The Bonehill Curse by Jon Mayhew

Necessity Bonehill is arrogant, a bully and trapped in Rookery Heights Academy for Young Ladies. Bored and aimless, she spends her time training with the retired, and slightly insane, Sergeant Major Morris or fighting with the local peasant boys. So when her Uncle Carlos sends her a seemingly empty bottle with the instructions, “Never open it,” she can’t resist the temptation and pulls the cork. 


But Necessity unleashes an evil genie, a demon of pestilence and a creature that bears her parents a terrible grudge. With only seven days to rescue them, Ness has to find out how to kill the genie. She begins a desperate quest that takes her through the dark streets of London and to the Oasis of the Amarant in uncharted Africa. If she fails, her parents die and the world will fall prey to the genie’s hideous plague.

Firstly, let me just say that I know Jon through SCBWI British Isles and have known him for a few years now, since I joined the society, but this is the first book of his that I've read.  I have no idea why, because it's made me realise that Jon genuinely writes what old time reviewers would have called "ripping yarns".

I've come to Jon's Victorian world quite late, but I think for me, that I chose the correct book to start with.  I'm all about myths and legends and weird fairy tales and The Bonehill Curse is very much a fairy tale / fable AND it has genies in it, and references to Arabian Nights, which dear readers, is one of my desert island books.

Necessity, when we meet her, is not a pleasant girl.  She's a bully.  She picks fights. She's rude to her teachers and sees only how she is wronged by other people's deeds. She has, basically, a massive chip on her shoulder. We are left wondering why she's not a Nice Girl for only a short while.  We learn her parents have basically dumped her at Rookery Heights and not been in touch for around five years.  Her best friend is an elderly, probably insane, ex-army officer SM Morris, who teacher her to fight and shoot.

After an incident involving her beating up a boy at a local farm, Necessity is sent back to school, where she is given this mysterious old bottle from her Uncle Carlos.  Of course the instruction is to never open it, but that's like telling Pandora not to look in the box, and Necessity does open the box and before she knows it, her room-mates are all lying severely ill at her feet and she's being blamed for unleashing some awful pestilence. She also seems to have brokered a deal with the genie from the bottle.  And it's not the best deal she's ever made.

She runs for help to the Major but he tells her to leg it back to London, to find her parents.  She manages to leave, just as he's being captured by the local police and the officials from her school.

Things don't go well for Necessity in London.  Big things she finds out about her dad leaves her feeling ill and worried - is he really as bad as his old friends make him out to be? Slowly but surely the story is played out and we are sent off on various chases across the world.

My biggest relief though is how the story is wrapped up and also how well Necessity comes through her ordeal.  She has a great character arc that she goes through and at the end of the story, she's still bossy but she's become a more thoughtful person and her boorish bully ways are far less noticeable.  Needless to say, I'm really happy I've read Jon's book!

The Bonehill Curse is a fun action packed novel for younger readers.  I read it pretty quickly once I got stuck in.  The language Jon uses is easy to digest and the concepts and exposition is handled well - we get smatterings of biblical and Arabic lore thrown in for good measure and it all forms a neat little package.

I think The Bonehill Curse is suitable readers up to the age of around 12 or 13.  As I said, the language used is easily digestible and it will make confident readers think they've read a far bigger book than they had and similarly, for readers who are less confident, it will feel they've accomplished reading a pretty adept adventure.  I would dearly love to see Jon write for Barrington Stoke as his work and writing style lends itself well to the stories they enjoy publishing for less confident readers.

I'm a big fan of H Rider Haggard's books, having had my dad read them to me when I was growing up (and now having most of them on my kindle) and I think that basically, Jon's stories is a toned down version of Haggard's, more digestible and easier to relate to for modern young readers. And what I liked about Bonehill too is that he uses all the world as his plaything and that Necessity and her new friends come from all walks of life.

Be sure to check out Jon's website here and probably, unlike me, you'll want to start at the first book in Jon's sequence of novels.  But I'm a rebel, as you know, and never ever follow anyone's directions.

How Darth Vader Changed My Life or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Embrace The Dark Side

I always like the bad guys - in movies and in books.  When Bloomsbury offered us the Mark Walden blog tour for the new release of his novel: Aftershock, as part of the HIVE series of books, and they told me he wanted to write us an article about the badass Darth Vader, we were smitten. Yes, we are that easy.

Check out Mark's article:

How Darth Vader Changed My Life or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Embrace The Dark Side


It's 1977, I'm in a cinema. It's such a long time ago that people on one side of the cinema are allowed to smoke while watching the film. We're talking ancient history here folks. I've just watched these giant yellow letters scrolling up the screen and then a spaceship flies over my head being chased by another giant triangular space ship. To my five year old brain this is immediate sensory overload. Up to this point my idea of special effects was Tom Baker running down a wobbly corridor being chased by a monster that was clearly made from the contents of the bin behind the studio. I'm fairly sure my mouth was already hanging open in awe at that point but, little did I know that the best was yet to come.

I watched enthralled as a group of frightened looking soldiers with laser guns took up positions in a bright white corridor, levelling their weapons at the door at the far end of the passage. What could they possibly be so scared of, I wondered to myself. They had laser guns for goodness sake, (yes I know they're called blasters but at that point they were just laser guns) what could possibly worry someone with a laser gun? I had no idea at the time that I was about to get my answer.

The door exploded in a magnesium-bright flash and men, possibly robots, my five year old brain told me, in gleaming white armour burst through the door blasters blasting. It's quite possible at this point that my mouth was hanging so far open that my jaw had actually dislocated. There may even have been drool.

Anyway, the frightened soldiers fell before this swarm of men/robots with their skull-faced helmets, clearing the way for what had to rate as one of the greatest entrances in cinematic history. The smoke cleared and a figure emerged. Clad in gleaming black armour, his cloak billowing behind him, like some kind of cross between a robot, a samurai and a space-ninja.




Darth Vader.

The name says it all really. He's become such an icon of villainy since that we almost take him for granted but, for five year old me, he was and still is, the greatest villain ever. You can keep your sparkling vampires, give me a force-choking, Kenobi slicing, bit of Vader action any day of the week. Few characters have become so globally infamous and so instantly recognised and that's because there's more to Vader than just your standard moustache-twirling villain. He's a tragic figure, the fallen hero who will ultimately find redemption and return to the light but there's going to be some proper text book bad guy behaviour before we get there.

Some might argue that there are better villains but, my five year old self and my thirty eight year old self for that matter have only one thing to say to those doubters.

I find your lack of faith disturbing........

Be sure to check out Mark's facebook page.

