Day Four

Day Four
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of Bookbridgr

Four days into a five day singles cruise on the Gulf of Mexico, the ageing ship Beautiful Dreamer stops dead in the water. With no electricity and no cellular signals, the passengers and crew have no way to call for help. But everyone is certain that rescue teams will come looking for them soon. All they have to do is wait.

That is, until the toilets stop working and the food begins to run out. When the body of a woman is discovered in her cabin the passengers start to panic. There's a murderer on board the Beautiful Dreamer... and maybe something worse.

Okay I used the GoodReads synopsis because I didn't want to give away too much information if I did my own synopsis, but man this was the best possible sequel to The Three. So creepy. So, so creepy. 

This isn't a proper sequel, it's a standalone book with a few little connections to The Three.....anyone remember the Small's? Yep. I thought it was very well done, kind of making it a sequel, but not really but with some mentions of events from The Three that made you flail a bit because you recognised them and then go all "aaaahhh", and you realise it's all set in the same world. 

This is one of those books you might want to read in broad daylight, because while in the beginning it was all good, you know, introducing everyone....and then the ship stops. It was all still fine, someone was murdered, I still wasn't creeped out. I got creeped out when the passengers started seeing....things. Ghosts....possibly. That's what tripped my freak out switch. I'm all good with horror films unless it's to do with ghosts, i didn't sleep properly for weeks after watching Paranormal Activity, and that film wasn't even that good. 

Then the whole thing with Celine, she's a fake showbiz medium, but after the ship shuts off, she went full creepy. Like possessed or something, and she made my skin crawl more than once. I was glued to the page with intrigue just as much as horror/terror/creeped out-ness, it was like an accident..you wanted to look away...but you couldn't bring yourself to. I was like 'okay, i'll give it a rest...but.....wait...'. 

We get multiple views again, which where done very well, everyone saw different things and had different experiences, and some where creepier than others. The view switches where well done, and added a nice creep factor considering one of them was a murderer, and then Xavier added the kind of rational take on everything that made you think about what was really going on instead of just blindly believing everything the other view points said, I had points where I was like "okay he's totally right" but then I'd read another POV and I'd be like 'okay...maybe he's not...because that doesn't even seem plausible and something really weird is going on here'. My opinion changed as I kept reading the different view points, until I was just plain shuddering creeped out and was like okay none of this is okay, something freaky is going on. 

The entire book is set on the ship, and at one point with the lifeboats it reminded me of Titanic, and then at the end it reminded me of the Mary Celeste, and the book actually mentions three cases of ghost ships that I will be googling, because I find it oddly fascinating that so many people can disappear with no explanation, and I find it fascinating right up until I get all annoyed that it's a mystery and there is no answer. This goes some way to offer some sort of explanation as to what actually could have happened to these ships, much like what happened on this one. I think the book being all set on the ship helped to add to the atmosphere as you where reading, it gave a certain sense of claustrophobia, that the passengers must have been feeling, and the atmosphere of the book certainly started to get to you at one point, your really felt the atmosphere. 

The tension grew and you could feel it. Four days with no rescue in this day and age is certainly odd, and what they saw when they got to land was certainly something that made you think, as well as truly freaking you out. I won't be going on a cruise anytime soon. You got the sense of isolation very well, they'd been off on this cruise, floating at sea for days with no rescue, and they had no idea what was going on on land, what's stopping rescue and what they where going back to. It's not hard to start picturing the worst like the characters where. 

Lotz makes everything seem so real with her descriptions and vivid world building, you feel like you're there on the ship when you're really lying in bed or sitting in your favourite chair or whatever. The book is just so gripping you need to be able to read it in one sitting to be honest. 

What I loved most was the last chapter. You end the characters view points with the engines starting to roll, and you're thinking "what!? That's it?! Whaaaaatt" and then you turn the page...and then the freakiness reaches a new level. The entire last chapter was made up of newspaper articles, blog posts, (speaking of blog posts, Xaviers where a nice little creepy touch as well as rather ominous and helped to break up the narrative to keep it fresh) and at the very end the worlds creepiest interview transcripts, leaked interview transcripts. You see when everyone was told there where no survivors....there where actually five. 

