Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb (Tawny Man Trilogy, book 1)

Fool's Errand (Tawny Man Trilogy, book 1)

By Robin Hobb

Blurb: 
For fifteen years FitzChivalry Farseer has lived in self-imposed exile, assumed to be dead by almost all who once cared about him. But now, into his isolated life, visitors begin to arrive: Fitz’s mentor from his assassin days; a hedge-witch who foresees the return of a long-lost love; and the Fool, the former White Prophet, who beckons Fitz to fulfill his destiny.

Review:
These books are huge. I thought the Farseer series was big but these books are even bigger and growing. This first book was 661 pages long, which is insane. Netherless I powered through because I knew it would be worth it.

For those who haven't read books by Robin Hobb, you're probably wondering why they're so long. It's simply really, she just really likes to include a lot of detail. She includes every aspect of Fitz (main character) life; when he sleeps, eat, rides on a horse for a few days...Everything!

Therefore I wouldn't reccomend this book to people who don't like that style of writing. I personally do, it really helps to visualise and to create a strong bond for the characters. It makes me feel like I'm there watching or it's like watching a TV series. The details makes me have emotional attachments for the characters. That's why I love her work and this series so much.

The downside of the detail is that it does make the book quite slow. I believe roughly the first 30% of the book not much happens, it's mainly a catch up (which is expected) done through short conversations. Once Fitz (or Tom who knows how to address him) gains his quest thats when the story starts to properly pick up. 

I wouldn't reccomend reading this if you haven't already read the Farseer series as I think it'll get confusing, mainly understanding who all the characters are. That's because this book is set 15 years later, Fitz is in his 30's now when in the previous series it ended with him in his late teens. I love watching this character grow and I know the next series in the Realms of the Elderlings will have Fitz even older. It's just enjoyable to read the character mind set grow as he develops across the ages. Now that he is older, he's meant to have less child impulses and seem more of a man and for the most part that is true. It's enjoyable seeing his relationships grow as he grows too. His freindship with the Fool is just getting stronger despite everything that goes on around them. It's good to see such a unique friendship.

The way I see this book is that it's more focused on the Wit than the previous series. As that series seemed heavily involved in the Skill. I could be wrong but I have a feeling that the next two books of Tawny Man will also be more Wit heavy. For those who don't know Wit and Skill are forms of magic that Fitz possesses. The Wit; also known as Old Blood; is a magic that creates a bond between man and beast. This magic however, is not praised in the community and people get killed for having it. That's why that magic is kept secret. The Skill is the magic of the Farseer bloodline and for some reason isn't hated despite being quite an intruding magic. It lets Fitz hear people's thoughts, to talk to other users of the skill through their mind and also to expereince peoples dreams and lives. Yet for some reason this magic is fine?

Speaking of the Wit, one of the things I loved was the introduction of cats. For those who have cats, you know they are quite impulsive and they get what they want. Normally when Fitz meets an animal through the Wit its subtle but cats are very loud and constantly making demands. It really humoured me when there was a cat in the scene. 

*SPOILERS*
Now it's time to get into the big spoilers. In the Farseer series, Fitz has a love interest named Molly. Their love was forbidden and when he was finally ready to embrace her once more, he was unable to as she thought he was dead and fell in love with Burich the stablemaster. The end of the relationship was really devastating at the end of the first series, as the Tawny Man series begins, we discover they ended up having 5 kids together. Although this upsets me, it does make the story more interesting. Mainly because it means there is room for him to fall in love all over again. It looks like he might be as well, as a new character named Jinna might be the one. Not much has happened between them too much yet, just one kiss but it definitely seems like something will blossom especially when the book ended. Eventhough Jinna is new, I already like her more than Molly, she just seems to have a lot more personality. Therefore I'm looking forward to this relationship developing, well possibly.

Throughout the book, you see the age of the wolf having a toll. The wolf would have been around 15 years old which is about the life expectancy of a wolf in captivity. It's hard to read about the wolf being so weak and even harder still when the wolf eventually dies. It's hard to let such a good character go so early in the new series. I don't doubt that Fitz will bond again but it's still hard to let go. I'm glad Hobb didn't keep the wolf alive too long because it would have took the realness away.

