Scookie Reviews

ONE OF US IS LYING by Karen M. McManus 5 Stars Verdict: Addictive. Five students go into detention, and only four come out alive. The police and media are circling in on the four remaining students from that fateful detention, all of them liars in one form or another. But who is the killer? I read this book like I eat chocolate - page after page consumed without ever wanting to stop. It's the type of story you get caught up in, binge, and then are quite happy to put it away and move on to something else - a quick, light read, but not a thinker. It's a whodunit that kept me guessing, although I had my suspicions... The narrative switches between the four students, each of them with very different lives and different issues. The characters start off feeling very cliche: a jock wanting a baseball scholarship, a pretty-girl being pushed around by her popular boyfriend, a smart but geeky girl, and a Nate, who felt the least cliche in that respect with his not caring att...

HEART OF MIST by Helen Scheuerer 5 Stars Verdict:  One of the best fantasy book I've read this year! Bleak wants a cure for her illegal magic, if possible, but mostly, she wants wine every day. A summons from the king is a death sentence to her. Henri is the queen of Valia, a race of strong female fighters, but she isn't the queen of the realm. A choice she makes could send her people to war with the true king. Dash is a stable boy, but he's also best friends with the blind princess. He dreams of being a knight, or even just meeting one. They live in a land which is threatened by a growing mist, one only those with magic can survive. I loved this right from the start. Beautiful descriptions, dark humour, and a pace that doesn't let up. This is my ideal story. It had a good balance of action, character, and pace, the three entwined as the plot moved ever forwards, each detailed, but not too heavy to handle. I thought there could perhaps be more world bui...

THE MOONLIGHT PALACE by Liz Rosenberg 4 Stars Verdict: A light historical novel about a poor princess in Singapore. Note: I listened to the audio-book version. Agnes lives in the Kampong Glam Palace in Singapore, once grand but now in the 1920s it's falling apart. Without a male heir or enough income to support their family, Aggie worries they'll be forced to leave her childhood home. This is a nice story. It's low key, with the plot never being frighteningly exciting, but still interesting, especially as it's based in Asia. Agnes is a strong young woman of her time, but naive and young all the same. She meets a few suitors, experiences a few festivals, and wants a job to help her family's income situation. As I said, the story is quite low key. The characters are also all very nice or vaguely interesting. Aggie's family is endearing, from Nei Nei Up to Nei Nei Down. My favourite character was the curiously blind jewellery store owner. It sounded...

THE DEATH CURE by James Dashner 3 stars Verdict: Well, that didn’t answer anything. #1 - The Maze Runner #2 - The Scorch Trials The Trials are over, supposedly. It’s time for Thomas to get his memories back, and help Wicked with the final stage of their cure. Oh, Maze Runner. You absolute tease. I’ll try my best to describe the reading experience without any spoilers, so basically I’ll keep it vague and hope you know what I’m talking about. The whole book is basically a delay in getting any real answers to the mountain of questions posed thus far. Motives are swept under the rug, specifics are ignored, and the events that could have provided answers were sidestepped around. And then it ends on a cliché which doesn’t feel satisfying at all. Despite all that, it’s still entertaining. It still has its good moments, and unexpected twists, making it easy to sit and read for hours at a time. Then again, the entertaining parts are also frustrating. There’s so much action...