Scookie Reviews

Happy Halloween, book lovers! There's still a few hours left before the giveaway ends, so enter below as soon as possible. The Clearing  is a dystopian adventure set in a village run by psychics, and it was awarded the Editor's Pick seal of approval by Evernight Teen. A couple more great reviews have rolled in recently, so I'm overjoyed about it. a Rafflecopter giveaway   If the giveaway above isn't showing, then use this link to visit the rafflecopter:  http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c24e37ac4/? Reviews so far Fantastic Book! It is an incredibly exciting post apocalyptic adventure with a strong female main character. It is a pretty quick read but it packs a lot of plot and character development. The writing is engaging and keeps you turning the pages. I ABSOLUTELY loved the ending. One of the better “zombie apocalypse” books I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a lot!) I would love if she wrote a prequel. The village is so incredibly intriguing. I received this book...

BEFORE AND AFTER by Andrew Shanahan 4 Stars Verdict: Unique take on weight loss and a zombie apocalypse. Trigger warning for eating disorders and body shaming. Ben is a soft soul struggling with mental health that centres around food. He's obese and hasn't left his flat in years. The day he's scheduled for surgery to remove his diabetic foot, the world seems to lose it's mind and turn into angry zombies.  I didn't like this book much at first. I could tell it was quirky, which appealed to me a lot, but it took a little while to get going, and then the apocalypse angle seemed...odd. I wasn't sure about it. The story jumps between day one of the apocalypse and Ben's weight story throughout his whole life beforehand. For a while, I only really enjoyed the flashback chapters. Here's where we really got to meet the main character and where I could understand him better. Here's where the charm and struggle of the book felt real.  There are a couple of fun...

THE CITY OF SNOW AND STARS by S.D. Howard 4 Stars Verdict: A dark fantasy with a wholesome cast.  Trigger warning for rape/abuse.  'I'm not wanted for me, only what I can give, and there is nothing left.' I don't usually quote books, but this is a very quotable story! The dialogue was powerful in places, and the way the characters bonded together was the strength of this Christian fantasy adventure.   It's written in third person with a narrative that I personally found a little distant at times. That said, the characters are easy to root for. Runaways Trinia and Jayden team up with a wizard to take down Trinia's abusive father before he can take over the kingdom. They're joined by a talking wolf and a shapeshifter called Batanny, who in many ways seems like an older version of Trinia. Threads of pain run through this book and pull the characters together in a way that makes this dark read still feel wholesome at times.  It soon became an easy to enjoy fant...

THE INHERITANCE GAMES by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 3 Stars Verdict: Great set up but I lost interest.  Avery is about to inherit a billionaire's fortune, despite never meeting the man - if she can spend a year living among the disinherited family. This one starts off strong with a smart main character. It has complicated families and a whole cast of shady rich folk who may or may not be threatening Avery's life in order to get their hands on a not-so-small fortune, and of course, there's an epic mystery at the heart of it: why has Avery inherited this billionaire's estate to begin with?  More mysteries pile around Avery, from clues coded into letters and secrets within the mansion. The extended family all have their quirks, which pulled me for a good while.  However, not a lot gets answered, at least not in the twisty, exciting way I had hoped for. There's a large cast of suspects to whittle down but not enough time with the carving knife, and Avery's focus is pulle...

I'm giving away a paperback copy of my debut YA novel, The Clearing . It's a dystopian adventure set in a village run by psychics, and it was awarded the Editor's Pick seal of approval by Evernight Teen.  If the giveaway below isn't showing, then use this link to visit the rafflecopter:  http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c24e37ac4/? a Rafflecopter giveaway In the last surviving village, Ruby has made a name for herself as a rebellious teen. She challenges the Seers who use their visions to execute criminals before they commit their crimes, and, just like her father, she faces banishment into the forest of the undead. When a Seer sacrifices themselves to protect her, Ruby believes she has a future worth dying for – one that could help reconnect her village to undiscovered settlements. One worth waging the village's safety, just like her father. With her friends risking their lives alongside her, Ruby must find someone who understands the psychic-undead link t...

As I've talked about before, my writing journey has been a really long one (see my Rejection Story video for more details). But now after 21 years dreaming, 14 years querying, 7 manuscripts, 2 mentoring contests, and countless rewrites - I'm finally a published author! So, introducing my YA dystopian adventure with a paranormal spin, fiery romance, and twist ending: The Clearing ! It's currently available as an ebook and the paperback version will go up shortly.  Thanks so much to team at Evernight Teen for putting together a beautiful cover, and a massive thanks to my editor Audrey who helped tidy up the book for publication.  In the last surviving village, Ruby has made a name for herself as a rebellious teen. She challenges the Seers who use their visions to execute criminals before they commit their crimes, and, just like her father, she faces banishment into the forest of the undead. When a Seer sacrifices themselves to protect her, Ruby believes she has a future wo...

