Book Review- Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Title:  Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Author:  Rick Riordan

Series:   Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Published:  May 2005 by Miramax,  May 2006 by Puffin

Length:  377 pages

Source: bought and library

Other info: Many other series such as The Heroes of Olympus and the Kane Chronicles have stemmed off. There was a film adaptation of The Lightning Thief.

Summary :  Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse-Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

Review: Percy Jackson is a mostly normal child. Yes, he has trouble concentrating and keeps getting thrown out of schools but mostly, he's ok. Until, on this school trip, it looks like he'll get thrown out because his maths teacher wants to kill him. And he vaporises her with a sword. More things happen, and Percy ends up at Camp Half Blood, with satyrs, demigods, and a centaur of a Latin teacher. And a quest. Because Zeus is angry. And things get better from there.

I love this series from the bottom of my heart. I read it first when I was eight or nine, maybe? I don't know, but I wanted a book and I asked my dad for recommendations in Waterstones and he picked this off the shelves and I fell in love with it when I read the chapter titles. Add the fact that I already had a love of Greek mythology and you can see how this is going to work out.

I reread this because my reading aim for 2015 is to work my way through all of Rick Riordan's demigod series and this is the first one.

The world of this is wonderful. The Gods are alive and kicking and operating out of the USA, doing what they've always done in a more modern way. This "what they've always done" includes having children with mortals, thus necessitating Camp Half Blood, a safe place to train and live without fear of monsters.

The characters  are well fleshed out and great to read about. The new takes on mythology are genius, especially when you notice the clever ways little things are updated'. You just fall in love with all the characters- Percy for his determination to keep trying, Grover for his determination to keep trying, Annabeth for her cleverness and levelheadedness, Chiron for his general badassery of being both a centaur and a Latin teacher...the list goes on.

They adventure in such a way that we meet a variety of creatures from Greek myth. I must say, when I first read it, I felt so proud of myself for being to guess ahead as to who this threat was, and I also enjoyed learning about new aspects of mythology too.

The writing describes well, but has a huge dose of humour. Case in point: chapter titles. But I loved the sheer amount of fun that this book was, comparatively speaking to everything else I was reading.

The  plot keeps running in new direction throughout the whole novel. The twists at the end where we learn how the thing got in, I  did not see coming the first time I read it. It was foreshadowed so perfectly and the way it all came round made me happy.

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to  a strong opening to a brilliant series.

Links:  Amazon| Goodreads | Author website |

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Book Review- Fleeced by Julia Wills

Title: Fleeced

 Author: Julia Wills

Series:  N/A

Published:  1 January 2014 by Templar

Length: 400pages

 Source: Publisher

Summary : Meet Aries, the wise-cracking ghost-ram of the Golden Fleece!
Aries, the ram of Golden Fleece fame, remains furious at the loss of his beautiful coat - stolen by Jason and the Argonauts centuries ago. So he hatches a plan to return to earth, along with his friend Alex, zookeeper of the Underworld. But instead of arriving in ancient Greece, they teleport slap-bang into the British Museum in modern day London.
Aries and Alex soon discover that the Golden Fleece is in the clutches of evil immortal sorceress Medea - now a world-famous fashion designer. With the help of twelve-year-old human girl Rose, Aries and Alex must foil Medea's wicked plans and save Aries from an eternity of being bald!
A madcap, mythological adventure ewe don't want to miss!

Review: Those of you who know Greek Mythology may have heard about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest to find the Golden Fleece. Everyone remembers Jason, but what about the ram? Aries, the ram from whom the Fleece is stolen, is still upset at the loss of his fleece. When Athena holds a contest in the Underworld for a chance to go up to the real world, Aries and Underworld zookeeper Alex compete and win, sending them up to modern day London. With the help of a human girl, Rose, they try and find the Fleece. It won't be as easy as they hoped. It's  in the hands of Medea, the sorceress, who is now a fashion designer, and who has a plan for the next wearer of the clothes made with fleece...

  I heard about this at the Templar/Hot Key blogger event thing. They said something along the lines of “I know this is aimed at slightly younger readers but I think you'll enjoy it.” Whoever said that was right.

The idea for this is wonderful. The big name Greek myth book is of course Percy Jackson, and Fleeced presents Greek mythology in a totally different way.

