Review: The Obsidian Mirror - Catherine Fisher

Jake's father disappears while working with the obsessive, secretive Oberon Venn - and Jake is certain Venn has murdered him.

But what he finds at the snow-bound Windercombe Abbey is far stranger.

A mysterious black mirror.
A hidden diary of lost secrets.
A tribe of supernatural beings who haunt the woods.
A girl pursued by a wolf of ice.

There are life-threatening choices at every turn. But Jake won't stop til he knows the truth . . .

Chronoptika Series:
The Obsidian Mirror
Titles & release dates for future books in the series are to be confirmed

Visit Catherine Fisher's website for more information

Review:
When Jake's father disappears while working on a secret project with his best friend Oberon Venn Jake becomes convinced that Venn must have killed him. Now Jake is determined to prove that and find a way to make Venn pay but on arriving at Venn's remote estate in Devon he uncovers secrets that will change his life forever. Everything comes back to the mysterious obsidian mirror that Venn is convinced can open pathways into the past. Venn needs Jake's help to find his father who was lost in time when an experiment with the mirror went horribly wrong. But Venn isn't the only one who is obsessed with the mirror and as various strangers close in, each with their own very different motives, Jake finds himself caught in a life and death battle. Which of his new acquaintances can he trust and who is going to figure out the secrets of the mirror first? Is it even possible to find Jake's father and bring him home?

The Obsidian Mirror is a story that you need to devour slowly, the plot is told from multiple perspectives and blends the past, present and future in a way that sometimes leaves you unsure which way is up. It can be confusing to work out what the character's motivations are and why the do the things they do but if you stick with it you will quickly find yourself absorbed in trying to unravel the clues. Just when you think you are on the verge of an important discovery Catherine Fisher will throw something else at you that turns everything on it's head. I love it when a book can surprise me and this one certainly managed that!

Anyone who is interested in time travel or who enjoys reading books with a strong sense of mystery will love The Obsidian Mirror. Add in elements of fantasy with the Shee (or fairies) and even a wolf who tracks time travellers for his mysterious owner and you're in for a treat. I don't want to say much more because this is a book you need to go into with no expectations about the story - I would hate to ruin the journey by giving away a spoiler. Instead I'm going to end this review by saying that this is a great start to a new series and it's one that has me excited to see what happens next to Jake, Venn and the various other characters who surround them. Oh and can someone please send Piers in my direction - I really have a craving for a batch of his cookies!

Source: Received from Hodder in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Obsidian Mirror Blog Tour & Guest Post: Choosing the Mirror by Catherine Fisher

To celebrate the release of The Obsidian Mirror on Thursday I'm excited to welcome Catherine Fisher to the blog today to talk about why she chose to use a mirror for such an important role in the story. Before I hand you over to Catherine I want to give you a bit more information about the book, I'll be posting my review later today but in the meantime check out the book cover and synopsis below:

Jake's father disappears while working with the obsessive, secretive Oberon Venn - and Jake is certain Venn has murdered him.

But what he finds at the snow-bound Windercombe Abbey is far stranger.

A mysterious black mirror.
A hidden diary of lost secrets.
A tribe of supernatural beings who haunt the woods.
A girl pursued by a wolf of ice.

There are life-threatening choices at every turn. But Jake won't stop til he knows the truth . . .

Chronoptika Series:
The Obsidian Mirror
Titles & release dates for future books in the series are to be confirmed

Visit Catherine Fisher's website for more information

Now please give a very warm welcome to Catherine and read her guest post to find out just why the Obsidian Mirror is so important to the story!

********************

Choosing the Mirror

by Catherine Fisher

When I was very small there was one book I had that I was intensely curious about and that was Alice Through the Looking Glass.

It was the idea of going through the mirror, into another place where everything was reversed. I used to stand looking into the full-length mirror my mother used, seeing how the familiar room became strange and alien inside there, and thinking that the doors and windows might lead out to other places, gardens, croquet lawns, palaces, fields, just like in the book.

There is nothing weirder than the familiar which has gone just a slightly bit wrong.

Maybe that's why, when I decided to write a time travel novel and needed a device that would allow the characters to travel, I chose a mirror.

