annarella's review
5.0
I loved Rosemary and The Witches of Pendle Hill and loved this one.
This is a gripping and highly entertaining series, perfect for readers of any age.
Rosemary is a fleshed out characters, a clever and sensible girl I really like.
The world building and the plot are well developed, the characters are fleshed out.
It's an interesting series and it's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
This is a gripping and highly entertaining series, perfect for readers of any age.
Rosemary is a fleshed out characters, a clever and sensible girl I really like.
The world building and the plot are well developed, the characters are fleshed out.
It's an interesting series and it's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
mythandmiddlegrade's review
1.0
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.
1.5 stars. Have to say this was more disappointing than the first read. As with the the first book this story suffers from a lack of explanation and not enough detail.
Characters motivations aren’t clear and every crisis that appears is immediately and easily solved. The intentions of the villain and their sidekick are unclear. What is the sidekick’s motivation? Is the villain a witch too? - this is never explained and they seemingly hate witches but yet use magic themselves.
The setting of Egypt and references to ancient Egypt felt tagged on as an afterthought rather than the core of the plot. The exploration of ancient Egyptian myth was superficial at best and again there was no real explanation of why it was the book of the dead that the villain was settled on. Other than ‘evil beasts’ can be set loose from it.
The 1.5 stars is purely for Gile’s ability to showcase mental health in clear but imagery filed way. The magic in this feels wasted and it seems that perhaps Giles should focus on writing about mental health for children.
1.5 stars. Have to say this was more disappointing than the first read. As with the the first book this story suffers from a lack of explanation and not enough detail.
Characters motivations aren’t clear and every crisis that appears is immediately and easily solved. The intentions of the villain and their sidekick are unclear. What is the sidekick’s motivation? Is the villain a witch too? - this is never explained and they seemingly hate witches but yet use magic themselves.
The setting of Egypt and references to ancient Egypt felt tagged on as an afterthought rather than the core of the plot. The exploration of ancient Egyptian myth was superficial at best and again there was no real explanation of why it was the book of the dead that the villain was settled on. Other than ‘evil beasts’ can be set loose from it.
The 1.5 stars is purely for Gile’s ability to showcase mental health in clear but imagery filed way. The magic in this feels wasted and it seems that perhaps Giles should focus on writing about mental health for children.
bookoholic's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Rosemary and The Book of The Dead is my first story by Samantha Giles. As a kid I loved the Ancient Egypt and I could watch documentaries about it for hours. I was fascinated by pyramids, mummies and hieroglyphs.
When I saw the book cover I was intrigued and when I read the blurb I knew it’s going to be a book for me.
Rosemary, her sister Lois and their friend Adi need to save the world, apparently, again! The Book of The Dead has been stolen from the British Museum. It can be catastrophic if the demons would be unleashed and evil spread to our world. Kids need to be brave and help the witches find the stolen book.
I loved that the story has been focused on the Ancient Egypt, their gods, creatures and culture. I’m certain that children will want to learn more and who knows maybe a future Egyptologist is going to be inspired by the book?
It had a smart ending which is a perfect invitation for the next book and I’m sure I’m going to read it in the future. Well done!
Truly enjoyable adventure, well written with interesting characters. I like the diversity and magical elements.
The only thing which I think could be a bit better was that as I haven’t read the first book, I was a bit overwhelmed with the number of names appearing in the first chapters and I felt that I was really missing the context.
When I saw the book cover I was intrigued and when I read the blurb I knew it’s going to be a book for me.
Rosemary, her sister Lois and their friend Adi need to save the world, apparently, again! The Book of The Dead has been stolen from the British Museum. It can be catastrophic if the demons would be unleashed and evil spread to our world. Kids need to be brave and help the witches find the stolen book.
I loved that the story has been focused on the Ancient Egypt, their gods, creatures and culture. I’m certain that children will want to learn more and who knows maybe a future Egyptologist is going to be inspired by the book?
It had a smart ending which is a perfect invitation for the next book and I’m sure I’m going to read it in the future. Well done!
Truly enjoyable adventure, well written with interesting characters. I like the diversity and magical elements.
The only thing which I think could be a bit better was that as I haven’t read the first book, I was a bit overwhelmed with the number of names appearing in the first chapters and I felt that I was really missing the context.
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