Review: Hugo and the Bird: Gnome Wars, by Jeff Mills

Title: Hugo and the Bird: Gnome Wars
Author: Jeff Mills
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: Kadavera, the witch, was dead. This should mean a celebration, but for nine-year-old Hugo, his schoolmate, Emma and their strange magical friend, Bird, it is the start of another dangerous adventure. Her death has precipitated the regeneration of not just one but both of her sister witches – and they are both far worse than she ever was. 

Conscripting the Cornish goblins, the witches capture the gnomes from the Gnome Reserve to use as guinea pigs in their experiments to be able to exist in daylight. This would allow them to fulfil their dying vow; to kill and destroy all those and their descendants, who were responsible for their own and their mothers’ unjust execution 300 years before. They are determined not to let anyone stand in their way, especially two interfering children and a stupid bird. 

A chance finding of a small amulet leads Hugo and his friends into realms of King Arthur and to the magic power of his sword, Excalibur. Emma receives some terrible news, which ultimately takes her on a journey from which there may be no return and pits her against her friends. Can Hugo and Bird, rescue the gnomes and prevent the witches from achieving their lethal goal and how can an inquisitive journalist make everything far worse? Set in North Devon, the heart-pounding adventure continues and is based on historical events. Hugo and the Bird: Gnome Wars is a tale of fantasy, revenge and friendship that readers from nine years to ninety will identify with and love.

My Opinion: Hugo and his friend, Emma, along with their magical "bird" find themselves dealing with another mystery involving resurrected witches. What's not to love about a story involving witches hell bent on revenge, magical creatures, goblins and gnomes? Due to the young age of the main characters, this book is geared towards older elementary age to middle school age children.

I didn't have a chance to read the first book in the series, Hugo and the Bird: The Toothfairy, but that didn't keep me from being able to follow along and keep up with this story. There were a number of errors with spelling, punctuation and grammar, but I received my copy through NetGalley and it is understood that the book is almost always an uncorrected proof, so hopefully the final version will go through a final editing process before release.

The characters were likeable and very much acted their age, which is better than some MG stories where the characters act much older and with more maturity than they should possess. The action was constant and the plot moved along at a quick pace. There was just the right amount of suspense to keep the reader involved, and some of it was downright scary, which younger readers will love!

In summary, I really enjoyed this story, and with some good editing to tighten it up, I can definitely recommend it for older elementary and middle grade students who love their fantasy with a good mystery thrown in to boot :)

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

4 out of 5 stars ;) 

Review: Magdalena Gottschalk: The Crooked Trail (Magdalena Gottschalk #1) by M. Gail Grant

Title: Magdalena Gottschalk: The Crooked Trail (Magdalena Gottschalk #1)
Author: M. Gail Grant
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: Lily Brooke, where small town charm and a hidden secret converge one fateful late autumn night. The demons of the past are determined to never be locked away again. MALB, the Mystical Alliance of Lily Brooke, consists of six childhood friends that are bound together in loyalty, friendship, and courage. Together, they all face the unleashed enchantments that are haunting the children after their discovery of the forbidden sacrificial cave, crooked trail, and mysterious treehouse. Magdalena has always known she is different from the others, but the cause has always escaped her, until now. Coming to grips with her soul purpose, she must gather courage she never knew she possessed to save her friends and family from the evil forces hiding amongst them. 

Magdalena Gottschalk: The Crooked Trail, is a middle grades to young adult epic fantasy fiction novel, that explores faith, unity, differences, belief in a higher power, magic, and teamwork. It will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat, begging to turn the page, while written for audiences of all ages. With a touch of southern charm and tradition, this novel takes you on a journey not for the faint of heart. Witches, wizards, demons, black magic, and soul searching all have their place in the quaint little town of Lily Brooke. 

My Opinion: Magdalena and her friends Gabriel and Hubert decide to spend a beautiful day exploring the woods behind Hubert's farm. Magdalena just celebrated her 13th birthday and her wish to have something exciting happen to her has come true, but not in the way she had hoped! When people say to "be careful what you wish for," this is exactly what they had in mind!

I loved the description of this book and was looking forward to reading it, but there were a few glaring problems that really took away from my ability to fully engage with the characters and the story. The description of the book says that it is for middle grades to young adult, but I really think it is geared more toward the younger set. The characters are 13, so I would say this is the age of the readers that would enjoy it, as young adults would really notice the problems and be bogged down by them, as I was. The way the kids speak was weirdly formal, especially for 13 year olds. For example, they didn't use contractions when speaking to each other, and they explained things that the others should already know, almost like they were adults speaking to children instead of young teenagers speaking to friends they've known their whole lives. And at one point, when Magdalena is talking with 5 of her good friends (the members of MALB, the Mystical Alliance of Lily Brooke), she says: "This morning, he made eye contact with my mother, Leona, and had his assistant take his place at the door to greet the morning attendees. My mother turned to my father, Paulos, and excused herself stating she needed to go to the ladies' restroom." Again, these kids have known each other all of their lives, so you would assume they know who her mother and father are, which was why it was odd that she threw her parents' names in there, like they had no idea who she was talking about! I've just never heard kids do that, especially 13 year olds who seem to abbreviate everything these days. Then there was the wrong usage of who/whoever and whom/whomever, which is a pet peeve of mine. I stumbled every time the words were used wrong: e.g. "Whom wrote such a ridiculous story?" This happened over and over again. Also, the writing seems forced sometimes, which breaks the reader's concentration and the flow of the story itself. Other times, something just doesn't make sense, so you have to stop and figure out what didn't work in the sentence, and that takes you out of the story as well: "The group all tried to bend, move or sway the perfectly spaced boulders, but nothing gave." How the heck do you bend or sway a boulder? It just doesn't make sense. 

Another big problem for me was that there would be pages of descriptions of what was happening in a scene, as well as dialogue, and then when someone new came along, instead of just saying that the character repeated what they had heard, done or said, they actually repeated the whole darn thing! There was way too much retelling and re-explaining, and I feel like that bogged the story down a lot. But other times, not enough was explained. When something big happens to Magdalena in the second half of the book, and I mean big as in life changing, rock my world kind of big, she has a moment of indecision, then says she has come to terms with it, and then just seems to know instinctively what to do and how to do it (it's hard to describe it without giving it away lol), even though it's something that adults would have to take time themselves to figure out! There just wasn't enough explanation of how one got from point A to point B sometimes.

Now, the things that I liked about the book: the story itself was a good one. There was a sense of intrigue and mystery that drew you in and made you want to continue to read. The characters were described very well so it was easy to find yourself invested in them. The world building was great, so much so that you felt you were walking around Lily Brooke alongside the characters. The characters were likable so you found yourself honestly pulling for them to solve the mystery and save the town. The title comes from the choice you have in life of choosing the straight path, staying on the straight and narrow, or choosing the crooked trail, which can lead you to trouble. I really loved that symbolism.

In summary, I liked the actual story here, and the characters, but felt the book was bogged down with unnecessary repetition, stilted conversations, and story flow problems, which could all be fixed if the book were to be re-edited. 

I'm giving this book 3 stars out of 5 :)