Competition Time:

We have 3 sets of the entire series to be won, along with a t-shirt, rucksack and wristbands.  The rules are:

1.  UK only
2.  Winners will be announced on 17th August 2011
3.  Comment below - tell us what your evil spy name would be - and make sure to somehow add in your twitter name / email addy (disguised) so we can track you if you win.

David by Mary Hoffman - Blog Tour

When I met up with Mary last year at a book launch, I had the chance to talk to her about her "next book" and was super excited when I heard about her writing the story of the boy/man behind Michelangelo's David. 

I love Mary's historical novels and I know Sarah is always very excited about Mary's Stravaganza novels, so we are definite fans of the author. 

But I had my doubts before tackling David.  I was wondering if the statue which I do love, which had always seemed so distant, so aloof, needed to have its story told.   Of course I needn't have worried and trusted in Mary's very capable hands.

We meet Gabriele, milkbrother to Michelangelo, when he moves from his small village to the larger more prosperous, Florence. He travels there to become a stone-cutter but on his first night, he is robbed and welcomed into the arms of Clarice, an aristocratic lady of means.  Gabriele left behind his sweetheart Rosalia and we see that he is perhaps a bit fickle and easily led astray by how easily he succumbs to Clarice's charms. 

It is only when Michelangelo returns from a trip away, that Gabriele leaves Clarice's arms and goes to live with the artist. Through Gabriele we are introduced to the artist he calls Angelo.  Angelo's character is intense, obsessive and a bit paranoid and possessive about his creative work.  He takes this large piece of marble and works on it with a wild energy, carving this vision of the young David, having conquered Goliath. 

Angelo works on the statue's carving for two years and during these two years, Gabriele, the face of David, goes through this tremendous character arc, changing from a rather backwards young man who becomes comfortable with his good looks, he finds a cause and he becomes a thoughtful young man who learns far more about himself than he probably thought he ever would. 

I found that the novel was written, as always with Mary, with a great sense of style and grace.  Her attention to detail is incredible.  It feels like, should you rub your hands or you face you will come away with a dusting of marble powder.  If you walk down the road, you will come across a well dressed young noble dressed in elegant clothes, who may give you a sly and cheeky smile.  

I hesitate to recommend this for younger readers as the themes are quite mature, so I think it is definitely appropriate for the upper and older age range of our Under 14's Only age group and older.   And it is a must read for anyone who has an interest in art. 

Find Mary's website here. 

Edited to add: Apologies to Mary and Bloomsbury for this - Blogger ate the review and refused to set it live.  I had to copy it across, delete it twice and resave it ... it was a nightmare, BUT I hope the MFB blogtour stop was worth it. 

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey Review and Giveaway

Synopsis

Violet Willoughby doesn’t believe in ghosts, especially since her mother has worked as a fraudulent medium for a decade. Violet has taken part in enough of her mother’s tricks to feel more than a little jaded about anyhting supernatural.

The ghosts, however, believe in Violet and she’s been seeing them everywhere. One ghost in particular needs Violet to use her emerging gift to solve her murder . . . and prevent the ghost’s twin sister from suffering the same fate.

I was lucky enough to meet Alyxandra Harvey last month and get an early copy of Haunting Violet which I started on the way home and devoured over the next couple of days. I'm a massive fan of Victoriana coupled with the paranormal so was super-excited to read it. Violet has had a difficult start in life - daughter of a single parent who turns to mediumship as a way to make ends meet. Gradually, Celeste Willoughby becomes more respected and her clients more famous. Her daughter Violet is not only dragged along to all of the seances but also has to take part rigging up all the gadgets which trick the desperate into believing that their loved ones really have returned from the grave.

Violet dreams of a life outside of the seances but can't see a way out. Her only friend is Colin, a boy who works for Celeste, and Elizabeth - daughter of Lord Jasper who was a keen member of the Spiritualist church. Violet, Celeste and Colin find themselves at Lord Jasper's country estate in Wiltshire to perform a seance for the best of society. It is here that the bulk of the action takes place. Violet is an interesting combination of the worldy-wise and the innocent. She would rather walk around in Whitechapel than the fields of Wiltshire but is shy around boys and unsure of her appeal. I really felt for her as she tried to remember the many rules that bound her when in society - she is only able to be herself around Colin. While Celeste is a terrible fraud using the sort of tricks that were common at this time Violet is completely unprepared when ghosts start to appear to her unbidden. At first she hopes that she is merely tired but one in particular keeps on appearing and it is clear that she needs Violet to help her.

Part ghost story and part murder mystery, Haunting Violet fair skips along. I am totally in love with all the Victorian detail that Alyxandra has included, from what a lady should and shouldn't do, wear or say to the books of the day. I was cheering for her when she finally works out how she can solve all her problems and sympathised alongside her as she dealt with her awful mother. At the moment I don't know if there will be a sequel to Haunting Violet but I really hope there will be. Violet is a fascinating character who I'd love to see more of.

GIVEAWAY!

To celebrate the release of this fabulous book we have one copy of Haunting Violet to give away. This competition is open to UK people only and one lucky winner will be taken from the comments. We'll pick a winner using random.org so please include an email address in your comment so we can contact you to let you know you've won and find out where to send your prize. The closing date for the competition is Tuesday 28th June.

Good luck!

Haunting Violet Book Launch

I was so excited to be invited by the lovely people at Bloomsbury to the Alyxandra Harvey meet and greet yesterday held at the Bloomsbury offices. I arrived, a bit overheated but right on time (I got a bit waylaid on Oxford Street and found myself having to rush!) to find a fabulous group of bloggers already there. I met the lovely Carly from Writing From the Tub Karen from Teenage Fiction For All Ages and Sammee from I Want To Read That. We were whisked upstairs to meet Alyxandra who is, quite frankly, one of the most inspirational young adult writers I've met.

Here we all are with a copy of her latest book, Haunting Violet.

From left to right: Sammee, Karen, Alyxandra, Carly and me. Massive thanks to Carly for this photo.

I knew Haunting Violet would be right up my street and I'm already a quarter of the way through having started it on the train home last night. Alyxandra said yesterday that she loves research so much that she sometimes gets carried away and could forget to write the actual book. This is so apparent in Haunting Violet and she gets the Victorian tone so right. One of my favourite authors is Sarah Waters and I'm getting exactly the same feel of authentic setting alongside a strong thread of the supernatural in this book. Anyway, I'll save this for the review and giveaway at the end of June!

We were lucky enough to have Alyxandra all to ourselves and asked a whole load of questions about her writing, the books she has planned and the upcoming next book in the Drake Chronicles. I was struck by just how hard Alyxandra has worked for her success. She began writing at fourteen and had written a massive twenty-six books before she landed an agent. Ironically it is Haunting Violet that got her her agent but the Drake Chronicles were published first (Bleeding Hearts, the fourth in the series is out in October in the UK by the way).

