Category: Reviews

Reviews

Aurora Burning Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Aurora Burning Review

*BEWARE OF SPOILERS BELOW*

40516960Aurora Burning continues pretty much straight after Aurora Rising finishes off. Tyler and the rest of Squad 312 are trying to figure out their next move, find out what the weapon is that the Eshvaren left and save the universe.

For me it’s not so much about their main goal, which is to inevitably save the universe but the little adventures they find themselves in on the way. I love seeing our rag tag crew come together and become more comfortable around each other. Figuring out how they each fit in the squad and seeing the bonds they create with each other is wonderful to read.

Grief is definitely explored a lot more in this book, especially as Tyler and Scarlett come to terms with what happened to Cat. Having her reappear later in the plot to torment Tyler and for him to let her go was a touching moment.

I am so happy we get more of an in depth history about Ziva in this book. What happened to her parents and how she was able to save herself. Her perspective was so completely different from the others it was like a breath of fresh air in the plot. She really opened up a lot more in this book and we see her form more of a connection with her squad mates.

Kal is still one of my favourites. I am so glad we also got to find out more about his family and what he has had to endure during his life. Especially with the introduction of his sister and the integral way she is thrust into the storyline. It was a little obvious to me who his father was going to be, kind of predictable and the ensuing argument was frustrating. But his relationship with Aurora is so pure and precious and I can’t help but be enraptured by him.

Aurora, though I am glad she is able to control her power and is able to understand how it works, I think the change in her is too drastic and it kind of pulled me out of the story. Walking straight up to the Starslayer completely sure she was going to succeed was a tad arrogant to me and I wish she wouldn’t have been so quick to write Kal off, they might have been able to come up with a better plan.

Overall there so many shocking twists and turns and moments that broke my heart. Some of the choices the characters make didn’t really sit right with me and I wish they would of went about things differently but it definitely raised the stakes and kept me engaged in the storyline. I am left with soooo many questions still and honestly I can’t wait to find out what is going to happen next!

⭐️4.5/5 stars I am still trying to process my feelings after that ending…. 

Reviews

The Honey-Don’t List Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on The Honey-Don’t List Review

51086670The Honey-Don’t List revolves around a famous married couple called the Tripp’s and their assistants Carey and James who are trying to keep the fact that their employers are hot messes out of the spotlight, growing closer along the way.

Carey was a little frustrating at times. Melly is absolutely horrible to her for the majority of the book and she can see for herself how manipulative and neurotic she is yet always sticks up for her and puts up with it. Her loyalty is undeserving in my opinion and there really isn’t any interaction between them that supported Carey’s reasonings for her continued efforts. We aren’t really shown how Melly is this supposed mother figure through any actions on her part, which was confusing and again frustrating to see Carey putting up with it for so long. It was gratifying to see her put Melly in her place and finally tell them exactly what she thought of them and how they undervalued her for all these years.

I thought James was a nice contrast to Carey. His perspectives I found to be quite refreshing and illuminating. I was quite sympathetic to his situation and how he has had to rebuild his life after his previous job. I appreciated his honesty and the way he always wanted to communicate his thoughts and feelings to Carey constantly, making sure she was onboard and okay with everything that was happening.

I thought Rusty was hilarious. He was so checked out of the whole ordeal and his constant outbursts in public derailing the whole tour was highly entertaining and kept me engaged in the plot. His candor and no-fcks-given attitude added spark and life to the plot. I appreciate the fact that he was willing to call his wife out on her BS and give Carey the credit she was due.

The whole premise of the story was a little predictable to be completely honest. I found myself anticipating what was going to happen next at every point of the plot. What really drove up my rating was the romance. I love myself a good hate to love romance and seeing Carey and James overcome their previous misconceptions with each other and come together under the most ridiculous of situations was so much fun to read.

⭐️4/5 stars Fast paced, entertaining, cute!

Reviews

Sex and Vanity Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Sex and Vanity Review

52070924._SY475_Sex and Vanity revolves around a girl named Lucie who travels to Capri for her good friend’s wedding where she meets George. From their first meeting Lucie decides she doesn’t like him but gradually she is drawn closer to him as the festivities continues and eventually they are involved in a tryst that could damage her families reputation.

Lucie I am kind of in two minds about. I sympathise with her in regards to the casual racism and subtle ostracism she feels from her father’s side of the family but I can’t relate to her at all because of her wealth. She can definitely be likeable at times but she just doesn’t stand up for herself enough. I wanted her to call out her grandmother and her cousins about what they have been doing to her for all these years but she just takes it all out on Christine. And then petulantly running that smear campaign against Rosemary who has been nothing but nice to her was just unnecessary, though I am glad she got called out for it.

