ettegoom's review
2.0
It was rather different to what I was expecting, and I'm not sure whether the girl I bought it for will like it as it's much darker than the cover and blurb suggested. Personally, I found it a good read though. Probably suitable for a 10+ year old reader.
belthornkerrys's review
4.0
I am borrowing an advanced copy from the library at my high school. In return I have to write a review for the librarian.
writingwwolves's review
4.0
This is the first time in weeks that I've been able to read a book cover-to-cover & I'm so pleased it happened to be The Company of Eight. This story was totally different from what I was expecting but was full of wonderful surprises, exciting & daring scenes, & made me laugh more than once. Main character Cass is fabulous, but the world-building is even more so. I cannot wait for the sequel!
I was sent a copy of this book by Stripes Publishing in return for an honest review.
Extended Review: https://wp.me/p8MbIo-2yG
I was sent a copy of this book by Stripes Publishing in return for an honest review.
Extended Review: https://wp.me/p8MbIo-2yG
zoediane's review
3.0
What a wonderful little book. Full of twists and turns and of course, a happy ending - which is awesome! A magical book for younger readers.
makexbelieve's review
5.0
A brilliant fantasy story for age 9 and up!
I was so excited when The Company of Eight arrived (thank you Stripes for sending me a copy to review) - the cover is stunning and I knew from the blurb that this was a story I would love.
Orphan Cass dreams of following in her father's footsteps and becoming a famous acrobat, but when she misses her audition, she fears her dream is slipping through her fingers. In search of a new adventure, Cass set out for the mysterious Island of Women, but her journey there is anything but smooth. Along the way, Cass encounters charismatic lords, fearsome pirates, and expert swordswomen - as well as a few invaluable friends. She also learns about the Company of Eight - a group of women tasked with keeping the Longest World safe.
The Company of Eight was a joy to read, and here are three reasons I loved it:
1) The Company of Eight has a bit of everything: magicians, pirates, slavers, circus acts. There's so much going on, and it makes for an exciting story where each chapter brings something new to discover.
2) The world building is clever and detailed, and I especially loved the maps, both at the start of the book and at the beginning of each chapter. They helped to centre you in the world and emphasised that this is an adventure story, with Cass going to far off places in the Longest World. I also really loved the place names, especially in Minaris (the Square of Disbelievers, the Quay of Thieves, the Mansion of Fortune). They're intriguing, but also easy to picture and understand, which will appeal younger readers.
3) The relationships Cass forms on her journey are important and often unexpected. Old characters reappear in interesting new places, and characters who at first appear to be friends can prove the complete opposite.
I loved reading the Company of Eight and it feels as if there is so much of the Longest World, and Cass's role in it, still to explore, so I'm really looking forward to its sequel, A Conspiracy of Magic.
I was so excited when The Company of Eight arrived (thank you Stripes for sending me a copy to review) - the cover is stunning and I knew from the blurb that this was a story I would love.
Orphan Cass dreams of following in her father's footsteps and becoming a famous acrobat, but when she misses her audition, she fears her dream is slipping through her fingers. In search of a new adventure, Cass set out for the mysterious Island of Women, but her journey there is anything but smooth. Along the way, Cass encounters charismatic lords, fearsome pirates, and expert swordswomen - as well as a few invaluable friends. She also learns about the Company of Eight - a group of women tasked with keeping the Longest World safe.
The Company of Eight was a joy to read, and here are three reasons I loved it:
1) The Company of Eight has a bit of everything: magicians, pirates, slavers, circus acts. There's so much going on, and it makes for an exciting story where each chapter brings something new to discover.
2) The world building is clever and detailed, and I especially loved the maps, both at the start of the book and at the beginning of each chapter. They helped to centre you in the world and emphasised that this is an adventure story, with Cass going to far off places in the Longest World. I also really loved the place names, especially in Minaris (the Square of Disbelievers, the Quay of Thieves, the Mansion of Fortune). They're intriguing, but also easy to picture and understand, which will appeal younger readers.
3) The relationships Cass forms on her journey are important and often unexpected. Old characters reappear in interesting new places, and characters who at first appear to be friends can prove the complete opposite.
