Absolutely LOVED this book! I had really high expectations of this book and at times I almost worried it wouldn't meet them but about halfway through this book seriously picked up and I was on a rollercoaster of emotion right until the last page!

The beginning part of this book did confuse me a little. It took me a while to get to know the different types of monster and what each did and how dangerous they were. This did not effect my overall enjoyment of this book AT ALL. Once I wrapped my head around the two different families waging war against each other and the different types of monsters this book was nothing less than incredible.

I seriously loved the characters in this book. I mean, all the characters - even the ones I didn't like. I was terrified of Kate's father and Sloane but I loved Kate herself. I thought she was a sassy little fire cracker who was sassy, fiery and passionate. The things she forced herself to do just to impress her father were incredible and I really loved her development throughout the book. August is an adorable, violin playing MONSTER. He was definitely my favourite character in the book. His development went so much further than I expected it to and I am really excited to see how he is going to develop further in the sequel. I also really liked the fact there was no romantic relationship between Kate and August in this book. This was a book forged on the basis of two lost souls finding one another and building a special friendship where they loved and protected one another.

Schwab's writing style never ceases to amaze me. I love the way she writes. Her descriptions are real and I could easily visualise the scenes in this book. The short chapters kept me hooked - especially with those mini cliff hangers scattered throughout. There was plenty of action in this book and on several occasions I had flipped through 70-100 pages without even realising it. Although there didn't feel like a lot happened for almost half of this book, I loved everything about it.

If Birds Fly Back is a gorgeous debut from author Carlie Sorosiak. Filled with emotion and feeling, this book is a beautifully written story of love, loss and finding yourself. From the first few pages I knew this book was going to be special.

I loved the dual narrative of this book and thought it was so well written. I really got to know both of our main characters and felt invested in both of their stories. First up we meet Linny who is struggling to come to terms with the disappearance of her sister Grace several months before. I really liked Linny because I could just feel her pain so easily and I loved her ambition. I thought she had great development throughout the book and I’d quite like to be her friend. Then we have Sebastian, sweet darling Sebastian. I thought he was adorable and I so badly wanted to scoop him up into a cuddle when things were collapsing around him.

I loved that both Linny and Sebastian had their own separate issues to deal with and how this intertwined to bring the story together. I thought that the theme of loss was very delicately handled and felt very real. Although the romance happened very quickly (I prefer a slow burn) I thought the relationship was very cute and I was really rooting for them.

Something I particularly enjoyed about this book was the little quirks in each chapter. All of Linny’s chapters started with an excerpt from her journal of lost people. These were really interesting to read and I could so relate with Linny because if someone I loved were to go missing I would be desperate to do all I could to find them. Linny’s chapters also contained scenes from her screenplay about Grace and these were so gorgeous to read. Sebastian’s chapters always stared with different scientific theorems and throughout his chapter were his own theorems about his life experiences. I loved these added elements because it was a real reminder that Linny and Sebastian are their own people and have their own passions too.

The relationships in this book were really well written and very realistic. Sebastian and his best friend back home have a great friendship full of funny, realistic ‘boy’ banter. Linny and Cass have one of the most realistic friendships I’ve read in a while. Their friendship is definitely flawed and under strain due to Grace’s disappearance but it was nice to see the conflict within their friendship not being hidden because even the best of friends will having fallings out and I think it’s important that not all friendships in YA are completely perfect.

I also really appreciated the influence of parents in this book. Quite often in YA novels the parents are mythical unicorn creatures who get the odd mention but nothing more. In If Birds Fly Back the parent/child relationships are so, so important. It’s clear from the beginning that Sebastian has a close relationship with his single mother and it was interesting to see how his feelings flipped and turned when discovering who his father is. Linny has a very complicated relationship with her parents and feels overwhelmed by them a lot of the time. It’s easy to see why, being as they have lost one daughter already, but it was great to see Linny discover her courage and finally speak up. I thought all of these relationships had excellent, realistic dynamics.

An incredible debut that will tug at your heart strings and insist on planting a smile on your face. Fantastic!

Thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books, Carlie Sorosiak and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found is one of those books that sticks with you throughout your day. Every time there was a rise in the wind I felt a chill. Every time I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye I was curious. Every time I misplaced something during those precious days I wondered if magic was to blame. My whole being was completely enraptured by this magical, atmospheric book which certainly blurred the lines between fantasy and reality.

I really enjoyed Moïra’s writing style when I read The Accident Season but I feel like she’s upped it a notch for Spellbook. Every sentence was full of atmosphere, magic and some higher meaning. Every single word felt like it had been carefully planned and somehow she managed to spin them into one of the most atmospheric, magical stories I have read. It wasn’t until the end of this book that I realised how wonderfully written the story was. The writing style is elegant but at the same time dense and full of metaphors and elements of magical realism. It took me a little while to get used to but I fell completely in love with it very quickly.

