Top Ten Tuesday- 10 Things That Instantly Make Me Not Want To Read A Book.

Any book that glorifies abusive/overly aggressive males. I'm just not into that.

It revolves around abuse of any sort. The only time I'll read any book like this are those that are true stories but even then I will struggle reading it.

Books that basically tell you love conquers all and solves everything. Here's a little pointer, it doesn't.

Anything that shames anyone: Like slut shaming and virgin shaming, like why? It's not necessary.

I actually can't think of any more if I'm honest with you.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted weekly by the Broke and The Bookish. 

Esper Files: The Sky Cult - Egan Brass

Synopsis:

After the events of the first book, Freya has joined the Institute - an organization created to help Espers control their powers, and she thought she’d finally found peace.

That is, until Anti-Esper weapons find their way into the hands of The Coalition, a radical group who is determined to kill anyone with powers.
At the same time, the Sky Cult has arisen, claiming that Espers have the right to rule over lowly humans.
The timing couldn’t be worse, as all of this happens three days before Esper Day, the first holiday designed to show that humans and Espers can coexist.

Now Nathan, Freya and the team have to fight both organizations in a race against time before one of the radical groups tips the scales, and plunges the entire world into their own version of Armageddon.

Review:

So this is indeed the second book of a series. Back in the first book which I got as a paperback, we discover the world of Espers based in London who are in fact humans who after an experiment that had gone wrong in the late part of the 19th century, gain extraordinary powers. A thing called The Institute is set up to help those who have the powers to control them and stop corrupt Espers from abusing them. We meet up with the characters from the last book, Nathan, James and Freya who joined The Institute in the last book alongside her brother who still in this book is effected by the happenings in book 1.

Meeting back up with these characters felt so lovely, once I was asked to give an honest review for this book in return for a getting a free copy I just couldn't say no because I fell in love with the characters, the unique plot and the writing itself.

Sky Cult picked up shortly after the first book, the book automatically pushes you into the action without faffing around. 2 new what ill call baddies are introduced. One called Juniper who can control thunder and lightning (this makes me think of Thor) and secondly Lichtmann (you don't need too much help to translate that name) who can burn others with his touch and emits golden light whilst he believes himself to be an angel. Juniper is the leader of 'The Sky Cult' and Lichhtmann is just there to protect Jupiter under the orders of a mysterious character called Hades.

What I love is how real the characters are portrayed, Freya is still just a typical teenager, she probably believes herself to be indestructible, a hero. You know all of the things teenagers believe themselves to be? Except she can wield ice and is learning to control it which allows her to use it for good.

Nathan is still as attractive as he was the first time around, not in the sense of looks but in the way of his sarcasm, his personality and strength and determination and how protective he is and willing to risk all. I love his overall character just as much as I love the others.

What is great about this book is that it's actually diverse, we have people of colour and different ethnicities. Its beautiful to see that they aren't getting excluded from becoming beautiful powerful extraordinary characters. I also love the fact you do hear about slavery for a small part in the book which I felt had to be covered to help fill out James' character.

The book has so much action and what is called steam punk parts, both of these made the book awesome once again. All the characters that kind of played second to the main characters are characters I cant wait to see again if they every do make another appearance, like the Phantom Thief and Red Cap (who has the most amazing and hilarious one liners ever who reminds me a little of Deadpool) which also brings me to the point that I love more Espers from the institute were also featured which helped you understand the true reach and power of Espers.

I definitely didn't see the end of the book coming for sure, I loved that all  the questions you first want to ask get answered but then when you look back, you end up having more questions than actual answers and somehow that just makes me love it even more. What I am super looking forward to finding out all about the mysterious Hades, he has so much power through this book even though he isn't actually a huge part of it (if that makes sense, like he is present in the books but he isn't an actual fully fledges character we see every chapter or paragraph) I cant wait to find out about everything that was left unanswered at the end. I'm just so in love with this series that I think I'm never going to want to let go.

Its definitely a 5/5 from me for the second instalment of Esper Files, I'm looking forward to the next instalment. I'm probably going to have to heavily occupy myself up until it is available to read. I can recommend this to family, friends, strangers on the street, everybody and anybody.

