When I first read the synopsis of Out of the Blue, I was intrigued. After the first chapter, I was hooked. Then my expectations came crashing down before it partially mended towards the end. See, the concept of angels falling from the sky sounded like there’d be a lot more to it than what Out of the Blue had to offer.
THE HOUSE OF MOUNTFATHOM by Nigel McDowell
The House of Mountfathom is a difficult book to review. Personally, I didn’t enjoy reading it very much. On some fronts, it felt like things were missing — as though there was supposed to me more. The premise intrigued me but the execution failed to charm. When I looked up the author, I found out this book was published posthumously. He was in his mid-thirties when cancer took his life. Knowing this, I was tempted to rate The House of Mountfathom for its potential but decided not to. That would skew my rating scale against other books I’ve read.
CARNIVALESQUE by Neil Jordan
Carnivals and circuses have fascinated me since I was young. Even today, I still am taken in by magical atmosphere — the way time stops and visitors are transported into an almost otherworldly realm. This wonderment is something I thought Neil Jordan captured immensely well in his latest novel, Carnivalesque. The setting held a great deal of intrigue and carried a mysterious air. This was especially brought out throughout the eyes of the main character, Andrew, who was a young boy.
GHOSTS by Raina Telgemeier
I adore the artistic style of Raina Telgemeier. It’s simple yet distinct and absolutely fitting of her middle grade graphic novels. Ghosts is no exception. This book was her first venture into fantasy and her illustrations adapted well to convey the eerie atmosphere of the fictional rainy coastal town, Bahía de la Luna.
THE GRACES by Laure Eve
Initially I gave The Graces 1.5 stars out of 5 on Goodreads. However, the more I thought about the book, the more it manifested itself as my least favourite one of the year. With that, my rating plummeted to below even a single star.
