I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book with my son. It is darkly funny in places, grim and a little gruesome in others and entertaining from start to finish. I thought it's concept was very unique and refreshing.
The graveyard book tells the story of Nobody (Bod) Owens. Orphaned as a toddler when the evil Jack slaughters his family Bod finds refuge in a graveyard and is cared for and protected by it's other realm inhabitants. The ghosts are all intriguing characters and are richly described by Gaiman. There's werewolves,romans, celts and witches residing in or near the graveyard to name but a few of the many fabulous characters that you're introduced to as the story progresses. I think this book would be fabulous for reluctant young readers and is an entertaining, quick read for adults too. ]]>
I do enjoy this series greatly, I like all the characters and they make for easy reading with several funny interactions between them. I enjoy the mix of vampire lore and Native American Indian lore, it add a nice depth to Zoey (the lead character).
This book picks up just after where the last one ended, with all the main characters recovering from their mammoth battle with Neferet, Kalona and his raven mocker army. Just when they think it is safe to return to the House of Night Zoey and her friends discover that Kalona and Neferet were not killed in the battle and have fled, which means they must battle again and this time on a foreign land.
Tempted explores Zoey's predicament of a very messy love life as she has the possesive Eric, the happy-go-lucky (and sometimes complete jerk!) Heath and the darkly faithful/dutiful warrior Stark all surrounding her whilst fighting the attentions from kalona who is intruding into her dreams.
Tempted has a good pace but I do have a problem with the ending, cliff hangers are to be expected in a series, but this ending felt too abrupt, almost hurried, and left far too many open questions for me to feel it deserved a 5 star rating. ]]>
Zephfire
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I admit to procrastinating when it came to reading this book, it had been recommended to me by so many friends, but still I held off on reading it, solely for the reason that I didn't think I would enjoy it as I have a daughter that age and the premise of the whole game really just didn't sit comfortably with me, that being said, I'm truly glad that I put my prejudice aside and did read this book as it was a very unusual and compulsive read.
I found the major characters, especially Katniss were very likeable. They weren't represented as hapless teen victims, but as resourceful and courageous fighters, intent on winning their family a supply of food and comfort. The pace was fast, the descriptions of the settings were brilliantly detailed and the whole plot was exciting and innovative with a tiny nod to The Running Man.
I would say that it's maybe a bit too intimidating for young readers, but for older teens I would recommend it heartily. There's excitement, danger and some interesting moral dilemmas that are sensitively handled which I think will make it compulsive reading for the older age group. I have already bought the sequel and I'm look forward to reading that, with none of the reservations that I had prior to reading this instalment! Don't let the title or the premise of the story put you off as it did for me initially, you'll be missing out on an exciting read! ]]>