Mini Shopaholic

Rebecca Bloomwood is back! She's back! YAY!

Mini Shopaholic is the sixth book in the hugely popular Shopaholic series (and this was made in to a movie!), written by one of the funniest women in fiction. And Becky's back, along with lovely husband Luke and two-year-old daughter Minnie. Becky's her usual shopaholic self, though she has reined that particular obsession in quite considerably. It seems all her genes have passed straight on to Minnie, who can already buy stuff on eBay and identify a VISA credit card from miles away. Luke's caught up in another financial crisis, which inspires Becky and Co. to cut back and be thrifty. In addition to banks collapsing, children spending pocket money years in advance and a personal work set-back, Becky is also organising a surprise party for Luke. Hilarity ensues as she tries to keep it a secret from her sniffer dog of a husband, which is no easy feat. Does she manage it? Well, you'll have to read it to find out! Mini Shopaholic isn't quite as funny as previous books in the series (i guess...), though it's just as daft. The situations Becky gets herself into are ridiculously unrealistic, but that's one of the appeals of these books. They're complete escapist fun and, although they are aimed at an adult market, there's absolutely nothing that would be unsuitable for younger readers. I can't wait for the next book!

Life of Pi

I've been recommended this book for long by my mum (as always) and friends. I thought i would just borrow it for a day to read through a few pages but since i started reading, i just didn't want to return it.

Pi is a 16 years old boy and the only son of a zoo's manager is going on a trip to Canada with his family. After the ship sinks, he realises that he is the only one who survives and is drifting on a emergency boat in the middle of the Pacific ocean. He isn't alone actually, he is with a miserable zebra (with a broken leg), a spotted hyena, an ape that keeps vomiting of sea sick and especially a Bengal tiger that weights 450 pounds. How would he gets out of there....? I guess you just have to find out yourself since this book is so great. If i tell it would ruin everything interesting about the book.

I found this book pretty boring at first but if you have patience and keep reading and reading to about chapter 10 or so, you find it amazingly great. For the first time, i had such great patience in reading a hundred chapters book (really, this book really has 100 chapters. It was pretty funny when i reached chapter 9 and started screaming aloud: "When is it going to end!?!" but when i got to chapter 78, i didn't want it to end....). Well, you may say that patience is really important in reading, for some occasions... (Because there are a lot of books that last for 30 pages....). I think the book is available now in the library, i'm not really sure because i didn't borrow it from the library

The Monkey King

Almost a month now since i've started to dig in my mom's old book shelves. 3 weeks ago, i went through a bunch of books which most of them are about criminals and laws (since my mom is a lawyer) i found a very interesting book called 'The Monkey King'. At first i thought: "Who am i kidding? I am not going to read a 'monkey' story!" and i actually thought it was lame. But well, sooner or later, i would still have to read it because if i wouldn't i would have to read law books (which i terribly don't like).
This book is by Timothy Mo, who i've never heard of before i've started to read the book.
The plot is very easy to understand since it is 'irresistibly' funny. In the story, the Poons, as the people of Hong Kong gossip about, have plenty of money. But when Wallace Nolasco marries May Ling (who is the daughter of the house of Poon, he finds he has been sold short. Old Mr Poon rules the family with a misery hand; the family mansion is shabby and neglected, the ier meagre - nd the only signs of wealth are the gold ngots buried in the cesspit. Wallace is relegated to the very bottom of he household pecking order, But like the Monkey King of Chinese legend, he is a born survivor, with a hidden reserves of craft and endurance.
I've really found this book richly entertaining novel of domestic tyranny and revolt written wih deft irony and comic flair. I don't really think that this book is available at school so if you really want to read it, i would probably let you borrow it (probably).

Oscar and Lucinda

Keep digging in, i found this book which is by Peter Carey. He looks very young at the 'black and white' picture on the back cover but he is not (because this book was published in 1988).
The story is aboutthe Cornish son of a Plymouth Brethren minister who becomes anAnglican priest who named Oscar Hopkinds , and Lucinda Leplastrier, a young Australian heiress who buys a glass factory. They meet on the boat over to Australia, and discover that they are both gamblers. Lucinda bets Oscar that he cannot transport a glass church from Sydney to a remote place at Bellingen. This bet changes both their lives forever. And if you want to know how it changes them, you've got to find out yourself (since i don't really get that part also...).
I really like the betting part but not really with the changing one. Things start to get complicated their. It is very interesting that at the back of the book there is a glossary where there are words that you may find hard to understand, like swy (now i know that swy is a gambling game...), unfortunately, there are only eight words in that glossary so you wouldn't be able to get the whole novel... But check it out, may be you understand it better than me and find it interesting.

