The Younger Gods by Michael R. Underwood

I enjoyed this book, but I loved the ending. I won't give anything away here, but suffice to say that Underwood turns the entire book on its head in such a way that makes absolutely perfect sense.

The main character, Jake, however, is massively annoying. I understand where the author is coming from in giving him such a distinctive voice, but at times its a step too far. The rest of the characters give a little more diversity to the proceedings, but I'm hoping in the following books, that Jake is toned down slightly, and the secondary characters fleshed out to more than just friends with slightly different abilities.

There's certainly enough about this book to make me interested in the next one in the series, but a few issues to be addressed.

Thanks to Pocket Star (Gallery Books), via NetGalley for the free copy to review.

The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly

Jurassic Park meets How to Train your Dragon. I can't think of a better way to describe this book.
A fantastic read, which drew me in from the very beginning, and refused to let go throughout this breathtakingly dizzying action-packed fun fest!
Set up with a minimum of exposition, and a little background to China's socio-economic status, when the story gets going, it REALLY gets going.
The book reads like the Hollywood blockbuster I'm sure it will become, and I continually found myself imagining how the dragons will look on-screen. And to be honest, that's made easy thanks to the wonderfully vivid descriptions Reilly gives us. Every scene, character, and action sequence is written perfectly in the context of the story, and it all blends together to create a brilliantly unique reading experience. I've rarely, if ever, read a book so focused on action, and this pulls it off.
At times the book verges on the excessive, and the quite frankly silly, but somehow this doesn't take anything away from it.
Rip-roaring stuff.

Thanks to Gallery Books, via NetGalley for the free copy to review.