dialogue, DEMON ROAD kicks off with a shocking opener and never lets up the pace in an epic road-trip across the supernatural landscape of America. Killer cars, vampires, undead serial killers: they’re all here. And the demons? Well, that’s where Amber comes in...  Sixteen years old, smart and spirited, she’s just a normal American teenager until the lies are torn away and the demons reveal themselves.

Forced to go on the run, she hurtles from one threat to another, revealing a tapestry of terror woven into the very fabric of her life. Her only chance rests with her fellow travellers, who are not at all what they appear to be…

                                                                   Review:

Omigod omigod o-mi-freaking-god!  

Times this, add a few swearwords, crazy dances, shrieks of excitement and hugs of this book to my chest, you might begin to gather the excitement Demon Road has caused me.

Probably not though.  It was OTT even for me.  Because – hello!  Derek Landy!  Road trip!  Demons!  Supernatural!  Evil freaking cars, people!  This book is like everything I have ever wanted all wrapped up in one – and all of this even before I started reading!

I think I've fangirled enough...  For now, at least.

Oh who are we kidding.  This whole damn review is going to be me fangirling my little head off.  I apologise in advance.

“Her parents were monsters.  They had grown horns.  They'd killed cops.  Her parents - and their friends - were going to kill her.”

Amber Lamont's already having a bad day.  Being attacked by two jerks and going red just tops it all off.  So does the finger Amber bites off.  Yeah.  Ew.

Her parents take the news surprsingly well.  Celebrate it actually.  By drugging Amber.  And trying to kill her.

Turns out they're all demons and her parents want to eat her to amp up their own powers.  So now Amber is on the run with the mysterious Milo.

Oh, and if she doesn't find a guy specifically skilled at hiding in three weeks, her soul is toast.  

And so begins the roadtrip of a lifetime – maybe literally, because death (or worse) is a real possibility.  And while Amber might go red and grow horns, she isn't the worst monster in America.  Oh no.  Not when she's encountering countless demons, serial killers and even murderous cars, all along a stretch of highway called the Demon Road, a very path of darkness that has no map and could be Amber's only chance of survival...  

Ah, how I adore Derek Landy!  I've been reading the Skulduggery Pleasant series since the age of nine or something and I have been a huge fangirl ever since.  I was devastated when SP finished (and then delighted when I learnt it wasn’t – summer, hurry the hell up!), but before that I heard about Demon Road.  It was described as Supernatural for teens with Derek Landy's signature brilliance – and that was all I needed to hear!  I was sold!  And I must say, Demon Road really didn't disappoint – although I, and lots of other SP fans I’m sure, will see definite Skulduggery-esque character and dialogue correlations.  I didn't really mind, but it might bother some.  Just a tiny warning.  But if you love SP and can't get enough, go and buy Demon Road right this very second!  I'll be waitin'...

You back?  Awesome.  On with the review.

Characters first!  Our leading gal, Amber, was a total badass – and also a scared, lost teenager.  And so totally relatable!  I mean, she was just so... normal.  You know.  Except for the monster, scales, horns, occasionally-killing-dudes bits.  But otherwise totally normal!  Like she went to the toilet, she felt self-conscious about her weight, she was funny and snarky and sometimes didn't make decisions that were overly smart or whatever – but she was just so real..  And awesome - and so unlike your average YA heroine.  Sometimes in gross ways – but still cool.

Milo was the Skulduggery to Amber's Valkyrie.  Only....not really.  'Cause he was nowhere near as funny as SP – mainly because he didn't have a sense of humour.  At all.  Which was funny.  Like he was funny because he wasn't... um funny...  Let's move on.  Milo was protective and also a badass and he had a car that ate people and he was a big ol' softy under the stoicness – you don't fool me, Milo. 

Glen was such a dork – very Fletcher-ish, but (I think) slightly less annoying?  At the very least, he didn't have such high maintenance hair.  Seriously though, you could always count on ol' Glen for some timely and hilarious comic relief!  

The rest of the characters were... well, a varied bunch!  From homicidal parents, hilarious writers, demons, serial killers and a people-eating car, there was a mix of hilarious, terrifying, sweet and awesome people.  Oh and some bad ones.  VEry very bad ones.  But awesome anyway.  In a bad way. Kind of.  I don't even know what I'm saying anymore – and I totally blame Derek Landy for being his usual awesome self and blowing my tiny mind.  This mess of a review is all his fault.  Obviously.

