Once Upon a Moonlight Review...

T h e Isl and  by C.L. Taylor Published by HQ Young Adult on 21st January 2021 Lost meets The H unger G ames in the thrilling new young adult novel from C.L. Taylor, the Sunday Times and million-copy bestselling author. Welcome to The Island. Where your worst fears are about to come true… It was supposed to be the perfect holiday: a week-long trip for six teenage friends on a remote tropicalisland. But when their guide dies of a stroke leaving them stranded, the trip of a lifetime quickly turns into a nightmare. Because someone on the island knows each of the group’s worst fears. And one by one, they’re coming true. Seven days in paradise. A deadly secret. Who will make it off the island alive? First Chapter Extract CHAPTER 1 JESSIE L ife would be so much easier if I were a psychopath. I’d be charming, manipulative and a pathological liar. I also wouldn’t be wondering what Danny, Honor, Jeffers, Meg and Milo are talking about on the other side of the pool, their fac

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han Series:  Summer #1 Published by  Penguin on 3rd June 2010 Pages:  288 Every year Isabel spends a perfect summer at her family friends' house. There's the swimming pool at night, the private stretch of sandy beach... and the two boys.  Unavailable, aloof Conrad - who she's been in love with forever - and friendly Jeremiah, the only one who's ever really paid her any attention. But this year something is different. An easy contemporary read, that is certainly targeted more towards the younger audience in the young adult genre. Oh where to start with this novel. I think one of the key aspects of this novel that threw me, is our main character Belly. I believe, dependant on your age, the way you read her will differ. Personally I found her to be a rather petty and immature character. Belly constantly played the victim, and although this I believe strongly related to her age, to read it from her perspective re

The  Optical   Illusion   by  Rachel Halliburton Published by  Duckworth Books on 8th February 201 Pages:  352 Source:  *Received from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review* In   The Optickal Illusion , Rachel Halliburton’s meticulous recreation of Georgian society reveals the sordid details of a genuine scandal that deceived the British Royal Academy.   Her debut novel questions the lengths women must go to make their mark on a society that seeks to underplay their abilities – a theme only too relevant today. It is three years from the dawn of a new century and in London, nothing is certain any more: the future of the monarchy is in question, the city is aflame with right and left-wing conspiracies, and the French could invade any day. Against this feverish atmosphere, the American painter Benjamin West is visited by a strange father and daughter, the Provises, who claim they have a secret that has obsessed painters for centuries: the Venetian t

When  by Victoria Laurie Published by  Disney Hyperion on 13th January 2015 Pages:  336 Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father’s premature death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually death dates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one. Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies the quickly approaching death date of one client's young son, but because her ability only allows her to see the  when  and not the  how , she’s unable to offer any more insight. When the boy goes missing on that exact date, law enforcement turns to Maddie. Soon, Maddie is entangled in a homicide investigation, and more young people disappear and are later found murdered. A suspect for the

Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief  by Rosie Somers Published by  Entangled Teen on 7th August 2017 Pages:  206 Source:  *Received from the Publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* Most sixteen-year-olds shouldn’t know where museums keep their rarest jewels (the basement) and they really shouldn’t know that vans make the worst getaway cars. But for Marisol Flores, a life of jewel thievery is a birthright handed down from generation to generation, even if she didn’t ask for it. So when a rival thief targets Mari and her mother, Mari’s more than happy to flee to the anonymity of bustling New York City. Blending in is a dream come true for Mari, but keeping her former thieving ways a secret gets way more complicated when handsome Will Campbell sets his sights on her. She can’t help but like his terrible puns and charming grin…but when her past catches up with her, it’s not only her life—and her anonymity—that’s at stake.  Will could be the next target.

Follow Me  by Sara Shepard Series:  The Amateurs #2 Published by  Hot Key Books on 5th October 2017 Pages:  288 Source:  *Received from the Publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* Everyone knows Chelsea Dawson. Day and night, her tens of thousands of followers on Instagram watch her every move. So when she goes missing from the sunny beachside town of Lafayette, it makes headlines. The police are searching everywhere for her kidnapper, but when eighteen-year-old Seneca Frazier sees Chelsea's picture, she knows instantly who took her. Chelsea looks exactly like her friend Aerin Kelly's murdered sister - and Seneca's own mother, who was killed five years ago. Seneca's suspicions are confirmed when the killer contacts her, threatening to hurt Chelsea if Seneca goes to the police with what she knows. Seneca makes the only move she can, reaching out to Aerin and Maddox and Madison Wright, her friends from Case Not Closed, an amateur c

The Diabolic  by S.J. Kincaid Series:  The Diabolic #1 Published by  Simon & Schuster UK on 1st November 2016 Pages:  403 Source:  *Received from Publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* Nemesis is a  Diabolic . Created to protect a galactic Senator's daughter, Sidonia. There's no one Nemesis wouldn't kill to keep her safe. But when the power-mad Emperor summons Sidonia to the galactic court as a hostage, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia. She must  become  her. Now one of the galaxy's most dangerous weapons is masquerading in a world of corruption and Nemesis has to hide her true abilities or risk everything. As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns that there is something stronger than her deadly force: the one thing she's been told she doesn't have - humanity. And, amidst all the danger, action and intrigue, her humanity might be the only thing that can save her,