In conclusion, I really loved this book. It was great seeing Fitz grown up and new parts of him to develop such as aggression and his fear from his scarred past. I also like how he is no longer a people pleaser and he does what he wants to do/is right to do. I look forward to the next book. My guesses is we'll find out who Chades apprentice is and I have a feeling it will be set purely in Buckeep again.

Quote: 

'So grief has always seemed to me, a time of waiting not for the hurt to pass, but to become accustomed to it'

- FitzChivalry Farseer, Fool's Errand

Rating: 4.5 runes out of 5 

  Check out my review on book 2: The Golden Fool

written by Lauren

Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb (Tawny Man Trilogy, book 1)

Fool's Errand (Tawny Man Trilogy, book 1)

By Robin Hobb

Blurb: 
For fifteen years FitzChivalry Farseer has lived in self-imposed exile, assumed to be dead by almost all who once cared about him. But now, into his isolated life, visitors begin to arrive: Fitz’s mentor from his assassin days; a hedge-witch who foresees the return of a long-lost love; and the Fool, the former White Prophet, who beckons Fitz to fulfill his destiny.

Review:
These books are huge. I thought the Farseer series was big but these books are even bigger and growing. This first book was 661 pages long, which is insane. Netherless I powered through because I knew it would be worth it.

For those who haven't read books by Robin Hobb, you're probably wondering why they're so long. It's simply really, she just really likes to include a lot of detail. She includes every aspect of Fitz (main character) life; when he sleeps, eat, rides on a horse for a few days...Everything!

Therefore I wouldn't reccomend this book to people who don't like that style of writing. I personally do, it really helps to visualise and to create a strong bond for the characters. It makes me feel like I'm there watching or it's like watching a TV series. The details makes me have emotional attachments for the characters. That's why I love her work and this series so much.

The downside of the detail is that it does make the book quite slow. I believe roughly the first 30% of the book not much happens, it's mainly a catch up (which is expected) done through short conversations. Once Fitz (or Tom who knows how to address him) gains his quest thats when the story starts to properly pick up. 

I wouldn't reccomend reading this if you haven't already read the Farseer series as I think it'll get confusing, mainly understanding who all the characters are. That's because this book is set 15 years later, Fitz is in his 30's now when in the previous series it ended with him in his late teens. I love watching this character grow and I know the next series in the Realms of the Elderlings will have Fitz even older. It's just enjoyable to read the character mind set grow as he develops across the ages. Now that he is older, he's meant to have less child impulses and seem more of a man and for the most part that is true. It's enjoyable seeing his relationships grow as he grows too. His freindship with the Fool is just getting stronger despite everything that goes on around them. It's good to see such a unique friendship.

The way I see this book is that it's more focused on the Wit than the previous series. As that series seemed heavily involved in the Skill. I could be wrong but I have a feeling that the next two books of Tawny Man will also be more Wit heavy. For those who don't know Wit and Skill are forms of magic that Fitz possesses. The Wit; also known as Old Blood; is a magic that creates a bond between man and beast. This magic however, is not praised in the community and people get killed for having it. That's why that magic is kept secret. The Skill is the magic of the Farseer bloodline and for some reason isn't hated despite being quite an intruding magic. It lets Fitz hear people's thoughts, to talk to other users of the skill through their mind and also to expereince peoples dreams and lives. Yet for some reason this magic is fine?

Speaking of the Wit, one of the things I loved was the introduction of cats. For those who have cats, you know they are quite impulsive and they get what they want. Normally when Fitz meets an animal through the Wit its subtle but cats are very loud and constantly making demands. It really humoured me when there was a cat in the scene. 

*SPOILERS*
Now it's time to get into the big spoilers. In the Farseer series, Fitz has a love interest named Molly. Their love was forbidden and when he was finally ready to embrace her once more, he was unable to as she thought he was dead and fell in love with Burich the stablemaster. The end of the relationship was really devastating at the end of the first series, as the Tawny Man series begins, we discover they ended up having 5 kids together. Although this upsets me, it does make the story more interesting. Mainly because it means there is room for him to fall in love all over again. It looks like he might be as well, as a new character named Jinna might be the one. Not much has happened between them too much yet, just one kiss but it definitely seems like something will blossom especially when the book ended. Eventhough Jinna is new, I already like her more than Molly, she just seems to have a lot more personality. Therefore I'm looking forward to this relationship developing, well possibly.

