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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Genetic engineering is something that’s becoming more common now. Designer babies and everything. Having said that, this book is more about the main character – at least in my opinion.

Michael was an easy character to relate to. I could really get behind his desire to make humanity better and the fact that his wife was the main driving force behind it just made the character even more likable.

The skipping back in time was a bit confusing and, in a way, I think it was unnecessary. Although it serves to set the scene a bit, it did throw me a little.

I particularly liked Michael’s relationship with Annie. It came across as really sweet and realistic, even though there were some problems. (That actually made the relationship better – that it wasn’t all sunshine and roses).

I did find the science parts a bit confusing at times, but I did particularly like the bits with the monkeys. It was sweet how they each seemed to have their own personality and how different they were because of the new cells that had been introduced.

When the children came into it, I would have liked to see more of them, rather than being told what they were like. They didn’t actually appear in any scene properly.

The technology in this book was pretty good and it was interesting to see how things had developed – and under-developed. I could actually see a lot of how the world ended up happening in the future of this world.

The attitude of the government and their decisions about what to do was sad, but really not that surprising. Michael’s reactions to that was one of the things that endeared him to me.

The writing in this book was really good, though I did notice one or two errors. I hope there will be a sequel to this, because I’d really like to read it.

(I received a free copy of this book from Random House UK, Ebury Publishers, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’ve found that tie-in novels can be a bit hit and miss. I’ve really liked some of them, but really disliked others.

This does fall into the first category. I did like the Doctor, but I wasn’t sure which he was supposed to be – he was a bit like Ten, but I could see a few elements of Eleven as well.

I particularly liked the storyline of this book. It was interesting and engaging, even though I didn’t understand everything that was going on, or all of the explanations.

This book did read like an episode of the show, which is always a good thing. It was nice to see hints/thoughts given to his previous companions – I’m sure they all meant something to him in one way or another.

The Doctor’s reluctance to turn to a violent solution comes across really well in this, as well as the way he stops the monster from being further attacked when it’s already been weakened. I did like the ending, even though I’m not sure I understood how it all fit together. I would speculate, but I don’t want to give away the storyline – so I won’t.

I found this book to be a really entertaining read. It didn’t take long to finish and I would definitely be interested in reading more of these books/short stories.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This was another book that I was expecting to finish the day after I started reading it, but it pulled me in so completely that I had a lot of trouble putting it down.

I really found it easy to engage with the characters in this book. I can’t say from the very first scene, but certainly from the first scene from Daniel’s perspective, I was pulled in.

It was really easy to relate to the characters. Billy was a spitfire, but a likable one. As the book revealed more of her past, I could empathise with her even more. And I liked the way her whole friendship with Daniel progressed – by the end of the book, I felt they were more like brother and sister.

I really liked the use of the horses in this book. Each different horse that was introduced had his or her own character – and it was really sweet how Daniel was able to earn their trust. Although I felt bits and pieces were skipped over when they didn’t need to be, I still felt the author did a really good job in showing how the story progressed.

In a way, I felt a little for Hugh. By the end of the book, he just seemed sad and broken – but I wasn’t entirely happy with the way things were ended with him. Still, in real life, not everything is resolved satisfactorily, so that did make a certain kind of sense.

I really did like the scenes with Liam and I felt that his romance formed with Augusta came across really well, despite the problems that existed between them originally.

This book was quite an emotional read and one that I felt I could really care for the characters throughout. I would definitely recommend this book as a good historical read.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I did find this book to be quite an entertaining, interesting read. The characters were interesting and mostly well-rounded.

I didn’t understand everything that was going on in this book, although the descriptions of James’ trance worked really well. I was also able to connect really quickly and easily with the main character.

I did think there were a few too many POV changes. It might have been a bit easier to read if there’d only been two or three viewpoints. I also did think that things moved way too fast between James and Rebecca – there was too much summarising of their relationship, rather than seeing how it was formed.

The other characters were pretty interesting as well. The way they connected with each other came across really well.