I was struck by just how passionate Alyxandra is about her fans. She obviously thoroughly enjoys interacting with them and discussing their ideas and thoughts. We all chatted for a while about her books, writing habits (an average size novel normally takes her around three months to complete) and interests (historical fiction from Egyptian to Regency and beyond and the paranormal genre). I think we could have happily talked to her for hours. To celebrate the upcoming Haunting Violet release there was an amazing cake which we all admired before devouring.

Haunting Violet is released on 4th July in the UK and, as I mentioned, MFB will be doing a giveaway at the end of June to celebrate. Alyxandra is currently doing a tour of the UK, details of which can be found here.

Alyxandra Harvey is coming to the UK

Fans of Alyxandra Harvey, author of the fantastic Drake Chronicles, watch out - she's coming to the UK! She's here to promote her new stand-alone novel Haunting Violet which I must say sounds brilliant. Check out the gorgeous cover and synopsis.

Violet Willoughby doesn’t believe in ghosts, especially since her mother has worked as a fraudulent medium for a decade. Violet has taken part in enough of her mother’s fake séances to feel more than a little jaded about anything supernatural. That is until she and her mother pay a visit to Rosefield House.

Suddenly Violet is seeing the dead all around her. She is haunted day and night, and one spirit in particular refuses to leave her alone. The ghost of a drowned girl needs Violet’s help to solve her murder. Violet must learn to use her new-found skills before the killer strikes again!

I'm incredibly excited as it's also set in Victorian England so I've got high hopes it'll be my cup of tea.

Here's where you can see her: -

7pm Tuesday 24th May
Alyxandra will be talking about Haunting Violet in the Simpson Room at Waterstone's, 203 / 206 Piccadilly, London W1J 9HD
Tickets priced £2 redeemable against a copy of Haunting Violet on the night
Tel: +44 (0)20 7851 2400

4:30pm Wednesday 25th May
Alyxandra will be signing copies of the Drake Chronicles and Haunting Violet at Waterstone's, 4 / 5 Milsom Street, Bath BA1 1DA
Tel: +44 (0)1225 448 515

11:30am Saturday 28th May
Alyxandra will be appearing at the world famous Hay Festival with Marcus Sedgwick, author of Revolver and White Crow
Tickets priced £4

I'm looking forward to this one and will be reviewing Haunting Violet later in the year.

Crusade by Linda Press Wulf

Synopsis

Robert: Left on the steps of a church as a baby, Robert was often hungry but never stole food like the other orphans in town. Introverted and extraordinarily intelligent, he knew all the Latin prayers and hymns by heart by the time he was five years old.

Georgette: Her own mother died in childbirth, leaving Georgette with a father who, seventeen at the time, had neither experience nor aptitude as a nurturing parent, and a brother known in town as Le Fuer – The Spitfire – for his terrible temper.

Perhaps to replace something missing from their own lives, both Robert and Georgette are drawn to the news of a crusader, twelve or thirteen, no older than themselves, travelling down through France with thousands of followers – all, unbelievably, children too.

Of those thousands, this is the incredible story of two. A story of hardship, loss and of love.

Crusade isn't the sort of book I normally read but I fancied a change and, to be honest, picked it off my reading pile on the strength of it's gorgeous cover. I also know nothing about the Crusade but at the end of the book is a brief description of the events which was extremely helpful. However, don't read this first as it'll ruin the story! All the way through I was so amazed by events that I kept asking myself if they could possibly be true. So, aside from my poor knowledge of the era what's it like? Intriguing is a good word. I had a great deal of questions as I read but not all of my questions were answered.

We meet Robert first, a child who has been badly scarred in an accident and a village outsider as a result. He lives at the church and is whisked away by a visiting abbot who recognises that Robert is an unusually intelligent child. Next we meet Georgette, a sweet village girl who has secretly been taught to read and write by the local priest. Both Robert and Georgette have strong and pure religious beliefs. One day a charismatic boy called the Prophet Stephen arrives at the village and rouses the children with his speech that they must travel to Jerusalem and, "free," the holy lands. Inspired, she sets off with her brother. Later along the road they stop at an abbey and Robert also joins them as do thousands of other children along the way.

Both Robert and Georgette have a strong belief and are horrified by what they see along their journey. The story is partly an historical fiction and partly a kind of coming-of-age story. They meet kindness and cruelty along the way from both outsiders and their fellow Crusaders. Prophet Stephen has promised that when they reach Marseilles the sea will part to enable them to continue their journey on foot. The story changes and becomes something else when they do reach Marseilles and I was surprised by some of the choices that the characters made. I don't want to spoil what happens next but the story then becomes more about Robert and Georgette and the buds of religious change that happen at this time.

I'm curious to know if there will be a follow up to this story as I feel that there's more to tell. I hope so anyway as I'm eager to know what happens next. In fact, there's much more to be told. Some characters disappear without a fanfare and I wanted a bit more of a resolution. Nonetheless, I'd highly recommend Crusade as a book full of drama and high stakes.

Entice by Carrie Jones

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR NEED AND CAPTIVATE!

Synopsis

Zara and Nick are soul-mates – they’re meant to be together for ever. But that’s not quite how things have worked out. For starters, Nick is dead, and has been taken to Valhalla, a mystical resting place for warriors. If they can find the way there, Zara and her friends will try to get him back. But even if they do, Zara has turned pixie – and now she’s Astley’s queen!

Meanwhile, more teenagers go missing as a group of evil pixies devastates the town of Bedford. An all-out war seems imminent and Zara and her friends need all the warriors they can find . .

Entice starts immediately after the events of Captivate and Zara is getting ready for the school dance. She's got a great deal to take on board, what with Nick in Valhalla, her own pixie status and finding out that another of her friends is not as human as she thought. As a result the start of Entice is a bit low key. Zara is quite literally not herself and is now leaning on Astley for support and to help her find Nick. To add to Zara's load, her friend Devyn is being a little frosty with her. More high school boys are going missing and it's fair to say that Zara and co are not coping with the Pixie onslaught.

I must admit that I found the first part of this book a little hard to connect with - for some reason it felt a little stop start, if that makes sense. Zara is searching for the road to Valhalla in the hopes that it'll lead her to Nick and, rightly so, this forms the main part of the plot. However, I didn't slip into the book as I had with the previous two. It would be easy to say that this was because the start was a little slow but it wasn't. Anyway, by the time I was halfway through I was hooked as Astley and Zara struggle to find a key to get them what they need. Initially I worried that I wouldn't warm to Astley as he clearly has high hopes of Zara but as the book proceeds I felt a great deal of compassion for him.

