God Save The Queen by Kate Locke

5th July 2012,Orbit Books

384 Pages,Paperback

Review copy

Young Adult, Paranormal Adventure

Paranormal adventure set in a dystopian future with sex, lust and violence

Summary from Orbit Books

The Year is 2012 – and Queen Victoria still rules with an immortal fist.

She’s the undead matriarch of a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where technology lives side by side with magic, where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath) and Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day. Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it’s her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But things get complicated when her sister goes missing. Xandra will not only realise she’s the prize in a dangerous power struggle – but she’ll also uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire itself.

The Mole's Review

When I took this one on I was a little apprehensive because so many paranormal books are romances and it gets a bit tiresome, however I needn't have worried. This story does have romance, lust and sex but very much as a background sub plot. The main plot, the bit that will keep you reading, is focused on Xandra's search for her sister and the treachery and subterfuge she uncovers along the way.

I struggled, until quite late on, to remember that Xandra is a woman - she certainly doesn't come over as a teenager and frequently I found myself doing a double take as I read the story. However, that aside the story is well constructed and easy to read and neither the sex nor the violence is graphic at all.

I found the story and the telling very engaging and enjoyable but expected the outcome from about halfway through - perhaps I was supposed to? I was also left wondering at the end that with the story wrapped up so well, what was left for the other 2 books in the trilogy?

Highly recommended to readers of dystopian, paranormal or just plain action adventure lovers.

Another that readers will enjoy is Unclean Spirits by M L N Hanover

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2009, Scholastic

458 pages, Paperback

Personal Copy kindly donated by a fellow book enthusiast

Young Adult, action, thriller

Cushions: 5

Daggers: 4

Paperclips: 1

Smiles: 5

Tissues: 5

Yunaleska's recommended rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Summary from Scholastic

Set in a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called The Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her younger sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

A huge shout out to my fellow book enthusiast, who unless she gives permission for her name to be given out I'm leaving anonymous. The Hunger Games was on my wishlist, and this lovely person felt that I ought to read it and sent me her copy. Thank you! It is as amazing as everyone says it is.

Katniss is a really strong character. She does all she can to protect her family. Even putting her own life at risk to save her younger sister. In the midst of the Games, she still cares about people - even the other competitors. Although Kat doesn't have all the extra training (which technically isn't allowed before game selection) which other competitors have, I believe she is the best candidate for the games. Day in, day out she struggles for her family's survival. She's proficient at a bow and arrow. She's a quick learner when she receives official training. Her high spirit keeps her going through the tough times (arrow through a pig's head was really funny). Because she's sure she will die, she takes greater risks within the games. The end was completely unexpected, and most welcome. I was on tenderhooks for the entire book - okay so I know she survived, thus taking away part of the edge-of-the-seat reading.

The concept of the games is awesome. Fighting for survival is a theme that is persistent throughout human history. Pitting 24 people against each other is cruel. Kat lives in a cruel world. A world where rules can change at any time. Where even after victory, more subtle fights have to be waged.

Every character in here stuck in my head: Kat's sweet sister and mother, the younger competitor who reminded Kat of her sister, Kat's fellow District 12 competitor Peeta (whose true motives aren't easy to discern straight away). The stylists and all those involved in the games are obsessed with it, but in their own way they do care for Kat, and try hard to improve her chances of winning. The more people like her at the opening events, the more sponsors she will get. Sponsors can provide competitors with gifts at vital moments. There is everything to play for in The Hunger Games.

There are some blood thirsty competitors trying to survive in the harsh environment manufactured for the games. I thought that was bad enough - having to survive when others need to kill you to win. But add in lethal elements chosen to provide entertainment for the spectators, and you get an idea of how cruel the rulers of Kat's world are. Evil in every sense of the word. I liked watching Kat's small but monumental demonstrations of rebellion throughout the games.

I'm definitely going to get the second book, in preparation for the third which is released later on in the year.

Suggested reading: Gone by Michael Grant

Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz

November 2009, Walker

416 pages, Hardback

Review Copy

Children's, 9+, action

Cushions: 4

Daggers: 2

Tissues: 2

Yunaleska's recommended rating: ♥♥♥♥

Summary provided by Walker

Alex Rider's eighth adventure and the most action-packed yet...