Tapes of River Delta

I wonder why the book is so expensive ($138.00! literally! well, the $14.95 part printed on the book is recommended only so... ) so i've read through it to see if it is truly that expensive.
The story is about Theodore Shortcourse who is betrayed in love, used and abused by dark forces, as unsure of his origins as of his future and his story of his troubled family, of his boyhood friends Bain Cross and Pax Sheehy, and of the uncertainties and secrets each of them must confront as they rises to power in the political world. Their history is one of allegiances given and withdrawn, all of them over shadowes by the powerful and enigmatic presence of Theo's mother, herself the victim of an old crime that no one dares to speak of.
Writting the plot of it is already breathtakingly brave because the story is really complex. If you are brave enough to just take a glance at the first chapter, the you are really really brave. Not that the vocabulary is complicated (as a matter of fact, it is really simple), the main story is like you have a ball of wool but you don't know how to knit!

Dispatches

Michael Herr is someone i've never heard of but this book of him is brilliant. Dispatches is a book that would inspire someone like me who especially hates book about war.
The book is just simply about Herr's experiences in the Vietnam war, about how the soldiers lived, the health conditions there were in and how they fought. This book is more than just a historical textbook, it's a novel, a real story brilliant use of languages and the accurate historical accounts.
It isn't a textbook that you learn at school but i learned from this book that war isn't just about fighting and being tough, it's about courage and sacrificing. The book really would inspire you to live better, to appreciate what you have already got and to pay attentions to things around you (which means not to be selfish :]). Over all, i loved it!

Purple Hibiscus

Purple Hibiscus is written by an author who has a very long name that i was afraid to put at the title of this entry: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
This is a religious book that is not really suitable for everyone that does not know well about religious studies like me.
The novel tell a story of a 15 years old girl named Kambili who is afraid of her father who is a charismatic and violent Catholic patriarch but generous and well-respected in the community. Furthermore, he is repressive and has compulsion towards religious at home. Kambili and her brother, Jaja, are forced to live at their aunt's home due to Nigeria is shaken by a military coup. At their new home their wounds by their father start to heal and they live better lives than they have ever live.
I find it pretty hard to understand the plot but it turns out to be easy to read because the use of language is very simple and the vocabulary is not that complex. After all, it is fun to start reading something more complicated and i can't wait to read 'Half of a Yellow Sun' also by Adichie!

Quirkology

My mom says that if you read a book that you can't even understand the title then it would be hard to understand what is going on in the book. But for the first time, she is wrong. I am pretty sure why the author's name is Wiseman because this book is a about science of everyday lives.
This book answer almost every curious question that sometimes we can't even ask because we are afraid that the person we are asking wouldn't have a clue. People have different beliefs that sometimes turn out to be very odd then they ask strange questions like "how does the way i walk reveal my personality?". And it is funny that Professor Wiseman can answer them all after a long time spending his time in the haunted house, doing experiments in over thirty countries and dressing up as a chicken (sometimes i wonder dressing up as a chicken would relates to science but who knows).
It's fun to read a 'fun facts' book because facts are fun! So check it out.

Sun, Sand and Sequins

It is quite odd that Coleen McLoughlin has written a novel about a girl named Coleen who has the same personality as she has but as a fiction...
On to the story, the imagined Coleen is very fashionable that she would never go anywhere out of town without all of her fashionable shoes and clothes and she has a crush on Ben. But then one day, Coleen and her family go on a holiday in Spain, she meets this cute boy and has a lot of great time with him. Later on they enter the hotel's talent show that they have a very low chance of winning. During her vacation, she has a lot of fashion dilemma such as what to wear to the beach and to the talent show.
It very good for most of the girls to read this because it is mostly fashion tips in here than a proper story. But after all, i pretty much enjoyed reading it. You may not understand everything because you are lost in the jungle of fashion language but you'll figure your way out anyway.

The Invisible Boy

Sally Gardner's books are really interesting to read, such as 'I, Coriander' that i've read last year. But i'm not reviewing 'I, Coriander' right now, i want to look at another great work of Sally Gardner called 'The Invisible Boy'.

