Fav Fantasy Stand Alones

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is a genre freebie so I though I would do an update of a post I did around this time last year which is my favourite fantasy stand alones! I love stand alone fantasy books and I feel now-a-days they are quite rare to come across, as there are mostly series or duologies in this genre. 

These are 5 more of my Fav Fantasy Stand Alones:

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho I loved the lore and the legends woven into the storyline. The tales of the previous Gumiho’s and how the correlate back to Miyoung was fascinating. The Korean culture was another factor I really enjoyed reading about. It definitely made the experience more interesting and unique.

42133479._SX318_

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant – This book really had me on the edge of my seat. Mira Grant definitely didn’t shy away from making this very dark and killing off the characters when it suited the plot.

34523174

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson – The whole premise and concept of the book was really refreshing and original to me. I liked the build up of mystery and the many twists and turns the plot goes through. I world was rich with culture and I just loved that it’s based around these great libraries. 

43358884._SY475_

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young – The plot of the book was quite simple but I was so engaged and entertained that it was easily overlooked! It was fast paced, rich with lore and culture and I loved the Viking aspect I thought it was fresh and original, unlike anything I’ve read in a very long time.

34726469

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody – There was a real sense of urgency and suspense woven throughout the story line which kept me highly engaged in the book. The stakes were always at an all-time high and trying to figure out who was behind everything was very entertaining!

30237061

Crystal Storm Review

23367261Wild!

Once again we are continuing straight off where Frozen Tides concluded. Magnus and Cleo have decided to accompany King Gais to visit his mother who was thought to be dead. Jonas, Felix, Nic and Taran are sailing back to Paelsia along with Prince Ashur who was also thought to be dead.

So Lucia is warming up to me now. I like that we see her acknowledge all of her wrongdoings not only to Timotheus but to Jonas as well. Saying she deserves to die for all of the pain and devastation she has caused around Paelsia. I think her discovering she is pregnant really made her stop and think about what she was actually doing and why. I still think she is quite selfish and arrogant but that is really a cause of her upbringing, I just hope we see her mature and gain a little bit more humility in the upcoming conclusion.

Magnus and Cleo didn’t have enough moments together for me. We still see them continue to keep secrets from one another, which is causing issues in their relationship. I didn’t like the fact Cleo won’t open up to everyone and let them know she loves Magnus, I just think it shows she’s a little ashamed of her emotions and doesn’t want her friends to hate her. I think sure they might be a little disappointed, Nic in particular but if they really love her as much as they claim to, they would get over it. I enjoyed that we see Magnus be a little insecure and jealous of Cleo’s friendship with the other rebels, Jonas in particular. I just wish he would communicate his feelings to Cleo more openly instead of bottling them up.

I liked the inclusion of Selia into the plot. I thought she was intriguing and interesting characters. I loved her interactions with Cleo and I thought her devotion to her son was quite relatable, even though he’s this horrible person. When her real motives are finally revealed it was definitely a twist that I didn’t see coming!

This book was a little more stagnant compared to the previous books. The pacing is still quite fast and there are many twists and revelations that keep you invested and entertained. For a good chunk of the story all of the characters are in one place. I like that the story has kind of been centralised and all of the main players have come together and we see some of the schemes and plans come to fruition.

⭐️5/5 Ugh, they just keep getting better!

Assassin’s Quest Review

assassin-s-quest-the-farseer-trilogy-book-3King Shrewd is dead at the hands of his son Regal. As is Fitz or so his enemies and friends believe. But with the help of his allies and his beast magic, he emerges from the grave, deeply scarred in body and soul.

I really enjoyed seeing Fitz’s evolution over the course of the plot. At the start he is still more wolf than human and watching him struggle to retain his humanity was highly entertaining to read. The scenes between Fitz and Burrich during this time were incredibly poignant and touching. Burrich really displayed how much he loves Fitz and we see him step up and save Fitz time and time again. I can’t say I appreciated the way Fitz spoke to him and pushed him away but I’m glad we see him eventually move on.