Throughout the book, you see the age of the wolf having a toll. The wolf would have been around 15 years old which is about the life expectancy of a wolf in captivity. It's hard to read about the wolf being so weak and even harder still when the wolf eventually dies. It's hard to let such a good character go so early in the new series. I don't doubt that Fitz will bond again but it's still hard to let go. I'm glad Hobb didn't keep the wolf alive too long because it would have took the realness away.

In conclusion, I really loved this book. It was great seeing Fitz grown up and new parts of him to develop such as aggression and his fear from his scarred past. I also like how he is no longer a people pleaser and he does what he wants to do/is right to do. I look forward to the next book. My guesses is we'll find out who Chades apprentice is and I have a feeling it will be set purely in Buckeep again.

Quote: 

'So grief has always seemed to me, a time of waiting not for the hurt to pass, but to become accustomed to it'

- FitzChivalry Farseer, Fool's Errand

Rating: 4.5 runes out of 5 

  Check out my review on book 2: The Golden Fool

written by Lauren

FairyLoot - March Box

FairyLoot - March 2018 Box

Theme: Memorable Moments

Items:

• Cork Bunting by Paladone
• Rune Ceremony Scarf by Fiction Tea
• Goblet of Fire Candle by Paper Flames Candle Co
• Bilbo's Birthday Cake Vegan Soap by Geeky Clean
• Toast to the Warden of The North Hot Chocolate by Eponine
• Belles Button and Bookmark
• State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury

Review: 
Let's start with the theme: Memorable Moments. It's quite a loose theme but it turned out to be a great theme! Basically, it's items based on the most popular YA books, which explains why the boxes sold out so fast. This is why I loved the theme because I knew the items were all from books that I read, which is a good start. 

Once I opened the box, the first thing I saw was the Cork Bunting. This was quite a surprise to me and I never would have guessed to find that in my box. I haven't got round to decorating yet, I plan to cover it in book quotes and hanging it on my bookcase. I never thought of buying Cork Bunting; but now that I have it, I'm so excited to decorate it and make my bookcase look really cute.

Eventhough, I haven't decorated mine yet, my friend had. She used it for her Wedding. It was covered in photos of her pets and was very cute, so I don't doubt it's quality.
**UPDATE BELOW

My favourite item was the Rune scarf. I absolutely love it and wear it at any excuse I get. It's a really nice thin material and it is covered in Runes from The Mortal Instruments and other Shadowhunting series by Cassandra Clare. It's no surprise that I would love it so much due to the Shadowhunting novels being my favourite series.

The candle was probably the only item I disliked. This candle was based on the Harry Potter books, in particular book 4: The Goblet of Fire. It was somewhat pretty but not the best, quite disapointing. The thing I disliked the most about the candle was the scent. It was labelled as 'Fresh Bread and Chocolate' but when I used it all I got was burnt bread, it wasn't too pleasing. Luckily, the candle didn't last long.

The Lord of the Rings was represented with a cute soap. The memory was Bilbo Baggins birthday, so it was the cake. This soap looked very pretty and smelt amazing. The scent was vanilla and strawberry cake and that is exactly what I could smell. A strong delight. 

The hot chocolate in the box I didn't hate but didn't particularly love either. It was Game of Thrones themed, well Song of Ice and Fire if you want to get specific. It was to represent when Jon Snow became the Warden of the North. Although what happens after that is a lot more rememberable... 

Anyway, I did try it and it was okay in taste. Although you must make it the milky way and not just hot water because then it's disgusting. Learnt that the hard way. I think I'm just picky because I'm a big hot chocolate drinker, so I've experienced a lot better.

The candle and hot chocolate were vegan and eventhough I'm not vegan, I do appreciate them trying to make the goodies suitable for everyone to enjoy. It's a nice subtle effort they put into every box.

The next two items were tiny bonus items, they were a button and bookmark for The Belles book series. It was really just to advertise the book and it did it's job as now it's on my to read pile. 