Targeted by a hitman and under threat of his past being exposed by the media, Alex reluctantly turns to MI6. But their help doesn't come cheap: they need Alex to spy on the activities at a GM crop plant. There he spots Desmond McCain, a high profile charity organiser, who realises that Alex is on to him and the real plans for the money he's raising. Kidnapped and whisked off to Africa, Alex learns the full horror of McCain's plot: to create an epic disaster that will kill millions. Forced to ask MI6 for protection, Alex finds himself being manipulated in a deadly game that could lead to the destruction of an entire East African country.

I haven't read any of the Alex Rider books before this one. I was intrigued, particularly because on the press release it said there was an embargo until the publication date (I got it a few days after).

Initially, I didn't understand the hype, or the reason for the embargo. The first three chapters were well written, with lots of background laying information. However, there wasn't much action, at least not in the way I expected. I was close to putting the book down, but kept on because this book has been long awaited. It seemed slow. I understand the need for the build of anticipation. But three slow chapters are not always the way to do it, especially with the number of books on the market.

It hit the 'brilliant!' stage around chapter 4 and onwards. The action was almost non stop. The twists had me gasping and going 'cool' as poor Alex got deeper into trouble. In this latest installment, Alex doesn't want to work for MI6 any more. I can't blame him. Yes, being a spy must be cool, but all he wants to do is fit in. In some ways I'm sorry that he won't ever fit in. In others I'm not because hopefully his adventures will continue for a few more books.

I sympathised with Alex - he tries hard to be normal but the criminal world know all about him and I believe they won't ever leave him alone. His guardian housekeeper (and friend) has a lot to worry about too. I like how the relationship between them was played - Alex was still a typical teenager in keeping things from her, but does use her help when he has to face MI6 personally.

I love anything to do with spies: I like non-stop action, I like the characters regularly getting into peril and I adore all the cool gadgets. Alex has a small number about him on his adventure in Africa. I think Anthony Horowitz must enjoy creating gadgets for a teen spy - there's a lot of scope for the imagination in this area. Near the end, I guessed correctly before an event happened how he could escape. This didn't spoil anything because I kept anticipating what Alex would do with the object.

There are parts of the novel which are graphic - scenes of slaughter, which would have me putting this more towards YA than children's, but otherwise the content is pretty clean.

Aside from the slow beginning (which was slow compared to what I had expected and what hit the reader later in the book), I loved this book. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for future installments, and eventually reading previous ones.

Make sure you check out all the action on Anthony Horowitz's website.

Liked this? Try Escape From Shadow Island by Paul Adam

Scat by Carl Hiaasen

October 2009, Orion Children's Books

355 pages, Hardback

Review Copy

Children's, thriller

Cushions: 3

Daggers: 1

Tears: 1

Yunaleska's recommended rating:5 hearts

When I first read the cover, I thought the title meant 'shoo, go away cat'. Only through reading it did I remember the other meaning of scat. Both meanings could be used for the book.

Admittedly it was the cat on the cover which caught my attention first -it's not shown here but the barcode is really clever because above the bar code itself is the cat - in barcode form!

Nick and Marta have been friends for a while, which is more than can be said for fellow classmate Smokey who broke and ate a mean (the teacher picks on children unnecessarily) teacher's pencil. I feel the humour of the book is set up well in the following quote:

page 11: "I'm so glad there's no lesson tomorrow," she said. "I can't deal with it - she's a witch and he's a total moron."

Marta is in some ways like me, which had me relate easier to her. Nick is the predominant protagonist: the story follows what happens when the mean teacher Mrs Starch goes missing after a trip to a dangerous swamp in Florida. Field trips will never be the same for Nick and Marta.

If only it were as simple as the teacher being murdered or gobbled up by the panther roaming lose. There would have been no showdown with the prospectors who work illegally to get money, the truth of the teacher's disappearance (which I couldn't guess at all). I wouldn't have sat in my chair, getting closer to the seat's edge as Nick and Marta crept around places they shouldn't be in, bumping into other intruders who they presume didn't belong there.

In some ways - all good ones - the book reminded me a little of Roald Dahl's Mathilda. Thankfully Nick's parents are nice ones! Nick has a lot to deal with outside of the goings on at school - his father has returned from Iraq with a life-changing injury. I liked how this issue of parents in the army was dealt with: Nick finds a touching way to deal with his father's injury.IT seems to strengthen the father and son relationship, rather than crumble it.