Let's move on, yes?  

Ok, I do love Derek's writing – the way he uses dialogue so much, the witty quips and banter between his characters.  He's hilarious and utterly addictive as hell (heh – pun intended).  I loved the action, the adventure, the suspense, the gallons of gore and blood and icky stuff, the humour, the touching moments, the unusual places visited along the Demon Road.  It was all just so awesome.  Obviously.  This is Derek Landy we're talkin' about here.  The man is a master of the funny-scary, of awesome plots that suck you in from the beginning and take you on a wild ride you don't wanna get off!  

And FINALLY!  A book that mentions going to the toilet like a normal person!  And finds it weird that another character doesn't pee!  Halle-blinking-lujah!  As if Derek Landy wasn't enough of a god amongst men – he then goes and does this.  I bow to him.

Wow, I really didn't get enough sleep last night.  Again, Derek Landy's fault.  I am so tired because I just couldn't put Demon Road down.  Apparently tiredness inspires hero worship in me.  Who knew?

Ok, so it might not just be my need for like four hours more sleep.  It's also 'cause Demon Road was freaking awesome and I loved it to pieces.  Sure, it had definite Skulduggery Pleasant-esque qualities.  But y'know what?  It was damned awesome in its own right and I loved it and I need more and when can I have more and please go read it now and OMG it’s so brilliant and where is my bed? 

Seriously though.  Demon Road was pure awesomeness with awesomesauce and awesome chocolate sprinkles.  It was hilarious, exciting, gory as hell, gripping and did I mention awesome?  It had moments of laugh-so-loud-and-sudden-you-snort-a-little and touching moments that tugged at the ol' heartstrings.  It had brilliant characters (who were brilliant in their own right and totally different from the SP ones, despite the similar dynamics) and tons of action and fighting and demons and blood.  It had everything a Derek Landy or Supernatural fan could want (including flannel shirts and a killer car – albeit 'killer' in two totally different senses) and then some.  And man I can't wait to get my hands on Desolation!  

Also sleep.  Sleep is required right now.  So I'll leave you to read the awesomeness that is Demon Road while I go back to bed for a few hours.  Goodnight and may Derek Landy rule over YA as he does MG – with a swagger, lots of laughter and a twisted imagination.

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Supernatural

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review

** Quotes used are from a proof copy and may have been changed in the finished book

The Call by Peadar O’Guilin

Series: The Call, Book One

Publisher: David Fickling Books

Format: ARC**

Published: 1^st September 2016

Number of Pages: 336

Book: For Review*

Genre: Fantasy, Mythical, Horror, Thriller, Suspense, Action-Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 14+

Contains: Violence, Death, Smoking, Drug References

No Alcohol References

Author's Blog: The Works of Peadar O'Guilin

“Your people drove them out of their homes.  Thousands of years later they turn up again – and they’re gonna wipe you out.”

Three minutes...

On her birthday, Nessa finds out the terrible truth about her homeland, Ireland – the truth that will change her future forever.

Two minutes...

That she and her friends must train for the most dangerous three minutes of their lives: THE CALL.

One minute...

That any day now, without warning, they will each wake in a terrifying land, aloe and hunted, with a one in ten chance of returning alive.

And it is Nessa, more than anyone, who is going to need every ounce of guts, wit, and sheer spirit she was born with, if she – and the nation – are to survive.

                                                                   Review:

I’m going to warn you all now: this review will be excited and fangirly and maybe a little long.  But I’ve been waiting for a book like The Call for over a decade now and I want everyone, the whole world, to know how bloody brilliant it is.  Plus I'm taking part in the blog tour tomorrow and my fangirling has reached fever pitch so I doubt I could stop myself even if I wanted to...

“Some time during her adolescence, the Sídhe will come for her, as they come these days for everyone.  They will hunt her down, and if she fails to outrun them, Nessa will die...

A very long time ago, the Irish made a treaty with the Sídhe, banishing them under the mounds, stealing their land and trapping them in a world without colour.

Now, the Sídhe are taking revenge.  By going after Ireland's children.  All teenagers get Called, vanishing from our world for three minutes and four seconds, whisked off the land of the Sídhe, where they are hunted down.  Few return in one piece, let alone alive.  And those that live are rarely the same.

Nessa was ten when she found out about the Call.  Her parents cried when they told her, neither believing she even had a chance.  Because, you see, Nessa had polio as a child and it has left her legs twisted, weak.  But in that moment, Nessa makes a declaration: "I'm going to live." 

