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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?

Book Review: Who’s Afraid? by Maria Lewis

Jan 6, 2016

Who’s Afraid?

Pages:238 (Kindle Edition)
Publish date: January 12th 2016
Publisher: Hachette Australia
ISBN: 9780349411149
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Tommi Grayson’s never exactly been a normal girl. Bright blue hair, a mysterious past and barely controlled rage issues have a way of making a woman stand out. Yet she’s never come close to guessing who she really is . . .

When her mother dies, a shattered Tommi decides to track down her estranged father. Leaving Scotland for a remote corner of New Zealand, she discovers the truth of her heritage – and it’s a whole lot more than merely human.

Barely escaping with her life, now Tommi must return to her friends, pretending everything is normal, while all too aware of the dangers lurking outside – and within. Worse still, something has followed her home . . .

With the clock ticking, can Tommi learn to control her new powers in time to save the ones she loves?

Who’s Afraid?:

I received an e-arc of Who’s Afraid? by Maria Lewis from Hachette Australia via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way included my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I was surprised with this book. I thought it was going to young adult by the synopsis, but it’s not, defiantly not. Once you start reading, you realise that it’s not actually for anyone under the age of 16 at the least. In saying that I did enjoy the book.

Who’s Afraid? follows protagonist, Tommi who is stubborn, sarcastic, troublesome however also slightly breakable. After her mother’s death, she travels to New Zealand to find out more about her father and instead find that’s she comes from a line of very powerful and dangerous werewolves and well that she is a werewolf herself.

As she struggles with her new self, she finds out the world she knew wasn’t as it seemed and that her life wasn’t sunshine and daisies.

I am not too sure how I feel about Who’s Afraid? I enjoyed it, it was a good read, but I didn’t love it. I enjoyed the writing style on the other hand I didn’t love how it was changing perspectives. It went from first person to third back to first, I wouldn’t have a problem with it, if I knew that it was happening. I could be reading a scene in first person and then it changed to third person and it confused me.

I actually enjoyed the plot, it was engaging and interesting. There was many twists and turns and things happened that I wasn’t expecting at all. It was a ‘real’ book, nothing was hidden. Gruesome, hideous things happened.

Tommi is one strong girl. She has gone through hell and back. Having to deal with the death of her mother was hard enough, but then she finds out that comes from a powerful line of werewolves, everything else seems to fall apart.

Then there is her dark and mysterious guardian who also happens to be very attractive. Lorcan MacCarthy. He is pretty amazing and perfect to Tommi’s outgoing nature. He is calm, but fierce that fights with swords.

The world building in Who’s Afraid? was well written. It was well thought out and it kept on drawing me in. especially with the Praetorian Guard. It was something different and very fascinating. There was a lot going on and somethings that was a bit heavy, it was overwhelming, trying to remember everything and everyone.

I liked the writing style of Maria Lewis, it was engaging and easy to read. There were certain words that were hard to pronounce, but that was easy to go over. Lewis keeps the reader captivated until the end, she makes the reader go in circles.

Who’s Afraid is not for the faint hearted, it’s gruesome and there are deaths all over the place, but it’s an enthralling unban fantasy novel that takes you on a flight of the supernatural, death and romance.

Overall, I really enjoyed Who’s Afraid? It was something different from what I have read before. I am used to Fantasy in Young Adult, this is one of the New Adult novels that I have read that isn’t contemporary. I truly enjoyed and cannot wait to read the rest of the books in the series.

Book Review: Any Other Girl by Rebecca Phillips

Dec 23, 2015

Any Other Girl by Rebecca Phillips

Pages: 272
Publish date: January 26th 2016
Publisher: Kensington
ISBN: 1617738832
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

After a disastrous, reputation-destroying party at the end of junior year, Kat Henley has a new plan. When it comes to boys—especially other people’s boys:

Don’t touch.
Don’t smile.
Don’t charm.

In the past, drawing attention to herself helped distract people from what really makes Kat different—having two gay parents. But it’s also cost her friendships. Kat can’t afford to lose any more of those, especially not her cousin, Harper. They’re spending one last summer together at the lake, where they run into an intriguing newcomer named Emmett Reese. After years of trying to prove she’s just like everybody else, Kat has found someone who wants her because she’s not. A boy who could be everything she wants too—if Harper hadn’t liked him first…

Any Other Girl:

I was received an e-arc of Any Other Girl by Rebecca Phillips by Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feeling about the book.

I didn’t realise that when I asked to review Any Other Girl that I have already read a book by Rebecca Phillips, it wasn’t until I started reading that I noticed that the writing style and characters was similar to something that I have read before – and then it clicked. Rebecca Phillips is the author to Faking Perfect which I read at the start of the year and I enjoyed. You can check out my review for that here.

Once I figured out that I had previously read a book by the author, I was even more excited to read Any Other Girl, but I didn’t like it as much as I like Faking Perfect. However I still did like it.

Our protagonist, Kat Henley has a reputation – one that she doesn’t realise she has but after a disaster of a party at the end of her junior year she has a plan. A plan that when it comes to boys, especially those that aren’t hers:

Don’t touch.

Don’t smile.

Don’t charm.

Kat doesn’t mean to flirt, it’s just in her nature. She likes to draw attention to herself so they don’t pay attention to what makes Kat different – having two gay parents. But this has come at a price and Kat has finally had enough. She cannot lose anyone else.

I truly loved Kat. She was out there, had a pretty amazing style and didn’t care what people thought about her, but then she realised that her over friendly manner of treating boys, was also losing her friends.

Kat is the type of person that loves to touch, but not in a bad way. It’s how she shows her affection, even if it’s just a friend. She holds this presence that has most boys falling on their feet and makes those with girlfriends feel uncomfortable. She doesn’t mean to do this, it just happens and she loses many people because of this.

The reader gets to see Kat grow so much throughout Any Other Girl and that is what I loved most. The character development of Kat was incredible throughout. The readers can see her smile, break down, fall and get back up.

I truly loved most of the characters in Any Other Girl. I loved Kat’s parents. Her Dads were just awesome. Harper her cousin who is also going through some stuff of her own, was sweat – I enjoyed her.

Emmett. I have a love/ hate relationship with him. He is charming and nice but there was parts where I want to hit him across the head. He tires so hard to live Harper but it just doesn’t work and I understand that but when he keeps on pushing Kat, I just wanted to yell.

Any Other Girl is a heart-felt novel that deals with, self-image and what it means it be you. How trying to someone isn’t why people love you. First love and how it doesn’t also run smoothly. And what it’s like to carry burdens for those we love, even if it means being someone else.

Any Other Girl deals also with what it’s like to be a teenage with two gay parents – how it can hurt the child just as much, maybe even more with how awful some people can be in the world.

I quite liked Rebecca Phillips writing, it’s easy to read and understand but is also beautiful and tell a strong story. Phillips is excellent at capturing the life of a teenage, and how they thing and feel.

I really enjoyed Any Other Girl. It’s a beautiful novel that takes us on a journey through thick and thin, what it’s like to be family and teaches us to be ourselves.