Lex Trent Versus the Gods by Alex Bell

Thanks to Headline for this.

Description

Law student Lex Trent’s world is inhabited by fearsome magicians, ageing crones and a menagerie of Gods and Goddesses. And while Lex is seemingly dedicated to his legal studies he’s always enjoyed a challenge – which is why he leads a double life as the notorious cat burglar ‘The Shadowman’ who has been (luckily) evading capture for years.

But Lex’s luck is about to run out because the Goddess of Fortune has selected him to be her player in the highly dangerous Games. Losing is not an option for Lex (particularly as it so often involves dying) but can he really win each of the perilous rounds? Given that the reward for doing so is money, fame and glory – all things that Lex is quite keen on – he’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure he will... and he’s certainly got good experience of cheating.

Review

This was a really fun book to read. I haven't read this sort of fantasy in ages (think Terry Pratchett, Eoin Colfer) so it was nice returning to the genre. At first, it was quite hard to get into. I think maybe this was because Lex isn't really the most virtuous of characters- in fact it's extremely hard to sympathise with him because he's so arrogant and selfish. Right from the beginning we're to understand that Lex is an anti-hero, unlike his twin brother Lucius who appears later on in the book, and whom Lex despises. However, Lex does grow on you, despite his character, and you do end up rooting for him.

The other characters were well-rounded and enjoyable to read about. I particularly liked Schmidt, the lawyer who gets caught up in Lex's adventures in the funniest way possible, and Lucius, who is Lex's complete opposite.

The best aspect of the books, in my opinion, were the mythology and the magic of the world. I loved how there were so many gods who worshippers could actually meet- sort of similar to the gods in Greek mythology, but actually accesible. I also loved how there were so many mythological creatures like minotaurs, Medusa, enchanters, crones, even fairy godmothers! Combining these things with everyday aspects of our lives such as the law firm Lex was working at just made the book more interesting.

The book is extremely fast-paced so I never became bored while I was reading it. There are innumerable twists and turns, especially once the Games start. There is plenty of humour, and even some darker aspects dealing with death, such as the soulless wake and Lex's grandfather. However, these are touched on very briefly, and just increase the substance of the book, making it an even better read.

In all honesty, I'm surprised I liked it so much. I think it's because of all the mythology though- I am a sucker for mythology- and because of Lex's unusual personality (for a hero anyway), and the rest of the well-rounded cast.

I would definitely recommend it to readers of comic fantasy, and even to those who have been unwilling in the past to read fantasy, because the constant action in this book makes it extremely easy to read.

Rating: 4.5/5

Waiting on Wednesday (7)

I think I should rename it Waiting on Sunday, because I never have time on Wednesdays to blog. Luckily though, Easter holidays start next week although I'll be revising for most of them :(.

Forgive my Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid – she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems – like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher – but it has that one major perk – Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type – when they “bond,” it’s for life.

When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.
-Goodreads.com

This looks really interesting because it's about mermaids! I can't really recall seeing any previous YA books previous about mermaids. Also, the cover's really pretty. The romance aspect seems a little predictable (the gorgeous jock and the 'obnoxious, biker boy neighbour'- I think it's a bit obvious who she'll end up with) but fun anyway.

Pick Your Publisher Contest

So The Undercover Book Lover is holding a contest to win a pack of three book from seven different publishers. A lot of these books have been candidates for my 'Waiting on Wednesdays' post, so it's a really exciting competition- and international too.

Some of the books up for grabs are:

• Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (Penguin)
• Forgive my Fins by Tera Lynn Childs (Harper Teen)
• Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus (Egmont)
• Everlasting by Angie Frazier (Scholastic)
• My Invisible Boyfriend by Susie Day (Scholastic)
• Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey (Harcourt/Graphia)
• The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. Sheinmel (Delacorte)
• The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott (Simon & Schuster)

There are many more books in the various selections, those are just the ones that intrigue me the most.

Thanks to The Undercover Book Lover for holding such a fantastic contest!

Waiting on Wednesday (6)

Waiting On Wednesdays is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights highly anticipated releases.

This week, I've decided to spotlight two books because I forgot to do the meme last week, and I couldn't really choose between them because they both look so good!

Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry.

After stepping on campus, Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach—and somehow she’s connected to it all. But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might cost her her life. -Goodreads.com

I can't wait to read this, primarily because it's set in a boarding school, and I absolutely love borading-school stories (think Harry Potter, A Great and Terrible Beauty, The Upper Class, Principles of Love, Prep, the Private series etc) but also because the plot itself is really intriguing.

Everlasting by Angie Frazier

Sailing aboard her father’s trade ship is all seventeen-year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a girl of society in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set: marry a man she doesn’t love, or condemn herself and her father to poverty.

On her final voyage before the wedding, the stormy arms of the Tasman Sea claim her father, and a terrible family secret is revealed. A secret intertwined with a fabled map, the mother Camille has long believed dead, and an ancient stone that wields a dangerous—and alluring—magic.

The only person Camille can depend on is Oscar, a handsome young sailor whom she is undeniably drawn to. Torn between trusting her instincts and keeping her promises to her father, Camille embarks on a perilous quest into the Australian wilderness to find the enchanted stone. As she and Oscar elude murderous bushrangers and unravel Camille’s father’s lies, they come closer to making the ultimate decision of who—and what—matters most.

Beautifully written and feverishly paced, Everlasting is an unforgettable journey of passion, secrecy, and adventure. -Goodreads.com

This also looks particularly interesting because it's historical YA fiction which is the best because you learn so much about the past (if the book historically correct, anyway) without having to read tons of boring facts from a textbook. Also, the cover is so beautiful, and I love reading about relationships which cross the boundaries of social classes.

The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Description

Can love last beyond the grave?

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand.

Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well?

-Amazon.com

Review

So, I took this out of the library a few weeks ago. I was a bit dubious at first because it's quite a long book (528 pages) and I thought it'd be really slow-paced and boring. But although it was a bit slow-paced, it wasn't boring at all!

I enjoyed the plot and the setting. The author took the city girl moves to the countryside storyline but added a supernatural element, a (mostly) likeable cast and a romantic, historic setting which made the story dark, gothic, and a wonderful read. The romance was the best aspect of the book and I absolutely loved Rhys. He was so mysterious which just made him more appealing, and his whole persona made him one of the most intriguing male characters I've read in a long time.

However, I did feel the story dragged on quite a lot. Everything Sylvie did was described, even the most mundane things like eating breakfast, walking the dog, sneaking the dog upstairs, going to the garden. The dog was cute but mentioned way too much, in my opinion. Although it was refreshing to read about a female lead with a pet, the pet didn't really have to be mentioned in every other sentence. It didn't stop me from reading on, but I think the book would have been a lot more enjoyable if it was shorter and contained less description of the day-to-day aspects of Sylvie's life at Bluestone Hill.

It is an extremely well-written book though. The characters were well developed to the point I felt so much frustration for one of them (Shawn), I just wanted him to be killed off. The descriptions were maybe too long but so vivid that I could picture Sylvie and Gigi walking around the town, and the garden etc.

The history and supernatural stuff mixed in well with the plot, although at times it could be a bit confusing. I would've like to learn more about the American Civil War and the ancient Welsh backstory, but I felt Clement-Moore included just the right amount of intrigue and magic surrounding the town.

I would recommend it to fans of gothic romances, love triangles, slow-moving (but still enjoyable) reads and well-developed characters. The mixture of mystery, romance, history and ghosts made The Splendor Falls a book I wouldn't mind purchasing in the future.

Rating: 4/5

In my Mailbox (Seis)

In My Mailbox explores the contents of my mailbox on a weekly basis. It is hosted by The Story Siren. Go HERE to participate.

This week, I received my first book for review! So although that was the only book I got, it was still pretty exciting for me.

Lex Trent Versus the Gods by Alex Bell (Thanks to Headline Publishing)

A quirky and original comic fantasy from talented Gollancz author Alex Bell.

Law student Lex Trent’s world is inhabited by fearsome magicians, ageing crones and a menagerie of Gods and Goddesses. And while Lex is seemingly dedicated to his legal studies he’s always enjoyed a challenge – which is why he leads a double life as the notorious cat burglar ‘The Shadowman’ who has been (luckily) evading capture for years.

But Lex’s luck is about to run out because the Goddess of Fortune has selected him to be her player in the highly dangerous Games. Losing is not an option for Lex (particularly as it so often involves dying) but can he really win each of the perilous rounds? Given that the reward for doing so is money, fame and glory – all things that Lex is quite keen on – he’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure he will... and he’s certainly got good experience of cheating.

-Amazon.com

So far, it's been a really enjoyable read. I love the concept of the Globe, and the ladders and the Gods. Review coming soon!

Also, sorry I haven't posted a review in ages- school has been extremely busy since I have my French and Spanish orals in a few weeks and then GCSEs so I have tons of revision to do and hardly any time to read. I can't wait 'til they're over!

In my Mailbox (Cinco)

In My Mailbox explores the contents of my mailbox on a weekly basis. It is hosted by The Story Siren. Go HERE to participate.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves

I LOVED the first book, such a thought-provoking, engrossing read. So when I saw this at the library, I had to take it out. I didn't even know it was out in the UK yet, so I'm hoping to buy my own copy once exams end.

I also took out Legacy by Kate Brian, which is part of the Private series.

It was a pretty uneventful week regarding books, and I think the next few weeks will be the same because I'm not really allowed to buy large quantities of books until my GCSEs are over- and that will be in June! So it looks like I'll be borrowing books from the library until then, and maybe a few of my own purchases in between :'(.