I loved reading the Company of Eight and it feels as if there is so much of the Longest World, and Cass's role in it, still to explore, so I'm really looking forward to its sequel, A Conspiracy of Magic.
liesljrowe's review
3.0
There's a lot here to like. Cass is an engaging main character and the worldbuilding was a lot of fun (I mean, there's a Circus boat and a secret organisation of women swordfighters? Sign. Me. Up). But ultimately, it felt like there were too many different stories the author was trying to tell. Voyage of discovery, training in an island paradise, a spying mission, working for the circus...Just as I would start to get into one narrative, the plot would move on and we'd be taken somewhere else. Not to mention how misleading the cover is: the circus portion of the story takes up maybe 20% of the book? A fun enough read and I feel bad for not being able to give it more stars, but I just wish the author had picked one aspect and focused in on that.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
tammie_2207's review
2.0
I was accepted for an early copy of this book by the publisher through NetGalley but that in no way taints my opinion of this book. When I read the premise of 'The Company Of Eight' I found myself very intrigued however the book didn't live up to my expectations and for the majority of this book I really wasn't enjoying it. However there were some points that I entirely enjoyed which I will go into detail about now.
The main thing that kept me going throughout this novel was wanting to see how everything played out for the main character Cass, it kept me engaged all the way through and I have to say that the ending is what really saved this book for me. Another point of the book that I really enjoyed was the feminism. With this book being a middle grade I think it is amazing that Harriet Whitehorn has included so much female empowerment within this novel as it really opens the eyes of younger readers to women's strength and power.
(I also adored the character Rip with my whole heart and he was easily my favourite character.)
However, for the majority of this book I was really disengaged and found myself not enjoying my time reading this book. I will not go into too much detail about the pointers that I didn't like as I don't like to spread negativity but I will just say what I didn't enjoy.
I found that the writing style was very young but it also mixed it in with Victorian style words that made it seem like the author was trying to hard to make the writing older. I understand that it is a middle grade so the writing style can't be too difficult to understand but it just seemed too young for it's intended audience and the Victorian prose was dropped a lot throughout the book and then just brought back randomly. I also found that there was so many different plot points and none of them were ever explained or resolved. This means that we as readers were constantly jumping from scene to scene without any context which lead to the world and the characters not being fleshed out.
Overall, there was some good points in this book and if you are interested in it then you should pick it up and I hope that you enjoy it more than I did.
The main thing that kept me going throughout this novel was wanting to see how everything played out for the main character Cass, it kept me engaged all the way through and I have to say that the ending is what really saved this book for me. Another point of the book that I really enjoyed was the feminism. With this book being a middle grade I think it is amazing that Harriet Whitehorn has included so much female empowerment within this novel as it really opens the eyes of younger readers to women's strength and power.
(I also adored the character Rip with my whole heart and he was easily my favourite character.)
However, for the majority of this book I was really disengaged and found myself not enjoying my time reading this book. I will not go into too much detail about the pointers that I didn't like as I don't like to spread negativity but I will just say what I didn't enjoy.
I found that the writing style was very young but it also mixed it in with Victorian style words that made it seem like the author was trying to hard to make the writing older. I understand that it is a middle grade so the writing style can't be too difficult to understand but it just seemed too young for it's intended audience and the Victorian prose was dropped a lot throughout the book and then just brought back randomly. I also found that there was so many different plot points and none of them were ever explained or resolved. This means that we as readers were constantly jumping from scene to scene without any context which lead to the world and the characters not being fleshed out.
Overall, there was some good points in this book and if you are interested in it then you should pick it up and I hope that you enjoy it more than I did.
k_hewitt's review
3.0
You know, for a children's novel, it was amazingly deep and well written. The characters all had purpose and the story was well developed, with no unnecessary plots or loopholes. It was great and I highly recommend it, especially for it's actual target audience lol
thebookaddictedgirl's review
4.0
“I am afraid I cannot name them all, but overall they were known as Mele’s Sword Fighters or the Company of Eight.
“The Company still survives today, helping those in need and vanquishing evil, as they did in Mele’s time, but these days, it has become an underground organisation and the identity of its eight members is a closely guarded secret.”
All Cass wants to do is get out of the Magical District and join the Circus Boat. She wants to be an acrobat aboard their ship – where her utterly un-magical nature isn’t seen as being weird.
But when she misses her audition, she is forced to re-evaluate, and decides she wishes to spend the next year on the Island of Women until she can try out again.
And when she manages to impress Lord Bastien, the Protector of the Longest World, she decides to travel with him aboard his Palace Ship.
