(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having read the first two books in this series, I was really happy when I was offered the opportunity to read the third book in this series. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish it as soon as I would have liked… but I still enjoyed reading it when I was able to start.

I did feel that part of the first couple of chapters sounded really familiar… as if I’d read a couple of those lines in the previous book.

I found it really interesting to see the differences in Jocelyn’s two lives. It was interesting to see that neither of those were perfect realities and that both had their problems. The Jocelyn from modern times and the Jocelyn from the past seemed to come across as two different people at times, too.

I don’t agree with the way modern-Jocelyn’s mother and brother treated her when she chose to get engaged to Jackson… but at the same time, I can see why they would both be bothered. I have seen a couple who got married while one of them was quite young and there are parts of that relationship that didn’t seem too healthy. Although I could understand and believe in Jocelyn and Jackson’s feelings towards each other, I could also understand how concerned Jocelyn’s friends and family were… and I definitely don’t think Jackson and his family should have encouraged one of the things they did, since it ultimately made things a whole lot worse.

I found it intriguing how the two Jocelyns slipped into the speech from the other time – such as modern-Jocelyn becoming more formal and past-Jocelyn using more modern phrasing. I also found it interesting to learn more about Jackson’s past and how he was in his real high school.

In the past, I really felt a lot of sympathy towards Olivia and William. I would like to see more focus on their relationship, particularly given what they had to deal with on top of everything else.

I also liked seeing Nicholas and a bit more of Sidney. I’d be intrigued to see how things continue to develop in the next book/s in this series.

(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I found this book one that was really quick and easy to read. Dreams have always been quite strange – and things that seem perfectly natural in dreams are so much weirder after a person wakes up… at least most of the time.

I did feel a lot of sympathy towards Albert for part of the first book, even though I felt it was right that he got into trouble for calling Lucy names (just because I think name-calling can become bullying if left unchecked and it’s not very nice to be insulting even if it’s supposed to be funny).

It was interesting to see Albert’s interactions with his parents, both in flashbacks and during actual scenes shown. There were a couple of scenes I found myself cringing at in this book, such as the appearance of the tarantula… and what Albert’s father said to him about the spiders. (It might be a fact, but I don’t think George Winter’s brain-to-mouth filter was properly engaged).

I could really see the difference between the real world and the dream world after Albert entered it. I found it interesting to see how some parts of the dream mirrored real life… while others were quite illogical, such as a parent-teacher conversation happening in another’s home and Albert, his dog and the Stickman pretending to be inanimate objects inside the room.

I was also fairly amused by the Stickman’s ability to change his appearance, such as looking like Legolas from Lord of the Rings… but holding a doughnut instead of a ring. And the real-world things that were exaggerated in the dream-world came across really well.

I liked how, towards the end of the book, Albert and the others had to work together to defeat the final ‘boss’. The ending of the dream was particularly sweet as well. I thought the chickens were quite a random aspect, but they made a certain kind of sense for the dream-reality.

I wouldn’t be adverse to reading more books by this author in the future. Having read this one, I expect my niece might enjoy it and I’ll pass it on to her to read next.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did think that the plot of this book was quite a unique one. The fact that the main character was a star was a really intriguing idea… but that was revealed in the blurb of the book and I felt it could have been left as a mystery a bit more.

I would have probably given this book four stars… but apart from the love triangle (I don’t like them, but I knew this was coming), I was a bit irritated by the fact that Vegas seemed to have a whole lot of characters in love with her/wanting to sleep with her. The love triangle itself wasn’t really bad and I did feel that the author did a good job of developing Vegas’ relationship with both Leo and Gage. I also felt that the history of Vegas’ and Leo’s relationship was a really interesting one.

Although there’s a much more scientific explanation for stars than the myths indicated, I liked how the explanation for the stars came across. I would have liked to know about the other stars in the constellation, though, and if they were immortal beings who were connected to Vegas.

Hydra was pretty creepy, but I would have liked a bit more explanation as to why the snake seemed particularly obsessed with Vegas. I know the prophecy and everything, but it did seem to be another one obsessed with Vegas. And I had a lot of trouble understanding what Hades was trying to do.

It was interesting to see many of the other characters from Greek mythology and I particularly liked how Apollo came across, despite the fact that Vegas was apparently his favourite along with everyone else’s. It was good to see some of the others, but a lot of them came across as jerks… and those seemed to be the ones who are always made out to be the bad guys in books based on Greek mythology.

I didn’t mind Vegas as a main character, but I felt there were times she came across as a bit shallow. I did like how it took her a while to figure out how to use her power… but she did seem to accept it a bit too quickly, especially when she jumped on her name being similar to the name of the star Vega.

Would I read a sequel to this book? I’d actually be more interested in reading a book about Vega’s and Leo’s history together. Without the obsession due to how different (and exotic) she looks in comparison to everyone else.

(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I don’t tend to go in for historical books that much, but I thought that this one sounded particularly intriguing. I’ve seen a lot of fiction books about royal historical figures after they became Kings and Queens… but not too many about a monarch before they ruled.

Chess is probably one of my favourite games. I’ve enjoyed playing it for as long as I can remember and I have a couple of different chess collections, including the Marvel chess collection. So it was interesting to find a book where there was a chess tournament set in Tudor times and one where players from all over the world were called.

I found it interesting to see that this book was written from Elizabeth’s point of view and to see the elements of the Queen she would become, while having her as a child who was still trying to do the right thing. I especially found her relationship with Elsie to be quite an interesting one, such as Elsie’s attempts to manipulate Elizabeth into coming with her when she wanted to go and visit the Crown Prince, for instance.

The murder mystery aspect of this book was particularly intriguing. There were some especially gruesome aspects to this book that made me cringe to read them. I also found it interesting how the pieces in chess mirrored the characters in the book, made more obvious by the snippets of information about the history of chess at various points in the book.

I was a bit surprised that Elizabeth’s attitude didn’t change towards Elsie, considering that sex outside of marriage (particularly for women) was frowned upon in those times. I did feel a bit sorry for Elsie by the end of the book, but I didn’t particularly like the way she was for a lot of it – more because of how she was with Elizabeth and the others than anything else.

I found it interesting to read about the politics in this book and how the Sultan tried to manipulate the tournament to his advantage. There were some quite awful things in the book, but throughout history (and nowadays), humans have done pretty awful things to each other.

I felt that Elizabeth came across as strong and an intriguing person, even at the age she was in this book. Since I enjoyed reading this, I would probably read other books by this author in the future.