Another great thing about Entice is the world building. As Zara starts to trust Astley more we get to see how the politics of the pixie world work. I'd love to see more of this in the next book as it really adds a little extra something. Zara and friends become a little more adventurous too and we start to see more of the area where they live. Issie is adorable as ever and I still found her and Zara's friendship touching and genuine. The final chapters of the book were exciting and suitably dramatic. I started the book unsure if I wanted to read more but finished excited to see what happens next.

Tyme's End by BR Collins

Bibi feels out of place wherever she goes - everywhere, that is, except for Tyme's End, the deserted house she breaks into whenever she thinks nobody is nearby.  There she meets Oliver, the owner, who has returned after ten years away.  Bibi's and Olivers's lives become inextricably linked as they are both pulled towards Tyme's End.  For Tyme's End is more than just a house.  It is a house that can be by turns romantic, beguiling, sinister and malevolent.  It is a house that once had an evil and manipulative owner.  And nobody who enters Tyme's End must prepare themselves for terror. 


BR Collins has gone from a "writer to watch" to a writer who is so self-assured that she can tackle a haunted house story with the aplomb and skill of any of our grandmasters, including Poe, King, Layman, Blackwood, Campbell and well, anyone else you would like to name.

The story of Tyme's End is told in three key stages and they are defined by the year the story is told.  We have 2006, which deals with Bibi's story.  Secondly there is 1996 which is Oliver's story and finally, 1936 and it tells Oliver's grandfather's story.

The regressive storytelling where we go backwards in the house's history took me by surprise.  I thought we would stick with Bibi's story and was therefore thrown quite a bit by moving onto Oliver's story.  Initially it did lift me out of the story, but only briefly, once I realised what the author was doing.

When we meet Bibi she's going through a tough time.  She feels an outsider and acts surly and unpleasant when in fact she is genuinely a highly intelligent and charming girl, a bit more mature than usual and also quite together, even if she has her various hang-ups. She loves Tyme's End and sneaks in to spend time by herself.  She has a mattress up in one of the rooms and some favourite things.  This is where she feels at home, safe and somewhere she can hide from her family.  She's adopted and feels at odds with the world, as if no one can understand what she's going through.  Bibi is an intensely complicated character and could easily have carried an entire novel by herself hence my surprise when her story gets wrapped up really well in the first third of the novel.  She meets Oliver and he of course chases her out.  But Bibi is made of sterner stuff and she finds herself returning to Tyme's End.  Oliver is older, in his twenties and seems as conflicted as Bibi about everything in his life.  But as he's an adult he feels the need to be in charge, to figure things out.

With Bibi by his side Oliver uncovers some truths and comes to various conclusions. Oliver and Bibi's relationship starts full of conflict but within a short space of time they connect with each other in a way that forms a catalyst for the first part of the story.  I loved both these flawed fiery characters and thought that BRC really couldn't do better than them.

When we leave Bibi and we turn around to look into Oliver's time spent with his grandfather and Tyme's End, we are shown why Oliver reacted to Bibi the way he had in the beginning of the book.  With Bibi we only found out a few snippets of information as to why Oliver hates Tyme's End so much.  In this part of the book, the 1996 section, all of it is made clear as it pertains to Oliver and his perceptions.  This is the part of the novel that I loved the most - deeply odd and eerie, it has the psychological element to it that makes you check behind your sofa as you sit there reading.  

Finally, we get to the 1936 section that deals with Oliver's grandfather's experiences at Tyme's End.  He is also called Oliver and for clarity we'll call him Senior.  Senior is a handsome but poor student at Cambridge where he is reading History.  He happened to meet the owner of Tyme's Hall, the deeply enigmatic and charismatic H J Martin - Jack to his friends - and gets invited to Tyme's Hall to spend some time there over a very hot Summer. There is initially this sense of everything being perfect but slowly but surely reality intrudes and Senior realises that Jack may not be all he seems.  We spend the last part of the novel with Senior and Jack and some other people at Tyme's End and here is where the answers lie, that are only alluded to in the other two sections of the book.  We learn what we need to know about Jack and about Oliver Senior.  And although it's not jumping out of dark closets scary, it's that slow pervasive creep of delicious horror that does the trick here, making it a truly unforgettable sequence to end the novel on.

I really fell for these characters.  I loved the story and I feel a bit sad for Tyme's End itself.  I cannot recommend this deliciously creepy novel enough.  BR Collins's writing is vivid and chilling and truly engaging. This has to be one of the highlights of 2011.  And it's promising to be a cracking year.

Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy. He lives with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley, who are mean to him and make him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. (Dudley, however, has two bedrooms, one to sleep in and one for all his toys and games.) Then Harry starts receiving mysterious letters and his life is changed forever. He is whisked away by a beetle-eyed giant of a man and enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The reason: Harry Potter is a wizard!


I read the first 2 books in the Harry Potter series around ten years ago, when we first moved to the UK.  I hardly remember anything about them, but of course, I know all about Harry.  He's become such an iconic character in children's fiction and is the darling of so many kids who grew up with him and who are now all young adults themselves.
 
I've always been a bit bemused by Harry Potter's success and I'll admit, it really put me off reading the rest of the books. When something gets that big and that scary with that many dedicated fans, it's both a good thing and a bad thing.  I couldn't imagine loving it that much and it made me question my ability as a reader, not even a reviewer! What was I missing?
 
So, when I spied these gorgeous new covers, I threw caution to the wind and succumbed.  I sat down with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and read it from cover to cover and was smitten by a small skinny untidy haired boy with glasses and the ability to get into all sorts of trouble.
 
And I'll admit that although JK Rowling's writing is good, it is not awe inspiring but it is incredibly engaging and she really hits those beats that makes you want to read more and faster in order to find out what's going on. She uses a lot of archetypes in Philosopher's Stone and there are big elements of the fairy tale about it, but honestly, you can say the same thing about Star Wars and that is a perennial classic that just won't lie down and die.
 
What I loved about Philosopher's Stone is how the three characters of Ron and Hermione came together to form a small band of friends.  There was the initial bickering between then all and also the annoyingness of Hermione being such a goody goody but it works out really well - when Hermione grows up enough to put her friends first and her studies and tutors later, we see her character growing right before our eyes.
 
Harry's growth is a lot more subtle even though he is by far the main focus of the story. JKR really works quietly in the background and before we know it, Harry has somehow managed to transform from a shy boy, used to being degraded by his adopted family, into a young boy who has such belief in himself and his friends, that he is prepared to take on a variety of monsters to protect them all.
 
