Category: Reviews

Reviews

Daisy Jones and the Six Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Daisy Jones and the Six Review

9781786331519Not bad….

Daisy Jones is a little bit of a socialite in the early seventies who happens to be a talented singer and The Six is a rock and roll band formed by two brothers who want to make it.

I was a little lost at the start of the book. Everyone is kind of introduced all at once and then the story kind of dives in with everyone talking and explaining their stories and it was just a little too convoluted. However, I did kind of get situated into the story after about 100 pages or so and then things started to get juicy!

I was a fan of Daisy I have to admit. She is just so entertaining and super unpredictable. I like that you know that she is going to eventually join with the band and the whole books and her life is basically leading up to this moment but she doesn’t know it yet. I kind of like being low-key spoiled with endings and just reading to see how everything comes together if that makes sense. She’s just a train wreck and I loved that about her.

Billy I wasn’t the biggest fan of. Sure, he’s super talented and he did put the band together but he didn’t give them any room for their own creativity. It was very much his way and that was that, he did have good intentions I guess but it just soured him a little for me.

All of the characters served a purpose in the book. They are all very unique and distinct they each have their own voice. I found the format quite jarring at first but again after that first 100 or so pages I really started to enjoy reading from each of their perspectives and seeing how one situation can be construed in so many different ways. It was very interesting!

The plot and the way it unfolded really enraptured me. This whole culture of rock and roll mixed with drugs and alcohol and how things can be so out of control in private yet seem glamorous and beguiling in public was very well done in my opinion. Taylor Jenkins Reid really portrayed this way of life so well and it was so raw and honest and I really enjoyed my read of this book.

⭐️4/5 I get it now!

Reviews

A Curse So Dark and Lonely Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on A Curse So Dark and Lonely Review

91lOPG2p6JLThis is a dual perspective fantasy following Harper a girl who one night noticed a man dragging and unconscious woman down an alley and Rhen the crown Prince to the kingdom of Emberfall.

This was a great retelling! The original premise is there but I felt like it varied enough to keep me engaged and entertained throughout the book!

I really liked Harper. Her stubbornness and tenacity made her a very entertaining and unpredictable character. She wouldn’t back down to Grey or Rhen and she would do whatever she felt was right in the situation, even if it puts her in danger.

Rhen I found to be a little unlikeable at the beginning, but I think that was how we are supposed to perceive him because once we actually delve a little deeper into his backstory and his character throughout the course of the book I definitely warmed up to him. Especially when he started to show a bit more emotion and actually cared about what was happening outside of the castle.

I think I liked Grey a little bit more than Rhen though. He was so integral to the story and his staunchness really appealed to me. The fact that he stayed even though he wasn’t a part of the curse really proved how loyal he is to Rhen and the kingdom. I enjoyed the friendship that sparked up between him and Harper and the truthfulness that they shared between them!

Overall I really enjoyed my time reading this book! There were some passages that were a little slower paced but it was a pretty quick read for me. The plot was unique and went a completely different direction than what I originally thought it would be, which kept me intrigued. I liked how the storyline started off pretty contained and then as the book progressed it grew larger and more complex. It is a pretty good jumping off point to what I am assuming will be a series.

⭐️4/5 Dark, fierce and a little romantic…

Reviews

The Hazel Wood Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on The Hazel Wood Review

35121240This book follows the story of Alice who has been moving around her whole life with her mum Ella trying to outrun the bad luck that plagues them constantly. That is until Alice’s grandmother a reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood and Ella proclaims that they are free. Or are they?

The first half of the book I really enjoyed. The build-up of anticipation and tension really set the scene for the book and kept me on the edge of my seat. But the second half was a little disjointed and was a bit of a letdown. It got a little too fantastical all at once and I was a little lost in the woods. Had there been a little more information given about the Hazelwood prior to them actually entering might of made me appreciate the setting a bit more. But how it was kind of told just made me a bit confused and not really connected to what was happening.

I did enjoy the kind of mystery aspect surrounding what Althea had written, that component really intrigued me and had me wondering about what she encountered when she went missing. I like that we only got inserts from the book by Finch and how elusive it was to actually hold and read it.

