Review: The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis

The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis

My Rating:

I would like to thank Egmont Publishing for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

I somehow managed to miss this author's books as they were originally released many years before my own children were of age to read them. Last year I happened across his newer series, The Witching Legacy and have since read both books one and two and loved them. So when I saw this one I was eager to delve into it, especially as it's set in Whitby like the newer books.

The Whitby Witches was a lot of fun. It was full of adventure, imagination, and danger. I was completely swept along with the characters and their story. The writing was easy to read and the world was vividly described. It was wonderfully dark and atmospheric and a lot of fun all round. Everything was so easily pictured in my mind as I read. It was like being a child all over again, reliving that wonderful sense of adventure, danger and anticipation.

The only negative aspect, and it's not something that's particular to this story alone but something that seems to be a trend across many children's stories and books and something I'm more aware of now as a mother, is the fact that the majority of villains or bad guys in children's stories always seem to have some kind of disfigurement or disability. They are always "ugly" scarred or disfigured in some way. Why are we portraying this kind of message to our children? How a person looks doesn't portray whether they are good or bad. Beauty is only skin deep, the outside does not reflect who a person is on the inside. "Monsters" can look just like everyone else and just because someone isn't what most would class as "normal" it doesn't make them the bad guy to be feared. Perhaps that is too scary of a concept in truth for children but it's reality. Anyway, I realise this is a more general comment and not something particular to this book alone but it's something that I found myself contemplating after finishing this one so I wanted to comment on it.

All in all, The Whitby Witches was a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm going to have to get my hands on the rest of the series now.


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Review: The Devil's Paintbox by Robin Jarvis

The Devil's Paintbox (The Witching Legacy #2) by Robin Jarvis 

My Rating:


I would like to thank Egmont Publishing for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

The Devil's Paintbox is the second book in The Witching Legacy trilogy by Robin Jarvis. I previously read the first book The Power of the Dark back in March 2016, you can find my review for that here. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but I have to say, I enjoyed the second book much more than the first.

It's been a year since I read the first book and I was surprised by how easily I slipped back into Lil and Verne's world. The writing was wonderfully vivid. The plot was engaging, fast-paced and action packed from beginning to end. It sets the imagination on fire and I could easily see everything clearly in my mind's eye as I read.

The Devil's Paintbox is full of colour, adventure, magic, and imagination, but at the same time it's dark, ominous, and creates a feeling of foreboding. This is the kind of book I would have loved to have read as a child, under the covers with a torch. I could almost feel the excitement and anticipation that young me would have felt, along with the need to turn the pages whilst being apprehensive about what's to come.

Definitely one I would recommend. I didn't want to put the book down, it was a lot of fun and I read it in one sitting. My niece and the kids in my reading group are going to love it.



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Review: Seriously Shifted by Tina Connolly

 Seriously Shifted by Tina Connolly

My Rating:

I would like to thank Tor Teen for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

Seriously Shifted is a fun story full of magic, mischief, and quirky characters. I flew through it in no time at all. It was great fun to catch up with Cam and to join her on another journey full of shenanigans, which in this next installment happens to be a trio of witches who are up to no good.

I did find myself having the same problem with this book as I had with the first. In Seriously Wicked I didn't feel that the characters stood out enough visually and I struggled to build a picture of them. I found it to be the same in Seriously Shifted. The descriptions centred too much on one thing rather than painting a complete picture. Each time there was a new character introduced I learned their name and whether they were white, brown, caucasian, Chinese-American, or Thai. That's not enough. There is much more to a person than that. Paint me a picture. What colour are their eyes? Their hair? Do they have freckles? Are they tall, average, short? I couldn't see them with so little information.

I liked the way the magic was written in riddles and how Cam was trying to stick to her ethics, but it was missing colour and imagination. Cam mixed all these different ingredients and cast her spells but it didn't feel magical. It was rather like baking a cake without the amazing aroma spreading throughout the kitchen, or watching fireworks in black and white with no sound, or sitting by the fire without the crackle of the logs and the heat of the flames. There was no colour or spark to it, it fizzled out.

All in all, the storyline was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it and had a smile on my face for much of the book, but visually I found it lacking and it needed more colour and description to fire the imagination.




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Review: Rowan Oakwing: A London Fairy Tale by E. J. Clarke

Rowan Oakwing by E. J. Clarke

My Rating:


I received a free copy of Rowan Oakwing from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Rowan Oakwing is a modern day fairytale that will set children's imaginations on fire. The story is set in the world as we know it today and is packed full of adventure, magic, and imagery that really draw you in. There are some great characters within the story, my favourite being Harold the robin. They're all well written and their adventures full of excitement, wonder, and danger.

My daughter would have loved this book when she was younger, her bookshelf was filled to the brim with traditional fairytale books but this book brings fairies to life in a way that most fairytales don't. Rowan Oakwing isn't a once upon a time in a faraway land tale, it brings fairies into the real world, a world that children know and can relate to, and turns make-believe into reality.