If, like me, you've been cautious about approaching the Harry Potter books, I can't recommend this, the first book enough.  It is far better than a) I remember it being and b) expected it to be.
 
Philosopher's Stone, really lays the groundwork of Harry, Ron and Hermione's friendship.  Harry learns much about wizzarding, and how completely different things are to what he knew before as a normal human being.  He finds out about his mum and dad and realises how much the Dursley's have kept from him.  But then he also finds a new family, his friends at Hogwarts.  It introduces us to Hogwarts and to Hagrid who I think is every single person's hero.  I mentioned on twitter one dire day at the office that I am now ready for Hagrid to come whisk me away to Hogwarts and had around thirty replies from various friends saying that yes, can Hagrid and I swing by and collect them on the way?
 
And it also introduces us to the enigma of Voldemort, of course.  I can't help but look forward to reading more because I feel I'd like to know more about what he'd done in the past and why exactly he is such a big enemy.  Obviously I know, because I would have had to be a stone not to, but I want to find it out in JKR's words.  I've not done a reading challenge on MFB before but I think this is definitely a worthy one and one I've enjoyed thus far.  Next up to read is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I shall report back anon!

Entice - Carrie Jones

Just heard from Bloomsbury that one of MFB's fave writers Carrie Jones has her new book out VERY soon.

The new novel is called Entice and it is the third in her series featuring her main character, Zara.

This is from the PR document:

Zara and Nick are soul-mates – they’re meant to be together forever. But that’s not quite how things have worked out. For starters, Nick is dead, and has been taken to Valhalla, a mystical resting place for warriors. If they can find the way there, Zara and her friends will try to get him back. But even if they do, Zara has turned pixie – and now she’s Astley’s queen. Will Nick still feel the same way about her?

Meanwhile, more teenagers go missing as a group of evil pixies devastates the town of Bedford. An all-out war seems imminent and Zara and her friends need all the warriors they can find . . .

Ever gripping, Carrie Jones takes the suspense up a notch with Entice. Full of romance, tension and ass-kicking adventure, readers will be hungry for more!  

Keep up to date here with the main website.

This will take you to a sneak peak of Entice that is being published in Jan 2011 and do pop by Facebook if you want to be kept up to date with Zara and her world.  And just in case you don't know WHO Carrie Jones is...this is her website.

And of course, here are the MFB reviews for Carrie's books that we've read and loved. Notice that we loved Need so much, we reviewed it twice.

Liz reviews Need

Essjay reviews Need

Essjay reviews Captivate

Stay tuned for an upcoming review.  Essjay and I will be thumbwrestling for this one, I think!

The Battle for Gullywith by Susan Hill

Synopsis

A stone army, an enchanted castle, mysterious ancient powers – and some very clever tortoises – Olly finds there’s more than meets the eye at Gullywith.

When his family moves to Gullywith Farm, Olly just can’t imagine being happy in his new home. Gullywith is the coldest house in the world and no one has lived there for years. Then Olly meets KK and she tells him locals won’t go near the place. It seems to be jinxed ... but most strange of all, Olly notices that there are stones at Gullywith that can move around of their own accord. Stones with ancient markings on them. He feels sure that they are angry.

Olly visits the mysterious Nonny Dreever to ask his advice and he tells them they must return the stones to Withern Mere. Olly is drawn into a world of myth, magic and midnight adventure deep inside the surrounding hills. What is the ancient power that controls the stones and can anything be done to end their hold over Gullywith?

I was excited to read this as it's by the fabulous Susan Hill. With high expectations I started reading and was whirled into Olly's world. Olly was happy with his life at 58 Wigwell Avenue in London and doesn't understand why his parents are desperate to move to a dark, cold house that they've bought at auction. Unfortunately, he has no say in where they live so he's packed into the car with his little sister Lula. Once installed at Gullywith he finds rooms where stones seem to gather, stones with weird inscriptions on them. He soon meets KK, a girl who lives over the hill and Nonny Dreaver a man who lives on a house on stilts full of bats and the odd tortoise. The stones believe that Gullywith belongs to them which means that Olly and his family aren't welcome there.

I loved that there are two stories in Gullywith. One shows Olly's parents following their dream by taking their family to the country and living their idyllic lifestyle. As with most things the reality isn't quite what they imagined. Obviously not understanding the magical powers that are gripping their home they see the floods, mould and collapsing walls as signs that they've made a mistake. Just as Olly finds that he can't bear to leave they are considering their next move. One of the strongest themes that runs through this book is the way that Olly is loved and cared for but his parents are completely unaware of what drives him. They arrange a, "play date," with the awful Mervyn oblivious to the fact that they hate each other. The mysterious world of children carrys on unnoticed by both parents. There are adults who are, "in" on the mystery like the Merlin-esque Nonny and the mysterious book seller.

The other story shows the reality that the parents can't see; a battle between Olly, Nonny, KK and the stones for Gullywith. This becomes more dangerous as the story progresses. There's real menace and some chilling scenes throughout. Even the local fair quickly becomes threatening as a storm errupts and Olly and his friends are chased away.

Refreshingly, Olly isn't interested in computers like his dad but is obsessed with maps like his grandad. KK and her brother Zed often wake Olly in the middle of the night by throwing stones at his window. There are no mobile phones and the only time Olly watches TV is when he's visiting Mervyn's hideous sanitised house. This gives the whole book a slightly old-fashioned feel, but it's made all the more wonderful for it. Olly starts the book with, "London legs," worried by how far he's walking but becomes more resilient and resourceful by the end.

I loved this book. It's magical and a real escape. I regularly re-read Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising books and have never found anything that has the same mix of adventure and a feel for folk law and tradition. I found it in The Battle for Gullywith and hope that there's a sequel. I'm always looking out for tortoises too, they're very wise you know.

How Ali Ferguson saved Houdini by Elen Caldecott

Synopsis

Ali Ferguson has just moved into Lever Tower with his mum. It’s not long before he meets Caitlin and the Alsatian dog she looks after, Falcon, who doesn’t take too kindly to being walked on a lead. Caitlin introduces Ali to her best friend, Gez, and together the three set out to discover, firstly, why the foxes have disappeared from the area, secondly, why the owls have appeared and, thirdly, why Miss Osborne has, it seems, vanished . . . And how exactly her disappearance is related to the previous two.With the help of his friends and, significantly, Caitlin’s dad, Ali and his mum begin to feel comfortable and happy in their new life without Ali’s dad.

It took me ages - stupidly - to realise that Elen Caldecott is also the author of How Kirsty Jenkins stole the elephant . I really enjoyed HKJSTE and am happy to report that How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini is an equally cracking book for younger readers.