Mr and Mrs Ray have won a trip to the moon but Sam, their son, isn't twelve yet, which is the minimum required age for the trip. Sam is supposed to stay with his friend Billy for 2 weeks until his parents get back from the trip. Unfortunately, Billy is sick and Sam can't come stay with him. Mr and Mrs Ray have considered to cancel the trip for they can't leave Sam home alone. Their wicked neighbour, Hilda Hardbottom volunteers to take care of Sam. He is forbidden to go to school and has to take care of his own meal. Sam's parents' space ship turns out to be missing and they are considered to be dead. So everything starts to be hopeless for Sam. Hilda Hardbottom then plans her way to taking over the insurance money and getting rid of Sam. One night, an alien turns up from tiny space ship in a garbage bin. It's called Splodge. It makes friend with Sam, gives him the ability to be invisible and helps Ernie and Sam fix the radio so they can contact with the lost space ship. Sam uses his ability to freaks out Hilda and Maureen Cook, who would give the Hardbottoms the money if she is sure that Sam is fine staying with them. Finally, Hilda Hardbottom is accused by Maureen and reaches her dream of being on the local news that she always wants but under the name of the evil neighbour. Sam is finally united with his family and so is Splodge.
It's a really great story of aliens, magic and foster parents. It sounds a bit like 'Cinderella' but a bit more humorous (Splodge being the fairy godfather, funny).

Friends 4Ever

Kate Andrew has written this book. This maybe has a whole series but i'm not sure because i have only read one.
Carrie (her name is actually Carrington which is a character from a TV series that Carrie hates, that's why she hates her name) Alex and Sky (Skyler) are best friends. They share almost everything together along with Sam and Jordan. But the 8 grade isn't all about them, there are also the Amys: Amy, Aimee and Mel (Mel is chinese)- the bossy girls who are always at the centre of attention. First part of the book is Alex being tricked by the Amys. Amy Anderson has a huge crush on Alex's brother, Matt, so she wants to be friend with Alex to get closer to Matt. Alex's friends (listed above :]) turn their backs to Alex for she hangs out to much with the Amys. Well, as you could have guessed, they worked it out. The second part is about Carrie just writing a story based on what have happened between them and the Amys (in part 1) for fun. Jordan is absent on the day that Carrie reads her story to the group so he decides to just borrow it silently to take a look. When he finds out that a book store has a story writing competition and he signs Carrie up. Carrie is stupefied because she doesn't want anyone to know about her story except her friends. It turns out Carrie wins. In part 3, Carrie decides that all of them can go to Wild World, the new amusement park, to celebrate. Sky in particular, can not afford to go there. Although everyone knows but Sky doesn't want anybody to pity her so she refuses to go because she doesn't want to. Her friends know and raise some money for Sky to come along but Sky refuses to accept the money. They try and try but it won't work. Sky gets mad and starts to hang out with the Amys. In the end, Sky realises that she should have never get too close to the Amys.
So this book is pretty cliche with lots of predictable things, that's the boring part of it. But afterall, it is pretty fun to read something so typical. it's fun to read, especially when you're bored :]

Queen Of Babble

writes a lot of books and Queen of Babble is one of her book series.
Lizzie has a long distance boyfriend, Andrew, who lives in England. So after graduation, she decides to use her graduation money for a three-months trip to England to meet her boyfriend. Her friend Shari, invites Lizzie to come with her to Luke's (who is Shari's friend that Lizzie has never seen before) french chateau in France for the whole summer but Lizzie refuses and still want to go to England. But instead of spending the summer with Lizzie, Andrew gets a well-offered part time job and so Lizzie's dream of being with Andrew crumbles into pieces and gets thrown into the bin. Lizzie's big mouth can never get smaller and that what pisses Andrew off. Now Lizzie has no where to live and can't return home right then with a non-refundable ticket which is in three months time. But she finds help from her friend Shari who is going to marry her boyfriend Chad in a french chateau. Lizzie finds herself in a train to Paris, alone and the fact that she speaks such bad french. Then her big mouth problem keeps getting in her way that Luke seems to hate her while Lizzie starts to fall for him. Andrew suddenly appear out of no where and is asking for a loan. He threatens Lizzie that if she won't, he'll find a way to stop her from getting her one true love.
This story has some really cheesy part which i find pretty awkward to read. But the plot is fun and interesting where you think the story is going to go this way and something suddenly happens and the story heads to such an unpredictable way.

