Review: Only a Monster (Monsters #1) by Vanessa Len

I downloaded this book because I love YA fantasy and I was intrigued by the cover and  blurb.

Sent to stay with her late mother's eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her job at the historical Holland House, and when her co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place. Then a Good Samaritan attempt gone wrong sends Joan spinning through time, and her life begins to quickly unravel. Her family aren't eccentric, they're monsters with terrifying hidden powers. And Nick isn't just a cute boy: he's a legendary monster-slayer who will do anything to bring them down. Because in this story, Joan is not the hero...

I have been raving about this book to anyone who will listen to me! It so clever and original; I think the last time I felt like this about a book was when I read the first Harry Potter, years ago. Vanessa Len has created an amazing world of 'monsters' and 'heroes'. Every detail is well-thought-out and completely believable, and the characters are wonderful. There's also the central dilemma: what do you do when you find out you're on the wrong side of good and evil? Believe what you're told implicitly? Or dig around a little further?

A fabulous, magical read, Only a Monster deserves to be a huge success.  There are elements of Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire-Slayer, Back to the Future and Loki, but the story is told with a fresh, original voice and a modern twist. I loved it and I can't wait for the next one in the series!

Thank you to Vanessa Len and Hodder and Stoughton for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Review: The Summer of Impossible Things by Rowan Coleman

I couldn't resist downloading this one because of the beautiful cover, the clever title, and the fact that it is about time travel! I read so many books it is a joy to find something that's just that little bit different!

Luna has always known she's a bit odd. She's grown used to seeing people that no one else can, and assumes they're either hallucinations or ghosts. Then her mother dies, leaving a cryptic message for Luna to 'find her' in her childhood home - Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Yet when Luna arrives in America her hallucinations grow worse. But what if they're not hallucinations? What if she has the ability to slide through time? What if she can meet her mother, just before the moment that ruined her life? What if Luna can actually go back and change the past?

The Summer of Impossible Things is part The Time Traveller's Wife, part Back to the Future. It's about a daughter's love for her mother and how one moment can change your life - but what if you can change it back? And if you muck that up, can you try again? And what about the consequences?

It's hard to talk about this book without revealing spoilers. So I'll just say that I loved the characters and I loved the setting, and I particularly loved Mrs Finkle and Michael. I even loved the way the author sneakily played the writer's equivalent of the three card trick when I wasn't paying attention! 

The Summer of Impossible Things is a beautiful, magical story that I didn't want to put down and I certainly didn't want to end. There's a romance and a mystery, and just when you think you've worked out how the story is going to end - well, no spoilers, right? 

One of my favourite reads this year. Recommended!

Thank you to Rowan Coleman, Ebury Press and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.