Since then, she has trained alongside others her age.  No one believes she will survive, or that there's even any point to her training – after all, how is she meant to survive when she can't even keep up with her own classmates, let alone outrun a vengeful Sídhe? 

No one believes but Nessa.  She will survive the Grey Land.

But things are changing.  Whole schools are being slaughtered by killers who shrink into nothingness.  A rock appears from nowhere, a shrinking woman trapped inside.  Ireland is changing and they will need all the strength they can gather, if the Nation is to survive...

People who have met me will know I'm in a wheelchair.  I've been in the wheelchair since the age of twelve, or thereabouts, but I've had the neurological disorder since I was three.  I've always been different and, especially with the chair, people often treat you differently – think you're less able.  I like to think of myself just as capable as the next person, the difference being I find my own way to achieve the task.

For years, I’ve been campaigning for more diversity in books, especially regarding disabilities.  And my dream is to have disabled characters mixed in amongst the cast, have it as naturally occurring as hair colour or accents.  And so, when offered the chance to review an advanced copy of The Call, I jumped on the opportunity with glee.  I've wanted a disabled character as the protagonist for so long – and God, The Call was worth the wait.  From the very first chapter, I was utterly enraptured.  I fell in love with this awful world and the brilliant characters – especially Nessa, who was so different from your usual YA heroine and so much more amazing because of these differences.  

But let's move on from the awesomeness that is the diverse disability factor because even without that, The Call would have been phenomenal.  The world building was amazing, the feelings of suspense and dread and fear grew with every page, the characters were diverse and painfully real, the writing was beautiful, the plot gripping and the perfect pace, full of Calls and fights and mysteries...  It was like A Court of Thorns and Roses meets The Hunger Games, only no one is safe from being Called and there's no guarantee that one victor will survive the Sídhe's games.

Crom, I honestly can't even tell you all how much I adored this book.  I just...  I am just so utterly in love with it, even though it scared me half to death and broke my heart and left me desperate for more more more.

Nessa is the character I've been waiting for.  Tough, brave, stubborn as hell and probably the strongest character I've ever read about.  Everyone treated her differently, pitied her, just assumed she was doomed, but Nessa never gave up.  She wasn't always the most compassionate or even, I guess, likeable character – but she was brave and good and by far the most amazing 'disabled' character I've ever met.  I'll even forgive her stereotypical lead YA gal perfect beauty, which isn't something I do lightly!

I had two other favourites amongst the diverse cast.  Megan was brilliant – snarky, sharp and so protective and complex.  All the characters were amazing, but I truly loved the relationship between her and Nessa.  And then there’s Anto, who was just lovely – a breath of sweetness and goodness in a sea of grey and prickly characters.  

But Connor was a total and utter prick.  I can't even begin to describe his dickdom – his ruthlessness, his illusions of grandeur, his confused lust...  Yeah.  Dick.

Nessa was the main narrator, but I feel the POV jumped every so often – giving us little snippets into other characters' heads.  I found it a little confusing, disorientating even, at first – but I quickly grew to love it.  I loved the twisted glimpses of the Grey Land, the fights, the little clues of what would come...  

Seriously though – this world...  The very idea behind it all is breathtaking.  I literally adored it – it was unique and brilliant and shocking.  I might not know much about traditional Sídhe lore in Ireland – though I'll be researching the hell out of it now because it's fascinating! – but I fell in love during The Call.  The 'horses' and 'dogs' and 'clothes' made of human victims... the fact the Sídhe are punishing the children for their banishment, because they just want to escape... They are a terrifying enemy, but things aren't always black and white or rainbows.  Sometimes it's just... grey.

Even without The Call being just the kind of book I've wanted since before I started blogging, it's still amazing.  It's addictive and exciting and unique and beautiful and breathtaking and by the Cauldron I want more more more.  I just cannot tell you how much I adored The Call and how utterly desperate I am to get my greedy little hands on the next book.  Because, my God, it was so good.  This book was so damned amazing and I won't forget it and it is just a book I've waited so long for, anticipated, and yet somehow did not let me down one single bit - Peadar, I love you so much for this.  Crom, this review has got so long it's practically a novel itself – so I'll just stop now with one plea: Read The Call.  YA needs more diversity and The Call is a stunning example of how characters with 'disabilities' can be just as – maybe even, dare I say, a hell of a lot more – amazing than those without.  So read it, be amazed, be left speechless, and then spread the word once you've got your breath back, because The Call is too good to miss.

