After reading the description for ‘Children of Icarus’ I was both intrigued and excited to read the book. The description does not give much away and it definitely leaves you wanting more. I went into this book with high expectations, sadly I was left a little disappointed.
‘It’s Clara who’s desperate to enter the labyrinth and it’s Clara who’s bright, strong and fearless enough to take on any challenge. It’s no surprise when she’s chosen. But so is the girl who has always lived in her shadow. Together they enter. Within minutes, they are torn apart forever. Now the girl who has never left the city walls must fight to survive in a living nightmare, where one false turn with who to trust means a certain dead end.’
As I said the description give you very little of the storyline of the book and its all very mysterious. If I had to describe ‘Children of Icarus’ I would say its a cross between ‘The Maze Runner’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ with Greek Mythology. I loved both The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games series and I thought that I would love this also. But for me Children of Icarus was too similar to these series rather than standing out on its own. As I was reading the book I couldn’t help that I’ve read something like this before. Some aspects of the story are original and new, but quite a bit will be familiar to people who have read ‘The Maze Runner’.
That’s not to say I found the book repetitive and boring because I didn’t, it did still hold my interest and I did manage to read it all. I liked the characters, especially the main character. I liked the fact that you never found out her name and I thought she was an interesting main character. The world where the nameless girl and Clara came from was an interesting place and it caught my attention at the beginning. I wish there would of been more about the world in the book.
Caighlan Smith’s writing is great for the most of the book but I did find that the quality dipped in places and it made reading the book a little harder. I really liked the concept that Caighlan Smith had for the story, I just wish she had used a little more originality in the plot to make it stand out from other YA books.
Another thing I love about this book is the cover. Its a simple but effective cover. I like the symmetric of the wings and the faces. Also the colours, even though its mostly grey, its still very eye catching and beautiful to look at.
I would still recommend this book because its not a bad book and if you wanted to have a quick book to read one day then I would definitely recommend this. I would just say don’t expect anything new. No matter how interesting and exciting the plot and characters are you will come away thinking you have already read this story before.
I rate this book 3/5 stars
***I was sent a copy of this book by the Publisher to review. Everything in this review is my own honest opinions.***
Mike Reads 