Either Rose or Aries is my favourite character. Not sure which. Rose is a wellbuilt character, and one of the few twelve year olds I don't find really annoying. Aries, well for starters non human main characters are awesome, and I love his thought processes. Medea is a wonderfully put together interpretation of the one from the original myth. Both she and Rose are sharp and clever, and seeing them dance around eachother with wits is great to read.  I didn't really like Hazel, because she didn't seem to do much, but everyone else was good.

The plot moves quickly, with a lot of back and forth around the scenes for effective cliffhangers, with commentary remarking that they're moving back and forth around the scenes.  It works in a lot of Greek myth elements, and I liked seeing them all have a small part.

This is one of the most fun, and funniest, books I've read all year.  My love of Greek Mythology meant I enjoyed all the gags about that, and there's lots of more modern jokes in it too. Then there's the chapter titles, of which about 95% are puns. By the time I got to The Flocky Horror Show, I was  absolutely done.  Then there's everything to do with

The narrator is one of the most sarcastic ones I've met. They're chatty, and narrate everyhing in a distinct way that made me laugh a lot. Then there's the bit at the end, the scroll providing a handy glossary of creatures and characters in Greek Mythology. Best who's who ever; Medusa's says “anyone who looked at her immediately utrned into stone, which made it very difficult to get agood hairdresser” and Narcissus' says “He stayed by the pool until he died. I know. How silly was that? But, as I said, he was good looking, not smart”.

Final point-my Latin teacher loves the idea of this. 

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to another book spreading the love for Greek Mythology

Quotes from the Uncorrected Proof. They may change in the final copy.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | 

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Mini-reviews- Reaper's Novice and Peregrine Harker

Title: Reaper’s Novice

 Author: Cecelia Roberts

 Series:  N/A

Warnings: non consensual kissing

Source: netgalley

Review: Anna is normal. she’s got a boyfriend, she’s doing well at school and  she’s looking forwards to a brilliant musical education. Then her family dies in a car crash, but she makes a deal with Ernst, aka Grim, aka Death. Her family gets to live, he gets her soul, and she gets to work, collecting souls for eternity. She gets used to this, but then she finds out other things about where Ernst comes from...and where she does.

I read this because I saw it on Netgalley and a book like that, with that title, pretty colours, and a girl with a violin, I couldn’t resist.

It starts off quickly. the car crash and meeting Ernst happens within the first few chapters. There’s a bit of mystery that comes up. Other things like the story to Ana’s background and the mythology of the world, which comes in later.

I really liked Ana. She’s cool. She’s a really good violinist (musical  talent always makes me love characters) and then it becomes plot relavent and this is where audiobooks come in handy. She also seems like a really good friend.

I didn’t like Zig. He’s creepy and full of himself. Ernst was cool. Rolf was kind of mediocre until about halfway through, then we get a big reveal and he becomes a lot more interesting.

The plot was good, but near the second half, the plot became quite confusing.  The writing was ok in places, good in others. The more descriptive parts were better written, such as the end bit with the violin, and  Ana seeing her first reaping of an old woman in a hospital, which was the most beautiful part in the book.

Overall:  Strength 3.5, just more a 3, tea to a fantasy novel with good writing.

Links:  Goodreads | Author website |

Title: Peregrine Harker and the Black Death

 Author: Luke Hollands

Series:  N/A

Published:  3 June 2013 by Sparkling Books

Warnings: non consensual kissing

Source: netgalley

Review: Ever since Peregrine’s parents died, he’s worked for the Evening Enquirer. As a result of his behaviour and habit of writing stories of spies and thieves and espionage into his work which is meant to be factual, he is told to write a story about rising tea prices. Begrudgingly, he sets out to do this, and unexpectedly finds himself in amongst secret organisations, smuggling, and assassinations.

The first chapter takes place on a train, the epic conclusions of a match between Doctor Crick and Peregrine. The second chapter reveals that this was just a daydream of Peregrine’s, and that he is actually being told off by his editor and commissioned to write the tea article.

The plot moves along quickly, the investigation taking us many places, such as docks, posh hotels, backstreets of London and to France.

I liked Peregrine. He’s a great investigator, likable, and smart- like a less sad version of Gavroche (from Les Mis). I really like his enthusiasm for his job-and the fact it picks up when a dead body turns up.

