Becky's Book Reviews

Magical, menacing and deliciously macabre, A.G. Howard’s sequel to Splintered is everything you could ask for in an urban gothic fantasy novel. Purchase a copy from Raru.co.za Unhinged by A.G. Howard (Amulet books) Please note:  As this book is the second in a trilogy, this review may contain spoilers. If you thought Splintered was a fantastical twist on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, then you need to prepare for even more tumbles, magical twists and turns in Unhinged, the second book in A.G Howard’s phenomenal Splintered trilogy. This time around, Anita ups the ante on the wonderful and macabre world of the recreated Wonderland we’ve come to know and pulls us into a sensuous and even darker landscape than the one we’ve been introduced to in the first book. A lot has happened since we last left off from the book. Alyssa reunited with her mother, who has been bound in an asylum for years; she bravely fought against the Red Queen and her band of cronies, and finally got the boy...

The rebellion is out in full force, but does the final instalment end with a blazing inferno or just a warm fizzle? You decide. What it's about: At the end of the saga, Katniss Everdeen realises that the stakes are no longer just for survival—they are for the future. Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland Director: Francis Lawrence Release Date: November 20, 2015 Our Rating: *** Review first appeared on Women24.com . Check out what our sister site, Channel24 had to say about the movie. Final instalments in a movie franchise can be a tricky thing. Conclusions in a movie franchise split into two parts are even trickier to pull off. For one, it’s the movie that reveals whether the decision to split the movie was a good one, and secondly, it’s the definitive and deciding measure as to whether or not the franchise is successful as a whole...

Summary from Goodreads Publisher: Skyscape Source: Received by the publishers via netgalley Publication date: 17 November 2015 Seven girls tied by time. Five powers that bind. One curse to lock the horror away. One attic to keep the monsters at bay. After the storm of the century rips apart New Orleans, sixteen-year-old Adele Le Moyne wants nothing more than her now silent city to return to normal. But with home resembling a war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal needs a new definition. As the city murder rate soars, Adele finds herself tangled in a web of magic that weaves back to her own ancestors. Caught in a hurricane of myths and monsters, who can she trust when everyone has a secret and keeping them can mean life or death? Unless . . . you’re immortal What I thought of the book: The Casquette Girls is a book that has been described as “an epic love letter to New Orleans.” Now I haven’t been to New Orleans, but the...

Ah, the plight(s) of a book lover. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who is guilty of this, but at the moment, there are tons of books sitting in my shelves still waiting to be read. In the past month or so, I’ve made many a verbal agreement about self-imposed book buying bans, but to no avail. I’ve even roped in one of my fabulous book blogging friends, but the lovely Urbanised Geek was just as bad at upholding her end of the bargain as I was (and am). In light of this, I’ve decided the next best thing would be to make a list of 10 books I’m going to read next before I buy any additional books. At this rate, the books that I’ve been buying will never be read, so I’m considering this an intervention of sorts. Without further ado, these are the books I’ll be reading before rewarding myself with new books. *grins* 1. After the Woods by Kim Savage Would you risk your life to save your best friend? Julia did. When a paroled predator attacked Liv in the woods, Julia fought back and got...

In today’s mini reviews feature, I share my brief thoughts on Me and Earl and The Dying Girl Source: Review copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase a copy of the book via Raru.co.za   Summery: Goodreads Publication date (film tie-in version): 2015 (first published in 2012) Publisher: Allen & Unwin Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics. Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel. Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed.  When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning poin...

Emma O’Donovan wakes up in pain. She’s not wearing any underwear and has absolutely no idea what happened to her the previous night. Is it still rape if you can’t remember? Spoiler alert: Yes… yes it is. If your answer is anything but yes, then it’s only serves to show just why books like these are important. Special thanks to my colleague, Marisa Crous, for her brilliant review of Louise O’ Neill’s Asking for It. Review first appeared on Women24.com . You can purchase a copy of the book via Raru.co.za Asking for it by Louise O’Neill (first published in 2015 by Quercus) A guy suggestively licks his lips as he passes you in the street on your way to work or someone calls you a “slut” for sleeping with more than one guy. Or a school girl wears a dress to a party, one that can easily be mistaken for a t-shirt. She gets wasted and wakes up the next afternoon on her parents’ porch - sunburnt as hell, sans underwear. The latter happened to Emma O’Donovan. A gorgeous, popular and confident 1...

1. “ A jellyfish, if you watch it long enough,  begins to look like a heart beating. It doesn't matter what kind: the blood-red Atolla with its flashing siren lights, the frilly flower hat variety,  or the near-transparent moon jelly, Aurelia aurita. It's their pulse,  the way they contract swiftly, then release. Like a ghost heart -  a heart you can see right through,  right into some other world where everything you ever lost has gone to hide.”   - The Thing About Jellyfish,  Ali Benjamin One of the biggest rules of writing is that you should never, ever start your own post with another person’s quote.  I say screw that. Rules are, after all, meant to be broken, right? You see, sometimes the words of someone else is so beautiful, that the person’s writing in itself will better convey what you could possibly say in a review. Ali Benjamin’s The Thing About Jellyfish is one such book. This read – a book about denial, grief and coming to terms ...