Boys Meet Girls

There's a whole 'Boy' series by Meg Cabot with 'Boy Meets Girl' and 'The Boy Next Door' and some others too.
Kate Mackenzie moves to New York City with her best friend, Jen. After working as a social worker for a few years, Kate gets a job in human resources for the New York Journal. She gets to work with an awful boss, Amy, whom they refer to as the Tyrannical Office Despot (or T.O.D. for short). Shortly after gettig this position, Kate's boyfriend for ten years, Dale, says that he doesn’t want to marry her anymore. Kate moves out to Jen's place. Ida then decides to sue for her job back from Kate and Kate has to find herself a lawyer. Then Kate finds herself in the office of lawyer Mitch Hertzog and the attraction is instant. Eventually, Mitch is not only a lawyer (a group of people Kate always hates), but he is her boss' fiance's brother. Kate soon realises that Mitch is nothing like his brother or like any other lawyer she has ever met. He seems to be the nicest guy she has ever met, and he also seems to be just as attracted to her as she is to him. And so the cheesy part start.
When i read a Meg Cabot's book, there's always a cheesy part of it that i particularly do not enjoy reading much but the rest is almost perfect, it's great. The plot is quite easy to get sometimes so you can easily get the cheesy part.

Size Doesn't Matter

The third book is not as creepy as the second one but still a bit thrilling.
Heather finally has a boyfriend. Heather's passing her first college course and her dad’s moving out. Things at her job as assistant director of a New York College dorm are starting to improve. Heather’s on her third boss in a single year. Dr. Veatch, her new boss, seems to be the most boring man on the face of the planet but that doesn’t seem reason enough to put a bullet through his head. The president of the student union is the NYPD’s main suspect, and Heather can’t help wondering if she really knew her boring boss as well as she thought she did. Especially when a Fischer Hall resident claims she knows who his real murderer is. Beside that, the love of Heather's grad assistant Sarah's life. Now Heather has to clear Sarah's boyfriend's name, figure out her boss' muderer and other tons of things.
This third book is quite boring, more boring than the other two. This one is not that thrilling and doesn't have much to read about. So it is quite hard to enjoy this one.

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either

So i really want know what case Heather is up to solve next so i couldn't wait to read the next book. And this one is even creepier than the first one.
Lindsay Comb, a cheerleader, has her head found simmering in a pot on the stove by a kitchen staff. And once again, Heather feels the need to investigate the mystery while everyone is warning her not to get involved in the case. But she can't stop wondering where the rest of Lindsay's body might be. She couldn't get off the case when Magda, Heather's cafeteria worker friend, begs her to investigate. Then the other issues start to get in her way. Heather is trying to break in her new boss, Tom, while avoiding the calls of her ex-fiancé Jordan. She also continues to lust for her ex-fiancé's brother, Cooper, who happens to be her roommate. When Jordon finally gets to talk to Heather, he begs her to go to his wedding and well Heather refuses. Still, Heather insists that she is not investigating while she is still asking Lindsay's boyfriends and friends a few questions. Cooper and the police try so hard to encourage Heather not to get involved anymore. When Heather stumbles across someone who has been stabbed, that person admits to have given something to Lindsay. But when Heather discovers what was given, the mystery only deepens...
It was scary since the first chapter. But there are still some very funny moments in the book that Heather gets into. If you are planning to read this book alone at night then you should consider not.

84 Charing Cross Road

My mom has always been telling me that it is really bad to just peek in other people's stuff, especially their letters and diaries. But when you want to read a good book, you have to break the rules when you read '84 Charing Cross Road' by Helene Hanff. But it is even worse than that since this book is a non fiction one. Helene is looking for a British literature which she can not find in New York. She finds an advert in a newspaper and contact the store in 1949 and reaches Frank Doel of Marks and Co. who is in London. They become friends from a long distance and write letters to each other and discuss about mostly political topics. Helene finally decides to meet her English friend 20 years later but it is too late. Frank dies in 1968 because of a burst appendix. She comes to 84 Charing Cross Road, London where the store is in 1971.

I really like this book even though it is a little bit old for me. This is the best romantic story i've ever read especially when it's real! I mean you can't bear crying after that if you a sensitive person. It's incredibly great. That's just all i can say since it is indescribable. It is just simply great.

After Shanghai

This book is published about 15 years ago (so that was even before i was born). I dug it out from my mom's old book shelf and started reading it.

After Shanghai is an incredible novel by Alison McLeay. The story about a girl named Clio Oliver who is living a wealthy life in Shanghai. Her grandfather dies so she has to go back to England for his funeral. Her best friend is her Chinese governess but she isn't allowed to come with Clio to England. Then other complicate things happen to Clio: going to boarding school, falling in love (this is the most interesting part), heartbreaking because of love, etc.

