Review: Hollow Pike by James Dawson

Title: Hollow Pike
Author: James Dawson
Series: Standalone
Format: Paperback, owned
My rating: 4 / 5

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Something wicked this way comes...

She thought she’d be safe in the country, but you can’t escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she’s being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn’t believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn’t believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you’re alone in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps... Hollow Pike - where witchcraft never sleeps.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

Earlier on this year I read and loved one of James Dawson’s more recent releases, Say Her Name, and as I had Hollow Pike on my to-read list for a long time, I thought it was about time I gave it a go. I’m so, so, so glad I did, and I really wish I’d read it sooner! Set in North Yorkshire, Lis London, our main character, moves in with her sister and brother-in-law to have a fresh start after severe bullying forced her to leave her previous school in Wales. The story starts off with a fairly strong contemporary feel, but things slowly begin to turn more sinister and creepy.

I was wrapped up in the story straight away, and it was the exact book that I needed to read to shake me out of the reading slump I’ve been struggling through over the past few months. I flew through the pages, the storytelling and writing style was so absorbing and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened in the next chapter. Sometimes I find male authors writing styles and I don’t mix that well, but I have to say that James Dawson is one of the few that I’ve completely clicked with. Comparing both books of his that I’ve read, I can see how much he’s grown as a writer and storyteller, and after reading Hollow Pike it’s left me wanting to read even more of his works.

I really liked all the characters, and despite not having one real favourite, it was so great to see such a varied and diverse cast of characters and personalities throughout the story. The friendships Lis forms in her new school was easily my favourite part of the book. There is a touch of romance as well, but for me, the awesome friendships overshadowed it by a mile. It’s not very often that friendship trumps romance in YA, and I really wish this trend would catch on!

The witch elements are slowly woven into the story, and it’s only toward the second half of the book that they come into full focus. I loved that this gave the characters a chance to become established before the paranormal and thriller themes kicked in. The ending was absolutely fabulous, and I loved being kept in the dark for so long. The tension was slowly ramped up throughout, and when things began to kick off I hadn’t a clue what to expect, and it was oh so awesome!

Overall, Hollow Pike was a fantastic read and a brilliant debut novel. It tackled bullying in a truthful, raw and honest way, and with a fabulous cast of characters, it’ll be a book I won’t forget for a long time to come.

Review: The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

Title: The Witch Hunter
Author: Virginia Boecker
Series: The Witch Hunter, #1
Format: eARC kindly provided
by the publishers via Netgalley
for a review (Thank you!!)
Publishers: Hachette Children’s Books
My rating: 4.5/ 5

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The magic and suspense of Graceling meet the political intrigue and unrest of Game of Thrones in this riveting fantasy debut.

Your greatest enemy isn't what you fight, but what you fear.

Elizabeth Grey is one of the king's best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.

Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him.

But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.

Virginia Boecker weaves a riveting tale of magic, betrayal, and sacrifice in this unforgettable fantasy debut.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

I had a pretty good idea that I’d enjoy The Witch Hunter, but there’s always that little doubt at the back of my mind that insists on keeping my expectations under control. I’ve been bitten by the hype bug one too many times, and I’m learning to be a little cautious! I’m SO GLAD I can say I shouldn’t have worried – I loved The Witch Hunter! I love when I get so caught up in a book that I can just relax and enjoy being swept away by a fabulous story.

The book is set in an alternative 16th century London after a deadly plague decimated the population. The plague was blamed on magic, and witchcraft is outlawed and those found participating or in possession of anything witchcraft related are burned alive at the stake. Elizabeth Grey, our MC and narrator, is one of the best witch hunters in Anglia, but she’s been off her game recently and her fellow witch hunters, including her childhood friend Caleb, are beginning to notice. I will confess that The Witch Hunter and I had a bit of a shaky start. Elizabeth was a hard character to empathise with initially, and I think it was due to her crush on Caleb dominating much of the early chapters. This seems to be a standard theme in YA these days, and I was afraid things would go downhill from there. Thankfully, it didn’t. Elizabeth is found with illegal contraceptive herbs, and is accused of being a witch. She’s thrown in Fleet prison to awaiting her imminent execution, and her perception of the world begins to change when her greatest enemy is the one to help her escape from prison.

