Showing posts with label Litmus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Litmus. 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.