Mariah Mundi and the Ghost Diamonds
319 pages
" 'It was murder. I don't know how or why but I think I can prove it' There is never a dull moment for Mariah Mundi living in the Prince Regent Hotel. But catastrophe strikes when three eminent visitors spontaneously combust at a hotel party. Just a freak of nature or a cleaverly plotted murder? Mariah Mundi senses a conspiracy. and when his best friend, Sacha, is kidnapped, he knows that he must find answers-urgently. Who's the masked man seen prowling the streets? And why is the richest man in the world so interested in the hotel? Could the answer lie in the mythical Ghost Diamonds?"
summary from the back of Mariah Mundi and the Ghost Diamonds (Faber and Faber, 2009 paperback edition)
With this book, I found it a lot easier to read than the first one in the Mariah Mundi series. The first one seemed to take forever to read, but I got through this one much more quickly. In this book, Mariah is on his first case with the the Bureau of Antiquities. It doesn't really do much to advance the plot of the series, except for that it gives even more clues as to what might have happened to Mariah's parents. There were a few loose ends which I hope will be tied up in the next book but I can't tell if the main action of the next book will revolve around Mariah's role in the Bureau or what happened to his parents. Also, once you find out what happened to his parents, I don't know if the series could continue beyond that, so far there is only one other book (which I think is the last one). I would say that the Mariah Mundi series is pretty average based on the first two books, I wouldn't read it again, but I did enjoy the books. Rating: 3 stars
-mnm1309
See the review for Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box
The Dead-Tossed Waves
404 pages
"Gabry lives a quiet life, secure in her town next to the sea and behind the barrier. She's content to let her friends dream of the dark city up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. Home is all she's ever known and all she needs for happiness. But life after the Return is never safe and there are threats even the Barrier can't hold back. Gabry's mother thought she left her secrets behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth but, like the dead in their world, secrets don't stay buried. One night beyond the Barrier... One boy Gabry's known forever and one veiled in mystery... One reckless moment, and half of Gabry's generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry knows only one thing: of she has any hope of a future, she must face the forest and her mother's past".
summary from inside cover of The Dead-Tossed Waves (Gollancz, First Edition 2010)
The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan is about Mary's daughter. I just want to say that this one is much better than the first book (The Forest of Hands and Teeth). Mary now lives in and operates the lighthouse on the beach she found after escaping from her old village. The new town she lives in is called Vista. Here, they are not cut off from the rest of the world and they know there are other people alive and they communicate with them, unlike in Mary's old village. Mary leaves to try and find the people she left behind in the forest, she has tried before but she could never find them. A little later, Gabry is forced to follow her with some of her friends from Vista. At first Gabry seemed just like her mother, risking the lives of her friends and the two guys she likes, so I thought this book would be like the first and I wouldn't like it. Towards the end though, she kind finds out a lot about her past and her mothers past which changes her a little. The third book is set to come out at the beginning of 2011, and I'm actually looking forward to finding out what happens to Gabry and her friends, the book ends with a lot of unresolved things going on. Rating: 3 stars
-mnm1309
The Secret Countess
345 pages
"ST. Petersburg Russia, 1919. Anna's world is under threat. The eighteen-year-old countess has lived in luxury all her life, but revolution is tearing Russia apart - and her family must escape... London, 1919. Now penniless, Anna is working as a servant for the aristocrat Westerholmes. But as she falls in love with the young earl it becomes harder to keep her true identity secret..."
summary from back of The Secret Countess (Picador, 2007 edition)
The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson was first published as a A Countess Below Stairs in 1981. The reason I read this book was because I have read other books by this author and they were pretty good. In this book Anna and her family have fled from Russia and now are now living in England. They are there with a lot of other royal and high ranking families that have fled as well. Because they no longer have very much money they all have to work hard, but none of them are bitter about it. This is a romance book, the person Anna loves is engaged to a woman who is 'perfect' but turns out to be an awful person. I usually don't like books like this but this one was actually pretty good, and I kept wanting to find out what happened to her. A lot of times when I read books like this, I get bored with them. It has a lot of funny parts, but the ending isn't very unexpected. Altogether it was an interesting book and I would recommend it more to girls 13 and under, although other people might like it also. Rating: 3 stars
-mnm1309
Mariah Mundi and The Midas Box
369 pages
"Fresh out of school, Mariah faces a new chapter of his life living in the Prince Regent Hotel. His job is to assist the the magician in the stage shows held for the guests.
Above ground, the hotel offers every form of luxury. Below ground, withing the slimy dripping walls of the basement, the magic show equipment is kept-and lurking in an Egyptian sarcophagus is the secret that draws Mariah into the path of villainy and possible death."
Summary from Mariah Mundi and The Midas Box (faber and faber: 2008 edition)
This is the first book in the Mariah Mundi series by G.P Taylor. It had a lot of unexpected developments. There were a lot of things that you thought wouldn't happen. The book is set in England, a lot of it happens at night, making the place seem dark and gloomy. I liked the way the author wrote the book and there was a lot of action but sometimes the book dragged. The ending was really good but a little bit confusing. Overall it was a pretty good book
Rating: 3 stars
Tell us what you think, comment !
-mnm1309
p.s. I decided to use summaries from the back of the book because it is faster and they are probably better than the summaries I was writing. :)
