Dead Jealous by Sharon Jones
People think of Mother Nature as a gentle lady. They forget that she's also Death...Sixteen-year-old Poppy Sinclair believes in quantum particles, not tarot cards, in Dawkins, not druids. Last summer, in a boating accident in the Lake District, Poppy had a brush with death. But the girl she finds face down in Scariswater hasn't been so lucky. As she fights to discover the truth behind what she believes is murder, Poppy is forced to concede that people and things are not always what they seem and, slipping ever deeper into a web of lies, jealousy and heart-stopping danger, she comes to realise - too late - that the one thing that can save her has been right there, all the time.
I wasn't expecting what I got from Dead Jealous, the mystery, the romance and all this pagan influence. I love mystery books, but I have tended to find that I can easily guess who is the murder or who is running everything. However, Dead Jealous leaves you hanging on until the end as to whose done it.
Poppy has had a rough year, she almost died from a boating accident, her parents got divorced, she is in love with her best friend and her mum is getting re-married. Now she has found a dead body, a guy that seems interested in her, and is trying to find out what happened to the missing girl who the dead girl was best friends with. Poppy has her flaws like any character but one that got me was her ability to trust everyone, just because no one has done wrong by her before doesn't mean no one ever is. You would think that after finding at dead body at a Pagan festival Poppy wouldn't be so trusting.
While the start is slow, once the mystery begins you can't help but get swept up in it, wanting to know who did it, who is going to die next and why is it all connected. Unfortunately for me I had college sport on and had to put it down, right when I didn't want to. The romance has you wishing that Poppy would just take a chance on telling Michael that she is in love with him. I enjoyed seeing things from Michael's perspective especially since you don't see some of the mystery that happens from his end through Poppy's eyes.
One of the things I enjoyed most about Dead Jealous, was that It was dark and I couldn't guess who was behind the murders. After the ending that was given and the preview of book 2, I cannot wait for the next one with the mystery that keeps on unfolding.
Thanks to Date A Book for the holding the competition on facebook for the copy!
Rating: 4/5
Keely xx
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Thanks to Bloomsbury for holding the competition on twitter! I was lucky enough to win an ARC of Throne of Glass!
Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.
In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.
Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?
This novel had me at assassin. Think of it like Maria V. Snyder's Study series with a female Valek. Celaena is taken from the death camp in the salt mines of Endovier to become Prince Dorian's "champion" a.k.a assassin for a competition to see who will be the King's champion. Celaena's identity is hidden from the other competors to give her the 'underdog' advantage in the final showdown.
But like any novel there of course is a twist. A magical creature is murdering the other contestents and other competitors are getting stronger. At first I didn't realise that it had a strong magical side to it which made it much more interesting. Prince Maxon and Chaol spend alot of time with Celanena as she prepares for each 'task' and of course romance spikes, but who falls for her I shall not reveal but it is quite unsual how they end up with each other.
The characterisation of the three main characters Celaena, Maxon and Chaol is different for each other them as they each have different upbringings. Celaena an orphan from a young age then trained into an assassin, both Maxon and Chaol grew up at court and became friends however Chaol abdicated being a lord to become Captain of the guard and we know that Maxon is a Prince. And then we have Nehemia, the Eyllwe princess who becomes friends with Celaena but doesn't know who she really is, it is intriuging as to how they let a trained killer be with a princess.
The supernatural twist that this story has makes it must more interesting and makes you want to read about Celaena and her life. The assassin aspect still holds a great part of the story which I liked because I have a thing for spies, thieves, assassins and murderous teens, don't ask me why.
All in all this a great start to a promising series which I cannot wait to read more of! I must admit I am yet to read the novellas which I will start to read shortly!
Rating: 5/5
Keely xx
