Book Lists

Worth the Hype??

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Worth the Hype??

Over the last year or so there have been a couple books that have been super hyped and popularised on booktok, booktube & bookstagram that I have been influenced enough to pick up and I wanted to share whether or not I think they were worth the hype.

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

I thought this was going to be a lot more fantastical as opposed to academic and I think it the fact that we are mostly in the same setting the whole time that made this a bit tedious to read. Wasn’t worth the hype in my opinion!

The Final Girls Support Group by Grady Hendrix

In the end this was very entertaining and thrilling. I thought it was a pretty quick read and the twists and reveals definitely kept me engaged. I think I was expecting a lot more blood and gore though. I understand why people were hyping it up but was just ok for me!

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

This wasn’t anything spectacular or ground-breaking but I think its more about the way it makes you feel. It’s about growth, acceptance, embracing yourself and coming to terms with your past trauma and moving on. This was a fantastic, quick, wholesome read that I would recommend to everyone! 100% worth the hype!

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

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. 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! Another definitely worth the hype it was great!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Even though this was super hyped I was still surprised with how the story progressed. I was picturing something a little more fluffier but this was anything but. It was a lot darker and tortured than what I expected and I was pleasantly surprised! The structure and prose was beautifully done, the pacing was consistent and the dual timelines kept me invested and eager to find out what was going to happen next. You will either love it or hate it I think!

Top Ten Tuesdays

Anticipated Releases I Haven’t Read

by amyleighreads17 Comments on Anticipated Releases I Haven’t Read

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday prompt is books you were highly anticipating but haven’t read yet. I decided to go back to the two most anticipated lists I made for the first and second half of 2021 and here are the 8 books I haven’t had a chance to pick up yet plus 2 from 2020:

Gods & Monsters by Shelby Mahurin

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

Well Matched by Jen DeLuca

All of Us are Villains by Christine Lynn Herman & Amanda Foody

Red Tigress by Amelie Wen Zhao

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Book Lists

Series I need To Continue Update

by amyleighreads4 Comments on Series I need To Continue Update

Back in January posted about 5 series I wanted to continue in. I wanted to go back and check and see how I’m going and evaluate which books in the coming months I should try and prioritise!

The five series plan to continue or complete in 2022 are:

Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks – Haven’t continued

Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski – Have completed the second book!

Serpent and Dove series by Shelby Mahurin – Completed Blood & Honey and am planning on finishing this series this month!

The Poppy War series by R.F. Kuang – Haven’t continued

Shadow Game Trilogy by Amanda Foody – Completed!

Reviews

Girls of Fate and Fury Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Girls of Fate and Fury Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

There’s one thing Lei knows – she can never return to the Hidden Palace. The trauma and tragedy she suffered behind those opulent walls will plague her forever. She cannot be trapped there with the sadistic king again, especially without Wren. The last time Lei saw the girl she loved, Wren was fighting an army of soldiers in a furious battle to the death.

Lei has evolved into a character that I don’t really enjoy. I know she has suffered and endured traumatic events at the hands of the King over the course of her time at the Hidden Palace but it’s the fact that she chose to stay there and not escape and yet had to rely on others to concoct the plans and execute everything. Even though she wants to kill the king (which she reiterates every time she is near him) she doesn’t actively do anything except memorise her way through the palace. I honestly would of been more impressed if she did end up sacrificing herself for Wren and she didn’t get a happy ending, really make this a tragic story and set this series apart.

I’ve been quite ambivalent towards Wren throughout the course of the series and that honestly didn’t change in this book. I get that she loves Lei and being apart isn’t ideal but the way she agonises over it every second got boring. I would of loved if we got more insight into the Hanno’s and the actual war. I just found her storyline to be a bit lacking and uneventful honestly.

Overall I just feel like the stakes weren’t there. I just knew that Lei and Wren were going to make it out alive and the fact that there wasn’t any shocking or surprising twists made me a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong there were definitely twists but nothing that evoked any kind emotion from me. Also the pacing of the book was just way off, the first 3/4 was super slow and then the last quarter was rushed and chaotic.

I wasn’t that big a fan of the way Natasha Ngan wrote the fighting and war scenes. It made it hard to visualise what was happening and where the characters were. I had to go back and reread some passages a few times because I couldn’t figure out where certain characters were or how they moved to this other location. It brought me out of the story and didn’t really make for a good reading experience.

⭐️2/5 stars Kind of wish Girls of Paper and Fire was a stand-a-lone…