Month: March 2019

TBR

April TBR

by amyleighreads2 Comments on April TBR

This month I’m focusing on continuing on in the series I’ve started and also getting into more of the books that I have had on my TBR for a while now! Super excited to be finally getting to some of these books and I look forward to a great reading month! 🙂

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

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Sightwitch & Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard

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Circe by Madeline Miller

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The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

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The Exiled Queen & The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima

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The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

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The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Choksi

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A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

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Book vs. Movie

📚Book vs. TV Series 📺

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on 📚Book vs. TV Series 📺

This month instead of doing a book vs. movie I thought what about book vs. TV show? Nowadays a lot of books are getting adapted into TV Shows, the Six of Crows duology being one I am super excited to see when it comes out. Another super popular one is of course Game of Thrones and The Handmaid’s Tale which, as I just finished the book a few days ago I thought would be a good one to start with! It’s interesting because I actually marathoned the series with my mum in January so I watched the series before I read the book. The 3rd season is coming out in April and I am very excited to get back into the world and see what happens next!

So with all that being said these are my thoughts on The Handmaid’s Tale:

Pros: Offred’s commentary is actually really witty and realistic. You can really see how oppressed she has become but she still kind of maintains her originality. The first season is pretty much an exact replica of the book which I like. I’m not a huge fan of veering so far away from the original concept that you can’t recognise the plot. But the show also expanded on the story and gave us so much more information, which I really enjoyed!

Cons: The book was actually pretty short, so it didn’t really give me enough time to connect with the characters or get really settled into the plot. It jumps from past and present a lot and the pacing was a little on the slower side. In the TV Show they made a lot of the characters younger than what they are in the book. I appreciate they are trying to reach a certain audience but I feel like it would have been more effective had they left them with their original ages. It would make sense that they would need the Handmaid’s if the characters were on the older side.

Overall thoughts: The premise is super interesting but the book was a little boring. In the TV Show they took the original plot on board but expanded so much more of the world and went more in depth with the characters and their motivations.

My Recommendation: It really goes against everything I stand for, but I am going to have to say the TV Show. You just get so much more information about the world and the characters and we see a continuation of their storylines. The ending of the book is just so abrupt and left me wondering so it’s nice to see what happens after the story finished.

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Updates

⚡️Harry Potter Update⚡️

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on ⚡️Harry Potter Update⚡️

IMG_3375 copyI am kind of procrastinating on this series now… I was sooo excited getting back into it again, rereading all the books and immersing myself back into the world of Harry Potter. But unfortunately the Order of the Phoenix just isn’t one of my favourites so it took me a little bit of time to pick it up. Granted it is still incredibly vital to the overall story and adds so much substance to the plot but the ending just kills me every time! I’m trying to go into it without any bias and see if I discover anything more out of the story that I would otherwise overlook because of my feeling towards this book and I will definitely keep you updated once I finish it, which should be by the end of this month!

Happy Reading📚

 

Reviews

The Demon King Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on The Demon King Review

51pw2+dye+l__sx331_bo1,204,203,200_This was fantastic!

We follow multiple perspectives in this series. Han is a reformed thief and is struggling to put food on the table for his mother and younger sister. Raisa is princess heir to the throne, who has just returned to court after 3 years being fostered in the mountain clans.

I loved these characters!!! They are all so different and distinctive and multifaceted. Han in particular I really enjoyed. You can really see his commitment to his sister through every action that he takes. He has given up being the street lord of the Raffers and is trying his hardest to stay out of the streets and their grudges. I found him to be quite a refreshing male protagonist. He is very sure of himself when he is navigating the streets and when he has to get out of a fight, but when it comes to choosing what he wants to do in the future, he is coming up short. Everyone else seems to be on the right path but what is his path?

I appreciated Raisa’s character but she still kind of got on my nerves a little in this book, very naïve and a little manipulative to be honest. She was always saying that she wants to be informed with what’s going on in the kingdom and doesn’t want to be a glittering ornament in a cage, but when she knew something was happening or something wasn’t right she never acted on it. Right at the start when they nearly got caught in the fire the wolves appeared to warn her and she had a feeling something bad was going to happen but she never said anything. Then right at the end when he mother summoned her she knew something bad was going to happen but just walked right into it. That really frustrated me, but I still understand that it helped to drive the plot forward I only hope she evolves in the coming books.

I love the fact that every single character has a purpose in the book, and they all have a particular story or plotline that keeps them relevant. Also the different settings in the book kept me interested in the plot. I love the Clan and their way of life, I found myself really intrigued by their magical abilities and their status within the kingdom.

The pacing was very well done and the writing was very engaging. I found I couldn’t put the book down once I started! This really has everything that I love about fantasy, a unique premise, an intriguing plotline and dynamic characters. I have a good feeling about this series and I really hope the next books live up to my expectations!!

⭐️5/5 LOVED IT!

Reviews

The Handmaid’s Tale Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on The Handmaid’s Tale Review

9781784708238I’m having mixed emotions…

We follow the story of a woman named Offred. She is a Handmaid in the newly established Republic of Gilead. It’s set in I would say the not too distant future, where a declining birth rate has forced a coup of the American government and Gilead was formed. Handmaids are assigned to a Commander and their sole purpose is to once a month have a special ‘ceremony’ with the commander and his wife and have their baby for them.

If I had not seen TV show first I think I would have been very confused by this book. There isn’t quite a set structure to it. We read solely from Offred’s point of view however, it jumps quite a lot from past to present and their isn’t a whole lot of information given about what is happening.

I love Offred’s commentary though. I found her to be very antagonistic without trying to be if that makes sense. She does her due diligence and she doesn’t complain outright to anyone but from her tone and the way she expresses herself you can tell that she yearns for her old life.

I was left feeling quite unfulfilled with this book. The ending was quite abrupt and didn’t really wrap anything up or answered any questions. In a way I guess it maintains the narrative that in this world you don’t get any answers and you just have to kind of accept that this is how life is now.

I think what I didn’t really enjoy about the book was that everything happened too quickly. They moved from scene to scene and didn’t really delve too deep into the world. Had the book had maybe another 100 pages or so I think I may have been able to form more of a connection to the characters and been more settled in the plot.

The foundations are there but I feel like so much more could have been done with this premise. It was a little too bleak for me personally and there wasn’t enough action or intrigue to keep me invested enough.

⭐️3/5 Premise was interesting and unique, the book wasn’t.