Skip to main content

Mini Reviews: Heartless, Unconventional, and The Mystery of the Painted Dragon

Hello! Here are three mini reviews of some February releases!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

HeartlessHEARTLESS by Marissa Meyer
Published 9th February, 2017 by Macmillan Children's Books
Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.


In this prequel to Alice in Wonderland, Cath longs to open a bakery, but her family and the king have other ideas. Set in the world of the Looking Glass, it promises to be weird and wonderful and deliver a heartwarming story of forbidden love... But it didn't really, to be honest.

After fifty pages, I found myself wondering where the book was going and when it was going to get started. Then fifty pages later, I was still wondering that. I wasn't excited about reading the novel, and I decided to DNF after 150 pages when I realised I just didn't care for the characters or what happened to them.  There's a big fat stench of instalove as well - Cath doesn't know Jest at all but suddenly she thinks she's in love with him? No thanks.

It does however do well at being as weird as Alice In Wonderland, which I really did enjoy - it has lots of strange animal characters, court playing cards characters, the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter, but with a slight twist for Meyer's prequel world.  I also really liked reading about Cath's baking, as cake will always be a winner for me! However she didn't live up to her full potential here either, and so with the other problems I had with the book, it just wasn't for me.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UnconventionalUNCONVENTIONAL by Maggie Harcourt
Published 1st February, 2017 by Usborne Children's Books
Everyone's a fan of someone...

I got this book from book club, not really knowing anything about it but thinking it sounded fun. After reading only a few pages, I knew that I was right! This book is SO much fun. Lexi's dad is a convention organiser, and so she's spent her whole life at these events. So when Aidan Green turns up and diverts the usual course of action, she's understandably a little bit miffed.

I loved the characters most in this book. Lexi is a great protagonist, and I feel like we could be good friends, if she were real. I could sympathise with her frustration at Aidan at first (people who mess up my usual order are the worst) but then as we got to know him more I fell for him too. The supporting characters are also really great, especially Sam, Lexi's best friend. The best books are ones that celebrate friendship just as much as romance, and Unconventional does this so well.

The conventional aspect was so great. Having been to LFCC a few times now I could imagine the setting so well, and I loved seeing it from the perspective of organisation as well. I loved reading about the cosplay (especially Sam's!) and the completely unashamed excitement that everyone had about them was so great to see (loads of my real life friends are like "eurghhhh con is weird... boo to them!"). Finally there were so many references to YA authors that I've read and loved and that was super exciting! Such a perfect ode to UKYA fiction and fandoms and I loved it. I would 100% recommend!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Mystery of the Painted Dragon (The Sinclair’s Mysteries #3)THE MYSTERY OF THE PAINTED DRAGON by Katherine Woodfine
Published 9th February, 2017 by Egmont Books
It's their most perilous adventure yet! 

This is the third book in one of my favourite series! The Sinclair's Mysteries are just so much fun and a delight to read and I always look forward to the new release, and this one didn't disappoint. Also isn't the cover just gorgeous?! :D

In this story, Sophie and Lil find themselves on the hunt for a missing dragon painting from an exhibition in Sinclair's. The mystery itself took a little while to get started, but I didn't mind so much since it meant I could spend the first 100 pages or so getting to know Leo and Jack and the whole cast of new characters from the Spencer Art Institute, which plays a large role in the book. Also feminists! Yay!

As I've come to expect from these books, the mystery was very exciting and gripping, and the last 50 pages or so were the usual romp through Edwardian London that is so hard to put down. Although I worked out who the thief was really early on, I enjoyed finding out how they did it and was still surprised by some aspects. There was also the return of a notorious criminal from previous books, and so the continuation of that story through the three books so far is still going strong and only makes me even more excited for the next one. I can't wait! Get on reading this series if you haven't already! It won't be a mistake ;)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Have you read any of these books? Let me know what you thought in the comments!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

REVIEW: A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood

Hello all! Hope you're all enjoying the summer! I'm currently on holiday in a huge castle in the South of France and enjoying relaxing, playing games, and of course reading a lot!  Today's post is a review of a dreamy summer romance that's perfect for your holiday TBRs! Title:  A Sky Painted Gold Author:  Laura Wood Series:   n/a Pages:   356 Publisher:  Scholastic Date of Publication:  5th July, 2018 Source:  Publisher for review* Synopsis from Goodreads: Growing up in her sleepy Cornish village dreaming of being a writer, sixteen-year-old Lou has always wondered about the grand Cardew house which has stood empty for years. And when the owners arrive for the summer - a handsome, dashing brother and sister - Lou is quite swept off her feet and into a world of moonlit cocktail parties and glamour beyond her wildest dreams. But, as she grows closer to the Cardews, is she abandoning her own ambitions... And is there something darker lurking at the

Book Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Title: Where She Went Author: Gayle Forman Series: If I Stay #2 Pages: 260 Publisher: Random House Date of UK Publication: April 28th 2011 Source: Borrowed from friend Synopsis from Goodreads: It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever. Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future and each other. Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance. My Thoughts: Where She Went continues the story from If I

REVIEW: Floored by Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson, and Eleanor Wood

Good morning! Hope you're having a good week! Today I have a review for one of the biggest titles at YALC this year. Title:  Floored Author:  Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson, and Eleanor Wood Series:  n/a Pages:   320 Publisher:  Macmillan Date of Publication:  12th July, 2018 Synopsis from Goodreads: When they got in the lift, they were strangers (though didn't that guy used to be on TV?): Sasha, who is desperately trying to deliver a parcel; Hugo, who knows he's the best-looking guy in the lift and is eyeing up Velvet, who knows what that look means when you hear her name and it doesn't match the way she looks, or the way she talks; Dawson, who was on TV, but isn't as good-looking as he was a few years ago and is desperately hoping no one recognizes him; Kaitlyn, who's losing her sight but won't admit it, and who used to have a poster of Dawson on her bedroom wall, and Joe, who shoul