The Brown Review

Author : M. L. Wang Rating : No rating is high enough. Recommend : This is the best epic fantasy novel ever written. When Misaki Tsusano married Takeru Matsuda, she knew what she was getting in to. After all, the Matsuda's were the most powerful bloodline in all of Kaigen - their descendants were born warriors, men blessed with godly powers. Leaving everything in her past behind, Misaki Tsusano became Misaki Matsuda. Misaki <3  Fourteen years later, with war brewing on the horizon and tensions among the family rising, the question to be asked is this: will the Matsuda's pull together in time to defend their Empire? Or will they tear each other apart before the real enemy even reaches their shores? The Sword of Kaigen is the novel that every single fantasy book out there only dreams to be. It's the legend passed on among generations, the hero that every novel will aspire towards for eons more to come. If I could scream it from the rooftops I would: this book is perfect . ...

Author: TJ Klune Rating: 5/5 Recommend:  A truly heartwarming novel, if I've ever read one. There is magic and children and an island by the sea... what's not to love? The House In The Cerulean Sea tells the story of Linus Baker - an ordinary government official tasked with an extraordinary job. Mr Baker is a Caseworker for the Department In Charge Of Magical Youth; in other words it's his job to make sure that all of the magical children in the human community are being properly taken care of in their orphanages.  On an exceptionally dull Wednesday when Mr. Baker is suddenly charged with a Priority Level 4 assignment - going to an island for a month and sending reports about the welfare of the 6 children there - little does he know that his life is about to be changed completely forever. And this is where our delightful story begins... I never fail to marvel at the power of authors - how their words and imagination can influence your feelings so that you go from feeling ...

Author: Mina Hardy Rating: 4.4/5 Recommend: Okay, wtf did I just read? Wow. I did not expect to be blown away by this. But, I was. For a duration of 24 hours, I doubted, screamed, accused, and then finally, finally, I cackled wickedly when at the end of the novel my suspicions were proved right. Mina Hardy has written such a fantastic, messed-up thriller, that I am able to compare it to the likes of Colleen Hoover's Verity. Job well done Mina. After All I've Done follows the story of Diana Sparrow: victim of a recent car accident and surgical operation, Diana now suffers from anaesthesial amnesia. In other words, she has no recollection whatsoever of the events that happened 2 months before the accident and the events that happened during and after. But, that's okay though - Diana has a loving mother-in-law who feeds her delicious food 24 hours a day, and walks into her house unannounced also 24 hours a day. But, that's just love right? Diana wouldn't know. Her own...

Author: Emily Houghton Rating: 4.5/5 Recommend:  This is the kind of book that you finish in a single read. When you're feeling at your worst, like nothing in life is going according to plan, it's the kind of book that will show you how little your problems are compared to others. Emily Houghton's novel will then teach you how to stand up again. A beautiful read. Alice has had an accident. Due to a mishap at work, she is now the recovering survivor of a raging fire - but, at a steep cost. Alfie was in an accident too - but, after months spent recovering, he is finally close to being released from the hospital's rehabilitation ward. When Alice is shifted to the bed next to Alfie, the pair strike a bizarre friendship... but, can you be friends with someone you have never even seen? How much does appearance matter really? I loved the dynamic between Alice and Alfie! As the interactions between them grew, and they each slowly began to open up about the grief and loss in th...

Collected Image Author: Erin A. Craig Rating: A solid 5.0! Recommend: This novel is every fantasy lover's dream come true. It has the raw power needed to shove you out of your mundane life on Earth, and place you on the rocky salt shores of a time-old fairy tale - with some sinister twists that is. I loved every single word. Highly recommended. Annaleigh Thaumas is fourth among the twelve beautiful sisters living in the majestic manor of Highmoor (sound like any fairy tales you know?). Growing up surrounded by the salty sea waves and sharp craggy cliffs of their village, Annaleigh and her family are the People of the Salt - from the Salt they are born, and to the Salt they return.  A gorgeous depiction of Highmoor at the very top Everything at Highmoor was fine... until the mangled corpses of the Thaumas sisters started turning up all over the estate. After the death of Eulalie, the fourth among a series of gruesome accidents, the villagers are sure that the family is cursed....

Author: Cassandra Clare Rating:  2.0/5 Recommend: No. Just don't. There is no bigger pain than spending a ton of money on a book which you believed in - despite everyone telling you not to - and then having to slog through the pages, miserably cursing your dumb decision all the while. I have read The Mortal Instruments. The Infernal Devices. Even Tales from the FRIKKING SHADOWHUNTER ACADEMY. All of those were classic Shadowhunter novels - drama mixed with monsters, and in the case of The Infernal Devices, some beautiful scenes of classic era London. I bought Chain of Gold expecting another thrilling story set in the Shadowhunter world - instead, I received a bore of a novel which has put me off the Shadowhunter world for good. Cassandra Clare wanted The Last Hours series to be set several years after the events of Clockwork Princess: with the children of our delightful heroes all grown up, she introduced a new set of characters in the backdrop of Edwardian Londond. Sounds great, r...