This novel is just the type i hate the most: tiny words, loads and loads of pages (506 pages to be exact) but since the story is so fascinating i had to do what i hate to do. Well, if you don't mind tiny words and hundreds of pages then this is a great book for you!!

East Of Wimbledon

Nigel Williams, a hilarious author, who has written a novel which you have to stop at every line to laugh until your tummy can't stand it anymore and then stop again to calm yourself down before you can continue reading. Well, i tried hard not to laugh but i just could not resist it.

A man named Robert Wilson passes himself off as a Muslim to just simply work at as Islamic school (the Wimbledon Independent Islamic Boys Day School). It has been really tough for Robert because he almost knows nothing about Islam. A close boy to him is Hasan, who is blind and facially birth-marked. He has to be protected from the 'twenty-fourthers'. And so on.... (If i keep telling you then you wouldn't have much curiosity in the story not because i'm lazy to blog)

I especially like this novel for a reason that it is excruciatingly funny. I takes lot of patience to read this as the words are very tiny so some of us can just give up at about half way their. But since it is too funny, i just couldn't put it down no matter how much i hate tiny words. I recommend this for people who loves comedy/adventurous (for this has both). So have fun reading!

Malaria Dreams

They say this book is 'Uncommonly well-written and hilariously funny'. I have to agree with that even though i hate books with descriptive words.

Stuart Stevens has successfully tell a story of his adventure across Africa (so this is a non-fiction book). Stuart loses everything include his Land Roller (which is his car) and is struggling to find a way back to his home town a thousand miles away in Europe. He learns that there are 2 ways of getting things done: the official one and the one that works. He also learns not to be surprise by anything: by the village mechanic whose sell tool is a sledgehammer; by soldiers hurling tear-gas canisters into trees to dislodge mangoes, or by naked cowherds carrying elegant umbrellas. The only surprise-given that his intended mode of transport is confiscated by the Bangui Minister of Mines, that spare parts are rarer than gold dust, and that people still perish in the Sahara. Finally, of course, he finds his way back to Europe.

It is so fascinating to be reading your first non-fiction book. I just simply love this novel. You get to learn about Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Mali. I recommend this book to all of you adventure lovers.

Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure

I love this fantasy series 'Children of the Lamp' by P.B.Kerr. 'The Akhenaten Adventure' is the first book and i'm looking forward to read the rest of the 5-books-series (4 more to go!!).

We all think genie is just a fantasy and so do John and Phillipa Gaunt. But it's really weird when the two kids who appear to be normal. On their trip from New York to London to meet their uncle, Nimrod, they start to have incredible power (e.g giving people want they want, reading a thousand pages book in less than and hour). They finally find out they are genies. Nimrod, who is a experienced genie, teaches them who to use their power wisely. And their genie-training starts.

Fantasy and adventure, just as i like. Genie seems to be pretty much a fantasy but everything seems to oddly real in this book. It's like you're in 'Aladdin' while reading this book.

My Sister's A Pop Star

Another brilliant teen novel that i like by Kimberly Greene.

The story is about a 13 years old girl named Sam (Samantha Sue Devine) who loves to blog. She has a gorgeous 16 years old sister named Danni (Danielle Ann Devine) who is a national famous pop star. Sam actually misses the time that Danni and her fight so she really wants Danni to get back from her tour so they can have their normal life again. But it isn't anything ordinary at all. Danni has her own reality show so they will be filmed. But no way Sam would have her whole life on a TV show. The director tries to convince her to do it and then complicate things jump into Sam and Danni lives....

I really like this novel because it is something you can apply to real life (not everything because obviously mostly non of us have a pop star as a sibling). It's incredibly interesting to read this because you think the story is going to be this way and you turn the page then you finally realise it isn't the way you think. It's just simply fascinating. I like it!

Quiz: Boy Band Blues

1.What is Lucy’s middle name?

a.Kelly b. Cathy

c. Jessica d.Cassandra

2.Which fashion competition did Lucy win?

a. Makeover Magic b. Fantasy Fashion

c. Funky Fashion d. Star Struck

3.What school year is Lucy currently in?

a.10 b. 7

c. 8 d.9

4.What is the name of a school band that Lucy is design outfits for?

a.Black Stone b. Wayne and the Boys

c. The Romans d.The Rockers

5.Which member of the school band is Lucy’s crush ?

a.Jack Stone b. Wayne Roman

c. Joe Black

6.What the name of a machine that Lucy is dreaming of inventing?

