Archibald Lox and the Empress of Saunpan (Archibald Lox Series, book 2)

By Darren Shan

Blurb: 
Archie thought he was finished with the Merge, but he was wrong.

Teaming up again with Inez, they must pit their wits against the infamous Empress of Suanpan.

In a city of gamblers, Archie must stake everything he owns, even his freedom...

Book two of the Archibald Lox series by Darren Shan, the New York Times bestselling author of Cirque Du Freak and Lord Loss.

Review: 
I really wish these books were just all one book, I feel like they are far too short and they are just over as the action starts.

The reason why I've rated this book 4 stars and not 5 is for the same reasons as the first book. I feel like there's not much of a background to the story, there's no side stories, no plot twists, no real story development and no answers to my questions just yet. All those back points to one side, it's still a great read, it's so fast paced, characters are all lovable and the story is flowing. 

I'm loving Archie as he discovers more about his abilities as a locksmith, how he can control different things. He was such a nervous character to start of with but now I feel he is coming more out of his shell and having confidence in his ability.

The sense of humour throughout this book was what stood out the most. I feel like it was well suited to the characters that were using it, as it felt that we were a part of the book and actually there picturing the scenes. So being able to picture the scenes also means that the amount of detail into each aspect of the new scenery was spot on.

Reading this book also gives me a sort of sci-fi feeling too especially with some of the different realms and all these portals we have to adventure through. I do realise that it is also very much a fantasy aspect but for some reason it just gives me this feeling. That's possibly why I'm enjoying this series a lot from Darren Shan because I'm a huge sci-fi fan.

In this book we can tell that the friendship between the two main characters has developed quite a lot for the first book to the end of the second book, because there has been a lot of truthful moments and they've actually came out the other side of the problems still friends.

Another thing that I like within this book is that we are starting to meet different people within the different realms and we are learning how each one runs and more about the people that are on that realm. So I'm enjoying this aspect of the book. I just feel like we should know why she is being chased by the submerged, what her plan is and what she hopes to get out of it. Maybe book 3 will give me this closure but then I don't feel like it real. 

Favourite Character: Archie

Read: 09/04/20 - 10/04/20

4 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Archibald Lox and the Empress of Saunpan (Archibald Lox Series, book 2)

By Darren Shan

Blurb: 
Archie thought he was finished with the Merge, but he was wrong.

Teaming up again with Inez, they must pit their wits against the infamous Empress of Suanpan.

In a city of gamblers, Archie must stake everything he owns, even his freedom...

Book two of the Archibald Lox series by Darren Shan, the New York Times bestselling author of Cirque Du Freak and Lord Loss.

Review: 
I really wish these books were just all one book, I feel like they are far too short and they are just over as the action starts.

The reason why I've rated this book 4 stars and not 5 is for the same reasons as the first book. I feel like there's not much of a background to the story, there's no side stories, no plot twists, no real story development and no answers to my questions just yet. All those back points to one side, it's still a great read, it's so fast paced, characters are all lovable and the story is flowing. 

I'm loving Archie as he discovers more about his abilities as a locksmith, how he can control different things. He was such a nervous character to start of with but now I feel he is coming more out of his shell and having confidence in his ability.

The sense of humour throughout this book was what stood out the most. I feel like it was well suited to the characters that were using it, as it felt that we were a part of the book and actually there picturing the scenes. So being able to picture the scenes also means that the amount of detail into each aspect of the new scenery was spot on.

Reading this book also gives me a sort of sci-fi feeling too especially with some of the different realms and all these portals we have to adventure through. I do realise that it is also very much a fantasy aspect but for some reason it just gives me this feeling. That's possibly why I'm enjoying this series a lot from Darren Shan because I'm a huge sci-fi fan.

In this book we can tell that the friendship between the two main characters has developed quite a lot for the first book to the end of the second book, because there has been a lot of truthful moments and they've actually came out the other side of the problems still friends.

Another thing that I like within this book is that we are starting to meet different people within the different realms and we are learning how each one runs and more about the people that are on that realm. So I'm enjoying this aspect of the book. I just feel like we should know why she is being chased by the submerged, what her plan is and what she hopes to get out of it. Maybe book 3 will give me this closure but then I don't feel like it real. 

