BANISHED - LIZ DE JAGER - REVIEW

Book: Banished
Author: Liz De Jager
Publisher: Tor
ISBN: 9781447247654
Rating: A

Kit is proud to be a Blackhart, now she's living with her unorthodox cousins and sharing their strange lives. Especially since their home-schooling includes spells, fighting enemy fae and using ancient weapons. But it's not until she rescues a rather handsome fae prince, fighting for his life on the edge of Blackhart Manor, that her training really kicks in. With her family away on various missions, Kit must protect Prince Thorn, rely on new friends and use her own unfamiliar magic to stay ahead of Thorn's enemies. As things go from bad to apocalyptic, fae battle fae in a war that threatens to spill into the human world. Then Kit pits herself against the Elder Gods themselves - it's that or lose everyone she's learnt to love.

So I got a proof of this way back but I thought I'd hold of reviewing it till it was out and Voila! It is, so you should go and buy it! But seriously It's an amazing book. Now I'm not just saying that because I've met the author but I really mean it. It's honestly like nothing you'll ever read before.

I'm not sure how to describe. If you took maybe the mortal interments, lord of the rings and then just throw in some modern YA Paranormal fiction with a bucket of romance and feels I guess you'd get this. There is nothing like this out there on the market and it's such a new and great idea I couldn't help but fall in love with it from page 1.

I loved the story idea. The plot it so intricate and beautiful and the novel just has so much packed into it. There wasn't a page that went by in which nothing happened. There was always some action of mystery to keep the pages turning and you on the edge of your seat.
The books follows Kit Blackheart who belongs to a family of demon fighting, prince saving superhero (to put it lightly). Anyway she saves a prince, gets attacked by tons of monsters and get drawn into a insanely awesome story.
I had no issues following the story but I loved how it was complex enough to keep me guessing and to never give too much away.

The setting in this never stayed the same for too much because they were always on the move but one thing I did love is seeing how so many of the normal places in England were warped into these ulterior magical places.

The writing was extremely good. I'm a lover of descriptive prose and this book did it for me. Liz De Jager ha a way with words, building up these magical locations and characters to the utmost detail. Her writing made worlds appear in my head and I absolutely loved it.
Also the way she handled and the characters and emotions in her writing was perfection. It was consistent, strong and I couldn't held but adore it.

The characters in this book were a pleasure to read about. Each had a distinct voice, though it was from Kit's POV, and you instantly knew who you liked and didn't. All the characters had good foundations and Jager delved back into their histories to give you a better understanding of each character and this made them more real and human.
What I loved was how she led you to believe that certain characters were certain people when in fact they're not at all and she has mastered the art of twist and turns because this book had shocked and surprised on so many occasions.

Overall I absolutely adored this novel down to the very last pages. It had me up till the darkest hours of night so I could find out what happened next and I will be recommending this to all my friends because it was absolutely totally fabulous.

THE HOUSE OF HADES - RICK RIORDAN - REVIEW

Book: Hero's of Olympus: The House of Hades
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Puffin
ISBN: 9780141339184
Rating: A

The House of Hades is the fourth book in the bestselling Heroes of Olympus series, set in the action-packed world of Percy Jackson. The stakes have never been higher. If Percy Jackson and Annabeth fail in their quest, there'll be hell on Earth. Literally. Wandering the deadly realm of Tartarus, every step leads them further into danger. And, if by some miracle they do make it to the Doors of Death, there's a legion of bloodthirsty monsters waiting for them. Meanwhile, Hazel and the crew of the Argo II have a choice: to stop a war or save their friends. Whichever road they take one thing is certain - in the Underworld, evil is inescapable

This review is insanely late and I must apologise for that but stuff came up that I had to deal with, but as I said, uber sorry for the delay.

Where to start with this. I feel like I'm repeating myself in the reviews for this series but I honest to god adore every single book in it and House of Hades tops it off. As per usual Riordan has wowed me once again, providing a stunning addition to this magical and wonderful series. There are really no words to describe how fantastic this novel is.

So this book picks up where Book 3 left off, and actually is set in two places. We followed one set of the seven on above land as they traveled to the doors and we followed Percy down in Hades, which by far was one of my favourite settings. Hades, being a unreal place, was so open to interpretation and I was raring to see what Riordan would do with it and I absolutely loved it. He built this fantastic new world or dimension and It just felt so real and flawless.

The storyline essentially follows Percy's quest to save Annabeth and the rest of the Groups quest to open and then close the doors for him in the real world... with a fair few twists and turns, of course. The story in this was 100% Riordan and everything I wanted from this. Once again it was crammed with hilarity, actions and tons of magic. Whilst being a clever and complex plot I didn't find it complicated or hard to follow and most importantly it was one of the most enjoyable reads I have read in a long time!


The writing as usual consisted of Riordan's fast paced, action packed laugh out loud prose that had been sweating, smiling and laughing at all the right moments. It flowed so well and I loved the way his description built up and brought to life these wonderful myths that we all read and dream about. I don't think he's actually written anything bad because all he ever does is amaze.

The characters in this are pretty much the same. What really happened was Riordan built much more on the charters delving more into their roots and in particular their secrets (Hint Hint, Nico). The voices came across loud and clear and what I loved was that when writing in different POV's I didn't have to keep checking who's POV it was. Riordans style for each characters is so well crafted and identifiable It was such a pleasure to read.

Overall I'm not surprised at how amazing this book is for the pure reason I wouldn't expect anything less from Riordan. He's done it again and I'm uber excited for Blood of Olympus yet super sad to see Percy's journeys finally end, but I know it'll be a good one.