Tower of Dawn Review

*Spoilers Ahead*

Oh my goodness, I am blown away. The intricacies in the storylines and how they have been woven together throughout the whole Throne of Glass series is simply masterful. I don’t know why I hesitated so long before picking up Tower of Dawn as it is simply 9781408887974amazing.

Tower of Dawn follows the story of Chaol and Nesryn as they arrive in Antica to forge an alliance with the Khagan the most powerful ruler in the Southern Continent and to visit the legendary Torre Cosme to heal Chaol from the wounds he received in Rifthold.

The complexity of this book really surprised me. I didn’t realize all that was be gained by Chaol and Nesryn whilst in Antica. I honestly thought it would just be more focused on the political intrigue that the Khagan and his children brought forth as the main plot point of the story. Sure it delved a little deeper into the dynamics of this incredibly powerful family and we learnt a lot more about them but the main focus was really the character growth that we witness throughout the course of the book, in particular Chaol, Yrene and Nesryn.

Chaol is wounded, he’s grief stricken, and guilt ridden and strong beyond measure, watching his character grow throughout the course of this book was spectacular. His narrative is so intimate as we watch him overcome his personal demons as he fights off the demons that have latched on inside of him in his wound. The transition from the man he is when he is wheeled off that boat by Nesryn to the man who walked aboard the vessel to sail back to Erilea with Yrene by his side was so well thought out, genuine and heartfelt. I loved him as a character and I have definitely been swayed, as he wasn’t really a favourite of mine in the rest of the series.

I thought Yrene was also a delight to read. Her strength and resilience in the face of danger is really something to be commended. We see her grow from being timid, yet quietly assertive to being the commanding, powerful tenacious woman that she is meant to be. Seeing the slow build up of their romance through the course of the book was also great. It wasn’t rushed at all and we could really feel the genuineness of the relationship spilling out through the pages.

Nesryn was kind of in the background for the first half of the story for me. I had inklings about her and Sartaq from the first night he followed her to the Torres Tower and I thought he was a good match for her. She is so used to being disciplined and in control and he really counteracted all of that as the carefree, cocky prince. I enjoyed seeing their relationship build and seeing Sartaq’s backstory unfold at Altun and their adventures and discoveries they found during their time there and how it drew them together was worth the read.

This story was full of adventure, heartaches, plotting and revelations and it had my heart pounding the whole time. It was thrilling to read, and seeing the plot points all align together from the last six books in this series was expert. I applaud Sarah J Maas and I am eagerly anticipating the next book in the series later this year!

⭐️5/5 stars nothing more to say!

To Kill a Kingdom Review

*Spoiler Free*

“A princess must have her prince.”

th61RJURL9I loved it! This book was amazing. I loved the dual perspective of Lira and Elian. I thought they complemented each other perfectly, both ruthless and cunning yet still so endearing and likeable. To Kill a Kingdom was dark and atmospheric and really had me guessing at every stage.

To Kill a Kingdom follows Lira a siren that is the heir to the throne of the Sea Queen who rules over all of the sea and the creatures that live there. Lira disobeys her mother and is transformed into a human and banished to the surface with a mission to seize the heart of the infamous siren killer Elian and bring it back to her mother as an offering. Elian is a reluctant royal heir to the throne of Midas the most powerful of all the 100 kingdoms. He has charged himself with the quest to rid the earth of all the sirens and has set his sights on one siren in particular and he will stop at nothing to find her and kill her.

The premise of this book really called to me (lol) and the plot as a whole really captivated me and catapulted me into the world that Alexandra Christo created. I thought the establishment of the 100 kingdoms and the different lore and legends that each of the royal families have really expanded the world and enriched the storyline. I also loved the duality shown in both Lira and Elian and I thought that the way they both grew and progressed was well executed and refreshing. Elian’s relationship with the crew of the Saad was another element that I enjoyed. The banter and respect that was shown between the crew and their captain really brought out a softer side to Elian and revealed him as more trusting and warm. Lira and Miriam’s storyline was another feature in the novel that I enjoyed. Especially when we were exposed the backstory of how they became so close and how willing they were to sacrifice themselves in order to save each other after everything they have both been through was a compelling plot point.

