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Sarah (7799 KP) rated The Secret Garden in Books

Jul 1, 2019

A childrens classic

I'm ashamed to admit that I've never read or seen The Secret Garden. It passed me by as a child and I can understand why as i don't think the book lends itself to a younger reader with the language used. But as an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed this - all thanks to my Smashbomb secret Santa (book exchange).

This is one of the few stories with a child protagonist that I really enjoyed. Mainly because the child starts off as the usual stubborn stroppy brat, but the whole point of this story is to detail Mary's change in character. And boy does she change, and not only her but her cousin too. The character development in this book is brilliant, and whilst the plot itself is fairly basic but enjoyable, it's the characters that make this book. The writing itself is very good although not as good for younger readers as you'd expect. My only criticism is the Yorkshire characters. Whilst I'm used to the Yorkshire accent in reality, trying to read it in a book proves to be very trying and gets a little bit irritating after a while. Although it definitely does sound Yorkshire when you read it out!

Altogether a very good enjoyable and heartwarming read, that's also just about the right length for the plot.

Kudos

Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) Jul 2, 2019

I loved this book. I stole a second hand copy from a posh hotel in Inverness

Kudos

ClareR (5854 KP) rated Face of Glass in Books

Apr 10, 2020

Face of Glass

Damon L. Wakes | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Face of Glass is best described as a fantasy novel, but I don’t know as it even falls into this category, to be honest.

A young slave, ParuMe, finds himself in the right place at the right time, and is handed the role of chief of the tribe. As SatuKe, a God-like chief who never dies, he is forced to protect his tribe and the whole island from an invading force who know the secrets of steel. Help comes in a surprising form - that of a long dormant, ancient power. And as all good storytellers say, these ancient powers can be rather tricky.

This has some great world building, but I did keep trying to place the tribe and the invading forces - I think they’re all a product of the authors imagination though (but I keep thinking that the invaders are Romans - I may well be Descriptions we’re such that I thought they could be based on reality.

It’s a great story - very exciting in places, and I loved the stories that the tribes told one another. As with all tales where God-like creatures are involved, they don’t have happy endings, and are cautionary tales.

I really enjoyed this book, and I’ll be keeping an eye open for any more books by this author. Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to the author for reading along.