The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils ... Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
My Review:
It has taken me a long time to get around to reading this book - but I finally managed it!

I did start this book with equal parts of excitement and trepidation. I was excited to read something new by Rowling, but I had heard mixed reviews about the book, with some people trying to put me off it completely, but I am so glad I read it.

The big rule to reading this book. Completely separate it from the Harry Potter series. Got that?

Second rule. Don't give up with this book. The first half is very slow, and it did take some effort to get through. This might have been because there were a lot of characters that were introduced. But after the 200 page mark, it was like a little switch had been thrown.

The characters are really what makes this book. It feels like Rowling doesn't write characters, but writes people - if that makes any sense what so ever. The morality of these people was not black and white, everyone was a shade of grey - it felt like I was reading about actual people. There were very few likable characters, although when I found out more about their lives, I found myself growing more sympathetic towards them. I think that the characters show a reflection of ourselves, highlighting the aspects that we don't want to admit we have, yet are there all the same. Sometimes this book seemed too real, there is certainly no escapism in this book, and a great commentary on a part of British society.

The ending was great. It came out of nowhere, and I was fully satisfied with it, and I feel that there could have been no better ending. 

Rating: 4/5

Dead Silent by Sharon Jones

A snow angel etched in blood. An elite society. A secret dying to get out.
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The second Poppy Sinclair Thriller.

When Poppy Sinclair and her boyfriend visit snowy Cambridge, she doesn't expect to discover the body of a student - arms outstretched in the act of smearing bloody angel wings on the chapel's floor.

Suddenly, Poppy is faced with the possibility that the one closest to her heart might be the one committing the most malicious of crimes.

Dodging porters and police, dreading what she might find, Poppy follows the clues left by a murderer bent on revenge...

Long-hidden secrets are chillingly revealed, an avenging angel seeks forgiveness and red-hot vengeance must be quelled in the amazing new Poppy Sinclair thriller.

My Review:

I really enjoyed the first book - and I think that this one is better.

This time, Poppy is in Cambridge, with Michael, her now boyfriend, as he goes for an interview at the university. As you may have guessed, a murder happens. I liked that it was set in Cambridge, although I did have to check out some of the places on Google so I could visualize them better. This book also makes me desperately visit Cambridge.

I love Poppy as a character. Okay, she does make some silly decisions, but what teenager doesn't? In this book we got to explore the relationship between Poppy and Michael, and unlike in most YA novels, it didn't take over the action in the story.

The murder part of the story was great. It had a really good pace and I liked the addition of the secret society. I couldn't guess who the murderer was. In fact I would think it was one person, and then something would crop up, making me rethink my guess!

My only quibble with the book is the paranormal elements creeping in. It seems a bit out of place, and the series could probably get on fine without it.

This book was a great quick read, and I wouldn't hesitate to read the next book! 

Rating: 4/5

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

Dodger is a tosher - a sewer scavenger living in the squalor of Dickensian London. Everyone who is nobody knows Dodger. Anyone who is anybody doesn't. But when he rescues a young girl from a beating, suddenly everybody wants to know him. And "Dodger's" tale of skulduggery, dark plans and even darker deeds begins... (Blurb taken from Waterstones website).

I love Terry Pratchett. In my experience, I find him to be what I call a "marmite author" - you either love him or hate him; but I think that if you find the right book of his to read, you will like him. As much as I love Discworld, it did make a nice change to read a non-Discworld novel.

"Dodger" is set in an alternative universe - Dickensian London. I love novels set in London - I don't know why because it's not like I'm really familiar with London; I've only visited the place a few times, and two of those times were because of a school trip, so we did have an agenda we had to stick to and were able to have a good wander about. I'm guessing my love of London settings must be because I'm British and it's hadwired into me! Despite not knowing London too well, it didn't prevent me from being able to imerse myself in the story. Sometimes when reading, I can feel disconnected from the action because I'm having trouble with imagining the setting - either because the author hasn't done a very good job with their description, or I'm unfamiliar with the setting; and I'm glad to say that this didn't happen with this story.