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Things That Will Make Me Instantly Want To Read A Book

1. A quirky or foiled cover/jacket; this is mostly just because they attract my eye and really just hypnotise me and just make me buy them. Half the time I have to talk to myself and ask myself if I really do need another foiled cover or quirky cover on my bookshelf. (THE ANSWER IS ALWASY YES)
2. If I haven't heard of it and its been published recently: This is basically just because I'm not really fond of books that suddenly get really huge amounts of hype, if I do buy a book that suddenly gets loads of hype I either have read it beforehand or wait until the hype dies down a lot because it really puts me off and authors and books I haven't heard of deserve to be acknowledged.
3. The synopsis sounds amazing or mysterious: Now this seems obvious right? but for me the synopsis has to really grip me because even if it sounds mildly good ill have to question myself if I think the way the book goes is worth me spending my money on it. I know, I'm a bad person for that but I guess I just want great books for my money I spend?
4. If its highly recommended but has a small amount of hype: This is basically one of those where if you come to me and tell me about an author and their book and it grips me I'm going to want to read it and I'm going to ask if its well known and if you say no I'm going to be like "hell yeah I'm going to go buy a copy and give this author and book some recognition." sue me guys.
5. I've had an ARC and loved it so much: This has happened with a few books but let me just say Caraval, first of all I got an E-book ARC and I automatically fell in love, it then got published after I had finished and review it and then the hype just blew up and then I ordered a copy online because I loved it so much and my ARC had timed out because it was a timed copy so I only had it for like 40 or so day and after that the file wouldn't open.
6. The author is one of my favourites: An easy example or 4 of this point is Carrie Hope Fletcher, Giovanna Fletcher (okay there is a bigger reason to both of those but there are more examples)  I love Patrick Ness and John Green so I buy any book I can that have their names on.
7. I've read the first book in a series and need the rest: I mean this is pretty self explanatory really? Like if I like what I experienced in the first round I'm gong to want to see what's next right?
8. Its got like 150 pages: I mean I love thick books that have like 300 pages but sometimes short reads are really all I need at times.
9. If the plot of the book includes something I would like to be educated or further educated on: I guess this is pretty much one of those where I think the plot contains something I don't know much about or want to know about I'm going to read it and learn from it, I like to learn about new things or further my knowledge on certain things.
10. Bargain!: Like my 2 recent buys, I didn't buy them because I needed books, oh no I bought them because they were reduced, they looked good and hell I didn't want to miss out on a bargain.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted weekly by The Broke And The Bookish

Esper Files -Egan Brass

Synopsis:

Set in London during the latter part of the 19th century. An experiment goes wrong at The Oxford Academy of Science, giving certain people extraordinary powers which turns them into 'Espers'. An institute is set up to teach Espers how to control these power, and stop corrupt Espers from abusing theirs. Nathan and James, two agents from the Institute team up with Freya, a young Esper whose brother (gifted with the strange ability to manipulate emotions) is abducted by a ruthless Baron. The group has to fight against a dark threat to protect the fragile peace of Victorian London... And the rest of the world.

Review:

This book is the first in a series called Esper Files,  we first start off with a prologue which shows us the experiment that goes wrong in the late 19th century. It immediately grips you and you begin to wonder what the outcome of it all would be even more so if you haven't read the synopsis (which some people don't) The experiment that goes wrong goes down in history as the Great Storm, on that day unlike the character nicknamed The Professor intended, the world changed.

We are then introduced to Nathan who is our main character, he is witty, sarcastic, intelligent and enthusiastic. I imagine him being a very wonderful human being if he was actually real and in my life. We also meet James who is a character of colour who is a supporting character who really is just as important as Nathan. They both have developed powers thanks to the Great Storm and are now working with a place called The Institute that helps Espers control their powers and also stop corrupt Espers from abusing their powers.

You're pretty much pushed right into the action, no dilly dallying around with building up everything because the ways its written does that just perfectly in half the time. We see the so called 'villain' of the book called The Baron who captures a young Esper by the name of Siren and take him away from his sister Freya as he plans to steal the sirens power for himself. Before you know it, Nathan and James are coming to Siren's rescue.

We do see many perspectives on the side of the main perspective provided by Nathan, we see those of The Baron, Shadow ( a ruthless assassin) as well as the perspectives of The Siren and his older sister Freya, all of which help bulk out the story.The setting of the story being in old time London really helped me get immersed in it as I can easily imagine an old London rather than a far fetched super robotic futuristic London.  I really fell in love with the characters, the storyline, the action and the writing as a whole. It was a super easy read, it took me just 2 days I believe and I was left not only waning more but needing more.

The members of The Institute act like a single person, they are somewhat a huge family. Thinking about it now I can see themes likes the corruption of power and greed and the whole family theme which is strong and easily idolised. Its an easy 5/5 for me and I can easily recommend it to anyone around me within a 10 mile radius. Immersive, quick and action packed read.