a.Torture-O-Matic 800 b. Crazy Hair 1000

c. Queasy Style 5000 d.Style-O-Matic 500

7.Which one of Lucy’s best friend is actually half Dutch?

a.Tilda (Matilda-Jane) b. Jules (Julietta)

8.Where does Lucy’s dad work at?

a. Zick FM b. Awesome FM

c. Wicked FM d.Red-Head FM

9. According to the Teen Witch Kit, what does Lucy has to eat after reading the Enchantment spell?

a.an apple b. green fruit pastille

c. a bar of chocolate d.chicken wings

10.Who is actually the girlfriend of Lucy’s crush?

a.Tamsin b. Tilda

c. Jules d.Sarah

Alternate Title: Would You Kill To Be Thin?

Since the book has nothing to do with sizes of clothes except for the fact that the main character, Heather Wells, couldn’t find herself at the top of the pop sensation chart anymore because she is drowning in KitKat bars. I decided to name “Size 12 is Not Fat” a more interesting name that relates more to the actual story: “Would You Kill To Be Thin?” I’ve chosen this name because the main story of this novel is about teen murders that Heather is solving as an investigator (or rather a amateur detective), however also has something to do with the fact that Heather is still worrying about her physically appearance.

Every Soul A Star - Video Blog

alternative title

BOOK: FLYAWAY (REAL TITLE)    ALTERNATIVE TITLE: PRAY FOR LOVE. I PICKED THIS TITLE INSTEAD OF 'FLYAWAY' BECAUSE IN THIS STORY, ITS MAINLY ABOUT FAMILY AND THE FATHER WHO SUFFERED FROM HEART DISEASE. THIS GIRL IN THE STORY HAD BEEN WORRIED ABOUT HER FATHER AND HOPING HET GETS BETTER. SHE ALSO MET A FRIEND WHO SUFFERED FROM CANCER. SO THE TITLE 'PRAY FOR LOVE' MEANS IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE GIVE THEM YOUR PRAYERS. PRAY FOR THEM TO BE HEALTHY, PRAY FOR THEM TO BE WITH YOU. THIS GIRL NEEDED SOME LUCK TO MAKE HER DAD FEELS BETTER, HEALTHIER. ON THE OTHER SIDE, ITS SUGGESTING ABOUT THE LUCK THIS GIRL IS NEEDING, THIS GIRL WANTS! IF YOU PRAY FOR SOMETHING, IT IS MAINLY YOU'RE PRAYING FOR LUCK. LUCK INVOLVES WITH LOVE AND THIS BOOK IS ABOUT CHEERISHING THE BEST MOMENT WITH THEIR CLOSE FAMILY AND FRIENDS.  

the order of phoenix

 THIS IS VIDEO LOG:) IM QUITE SURE IT'S NOT REALLY A VIDEO LOG AND I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO FOR VIDEO LOG. SO I JUST DID A VIDEO WITH DUMBLEDORE'S SPEECH IN IT. (NOT REAL SPEECH THOUGH) :)

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

This book is a sequel to Incarceron, the first book in the series. There are some mild spoilers below.

The book is said to be “darker” than the first one, as there were some dark imagery and themes in the book, which I liked. The cast of characters stayed the same as the first book, with a few new additions. I think that the characters were a lot more developed, and explained, however, I thought that some characters (Keiro and Attia) stayed the same as they were at the end of the first book despite them being among the main characters. I mostly enjoyed the book, and was generally absorbed into the book, but at around three-quarters of the book, I thought that it was dragged on a little too much so that I almost stopped reading. I think that the book was very creative and imaginative, and I especially liked the setting, since it was very original. The plot was very detailed, to the point where I would constantly get confused, but it was still very interesting. I thought that the frequent point-of-view change was a good way to keep the readers reading. There are two main (but linked) plots that take place simultaneously, but in different places, and with different characters. The point-of-view change would make mini-cliff-hangers so that the reader would have to read through the events that are happening in one place, before getting to continue with the other story, but at times, it made me a little frustrated. This also adds to the quick pacing of the book, and although it was the fast-paced events and action that kept me reading the book, it at the same time made it hard for me to keep track of everything that was going on. The ending concluded everything, but I think that there were still some things unanswered, and I felt a little unsatisfied, and that there should have been a little more to the ending.

Overall, I think that the strong points were the creativity, and the action, but it was rather confusing at times, and I thought that the ending was missing something. I would recommend this book to the readers of the first book, and people who like detailed plots, and fantasy settings.