Saturday 27 June 2015

Shedualing interrupt

I woken to the News that my dog had a stoke. It wasn't actually a stoke. It's Old dog syndrome. We're see what happens. I didn't feel like finishing the story I had been writing about a ghost in the office but didn't feel like finishing it so I played Murdered: Soul Suspect while watching my dog, which would be a better game if it didn't have those dumb demon things which is why I end up quitting it and not returning to it for months.

I shall see you all next time where I won't be considering the likely hood of owning a twenty-something Border Collie.

Wednesday 24 June 2015

Book Review: Twisted Dark: Volume 1 by Neil Gibson

It's not very twisted or dark.

Twisted Dark is a series of interconnected psychological thrillers, perfect for fans of twist endings and comics that reveal more on the second reading. Each story stands alone, but the more you read, the more connections you see between the characters. There are over 100 characters that appear more than once and one of the joys of reading is when you spot a reference that you know others will have missed. A rotating team of talented artists draw the stories, with each style offering something new.

This is graphic novel with a short story motive and usually with short stories I would comment on each story but with this I don't have much to say and think it would all mostly borderline on spoilers.

This is meant to be full of twists or whatever, but it was mostly predictable, especially since you were expecting them. I don't know if a book of twists really works as a concept because you know that all of them are going to have one. Also some of the so called twist were just lame. Very few were actually good and satisfying.

The writing was okay but nothing enchanting and I had to push myself to finish it. It was just boring afterward.

The art is and good quality but I got kind of sick of it even with the artist changing. The concentrate black was a bit much after a while. Also one of the stories (e.g.Cocaína) was confusing as the the main character looked the same as another character.

Overall, I gave this two out of five stars for finding someone to blame. This didn't do a good job of holding my attention and I don't see myself reading any of the other volumes. I like dark, twisted things and I didn't like this so I'm not sure who will like it. Though, I feel I should note that I read this from a digital review copy and it was hellish loading it on my computer to read it so that might have effected my enjoyment of it.

I got this for review off NetGalley and from TPub.

Saturday 20 June 2015

BATMAN MONEY (Why ain't I as rich as Bruce Wayne?)

Haló peeps, today we are talking about how am dumb with money, how there is a weird console war going on in my house (Sony is currently winning and Xbox is about to tie with Nintendo). I brought a Arkham Knight Playstation 4 as well as other Batman merch and other things I could live without.

Funfact: I have currently not completed any of the Arkham games despite owning all of them.

I'm hoping to at least finish the first before the newest one comes out which is two days and a bit. I guess also depends when it actually arrives. I'm at 54% completed. I liked it and it's generally fun to kid on to be Batman running around Arkham. Though, not loving my latest missions mainly because I can't hang henchman from gargoyles (they're actually grotesques) and if I can't do that then what's the point of being Batman.

Sidenote: I have a Batman mask that went moldy due energy drink bursting over it so it was downstairs and my little brother put it on and claimed to be Batman. I said he was more like Batgirl. I'm not sure which one I meant because some Batgirls have been terrible (or terribly written);. Or did I mean he in a wheelchair and helping me when I feel like it. I let him fight Bane and he keeps bringing it up.

I have taken to accusing Bruce Wayne when I play badly because it's obviously his fault that I'm not using the controls right or I have no idea what I'm meant to do or go. The internet is great for those times when a game stop beings fun. I also figured out that I could save the game every time I killed, sorry knocked out a henchman by pulling off a walkway by his neck or blowing him up, by exiting the room.

Anyway, I have no money so I'm probably not going to the Edinburgh Book Festival and won't have any money saved for uni. But I own PS4 with one game and PS3 with some games. My sister is in a bad mood with me because I won't sell it to her.

I'm now off to sleep for almost 24-hours because going off my eyes I can't handle doing 24-hour-gaming session anymore. I shall see you all next week.

Wednesday 17 June 2015

Book Review: The Memory Hit by Carla Spradbery

You can take the red pill or you can take the red pill? Or how about no pills.

On New Year's Eve, Jess's life is unrecognizable: her best friend is in the hospital, her boyfriend is a cheater. A drug-dealing cheater it would seem, after finding a stash of Nostalgex in his bag. 

