Title: December (Conspiracy 365 #12)
Author: Gabrielle Lord
Published: December, 2010 by Scholastic
Pages: 181
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

On New Year’s Eve, Callum Ormond is chased down the street by a crazed man with a deadly warning: They killed your father. They’ll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days! Cal has one month to go, but the secrets are mounting higher and time is not on his side. The answers lie hidden thousands of miles away, but with friends and family at his side, Cal’s determined to reveal the truth or die trying …

Final Thoughts:
I finally made it to the end of this twelve-book series. There’s still Revenge, the epilogue book, but as for the main plotline of the series, everything has been pretty much wrapped up. Being so short, I whipped my way through these last three instalments at the same time, hence the lack of a review for the previous two months. October had some cool spy tricks as they attempted a bank heist, and also gave us some more info on Winter’s story, but again, didn’t move the plot a whole lot for Callum. November was just as bad at progressing things—the only thing memorable in that book was the revelation behind Callum’s double—and again, that wasn’t much of a shocker. December made up for its predecessors’ shortcomings, packing the gang up and sending them off towards a twist-riddled, action-full finale.

Title: September (Conspiracy 365 #9)
Author: Gabrielle Lord
Published: September, 2010 by Scholastic
Pages: 181
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

On New Year’s Eve, Cal is chased down the street by a staggering, sick man with a deadly warning…”They killed your father. They’ll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days. Hurled into a life on the run the 15-year-old fugitive is isolated and alone.

Final Thoughts:
These books are so short, so I thought I’d leave the reviewing until I got through a chunk of them. I’ve just read June through September over the past week, diving into them, hoping for some new discoveries, understanding the clues that have been dropped so far, and finally getting some closure. Being the middle of the series, we didn’t get too much of that. Instead, these books sought to develop the friendship between Cal, Boges and the mysterious girl, Winter. There are trust issues brought into it, and lots of betrayals that definitely warranted that scepticism. Reading them back to back like this, it’s easy to see how formulaic these books are. Each one begins with a quick resolution of whatever cliffhanger had proceeded it, leaving Callum scrambling to pull things back together, then another month of running around, looking for clues, leading up to another catastrophe that just happens to fall on the final day of each month.

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Conspiracy 365: June by Gabrielle Lord (library)
• Conspiracy 365: July by Gabrielle Lord (library)
• Conspiracy 365: August by Gabrielle Lord (library)
• Conspiracy 365: September by Gabrielle Lord (library)
• Touch Of Power by Maria V Snyder (won)
• Article 5 by Kristen Simmons (purchased)
• The Hunters: Moonsong by L.J. Smith (purchased)
• Erebos by Ursula Poznanski (purchased)
• Illusions by Aprilynne Pike (purchased)

Firstly, thanks to Kylie from Talking Teacup for my copy of Touch Of Power. I still haven’t read any of Maria’s books, but I will get around to it eventually. It’s been about a year since I read the first five books in the Conspiracy 365 series. They’re short, and fun, and now that it’s a tv show, I thought I’d get back to them with the next four. The other books were all random purchases I made when browsing Big W’s YA section. I probably didn’t need to get them right now since I’ve already got heaps I’m behind on, but I don’t like leaving shops empty handed. Feels like a waste of a trip. I’m still pretty busy at the moment, but I’ve almost finished helping my parents move house. Also, I probably won’t have an IMM next weekend as I’m heading down to Melbourne for a few days.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Alderson, Sarah Fated #1, Fated
Arvin, Eric, Galley Proof

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!

Title: May (Conspiracy 365 #5)
Author: Gabrielle Lord
Published: May, 2010 by Scholastic
Pages: 181
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

On New Year’s Eve, Callum Ormond is chased down the street by a crazed man with a deadly warning: They killed your father. They’ll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days! Cal has hit rock bottom. He’s lost the only clues he had to the Ormond Singularity: the family secret that’s turned his life into a nightmare. And now, trapped in a high-security prison for the insane, he’s lost his identity too. Against all the odds, he must escape and carry on his father’s quest for the truth – but how? Nobody knows where he is, and no one can hear him scream. He has 245 days. His life is on the line …

Final Thoughts:
Probably the best so far in the series, plot movement wise. A bit of a shake up from the usual I’d come to expect during the first four books. Let’s just say, if you don’t like reading about sane people stuck in mental asylums, you are sure to be frustrated.

Title: April (Conspiracy 365 #4)
Author: Gabrielle Lord
Published: April, 2010 by Scholastic
Pages: 181
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

On New Year’s Eve, Callum Ormond is chased down the street by a crazed man with a deadly warning: They killed your father. They’ll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days! Stranded in the middle of nowhere, terrified and alone, Cal is on the run. Somehow he must make sense of his father’s mysterious drawings and solve a family secret from the past: the Ormond Singularity. But first he has to dodge the police and thugs who are closing in on him, and save his sister’s life. He has 275 days. His world is falling apart…

Final Thoughts:
The mystery is slowly unfolding, but there is still plenty to keep you guessing. More enjoyable than the previous books and with an ending like this one, it has me excited for more to come.

Title: March (Conspiracy 365 #3)
Author: Gabrielle Lord
Published: March, 2010 by Scholastic
Pages: 181
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

On New Year’s Eve, Cal is chased down the street by a crazed man with a deadly warning: They killed your father. They’ll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days! Now everyone’s searching for Cal, the psycho kid who’s meant to have attacked his uncle and put his sister in a coma. He’s desperate to clear his name and protect his family, but he also has less than a year to solve an ancient family secret: the Ormond Singularity. And the closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous his life becomes. He has 306 days. The threat is growing…

Final Thoughts:
The story is still building its web. Mystery, action and the strength of friendship. Fun light reading.

Title: February (Conspiracy 365 #2)
Author: Gabrielle Lord
Published: February, 2010 by Scholastic
Pages: 183
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

On New Year’s Eve, Callum Ormond is chased down the street by a crazed man with a deadly warning: They killed your father. They’ll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days! Now he’s on the run. The people who killed his father want him dead, and the police are chasing him for a crime he didn’t commit. A month has gone by and he’s still no nearer to solving the Ormond Riddle, the family secret that has turned his life into a nightmare. Can he trust the mysterious Winter Frey, or will she lead him further into danger? He has 334 days. The clock is ticking…

Final Thoughts:
A quick afternoon read with lots of suspense. Only lessened by the fact that there are 10 more books therefore the main character isn’t going to be bumped off just yet.