Title: The Iron TrialAuthor: Cassandra Clare & Holly Black
Original title: The Iron Trial
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Series: Magisterium #1
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 295
Finished: 04/09/2015
Summary: Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.
Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.
All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him.
So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing.
Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.
The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .
My thoughts:
Okay, so here's the thing; this book has a lot of things similar to Harry Potter. I still loved it, but at the same time I felt the authors could've worked a little harder on making it less Harry Potter-ish. I mean, there's even a Death Eater on the cover (kind of)! But don't worry, The Iron Trial is in a lot of ways also its own. I especially liked Call, the main character, for many reasons, but I won't mention them all since I don't wish to spoil you. I just really appreciated his personality and humour and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story, his story, from his point of view. And the sidekicks were totally loveable characters as well and I felt they all developed through the story though it's not a very long book. Actually, the characters overall were pretty awesome.
Also, it built up to the ending in a really good way. I almost missed my train to school because I was so caught up in reading towards the end. I loved that! Plus, the story held a good pace and for the first time in a long time I felt I'd rather read a book than sit with my laptop. It was a great feeling and maybe I can throw this reading slump off my shoulders and start truly enjoy reading in my free time again.
I give this book a 4/5 stars. It would've probably gotten a 5/5 stars if I hadn't felt so many times that it was so alike Harry Potter. I think they could have tried a little harder to make it its own story completely. I expect more from the upcoming books. I'm so excited for The Copper Gauntlet! Aaah!
Rating: 4/5
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Title: White CatAuthor: Holly Black
Original title: White Cat
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: Curse Workers #1
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Paperback
Pages: 310
Finished: 07/09/15
Summary: Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn't fit in at home or at school, so he's used to feeling like an outsider. He's also used to feeling guilty; he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.
But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas and a plan to con the conmen.
My thoughts:
I admit I bought this book a little bit because of the cover. A little. But can you blame me, really? I mean, just look at it! It's gorgeous!
Anyway, White Cat is more than a pretty cover. It's not a normal YA fantasy novel. It's a bit different from all those books that are all the same, and that's what makes this book stand out so much. Firstly, it's written from a boy's point of view. I really wish we's see more of that in the YA community. It's always girls; almost as if it's part of the genre to have a girl as main character. I'm not saying it's not cool to read from the points of view of badass young women, but boys should be seen too. At least to encourage more teenage boys to read.
Secondly, the atmosphere is darker in a much more professional way in White Cat than in many other novels that try but never fully succeed. It loved the family relations and the relationship Cassel has with many of the characters. It felt very real.
Thirdly, the world was so cool and rather unique. Magic in a new way.
And may I just say I loved Barron as a character? So well done; I applaud you, Ms Black.
Overall, a truly unique book amongst the sea of YA. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good story with twisted elements of darkness.
Rating: 4/5
Title: Days of Blood & StarlightAuthor: Laini Taylor
Original title: Days of Blood & Starlight
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: Dauther of Smoke & Bone #2
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Format: Hardback
Pages: 513
Finished: 08/09/2015
Summary: (Spoiler alert!) Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.This is not that world.
Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.
My thoughts:
I've been meaning to pick this up for at least a year. Now I finally got that little extra push of motivation to read it, as I'm going to the Swedish yearly Book Fair this year, and guess who's going to be there! Laini Taylor! So I want to have read the whole trilogy before I meet her in the end of September.
I knew from non-spoiler reviews on Goodreads that this book was supposed to be pretty sad. It was not just "sad". It was heartbreaking. But in that amazing way that feels great no matter what way you put it. I was, I don't know, fifty-ish pages into this book and I was already both depressed and obsessed.
I can't say too much about it since it's the second book in a trilogy and I don't want to spoil anyone, but let me say a few things.
The characters! So real and so well described I felt I knew them in real life. I was so into the story, I almost felt I was the characters. I felt their sorrows and their grief and regrets. Not much happiness, because there's little of that in this book.
I especially like Karou as a female protagonist. I felt she was rather just a person than a girl. That's something I've come to realize I don't like about most YA novels; it's made so very clear that the female protagonists are females. I wish it could just be natural that they're girls rather than... forced.
What I liked less about this instalment of the series was the pace. It felt sooo slow at times and it was just misery and depression and badness. But, that's the only downside with this book, and I guess all the slowness was a build up and it was a good way to introduce all the new characters.
Rating: 4,5/5
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