Foundling by D. M. Cornish

The Blurb On The Back:

Growing up at Madam Opera’s Estimable Marine Society for Foundling Boys and Girls, Rossamünd Bookchild – a boy with an unfortunate name – has led sheltered from the dangers of the world. But this all changes the day the man with the strange red-and-pale-blue eyes recruits him into the service of the Emperor. Rossamünd has been drafted into the ranks of the Half-Continent’s “lamplighters” – soldiers who protect the empire’s roads from all evil.

Now Rossamünd must begin the journey of his life, travelling the Half-Continent, a world full of people who can be as predatory as any monster he can imagine. And when he falls in with the mysterious and talented Europe, who can soot electricity out of her body and call lightning down from the sky, he learns that some people can truly be lethal ...

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

This has been one of my favourite reads of the year because the scope of the world building and attention to detail is incredible. The characters are memorable and the ideas that Cornish has are astounding in their originality. This has all the makings of being a classic series that will be loved for years to come.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

The Blurb On The Back:

Daniel’s gaze caught hers, and her breath caught in her throat. She recognised him from somewhere. But she would have remembered meeting someone like him. She would have remembered feeling as absolutely shaken up as she did right now.

But what do you do when the person you’ve spent your whole life looking for keeps slipping out of your grasp? What if the person you are meant to be with can never be yours?

Dangerously addictive and darkly romantic, Fallen is the ultimate gothic love story love story – a page-turning thriller about fallen angels.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Teens looking for the next paranormal romance could do worse than this novel (not least because the characters are no different to those typically found in this genre). However, the refusal to explain critical parts of the backstory is frustrating and raises the question as to whether there is enough there to sustain the series.