Month: January 2021

The Word Trove – Elias Vorphal

~ Eden Haslam ~ Leave a comment

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Synopsis: This book follows the story of a word that has lost its meaning after being spoken by a human. As goes on its journey, the word meets other words who teach it about stories and language.

Review: I cannot put into words how much I adored this book. I only wished I had the same incredible grasp on language that the author has! The Word Trove is so magical and yet so hard to explain. There is a reason that the book blurb is so concise. I know the premise sounds weird, but the uniqueness of this book is what makes it truly special.

I loved the meta element of this story – a book filled with words, telling a story about a word, and giving the message about the importance of words and how words are wasted by the humans that speak them. It sounds confusing, but this whimsical story is so smart in what it does.

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The Invitation – Katie Webster

~ Eden Haslam ~ 2 Comments

On the island kingdom of Meta Emery, a young queen, Abigail, wakes in the middle of the night to a terrifying realisation; hostile wizards from the rival kingdom of Archmond have finally done what they’ve been threatening to do: bring a girl, Lucy, into this world to destroy the queen and all she has worked for.

Hundreds of miles west, in Archmond itself, a great feast unfolds in the castle to celebrate Lucy’s arrival. Soleman, one of the wizards and a co-ruler of Archmond, has spread the news to his people that Lucy is the heroine an ancient prophecy predicted; he promises that the discord throughout their world will soon be over. But his fellow ruler Ronald remains dubious that this apparently meek and troubled girl could really overthrow Abigail, or whether she is ever likely to want to.

This highly imaginative and original novel is the first in an exciting new fantasy series, ‘Lucy’s Crypt’.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Review: The description for this book really intrigued me, however I found the blurb to be misleading. Whilst Lucy’s task of overthrowing Abigail is the catalyst for her adventure, it does not play much of a role in this part of story itself. Instead, the book focuses on building up the world that Lucy has found herself in.

Although I found the book quite slow at times, I really enjoyed the politics of the world Lucy ends up in. It is clear that there is more going on than Lucy has been told, and I am interested in how it will play out. Perhaps Abigail is not the ‘bad-guy’ that she has been painted out to be? Perhaps the leaders of Archmond have an ulterior motive?

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The Island – C.L. Taylor

~ Eden Haslam ~ Leave a comment

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Synopsis: Whilst on a group holiday with their parents to Thailand, six teenagers – Jessie, Danny, Honor, Milo, Meg, and Jeffers – get stranded on an island after their guide has a stroke and dies. Over the next 6 days tensions rise as the phobias of each of the characters come true and the group turns on each other to try and figure out what is going on and who is to blame.

Review: This story helped remind me why I enjoy YA books so much. It was easy to read, fast-paced and completely gripping – I read the entire thing in one sitting because I was so desperate to see what was going to happen.

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Silver Linings – Jess Impiazzi

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Jess’s acting dreams were derailed as a teenager when her mum became blind and Jess stepped in as her primary carer leaving her education behind. Silver Linings follows the actress, model and reality TV star on a journey of self-discovery, harsh lessons and heart-break since childhood. From supporting her alcoholic father to losing her baby nephew, betrayal by her ex-husband, and her own mental health issues. Silver Linings is an inspiring, authentic, powerful, raw book about following your dreams, smashing down challenges, and celebrating kindness.

Review: First of all, I should probably say that I have never read a memoir before, and I had no idea who Jess Impiazzi was. For these reasons, I was somewhat dubious about reading this book as I was unsure whether it would be my style. However, I had no reason to be concerned. I found my lack of knowledge about who Jess was as a celebrity beneficial as it meant I had no preconceptions about what she was like which enabled me to fully embrace the brave, strong woman that is presented in this book. And getting to read her memoir was so interesting as it offered an ‘unfiltered’ glimpse into her life.

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