There was intrigue, drama, secrets and surprises woven very intricately throughout the novel and it kept my curiosity piqued enough that I couldn’t put it down.

⭐️4/5 stars highly recommend it was great!

Poison Study Review

*Partially Spoilery Review*

60510OMG this book was amazing. It follows the story of Yelena, an orphan who grew up on the estate of one of the Generals of the country Ixia. She is now imprisoned as we have learned that she has killed someone in her past. She is offered the chance to either be executed or become the new food taster for the Commander of Ixia, and this is really where the story takes off.

I found myself absolutely enthralled by this book. I physically could not put it down until I finished it! I loved Yelena as the main character and her narrative was excellent. It really highlighted her struggles and showed how she developed throughout the story. Valek was an enigma for me for most of the story, I couldn’t make heads or tails of him and I really enjoyed how he kept me guessing! I thought as a whole the novel was very well put together, I loved that the love story really took a back seat and let the plot really take shape around the political intrigue that built up as the story progressed as that is really the main focus of the story. I’m usually not a huge fan of more politically centred books but the way that Poison Study was structured really had me on the edge of my seat and had me guessing at every stage what was going to happen next, even shocking me at one point that I had to physically close the book and take a breath. The magic system really wasn’t completely established in this novel but we definitely got a taste of it and it left you wanting to know more, so I thought that really set up the sequel Magic Study nicely.

⭐️4/5 Stars would 100% recommend and I am excited to continue on with this series and see what will happen next!

Ever the Brave Review

33413892Ever the Brave is the sequel to Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill. If you haven’t read Ever the Hunted I would suggest you go read that first before reading this review as you may be a little spoiled.

Ever the Brave continues straight on in the narrative after Britta has saved King Aodren with her new found channelling powers. Britta’s content to just live a peaceful life in her father’s cottage that was gifted to her by the king, but unfortunately the link that she now shares with the king after saving him has pulled her into the political machinations of the kingdom and he’s now insisting she becomes a noble lady no matter how much she resists. Along with somehow learning how to control her powers, and resist those who are looking to use them for evil without Cohen’s help as he is off in Norta trying to hunt down the rogue channeller who has possessed the king.

I enjoyed the pace of this novel. It picked up straight after Ever the Hunted left off and continued running. I didn’t particularly like the love triangle that was going on throughout most of the book. I think it just came across a little to forced for me…although it was played off nicely and I enjoyed how it came around in the end. Britta was really a force to be reckoned with in this book. From who she was in the first novel to the strong, independent, powerful young lady she ends up being is very empowering and I thought that was a good representation of a proper character arc for her.

All in all I thought it was solid ending, though it wasn’t my absolute favourite fantasy series out there but I really enjoyed the plot, the characters were very varied and entertaining and the magic system was interesting and different to anything I’ve read recently.

⭐️4/5 stars would recommend for all those fantasy YA lovers out there!

The Thief Review

*Non Spoiler Review*

448873This story follows Gen a thief who has professed he can steal anything. These claims have eventually caused him to be imprisoned and reluctantly released by the King who has sent him on a journey to steal an invaluable hidden treasure from a neighbouring kingdom.

I absolutely flew through this book in one sitting. I thought the story as a whole was cleverly constructed and was very unpredictable. I loved the historical aspects that the author included with the many mythical legends and stories that was shared around the fire between Gen and his captors. However, I found it started off a little bit slow for me and I didn’t find myself really invested into the story until I got around the 100 page mark. I found after I passed that stage in the story the pace really started to move a lot quicker and really captured my attention. The setting is highly detailed and it’s filled with a core group of complex characters. I loved Gen, I felt his dry humour and wit really captivated me from the beginning and I definitely want to continue on in the series to see what adventures and predicaments he gets himself caught up in next!

⭐️4/5 stars and would definitely recommend!