Review - Supernatural Freak by Louisa Klein

Supernatural Freak by Louisa Klein
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

ebook, 185 pages

Published January 30th 2013 (first published August 9th 2012)

Source: Author for review

Synopsis:
'When paranormal expert Robyn Wise is offered an outrageous sum of money to cure a boy who is turning into a dead tree, she's very sceptical. A politician ready to pay that much to make his son stop growing branches instead of hair? Come on! She's more likely to be abducted by aliens. This is a trap. Or much worse. And, of course, it's much worse.

The child is turning into a dark portal, created by a powerful entity determined to absorb Fairyland's power. This means that not only queen Titania and her court are in danger, but the very balance of the magic fluxes.

Robyn'd rather stick a pencil in her own eye but, to learn how to destroy the portal, she has to sneak into the Wizardry Council, a place full of wizards who are hiding something—though it’s certainly not their dislike of her.

There, she discovers a terrible secret that could help to overthrow Fairyland's enemies for good, but puts her in the midst of an ancient and deadly war, and not as a bystander, but as the main target.'

My Thoughts:
When I think about how I felt when reading Supernatural Freak, the first word that comes to mind is confused.

In my opinion there was just way too much going on at once in this book for it to be enjoyable. It's like the author tried to be impressive and fit in as many supernatural beings as possible in one story and because of this it just didn't seem to gel together and was just plain confusing to try and keep track of who was who and what was actually going on.

Unfortunately, I felt the writing was very disjointed and it also lacked some serious editing. I also didn't feel a connection with any of the characters due to none of them being fleshed out enough for me to really get to know them.

This story would have benefited a lot more by being made into a longer book or by having some of the characters left out and not introduced until future instalments. If this had been the case the world could have been embellished upon a lot more and the story most likely would have made a lot more sense and been more pleasurable to read.

I must admit I was very glad to finish this book and am definitely not planning to read the sequel.

Review - Eyeshot by Taylor Adams

Eyeshot by Taylor Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Kindle Edition, 290 pages
Published August 2014 by Joffe Books (first published January 1st 2014)
Source: Own copy

Synopsis:
'James and Elle Eversman are a young couple travelling through the Mojave desert on their way to a new life. When their car mysteriously breaks down they are stranded in the middle of nowhere without much water and no cell-phone reception.

A mile away a deadly sniper has them in his cross-hairs. They are pinned down behind their broken-down car, surrounded by open ground in all directions. There’s nowhere to run and no one to help them. How can they possibly survive?

With relentless tension, razor-sharp prose, and a surprising dose of dark humor, EYESHOT will keep you gripped till its stunning conclusion.'

My Thoughts:
Eyeshot seriously has to be one of the best and most riveting books that I have read in a long time. It kept me on the edge of my seat from the word go and I found it practically impossible to put down.

This book would make an excellent movie in my opinion. It was amazing how the author managed to make such a thrilling read that stayed interesting in a situation where the scenery and characters didn't change for over 95% of the book.

To be honest, there were some developments in the plot that were a bit eyebrow raising and kind of far-fetched but to me that's the whole point of reading sometimes, to escape from reality and be entertained by a book. None of these developments took away from the flow of the story in any way and just made you want to keep turning the pages even more to see what could possibly happen next.

I really felt for the main characters, James and Elle, and found myself quite emotionally invested in their wellbeing by the end of the book. They were a very likeable and believable couple and after I finished reading this book I found myself stopping and wondering what would I do if my husband and I were ever faced with a similar situation.

If you are a fan of a good thriller that pulls no punches and moves at a rapid pace, I totally recommend giving this book a go.