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Grisha by Leigh Bardugo

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin         

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review

** Quotes used are from a proof copy and may have been changed in the finished book

The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

Publisher: Orion

Format: ARC**

Published: 6^th August 2015

Number of Pages: 320

Book: For Review*

Genre:  Thriller, Suspense, Horror, Paranormal, Mystery, Contemporary, Adventure, YA, Crossover

Recommended Age: 14+

Contains: Violence, Death, Swearing, Alcohol and Drug References

Author's Site: Dawn Kurtagich

Part-psychological thriller, part-urban legend, this is an unsettling narrative made up of diary entries, interview transcripts, film footage transcripts and medical notes. Twenty-five years ago, Elmbridge High burned down. Three people were killed and one pupil, Carly Johnson, disappeared. Now a diary has been found in the ruins of the school. The diary belongs to Kaitlyn Johnson, Carly’s identical twin sister. But Carly didn’t have a twin . . . 

Re-opened police records, psychiatric reports, transcripts of video footage and fragments of diary reveal a web of deceit and intrigue, violence and murder, raising a whole lot more questions than it answers.

Who was Kaitlyn and why did she only appear at night? Did she really exist or was she a figment of a disturbed mind? What were the illicit rituals taking place at the school? And just what did happen at Elmbridge in the events leading up to ‘the Johnson Incident’?

Chilling, creepy and utterly compelling, THE DEAD HOUSE is one of those very special books that finds all the dark places in your imagination, and haunts you long after you've finished reading.

                                                                   Review:

I read The Dead House in a single sitting.  It blew my mind.  Totally.  Completely.  Irreversibly.  I literally cannot believe how amazing this book was – especially for someone's debut novel!  I just... wow.  I am seriously struggling to find the words.  It's so hard...  The Dead House is so freaking unique and it blew my goddamn mind.  Ah, I need the words...  Here goes…

'I AM NOT A SICKNESS!'

Carly and Kaitlyn Johnson are unique: two sisters, two people, who share one body.  Carly has the day.  Kaitlyn belongs to the night.  People think they are crazy. 

Are they?

Naida Chounan-Dupré, a practitioner of Mala, doesn't think so.

And then one night, twenty-five years ago, the school the girls attended burnt down.  Three were killed. One vanished – Carly Johnson.

Ever since, this event has become known as the Johnson Incident – but very little was actually known about it.

Until a journal was found among the wreckage – a diary that belonged to Kaitlyn.  Along with police interviews, Naida's video footage and psychiatry sessions, the diary finally sheds a light upon the mystery that happened all those years ago.

What happened that night?  Who set the fire? 

And who is Kaitlyn Johnson?

I received The Dead House in the mail.  It came with a post-it note on it, reading ‘I curse anyone who reads this book’.  Also with it, an admissions form for the psychiatric hospital Carly and Kaitlyn were sent to.  The moment I saw these intriguing little extras, I began to read.  And just... whoa.  I have never, ever read anything like The Dead House.  It's going to be so hard to write this review – partly because I really don't want to write any spoilers, partly because it's so hard to describe everything this book made me feel, everything this book is.  I just... God, I still don't have the words – not to do The Dead House justice.

All of the characters were just... so amazingly made and so complex.  I can't say much about them – I don't want to give anything away about this mind-blowing plot.  But all of them just blew me away, because I never knew what to do with any of them.

Kaitlyn was the most intriguing character.  Broken, dark, scared, so lonely.  And the biggest question, one everyone has to ask, is she even real?  Is she crazy?  Whatever you believe, you can't deny she's one of the most interesting characters in any YA paranormal thriller.

Carly – we didn't see a lot of Carly.  But we saw some of the notes the girls pass to one another – they are so close, so loving, it's so sweet...

The first time Ari entered the story was hilarious – with the bowler hat and the "I have excellent taste.  It'd be gay if I wasn't so straight."  And their IM chats... killed me!

Naida was another intriguing character – she was into Mala, a kind of magic.  The whole thing was so fascinating, actually – and freaking terrifying! 

Enough with the characters!  No spoilers, guys!

I utterly adored Dawn's writing – it was phenomenal.  The mix of diary entries, interviews, film footage and notes was pure genius and so brilliantly compelling.  I was so addicted to every single word that Dawn wrote – every. single. damn. word.  It was like a spell had been cast over me. 

