Waiting On Wednesday: The River Of No Return

I am Waiting again on Wednesday! This meme is hosted at Breaking the Spine and is based on a book you can’t wait to read that hasn’t been published yet.

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So my book for this week is: THE RIVER OF NO RETURN

The blurb: ‘Time is like a river. It always flows in one direction.’

What if everything you thought was certain was not? 1812: On a lonely battlefield in Spain, Lord Nicholas Falcott, Marquess of Blackdown, is about to die ….

But, the next moment, he inexplicably jumps forward in time, nearly two hundred years – very much alive. Taken under the wing of a mysterious organisation, The Guild, he receives everything he could ever need under the following conditions: He can’t go back. He can’t go home. He must tell no one. Accepting his fate, Nicholas begins a life of luxury as a twenty-first century New York socialite, living happily thus for the next ten years. But, when an exquisite wax sealed envelope brings a summons from the Alderwoman of The Guild, Nicholas is forced to confront his nineteenth century past.

Back in 1815, Julia Percy’s world has fallen apart. Her enigmatic grandfather, the Earl of Darchester, has died and left her with a closely guarded secret, one she is only now discovering – the manipulation of time. In terrible danger from unknown enemies, Julia flees her home to the sanctuary of neighbouring Falcott House. In this strange place Julia and a recently returned Nicholas are drawn to each other and together they realise how little Julia knew about her beloved grandfather and begin to understand his ominous last words…  ‘Pretend.’
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This is a bit of a cheat as I’ve read this book already but I CAN NOT WAIT to buy it in hardback. I’ve read it through Net Galley and it’s completely fantastic, I haven’t felt this way about a debut novel in such a long time. GO. Pre-order it now, you won’t be disappointed, it’s brilliant. Full review to come… although you can guess the star rating already!

The River Of No Return by Bee Ridgway

Published: 23rd May 2013, Michael Joseph

PRE-ORDER ME! The River of No Return

Book Review: The House of Velvet and Glass

The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe

The blurb: Sibyl Allston is devastated by the recent deaths of her mother and sister aboard the Titanic. Hoping to heal her wounded heart, she seeks solace in the parlour of a medium who promises to contact her lost loved ones. But Sibyl finds herself drawn into a strange new world where she can never be sure that what she sees or hears is real.

In fear and desperation she turns to psychology professor Benton Derby – despite the unspoken tensions of their shared past… From the opium dens of Boston’s Chinatown to the upscale salons of high society, Sibyl and Benton are drawn into a world of occult magic, of truth and lies, and into a race to understand Sibyl’s own apparent talent for scrying before it is too late. Katherine Howe’s “The House of Velvet and Glass” is a harrowing story of darkness and danger vanquished by the redemptive power of love.

My review: Bit torn here. There were some parts of this book that I completely loved but there was something that just didn’t set me on fire. I think I loved The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane so much that this book was always going to struggle to live up to its older sibling.

This is primarily the story of the Allston family and how the turbulent events of the early twentieth century will mark and change their lives and how they all, in different ways, struggle to have some control over the events unfolding around them.

I cared about the characters especially Sibyl, it’s hard not to. She’s intelligent, but restrained and overlooked, unhappy in a world where many are probably unhappy if they were given the chance to admit it to themselves. The period detail is excellent and I loved the regular snapbacks to the past history of Lannie Allston and the goings on with Eulah on the Titanic.

I was disappointed that there wasn’t more made of the scrying, it seemed to be an add on to make the story come together. Whereas it could’ve been more haunting and generational. But there were times when it nearly made me cry with the heart-breaking storylines of so much tragedy on one family.

For me it needed to be a much tighter book. There were moments when I found myself wanting to leave it and begin another book and I only stuck with it due to my admiration of Howe’s earlier novel. I’m glad I did, the ending is  by far the best bit of the book. So a slightly mixed bag from me on this one, take it away with you and let me know what you think!

6.5 out of 10 stars! ******.5

BUY ME! The House of Velvet and Glass

Book Review: Me Before You

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

The blurb: Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

My review: This is a really beautiful, lovely book. Me Before You is the story of two unlikely people, both trapped in a sense, by the actions of others, in lives and in viewing life in a way that they didn’t begin life with. This is a very difficult book to review without giving anything away as the last thing I would want to do is spoil it for someone who hasn’t read it yet.

The characters are brilliant, Lou Clark is an easy person to fall in love with, as is her whole family. She’s quirky, colourful, naive, a bit stupid on occasion but nothing we haven’t all been guilty of before and she’s very relatable. Will as a character must have been extraordinarily tricky to draw and by the end I had such admiration for him and none of the slightly awkward feelings of someone I couldn’t understand that is was masterful. Nathan as well was the perfect supporting role.

The only thing I would change is the length, although I read a proof and it might have been changed. I thought the middle could have been tightened up a bit and I almost put it down and didn’t go back to it because it appeared to be dragging its feet. But I read the last 100 pages in what felt like 20 minutes and cried like a baby.

When I first picked up this book I went to the back and read the acknowledgements, there was a particularly touching one to fellow author Madeleine Wickham that halfway through the book made me guess the ending! I can see why support was needed. This is a dramatic, gasp-out-loud book that will fill you with love and drain you of tears! I hugged my boyfriend for a long time after I’d finished reading it.

8 out of 10 stars! ********

BUY ME! Me Before You

Book Review: I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

The blurb: John Smith is not your average teenager. He regularly moves from small town to small town. He changes his name and identity. He does not put down roots. He cannot tell anyone who or what he really is. If he stops moving those who hunt him will find and kill him. But you can’t run forever. So when he stops in Paradise, Ohio, John decides to try and settle down. To fit in. And for the first time he makes some real friends. People he cares about – and who care about him. Never in John’s short life has there been space for friendship, or even love. But it’s just a matter of time before John’s secret is revealed.

He was once one of nine. Three of them have been killed. John is Number Four. He knows that he is next . . .

My review: I was immediately drawn to the concept of this book. A group of children are sent to earth from the planet Lorien, nine members of the Garde race with nine guardians the Cepan. Their home planet Lorien is under attack from the Mogadorians, a race whose recklessness has caused their home planet to die. The Garde develop legacies, their inheritance from Lorien, which differ from child to child and manifest themselves as what we would think of as superpowers. They seperate on earth to protect themselves from the Mogadorians who have followed them here.

Now this all could sound silly and slightly superman-esque but dont be fooled this is a brilliantly concieved and tightly plotted book.

Pittacus Lore – one of the elders on Lorien is fictitious, the writing partnership of James Frey and Jobie Hughes who get a nod in the narrative. I think I ploughed through this book in two days, it’s addictive, told from the point of view of Number Four you really feel for the characters and cheer on the Loriens. This is sci-fi at it’s best. Like all master storytellers only so much is revealed and its the mysteries that will keep you turning the pages late into the night.

The only reason this isn’t a ten out of ten review is because the character of Sarah is just a too trusting and too perfect to be believable. Now I know that believable shouldnt be the key word here but I did believe in the Loriens, I was sucked into their story which is why she felt slightly out of sync.

According to IMDB the movie will be out next year as well as the next book The Power of Six and I for one, can not wait. Superb read.

9 out of 10 stars *********

www.iamnumberfour.co.uk

BUY ME! I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies)