Demon Road #2: Desolation by Derek Landy Book Review

THE EPIC NEW THRILLER CONTINUES.

The second book in the mind-blowing new supernatural thriller from bestselling author DEREK LANDY, creator of international sensation Skulduggery Pleasant.

Reeling from their bloody encounter in New York City, Amber and Milo flee north. On their trail are the Hounds of Hell – five demonic bikers who will stop at nothing to drag their quarries back to their unholy master.

Amber and Milo’s only hope lies within Desolation Hill – a small town with a big secret; a town with a darkness to it, where evil seeps through the very floorboards. Until, on one night every year, it spills over onto the streets and all hell breaks loose.

And that night is coming.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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If you thought that Demon Road was the funniest and most thrilling book you'd ever read, well Desolation is going to comply wipe that title off of your favourites-list. The fact that most sequels don't seem to be able to live up to the first book in the series, it's literally an omen when a book like this, let alone a series like this, is brought into existence. Thank you, Derek Landy, for being utterly amazing at your job.

The first thing that really stuck out to me about this book is Amber's new love interest. Now I'm not going to go into too much detail as that would completely ruin the surprise. However, I will state that this book is diverse in so many ways. The fact that the author has gone way over the boundaries of what most writers would do when writing a novel is incredible because not many people will leave their comfort zone to explore different elements of life to add into a plot to make it way more realistic - go figure for a fantasy thriller novel! On that note, a bunch of new characters are added which keeps the story rolling smoothly and gives the book a more solid outlook with more point of views. An obvious fact is that Amber's parents return, along with their trusty - or not - sidekicks, Kirsty and Grant. Still hellbent on killing and eating Amber to gain her strength seems a little more complicated this time around than they had originally intended. However this does seem to be a little more darker and more brutal, believe it or not. 

Two older characters are introduced who are crazy funny and I think overall made the story more intriguing and gripping with their constant bickering and humour-filled lines. I love the idea that this book has included people of all ages from elementary school children to seniors who are just itching to have a big adventure and almost be young again. Not only does this sequel have even more characters involved but it has even more creatures involved! The Hounds of Hell come across as intimidating bikers who come across as mute pricks on wheels, but Amber and Milo still manage to make a joke out of them and manage to put them in their place a few times - demon to demon.

The whole story is fun-filled violence with gripping twists and laugh-out-loud humour that will make you choke on your coke. However it will immerse you into an even darker world with way more at stake and an even bigger enemy than the infamous Shining Demon. Overall I absolutely loved this book so much, I wished it didn't have to end as soon as it did. I am thoroughly upset at the fact that this series will only be a trilogy, however I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the next book will send it off with a bang (and maybe a lot more blood and deaths involved)! I gave this a 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Things I loved about Demon Road: Desolation!

* Amber gets a new love interest with a surprising twist! Great romantic scenes too!

* Milo is finally able to show everyone why he is really the 'Ghost of the Highway' and why he is so feared by those who have heard his name!

* More characters are added and even a dog with an awesome personality!

* Another Shining Demon is in the mix and everything about that is explained!

* Hell Night is as crazy as it sounds and you don't want to decide whether or not to DNF it until you read that part! But I know you won't DNF it. It's too good.

I really hope that if you read Demon Road, you will go straight to the bookstore or library and get Desolation because it is definitely one of those rare novels that keep the fire alive in a series. Let me know if you decided to pick it up because of my review! If you've already read it, tell me what your thoughts were on it! 

Thank you HarperCollins New Zealand for the review copy! Go like their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Harpercollinsnz?fref=ts

Go add Desolation to your Goodreads list HERE

Go buy it on MightyApe with 1 day delivery in New Zealand HERE

Buy it on Book Depository with free shipping world wide HERE

Find more out about me at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith

The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings: Book Review

An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.