The language is fun and very easy to read. It calls to be read aloud in a class or before night time. I also think readers of around eight or nine, who want a bit of mystery of their own, would do well to pick this up to read solo. Even I felt a sense of accomplishment when I put it aside after closing the covers for the last time.

Ali Ferguson is my kind of kid - active, funny, charming, clever, imaginative and full of life. I loved the relationship he has with his mum, Anita. She sounds exotically beautiful and did a lot of smiling and laughing with Ali, which won me over. I have noticed that a lot of parents scold and shout in kids books, but few enough of them laugh and joke with their kids.

When Ali and his mum move to Lever Tower he did not expect a lot of excitement. Life at his Nan's and Granddad's house was pretty sedate. We are quickly filled in that his dad had left to travel to India and that it's only Ali and his mum. But, instead of bitterness and recrimination taking hold of the book, both Ali and his mum are chirpy and positive about their new move.

Ali makes friends with the moody and slightly socially awkward Caitlin who sounds like she prefers Falcon, the dog, for company. Caitlin lives in the same tower of flats as Ali, but on the higher floor. She is also in a single parent family and her dad is called Dave. Dave is a big balding guy with tattoos, so not really someone you would really want to be around. And this is where Ms. Caldecott's cleverness comes in - she takes what we perceive when we see a person for the first time (or several times) and we may think "oh no, bad guy, stay away" and tilts it neatly on its head. But more of that later.

When Dave doesn't get back from taking Falcon out for his late night walk, Caitlin runs to Ali's flat for help. Together with Anita, the two kids set out to find Caitlin's missing dad. They find him, slightly groggy near the river. Someone had attacked him. They help him to his flat and it is inevitable that these four people's lives will become meshed together somehow.

It is only when the kids meet Gez in his hide near the river and they find out that he saw the whole attack happen, that things get interesting very fast. Why is Dave so anxious about his attack? Why won't he speak to the doctors or the police and why are there rumours that he is in a gang? Everything points to Dave being a bit dodgy and unpleasant and it is only Caitlin's voice that that prevents all of us from deciding that yes, he is the bad man.

As Gez and the two new friends, Caitlin and Ali investigate matters they learn about a mysterious van that comes to the river at night. Someone comes in from the river and deposits something into the van and it then drives off and goes to the local pet store.

Well, needless to say, you can figure out what's going on, just from that. But it was great fun sticking it out with the kids as they went through a variety of set-ups and false alarms to eventually figure it all out.

Ms. Elen Caldecott is a very good writer and she got her characters in this one pitch perfect. I secretly quite liked Gez who is utterly thoughtless and as blunt as a brick through your window. There is no guile there, just honesty. I would love to meet these kids again in another adventure as I am pretty sure they are up to it.

The book ends on a wonderfully high note and I was smiling all along. I would recommend this to parents who have kids who may be reluctant readers but who are fond of animals, mysteries and adventure. It was a quick read for me - only a few hours - and the dialogue reads well and the chapters are snappy and short. It's definitely a keeper.

The Poisoned House by Michael Ford

Synopsis

Abigail is a maidservant in Greave Hall, an elegant London household governed by the tyrannical housekeeper, Mrs Cotton. Whilst the widowed master slips slowly into madness, Mrs Cotton gradually usurps the position of gentlewoman of the house. She wears his dead wife’s jewellery and clothes, entertains guests as though the house is her own and reserves her most despotic treatment for Abi.

In the dead of night, Abi makes a desperate bid for freedom, but is soon captured and returned to Greave Hall. As Mrs Cotton’s malice intensifies, a ghostly presence distracts Abi with clues to a deadly secret. And Abi now realises that she can trust no one in the house.

Don't be put off by the size of this book, it's not the biggest but it's crammed with gothic goodness and atmosphere. The book opens with Abi running away from Greave Hall. Once returned by police it becomes clear that Abi has an unenviable position as Mrs Cotton's most hated servant. Abi's days start at 5.30 and go on until 9.00 with little chance for personal time. Although this was the case for many servants in this period Abi has more than hard work to cope with. Her mother, a servant at the same house, died a year before and since then Abi has been dealing with the grief and Mrs Cotton's persecution.

It soon becomes apparent that something else is going on at Greave Hall. The master is struggling with insanity and often refuses to leave his room. The house already has a feeling of uncertainty and menace. One night Abi wakes to find her window open and the room freezing. When she gets up to close it a hand reaches in and grabs her wrist. Poor Abi screams and wrenches her arm free only to get into trouble for waking Mrs Cotton. From this point onwards the house, or something within it, makes it clear that something awful has happened. Along with the escalation of the spirit's activity, Mrs Cotton becomes more evil with every passing day; she's a classic love-to-hate character. The secondary characters of Lizzy, Rob and Samuel are all well-formed and loyal. I was relieved after reading the synopsis that Abi actually had some friends at Greave Hall to provide a little lightness in the book.

I loved this book from beginning to end. Every page is loaded with suspense and terror. I was genuinely chilled at times - the scene where Abi discovers a photograph that had been left to develop was wonderful. Abi is likeable and resourceful; the steps she takes to try to discover more about the presence in the house are believable. She drives the book along with her desire to find the truth. I sat down one morning expecting to read a few chapters but got to a point where I had to know what happened and was turning the pages like a maniac. This is a perfect ghost story, beautifully told.

Winter's Wife by Elizabeth Hand - Dark Alchemy (SSM)

Wizards and witches have lived in the human imagination for centuries. From ancient to modern times they have held great power in our literary lives. Here for a brand new audience is a collection of electrifying stories that show us benign and evil, ambivalent and determined characters that will stalk our imaginations and thoughts for some time to come. From the pens of Eoin Colfer, Garth Nix, Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen and many more spring an incredible array of stories that will thrill readers young and old.

Includes stories by Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix, Mary Rosenblum, Kage Baker, Eoin Colfer, Jane Yolen, Orson Scott Card, Patricia A. McKillip, Elizabeth Hand, Andy Duncan, Peter S. Beagle, Nancy Kress, Tanith Lee, Terry Bisson, Terry Dowling, Gene Wolfe, Tad Williams and Jeffrey Ford.

I've chosen to review Winter's Wife by Elizabeth Hand because I am in love with it. Also, because she is in theory a new to me author to read. Although Elizabeth Hand has been an author whose books I've seen often, I've never for no reason other than laziness and overcrowded shelves, picked them up. I now want to read her back-catalogue, because of this short story.

There is nothing over the top in Ms. Hand's writing. Justin's voice as a young boy is spot on, as are his observations about Winter, the area they live in, and subsequently, Winter's wife which he goes and fetches from Iceland.

