Take a photo of a barcode or cover
patchworkbunny's Reviews (2.12k)
Pen’s a survivor. Returning to school, she dreads showing her scarred face among her classmates and them finding out about her and Salt. Her best friend Beth isn’t around much anymore either; what Fil wished for her is transforming her into a daughter of the city. Then Pen sees her reflection in the school bathroom, the other her who she has come to call a friend, and she’s in trouble. She must find a way to get beyond the mirrors and find Parva before it’s too late.
Oh poor Pen. My heart breaks for her in the opening chapters. As if she didn’t have enough to go through in The City’s Son, she has the horror of high school with a scarred face. But before you start writing that hate mail to Tom, this is a book to rescue Pen; I’m not sure anything else but what happens in this story would have done it, but by gods, it does.
London-Under-Glass is the city created by our reflections, with the Mirrorstocracy created out of the infinite reflections of a person caught between two mirrors. But as well as the upper ruling class, there are the half-faced, created out of fragments of reflections. And the half-faced are perfectly symmetrical. This means that their perception of beauty is also a mirror to ours. Instead of symmetry being the pinnacle of beauty, it makes them ugly. Imperfections are beautiful.
So as well as being a creative and fantastical adventure in the mirror world, it also cleverly explores self-image, class systems and the ridiculousness of celebrity. If you can’t gaze upon your own face, should you base your self-worth on how others see you? Pen’s own experiences in our world are reflected and turn upside down in the experiences of those who are shunned in London-Under-Glass. It’s always good to see things from the other side.
Meanwhile, Beth takes the backseat a little but her world is changing too. Their stories cross over and tangle together…and the end of the book will have you reaching for your time machine.
Oh poor Pen. My heart breaks for her in the opening chapters. As if she didn’t have enough to go through in The City’s Son, she has the horror of high school with a scarred face. But before you start writing that hate mail to Tom, this is a book to rescue Pen; I’m not sure anything else but what happens in this story would have done it, but by gods, it does.
London-Under-Glass is the city created by our reflections, with the Mirrorstocracy created out of the infinite reflections of a person caught between two mirrors. But as well as the upper ruling class, there are the half-faced, created out of fragments of reflections. And the half-faced are perfectly symmetrical. This means that their perception of beauty is also a mirror to ours. Instead of symmetry being the pinnacle of beauty, it makes them ugly. Imperfections are beautiful.
So as well as being a creative and fantastical adventure in the mirror world, it also cleverly explores self-image, class systems and the ridiculousness of celebrity. If you can’t gaze upon your own face, should you base your self-worth on how others see you? Pen’s own experiences in our world are reflected and turn upside down in the experiences of those who are shunned in London-Under-Glass. It’s always good to see things from the other side.
Meanwhile, Beth takes the backseat a little but her world is changing too. Their stories cross over and tangle together…and the end of the book will have you reaching for your time machine.
I found it a bit of pointless filler, especially if you're going to read The Iron Daughter straight after because the one crucial scene is repeated at the start of that. So it's just a wander through faeryland, which I think might have been more appreciated when there was a wait between books.
Well I liked it a lot more than I thought I would after the initial introduction to Tony and his pretentious friends. Full review to follow.
Review to follow.
Since her coronation (the one she wasn’t invited to) Cassie Palmer has had a string of supernaturals knocking at her door. But she has more important things to do, like going back in time to sneak into her old boss’s home for information, which never goes smoothly. Meanwhile, she is determined to find a way to bring Pritkin back. She can’t leave him at the hands of his demon father but the one person that can help, is Pritkin himself. That shouldn’t be too much trouble for the Pythia, right?
It’s so long been Cassie Palmer novels that I must admit I’d forgotten about what happened to Pritkin at the end of Hunt the Moon. Please forgive me! I would suggest refreshing your memory by reading the last two chapters first if you’re a little hazy (or the whole book if you have time). Fans of Pritkin will be happy with this instalment as Mircea takes a backseat; indeed he is eerily absent from Vegas. Is it because he can sense Cassie’s loss of Pritkin or is it something else?