But she soon realises Bastien and his son have ulterior motives – ones Cass is entirely uncomfortable with! Before long, she has become entangled with thieves and slavers... and the Company of Eight, a legendary set of female sword-fighters who could be her only hope...
When I saw Company of Eight on Stripe’s Instagram page, I commented instantly because it sounded and looked brilliant. And when they offered me an ARC to read? Of course I said yes please! I won’t lie, I’ve been so stuck in my YA fantasies lately that getting into this took a little time, but I was soon totally wrapped up in the story! This is the kind of book I would’ve been absolutely obsessed with ten years ago – and one I thoroughly enjoyed today, aged twenty-one. It was magical and exciting and full of adventure and kick-butt women.
Cass was such an awesome character – brave and clever and loyal. While she made a few decisions I didn’t really agree with, I still loved her character. She was great fun and a real role-model (running away aside!) who was never afraid to stand up for herself and went out of her way to help her friends.
I really loved all the supporting characters too! Especially Rip – he was so sweet and just such a good friend! And Elsba was amazing – such a wonderfully strong female! She was just so very badass and so kind.
However, I was not a fan of the pirates or a certain lord. At all. The pirates were just cruel and that lord was just an absolute jerk! I also want to say that even though a lot of the characters weren’t around long, as Cass is often moving around the Longest World, I felt all of them were well developed and different and just good fun! My favourite minor character just had to be Lion – he was adorable.
Ah, this story! It was the perfect amount of thrills, excitement, humour, magic and suspense and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It’s honestly the perfect bedtime story read – only be prepared for a lot of ‘just one more chapter’. I literally finished this book in two sittings (it would have been one, but my friends insisting on badgering me with messages in the middle of my binge read). I was constantly excited and engaged in the plot – I loved the twists, turns, pirates and sword fighters! It was just such a fun read.
And, as I pointed out earlier, I’ve been reading too many adult and YA fantasies lately so the writing did take a little getting used to, since it’s far simpler compared to what I was used to. But it’s engaging and exciting and soon had me within its grip! It’s the perfect level for its intended audiences, although the fairly short chapters are a danger – I literally just kept thinking ‘one more chapter... one more chapter’. And then it was 2a.m and I wanted book two, please. Please tell me there’s going to be a book two! I’m not done with Cass and the Eight yet!
Oh and I really enjoyed this world – I’m so happy the finished book comes with a map! I’m a big map fan. Plus this map is gorgeous – and shows me where all my favourite places in the Longest World are!
This is the perfect book for young readers to read alone or as a bedtime story – it’s fun, exciting and magical. Plus it has acrobats, pirates, Lords and a team of awesome female sword fighters! What isn’t to love?
“The Company still survives today, helping those in need and vanquishing evil, as they did in Mele’s time, but these days, it has become an underground organisation and the identity of its eight members is a closely guarded secret.”
All Cass wants to do is get out of the Magical District and join the Circus Boat. She wants to be an acrobat aboard their ship – where her utterly un-magical nature isn’t seen as being weird.
But when she misses her audition, she is forced to re-evaluate, and decides she wishes to spend the next year on the Island of Women until she can try out again.
And when she manages to impress Lord Bastien, the Protector of the Longest World, she decides to travel with him aboard his Palace Ship.
But she soon realises Bastien and his son have ulterior motives – ones Cass is entirely uncomfortable with! Before long, she has become entangled with thieves and slavers... and the Company of Eight, a legendary set of female sword-fighters who could be her only hope...
When I saw Company of Eight on Stripe’s Instagram page, I commented instantly because it sounded and looked brilliant. And when they offered me an ARC to read? Of course I said yes please! I won’t lie, I’ve been so stuck in my YA fantasies lately that getting into this took a little time, but I was soon totally wrapped up in the story! This is the kind of book I would’ve been absolutely obsessed with ten years ago – and one I thoroughly enjoyed today, aged twenty-one. It was magical and exciting and full of adventure and kick-butt women.
Cass was such an awesome character – brave and clever and loyal. While she made a few decisions I didn’t really agree with, I still loved her character. She was great fun and a real role-model (running away aside!) who was never afraid to stand up for herself and went out of her way to help her friends.
I really loved all the supporting characters too! Especially Rip – he was so sweet and just such a good friend! And Elsba was amazing – such a wonderfully strong female! She was just so very badass and so kind.
