31. Monument 14 - Emmy Laybourne ★★★★★
This is the first "end of the world as we know it" style of book that I've come across since reading 'I Am Legend' by Richard Matheson quite a few years back. I don't know why I haven't come across more as it's an area of literature that I find fascinating and fantastic and 'Monument 14' didn't fail to impress. It was a brilliant read from the first page to the very last and kept me hooked throughout. It became a fast-paced, frantic read to find out what happens to the characters and I felt it was really well written with just the right amount of humour to balance out the dark, disturbing events that take place. I absolutely loved it and I can't wait to read the next 2 books that follow it!!
32. Stealing Phoenix - Joss Stirling ★★★★
Unknown to us there live among us groups of people with special abilities (think along the lines of X-Men). Phee, who can 'freeze' people by reading their mind patterns, is just one of these and she uses her power for thieving. Whilst on one of her 'missions' set by her groups very unpleasant Seer she comes across Yves, her soulfinder (soulmate) who has abilities of his own. He wants to take her away from her awful life and into the bosom of his loving family but Phee has reservations; leaving isn't that simple.
Stealing Phoenix was a really good read and was somewhat of a modern day romance tackling the enternal question...can love conquer all? I'm looking forward to reading more books in this series and I'd definitely recommend 'Stealing Phoenix' if you're into sci-fi and fantasy novels.
33. Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen ★★★★
Gruen's novel switched between an elderly Mr Jankowski living in a nursing home and young Jacob Jankowski starting his life and finding his way in a travelling circus as a vet and a bull man. Two women are introduced into his life, whilst he's working on the circus, that have a profound impact upon him; Marlena (his boss' wife) and Rosie (an unruly elephant). We follow Jacob through his time on the circus and the events that unfold around him. It was a really brilliant read that kept me captured throughout. Jacob was a character that was easy to connect with and the switch between present and past was done seamlessly...something a lot of author's struggle to do. A definite recommendation to everyone and anyone!
34. Sweetly - Jackon Pearce ★★★★
'Sweelty' is a play on the traditional fairy tale of Hansel and Grettel where the wicked witch living in the woods in a house made of candy is something else entirely. Ansel and Gretchen leave their home when their Step-Mother forces them to leave after the death of their Father. Their car breaks down in the small village of Live Oak and events thereafter stall them from leaving. Pearce crafts an entirely believable main character who carries with her a deep-set fear and the secret of a twin sister who went missing in the woods when they were all small children. Thinking she's found somewhere that she can finally feel safe she's horrified to find that girls are going missing in this small town too. We follow Gretchen through her fears and an unlikely romance as she sets out to unearth what's happening. I enjoyed it, although I found it a bit unbelievable in some parts. It kept me involved in the storyline and built suspense for the final 'showdown' without giving too much away and was a great twist on the original fairy tale.
35. The Advent Killer - Alistair Gunn ★★★★
This was an advance copy kindly set to me from Penguin Publishers via Goodreads to read and review. All views and words are my own.
I really enjoyed The Advent Killer; it was a very well written book from this debut novelist who shows great promise of things to come. I found the characters believable and well put together and the book itself was a brilliant Christmas read (although I'd recommend it all year round) for those of us who fancy something a little different to the sweetness and fairylights that surround the season.
Gunn cleverly built suspense throughout the novel and switches really well between the Metropolitan Police Force, the Killer and snippets of his past - showing the inner workings of his mind and giving us an idea of what's going through his head as he commits these awful crimes. The ending was brilliant and pulled the whole story together nicely. It was a fast-paced, frantic read to find out what would happen. I had a slight inkling as to who the Killer was but I chopped and changed my mind so many times that I really wasn't sure...the author kept me guessing. It was a fantastic read that I'll be passing around my family for them to enjoy too.
36. Path of Needles - Alison Littlewood ★★★
We're pulled into a world of gruesome fairy tales in Path of Needles as is Alice Hyland, an expert in fairy tales who is brought into the investigation. I enjoyed the book and I found the link to fairy tales and the histories of some of the stories and variants fascinating. The book, however, seemed to fall a little flat and predictable in parts. Whilst saying that; we were kept completely in the dark about the motives of the murders and who could be committing them and why and for the majority of the book I had no idea how they would ever find the Killer and stop them.
The ending was okay but, for me, it became a little bit silly...almost like this crime thriller suddenly decided it wanted to be a fantasy novel. There seemed to be an element of "and they all lived happily ever after" which I wasn't too keen on either. Other than that, it was a decent and easy read.
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