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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I was a bit unsure of what to make of this book at first. I thought the concept was really interesting and it drew me in really easily. I did get a bit confused with the constant switching back and forward in time, though. I would have liked to see the chapters written in more of a chronological order.

There was a lot of mystery in this book, which was good. I understood most of what was going on… but I did find there were a few too many instances of info dumping. It would have been good to see more of the minor characters and how they related to the main ones.

I would have liked to see more of the differences between how Gerald and Matthew operated. There was a lot of telling rather than showing when it came to the different ways they did things.

There were some particularly gruesome scenes in this book. Although it was disappointing to see that so many of the possessed victims died, I did think that it made sense. The possessions of Matthew’s mother and sister were particularly hard to read about… especially since I wasn’t sure how the possession worked; whether anyone could be possessed, or if it was only a specific type of situation.

It was interesting to see Matthew’s ‘relationship’ with his ‘passenger’. I would have liked some more details about how that all worked… and it didn’t seem like Gerald was really that concerned with helping Matthew get rid of his ‘passenger’.

I had quite a few theories by the end of this book, but I was still left with a lot of unanswered questions. I did find myself reading the book more avidly by the end of this storyline. There were a couple of random scene changes without actual scene breaks, but although I did get a bit confused at those times, there was plenty to keep me focused. I wasn’t really sure I liked Gerald… but I did find both him and Matthew interesting characters.

I probably would read the next book/s in this series at some point in the future. It would be good to see more of the characters and how everything will come together.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although I did end up enjoying this book a lot, I found it a bit hard to get into at first. The main characters were interesting, but I felt like I was missing a lot of the previous story and the explanation about how the Sandrat and Voyageur became friends/travelling companions.

I thought it was interesting to see the things that were in the characters’ heads, talking to them, though I would have liked to see more explanation about the beings(?) in their heads. Meemi’s interactions with the Sandrat did make me smile and it was cool to see how they were able to communicate with each other through the things that talked to them.

It was interesting to see the Sandrat talking and bantering with his enemies. I felt his skills and experience came across really well. And it was also good to see that Voyageur was good at acting calm and rational. I would have liked some more details about the friendship between them… as well as about the world they found themselves in.

I did find myself getting confused about some of the characters. When the Sandrat talked about the history of the god, I found that really intriguing… but I was confused as to why he had appeared so vastly different to what the Sandrat’s explanation was.

I liked Ator and Rota. I would have liked more details about their history and how they related to the garden. It was good to see how Ator interacted with the others… but by the end of the book, I was left with a lot of questions rather than answers.

There was a good amount of action, though I felt the bad guys were a bit too one-dimensional. It was hard to see them as well-rounded. Breddick was annoying… and I didn’t really get enough information about his children to be able to differentiate between them.

This book was long, but it took a while for the title to become relevant. I was intrigued by the characters and their situation. In the future, I’d like to see more of both the Sandrat and Voyageur.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

When I read the blurb of this book, I felt immediately drawn to the storyline described. I liked Alex’s character and I found her really easy to understand and empathise with.

I thought it was really cool to see the descriptions of the meteor shower, even though it brought the virus. I found it easy to see how difficult things were for Alex and how she and her brother were affected by not only their mother getting sick, but everyone around them.

I really enjoyed seeing Alex’s relationship with Jacob and I liked that he remained a priority to her. I did think that there wasn’t enough foreshadowing in this book, though. There was too much in the way of things suddenly being revealed from the past, rather than earlier in the book. It was very much a case of, ‘Oh. That was a bit convenient’.

I liked being able to see some of the characters before the virus took hold, since it was good to see the contrast in their personalities before and after. I would have liked a bit more information about how Baxter seemed able to sense something was wrong… whether it was something unique to dogs, or if all animals could sense it.

There were some really good elements of mystery in this book and it was good to see that Alex wasn’t as good at fooling her mother as she’d hoped. I was a bit disappointed in her father’s friend. He came across as kind of a jerk and completely contrasted with how he’d come across before. (And there was the lack of foreshadowing again…)

It was interesting to see the dreams that were helping Alex to figure things out, but I couldn’t tell if the dreams were her subconscious or whether there were supernatural reasons behind them. I also liked seeing Alex’s interactions with Chris. It was nice to see that, although she was attracted to him, that didn’t take over the book. It was also good to see her and Chris forced to grow up and take on responsibility.

I would probably be interested in reading the sequel to this book in the future. It would be good to see how people will deal with the aftermath of everything.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Ideally, I’d give this book 2.5 stars out of 5. I can’t quite give it 3. I thought the blurb was really intriguing and I really did adore the front cover. I thought that the book did start off promising… but it quickly went downhill when Piper came into her abilities.

I did think that Piper became a much more unlikable character after her transformation. Although she claimed to care about and love her friends, I didn’t really see much evidence of that. I thought most of the characters came across as quite immature… which I guess they were meant to be, but I couldn’t really form an emotional connection to Piper. And I felt that her friends didn’t seem to exist outside of her; mostly because I was only ever told what they were thinking and feeling through Piper, without having the chance to see it for myself.

While I did like Charlie’s character, I was disappointed that Piper seemed to drop him as well, despite apparently seeming to care for him at various times. For most of the book, I felt that Piper was vapid and shallow. There was the ‘soulmate’ connection with Dev, which I felt was used rather than any real feelings developing between them.

I did like the fact that Piper was so good with Jaxx, even though it didn’t take me that long to figure out the secret. I liked Esther… and I did like Lisa; at least what I saw of her that wasn’t mad on Chet. Or other boys.

I didn’t like how Piper treated Tess… but I wasn’t really that keen on Tess, either. There was too much glossing over of events at the beginning of the book… and I felt the first chapter written from a different first person perspective wasn’t necessary and didn’t add anything to the story.

There was a lot of potential in this book, such as the deeper aspects to Rob. Unfortunately, it felt like it was more important for Piper to become a ridiculously over-powered character than in forming any attachments that felt real and had meaning.

I don’t think I’ll be reading the next book/s in this series.