Nostalgex: a drug that stimulates memory. In small doses, a person can remember the order of a deck of cards, or an entire revision guide read the day before an exam. In larger doses it allows the user detailed access to their past, almost like watching a DVD with the ability to pause a moment in time, to focus on previously unnoticed details and to see everything they've ever experienced with fresh eyes. As Leon, the local dealer, says 'it's like life, only better.' What he fails to mention is that most memories are clouded by emotions. Even the most vivid memories can look very different when revisited. 

Across town Sam Cooper is in trouble. Again. This time, gagged and bound in the boot of a car. Getting on the wrong side of a drug dealer is never a good idea, but if he doesn't make enough money to feed and clothe his sister, who will?

On New Year's Day, Jess and Cooper's worlds collide. They must put behind their differences and work together to look into their pasts to uncover a series of events that will lead them to know what really happened on that fateful New Year's Eve. But what they find is that everything they had once believed to be true, turns out to be a lie ...

This book involves a fake drug that allows that gives you super memory. It was interesting and featured in the plot well. Though, I would have liked to have more scenes with the the effects of the drug, especially on a minor dose.

The characters are likable enough and have complex relationships with each other. Though, I feel character's action/thoughts were unrealistic.

The ending is unusual but it feels a bit of unnatural conclusion. It's still satisfying because it did make the sense.

Overall, I gave this novel four out of five stars for dreamories. It was good and is worth checking out.

I got this off NetGalley for review and it was published by Hodder Children's Books on

Book Review: The Storm by Virginia Bergin

I missed the butterflies.

My name is Ruby Morris. I don't go when it rains.
Once you've survived an apocalypse, the old rules don't seem to matter so much.


Like today I drove a Ferrari that wasn't mine, but no one cared (there's no one left to care). 


If I want to eat only Nutella, then I can (there;s nothing else to eat).

And if I want to go to wild parties in mansions, I will (this only happened once).

Of course, there are bad things too. Like everyone you cared about being gone, having no one to trust and, worst of all, not being able to stop thinking about THAT KISS with Darius Spratt...

But I've survived this long and I'm not going to die now.


I think enjoyment of this novel does depend on reading the first one. If you haven't read the first book, why not check out my review of it instead of possibly spoiling yourself with this review.

The story starts back up months later and a disillusion Ruby. She still the same Ruby and does dumb stuff, but she makes a better effort not to do dumb stuff.

We get some answers in this book, and a satisfying ending to the series. The science continues to be a bit effy. I think this novel might be more horrifying than the last book. Though, I did feel like emotions didn't hit as strong as I felt they should have. Things that happen didn't impact much and felt more like getting rid of a character out of the way.

The character development was nice to see, Ruby has grown up a bit in this series and you see in this book. The relationships were good and some were interesting to see.

Overall, I gave this book four out of five stars for eating things out of a well. We get answers and the series leaves off with a satisfying ending.

Saturday 13 June 2015

Short Story: A Day in April

Today you're getting a story that I made myself finished today but started in Match and tried to finished during Camp NaNoWriMo but didn't managed to get to the end of it. I'm going to do my best to actually post new stories on here before uni starts. Also get back to posting on time. You know make a real creative effect.
 

  A Day in April


One day in April, Mitchelle decided to drop down dead. So she did in the kitchen. Though she had did a good job of dropping to the lamented floor like a stone, hitting the square pattern rather hard, knocking the air from her lungs. She was of course not dead because despite the way popular media made out one could not decide to die by will alone. Otherwise, most would not make it through their teenage years.

Mitchelle currently had lungs empty of oxygen, making her gasp and her eyes to pop. The sound went funny as in gone and the world was a blur as in she no longer she saw detain. "Wow, this what death must feel like" she thought clichély.

Mitchelle no longer wish to die and realise what idiotic idea it had been. She was glad that last night she had not managed to the guts to jump from the roof, to swallow those pills or to lift that blade. Though, those things would have permanently damage her, she would have landed softly, paracetamol only kills your liver and she would luckily have did it wrong. In short in all those scenarios, Ms. Mitchelle would have found her daughter and panicked. 

She had heard the bang from the livingroom, though assuming it was the cat she almost ignore the sound but it was a commercial anyway. 

