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

(This review may contain spoilers).

(As an additional note – I have changed the rating. I originally had it on four stars, but as I wrote the review, I realised my feelings about the book are more on the three-star level).

I was a bit surprised at just how easily I was drawn into this book. When I originally read the blurb, I thought it would be aimed at a much younger audience, but having finished reading it, I feel like it could be enjoyed by a wider age range.

I liked Molly as a character in the book, but I experienced some moments of confusion with quite a few of the other characters for a while. The only ones I could really follow were Danny and Rory. I also found the use of the flashbacks quite confusing. They seemed to occur without any kind of warning/scene break.

While I appreciate that teachers probably have a hard job when it comes to the wellbeing of students, I did feel that many of the teachers didn’t actually seem to care. They did the bare minimum and that was it. I’m possibly quite sensitive to that, given my own past, but when concerns were raised, there was almost an air of nonchalance from a lot of the teachers. And that didn’t really endear many of them to me.

It was fairly obvious that a lot of research had gone into this book, without it feeling much like an info-dump. Many of Molly’s interactions with her students were engaging and, in many ways, quite sweet. It was nice to see the children caring about the environment… and the different animals in nature.

I did feel that one of the strongest points in the book was Deano. As more of his past was revealed, I felt some sympathy towards him. There was a lot that was bad about him, but I felt that, if someone had taken the time to work with him, he could have eventually changed. I was disappointed to see the way everyone washed their hands of him.

The romance aspects in the book weren’t bad, but I did feel that more time could have been spent on Molly’s and Oliver’s relationship. It would have been nice to see more of their feelings developing.

I really wasn’t that keen on the swear words being blotted out. That was really distracting and kept throwing me out of the story.

I would probably read more books by this author in the future. It would be interesting to see where he goes next with the characters.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I felt this book was a particularly intriguing one. When I first read the blurb, I found the idea of humanity trying to survive in the face of utter slaughter of women and children a really interesting one. Also, the book had time travel… and to the Dark Ages, which I feel is an interesting period of our history… perhaps because so little is known about that time.

I got pulled into the plot pretty much straight away. Even though I got a bit confused with some of the characters at times, I still found this really easy to follow. There was a lot I liked about this book.

I was particularly drawn into the plot when the characters went back in time. The differences between the two different times were really obvious and I felt the author did a good job of showing the contrast. I was a little confused about how the computers were able to run, though, when they went back in time.

I also felt the author did a really good job of showing the different characters, both in the men who went back in time and in those people from the past. There were some parts in the past that were brutal… but then again, humanity has always been capable of hideous atrocities.

One of the things I found really intriguing was the ‘Americans’ attitude towards women. The way they treated and looked at them was really quite moving and I felt that made sense, given what they’d experienced before.

There were quite a lot of the characters I liked in this book… and a fair amount that I hated. I did get a bit confused with some of the names at times… there were too many that began with ‘E’.

I really did care about what happened to the characters and I could realistically get behind the romances, even if I felt there was a bit too much ‘pairing off’. At times, there did seem to be a lot of glossing over of various events, but Matt and Ellyn’s relationship was one I could really get behind.

The book itself was really well-written and I was drawn really easily into the world and its characters. If there was a sequel to this book, I would definitely check it out. And I wouldn’t be averse to reading other books by this author in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I felt this book was quite an entertaining read, even though I might have enjoyed it a little more when I was younger. It was a fairly simple mystery story, but I liked the fact that the danger the characters were in seemed real. And even though it was aimed at a younger audience, I felt it was good that the author didn’t shy away from describing the bad things.

I liked the contrasts between the two main characters, Ryan and Cleo, but I felt that there wasn’t enough foreshadowing at times. Some of the things that were revealed were more of the, ‘Why did that happen?’ rather than, ‘Oh, that makes sense!’

It was really interesting to see the different parts of Egypt and I found myself really able to relate to how Ryan and Cleo felt about the priest in Ancient Egypt, who was probably about the same age as them. I’ve often felt a kind of connection… mostly with characters, but there have been some historical figures I’ve felt able to relate to.

There were some really sad moments in this book. It was really easy to emphasise with the characters and although there weren’t really that many twists, I still found it a really enjoyable read. I think this is probably a book series I definitely would have been drawn into as a child.

