BLOOD NINJA is everything I expected it to be. Action packed, entertaining and bloody with super cool Ninjas and Samurai's. It begins with a fabulous opening chapter, and then switches to our protagonist for the remainder of the story - being Taro. He is a fisherman's son; young and completely dedicated to his family. But it's the day his village is attacked by Ninjas that his life is entirely changed. Despite being attacked by Ninjas it is a certain Ninja that comes to his aid that will become a favourite among readers. So when his home is no longer his own he sets of on a journey with the mysterious, wise Ninja and his best friend Hino. Although there were little nit picks, like Hana,whose constant mention of beauty got a tad repetitive. Perhaps it irked me slightly because I knew the boy who would fall for her would see her beauty first and the girl beneath that very beauty second. I just like to think that there's more to a character than just looks I suppose, especially when they are focused on as much as hers were. Also, I think the whole; all - Ninjas- being - Vampires thing was pretty unnecessary. They could have just trained hard and built up their strength and speed, but to say that all Ninjas were Vampires? Hmmm. The Book reminded me of a book called ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR floor by Lain Hearn. Exquisite in it's own right. Like in that book it was Taro's mentor of sorts that really caught my eye. I thought he made the book apart from Taro. So wise, wonderful and full of charm he quickly became my favourite. Fast paced and gripping BLOOD NINJA shows a lot of promise, so it's a understatement when I say I'm more than just happy that I've already bought the second book!
- Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (6 Jun 2011) Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary/ Romance/ Fantasy/ Mythology/Chick Lit Source: Publisher
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- Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: Headline (1 Sep 2011) Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal Source: Publisher
Rating:
Sixteen year old Jud Lester is part of the secret agency CRYPT ( Covert Response Youth Paranormal Team) which battles everything paranormal. Teamed with his striking partner Bex they are about to be handed the biggest case to date. People all over are being attacked and not only attacked, but killed. The killings are ruthless and very gruesome. No one has any idea what is going on and with no evidence being left behind after each death there are no suspects. This is where CRYPT comes in. They have reason to believe that this could be the work of ghosts and not friendly ones at that.
Jud and Bex make a good time, that is apparent from the very beginning. I can also see a potential romance between the two. Professor Giles Bonati and Jason Goode are the masterminds behind the organisations and both are well respected. However, it's Bonati who seems to have a great bond with our MC Jud instead of his father Jason. This may be due to the fact that his father has often been holed up by work and commitments throughout life whilst Bonati has consistently stayed by his side. The highlight of the book was actually the creepiness. I was not expecting it to be gory at all. And I'm talking about gorging eyes out, breaking bones, hanging, eating humans. I was quite disturbed by these scenes at times but I've always had a weak stomach for anything potentially scary, but I was quite impressed by just how terrifying the author had made these ghosts. It's crazy, I mean, these Highmen obviously have major issues!
- Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks (29 Sep 2011) Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal/ Mystery Source: Publisher
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Our protagonist Rory is sent to boarding school in London and it might be the whole concept of the life in a boarding school that I enjoyed most about this book. I liked how everyone grew into a family of some sorts and how people seemed to look out for each other. Rory, naturally - since this is her first time - finds it a little tough to adjust to the routine and of the life in a boarding school but with Jazza - a girl who she gets on with immediately, things start to run much smoother.
Then the murders start to take place. And this was one of the other things which I liked about the book. The author was quite detailed in how the victims were killed and it made all the killings more real and helped the tension build up with time. You then have Charlotte; someone that both Jazza and Rory dislike. Jazza actually hates her and this is where I become a little confused. Sure, she might be a bit of a show off and might have boasted about wanting to go Cambridge to study, but it's also mentioned how her parents have high expectations of her and how Charlotte has been under a lot of pressure. Still though, Jazza, Jerome and Rory continue to make snide remarks and relish in sharing how much they can't stand her. My problem is that the girl has not actually really done anything to them - not for them to hate her anyway. Their childish behaviour towards her annoyed me at times. The book itself didn't drag exactly but wasn't fast paced either; somewhere in between I suppose. I have to say I did expect more, and in my opinion when you have an interesting premise such as this one there's so much potential. Things could have been a lot more creepy, the protagonist a lot more mature, and the secondary characters should have had more depth to them because they all played a decent part in the story. I love YA but the authors writing seems to be geared towards the younger teens. I can imagine 12- 15 year olds enjoying this, so maybe that's why I didn't love it as much as I assumed I would.
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