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Book Review: Witch’s Pyre by Josephine Angelini

Oct 17, 2016

Witch’s Pyre by Josephine Angelini

Pages: 384
Publish date: August 25th 2016
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s
ISBN: 1447260880
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Lily Proctor has come a long way from the weak, sickly girl she used to be. She has gained power as a witch and a leader, found her way home, chosen to face battle again, and (after losing her first love and being betrayed by her new love) she has learned more about loss and grief than she ever wanted to know.

Thrust once again into a society different from anything they have ever seen, Lily and her coven are determined to find answers―to find a new path to victory, a way to defeat the monstrous Woven without resorting to nuclear weapons or becoming a tyrannical mass murderer like her alternate self, Lillian. But sometimes winning requires sacrifices . . . and when the only clear path to victory lies at Lillian’s side, what price will Lily be willing to pay?

Witch’s Pyre:

This will have spoilers from the two previous books.

I received a copy of Witch’s Pyre by Josephine Angelini for review from Pan Macmillan in exchange for honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

So far I have really enjoyed this series, Trial by Fire was immersing, Firewalker was intriguing and then Witch’s Pyre took me on a whole new journey. It was intense, jam-packed and kept me on the edge of my toes.

Witch’s Pyre throws us straight back into the world of the book. We are right back into the action and I enjoyed this idea. The reader doesn’t miss anything and that we don’t need to be brought up with what happen.

For most of the book, we are in what feels like a whole new world. And for the most of Witch’s Pyre, our little group is somewhat captured and cannot leave.

The protagonist Lily has come a long way from the begging of the first book, and she grows even more in Witch’s Pyre. I felt that at times she did regress, but by the end, I really enjoy who she became.

The connection between Lily and Lillian is again strained in Witch’s Pyre. However, Lily has gained a greater understand of who Lillian is. They share more than just a name, they share a passion – to do what they think, is right. And although I am not a massive fan of Lillian, she has been written beautifully and like Lily I really enjoyed her character arc. Lillian is strong, ambitious and does not let her illness pull her down.

After the heartbreak between Lily and Rowan in the second book, you probably guess that their relationship is very tense when he comes back. Lily is closed off about what happens and does not want to let him in. Even when she finds out the truth. At times I felt that Lily could be too stubborn and that would take away from the book and the romance. I also was not satisfied at how the relationship was at the ending, it was a little unclear.

The friendship was quite strained through Witch’s Pyre. There is a lot of tension between the group and how things panned out in the previous book. This is one of the things that I enjoyed about this series. Josephine Angelini is able to show that no relationship is smooth sailing and there are ups and downs.

Witch’s Pyre also deals a lot with grief, with Tristan in the previous book and others in this one. It was heartbreaking at times seeing Lily, the group struggle with what has happened. Nevertheless, it felt real.

All Images are from Pinterest

One of my favourite things about this series is the world that Angelini created. It’s one of those books where we see the world slowly exposed to us, piece by piece. Lily’s world which is most likes ours, and then Lillian’s where magic is the norm. Both are well developed, yet there was room for more.

At times there was a lot going on. There was one thing after another, it was like we were running a marathon. I would have liked at times to have a break and slow down, especially with the introduction of the ‘new world’ and characters. It was a lot to take in times.

The Worldwalker trilogy by Josephine Angelini was an enthralling and intriguing journey for both the reader and the characters. With wonderful character development and a riveting world of fantasy and science. This series to easy to fly through and you will be satisfied when you finish.

Have you read the Worldwalker Trilogy? Did you like it? Have you read some of the books in the series? Are you planning reading on starting these books? Let’s Chat.

Book Review: The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee

Oct 10, 2016

The Thousandth Floor

Pages: 437
Publish date: August 30th 2016
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0008179972
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Welcome to Manhattan, 2118.

A thousand-storey tower stretching into the sky. A glittering vision of the future, where anything is possible – if you want it enough.

A hundred years in the future, New York’s elite of the super-tower lie, backstab and betray each other to find their place at the top of the world. Everyone wants something… and everyone has something to lose.

As the privileged inhabitants of the upper floors recklessly navigate the successes and pitfalls of the luxury life, forbidden desires are indulged and carefree lives teeter on the brink of catastrophe. Whilst lower-floor workers are tempted by a world – and unexpected romance – dangling just out of reach. And on the thousandth floor is Avery Fuller, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl who seems to have it all – yet is tormented by the one thing she can never have.

So when a young woman falls from the top of the supertower, her death is the culmination of a scandal that has ensnared the top-floor elite and bottom-floor. But who plummeted from the roof? And what dark secrets led to her fall?

Friends will be betrayed and enemies forged as promises are broken. When you’re this high up, there’s nowhere to go but down…

The Thousandth Floor:

I received a review copy of The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee from Harper Collins Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I feel like I am in the minority regarding this book. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it. The concept of the world was fascinating and intriguing, and the plot pulled me in. However, the characters and points of view weren’t as strong.

The Thousandth Floor follows five protagonists, all from the same world of New York 2118 yet they all want something, and have something to lose. It’s a world where reputation, image and who your friends are means everything. The Thousandth Floor is the elite from Gossip Girl of the future.

When someone falls from the highest floor, we are thrown back to what lead up to it. Through the whole novel we ask how someone was able to floor, who was the person that fell. I liked the use of this concept – the reader already knows that someone is going to die, but we don’t know who. As we get to know the character we become more nervous as the novel goes on.