Mirrors are magical. They show us ourselves, but backwards. Or we think they do. They are solid, but you can see through them.- or think you can. The whole idea of reflections, copies, images, replicants is conjured up by them. Over the ages they have told the future, the past, been used by evil queens, alchemists, scryers, dreamers. So my Obsidian Mirror is just the latest in a long line of magical mirrors, but this one is black, thin, warped and rather sinister. Through it lie the other places. Over our own shoulders. Behind our own backs.

And the weird thing about mirrors is that we can never see our reflections turn round and enter those places.

********************

What a fabulous guest post Catherine, I don't think I'm ever going to look at a mirror in quite the same way again! It's fascinating to think of stepping into a mirror and going somewhere that is just a slightly twisted version of our own reality. Quite a scary thought actually!

Make sure you check back later today to read my review of The Obsidian Mirror and don't forget to check the rest of the tour stops throughout the week for some more fab posts from Catherine!

Publisher Spotlight: Hodder & Orchard - July - November 2012

I thought it would be fun to start spotlighting new releases that different publishers have coming up over the next few months for us to look forward to.  I'm constantly looking for new books to add to my wish list and thought it would be a nice way of spreading the bookish love with other bloggers.  It's been a little while since my last Publisher Spotlight post so I thought it was about time for another one!  So in the spotlight today we have . . .

 & 

Today I'm going to talk about the YA titles that Hodder Children's Books and Orchard Books are publishing in the second half of 2012. They all look fab & I can't wait to read them!  Check out the Hodder Children's Books website and the Orchard Books website for more information. All book descriptions have been taken from Amazon UK unless otherwise stated.

July the 5th:

First up we have A Witch in Love by Ruth Warburton, this is the second book in her Winter trilogy and one I'm really looking forward to. You can read my review of the first book A Witch in Winter here. Can I just say how much I love this cover - don't you think it's gorgeous? Visit Ruth Warburton's website for more information.

Anna still finds it hard to believe that Seth loves her and has vowed to suppress her powers, no matter what. But magic - like love - is uncontrollable and soon, Anna is being hunted. Abe wants Anna to embrace her power, while Seth is pushing Anna to accept that his feelings are real. She finally does ... a moment too late. Suddenly, it's like the Salem witch trials all over again: burnings, torture and faceless judgements. In the face of the ultimate betrayal, who will save her?

The second novel in the Winter trilogy, this follows the critically acclaimed debut A WITCH IN WINTER.

Next we have the first book in a new series by David Gatward called Doom Rider. I don't read a lot of YA horror because I'm a big wimp but I think this may be more of an action story and I'm very curious about it. Visit David Gatward's website for more information.

Seth Crow has lived a thousand lives, and in each one he's been murdered before he turns thirteen.

And now he's being hunted again. But this time it's different.

Enter Lily, who tells him of his fate: Seth is CONQUEST. The first of the four riders of the Apocalypse. And people want him dead, before he can fulfil his destiny.

Seth's only hope lies in finding the other riders - Strife, Famine and Death.

Together, the fate of the world lies in their hands ...

Next we have Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley. Now I don't read many contemporary books but I absolutely love the sound of this one and am looking forward to picking it up soon. Visit Cath Crowley's website for more information.

'We've got at least seven hours to get what we want before the sun comes up.'

School is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight she's going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. Somewhere in the glassy darkness, he's out there, spraying colour, birds and blue sky on the night. And Lucy knows that a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for - really fall for.

The last person Lucy wants to spend this night with is Ed, the guy she's managed to avoid since punching him in the nose on the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells Lucy he knows where to find Shadow, the two of them are suddenly on an all-night search to places where Shadow's pieces of heartbreak and escape echo off the city walls. And what Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes.

Also published in July is the second book in Ally Cater's Heist Society series Uncommon Criminals. I've heard really good things about this series and it sounds like a lot of fun but it is one I haven't started yet. Perhaps I'll get around to trying it soon! Visit Ally Carter's website for more information.

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life: Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she's simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That's why Kat isn't surprised when she's asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn't been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long - and in Kat's world, history almost always repeats itself. But it's the third problem that makes Kat's crew the most nervous, and that is...the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she's not going down without a fight. After all, she has her best friend -- the gorgeous Hale - and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses and realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless for this heist.

This time, Kat's going to have to make up her own rules...

The final July release is one of the ones that I'm looking forward to the most and that is Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. It's not often we get to read books written from the boy's point of view and this one sounds fabulous. I also adore the cover - so eye catching! Visit Kendare Blake's website for more information.

Cas Lowood is no ordinary guy - he hunts dead people.

People like Anna. Anna Dressed in Blood. A beautiful, murderous ghost entangled in curses and rage. Cas knows he must destroy her, but as her tragic past is revealed, he starts to understand why Anna has killed everyone who's ever dared to enter her spooky home.

Everyone, that is, except Cas...

August the 2nd:

If you enjoyed Sam Hawksmoor's debut novel The Repossession then I'm sure you're already looking forward to the sequel The Hunting with is being published in August. I guess I need to hurry up and read the first book so I'm ready for this one! Visit Sam Hawksmoor's website for more information.

Genie and Rian thought they'd beaten The Fortress and stopped the dreadful experiments. But now someone even more ruthless has taken over, and wants to investigate why the experiments didn't kill Genie Magee. She is Fortress property, he claims - along with the other survivors.

Now there's $10,000 reward on their heads, armed roadblocks on the highway, and the dreaded threat of 'Mosquito' that can shut down their brainwaves by using their genetic information against them. There's only one possible escape from the bounty hunters with shotguns, and that's down the wild unforgiving river to a bleak future forever on the run.

Or they must turn and face The Fortress, find out its secrets, and use them against it. Seize their lives back, and fight for their very right to exist!

Have you read Robert Muchamore's CHERUB series? Guardian Angel is the second book in his spin off Aramov series that started with People's Republic. Visit Robert Muchamore's website for more information.

Guardian Angel is the second book in a brand-new CHERUB series from Robert Muchamore. Ryan has saved Ethan's life more than once. Ethan thinks he must be a guardian angel. But Ryan works for CHERUB, a secret organisation with one key advantage: even experienced criminals never suspect that children are spying on them. Ethan's family runs a billion-dollar criminal empire and Ryan's job is to destroy it. Can Ryan complete his mission without destroying Ethan as well?

For official purposes, these children do not exist.


Next up we have Lisa Stasse's debut novel The Forsaken which sounds amazing. It's been described as a cross between Lost and The Hunger Games which immediately caught my attention and I love how kick ass the main character looks on the cover. Yup, I definitely can't wait for this one! Visit Lisa Stasse's website for more information.

Alenna Shawcross is a sixteen-year-old orphan growing up in a police state formed from the ashes of Canada, the US and Mexico after a global economic meltdown.

But when she unexpectedly fails 'the test' - a government initiative which supposedly identifies teens destined to be criminals - she wakes up alone on a remote island reserved for the criminally insane.

Terrified and confused, she soon encounters a group of other teen survivors battling to stay alive, including Luis, a boy who will become her love...and her lifeline.

Soon Alenna makes the terrifying discovery that there's more to the island (and her past) than she could ever have guessed... But who can she trust? And can she ever escape?

The first of a planned trilogy, this incredible novel will leave you gasping for the sequel...

Another August release I'm really excited about is The Blessed by Tonya Hurley. I love the idea of a contemporary retelling of three famous female martyrs, it's so different from anything else I've read and I can't wait to try it. I also adore the UK cover for this book - let me just say if I didn't already have a tattoo between my shoulder blades I think I'd be getting one done that looked very similar to this cover! Visit Tonya Hurley's website for more information.

Brooklyn teens Lucy, Cecilia and Agnes find themselves in the emergency room at Perpetual Help Hospital at the lowest point in their lives. Lucy, the superficial party girl; Cecilia, a drop out rock chick; and Agnes, a hopeless romantic. All rebels running from their lives and themselves, plagued by broken hearts and broken dreams.

Enter Sebastian: mysterious, compelling, seductive.

He brings the girls together and seems to provide each of them with what they long for ... and they begin to heal.

But Sebastian is on the run - and soon the girls are hunted too ...

A dark, contemporary rock 'n' roll retelling of three famous female martyrs - Agnes, Cecilia and Lucy - and their transformation from street delinquents to soul models.

September the 6th:

If you're a fan of The Secret Circle series created by L.J. Smith then keep an eye out for the fourth book in the series The Divide written by Aubrey Clark. I have to admit that even though I bought the first 3 books way back before I started blogging I've never got around to reading them!