Mitchelle was still lying on the floor as her body attempted to recover from gravity’s blow, when her mother made it to the kitchen doorway to see her body there. Like most mothers, Ms. Mitchelle swelled with panic. She grabbed her daughter by the shoulders to pull her around, careless of proper first aid protocol. Ms. Mitchelle pulled Mitchelle up and into the living room.

Mitchelle wasn’t fully aware of this until she was sat down on the couch. Later she would she would swear to have no memory of getting to that couch from the kitchen floor. Just as the ads were ending, Mitchelle’s lungs began to function properly, the air had returned, with its sweet, sweet oxygen.

“Are you okay?” Ms. Mitchelle asked panic still swelling inside her.

Mitchelle was not okay, she was not fine, she was not alright, and she was not okay in any of those forms. She had wanted to die just 2 minutes and 3 seconds ago.  She nodded anyway; her mother had meant physically, mental health was not on her mind, and who would have shook their heads, one does not admit that they’re not okay until they literally cannot hide the fact that they are not okay to anyone. Mitchelle was not about to admit that she was not okay, mentally or physically. Her lungs and throat felt strained, her body bruised, yet none of that matched the pain her shattered heart still felt.

Mitchelle had had her heart broken by April and her namesake tormented her with daily reminder. She doubt that April would feel this way in May. Especially as no one called her May except for misinformed teachers and a family that said it was stupid to refer to each other by last name because they all currently had the same one and it was not up to discussion to change it or anyone’s first name. Two, April was a heartless, soulless beast who was no more a person than she was a month in spring. She should have been named November which was worst of all the winter months. It was cold, included no holidays that didn't tormatise cats and dogs and was late enough in the year to make you aware what a failure you were and still sober enough to care.
But damn she was April with exam prep, lambs and the promise of summer in the wind. In short she was painfully only to teens and lamb haters. May was the month of exams and had been demoted from a summer month to late spring.  

April had came into her life at the start of the year, when they were put into the same Geography class. The kissing had came during group homework. The Heartbreak had came after April group homework with Sasha. Pretty, annoying Sasha who made out with other girls at parties for attention. It wasn’t Sasha fault, but her history with Sasha did make her want to lay the blame on her, though she had no idea that April had girlfriend or made out with regularly with a girl who thought she was her girlfriend.

That was what stings the most. Walking into back room find April kissing someone else had been heart breaking, but April acting like she had no right to be angry was the shattering. There weren’t going out. There were just getting off with each other, for over six months. They had brought each other Christmas presents.

Sure, they hadn’t told anyone they were dating but people in school were idiots and didn’t want her parents knowing anything about her sex life.

Mitchelle got up from the couch. Telling her mother she was fine, she went upstairs to sulk on her bed. The pain in her chest had turned physical so it hurt to walk up the stairs. She did slowly and groaned when she threw herself on the bed. She lay there for about a whole minute when her mother shouted her backstairs. She fought the urge to scream into her pillow and instead threw in across the room remembering who else head had been on it.

She dragged herself back down the stairs; she was half way down the stairs when she saw that the front door was open. For a brief second she thought her mother was talking to April. Then she realised that the edges of blonde she could see was wrong and April wasn’t that short.

She stomped down the remaining steps. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, not even her worried friends who wouldn’t stop messaging her. It wasn’t one of her friends. She walked to the door slowly around her mother. It was Sasha, which was just great. Who wanted to stand next perfect petite Sasha when they hadn’t brushed their hair or teeth in two days?

“What are you doing here?”

“I…” Sasha smiled at helplessly. “I want to talk to you.” She glanced at Mrs Mitchelle.

“Come on,” Mitchelle said walking back up the stairs. She didn’t look back to see if Sasha was following her. She was awkwardly.

Mrs Mitchelle went back to the living room to figure out what was going on with her daughter and to catch up on her show.

Mitchelle dumped herself on the bed. This time backwards, so she could face the door and watch Sasha come in. She shut the door behind her slowly.

“Well…” Mitchelle said in hostical deadpan.

“I just want to apologize about April and to say that I honestly had no idea you were a thing.” She said waving her hand.