However, I was not a fan of the pirates or a certain lord. At all. The pirates were just cruel and that lord was just an absolute jerk! I also want to say that even though a lot of the characters weren’t around long, as Cass is often moving around the Longest World, I felt all of them were well developed and different and just good fun! My favourite minor character just had to be Lion – he was adorable.
Ah, this story! It was the perfect amount of thrills, excitement, humour, magic and suspense and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It’s honestly the perfect bedtime story read – only be prepared for a lot of ‘just one more chapter’. I literally finished this book in two sittings (it would have been one, but my friends insisting on badgering me with messages in the middle of my binge read). I was constantly excited and engaged in the plot – I loved the twists, turns, pirates and sword fighters! It was just such a fun read.
And, as I pointed out earlier, I’ve been reading too many adult and YA fantasies lately so the writing did take a little getting used to, since it’s far simpler compared to what I was used to. But it’s engaging and exciting and soon had me within its grip! It’s the perfect level for its intended audiences, although the fairly short chapters are a danger – I literally just kept thinking ‘one more chapter... one more chapter’. And then it was 2a.m and I wanted book two, please. Please tell me there’s going to be a book two! I’m not done with Cass and the Eight yet!
Oh and I really enjoyed this world – I’m so happy the finished book comes with a map! I’m a big map fan. Plus this map is gorgeous – and shows me where all my favourite places in the Longest World are!
This is the perfect book for young readers to read alone or as a bedtime story – it’s fun, exciting and magical. Plus it has acrobats, pirates, Lords and a team of awesome female sword fighters! What isn’t to love?
tammie's review
2.0
I was accepted for an early copy of this book by the publisher through NetGalley but that in no way taints my opinion of this book. When I read the premise of 'The Company Of Eight' I found myself very intrigued however the book didn't live up to my expectations and for the majority of this book I really wasn't enjoying it. However there were some points that I entirely enjoyed which I will go into detail about now.
The main thing that kept me going throughout this novel was wanting to see how everything played out for the main character Cass, it kept me engaged all the way through and I have to say that the ending is what really saved this book for me. Another point of the book that I really enjoyed was the feminism. With this book being a middle grade I think it is amazing that Harriet Whitehorn has included so much female empowerment within this novel as it really opens the eyes of younger readers to women's strength and power.
(I also adored the character Rip with my whole heart and he was easily my favourite character.)
However, for the majority of this book I was really disengaged and found myself not enjoying my time reading this book. I will not go into too much detail about the pointers that I didn't like as I don't like to spread negativity but I will just say what I didn't enjoy.
I found that the writing style was very young but it also mixed it in with Victorian style words that made it seem like the author was trying to hard to make the writing older. I understand that it is a middle grade so the writing style can't be too difficult to understand but it just seemed too young for it's intended audience and the Victorian prose was dropped a lot throughout the book and then just brought back randomly. I also found that there was so many different plot points and none of them were ever explained or resolved. This means that we as readers were constantly jumping from scene to scene without any context which lead to the world and the characters not being fleshed out.
Overall, there was some good points in this book and if you are interested in it then you should pick it up and I hope that you enjoy it more than I did.
The main thing that kept me going throughout this novel was wanting to see how everything played out for the main character Cass, it kept me engaged all the way through and I have to say that the ending is what really saved this book for me. Another point of the book that I really enjoyed was the feminism. With this book being a middle grade I think it is amazing that Harriet Whitehorn has included so much female empowerment within this novel as it really opens the eyes of younger readers to women's strength and power.
(I also adored the character Rip with my whole heart and he was easily my favourite character.)
However, for the majority of this book I was really disengaged and found myself not enjoying my time reading this book. I will not go into too much detail about the pointers that I didn't like as I don't like to spread negativity but I will just say what I didn't enjoy.
I found that the writing style was very young but it also mixed it in with Victorian style words that made it seem like the author was trying to hard to make the writing older. I understand that it is a middle grade so the writing style can't be too difficult to understand but it just seemed too young for it's intended audience and the Victorian prose was dropped a lot throughout the book and then just brought back randomly. I also found that there was so many different plot points and none of them were ever explained or resolved. This means that we as readers were constantly jumping from scene to scene without any context which lead to the world and the characters not being fleshed out.
Overall, there was some good points in this book and if you are interested in it then you should pick it up and I hope that you enjoy it more than I did.