Now for the book. The March box book was State of Sorrow by Melina Salisbury. The exclusivity of the book was that it was a unique hardback which can't be bought anywhere else. It is a very pretty looking book. I haven't got round to reading the book yet but my friend did. She didn't particularly enjoy as she found it quite slow. I do plan to still read it myself as I've read more books than her in that style of writing of unnecessary descriptive. Once I've read it, I'll post the review don't worry. 

I have met the Author though, that was a fun experience. I went to a book signing of hers and now my FairyLoot exclusive book looks even better as its signed. Melinda was very funny in person and it was good to hear her explain her book and writing style which is why I think I'll like it more than my friend. It was also fun spotting people who got the FairyLoot box, managed to spot them by their scarf's!

I've had a couple of FairyLoot's so far and this one has by far been the best! I look forward to getting more when I can and look forward to the goodies, I'll recieve. I love it mainly because of the Scarf. Nevertheless, I still found it worth my money.

Rating: 4 runes out of 5 













Check out my review of State of Sorrows (not out tbc)
Check out my August FairyLoot review

written by Lauren

**UPDATE

I have now decorated my buntingw ith quotes from books and hung it on my bookcase. To see a peak of it, check out the August FairyLoot review.

FairyLoot - March Box

FairyLoot - March 2018 Box

Theme: Memorable Moments

Items:

• Cork Bunting by Paladone
• Rune Ceremony Scarf by Fiction Tea
• Goblet of Fire Candle by Paper Flames Candle Co
• Bilbo's Birthday Cake Vegan Soap by Geeky Clean
• Toast to the Warden of The North Hot Chocolate by Eponine
• Belles Button and Bookmark
• State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury

Review: 
Let's start with the theme: Memorable Moments. It's quite a loose theme but it turned out to be a great theme! Basically, it's items based on the most popular YA books, which explains why the boxes sold out so fast. This is why I loved the theme because I knew the items were all from books that I read, which is a good start. 

Once I opened the box, the first thing I saw was the Cork Bunting. This was quite a surprise to me and I never would have guessed to find that in my box. I haven't got round to decorating yet, I plan to cover it in book quotes and hanging it on my bookcase. I never thought of buying Cork Bunting; but now that I have it, I'm so excited to decorate it and make my bookcase look really cute.

Eventhough, I haven't decorated mine yet, my friend had. She used it for her Wedding. It was covered in photos of her pets and was very cute, so I don't doubt it's quality.
**UPDATE BELOW

My favourite item was the Rune scarf. I absolutely love it and wear it at any excuse I get. It's a really nice thin material and it is covered in Runes from The Mortal Instruments and other Shadowhunting series by Cassandra Clare. It's no surprise that I would love it so much due to the Shadowhunting novels being my favourite series.

The candle was probably the only item I disliked. This candle was based on the Harry Potter books, in particular book 4: The Goblet of Fire. It was somewhat pretty but not the best, quite disapointing. The thing I disliked the most about the candle was the scent. It was labelled as 'Fresh Bread and Chocolate' but when I used it all I got was burnt bread, it wasn't too pleasing. Luckily, the candle didn't last long.

The Lord of the Rings was represented with a cute soap. The memory was Bilbo Baggins birthday, so it was the cake. This soap looked very pretty and smelt amazing. The scent was vanilla and strawberry cake and that is exactly what I could smell. A strong delight. 

The hot chocolate in the box I didn't hate but didn't particularly love either. It was Game of Thrones themed, well Song of Ice and Fire if you want to get specific. It was to represent when Jon Snow became the Warden of the North. Although what happens after that is a lot more rememberable... 

Anyway, I did try it and it was okay in taste. Although you must make it the milky way and not just hot water because then it's disgusting. Learnt that the hard way. I think I'm just picky because I'm a big hot chocolate drinker, so I've experienced a lot better.

The candle and hot chocolate were vegan and eventhough I'm not vegan, I do appreciate them trying to make the goodies suitable for everyone to enjoy. It's a nice subtle effort they put into every box.

The next two items were tiny bonus items, they were a button and bookmark for The Belles book series. It was really just to advertise the book and it did it's job as now it's on my to read pile. 

