Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Review: The Bone Season-Anniversary Edition 

by Samantha Shannon

Pages:512

Published: 22/08/23

Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing PlC

Available from: Waterstones, WHSmiths, Independent bookshops, etc.

Welcome to Scion. No safer place.

The year is 2059. For two centuries, the Republic of Scion has led an oppressive campaign against unnaturalness in Europe.

In London, Paige Mahoney holds a high rank in the criminal underworld. The right hand of the ruthless White Binder, Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare and formidable kind of clairvoyant. Under Scion law, she commits treason simply by breathing.

When Paige is arrested for murder, she meets the mysterious founders of Scion, who have designs on her uncommon abilities. If she is to survive and escape, Paige must use every skill at her disposal – and put her trust in someone who ought to be her enemy.

This book has been on my radar for such a long time, and I was lucky enough to pick up a copy of the original Bone Season in a charity shop.  It sat on my shelf.  In February of this year I was very fortunate to get to meet Samantha Shannon on her tour for A Day Of Fallen Night, if you would like to read about it the link is below:

Meeting Samantha Shannon!

During the talk about this wonderful book, The Bone Season came up in discussion, and it was there that she said, if you haven’t read The Bone Season yet, she advised waiting for the anniversary edition-and so I did! 

Oh! Was it worth the wait, my word yes it so was, I absolutely adored this book! It is what I would describe as a pot at the end of a rainbow for bookworms, this is a treasure discovered! It didn’t take long to get into the book, but at first the world was confusing me slightly, but as you read through the book, more and more becomes explained.  There are a lot of characters to keep up with, but again, you soon get it sorted, and also there is an index of characters included at the back of the book, which I referred to from time to time.   Because of the story of this book, it needs a lot of characters, there is a lot happening.  The lore of the world is fascinating, learning about the different powers the voyants have, and the classes these come under is really interesting.  

The main characters are superb, I love Paige, and I really had no idea what was going to happen to her in the beginning, my breath was taken away.  It was good to go into this book blind, so to speak.  The thing I really only knew was that the book was dystopian, and had supernatural leanings.    

I gave this 5 out of 5 bats!

Read this book if:

• Like Dystopian fiction
• Like books with supernatural powers
• Like book which go into detail
• Like Books with lots of characters to follow
• LIke reading a series you can get your teeth into

There are going to be seven books in this series, four are already with us, though I believe these are all going to be ‘revised’.   Although I am desperate to start the next book, I think I will wait for the next revision, due out next year.

I may just have to satisfy the itch by purchasing The Pale Dreamer-a novella prequel available as an ebook! 

Thanks for reading!  See you all soon. 

Review Time: Bella Bright & The Ghost Game by Carolyn Ward

Review: Bella Bright and the Ghost Game by

Pages:288

Published: 31/08/23

Published by: Welbeck Publishing group

Available from: Waterstones, WHSmiths, Independent bookshops, etc.

Eleven-year-old Bella Bright has just moved into Darkling House in Castleton. On her first day at her new school, she is spotted by a pair of manipulative mean girls, Skylar and Regan. They push her into inviting them to a Halloween sleepover. Another much friendlier girl, Lex, comes to Bella’s rescue and offers to join the sleepover to support Bella, who is delighted to be making a real friend.

On Halloween night, things start getting spooky for the four girls, when the huge front door appears to shut itself, and their mobile phones lose signal. They decide to order pizza using the landline, but a hair-raising whisper comes down the line.

Skylar suggests they play hide and seek, but as she utters the words, the house appears to wobble and they discover all the exits are impossibly locked. Bella searches the manor and a ghostly teenage girl appears in front of her. She reveals herself to be Alice, a young girl who died in the house 150 years ago during a game of hide and seek gone terribly wrong. She has hidden Bella’s three friends, and gives Bella a rhyming clue to find them in the enormous and cavernous house.

Bella has until midnight. After that, Alice will get to keep the girls as her playmates for ever…

I was kindly sent this book by the publishers in exchange for an honest review.  

When I saw the cover of this book, I instantly knew that this would be a book younger me would have snapped up.  I loved books about ghosts, monsters and mythical creatures-whether it was halloween or not!  The artwork is gorgeous throughout this book.  There are a few lovely pictures inside, and I love the smaller illustrations dotted throughout, especially the moths.

The story itself revolves around a group of girls who decide to have a halloween sleepover, at a spooky gothic house our main character Bella, and her mum are decorating and renovating.  But things are not as they seem, and maybe someone else wants to join in their spooky games!  The girls are all great characters.  I did  initially think there was going to be some bullying in this book, but this didn’t transpire to anything fortunately, as I am not a fan of bully books, as I call them.  The story is also great fun, full of eerie moments!  A perfect spooky season read!

I think this would be a great read for middle grade children.

I gave this 4.5/5 out of 5 bats! 

Read this book if:

• You like spooky middle grade books
• You like books with ghosts

Thanks for reading!  See you all soon. 

My Reading Thoughts for August 2023

My Reading Thoughts for August ’23

August has been a fun month. I’ve spent quite a bit of time decorating, which has meant less time with the books, but the house looks lovely outside now, and the conservatory is all finished! But, with all of that taken into account, I have managed to read:  

No of books read: 9

My favourite reads were:

• Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
• Solo Leveling Vol 4 by Chugong

Books that made me think:

• Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo

Unusual Activity for me:

• Buying a book and reading it instantly!  (I did this twice!)

My overall favourite book was:

• Days at the Morisaki Bookshop. 

Again I completed another read for my Year of Reading Brandon Sanderson challenge.  This month I read The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England. You can find a review for that book, in the link below.

A Year of Reading Brandon Sanderson: August.

I was really happy to find  a copy of the book day novella Kill Joy by Holly Jackson, at a charity shop for 20 pence!  I instantly read this book, as I have yet to read anything by this author, and I am now even more desperate to read The Good Girl Guide to Murder books!  I really enjoyed a small taste of this author, and the world of that book series!  

I also read You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron.  This was a book club read, and my first ever slasher, I have to say I really enjoyed it!  If this author writes any more books in this vein, I will definitely pick them up!

I had planned to read the next book in the ACOTAR series, but unfortunately I didn’t get the time, which is disappointing as I have tried to read this for two months now!  I don’t intend to include it in my TBR for the next two months, as I am going to focus on more autumnal/spooky books due to the approaching season. 

In August I purchased: 

• Days At The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
• What You Are Looking For Is In The Library by  Michiko Aoyama
• Murder in The Family by Cara Hunter
• The Darkling by Sunya Mara
• Foxglove by Adalyn Grace
• The Bone Season Anniversary Edition by Samantha Shannon
• My Roommate Is A Vampire by Jenna Levine (Kindle)

Days at the Morisaki bookshop had me looking for more books in the similar vein, and I was delighted to find another book that looks to be another great read, which was released this month too.. What You Are Looking For Is In The Library.  I am incredibly excited to read this.  Not only that, there are some more bookshop books on the horizon too!  These are out in October and November, more information about those books will be on my blog soon.

I had a lovely reading month in August, and I am so looking forward to books I hope to read in September.  I so hope you find some great books to read also.

Thanks for stopping, until next time keep reading!