The Oathbreaker's Shadow - Amy McCulloch

This is a striking tale of friendship, betrayal, hardship and love which will appeal to readers of all ages and fans of fantasy and adventure. Although the plot is complicated at times, it is so fast paced that it will leave you gasping for breath. The cliff-hangers and the shocking revelations only add to the story to make it an enjoyable read. The characters are in-depth and well described making them relatable and intriguing.

However, in the middle it does get a bit slow and tedious and not much happens that contributes to the plot line But it picks up after a while so I implore you to stick with it.

Overall, I love this new original world that Amy McCulloch has created, and as the book ended with a huge climax I'm looking forward to how the story will continue in the next book.

Beth’s Book Rating:  7/10

The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness

As many people recommended this book to me, I was full of anticipation as I opened the first page to read it, and I have to say, I was very disappointed!

The writing is unique in its presentation and I found it incredibly difficult to get into. The author seemed to ramble a lot but never stated anything important which made it uninteresting and tedious. The plot was slow and complicated and made me lose interest very quickly; this made the novel a chore to read.

Having said that, the characters were one of the books redeeming features.  The two main characters were relatable teenagers who were going on a journey of self discovery throughout the novel. I didn't think this was conveyed very well to the reader so I was confused about what was happening for the majority of the book.

Overall, this wasn't the best book I've ever read but some people may enjoy the lack of description and writing style. I would recommend this book to people who have a good attention span and a lot of patience and I hope that the next book in the series is more interesting and enjoyable.

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Beth’s Book Rating:  2/10

Clockwork Princess - Cassandra Clare

I really loved this book. As a fan of the Mortal Instruments series I heard about the prequels and decided they would be worth reading.  I’m so glad I did, as this is one of the best series I have read in a while.  The characters are well developed with in-depth descriptions that makes the book come alive.  There are twists and turns at every page and I love how all the separate plots come together for a huge climax at the end.  As a finale to the Infernal Devices series, it had the perfect ending an it had everything we have come to expect from all the previous books.

However, even though I loved the ending, it dragged on a bit and was a little tedious as the main story had ended but if you love hearing about all the characters back story then this won’t be a problem for you.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I thought it was fast paced with shocking revelations in every chapter. I have grown to love all of the characters and I am sad that this was the last book in the series. However, I would recommend it to everyone as this novel has humour, action and romance.

Beth’s Book Rating:  9.5/10

Night School - C.J. Daugherty

This was quite a good book. It has mysteries woven throughout the plot and secrets in every chapter.  As this is the first installment of the series it took quite a long time for the story to pick up and was difficult to read. However, after the initial chapters the pace began to quicken as you delved deeper into the secrets of the school. The ending was unpredictable and the majority of the plot was interesting.  However, when I finished the book I wasn't gasping for breath or showing any deep emotion. The book is OK but it is missing something that  made it a bit tedious at times.

Despite the poor start I felt that the plot dramatically improved. The cliff-hanger at the end of every chapter left me questioning everything and everybody in this book. Also, I thought the characters were well developed but many parts of the book lacked the description that is needed make the novel come alive.  I felt that even though it is a good book it needed  more action or plot twists but I hope the next installment will reveal the truths to many of the questions that were left unanswered.

Overall, I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a good mystery but have the patience to stick through some of the slower parts of the book.

Beth’s Book Rating:  6/10

Noble Conflict - Malorie Blackman

I loved this book.

It is packed with action and dramatic plots and the characters are dynamic and have depth which made this an incredible read. I felt that this book has something for everyone including romance, action and cliff- hangers at every chapter.  But the best thing about this novel is that it isn't gender or age specific and I strongly recommend it to everyone.  This novel is full of conspiracy theories and adventures that make it almost impossible to put down. The characters are inspiring, lovable and relatable which makes you wish you were on this action packed adventure with them. Furthermore, it is fantastically written with lots of in-depth descriptions which really add colour to the story.  However, at some points it was a bit slow paced but if you stick through these parts you will thoroughly enjoy the rest of the novel.

Overall,  I feel this book is exceptional, and whilst reading it I was never bored. There was action on every page and a twist at every turn, which means nothing in the book is certain and has the reader questioning everything. It is suspenseful and exciting with lots of thought provoking incidents which lead up to a fantastic ending This is a brilliant book and I really hope that Malorie Blackman writes a sequel to this phenomenal novel.

Beth’s Book Rating:  9/10

Theodore Boone: The Activist - John Grisham

I really enjoyed this book even though most of it was talking and investigating.  I felt it was a very interesting read and would recommend it to most teenagers who enjoy a good mystery/crime novel. It is full of enigmatic characters and mysteries that keep you on your toes. I love how the main character isn't always the hero in these books and that it shows that everyone can contribute something valuable to help save the day. Similar to the rest of John Grisham’s books, this is incredibly well written and has detailed descriptions that makes this book very easy to read. However, I felt that the characters didn't have enough depth to them to make them relatable to the readers, but the engaging plot made up for this.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and even though its part of a series you don't necessarily need to read the previous books to understand this novel. It is appropriate for all ages but I would suggest only those with a mature attitude read this book, as it has many confusing aspects to it.

Beth’s Book Rating:  7/10

City Of Fallen Angels - Cassandra Clare

I was a disappointed by this book as I previously read the mortal Instruments trilogy which was very impressive.   It doesn't have as many dramatic plot twists or detailed descriptions that were common in the previous book, and I felt that at some points it was almost boring!  I think the main problem was that the first three books were meant to be a trilogy and this one wasn't as well planned as the others, which led to it being inconsistent, confusing and tedious. However,  I think it did get better as the story progressed and the end was full of action and suspense. So if you loved the Mortal Instruments series and feel that this novel isn't as good as the rest, try and finish reading it until the end because it does improve drastically.

Overall if you want to more insight into the characters opinions and daily troubles and don’t mind about the considerable lack of action then you may enjoy this book. And the rest of us shadow hunter fans can only hope that the next installment of the series “City of lost souls” is more enjoyable and action packed.

Beth’s Book Rating:  4/10