(This review may contain spoilers).

I did actually enjoy reading this book. I found it quick and entertaining to read… and if it wasn’t for the multiple switching between so many different first person POVs, this would probably be four stars.

I did like the fact that it wasn’t very clear what was going on with Amy, Rory and the Doctor. And it would have been interesting in regards to the confusion involving Rory and the Doctor… but although I figured out what was going on fairly quickly, the writing didn’t hold enough of a mystery to make the blurring of personalities very tense.

I did think there were certain aspects of the Doctor captured quite well, but there wasn’t really enough of him. And what was shown was summarised and glossed over.

I didn’t really know what to make of Doctor Bloom. There seemed to be a lot of contradictions in his character and by the end of the book, it seemed like he’d started out one way and it was then decided he’d be different. That seemed to be the case with Prince Boris, who was another character it was difficult to get a handle on.

I did find Marie to be an interesting character and it was kind of sad to see the letters she was writing to her mother. It was interesting to see the other patients at the hospital, but I felt there were a few too many characters involved and it was really hard to connect emotionally or really care about any of them.

I would have liked to see a bit more in the way of the setting, as apart from some instances where the characters spoke French, I wasn’t really able to engage with the setting. And although there were some slightly creepy moments, I felt those were lost in the way the plot seemed to be attempting to be clever.

While I normally like tie-in novels, I felt this one could have done with more improvement and less telling rather than showing. I have read and enjoyed other Doctor Who novels, but I don’t think I’ll be seeking out any more by this author in the future… which is a shame, as the blurb was so intriguing.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did think the idea of this book was a really neat one, but it was another book I felt would have benefited from being expanded on.

While the book was quick and easy to read, I felt it only touched on the surface of the world. I liked Wen as a character, but I would have liked some more detail about his relationships with his family members. It would have been good to see a bit more in the way of foreshadowing, as I felt most of the information only cropped up right when it became relevant to the plot.

I liked the idea of the books in the library and it was also good to see that Wen started out as being skeptical. I did feel there were things that didn’t really pan out, though, and I would have liked to see a bit more in the way of conflict when Wen went back in time.

I didn’t feel it made a lot of sense that Wen’s grandfather passed on the task to him, as there wasn’t much explanation given to Wen and I had the feeling that he was being given the bare minimum he needed to carry on the work. I would have liked to see his grandfather taking on a more mentor role.

There were some hints of potential conflicts, but I felt those weren’t carried through the course of the book. And the chapters were quite short; which wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but there were very few natural breaks where the chapters ended.

I liked the fact that Wen had a four-legged partner, but I was a bit disappointed not to get much in the way of answers about everything. There were a few clever scenes in the book… and it was particularly good to see the use of such an iconic piece of art history.

I don’t think this is a book that would hold a lot of interest for my nine-year-old niece, but I think it’s a good read for younger children. There wasn’t a lot in the way of conflict or tension and I think it definitely would have been better expanded. I would read the next book/s in this series, but I would like to see more development.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I have some mixed feelings about this book. I thought the idea of this book was a really interesting one and I especially liked the fact there were clear conflicts between the two groups of people in Willem’s society.

The biggest problem I had with this book was that it should have been expanded more. There was too much in the way of telling rather than showing, especially when it came to Hery’s relationship with Willem.

It was good to have the opportunity to see how much society as a whole had changed after the nuclear war, but it was hard to fully engage with any of the characters really. I thought there was too much summarising of events and characters.

It was good to see the way people had evolved and how ethnicity was no longer a factor. I would have liked to see more of Hery’s history with his family, rather than being told there were conflicts that were then disregarded. I liked Hery’s and Willem’s relationship… but I would have liked to see it develop a bit more and more time spent showing how they felt about each other.

I would have liked to be able to see more of the council and the conflicts involved, as most of the book seemed to have people working in harmony outside of Tafel. Since conflicts exist in all societies, I would have liked to see that explored a bit more.

Especially towards the end of the book, large periods of time were glossed over with little to no character development. I felt that certain conflicts had been glossed over that existed between the Ghosts and the Shadows. I would have liked to see some time spent on the consequences of what had happened when Willem returned to his people.

I did like the opportunity to meet some of the other characters, but it was very hard to differentiate between a lot of them, due to not having the chance to get into their heads.

While I’d read more books by this author in the future, I would have liked to see the world and characters in this book expanded upon and a lot more showing rather than telling.