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 STONE DEMON - KAREN MAHONEY - REVIEW

Book: The Stone Demon
Author: Karen Mahoney
Publisher: Random House / Corgi
ISBN: 9780552565288
Rating: A

When the newly-released demons set the Order of the Crow an impossible ultimatum - deliver the Philosopher's Stone, or suffer fatal consequences - alchemist's apprentice Donna Underwood must recreate the mythical artefact before the world is plunged into a modern Dark Age. But will she succeed when she finds herself pitted against a vengeful demon king, not one but two Faerie queens, an immortal Magus with his own shadowy agenda, and her own dangerously unpredictable powers? Donna must be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, but even death may not be enough.

I got this a little later than everyone else, because I didn't realise there was a book 3 in this series until it started popping up all over my twitter feed, but when i realised I had it quick as a flash and it's left me feeling pretty good.

This is one of those series that I just love. There doesn't have to be a reason because everything about it it totally lovable. For starters the idea is unique and... i just cant put into words how much I loved this. This book had me on toes the whole way through and explored so many different things i was continually entranced.
I guess I love escaping to Donna's world because whats not to love.

This book picks up a couple of months after the end of book 2 and It has a pretty dramatic beginning. The plot was seamlessly created and I loved every part of it! There was so much crammed into this book and I just loved it so so much! The events jumped from one to one, the action and romance balanced perfectly and even at time when it seemed to easy for a love triangle to be formed, Mahoney did the sensible thing and stayed away. The story was magical and captivating and I loved reading it every last word.

The settings were nicely balanced. This is the second YA book I've read this year set in England/London and that's really nice, just because YA is rarely set in england. Mahoney definitely knew what she was taking about when describing London, because as she described it my mind pulled up pictures of those areas from memory and placed Donna into those situation. Then we moved back to Ironbridge but during that we venture to many other realms/worlds which was really interesting but Mahoney doesn't dawdle on too much detail which is nice.

Writing. I don't know. I guess Mahoney just gets me. Something about her writing has just made me fall in love. Every since book 1 I have loved her writing so much. One thing I always love about her writing is 3rd person. Every time I read the next book in this series I always get so surprised that it's third person, because naturally you expect a book like this to be first person, but it s a nice change of perspective because not only do you get a better look on the other world but you are not limited to a single characters, which was another good point about this. We switched between characters, allowing us to venture into different parts of the story and piece puzzle pieces together. The description as i mentioned was beautiful and balanced just to the correct amount.

Characters. We didn't see to many new characters but where we did they were all so diverse and interesting. A new main characters was the involvement of Demian, the demon king and the romance that isn't quite a romance between Donna and him. Mahoney played it well though, because as the reader you want Donna to fall for him and for them to fall in love (or maybe it's just me) but nevertheless she stays true to Xan, who surprisingly we didn't see much of in this book. The characters in this focused onto the ones we haven't seen as much of so we can build on out knowledge base and connection to them.

Overall this was the perfect ending. I loved it so much and couldn't think of a better way to say goodbye to Donna and the friends. But I have to thank Mahoney, because, from page 1 I fell in love with this series.

HUNTRESS - MALINDA LO - REVIEW

Book: Huntress

Author: Malinda Lo

Publisher: ATOM

ISBN: 9781907411090

Rating: A+

"Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn't shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people's survival hangs in the balance. To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly. And yet their two destinies are drawn together during the mission. As members of their party succumb to unearthly attacks and fairy tricks, the two come to rely on each other and even begin to fall in love. But the Kingdom needs only one huntress to save it, and what it takes could tear Kaede and Taisin apart forever..."

This is one of the best books I have read in ages. In fact it brings back memories of the old days, when Harry Potter was all the craze and YA fiction was barely known. I suppose Malinda Lo has managed to capture all the magical essence of a Childs book and weave into an amazing Teenage Fiction that I absolutely adored. I mean I finished this book within a day. I got it in the post, picked it up and was instantly gripped, and that’s not counting the beautiful cover.

The book follows two girls on a quest to restore peace and natural weather back to a magical world. They encounter many things along the journey and it all keeps you entertained. I remember at the beginning of every chapter I would think ‘This will be my last chapter’ but it never was. There was always something exiting or thrilling happening and I always had to read on. I mean the book didn’t disappoint me; in fact it was better than I thought. It’s a beautiful and magical tale filled with lore, ledged and love. That’s the other thing that strikes me about Malinda Lo’s books; they are all so unique in their own special way. They all have their special twist, which is a lesbian love. With Ash I was skeptical about a lesbian Cinderella and I was even more skeptical about it in this book but Malinda lo seems to have pulled it off.

The writing is so whimsical yet so deep. There are some very talented authors that have a certain way of describing things and Malinda can do that. Her descriptions are so vivid and clear. It’s almost as if you’re there. It’s the same with the emotions. Malinda doesn’t drone on and on about the emotion but you feel the same things that the characters do in the small amount of words allocated to how they feel. I suppose the main focuses of the story is the journey to the fairy kingdom and to save the land along with the love plot.

I’ve honestly never read a book quite like this. I have never come across a book with such an amazing world, that is so totally unique, and this book is something new. I suppose the book tells us one thing. Malinda Lo has an amazing imagination and what does that tell us? We can expect great things from her.

Out of the characters my favorites would have to be Con, Kaede and Taisan, only because as a group they have all the qualities main characters need. They are brave, strong, in love, and magical. That is why I like Tasian. She is this very meek little girl but if you get on the wrong side of her she’ll use her magic and blow you to bits. BOOM! Kaede I like because she’s adventurous. She kills the Fairy Queens daughter and gets the blood of a unicorn. I feel that world is unique but I recognize some of the mythology that has been pulled from other books. The other reason the mythology in this book is different is because it is very much Chinese which is nice to have a change from the general Greek myths or Vampires (though I can’t get tired of either of those genres).

The book is truly magical and Malinda Lo is one amazing author. I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next, but I will get my hands on it!