I would suggest that if you plan on reading it to a child under the age of 8 or 9 that you read it first to see if it would be suitable. It's an exciting and magical story but it's tinged with sadness and touches on topics such as the loss of a parent and bullying.

Rowan Oakwing was such a fun and imaginative read. I had a smile on my face almost the whole time I was reading.

Definitely one I would recommend!




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Review: The Hawkweed Prophecy by Irena Brignull

The Hawkweed Prophecy by Irena Brignull

My Rating:


I received a free copy of The Hawkweed Prophecy from the publisher in return for an honest review.

I find myself conflicted on whether to rate The Hawkweed Prophecy with 3 stars or with 4.

The writing style was good, the storyline and pacing consistent and the characters appealing but the introduction of Leo is where I felt the book went awry.

Bringing the character Leo into the mix really wasn't necessary, I don't feel that he added anything positive to the story. The relationship between Poppy and Ember was unique enough to work on it's own and in my opinion their storyline suffered at the expense of Leo's character. I found the connection between the two girls to be lacking and would have much preferred that the time spent introducing Leo to the story was instead invested in expanding and exploring the growing relationship between Poppy and Ember and creating a more in depth and emotional bond between their characters. My enjoyment of the book would have improved significantly had this been the case.

Aside from the above, the plot was interesting and the writing style was enjoyable and a pleasure to read. The whole coven and witchcraft aspect was done well and was in large what stood out the most for me.




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Review: The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

My Rating:

I received a free copy of The Bone Sparrow from the publisher in return for an honest review.

The plight of the characters in The Bone Sparrow is one that we all should be aware of as it's currently happening in refugee camps right now. It's a shocking, heartbreaking and sad story, made all the more frightening because it's a reality for far too many people.

The Bone Sparrow draws you into the lives of two young characters and their families, one living outside the fence of the refugee camp and one inside, who find each other and strike up a friendship. As the story progresses the violent and inhumane treatment of refugees is at the forefront and it's disturbing reading. But, as disturbing as the storyline is, it's also beautiful. The friendship between the two characters offers hope and an escape from reality for them both.

As the author points out in the afterword, this is really happening. These poor people are suffering and being treated worse than animals. It's not right. We need to step up. More needs to be done to help these poor souls.

There but for the grace of God, go I.




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Review: The Power of Dark by Robin Jarvis

The Power of Dark by Robin Jarvis

My Rating:


 I received a free copy of The Power of Dark from the publisher in return for an honest review.

The Power of Dark was a fun and imaginative read. On finishing the book I felt like I had been on an adventure, the scenes were vivid and colourful and easy to picture in the minds eye and the mix of magic and horror was just right. The story does get a little dark at times but it's balanced out with fun, colourful and quirky scenes that lifts the story and brings a smile to your face.

The storyline was unique and really captured my imagination. The characters were easy to like and relate to and their interactions and dialogue came across as natural and real. The story finishes off nicely but at the same time hints at more to come in the future.

Definitely one I would recommend.


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Review: The Haunting by Alex Bell

The Haunting by Alex Bell

My Rating:


I received a free copy of The Haunting from the publisher in return for an honest review.

The Haunting had it's moments and there was a lot of potential for some really creepy hair raising chills but it didn't quite get there for me. There were a couple of times where I though "Oh, I like where this is going," and I could feel the atmosphere start to build but it petered out.

The story felt rather juvenile for a young adult book, even the "scares" and atmosphere felt more suited to younger readers. It reads more young teen horror than young adult horror. I think part of that was because of how Emma, the main character, was portrayed. Emma is 17 but she came across as being much younger and her reactions and interactions were lacking the maturity I would expect in a character of that age.

The setting was great and the plot was enjoyable, and perhaps if it had been classed as teen instead of young adult I would have gone in with a different mindset and enjoyed it more as a result. As it was, I was expecting more because of the age group it's aimed at and it just wasn't there. There were too many missed opportunities to really ramp up the atmosphere and chills which only added to the whole younger reader vibe.

Would I recommend it? A bit of a mixed answer. Yes, for younger teens. My daughter would have loved this at 12 or 13 years old. As a young adult book, I probably wouldn't recommend it.



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Review: Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

My Rating:


I received a free copy of Took from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Took was my first Mary Downing Hahn and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a ghost story aimed at the younger audience and is just creepy enough without it being too scary. It has the touch of a modern day Hansel and Gretel with a creepy doll thrown in for good measure.

The characters are well fleshed out and likeable and it was a fast and enjoyable read. The book has a great atmosphere and I can picture it grabbing a child's imagination very easily. It strikes me as a book that they will remember fondly when they grow up and will probably find themselves looking for the scares this created in their young minds in future horror books when they are older.

I wish books like this were more readily available when my own children were younger, it's a great introduction to the more creepy and scary side of fiction for younger readers and they would have loved it.

Definitely one I would recommend. But beware, if you venture out into the woods you may find Bloody Bones on your trail.


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