The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton - 5 stars
Recap: Elodie Winslow discovers a leather satchel containing a photograph of a young woman and an artist's sketchbook from the childhood story her mother used to tell her.
Review: This book has layers! There are lots of interwoven storylines that connect individuals to the house and each other and it was very satisfying to keep peeling those layers back. The overall narrator is a ghost which adds a layer of sadness to the turn of events. It's almost a heart-warming tragedy with equal measure of love and hope against sadness and loss. I really enjoyed reading it.
The Lost War: Eidyn Book One by Justin Lee Anderson - 5 stars
Recap: Aranok, the King's envoy is meant to be on a rescue mission but he gets sidetracked as reality doesn't match up with what he was told. Strange beasts, demons, a plague of blackened and knights with unusual powers lead him on a new quest.
Review: Great fantasy writing with an interesting cast of characters. You do have this sense that you're missing something and so the ending is both a combination of I knew it and omg I didn't expect that! Traditional fantasy tropes are expanded on - there's a healthy payment for use of magic and injuries do slow characters down, we've got zombie like plague victims as well as the actual killer dead plus a great deal on the view that God is the provider of all good things - in fact the religious stuff did turn me off a little and almost lost a star. The ending made up for it.
A Light in the Dark by Terry Poole - 4 stars
Recap: A ghost goes to the beach!
Review: This is a very short glimpse into a larger world the author has created and as such you barely have time to get stuck into anything but what stood out for me was the tenderness of the main relationship, the interesting ghost angle and the sadness of the little boy. I don't read M/M love stories so it's not my genre however good writing is good writing. Hopefully in the longer book, the characters have more time to differentiate a little more - it's hard to squeeze all that in with a story when writing such a short book.
The First Wave by Lana Melyan - 3 stars
Recap: Nicky is waiting for her powers as a witch to manifest, meanwhile her parents are keeping secrets from her.
Review: It's YA so aimed at angsty teenagers, everybody drinks a phenomenal amount of coffee and it feels very familiar - we've been here before! That said my interest is piqued at what the secrets could be and it ticks all the boxes for a quick read. It's a short novella but paced well, we have all the tropes - less powerful best friend, mentor figure in the Gran, an ex-boyfriend who still has an interest plus two good looking dangerous potential love interests and *gasp* one of them is a vampire! But if you enjoy reading this genre then you're going to love the book, I just wanted a little more - I liked it but I didn't love it. Hopefully, book two will ramp up the plot and hook me further.
The Legacy by Lana Melyan - 3.5 stars
Recap: Nicky finds out her family secret.
Review: As soon as we met the tree in book one, I knew it would be the hiding place so deeply satisfied with that. I can't shake the feeling that the best friend will be revealed as working for the other side because we keep getting told she's harmless with bare!y any powers. The Nathan-Nicky dynamic is odd, more so because I think they're actually distant relations, if I read that correctly. Still lots and lots of coffee but a bit more magical world building this time. I like the fact that the author described it as a tv series in book form because it does feel like I'm two episodes into a show, deciding whether I'm going to carry on watching it or not. So I might just watch one more because the writing isn't bad and the scene has been set so let's get stuck in!
Sniper Squad by Meg Buchanan - 4 stars
Recap: Under Jacob's orders, Jack is a mole in the VTroopers and Ela is an elite recruit within the Resistance - neither one allowed to talk to the other. But the Administration know what Jacob is planning and they'll do everything in their power to stop him.
Review: Splitting Jack and Ela up added great tension to the storyline and there's a more desperate, ruthless edge to the action with a few shocking moments. Fast paced and easy to read, an intense sequel with lots of potential for upcoming disaster in book three!
Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.
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