The Book Plank

The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler Alice always thought fairy tales had happy endings. That--along with everything else--changed the day she met her first fairy When Alice's father goes down in a shipwreck, she is sent to live with her uncle Geryon--an uncle she's never heard of and knows nothing about. He lives in an enormous manor with a massive library that is off-limits to Alice. But then she meets a talking cat. And even for a rule-follower, when a talking cat sneaks you into a forbidden library and introduces you to an arrogant boy who dares you to open a book, it's hard to resist. Especially if you're a reader to begin with. Soon Alice finds herself INSIDE the book, and the only way out is to defeat the creature imprisoned within. It seems her uncle is more than he says he is. But then so is Alice. Last year I was introduced to Django Wexler's adult flintlock fantasy The Thousand Names and nominated as one of the best debut of 2013. I thor...

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud, Lockwood & Co #1 When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in... For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions. Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest, most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive. Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again... The Screaming Stair...

The Goblin’s Gift by Conrad Mason, Tales of Fayt #2 Joseph Grubb is the newest member of the Demon's Watch. He and his fellow watchmen protect Port Fayt, where humans live in peace alongside trolls, elves and fairies. And now the town needs them more than ever, because the almighty League of the Light has sent an armada to wipe it off the map. Fayt's only hope is to persuade the magical merfolk to fight with them. But the merfolk won't go to war. Not unless their princess is returned to them from the clutches of the most dangerous nine-year-old in the Ebony Ocean. It's up to Joseph and his friend Tabitha to rescue the mermaid princess... But a secret from Joseph's past is about to change everything. Last month I read the first book in the Tales of the Fyat, The Demon’s Watch. Here Conrad Mason introduced quite the energetic children’s story chockfull of elements that will undoubtedly appeal to their tastes, pirates accompanied by swashbuckling sword...

The Demon’s Watch by Conrad Mason, The Tales of Fayt #1 'We're the Demon's Watch, son. Protectors of Port Fayt. Scourge of all sea scum. Don't tell me you've never heard of us?' Half-goblin boy Joseph Grubb lives in Fayt, a bustling trading port where elves, trolls, fairies and humans live side by side. Fed up of working at the Legless Mermaid tavern, Grubb dreams of escape - until a whirlwind encounter with a smuggler plunges him into Fayt's criminal underworld. There he meets the Demon's Watch and learns of their mission to save the port from a mysterious and deadly threat. Can Grubb and his new allies uncover the dark plot in time, or will they end up as fish food in Harry's Shark Pit? When I came across The Demon’s Watch the first thing that really got my attention was the cover of the book. It just looks so cool and awesome and with the promise of a piratesque look and story aimed at children with goblins I just new this story could...

The kingdom of Goredd is populated by humans and by dragons who fold themselves into a human form. Though they live alongside each other, the peace between them is uneasy. But when a member of the royal family is murdered, and the crime appears to have been committed by a dragon the peace and treaty between both worlds is seriously threatened… Into this comes Seraphina, a gifted musician who joins the royal court as the assistant to the court composer. She is soon drawn into the murder investigation and, as she uncovers hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace in Goredd for good, finds herself caught desperately in the middle of the tension. For Seraphina hides a secret – the secret behind her musical gift – and if she is found out, her life is in serious danger… As you can see from the dragon on the cover and make up from the synopsis above, dragons play an important role in Seraphina. Now Seraphina is intended for the Young-Adult audience and for me the first series that spr...

9.21am: business as usual on a high street in England. 9.22am: the explosions are heard for miles around, and in the early confusion there is talk of a gas leak, a plane crash, and even terrorism… The people of Heathwick had been preparing for Christmas unaware that many would die, and the rest would be transformed for ever. Travel with them, second-by-second, through the hopes, fears, love, worries, gossip, cruelty, kindness and trivia that dominated their final minute before tragedy struck. And in the everyday story of an ordinary street, look for clues to what happened, and why. I was browsing for new YA books to read and I came a across The Last Minute, I for one am a bit of a sucker for a catchy cover art (sorry). So with a explosion being shown on it, I read the synopsis and as you can read above it is actually quite catchy. Trying to show the ordinary lives in a England shopping street as they unconsciously live their last minute. I did believe this boo...