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Book Review: Demon Road by Derek Landy

Jan 22, 2016

Demon Road by Derek Landy

Pages: 508
Publish date: 27th August 2015
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9780008141233
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Killer cars, vampires, undead serial killers: they’re all here. And the demons? Well, that’s where Amber comes in…Sixteen years old, smart and spirited, she’s just a normal American teenager until the lies are torn away and the demons reveal themselves.

Forced to go on the run, she hurtles from one threat to another, revealing a tapestry of terror woven into the very fabric of her life. Her only chance rests with her fellow travellers, who are not at all what they appear to be…

Demon Road:

I wasn’t going to read Demon Road by Derek Landy, when I first read about it. It didn’t seem like a book that I wasn’t going to life, it wasn’t something that I normally read. I have only read a couple of books that had a horror elements. However, after reading so many reviews about it, I needed to pick it up.

I haven’t read anything else from Derek Landy so I didn’t have anything to go by. I didn’t know what his writing style was like or how he wrote his characters, but after reading Demon Road I want to read his other works because I love it.

Demon Road follows protagonist Amber on a road trip of a lifetime. And not the road trip that you do after your final year of school, but the road trip that you see in supernatural, that includes killer cars, vampires, and undead serial killers. Teaming up with Milo and Glen, Amber is in for the ride of her life.

“If you can’t stand to be alone with your thoughts, maybe there’s something wrong with your thoughts.”

Landy writing style is easy to read and simple, there is nothing hard about it and even teens on the younger side will be able to read Demon Road. I loved the wit of Demon Road, the dialogue was sharp and hit you right in the chest, and it was different and fun.

I loved the characterisation of Landy characters. They were fun, different and bright.

Amber was an interesting protagonist. She has just found out that she is a demon and can shift into her demon; sometimes not on her own will and now she is on the run because people are trying to kill her. I liked that didn’t get all down on herself for the post part. She has this, sassy attitude that I loved. It was also nice to see that she was worried about killing people, she is this demon and sometimes she can’t control it, she was afraid that she would so something in the demon form that she wouldn’t want to do in her human form.

The very oh-secretive Milo. I adored Milo, it was so serious all the time, but the kind that contrasts Amber’s sassiness. He was there to protect Amber as much as he could. His secret was very cool and so excited to see what comes from it in the next book.

“how easily the hunter can become the prey. All it takes is a new perspective.”

Glen, well let’s just say that I didn’t like him…at all. He was an idiot and annoying and I wanted to slap him around. All I wanted was for Amber and Milo to leave him and not look back. All the flirting with Amber was also truly infuriating.

There is not many books that I read that doesn’t have romance, so it was hard for me to read Demon Road in that concept. Also the book was big, it was over 500 pages and something everything got too much. There were unnecessary scenes and things that happened.

Nevertheless, Demon Road was fasted paced and full of action, there was rarely a page that didn’t have action. I loved all the supernatural creatures. There are things happening left, right and centre. Good things happened and horrific things happened. And so many things happened that I don’t know what side they were on.

The ending, wow, what a way to end the first book in a series. It was fast and quite unexpected. I cannot wait to see what the next book has.

Overall, Demon Road was a fun, sassy and gruesome read. That showed that sometimes the outside of people can be deceiving. However, it also shows that sometimes people can be good and evil all at the same time. I look forward to the next adventure in this road trip of a lifetime.

Have you read Demon Road? What did you think of it? If you haven’t, are you going to read it?

Top Ten Books I’ve Recently Added To My TBR

Jan 19, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten list that members at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. All bloggers are then welcomed to join. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is: Top Ten Books I’ve Recently Added To My TBR

For this weeks TTT, I went into my goodreads ‘to read’ list, sorted it by date added and then picked the last 10. You will see on this list books that I have talked about before and that is because I sometimes…okay always forget to add books to my ‘to read’ list on goodreads and then it comes up months later and I finally add it. Most of these books also haven’t come out yet, so lets just say I am quite excited for them. These are also in no partiuclar order.

Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan: Magical New York torn between two very different kinds of magic. With a boyfriend that has a soulless doppelganger created by dark magic. With a hood fastened by a collar nobody but a Light magician with magical rings can take off… and who introduces himself to both of them by, for reasons nobody can understand, saving Ethan’s life… Released: April 6th 2016

Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard: Best Friends Caddy and Rosie are inseparable, but when Caddy turns sixteen she begins to wish she was more like Rosie. Then Suzanne comes into their lives, and things get a whole lot more complicated. As Suzanne’s past is revealed, Caddy begins to see how much fun a little trouble can be. But the course of both friendship and recovery is rougher than either girl realises, and Caddy is about to learn that downward spirals have a momentum of their own. Released: Febuaray 11th 2016

The Way to Game the Walk of Shame by: Taylor Simmons had it hard enough when her single-minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an Ice Queen. But after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down. Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they’re in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it’s better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard. Released: June 7th 2016

What I Saw by Beck Nicholas: One punch will shatter a town. But is anyone ready for the consequences of telling the truth? A complicated romance between a girl with everything on the line and a boy with nothing to lose following a king hit incident that leaves the high school golden boy in a coma. Released: March 2016

With Malice by Eileen Cook: A teenage girl who wakes up in a hospital bed and cannot remember the last six weeks of her life, including the accident that killed her best friend–only what if the accident wasn’t an accident? Released: June 7th 2016

Runied by Amy Tintera: Emelina Flores has nothing. Having everything ripped from her she is driven by a blind desire for revenge. Em sets off on a dangerous journey to the enemy kingdom of Lera. Somewhere within Lera’s borders, Em hopes to find Olivia. But in order to find her, Em must infiltrate the royal family. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake. Released: 3rd May 2016

The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead: Adelaide, an Osfridian countess who poses as her servant to escape an arranged marriage and start a new life in Adoria. But to do that, she must join the Glittering Court. Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering Court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies. She manages to keep her true identity hidden from all but one: Cedric Thorn. But no complication will prove quite as daunting as the potent attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. An attraction that, if acted on, would scandalize the Glittering Court and make them both outcasts in wild, vastly uncharted lands. . . Released: April 6th 2016

In the Dark, In the Woods by Eliza Woods: Five Siblings that abide by the strict rule of God, whose messages come directly from their father. Slowly they start to test the boundaries of the laws that bind them. But, at school, they’re still the freaks they’ve always been to the outside world. Marked by their plain clothing. Unexplained bruising. Utter isolation from their classmates. That is, until Castley is forced to partner with the totally irritating, totally normal George Gray, who offers her a glimpse of a life filled with freedom and choice. Released: 26th April 2016

Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer: Thomas Bellweather hasn’t been in town long. Just long enough for his newlywed mother to be murdered, and for his new stepdad’s cop colleagues to decide Thomas is the primary suspect.
Not that there’s any evidence. But before Thomas got to Garretts Mill there had just been one other murder in twenty years. The only person who believes him is Charlotte Rooker, little sister to three cops and, with her soft hands and sweet curves, straight-up dangerous to Thomas. Her best friend was the other murder vic. And she’d like a couple answers. Released: December 29 2015

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer: A girl who copes with her mother’s death by leaving her letters at the cemetery, until a boy intercepts them and starts writing back, and soon the two find themselves falling for a stranger–except they’re actually classmates who loathe one another. Released: 2016

And there are the last ten books that I added to my TBR. I hope you enjoyed. You can find me on twitter at @angel_reads and on facebook and also on Instagram at angelreads. Subscribe to my email through the sidebar or follow me on bloglovin’ to keep up to date.

TV Series Review: Shadowhunters Ep1 Spoiler free

Jan 17, 2016

Shadowhunters: Episode 1

Episode Name: The Mortal Cup
Release date: 12 Jan. 2016
Running Time: 42 mins
Starring Katherine McNamara,Dominic Sherwood, Alberto Rosende, Matthew Daddario, Emeraude Toubia, Isaiah Mustafa, Harry Shum Jr.,Alan Van Sprang, Maxim Roy
Watch: Freeform (US) – Netflix (Worldwide)
Episode Review: 1|2

Clary Fray is thrown into the world of demon hunting after her mother is kidnapped, and must rely on the mysterious Jace and his fellow Shadowhunters Isabelle and Alec to navigate this new dark world. With her best friend Simon in tow, Clary must now live among faries, warlocks, vampires and werewolves to find answers that could help her find her mother.

