Dare Me - Aston Reviews

“There’s something dangerous about the boredom of teenage girls. Coach said that once. She said it like she knew, and understood.”

Dare Me is a mystery novel written by Megan Abbott, centred around an American cheerleading team and a mysterious murder that plunges the characters in to a very dark world. The narrator, 16-year cheerleader Addy is bored with life, and everything in it. But as a new Coach shows up, everything changes; for what seems the better. Then her euphoria and new lease is life is radically turned upside down when she finds herself a possible accomplish to a murder. Dare Me is an interesting novel. There’s something to be said about reading through the thoughts of a hormonal, slightly depraved teen as she recounts tales of the past and present. Subjects such as sex, alcohol, drugs; nothing isn’t up for speculation or debate. All of it entwined with tales of self-tan, glitter, mummy issues and self-loathing as the story spirals on. Megan Abbott holds nothing back as she brings these girls to life, pitting old friends against each other in an all-out war to see who will still be standing on the other side. The rather seedy darkness that surrounds the several main characters will have you either loving them, or hating them. Intelligently spun in such a way that what 16-year-old girls do may seem pretty trivial, when these girls do it, it’s always for a reason – and you want to know. Its fast paced and gritty, Dare Me will keep you reading on and on, delving deeper into lies and betrayal with these girls as they ride the waves of being a teenage, but living in a very adult world. Highly recommended book for anyone looking for something, a little abnormal but positively engaging.

The Maze Runner - Rosie Reviews

Yes, I am going to be one of those people.

The Maze Runner is a four book series written by American author James Dashner and so far the first two books (Maze Runner and Scorch Trials) have translated into hit movies, is this the start of a new franchise obsession for readers like me? I think so.

This book interestingly breaks a dystopia male protagonist into a market currently obsessed with the genre but not necessarily the gender. We are all familiar with the trope of the teenage girl living in a hostile world, who finds herself thrown into a quest because of how painfully special she is, Dashner's character of Thomas tells us his story in a refreshingly new mindset.

Hide and Seek - Shelisha Reviews

The novel is a face-paced thriller centred around one Peter Stevenson, who is involved in a disturbing game of cat and mouse. Not only does the novel include descriptive gore, it also effectively uses a number of rhetoric devices. For example, the novel uses an unreliable narrator. The narrator is third person and appears omniscient, but does not reveal the identity of the murderous culprit. Instead the opening scene involving the killer is almost entirely dialogue, a clever way of concealing the killer’s identity. 

The novel also includes a number of gradual reveals about the characters and their relationship to each other. Not only are the most disturbing scenes very vivid and well described, there is a clear level of care taken in regards to the crimes. Brown is especially good at creating suspense through his characters. The killer is very intelligent and as such is able to create a number of traps before Peter can discover them. The traps are revealed in a number of personal riddles, leading the reader to believe that it is someone close to the victims making you doubt everything you have been told about these characters. I would recommend this 200 page thriller if you are looking for a book to get invested in.

Skulduggery Pleasant - Pedro Reviews

Synopsis: “Skulduggery Pleasant; wise cracking detective, powerful magician, master of dirty tricks and burglary (in the name of the greater good, of course), oh yeah, and dead!

Stephanie’s uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn’t fiction.

Pursued by evil forces intent on recovering a mysterious key, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source – the wisecracking skeleton of a dead wizard.

When all hell breaks loose, it’s lucky for Skulduggery that he’s already dead. Though he’s about to discover that being a skeleton doesn’t stop you from being tortured, if the torturer is determined enough. And if there’s anything Skulduggery hates, it’s torture…

Will evil win the day? Will Stephanie and Skulduggery stop bickering long enough to stop it? One thing’s for sure: evil won’t know what’s hit it.”-from the series’ website.