Vala sounds fantastically odd and quirky and the second she shows up in the short story, you know things have changed, you're just not sure if it's for the better or worse.

Justin is employed by Winter to help them build a decent house as Vala is pregnant. Progress is good but then Winter discovers that his neighbour has sold his land to a developer and all-round nasty piece of work. Things kick up a further notch and come to blows when the developer guy starts chopping down ancient trees in the forest.

It's Vala who steps forward and acts. I'm not revealing what happens, but it's pretty twisty and scary and you will fistpunch the air...just a tiny bit.

Why this works is because Winter and Vala are so patently suited to one another. Ms. Hand does an amazing job of creating a new mythology here and it held me rapt. I've read the short story maybe five times now, it is that good. And I'm thinking to myself that if she ever wrote the rest of Vala and Winter's story, I'd be there in a flash, cash in hand.

Captivate by Carrie Jones

Warning: If you haven't read Need this review contains spoilers!

Synopsis

Zara and her friends thought they'd solved the pixie problem. And they had - sort of. They're locked away, deep in the woods. But the king's needs grow stronger each day that he's in captivity, while his control over his people weakens. Who will fill the power vacuum? Astley. He claims he's different. He claims that it doesn't have to be violence and nastiness all the time. Zara wants to believe him ... until Astley also claims that she's fated to be his queen.

There's no way Zara would ever turn pixie. And she's got good friends who'll make sure of that. Besides, she and Nick are so in love they're practically inseparable. But when the very thing Zara most wants to protect is exactly what's at risk, she's forced to make choices she never imagined.

I loved Need, so when I got the opportunity to review Captivate I was excited and nervous. Would I like it as much as Need? Would the second book in the series live up to my expectations? Well, I started it yesterday and was up at six this morning to continue. I enjoyed it more than Need, I loved it.

It was obvious at the end of Need that capturing the pixies was only a quick fix - there would be repercussions. Captivate finds Zara, Nick, Devyn and Issie doing patrols and throwing rogue pixies into the house with the others. Zara's dad, the king, is still there growing weaker while his followers become more restless and needy for flesh. Soon, a new king arrives in the shape of Astley. He appears to be different to Zara's dad but can he be trusted? Astley isn't the only king on the scene either. It's obvious that the status quo can't hold.

I loved the dark underside of Need and in Captivate this becomes more apparent and is stronger in this respect. I could sense the undercurrent of danger which leaks out as you read finally bursting out as the book progresses. Spring feels like a long way off in Maine and in a way I was reminded of the winter of Narnia; I could almost smell the pine trees and hear the crunch of snow. Captivate takes the feeling of threat that runs through Need and spins it into a whole new dimension of terror. This book is far from fluffy and light. However, Captivate keeps some humour. My favourite funny line, "The other king was last spotted in Wal-Mart."

The characters all develop well; Zara still worries about her Amensty International cases but also shows a parallel between her concern for these people and her complex feelings about her own captives. Issie is still crushing on Devyn, but Devyn is getting more independent. Who is Cassidy and why is Devyn drawn to her? Nick is still Zara's protector but can he control his feelings when she acts upon her own impulses despite the fact that he sometimes breaks the rules of the gang? In this book Nick and Zara grow closer. Incidentally, I hated Cassidy throughout most of this book. How dare she muscle in on Issie and Devyn!

Zara starts to turn blue when the new king is in the vicinity and a new paranormal entity arrives and starts carrying away possibly warriors. I'm bubbling over here to spill the rest of the plot but wouldn't spoil it. I didn't expect the book to take the turn that it did, I was flipping over the pages thinking, "No! Surely not!" The ending cliff-hanger is all the worse for the fact that the next book isn't due until 2011.

I donated my copy of Need to the library. Uncharitably, I now wish I hadn't as this series is a keeper - and no, you can't have my copy of Captivate.

City of Ships by Mary Hoffman

Synopsis

Isabel Evans has just made a very surprising discovery: she is a Stravagante, somebody who, with the help of a talisman, can travel in time and space to the country of Talia in a parallel world. When faced with the extreme danger that Talia presents, the normally shy and quiet Isabel is forced to dig deep and find strength she never knew she had, as she is plunged in to a world of pirates, ferocious sea battles and deadly adversaries.

I have to start by admitting that this is the first Stravaganza novel that I’ve read. As this is the fifth in the sequence I’m a little late to the party. I was interested to find out if this would leave me at a disadvantage or whether I’d be able to slot straight in. It’s the character of Isabel who makes that possible; she’s as clueless as me! She knows nothing of the world of the Stravagante and has problems much closer to home to keep her occupied. Her twin Charlie is the first born and the high achiever at school, sports and everything except art. Isabel has even created an imaginary twin that she can be better than to enable herself to cope. She spends the rest of her time trying to slip through life being invisible.

She spots a velvet bag full of mosaic tiles on the floor, unknown to her this is ticket to Talia (like our Italy but over four hundred years ago). From this moment Isabel (and the reader) is propelled into another world. She arrives in the city of Classe which is in imminent danger from attack. It’s Isabel’s job to find out how she can help and what her purpose is. The lovely thing about this novel is the way that her emotional journey perfectly matches the action. Initially, it’s as if she’s on holiday but as her time in Talia lengthens her understanding of exactly what’s at stake matures her.

Alongside the world of Talia, Isabel finds herself moving in a new circle at school. She has all the other Stravaganzas to get to know. There’s Georgia, Nick, Sky and Matt who welcome her. Each of these have been stars of their own book in the series. Soon Isabel is growing in confidence, has her eye on Sky whilst trying to keep her old friends happy and keep Charlie’s suspicions at bay. I have to admit that I struggled slightly to understand the how characters have died in one world but then lived in the other but soon caught up. Also, if you’re a newbie to Talia like me it’s a good idea to check the character list at the back of the book to get everyone straight.

If I had one criticism of this book it would be that everyone is classified as pretty, beautiful, stunning, or ugly. Isabel gets prettier as she grows in confidence. I understand that self-belief makes a person more attractive and that the language is appropriate to the age group but I’d prefer to make up my own mind if I find a character beautiful or not.

I enjoyed the sea theme of this book. From the moment Isabel arrives the writing whisks you away; I could hear the seagulls. The attention to detail is amazing and the world building immaculate. This book also has a gritty side though, the detail on boat warfare and the amount of damage that these sort of battles can cause is made clear. For those who have been following the whole series, favourite characters progress and there’s good continuation. It definitely made me want to check out the rest of the earlier books.