As it stands, I think my younger brother might get some enjoyment out of reading this. There was clearly a lot of research that went into this book and the characters were interesting and engaging. I don’t know if I’d read this book again, but I would probably read the next book in the series at some point in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This book was another one that I struggled a little to get into… but once I settled into the world and the characters, I found it really easy to follow the plotline. Although there were times that the characters irritated me (no, it does not take one day to fall in love with someone), I did find myself liking them… which is partly because I have a soft spot for spaceship crews that come together. (I blame Star Trek and the Knights of the Old Republic games for that).

I liked a lot of the characters on the ship. Gari was a particularly interesting character, especially with his mutation. It was interesting to also get some background on the characters before they all came together as well.

I liked the fact that there were three novellas in this book. I particularly liked the relationship that formed between Kol-ian and Ker-ris, but I did feel that, after it formed, Kol-ian lost a lot of his strength as a character. By the third book, he seemed much weaker personality-wise than he had in the first one and I felt it was a major character change.

The different races in the book were quite interesting as well and I would have liked to see more of some of them, particularly the Felines.

I did appreciate the fact that the author made an attempt to ‘humanise’ the bad guys in the third novella. There were times I felt a bit sorry for them, even though what they were doing was awful. By the time I got to the third book, I’d managed to become fully absorbed in the world and the characters.

I did feel that there was a bit too much pairing up. By the end of the book, there was the strong implication that almost every major character was going to be romantically involved with someone. I like romance, but I don’t think every character needs to be pushed into a relationship.

I particularly liked Ker-ris’ relationship with his son, too. The children were cute and it would be cool to read a book where they’ve grown up.

I did find the book a little bit difficult to read at times. There was mixing of POVs and quite a number of errors. Even so, it was an entertaining read and it’s a world I’d like to revisit at some point in the future. Also, the character ‘interviews’ at the end were pretty cool.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

This book was one that grew on me as I read it. I wasn’t so sure of Aldara at first… and I’m still not completely sure what to think of her by the end of the book. There were times I felt sorry for her, but there were other times I felt that she didn’t act like one of the good guys.

I did think that there was a bit too much telling rather than showing at times in the book. I kept being told about this whole love triangle… but I felt there was very little evidence of those emotions in the book. I felt that Tye’s relationship with his father figure was probably the strongest relationship in this book and I would have liked to see more of that, rather than the romance that I really couldn’t get behind.

I felt there was a nice variety of characters, but Eldin really annoyed me. For a knight, I only saw one instance of honour from him… and even that, I didn’t realise was actually intended to be honour. I also found his attitude extremely contradictory. He yelled at Aldara for not trusting someone… and then turned round and said that he’d never trusted that same person. (Which he didn’t).

I actually did find myself quite liking Wyndle as a character, even though some of the writing made her seem (in my opinion) a bit more sexual than I was expecting. I also felt there was a nice variety of races in the world, even if most of them only seemed concerned with themselves.

I found Outoo to be quite an interesting character and I would have liked to see more of his past and history with the other characters. Although this book seemed to be part of a series, I did find it easy to follow… but I found it really difficult to see the villains as that interesting. I couldn’t understand what they were trying to do.

There were some quite emotional scenes in this book, I felt. The danger the characters were in was real and it was good that the author didn’t shy away from the bad things that happened. Although the writing seemed a bit wooden at times to me, I was eventually drawn into the world and there were some surprising things that happened. I would probably read the other books in this series at some point in the future.

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

(This review may contain spoilers).

I liked reading this book a bit more than the previous one. It still did have a few asides in, but not quite as much as the first book. And I felt the storyline was expanded a bit more than the first one.

There was a lot about this book that made me think of the Chronicles of Narnia, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed this any less.

It was good to see more of the characters from the first book, though I would have liked a bit more detail about how Delany and the King had come together romantically. I liked seeing them together (and I particularly liked Asa as a character), but there was a big gap between books one and two… and since book one left Delany as a child…

I liked how the characters of Timothy and Barbara formed through the course of the book. It was interesting to see Timothy’s relationship with his grandmother and it was also cool to meet his grandfather.

I would have liked to meet more of Delany’s children, though Asa was probably my favourite character. I’d be interested in seeing more of him at some point in the future.

I probably wouldn’t mind reading the next book in this series at some point, if there is one. This was a quick, easy and enjoyable fantasy read. I’d probably pass both this book and book one on to my niece to read.