Remnants (Brandon Fisher FBI Series Book 6) - Carolyn Arnold

Synopsis:

All that remains are whispers of the past…When multiple body parts are recovered from the Little Ogeechee River in Savannah, Georgia, local law enforcement calls in FBI agent and profiler Brandon Fisher and his team to investigate. But with the remains pointing to three separate victims, this isn’t proving to be an open-and-shut case.

With no quick means of identifying the deceased, building a profile of this serial killer is more challenging than usual. How are these targets being selected? Why are their limbs being severed and their bodies mutilated? And what is it about them that is triggering this person to murder?

The questions compound as the body count continues to rise, and when a torso painted blue and missing its heart is found, the case takes an even darker turn. But this is only the beginning, and these new leads draw the FBI into a creepy psychological nightmare. One thing is clear, though: The killing isn’t going to stop until they figure it all out. And they are running out of time…



Review:

What's really great about this book is that it is part of a series, in fact it is the 6th book of the said series but like a little glorious present, stands alone and its such a great way to be so that the reader doesn't feel like they've missed out on anything if they haven't read any of the series up until this point.

Carolyn created a nightmare that could turn and empty the stomachs of anyone. The Little Ogeechee River is washing up body parts and FBI profiler Brandon Fisher and his team are called in to investigate. It gets even worse, these parts belong to more than one victim. Brandon definitely has his hands full profiling this killer. The bodies are unidentified, there are no clues and by the hour, the body count continues to rise and the mutilation becomes even more disturbing.

The story switches between Points Of View, this only deepens the hold on you as a reader, you burn just to know who's world you're seeing this all from, you just cant put the book down until you know for sure. I didn't feel 100% connected to any of the characters, I was just enough to want them to be safe and on guard and that was satisfying for me,. The POV changes from Paige who is a member of the team, Brendon himself and a 3rd person who you soon find out to be part of the crimes. I felt that in this book/ series it was a good thing to not get 100% attached to characters just because its much easier that way so the changes in POV don't annoy you and keeps me as a reader intrigued and maintains the mystery.

What I did like about our MC Brandon Fisher is that he is not the typical hero you're used to, he doubts himself and often wonders about his personal life and  comes to questions his decisions as well as worrying about his partners and his boss. Unlike most heroes you see in his position, he has a weak stomach and gets queasy at the scene of violent crimes. He has times at which he can can be reckless but he has a sense of humour and is great at convincing people and has a great ability to read people and gain their trust. Its just great to see because although he's a main character, a man who had a whole series to his name, he isn't strong 100% of the time, he has flaws and makes mistakes. I just wish I had read the previous books in the series just to get more background on the characters etc. just because if I had, I might have connected to them more.

I found that Carolyn's writing was not only engaging, but easily painted a picture for the reader. There was never a time that I felt as though she was talking about things that were over my head, the use of the proper terminology when it came to forensics etc. just made it that more real and believable.
I loved how the plot unravelled and how the relationships between the team were shown, it's actually quite nice and to have seen the dynamics of the small group for a change instead of seeing nothing at all. I thought at several points that I had it all worked out, that I truly knew who the murderer was but in the end I was off by miles because I definitely didn't see the twists and turns coming. You're constantly on edge wondering what's next Its full of grit and gore and the end will satisfy you.

An easy 5/5 from me and I look forward to picking up and seeing more of Carolyn's work and I'll definitely be watching out for her name on the top list of the Crime/Thriller/Mystery list in the near future.

Thank you to George who is a book Publicist at Hibbert & Stiles Publishing Inc who provided me with a copy which I was to write an honest review.

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Of The Most Unique Books I've Read

Let There Be Linda - Rich Leder

Summary Justice - John Fairfax

The Dry - Jane Harper

More Than This - Patrick Ness

SweetPea - CJ Skuse

Risen - M.T Miller

Raven's Peak - Lincoln Cole

Everyday - David Levithan

The Sign Of One - Eugene Lambert

The Edge Of Juniper - Lora Richardson

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted weekly by The Broke And The Bookish

City of Buried Ghosts (Elisenda Domènech Investigations #2) - Chris Lloyd

Synopsis:

Be careful what you dig up… Still recovering from the tragedy that hit her team, Elisenda takes on a new case. Except it’s not new. On an archaeological dig by the coast a body is uncovered, seemingly executed with a spike thrust through the base of the skull – an ancient tribal ritual. It soon becomes clear that this body is neither ancient nor modern, but a mysterious corpse from the 1980s.