I LOVED this mixed media approach in The Three and I loved it even more in Day Four, it seemed like the perfect ending for the book, allowing you to draw your own conclusions about what happened and your own opinion as you read what each person says happened. I loved how you got little bits and pieces about what happened after the ship started moving again, and you're left to decide who you believe. You can decide what happened, who's telling the truth and what really happened to the others, and I just think it's a truly brilliant ending. Normally I'd find this sort of ending annoying, because I hate unsolved mysteries, they really vex me unless there's some sort of answer that's believable, I don't know why, they just do, but it really works for Day Four and I can't imagine the book having any other ending. Especially as, for me, it added some more creepiness. 

Day Four is brilliantly written with an astounding ending and it gives you chills the entire way through, leaving you feeling nice and creeped out and with no particular need to go on a cruise oh..say...EVER. 

The Novice

The Novice
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy won from the publisher!

When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher comes across a special book courtesy of a passing soldier, he doesn't yet realise that his life is about to change. He soon discovers he has the ability to Summon and an after an accident, he and his new demon flee as far from Fletcher's home as they can. Chance has him finding a place at Adept Military Academy. There he finds new friends, and finds himself studying the art of Summoning and everything to do with demons. Fletcher and his fellow commoners not only have to put up with the nobles treatment of them, but also have to undergo the gruelling training to take part in a competition an entire year early, putting them a year closer to being battlemage's fighting in the Hominum Emire's war against Orcs.

Fletcher is surrounded by the power hungry, those seeking alliances and the constant fear of betrayal. Sylva needs to do what's going to be best for her fellow elves, even if it means buddying up with the nobles. Othello and his fellow dwarves are fighting for equality. Fletcher just wants to know who he is. Fletcher and Ignatius need to decide where their loyalties lie, and they need to win. But will his past come back to haunt him?

Oh my god guys! GUYS! This book is SO AWESOME. I can't even. I won a proof of this book in a Twitter competition from the publisher, but this book just came out not too long ago, so I thought I'd review it because I loved it so much to be honest! This is one of those books I'll re-read because it's the start of what's going to be one of my favourite series, and it's the start of an imaginative and original new series.

I was sucked in from the first page, and unable to put the book down, I've honestly been glued to the book the entire time. I devoured this book. Seriously. And then right at the end? The ending of the book? I am one of those people who talks to book and I shouted at it. Right at the end. Shouted. I couldn't help myself because of the freaking ending and then having to wait for the next book that I don't even know when it's out. I was literally just like "SERIOUSLY YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME GOD DAMMIT". Seriously. It's going to be a horrible wait for the next book and I don't know how I'll cope to be honest. I really don't.

While The Novice is easy to read, and I whizzed through it, it has a very complex plot with complex politics going on. I'm not going to get too political in this post, but the equality issue the dwarves are dealing with is one that I feel is echoed in the real world. Anyway, the background, history, peoples, stories, and politics of the world of the Novice are all very rich and complex, and this comes across in the book without smothering you with information, over the course of the book you gain an intense understanding of the world of the book and how it works.

I love all things original and a little bit different so it's no surprise I love this book, sure it has echoes of other books, but the book is original. I loved all the different demons, with the classification at the back. There where so many, and we only met some in this book. The Novice stretches your imagination and gives it a workout, and I loved reading about all the different types of demons and the magic used in the book and the rules for it, I've not read demons or magic quite like this, with the summoning. It felt a bit like Pokemon at one point when they where talking about capturing new demons. It's new and original and different, and I loved it. Especially Fletcher's idea for his tattoo!

The world building was vivid and cinematic, it sucked me in to the world and I felt like I was there with the characters. Everything was described in such a way that you could picture what was going on or picture the setting, without overly done descriptions. And what a world. It's clearly extensive, I'm hoping we get to see some more of it, and it's imaginative, with the elves, and the dwarves and the orcs and the the different types of people, nobles and commoners and so on. It's a world you can get lost in and forget about whatever's going on in your life, and that's the best kind of world really!