That didn’t help. She already knew that Sasha hadn’t known.

“I would never make-out with someone who’s dating someone else.” Mitchelle continued to not to respond.

“I won’t tell anyone, I know not everyone is ready to be out like me.” Mitchelle looked up.

“You’re a lesbian,” Mitchelle exclaimed. “You went out with…that football guy.”

“I am Bi,” she shrugged.

“Attention whore then.”

“No,” Sasha said angry now. “Not everyone is monosexual. You’d think you would be more open-minded considering.”

“You make out with girls so boys will play attention to you.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yeah, then I must have taken something at those parties.”

“I’m not allowed to kiss my girlfriend in public.”

That shut Mitchelle up for second.

“I don’t get why you’re here, April cheated on, not you and I would rather be left alone now.”

“You’ve skipped school the past two days and that project is due Monday, which is hard as none of us are speaking to each other. Can’t we both be angry at April together?”

Mitchelle didn’t care at about school at the moment, but she did know at the back of her mind that she was being overdramatic and shouldn’t be giving April so much power.

“Okay, but tomorrow,”

Sasha nodded.

“I’ll walk you to the door.”

They walked to the door in silence. Mitchelle did her best not to flinch in front of Sasha.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Sasha said exiting the house.

“You two are fucking now?”

Mitchelle looked out the door to see April. Sasha went bright red.

“No…” Sasha began before Mitchelle cut her off.

“Sasha you should get home, me and April have to talk.”

Sasha wandered away and April stormed to the door.

“Serious, you go on about being girlfriends and you already on to someone else,” April demanded.

“Well, April it liked you said, we weren’t girlfriends so you have no right to show up here angry.”

“I thought we could sort things out.”

“What? No one else to make out with?”

“Mitchelle, I came to give this whole girlfriend a short. I thought that you wanted.”

Mitchelle thought for moment and realised that she should have been more angry than sad. But she couldn’t be. She couldn’t be happy with April again.

“No, not anymore. I’ll see you around.” Mitchelle shut the door before April could responded and ignored the banging from the otherside whilst April shouted threats. She didn’t care.

“Who’s that at the door?” Mrs Mitchelle asked.

“No one, you should ignore it”

Mitchelle went to shower April out of her hair. 
 ***

I liked the opening of this and have no memory of how I was planing to finish this when I started. It has ending even the opening was a lot better. Ending things is the hard part for me. If any one has a writing prompt they want me to trackle then please comment it down below or what ever method you prefer to contract me by. Write you next time.

Wednesday 10 June 2015

Book Review: Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington

Two lives might have made escape easier.

The perfect life or the perfect love. You choose.

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she shifts to her 'other' life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she's a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she's considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other. 

With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments that bring her dangerously close to the life she's always wanted. But if she can only have one life, which is the one she'll choose?

 This is a really cool concept, except for I never really got why Sabine needed to make a choice. Even having explained in the actual novel, I still never got the character's motivation.

The main character Sabine is pretty bland and clearly doesn't have a strong personality considering how different her behavour and her persona are in the two "lives", I don't mean her wealth status in that at all. Her general attitude, generally sucks.

The ending of the book was pretty obvious after a certain point. I did not like the very ending, I just don't think it was a healthy or realistic attitude to continue to have. The whole suicide angle was not what I was expecting when it said "choice" in the blurbs.

Overall, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars for split personality. It was interesting idea and the execution was alright. If your intrigued by the summary then I would recommend reading it.

I got this book for review off NetGalley and it is published by Orchard Books.

Saturday 6 June 2015

Short Story: The House Alone

I failed my driving test by one minor and I'm blaming it on messing up my hill start which I can do like a pro, so you're getting horror. The type of horror I shouldn't write because based on a situation that's going to happen to me. I am dreading uni because what if I don't have anyone to poke awake at three a.m., not even a dog.

The House Alone


I am in the house alone. My parents are gone for a week. I hear a sound in the night. I am scared, because I am alone. I know it's probably nothing. I made sure to lock the door and the windows, because I am alone at night. I had to sleep with the lights on because the dark was too much for me, even with a dog on my legs and grumpy cat whose staring at me from my desk chair.