This world is like a warm, cosy blanket for me and I just fall into it every time. I love the characters and the mythology. Of course, I’m a huge Pritkin fan so this book was full of touching moments and nooooos and bad timing. If you prefer Mircea, you might hate it! They travel to a demon dimension which is so well imagined and so different to where you’d expect them to go. There’s loads more background given around Cassie’s parents and her ancestry. The kind which ties her to the gods of old. One of the best things about adding time travel in the mix, is it’s easier to fill in the history without info dumping.
All the time, they are still on the brink of war, and there are witches hanging round back at her suite. I have always enjoyed Cassie’s interactions with Mircea’s men; the vampire bodyguards have become her family of sorts. Cassanova also gets involved and there’s a hilarious and gripping flying carpet ride to look forward to. And. Oh. My. God. The ending! I really hope Karen doesn’t wait another two years to find out what happens next, it has set itself up for another fantastic book.
It’s so long been Cassie Palmer novels that I must admit I’d forgotten about what happened to Pritkin at the end of Hunt the Moon. Please forgive me! I would suggest refreshing your memory by reading the last two chapters first if you’re a little hazy (or the whole book if you have time). Fans of Pritkin will be happy with this instalment as Mircea takes a backseat; indeed he is eerily absent from Vegas. Is it because he can sense Cassie’s loss of Pritkin or is it something else?
This world is like a warm, cosy blanket for me and I just fall into it every time. I love the characters and the mythology. Of course, I’m a huge Pritkin fan so this book was full of touching moments and nooooos and bad timing. If you prefer Mircea, you might hate it! They travel to a demon dimension which is so well imagined and so different to where you’d expect them to go. There’s loads more background given around Cassie’s parents and her ancestry. The kind which ties her to the gods of old. One of the best things about adding time travel in the mix, is it’s easier to fill in the history without info dumping.
All the time, they are still on the brink of war, and there are witches hanging round back at her suite. I have always enjoyed Cassie’s interactions with Mircea’s men; the vampire bodyguards have become her family of sorts. Cassanova also gets involved and there’s a hilarious and gripping flying carpet ride to look forward to. And. Oh. My. God. The ending! I really hope Karen doesn’t wait another two years to find out what happens next, it has set itself up for another fantastic book.
Em is in a cell, dreading visits from the man she calls the Doctor. Her only comfort is the boy in the cell next door. Marina is living a privileged life, her only worry is if the super intelligent boy-next-door likes her back. But Marina’s life is in the past and today is Em’s world and she has a chance to change things. She can travel back in time and take out the man who changed everything.
All Our Yesterdays is gripping and genuinely unputdownable. I loved making the connections between Em and the past she is trying to change. Whether or not you work any of it out sooner rather than later does not impact on the enjoyment, because you’ll be turning the page to see what happens next…it is never predictable.
I’m glad they put in that they’d already been back and tried other things because as I was reading, I kept thinking of better ideas. It’s a clever way allow the story to run its course. I did want more on the story of how James changed so much; it’s a big jump from the boy who is hurting to who he becomes. Although that may have tripped up the pace a bit…maybe we can have a novella? It’s a mark of how much I got into this book that I want to know all the ins and outs.
It tries to explain away the inevitable paradox…I’m not convinced but you have to read time travel stories with an open mind and I think the way it is resolved actually makes it make sense. And yes it does have a resolution. As I was halfway through it, someone told me there was a sequel and I got really annoyed that the story wouldn’t end in the way it needed to end so it could run on. Never fear, it is not one of those books. It feels like a self-contained story…which also makes me wonder how they’re going to do the sequel.
More YA like this please!
All Our Yesterdays is gripping and genuinely unputdownable. I loved making the connections between Em and the past she is trying to change. Whether or not you work any of it out sooner rather than later does not impact on the enjoyment, because you’ll be turning the page to see what happens next…it is never predictable.
I’m glad they put in that they’d already been back and tried other things because as I was reading, I kept thinking of better ideas. It’s a clever way allow the story to run its course. I did want more on the story of how James changed so much; it’s a big jump from the boy who is hurting to who he becomes. Although that may have tripped up the pace a bit…maybe we can have a novella? It’s a mark of how much I got into this book that I want to know all the ins and outs.
