Demon Road by Derek Landy

Series: Demon Road
Author: Derek Landy
Page Count: 507
Published: August 28, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
  4.5 Stars ★★★★

Amber's parents are a little weird, and she isn't very close with them. One night, she discovers why: they're demons, and they are going to, quite literally, eat her. They made a deal with a demon years ago, and part of the deal includes blood tributes, which involves slaughtering their young. Amber barely escapes.


Her life has changed forever. Amber can now shift into demon form, she's on the road with a man she doesn't know at all, and her parents and their friends are searching for her. A cat and mouse chase across the United States puts Amber's life on the line, unless she can make a deal with a demon, too. But things can't be so simple for a demon girl with psycho parents, can they?


So this book was literally almost perfect. I read the first hundred pages in one day, and then I binge-read the rest of the book the next day. I could not stop reading!


Derek Landy returns with his humorous yet dark writing style, perfectly balancing funny moments with terrifying ones. I was really pleased to find the writing similar to that from his Skulduggery Pleasant series! He has such a unique writing style, and it made the book an easy, gripping read.


His characters were fascinating, as usual. Amber herself is relatable, with her body image issues, her attachment to her family despite their demonic mission, and the discoveries that she makes about herself. Amber's parents were despicable villains who I hated, yet loved to read about. Amber's companions on her journey brought mystery and humor to the story, with me wondering about their backgrounds and hoping that they'd survive the ordeal.


A lot happened in this book. While there was the main issue, Amber trying to escape her parents, there were smaller conflicts within the plot that made the book even more exciting. Amber and her companions have to fight a tiny serial killer and a town of vampires, all while dealing with the bigger issues. Despite this, the book never seemed to sway off course.


My only issue was the way that Amber seemed to accept things a little too quickly. Maybe it's just me, but I'd probably lose my mind a lot more than she did upon looking in a mirror and seeing that I've transformed into a demon.


I absolutely recommend this, especially to fans of paranormal books with no to little romance. If you're interested in a book that's both funny and dark, Derek Landy's books are a great pick.


Find Demon Road on Goodreads

Three Truths and a Lie by Brent Hartinger

Series: N/A
Author: Brent Hartinger
Page Count: 272
Published: August 2nd, 2016
Publisher: Simon Pulse
  4 Stars ★★★★

In this young adult mystery, boyfriends Liam and Rob, and couple Mia and Galen decide to head to a cabin in the woods for a nice, relaxing weekend together.  Unfortunately, things go south quickly when items are moved around, escalating over time. It becomes obvious that somebody is messing with the four friends. And if they aren't careful, they won't all make it out alive. 

This was a short mystery with some twists that I did not see coming. I was drawn into the mystery immediately and I honestly had trouble putting the book down! 

The setting was a bit cliche, but it worked well. I mean, if I were in a cabin in the forest, and stuff was moved around, I'd definitely be suspicious. The author uses the setting effectively, leaving me feeling like the characters were in a dangerous, almost isolated situation. 

The mystery behind the strange happenings was also well written. In my opinion, the best mysteries encourage the reader to constantly analyze the situation and form their own theories, which was certainly the case for myself and this book! I was always switching who I thought was the culprit. And I was always on the lookout for clues in the setting, the characters' speech and actions, etc. 

I think that at times the book was pretty unrealistic, which bothered me. This is a contemporary young adult mystery, which means that, as its not a fantasy or paranormal, certain real-life, rational aspects need to remain. I felt that at times, the characters acted in ways that would not make sense for someone in their situation. 

I did really appreciate that two of the characters were LGBTQ! I love mysteries, and I love LGBTQ characters, and this book combined both those things very well! I also love how the gay couple was really not a big deal in the book, in that themes of coming out and prejudice weren't in the spotlight. I love "casually queer" books. 

And finally, that ending! I did not see that coming. I should have for sure....but I didn't! 

I recommend this book to those looking for a short mystery. If you're looking for YA LGBTQ books, you might enjoy Three Truths and a Lie. 

Find Three Truths and a Lie on Goodreads

Book Talk

Image found here

Hey everyone. I hope you're doing well! I wanted to talk about books, what I've been reading, what I want to read, and other things. 

So recently I've been getting into nonfiction a bit more. I especially love books about creepy or strange things, such as unsolved crimes, strange phenomena, mysteries, and modern day controversies. For example I recently read Going Clear, which is about Scientology. I'm looking into books about Jack the Ripper, for example books that speculate on his identity. What are your favourite nonfiction books? What topics are you interested in reading about?

