Tag: adult fantasy

Reviews

A Court of Silver Flames Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on A Court of Silver Flames Review

Nesta Archeron has always been prickly – proud, swift to anger and slow to forgive. And since the war – since being made High Fae against her will – she’s struggled to forget the horrors she endured and find a place for herself within the strange and deadly Night Court. The person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred, winged warrior who is there at Nesta’s every turn. But her temper isn’t the only thing Cassian ignites. And when they are forced to train in battle together, sparks become flame.

Nesta is the kind of character that is just so easy to hate but honestly after getting her perspective I find her to be a lot more relatable than Feyre. I’m glad that we get to see the consequences of what she has gone through and the work she has to put in to move past everything. I think it’s very unfair the amount of times the rest of the Night court make decisions without her input and decide when to deign her with crucial information. They seen how long it took for Feyre to get over her time at the Spring Court and didn’t give Nesta enough grace I feel.

Cassian wasn’t as honest with Nesta as I think he should of been but he definitely was her biggest supporter and advocator when they were all discussing what to do and what to tell her when she wasn’t present. I feel as though we only really scratched the surface with him and what he has overcome in his life as well which could of made me feel more connected to him had we got maybe some flashbacks to some of these battles and wars he’s been in.

This was a very emotional book about finding acceptance and trust within yourself. This was definitely the most adult of Sarah J Maas’s books as it gets very smutty which I wasn’t expecting to go to that level but I was pleasantly surprised. I loved seeing Nesta and Cassian grow closer and try not to give into their quite obvious feelings for each other. There was a little bit of the miscommunication trope which I hate but they hash everything out multiple times which placated me.

I have to be honest the mystery surrounding the trove and the queens didn’t really interest me that much. It was a nice way to include all the other characters we know and love but just Nesta’s journey with training and establishing the Valkyrie’s would of been enough for me.

⭐️5/5 stars I am soooo disappointed in myself for not reading this sooner!

Reviews

Ninth House Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on Ninth House Review

43263680Galaxy (Alex) Stern has had a rough start at life, but she has been given a second chance and has an opportunity to attend Yale and is enveloped into the mysterious world of the nine secret societies that have been thriving there for hundreds of years.

It was a little too info dumpy at the start of the book. For those first hundred or so pages it was really a struggle to get through. It was slower paced and there are just so many dates, code names, characters, rules and regulations as well as all the magical elements woven in as well. It was a lot more rooted into the historical elements of the houses and it kind of bored me.

Alex I didn’t quite connect with for the first half of the book. She was just too mysterious I guess, we didn’t know a lot about her and she had too many secrets. She is a definitely a flawed character and being out of her element and thrust into the Lethe house and trying to live up to the expectations that are heaped upon her forced her out of her comfort zone. As she is learning about everything so are we, there is just a lot of information to wade through in a short amount of time. I did enjoy her development over the course of the story line though. She gains a lot more confidence in herself and really has had to come to terms with her past and everything that happened with Hellie in order to move on with her future.

I liked Darlington and I wish he was around for more of the plot. He was a nice contrast to Alex and even though he exudes that rich, know it all persona he has had to work hard to get to where he is now. Dawes started out as a quite innocuous character, I didn’t really think she would have much of an impact on the plot but she was like the dark horse of the story. She saved Alex’s life multiple times and stood up for her on multiple occasions as well when it came to the Dean.

Like I said the start of the book was a little bit slow and was quite hard to get through. However, once I was settled into the story and the investigation about Tara’s death began the pacing definitely picked up and the action intensified. There were some great twists and turns thrown in and I appreciated how much Leigh Bardugo went in depth with the different houses, I just wish maybe she only would of focused on a couple at a time and expanded upon them as the series continues.

⭐️3/5 stars a very slow build!

Reviews

Warbreaker Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Warbreaker Review

51zg32xJdLL__SX325_BO1,204,203,200_Warbreaker is about two sisters who are princesses of a small kingdom. Vivienna is the oldest and her whole life she has been groomed to marry the Godking of the neighboring Kingdom as part of a peace treaty but at the last minute her father decided to send the youngest daughter Siri instead.

Siri was a little too carefree and naïve at the start of the book but I loved seeing her transformation over the course of the story line. I found it quite cruel that her father decided to send her instead of her sister. I understand how difficult the situation was but he literally just sent her in blind with no hope of survival.

Vivienna kind of bugged me. She came across a tad arrogant, but I appreciated how most of her beliefs are challenged and she really had to evaluate who she was as a person and how she perceives the world. She is really brought down to her lowest possible point and still perseveres and comes out a lot stronger than what she was previously.

Lightsong’s character was a little dull to be honest. I knew that he was integral to the story and would ultimately have a purpose he would need to fulfill, but the journey to that moment was a little tedious. I enjoyed finding out more about his background and who he used to be and why he was chosen as Lightsong the Brave but everything else I really wasn’t invested in.

