Scookie Reviews

THE GIRL IN THE TOWER by Katherine Arden 2 Stars Verdict: Again, not for me. After Vasya leaves her village to dispel rumours of her being a witch, she ventures through the woods, facing demons, bandits, and death itself. To survive as a lone traveller, she disguises herself as a man and unintentionally gains the attention of the Grand Prince. She must keep her true gender a secret to protect herself and her family. I'll be honest with you all: I received this title without knowing it was book two of a series. When I realised, I read book one, my heart sinking with every page. I didn’t like it one bit, and I don’t enjoy writing low reviews either. I would never have requested the book to review if it had been clearly labelled as book two of a trilogy I had not yet started. But I agreed to review it in exchange for a copy, and I am grateful to receive it, so here is my review. It actually started out a lot better than I expected. The narrative flits between Vasya facing t...

A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness 4 Stars Verdict: Where real nightmares meet imaginary ones Every night at 12:07 a monster visits Connor, but he's not afraid. Because this isn't the monster from his terrifying dreams. It's not the monster he's afraid of. Connor's mother is very sick, and everyone at school already knows. No one will talk to him anymore. At home, him and his mother are fine on their own - he can take care of both of them - except now his grandmother is coming to stay, and everyone is trying to have 'the talk'. Except the monster, who visit him to tell him stories. After the third, Connor must tell his story, his truth, but he doesn't understand what it means. It took me a while to warm to this book, but in the end it's a heart-filled story of dealing with loss. I felt for Connor on every page, and sought the monster's visits as much as he did. The monster's stories explain to you what this story is about, hinting to...

THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE by Katherine Arden 3 Stars Verdict: Not for me. Vasilisa grows up at the edge of the Russian wilderness, surrounded by the love of her siblings. She has a wild spirit that cannot be tamed for any suitor or convent, and finds she is able to see and protect the spirits that in turn protect her home. However, her stepmother fears them, and when the winter becomes harsh, and the Vasilisa is blamed. She must fight the cold, her stepmother, and be brave in the face of the demons to protect her home and the ones she loves. I think the author has gone to great lengths to make this book feel authentic. The Russian names and words were a lot to take in, so I was glad to be reading the kindle version for quick definitions. After a while, it's fairly easy to adapt to, and the language equates to strong 'feel' of medieval winters in the heart of Russia. Still, the prose felt hampered down with extraneous details, and the story in general was drea...

A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT by Saaba Tahir 5 Stars Verdict: An awesome sequel (and I don't say that often!) #1 - An Ember in the Ashes Elias and Laia are on the run, and must escape the Commandant before they can even think about saving Laias brother from torture in a Kauf prison. As the person who knows Elias best, Helene is given an ultimatum - hunt down her best friend Elias and publicly execute him, or watch her family die as traitors. Elias's situation is also made complicated early on by a poison with no cure. He only has weeks to live, and it's not long enough to help Laia save her brother, to stop the Commandant, or save the Scholars. If you loved book one, you'll probably love book two. Once again, it's beautifully written without compromising on the pace. This is another brutally fantastic read. It's gripping from start to finish, lyrical in prose but never purple, and contains more torturous situations for the three leads. The narrative sw...

Hey all, I'm putting together another blog festival (the official name is TBC)! If you're a writer, either published or aspiring, I'd love for you to contribute. I've already got a few excellent articles lined up from past guest bloggers, but I'd love to connect with as many writers as possible. Take a look at these great articles from last time: How to Leave your Readers Cold, Hungry, and Afraid  by R.A. Black Finding Inspiration in Likely Places  b y J.P. Jackson Developing Ideas by Nikki Morgan Nine Questions Every Writer Needs to Ask by Herb Mallette: As long as the article is about writing, writing sites, critiquing, publishing process, indie publishing, or fiction books, it will be considered. I'll work with you to edit up the piece and add in an author bio, so please note there will be feedback to get the article into good shape. Types of content Let me know if you're interested in any of the following: An article on one of the a...

CORALINE by Neil Gaiman 5 Stars Verdict: Quirky, creepy, and quick to read! Bored and alone, with her parents too busy to play with her, eleven year old Coraline ventures through a mysterious door in the wall. It once led to nowhere. Now it leads to an interesting 'other' place, where her 'other' neighbours are much more entertaining than the normal world, and her 'other' mother gives her all the attention she could want. To stay here forever, all she needs to do is one little thing: sew buttons into her eyes... This is a quick read that I only picked up because I was horribly behind on my reading list but too stubborn and competitive to lose. Fortunately, this is a great book for any age. Full to the brim of weird and wonderful characters, twisted logic, and dry humour, I enjoyed reading this from start to finish. Gaimen's imagination really is endless. Wit is sew into the narrative like eyes, and it compliments the quirky tone well. The pacing i...

2017 been a ride and a half, for me, anyway. The year started with brilliant news. One of my clients emailed to say that he had managed to snag a publishing deal - check him out here . I was elated for him, and since then, he’s had success after success. His story of darkness even had honourable mentions in the Rainbow Awards . It's fantastic news for a fantastic writer. Me on the other hand? My writing had to take a backseat. Turns out buying a house and progressing your career mops up all your free time and leaves you too dry to churn out a story. It was worth it though. My life slotted into place in the first week of December. I finally moved into my first house with my boyfriend of seven years. To celebrate, he cooked a lovely meal, broke a cupboard, and proposed. Two days later, I was offered a new job as an editorial assistant. That's going to be a tough week to top! So yeah, been a bit too busy for writing. So busy in fact, I had to read eight books in the last t...