Review: Unwoven (Tethers, #2) by Jack Croxall

Spoiler warning! This is the 2nd book in the Tethers trilogy and this book may contain spoilers from the previous book. You can read my review of Tethers here instead. 

Unwoven by Jack Croxall

Author: Jack Croxall Website|Twitter
Published: 24 February 2014
Format: Kindle e-book (review copy)
Pages: 115
Buy the e-book: Kindle

Source: Received free copy of the author in exchange for an honest review.

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Almost eighteen months on from the terrible events of Halholham and so much has changed.

Karl and Esther no longer speak to one another and Mr Cauldwell has been ostracised by Shraye and its fickle residents. But the trio will not be parted for much longer because a shadow is growing in the west, a shadow which will reunite them in the name of all they have lost.

Unwoven is the sequel to the best-selling adventure novel, Tethers, and is the second book of The Tethers Trilogy.

My Review:
I really enjoyed Tethers and so I was excited to be offered the opportunity to read the sequel. Unwoven follows Karl and Esther as they must rebuild their relationship to get to the bottom of mysterious events happening around them.

It's been a while since I read Tethers, so I was a little nervous about going into this book without having had chance to re-read. What was great about Unwoven was that it flies into the action straight away, which stopped me worrying and had me absorbed in the story instantly. I was soon able to piece together what had happened previously. There was no lengthy recap, but more the characters were able to reflect on previous events within the story and through talking to each other about what happened which worked really well.

With a mysterious death early on in the book, it hooked me in at once. Both Karl and Esther are personally caught up the event which gives them that drive to get to the bottom of it. I loved that the author has set them out on a journey again, as I could get lost with them on their adventure. Reading it I had that sense of journeying with them on a sort of quest to find out what was going on.

I liked that the book has its own mysteries that help it stand alone, but that you can tell the series is building to something bigger. I think it helps that like with Tethers, this book has an epilogue and prologue which help give you a bigger picture of what is going on as well as teasing the action. The world the author has created has so much potential to explore, with its own legends and villains that really capture you as a reader.

Once again I loved the balance of their personalities. Esther is quite fiery whereas are Karl seems to consider things a bit more. I thought it made for an interesting relationship this time as they start the book not speaking to each other. I really felt for Karl throughout those opening few chapters as he battles with Esther. And as for Esther herself, I could sympathise with her as the author has done a great job at showing how the traumas she goes through have affected her. She has an awful lot to deal with.

As with the first book, I was impressed with the writing. Unwoven is quite a short book at just over one hundred pages, which meant I finished it within a morning, but it still felt jam packed with action. Everything flowed really well and despite its short length, I never had any issues with the pacing.

I'm left wanting to know more which means I'll be very keen to read the next instalment! I've become so wrapped up with the characters that I need to know their fates, and I can't wait to discover answers to the questions left over.

Rating: 4*
What to read next: The 3rd book in the trilogy, Torn, is planned for 2015.
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Review: Take Back the Skies by Lucy Saxon

Take Back the Skies by Lucy Saxon

Author: Lucy Saxon Website|Twitter
Published: 5 June 2014 (Bloomsbury)
Format: Kindle e-book (ARC)
Pages: 496
Buy the book: Amazon|Hive|Waterstones
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Received a free copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Bloomsbury!

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Hugely energetic and entertaining fantasy adventure from an amazing 18-year-old author. The first in major sequence of novels.

Catherine Hunter is the daughter of a senior government official on the island of Anglya. She’s one of the privileged – she has luxurious clothes, plenty to eat, and is protected from the Collections which have ravaged families throughout the land. But Catherine longs to escape the confines of her life, before her dad can marry her off to a government brat and trap her forever.
So Catherine becomes Cat, pretends to be a kid escaping the Collections, and stows away on the skyship Stormdancer. As they leave Anglya behind and brave the storms that fill the skies around the islands of Tellus, Cat’s world becomes more turbulent than she could ever have imagined, and dangerous secrets unravel her old life once and for all . . .

My Review:
I'd seen a few friends talking about this book so I decided to request a review copy because it looked very much like my kind of thing. Take Back the Skies follows Catherine as she escapes her controlling father and finds refuge with the crew of a skyship.

The beginning of the book took a little while to get in to. I was weary of the amount of description which was slowing the pace down a bit. I wanted to be straight into the action! It picked up pretty quickly, though, and soon I was hooked.

