If you are unaware what the Buzzword Readathon/Challenge is see my prior post HERE. Last month the buzzword was name/title and unfortunately I didn’t end up completing anything but I was able to catch up early this month with Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir! I am excited to continue on with this challenge and complete this months buzzword which is:
This month the buzzword theme is LAST and here my options:
*Spoilers Below*
Warrior Alyssa ana’Raisa would do anything to protect her home, the Fells, and her legacy, the Gray Wolf line. But as a prisoner of Empress Celestine, Lyss is forced to turn her fearsome talents as an army commander against her beloved homeland. Refusal would swiftly lead to her death, and her death would end the Gray Wolf line. In Lyss’s absence, Fellsmarch Castle swarms with intrigue, deception, and a primordial threat. Destin Karn, a southern spymaster with a hidden agenda of his own, might be the queendom’s only hope of defeating the forces aligned against the Seven Realms . . . as well as the enemies within the castle.
I think the character I enjoyed the most in terms of their overall arc was definitely Destin Karn. He really shone for me in this last book. we get to see him be the callous assassin who will do anything to further his own agenda in court but this time his agenda aligns with the rest of the seven realms in a positive way. At the start of this series I think I thought his character wasn’t all that relevant, I don’t think I even mentioned him in my first review for Flamecaster. But to see his evolution from when he was a kid in Tarvos and then being the Assassin in Arden Court to eventually getting his happiness with Evan was wonderful to read.
Lyss and her evolution was less dramatic I find. She is pretty consistent for me throughout the series she just really comes to terms with being the new queen were as before she second guessing herself and comparing herself to Hanalea and even Juliann. Her storyline in this last book was kind of boring. We didn’t really get many chapters from her point of view and when we did it was when she was still being held captive by Celestine and not a lot was happening. I’m so glad that she was able to finally reunite with her brother, that was a great scene!
In the end Lila’s character is integral to the storyline but she didn’t have that great twist that I was waiting for. Seeing her on the council in Fellsmarch was gratifying but she didn’t really have that much of an impact that I was expecting. She works the whole conspiracy out quickly though and takes control and links with Destin again to defeat Jastin and I love the companionship between them!
In terms of the plot and the twists I have to say I was surprised by how everything played out with Celestine and the truth behind all of the parentage of all of the magemarked. I wish the eventual stand off between the Empress and her siblings was drawn out a little more and didn’t necessarily involve the dragons saving the day but again I was satisfied with how it played and I don’t really have any complaints. The big twist about who the spy was in the Fells definitely surprised me, I at no point in time thought it was going to be Mellony so that was entertaining.
Overall I’m very happy with how many point of views we get from each of the main characters. They are all so easy to differentiate and finally getting to see them all interact with each other was so satisfying and exciting. They’ve been circling for so long and scheming and to finally have everything come to a head and get answers was worth the journey for sure!
⭐️5/5 stars Highly recommend this series, if you haven’t yet read it!
I can’t believe it’s already been another three months since my last recommendation post! This is going to be my second instalment for 2021 and this month I only picked 5 books to list since I didn’t read as much during those three months and these were the only books I wanted to recommend. If you want to check out my first quarterly reading recommendations click HERE!
My recommendations for April – May – June are:
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Shadowcaster by Cinda Williams Chima
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
*SOME SPOILERS BELOW*
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
I have to honest this book just seemed to go on forever and it was difficult for me to get into at the start. It wasn’t until I was at least halfway through that I actually became interested in what was happening in the plot and understanding everything to do with the Order. The writing at times felt a little disjointed and I was confused when chapters ended and felt like I was missing information. Like I would have to go back and read the last couple of paragraphs before continuing on because I couldn’t understand the continuation.
Once I was actually invested in the story it was highly interesting. Everything to do with the Root magic and how it interconnected with Bree’s family in particular. I love the separate storyline with Patricia and how she helps Bree with her grief whilst also sharing with her knowledge about her mother and what she can do. I wish we got more interactions between them because I think Patricia was a very calming and nurturing person in Bree’s life and I was a lot more interested in the Root magic.
The Order and Line of Scion was very confusing at first to take in. There are just a lot of characters and titles that was a little difficult to get my head around. That part of the story felt info dumpy to me and I struggled to get a clear picture of what was happening when she was there. Once I was able to figure it out the politics and hierarchy was infuriating. I am glad Bree chose to stand her ground and confront those who were racist and colourist towards her.
I am liking the love triangle that is taking place but I feel like they formed these relationships way too quickly. Nick being in love with Bree after like two days is unrealistic and it felt rushed to me. Sel’s I can sympathise with because I feel like he had so many more intimate and powerful moments with Bree than with Nick so I’m intrigued to know how that plays out for sure!
There is sooo much packed into this story and honestly was a lot to comprehend, but the plot is highly original and action packed. The magic system was interesting and branches off a lot so I’m excited to learn more about it and how aether can be manipulated. The twists were surprising and I couldn’t predict anything that was going to happen which is always a plus.
⭐️3/5 stars A promising start, will definitely be continuing on!
Amy Leigh Reads 