Review: Tell the Story to Its End by Simon P. Clark

Title: Tell the Story to Its End
Author: Simon P. Clark
Series: Standalone
Format: eARC, kindly
provided by St Martin's Press
to review. (Thank you!!)
My rating: 3 / 5

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In this beautiful, haunting debut, a boy is whisked away to the country in the wake of a scandal, and finds a captivating creature in the attic whose attention comes at a sinister price.


"Tell the story to its end," says Eren with a grin.
His yellow eyes are glowing like embers in the night.
"When I reach the end," I say, "what happens? You'll have the whole story."
"Hmm," he says, looking at me and licking his lips with a dry, grey tongue. "What happens then? Why don't we find out?"

People are keeping secrets from Oli. His mum has brought him to stay with his aunt and uncle in the countryside, but nobody will tell him why his dad where his father is. Why isn't he with them? Has something happened? Oli has a hundred questions, and only an old, empty house in the middle of an ancient forest for answers. But then he finds a secret of his own: there is a creature that lives in the attic…

Eren is not human.
Eren is hungry for stories.
Eren has been waiting for him.

Sharing his stories with Eren, Oli starts to make sense of what’s happening downstairs with his family. But what if it’s a trap? Soon, Oli must make a choice: learn the truth—or abandon himself to Eren’s world, forever.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

*I received an eARC from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. This didn’t influence my opinion in any way.*

Right after I finished reading Tell the Story to Its End, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Even now, a couple of days later, I still can’t quite figure out how I feel. My feelings and opinions are sort of stuck on the fence, and I keep swaying back and forth between things I enjoyed and the things I didn’t enjoy quite as much.

Twelve year old Oliver – Oli – is our main character. His mum whisks him off unexpectedly to the small country village where she grew up called Coxborough over the summer holidays to stay with an aunt and uncle he’s never met. His dad hasn’t come with them, and he’s told his father will follow soon when he has finished up some business in London. Oli begins reading between the lines and noticing that things aren’t adding up, but the adults he’s surrounded with won’t give him any answers, and will brush his questions to the side. He’s encouraged to explore the local village where he meets Emma and Takeru, and quickly becomes friends with both. His uncle encourages him to explore the house, and while Oli is exploring the attic, he meets Eren, a creature who survives on stories.

Firstly, I really like the overall concept of Tell the Story to Its End, and how stories never really end, and that they continue on long after they’ve been told as long as someone is there to tell them. The writing style is lovely, and some of the descriptions and imagery is fabulous. I really liked the stories and fables that were told throughout the book. They were beautifully described and so easy to imagine, and being honest, these little stories were my favourite parts of the book.

The characters are usually what I connect with first when I read, and sadly I didn’t connect with Oli. Maybe I’m looking at things without removing my adult eyes, but Oli grated on my patience quite a few times. I could understand why he was frustrated with being kept in the dark about where his father was, but it wasn’t enough to make me empathise or care for his character. I thought Oli’s friends, Em and Takeru, were more interesting overall, and I would have liked to have known more about them. In general, though, I don’t feel I really clicked with any of the characters, and I think this is the main reason why I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I had hoped. The characters are a huge reason why I read, and to not click with them on some level is always a disappointment.

This leads onto the biggest sticking point I had: I don’t really see where the author was going with the story. Considering this is quite a short book, I was expecting quite a lot of action to happen very early on, and for the atmosphere to build up quite quickly. I didn’t feel any of the build-up or atmosphere I was hoping to experience and it was a bit surprising that nothing much happened for well over 55–60% of the book. I really liked trying to figure out just what Eren was, and I really wish we got more concrete answers, but the mystery surrounding Oli’s father didn’t hold my attention, and it felt a little half-hearted rather than a vital part of the story.

I can’t help wishing this book wasn’t middle grade and that the characters were a little bit older, and more themes that were briefly touched on were explored in more detail. I don’t mind open endings, providing the most important story arcs are satisfactorily explained and wrapped up. This ending wasn’t one I liked, though, and I did feel it was a bit of a let-down. Overall, I did like and enjoy Tell the Story to Its End, but it didn’t end up being quite as captivating as I was hoping it would be. I do seem to be in the minority with my feelings, so don’t let my opinions stop you from picking up the book and giving it a chance!

DNF Review: Cleo by Lucy Coats

Title: Cleo
Author: Lucy Coats
Format: eARC, kindly provided by
Hachette Children's Books via
Netgalley for review (Thank you!!)
Publisher: Hachette Children's Books
My rating: DNF

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Her precious mother is dead - and it isn't an accident! The young Cleopatra - Pharaoh's illegitimate daughter - must flee the royal palace at Alexandria or die too. As her evil half-sisters usurp the throne, Cleo finds sanctuary at the sacred temple of Isis, where years later she becomes initiated into the secret Sisters of the Living Knot. But now Isis's power is failing, Egypt is in danger, and Cleo must prove her loyalty to her goddess by returning to the Alexandria she hates. She must seek out the hidden map which is the key to returning Isis's power - on pain of death. But will she be able to evade her horrible sisters? And will she find dreamy Khai, the über-hot Librarian boy she met as she fled Alexandria years before? Cleo's powerful destiny is about to unfold...