The story follows the main character Catherine, who soon becomes known as Cat after running away and disguising herself as a boy. I quickly sympathised with her as she's escaping a rich, powerful father who doesn't seem to care about his daughter's happiness or desires, and her mother is sick and helpless. I really liked that she still had a bit of innocence and naivete about her as well. She's come from this rich background, so when she's thrown into a life of little she has to adjust, but she never comes across as spoilt or horrible. She's instantly likable, but she still goes through a lot and learns from her experiences.

The rest of the characters were utterly charming as well, especially the mysterious Fox. Cat is drawn to him pretty much from the moment she meets him so there's some romantic interest there, but it didn't overpower the story and I loved the way the relationship between them develops slowly as they suss each other out. With Cat disguising herself as a boy, it was great to see her mix amongst some male characters. I also loved Alice, the skyship cook, who provided the motherly figure to Cat as a nice balance to all the boys.

What Take Back the Skies managed to achieve was something pretty special with me. It nailed that sense of adventure perfectly so that soon I swept away with Cat as she travels the skies and meets these wonderful people. I became so wrapped up in the story that it was the perfect bit of escapism I needed. I loved seeing the challenges Cat had to face and the new experiences she goes through, both physically and emotionally. My favourite scenes were definitely those on the skyship.

I think this book will appeal to a wide range of people. For anyone who loves adventure it's a must, and the sci-fi elements of the story are fantastic. There's also a great political side to the story for those who love a bit of uprising against the government. The book is the first in a planned series, and I'm pleased to hear there'll be more. This book has an epilogue which sort of rounds up the story, but there's definitely potential to explore the world more. There were parts that were only touched upon that I was left wanting to know more about.

Overall I was really impressed with Take Back the Skies and will definitely be reading more by this author in the future.

Rating: 4*
What to read next: This is the 1st in a planned series
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Review: Tunnelville (Mad World, #2) by Erin Callahan and Troy H. Gardner

Spoiler warning! This is the 2nd book in the Mad World series and so this book will contain spoilers from the 1st book. You can read my review of Wakefield here instead. You have been warned!

Tunnelville by Erin Callagan and Troy H. Gardner

Author: Erin Callahan and Troy H. Gardner Website|Facebook
Published: 28th June 2013 (MuseItUp)
Format: Kindle e-book
Pages: 420
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Received free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Following their panicked escape from Wakefield, Astrid Chalke, Max Fisher, and their friends find themselves adrift and on the run in western Massachusetts. After picking up a young thief with a complex philosophy, and dealing with the pains of prescription drug withdrawal, they make their way to Boston.

Drained by a long trek to the city, the damaged teens settle in an underground tunnel community—a city below the city that appears to lie on the fringes of both the world above and the world of magic. Among the eccentric tunnel folk, they encounter the fabulous Angie DeVille, a self-made hipster and socialite who takes them under her neon wing and envelops them in her breathless and fast paced life.

My Review:
I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I was delighted to have the opportunity to read the second! Tunnelville follows Max and Astrid as they and their fellow Wakefield patients go on the run and face the trials of life on the streets, whilst trying to escape the clutches of Dr Lycen.

The last book ended on a cliffhanger so I was excited to dive right in and pick up the story! Tunnelville opens with a prologue where we catch up on some of the happenings at Wakefield, then joins Max, Astrid and the others as they seek a place to hide. I loved the opening few chapters where the kids have to rally together and figure out what to do and where to go. There was that real survival, adventure feel about it and I could feel their fear and desperation.

Once again the book is told in alternating chapters between Max and Astrid, and it was great to see their friendship as a real backbone to the story. There was also the odd chapter from some of the adult characters which again was done in the previous book, and was very effective in this one. I particularly liked the chapters told from the view of a private investigator helping to track down Astrid. With the gang being on the run and very isolated from everyone, it was exciting to get an insight into what was happening back at Wakefield and keep an eye on who was chasing them. It definitely added to the suspense! I think the only downside was that I'd sometimes lose track of whose chapter I was reading (Max or Astrid) if I put the book down for a while and came back to it. The two are so similar that they sometimes merged.

There were some interesting new characters introduced in Tunnelville. The guys run into Colby, another runaway who certainly makes an impression. I liked seeing how all the characters bounced off him. I think my favourite new character was Timothy who I was very curious about! Then there were the host of people they met during their time on the streets who help them out. One of the nice things about Tunnelville was despite the fact that the kids were in a pretty sticky situation, they still managed to help each other out and keep the humour amongst themselves.