I loved how entertaining and captivating the story telling was. It’s really moreish, and I kept trying to find excuses to squeeze in an extra ten minutes of reading whenever I could. The book is written in the first person, and we gain knowledge and figure things out at the same pace as Elizabeth, and while I could see a few things coming, I loved that nothing was dragged out unnecessarily. Once Elizabeth figured something out, we were off pursuing the answer and the plot zipped on ahead quickly. While the setting is 1558 London, the language used throughout the book is quite modern. Personally, I didn’t mind this at all – I tend to find overly historically sounding books boring to read.

The dialogue and the interactions between the characters made me fall in love with the book. I loved how natural they seemed, and nothing felt scripted or forced. While it took me a while to connect with Elizabeth, I thought she was a really good character. She’s a quick thinker and quite resourceful, and I enjoyed seeing the story unfold from her perspective. I feel both John and Elizabeth’s characters worked best together, and some of their interactions were nothing short of adorable. The progression of their attraction felt natural, and while it only spanned a handful of weeks, it felt believable. I didn’t feel the plot was dominated by the romance, either. I really liked how subtle it was, and I felt it complimented rather than detracted from the story. George and Fifer were easily my favourite characters, though. I always favour the humours ones, and George sort of reminded me of a drunk version of Puck from the Iron Fae series by Julie Kagawa. (You know how much I love Puck!!)

I really like that this book is wrapped up nicely – no cliff-hangers in sight, phew! – but the ending itself wasn’t quite as explosive as I was imagining it to be. With all the build-up just before, I was expecting huge and epic things, and while I liked what happened… I had hoped for a bit MORE! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Witch Hunter. It’s a really fun and entertaining light fantasy read, and it’s easily one of my favourite debuts of 2015!

*I received an eARC from Hachette Children’s Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This didn't influence my opinion in any way.*

Blog Tour Reviews: Eternal and Unbreakable by C.C. Hunter

Title: Eternal
Author: C.C. Hunter
Series: Shadow Falls: After Dark, #2
Format: eARC, kindly provided by
St. Martin's Press. This didn't influence
my opinion in any way.
My rating: 3 / 5

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All her life, Della's secret powers have made her feel separated from her human family. Now, she's where she belongs, at Shadow Falls. With the help of her best friends Kylie and Miranda, she’ll try to prove herself in the paranormal world as an investigator—all the while trying to figure out her own heart. Should she chose Chase, a powerful vampire with whom she shares a special bond? Or Steve, the hot shapeshifter whose kisses make her weak in the knees? When a person with dark connection to her past shows up, it’ll help her decide which guy to choose–and make her question everything she knows about herself.

-- As seen on Goodreads

Review: Reborn by C.C. Hunter

Title: Reborn
Author: C.C. Hunter
Series: Shadow Falls: After Dark, #1
Format: Kindle
My rating: 3 / 5

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Return to the beloved world of Shadow Falls, a camp that teaches supernatural teens to harness their powers—and where a vampire named Della will discover who she’s meant to be.

For Della Tsang, Shadow Falls isn't just a camp: it's home. As a vampire who's never fit in with her human family, it's the one place she can truly be herself. But when a mysterious new guy arrives at camp, Della’s whole world is thrown into turmoil. Chase is a vampire with secrets, who knows more than he’s telling. But the more time she spends with him, the more she begins to trust this attractive stranger—and feel drawn to him. But romance is the last thing she wants—as she keeps telling Steve, the hunky shapeshifter who won’t stop trying to win her heart. And if Della isn't careful, he just might succeed.　 When a new case puts everyone she cares about in danger, Della’s determined to do everything she can to save them . . . even if it means teaming up with Steve and Chase, who leave her more confused than ever. With their lives on the line, will Della and her friends survive—with their hearts intact?

-- As seen on Goodreads

Review: Accession by Terah Edun

Title: Accession
Author: Terah Edun
Series: Sarath Web, #1
My rating: 1 / 5
Pages: 203

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Sixteen-year-old Katherine Thompson wasn’t trained to rule a coven. That was her sister – perfect, beautiful Rose. But when a mysterious plane crash kills off the heir presumptive of the Sandersville coven she has no choice.

