The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

I know this book is not exactly new but I wasn't interested in reading it before. I have now finished the first one of the trilogy and I must say I was missing out! (and I now want to watch the film)

The story follows Mickael Blomkhist who is hired by Henrik Vanger to solve an old family mystery. During his mission he ends up working with Lisbeth Salander (the girl with the dragon tattoo). Now you might think this is just another mystery novel...  Wrong!!!

This book has so many twists and turns you feel as if you're on a roller coaster, the mystery and the Vanger family are very intriguing and make you want to keep reading the book. I struggled through the first few chapters but once you're past them the book becomes addictive. Finding out about Lisbeth's life and what she has faced is interesting and mysterious. Following their lives for a period of just over a year you learn a lot about the characters which I love. Stieg's writing is nothing short of amazing, he keeps you interested throughout the whole book and keeps you guessing about the mystery surrounding the Vanger family.

Stieg writes phenomenally throughout the book, going into depth on all of the characters and the mysteries they uncover. A must read for any book lover even if you don't enjoy crime this is still a book you will enjoy.

10/10

Fear doesn’t shut you down; it wakes you up

Divergent - Veronica Roth 

So how many times have we seen the story Divergent? Many times!

However, what makes Roth stand out are the factions. Her story is based in a world where everyone is split into five factions: Abnegation, Candour, Dauntless, Amity and Erudite. Each one favouring a different quality. It follows a teenage girl on her journey to find which faction she belongs to.

As this book includes the factions it makes it stand out from say The Hunger Games despite them being the same genre. The story is slow to begin and gets more action packed as the book progresses with underlying stories of romance and friendship entwined in the main story.

The main heroine in this book is Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior, she has to choose which faction she wants to belong to for the rest of her life. Struggling with emotions of not fitting in with any of the factions she takes a leap of faith. She is a strong heroine who throughout the book progresses and becomes even stronger with the secondary characters such as her friends Christina and Will to help make her even stronger.

The male lead in this book is occupied by Four; he is the strong manly man that balances out Tris’s impulsiveness. He has a level head – most of the time- and becomes the voice of reason for Tris. Four is what any girl imagines a strong tough guy willing to stick up for them. As the book progresses so does Four’s character and you learn more about him in depth.

Despite there being some strong secondary characters there are also ones that even though they do contribute to the story (a little anyway) they are not really needed and leave weak links in the story these include Tris’s brother Caleb and her parents. They have a big impact on Tris but as characters they lack depth and intrigue.

Divergent is the first in a trilogy, it gives a strong starting base for the other books to build. Despite it not being as strong or as good as it could be it does lay groundwork for books to follow and hopefully get better.

If a fantasy world is what you enjoy then Divergent is a definite buy. It has a strong story (if not written as well as it could be) which means

6/10

There is no doubt that this book is unique, the story as a whole is different. The main characters are strong however, due to the writing the book still has more to offer. 

Tick Tock Goes The Angel's Clock

Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare 

London, 1878, Queen Victoria as queen and men were gentlemen. Tessa Gray travels from New York at her brother’s request but it’s not all it seems when she arrives in London. Her mundane world can no longer exist. If any of you have read any of Cassandra Clare no more explanation is needed. Clare develops a whole new world with vampires, werewolves, demons, warlocks and shadowhunters. And the first instalment of the infernal devices gives an insight into this world for our main character Tessa Gray. Along the way Tessa comes into contact with love, secrets and betrayal.

Tessa Gray is our heroine of the story, she comes to London not knowing anyone and naïve. Throughout the story Tessa becomes stronger and more relatable, she’s a stranger in a different land and the first thing she comes into contact with is betrayal and torture.

William Herondale, Will is the mismatch character in our story. He is a mystery to the readers and a mystery to his own characters. In the first of the trilogy there isn’t much revealed of Will, Cassandra keeps details regarding him quite close to the chest during this first book.

James Carstairs, Jem is the opposite of Will, where Will is risk taking, secretive and mysterious. Jem is the opposite, he is like an open book, you find out a lot about his character, who he is and where he came from within the first book, it is built upon throughout the book and further in the series. Jem becomes the older brother we all want.

There are many other shadowhunters in the story such as Jessamine, the one who doesn’t want to belong to the shadow world. Charlotte, the leader of the institute, Henry her bumbling husband and many other smaller characters. All of the characters go well with each other and contribute to the story. Cassandra knows how each character can attribute the story and each other.

This is the first book in the Infernal Devices series. It introduces all the characters and allows us to get to know each one before the story really begins.

If you enjoy fantasy Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices is a good place to start. It’s not the most intricate of stories there’s a simple story line, it is based in London so that brings some reality into the story. Unlike The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices is a more feminine story with a strong love triangle.

My verdict for Clockwork Angel is a 8/10.

The book starts the trilogy off strong with some strong characters, strong story and strong writing. There are aspects that could be better such as the writing which can be weak in some places. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys fantasy.