Alice isn’t a favourite female protagonist of mine but I did appreciate how protective of her mother she was. How she would truly do whatever was necessary to try and find her and get her back even putting herself in danger was really courageous.  But I liked the fact that she still kept secrets from her mother and tried to find out about her grandmother and the Hinterland. She was just a bit too standoffish and cold (lol) for my liking for me to personally warm to her as a character, but in the end it did make sense so that made me appreciate her.

This book is actually quite dark and a little bit macabre, the pacing was pretty fast but there were a few lulls in the plot and at times I did find myself a little confused but I pushed through and did get it in the end. The premise was very different and unique but I thought the execution and the twist wasn’t explosive enough for me.

⭐️3/5 Intriguing, dark and a little strange…

Reviews

Circe Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Circe Review

9781408890080I am underwhelmed.

This book follows the life of Circe, daughter to the Titan Helios. She is the least favoured among his children and when she is found to have fallen for a mortal man and used witchcraft against her own kind she is banished for eternity to a small island, to while away her existence alone.

I went into this book highly anticipating the read because of how hyped it was and I found myself bored.

At first I was very much invested in the storyline. I liked Circe and found her to be relatable for about the first quarter of the plot and then things spiralled a little bit for me. I appreciated her arc throughout the story but I think it was the way the plot unfolded that didn’t capture my attention as much as I thought it would.

It was a lot of Circe on the island by herself being told what was happening in the world around her and we didn’t really didn’t get to experience any of that excitement or adventure. Being exiled I should of figured that it would be a lot of Circe by herself but the way this book was hyped made me think it was going to be a whole lot more exciting and it just wasn’t for me.

I enjoyed the sort of historical aspect with all of the gods, titans, demigods and monsters and how they came to be in this book, but again it was fleeting and the story dragged a little.I found I didn’t really form a connection to any of the characters and by the end of it I really didn’t care. There wasn’t really any sort of build up of anticipation and the ending was a little too open ended for me.

I can see why so many people enjoyed this book and there wasn’t really anything outstandingly wrong with it, I just didn’t particularly enjoy it myself.

⭐️2/5 solid book, not one of my favourites…

Reviews

Sightwitch Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Sightwitch Review

prizepack2Did not expect this!

We delve a little bit deeper into the story of Ryber Fortiza. Ryber has spent her whole entire life in the Sightwitch Convent as a sister without sight, someone who hasn’t been called by the goddess to become a fully-fledged Sightwitch. She works herself hard and makes sure she abides by all the rules of the sisters in order to be called but one by one the sisters around her are called and she still isn’t. That is until one day more and more sisters are being called into the mountains of the goddess and they aren’t returning.  

I didn’t really know what to expect getting into this book, but I was pleasantly surprised with its direction. It goes so deep into the history of the Sightwitches and the flashbacks that occur really helped to strengthen the storyline further.

I love the fact that a minor character in the other books that I overlooked as unimportant could have such a rich and exciting backstory. I kind of wrote Ryber off in the previous books as just the girlfriend of Merik’s threadbrother. She was so insignificant to me that I even had to look her up because he name was familiar to me. Her arc throughout the course of the book was so well done! Being a devout sister who never broke the rules to become the last sister who delved deep into the mountain to save the rest of the Sightwitches, breaking all the rules in the process!

The addition of Kullen into the story was a nice touch for me. Again, he really didn’t leave a lasting impression on me in the last books and found myself having to reorient who he was in the series. Once I remembered who he was I was intrigued with how he managed to get himself into this situation. Why doesn’t he remember who he is whilst under the mountain and how important is he in the grand scheme of things?

I thought the pacing was perfect, it started off a little slow but you are fed enough information that you want to continue to read on. The history of the Sightwitches and how they have come to be was sooooo interesting to me especially learning about the Paladin’s and how they are the first of manifest the powers that are so common in the Witchlands now.

After the conclusion I just have so many questions that need answering! Did Kullen really cleave and die at the end of Truthwitch? Where did Ryber go after absconding from the ship? Is she going to save the Sightwitches from the cold embrace of the mountain? I need to know!!!

Because it was a novella though it was lacking a little oomph and left me with more questions than answers, but I was still entertained and enjoyed my experience whilst reading it!

⭐️4/5 I need to get to Bloodwitch ASAP!