  We honestly don’t find out enough about George. I wish we got a few chapters from his perspective or just even what he has been up to. His background is alluded to but we don’t really get any concrete facts about him or his personality. The relationship between him and Lucie is kind of lacking depth as well. We get a nice introduction at the start of the book and the foundations are laid but they just didn’t have enough scenes together for me to really be convinced.

There were just a little too many conversations throughout revolving around all of the connections and various famous people that they know. I found myself skimming through a lot of those sections because I wasn’t all that interested in reading all these different random names and titles all the time. If the narrative would have focused more on the actual characters and the relationship at the core of the story and not just name dropping all the time I felt like I maybe would have enjoyed it a lot more.

⭐️2/5 stars A little shallow…

Reviews

Into the Crooked Place Review

by amyleighreads4 Comments on Into the Crooked Place Review

43550637._SY475_Into the Crooked Kingdom follows a girl named Tavia who sells dark magic on the streets for her Underboss Wesley. Until one day she uncovers a sinister plot that could detroy the whole realm and all the people in it.

I really enjoyed all of the characters in this book. They were all very distinct and you could differentiate between them easily. All being from different parts of the realm and having such varying backgrounds was really intriguing and definitely brought more depth to the storyline.

Tavia was one of my favourites. I think because she essentially introduced us into the storyline I was more attached to her character in particular. Her love/hate relationship with Wesley was very entertaining, I kind of wish they would of acted on their feelings or maybe communicated a little bit better. Wesley for a minute there seemed open to that idea but Tavia shut him down and walked away. I think if we had a little more romance in the plot I would have been more engaged.

Unfortunately there were times throughout the book where I wasn’t all that interested in what was happening and didn’t really care. Although we are given pretty high stakes and there was definitely a lot of twists thrown in there were long periods of not a lot happening and it made me zone out a little.

I also wish we delved deeper into the magic system and how it works. We are kind of given a lot of information but I felt like it wasn’t enough. Maybe if we were given the origin of the world a little more and how the different charms work. How the Kingpin came to power in the first place or learning about the different people in the world would of helped. How the crafters came to be and how many different clans of the Kin there are.

I came out of this book a underwhelmed. I felt like the bones were there for a great fantasy story and there were elements I really loved. The found family, the intriguing magic system, an evil overlord they need to defeat, but it didn’t wow me in any way. I am still interested enough in the characters where I think I will be picking up the next book but it’s not something I’m dying to read.

⭐️3/5 stars Not gripping enough for me…

Reviews

The Shadows Between Us Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on The Shadows Between Us Review

35702241I LOVED this!!!!

The Shadows Between Us is about a girl named Alessandra who is the second daughter of an earl who has a plan to seduce, marry and then kill the elusive king.

I just adored Alessandra’s character. Right from the start when we find out what happened between her and Henrik and then to see how comfortable she has become with her sexuality and not letting the men in her life use her for their own gain. She takes her life into her own hands and emerges from under her father and sisters shadows and forged a life for herself without their help or influence. I love how ruthless she is and how unapologetic she is about her appearance and demeanour.

Kallias really drew me in from the moment we first see him. He is quite enigmatic and seductive in a way with the shadows swirling around him. I’m a sucker for a dark, broody male protagonist and he really ticked all the boxes for me. I would of loved to learn more about him and go a little more in depth in terms of his abilities and why the skipped over his brother. The origins of his family’s reign which was discussed briefly, I just wanted more. I think the fact that he wasn’t intimidated by Alessandra and saw her as an equal was the icing on the cake for me!

There was the perfect amount of political intrigue mixed with those more high action sequences to keep me engaged and entertained. Too much of the court politics and political machinations can be a little dragging for me but I didn’t get that at all in this book. Because Alessandra was so spontaneous and has all of these secrets she is trying to keep on top of there was never a time I wasn’t invested.

I have to admit the investigation aspect regarding Henrik was resolved a little too conveniently; there was quite the build-up of anticipation regarding the murder and it was dismissed by Kallias with really no repercussions of Alessandra’s part. I was able to overlook it and still really enjoy the read but that was something that I noticed.

Overall I loved this, from reading the blurb I knew immediately that this was a book that I would love and I am honestly gratified that I have such a thorough understanding of my reading tastes!

⭐️5/5 stars the Slytherin romance we didn’t know we needed!