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!

Book Lists

Quarterly Reading Recommendations

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Quarterly Reading Recommendations

I’ve decided that every three months this year I will go through my reading list and pick out the top 10 books I have read. These are going to all of my 5 star reads as well as any other book that I loved but didn’t give 5 stars for whatever reason. Then at the end of the year I will compile my list and pick out my top 10 overall of 2019. If you want to read any of my reviews for these books just click on the titles!

So my reading recommendations for January, February and March are:

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

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The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

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The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

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The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware

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The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

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Girls of Paper and Fire by Natashan Ngan

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Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

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Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson

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Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

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Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

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Book Lists

5 things that make me pick up a book!

by amyleighreads1 Comment on 5 things that make me pick up a book!

Every Tuesday I look forward to everyone’s Top 10 Tuesday posts but I have never participated myself. So I thought I would throw my hat into the mix today and give it a go!

SO THESE ARE THE FIVE THINGS THAT MAKE ME PICK UP A BOOK!

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39863498I am highly susceptible to hype and I have found myself in the past picking a book up purely because of the hype. Nowadays, I am a little pickier with what I read so I will do a little more research on the book first before I actually read it! Example: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi – I was browsing a bookstore a little while ago and when I spotted The Gilded Wolves on the shelves I proceeded to pick it up and buy it with no hesitation. I had seen it soo much on my social media at that point that it was instinctive.

1

9781784708238I am a sucker for beautiful covers! If I am in a bookstore and a particular cover stands out to me I will immediately gravitate towards it! Whether or not I actually purchase the book will depend on my mood but there have been several instances where this has occurred! Example: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood– I was perusing a book store and came across this beautiful edition of The Handmaid’s Tale. I had been on my TBR for a while now so I immediately bought it!

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91FZ41RwZzLIf I have read one or more books by a certain author and loved it I will definitely go back and pick up more books from that author because I trust them and their work! Even if I know nothing about the book I will still give it a read and see what I think! Example: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson – I had just finished his Mistborn Trilogy and was looking into his other work when I came across the Stormlight Archives and immediately picked them up. Now one of my all-time favourite fantasy series!

3

34433755I am a fantasy lover and I am always on the hunt for new fantasy series! The longer the better in my opinion I love them all! So when I hear about a book that is the start of a new fantasy series I will probably be picking it up in the very near future and checking it out! Example: Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan – This was a mixture of hype, cover and the fact that it is a newly released novel that is the start of a new fantasy series! When I saw this book and read the blurb I immediately knew I had to read it!

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Sometimes I just sit and stare at my bookshelves and I see some of the books sitting there and it brings back memories of when I first read them, what I was doing in my life at that moment, how old I was etc. and that feeling really prompts me to pick the book up! Example: Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling – I am still in the middle of my reread of this series! What spurred my nostalgia was receiving the illustrated editions for Christmas and that just put me in the mood to read them all again!