I have all the animals so it's not them. The heating isn't on, because it's too hot and my fan is broken. Is the pipes? I have never heard the pipes make a sound. Maybe it a mouse. Mice cannot be kept out of houses even when they have no holes to enter by. A rat would be horrifying prospect. They are braver than mice and will straight up bite. I think they do. How would I get one out of the house by myself with only useless cat and dog that was breed to chase sheep.

I reach for him now, he climbs higher up on me. I pet him to calm myself. It working until the bang. That was not my imagination nor the house settling. That sounds like something falling or door shutting. It's loud in the silence. I half sit up to face the door. Hoping for settling answer. Nothing.

I am awake and worried. I do not want to make a sound. I carefully sit up in my bed. Moving my over-size puppy off me to do so. He and the cat seem fine. Everything must be fine. I am just a scared human with weak sinese and untrained instincts. Should I check for the source, or should I stay in my room?

If this was horror film then checking would be the mistake, but if this was a CreepyPasta either could be the mistake. The monster always finds you eventually. My dumb dog jumps off the bed, banging loudly on the floor. I cruse him slightly, as he spins in a circle, scarping at the himself on the floor, blocking the door. Well, that decides it. I'm staying up here.

 Suddenly, I feel something beside me on the bed. I jump and turn to see my no good cat. She lays where the dog was to steal my heat. They don't like each. Refuse to share a bed or a human. I scope her up in a ball and squeeze her for comfort. She moans in her way, she struggles for a second before accepting her fate as my baby. I held her like a human infant since she was a kitten and half her size now. 

 Something is on the stairs.The sound of them straining is obvious. They are old and nosy. I swear one board is one bad step from breaking to the cupboard below. I pray it's tonight. But no the straining continues steadying to my room.
The door creeps open. I don't know what to do. Should I shut my eyes? Why would that be a good idea? I tighten my grip on my cat that digs it's claws into me wanting to escape. The door continues slowly. My dog wimpers again and presses himself against me. I shut my eyes before the door opens enough for the light to spill into the hall.

Footsteps come into the room. Towards us. My cat struggles more, but I won't let go. She is not abandoning me. My dog starts to growl and whimper at the same time. I want to soothe him, but I need both hands on the cat. I want soothe us both. The steps stop next to us. The cat stops moving and my dog wines softly before stopping. However, I'm keeping my eyes shut. Tighter than I hold the cat, who feels to still. Oh God. My dog seems to fall slightly away from my waist. Oh please, no.

"No need to worry, I only want a hug." 

***

I know the hug thing is pretty dumb, but it amused me for some reason as the ending for this when I started writing. Sometimes cliché are fun to work with and dumb endings are still endings. Tell me your thoughts. Have I improved as writer from last week's work of sixteen year old me? Probably not enough in those six years.

Wednesday 3 June 2015

Book Review: The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

I have dual-citizenship on the internet.

The magic and suspense of Graceling meet the political intrigue and unrest of Game of Thrones in this riveting fantasy debut.
Your greatest enemy isn't what you fight, but what you fear.

 
Elizabeth Grey is one of the king's best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.
Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him.
But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.
Virginia Boecker weaves a riveting tale of magic, betrayal, and sacrifice in this unforgettable fantasy debut. 


OR

Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Grey doesn't look dangerous. A tiny, blonde, wisp of a girl shouldn't know how to poison a wizard and make it look like an accident. Or take out ten necromancers with a single sword and a bag of salt. Or kill a man using only her thumb. But things are not always as they appear. Elizabeth is one of the best witch hunters in Anglia and a member of the king's elite guard, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and bringing those who practice it to justice. And in Anglia, the price of justice is high: death by burning.


When Elizabeth is accused of being a witch herself, she's arrested and thrown in prison. The king declares her a traitor and her life is all but forfeit. With just hours before she's to die at the stake, Elizabeth gets a visitor - Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful wizard in Anglia. He offers her a deal: he will free her from prison and save her from execution if she will track down the wizard who laid a deadly curse on him.

As Elizabeth uncovers the horrifying facts about Nicholas's curse and the unwitting role she played in its creation, she is forced to redefine the differences between right and wrong, friends and enemies, love and hate... and life and death.

