April 2020 – Amy Leigh Reads

April Wrap Up

April 30, 2020April 29, 2020by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

For some reason I have had the best reading month of my life! I know at this time a lot of people haven’t been able to focus on reading with everything happening in the world but it has really become an escape for me. This month I have never felt the need to take a break from reading or had to force myself to pick up a book, it’s been quite lovely actually. I ended up participating in two readathons this month the Smutathon hosted by Riley Marie on YouTube and I completed the OWL’s Magical Readathon which I will post a separate wrap up for tomorrow!

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendriks & Sarah Pekkanen – ⭐️4/5 stars

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite – ⭐️3/5 stars

The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye – ⭐️4/5 stars

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab – ⭐️3/5 stars

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert – ⭐️4/5 stars

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson – ⭐️4/5 stars

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan – ⭐️4/5 stars

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas – ⭐️5/5 stars

Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman – ⭐️4/5 stars

Pines by Blake Crouch – ⭐️3/5 stars

Wayward by Blake Crouch – ⭐️3/5 stars

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – ⭐️5/5 stars

The Last Town by Blake Crouch – ⭐️4/5 stars

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – ⭐️3/5 stars

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson – ⭐️3/5 stars

Enemies by Tijan – ⭐️3/5 stars

Angry God by L.J. Shen – ⭐️3/5 stars

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire – ⭐️3/5 stars

Hate the Game by Winter Renshaw – ⭐️3/5 stars

Bennett Mafia by Tijan – ⭐️3/5 stars

I Bet You by Ilsa Madden-Mills – ⭐️3/5 stars

I Dare you by Ilsa Madden-Mills – ⭐️3/5 stars

The Dare by Harley LaRoux – ⭐️3/5 stars

The Lies We Tell by Becca Steele – ⭐️3/5 stars

Theirs for the Night by Katee Robert – ⭐️3/5 stars

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling – ⭐️5/5 stars

Reviews

Wayward Pines Series Review

April 29, 2020April 27, 2020by amyleighreads3 Comments

Since I pretty much marathoned these three books in a couple of days I figured I would do a review of the series as a whole instead of individual reviews for the each book.

15034320 Pines I thought was a nice introduction to the characters, the plot and the premise. Even though you really aren’t given a lot of information about what was happening at Wayward Pines and whether or not Ethan was insane, there was just enough twists and turns to keep me engaged! It established the setting very well and there was an overall foreboding sense of confusion that contrasts well with the pristine facade of the town. I thought the plot was very fast paced and the overall premise very original and intriguing! ⭐️3/5 stars

19438157._SY475_ Wayward I think did a good job going more in depth with the backgrounds of the different characters and explored the status quo of the town. We learnt a lot more about how these people ended up in Wayward Pines and how the whole operation came to be. I like that the focus isn’t completely on Ethan and we are given a few different point of views. The murder investigation was a nice plot point utilised as a way for us to learn alongside Ethan who was trying to fight against David’s regime and who was a loyal supporter. I was still highly invested in the book and really eager to pick up the third and see after the abbies are let into the valley how their story was going to conclude! ⭐️3/5 stars

20423680 The Last Town I thought was a great ending to this series! This was definitely faster paced and had much higher stakes than the previous two books. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the course of the plot and just knowing that everyone wasn’t going to survive made the story more realistic in a way. There was this underlying tone of helplessness, especially after we find out about the food situation and I honestly had no idea how they were all going to survive. The ending though is really what swayed me and ultimately won me over! I thought it was a fantastic conclusion that left me with just the right amount of satisfaction! ⭐️4/5 stars

Reviews

Every Heart a Doorway Review

April 28, 2020April 27, 2020by amyleighreads3 Comments

25526296 Didn’t quite live up to the hype….

This book revolves around a school that takes in wayward children who have travelled to different worlds and have stumbled back to reality and can’t cope.

This book just didn’t quite gel with me personally. I went into it only really knowing that everyone absolutely loves this book and you don’t really get a lot of negative reviews but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Even though the book is quite short I thought it would go into a lot more details about the different worlds and the adventures that each of the children had whilst they were there and how it contrasts to the current world.

There wasn’t really any point in time where I was invested or all that engaged in the story. I think the development stage was a tad rushed and I wasn’t really settled into the plot at any point. I was definitely intrigued and once the murders started occurring I was eager to figure out who was behind them, but the pacing and the structure of the story felt a little fractured I guess.