I attempted to read the first Spiderwick Chronicles book in french, but I failed miserably. It turns out my french skills are much worse than I thought! So I guess its to the picture books I go. I am so annoyed how after thirteen years of french classes and living with a family who speaks french fluently, the language still does not stick in my brain! It is so incredibly frustrating. Do any of you struggle with this? And for those who are great at your second language, how did you accomplish this? Any tips?

I'm so happy I renewed my library card. While I have lots of books to get through at home, taking a walk on a nice day to the library, sitting down for a bit and reading bits and pieces of books, is somehow relaxing. I like the general quiet one finds in a library as well, its like taking a break from the outside world for a while. 

How many books have you all read so far this year? I've read 35 according to Goodreads, which is 70% of my goal of 50 books for 2018. 

Happy reading!

Wrecked by Anna Davies

Series: N/A
Author: Anna Davies
Page Count: 336
Published: May 1st, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
  3 Stars ★★★

Miranda lives on Whym Island with her grandmother, where superstitions about sea witches are popular among the locals. The death of her parents isn't the only tragedy she has to deal with....one night, she and her friends get into a boating accident. She survives, and holds memories of a mysterious boy on the beach.

Christian is a betwixtman from Down Below. He saved Miranda from drowning, but Sephie, the sea witch, isn't happy with him. She charges him with killing Miranda, and he has a time limit. Things become complicated when he starts falling for her. Will Sephie end them both?

This is a case of a book not being horrible but not being amazing either.

There were some things that I liked. I liked the characters, especially Christian. The characters were all pretty interesting, and poor Miranda! Dealing first with the death of her parents, and now the death of some of her friends and her own possible death! Sephie was an interesting villain, although I kind of guessed what was going on with her from the beginning.

I liked the mermaids, mermen, betwixtmen, etc. I love sea creatures/people, and this book gave an interesting twist to the idea of these sea people, or in Christian's case, betwixtmen. He is able to walk on land and transform back in the water, and this ability to walk between worlds was reminiscent of werewolf or shapeshifter books. I also liked that he essentially became an assassin for the sea witch, that added another level of danger, and forbidden romance, to the story.

I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. It wasn't terrible, and I could definitely see myself liking it if the author had added a bit more description and watched the way she used words....what I mean is that there were sometimes awkward repetitions of words within a few consecutive sentences, which kind of drew me out of the story.

I also think that there could have been some more events going on to make the book seem a bit more dangerous. I know that Miranda's life was in danger but, the focus seemed more on her relationships with others than the threat to her life. I wish there had been more emphasis on creepy happenings, maybe the sea witch could have played around with Miranda a bit more.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, but not amazing, read. I liked the sea people and the characters, but the writing style could have been better, and I wish there had been more creepy events. I do recommend this for fans of young adult romance featuring sea creatures/people and forbidden love.

Find Wrecked on Goodreads

I'm Back! + Summer Plans

Hey everyone.


So I am back! Exams went really well, and I did great on my final projects. Straight As!



I'm hoping to return to a regular posting schedule soon. I took about a week extra off to just relax after exams ended, so I want to get back to blogging and start a spring/summer schedule in general.



I will say, though, that I am having trouble getting the motivation to get out of bed. Its so hot in my room! And for myself, when I'm really warm, I just want to curl up and nap. I'm kinda like a cat that way..... so I'm fighting off some extra fatigue. If anyone has any suggestions for fighting off this tiredness, please do let me know. Also, how do you keep your room cool during the summer? Because sometimes its like I'm being toasted or something.



I also live in walking distance to the library now. I have lots of books to read at home but I want to start walking down to the library and taking a book out maybe on a weekly basis, so I have an excuse to go for a nice walk. Plus I just love being surrounded by books and not being tempted to spend money, as I would in a bookstore. Free books are best books.



I'm also hoping to get writing a story this summer as well. I am having really bad writers block, where I think about my story and its literally like a brick wall. Hopefully I can do something about that.



Poe update: she survived the move! Poor thing, we had to lock her in the bathroom as we were loading my stuff to be transported, and her pitiful meows echoed! There's an issue though.....the landlady has two cats, and one of them in particular does not like Poe at all. Poe is just sitting there and he comes in my room and hisses and hisses! And Poe goes downstairs to explore the house and he full on attacks her! I don't know what to do. Poor Poe, I don't want her to be trapped in my room all summer. Any thoughts on this?



Anyways, thats really it for now, just wanted to give a general update and chat a bit before resuming my usual posts. It's nice to be back! Happy reading.