The Brown Review

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: 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...

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,...

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 – ...

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows Rating: 5/5 Recommend: This novel is written in letters. Letters. Do I need to say more? Your first thought was about the title wasn’t it? Well, in all honesty mine was too. There's a hilarious story about that early on in the book! The Guernsey is among those very few, very rare novels which can proudly boast a movie that more than lives up to the novel’s fame – I loved it. I feel pure joy to review this. It is the year 1946. The world is recovering from the after-effects of the second World War, and London is no different… welcome to London in the 1940’s where the air is gray with smoke, and piles of rubble still decorate the roads to remind the people of the devastating years past. This is the home of Juliet Ashton, a beautiful young author who has recently achieved success from her debut novel. Dawsey Adams! One day Juliet receives a letter from a you...

  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 ...

Book 1 of The Dark Artifices series  Author: Cassandra Clare  Rating: 4/5  Recommend: Shadowhunters both new and old will love this. Among all the different series’ in Cassandra Clare’s fantastic realm, Lady Midnight would come second only to The Infernal Devices novels. It is far better than The Mortal Instruments series.  Imagine flames. Scorching, yellow flames all around you, towering over your height. Imagine the people you have loved all your life staring at you with lifeless eyes as they kill countless innocents around them. Imagine being 12 years old and surrounded in the middle of this chaos, your arms spread wide, protecting your younger siblings, the youngest just 2 years old. This is a memory from the life of Julian Blackthorn: the boy who killed his father to protect his family, a child who then singlehandedly raised four of his younger siblings when he was barely 12 years old himself.  In Lady Midnight, we follow th...

Author : Madeline Miller  Rating: 5/5  Recommend: Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. This book will sweep you of your feet, rob you of your sleep, make you smile, cry, and hate and will put you under its spell till all you can see when you close your eyes is Achilles.  I shiver as I write this, the piercing, tragic story of innocence, love, heroes and a war still fresh in my mind. Throughout history, there have been men who were handsome, and men who were brave, men who sacrificed themselves, and men who destroyed even kingdoms with their madness. In her debut novel, Madeline Miller has managed to capture the stories of two of the greatest men in history: Achilles and Patroclus, friends, companions and lovers till the end.  Achilles as I imagine him Told in vivid, moving terms this book will transport you into a world unlike anything you have ever experienced before. It tells the story in Patroclus’ point of view, from the mome...

Book 1 of the Infernal Devices Trilogy. Prequel to The Mortal Instruments. Author: Cassandra Clare Rating: 4.5/5 Recommend: Victorian London. Demons. Warlocks. Faeries. Avenging angels. A gorgeous damsel. Poetry. Not one, but TWO extremely good-looking   males with unreal personalities. Oh and an evil madman with a clockwork army trying to kill them all. Sound good? I have a confession to make before I start. After finishing the Infernal Devices trilogy, my heart went through a good long weeping phase, at the unfairness of it all – because the world of the Shadowhunters (and sweeter than life itself, beautiful, violin playing, silver-haired James Carstairs) are both fictional. WHY WORLD, WHY? Sigh. Here goes the review of the first book, Clockwork Angel. Set in the time of Victorian London, when women spoke little and men expected them to, there existed a race of creatures completely (or mostly) unknown to ordinary human kind. Enter the Shadowhunt...

Author: Sarah J. Maas  Rating: 3.6/5  Recommend: Depends on what you’re expecting of the book and your feelings towards the ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) series. ACOFAS does not have any major plot twists or even any minor ones, so if that’s what you’re looking for then do not read it. Or else, continue along the review.  "To the stars who listen – and the dreams that are answered." I love this quote. It is the perfect tribute to Rhys and Feyre’s relation (epic fantasy couple goals). A Court of Frost and Starlight is a short, sweet novella that gives a lot more insight into the backgrounds of the main characters throughout the series. It is set a few weeks before Feyre’s first ever Winter Solstice in the night court and more importantly, as the court’s High Lady. Throughout the story, we read what’s happening through various viewpoints ranging from Mor, Cassian, Nesta, and Feyre and Rhysand of course. Though incredibly busy in repara...

Love and Gelato Author: Jenna Evans Welch Rating: 4.8/5 Recommend: Most definitely. If you’re a fan of glorious pizza, a mesmerizing story, and descriptions of places so vivid that they almost feel real, Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch comes highly recommended for you.  This book has topped my favorite list for exactly three reasons: 1. The immersive, flowing writing which made me feel as if I am the main character 2. Thoroughly original and suspenseful story lined that had hooked for two days and a night straight 3. IT IS SET IN ITALY!!!  I’ll give you some time to let the last one sink in.  Love and Gelato follows the story of sixteen year old Carolina Emerson after her mother’s death. Soon after the event, our young protagonist finds herself spending the summer in Italy – and living in a house in a cemetery with a very tall man who claims to be her father. Seriously.  As if all of the above wasn’t enough, L...