Assigned to the case along with her team, Elisenda soon uncovers a complex world of star archaeologists, jealousy and missing persons. They find a dark trade in illicit antiquities, riddled with vicious professional rivalries. And even though she’s staying close to the crime scene, Elisenda is also never far from enemies of her own within the police force.

Just as the case seems to become clear it is blown wide-open by another horrific murder. Elisenda must fight her personal demons and office politics, whilst continuing to uncover plots and hatreds that were long buried. How far will she go to solve the crime? Is her place in the force secure? And can she rebuild her life?

Review:

So this book takes places many months after the first instalment and its clear straight away that Elisenda is still struggling with her demons and that the rest of her team are still trying to cope with the betrayal and loss of one of their team members. As stated in the synopsis, the team end up with a cold case and then a fresh case both just as gory and very disturbing. This story is about the archaeological world and its unseen dark side. It explores the issue of stolen archaeological artefacts which somehow ties into two murders committed over thirty years apart.

The plot really is great, I love how much detail Chris uses as it keep you engaged and leaves you wanting to actually go an visit the setting itself. The more I read the further I fall in love with the series, I fell further in love with the members of the team after I got to know them a little bit more. Part of me really does just want to wrap them up in cotton wool and keep them safe. Elisenda is still strong and independent and smart and she still has not issue with standing up for what she believes in no matter what which I really love, I hope that soon she can fight off her demons and have all the happiness she deserves. Alex is still haunted by his experience from the last book and I really feel for him as you can really se how deeply it has effected him, its changed his character and it actually made me sad. All Elisenda wants is for the old Alex she knows to return but he doubts that he ever will. I feel like Josep and Montse are the ruts of the litter, like they are giving the long and draining parts of the investigations, doing a lot of research and fiddly things, they do their job well and with their characters doing it, it really helps paint a picture of them and how hard working they are.

I don't really want to give too much detail on the story because this story is one of those that can lose its touch if one thing is spoilt. What I can say is though you need to settle down and hold on tight because there are twists you can not see coming. You can try and figure it out like I tried to, I have faith you might do better than I did because I wasn't even close. I feel like you should try your best to remember every character you see in the span of this book just so you can get a clearer picture of everything and trust me it will help you understand.

You easily get absorbed in the story and can really believe you're involved. I cant even think of a bad thing about this book, not this time. I didn't really know what to expect going into the book but I really loved what I got when I was there. its a 5 out of 5 from me and I really cant wait to see what Chris has in store for Elisenda and her team in City of Drowned Souls which I will be moving on to read in the near future.

I have to recommend this to any crime/thriller reader, I don't feel like youd have to read the first instalment but if you want to get to really know the characters, reading it would be best.

Ignite - Danielle Rogland

Synopsis:
In the ruins of dystopian London, the Empire rules through fear and fire.

“Everyone knew about ‘The Flames’ and how much trouble they had caused the Empire. They were the only rebel group anyone knew of that had lasted longer than a few months without getting caught, leaving candles behind whenever they snatched somebody out of the Empire’s grasp. To get involved with people like them is stupid. So stupid.”

Ever since her parents were murdered by the empire’s agents, Jacks has been living on the street as a pickpocket trying to keep away from trouble. When she accidentally witnesses the rebel group ‘The Flames’ in the middle of an operation she is unwillingly swept up into their world, and has to decide if she’s going to go back to looking after herself or join the rebellion and help them fight for the people of London Ruins.

She knows that getting involved was stupid, but does she really have a choice?


Review:

This story takes places in a place called New London which is under rule of Emperor Donovan. He is a cruel and evil character, and under his orders DRT agents burn down houses and kill rebels who pose even the slightest of threats to the empire.

This story starts with Jacks, a homeless pick pocket who lives in the generator section of a block of flats and The Flames are a group of people, known to all but never seen who save others from the grasp of the empire leaving a candle burning for each person they save. Jacks has lost too many people that when she lands right in the lap of The Flames in a chance encounter she's reluctant to stay with them.

The characters are relatable, Jacks is small and seems to find it hard tot rust and confide in others which is really understandable once you read about her. She doesn't see herself as anything other but a homeless pickpocketing girl barely getting by in the London Ruins. Zira is the leader of The Flames and when you read her she's a really tough cookie, sometimes reckless and uncontrollable but smart and a great, strong leader but even she has her fair share of secrets. Corry is a nerd, able to decode different codes they read to obtain any information, he's quick to trust Jacks and is a kind boy. he also happens to be utterly in love with Zira and doesn't care about showing it. Jeremy is the most like Jacks as he was homeless too, they understand each other better than the others understand each of them and they bond quickly. Jeremy does believe he is useless to The Flames but he is an engineer and once Jacks is a round, finds himself useful. The remaining 2 main characters are twins, Addy and Finn, much like Corry, Finn is an utter nerd, computer geek, know it all whatever you wish to call him, its him. He creates devices the flams can use as defence against the agents. Addy is a quirky girl happy to help and very vibrant. She cares deeply and can easy put on a façade to fool whoever she needs to.

