Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Ricky Riordan

First things first, don't be fooled by the 'For ages 9 and over' note on the cover of this book. It's a book any age will enjoy!

Being a history geek I was intrigued by the book's take on Greek mythology, and this is what initially lured me in. 

In a similar vein to the tv show 'Once Upon A Time, Riordan takes myths and makes the characters into modern day equivalents in a very clever way. You end up playing a game with yourself whereby you try and guess which mythilogical creature they are... Medusa stumped me and I am incredibly mad at myself for not working it out sooner!

So long as you remember it is a children's book, and therefore don't expect any prize-winning literary feats, you will enjoy this book for the tale itself. It is a simple yet effective 'fairy-tale' and an easy read to get caught up in.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

Ok so I bought the first two in this series on a whim, and then borrowed the other 4 books. So before I'm even one chapter in I'm already invested in the series. I was hoping for a good return... One chapter later and I can relax - I'm already hooked!

The characters are far more enthralling than Edward and Bella, and despite the paranormal they are far more realistic. I'm glad Simon didn't just become a whingey side-line character. He is fast becoming one of my favourites...even more so than Jace! 

This may be targeted at young adults, but the writing style is suited to anyone. I read the last 2 chapters in one sitting...finishing way past bed-time! I just had to find out what happened. I was well-rewarded with an action-packed finale in which your perspective changes somewhat...

Book two is already in progress :)

The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty

Wow...and just, wow.

This beautiful tale starts slow, as characters are steadily thrown into the mix, but the once the pace starts building it feels like a merry-go-round ride to the finish.

I started this book expecting a trashy romance, but instead this was a tale intricately combining lust, grief, love and betrayal.

Moriarty has a casual writing style which made reading this book effortless. It took me two days to finish, and I closed the final page with a smile on my face.

The First Days - Rhiannon Frater

Walking dead fans will love this book, and indeed the trilogy. The Zombie-apocolypse is upon us and this book starts literally as society falls.

Fans of the Walking dead will recognise the gory zombie decapitations against various backdrops; houses, service stations, the speedy race from the city to the space and 'safety' of the Texas countryside - and the final sanctuary of a fortified town not unlike 'Woodbury'....

Frater focuses her story on two female leads: one a kick-ass lesbian (her sexuality we are reminded of again and again...) and the other an abused wife and mother. I wish Frater made me care more about the main characters. I cared more about the supporting characters, especially the elderly Israeli female sniper holed up in a gun store - which is exactly where I would want to be too if the world ended!

A great start to the trilogy, with more than enough action to keep girls and boys entertained. Stick at it cos I have a feeling Frater is building up to something gorily good in part 2...

Asylum - John Harwood

What started out as a historical mystery novel soon descended into cleverly twisted tale. 

Harwood manages to successfully switch your perspective during Asylum, leaving me racing towards the end.

If you like your stories with a heavy does of historical content and the thrill of a chase then this one's for you. The tale is similar to the plot of the film Gothika, with the lead winding up in a lunatic asylum with no knowledge of how or why. 

The latter half of the book was far superior to the first. Once you've gotten past all of the events prior to the here-and-now and met the key characters it then starts to get interesting!

My advice; hold out til the end, it's worth the wait...

Hush Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick

This book is apparently aimed at Twilight fans. I loved Twlight, Hush Hush took some work!

The teenage angst of falling for a fella a little on the paranormal side is a recurring theme in this book, however there are no melancholy, brooding vamps like Edward in sight. Instead Becca gives us Patch. A fallen angel who, if he had treated me the way he treats Nora, would have had a swift slap as a reward for his efforts.

 At least in Twilight you understand why Bella is drawn to Edward. In Hush Hush Patch is far too cock-sure and arrogant for my liking, and this almost made me close the book in favour of another a number of times.

The end had the potential of being genious, with my irritation at Patch preventing me from working out just who the 'bad guy' was. Yet the ending seemed a little hurried and left me feeling overjoyed at reaching the last page!

The characters in Hush Hush are 2D and you never really feel comfortable in their presence. I often wished that Nora would  ditch Patch, abandon her overly qwerky best friend, and just do something a little less tiring. Maybe she could make ONE good choice in the whole book??

Unfortunately I am a sucker for punishment, and in the interest of proving history wrong, I am going to see if on this occasion the sequel outdoes it's predecessor. God I hope so!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor

The first few pages of this book were not enough to get me hooked, but for lack of an alternative, I continued on - and I am so glad I did!

The book starts out slow as Taylor introduces Karou and the characters in both worlds. During this part of the book there is a great deal of unnecessary detail about Karou's boyfriend - who isn't really very interesting and is perhaps what put me off. Her boyfriend really doesn't require that much attention considering where the tale leads!

After all of the explaining is through, the book begins to get good, and this coincides with the arrival of Arkiva. He is an angel, but not in the traditional sense...

Taylor unveils Arkiva and his alternate world with such poignancy and care that it is almost as if you are experiencing the unveiling right along with Karou. 

The angel versus demon theme is distorted slightly by Taylor, and you are never really sure who is on which team. This, along with the broken angel Arkiva, keeps the reader intrigued and forced me into reading chapter after chapter well into the early hours..

It seems this is to be a trilogy, with the next book not yet released. I cannot wait :)