Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 320

Publisher - Headline

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

One pet crow fights to save humanity from an apocalypse in this uniquely hilarious debut from a genre-bending literary author.

S.T., a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with his owner Big Jim, trading insults with Seattle's wild crows (those idiots), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos ®.

Then Big Jim's eyeball falls out of his head, and S.T. starts to feel like something isn't quite right. His most tried-and-true remedies--from beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of Big Jim's loyal but dim-witted dog, Dennis--fail to cure Big Jim's debilitating malady. S.T. is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis, where he discovers that the neighbors are devouring each other and the local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of dangerous new predators roaming Seattle. Humanity's extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a foul-mouthed crow whose knowledge of the world around him comes from his TV-watching education.

Hollow Kingdom is a humorous, big-hearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp through the apocalypse and the world that comes after, where even a cowardly crow can become a hero.


My Review

Y'all know I love a zombie book (my blog has it's own tab just for these types of books) but this one is different from many of the others I have read. In fact is pretty much the first zombie book I have read like this. The main character and narrator of the book is a bird, a domesticated crow called S.T. (Shit Turd). He is a bit of a scardey, doesn't associate with his own kind and his whole world is his human Jim and Jim's daft dog Dennis. When Jim's eye falls out that is the first incline something isn't right. S.T. will need to venture out to try find medicine to help Jim, soon S.T. realises this isn't an isolated incident and him and Dennis will need to head out into the world if they have any chance of survival.

Sooo, humans actually don't play a huge part in the story, yes they are zombies and the animals need to keep out of their grabby, bitey mitts. The story focuses on S.T. and then Dennis as they attempt to make sense of what is/has happened and what they will do next. Some chapters let us hear from other animals as they experience the decline of interaction with their humans. As S.T. gets his head around what has happened he embarks on a mission and interacts with other animals he finds along they way as they try to adjust to a world without humans.

I did quite enjoy this to be honest although as the majority of characters are animals there is some animal fatalities which of course dampened my enjoyment. Even a passing animal I find hard to read if it passes or gets hurt so not a spoiler as much as a headsup. Lets face it a zombie book with humans you know there will be death(s) it is the nature of the story but almost all of our characters are animals.

A really unique approach to a zombie apocalyptic book giving us main characters as animals, I would love there to be a follow up and see what comes next. This is my first time reading this author, I would absolutely read them again, 3.5/5 for me this time.

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Christmas at Mistletoe Cottage by Lucy Daniels

Christmas at Mistletoe Cottage by Lucy Daniels
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 384

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Source - Amazon

Blurb from Goodreads

Christmas has arrived in the little village of Welford. The scent of hot roasted chestnuts is in the air, and a layer of frost sparkles on the ground.

This year, vet Mandy Hope is looking forward to the holidays. Her animal rescue centre, Hope Meadows, is up and running - and she's finally going on a date with Jimmy Marsh, owner of the local outward bound centre.

The advent of winter sees all sorts of animals cross Mandy's path, from goats named Rudolph to baby donkeys - and even a pair of reindeer! But when a mysterious local starts causing trouble, Mandy's plans for the centre come under threat. She must call on Jimmy and her fellow villagers to put a stop to the stranger's antics and ensure that Hope Meadows' first Christmas is one to remember.

One thing's for certain: this Christmas, there'll be animal escapades, kisses under the mistletoe...and plenty of festive cheer for all.


My Review

Firstly let me say this is book two in the series and whilst you can read this as a standalone I would suggest getting the first as I don't think I would enjoy it as much not knowing the back story. Mandy now has her rescue centre up and running, helping animals in need whilst doing her job as a vet. It seems someone is not happy and has a vendetta against the unit, but who wouldn't to help animals or is there a deeper reason behind the sabotage.

I read and loved the first book, it is so nice to have a character who loves animals and cares more about their welfare than money. Mandy is the same in this book, animals come first but the bills are pouring in and now someone appears to have an issue with the centre. Sabotage is confirmed, Mandy is trying to juggle many balls and has some personal issues to contend with too.

