Review: The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann

The Peculiar

Author: Stefan Bachmann

Publication Date: September 1st 2012

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Genre: Fantasy

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Synopsis:

Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged.

In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings--Peculiars--and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.

One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley--Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.

First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.

My Thoughts: The Peculiar was one of the books that I was really looking forward to reading ever since I saw the cover and read the synopsis. I love the cover of this book! Unfortunately, it took me a long time to even get into this book. It's a fast read, but I just wasn't loving it as much as I had hoped I would until about the last 100 pages. So it did pick up and redeem itself for me, but still very hard for me to get into. I don't even know why. The writing was good so I think it might have just had a hard time connecting with the main characters. There were some points where it might have been a bit too descriptive, but I've read much more descriptive books and not had trouble with them. So it was a bit of a disappointment, but like I said, it picked up in the end.

There are two protagonists in this one. Bartholomew Kettle, who is a peculiar (changeling, half fay, half human). Then there is Arthur Jelliby, a high ranking young man in London who for some reason feels compelled to help Bartholomew find his sister who was kidnapped. I didn't really connect with either character, but will say that I liked Arthur more of the two. You kind of always know who the bad guy is, so it doesn't even keep you guessing with that.

Once the story picked up, it finished off as a good read. I do want to know what happened next though. So I will be reading the next book, The Whatnot, to see what happens. So this is a good read, but not as good as I had hoped, for me that is. Still a good middle grade read and I would probably recommend it still!

T.G.I.F. (2)

Thank Great Illustrators Fridays is a book meme created and hosted by Owl Read It.

They say don't judge a book by it's cover, but a lot of the time the cover is what draws you to the book in the first place.  This meme is to show appreciation to the artists who put their time and effort into creating the great book covers of our beloved series.

To Participate:

• Pick a book cover you love (any book will do - released or not)
• Post the picture of the book along with the author, publisher AND the illustrator of the cover (if you can find it, if not, that's okay too!)
• Post a brief summary of why you like the cover.  
• Take the pic above and link back to us :)

This Week's T.G.I.F. Cover:

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa                          

Published: Projected for October 23, 2012 by Harlequin Teen

Illustrator(s): Can't find a name.  If you know, please tell me :)

My thoughts: The covers for the Iron Fey series are all beautiful, and The Lost Prince in Series #2 of the Iron Fey is no exception.  Looks like Meghan Chase's little brother Ethan is all grown up and ready for his own adventures.  This cover is absolutely gorgeous and the illustrator deserves a round of applause.  His torso looks SO awesome!

In case you are following the Iron Fey, the first chapter of The Lost Prince can be found here.

What are your favourite book covers? Leave us a link to your own T.G.I.F! :)

Review: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely
(Wicked Lovely #1)

Author: Melissa Marr

Publication Date: June 12, 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: Fantasy

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Synopsis:

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty - especially if they learn of her Sight - and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.
Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.
Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.
Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.
But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King, who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost — regardless of her plans or desires.
Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.
Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning twnety-first-century faery tale.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed Wicked Lovely immensely. It was a fresh take on a heroine, which I always find myself immersed in. I loved the main characters, I enjoyed the villains and the story didn’t feel rushed.

Aislinn was a unique heroine. She knew what she wanted and refused to be pushed around just because of the situation she found herself in. Most heroines are self-sacrificing, but Aislinn managed to balance her own happiness with the impossible circumstances she found herself in. She didn’t hesitate to step up when the situation called for it and she wasn’t scared to show her emotions. I respect Melissa Marr for writing such a strong female character.

Seth, Aislinn’s best friend and maybe-something-more, is also a unique lead character. He believes that “one can never have too many piercings” and demonstrates that on his own body. He is a renown playboy and has one of the most awesome house I could ever imagine (train cars turned into a house!). Despite his bad-boy appearance, he has a personality that would make any girl swoon.

Keenan, I wish had been a bit more multi-faceted. I hope to learn more about him in the future books, but for Wicked Lovely he fell short as a main character. He was charming, handsome and kingly but I felt that we could have gotten more out of him than what we did. I know it is in there somewhere and I believe that Marr will show it in the future. I really want to know more about him and what makes him tick.

The only real issue I have with Wicked Lovely actually has to do with the series. I get invested in characters and their story-lines. The Wicked Lovely series is one that follows various characters throughout the series which throws me off. I tend to want to stick with two to three and follow them constantly instead of switching. I know that this is a personal preference, but it turns me off to the rest of the series a little bit (especially since the main heroine, Aislinn, is so awesome).

Overall though, Wicked Lovely is a great read for people who like faeries and heroines who don’t let themselves get pushed around (too much).

Review: The Nixie's Song by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black

The Nixie's Song

Author: Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi

Publication Date: September 18th, 2007

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/YA/Middle-Grade

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Synopsis:

The Spiderwick Chronicles leave the old-fashioned charm of New England far behind and head south for some fiendish faerie fun in the hot Florida sun. Eleven-year-old Nicholas Vargas only thinks his life has been turned upside down after his developer father remarries and moves his new wife and daughter into the soon-to-be completed Mangrove Hollow. But an "expedition" to a nearby lake turns up a little nixie with a giant problem - the huge, lumbering, fire-breathing variety - and it's up to Nick; his stepsister, Laurie; and his big brother, Julian (plus a familiar face from the original Spiderwick Chronicles) to figure out the best way to stop a host of rampaging giants before all of Florida goes up in smoke.