It tries to explain away the inevitable paradox…I’m not convinced but you have to read time travel stories with an open mind and I think the way it is resolved actually makes it make sense. And yes it does have a resolution. As I was halfway through it, someone told me there was a sequel and I got really annoyed that the story wouldn’t end in the way it needed to end so it could run on. Never fear, it is not one of those books. It feels like a self-contained story…which also makes me wonder how they’re going to do the sequel.
More YA like this please!
Cathy’s just starting to settle into her life with William and now she’s Duchess of Londinium, with all the excruciating social engagements that brings. But she’s not got time to socialise, she’s got to free her old governess, Miss Rainer and take on The Agency, who are extorting money from all of fae-touched society in the name of housekeeping. Meanwhile Max is still trying to find out who killed his chapter with the gargoyle at his side.
Argh, William seems to make so much headway and then will go a think or say something drenched in fae-touched misogyny. He gives her a library! But he’s really not keen on Cathy making waves and Cathy is hellbent on her mission to make life better for women in their world. He also appoints her a bodyguard, Carter, who turned into a character I loved despite him being a man of few words.
As always, Max the arbiter and the gargoyle were my favourites and oh my god, they actually made me cry. When you get there, you’ll know which bit. The Battenberg. Sob. There was more of a sense of them being two sides of the same person in this instalment too. Ekstrand is losing it and there’s the introduction of another sorcerer who I really liked, even if just for his grasp of modern life. There are also glimpses that the magical world is maybe not so antiquated all over the country.
The pace was a bit slow for much of the story. I think this is caused by so many different plot threads going on. Sam’s involvement with Lord Iron doesn’t seem relevant to Cathy’s story for the most part and it broke up the pace. And there's still plenty of political manoeuvring and sneaking about. It does all speed up towards the climax and it suddenly became gripping. I do love the unique world Emma has created in this series, where two cultures collide, and there’s some great bits of humour.
Argh, William seems to make so much headway and then will go a think or say something drenched in fae-touched misogyny. He gives her a library! But he’s really not keen on Cathy making waves and Cathy is hellbent on her mission to make life better for women in their world. He also appoints her a bodyguard, Carter, who turned into a character I loved despite him being a man of few words.
As always, Max the arbiter and the gargoyle were my favourites and oh my god, they actually made me cry. When you get there, you’ll know which bit. The Battenberg. Sob. There was more of a sense of them being two sides of the same person in this instalment too. Ekstrand is losing it and there’s the introduction of another sorcerer who I really liked, even if just for his grasp of modern life. There are also glimpses that the magical world is maybe not so antiquated all over the country.
The pace was a bit slow for much of the story. I think this is caused by so many different plot threads going on. Sam’s involvement with Lord Iron doesn’t seem relevant to Cathy’s story for the most part and it broke up the pace. And there's still plenty of political manoeuvring and sneaking about. It does all speed up towards the climax and it suddenly became gripping. I do love the unique world Emma has created in this series, where two cultures collide, and there’s some great bits of humour.
Twenty-year-old Camryn has been through a lot in her short life. She lost her first love in a car accident, her brother is in jail and her parents divorced. She wants more from her life but she just feels…nothing. When she has a huge break up with her best friend, Cam jumps on a bus to the first place that comes to mind; Idaho. She has no idea what she’ll do when she gets there but this journey is one that’s about to change the way she lives her life.
I enjoyed their time spent on the road, which does make up the majority of the novel. After they meet, the narrative is shared between Andrew and Camryn, often describing the same events from different points of view. When you’re a new adult, you like to see yourself as grown-up and mature, but through Andrew’s eyes, Cam seemed much younger. They both seem to be shunning responsibility though. Ages 20 to 25 are about the time you have to start thinking about the future in less fun terms. Maybe this is why this new category doesn’t sit right with me, people say it’s about finding your way as an adult but in reality it ends up drawing out teenage behaviour past its use-by date. Of course, they all have magical reserves of money which means they don’t have to live the “mundane life of everyone else”.
So, the sex. One thing new adult has been focused on is the sexy bits they leave out of YA. I was quite surprised by how few sex scenes there were, and it takes a while to get to them. Yeah, they talk about sex often enough, but this is pretty normal behaviour for this age group (and also YA if we’re going to be truthful). It’s neither embarrassing virgin sex nor over-the-top descriptive sex, the characters have had sex before and I thought the scenes were written quite well.
