Starters

   Both gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars

A good book is hard to come by. After my friends high praise and insistence that I read this book I thought to myself WHY NOT?

The beginning reminded me of The Host (Stephanie Meyer), that's what made me want to read on. I was a little annoyed with how she would go into detail of what she had for breakfast that morning. She got her bowl out of the cupboard, poured in the milk. That sort of thing. Why do I need to know that? 

Despite all that, what intrigued me most about this book was the whole Renting side of it. If I was an old lady, I would love the opportunity to deal young again. Who wouldn't? But to keep their body forever, that is too far. Of course there's the whole process of being made presentable that, again I would not turn down. But a chip inside my head rigged to blow up, is another matter. 

Callie goes through alot to save her brothers life. She goes to the Body Bank fully aware of what will happen to her. When she starts having blackouts, she realises that something is terribly wrong. People who she thought were her friends are really spies. Even her boyfriend isn't who she thinks he is. 

I wasn't expecting the ending to turn out the way it did. I'm so confused by it all. It just doesn't make sense. I won't reveal what happens, but let me tell you this. If you like a good twist, this is the book for you. 

I am extreemly looking forward to finding out the answers in the next installment ENDERS!!!

Review by Katie Ellis

Starters was a book that I honestly couldn't put down!

After several months of hard efforts towards college work. I just needed a novel that I could immerse into over the summer, Starters was just that.

From the very first line 'Enders gave me the creeps' Price grips you with every page turned. Yes I do admit the detail lacked a little, but overall you don't need to know absolutely everything to understand what's going on. The main character Callie, when we first meet her, is faced with a decision that could in theory change her life forever. 

There is this body bank that allows 'teenagers to rent out their bodies, to those who want to be young again.' 

In an attempt to make her life better she signs the dotted line. Not only will Callie be made to look beautiful, practically perfection in this case, but she will be paid sufficient funds that would be beneficial to both her and her little brother Tyler. When her third and final rental faces a glitch. It's what she discovers that changes everything.

I credit Callie, being only 16, for her bravery though her trust in the right people needed a little work on. But I guess being faced with, intense and unexpected, situations she could do nothing more than her best. After everything she'd been through the last few chapters were like a kick in the teeth, a twist, where even though you think you have all the answers, you don't. 

I'm not going to spoil what turned out to be a very intriguing and entertaining dystopian thriller. But I recommend this book entirely. Price enticed me till the very last word, has left me wanting more and still with questions unanswered. I will certainly be buying the follow up 'Enders'to find out what else is in store for Callie.

Review by Katie Johnson 

Dance of Shadows

               ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Stars

'Steffie gasped, then covered her mouth. They were standing in a puddle of something thick and red. A long, terrible drip seemed to echo through the room. Vanessa felt the color drain from her face as she turned to Steffie. Slowly, they looked up to see two pairs of ballet shoes dangling from the light, dripping blood.'

I have had my eye on this book for a while waiting for it's release. You might think it was because of its very appealing and enchanting cover but no the blurb intrigued me straight away. Every month I would be checking if the release date had been moved forward (or even back, that I wasn't hoping). It even came to a point where I began pestering my friends about it's release. I was just so determined to get my hands on what seemed to be a very exciting and haunting mystery.  

After several email notifications on new book releases. Dance Of Shadows finally came through. I made my way into town one afternoon, just after finishing my day at university and popped into Waterstones. I wanted to ask if they would be stocking the book when it was officially released, that being the following week. A shop assistant attended to my question by checking the database. It came to us both by surprise that they already had one out on the shelf. 

As the shop assistant walked over to the YA Book area she scanned the shelves. When she returned with a smile of satisfaction on her face, a book in hand, she questioned if I wanted to buy it there and then. Oh only if she had known how long I had waited for this book. 

Ok so on with the review...

NYBA is a school for enthusiastic and talented ballerinas. When Margaret a freshman, is claimed to have run away because she couldn't handle the pressure and reach the high expectations for students at the academy. Vanessa her younger sister isn't so convinced that this was the truth. After receiving all of what was left of Margaret's belongings, Vanessa and her parents had to come to terms with the possibility she was never coming home or worse dead. Vanessa knew her sister, she was a strong and devoted dancer, so surely she couldn't have ran away just because she cracked under the pressure, that wasn't her. Besides the police still hadn't found any evidence or trace of her wanting to leave. It's like she just vanished off the face of the earth, entirely. 

When 15 year old Vanessa decides to follow in her sisters footsteps, as a ballerina and attending to the same academy, she goes searching for answers. Strange and mysterious things begin to happen, things that shouldn't be happening in any ordinary ballet academy let alone a school.

I found Dance of Shadows an easy read, though I think that's mainly down to it's gripping story line. With every turn of a page the suspense and mystery follows you, leaving you wanting more. Some nights I would be up late trying to find a place to stop. But every chapter had it's own little cliffhanger.