Now for the book. The March box book was State of Sorrow by Melina Salisbury. The exclusivity of the book was that it was a unique hardback which can't be bought anywhere else. It is a very pretty looking book. I haven't got round to reading the book yet but my friend did. She didn't particularly enjoy as she found it quite slow. I do plan to still read it myself as I've read more books than her in that style of writing of unnecessary descriptive. Once I've read it, I'll post the review don't worry. 

I have met the Author though, that was a fun experience. I went to a book signing of hers and now my FairyLoot exclusive book looks even better as its signed. Melinda was very funny in person and it was good to hear her explain her book and writing style which is why I think I'll like it more than my friend. It was also fun spotting people who got the FairyLoot box, managed to spot them by their scarf's!

I've had a couple of FairyLoot's so far and this one has by far been the best! I look forward to getting more when I can and look forward to the goodies, I'll recieve. I love it mainly because of the Scarf. Nevertheless, I still found it worth my money.

Rating: 4 runes out of 5 













Check out my review of State of Sorrows (not out tbc)
Check out my August FairyLoot review

written by Lauren

**UPDATE

I have now decorated my buntingw ith quotes from books and hung it on my bookcase. To see a peak of it, check out the August FairyLoot review.

Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan (Saga of Larten Crepsley, book 1)

Birth of a Killer (Saga of Larten Crepsley, book 1)

By Darren Shan

Blurb: 
The highly anticipated prequel to the New York Times bestselling Cirque Du Freak series!

Before Cirque Du Freak...
Before the war with the vampaneze... 
Before he was a vampire.
Larten Crepsley was a boy. 
As a child laborer many centuries ago, Larten Crepsley did his job well and without complaint, until the day the foreman killed his cousin as an example to the other children. 
In that moment, young Larten flies into a rage that the foreman wouldn't survive. Forced on the run, he sleeps in crypts and eats cobwebs to get by. And when a vampire named Seba offers him protection and training as a vampire's assistant, Larten takes it.
This is his story.

Review:
As a prequel, this book is great fun to read but as a stand alone series, it doesn't perform too well. However since it is intended to be a prequel, I think it's pretty good. I didn't know what to expect when I picked it up, I just knew I wanted to know more about Mr Crepsley as he was such a strong mysterious character in the Darran Shan Saga. I didn't expect the book to take a third-party biography perspective. It was done well though, as it felt like the retelling of his life by a mixture of chronological short stories. 

The book begins with explaining the day he met the vampire Seba Nile (a character from the previous series) and how that changed his life. Even though it was a short story and it quickly fast forward a few years, this was by far one of my favourite origin stories. I believe I was about 5 chapters in and it already took such a dark turn that it's hard to believe this series was intended for a young audience.

*SPOILERS*
Only a few chapters in, the reader is exposed to a tragic death of Larten Crepsley's cousin when they were only little kids! This caused Larten to head down the path of vampires. As book intro goes, I don't think I've read one as thrilling as this. 

Another thing, I love about this book is how fast Darren Shan throws in the characters from the previous series and hits you right in the nostalgic feels. Seba Nile is the first of the characters to be introduced, as the Master to Larten Crepsley. Although his character seems a lot stricter and very different to his portrayal in the previous series, he still warms my heart to see. I believe he's meant to look angry to show his ageing into his softness with Darren Shan. 

A problem I do find with the series is that everything happens too fast. One second he is a young boy the next he's a full vampire in Vampire Mountain. It's a lot to take in from a short book. However, it can be forgiven since vampires have such long lives that there is still plenty of stories to tell. 

The book ends where Seba Nile leaves his two vampire apprentices to fend for themselves among the cubs. These are group of vogue vampires who are trying to get the most of the Human world before fully committing to the vampires. Book 2 picks up a few years later while still with the cubs. This will be a later blog post, so subscribe to see when it gets posted. 
I really enjoyed this book and currently enjoying the second. My only critique is that the story is a bit rush and there doesn't seem to be any overall plot but who knows that may change.