I loved the little twists and turns throughout this book. There was such a huge element of intrigue and I was curious from start to finish to see where this was going. As I started to put the pieces together I couldn’t help but flick back to see if I should have picked up on things sooner. Moïra certainly tied up all the loose ends and by the end of the book it was clear that the book was about so much more than magic. It is full of passion, friendship, romance, family, grief, sadness and happiness. It covers such a span of feeling and emotion.

I really enjoyed reading the book from the different POVs and thought each had a fairly unique voice. All of the characters were really well written and I loved how their stories interlinked in ways I hadn’t imagined at the beginning. There’s also great diversity among the characters with deaf, WOC, bisexual and gay representation. I loved learning about the other characters through the lenses of Olive, Hazel and Laurel and thought it was a clever way to also end up learning about our POV characters.

I can’t remember the last time I was so captivated by a book. I felt like I had fallen down a rabbit hole and entered a whole new, magical world with vibrant characters, mysterious surroundings and was trapped in a whirlpool of emotion.

With gorgeous writing and a truly atmospheric feel this is surely a book that will stick with me for a long time.

Our Dark Duet was one of my most highly anticipated releases of 2017 after I fell in love with Kate and August in This Savage Song. I picked it up as soon as it arrived and absolutely devoured it. Once again Victoria Schwab delivers an incredible novel that did not disappoint me in the slightest. I am in awe of this lady!

Our Dark Duet picks up a little while after the ending of This Savage Song. Kate is now hunting monsters and concealing her identity in Prosperity whilst August is playing an important role in identifying sinners and taking their souls. When Kate makes a terrifying discovery she returns to Verity and she and August reunite to fight against the monsters that haunt their city.

It didn’t take me long at all to find myself firmly back in the world of Verity and its monsters. I thought it may take me a while to remember the different monsters and what had happened (I didn’t reread This Savage Song) but it didn’t at all. Schwab’s writing style is so unique in each of her books that she manages to immediately transport you right back to where you need to be.

This story is SO crammed full of action, it was a truly exhilarating read from beginning to end. I absolutely loved how dark this book was. The monsters were terrifying, Alice in particular scared the hell out of me and I was on the edge of my seat throughout. As a duology these books are absolutely incredible. I couldn’t have asked for more, it was better than I ever imagined!

Kate is still a passionate, fiery and sassy little thing. August is still the most adorable monster and I want to wrap him up in cotton wool even more now. They both had fantastic character development in this book and the plot for both of them was really strong. I loved reading August’s internal conflict about what he was doing as a Sunai. Their relationship is still one of my favourite things ever. I loved the addition of the many new characters but was particularly pleased to see the addition of non-binary character Soro. They were an excellent opposite to August in that they are both Sunai but August’s views of his job are very different to that of Soro who just wants to do their job quickly and efficiently, without the moral concerns.

By the end of this book I had laughed, cried, been angry, felt sad, been scared and had my heart broken. Schwab certainly knows how to send her readers off on an emotional journey. Her writing is incredible and every single sentence on the page is meaningful and well considered. I really enjoyed the additions of chapters/parts in verse too which was great in keeping with the musical elements of the story.

Exhilarating. Powerful. Deliciously dark. Wonderfully written.

ALL OF THE STARS!! Victoria Schwab, I bow down to you again. Incredible!

The Call is a book that had been on my radar for a while and some of my most trusted bookish friends were urging me to read it so I finally took the plunge and bought a copy. I went in with very little idea of what the book was about or what it would be like, I just knew that it is very highly rated and well loved among the YA community.

The Call is terrifying. It is gruesome. It is so dark and twisted that it is nothing but glorious. Knowing so little about it before going in meant that I was not at all prepared for the grotesque descriptions of mutilated humans or the bloody concept of the Sídhe (who creeped me out very much!).

I thought the concept of this book was so unique and it certainly captured my curiosity straight away. The idea that at some point during your teen years you will disappear from reality for 3 minutes and 4 seconds, appearing naked in a grey landscape where you know you have to fight for your life. The Call. TERRIFYING.

Even more frightening to me was the fact that children were sent to preparatory colleges to train in preparation for their Call. Nessa and her friends attend Boyle College for their training and let me tell you now that the training itself is brutal, let alone the actual Call. From learning theory to taking part in actual hunts, it was clear how much thought had gone into the concept of this story. Set in a dystopian Ireland I loved the references to Irish folklore/mythology and the Sídhe certainly terrified me!