After stepping in to fill her sister’s shoes, Katherine realizes she didn’t have a clue – faery wars, depressed trolls and angry unicorns are just the beginning.

For centuries, her family has served the high Queens on both sides of the Atlantic but it is a well-known rule that mid-level witches stay away from high-level Queens.

But when Katherine’s youngest cousin vanishes without a trace in the Atlanta court and no one wants to investigate, Katherine decides to step into the darkness on her own. She will soon discover that nothing, in a queen's court, is as it seems.

-- As seen on Goodreads

Review: Raising Demons (Demonglass) by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Raising Demons
(US title: Demonglass)
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Hex Hall, #2
Format: Paperback, owned
My rating: 3.5 / 5
Pages: 359

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Sophie Mercer's first term at Hex Hall turned out to be quite eventful. First the ghost of her evil grandmother haunted her every move, then her best friend was accused of murder and of course there was the discovery that Archer Cross, aka the boy of her dreams, was actually an undercover demon hunter - which would probably be something she could have worked on, if she hadn't also discovered that she was actually the demon Archer was hunting…

So, despite their issues, Sophie is actually relieved to be spending the summer in London with her father. But when your father is Head of The Council of Prodigium and your summer is being spent at the headquarters of everything magical, then a quiet holiday isn't really that likely. And, as Sophie struggles to come to terms with her new found demon powers, she finds herself thrust once again into a world of dark magic and conspiracies. The only thing that could possibly make things more complicated would be for Archer Cross to show up again, which of course he wouldn't, would he?

-- As seen on Goodreads

Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Hex Hall, #1
Format: Paperback, owned
My rating: 4 / 5

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Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

Hex Hall is absolutely hilarious. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I decided to read it, but humour wasn’t on the list. I really enjoyed it.

Sophie Mercer is a witch. She was raised by her human mother, and they had to move around a lot as Sophie received her witchy powers when she hit puberty. Prodigium – witches, shapeshifters and fairies – are not supposed to show their powers to humans, so when a love spell backfires on Sophie, turning her High School prom into a disaster zone, she used up one too many of her last chances. She is sent to Hecate “Hex” Hall in Georgia, or “Juvie for monsters” – Sophie’s words, not mine – until she turns eighteen. It is a reform boarding school for supernaturals that have broken the rules and the aim is to try to teach them to be good little monsters.

I’m finding it a bit difficult to come up with a full length review without revealing spoilers. So I’m airing on the side of vagueness and sticking to what I enjoyed about the book. All the teens were very believably teenagers. I could picture them in any boarding school, just adding in some magic, fur and sparkly wings. I absolutely adored Sophie. She is such a fun and witty narrator. She’s quite like a regular teen girl, but with witchy powers that she doesn’t know how to control properly. I think one of my favourite moments is right near the start of the book, when she just arrives at Hex Hall and encounters a werewolf…

“For a second the werewolf, er, Justin, paused, his head cocked to the side, making him look less like a throat-ripping-out beastie and more like a cocker spaniel.

The thought made me giggle.

And suddenly those yellow eyes were on me.

It gave another howl, and before I even had time to think, it charged.

I heard the man and woman cry out a warning as I frantically racked my brain for some sort of throat-repairing spell, which I was clearly about to need. Of course the only words I managed to yell at the werewolf as he ran at me were, “BAD DOG!””

From that moment on, I knew I’d like the book. Sometimes when books are funny, it starts to go overboard and by then end I’m all laughed out. That didn’t happen here thankfully. I laughed out loud quite a few times, and I did earn a few disapproving glances from my dog when I woke her up giggling. Archer is our main boy crush. I liked his character. He’s quite realistic and I think most of us would have known a guy similar to him back when we were in school.

Hex Hall has is similar to most Academy or boarding school YA books out there, and the plot is as expected, but I didn’t find that off-putting. The writing is quite simple. It’s not trying to be a literary masterpiece, just a good story and I think it succeeds on this front. The mystery element isn’t anything unusual, and there is a twist toward the end that reminded me of a book I read recently. I won’t name the book as the twist is very similar, and it’ll spoil the surprise element if you’ve read one book and not the other.

I’m so happy I tried Hex Hall. It ticks the boxes for a really funny, light, entertaining and quick read with really nice characters. I’d definitely recommend it.