Mark This Book Monday: A Curious Tale of the In-Between and The Copper Gauntlet!!

Hello there guys!

Welcome to what I've decided to call the Middle Grade edition of this week's Mark This Book Monday!

Today I have two of my BEA ARCs that I read for ARC August up for review and for are MG books, so both count towards my MG reads category on the 105 Challenge!

 

A Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm not the biggest middle grade reader ever, but I do enjoy some MG books now and then. After reading my BEA ARC of A Curious Tale of the In-Between I know I'll read any and all MG that Lauren DeStefano will write!

Pram is a lil girl that lives with her aunts at the home for the elderly that they run. She's always been special as she can see ghosts, but her aunts think that she's just peculiar and has imaginary friends, which is easier than to think she sees ghosts.

Once I started reading the book I wasn't sure what to expect because I had not re-read the summary since I added the book to my TBR GR list and my BEA list.

But I really enjoyed reading about Pram and how despite being peculiar and not wanting to be someone that she isn't she makes a friend when she goes to school, but she also tries to keep her friendship with ghostly Felix. Clarence and Pram help each other with their own issues that they feel adults can't or won't help.

I was quite intrigued when I saw where the book went with the ghosts storyline and how it was great in terms of world building but also character development, not just for Pram. Villains are not just black and white, even if their actions are despicable enough.

I really don't want to say much about that part, because it is heartbreaking and kept me quite on my toes and turning the pages fast, it's my fave part of the book and I think I enjoyed it as much as I did because I had no idea what to expect from it!

The ending of the book had enough closure to make it a story unto itself but it also left enough open for more of Pram and Clarence and Felix adventures and I cannot wait to read the sequel, which I hope it'll be equally as creepy, disquieting, heartwarming and endearing as this one! Well deserved 4 stars for this one!




The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I enjoyed reading the first Magisterium book last year, so when I had the chance to grab an ARC of The Copper Gauntlet at BEA this year I didn't hesitate!

As in The Iron Trial we find ourselves with characters and situations that might remind us of other stories at first sight, three friends, a magic school, a connection between the bad guy and one of our heroes... does it ring a bell? Well, this book did it again, and took things in the most unexpected and unfamiliar direction you could expect.

Callum finds himself in an even worse situation than he did in the first book, because he has a big secret to keep about himself, one that makes hum doubt his every choice, and not only that but he suspects his dad is no longer on his corner.

Aaron and Tamara continue to be his friends and partners in crime (and escaping from home and the Magisterium and fighting unexpected Elementals... you know, the usual!) but they find themselves facing a few issues about trust and priorities that end up with Cal and Tamara butting heads.

I was quite surprised about the final showdown and how it was resolved, but also glad for how the auhors once again went for the less expected course of action. I might have not connected with this book as much as I would have liked, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless and will be looking forward to the sequel. 3 to 3.5 stars.



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Mark This Book Monday: ARC Review of The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black!

For second and final Mark This Book Monday I have another ARC review, but I was approved for this one on Netgalley by Random House UK (thank you!!) and it releases tomorrow in the US and on Thursday in UK!

As an ARC, I also count it towards my 2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge and I hope it'll help to move my ratio upwards on NG!

The Iron Trial by Holly Black

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


When I first requested this book I wasn't entirely sure I'd be approved for it, so thank you so very much Random House UK for the approval on Netgalley!

I was quite intrigued about this book cause it was co-written by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black and though I really like (some even love) Cassandra Clare books, I've never read anything by Holly black, so I was intrigued by the story and the writing style!

I read some reviews that said the similarities to Harry Potter turned them off the book, and I can understand how on the surface it can be similar, mainly because who can read anything about a school for magic and not think Hogwarts? But, even if I was reminded about Harry Potter on occasion, I felt that there were well enough differences to keep the book fresh as it is. I just don't advise reading it back to back after reading HP!

Callum is our main character and he has got magical powers and has always known that he would be tested to be taken to the Magisterium (school for magic) but he has been told repeatedly by his father that the mages are evil, that the Magisterium is the most dangerous place in the world and that he needs to flop the exam to avoid going there and remain home with him. Callum's dad is/was a mage, so he's either right about things or up to something and witholding information to boot.

But Callum gets in and we enter this quite interesting world of magic with an underground school, students "leveling up" with metal bracelets for each year, personalized lessons in very small groups (seems like 3 might be the usual number) with a mage that will be your teacher and mentor during your stay at the Magisterium. The way the authors described the Magisterium and the rules of this world was very visual and engaging and unique. The three students end up as fast friends after some trouble might have seemed a bit familiar, but trouble either unites people or tear them apart, so it's not unusual to appear in books.

The notion of the different kinds of magic and of the Enemy of Death as the bad guy they're fighting against was also one that although at first look might have seemed familiar it was quickly flipped on its feet and managed to surprise me. Actually the book took a few detours from the easily expected that were quite cool and very much welcome, so keep this in mind, even if it seems the book might go on typical and well trodden roads... it really won't!

So very much deserved 3.5 stars and I'm quite curious where the next book will go and I'm gonna be expecting the unexpected!



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Tell Me Tuesdays #9!!

Tell Me Tuesdays is a meme/feature created by the awesome ladies of Please Feed The Bookworm and La La In The Library where we can share how we choose the book we are currently reading from our TBR pile!

I'm always curious about that, cause as much as I tend to make myself a rough schedule for books to read and the like, I'm quite a mood reader and sometimes I just HAVE to ignore my schedule and read something else!

 The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

From NEW YORK TIMES bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare comes a riveting new series that defies what you think you know about the world of magic.

From two bestselling superstars, a dazzling and magical middle-grade collaboration centering on the students of the Magisterium, an academy for those with a propensity toward magic. In this first book, a new student comes to the Magisterium against his will -- is it because he is destined to be a powerful magician, or is the truth more twisted than that? It's a journey that will thrill you, surprise you, and make you wonder about the clear-cut distinction usually made between good and evil.

 Linked by Imogen Howson

Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. But for the last three years, she’s been struggling with terrifying visions, phantom pains, and mysterious bruises that appear out of nowhere.

Finally, she’s promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth behind her hallucinations: she’s been seeing the world through another girl’s eyes.

Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl—Lin—who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed.

Now, Elissa and Lin are on the run from a government who will stop at nothing to reclaim Lin and protect the dangerous secrets she could expose—secrets that would shake the very foundation of their world.

Riveting, thought-provoking and utterly compelling, Linked will make you question what it really means to be human.


Just last week I got approved for The Iron Trial on Netgalley (that you Random House!!) and after Lies We Tell Ourselves, I really needed something light, so a magic school and kids seems like the right choice. I also just started Linked cause it is my chosen Alyssa's Reads recommendation for August and I'm running out of month to read it!

So what are you all guys reading and how and why did you decide to pick up that book? Shiny new ARC? Comfort read? Scheduled for review? Must have new release? Tell me!!