Fletcher, my poor, poor Fletcher. I liked Fletcher, he was easy to connect with and understand, and like Fletcher, you want to know who he is, clearly he's not who Arcturus thinks he is, but I can't quite work out the answer. I have a suspicion but I think I'm wrong, because it's too obvious. Fletcher is the kind of character you can root for, and who isn't entirely perfect so seems all the more realistic.

There's an entire cast of rich, likeable characters, and those you like to hate. Tarquin. In particular. I really don't like Tarquin. Anyway. Each secondary character is brought to life with as much as detail and care as Fletcher and the demons. Sylva, I want to know more about, I really liked her, she's a total badass, and another character I connected with, she has her duty but she's also got her friends who she's going to back, and she's a fighter, not a pushover. Othello, I wasn't sure about his character in the beginning but he's awesome, and I'm intrigued to see what's going to happen with him and his brother and his people after the incident in the cave, and after the end of this book as well. Seraph, I felt like we didn't get to know Seraph well enough and I'm hoping the next book will change that! Arcturus, where did he go!? Come back! Lovett, please can she come back in the second book? Although I do love her way of keeping an eye on the gang, can we have her back please!? So many well written characters to get to know and love! Dammit Didric. Ruining everything though.

I just really loved this book guys. The Novice is original, it's fun, it's complex, it's got action and magic and demons and a whole load of characters you can root for, as well as a colourful and imaginative world to get lost in. The Novice perfectly sets up the next book without sacrificing the plot of this book, almost as an after thought, and leaves you with a cliffhanger that's going to have you shouting "NOOOOO". The Novice is an utterly fantastic start to a promising trilogy and I can't wait for the next book!

The Last Bookaneer

The Last Bookaneer
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!

book'a-neer' (bŏŏk'kå-nēr'), n. a literary pirate; an individual capable of doing all that must be done in the universe of books that publishers, authors, and readers must not have a part in

London, 1890—Pen Davenport is the most infamous bookaneer in Europe. A master of disguise, he makes his living stalking harbors, coffeehouses, and print shops for the latest manuscript to steal. But this golden age of publishing is on the verge of collapse. For a hundred years, loose copyright laws and a hungry reading public created a unique opportunity: books could easily be published without an author’s permission. Authors gained fame but suffered financially—Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, to name a few—but publishers reaped enormous profits while readers bought books inexpensively. Yet on the eve of the twentieth century, a new international treaty is signed to grind this literary underground to a sharp halt. The bookaneers are on the verge of extinction.

From the author of The Dante Club, Matthew Pearl, The Last Bookaneer is the astonishing story of these literary thieves’ epic final heist. On the island of Samoa, a dying Robert Louis Stevenson labors over a new novel. The thought of one last book from the great author fires the imaginations of the bookaneers, and soon Davenport sets out for the South Pacific island. As always, Davenport is reluctantly accompanied by his assistant Fergins, who is whisked across the world for one final caper. Fergins soon discovers the supreme thrill of aiding Davenport in his quest to steal Stevenson’s manuscript and make a fortune before the new treaty ends the bookaneers’ trade forever. But Davenport is hardly the only bookaneer with a mind to pirate Stevenson’s last novel. His longtime adversary, the monstrous Belial, appears on the island, and soon Davenport, Fergins, and Belial find themselves embroiled in a conflict larger, perhaps, than literature itself.

Oh my God I LOVED THIS BOOK! I loved the entire idea of Bookaneers and the premise of the book, it's what drew me in, and when it arrived to review, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but it was utterly fantastic! 

The book was fascinating as was the note at the end because I actually had no idea about the publishing laws at the time the book was set, and that there where people who actually published the manuscripts without permission, which is where the author got the idea for the Bookaneers. All this information I gleaned from the book and the author's note at the end, the shadowy agents who acquired the manuscripts really is too tempting to resist! 

As a total book nerd, this book was just right up my street to be honest! I mean....a bookseller....book pirates and then Robert Louis Stevenson himself as a secondary character?! I was literally fangirling and geeking out all over the place as I was reading! 

The setting was vivid, and the book sucked you in right from the first page. I was glued to the book the entire time, fascinated and compelled to keep on reading. There are so many genres in this book it's insane, but it somehow manages to work! My main reason for wanting to read this was how unique it seemed, and it was indeed an original read, and the book was written very cleverly! I was not disappointed at all!

I do think some people are going to struggle with the book though it may seem like a slog with the wording and so on, but for me personally, I didn't find it a problem, in fact it set the voice of the book perfectly, you get a true Victorian perspective, which considering the setting, may make modern readers feel quite uncomfortable. There's loads in the book about the unrest between the natives and slaves and colonisers, with Stevenson himself having many an interaction with the slaves. 

The book is a fantastic read, there's adventure, and books and some fantastic plot twists that you won't see coming a mile off, and will end up being suitably shocked and surprised by! Fact and fiction are expertly woven together to create an engaging and fascinating tale. The characters are interesting and intriguing, the dense narrative might put off some readers, along with the descriptions, which I found beautifully written and vivid, but others might find an issue with. 

I don't think I'll ever get enough of the idea of the Bookaneers to be honest! 

Wishing For Wednesday #39

Okay so, this week I have two again, the first one I'm very intrigued about because I loved Maze Runner and it seems to have a similar vibe, but with a twist!
The second book...well....it's so me it's not even funny, it's literally right up my street and I'm SO EXCITED for it it's ridiculous!

The Cage

When Cora Mason wakes in a desert, she doesn't know where she is or who put her there. As she explores, she finds an impossible mix of environments—tundra next to desert, farm next to jungle, and a strangely empty town cobbled together from different cultures—all watched over by eerie black windows. And she isn't alone.

Four other teenagers have also been taken: a beautiful model, a tattooed smuggler, a secretive genius, and an army brat who seems to know too much about Cora's past. None of them have a clue as to what happened, and all of them have secrets. As the unlikely group struggles for leadership, they slowly start to trust each other. But when their mysterious jailer—a handsome young guard called Cassian—appears, they realize that their captivity is more terrifying than they could ever imagine: Their captors aren't from Earth. And they have taken the five teenagers for an otherworldly zoo—where the exhibits are humans.

As a forbidden attraction develops between Cora and Cassian, she realizes that her best chance of escape might be in the arms of her own jailer—though that would mean leaving the others behind. Can Cora manage to save herself and her companions? And if so . . . what world lies beyond the walls of their cage?

The Cage is out May 26th, pre-order your copy...here! 
Add it to your TBR...here! 

Witch Hunter

Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Grey doesn't look dangerous. A tiny, blonde, wisp of a girl shouldn't know how to poison a wizard and make it look like an accident. Or take out ten necromancers with a single sword and a bag of salt. Or kill a man using only her thumb. But things are not always as they appear. Elizabeth is one of the best witch hunters in Anglia and a member of the king's elite guard, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and bringing those who practice it to justice. And in Anglia, the price of justice is high: death by burning.

When Elizabeth is accused of being a witch herself, she's arrested and thrown in prison. The king declares her a traitor and her life is all but forfeit. With just hours before she's to die at the stake, Elizabeth gets a visitor - Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful wizard in Anglia. He offers her a deal: he will free her from prison and save her from execution if she will track down the wizard who laid a deadly curse on him.

As Elizabeth uncovers the horrifying facts about Nicholas's curse and the unwitting role she played in its creation, she is forced to redefine the differences between right and wrong, friends and enemies, love and hate... and life and death.

The first book in an incredible new series set in a fantastical medieval world. 

Witch Hunter is out June 4th, pre-order your copy....here!

Add it to your TBR...here!

Dark Touch

Dark Touch
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Won from the publisher!

For Lily McCain, the move from local music journalist to being the incarnation of Mabe, Mother of Mortals was a surprise to say the least....and a surprise she fought at every turn. Now she has chosen Gabriel as her mate, she has to face down the council. You know....polite introductions with other...unusual individuals, which means a trip to New York, where they find one of Gabriel's people needing help with a problem.

It's Lily's secret investigations in to said problem that causes a world of trouble. You see the problem has been stealing people's souls and collecting them like stamps or some such collectible item. Lily is thrown in to a game of gods and monsters, the rules of which she barely knows, and one thing is clear: if you have power, someone will try to take it away from you. Someone who wants to use it to evolve like a Pokemon in to something bigger and badder and infinitely badder for the world. Lily will have to make the ultimate sacrifice, trust a frenemy or allienemy? Anyway, she's gonna have to do all that and pretty much cross her fingers and hope for the best....