The characters are well developed, each having their own spark of life with colourful personality's. Vanessa is not so much my favourite character especially towards the end of the book. Though she was a good and loyal friend, she wasn't very good at listening to other people. Apart from the ones she loved. But loving them doesn't give you the means or even reason to why you should trust them or what they say. Vanessa really needed to grow some sense, she was shrouded in the dark behind what was and wasn't possible. With every step she was clearly headed in the wrong direction, though it just proves how naive girls of 15 can be. 

Blaine however was the most comical and trustworthy character in my opinion. He related to Vanessa very well, practically the whole way through I felt he was left out or the last one to know, he wasn't the one she confided in but he could have been. *Spoiler* But my favourite character would have to be Justin. He's the guy who Vanessa is quick to judge and therefore you are left to follow with her impulse. But interrupting and following you on dates isn't quit a first impression, it can be found some what nerving or even stalkish. So admittedly he did seem like a creep.

Zeppelin Gray was the guy that every girl wanted, he had charm, nice hair, gorgeous eyes and the fragrant smell of cologne. After Chapter 12 I felt Zep's presence disturbing, it got to a point where everything he did felt staged, fake and quite frankly annoying. The person who made any real sense in the end, was the one person Vanessa tried to avoid and felt she couldn't trust, even though he protected and looked out for her. Justin. *End of Spoiler* 

Overall this book is a very pleasant read. It was nice to be whisked away in a world of mystery and magic followed by sinister and strange occurrences. Just like any good book it had a romance intermixed with the deliciousness of the plot. There were times when the story line heated up and the sparks flew high, but it felt as though I was never truly satisfied, I wanted more. 

Regardless of all the negative reviews I would give this book a try! Why not find that little 15 year old girl you once were and soak up this mysterious yet plagued story line to find out what really goes on at your average ballet academy.

I am intrigued for what is to come in the follow-up Dark and Dangerous! :D

Review by Katie Johnson 

Forgotten

                ⭐️⭐️⭐️3/5 Stars

I really liked this book. I love how the main characters name is London Lane. I love the romance between her and Luke. There's just something about a guy who loves you no matter what that makes my heart melt. 

I was a little confused to begin with. I couldn't keep track of what was happening because every chapter starter off with her reading notes from the day before or the next scene would take place like a few days later. 

I was a little disappointed that we don't get to find out what happens with her and Luke. Does she find her brother? The hints are all there to suggest that she does but it doesn't satisfy my curiosity. I think there should be a sequel to it. There's more to the story that's just waiting to be told.

Review By Katie Ellis

Sisters Red

                            ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Stars 

I love my fairy tales, it's been that way ever since I was a little girl.

Written in two points of view Sisters Red is a modernized version of the classic fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood. Pearce creates a realistic setting within the 21st century where 'Countless teenage girls have been brutally murdered...and Scarlett and Rosie March know how they died.'

Although I loved the pure intensity of the prologue, in the end for me it wasn't needed. If added somewhere else in the book, I think it would have made a greater impact. I also found that the whole big 'mystery' was a disappointment. I tried to put my theories aside, waiting to see if there was a big twist, that I would stand corrected and be surprised by what really was. But from chapter 4 it's so clear as to who and what it's about, even the blurb is a big give away.

However the book is very fast-paced, descriptive and very easy to read. At the beginning of the first chapter we find Scarlett, wearing the iconic red cloak, luring what is called a Fenris - a modern take on werewolves - by an old train depot in Ellison. 

We discover that Scarlett is driven by her obsession to hunt Fenris, single-mindedly kills them in revenge. Not only for the sake of loosing her eye to one, but for the brutal murder of her grandmother and for the safety of her younger sister Rosie. 

Rosie is the complete opposite. She only hunts because of the guilt that is weighed over her, she feels it's her duty and long-life debt that she owes to her sister. Because of this her chances of normalcy are slim. 

When Silas, a childhood friend, returns to Ellison. A relationship between them begins to form. During their time together. Rosie starts to yearn for another life. The thought of not having to worry about Fenris, to enjoy life like the dragonflies - as Scarlett would nickname the beautiful, young, teenage girls. 

Overall I found that although Scarlett was a well rounded character, Rosie was the one I connected to. She has the passion to be different, but stays true and loyal to her sister. 

Sisters Red, despite everything, is just simply a well written re-telling of the original story, Little Red Riding Hood. Sweetly is the next book in Jackson Pearce's re-telling's. 

I am intrigued to know how she will transform the Hansel and Gretel story, what characters and relationships will form, and the modernized settings that may arise as they did within Sisters Red.

Review by Katie Johnson 

Dead Time

                               ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars

So I saw this book in Waterstones and thought it sounded pretty good. I found it in the library a few days later and decided to give it a go. 

The book was slow going at first. I found the writing to be a little flat. With that in mind I still found that I wanted to read on. Towards the middle it started to get more interesting. I was intrigued as to who the murderer was but was not expecting the answer to come so late in the book. It seemed like they were taking forever to get to the point.

The storyline itself was very good. I still want to read the next book to find out what happens to Rose and Joshua.

Review by Katie Ellis