The Mortal Cup:

I went into Shadowhunters with no expectation. I wasn’t expecting it to be like the books, I wasn’t expecting it to be decent. And after I saw people’s comments after it aired in the US my expectations were even lower. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

The first episode (The Mortal Cup, directed by McG) starts off with a flash-forward that appears later on in the episode. It stars Jace (Dominic Sherwood), Alec (Matthew Daddario) and Isabelle (Emeraude Toubia) following a shapeshifter demon. It was certainly a clever way to start.

It showed that these people aren’t mundane, that they are different. We also get to see the first ‘bump’ between Jace and Clary (Katherine McNamara). Once the scene we see Clary going into her interview for arts school, and so the episode starts.

Casting:

Firstly the casting is perfect! I cannot explain how much I love this cast. When I see them, I can see them as the characters. It was truly well done.

At the start many people didn’t like the cast, but I do think they have portrayed them so well.

I truly loved Alan Van Sprang as Valentine. If anyone has watched his other works, especially Reign where he goes crazy; you would agree with me that he is going to a fabulous Valentine.

I was cautious about Katherine as Clary, simply because I hadn’t seen her in anything before and I was pretty impressed.

Characters:

Overall, I actually enjoyed the characters in Shadowhunters; New, Old and changed.

I like that they aged up the characters because who would let their 15/16 kids run around a city by themselves every day.

I like Clary, she was feisty – I do wish she had a little bit more in her, but I hope to see that in coming episodes.

I wish Jace as a little bit more sarcastic and not so, I cannot even explain it. But, what I can say is that Dom had quite a decent American accent.

Simon = perfect. He was funny and nerdy and yes. Plus I loved the friendship between Clary and him. They hit that spot on. His lines were classics

Alec. He is hard and protective over Jace and beautiful. His lines cracked me up.

Izzy. Man this woman is beautiful. I didn’t like that she was a distraction the club, but I got over it quickly. She is much softer in the show from the books. It was different.

Luke, I like that he is a cop, it makes totally sense. There are all these crimes happening and they need someone on the inside to deal with it all. Cause if they didn’t the FBI would probably get involved.

Valentine: Perfect. He was creepy and intimidating.

Magnus from what I saw of him, I am going too really like him.

Adaptation:

I wasn’t expecting it to be the same as the book. And if you were, then where have you been? It’s been said on twitter and tumblr by Cassandra Clare herself that it is different. And in all honesty that is how a TV Show works.

If they kept everything the same it would get tiresome pretty early and people will just stop watching. Has anyone read the Vampire Diaries or the Pretty Little Liar books because they are nothing like the TV shows.

I could still see the essence of the books in the episode. I saw the essence in the characters, in scenes, in locations. It was still there. The may have changed the way things happened here and there, but it was still the same.

If they kept it like the books, how are they supposed to have less than a week in 13 episodes – no thank you.

CGI:

It wasn’t that great. I truly was expecting more and I hope it does become better as the series goes on.

The demons were pretty okay looking, but the fighting scenes looked a little fake.

Runes:

The way they appear are certainly interesting and the way they put it on is very smart. I always thought it was…time consuming. If they are walking the street at night and then bam there is a demon, they don’t have the runes on them to fight. So what they would they do, tell the demon that they have to wait while they get ready to fight.

It was smart that all they had to do was swipe and then it was there. It made things more practical.

Tech and Institute:

This is one of the biggest controversies that is being talked about in Shadowhunters.

Firstly, I don’t mind the tech. To me it makes total sense. They have changed the year to 2015/16 I am guessing to having high tech is normal.

Nonetheless, what I don’t like is them having so many people in the institute. I liked the small family closeness of what it was in the books so it having so many people was kind of a shock.

Overall:

I quite enjoyed the first episode of Shadowhunters. It wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t horrible. I enjoyed it, my family enjoyed. There was a few problems and I hope that as the series goes on, this will change. Nonetheless, I will be watching the whole series for sure and I cannot wait to see what it brings.

I hope you enjoyed my discussion. What did you think of the very first episode of Shadowhunters. I’ll be back next week with my review of episode 2.

I hope you enjoyed. You can find me on twitter at @angel_reads and on facebook and also on Instagram at angelreads. Subscribe to my email through the sidebar or follow me on bloglovin’ to keep up to date