Review: A House of Ghosts by W.C. Ryan

First things first, this cover is BEAUTIFUL. It is worth reading for that reason alone.

But the story? Not great. I really wanted to love this, but I just didn't. There were aspects that were good: the characters were interesting and the premise of the supernatural was what drew me to the book in the first place, but it just didn't deliver. There was an occasional mention of ghosts and spirits throughout, but they don't really contribute anything to the story, and the outcome would have been just the same if they hadn't been included at all. There were also a lot of questions that were left unanswered. The way it ends leads me to think that it has been left open for a second book, which may well explain why somethings were left unexplained, but I can't say I'll be rushing to pick it up.

Review: Killer T by Robert Muchamore

This book is set in a not-too-distant future, where gene-editing is commonplace, and anyone with money can be 'modded' in order to be exactly what they want: taller, stronger, tanned. You can even have anti-ageing mods, and mods that reduce your risk of inherited diseases.

But with gene-editing comes synthetic diseases, and this story is set in the midst of a Killer-T pandemic, a virus that has a 90% mortality rate, and is sweeping the globe with no known antidote. We follow the story of Harry and Charlie over 10 years, and we see the world before, during and after this pandemic.

This book is a reflection of what could happen in the future, and for that reason, it is TERRIFYING. I liked the fact that it was spread over a 10 year period, as this meant that we could really see the effects of Killer-T and what it did to the population. The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I didn't love the ending - I won't ruin it, but to me it just wasn't a great ending to what was a great book.

Review: Perfect Ten by Jacqueline Ward

This was SO good!

Caroline is trying to get her life back together after getting divorced and losing custody of her children. Her ex-husband was having affairs throughout their entire relationship and marriage, but Caroline could never prove it, and as a result, Jack made everyone believe that she was paranoid and dangerous, despite her successful career, and he took the children as a final blow. But Caroline is desperate to get her children back, and after finally finding the evidence that she was missing before, she will do whatever it takes to make this happen.

This is incredibly well-written. I spent the first half of the book wondering whether Caroline was actually mad, and the second half rooting for her as she schemed and manipulated to ensure that everyone found out what Jack was really like. The way she does it is clever - doing just enough damage that he has to respond, but not enough so that she can be blamed.

I read the majority of this in one sitting too (yay for lazy afternoons! :)) and it was full of twists and turns. Highly recommend!