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| Bryony Pearce and Kim Curran |
Now, this post is long
overdue, but better late than never, right?
A while ago the book club
was lucky enough to be invited to the Strange Chemistry book launch for
‘Control’ and ‘The Weight of Souls’ (which are both fantastic, I assure you)
down at Forbidden Planet in London. Not only did we meet the fabulous Kim
Curran and Bryony Pearce but we were blessed with some pretty awesome cake and some
marvellously munch-tastic cake pops.
The evening kicked off with an introduction from Amanda Rutter, which was really nice and created a brilliant atmosphere for the rest of the night. However, the highlight of the evening for me was hearing the authors read out a chapter or so of their new books.
Kim Curran’s tense and action packed chapter had the audience on edge, which was followed by Bryony Pearce’s expressive and equally edgy introduction to ‘The Weight of Souls’. Afterwards, the signing bega
n alongside some casual feasting and a lengthy browse of the shop (Fangirl levels have never been higher and neither have the shrieks).
Overall, it was an
absolutely incredible night filled with fantastic people, brilliant books and
tasty treats!
Moving on to the reviews….
First up is ‘Control’ by
Kim Curran, the highly anticipated sequel to ‘Shift’, which you can find the
review for here.
Scott Tyler is a Shifter,
someone with the ability to undo any of the decisions that they’ve ever made.
Employed by the secretive government agency ARES that regulates Shifters, Scott
and his girlfriend Aubrey are on a mission to track down the last members of
Project Ganymede. Their investigation leads them to Frank Anderson, a figure
shrouded in mystery and secrets with seemingly no traceable past. As they delve
deeper and deeper in order to uncover the truth, Scott realises that he needs
to take control of his decisions, before the consequences mean losing the life
and the people that he loves.
Quite often I’m
disappointed by sequels and only continue because of an innate sense of duty.
This is most definitely not the case with ‘Control’. Fast paced with an
intricate plot and gripping writing meant that I was hooked from the start. Not
only is it a great read, but the philosophical side to the novel really
intrigued me and made me think about the reality of a world with Shifters and
what having that power would be like. In comparison to ‘Shift’, the characters
have really matured and taken on more responsibility, which was an aspect of
the book that I really loved. Instead of continuing to make the same old
mistakes, they actually learnt from the past while simultaneously managing to
maintain that charmingly flawed element. To conclude, I enjoyed ‘Control’
immensely and the ginormous explosion of ‘Oh my God’ factor that Curran dropped
at the end of the book has made the wait for ‘Delete’ practically unbearable.
Last but not least is ‘The
Weight of Souls’ by Bryony Pearce, an absolutely cracking book that had me up
reading until dawn.
Taylor Oh is cursed. If
the ghost of a murder victim touches her skin, it leaves a mark that summons
the Darkness to wreak revenge on the bearer. She has only a short amount of
time to pass each mark on to the killer, so that the ominous Darkness is
satisfied. But if Taylor fails to pass on the mark in time, the darkness will
come for her instead…. Taylor’s life is already complicated enough, what with
juggling exams, trying to hold onto her best friend, persuading her father that
the ghosts are real and keeping the Darkness in check, so when Justin, a prize
bully from the higher social circles at school, is murdered, matters get
complicated. Fast. He has no idea who murdered him and Taylor doesn’t even know
where to start. With the Darkness hot on their tails, Taylor must try her
hardest to reveal what really happened to Justin….
‘The Weight of Souls’ is
one of those books that turn you into a zombie. Responses are limited to one
syllable words, sleep is no longer necessary for you to function and your only
priority is the next page. Personally, I feel like Bryony Pearce has absolutely
nailed the recipe for a fast paced, riveting and absolutely downright fantastic
book. The characters were loveable and realistic, the plot was great and my
only complaint is that the sequel (Please let there be a sequel) isn’t out fast
enough!
Goodbye for now,
Rosie :P
Check out 'Control' and 'The Weight of Souls' on the Waterstones' website.
Title: Control
Author: Kim Curran
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
ISBN: 9781908844156
Rating out of five stars: ****
Title: The Weight of Souls
Author: Bryony Pearce
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
ISBN: 9781908844637
Rating out of five stars: *****
Another excellent post, Rosie!!
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