I wasn’t all that attached to any of the characters either. They were all very diverse and distinct and had a voice and a story of their own but it was never to the point where I was developing any emotions or commitment to them. They all felt a little one dimensional to me as well, and again I think it was just due to the length of the book and that underdevelopment factor.

The premise is definitely original and now that I read this book and I understand kind of how it has been written and the purpose of the story I think I will enjoy the rest of the series. As a high/epic fantasy reader it just wasn’t fleshed out enough for me. I am used to a lot more world building and magical elements which this did have just not to the extent that I was expecting.

⭐️3/5 stars promising, needs a bit more oomph!

Reviews

Ninth House Review

April 27, 2020May 3, 2020by amyleighreads3 Comments

43263680 Galaxy (Alex) Stern has had a rough start at life, but she has been given a second chance and has an opportunity to attend Yale and is enveloped into the mysterious world of the nine secret societies that have been thriving there for hundreds of years.

It was a little too info dumpy at the start of the book. For those first hundred or so pages it was really a struggle to get through. It was slower paced and there are just so many dates, code names, characters, rules and regulations as well as all the magical elements woven in as well. It was a lot more rooted into the historical elements of the houses and it kind of bored me.

Alex I didn’t quite connect with for the first half of the book. She was just too mysterious I guess, we didn’t know a lot about her and she had too many secrets. She is a definitely a flawed character and being out of her element and thrust into the Lethe house and trying to live up to the expectations that are heaped upon her forced her out of her comfort zone. As she is learning about everything so are we, there is just a lot of information to wade through in a short amount of time. I did enjoy her development over the course of the story line though. She gains a lot more confidence in herself and really has had to come to terms with her past and everything that happened with Hellie in order to move on with her future.

I liked Darlington and I wish he was around for more of the plot. He was a nice contrast to Alex and even though he exudes that rich, know it all persona he has had to work hard to get to where he is now. Dawes started out as a quite innocuous character, I didn’t really think she would have much of an impact on the plot but she was like the dark horse of the story. She saved Alex’s life multiple times and stood up for her on multiple occasions as well when it came to the Dean.

Like I said the start of the book was a little bit slow and was quite hard to get through. However, once I was settled into the story and the investigation about Tara’s death began the pacing definitely picked up and the action intensified. There were some great twists and turns thrown in and I appreciated how much Leigh Bardugo went in depth with the different houses, I just wish maybe she only would of focused on a couple at a time and expanded upon them as the series continues.

⭐️3/5 stars a very slow build!

Reviews

Get A Life, Chloe Brown Review

April 24, 2020April 23, 2020by amyleighreads2 Comments

43888874 Chloe Brown has been sheltered most of her life and has pushed away a lot of her friends because of the chronic pain she deals with on a daily basis. That is until one day she is involved in a near death experience that prompts her to move out of her house and start to fulfil some of the dreams she has put on hold because of her condition.

I really liked Chloe. She really knows her limits and is just currently trying to still live her life even though she is in pain. I find her not to be the most relatable of characters because of her wealth however, I think she is still quite down to earth and has really tried to step up and live by her own means. There isn’t a lot of positive representation of plus sized characters in literature and I really enjoyed the way that Chloe was portrayed and the language used to describe her. She didn’t really display any insecurities about her size and it wasn’t really a big factor of the story it was just who Chloe was.

Red really charmed me right from the start. From his relationship with his mother and the way he takes care of a lot of the older tenants in the complex, yet he is still kind of a badass with a motorbike. The banter between them was wonderfully entertaining, with the tension at the start slowly morphing into a friendship and then the way they both kind of push away their feelings before finally succumbing… I was a huge fan! He is just so considerate of her and is always asking how she is feeling or preemptively will make things easier for her. He was just such a sweetheart but still had his own issues he has had to deal with and sort out his feelings about his ex before he stepped fully into the relationship with Chloe.

One thing I appreciated about the book was the communication between the characters. If one of them was upset they would express that to each other and kind of work their way through all of their obstacles. Even when they had their fight and weren’t talking to each other Red was still working towards a resolution!

I thought Chloe’s sisters were really distinct and funny. Again they were always making sure Chloe was ok and checking in on her and was very supportive of her and her chosen lifestyle. I’m really interested to hear more about them and I am very excited to pick up the next book when it is released!!

⭐️4/5 This was just wholesome, endearing and highly entertaining.