I would have liked a few more details about what was causing the trance with James. I do hope that will be explained in the later books, though.

Towards the end of the book, I really found myself reading to find out what was going to happen. It was also interesting to see how Rebecca ended up working for the government as well.

There was enough mystery to keep me reading and wanting to know what was going to happen next. I’m glad the book came to a resolved ending, but I think I’d definitely be interested in reading the other books in this series in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

Ideally, I’d give this book 3.5 stars, but since I can’t give half stars…

I’ve watched a lot of murder mysteries, but the only show revolving around court cases I could really get into was Shark. Therefore, my experience with what goes on in court is very limited – I don’t like to know who the murderer is from the start. (It’s why I could never get into Columbo).

This isn’t as much about the court itself, which I think was what managed to keep my attention throughout. That and the fact that the characters were realistic and human, even if I did think they made some silly mistakes at times.

I admit I don’t know much about what goes on in court, but one thing that particularly struck me was how adamant even the defence were that they had the right guy – based on what I would personally think was circumstantial evidence.

I do think that the politics of the court came across really well. I have no idea if the attitudes really are as sexist and racist as they come across in this book, but it’s true that not everyone has moved past certain ideas.

The intricacies of the court room came across really well in this book and the scenes from Alex’s perspective helped ensure I didn’t become bored with all of the case work being thrown around. I did think that Cassie was a bit free with the information she was giving out to everyone – I was under the impression that a case’s proceedings are confidential, or at least not things that should be talked about to the general public. I could be wrong, but it did strike me as being a bit inaccurate.

There’s clearly been a lot of thought that’s gone into this book. The writing in terms of the descriptions is good, but I did notice a lot of errors – including random capital letters and more than one person speaking in the same paragraph.

I’d be interested in reading more books by this author, if only for the simple fact I should have gone to bed ages ago – but something in this book kept me reading to the end.

(I received a free copy of this book from 47North, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

For some reason, when I saw the cover of this book, I thought it would be more aimed at a young adult audience. The blurb sounded interesting, though, and when I was approved by it, I was quite happy.

Somehow, when I was reading the book, it took me a while to stop thinking about Harry Dresden. Although the storylines are different, the wizard characters are surprisingly similar. Still, I liked Nathan – or whatever name he goes by.

I love things that are steeped in mythology, so this was pretty much like a big bar of chocolate to me. (I like chocolate a whole lot, hence why that analogy makes sense to me). Galahad isn’t someone I see much outside of purely King Arthur-centred stories, so it was pretty unique to have him involved. I also liked seeing a Hades who wasn’t a villain.

Speaking of the villains… they were really nasty sorts. Definitely completely villainous. I know the good guys are the good guys and all, but I’m not the sort of person who wants the hero to pull the villain up from the cliff, or spare his/her life – so I guess I’m like Nate in that respect.

Although this book was the second in a series, it was definitely easy to read as a standalone. What I didn’t understand at first made more sense as I continued reading.

The different types of trolls was pretty interesting. Trolls are often portrayed as the bad guys in fiction, so it was nice to see some that weren’t. Also, werelions aren’t nearly as over-used as werewolves are, so it was nice to see something a bit different there.

I particularly liked Nathan and Galahad’s relationship and some of their comments to each other made me smile. It was also good to see references made of real historical figures – that was pretty interesting.

The writing in this was particularly good, though I did notice a few errors. Nothing major, but still…

I would definitely be interested in reading more books by this author in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I like books that have reincarnation in them. I don’t believe in it personally, but I do find it fascinating to read and write about.

This book, I felt, was one of those that dealt with the issues of reincarnation in a more realistic way. I’ve read far too many books where the characters have the same name as their previous incarnations with no explanation for it. This, at least, made sense.

The problem I’ve found with reincarnated lovers is the fact that there’s no evolving of their relationship shown. I did find that here a bit, so I was glad that the main focus wasn’t on Lucia and Leo. I actually felt that Ripley and William’s relationship made more sense. Although clearly drawn together, there were still some major problems.

