The Pen and Inkpot

Written in Starlight by Isabel Ibañez is the second novel following the story of Catalina, who is a condesa and believes she is the rightful ruler of Inkasisa. Banished to the jungle, she must learn to survive and with the help of an old friend, Manuel, they search for the lost city of Paititi in the hope for a chance to reclaim the throne. Written in Starlight makes for an enjoyable read set in a rich, vibrant jungle in a world of stolen thrones and moon goddesses. The main character, Catalina is a strong female hero. She might not be physically strong or good at survival, but she is bold and courageous. She develops substantially throughout the novel as she processes her responsibility as a condesa and potential to take the throne. Her story is one of finding your true calling and I think that this has created a really wonderful underlying moral. It’s not YA unless there is a love story and although I’m glad it happened, I feel like Manuel and Catalina’s relationship could have been ...

The creation of a fantasy world is no easy task, but the creation of an elaborate setting like the Grishaverse blows my mind. Leigh Bardugo has creativity and a talent which I really admire, I have been sucked into the world of her books and I can’t get enough. The first of her novels that I read was Six of Crows and it is still one of my favourites, so I had high hopes for this trilogy. It didn’t blow me away like I had hoped it would, however I still found it to be an amazing to read.  The nation of Ravka has long been split in two by the Shadow Fold, a strip of intense darkness inhabited by dangerous beasts. Alina Starkov might be the only person capable of penetrating that darkness and saving her country. But she is merely an orphan, a refugee, another soldier in her regiment. It isn’t until her best friend is injured in an attack in the Shadow Fold that she reveals a dormant power within, a power which leads her to the royal court and the magical world of the Grisha. The fate ...

"Firefrost" comes out today! Order your copy now on Amazon . Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read a copy of this epic YA novel before its release date and I have provided my review below. “Firefrost” by Camille Longley follows Sol, a huntress and Kelan, a Flameskin. Sol is skilful when navigating the mountains and uses her talents to put food on the table for her family back home. Kelan lives with a pyra which pumps fire through his blood and threatens to possess him. He fights in the Flameskin army and is taught to destroy all who stand in his path. Sol and Kelan are brought together in a world which has declared them enemies when they must rely on each other to survive.   I found “Firefrost” fast paced and constantly stimulating to read. When it wasn’t developing deep insight into the characters or drastically transforming their relationships, this novel was literally throwing fireballs across the page. Packed with action, romance and fantasy, I was holding my breath the...

Good things come in small packages. That’s how the saying goes, or at least that’s what they say to my 5-foot-tall sister. That’s also what I would say about “Night” by Elie Wiesel. Although it is a tiny book and a quick read, it contains some incredible writing from a thought-provoking perspective. We’ve all read books about the Holocaust. Even if historical fiction is not your thing, you’ve probably still read a book about the Holocaust. In some ways, it is an overused concept for a book, but not for this one. “Night” showed me a new, deeper, darker side of war, made both fascinating and horrifying by the fact that the story is true. A horror story written by the very man who lived through it.  “Night” is Elie Wiesel’s account of his experience of being born into a Jewish Ghetto in Hungary and sent to Nazi concentration camps. As a mere child, he endured the atrocities of life at Auschwitz and Buchenwald which lost him his family and faith. His novel explores the d...

(Chasing Starlight will be released on 11st August 2020, I received an Advanced Reading Copy from the publisher through NetGalley to review) "Chasing Starlight" is a thrilling read with suspense to keep even the bravest of readers on the edge of their seats. Kate arrives in Hollywood to live with Oliver Banks, who is her grandfather and a forgotten star of the silent movies. Her new life is not as glamorous as she had planned as Kate gets thrust onto the set of a movie and finds one of the borders staying at her grandfather's house dead on the kitchen floor. She embarks on a journey to solve the mystery while protecting Oliver and staying out of suspicion. Kate creates a very interesting character with a slowly unravelling back story. Although her past is traumatic, she creates a strong protagonist and I felt myself rooting for her as she gradually overcame her fears. Although the novel is written in third person, I still feel that Kate has a unique voice and...

If I don’t know what to read, mystery novels are my default. As long as a book has an engaging plot and interesting characters, I know that I will enjoy it. That is why I picked up Whispers Underground. It sounded quirky and mysterious and the blend of magic and reality intrigued me.  The Rivers of London series revolves around Detective Grant who is a police officer working on solving cases involving magic and superstition. This particular novel tells the story of a murder in the tunnels of London’s underground railway done with a magical shard of pottery. I was interested throughout the whole novel however I became confused at times by the magical references and the way that the “magical” world worked. That may have been due to the fact that this book is not the first in the series. At times there were sayings or mannerisms which I did not understand either, perhaps it is because I’m not British. On the other hand, I really liked the characters and their unusual int...