I found the magic system to be very unique but kind of confusing at times. It was definitely explained in full but the whole concept of the returned at the different levels was hard to wrap my head around. The way things were explained went into detail but I found it all to be a little dense to be honest.

Overall I really enjoyed all of the action and the intrigue. I had no idea which direction the plot was going to go in and I highly enjoyed all of the twists and turns incorporated into the plot. I just think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if it wasn’t as long as it was. If it was condensed to around 400-500 pages instead of nearly 700 I feel like I would of be way more invested than what I was!

⭐️3/5 stars a very slow burn!

Reviews

Royal Assassin Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Royal Assassin Review

51ht4hrpk9lLiked didn’t quite love.

Royal Assassin continues pretty much straight where Assassin’s Apprentice left off. Fitz is still in the mountains recuperating after his bout of poisoning at the hands of Prince Regal, ponding whether to remain for the Winter or start the trek back to Buckeep and the burden of being the bastard.

I like how this sequel we delve so much deeper into the backgrounds of a few of the characters and their reasonings behind where their loyalties lie. Which I feel was really the main focus of the book. There are various situations where Fitz finds his faith and trust for his king pushed right to its limits. He even at times I feel circumvents his oaths in a way that still isn’t treason but is better suited to his point of view. We do see some growth throughout the storyline but I feel there is still so much more that he is capable of and hasn’t shown his full potential yet.

I find Molly to be a little bit unlikable. I see the reasoning behind her character and how Robin Hobb utilised her as a way for Fitz to truly display either his love and commitment to her or to the Farseer line. I felt she went into the whole situation well aware of how she will be perceived and accepted the inevitable for what it was yet still she demanded Fitz to choose her knowing he wasn’t going to. I think it was the back and forth that bugged me the most. One day she will be accepting of Fitz’s situation and would just live for the moment and try to be happy and other days she would reject him completely and not be open to any kind of compromise. 

The pacing of the story was a little off for me. There were certain sections that were very action packed with high intensity and then the plot would become stagnant and a little dry. This is a very politically driven plot with a few fantastical elements thrown in, whereas I would prefer the reverse. I felt like it was just a little too long as well, not enough happened for me to justify the book being 648 pages. I think had this book been around the 400 page mark I would of been a lot more engaged.

I want to know more about the mysterious Elderlings, I want to see Fitz utilise more of his assassin abilities and have a few more covert missions. There just wasn’t enough oomph in this for me.

⭐️3/5 stars still a solid fantasy read, just not entertaining enough for me, I’m hoping for an explosive ending!

Reviews

The Priory of the Orange Tree Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on The Priory of the Orange Tree Review

91DIYtTpRnLThis was epic!!!

This is the first ever novel I read of Samantha Shannon and oh my goodness it was amazing. The world is wonderfully rich and developed, the magic system is complex and highly original and the plot was suspenseful and riveting!

We follow multiple perspectives throughout this book and at first that kind of had me a little confused. There is a lot of information given right from the start and like most epic novels it takes me a while to get situated into the story. But once I had a grasp of the characters and a general scope of the premise I was hooked!

This world was once ravaged and nearly decimated by a war that was lead by a fierce dragon called the nameless one. A thousand years ago he was defeated by a saint that the kingdom now revere and his direct descendant is Queen Sabran who is ruler over this land. Ead has been charged by the Priory of the Orange Tree a sacred sect of mages to guard Queen Sabran and keep her safe.

I love that this book really centers around three totally different but complex and distinct female characters. Ead is wonderful. She is so stubborn yet staunch in her beliefs and I like that she will not cower from her duties. She will rebut and argue her point and she will always do what is necessary. Queen Sabran I didn’t really enjoy at the start of the book. I thought she was a little too pious and naïve but she really grew on me as the story progressed. I thought she handled the responsibility and obligation to her people very well. She had a lot of harsh blows dealt to her throughout the course of the book yet she remained firm and strong. I was curious about Tane and how she would fit in to the story as I continued to read. I couldn’t tell how she would connect back and make a mark on the plot but she definitely surprised me in the end. As one of the main perspectives in the book I knew she would have to make some form of impact but her storyline started out so small and kind of insignificant that I didn’t see anything coming! I love that we really see her hit rock bottom but continue to fight and strive to right her wrongs and gain some form of atonement for her actions.

Being over eight hundred pages there is a lot of action and twist that take place. The story wove together beautifully and I honestly could not predict what was going to happen next. This was a very plot heavy and character driven story that really excelled in capturing the harsh reality of the situation. The stakes were incredibly high and the anticipation kept building.

I really enjoyed this read, high/epic fantasy is without a doubt my favourite genre and this book ticked all the boxes for me!

⭐️4.5/5 Dragons, destinies and drama!!!