The book does switch between the points of view of 4 of the characters, Jacks, Zira, Corry and Jeremy which gives you a variety of great content that when intertwined with the rest gives a really great story. I loved the ratio of speech to description as I didn't find there to be any stage where one outweighed the other which is always a great thing. I found myself laughing at certain things Jeremy would say, he was a great character and would be the sort of person I would want in my friendship circle as well as all of the others for their personality traits.

When it came to the end I was able to realise how real the characters felt to me, they were just that good. I'll probably find myself reading this book again in the future and I really can not wait to see what Danielle has up her sleeve as this was such a great read. its an easy 5/5 from me and a recommendation to anyone who likes the dystopian genre, if you like a mix of love, friendship and strength.


Thank you to Inkitt for providing me with a copy for a honest review.

Top Ten Tuesday - Top 10 Fandoms I'm In

These are all going to be a mix of Music,Film, TV and Books

Fannible - Hannibal (TV show)

Potterhead - Harry Potter

Glader - The Maze Runner

Killjoy - My Chemical Romance

Whovian - Dr Who

Parawhores - Paramore

Hunters - Supernatural

Echelon - Thirty Seconds To Mars

Truebie - True Blood

Walker Stalker/Deadheads - The Walking Dead/Fear The Walking Dead

There are also other fandoms that don't actually have nicknames that I know of that I'm a part of

Z Nation

Sons Of Anarchy

Blindspot

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted weekly by The Broke and The Bookish

More Than This - Patrick Ness

Synopsis:

A boy drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments. He dies.

Then he wakes, naked and bruised and thirsty, but alive.

How can this be? And what is this strange deserted place?

As he struggles to understand what is happening, the boy dares to hope. Might this not be the end? Might there be more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife?

Review:

I've been wanting this book for a long long time, every time I've seen it in the shop I've wanted to pick it up but never actually gotten around to doing so. I used my 1 free credit from audible and then spent 11 hours listening to the majestic voice of Nick Podehl.

I had no idea about the actual plot of the story, I just knew the synopsis and that was it really, the rest of the plot was a pure mystery so its safe to say I was pleasantly surprised when the plot really begun to unravel. I really don't know what to say about this book, I've really lost a major part of my vocabulary.

The last thing Seth remembers is dying, he can remember how it felt to struggle against the waves and the feeling of his shoulder snapping and then the agonising pain of his skull breaking and irreparable damage to his body has been done. The next thing he knows, he's thirsty, bruised and naked but he's alive beyond all odds. He begins to believe that the familiar now abandoned place in which he lives is his own personal hell, where he's left wondering if there really is more than this but then on one day once the dreams (which help us gain background information on our MC) he has when he sleeps get too painful for him, he makes a choice to go out for a run on the next clear day, a run that massively changes the whole thing.

At the rate of which things were going for the first however darn long it was, I thought Seth and his dreams were all we were going to have which would develop into some other situation but the way the book went took me by surprise. We end up with more characters other than the ones in his dreams/memories. Regine and Tomasz are great characters who entertained me. All 3 of them together is literally 3 parts of my soul. Tomasz is a younger boy who is actually so adorable my heart bleeds for him, he's so thoughtful and wise even though he's sensitive and strong. Regine is strong and independent and capable of so much. We do end up  finding out what happened to both of the new characters which is somewhat the same as what had happened to Seth.

The book does get you thinking, second guessing, trying to figure everything out but what's great I that even at the end of the book you don't really know what is happening or anything, you've just
been on this journey and you've had this experience and had such a thrilling time but leave none the wiser. Usually that would annoy me but this time, this is the exception, its amazing sort of like The Matrix and Inception mixed.

I've adored Patrick Ness' work since I read A Monster Calls around about like 4 years ago? ever since I've been walking into book stores and seeing more of his books and I've always wanted to buy them but never actually picked them up since I listened tot his on Audible, I cant wait to read The Rest of Us Just Live Here. Patrick just has a way of writing that just makes you adore his work and everything.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a book to read, its easy to get into an you could easily read it in 2 days, also its great to listen to it on Audible, really soothing and immersive. It would definitely make a great movie. Its a 5/5 from me and a definite must read.