Review: Last Descendants (Assassin’s Creed #1) by Matthew J. Kirby

Last Descendants by Matthew J. Kirby

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: August 30th, 2016
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 10+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Time-Travel,
Action, Science Fiction

---

BLURB:

Nothing in Owen’s life has been right since his father died in prison, accused of a crime Owen is certain he didn’t commit. Monroe, the IT guy at school, might finally bring Owen the means to clear his father’s name by letting him use an Animus—a device that lets users explore the genetic memories buried within their own DNA. The experience brings Owen more than he bargained for. During a simulation, Owen uncovers the existence of an ancient and powerful relic long considered legend—the Trident of Eden. Now two secret organizations will stop at nothing to take possession of this artifact—the Brotherhood of Assassins and the Templar Order. It soon becomes clear to Owen that the only way to save himself is to find the Trident first.

Under the guidance of Monroe, Owen and a group of other teenagers go into a memory they all share within their DNA: the 1863 Draft Riots in New York City. Owen and his companions will find themselves tested on the gritty streets of New York, and their experiences in the past will have far-reaching consequences in the present.

Review: A Taste for Monsters by Matthew J. Kirby

A Taste for Monsters by Matthew J. Kirby

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: September 27th 2016
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age:13+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Ghosts, Jack the Ripper

---

BLURB:

IT’S LONDON 1888, and Jack the Ripper is terrorizing the people of the city. Evelyn, a young woman disfigured by her dangerous work in a matchstick factory, who has nowhere to go, does not know what to make of her new position as a maid to the Elephant Man in the London Hospital. Evelyn wants to be locked away from the world, like he is, shut in from the filth and dangers of the streets. But in Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, she finds a gentle kindred who does not recoil from her and who understands her pain. When the murders begin, however, Joseph and Evelyn are haunted nightly by the ghosts of the Ripper’s dead, setting Evelyn on a path to facing her fears and uncovering humanity’s worst nightmares.

A Taste for Monsters is a terrifying and haunting tale of the monstrosity of men and the salvation one may find in the unlikeliest places, from Edgar Award–winning author Matthew J. Kirby.