Book reviews: Death Most Definite | The Magicians of Caprona | Reptilrummet

Title: Death Most Definite

Author: Trent Jamieson
Original title: Death Most Definite
First published: 2010
Genre: Fantasy, Adult
Series: Death Workers #1
Publisher: Orbit
Format: Paperback
Pages: 372
Finished: 25/04/2019
Summary: Steven de Selby has a hangover. Bright lights, loud noise, and lots of exercise are the last thing he wants. But that's exactly what he gets when someone starts shooting at him.
Steven is no stranger to death-Mr. D's his boss after all-but when a dead girl saves him from sharing her fate, he finds himself on the wrong end of the barrel. His job is to guide the restless dead to the underworld but now his clients are his own colleagues, friends, and family. Mr. D's gone missing and with no one in charge, the dead start to rise, the living are hunted, and the whole city teeters on the brink of a regional apocalypse-unless Steven can shake his hangover, not fall for the dead girl, and find out what happened to his boss- that is, Death himself.

My thoughts: I read this for the reading theme of April; A skeleton in the closet! This book is about ghosts and death, so I thought it would be very fitting indeed.
And it was good! Best book I’ve read since February, though it doesn’t reach higher than ⅘ stars for me. It was entertaining, humorous, fast paced, and pretty action packed. Not a work of art, but I think it definitely deserves a higher rating on Goodreads. Overall very pleased with the reading experience! I also want to read more Australian literature after this, seeing as I’ve also enjoyed “Jam” by Yahtzee Croshaw and “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak before (both Australian authors if I’m not mistaken, can’t be bothered to Google atm).

Rating: 4/5

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Title: The Magicians of Caprona
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Original title: The Magicians of Caprona
First published: 1980
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Series: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci #4
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 273
Finished: 26/04/2019
Summary: Tonino is the only person in the famous Montana household who wasn't born with an instinct for creating spells, but he has other gifts. His ability to communicate with cats just might help defend the city of Caprona against a mysterious enchanter -- but only if Tonino can learn to cooperate with a girl from the hated Petrocchi family of spell-makers.

My thoughts: So this is a book that I started reading a few years back but for some reason didn’t have the energy to finish even though I literally only had 50 pages left (lazy). This wasn’t my favourite book in the series so far; I think the sheer amount of characters threw me off from the start and I just never caught up. I also didn’t find the protagonist to be as appealing as in the previous two books (we follow a new character in every book). However, I’m still in love with the world and Chrestomanci, and the story in itself is well written and enjoyable. I will most likely continue to read the series.
Btw this is a bind-up edition, so I only read the first book, and the second book in the bind-up is "Witch Week". Idk why that feels important to mention, but now u know.

Rating: 3/5

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Title: Reptilrummet
Author: Lemony Snicket
Original title: The Reptile Room
First published: 1999
Genre: Middle grade
Series: Syskonen Baudelaires olycksaliga liv #2
Publisher: Richters
Format: Hardback
Pages: 200
Finished: 29/04/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! Dear Reader,
If you have picked up this book with the hope of finding a simple and cheery tale, I'm afraid you have picked up the wrong book altogether. The story may seem cheery at first, when the Baudelaire children spend time in the company of some interesting reptiles and a giddy uncle, but don't be fooled. If you know anything at all about the unlucky Baudelaire children, you already know that even pleasant events lead down the same road to misery.
In fact, within the pages you now hold in your hands, the three siblings endure a car accident, a terrible odor, a deadly serpent, a long knife, a large brass reading lamp, and the appearance of a person they'd hoped never to see again.
I am bound to record these tragic events, but you are free to put this book back on the shelf and seek something lighter.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

My thoughts: I’m back to the Series of Unfortunate Events after reading the first book in January (link to that review HERE). This is a very solid children’s/middle grade series and I’m a bit saddened that I wasn’t introduced to this when I was younger. Nevertheless, the author has a quirky writing style that appeals even to older peeps like me. I believe these books would be fun to read to children (at least those who are patient enough to listen these days). All in all, this was a solid book, though I wasn’t feeling very involved in it. After all, I’ve already seen the entire Netflix adaptation, so the plot is fresh in mind. It lands on a middle-ish grade.
(yes, it bothers me that this is the best picture for the cover I could find)

Rating: 2,75/5