OCTAVIA BLOOM AND THE MISSING KEY by Estelle Grace Tudor 5 Stars Verdict : A beautiful book, through and through.  When eccentric Great Aunt Clara comes to stay in the Bloom's family castle, Octavia learns she's the keeper of the key for a magical fairyland. However, her family has a secret, one that involves finding rare flowers in order to break a curse. Although Octavia should protect fairyland and stay in the human world, the last flower to break the curse can only be found through the door.  Octavia is clever and mischievous, so she's the perfect heroine for this tale. Her sister Fliss is protective and caring, making her a great side kick for this first book. I hear from the author that each book will focus on a different character, so this is Octavia's chance to shine.   I loved Great Aunt Clara and Grandma. They're the sisters who were the past keepers of fairyland who have very different ideals about the hidden world, and they bounced off each other well. T...

THE CHILD OF CHAOS by Glen Dahlgren 5 Stars Verdict: A gritty and original fantasy based around Order and Chaos.  Galen has a wild imagination and doesn't want to end up a fisherman like his father. However, he doesn't seem to possess the 'longing' needed to belong to a temple and perform magic. Instead he has a different pull, one that might be responsible for his mother going missing. What's more is his bully, Horace, has the same longing and will go to extreme lengths to be first to find the cause of it.  I really enjoyed reading this book from start to finish.   Galen is a typical hero who's brave and has a good moral compass. He doesn't quite fit in with the labels his world forces on him, and there's something calling him to adventure out into the world, possibly to go missing forever like his mother.  My favourite thing about this book was Horace. He's a young yet ruthless villain, a fast thinker, clever, brutal - and damaged. He's haunted...

THE RAVENS by Kass Morgan & Danielle Paige 5 Stars Verdict: Is it too early to call my favourite book of the year? When Vivi joins Westerly College, she discovers the sorority known as the Ravens are actually a secret coven of witches. In her pledge to join, she quickly gets on the wrong side of Scarlett, a legacy Raven, who desperately wants to be voted president to meet her mother's unreasonable expectations. Although the dark events of last year are catching up with Scarlett, putting the whole sorority in danger.  For me, this will go down as one of my favourites of all time. It has everything I loved about 90s Charmed combined with everything I adore in YA fiction. It's fast paced, full of complex family history and teen drama, and had enough magic and mystery to keep me enthralled throughout. It has a darker edge to it too, like the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina , plus a couple of lines of humour, and tons of mystery.  The story is told through third person dual POV...

WILDER GIRLS by Rory Power 5 Stars Verdict: Dark, gritty, beautiful.  An infection has taken over the Raxter School for Girls, and the survivors are each damaged in different, gruesome ways. Quarantined on the island, all they can do is wait for the outside world to find a cure. When Hetty's friend goes missing, she breaks the rules to find her.  I listened to the audiobook, and the voice actor was superb. It's also a fairly short listen, too, and well suited to the format.   There's a content warning for body horror. The book generally has a spooky, apocalyptic feel to it, but I wouldn't personally call it scary. A little gruesome in places, but not too gross, which is how I like it. It's also not the happiest story, so I wouldn't call it a book for everyone.   That said, I really loved it.  The pace is gradual and steady, and the POV flips a couple of times to give a better overview of what's going on inside Raxter. The plot leans towards predictabl...

SCYTHE by Neil Shusterman  4  stars Verdict: I had an existential crisis, but loved it in the end. Based on a world where death is cured, Scythes are ordained in order to choose which people should be gleaned in order to maintain the population levels. Citra and Rowan are chosen to be Scythes. Neither want the honour, and only one will be chosen.  I went on quite the journey with this one. I started out with the paperback and loved the quirky, dark tone...but didn't feel that 'pull' which I need to keep going. So I didn't. I switched to the audiobook and found it much easier to get through.  The book is world led, not character led, and I think this was my problem. The main leads, Citra and Rowan aren't really too interesting to start out with. Once I worked out why I wasn't completely connecting with it, I actually started to like it a lot more. I loved the quirky tone and dark humour. The snippets of journal entries from past scythes was also a interesting wa...