In this novel, you will meet a variety of historical characters - some real, and others who are a legend. You will know what I mean if you go and read the book since I don't want to give away too much and take the enjoyment away from you when you see what people crop up. Pratchett also injects his trademark humour in one particular name that I can think of, and that is a girl by the name of "Simplicity" - and she's anything but simple. I will say that I absolutely love the character of Dodger - and yes, you do find out his real name in the book. I like the struggle Dodger has as he becomes more and more famous, moving up in society, yet he wants to stay rooted in his old life as a tosher (or a sewer scavenger for those who are not in the know). This reflects real-life in the Victorian era where there was the rise of celebrities, and Dodger has the stuggle where the media warps what actually occurs, so that the accepted story don't match up to the actual story - it's no wonder that Dodger just wants to head back down to the sewers!

This was an easy read - which is not surprising when you realise it is aimed at Young Adults (according to the inside of the book!) but adults will also thoroughly enjoy this. The plot runs at a lovely place, and I found that during the second half of the novel, there are twists and turns, so you are kept engaged all the way through.

In conclusion - Pratchett, in my opinion, has done it again and written another quality book, and is certainly one I would recommend to people who are just starting to get into Pratchett.


On another note - yay first review for a long time!

International Book Week Meme

It's international book week. The rules: Grab the closest book to you, turn to page 52, post the 5th sentence. Don't mention the title. Copy the rules as part of your post.

"It had a nasty rumble to it, and it simply did not stop."




Found this on Ben Aaronovitch's blog, who is the author of Rivers of London, Moon over Soho and Whispers Underground; and thought it would be fun to do - as well as provide two more minutes of procrastination.

A Long Overdue Post

My last post was in April. I have no excuse other than being lazy and forgetting about this blog. I will start updating again - I hope.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind - The Kingkiller Chronicle (Book 1).

Where do I begin in describing this book? Once again, I'll cop out and give you the blurb as written on the Waterstones website. It's not because I'm lazy, I just don't want to give too much away, and I feel that if I tried to write my own blurb, I would do exactly that!

'I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me.' So begins the tale of Kvothe - currently known as Kote, the unassuming innkeepter - from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, through his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In these pages you will come to know Kvothe the notorious magician, the accomplished thief, the masterful musician, the dragon-slayer, the legend-hunter, the lover, the thief and the infamous assassin.

 I stumbled upon this book whilst searching for new titles on the Waterstones website, and I left it for a few months before needing a short series to read whilst waiting for the publication of a new book. It has positive reviews on the website, so I thought I would give it a go.

Now, I would describe this book as a story within a story. In the first few chapters, you get introduced to Kote the innkeeper and Bast, who is Kote's student, as well as some of the town's people. After the arrival of a demon and a scribe, Kote tells his life story over a period of three days of when he was once known as Kvothe (pronounced similar to "quothe") who was something of a hero. Ok, that is all I am going to tell you because I don't want to spoil anything - I will add though that not everything described in the blurb comes up in this book, you'll have to read book two, then wait for book three to be published first.

This is Rothfuss' debut novel and it is amazing! Kvothe is such an interesting character. He is an extremely talented boy who can pretty much do anything when he puts his mind to it, and although this could make him very annoying, I think this has been averted since he does make some very stupid mistakes throughout the book, and this reflects Kvothe's age as this is a tale of him growing up. Moreover, Kvothe's life is far from perfect, and it was interesting to see this talented lad struggle and think his way out of his troubling situations throughout this period of his life. I love the universe this book is set in and I can vividly imagine it. I want to go to the grotty streets of Tarbean, I want to travel the roads with the Edema Ruh, and above all I want to go to The University and visit the Archives - oh and learn about magic, of course. The supporting characters are interesting, but I felt that some of them were not as developed as they could have been, however there are some gems such as Elodin, but you will have to read the book to find out more about him.

This book is a quite lengthy one at 600 odd pages, but it reads like a book half its size, and you do very much lose yourself in Kvothe's world. I would stay up late reading this book because I just did not want to put it down!

The last book I reviewed I gave a mark out of 5, but now I'm going to give marks out of 10.

I'm going to give "The Name of the Wind" 9.5/10 - so go buy it and read it - immediately!