Gorgeous and evocative, this captivating new YA novel imagines the life of the teenage Cleopatra before she became the icon we think we know.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

DNF @ 31%

I’m so disappointed! On the surface, Cleo has everything I should love: Ancient Egypt, its history and mythology are amongst my favourite historical topics, so I had VERY high expectations that I’d be swept away by so much awesomeness and find a new favourite read. Unfortunately, some things are not meant to be, and I’m completely gutted that I had to DNF.

The book is written in the first person, and Cleo is our narrator. When I read a book written in the first person, I need to form some sort of connection to the main character to fully enjoy the story. I don’t necessarily need to like them; I just need to understand where they’re coming from. I had expected to get a glimpse into the life of the famous Cleopatra in her early years before she came to power, but I wasn’t expecting to encounter a spoilt, whiny, immature, modern-sounding teenager. Unfortunately, Cleo continually grated on my nerves, and her dialogue and narrative felt a bit too modern and immature for the time period being represented. I didn’t feel any empathy or sympathy toward her when I knew I should be rooting for her to succeed.

I was under the impression that this was a young adult novel, so I was a bit surprised that the writing style had a very middle-grade vibe. (Personally, I don’t read middle-grade, and if I had known before starting, I would have skipped it.) The book begins when Cleo is twelve, but a few chapters later, she’s sixteen. Up to the point I read, the style of writing and Cleo’s narrative didn’t change to reflect this. Considering Cleopatra became co-ruler of Egypt at eighteen-ish, her immaturity and naivety seems a little… off, to me.

Overall, I really liked the concept of this book, but Cleo’s attitude and narrative style prevented me from connecting with both her and the story. With nothing to root for and a main character that grated on my nerves, unfortunately, I felt it was time to walk away.

Review: The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black

Title: The Iron Trial
Authors: Cassandra Clare
and Holly Black
Series: Magisterium, #1
Format: eARC, via Netgalley
from the publishers. (Thank you!)
My rating: 1.5 / 5

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Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.

Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.

All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him.

So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing.

Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.

The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .

-- As seen on Goodreads

Review: The Bell Between Worlds, by Ian Johnstone

Title: The Bell Between Worlds
Author: Ian Johnstone
Series: The Mirror Chronicles, #1
Format: Signed Hardback
My rating: 4 / 5

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A glorious epic fantasy in the grand tradition of C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman, and a major publishing event, The Mirror Chronicles will take you into another world, and on the adventure of your lifetime…

Half of your soul is missing. The lost part is in the mirror. And unless Sylas Tate can unite the two worlds, you will never be whole again.

Sylas Tate leads a lonely existence since his mother died. But then the tolling of a giant bell draws him into another world known as the Other, where he discovers not only that he has an inborn talent for magic, but also that his mother might just have come from this strange parallel place. Meanwhile, evil forces are stirring, and an astounding revelation awaits Sylas: that the Other is a mirror of our world, and every person here has their counterpart there, known as a Glimmer. As violence looms and the stakes get higher, Sylas must seek out his Glimmer, and unite the two halves of his soul – otherwise the entire universe may fall...

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

I received this book as part of a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway, in exchange for an honest review.

When the sun sets, it merely sleeps, to rise another day;

a path that ends, ends not, but leads back from whence it came;

thus at this our journey’s end is another, just beginning.

-- The Bell Between Worlds, by Ian Johnstone

The Bell Between Worlds begins in our world, following a twelve year boy, Sylas Tate, who discovers a new shop called The Shop of Things when he is running errands for his brutish Uncle. There he meets Mr Zhi, who shows Sylas the unusual treasures the shop holds, entrusting the boy with a precious, bejewelled book called the Samarok, thus marking the beginning of Sylas’s tale. With the chime of the Passing Bell we are thrown into a parallel world, known as the Other, where magic abounds and untamed beasts still roam. He begins his quest in the hope of finding his mother, but as with all journeys, there are usually a few twists along the way…

This book reminds me of The Night Circus, certainly in comparison with the writing style, and the depth of detail present. Thankfully, here I think it’s a lot better. The characters are likeable and well thought out, and the depth of care put into world building is brilliant. Occasionally I do love a deeply descriptive book, and I definitely found it here. I cannot fault the writing style; it is so lyrical and beautiful to read. The detail in the imagery is so intricate you can’t help but be captured and wrapped up in the world.

I will say I fear that its greatest strength, could also pose to be its greatest weakness. So it is with a word of caution; I think you need to be in the right mood to tackle this book – certainly in the right frame of mind to expect detailed prose. While beautiful, I did find that after the half way mark, they began to bog the story down, hampering a quicker flow of the plot. The pacing of the book almost felt leashed at times, with the story needing to speed on ahead, but unable to with the dense images in the way. I feel at times that even if only half the detail was present, we would still be left with the same impressions, and a quicker, sharper story to boot.

I won’t go into any detail, but I loved the links between druidic history, Stonehenge and stone circles, and a little sprinkling of Ancient Egyptian themes (Thoth, Merimmat – Ma’at; the Temple of Isia [or Isis – the Egyptian goddess of magic, such a nice touch I though]) throughout. It gave a link between the book’s world and our history, anchoring it with our past. Also a yin and yang element, of everything being balanced, and parts of a whole… just… I loved the depth I could take away from the book. It was completely unexpected and enjoyable on many levels.

I find this a little hard to accurately translate into a star rating. I hover between like and really like, as there are many points in the book that fall into both categories, so 3.5 stars could be a more accurate representation of how I feel. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and will look forward to continuing on with the story if/when the next is published.

Oh, on a side note, if the Groundrush was a theme park ride, I’d be first in the queue!