"I've got 99 problems....but a witch ain't one"

Okay guys, so (why do I ALWAYS start reviews with that?!) I won this in a Twitter competition from the publisher and I didn't really have to review this especially as it's been out for over a month now, but I kinda felt like I should because I think a fair few of you guys are going to like this, and it's a book that needs to be shared.

I think this may be a new favourite series of mine, and I'm eagerly awaiting the third book. Yes. I am assuming there is a third book because positive thinking gets you everywhere. I'm going to try not to do my usual gushing and rambling but it's going to be hard!

I've got to say, this book is SO FREAKING BRITISH (Grand Poohbah *cackles*). Like not just where it's set, but just in the humour and the language and the phrases and everything and it's so perfect because of that, it's pitched perfectly and I can't even really. I rarely read books set in England, let alone ones as damn good as this and I have never before had the urge to go to Liverpool, but now I quite want to day trip it up there and have a look around at Lily's world!

"Everyone else was either trying to turn in to the Invisible Man or, in the case of Carmel, sitting back to enjoy her own personal episode of the Jeremy Kyle Show."

For those of us who haven't been to Liverpool (what a setting though!) the city is brought to life effortlessly by the author, and the world building is such that it will suck you in until a bomb could go off in the real world and you'd have no clue. In this instalment New York is also brought to bustling life, and I LOVED the Friends reference! Anywho, as someone who already is desperate to go to New York, this book didn't help curb the urge. Whatever setting the author decides to throw us, it's created to be vivid, atmospheric and engaging, and will have you absorbed in the book in minutes.

I love the rich mythology to the book, it's not something I'm familiar with and I enjoyed learning about it in the first book and continuing to learn about it in this book. I love rich mythology like I love an Five Guys...deeply and to disturbing levels. The author gives you lots of knowledge, without sacrificing pacing or the plot, it's concise and it builds up over the books.

The characters. Oh how I LOVE the characters. Never before have I come across a more colourful cast of characters. The Morrigan....a load of bawdy Irish blokes who love killing things and then getting drunk....vampires....a proper Scouse girl.....a goddess......various other people of varying natures. Each character is just so lively they leap off the page and in to existence. Each brings something different to the story, each the story couldn't do without and each is so well written and brought to life and so full of depth it's amazing the pages can contain them.

"Public speaking isn't easy at the best of times, and he was getting heckled by two goddesses, a love rival vampire and a very seasick Egyptian Warrior Woman. Life at the top eh?"

I love Lily. I really do. I connected with her instantly and ever since the first book, whatever happens, I am always on her side. I understand her as a person so completely, and how everything shaped her and how she feels things and why, she's a character I really get, and can root for. In this book, you see her grow and change and start to become the person she's meant to be. She's not perfect, and that's one of the things that makes her so refreshing, she has flaws, she's fucked up and she's up front about it and that makes her SO relatable it's insane. I mean....going for a pint when things get shitty...what other heroine does that?!

Carmel is a favourite of mine. I can't wait to find out about her heritage and what it means and who she really is and all of this. I love her friendship with Lily, it reminds me of me and my best friend, and they crack me up both together and separately. Not to say I don't love the other characters I do, I love them all, but I do have favourites! Oh and I love the Morrigan, can we have more of her please? She has been known to make me chuckle as well as make me fear her haha.

The plot was simple, yet complex, you could see where it was going...but there where surprises all over the place. It started out simple...then got complicated as we carried on reading, I mean I thought the problem was going to be the council, and then things happened and then there was a game changer right at the end. The book is an easy read, but there's a lot going on and the book gives you some intense feels, while making you snort laugh in public places.

"I shoved the guy with the toe of my boot, hoping he wouldn't do a backflip upright and produce a taser from his arse"

The romance. Now. Here's where I may have a slight issue. Just a slight one. Not enough for me to dislike the book, but one that makes me sigh a bit. Lily and Gabriel, destined to mate. Luca cute little vampire who's just adorable even though he's a vampire and can and will kill you. Lily and Gabriel have been a slow budding romance, although at one point it was suddenly all "I love you" and I was a bit like...oooohkay. Now, don't get me wrong, I find them cute. I do. It's kind of warm and fuzzy inducing to be honest. What's the problem? I hear you say? Well....