It pained me to see how little faith the teachers and other students had in Nessa due to her Polio damaged legs. I thought that Nessa was a complete badass and I was rooting for her right from the beginning. I didn’t make as much of a connection with the other characters but I’m glad because every now and then in this book we as readers are transported to see the Calling of one of Nessa’s classmates. Had I been emotionally connected to too many of the characters this book would have destroyed me with all the bloody, gruesome deaths is serves up.

Exhilarating and exciting are two words that go hand in hand with The Call. It’s one of the fastest-paced books I’ve read in a long time and as terrifying as it was I just couldn’t bear to put it down. I even dreamt of my own Calling, or maybe it was a nightmare, who knows? All I do know is that this book is incredible and if you are not too squeamish and love dystopian books then you MUST pick this up immediately!

It took only two sittings of a couple of hours for me to devour this entire book. I had heard such great things about Cell 7 before I finally picked it up but I read it a lot faster than I expected.

Cell 7 is set in a dystopian version of our own society where criminals are kept in a cell for 7 days while the public decide their fate. The power of justice has been taken from the courts and placed in the hands of the public, or those who can afford to vote.

I loved the concept for this book because it called into question so many really interesting and important points. It had me questioning my own morals: would I do what I thought was right or would I get swept up in the tide like everyone else? I would like to think I would do the right thing but I don’t think we know that until we are presented with the problem ourselves. I really hope that this book will never become true because as great a read as it was the concept is frightening.

Social status played a huge part in this book and again left me with a lot of questions. I hated that Martha, Gus, Ollie and many others ended up in the cells simply because they came from the Rises. People from the Rises cannot afford to vote and save their own. They are easy targets and victims of those in higher society who can use money to bully their way around town and get away with murder. It really bothered me that the votes for something so important could be rigged purely because of wealth and popularity. I’m so glad that Kerry thought to include this aspect in the dystopian society.

I hated the idea of the cells. As Martha moved up a cell each day I could feel myself getting more and more claustrophobic with her. The idea that those windows were getting smaller until they were gone. The rooms were getting smaller. The bed became a mattress on the floor. It is all just so against our morals as human beings that I couldn’t help but feel terrified for Martha.

I loved that throughout this story I knew there was a higher cause and that Martha was doing something here by pleading guilty to help others. There was a certain level of intrigue and curiosity about the plot that kept me ploughing through the pages as I so desperately wanted to know how this would end and what her secrets were.

I thought the characters were wonderful and I particularly enjoyed reading about Martha and Eve. Eve is one of those characters who you are unsure if you should dislike to begin with but all of a sudden I loved her, I cared about her and I admired her passion for helping others. Isaac was another character I became very fond of and thought his relationship with Martha was well written despite also being riddled with sadness.

I HATED the television shows and Kristina really bothered me. I couldn’t bear to live in a world where the public tuned into a show that brain washed their views, sharing only half truths and blatantly trying to persuade viewers to only vote guilty, despite the facts they could and should have access too. I just really didn’t like that the media had so much power in this dystopian society and I think that’s because it was the part of the book that most related to our current society and that frightened me more than anything.

Full of conspiracy and deceit but with a glimmer of hope and justice, Cell 7 is a book I won’t forget any time soon.

Emotional. Difficult. Harrowing. Hopeful.

All words that can be used to describe this powerful novel from the lovely Lisa Heathfield. Paper Butterflies made me feel irrationally angry and left me feeling broken hearted whilst simultaneously filling me with hope. I think it is safe to say that Lisa Heathfield is a master of pulling on our heart strings whilst dealing with the most sensitive and difficult of topics.

Before picking up my copy of Paper Butterflies, I had been warned by a few of my bookish friends that this book would leave me in tears. Tissues and chocolate were advised as my companions for this story and I am so glad that I took their advice (on the tissues, at least). This is a harrowing story of child abuse and feeling unable to speak out for fear of not being believed. On the other hand it is also a tale of beautiful friendships and finding hope in the darkest of situations.

From the very first pages of this book I truly felt sick to my stomach. There were several occasions when reading about Kathleen’s abuse towards June that I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to read this book. Then I realised how lucky I am to have never been in June’s position and I felt that the least I could do for June and all victims of abuse in the world is endure the words on these pages and read her story. This is by no means an easy read. Kathleen is a horrible creature (I cannot bear to call her a person, I’m afraid) and there were so many occasions where I found tears streaming down my face as I desperately fought the urge to throw the book in anger. How anyone can abuse someone at all, let alone a child, to this extent is completely out of the realms of my imagination and I found it very difficult to understand. Kathleen is written to be so realistic and I could feel my own skin start to crawl when her name was mentioned and I dreaded what was to come next.

