Hello, book addicts! I'm so very excited to be taking part in The Company of Eight's blog tour! I adored this book and I can't wait for children everywhere to experience the Longest World and go on adventures with Cass and her friends! If you like circuses, pirates and adventure, this book is definitely for you! So give my review a little read and then go out and buy yourself a copy!
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The Company of Eight by Harriet Whitehorn
Publisher: Stripes Publishing
Format: ARC**
Published: 3rd May 2018
Number of Pages: 208
Book: For Review*
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Coming-Of-Age, Middle-Grade
Recommended Age: 9+
Contains: Violence, Alcohol References
Author's Site: Harriet Whitehorn
Blurb From Goodreads:
When Ravellous's Circus Ship comes to Minaris, Cass is determined to audition despite her guardian Mrs Potts's disapproval. But when her chance is snatched away from her, Cass refuses to give up. She sets out to follow the Circus Ship and the journey leads her into dangers that challenge even her adventurous spirit. Will she succeed in following her dream, or is her destiny something altogether different?
A beautifully written adventure story for fans of The Girl of Ink and Starsfrom Harriet Whitehorn, award-winning author of the Violet series.
Review:
“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 strong 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?
Star Rating:
4 Out of 5
4 Out of 5
Read this book if you liked:
The Huntress Series by Sarah Driver
The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Happy Reading
Megan
* This book was received from Stripes in exchange for an honest review
** Quotes used are from a proof copy and may have been changed in the finished book
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Previous Stop on The Company of Eight Blog Tour: Chrikaru Reads
Next Stop on the The Company of Eight Blog Tour: Tanya's Allsorts
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Ah, I really hope there is a book two! Everyone, go and read The Company of Eight!