Fleur Ferris

Trigger warnings: Shipwreck, blood depiction, car crash, kidnapping, murder

6/10, looking back at it this was an enjoyable novel but I certainly wouldn't call this "incredible writing" anymore mainly due to the many flaws I now see within this which I'll get to later on and I can't wait to see the other books this author has written like Risk or Black if my library would get them at all. It begins with the main character Tamara working with a news agency and she decides that she would only write good news and she's about to begin her new life graduating from school until something sinister happens and now her entire life is in danger but from whom, I don't know yet but I'll find out soon enough. Interestingly there's another point of view in this story about a family being on a boat in the stormy seas when suddenly it gets wrecked on an island before the events of Tamara and they almost died and I think they've been there for months or years by then until they were rescued eventually. Anyways she tries to find out who's chasing her and it turns out that it was a mysterious rich guy who was after her for reasons I never knew; I liked the ending where Tamara overcomes the antagonist and discovers an important message about telling the truth and fighting for it which wraps this up pretty well, though I would like this even more if it had more depth to the writing style and characters. If you like action packed books pick this one; you might enjoy this.… (mehr)

Ben is sent to spend the holidays with his older cousin Josh and aunty and uncle in a country town. Once there he learns about a decades old feud between his family and another in town over a cache of stolen jewels and a murder. With Josh's help, Ben uses clues from an old diary he finds when clearing out the farmhouse, plus information from the "enemy family" he comes across by accident, to piece together where the jewels may be buried and also the painful truth about his great grandfather's true nature.
Spoilers: The clues lead Ben and Josh to the Hippo enclosure of the local zoo in the dead of night!
This is a different type of book for Ferris and I'm not 100% sure that she has carried it off as well as her previous ones - Risk, Black, etc. The twist at the end stretches credibility as to who the bad guy actually is even with the ubiquitous "gambling debts" explainer, I can't see that character leaving Ben to die.
Interesting that Fleur based the story around Mansfield Zoo in Victoria.… (mehr)

Fleur Ferris is a wonderful YA author and I am thrilled that she is a fellow Aussie. I have read all her novels now, but I think "Found" is my favourite. The author's background as a police officer and a paramedic give her books a feeling of authenticity and I was hooked from the start. By the end of the first chapter the reader is thrown into the middle of the action. The tension, suspense, danger and terror Beth was facing made this a novel hard to put down. The descriptive writing made me feel as though I was right there with Beth, dodging bullets and trying to outwit the killers. The plot did slow somewhat about midway but picked up again near the end, coming to a satisfactory conclusion.

I loved Beth's friends - Willow, Jonah, Warra, Carly and Tent. They were all there for her when things became tough but gave her the space she needed when required. Even though there were guns, violence, swearing and the mention of drugs that might be off-putting for some younger teens, overall, "Found" was an exciting read and would make a great movie."… (mehr)

"Black" was definitely my least favourite novel by this author. It had an interesting premise and I was hoping for an exciting thriller, but it didn't live up to expectations. I felt there was too much telling throughout the novel, especially at the end, which annoyed me and there were too many plot flaws.

I was interested in the cult aspect of "Black" and how the leader, Father Ratchet, had convinced many of the townspeople that Ebony was possessed by a demon. That priest definitely creeped me out.

However, I found the romance forced and unbelievable, especially when the romantic triangle was introduced. They should be banned! I don't think Aiden was a worthy contender. It would have been better if he had only been friends with Ebony. In fact, I'm not sure his character was really necessary.

Ebony (Black) Marshall wasn't a bad protagonist, but she felt much younger than seventeen and she was rather one-dimensional. The other characters were fairly bland as well, and the only one I was interested in was Ed. I couldn't decide if I could trust him or not, which made him interesting.

As for the ending, it was rushed and the explanation at the end wasn't solid enough to be believable.… (mehr)