Another big theme is that appearances can be deceiving. There are always reasons for peoples' behaviour. Smokey may appear to be a little arsonist, but there is more going on in his life than just starting fires. No one is immune from character development in the story - apart from the prospectors who don't learn their lesson.

The third main theme is conservation. Scat clearly tells the need for conserving our planet, what happens when humans become greedy in the quest for wealth, and how it affects the animals.

The themes are not shoved down the reader's throat - they are woven into the story deftly. If I wasn't a book reviewer, I would have clocked what the themes were, but not really thought about them in depth.

I laughed a lot in this book: even at points of high peril humour could be found. It does have thriller elements, but isn't what I would term a pure thriller (as in action in every paragraph). That doesn't detract from the tale - there's enough suspense and plot twists to satisfy most readers.

Carl Hiaasen writes in other genres - check out his website.

Liked this? Try Z.Rex by Steve Cole

Z. Rex by Steve Cole

September 2009, Doubleday
283 pages, Hardback
Review Copy

Children's, action

Cushions: 5
Daggers: 1
Yunaleska's recommended rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

No, you aren't seeing things. Steve Cole is also the author of the series Astrosaurs and Astrosaur Academy. He is one prolific writer who is worth watching. Steve handles the different genres well - Astrosaur and Astrosaurs Academy has mild peril, lots of laughs and a happy ending. Z.Rex is full of suspense, very few laughs and the ending is good, but not quite a happily ever after.

The Z in Z Rex isn't a typo. If you look at a keyboard, you'll see the T is reached using a different finger to the Z (I touch-type). Plus there is a reason for it being a Z Rex, one which is a spoiler so my mouth is firmly closed. It's a clever reason, I promise you.

So what is Z Rex about? A dinosaur mostly like a T-Rex. I say mostly, because as far as I know dinosaurs in the past didn't have wings. I confess to laughing at that point in the story. It's not really a laughing moment when teenager Adam, after being on the run from men involved with his dad's work, realises the dinosaur who he's tried to escape from can fly. I read wings and instantly doubled over with laughter of the following image: a ferocious dinosaur with shimmery fairy like wings, possibly pink, definitely sparkly. I won't try and explain how I came up with that image, not when the description in the book is as follows:

page 77: "Adam gasped as the dinosaur's back split open, revealing something dark and ridged underneath. The next moment, two huge spiny sails of gnarled flesh unfolded impossibly outwards...'Wings,' Adam breathed in utter disbelief. You're a dinosaur...and you've got wings!'."

As well as the wings, there's the Z.Rex's ability to talk, to dissemble and reassemble bombs - this is one clever creature. Why was it created? Why is it after Adam? Well, you'll have to read the book to find out. Adam is linked through it all via his father, who disappears for longer than planned on a trip to his new job. When the evil henchmen (my terms) come looking for Adam, Adam flees on his bike, from them and the awful monster that is hunting him down. Little does he know that in order to survive the experience, he and the 'monster' aka Z.Rex will become closely acquainted - I don't mean in the Z.Rex's stomach. Adam does live until the end. And beyond that.

I for one am hoping that there might be a sequel to Z.Rex. The level of action is high, the concept is a relatively new one for me. Dinosaur + wings = funny with my imagination. The true nature of Z.Rex is clever: both it and Adam are engaging characters. After the death of his mother, Adam hasn't really had a stable home. It's only when his world gets turned upside down and crushed (literally) that he finally bonds with his father. The antagonists had me on the edge of my seat, I wouldn't want them chasing after me. The ringleader of it all was a total surprise - I'm sure there was a red herring put in on purpose. There are enough twists in the story to keep me more than happy - I didn't see several of them coming.

Steve Cole is showing his strength as a writer in this distinctly different book from his other work. If you're after action, suspense and intrigue, go and read Z.Rex now. Where else will you see a dinosaur with wings?

Liked this? Be sure to check out Steve's other series: Astrosaur Academy: Deadly Drama and Astrosaurs: Megabookasaurus!

HIVE: Dreadnought by Mark Walden

September 2009, Bloomsbury

304 pages, Paperback

Review copy

Children's,

Cushions: 4/5

Daggers: 1/5

Smiles: 2/5

Yunaleska's recommended rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

There are countless stories about schools which turn out heroes, but the HIVE series looks at the other end of the spectrum: villains. Students at H.I.V.E (Higher Institute of Villainous Education) are generally stuck on HIVE's island base. Some got off it in previous adventures, but generally they remain there. Apart from the students going on a training trip into the Arctic where not everyone makes it back.