I liked the whole angle with Oliver. I really felt for him, even though I’m not sure I understood the entire story.

It was interesting that I could actually feel sympathy towards two of the bad guys. In a way, I do think Lucia is selfish – but in a way that does make sense. And it doesn’t really make me like her any less.

On the whole, the writing is quite good, though I did notice several errors – there were a few sentences that didn’t make sense and the wrong character name was used several times.

This book has left me with a lot of unanswered questions. I hope there are more books to come, because I really want to see what will happen with the characters.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This is a book that, if I’m honest, is a bit difficult for me to review. I feel there’s quite a lot of room for improvement.

The front cover is really well-designed and really drew me to this book, along with the blurb itself. However, the conflict that the summary hinted at was virtually non-existent.

I really struggled to relate to the characters in this. Part of the reason for that is the amount of POV changes. When I only spend about a page n a character’s head at a time, I struggle to connect to them.

The other problem I had was that I didn’t like the characters. They came across as the bad guys, what with killing innocent people (with no remorse) and ignoring the fact that one of their number was stuck in a coma.

Vampire babies. I’ve never seen a half-vampire or full-vampire baby subject to the limitations of their species. Zara just screams, ‘Mary Sue!’ at me.

The characters seemed to be invincible. I understand this is the second book in the series, but interesting characters are the ones who work for what they get. Who make mistakes and bleed for them. There was no mortal danger in this book – and there was a heck of a lot of cannon fodder.

The descriptions in the book were good, but there was little to no emotion involved. There was also quite a lot of errors in the writing – particularly a scream erupting from a person’s bowels. I understand what the author was trying to say, but in a serious scene, that phrase isn’t one that works.

I really think this book could be improved by toning down the characters. That is the biggest problem that stands out to me. If this book was edited more, I would have liked it a lot better. As it stands now, I can’t give it more than two stars.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

As I recall, I entered to win this book twice, though it could well have been more times. I’m definitely glad I won it this time, though.

I’ve always liked fantasy worlds. And, of course, in dreams, anything is possible. Sometimes, dreams make sense – and other times, you wake up wondering what was in your subconscious before.

I felt that this book was very cleverly written. The weaving of the two worlds and storylines worked really well and I found it really intriguing how things showed up in the fantasy world as mirrors of people and objects in the world where Freddie was in hospital.

I found it really easy to relate with the main character in this book. I thought the author did a really good job of showing how difficult things were for Freddie. I did think that passages of time were skipped over a bit too much, but I thought that the ‘two steps forward, one step back’ progress of recovery came across really well.

The air of mystery surrounding Freddie’s past came across really well and wanting to learn more about his history was one of the things that kept me reading.

The writing was really descriptive and enabled me to bond with Freddie and experience his emotions. I felt that the true cost of war came across really well, as well as the amount of work and difficulty in trying to recover from wounds that are so completely devastating.

I would definitely be interested in reading more books by this author in the future. I’m glad I got the chance to read this and I do recommend it.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I have to say, parts of this book made me think of the television show Charmed, though I think that’s only because episodes have been showing recently. The plot isn’t exactly the same, of course, but it’s like what I’ve said before with no plots being completely different. I really did enjoy reading this book.

This was a romance I could really get behind. There were enough details of the relationship between the characters before they started jumping into bed with each other to make the progression of the romance realistic.

I did like that the book wasn’t just about the romance. There was an interesting plot to it, too. I liked the use of the different types of creatures – and I was particularly fond of the elf characters, too. I would have liked to see more of them.

I really liked the concept of the mating bond. The telepathic thing isn’t really original, but the hair colouring certainly was. There was a lot of Alpha-male stuff going on, too, which is a bit creepy, but in some ways, also cute.

The descriptions in this book were really good as well. I could really see a lot of the scenes and places in my mind. I did notice a few errors, but nothing really major.

Although this book was the second in the series, I did find it really easy to understand and the characters were interesting and likable.

I’d definitely be interested in reading more books in this series in the future.