Serafina and the black cloak - Robert Beatty

Blurb-

Venture into the spooky world of Serafina and the Black Cloak - the New York Times bestselling magical mystery adventure for children

"Never go into the forest, for there are many dangers there, and they will ensnare your soul.”

Serafina and her pa have secretly lived in the basement of the grand old house on the Biltmore Estate, surrounded by dark forests, for as long as Serafina can remember. She takes the greatest of care never to be seen. 

But when children at Biltmore start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is: a terrifying man in a black cloak who stalks the corridors at night. To solve the mystery, Serafina teams up with Braden Vanderbilt, the nephew of the estate’s owners. Their search for answers leads them into the very forest Serafina has always been taught to fear. There, they discover a legacy of magic, long forgotten - until now . . .

Genre- YA, Children's, Fantasy

My rating - 5 stars

My review-

A beautiful book. Well written, easy to read and very enjoyable for both adult and child reader. I will defiantly be reading this book with my eight year old daughter. 

Scary in places, exiting in others, as soon as you get into Serafina's story you just have to know more. Hints help you along the way guess some of the ending of the story. 

A book I would defiantly recommend.

Date read - 13th February 2016 

Not if I see you first - Eric Lindstrom

Blurb-

The sensational debut YA of 2016 that everyone will be talking about.

Parker Grant doesn't need perfect vision to see right through you. That's why she created the Rules: Don't treat her any differently just because she's blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances.

When Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart, suddenly reappears at school, Parker knows there's only one way to react – shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough to deal with already, like trying out for the track team, handing out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn't cried since her dad's death. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened – both with Scott, and her dad – the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem.

Not If I See You First illuminates those blind spots that we all have in life, whether visually impaired or not.

Genre- YA

My rating - 4 stars

My review- 

Not just a teen love story, Not if I see you first offers so much more. 

It's about the grieving of a girl who has lost so much and is just beginning to find out who she is and where she belongs. It's about love and truth and acceptance. It's about giving yourself goals and sticking to them and about chasing dreams. 

 This book is a well written YA with great teenage characters with all their true to life contradictions. It's an easy read and is actually quite a positive book. Lindstrom has done well to write this in a teenage girls perspective.

Read 27th Jan - 3rd Feb 2016

The Hollow Men - Rob McCarthy

Blurb-

A stunning and original debut crime thriller starring Harry Kent, a police surgeon who uncovers a shocking conspiracy after a hostage situation goes wrong.

Dr Harry Kent likes to keep busy: juggling hospital duties with his work as a police surgeon for the Metropolitan Police - anything to ward off the memories of his time as an Army medic. 

Usually the police work means minor injuries and mental health assessments. But Solomon Idris's case is different. Solomon Idris has taken eight people hostage in a chicken takeaway, and is demanding to see a lawyer and a BBC reporter. Harry is sent in to treat the clearly ill teenager...before the siege goes horribly wrong.

When Solomon's life is put in danger again from the safety of a critical care ward, it becomes clear he knows something people will kill to protect. 
Determined to uncover the secret that drove the boy to such desperate action, Harry soon realises that someone in the medical world, someone he may even know, has broken the doctors' commandment 'do no harm' many times over...

Genre - Crime

My rating - 5 stars

My review-

Wow! Hard hitting, Gritty, Fast paced, Amazing book. I really can't put enough praise on this book.

The Hollow Men literally contains two types of person - those who care and will risk life and limb for justice, truth and life and those selfish heartless disgusting bastards that deserve to rot. Or as its says on the back cover 'Some men heal, others Harm'.

I had to force myself to read this book slowly, I have rushed through many detective novels to quickly find out who did it, but instinctively with this one I knew it had to be read slowly. Probably because there was so much going on and that it was set in just a few days. The chapters are huge - a day in their life of the police force and an NHS registra- which made breaking it down into chunks difficult but worth it.

Read- 

21st Jan - 2nd Feb 2016