I found Fitz to be a little petulant and childish for most of the book. At the start when he starts on his journey to kill Regal with no plan just his ego and his wit leading him into a trap. The fact that he even thought to himself what if Will was using the skill to coax him to Tradeford and then walk right into the trap was frustrating. He was so hell bent on killing Regal for his own gain that all of his assassin skills just went right out the window.

Nighteyes was one constant in the story that I loved. His relationship with Fitz and his simple way of life was a breath of fresh air in the plot. His dedication to Fitz and steadfast logic I think really prolonged Fitz’s survival.

Starling wasn’t a favourite character of mine. I found her to be a bit of an opportunist and didn’t really care for Fitz or his wellbeing, just wanting to us him for her own personal gain. I think the fact that she followed him so far and her song didn’t even end up being about him was ironic. Selling out Nettle to the Farseer throne was really the last straw for me with her. She never even really apologised to Fitz about it either which really grated me.

The story as a whole just really dragged and got very repetitive. I understand the book is really centered around this quest that Fitz has to undertake to find King Verity but I think a solid 400-500 pages was just Fitz travelling and making and breaking up camps. There wasn’t enough action or a real sense of adventure for me. By the end when we started finally finding out answers to all the questions that have been posed throughout the series I wasn’t really interested or invested anymore.

I story is very immersive, epic and I can respect the way Robin Hobb wove the plot in a way that makes you really delve deep into these characters, it just wasn’t the story for me.

⭐️2/5 stars Not enough happened for me to justify the length…

Prediction Book Tag 🏷

I seen this book tag over on @ Kristin Kraves Books but the original creator is @bookprincessreviews! This tag is all about your bookish goals, plans and predictions for 2020!

All of these prompts are your predictions for your…

Picture1Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore – I want to continue on with my backlist reading momentum and finally get around to this book!

915sDFes1LL

Picture2Heart of Flames by Nicki Pau Preto – I have high expectations, Crown of Feathers was a great book and I am hoping the sequel will be even better!

40234899._SY475_

Picture1Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – from what I’ve heard I think I am either going to love this book or hate it!

43263680

Picture2House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas – she always has a romance mixed into her fantasy book so I am hoping for a new all time fav ship!

44778083

Picture4Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw – I really enjoyed The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw and I want to see if her new book will be just as good!

48916715._SY475_

Picture5Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff – Aurora Rising was one of my favourite books of 2019 and I have been desperate to continue on with this series so I have no doubt I will feel the same way after completing Aurora Burning!

40516960

Frozen Tides Review

17342701Once again I loved the direction the plot went in. We are introduced to some new characters and say goodbye to a few I thought were going to integral to the plot.

Magnus is really cementing his position as one of my favourite characters in this series. I started off really not liking him and how he was trying to hard to emulate his father, but in this installment in particular we really see a shift in his character with a lot of development and growth. At times he is still going back and forth on whether or not to trust Cleo but when he makes his ultimate decision to trust his instincts and go with what his heart desires I was soooo happy!

Cleo I think is really starting to come into her own. I just think she is still too trusting of people. She let Nic and Kurtus get into her head about not trusting Magnus when she knew all along that her best chance to overcome Gais was to side with him. She really took charge and wouldn’t back down to anyone when they stood in her way!

Lucia is getting on my nerves. I think she is entitled and selfish and deluded into thinking she is in charge of the situation. Her attitude throughout the plot and her disregard for innocent lives definitely strengthened my previous feeling about her. Yes her arc is interesting and we are getting answers to a lot of questions but at the same time I don’t really care about her at all…

Jonas is still such an endearing character to me. He has managed to escape so many life-threatening situations and honestly shouldn’t be alive. I definitely felt bad for him in this book, especially after everything that happened with Lys. I honestly thought they would end up together in the end and now that Cleo is out of the equation as well I wonder what is going to happen with him next.

There were soo many power moves and schemes happening in this book that at times it was a little hard to keep up with it all. I am very much invested in all of the characters and I am eagerly anticipating what is going to happen in the final two books!

⭐️5/5 MAGNEO!!!!