The first book in an incredible new series set in a fantastical medieval world.

This is a start of a series, set in a fantastical medieval Europe about witch hunting. It's fun and problematic.

The main character, Elizabeth Grey, why she has combination name of two English Queens around the book's setting in the real world is something we should question the writer about it. If it's intentional, let's hope it's not meant to be foreshadowing. Back to my initial point, the MC is okay. I have no strong emotions, sometimes I sort of like her and then it drops off. I think the big thing is her emotions are shallow, so there's not enough to cover you with and don't stick around for long. She also a big cliché,. Strong, little Blonde that people judge to be this weak and fragile thing but she can kick ass, it's a pretty over done formula. Also it's not like she takes advantage of people's view of her (other than the first few seconds) at all so what the point of this description being stated several times. There is some interesting character dynamics going on and complicated relationship stuff. However, this did become a tad bit annoying and this book also has instanta love, but the kind that tries to tick into it not being instanta love, but it is because the characters love each other all of a sudden. Though, it's not actually a love triangle, like I've seen some say. I call it instanta love because I don't feel like it develops from anyway, sure they have conversations, but more like this terrible thing has happened to me and I felt guilty about that.

The plot and the world is interesting with the different types of witches and the living dead. Okay, the whole plot/starting point jumps off something terrible happening to the MC and while with keeping with the setting, I just don't how I feel about the treatment of it. It just seems this grey zone of the book and I've seen someone comment on being a positive thing that this aspect of the character and I had no how to word a comment to discuss this with them. 

The Kingdom name is about as original as toad and she should have just called it FAKE ENGLAND. Especially, when the the book is dedication says "For England".  I mean Anglia is the medieval name for England so the author did decide on some distinction from the real England but also not at all, as Anglia is still commmonly used, I imedicately associated Anglia with England, so why not just go all the way and come up with actual name yourself. Also the set up we have, is no way near real English history for time period. It's not a altering one or two things, therefore it doesn't at all count as alternative history. Also with this being England, there should be a whole lot bitching going with the bordering countries. Though, be honest I bet we'll get terrible name in the series like Gaul which is France, we know this because it's across the Channel (also a google search comfirmed this). Honestly, I hate Anglophiles so I'm straight up prejudice against someone obsessed with England. It more the ones that say Britain when they just mean England. Also I'm not going to lie, but Anglia currently has more in common with Scotland. We went through horrific period of our King killing witches, sure he went on to become the King of England, but call him James the first and I'll punch you in the face. Probably not physically but with words. Anyway, there's the Witchcraft Act 1563 (Scotland) and this book takes place in 1558. England went through it's big witch hunting phrase in 17th century. Having a proper date is weird, especially when it clear where this is based on but being completely different, so like why? Also the King in this novel is called Malcolm which is a Scottish King name, like George or Edward are English King names. Also honestly, if it becomes blatantly clear that there is not a country sitting on top of Anglia; I will be pissed. I don't know if Walsh readers will feel the same about a Country to the West. If we never go there, fine. It just Scotland and England are not the same country, so many people don't get that; and in this time period we still have completely different governments so it shouldn't be that confusing. So that turn into a rant about history and the setting of this book, but every time the name Anglia came up, it grated on me. Next time, just make up your own country names instead of using Medieval Latin and everything being set in fantastical England is so bloody dull.You know other countries have/had royal families too.

Somehow I got a hold of the US/Canadian digital review copy as well as the UK one. The UK has the better cover but the US has better chapter heads. The numerical number being in drawn circle or cup stain, whilst the UK is just written numbers. That's only difference beside the whole hardback and paperback things. Not that I was expecting any.

Overall, I give this 3.5 out of five stars for herbs. I like this book, I probably would have liked at lot more without all the weird reference to England in it because one it's not clever and doesn't add anything to the world, it in fact takes away from it. Currently, I would read the sequel but I feel that with this series setting and problematic plot elements that it has, it's walking a tightrope that means I could currently jump off the series before the end easily and I ain't running for a sequel.
I got this for Review off NetGalley and it was published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on 2rd June 2015 and is being Published by Orchard Books on the 4th June 2015. Somehow I got a hold of the US/Canadian edition as well as the UK one.