I quite like Louisa too-the first time we meet her, she’s got a pistol and her governess is telling her not to fire that infernal thing indoors. Fun!

The pacing is good. There’s always something new happening and you’re kept intrigued throughout. The atmosphere of adventure is ever present-through London and Paris.

 arker. The

Overall:  Strength 3.5, just more a 3, tea to a younger historical mystery that’s a lot of fun.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website |

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Book Review-Who Framed Klaris Cliff? by Nikki Sheehan

Title: Who Framed Klaris Cliff?

 Author:  Nikki Sheehan

Series:   N/A

Published: 6 February 2014 by OUP Oxford

Length: 264 pages

Source: publisher

Summary :  People used to call them 'friends' and said how they were good for your brain. And then a day came when all that changed . . . when they became our enemy. Now, anyone found harbouring a rogue imaginary person is in for the Cosh, an operation that fries your imagination and zaps whatever's in there, out of existence. That's why I wish Klaris Cliff had never shown up. And why I know that proving her innocence is the last hope I have of saving myself.

Review: In this world, invisible friends are dangerous. Anyone found to have one is sent for the COSH, a procedure that shrinks the area of the imagination that an invisible friend will reside in. Klaris Cliff is one such invisible friend. An imaginary person who contacts Flea, and later, Joseph. As bad things go on at the Cliff household, Doctor Cliff wants Klaris gone, and it's up to Joseph to prove her innocence.

I hadn't heard of this until the OUP night for this and Storm and Stone, but upon hearing  about this, I definitely wanted  to read it. The first thing I heard about it was “What if someone can kill your imaginary friend”, which caught my attention, as it must have caught Sheehan's.

You very quickly get a feel for this world, which is slightly dystopian for the way that the COSH and its threat rules over the children. You also quickly get to know the characters, the friendship between them, and the sibling relationships seem real.

The characters all have their individual quirks that make them likable, unique and funny at times. The twins are especially cute (and a little gross in parts). Despite the fact most of them are younger than I normally read about, they're really nice to get to know.

The mystery uncovering works nicely, and I liked the way it all panned out at the end. Sheehan also wrote in less mystery, more family parts, which I found a nice touch, rounding out Joseph and giving him a bit more of a life.

I like the fact that one little detail that you think isn't going to be major, just a bit of back-story to explain where Joseph is today, is quite important, and leads to a satisfying, kind of heart-warming but also sad, conclusion.

The idea of the COSH is very very scary.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a slightly younger mystery that people of all ages should read.

Links: Amazon| Goodreads| Author website | 

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Book Review- Doll Bones by Holly Black

Title: Doll Bones

  Author Holly Black

Series:  N/A

Published:  9 May 2013 by Random House

Length: 244 pages

Source: publisher 

Summary : Twelve-year-old Zach is too old to play with toys. Or at least, that's what his father thinks.
But even though he stops hanging out with Poppy and Alice, stops playing with his action figures, it's no good. There's one toy that still wants to play with him. A doll that's made from the bones of a dead girl. The only way to end the game is to lay the doll to rest forever. It's time for a journey to Spring Grove cemetery. It's time to grow up.

Review: Zach is twelve years old- far too old to be playing with toys, as his father tells him. Reluctantly, he tries to stop playing with the toys,  and with Poppy and Alice. But when Alice has a dream, telling her that the Queen, a doll made from bone china using the bones of a dead girl, wants burying in her hometown, and says she's going to do it regardless, Zach joins her and Poppy for one final game.

I hadn't heard of this book before I got sent it for review, but the cover and premise made it sound good.

I like the games they play before the plot picks up. These children are really imaginative, creating a full fantasy land. There's a lot of character development from all three characters. Zach especicailly- he grows up a lot more on the journey than he would have if he had simply allowed his father to forbid him from the toys and games, which I suppose is the moral of the story. 

The adventure is really good. It's a little unbelievable to me that that a 12 year old would be allowed on buses and across counties without parental supervision, but hey, we also have the spirit of a girl demanding to be laid to rest, so suspension of belief allows me to buy into all of it. There's a bit of history and mystery, and the plot comes to a nice end.

I think compared to the blurb, the horror of the novel is downplayed to make Doll Bones a coming of age story-there's a lot about how old you have to be to do things, and also about family and  keeping the imagination going.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a creepy coming of age story.

Links: Amazon | | Goodreads | Author website | 

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