Although I was a fan of the way The Thousandth Floor was set out, I wasn’t a big fan of the five points of view. I felt that I was getting too many thoughts going on my head, too many stories to keep up with. In saying this, each voice was distinct and even without knowing who the reader is with, we are able to know who it is.

Avery Fuller genetically designed to be perfect, living on the thousandth floor seems to have everything, but she’s not. I really enjoyed Avery as a character, her arc was fantastic and as the novel goes on we see her grow, change and realise that she need to be perfect.

Eris Dood-Radson story is heartbreaking. She doesn’t know what to do, her whole life is flipped on its head and everything is falling to pieces. Eris was an easy character to get along with. At times I wanted to shake her, but most of the time I felt like she needed a hug.

Rylin Meyer is not from the elite, but is swept up into the world of luxury and romance. However, she is brought back to reality and is torn between doing what is right and what people are telling her to do. I truly enjoyed Rylin’s story, it was sweet and again heartbreaking at the same time. She is the girl from the wrong side of the tracks, taken on a magical adventure.

Watt Bakradi is a tech genius and is the holder of many secrets; most not his own. He is the eyes and ears. He knows everything about everyone. Watt was an interesting character, swept up into the world of the elite that is sometimes hard to get out of.

All Images are from Pinterest

Then we have Leda Cole, who has just came back from a rehabilitation centre and is hiding more than one thing. I disliked Leda a lot. I understand that she had some pretty horrible things going on it her life – but at times the way that she acted, just hit me the wrong way.

At times I felt like the story dragged along too much, and we wanted to know who it was that fell. But then everything else happened around it and it kept on getting further away.

Overall, The Thousandth Floor isn’t just about the glitz, glamour and the life about the elite. The reader is taken on a journey of family, friendship, heartbreak and death. We delve into the minds of young adults in 2118 – where not everything has changed.

There is so much more I could talk about, but I am going to leave it there. Have you read The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee? Did you like it? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: Firewalker by Josephine Angelini

Oct 2, 2016

Firewalker by Josephine Angelini

Pages: 339
Publish date: August 27th 2015
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
ISBN: 1447260856
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Lily Proctor has made it back to her own universe, and it’s finally time for her and Rowan to be happy and relax. True, she almost died in the Pyre that fueled their escape, and they must hide her new magic for the safety of the world, but compared to fighting the monstrous Woven and leading armies in the alternate Salem, life is looking good.

Unfortunately, Lillian, ruthless ruler of the 13 Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. Lily is the closest version of herself she’s ever seen in all her worldwalking, and Lillian’s running out of time. If she can’t persuade Lily and Rowan to return to her world, she’ll have to find a way to make them come back.

Firewalker:

There will be spoilers from the previous book Trail by Fire, however, not from Firewalker

I received Firewalker by Josephine Angelini from Pan Macmillan in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I was going into Firewalker with high expectations, I loved Trial by Fire and was waiting for more. However, I was a little let down – however, not a huge amount.

Firewalker begins where we left off; Lily almost dying on the pyre and travelling back to her universe with Rowan in tow. It’s fast-paced and from the start, you don’t know if she is going to make it out alive. Covered in burns and on the brink of death, Rowan once again comes to her rescue.

From the start of Firewalker the reader is able to feel the tension for multiple reasons. At first, we don’t know if Lily will make it through the first couple of chapters. The tension between her family; now that they are back with them. There is tension between Lily and Rowan, Lily and Tristan, Lily and Lillian. The tension grew throughout the book and I really enjoyed, even though it kept me on the edge of my seat.

Lily is one of those protagonists that you love or you hate. Throughout Firewalker, Lily has to deal with the trauma that she had to endure in Trial by Fire, and that was heartbreaking to witness. The reader wants to wrap their arms around her and tell her that she will be okay.

One of the things that I loved most about Firewalker was the friendships. I loved the bonds between everyone, it was beautiful. And even though magic was involved somehow, it didn’t start with it.

The new characters that were introduced were all great and added a layer to the book. Breakfast and Una were really enjoyable to read. They had this banter about them that cut through the intensity of the book.

The romance in Firewalker was frustrating to say the less. There was zero communication between Lily and Rowan, they both avoided speaking about how they really felt and everything was bottled up

I was still feeling a little lost about the world. We found out more in Firewalker, yet some things still confused me – now this might be just me. However, the world that Josephine Angelini is quite fascinating and the world building of the alternate universes’ is quite amazing.

I found that some of the flashbacks and conversations between Lily and Lillian to be distracting. Sometimes I wanted to skip them and get on with the story.

Firewalker | Book Aesthetic – Images from Pinterest

A problem that I did have with the book is I felt that there was a lot going on, maybe too much. I was taken here and there, flashbacks to current time and back. From one universe to another. Nonetheless, I felt that Angelini could have pulled back just a little and it would have flown a little smoother.

The ending, though man – Josephine Angelini sure does love her cliff hangers. Normally I am not a massive fan of them, however, she does them so well that I want to pick up the next book straight away.

Overall, Firewalker by Josephine Angelini is an underrated series that every fantasy lover reader should read. Firewalker is tense, fast-paced, full of magic and demands your attention till the end. Nevertheless, your heart will break, be torn to shreds and beg for more.

Have you read Firewalker? Did you like it? Have you started this series? Have you enjoyed them? Are you going to start it? Let’s Chat!