Favourite Character: Archie

Read: 09/04/20 - 10/04/20

4 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Archibald Lox and the Bridge Between Worlds (Archibald Lox Series, book 1)

By Darren Shan

Blurb: 
There is a universe beyond our own, known as the Merge.

A young locksmith called Archibald Lox is about to cross worlds and explore it.

As he learns about these lands of wonders, he will have to face cold-blooded killers, rivers of blood, hell jackals and more...

Book one of the Archibald Lox series, a new YA fantasy series by Darren Shan, the New York Times bestselling author of Cirque Du Freak and Lord Loss.

Review: 
This is the first Darren Shan book that I've ever truly finished! So it must be worth the read if I've finished it. I buddy read this book with my friend Laura who is a die hard fan of Darren Shan, so it was another different experience. 

According to Laura, this book follows all of his key parts if that makes sense. So the first chapter is crazy, has some twists, has some made sense moments and a cliff hanger. 

This book is about a boy (Archie) who has just lost someone and is suffering from grief, he feels that he is invisible. He sets off to school one morning; earlier than usual because the atmosphere in the house is all doom and gloom. He then gets onto one of the bridges in London when this girl randomly appears and then opens up  a borehole with her facial expressions. She is being chased by two submerged people who have a knife and an axe.

Archie then follows the girl (Inez) into the merge and discovers a whole new world and a whole new part of his life. This new world is great and reading about the different zones and realms within the world is amazing. How it links back to the human world is crazy. 

I feel that the characters did develop a bit throughout the book, they started to trust each other more and talked about their pasts with one another. So I do feel that there is a strong friendship developing already.

What made me rate it 4 stars rather than 5 even though I did really enjoy it and it was fast paced, is purely because I didn't feel the story developed much. I didn't know the ins and outs of Archie's friend/relative dying, I don't know why Inez is being hunted. I think the whole point of this first book is to develop the world and the friendships that he is wanting throughout the series. 

Favourite Character: Archie

Read: 03/04/20 - 05/04/20

4 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Check out Sammie's review of book 2: Archibald Lox and the Empress of Saunpan

Archibald Lox and the Bridge Between Worlds (Archibald Lox Series, book 1)

By Darren Shan

Blurb: 
There is a universe beyond our own, known as the Merge.

A young locksmith called Archibald Lox is about to cross worlds and explore it.

As he learns about these lands of wonders, he will have to face cold-blooded killers, rivers of blood, hell jackals and more...

Book one of the Archibald Lox series, a new YA fantasy series by Darren Shan, the New York Times bestselling author of Cirque Du Freak and Lord Loss.

Review: 
This is the first Darren Shan book that I've ever truly finished! So it must be worth the read if I've finished it. I buddy read this book with my friend Laura who is a die hard fan of Darren Shan, so it was another different experience. 

According to Laura, this book follows all of his key parts if that makes sense. So the first chapter is crazy, has some twists, has some made sense moments and a cliff hanger. 

This book is about a boy (Archie) who has just lost someone and is suffering from grief, he feels that he is invisible. He sets off to school one morning; earlier than usual because the atmosphere in the house is all doom and gloom. He then gets onto one of the bridges in London when this girl randomly appears and then opens up  a borehole with her facial expressions. She is being chased by two submerged people who have a knife and an axe.

Archie then follows the girl (Inez) into the merge and discovers a whole new world and a whole new part of his life. This new world is great and reading about the different zones and realms within the world is amazing. How it links back to the human world is crazy. 

I feel that the characters did develop a bit throughout the book, they started to trust each other more and talked about their pasts with one another. So I do feel that there is a strong friendship developing already.

What made me rate it 4 stars rather than 5 even though I did really enjoy it and it was fast paced, is purely because I didn't feel the story developed much. I didn't know the ins and outs of Archie's friend/relative dying, I don't know why Inez is being hunted. I think the whole point of this first book is to develop the world and the friendships that he is wanting throughout the series. 

Favourite Character: Archie

Read: 03/04/20 - 05/04/20

4 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie

Check out Sammie's review of book 2: Archibald Lox and the Empress of Saunpan