Showing posts with label Kayla Howarth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kayla Howarth. Show all posts

Sunday 26 March 2017

Protecting William (Litmus book 2) by Kayla Howarth

A writer never stops, not even on holiday in Milan. Hope this fine Italian city will inspire me to write, however the weather is not very inspiring and the grey and wet day is more suitable for curling up with a good book. Talking of good books, just finished Protecting William, which is the second book in the Litmus series. (I reviewed Losing Nuka a few months ago) I liked this one a lot and gave it five stars.
Protecting William by Kayla Howarth on amazon.com

Of all the illegal fight joints, William had to walk into Litmus.  It’s not how either Nuka or William had hoped to see each other again after four years. What started out as a sneaky lad’s night out has consequences no one could have foreseen. So starts the next instalment in the exciting Litmus series. I was hooked from the first page and grew to like the main character, William, Nuka’s younger brother, very much. He is one of these good guys, but without being smug or annoying by being a holier than thou saint. If you’ve not read the institute series I would recommend you do, as the same characters feature in the Litmus series and it is nice to see them have grown up in the books. The book is narrated in the first person so we see the world through William’s eyes. It’s always a hoot to be part of somebodies thoughts and insecurities, especially if they are the opposite of the actions he takes. Great work again Kayla, I loved protecting William. (And I’m glad you went easier on him than Nuka, I guess you have a soft spot for him too.) Look forwards to reading saving Illyana which came out a few months ago.

Tuesday 13 September 2016

Losing Nuka (Litmus Book 1) by Kayla Howarth

One of the lovely things about being part of a writers group (IASD) is to share our experiences. Being it our highs or lows, other writers sharing help us connect better with the world. A few years ago I would not have considered blogging and engaging on other social media. Kayla Howarth is one of the success stories coming out of our group. She must be very hard working as I see her name popping up everywhere and her books are now getting the attention they deserve. She has taken the brave step to concentrate fully on her writing and I think it is paying off. Book 2 in the Litmus series has just been released and I thought it was high time to see what Kayla has been doing with her time. I enjoyed the Institute series so I knew it was not going to be a chore. I'm glad I found this a five star read too.
Losing Nuka (Litmus book 1) by kayla Howarth on Amazon.com

Losing Nuka is the spin off from the Institute series, of which I devoured the first 3 books. First the good news; Allira married Jayce and had a baby together (yeah!). The couple live happily together in the suburbs with Nuka, William and their daughter Illyana. Now the bad news; time has moved on from the end of the last book and the little six year old Nuka is now a stroppy 18 year old teenager. She knows Allira isn’t her real mother but when she starts digging into her back ground she discovers that a lot of things were hidden from her; including who her birth mother is. From here on the book could be carrying the tag line: Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true. Nuka blunders into the world as only stroppy teenagers can and starts looking for her biological mum. Her privileged back ground does not prepare her for the underground world of illegal fights (Litmus) and all other sorts of shenanigans her biological mother is involved in.
The style of this book will be familiar to Kyla’s fans. We see the world from the perspective of the main character; Nuka. We experience her love, pain and doubts first hand. We might not have great sympathy at the start for this girl but as we experience her growth as a woman so directly, we certainly have a few chapters in. The dialogue is again sharp and packed with humour. Especially when Nuka and her love interest Brett are sparring it out. There are some good characters here and the action comes thick and fast. I found myself rubbing my rib cage as I joined Nuka on her journey into the belly of Litmus and she had her ass handed to her after a rough fight. Great stuff Ms Howarth. It would be better to read the institute series first as this is a continuation of the story, but I think you would have no problem reading this book as a stand-alone. Most of the returning characters are explained just not in great detail. Looking forwards to Saving William, the next in the Litmus series.

Saturday 26 September 2015

Defective (The Institute Series Book 3) by Kayla Howarth

I already reviewed the first two in this series and it is a pleasure to now do the third. This Australian YA writer is a cut above the rest and her books are fun to read. Even though the pace in this book is a bit slower, it still kept my attention and I'm happy to give the third in the series 5 stars too.
Defective (The Institute Series Book 3) by Kayla Howarth on Amazon

I hugely enjoyed book one and two in this series, so I eagerly awaited the third instalment; Defective. We find Allira two years on from the end of the second book. She is working with her aunt in a clinic, helping defective patients who increasingly find themselves the victims of hate crimes. Allira is wracked with guilt that overthrow of the institute didn’t lead to greater tolerance; instead it left defectives vulnerable to attacks. Two years later she is also still mourning the death of her boyfriend Chad. She has agreed to live with Paxton James and his daughter Nuka, once things became difficult at home; her grieving has pushed the once closest to her away. Paxton is running for president and Allira agrees to play his ‘girlfriend’ in order to help his campaign. Life for Allira is shaping up to be all about duty, until tall handsome psychology student Jayce walks into the clinic. The pace of this book is initially a bit slow as Allira struggles with duty versus what she really wants, but then things hot up as the past is catching up with her and she realises what she thought was the truth proves to be otherwise. There are a good few surprises towards the end of the book, and the final chapter sets it up nicely for a sequel. Judging by the ending, book four I imagine, will have a few comedy moments. I think Jayce is one of Kayla Howarth's best characters yet. He is comfortable leaving all the heroics and ass-kicking to Allira and sister Jenna, just providing moral support and a shapely shoulder to cry on. Who needs a hero when you are perfectly able to kick any ones butt? I’m happy she has found the brains to her brawn.

Friday 27 March 2015

The Institute by Kayla Howarth

This week I've been reading young adult science fiction. This one was a bit different from the rest as it was well written and had plenty of action. I might be getting a bit to old to read about angst ridden teenagers but I certainly recommend this to a younger audience.

The Institute by Kayla Howarth


In a future where the population has been decimated by disease and a nuclear explosion, some humans have come to possess special powers. The authorities deem these people to be defective and have started to round them up and place them in The Institute to be cured of their dangerous abilities.
Allira Daniels lives with her father and ‘defective’ brother Shiloh. They move around a lot and Allira has perfected living her life being almost invisible. Then one night she helps two car crash victims and everything changes.
Kayla Howarth is on familiar territory with a dystopian society where being different is not tolerated, but what makes this such an entertaining read is the main character Allira. She struggles with putting herself before others, harbouring a secret while falling in love for the first time. She is narrating the story and we experience her thoughts, fears and insecurities first hand. Her love life is complicated to say the least which leads at times to hilarious situations. She is a sympathetic character I could easily relate to. The story moves at a quick pace and I was glued to my kindle for hours at the time. There is plenty of action and a great ending that sets the book up for the sequel.
What I liked about the book is that even though it is set in the future, it still is a society we easily recognise. People still ride the train and use telephones which made this story easy to follow and relate to. The characters are well drawn out and believable. I certainly look forwards to reading the sequel.