Rating: 4 runes out of 5 













Check out my blog on book 2: Ocean of Blood             

written by Lauren

Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan (Saga of Larten Crepsley, book 1)

Birth of a Killer (Saga of Larten Crepsley, book 1)

By Darren Shan

Blurb: 
The highly anticipated prequel to the New York Times bestselling Cirque Du Freak series!

Before Cirque Du Freak...
Before the war with the vampaneze... 
Before he was a vampire.
Larten Crepsley was a boy. 
As a child laborer many centuries ago, Larten Crepsley did his job well and without complaint, until the day the foreman killed his cousin as an example to the other children. 
In that moment, young Larten flies into a rage that the foreman wouldn't survive. Forced on the run, he sleeps in crypts and eats cobwebs to get by. And when a vampire named Seba offers him protection and training as a vampire's assistant, Larten takes it.
This is his story.

Review:
As a prequel, this book is great fun to read but as a stand alone series, it doesn't perform too well. However since it is intended to be a prequel, I think it's pretty good. I didn't know what to expect when I picked it up, I just knew I wanted to know more about Mr Crepsley as he was such a strong mysterious character in the Darran Shan Saga. I didn't expect the book to take a third-party biography perspective. It was done well though, as it felt like the retelling of his life by a mixture of chronological short stories. 

The book begins with explaining the day he met the vampire Seba Nile (a character from the previous series) and how that changed his life. Even though it was a short story and it quickly fast forward a few years, this was by far one of my favourite origin stories. I believe I was about 5 chapters in and it already took such a dark turn that it's hard to believe this series was intended for a young audience.

*SPOILERS*
Only a few chapters in, the reader is exposed to a tragic death of Larten Crepsley's cousin when they were only little kids! This caused Larten to head down the path of vampires. As book intro goes, I don't think I've read one as thrilling as this. 

Another thing, I love about this book is how fast Darren Shan throws in the characters from the previous series and hits you right in the nostalgic feels. Seba Nile is the first of the characters to be introduced, as the Master to Larten Crepsley. Although his character seems a lot stricter and very different to his portrayal in the previous series, he still warms my heart to see. I believe he's meant to look angry to show his ageing into his softness with Darren Shan. 

A problem I do find with the series is that everything happens too fast. One second he is a young boy the next he's a full vampire in Vampire Mountain. It's a lot to take in from a short book. However, it can be forgiven since vampires have such long lives that there is still plenty of stories to tell. 

The book ends where Seba Nile leaves his two vampire apprentices to fend for themselves among the cubs. These are group of vogue vampires who are trying to get the most of the Human world before fully committing to the vampires. Book 2 picks up a few years later while still with the cubs. This will be a later blog post, so subscribe to see when it gets posted. 
I really enjoyed this book and currently enjoying the second. My only critique is that the story is a bit rush and there doesn't seem to be any overall plot but who knows that may change.

Rating: 4 runes out of 5 













Check out my blog on book 2: Ocean of Blood             

written by Lauren

The Silver Mask by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (Magisterium Series, book 4)

The Silver Mask (Magisterium Series, book 4)

By Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Blurb: 
A generation ago, Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn't succeed . . . but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt. Now Call is one of the most feared and reviled students in the history of the Magisterium, thought to be responsible for a devastating death and an ever-present threat of war. As a result, Call has been imprisoned and interrogated. Everyone wants to know what Constantine was up to-and how he lives on. But Call has no idea. It is only when he's broken out of prison that the full potential of Constantine's plan is suddenly in his hands . . . and he must decide what to do with his power. In this spellbinding fourth book of Magisterium, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare take us beyond the realm of the living and into the dangers of the dead. 

Review: 
I think obviously the first thing to discuss about this book is the fact it is written by two big authors in the YA community. Personally, I haven't read any of Holly Black's books but I am aware that she wrote the The Spiderwick Chronicles.  Even though I haven't read Holly's materials, I am a big fan of Cassandra Clare work such as The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices and discovered this book through her. I may be unfamiliar with Black's writing style, Clare's however comes very naturally to me. With saying that it makes me believe I could tell where Clare had her influence. I don't feel like she had a big part in the writing of this book which is very disappointing, however I don't think it helps that I picked up the book expecting it to be in the Shadowhunter world that Clare had created in her own series.

