Category: Reviews

Reviews

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy Review

y648I thought this was a solid sequel to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue!

In this installment we follow Felicity who is currently in Edinburgh trying to find some form of apprenticeship to train to be a physician. However a sudden marriage proposal has thrown her off track and she makes her way to England to try to further her education at a medical school to get her life back together.

I found Felicity to be a very enjoyable character. She I tenacious and driven and isn’t afraid of hard work. I love that we see her strive so hard and fight for what she feels she has earned, despite the fact that she is a woman. I love that Mackenzie Lee has highlighted the plight of woman back in the 18th century. The growth that Felicity undergoes in the plot is wonderful and to see her become more self aware and ok with herself I feel was a great highlight in the story.

Another character I highly enjoyed was Johanna. From her introduction as the societal princess who enjoys parties and dresses and makeup and then to see Felicity’s perception of her change over the course of the book was great. I loved that we see Johanna challenge Felicity multiple times and expose her kind of elitist mentality. The changes in their relationship in the storyline was very well done and I loved how open and honest they were with each other in the end.

Sim was a little bit up and down for me personally. I didn’t really like her for a majority of the book mainly because we didn’t get enough information about her. She was very secretive and pensive for about three quarters of the story. When we finally get her backstory and history about who she is I became a lot more invested in her character and engaged a lot more with her. I thought the relationship between her and Felicity was a little too forced in my opinion. The three girls were already tied together closely by the plot that including that romantic aspect wasn’t really necessary.

This was a very fast paced and action packed with the storyline evolving and changing very organically which kept me turning the pages. I like the little cameos of Percy and Monty they added a lot of witty banter to the dialogue. I thought the story was very unique and adventurous but still has a relevance to present day.

⭐️4/5 stars I honestly didn’t expect to like this as much as I did!

Reviews

Leah on the Offbeat Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Leah on the Offbeat Review

9780241331057I actually really enjoyed this. I think it was fact that this kind of just a continuation of the storyline from Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda we just get a different fresh perspective.

Leah is bisexual, she has told her mother but none of her friends or peers knows just yet. She has gone back and forth with herself about finally coming out especially since Simon was outed last year. She is very set in her ways but being a senior and having the year coming to a close change is going to forced upon her whether she wants it or not!

Leah is just a super fun relatable character. She’s very self aware and not afraid to speak her mind which I really enjoyed about her. If she thinks someone has said or done something wrong she will speak up and state the facts which not a lot of people would do nowadays so I thought that was commendable. I didn’t really like how she was kind of playing with Wesley’s emotions towards the end of the book though. She didn’t really have that conversation with him that she just wanted to be friends and wasn’t interested in a relationship with him. I just thought that was a little sucky of her to lead him on when she knew he liked her.

Abby kind of got me nerves in this book. I really thought she was playing games with Leah and leading her on subconsciously. I guess I just didn’t like her as much because she was kind of portrayed as being so likeable if that makes sense. I enjoyed Simon a lot more in this book than I did in the last book. I think because he has truly accepted himself and he is just living his best life with his boyfriend and his friends. I kind of have a soft spot for him because he had such a hard time being outed and blackmailed and everything that happened to him, so seeing him so happy and in love was gratifying to read.

Leah’s mum was fantastic I loved her. I thought the relationship she has with Leah is very special. She wants to be apart of her daughter’s life and works super hard to provide for the both of them. She is so supportive and accepting of Leah, which I loved reading as well. It just shows how much she loves her daughter for who she is not based on her sexual preferences.

Again the dialogue and conversations that occur throughout the course of this book is so witty and fun and kept me highly entertained. This was a very quick, easy read but also delved into some pretty heavy themes that added another layer to the plot.

⭐️4/5 stars great companion novel to Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda if you loved that book you will love this even more!

Reviews

Night Study Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Night Study Review

16130759I liked how the story progressed from the last book to now.

Yelena is still dealing with the ramifications of loosing her magic and once her pregnancy has been confirmed she is in even more danger. Valek will stop at nothing to protect her even if that means disobeying the Commander, something he has never done before.

The stakes have risen once again and they remain at an all time high throughout the course of the book. The struggles and situations that Yelena and Valek find themselves in constantly have evolved and become a lot more serious which I enjoy. This evolution of the storyline over the course of the five books is excellent. We see Yelena go from a struggling, beaten, morose young girl, into the strong, resilient, loyal woman she has now become.

I also loved seeing this other side to Valek come through. Finally accepting that Yelena and his love for her has become more important to him than the Commander. I thought the scene where he finally made the decision and proposed to Yelena was super emotional and beautiful to read. The changes we have seen from Valek are probably the most drastic and the growth of his character has been steady over the course of the series. I loved reading from his POV, seeing how he thinks and experiencing the situations through his eyes really helped to engage me in the story.

