#4 The Soul Seeker: Horizon by Alyson Noel

Horizon is the last book in the series by Alyson Noel and it has nicely concluded an engaging story.

Following Daire and friends we read as she begins her final battle with the Richter family, exploding into a world of spirit animals, family, duty and strength. Noel has successfully brought together the elements of the series to conclude a story based strongly around love through portrayal of each of the characters actions and thoughts.

The book itself seems slightly rushed in places and not followed through properly, as if Noel has written it to include all the characters in the plot somehow. Whereas in other areas, mostly the ending, i felt like it went on a bit and could have ended nicely a few pages back.

Overall an enjoyable read and kept me engaged to find out how it would all conclude. Another creative series successfully written by Alyson Noel.

Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher

Overall an enjoyable read but i did have mixed emotions throughout. A book older readers will find more engaging.

Some events in the book were not believable in my opinion, and i did find myself disagreeing with the main character, Sophie. Some subjects that Fletcher has focused on can be viewed with a mix of opinions, so depending on how the reader feels about the situation depends on how they will view it.

Focusing on the structure of the book it is a nice sequence of effects that lead for a relaxing, easy and enjoyable read. I did find that most characters were very 'english' spoken because Fletcher has used the english language in a way to capture the identity of a village. However having said the second main character, Billy, spoke in a similar way to the village people which i didn't find believable because it's almost like Fletcher has merged the characters together, therefore not giving them their own identities and personalities. But then again was this done to put focus on the fact that Billy isn't the same as all the other famous actors out there, that he really is a country boy who is the same as everyone else.

The book does have deep meaning within it that come across nicely through displays of characters and events. Coming to the end of the book i did find it quite a depressing read, but then my thought on that was that it has captured the reality of life instead of creating a fantasy world. Luckily by the end of the book it does summaries everything that has happened to portray meanings of finding yourself and following your dreams, combined with emotions of loss, betrayal, confusion, love and pride.

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Leila Sales has created an enjoyable story based on a not so enjoyable topic by carefully constructing the plot to tell the story of a troubled teenager.

Elise is a typical teenager however her issues of school and friends go deeper into a dark side of emotions. Sales has cleverly planned out chapter 1 because by the end of it we already have a good idea of what type of character Elise is. We follow her through the book as she tackles problems of school and being alone but most importantly as a person she feels like she can not be herself which I feel the target audience is suitable because as teenagers they can relate to her.

Although it is an enjoyable book, I did have a few problems. Firstly, I found that a few situations within the book aren't very believable, whether that was just my opinion or not I found this kind of put the book down in way of it's realistic views. Secondly, Elise's sister, Alex, who is 7 years-old speaks more maturely for her age as she seems to have a very mature personality. This didn't ruin the book though as it's only a small thing.

The most entertaining event throughout the book was the DJ part because I absolutely loved reading into the technical side and being able to learn at the same time as the character.

Overall an easy read novel, more suited to teenagers. 

Briar Rose by Jana Oliver

Another imaginative story from a wonderfully imaginative author!

Briar Rose is a girl who mimics Aurora from the tale 'Sleeping Beauty' through falling asleep on her 16th birthday although most of the coincidences stop there as Jana Oliver has created her own take on the tale. There is an array of villains and alliances throughout the novel that keeps the reader entertained and the story alive. My particular favourite being Ruric, whom Briar meets after falling asleep, because Oliver has created a loyal character as well as funny, unique and a proper prince charming to someones princess Aurora.

Oliver has beautifully written her own fairy tale in Briar Rose with detailed descriptions to give a sharp image in the readers mind to make the story come alive. However I have to admit that in some scenarios you can tell what is going to happen before it does, but that's a typical fairy tale for you!

An enjoyable read in a new fairy tale world!

#3 The Soul Seekers: Mystic by Alyson Noel

The third book in the Soul Seekers series in my opinion could have been better. I feel that while useful information has been revealed to the reader to carry on to the fourth book, I think that Mystic could have been much improved. I say this because it was quite slow and not as adventurous as I had hoped it to be, with the overall plot being plain and not needed.

However, as always Alyson Noel has created a gripping world, staring with Fated in which I was hooked straight away. I really enjoy the use of the spirit animals within the books, however I feel they lacked appearance in Mystic. I also missed the descriptions of the Lowerworld, Middleworld and Upperworld as Noel seems to have dialled it down after the first two books.

Overall the series so far is intriguing and I will read the fourth book, Horizon, but hopefully Noel will bring more description and adventure to the story to keep readers entertained.

#3 Goddess by Josephine Angelini

Helen is back in her final battle against the Gods. The ending to the trilogy doesn’t disappoint with romance, family, friendship, war, mystery and betrayal. Full of detailed scenes, Josephine Angelini has brought a great trilogy into the world of books.

We follow Helen in her journey and with input from other characters the reader is able to gain detailed description of peoples actions and thoughts, bringing us into the story full of lies and truths. It kept me on edge at times with the need to read more, I fully enjoyed this book and the trilogy overall is one worth reading because Angelini has successfully communicated Greek mythology clearly to bring this world of to life.

Read it, read it, READ IT!

Kite Spirit by Sita Brahmachari

A gentle read about the devastation of losing, finding and understanding.

We follow Kite as she tries to come to terms with the suicide of her best friend Dawn. Going through the stages of grieving, there is plenty of ‘what if’ and ‘why’ for Kite to think about.

I was first introduce to Sita Brahmachari with ‘Artichoke Hearts’, however I didn’t actually finish the book because I wasn’t fond of her way of writing as it was quite childish and I couldn’t engage well with the story. Having said that in this book Brahmachari guides the reader through the delicate process of losing someone, using delicate wording to convey different meanings effectively. I really enjoyed the meaning of the owls, along with many hidden meanings that are there to help keep Dawn alive in spirit and for Kite to cling on to some kind of reality.

A gentle, delicate and easy read. Covering such a sad subject is hard to understand but Brahmachari has tackled it well. Not the best book in the world, but good in its own way.