The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1) - Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

Title: The Iron Trial
Series: Magisterium #1
Author: Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
Publication Date: September 9th, 2014
Disclaimer: I won a copy of this from Dymocks
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Callum Hunt has grown up his whole life hearing his father tell him how destructive and dangerous magic really is. So when the test to enter the magic school "Magisterium" comes around, Callum tries his hardest to fail. Instead, he fails to fail and finds himself entering Magisterium.

Callum comes to realise that magic is much different to what he knew, and 

Review

It was hard not to associate The Iron Trial with the ever popular magic series Harry Potter, especially since my brother read it before me and complained "it's exactly like Harry Potter." Still, I gave this a shot and went into it without any biases - or as less as possible. 

I'm in two minds about this, and I feel like I'm the only one. It was a pretty slow read at the start, and I wasn't sure where it was heading. The prologue did intrigue me but I guess I was reading just to read it. I wasn't fully engaged until Callum entered the school and the world opened up. It was fascinating to read about how magic actually worked and the way the school functioned. Along with that were the characters, who didn't stick immediately but grew on me. I'm not sure I love Callum and his friends just yet, and I found Master Rufus (the main professor) made little impact. Still, it is the first in the series so I'm certain as the series progresses I'll start to like the characters more. 

Where I think it has its positives and makes it a solid series, is the plot. At first it progressed in a really typical manner, so I sort of floated through it. Then the plot twist hit me right in the face and it really changed my view on the series as a whole. If it's executed correctly, I think Magisterium will work at a whole new level and be a really great series to read. It really questions the rights and wrongs, morality and perceptions in life - adding depth to the plot as well. 

I do think if you are interested then definitely check it out, because you might enjoy it a lot more than me. I'll give the series a shot for sure, but it didn't carry wow factor for me. 

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The Waiting List

The Waiting List is a new feature hosted by PrintedWordsAnd, where I list some upcoming releases for the month that I'm most excited about! 

Sequels

1. The Blood Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5) by Rick Riordan - 7th October

2. UnDivided (Unwind #4) by Neal Shusterman - 14th October

3. Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3) by Maggie Stiefvater - 22nd October

4. In The Afterlight (The Darkest Minds #3) by Alexandra Bracken - 28th October

I'm not going to lie, I haven't read any of those series but I really, really want to get into The Heroes of Olympus. The others I do want to read but I'm not sure when I'll get around to it.

Fantasy/Sci-Fi

5. The Body Electric by Beth Revis - 6th October
The synopsis of this reminded me of Mystic City with the main character having chunks of her memory missing. Hmmm.

6. The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1) by Marie Luu - 7th October

7. Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick - 7th October

 8. Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1) by Sara Raasch - 14th October

9. Stitching Snow by R. C Lewis - 14th October

Mystery/Thriller

11. The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard - 7th October
From the author of Pretty Little Liars, this sounds absolutely thrilling. It's about a group of girls who come up with a plan to kill the girl they hate - hypothetically of course. What shocks them is that the girl really is killed and in the way planned. Who killed the girl?

12. Of Scars and Stardust by Andrea Hannah - 8th October

13. The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters - 14th October
Yes, yes yes! Cat Winters won me over with In the Shadow of Blackbirds and I am so excited for her new thriller.

14. They All Fall Down by Roxanne St. Claire - 14th October

Contemporary/New Adult

15. Burying Water (Burying Water #1) by K. A Tucker - 7th October
I'm only interested in this because Ten Tiny Breaths by K. A Tucker was a really good NA read for me. It was different and touching.

16. Bleed Like Me by Christa Desir - 7th October

17. Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Macke - 14th October

18. Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult - 14th October

Graphic Novel

19. Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman (Author) and Lorenzo Mattotti (Illustrator) - 28th October

This sounds absolutely fascinating, with Gaiman's own storytelling and haunting illustrations. I am so excited for this! 

What's On Your List?

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Lyrebird Hill - Anna Romer

Title: Lyrebird Hill

Author: Anna Romer

Publication Date: September 1st, 2014

Genre: Mystery

Disclaimer: I requested a copy of this from Simon & Schuster to review

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Ruby Cardel has grown up with a part of her life missing. It's the year her sister, Jamie, died and she's seemed to move on from trying to regain any memory back. Yet, when she learns that Jamie's death wasn't actually an accident, Ruby is desperate to unlock her childhood again.

Ruby decides to go back home, to Lyrebird Hill, where it all started. Only what she discovers is a tale of family history and secrets that might have been better left alone.

 Review

I'm in two minds about Lyrebird Hill. I'm actually a massive fan of mysteries, especially when they revolve around family history, so whilst I was interested in the premise of this, I felt like it didn't really engage me as much.

I really liked Anna Romer's writing, the way she painted the perfect scenery for the story to exist in. It's set in Australia and she portrayed the growth of a rural area from the late 1890s to the present day in such a realistic manner, whilst also not losing that refreshing and rugged feel of the outback. The novel is told in a dual perspective, bouncing from the present to the past, but it's easy to decipher the different narrators through their voices. I found that it was really easy to read despite it's size, gliding through the pages, although I wasn't devouring it as I thought I would. 

Romer's writing also drew out realistic physical descriptions of the characters, in really unusual ways. I found that I could definitely see the characters after only a few sentences. Yet, I didn't really grow attached to any of them. I certainly felt for Ruby and Brenna - the other narrator - with their saddening and traumatising experiences, but there wasn't a lot that was relatable. In fact, it felt like Romer only skimmed the surface of these characters. There was so much more that could've been drawn out from these characters, especially Brenna. Her character had more complexity in terms of addressing the issue around Indigenous Australians during the 1800s. That was definitely a great theme to explore, but it wasn't impactful or thought provoking, which I would've liked to have seen. 

The mystery itself was interesting in its revelation. Ruby's memories burst through in moments and it's like she's fallen back into time. I'm not sure every moment was as realistic, even during Brenna's "days", but I looked past that because you never know really. I was caught by surprise at the end, when everything came together, and for those last moments I was fully engrossed. The ending was sweet and satisfying. 

I wouldn't say this was the best family mystery novel I've read, but it definitely has a more unique tone. I just felt at some points it was a little dry. I still have a few questions regarding the connections between Brenna and Ruby, and how it was suppose to add to the story and other things, but it's nothing major. On the whole though it was an enjoyable read though, and you might like it better than me! 

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