My Thoughts:  Ha, well, with a story this short and a summary that long it doesn't leave me much to tell you about, but here it goes anyway.

This is the first book the the Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles trilogy, which is a sequel to the original Spiderwick Chronicles. It takes place, from my guess, only very shortly after the original series ended. We have some brand new characters, the main ones being Nick and Laurie. Nick's mom passed away  a little while ago leaving him his dad and his older brother behind. His dad has recently re-married and so now Nick has a new sister named Laurie. Nick is not to happy about his new family members, especially since he had to give up his room for his new step-sister. On top of that, she totally weirds him out. She has books on unicorns and seems to almost be proud of her nerdy/quirkiness.

Nick somehow get's suckered into showing her around the neighborhood and she takes him on a hunt for Faeries using The Guide. Nick finds a four leaf clover, but doesn't tell Laurie since he thinks she is just crazy. Later on he see's a pale form laying in his lawn. Henceforth, Nick and Laurie find themselves immersed in the world of faeries. Nick is in shock all this weird stuff is real, Laurie discovers that maybe she doesn't want the things she's believed in to be real after all once they discover a fire breathing giant right next to their house!

With no idea how to handle this situation they seek help from the authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black themselves, who just happen to be having a book signing close by. Who do they meet there but Jared and Simon themselves! Will they be able to convince the twins they're telling the truth?! Even if they can, will they be able to take down a fire breathing giant by themselves?!

This book carries on in the fun adventures of fantasy and faeries. As always, we got new creatures: Giants and a Nixie!A Nixie is a water creature that kind of seemed to me like a mix of a mermaid and a siren. I always enjoy these books, they are a fun, short and super easy read with playful illustrations placed throughout to make the read even more fun. Great for fantasy readers of all ages. If you liked The Spiderwick Chronicles, I'm pretty sure you will like this to :).

Review: The Wrath of Mulgarath by Tony Diterlizzi & Holly Black

The Wrath of Mulgarath

Author: Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi

Publication Date: September 7th, 2004

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/YA/Middle-Grade

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Synopsis:

Three ordinary kids, Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace, have entered another world -- without leaving this one! Two remarkable talents, New York Times best-sellers Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, have risked everything to bring this remarkable account to light. Five books -- one thrilling adventure -- the Spiderwick Chronicles! Their world is closer than you think.

My Thoughts: So here we are at the final installment of the Spiderwick Chronicles, at least as far as the Grace Children are concerned. The final book does tie up all loose ends, and I like that in a series! Now that I'm done, I'm glad that I read it and I think it's a series I would like to share with me kids someday :).

In this final book, we get to see the return of Byron, the Griffin. He's been kind of out of the loop since the siblings brought him home to nurse him a few books ago. He's back full force and he kicks some major butt! The Grace Siblings are after Mulgarath, he has the guide...and their mom! How will 3 kids take on an entire evil faerie army?! They decide to risk returning to the elves and asking for their help, but they aid they do offer is pretty limited, they will have to pretty much figure this one out on their own. The elves ask that the guide be given over to them in return for the small favor they do provide.  The siblings devise a plan to go in and get the Guide back and save their mom. They encounter quite a few unexpected events and discoveries along the way. We got to meet Dragons! I love dragons :). In this book they were slightly less menacing than I usually see them. They were a lot more lizard like, they were compared to a salamander, although they were poisonous! How will the kids get past a brood of poisonous dragons?! Thimbletack, feeling guilty for having taken the book in the first place decides to come and aid in their journey.  So it's 3 kids, a griffin, and a brownie, up against all the evil, that we know of. Will they be able to take back the guide? They do get to receive some useful information from a very unexpected informant, who could that be? All the answers, and the suspenseful outcome can be found in the 5th and final book.


I had a lot of fun reading about the adventures of the Grace siblings. I liked all 3 of them, for different reasons. I like Jared for his determination, his protectiveness he has for his family, and his desire to do good even when he ends up looking like the bad guy. I like Simon because of his gentleness, his smart thinking, and his giant love for all living creatures. And finally, I liked Mallory for her stubbornness, her strength, and her honesty. She has a tough outward demeanor, but you can tell she cares a lot about  her little brothers and her parents. The three of them together make quite a team! I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a middle grade book. It packs some really lovely fantasy, lots of different fantastical creatures, and tons of adventure.

Review: Lucinda's Secret by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black

Lucinda's Secret

Author: Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi

Publication Date: October 1st, 2003

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/YA/Middle-Grade

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Synopsis:

Their world is closer than you think.

My Thoughts:Then the worst trick yet happens. The guide goes missing and Jared is pretty sure that Thimbletack stole it. So this installment details the quest of finding a way to get it back. All while still being attacked by even more fantastical creatures.

Something I enjoy about these books is you are always meeting new and wonderfully created being. This book brought us Sprites, a Phooka, and Elves. I particularly liked these last two new creatures. The Phooka is an awesome mixture of animals, who speaks mostly in riddles. I've said it before but I love the illustrations provided in these books. A creature is never introduced without an awesome depiction to accompany it. And the Phooka just looks awesome! I enjoyed picturing him as I read. Secondly, the Elves. They portrayed Elves just as I always imagine them. These tall, elegant, and beautiful beings, who seem simultaneously good but extremely powerful and borderline evil. I don't think you would ever want to be on the bad side of an Elf. And that is exactly where the Grace siblings end up in this part of their journey.

How will they scramble their way out of this one? I look forward to the next book to find out, and to meet more awesome creatures.