Something that pained me more than anything in this story was the fact that as a reader we can see how desperate June is to speak out. She so wants to tell her father or teachers about the abuse she is suffering at home but she is so frightened that nobody will believe her that she doesn’t. This book is very cleverly written to incorporate June’s point of view and it is easy to understand on so many occasions why she eventually chooses not to tell people, I just so wish she had felt able to. This really struck a chord with me as a teacher because I would really honestly like to believe that my pupils would feel able to tell me something like this so that I could help to protect them and it really made me think about how huge a responsibility being a teacher is.

I really loved the structure of this book and the fact we flipped from June’s young life and upwards whilst also fast forwarding to the ‘After’. The big reveal of the ‘After’ was a huge surprise to me. I had no idea it was coming and I definitely wasn’t expecting it. The last few chapters of this book gave me so much to think about and I have to thank Lisa Heathfield for that. She truly brings into question the importance of a victim speaking out and shows that by not speaking out things can get even worse than imaginable. I would hope that reading this book may give encouragement to victims of abuse to feel able to talk to someone, to push past that barrier of fearing they will not be believed and to communicate their pain to someone.

June and Blister. Oh my lovely, lovely Blister. Just as June is struggling to see any light in her life she meets her darling Blister and his enormous, loving family. I adored their friendship and blossoming relationship from the very bottom of my heart. There was something so pure about the way in which they found each other and spent their time together. There are some truly heartbreaking moments between them but Blister truly is a ray of bright, sparkling light in June’s life throughout this book.

Lisa Heathfield is such a strong writer. Not only does she succeed in telling a harrowing but powerful story, she has created characters that as a reader you will deeply care about. There is no way you can come out of this book not having hated Kathleen and fallen in love with June and Blister. This book evoked so much emotion in me that at times I just had to put it to the side and calm myself down. The ending of this book is so well thought out and although I just really want more, I also loved the way in which this was left. I cried for a good half an hour after closing the final pages of this book and I think those tears were a mix of heart break and hope.

Paper Butterflies is a book that I encourage everyone to experience. Whilst it may not be an easy book to read it is certainly one that will stay with me for a very, very long time and has changed something inside of me forever. Phenomenal.

I was immediately sold on reading this book the second I found out that it was about a cult. There is something so mysterious about a cult that really draws me in. A fascination to discover how people live in them and what it is that draws their faith. I had heard brilliant things about After the Fire and so I dived straight in after receiving the book as a birthday gift.

Will Hill certainly does not mess around with his writing and this is such a well crafted story of faith and the way in which our faith can sometimes waiver. Father John is an awful person and I felt nothing but pure hatred towards him. Something I think that Will Hill did incredibly well was to allow us as readers to see both sides of the story. As easily as I could hate Father John, I could also easily understand and see how many of the people in the cult believed him and had faith in him. This was something that really interested me as it isn’t something I had really considered before reading this book. Why is it that people put so much faith in such obviously abusive leaders?

The structure of this book was another thing that I really quite liked. Flicking back and forth between ‘Before’ and ‘After’ really helped to build the intrigue and mystery around Moonbeam’s secret. What exactly had happened in the compound? How did Moonbeam end up in the ‘After’? It was a really great way to explore Moonbeam’s character and get to know her through a series of events she had been through in her earlier life. I think it’s definitely one of the reasons I felt such a strong pull towards Moonbeam as a character. I really felt like I was living through each conversation with her and there was plenty in there to shock and enrage me.

I loved reading Moonbeam as a main character and had such huge sympathy towards her. It was clear from the beginning that there was more to Moonbeam’s story than first meets the eye and the intrigue intensifies as the story moves on and we see Moonbeam coming to terms with her life inside the cult and learn to trust those who have rescued her. With that trust comes a series of revelations from her life within the compound. Without a doubt Moonbeam has been through a traumatic experience but her ability to trust her own instincts and be able to question everything she thought she trusted is such a huge value in her character.

Two other characters whom I unexpectedly really enjoyed reading where Dr Hernandez and Agent Carlyle. There was something about their dynamic that just really caught me and I loved the idea of caring, cautious Dr Hernandez and fiery, enraged Agent Carlyle having some seriously heated conversations out of Moonbeam’s earshot. Dr Hernandez having dealt with numerous cases like Moonbeam’s before is much more able to cope with Moonbeam’s situation but we see Agent Carlyle have a really tough time with it, especially being father to a daughter of his own. His anger and distress was really relatable and I thought it was that added dimension that made this book feel so real. I loved their dynamic and especially the journey we see Agent Carlyle in particular go on by the end of the book.

After the Fire is a harrowing but real look at the effects of life within a cult and the after effects on those who escape. It is sure to send you on a rollercoaster of emotions from anger and sadness all the way back to hope.