The plot was constantly ebbing and flowing, being super fast paced at times with a lot of action and then having the dips in between that helped to maintain the setting. The characters are on the move constantly so we really get a firm grasp on the world and really broadened the scope of the story.

Night Study really delved a lot deeper into the details that were sort of glanced over in the other books. I liked that we actually got to meet Valek’s spies that he has placed around Ixia and Sitia and how he utilizes them in various situations. Seeing how loyal his corps are to him and the lengths they will go to satisfy him was another point I enjoyed.

All in all I thought it was a solid book. It progressed and established the plot more quickly I feel which made for an easy read. There were still some surprises and plot twists thrown in to keep me engaged and immersed, which helped to propel the story forward.

⭐️4/5 stars I really enjoyed it! Evolving storyline, high stakes, plot twists, magic!

Reviews

Wildcard Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Wildcard Review

29386918I liked how the plot progressed in this book!

Now that Emika knows the truth about the Neurolink she can no longer trust Hideo. But after someone in the Dark World puts a bounty on her head she is no longer safe. Having to put her trust in the one person she never thought she would in Zero and his merciless crew the Blackcoats.

I thought the pacing in the story was very well done and I was highly entertained throughout the course of the storyline.

Emika didn’t really have a lot of growth I feel for me in this book. She stayed pretty much the same as we seen her in Warcross and I kind of wanted a bit more from her. Granted she was still an essential character there was just something lacking from her. She doesn’t take control as much as I wanted her too being the badass bounty hunter; I felt she was more so reliant on the other characters.

I loved the inclusion of Jax into the plot. She is strong, powerful, yet still empathetic and helpful. I thought she contrasted with Emika perfectly. I loved how multi-faceted she is and how much of an impact she had on the plot in a short amount of time within the story.

Learning everything about Zero and Sasuke was a twist that I honestly could not see coming. I thought it was very well thought out and made a lot of sense. I could truly see some scientist who has a skewed ethical compass actually doing this to someone and that’s one of the things that I liked about it.

I also like that we see this morally gray side to Hideo that was hidden in the first book. We knew why he established the Neurolink but I didn’t really fathom how far he would go once he realised he still hadn’t found Sasuke. Creating the algorithm to try to trace the kidnappers was kind of genius and really threw into the light just how dedicated he is to his cause, which I low key found admirable.

The action ebbed and flowed nicely for me in a way that I remained very invested in the story. Having that count down hovering over their heads was another factor that I felt kept the tension high and the stakes even higher.

⭐️4/5 stars I was invested in the characters, the action was entertaining, really enjoyed it!

Reviews

Shadow Study Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Shadow Study Review

shadow-study-the-chronicles-of-ixia-book-7-1I like this so much more than Fire Study!

It has been about four years since everything happened in Fire Study and Yelena and Valek have been trying to balance life between Sitia and Ixia. Valek still being very much committed to the Commander and Yelena back at the keep with the rest of the magicians.

I think it was the multiple POVs that captured my attention more so in this instalment of the study series. It wasn’t as focused on Yelena as the rest of the books and I think that’s why I enjoyed it a lot more. She is still an integral role to the storyline but we see how the other characters intersect and have an impact on the plot. 

I love that we have more of a spotlight on Valek and his backstory in this book. Learning about his past and how he came to be an assassin and associated with the Commander has always interested me and I was gifted with various super entertaining scenes of Valek contemplating his past decisions and seeing how they differ to the person he is now. It was wonderful!

Ari and Janco are always charming and help to perk up the plot with their banter and liveliness. I love their camaraderie and how they interact with the others yet also are very committed to Valek.

The plot was a lot more engaging in this book than the others because I felt that the stakes were a lot higher. Yelena loosing her powers early on in the storyline and becoming susceptible to magic, which she has never had to experience before, was a nice twist and had me intrigued early on. Also having the knowledge of who the assassin was up in the air for most of the book it was nice to try and figure out along the way who it could possibly be.

Having the relationship between Valek and the Commander in question was also another aspect of the plot that I really enjoyed purely because it caught me by surprise. I honestly didn’t think that the Commander would stoop to that level and I was happy to see some divergence in their storyline.

It kind of just always seemed like Yelena was off chasing someone, putting herself into unnecessary situations that was just frustrating to read. It was all becoming a bit stale and boring and this book has brought back a little bit of suspense and unpredictability.

⭐️4/5 stars If that ending doesn’t have you picking up the next book I don’t know what will!