Author: Lia Louis Rating: 4.0 Recommend: This book plays on a lot of themes including the usual romantic-comedy falling in love with your best friend trope, as well some darker topics like assault. The main focus however is resilience and how you can overcome even the blackest moments in your life and emerge stronger than before. A recommended read especially for women of all ages. Emmie Blue is officially 30. She is living in a small, overheated flat with her aging landlady who doesn't speak to her very much. Her job is waitressing at a local hotel with okay pay. And the love of her life? He has just announced to her that he is getting married. With Emmie Blue - his best friend of 14 years - as best woman. I mean, really? Reallyyy? Sigh. This beautiful looking book begins with Emmie trying to come to terms with the shocking news. As the chapters progress, the author gradually reveals the other segments of Emmie's life - from the dysfunctional relationship she has with her mum,...

Author: Colleen Hoover Rating: 5/5 Recommend: Whatever you know about Colleen Hoover - chuck it out of your head. Believe me when I say that Verity doesn't just live up to it's hype; it obliterates it. Read it or risk missing the most fuc*ed up novel in the history of fuc*ed up novels. ***THIS NOVEL IS NOT A ROMANCE. NO SPOILERS AHEAD.*** Good to have that out of the way first.  To start off, my expectations for this novel were literally sky high. I had heard so much raving and praise for the work already, that I was both scared and prepared for a disappointment. Here's the thing though: the first chapter began with a bloody death. A CoHo book began with blood and guts spilling on to tarmac.  Not a bad start, eh? The novel blew me away with the extremely dysfunctional characters and fantastic story line. I was turning pages like a maniac and feeling nauseated at the sinister atmosphere that just kept building up as I went on. Verity...

Author: Holly Bourne Rating: 3.8/5 Recommend: The most deliciously cheesy, purposefully cliched, and surprisingly realistic love story I've read in a while. Recommended for both romance lovers and romance cynics (a weird combination, I know). The kind of movie that Audrey is highly cynical about in the book It Only Happens In The Movies is a novel that you can read time and time again: during the gooey early days of a relationship, the phase of depression after a horrible breakup, and right after you've finished reading that amazing series and seem to have lost all purpose in life. The story revolves around Audrey Winters, a depressed senior, who is still suffering from the trauma of her last relationship.  I knew I had made the right choice in buying this novel after reading the very first line: Combined with the devastating state of her divorced mother, and quitting Drama - the one course she loves - our heartbroken heroine has pretty much set h...

Letters to the Lost Author: Brigid Kemmerer Rating: 5. 100. 1000. Infinity. I can’t rate this. I can only ask you, request you, implore you to read it. Recommend: If I can reach even one person and convince them to read this – this mind-blowing, addictive, insanely compelling gem of a book – then, I will go to my grave knowing that I did at least one good thing in this life. Highly, highly recommended. After finishing Letters to the Lost, I was overcome by an overwhelming, consuming need to write. I needed an outlet, somewhere I could express the intensely powerful emotions the book had caused in me, someone to express my thoughts to. Unfortunately, I don’t have a Declan, or The Dark in my life to whom I can talk to; for now, this blog is my outlet. The Dark and The Cemetery Girl ;) This is a novel about a girl who has lost her mother, and a boy who has lost his sister. Juliet leaves letters on her mother’s grave and one day Declan stumbles across one – ...

Second book in the Villains series. Sequel to Vicious . Author: Victoria Elizabeth Schwab Rating: 4.5/5 Recommend: A second book about Victor and Eli – could it possibly be wrong? Vengeful provides some much needed answers which we longed for in Vicious ; from the history of Eli, to a world rapidly getting to know about the existence of EO’s it provides all the details you’ve been craving and more. I might as well admit it: nothing can live up to the perfection that is Vicious . Vengeful, however was a valiant effort by V. E. Schwab. It’s darker than its predecessor, and there were more than a few parts where the book sent literal shivers down my spine. I write this on a gray, drizzly afternoon… I still can’t get the effects of reading Vengeful out of my mind. After the events of Vicious , many things in the Villains world begin changing. Brought back from the dead by Sydney, Victor is alive but with his power greatly flawed. There is a new government fac...

Vicious First book in the Villains series. Predecessor to Vengeful. Author: Victoria E. Schwab Rating: 4.8/5 Recommend: It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Marvel or DC fan or don’t even like superheroes in general. This book isn’t about heroes – it’s about super-powerful, emotionally damaged, kind of psychotic villains. SO READ IT. :) I had no idea that this book existed before a friend posted on social media that she was reading Vicious – she was talking about how the plot revolved around two college kids who turned into best friends and then into super-people and then turned into arch nemeses – a whole other level of messed up. So, of course I had to go buy Vicious. I am so glad I did. Vicious is all the fantastic mutant powers you’ve ever wanted from an X-Men movie, combined with two semi-villains and one hell of a plotline. Here is what I loved about the book: first of all, the teaming up of Victor (our anti-hero), Sydney (child who raises dead) and M...

  Author: Krystal Sutherland Rating: 4.1/5 Recommend: An easy to read novel perfect for someone looking for a different, suspenseful take on a classic high-school love story. Our Chemical Hearts is a very strange book. The plot is well thought out and you’ll be hooked to the story till the very end. While reading the initial few chapters of this book, my first thought was this: Grace and Henry strongly remind me of Clay and Hannah in Thirteen Reasons Why. But, how could that be possible? Hannah was dead and Grace is very much alive… unless Henry is somehow talking to a ghost. By the end of the book, believe me I was stunned at how accurate my premonition was. Grace was actually a ghost; one whose heart still beat, but a part of whom had died during the accident. Our Chemical Hearts revolves around the story of Grace and Henry. Unlike other books, Henry did not fall for Grace at first sight. In her man clothes, dirty hair, and sallow skin, she looked more ...