(This review may contain spoilers).

As much as I love manga books and Norse mythology, I have a few mixed feelings about this book. I’m not sure if this a second series, or just that the book started in the middle of the story.

I liked the artwork, but I did feel that some of the characters looked a bit too much like each other. I was disappointed not to see much of Loki being an actual detective, though I did really like Fenrir in the book. I was confused about who was involved in the storyline and why.

Most manga books I’ve read are fairly lighthearted, but this did potentially cross into the realm of silly a couple of times. The storyline with Spica in the book was really interesting, but I was left completely confused about how they’d figured out her identity… and why she’d started off trying to kill Loki.

Although the Norse myths are alluded to in this book – at least some of them – it’s not very clear how they relate to the characters in this book. For instance, Fenrir isn’t chained… but it’s stated that he was at one stage; just not how he escaped. (Having said that, Fenrir is quite cute).

The plot of the second chapter in this was really intriguing, but I felt it was missing something by the end. There wasn’t much of a mystery.

It was interesting to see the Norse gods in the Japanese culture and I would have liked to see more details about why Loki was de-aged and why everyone else was around him. The plot of the story was a really intriguing one, but I would have liked a bit more background to everything.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This is yet another book I have some very mixed feelings about. The concept of it was quite an intriguing one and there were some really disturbing scenes in this book… but at the same time, I felt there were parts of the book that seemed to drag quite a bit.

I wasn’t entirely sure when this book was set. There were references to the modern times, but there were also some suggestions that it was set at some point in the future.

The dreams that the main characters has are truly disturbing. I wasn’t expecting half of the contents of the main character’s dreams.

I can’t really say that I liked the main character. It was interesting to see the kinds of things that went on in his mind and how he viewed other people. I did notice a few contradictions, though – like when he says he doesn’t have the money to use his phone to call people, but then uses it later. And where he has the money to buy his equipment to kill people.

I was quite confused by the ending. It didn’t really make things very clear. The glimpses into the main character’s mind were interesting… but having reached the end of the book, I’m a bit unnerved having been stuck in the head of a character so mentally disturbed. I don’t think I’d read a sequel to this book… though the fact that it had an age rating was quite amusing.

I might check out other books by this author, depending on the genre and what the book is about.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did really like the front cover of this book and the blurb of it. I was… less keen on the start of the story. I’m not a fan of the love at first sight thing and that was where this book seemed to be going. I stuck it out, though, and I’m glad I did.

It was interesting to read about Julia’s connection to Cole. The concept of reincarnation is quite a fascinating one and I really liked reading about how Julia gradually began to learn more about her history. And even though I wasn’t too sure of the romance at first, it did get a bit more realistic as the book went on. The comparisons with Hamlet were pretty intriguing, too.

There were a few too many female characters who seemed obsessed with Will and I did find that a little bit annoying, I have to say. Conflict in relationships is good. Conflict that comes from every other woman of the same age as the heroine wanting to steal her man just makes me roll my eyes.

This book was quite a good mix of different genres. The mystery through the book was enough to keep me reading and I really liked the differences and similarities between Cole and Will. I felt that contrast was shown more than between Julia and her previous incarnation.

I did figure out the twist quite easily, but it made sense that the main characters didn’t figure things out. It was nice to see that some of the other characters made an appearance in the past, too, but it wasn’t really explained why they all looked exactly the same as in their past lives.

I thought it was more interesting to see Will’s journey to remembering the past. Julia accepted things a little too quickly and it was nice to see that there was some skepticism involved.

I would definitely like to read the next books in this series. I enjoyed this a lot and it was great to see how everything connected together. This was a really quick and easy read and despite the issues I mentioned earlier, it was still very enjoyable.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I felt this book was a really fast, entertaining read. I found myself really empathising with Fin. Although at first he seemed to be making the most of the bad situation with no one being able to remember who he was, I think the author did a good job of showing just how difficult it was for him when the people he would have wanted to remember him didn’t.

It was really good to see how both of the storylines met and converged. I really liked Coll as a character, as well as Ardent, even though I found myself getting a bit frustrated by how they kept forgetting Fin, as understandable as that was. I really liked how Fin reacted to the person who did remember him. I could really believe in his friendship with Marrill.

I also really liked how different Fin’s world was to Marrill’s. It was quite intriguing how Marrill ended up there and how the Streams converged.

The idea of the different parts of the map was quite an intriguing one and I felt it definitely fit in with the world in general. I would have liked a bit more if I’d seen some more of the different types of creatures, though. There wasn’t much information about the different sorts of races/species there are.

I did think that Ardent’s character was markedly similar to the old, wise man trope I often see in these kinds of books – the slightly eccentric character with a deeper past than he lets on. There were still things that weren’t revealed by the end of the book, though.

The Oracle was a particularly creepy part of this book, I felt. Everyone crying when he showed up/came near an area was genuinely disturbing. It was good to learn more about who he was as the plot of the story went on.

I felt there was a lot of world building that went on in this book and it really showed. There were some things that were recognisable to the world we live in… but so many other things completely different, as the file right at the beginning shows.

I think it would be good to read a sequel to this book. There’s a lot more of the story that can be told and there’s quite clearly more that will happen. All in all, though, I did enjoy reading this and I plan to pass it on to my niece to read.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I have some very mixed feelings about this book. In the end, I’ve given it four stars because, despite how truly depressing this book was, I found myself drawn completely into this storyline and the characters involved.

The plotline of this book was a really intriguing one, but it was much darker than I was expecting it to be. The warnings contained in the blurb were definitely not to be taken lightly. By the end of the book, I found myself getting quite choked up.

