Month: July 2021

Reviews

Project Hail Mary Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Project Hail Mary Review

*DEFINITE SPOILERS BELOW*

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission – and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

I thought this book was just so well written and paced. The dual timelines gave us much needed context as to who Ryland was the how dire the mission was, which added a layer of urgency and upped the stakes significantly. Having Ryland slowly regain his memories was an ingenious was for the reader to learn about the Alphagae and just how catastrophic this could be.

Ryland was an interesting character for sure. Right from the start when he wakes up and has no idea who or where he is and to see him calculate that he was in space really drew me in to the plot. The way that his character evolved throughout the plot and to see him come to terms with the fact that he was going to die out here and then have that hopefulness return was heart wrenching for sure! The twist at the end where he said no shocked me for sure and to see how he had to accept the fact that he was a coward yet still go ahead with everything really showed his growth.

I loved the fact that Rocky was always just a friend to Ryland. There was no double crossing of any sort and they didn’t stab each other in the back or sabotage the mission in any way. They were simply working together, sharing their expertise to save their worlds. I had this feeling like there would be that twist throughout the course of the plot but I am soooo glad that it didn’t happen and they maintained their friendship. Rocky was the perfect contrast to Adrian and I really enjoyed the comradery between them.

Everything about this book had me on the edge of my seat. I in no way was able to predict what was going to happen next and at every turn I was surprised with how Ryland was able to figure out what to do. All of the science talk really went over my head but it was written in a way that was pretty easy to understand and didn’t slow down the pacing. This book kind of hit a little close to home and feels like it could plausibly happen in this generation so it provokes a lot of conversation about our planet and how we’re affecting it!

⭐️4/5 stars This will have you in the feels!

Readathons

Buzzword Reading Challenge

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If you are unaware what the Buzzword Readathon/Challenge is see my prior post HERE. Last month the buzzword was name/title and unfortunately I didn’t end up completing anything but I was able to catch up early this month with Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir! I am excited to continue on with this challenge and complete this months buzzword which is:

This month the buzzword theme is LAST and here my options:

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Reviews

Deathcaster Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Deathcaster Review

*Spoilers Below*

Warrior Alyssa ana’Raisa would do anything to protect her home, the Fells, and her legacy, the Gray Wolf line. But as a prisoner of Empress Celestine, Lyss is forced to turn her fearsome talents as an army commander against her beloved homeland. Refusal would swiftly lead to her death, and her death would end the Gray Wolf line. In Lyss’s absence, Fellsmarch Castle swarms with intrigue, deception, and a primordial threat. Destin Karn, a southern spymaster with a hidden agenda of his own, might be the queendom’s only hope of defeating the forces aligned against the Seven Realms . . . as well as the enemies within the castle.

I think the character I enjoyed the most in terms of their overall arc was definitely Destin Karn. He really shone for me in this last book. we get to see him be the callous assassin who will do anything to further his own agenda in court but this time his agenda aligns with the rest of the seven realms in a positive way. At the start of this series I think I thought his character wasn’t all that relevant, I don’t think I even mentioned him in my first review for Flamecaster. But to see his evolution from when he was a kid in Tarvos and then being the Assassin in Arden Court to eventually getting his happiness with Evan was wonderful to read.

Lyss and her evolution was less dramatic I find. She is pretty consistent for me throughout the series she just really comes to terms with being the new queen were as before she second guessing herself and comparing herself to Hanalea and even Juliann. Her storyline in this last book was kind of boring. We didn’t really get many chapters from her point of view and when we did it was when she was still being held captive by Celestine and not a lot was happening. I’m so glad that she was able to finally reunite with her brother, that was a great scene!

In the end Lila’s character is integral to the storyline but she didn’t have that great twist that I was waiting for. Seeing her on the council in Fellsmarch was gratifying but she didn’t really have that much of an impact that I was expecting. She works the whole conspiracy out quickly though and takes control and links with Destin again to defeat Jastin and I love the companionship between them!

In terms of the plot and the twists I have to say I was surprised by how everything played out with Celestine and the truth behind all of the parentage of all of the magemarked. I wish the eventual stand off between the Empress and her siblings was drawn out a little more and didn’t necessarily involve the dragons saving the day but again I was satisfied with how it played and I don’t really have any complaints. The big twist about who the spy was in the Fells definitely surprised me, I at no point in time thought it was going to be Mellony so that was entertaining.

Overall I’m very happy with how many point of views we get from each of the main characters. They are all so easy to differentiate and finally getting to see them all interact with each other was so satisfying and exciting. They’ve been circling for so long and scheming and to finally have everything come to a head and get answers was worth the journey for sure!

⭐️5/5 stars Highly recommend this series, if you haven’t yet read it!

Book Lists

Quarterly Reading Recommendation

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I can’t believe it’s already been another three months since my last recommendation post! This is going to be my second instalment for 2021 and this month I only picked 5 books to list since I didn’t read as much during those three months and these were the only books I wanted to recommend. If you want to check out my first quarterly reading recommendations click HERE!

My recommendations for April – May – June are:

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Shadowcaster by Cinda Williams Chima

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Reviews

Legendborn Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Legendborn Review

*SOME SPOILERS BELOW*

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

I have to honest this book just seemed to go on forever and it was difficult for me to get into at the start. It wasn’t until I was at least halfway through that I actually became interested in what was happening in the plot and understanding everything to do with the Order. The writing at times felt a little disjointed and I was confused when chapters ended and felt like I was missing information. Like I would have to go back and read the last couple of paragraphs before continuing on because I couldn’t understand the continuation.

Once I was actually invested in the story it was highly interesting. Everything to do with the Root magic and how it interconnected with Bree’s family in particular. I love the separate storyline with Patricia and how she helps Bree with her grief whilst also sharing with her knowledge about her mother and what she can do. I wish we got more interactions between them because I think Patricia was a very calming and nurturing person in Bree’s life and I was a lot more interested in the Root magic.

The Order and Line of Scion was very confusing at first to take in. There are just a lot of characters and titles that was a little difficult to get my head around. That part of the story felt info dumpy to me and I struggled to get a clear picture of what was happening when she was there. Once I was able to figure it out the politics and hierarchy was infuriating. I am glad Bree chose to stand her ground and confront those who were racist and colourist towards her.

I am liking the love triangle that is taking place but I feel like they formed these relationships way too quickly. Nick being in love with Bree after like two days is unrealistic and it felt rushed to me. Sel’s I can sympathise with because I feel like he had so many more intimate and powerful moments with Bree than with Nick so I’m intrigued to know how that plays out for sure!

There is sooo much packed into this story and honestly was a lot to comprehend, but the plot is highly original and action packed. The magic system was interesting and branches off a lot so I’m excited to learn more about it and how aether can be manipulated. The twists were surprising and I couldn’t predict anything that was going to happen which is always a plus.

⭐️3/5 stars A promising start, will definitely be continuing on!