Cam comes off her anti-depressant medication at the beginning. I was a bit concerned about this being forgotten about but Andrew says something so perfect in relation to depression later on that I’ll forgive her. Her depression isn’t obvious throughout the pages but there are little signs if you’re looking for them.
I did have a problem with the violence in the novel. In the opening scenes, Cam is “rescued” by a possessive friend who beats up the guy she was just talking to. To me this said “I don’t want to be with a man like this”. Then later on in the story, on two occasions, Andrew seriously beats men up who are encroaching on his territory, i.e. Cam. OK, they were creeps but neither of them seemed particularly aggressive or even to fight back. So I felt uncomfortable with Andrew’s violent possessiveness, which didn’t really fit with the thoughtful guy he comes across at other times.
I felt the story started to drag in the last 100 pages and started to skim read a bit. I’ve never been one for reading about music so this could have contributed but most of it didn’t further the plot. It also started to get a bit mushy. Until something happens that was completely out of place and felt like it was added as an afterthought. I can at least say it’s unpredictable but looking back I can’t see any hints running up to it. Although there’s something revealed at the very end that you will totally see coming if you’re reading with your responsible adult head on.
It’s the sort of book that kept me absorbed whilst I was reading but after I put it down, there was no real desire to pick it up again. Perfect holiday read perhaps, where you can read it in one go. If it has been left untouched since it was self-published, it’s probably the most polished of its kind but I still can’t help it needed more work. I would probably give her another chance though.
*Review copy provided by publisher*
I enjoyed their time spent on the road, which does make up the majority of the novel. After they meet, the narrative is shared between Andrew and Camryn, often describing the same events from different points of view. When you’re a new adult, you like to see yourself as grown-up and mature, but through Andrew’s eyes, Cam seemed much younger. They both seem to be shunning responsibility though. Ages 20 to 25 are about the time you have to start thinking about the future in less fun terms. Maybe this is why this new category doesn’t sit right with me, people say it’s about finding your way as an adult but in reality it ends up drawing out teenage behaviour past its use-by date. Of course, they all have magical reserves of money which means they don’t have to live the “mundane life of everyone else”.
So, the sex. One thing new adult has been focused on is the sexy bits they leave out of YA. I was quite surprised by how few sex scenes there were, and it takes a while to get to them. Yeah, they talk about sex often enough, but this is pretty normal behaviour for this age group (and also YA if we’re going to be truthful). It’s neither embarrassing virgin sex nor over-the-top descriptive sex, the characters have had sex before and I thought the scenes were written quite well.
Cam comes off her anti-depressant medication at the beginning. I was a bit concerned about this being forgotten about but Andrew says something so perfect in relation to depression later on that I’ll forgive her. Her depression isn’t obvious throughout the pages but there are little signs if you’re looking for them.
I did have a problem with the violence in the novel. In the opening scenes, Cam is “rescued” by a possessive friend who beats up the guy she was just talking to. To me this said “I don’t want to be with a man like this”. Then later on in the story, on two occasions, Andrew seriously beats men up who are encroaching on his territory, i.e. Cam. OK, they were creeps but neither of them seemed particularly aggressive or even to fight back. So I felt uncomfortable with Andrew’s violent possessiveness, which didn’t really fit with the thoughtful guy he comes across at other times.
I felt the story started to drag in the last 100 pages and started to skim read a bit. I’ve never been one for reading about music so this could have contributed but most of it didn’t further the plot. It also started to get a bit mushy. Until something happens that was completely out of place and felt like it was added as an afterthought. I can at least say it’s unpredictable but looking back I can’t see any hints running up to it. Although there’s something revealed at the very end that you will totally see coming if you’re reading with your responsible adult head on.
It’s the sort of book that kept me absorbed whilst I was reading but after I put it down, there was no real desire to pick it up again. Perfect holiday read perhaps, where you can read it in one go. If it has been left untouched since it was self-published, it’s probably the most polished of its kind but I still can’t help it needed more work. I would probably give her another chance though.
*Review copy provided by publisher*