Month: January 2015

Pastime Pleasures #24 – The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

Posted January 9, 2015 by Charlotte in Pastime Pleasures / 4 Comments
Pastime Pleasures #24 –  The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

Welcome to my  feature, Pastime Pleasures, posted every other Friday. Today is the turn of The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman. Here I will look at books that have given me great pleasure in the past. These are books I can read over and over again. The only rule is that the book must have been published five or more years ago.   Sally is sixteen, an orphan and for the time has had a most unusual education and upbringing. After her father drowns in suspicious circumstances in the south China sea, Sally finds herself in grave danger. And to make matters worse Sally only has one living relation, an extremely scornful aunt, and due to her father’s complicated will, her inheritance is a little less than what she was expecting. And then what is Sally meant to do with the anonymous misspelled note sent to her in the post. What on earth could “Sali beware of the seven blessings. Marchbanks will help chattum. Bware darling.” possibly mean? Sally is a resourceful, intelligent and independent person, who manges to […]

Review: Half Bad by Sally Green

Posted January 5, 2015 by Charlotte in Reviews / 2 Comments
Review: Half Bad by Sally Green

I received this book for free from Own Copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Half Bad by Sally Green Series: The Half Bad Trilogy #1 Published by Penguin on March 4, 2014 Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Young Adult Pages: 416 Format: E-Book Source: Own Copy Buy on Amazon Goodreads Wanted by no one.Hunted by everyone. Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world’s most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan’s only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it’s too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves? Half Bad is an international sensation and the start of a brilliant trilogy: a gripping tale […]

Review: Empire by John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard

Posted January 2, 2015 by Charlotte in Reviews / 0 Comments
Review: Empire by John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Empire by John Connolly, Jennifer Ridyard Series: The Chronicles of the Invaders #2 Published by Headline on January 1, 2015 Genres: Dystopia, Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult Pages: 441 Format: E-Arc Source: Publisher Buy on Amazon Goodreads AN EPIC TALE OF INTRIGUE, VIOLENCE AND LOVE, SET IN A TIME WHEN AN ELITE ALIEN RACE RULE SUPREME. FOR FANS OF RICK YANCEY AND PITTACUS LORE.The second in the epic Chronicles of the Invaders trilogy by bestselling author John Connolly, and Jennifer Ridyard. For fans of THE 5TH WAVE and I AM NUMBER FOUR. Syl Hellias: an Illyri, the first of her kind to be born on Earth. Paul Kerr: a human, dedicated to his people’s resistance of the alien invasion. Brought together by chance they formed the strongest of bonds. Now they are to be punished for that love. Exiled to the outermost reaches of the universe, Syl and Paul must […]