If you know me, you know I love a good thriller.  I've watched and read many – horrors and mysteries too.  But I have never read a plotline quite like that of The Dead House.  It was... whoa.  I still can't get my head around it – still can't believe this brilliantly crafted, utterly terrifying, bloody brilliant story line.  It is just... bloody hell.  I seriously don't have the words!  I never knew what to expect, was left desperate for more answers, left stunned, mind blown, and utterly lost for words.  I just... bloody hell.

The other issues – was this insanity or Mala? – were utterly intriguing.  I know which I'm leaning towards, but either way... whoa.  The complexity of the Johnson split personality disorder was utterly intriguing – and towards the end the theory about why rang true...  As for Naida's dual-soul and Olen-based beliefs, those were just as intriguing, oddly just as believable too.  It was all just... whoa (never have I said whoa so much in one review).  

This review is random ramblings – I'm not even sure it makes sense and I apologise.  It's just The Dead House was so freaking amazing.  It was scary as hell, utterly addictive and pure damn magic.  I'm not sure how to tell you guys how goddamned and bloody fantastic.  You can't blame me – only about ten percent of my thought process is going towards this review.  Sixty percent is silent, lost for words, blown away.  The other thirty is still trying to figure everything out, still trying to desperately piece together the clues, my thoughts, my mind, my heart.  I just...

Ok, I seriously have no words.  So I'm going to do you all a favour and stop and give you a piece of advice instead.  Buy The Dead House.  Buy it right freaking now.  Read it.  Read it right freaking now.  It is one of the most intense, most suspenseful, most shocking and most breath-taking thrillers you will read this year – or ever, actually.  I honestly just can't recommend this bloody amazing book enough.  It is... phenomenal.  Unique.  Incredible.

And we're back to adjectives.  I'll stop now.  Just read it yourself – render yourself as incoherent as me.

If you'll excuse me, I now have to go rock in a corner, hugging this book to my chest.  I should be better in a year or two.  Maybe.

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Heart-Shaped Bruise by TanyaByrne

Empty Coffin Series by Gregg Olsen

Say Her Name by James Dawson

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Orion in exchange for an honest review

** Quotes used are from a proof copy and may have been changed in the finished book

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Series: The Lynburn Legacy, Book One

Publisher: Simon&Schuester

Format: Paperback

Published: 13^th September 2012

Number of Pages: 384

Book: Bought

Genre: Paranormal, Supernatural, Urban Fiction, Mystery, Horror, Thriller, Suspense, Romance, Action Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 13+

Contains: Swearing, Violence, Death, Some Alcohol References, A Few Misdemeanours... 

No Drug References

Author's Site: Sarah Rees Brennan

WARNING: THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN FANGIRLING.  A LOT OF IT.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Blurb From Goodreads:

Kami Glass loves someone she's never met... a boy she's talked to in her head ever since she was born. Having an imaginary friend has made fitting in hard - but that's never bothered Kami. She has her best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is just the way she likes it.

But all that changes when the mysterious Lynburn family return to Kami's village, along with teenagers, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami...

As life as she knows it begins to unravel, Kami is determined to get to the bottom of every mystery. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him?

And can she trust him?

                                                                   Review:

“After seventeen years in America, Marigold Lynburn's daughters have returned to Sorry-in-the-Vale.  If the family does have any dark secrets, dear readers, you can have faith that I will uncover them.”

In Sorry-in-the-Vale, everyone knows the Lynburns.  They are the founding family, the ones everyone regards with fear and intrigue.  They've been gone for years.  

But now they're back and people aren't overly happy about that...

Kami Glass has lived in Sorry-in-the-Vale her whole life and has always heard Jared's voice in her head.  She's never been without him.  This was cute when she was a child – at the age of seventeen, imaginary friends aren't considered normal.  But she needs Jared – he's part of her, even if he isn't real. 

And then the two Lynburn boys, cousins Ash and Jared, come to school.  Jared... he's the dangerous, badboy type.  He's also crushingly and impossibly familiar...

Why does this bond exist?  Does it have anything to do with the slaughtered fox Kami found – a fox she's sure was sacrificed...?

Everyone in this town has secrets and Kami, as a reporter, has an overwhelming need to solve all the mysteries.

