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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Book reviews: Chanslös | Crash & Burn | I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

Title: Chanslös (Devoid of Chance)
Author: Gail Carriger

Original title: Changeless
First published: 2010
Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy, Adult
Series: Parasolprotektoratet #2
Publisher: Styxx
Format: Hardback
Pages: 376
Finished: 04/03/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! Alexia Maccon, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears; leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.
But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. So even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can. She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

My thoughts: Well, this didn’t live up to my expectations…
Having read and loved “Soulless” a few years ago, I was looking forward to reading more of Carriger’s books. I realize now that I should have abandoned this series and maybe tried something else by her.

So was this book a disaster? No, it wasn’t. The main reasons I didn’t enjoy this book are quite clear. One is that I loved the first book… as a standalone. I knew from the moment I finished “Soulless” that it should’ve ended as a standalone. At least in my mind. On that front, I think the experience can vary a lot from reader to reader, so don’t let yourself be shunned by my preferences. Secondly, I felt that several characters that we got to see a lot in this book really got under my skin. At times, I just didn’t want to pick this book back up because these characters were just so annoying and it felt unmotivated to even keep them in the plot. They barely did anything or contributed in any way to either the progression of the plot or to the enjoyment of the reader. Thirdly, the book never had me hooked on the story. Honestly, most of what happened, exciting or not, was depicted in a way that to me seemed anticlimactic or even dull.

There are of course good aspects of the novel. For one, the writing really sticks out. It’s quirky, original, and sometimes very funny. It’s like a parody on itself, almost. However, I’d go so far as to say that this good aspect of the book is also one of its downsides. By having the writing always be over the top and dramatic, there’s no way to enhance critical points in the plot with extra explosive language, because it can’t get more dramatic than it already was. Therefore, it fell quite flat at several points.

I sound super negative. It’s not a super bad book; it just was not for me.

Rating: 2,5/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Crash & Burn
Author: Abigail Roux
Original title: Crash & Burn
First published: 2015
Genre: Romance, Crime
Series: Cut & Run #9
Publisher: Riptide
Format: Paperback
Pages: 321
Finished: 13/03/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! It’s been five years since Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett first worked together to solve the Tri-State murders, and time has been both harsh and kind. Engaged now, they face the challenge of planning a deeply uncertain future together. Zane is at the pinnacle of his career with one last mystery to solve, while Ty is at sea in a world where he’s no longer the tip of a spear. There’s just one more hurdle in the way of their happy ever after: a traitor from their inner circle who threatens to burn their world to the ground. Squeezed between the Vega cartel, an unknown mole, and too many alphabet agencies to count, Ty and Zane must gather all their strength and resources to beat the longest odds they’ve ever faced. To make it out alive, they’ll need help from every friend they’ve got. Even the friends who might betray their trust.

My thoughts: Last book of a long series, this one. Tbh, the “Cut & Run” series has been a guilty pleasure, but not necessarily one I’m too embarrassed about. The main characters, Ty and Zane, are special to me in the sea of fiction I surround myself with, and for that I’m thankful to both Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban (who co-wrote the first books in the series with Abigail).

The series as a whole has been really enjoyable and emotional, in my opinion. This last book didn’t quite cut it for me like I’d hoped, though. Things got a bit confusing, there were jumps in the timeline that seemed rushed and unnecessary, and too made scenes were made to be very dramatic and emotional for the absolute end to really stand out and make a special impact. It’s not the best book in the series, but it was worth reading. This will sound a bit strange with the context of a series labled as erotica and crime, but I feel content, and a bit sentimental, about now leaving the series behind, keeping it as a fond memory.
PS. I read this for the reading theme of March; "Borta bra, men hemma bäst"!

Rating: 3,5/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
Author: Ally Carter
Original title: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
First published: 2006
Genre: YA, Mystery
Series: Gallagher Girls #1
Publisher: Orchard Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 309
Finished: 19/03/2019
Summary: The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school - that is, it would be if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses, but it's really a school for spies. Cammie Morgan is a second-generation Gallagher Girl, and by her sophomore year she's already fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (one of which involves a piece of uncooked spaghetti). But the one thing the Gallagher Academy hasn't prepared her for is what to do when she falls for a boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through town without his ever being the wiser - but can she have a relationship with a regular boy who can never know the truth about her? Cammie may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's beginning her most dangerous mission - falling in love.

My thoughts: This didn’t leave much of an impression on me. It’s a quick and easy read that checks all the Mainstream Chick Lit Trope boxes. Parts of it stands out, like the spy school aspect, but not enough the book itself very special. All in all, I didn’t dislike it, but I also didn’t particularly enjoy it.

Rating: 2,75/5