I liked reading about Damien’s friendships that he formed with the other characters in the school. I especially liked Joey as a character, even though he began to decline very quickly through the course of the book.

For a lot of the book, I liked Kaiden’s relationship with Damien, though I would have liked to see more of their interactions. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about him by the end of the book… but I kind of hope that he’s still what he seemed at first. And hearing about his past just made me feel really sorry for him as well as many of the other characters.

Parts of this book did feel almost like a soap opera, considering just how many bad things happened in this small area. A lot of the situations were linked, though, and it was good to see that there was fallout from what happened and that the characters didn’t just brush off the bad events that happened.

There were a number of things in this book that were really quite emotional and that I thought could have been great for character development if they’d gone a different way. It was good that the author didn’t shy away from the harsh reality… but at the same time, I would have liked something that was a little bit more hopeful.

If there’s a sequel to this book, I would probably check it out at some point in the future. I’d like to see how things turn out with the characters and it would be nice to see where the author takes this world next.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although this book wasn’t the first one in this series involving these characters, I still found this really easy to follow and a book that was engaging with characters who were interesting.

First of all… on the side of bipolar, I don’t know very much about that disorder. It was good to have some insight into what was going on in Ren’s mind, though, even if what was going through her head was quite scary at times.

I did find myself getting a bit lost a couple of times in the amount of theories that were being bandied around. I felt it was really good to see the thought processes during a case, though, and there were quite a few twists and turns in the book. One or two of them might have been a bit far-fetched, but that wasn’t enough to make me completely struggle with my suspension of disbelief.

One of the things I really liked about this book was the fact that the author showed Ren’s life outside of the case, too. I got to see some of Ren’s personal life… and as mentioned earlier, I also got to see a lot of how her mind worked. Even with the medication she was taking, I could see a lot of the ups and downs that came from her disorder.

It was interesting to see how things connected together, but I did feel a bit that the plot moved a little too fast in places… though I didn’t really feel like it dragged.

I did find myself growing a bit amused by some of Ren’s internal comments. She was a character who was easy to empathise with through this book and I liked her close friendship with Janine. I did also like her relationship with Ben… even if I think he was kind of naive about what he was getting himself into.

I probably wouldn’t read this book again. It didn’t quite draw me into the plot in the same way a thriller has to in order to make me want to read it again. But it did make me interested in reading other books by this author and involving the same characters.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I quite enjoyed reading this book, even if it did have the fluctuating first person and third person POVs. It was good to see both of the storylines and how they ultimately converged together.

Jade was an interesting character and it was good to see that she didn’t turn into a puddle of goo (sometimes literally) when she was around her crush. I think my favourite part was when she went to Thailand. I liked the relationships she formed with the children there and it was also good to see that Jade liked cats. I liked her right from the start, with her reaction to a cat being mistreated.

The supernatural elements in this book were pretty intriguing. I particularly liked the concept of the forest and the creatures there were in the forest. It was a pretty unique idea to have the animals take on human form and I felt really sorry for Luck. I would have liked to see a bit more of him.

I liked Mya as a character, but I didn’t really know what age she was for a while. I also didn’t realise at first when the storylines were merging together, because Mya wasn’t described at all until the first time Jade saw her.

The minor characters were intriguing, but I would have liked to see more of them during the book, particularly the children Jade met in Thailand. I did particularly like Shea as a character and I would have liked to see more of him. I didn’t know much about his past, but I did like how his relationship formed with Jade.

I did notice some errors in the writing, but it was good how the dialogue reflected the life of the characters and how they’d grown up. I was pulled easily into the storyline and there were some really intense moments in this.

If there’s a sequel to this book, I would definitely read it. I’d also check out other books by this author in the future. This was a really entertaining book that I read pretty quickly. There’s a bit of disjointedness with the two storylines, but they’re still pretty easy to follow.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Although this book was the second one with these characters, I still found it really easy to follow… helped in part, I think, by the explanation at the beginning of the book; but the book came across as a self-contained story in its own right.

The concept of daydreaming yourself into another world is a really intriguing one. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to see much of the world itself, but I did find Zanzibar a really intriguing world. The cultural differences came across really well, particularly in how the Sultan had to handle himself with the people around him and how he seemed to be so desperate for a true friend, he latched onto the only person who didn’t seem to want anything from him.

I felt the politics came across really well in this book, but there were times I forgot what the point of them being in the world was. I also wasn’t really sure what to make of Kelly. Alex did screw up, but I kind of felt she’d been stringing him along at times.

I quite liked Alex as a character, at least for most of the book… I wasn’t so sure about the ending. I was a bit disappointed there wasn’t more of an effort made to save the rest of the people of Zanzibar, particularly the citizen who helped Will and Tanya.

I really didn’t like Henry as a character. He was irritating and really insensitive. Some of what he came out with might have been funny… but not constantly. I couldn’t really understand why Alex had become friends with him.

I was glad to see that there was an explanation for the language barrier and a way for Alex and his friends to communicate that made sense. However, there’s one mention of Alex’s translator adjusting the way he words things… but although that would be a useful tool, it’s never mentioned again through the book.

I liked the clash of different attitudes – such as Kelly’s opinion about slaves; Alex in the uncomfortable position of facing violence he isn’t used to. I also really liked the addition of the angels… in particular a specific archangel.

The world of Zanzibar felt more real to me than Alex’s world. I would like to read the book before this one… and it would be good to see where the characters go next; and if they can grow and mature as people as the book progresses.