A wee mixed bag and definitely has a Christmas feel to it. Again, wee bits of learning in relation to animal care and conditions but not the full focus or detracting from the heart of the story. I did enjoy this but loved the first one more, not too sure why. This was 3.5 for me, I do enjoy this series and already have the third on my wishlist.

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Summer at Hope Meadows by Lucy Daniels

Summer at Hope Meadows by Lucy Daniels
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 400

Publisher - Hodder

Source - Publisher

Blurb from Goodreads

Based on the globally bestselling Animal Ark series.

Newly-qualified vet Mandy Hope is leaving Leeds - and her fiancé Simon - to return to the Yorkshire village she grew up in. There, she will help out in her parents' surgery whilst they're short-staffed. Mandy's life has always revolved around her work with rescued animals, and Welford offers an opportunity to work with creatures of all sizes, from hedgehogs and puppies to farm stock and even wild deer.

But rural Yorkshire is very different to the hustle and bustle of a big city. Mandy must work hard to be accepted by the close-knit village community, and convince them of her abilities as a vet - especially Jimmy Marsh, the gruff owner of the local Outward Bound business, with whom she just can't seem to get along.
When some long-neglected animals are discovered in a critical state on a nearby farm, Mandy is determined to prove herself as a confident and fearless vet. When it comes to protecting animals in need, she's prepared to do whatever it takes...


My Review

So my last few books have been quite heavy and or dark. I really needed something lighter and this has been on my review mountain for a good while now. Mandy is our main character, a newly qualified vet who is heading back to her wee Yorkshire village to help out with her family vet surgery. Her boyfriend Simon is an animal surgeon, the more complex the better, he has high aspirations for their future business. When Mandy goes back to her roots she realizes how much she has missed the quiet life and how much is needed in the village compared to city life. Her and Simon's views could not be more different, someone has to give, but who?

Oh I just needed a book like this, animal focused, Mandy is so passionate about caring for animals and there is so much need in her wee village. Her parents clinic is short staffed and Mandy is just finding her feet. I learned about animals care and some conditions that I hadn't heard of, I actually put the book down a few times to look them up. Thrown into that we have the struggles in her relationship with Simon, both have different views for their future and to be honest I am not a fan of Simon at all. You have the aspect of her reintegrating into the small village which in itself brings issues as well as trying to work out the complex grumpy business man and form relationships with the townsfolk.

The book covers so much, relationships, a small village and all the trimmings that come with it, I do enjoy a book where you learn things and animals always get a thumbs up from me. This was my first time reading this author and I enjoyed the book so much I checked it out on Fantastic Fiction and bought the next in the series. Lucy Daniels is the collective name for the writing team that created the kids series Animal Ark, the author of this book is Sarah McGurk. I enjoyed the writing style so much and the fact she draws from her job as a qualified vet that I am going to see if she has written anything other than these two books. 4/5 for me this time, thanks so much to Hodder for sending me a new author to try who I am sure I would have otherwise missed. As I said I bought the next in the series which is actually "Christmas at Mistletoe Cottage" perfect for my December reads. If you like animals and chick lit I think you will enjoy this book, I was frustrated at times with some of her choices and reactions or lack of with another character but on the whole I really enjoyed it.

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New feature Paws and Pages

#PawsandPages

So two things that I absolutely love are animals and books, in reality, who doesn't. I have been thinking for a while of doing some kind of feature with them both however I am not great with creativity. Blogger is grand and really user friendly but trying to incorporate a feature that people can add their own photos too hasn't been easy. If you can think of any suggestions please let me know, I was considering a tab of their own and some kind of linky to take you back to your page but think I would need more of a meme style thing maybe with questions. That however would mean bloggers would need to make an actual post like this in order to link back.





Isn't she beautiful, if you have been to the blog before this face needs no introduction, if you are a new visitor then introducing you to Princess Trixie (used to just be Trixie but she got upgraded to match her Diva attitude). This is her with The Watcher by Ross Armstrong, read my review here.