The bonds of the Secret Circle are weakening. Cassie's evil half-sister has surfaced and won't rest until she has taken Cassie's place in the Secret Circle. And a band of powerful witch-hunters are targeting the group, determined to destroy them.

Will the circle remain intact despite the powerfully evil magic that has infiltrated their ring?

And will Cassie survive this ultimate battle between good and evil?




Shut Out by Kody Keplinger sounds like a fun read for contemporary fans. I've heard great things about Kody's debut The DUFF so must add this one to my wish list! Visit Kody Keplinger's website for more information.

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part, Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention.

Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all. She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. And Lissa never sees her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling, coming.
(Description taken from Kody Keplinger's website)

October the 4th:

Now I'm a massive fantasy fan so I'm really excited about Catherine Fisher's new book Obsidian Mirror. Time travel, mystery & adventure with a male main character - what more can you ask for? Visit Catherine Fisher's website for more information.

Jake's father disappears while working on mysterious experiments with the obsessive, reclusive Oberon Venn. Jake is convinced Venn has murdered him. But the truth he finds at the snow-bound Wintercombe Abbey is far stranger ...

The experiments concerned a black mirror, which is a portal to both the past and the future. Venn is not alone in wanting to use its powers. Strangers begin gathering in and around Venn's estate: Sarah - a runaway, who appears out of nowhere and is clearly not what she says, Maskelyne - who claims the mirror was stolen from him in some past century. There are others, a product of the mirror's power to twist time. And a tribe of elemental beings surround this isolated estate, fey, cold, untrustworthy, and filled with hate for humans.

But of them all, Jake is hell-bent on using the mirror to get to the truth. Whatever the cost, he must learn what really happened to his father.

November the 1st:

For those of you who read R.J. Anderson's Ultraviolet you'll be pleased to know you don't have much longer to wait for the sequel Quicksilver. This is another one of those series that I've heard good things about and want to read at some point but haven't got around to adding to my mountainous to read pile yet! Visit R.J. Anderson's website for more information.

Once I was a girl who was special.
Now I am extraordinary.
And they will never stop hunting me.

The compelling follow-up to the bestselling ULTRAVIOLET, this psychological thriller will take your breath away...

I'm sure Vampire Diaries fans will be excited about the third book in The Hunters series created by L.J. Smith - Destiny Rising. I read the original series back before I started blogging & have always meant to re-read them so I can review them but never seem to find the time. One day I'll get around to it so I can read the two new spin off series too!

Elena Gilbert has never been an ordinary teenager. After falling in love with the irresistible vampires Stefan and Damon Salvatore, she became a vampire, died, returned from the dead, and journeyed to hell and back to save Stefan. Now in college, Elena faces a terrifying new danger and discovers her destiny.

I read the first book in Gabriella Poole's Darke Academy series Secret Lives not long after I started blogging (you can read my review here) and although I enjoyed the book it seems to have been one of those series I completely forgot about. With the fourth book Lost Spirits being released in November it really is about time I get caught up! Gabriella Poole is the pseudonym of Gillian Philip and you can find out more about the series by visiting her website here.

A new term, a new location for the Darke Academy - and everything is different for Cassie Bell. The beauty of the turquoise Kenyan sea can't make up for the loss of her soulmate, Ranjit. He's on the run, and Cassie will do anything to find him.

But when the evil Katerina and her mother appear, more powerful than ever, Cassie has to make a crucial decision.

And her love for Ranjit might just be her ultimate weakness ...




Last but not least is another one for Robert Muchamore fans. If you love the CHERUB books and always wanted to know about the history of the organisation then you need to look out for One Shot Kill in November.

Spring, 1943. The war is turning against Germany, but Hitler isn't giving up. In a secret bunker deep in occupied France, scientists are hard at work on Hitler's latest deadly weapon: code name FZG-76.

Back in England Henderson's boys will need to undergo advanced sniper training if they've any chance of infiltrating the bunker. Parachuting into occupied France, they track down a secret dossier filled with invaluable material - and uncover the meaning of the enigmatic code.

For official purposes, these children do not exist.

So what do you think of the Hodder & Orchard upcoming releases? Which ones are you most excited about? Personally I can't wait for A Witch in Love, Anna Dressed in Blood, The Forsaken, The Blessed & Obsidian Mirror!