One thing I was really exited about in this book was exploring the kids' abilities more fully, as well as discovering more about the wider magical world. Getting out into the big wide world means they start to come across people like them and find themselves in situations that put their powers to the test. I really liked that world building and getting to see just what they were capable of. I think the premise of the series is really exciting.

I also really enjoyed the setting of Tunnelville. Wakefield was set in such a confined environment so it was great to break out of that, and I thought the city of Boston make a great backdrop to the story. It's not somewhere I've ever been or know too much about but I could completely visualise everywhere the characters ended up as they travelled around.

I mentioned earlier that Wakefield ended on a cliffhanger and Tunnelville was no different - man these books know how to grab you! The climax to the story was really exciting and left so much potential for future books. I love the urban fantasy vibe and can't wait to discover more of the world, and the characters kept me entertained throughout. A really enjoyable read!

Rating: 4*
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Review: Seizure (Virals, #2) by Kathy Reichs

Spoiler Warning! This is the second book in the Virals series and so this review will contain spoilers from the first book. You can check out my review of Virals here instead. You have been warned!

Seizure by Kathy Reichs

[Goodreads page]

Author: Kathy Reichs. Website|Twitter
Published: 11 October 2012 (Arrow)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 496
Amazon: Paperback|Kindle
Waterstone's: Paperback|e-book
Book Depository: Paperback|Hardback

Source: Borrowed from library

Plot Summary:
A 300-year-old legend
Rumour has it that notorious pirate Anne Bonny hid her treasure somewhere in Charleston in 1720. No-one knows where, but Tory Brennan - great-niece of famous forensic anthropologist Dr Tempe Brennan - is certain that the Virals can work out Bonny's cryptic clues.
A deadly path
It isn't long before the Virals are on the right track. But they aren't the only ones searching for the treasure.Someone is following them, and will stop at nothing to get their hands on it.
Dead bodies litter the trail. Time is running out before the island will be sold.
Will the Virals' special powers be enough to save them? 

My Review:
I read the first book in this series recently after getting it for Christmas, so I was delighted when I stumbled across the sequel in the library so soon after! Seizure picks up the story of the Virals - Tory, Ben, Hi and Shelton as they come to terms with their powers and try to learn more about them. After learning about a pirate named Anne Bonny, the group set about finding out more, including a missing treasure supply that would provide money they desperately need.

The book, like Virals, starts out with a prologue which drew me in straight away. The prologue introduces the pirate backstory which instantly intrigued me and I was delighted once that element weaved its way into the main, present day plot.

There was a lot of re-capping which I always find useful to remind me what happened before. It struck me that this book could probably be read on its own because of the amount of explanation of what happened in Virals. Because I like to have that reminder it didn't put me off, but I could maybe see it being annoying to others. But if you accidentally picked up this book not realising it was the second in a series then you'd be able to keep up.

As with the first book I really enjoyed the relationship between the main four characters. There were hints in this book that there might be something to come between Ben and Tory which I liked, but it very much took a back seat to the rest of the story. I was slightly disappointed it wasn't explored more in this book but hopefully it'll be something that's addressed again throughout the series. Tory's relationship with her dad becomes a lot more interesting in this book as there's the threat that they may have to move, unsettling Tory once more. I thought that was a really great avenue to explore.

The book is mainly told from Tory's perspective but every so often you get chapters from a few other characters - the slightly shadier ones! It really helped keep the suspense up and I liked the short glimpses at what was going on elsewhere. What really hooked me was the mystery and the constant twists and turns. I think it helped that the group had real motivation to get to the bottom of things and every time the answer slipped away you could feel their frustration. I really loved the adventure the group went on to discover more about Anne Bonny and her treasure. It was great seeing them use their new found powers as well.

The only flaw for me really is that sometimes things felt far too convenient - like a problem was overcome too easily or something was handed to them on a plate. I also had a few niggles about things the group did whilst trying to solve the mystery (like stealing something they could have just taken a photo of). 

Other than that, I really enjoyed this book. I thought, after reading Virals, that there was a lot of potential for this series and I feel that has absolutely been realised. It's a great premise and I've really grown to like the writing and the characters. I'm excited to check out the next book! 

Rating: 4*
What to read next: Code by Kathy Reichs, book 3 in the Virals series
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