Although I did enjoy the series and will be finishing it when the final book comes out in September, I don't think I will explore more work by Holly Black. Her writing style isn't my cup of tea, as it's a lot more child like. Even though the book was written in the third person, it sometimes felt like the main character Cal was writing due to the choice of words. I understand Cal is young starting at 11, but the words don't need to reflect that when writing in a third person. Even though I enjoyed the characters, I felt their development was poor. They came across as remaining young 11 year olds even in The Silver Mask, they're 14 but still thinking and talking like 11 year olds especially when it came to relationships. Despite saying that overall their dialect and conversations were good and felt quite genuine (just didn't always match their age), it felt like they were real friends talking at times and I appreciated that. 

*SPOILERS*
Some other good points of the series is the plot twists such as Cal being the Enemy of Death reborn. This created an interesting good vs evil take to the book and makes the reader question their own morals. I also thought the series had a lot of courage to kill off Aaron (one of the lead roles), he does come back to life (sort of) but it really changed the tone of the book and due to the darkness I enjoyed it more. 

Overall, I think its a good short series to read, kind of like a filler series before you jump into a long book. Compared to Cassandra Clare previous work, I didn't find it as enjoyable and felt it lacking but that might be because this book is Holly's. I'm unsure how the final book will go but I look forward to reading it. 

Rating: 2.5 runes out of 5 

Check out review of Book 5: The Golden Tower

                                                                                                    written by Lauren

The Silver Mask by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (Magisterium Series, book 4)

The Silver Mask (Magisterium Series, book 4)

By Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Blurb: 
A generation ago, Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn't succeed . . . but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt. Now Call is one of the most feared and reviled students in the history of the Magisterium, thought to be responsible for a devastating death and an ever-present threat of war. As a result, Call has been imprisoned and interrogated. Everyone wants to know what Constantine was up to-and how he lives on. But Call has no idea. It is only when he's broken out of prison that the full potential of Constantine's plan is suddenly in his hands . . . and he must decide what to do with his power. In this spellbinding fourth book of Magisterium, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare take us beyond the realm of the living and into the dangers of the dead. 

Review: 
I think obviously the first thing to discuss about this book is the fact it is written by two big authors in the YA community. Personally, I haven't read any of Holly Black's books but I am aware that she wrote the The Spiderwick Chronicles.  Even though I haven't read Holly's materials, I am a big fan of Cassandra Clare work such as The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices and discovered this book through her. I may be unfamiliar with Black's writing style, Clare's however comes very naturally to me. With saying that it makes me believe I could tell where Clare had her influence. I don't feel like she had a big part in the writing of this book which is very disappointing, however I don't think it helps that I picked up the book expecting it to be in the Shadowhunter world that Clare had created in her own series.

Although I did enjoy the series and will be finishing it when the final book comes out in September, I don't think I will explore more work by Holly Black. Her writing style isn't my cup of tea, as it's a lot more child like. Even though the book was written in the third person, it sometimes felt like the main character Cal was writing due to the choice of words. I understand Cal is young starting at 11, but the words don't need to reflect that when writing in a third person. Even though I enjoyed the characters, I felt their development was poor. They came across as remaining young 11 year olds even in The Silver Mask, they're 14 but still thinking and talking like 11 year olds especially when it came to relationships. Despite saying that overall their dialect and conversations were good and felt quite genuine (just didn't always match their age), it felt like they were real friends talking at times and I appreciated that. 

*SPOILERS*
Some other good points of the series is the plot twists such as Cal being the Enemy of Death reborn. This created an interesting good vs evil take to the book and makes the reader question their own morals. I also thought the series had a lot of courage to kill off Aaron (one of the lead roles), he does come back to life (sort of) but it really changed the tone of the book and due to the darkness I enjoyed it more. 

Overall, I think its a good short series to read, kind of like a filler series before you jump into a long book. Compared to Cassandra Clare previous work, I didn't find it as enjoyable and felt it lacking but that might be because this book is Holly's. I'm unsure how the final book will go but I look forward to reading it. 

Rating: 2.5 runes out of 5 

Check out review of Book 5: The Golden Tower

                                                                                                    written by Lauren