Fractured - Review

Fractured by Teri Terry

Slated book two.

Available now

www.bookswithbite.co.uk 

What's it about?

How do you know where to go when you don't remember where you came from?

Kyla's memory has been erased,

her personality wiped blank,

her memories lost for ever.

Or so she thought.

Kyla shouldn't be able to remember anything. But she can - and she's beginning to realise that there are a lot of dark secrets locked away in her memories. When a mysterious man from her past comes back into her life, she thinks she's on her way to finding the truth. But the more she learns about her history, the more confusing her future becomes...

My review

After that final scene in Slated, I'll be honest, I was expecting a faster pace in Fractured, I thought the story would start moving along more quickly as Kyla has now discovered her identity. But we find early on that she hasn't quite recovered all her memories, though she remembers who she is and what she's capable of, she still doesn't remember all of her past or how she's come to be where she is. Fractured again follows Kyla trying to recover more of her memories and figure out who she can trust. However, as far as complaints go, that's the only one I have. I still enjoyed the book very much and found it just as hard to put down. Its conspiracy after conspiracy and just like Kyla, the reader gets immersed into wanting to get to the bottom of the truth because there are many things that aren't how they seem in Kyla's world.
While I missed Ben in Fractured, I enjoyed getting to know Kyla better as she's always been a likeable character and I do feel for her when she gets frustrated at trying to figure everything out and decide on her next move.
Fractured is another highly entertaining read in a compelling trilogy and I am pumped for book three to see how it all ends.

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Herman's letter - Review

Herman's letter by Tom Percival

Available now

What's it about?

What do you do when your best friend in the whole wide world has to move a long way away? Promise to write to each other ALL the time and to stay best friends FOREVER, that’s what. But it’s easier said than done – especially when your best friend seems to be having much more fun than you are...

Mine and Oliver's review 

This is a lovely, if a bit sad, little story about Herman who gets sad when his best friend, Harry moves away. At first he feels sad and misses his friend and then becomes jealous when he feels Harry is having far more fun than him and is making new friends. Herman feels he's being left behind. All emotions I think a child would feel if someone they were close to went away so I think this would be a great book for any child in that situation. Oliver really enjoyed the story and listened intently until the end of the book. His favourite part were the letters which are lift-the-flap, so it really was like we were opening a little letter that we'd received. The illustrations were simple and really nice to look at, I think each image captured the scene and the story well.

Favourite illustration
The snowy pages are really nice but I think our favourite is of Herman when he is travelling to visit Harry where he meets penguins, bats, leaps over a crevice and climbs a frozen waterfall, it really shows just what he's willing to go through to get to his best friend.

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The freedom frontier - Review

The freedom frontier by Jeff Norton

MetaWars book four.

Available now.

www.hachettechildrens.co.uk 

What's it about?

The thrilling final instalment of the action-packed METAWARS series. 

With the Guardians and Millennials eliminated, Jonah and Sam are left to fend for themselves. When they discover their enemy, Granger, is also on his own they take the ultimate leap of faith and join forces to survive...and save humanity. The future of the world on and off-line is at stake and Jonah will not stop until he prevails. 

Even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice.

My review

The MetaWars series has been a thrilling ride throughout, I have enjoyed every minute and I'm so sad to see it end. However it did end on a high note because The freedom frontier was another example of excellent writing from Jeff Norton. Once again we're thrown straight into an action scene that is followed by piles more action throughout. Often the final book in a series can get slowed down with too much talking as the author tries to reveal all the answers and round up the story but that's not something that happens on this occasion. As we read on through the book we find events in the previous books that didn't seem significant at the time were actually setting the scene for the final events so the groundwork has already been sneakily done ready for the reader to enjoy the ride in the epic final battle. There really was some stuff I didn't see coming at all and the ending was amazing! I also love the message that came along with it, but I can't tell you it without spoiling the end of the book for you, however its a good message for the teenage boys who are likely to pick and enjoy this series, though I'm sure I'm not the only almost thirty year old reading it, right?

Personally I think the storytelling throughout all of these books has been outstanding, while each book stands out on its own, the overall story is also seamless and you can tell a lot of thought went into the big picture when the series was planned out. I enjoyed how the relationship between Jonah and Sam developed and evolved and was so happy to see them finally get it together at the end, they're such a cute couple and I think they balance each other out. While I admire Jonah's integrity, I have always loved Sam and I think she'll always be my favourite in this series, she's just such a bad ass and would never be caught dead as the damsel in distress.

I would definitely recommend this series to all, it has action, complex characters, action, brilliant world building and did I mention lots of action?

Check out my reviews for the other books in the series;

Fight for the future

The dead are rising

Battle of the immortal

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Slated - Review

Slated by Teri Terry

Slated book one.

Available now.

www.bookswithbite.co.uk 

What's it about?

Kyla’s memory has been erased,

her personality wiped blank,

her memories lost for ever.

She’s been Slated.

The government claims she was a terrorist and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?

My review

What a brilliant start to a series! Slated is full of mystery and kept me hooked right the way through trying to figure out everything along with Kyla, who she really was, why she'd been slated and a government that may be more than it seems. Ain't that always the way though lol. I was really intrigued by the whole premise and stored up every clue and fact that was given to me along the way. I couldn't predict where the book was going to take me next and often felt as clueless as Kyla, but not in a frustrating way, it just added to the excitement. And that ending! Man was I glad I read it when book two is already out so I can get hold of it immediately.

Needless to say - though I am saying since this is a review - I really, really enjoyed this book. It was a real page turner with a great leading lady. Kyla was a wonderful character, she seemed naive and tough at the same time and her curiosity could've rivalled Alice's. And deep down you can feel she's probably some kind of badass, I was rooting for her to get her memories back all the way through just to see if that was true.

I liked Ben too, he was sweet and caring, even if Kyla kind of broke him a little bit.

Slated is a big must for YA fans who like some action and mystery and government conspiracy.

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Scarlet - Review

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

The Lunar chronicles book two

Available now

www.penguin.co.uk 

What's it about?

This is not the fairytale you remember.

But it’s one you won’t forget.

Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. The police have closed her case. The only person Scarlet can turn to is Wolf, a street fighter she does not trust, but they are drawn to each other.

Meanwhile, in New Beijing, Cinder will become the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive – when she breaks out of prison to stay one step ahead of vicious Queen Levana.

As Scarlet and Wolf expose one mystery, they encounter Cinder and a new one unravels. Together they must challenge the evil queen, who will stop at nothing to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner . . .

My review 

Scarlet is another exciting adventure in The lunar chronicles. It's the second book in this four part series of futuristic retelling's and this time its Little red riding hood that gets taken into the future and really becomes a life of its own. Though there are themes of the original story that's being retold, it also has its own style and a story of its own, much like the first book Cinder.
I really enjoyed the book and how the main plot is evolving along with the new characters and Meyer's twist on 'The big bad wolf,' I think he may have been my favourite character. Not that I didn't like Scarlet and her red hoody.
Amongst many many retelling's of these popular stories, I really love what Marissa Meyer has done with them so far, I've already said she's made the stories her own but it's worth retelling (get it?!) because they are wonderful books and certainly for fans of so many genres, sci-fi, fairy tales, its all there.
I enjoyed the third person writing style and didn't get lost flitting between so many characters as they all have their own distinct voice and I found 'Captain' Thorne's humour to be a welcome relief during tense times in the story.
There was plenty of action, drama and a lovely dash of romance and a particularly hot scene towards the end that I won't spoil for you! So if you liked Cinder, pick up Scarlet now!

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