The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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Lindsay Cummings is yet another author with a book that I just happened to discover while watching an interview with her and Sasha Alsberg on YouTube. When I heard about her debut novel, The Murder Complex I instantly felt like I really wanted to read it. Probably because it was all about survival and strategy which is something I like reading about to learn just in case the world ends up being a similar type of "f**ked up" reality. I saw this at the library and without even reading the blurb I picked it up in an instant and added it to my already massive pile of books I'd have to sort through two hours later and decide which I was actually really wanting to take home - obviously The Murder Complex ended up being one of those "chosen ones". That, my friend, is the power of book reviewers if you think we don't really do or mean much to anyone. Though if I were to give a quick overall review on this book, I'd really just have to say that if a debut novel can make me question how they are over the age of twenty and basically have not been discovered by a few simple short stories at high school or something crazy like that then they are definitely doing their job. I'm just a little melancholic thinking about the fact that this is only a duology and I won't have that much time to delve into this world once I get my hands on the next book, The Death Code, as it will be the last one.

The Murder Complex is the story of a young girl called Meadow and a young boy named Zephr, who both live in a city where everything is cut off from the rest of the world by a massive gate surrounding it and cannot live without having to survive first. They are controlled by a government of people who watch their every move and make sure that they do not attempt to escape the perimeter of the city or the tiny pins in their arms will zap them dead. Meadow is coming up to her test which decides whether or not she can get a job and provide for her family. Zephr is one of those that collects the dead bodies of the unfortunate to live and survive with his older friend, Talan who he practically considers his only family even if they aren't related. Soon Meadow and Zephr end up meeting almost by fate and start discovering some weird and different things that they didn't expect to be true. Meadow ends up feeling responsible and regretful for the things she has done but soon finds her way with Zephr and they come up with a plan to do what no one sane has ever thought about doing before. Escape.

Things I LOVE about The Murder Complex:

* Meadow and Zephr are cute together and I ship them so much! If there was any couple cuter than Aelin and Rowan, I'd have to say that Meadow and Zephr are next in line. I don't know why but I think it's the way I notice them when they start to connect and realise how much they actually like each other. It's not a confusing or disorientating experience for them and I like that because I have kind of gotten sick of seeing relationships in books where they can't make up their damned minds and it's like, come on! What on Earth is stopping you two? Love each other already! You were meant to be!

* Survival is one of my favourite things to read about! You have to thing about one thing if our world becomes anything similar to The Murder Complex, Red Queen or The Hunger Games; Who are gonna be the ones to survive because they know what the hell they're doing? It'll be the readers and movie fanatics. We'll have watched and thoroughly subconsciously taken in everything we need to know about survival. I already know I'll be good with a bow and arrow thanks to a school camp and thanks to The Hunger Games, both book and movies, I know how to set a trap for an animal and how to sleep in a tree without falling out of it. You've got to think that even though book reviewers or book lovers in general may get crap for having a job in something "so basic" or not having a "real job", we will be the ones who have learnt to live in different types of realities and think more logically and sanely about it because we have thrust ourselves mentally into these worlds. You think we come out the same once we're done with a book like that? No my friend. I know myself I was very different once I had finished reading all three The Hunger Games novels. You come out a stronger person in a way and that's what I love about novels like this. Think I'm crazy and all but that's what I believe and good luck to you non-readers when you need to know how to live in the woods and survive and no one is there how to teach you.

* It's unique in its own way - new content is what every reader needs! Yeah it may be a 'survive or die' novel which is pretty similar to The Hunger Games but it isn't like any other novel I've read or heard before. New content and ideas are always attractive to the average reader so it's much more understandable that something like this novel would do pretty well. I applaude to the up and coming authors that have the guts to write about something that hasn't really ever been written before. I feel like that's the true art of being an author. You hook readers by being the one with fresh and new ideas. That's how you become a best selling author (think about every best-selling author you've read - is every one unique from the other? Yup, thought so).

Overall I have given this novel a four out of five stars. This book was so bloody and brutal so obviously it may not be the best for very squeamish or easily offended people (However I'm pretty squeamish so it didn't sicken me that much). It was highly descriptive and well thought through. I did absolutely love it and basic enough for me to feel hopeful about my own writing (This is literally what I think about everytime I read a novel). I can't wait to get into The Death Code but at the same time I'm already wishing it wouldn't end so soon. Fanfiction anyone?

Go add The Murder Complex to your Goodreads list HERE

Go buy it on MightyApe with 1 day delivery in New Zealand HERE

Buy it on Book Depository with free shipping world wide HERE

Find more out about my writing career at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith