The Rook
“The body you are wearing used to be mine.” So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her. She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own. In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.
Stars: 4.5/5
Stiletto (Advanced Readers Copy Expected publication: June 14th 2016)
When secret organizations are forced to merge after years of enmity and bloodshed, only one person has the fearsome powers—and the bureaucratic finesse—to get the job done. Facing her greatest challenge yet, Rook Myfanwy Thomas must broker a deal between two bitter adversaries: The Checquy—the centuries-old covert British organization that protects society from supernatural threats, and… The Grafters—a centuries-old supernatural threat. But as bizarre attacks sweep London, threatening to sabotage negotiations, old hatreds flare. Surrounded by spies, only the Rook and two women, who absolutely hate each other, can seek out the culprits before they trigger a devastating otherworldly war.
Stars: 4/5
I have actually had The Rook sitting in my nook for some time. When I first read about the book I was intrigued and then awhile back Barnes and Noble had it discounted so I bought it, but somehow I never got around to reading it. Then about a month ago I had finished a few other books and was still pretty far down on the waitlist for the library books I was waiting on so I decided to give The Rook a go. I’m so glad I did. The first few chapters are a bit rough since you know only what the main character does, which isn’t much since she has amnesia, and it’s a bit like reading about split personalities. Also, it’s the authors debut book and the first few chapters read that way until he finally finds his style that works for him. Eventually you get used too it and things start to come together. Once I finally got into the story I was completely hooked. I loved the plot and the world O’Malley created, a world within our world. You get to know both Myfawny’s. At first you kind of wish the old Myfawny would come back because how fair is it you lose all your memories and come too as a totally different person, but as you get to know the old Myfawny through her letters to the new Myfawny you start hoping old Myfawny stays gone (well that’s how I felt anyway.) As you go deeper and deeper into the world of the Checquy you never know whats going to happen and that is one of the things I truly loved about this book, not only are the characters and the plot interesting but it keeps you constantly guessing as to what is going to happen next. As soon as I finished The Rook I was desperate to get my hands on book 2 only to find out it wouldn’t be released until June. I logged onto my advanced reapers sites and I was lucky enough to find it on one of them, I was still anxious though because they had to approve me still, but a few days later I got the approval and immediately started reading Stiletto. Stiletto is only partly from Myfawny’s point of view. Instead we get most of the point of view from one of the female Pawns and from a female Grafters. I wish we had more from Myfawny, but I get why this had to have multiple view points. I’m hoping book 3 will have more from Myfawny, I’m also hoping there is a book 3. I don’t want to say too much about Stiletto as it will give away some of what happens in The Rook. In The Rook you get to know the dealings and workings of the Checquy, while Stiletto focuses mostly on the Grafters organization. Both are definitely worth reading, but The Rook is still my favorite of the 2 so far. Please, please, please let there be more books in this series!
reading7mandy 