Realm of the Sapphired Dragon: The Wells Bequest

Title: The Wells Bequest (The Grimm Legacy #2)

Author: Polly Schulman
Published: 5 September 2013 by Oxford University Press (First Published 13 June 2013)
Source: Book Depository
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: ****

My Review:

I really enjoyed this read. What I particularly liked about it was that it was an fun, light and fast read. It didn't take itself too seriously but at the same time had an entertaining plot and fun characters and time travel.

The Wells bequest is the companion novel to The Grimm Legacy, a novel which I first read a couple years ago. When I finished it, I found out there was to be this novel coming out however its taken me a couple of years to find it. So I was greatly looking forward to treading it when it arrived.

It is probably more of a middle grade to younger YA novel but that still didn't stop it being an entertaining read. Leo Novikov comes from a family of scientists but feels like he has never quite lived up to his family name. After he sees himself 6 inches high and travelling in a time machine with a beautiful girl, he finds out about the New York Circulating Material Repository whilst working on a Science fair project and everything changes.

Whilst The Grimm Legacy was more about fairy tales and the objects from them come to life, this books dwells mostly in the realm of Science Fiction, dealing with, as it's name suggests, the writing of HG wells and well as mentioning objects from the writings of Jules Verne, Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain.

As I often mention, I love stories about time travel which this has in abundance along with all the time travel paradox discussion that goes with it along with the literary philosophy of fiction and magic working in the real world. However this is never more than a play and it never delves too deeply other than giving just enough to move the plot line at all without going into huge explanations.

The story line is fairly straightforward, with not too much subplot bringing the reader in with its easy style and providing enough twists along the way to make it an enjoyable and quick read.

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to have certain items of fiction available in the real world and would like to read about them in a light, entertaining setting then this is the read for you.

I give this novel 4 stars.

Sapphired Dragon xx

About The Book:

It was an evening like any other for Leo Novikov. That is until a miniature version of himself appears before his eyes . . . from the future! Not only that, he's riding on some kind of weird machine, with his arms wrapped around the hottest girl he's ever laid eyes on!

He heads off to the New York Circulating Material Repository to do some research and meets Jaya, the girl from the future. Together they embark on a dangerous mission to save New York City . . . a mission that will take them to the other side of the world, and to the other side of time.

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Welcome to Stacking The Shelves! Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga Reviews and is a meme to share those books, both print and e-book, that have been added to your shelves in the last week/s.

This week was a nice little week for books. Blogwise I started the week off well however real life intervened later in the week so i didn't get as many posts out as I planned. However I have gotten a good start on a couple of review books I have to read and look forward to getting those reviews out ASAP

Review (Ebooks - Random House via netgalley)

Seeker (Seeker #1) by Arwen Elys Dayton

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The night Quin Kincaid takes her Oath, she will become what she has trained to be her entire life. She will become a Seeker. This is her legacy, and it is an honor. As a Seeker, Quin will fight beside her two closest companions, Shinobu and John, to protect the weak and the wronged. Together they will stand for light in a shadowy world. And she'll be with the boy she loves--who's also her best friend.
But the night Quin takes her Oath, everything changes. Being a Seeker is not what she thought. Her family is not what she thought. Even the boy she loves is not who she thought.
And now it's too late to walk away.

Purchased (Print Books):

I read the first book in the Grimm Legacy series a few years ago, before this one had been published. After waiting for it to finally be published, it then took me another year or so to find it. I ordered it shortly before Christmas and it finally arrived this week so very much looking forward to reading :-)

The Wells Bequest (The Grimm Legacy #2) by Polly Shulman
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Leo never imagined that time travel might really be possible, or that the objects in H. G. Wells’ science fiction novels might actually exist. And when a miniature time machine appears in Leo’s bedroom, he has no idea who the tiny, beautiful girl is riding it. But in the few moments before it vanishes, returning to wherever—and whenever—it came from, he recognizes the other tiny rider: himself!
His search for the time machine, the girl, and his fate leads him to the New-York Circulating Material Repository, a magical library that lends out objects instead of books. Hidden away in the Repository basement is the Wells Bequest, a secret collection of powerful objects straight out of classic science fiction novels: robots, rockets, submarines, a shrink ray—and one very famous time machine. And when Leo’s adventure of a lifetime suddenly turns deadly, he must attempt a journey to 1895 to warn real-life scientist Nikola Tesla about a dangerous invention. A race for time is on!
In this grand time-travel adventure full of paradoxes and humor, Polly Shulman gives readers a taste of how fascinating science can be, deftly blending classic science fiction elements with the contemporary fantasy world readers fell in love with in The Grimm Legacy.

This next book I bought for my local book club as we are reading it as our January/February book. You can't really go wrong with a Jodi Picoult read so i am expecting to enjoy this one :-)

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
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Alice Metcalf was a devoted mother, loving wife and accomplished scientist who studied grief among elephants. Yet it's been a decade since she disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind her small daughter, husband, and the animals to which she devoted her life. All signs point to abandonment - or worse.

Still Jenna - now thirteen years old and truly orphaned by a father maddened by grief - steadfastly refuses to believe in her mother's desertion. So she decides to approach the two people who might still be able to help her find Alice: a disgraced psychic named Serenity Jones, and Virgil Stanhope, the cynical detective who first investigated her mother's disappearance and the strange, possibly linked death of one of her WC mother's coworkers.

Together these three lonely souls will discover truths destined to forever change their lives. Deeply moving and suspenseful, Jodi Picoult's 21st novel is a radiant exploration of the enduring love between mothers and daughters.

Purchased (Ebooks):

I already have The Selection series in paperback but book 1 is free on Australian Ibooks this week so I couldn't resist getting an e-copy also :-)

The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass
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For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

I have been meaning to get this one for a while now but always seemed to forget about when i was doing my book buying. However i still managed to have some credit on itunes left over from Christmas when i remembered this one. It will probably be my next read

Night School (Night School #1) by C J Daugherty
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Allie Sheridan’s world is falling apart. Her brother’s run away from home. Her parents ignore her. And she’s just been arrested.

Again.

This time her parents have had enough. They cut her off from her friends and send her away to boarding school, far from her London friends.

But at Cimmeria Academy, Allie is soon caught up in the strange activities of a secret group of elite students.

When she’s attacked late one night the incident sets off a chain of increasingly violent events. As the school begins to seem like a very dangerous place, she finds out that nothing at Cimmeria is what it seems to be.

And that she is not who she thought she was.