The New Hunger - Isaac Marion

A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book

*Prequel to Warm Bodies*

Julie Grigio and her parents are looking for a new home.

Nora Greene and her brother are looking for food, shelter, and safety.

The dead man is looking for the answers to his many questions.

The three groups must stumble on as looking back and stopping is not an option.

My Review

I was excited and nervous about picking up The New Hunger as I loved Warm Bodies so completely. I was a little scared of my massive expectations.

I shouldn't have been worried as one chapter in, I was hooked. The simplicity of the first chapter drew me in. The dead man's point of view seemed empty and melancholy in only a few paragraphs. I should have remembered how Marion is the king of feeling.

I'm afraid to say that I have almost nothing to write as I couldn't think of a single thing to criticise.

The description was so fantastic I was right there in the moment. Some thoughtful phrases I'd never considered before made me truly enter the world Marion had created. There were some amazing lines that chilled me and made me grip the book tighter, but they were interspersed with lines that would make me laugh, causing me to be constantly on edge. And of course, turning pages.

There's something so horrible and beautiful about prequels because you know exactly how they have to turn out in order for the first book to take place and that horrible foreboding follows you on every page. If anything though, it made me read faster.

The New Hunger is short and easy to read and I didn't want it to be over. It was perfectly crafted. I can't say anything more.

The New Hunger takes my third spot on the Molten Reading Challenge: a book recommended by a friend.

A book recommended by a friend: The New Hunger by Isaac Marion (recommended by Dad)

Evaluation

Overall 10/10

Would I recommend it? Yes, but please read Warm Bodies first.

Would I look up the author? Yes, can't wait for the Warm Bodies sequel The Burning World!


The New Hunger was poignant and full of feeling.

Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo

Kellie's Diary - Thomas Jenner and Angeline Perkins

A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book

Nine-year-old Kellie finds herself in a world of monsters. She must be brave in order to find home where she's hoping Mum and Dad will be waiting for her.

My Review

I didn't quite know what to expect with this to be honest. I was questioning how much of the world could pass through a nine-year-old's head. But the result was creepy and intense.

The entire thing is written in diary entries which are short and easy to read. However, I have some serious issues with the diary form and they were highlighted by the young protagonist throughout. Diaries tend to lack dialouge and Kellie's Diary had no dialouge whatsoever. I love dialouge and the absence of it stood out so much. I understand Kellie is alone for the majority of the story but even so, I was craving some sort of conversation.

Also, because of the lack of dialouge and the fact that Kellie was alone for pretty much the whole story, there are almost no secondary characters. The few people we hear about we don't know. I needed some other characters to add another dimension. I guess if Kellie had any adults around her she'd be safe and they'd be no story to tell but even so.

The diary also led to a lot of telling and not showing. Kellie would say things like "I was so scared" which makes me feel nothing as a reader. I couldn't feel her fear at all as it wasn't described. But a nine-year-old wouldn't know how to describe it so I lost out on feeling much of anything.

A lot of tension is lost because we know she's all right because she's writing the entry. This made the pace seem very casual throughout. We miss all the action and therefore the danger never truly hits us.

The whole thing was short and I read it in one sitting feeling like I'd missed something. There didn't feel like much of a plot and I disliked the choice of form.

I'm sure if Kellie's Diary was written in something other than the diary form, it would've been much more gripping.

Evaluation

Overall 5/10

Would I recommend it? No. The idea was creepy but the execution wasn't right.

Would I look up the author? No.


Kellie's Diary was creepy at first but the danger was too far removed for my liking.

Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo

Feel the Love!

To celebrate Valentine's Day, here are my top five - you heard me five - love stories of all time.

For once I'm going to put these in a specific order. Watch out, this could get messy . . .


Here are my six favourite love stories of all time:

1. Delirium - Lauren Oliver
2. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
3. Just One Day - Gayle Forman
4. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
5. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

I tried to pick the ones most about love/romance. As opposed to these:

1. The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy - Maggie Stiefvater
2. Twilight Saga - Stephenie Meyer
3. Immortals Series - Alyson Noel
4. Hush, Hush Series - Becca Fitzpatrick
5. Anna Dressed in Blood - Kendare Blake (this isn't really a love story but . . .)

So there you have it! It's no secret that I'm a sucker for romance <3

Hope everyone has a love filled day!

Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Girl of Nightmares - Kendare Blake

A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book

*Sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood - read my review of Anna here!*

Cas is back! Everyone come read!

"Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-gets-sucked-into-Hell story."

My Review

It's been a whole year since I read Anna Dressed in Blood so it's about time I got stuck into Girl of Nightmares. It's an understatement to say I was excited. I adored Anna Dressed in Blood, it was one of the best books I read in 2015 and I was hoping Girl of Nightmares would be one of my favourite books of 2016 . . .

So far it is! Blake stood her ground and wrote another phenomenal story. Watch out, this is going to be a gush fest!

Honestly, I was hooked by the first sentence. I'm not even exaggerating. If anyone's considering reading it, here's the first sentence: 

"I think I killed a girl who looked like this once."

Go, go read it!

But seriously, spending time with these characters was an utter joy. It's hard to explain but the words and pages just rolled by so easily. I did not want to put it down and I couldn't stop turning pages.

As I reached the end, I felt like I was hyperventilating it was so intense. I was reading with trembling fingers and holding my breath. Just . . . whoa. Magic.

The only possible thing I could think of to criticise was the fact that the adverbs started to annoy me half way through. But that was it. I can't think of a single other thing to say!

Anyway, I loved it. Truly.

Evaluation

Overall 10/10

Would I recommend it? Yes! Just go and read it!

Would I look up the author? Yes! Put a few of Blake's books on my to-read list!

FAVOURITE BOOK OF 2016 SO FAR!

That's another one for the Molten Reading Challenge.

An impulse buy: Girl of Nightmares - Kendare Blake

Girl of Nightmares was breathless, intense, and phenomenal! 

Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo

The Third Door - Stephen Lyden

Blurb (as I have no way of explaining this book without confusing myself!)

I died. Now I live. But I live within the boundaries of my head. What happens on the outside is beyond my control.

My Review

First of all congratulations are in order to Parsavagely, one of my Movellas friends, on the publishing of your first book!

The prologue is thoughtful and deep and already has you questioning concepts such as life and death as you are thrown into the narrative. Now readers of this blog will know that I don't like prologues but I found this one interesting, perhaps because it felt more like an introduction than a prologue.

After the first chapter, I was intrigued by where the story was going and I kept reading on and on. There seemed to be so many parts to this puzzle and I wanted to keep reading to try and figure out what was going on. However, I couldn't honestly say I knew what was going on until a few chapters in and then I couldn't imagine how the book could end. I think it shows talent when I can only guess parts of the ending beforehand.

I wanted a little more dialogue and to truly feel some more emotion. Don't get me wrong, those things were there but I just wanted a little bit more. I always love to be thrown so completely into a book that I live there and I felt I needed a little more emotion from the protagonist in order to get there.

The best thing about The Third Door was definitely the thoughts that were explored. I've never read a book quite like this before and that's a real achievement. I was left with a sense of melancholy that I felt fit perfectly with what Lyden was trying to achieve.

Evaluation

Overall 6/10

Would I recommend it? Yes - if you want to read something quite bizarre and different.

Would I look up the author? Yes - to see what other intriguing works he's written/ working on.

The Third Door was filled with melancholy and intrigue.

Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo