March Reviews

Hello everybody!

Today, I’m going to be sharing my reviews for all the books I read in March. Onto the post!

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Truly, Wildly, Deeply by Jenny McLachlan (received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review)

This is the story of Annie, who has cerebral palsy, as she starts college in a bid to make a more independent fresh start. We follow her as she makes new friends, and meets Fab, which sparks a will they won`t they romance I was rooting for completely. After being initially unsure, I loved them together, and there are some very swoony scenes between them. Annie was a wonderful main character; I loved her phenomenal, bitingly funny narration, which had little comments throughout that made me chuckle an awful lot as I read this. Though I can`t comment as to the accuracy of the cerebral palsy representation, it seemed well handled and I did like that Annie challenges the ableist attitudes she encounters. Another thing I enjoyed was the way Wuthering Heights was weaved throughout the plot, as despite never having read it, I never felt it was jarring and it added something to the plot. Finally, I have to mention that I loved seeing some cameos from characters who were in Stargazing for Beginners, in which Annie was a supporting character, and it`s made me very hopeful there may be a book for each member of the Broken Biscuit Club. 5/5

The Chocolate Factory Ghost by David O`Connell and illustrated by Claire Powell (received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review)

Set in the fictional village of Dundoodle in Scotland, this tells the story of Archie as he inherits McBudge`s Fudge Factory and must solve a series of puzzles in order to find a hidden missing ingredient required to make the fudge special. I thought the characters were great, especially Archie though I did also quite like his new friends, and getting to meet some of the McBudge`s Fudge staff. The puzzles were so clever, so much so I can only wish I had been able to solve a few, not to mention that I liked them all the more for being themed around sweets. Though I didn’t get to see all of the illustrations as I read a proof, I really liked those I did see and I think this would be a great read for fans of Goodly and Grave. I`m looking forward to the next Dundoodle Mystery, particularly after the very interesting revelations at the end. 4/5

Inferno by Catherine Doyle

All through reading this, the question I couldn`t stop asking myself was why on EARTH it took me so long to get to it. It`s tense, dramatic and thrilling as Sophie continues to be embroiled in the feuds of Chicago`s dangerous mafia families. It`s absolutely edge of the seat material in a lot of places, with fast paced action and twists that left me reeling from sheer shock. I also adore Sophie, who was a brilliant main character. She`s incredibly strong but we also see her being relatable in how tough she finds everything she has to deal with. Her friendship with Millie was yet another fabulous aspect as they`re so supportive of each other, and Millie is a great character in her own right too. A final thing that contributed to my immense enjoyment of Inferno was the love triangle. There are some excellent romantic scenes with both Nic and Luca, including one that reminded me of Romeo and Juliet, and I`m personally Team Luca all the way! 5/5

Mafiosa by Catherine Doyle
After how much I loved Inferno, I didn`t waste any time in getting to Mafiosa, which was an unpredictable, explosive and wholly satisfying conclusion to this trilogy, which focuses on Sophie, whose life becomes entangled with mafia families. In this instalment, the blood war rages on, and it`s more dangerous than ever before, and Sophie must also make her final choice between Nic and Luca. The characters and their relationships with each other developed even more than they did in Inferno, and I found it interesting how my views on everyone changed (more than once, in most cases), and very dramatically in a few cases. It also delved deeper into the romances, with some amazing moments, and given my allegiance I especially enjoyed those between Sophie and Luca. Millie and Sophie are still total friendship goals, the action and drama the mafia war provides is tense (to say the least) as I had no idea whatsoever who I could trust and I cannot imagine a better or more bittersweet ending to this series. 5/5

The List of Real Things by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald (received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review)

As I was a huge of Sarah`s previous novels, I was looking forward to this, but though I liked aspects a lot, I had mixed feelings. It`s about sisters Grace and Bee as they navigate their grief over losing their parents a few years prior and another member of their family during the book, while Grace also attempts to teach Bee, who is perceived by her family to be imagining things, the difference between fact and fiction. I liked their complicated but ultimately loving sibling relationship, and those between them and the other members of their family, which were similarly troubled yet touching in how much they care for each other. The other thing I really enjoyed was the magical realism element, and I wish there had been some more of it, as the scene in which it is most prominent was wonderful. The final thing I liked about the book was that the prose was stunning, but there were also things I didn`t like as much, such as finding it really slow paced till around halfway through, and I found the blurb quite different to the events of the book. I`ll still be reading whatever the author writes next, but ultimately this wasn`t what I expected 3.5/5

Out of the Blue by Sophie Cameron (received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review)

In her debut novel, Sophie Cameron whisks us off to Edinburgh (YAY Scottish setting!), in a world where `Beings` have began to fall from the sky. The concept and worldbuilding was amazing, and I loved it. I also thought that Jaya was a great main character as she reacts in a very relatable way to finding the first live being, and attempting to hide it from her dad, who has made a hobby out of searching for one in a bid to cope with Jaya`s mum`s death. Both learning more about how Jaya`s mum died, along with Jaya exploring her grief in the present, and the plot of protecting the Being alongside her new friends Allie and Callum kept me completely hooked. Allie and Callum were great supporting characters; they had their own issues they have to address throughout the novel, and a bickering, fun sibling relationship which made me laugh. With an ending that both made me smile and shed a tear, this is a superb contemporary/magical realism hybrid that`s left me excited for whatever Sophie releases next. 4.5/5

A Far Away Magic by Amy Wilson

Once I adapted to the unusual, lyrical writing, I really enjoyed Angel and Bavar`s story. Angel is reeling from the loss of her parents in very strange circumstances, and Bavar is grappling with meeting his destiny, which is related to Angel`s parents` death. I loved watching their friendship develop over the course of the novel as it was so sweet in places yet still went through ups and downs, and I thought the magic was fascinating. It wasn`t quite like anything I`ve ever seen in a fantasy or magical realism before, and that there were several components to it made it even better. I also liked the little flashes of humour, particularly those provided by Bavar`s ancestors (who are one of the aforementioned components of magic). The book was hugely exciting towards the conclusion, and I`m excited to delve into Amy Wilson`s next imagined world. 4/5

Beyond the Odyssey by Maz Evans (received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review)

I`m a huge fan of this series, which centres around the life of young carer Elliot Hooper as he meets the Greek gods, who have abandoned Olympus and now live on Earth with him and his mum, who has dementia. They`re searching for the Chaos Stones, to prevent Thanatos from ruling the world, and in this installment they`re also trying to track down a potentially mythical potion that could cure Elliot`s mum. This upped the game yet again from the excellent last book, maintaining the hilarious humour the series is known for, yet felt a little darker in tone and the stakes were incredibly high for Elliot. He has to face so much in this book, and every emotion he felt, I felt alongside him as I was so rooted in the world. We also get to see other characters we`ve met in the first two books, such as ultra-organised constellation Virgo and the gods/goddesses we`ve come to know and love, while also getting to meet some new ones who provided lots and lots of laughs. If you read my interview with Maz last year, you`ll know that I think her villains are truly awful, and much to my surprise they got even more evil this time. Some of their actions were utterly despicable, and the twists were so shocking I was left doing double takes at the book more than once. After the thrilling events of the climax and conclusion, I`m simultaneously desperate to get my hands on book four next year, and dreading how it`ll play with my emotions. 5/5

Smile by Mary Hoffman (received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review)

In this historical novella, Mary Hoffman tells the story of Lisa, which is inspired by who could be the inspiration for the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. It sees her from when she`s very young, to her marriage and adapting to that life in her teens. The narrative was pleasant and easy to follow, if a little heavy on exposition, and I sympathised with Lisa, who has spent her entire life being prepared for marriage. I also enjoyed the historical aspects of both setting and featuring historical figures. I`ve never seen a book focus on Savonarola before, so it was fascinating to learn about it in a bit more depth, and also find out more about da Vinci and other artists of the period. On the whole, this was an informative and interesting read that fans of historical books will likely enjoy. 4/5

The Buried Crown by Ally Sherrick (received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review)

In a World War Two adventure story, Ally Sherrick tells the story of an evacuee boy George and a Jewish girl called Kitty as they become involved in searching for an ancient artefact, despite a dangerous opponent also being in search of the crown. The main thing I loved about this book were the characters. My heart was breaking for George at so many points, especially before he meets Kitty, and his kindness and bravery were wonderful. The prejudice Kitty and her grandfather faced made me livid, and I adored how clever Kitty was. My favourite though, was Spud, a dog who can only be described as a complete and utter darling, who I`d like for my own. I also detested the nastier characters, one of whom made my skin crawl. Though the book isn’t entirely historically accurate, I did enjoy the World War Two setting, and I especially liked that the book showed how the war tore families apart both in Britain and in Germany. The adventure plot is also lots of fun to follow, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which always had me desperate to keep reading. 4.5/5

Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean (received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review)

Based partially on real events, this focuses on a group of boys who are stranded on Warrior Stac after fowling season, and are left believing the world has ended, as no one has come to collect them. I took a little while to get into this, possibly as it`s rather bleak (particularly given it`s aimed at an MG audience), but it was a good read overall. The observations it makes on human nature were thought provoking, and the writing style was absolutely beautiful. I also felt that I got to know all of the characters really well as they were so well drawn and seeing the relationships between them change over the course of the book was another thing I enjoyed about the book. The tension definitely increases the longer they are left on the island, reaching fever pitch at some points, and even though I struggled slightly with the book in places I very much wanted to know how it would all end. Speaking of the ending, the truth about why they were stranded is heartbreaking, and I could hardly believe it happened in real life. This is one to save for a day when you`re in the mood for something darker than most MG, but it`s well worth a read. 4/5

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What books have you read this month that you’d recommend? What are your thoughts on the ones I’ve read? Are any on your TBR? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @GoldenBooksGirl!

Amy xxx