But with the impossible suddenly coming true, who can Kami trust?  The boy who knows everything about her, the boy who is utterly impossible himself, the boy she has longed for and loved all her life, the boy she knows better than anyone else?  

Can she even rust her closest friends anymore...?

I think I must have read Unspoken like four times now.  I just can't get enough!  Sarah Rees Brennan is a freaking genius and I adore her and worship the ground she walks on, even if she breaks my freaking heart very, very often!  But Unspoken has all the glorious gothicness a girl could possibly want, alongside a plucky girl detective, bundles of humour and two – maybe even more – very hot guys and hot, lovable girls too!  Yay!

Now, one of the many times I was reading this was while everyone else was watching TV.  To begin with, they were interested, asking, ‘So what's funny now?’  And I, nearly dying from laughter, would try to explain.  By the end, they'd given up on me and simply stated, ‘God, she's annoying.’  I was enjoying Unspoken too much to be offended by this at the time.  Now I'm thinking I should go glare at a few people...  Maybe I should play the favourites game, Sarah, teach 'em a lesson!

Let’s start with my fave girl, Kami: she was awesome and so so funny.  She literally cracked me up every time she spoke and I ended up in absolute fits and absolutely in love with her.  She was just so wonderfully odd and bizarrely brilliant.  Like a snarky Nancy Drew only a million times more awesome.  Kami, you rock!

Jared...  Oh, Jared.  I see why Holly Black and Cassandra Clare are obsessed with you.  I am now obsessed with you.  You can be inside my head any day of the week.  I adore Jared.  Hs just... God, I love him.  And I get why Holly and Cassandra have all kinds of backstories for him that Sarah doesn't really agree with - Jared is just that irresistable.  Even for two brilliant-swoonsworthy-marry-me-boy writers such as these.  I mean, how can you not fall head over heels for a guy who says this?

Swoon.  Sigh.  Love him.

Oh, and I absolutely freaking adored Angela too, Kami's best friend.  That girl killed me on a regular basis!  Her obsession with napping and general hatred of the world was brilliant and so hilarious!

And Ash...  Well, at least one person in this darn book had manners!  But when it comes to Lynburns, I’m a Jared girl through-and-through.  Sorry Ash.

Oh, and Holly: I have to mention Holly.  I love that for once the drop-dead-gorgeous, blonde, boys-like-her-like-a-lot girl was so sweet and funny and lovely.  And, of course, that she wasn't afraid to use her beauty for the good fight – or is it actually for evil?  I get hazy on the legality of the details...

But despite my love for so many of them, I could just never judge any of the characters.  They were never, ever what they first seemed to be. I liked that a lot.  A lot a lot.  Even if this will all very likely end in heartbreak for me – I just have a feeling... 

Now, Sarah, you are a goddess with words.  You had me laughing my head off, being scared out of my mind and making my heart ache like hell all in the space of a few pages.  Freaking genius, Sarah!  And there are just so, so many quotes to love to death, to memorize and obsess over.  I just… I love it.  All of it.  Sarah is a master of the pen and a comedian and a heartbreaker and just… amazing.  I love this book!

And the plot: damn!  This was by far the coolest ever gothic mystery I've ever read!  EVER!  I loved how everything built so slowly, how we were given teasing little clue by teasing little clue.  It was all so addictive, so exciting, so much fun and so painful!  Sarah really isn’t afraid to totally tear you apart.  But she’s also amazing at crafting mysteries, at keeping you glued to the page.

Still, that ending.... Oh my God, Sarah!  Why must you break my heart like this?!  I mean, I was like this close to tears.  I am not good with endings like this.  And it hurts even more each time I read it.  Why Sarah, WHYYYY?!?  Now excuse me while I go have a breakdown.  No lie, folks.  Sarah has broken me and ruined me for everything else. I'm still broken, damn her. 

Yeah, even the fourth time I read Unspoken the ending breaks me.  Sarah truly is amazing – and evil.  I love her characters, her words, her plot (ending aside) and her sense of humour.  This book kills me – in so, so many ways!  And I just… I honestly can’t recommend it enough.  You seriously cannot miss this book – it is a must-read.  If you only read one book ever, read Unspoken!  You won’t regret it! 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to reread Untold for the fourth time!  See how hooked I am to this amazing series?  Now go read Unspoken and get hooked too!

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

The Curse Workers by Holly Black

Lux by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Demon Trappers by Jana Oliver 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Supernatural

Lynburn Legacy Team Pictures:

Happy Reading

Megan