Or at least that's where the students think they are heading. Along with their instructor, the mysterious Raven whose backstory in the first chapter has me eagerly waiting for the next book (and tracking down the previous ones), they get captured by one of the top villains. It wasn't a simple taking over their ship. The students weren't exactly on the ship - they were on a state of the art, never been put into practice Dreadnought. Which gets in the hands of the bad guys - well, in this case the man most wanted by heroes and villains alike. How do the students get out of the mess? How do they subdue a man who is situated on one of the most impenetrable vessels in the sky?

They use their super powers, I cheered as I learnt about these. There's Otto, with his ability to hack into any electronic system just by opening up to it with his mind. He's a bit worried about the voice he hears when he's inside the electrics. Laura is a natural hacker - no mind control involved other than her incredible knack for cracking codes. Shelby is an expert at lock picking, while Wing fights with muscle. Then there's the new student Lucy, whose power and mysterious past are only brought up when the stakes are at their highest. They aren't alone either: they have their teachers, back up (when they can trust it and when it can arrive in time), weapons - lots of things go boom in this book.

There's action in every single chapter of Dreadnought. I know I missed continuation of plots from previous stories, but I enjoyed watching the darker plots of the super villains unfold as the HIVE students tried to outdo them. Having both viewpoints in the story heightens the suspense, which had me groaning when I had to return to the real world. The students feel like my friends, I like the banter between them and find myself wishing to be a villain at HIVE.

There's nothing I would want to change in this book. All I ask is that Mark keeps writing more!

Mark Walden's website can be found here.

Liked this? Try Changeling by Steve Feasey

Escape From Shadow Island, by Paul Adam

July 2009, Corgi Children's Books (R.H. imprint)
288 pages
Review Copy

Children's 9+, action

Cushions: 5/5
Daggers: 2/5
Smiles: 2/5
Tissues: 2/5 (I tear up over anything)
Yunaleska's recommended rating ♥♥♥♥♥+

I'm developing a list of authors I'd love to hunt down and bribe to write faster. Paul Adam is one of these. Reading Escape From Shadow Island has officially drawn me out of the 'I prefer female protagonists' books. It surprised me, but that's how this book changed me.

The story of why, and how, Max Cassidy gets to Shadow Island is cram packed with suspense. Ok, initially during the first chapter I wasn't entirely hooked - why would a teenage escapologist (male at that) interest me? It's what happens after Max's show where I got hooked.

Why would someone other than himself believe that his mother didn't murder his father? Why has he shone up on the scene, leaving Max with a mystery? Why is this man then killed? Max is soon entangled in murder, a strange numerical code, and run-ins with the shadier side of life on several continents.

Max's character is believable. He finds it extremely hard to believe that he can fail at something. He refuses to back down on action once he's decided on a particular path. He doesn't want to back down even when it would be braver to do so. His father's assistant, Consuela, does a pretty good job of raising him while his mother's in prison. There are definitely secrets in her past. As for the other characters - well there's a girl with a boat, and a man from an occupation whose skills Max needs for survival.

It's not just the characters which make up a book. Location is just as important. I enjoyed where Max travelled to around the world. Shadow Island gives me the shivers just thinking about what goes on there, and the risks Max took. One point which I don't think is mentioned, is that I kept wondering what would happen if a shark came along and decided Max was food. I think I play Tomb Raider too much. Now that would have added even more tension. Additionally, a place which seems like paradise can have hidden areas of darkness.

The warning for readers about not trying any of Max's tricks is really important. Plus, it should have a gruesome factor attached. Because various points in the book had me feeling a little queasy. The 11 year old I know will probably think 'wicked' at reading Max's key trick - this will definitely appeal to the intended age group. I had trouble, at one point, keeping my dinner down. Then I had heaps of trouble stopping the butterflies in my stomach leaping up during the edge of seat moments. Especially at the end.

Paul Adam, please write faster. I understand that in a series its good to have questions unanswered at the end. But to leave the ending like that, where Max (blank) and we don't know about (blank) and person (blank) - this reviewer is eager for the next installment of Max Cassidy Adventures.

Favourite part of the book? The scene in the hotel, involving Consuela.

Paul Adam's website is here. Hopefully at some time I'll get to check out his other work.

Liked this? Try Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson and Ned Rust