Scookie Reviews

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...