I know there's visions of what could happen and the end made me sigh and resist the urge to scream "no" even while I was like "aw" because, much like Lily, half the time I dislike Gabriel. She even says at one point that they will never be equal or words to similar effect. He says no more secrets, he keeps a huge one from her. He never trusts her to take care of herself and he's constantly seemingly having no respect for her and treating her like a child, with no care for her feelings in a  lot of matters. That is what annoys me hugely, and then when he is sweet, he screws it up by being a dick. Of all the things he's done to her, I'm still surprised she's forgiven him to be honest.

"At least do him the courtesy of listening, your Royal Bollocks. And if you can't be arsed, then off you fuck"

Now Luca. I love Luca, like I've said, I want to know more about Luca and I'm hoping I'll get that in book 3. I feel like Lily should give Luca a chance. I mean...he genuinely cried when he found out about her and Gabriel he was that upset. He treats her like an equal. This is going to seem stupid, but when they where all in danger at the end, Luca was the only one of the two who thought to save Lily's dog and keep it safe for her, knowing how much she loves that dog. Gabriel is overprotective to the point of being a total asshole half the time. I'm not entirely sure I understand her decision to go with Gabriel all the time. But I kinda wish she'd go with Luca. Maybe she will, maybe she won't in book 3, but I wish she had in this book.

Either way there's plenty of romance type things going on, some warm and fuzzies, and you pretty much feel exactly as Lily does, including when she feels monumentally frustrated. I'm just Team Luca and not necessarily riding the Gabriel train to be honest, maybe I'll come around. Either way it's not a big enough thing to make me hate the books or not read. It doesn't take away enjoyment, it just makes me go "noooooooooooo" a lot haha.

"Yeah. Ok. Even the magic rice rope failed, big fucking shocker. Should've tried pasta."

Dark Touch is a hell of a wild ride. It really is. Insanely wonderful characters, easy to read but with plenty of plot twists, action, romance, magic and mythology, Dark Touch is a hell of a hard book to put down and it's impossible to not enjoy it. Dark Touch is freaking hilarious. Like 75% (maybe higher) of the time I'm laughing at a comment made by a character, or Lily's narrative which is so ridiculously engaging and humorous. Lily and Carmels comments in particular crack me up, it's not a book to read in public because I was snort laughing at one point. Just a warning. The other 25% of the time shit gets real and it's all serious, and there's action and fighting and gore, and when none of the above is present? Cheese. This book is cheesy sometimes. Like eye rolling cheesy. But it's the RIGHT kind of cheesy, the kind that you need to curl up with when you've had a shitty day especially...but will brighten up any day.

Dark Touch is a hilarious, unique, original, laugh out loud, cheesy, action packed, wild ride, and when it gets serious...it usually makes you feel some intense feels. It pretty much has everything you want in a good book, and I'm excited to see where the story goes next.

Wishing For Wednesday #38

Wednesday greetings guys!
This week I have two for you, we're getting in to the kind of territory where there's so many awesome books coming out, it's hard to narrow it down! So have two!
So these two I have chosen because they both sound unique and original and like a lot of fun, which is of course, right up my street!
So check em out and add them to your TBR's and buy them and yeah!

A School For Unusual Girls

It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.

After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts...

A School For Unusual Girls is out May 19th, pre-order your copy....here! 
Add it to your TBR....here!

Illusionarium

What if the world holds more dangers—and more wonders—than we have ever known? And what if there is more than one world? From Heather Dixon, author of the acclaimed Entwined, comes a brilliantly conceived adventure that sweeps us from the inner workings of our souls to the far reaches of our imaginations.

Jonathan is perfectly ordinary. But then—as every good adventure begins—the king swoops into port, and Jonathan and his father are enlisted to find the cure to a deadly plague. Jonathan discovers that he's a prodigy at working with a new chemical called fantillium, which creates shared hallucinations—or illusions. And just like that, Jonathan is knocked off his path. 

Illusionarium is out May 19th, pre-order your copy...here!

Add it to your TBR...here!