Need by Carrie Jones

Sarah Bryars has kindly offered to review Need by Carrie Jones for MFB. I am very pleased that she did because it's a fab novel, one I raved about madly last year when I bought the hardcover in from the States. Now it's come to the UK, thanks to Bloomsbury, and I can't be a happier fan-girl. Here you go, Sarah's review:

Synopsis

Following the death of her beloved stepfather, Zara is forced to leave Charleston and her mother to live with her grandmother, Betty, in Maine. The move is bad enough, but when Zara realises she has been followed across the country by a strange man, things get even worse. Local boys are disappearing, she hears a voice calling her name in the night, mysterious figures seem to flit in and out of the shadows of the forest, and Zara’s sure her mother and Betty are hiding something from her. Life is made a little easier by new-found friends Issie and Devyn, and possible love interest Nick, but even they are keeping secrets from her.

The blurb on the back of this suggests that Need is a kind of mash-up of Stephen King and Stephenie Meyer which made me raise an eyebrow. Part way through I changed my mind; it’s true! Need has an atmospheric, almost hypnotic quality to it which I wasn’t expecting. Added to that is a growing feeling of unease and dread. Zara is sent to her grandmother’s house when her mum finds her behaviour after the death of her stepfather worrying. Once there she finds the lifestyle a complete culture shock; the weather, the clothes and the sense of isolation all make her wish she could go home.

The tension soon ramps up as she sees a man, pointing at her from the side of the road. She recognises him as the same one she saw on the way to the airport. Once at her grandmother’s she sees him again and when she leaps out of the car to see where he went all that’s left is a trail of glitter. Zara uses phobias as a coping mechanism, she chants them to herself in times of stress and each chapter starts with a different phobia which is a nice touch. Her first days at school see her making new friends and enemies; Issie and Devyn are sweet characters. I started to warm to Zara as her relationship with Issie developed. Nick is also an intriguing character; throughout the book I was first for him then unsure of his motives. As a whole, the supporting characters are both entertaining and intriguing – they add to the growing mystery.

Zara discovers that the problem with Maine is pixies added to which boys are going missing. The deeper that Zara gets into the problem the more creepy it becomes. The pixies in Need are much like the fairies in Wicked Lovely, just plain nasty at times. As the snow begins to fall and the sense of isolation and danger increases I was whipping through the pages to find out what was going to happen! Without giving away too much of the story, pixies aren’t the only things that Zara has to deal with. The mother/daughter relationship was really well handled too, the distance that had grown between them was caused by secrets which slowly unravel. The tight band of grief that is strangling Zara slowly starts to loosen in Maine. She starts to open up and she allows little bits of information to slip out which start to put the jigsaw together.

The ending was quirky enough to make me want the sequel. In fact, it’s the sort of ending that plays on your mind a bit. I kept thinking, “Well, what’s going to happen with that?” To sum up, Need has enough to offer which is different to make this series gripping. For me, there can never be too many supernatural beings anyway, so there’s more to love!

Need is out now from Bloomsbury UK and the sequel will very soon be with us!

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Synopsis

Nimira is a music-hall performer forced to dance for pennies to an audience of leering drunks. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to do a special act – singing accompaniment to an exquisite piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new life.

In Parry’s world, however, buried secrets stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumours abound about ghosts, a mad woman roaming the halls, and of Parry’s involvement in a gang of ruthless sorcerers who torture fairies for sport.

When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing young fairy gentleman is trapped inside the automaton’s stiff limbs, waiting for someone to break the curse and set him free, the two fall in love. But it is a love set against a dreadful race against time to save the entire fairy realm, which is in mortal peril.

What can I say about Magic Under Glass that's not going to be sung from the rooftops by other reviewers and writers?

Ignoring utterly the palawer set up in the media about the US cover, this little book published by Bloomsbury both in the UK and the US, is so much more than what it first appears.

Initial thoughts were: a fun, lighthearted frolic with fairies. What it really is is something altogether more. Much more.

Magic Under Glass has at it's heart the motto: true love will overcome everything, including the impossible.

So if you think it's a bit sappy and a bit wet, because you know, it's about the L-word, please be aware that you're wrong. Yes, it's the story of an attractive girl from a foreign country falling in love with a fairy prince cursed to live in the body of an automaton (a robot). But it's also about breaking convention, standing up for yourself, for others and taking chances on the utterly impossible, about facing racism (and not necessarily the way you think it) and being brave.

I was surprised that this entire world Nimira (our heroine) finds herself in is described so adequately with the minimum of fuss. Ms. Dolamore's world creation is excellent, as is it's history and it's ongoing animosity between the fairy race and the humans. All put together in what seemed a nutshell so we can get on with the real story. That of Nim trying to cope with the reality of being a trouser-girl. A singer and dancer with a rather dodgy troupe of performers in something that borders on our European Paris/Prague. Back in the day performers were the elite, put on pedestals and admired for their creativity and beauty. Nim's mother married a man of high rank in their country of Tassim - which sounds like a combination of India and Arabia from 1001 Nights. After her mum passes away Nim decides to head off on her own and comes to New Sweeling where Hollin Parry, a sorcerer sees her perform and decides to offer her a job.

Nim is so desperate to make a success of herself, she sees herself as a failure, that she takes up the position Hollin offers - to sing with an automaton - although she has her doubts.

Hollin treats Nim well, genuinely keen for her to make a positive impression on society but in treating her well, he sees her as an object, someone of interest, exotic and not really a person. Their relationship grows and there are glimpses of Hollin showing his own preconceptions on how to treat women in general, that they don't understand complicated political matters etc.

Nim is a fantastic heroine. Strong, confident, passionate, compassionate and clever, she manages to figure out that the rumour about the automaton is true: he does move and he does try to talk. She uses the one thing they share, music, to communicate and soon we learn the true nature of the automaton. Slowly but surely the rest of the story clicks into place and it's just utterly excellent.

I wish I could sit here and tell it to you but trust me when I say that Jaclyn Dolamore does a much better job at it than me. Her writing is understated whilst being lyrical. Magic Under Glass is a rare book that has that true cross-over appeal into various genres, the least being young adult to adult. It's a fairy tale story, mixed with a bit of fantasy and steampunk, splashed with good old fashioned intrigue and of course, the underlying love story. It's an immediate favourite and I hope you fall under it's spell and enjoy reading it too.

Magic Under Glass is being published by Bloomsbury UK in February. Find author Jaclyn Dolamore's website here.

My Love Lies Bleeding Competition Winners

And the two winners are:

Michaela D

and

Tam

Thanks so much for entering! Hope you enjoy MLLB as much as I did. And thanks to Bloomsbury for letting us run the comp.