And here she is with Rattle by Fiona Cummins, review here.

So until I can accommodate something here I have set up a photo album on So Many Books, So Little Time. You can upload your photo to the album and share your beautiful babies and books.

Some people have reporting issues with the FB link, try this one *CLICK HERE* it takes you direct to the page and you just need to click on photos and find the album that way.

If you do not have Facebook and wish to participate please tag me @smbslt on Twitter, use the #PawsandPages or email your piccy to alwaysreadingsmbslt and I can upload it for you. Let me know your blog url and or blog name and I will add that to the post. If you are an author I think this is a cute way of advertising your book, a picture of your book baby and fur baby (or scales or whatever kind of pet you have). Get involved guys, you can tag on Instagram too. Any other suggestions let me know the usual routes, here, insta, facebook, twitter or email.

The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer

The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 6 days on and off

Pages - 528

Publisher - Sphere

Blurb from Goodreads

She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.

Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realises it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.

Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.


My Review

Her name constantly changes, it needs to, she is on the run from the Government. Previously employed as an "extractor" she used her knowledge of chemicals to torture and get info from the bad guys to save the innocents until they turned on her. Now she is the hunted, pulled out from her hiding to hunt down a sadist killer who thinks nothing of taking out millions of people, she agrees to meet one of the government operatives. Back to doing what she does best, she goes to work extracting information, but what the prisoner tells her is not what she is expecting and now she finds herself in danger from all camps and not knowing who to believe!

Ooooh think a female style Jason Bourne, The Chemist knows her way around chemicals and she isn't afraid to use them to torture for the greater good. She trusts no one and rightly so, her name changes constantly to keep her identity a secret. A constant game of cat and mouse, she can trust no one. However her prisoner makes her question everything she knows and worse, feelings she is not used to having come to the surface. Trying to survive in a world where no one can be trusted, fling into the mix a male who stirs up feelings she didn't know she could feel and a presence who resents everything she is!

This is a story of relationships, self preservation, personal growth, learning to reintegrate into societal relationships in very unnatural circumstances, murder, trust, betrayal and loyalty. Oh and lets not forget there are some very fabulous well trained loyal dogs, I love dogs in any kind of story! Things I didn't love so much, the main character is a machine, her main operative is staying alive, yet so many decisions and choices she makes questions the earlier version of the character we meet in the start of the book. One character is a machine, indestructible, a high end operative and assassin yet some of the lingo he uses just doesn't fit with who he is presented as in the book. Despite that I did enjoy the book, I would give it, overall, 3.5, as Goodreads and my blog doesn't do point stars, it is a 3/5 for me this time. I enjoyed the Twilight books and I did like this one I just didn't love it, I would read her next book and if you like a thriller style book give this one a spin. Thanks so much to Anne Cater from Random Things Through My Letter Box for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Zoo by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Zoo by James Patterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 395

Publisher - Century

Blurb from Goodreads

All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the impending violence becomes terrifyingly clear.

With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide.



My Review

Animals all over the world are exhibiting increasingly aggressive and new hunting patterns of behavior. Jackson Oz is a young biologist who has been ridiculed and discredited in his field for some of his outlandish claims, so much so he left his course. Now it looks like Oz may be the one person who can help understand what is happening with the animals but will he be listened to before it is too late?

Ooooh I really quite liked this book although it seems a bit hit and miss with some of the readers. As with all of Patterson's books the chapters as small which helps you get through it quickly or dip in and out if you are busy.

As humans we have take a lot for granted, we abuse our positions of power, animals are often abused, murdered and dis guarded so when do we reap what we sow? In Zoo, animals are reacting and rising up against humans and we find ourselves no longer at the top of the food chain. Sadly with the theme of the book animals are harmed which may make for uncomfortable reading, there are human deaths also again some scenes may be disturbing for some readers.

I like that the book examines not only animal behavior patterns but also human patterns, how we react in life and death situations and how we pull apart or together in the face of danger. I would love to see a follow up to this book, 4/5 for me this time.

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