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Reviews

Crystal Storm Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Crystal Storm Review

23367261Wild!

Once again we are continuing straight off where Frozen Tides concluded. Magnus and Cleo have decided to accompany King Gais to visit his mother who was thought to be dead. Jonas, Felix, Nic and Taran are sailing back to Paelsia along with Prince Ashur who was also thought to be dead.

So Lucia is warming up to me now. I like that we see her acknowledge all of her wrongdoings not only to Timotheus but to Jonas as well. Saying she deserves to die for all of the pain and devastation she has caused around Paelsia. I think her discovering she is pregnant really made her stop and think about what she was actually doing and why. I still think she is quite selfish and arrogant but that is really a cause of her upbringing, I just hope we see her mature and gain a little bit more humility in the upcoming conclusion.

Magnus and Cleo didn’t have enough moments together for me. We still see them continue to keep secrets from one another, which is causing issues in their relationship. I didn’t like the fact Cleo won’t open up to everyone and let them know she loves Magnus, I just think it shows she’s a little ashamed of her emotions and doesn’t want her friends to hate her. I think sure they might be a little disappointed, Nic in particular but if they really love her as much as they claim to, they would get over it. I enjoyed that we see Magnus be a little insecure and jealous of Cleo’s friendship with the other rebels, Jonas in particular. I just wish he would communicate his feelings to Cleo more openly instead of bottling them up.

I liked the inclusion of Selia into the plot. I thought she was intriguing and interesting characters. I loved her interactions with Cleo and I thought her devotion to her son was quite relatable, even though he’s this horrible person. When her real motives are finally revealed it was definitely a twist that I didn’t see coming!

This book was a little more stagnant compared to the previous books. The pacing is still quite fast and there are many twists and revelations that keep you invested and entertained. For a good chunk of the story all of the characters are in one place. I like that the story has kind of been centralised and all of the main players have come together and we see some of the schemes and plans come to fruition.

⭐️5/5 Ugh, they just keep getting better!

Reviews

Assassin’s Quest Review

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assassin-s-quest-the-farseer-trilogy-book-3King Shrewd is dead at the hands of his son Regal. As is Fitz or so his enemies and friends believe. But with the help of his allies and his beast magic, he emerges from the grave, deeply scarred in body and soul.

I really enjoyed seeing Fitz’s evolution over the course of the plot. At the start he is still more wolf than human and watching him struggle to retain his humanity was highly entertaining to read. The scenes between Fitz and Burrich during this time were incredibly poignant and touching. Burrich really displayed how much he loves Fitz and we see him step up and save Fitz time and time again. I can’t say I appreciated the way Fitz spoke to him and pushed him away but I’m glad we see him eventually move on.

I found Fitz to be a little petulant and childish for most of the book. At the start when he starts on his journey to kill Regal with no plan just his ego and his wit leading him into a trap. The fact that he even thought to himself what if Will was using the skill to coax him to Tradeford and then walk right into the trap was frustrating. He was so hell bent on killing Regal for his own gain that all of his assassin skills just went right out the window.

Nighteyes was one constant in the story that I loved. His relationship with Fitz and his simple way of life was a breath of fresh air in the plot. His dedication to Fitz and steadfast logic I think really prolonged Fitz’s survival.

Starling wasn’t a favourite character of mine. I found her to be a bit of an opportunist and didn’t really care for Fitz or his wellbeing, just wanting to us him for her own personal gain. I think the fact that she followed him so far and her song didn’t even end up being about him was ironic. Selling out Nettle to the Farseer throne was really the last straw for me with her. She never even really apologised to Fitz about it either which really grated me.

The story as a whole just really dragged and got very repetitive. I understand the book is really centered around this quest that Fitz has to undertake to find King Verity but I think a solid 400-500 pages was just Fitz travelling and making and breaking up camps. There wasn’t enough action or a real sense of adventure for me. By the end when we started finally finding out answers to all the questions that have been posed throughout the series I wasn’t really interested or invested anymore.

I story is very immersive, epic and I can respect the way Robin Hobb wove the plot in a way that makes you really delve deep into these characters, it just wasn’t the story for me.

⭐️2/5 stars Not enough happened for me to justify the length…

Reviews

Frozen Tides Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Frozen Tides Review

17342701Once again I loved the direction the plot went in. We are introduced to some new characters and say goodbye to a few I thought were going to integral to the plot.

Magnus is really cementing his position as one of my favourite characters in this series. I started off really not liking him and how he was trying to hard to emulate his father, but in this installment in particular we really see a shift in his character with a lot of development and growth. At times he is still going back and forth on whether or not to trust Cleo but when he makes his ultimate decision to trust his instincts and go with what his heart desires I was soooo happy!

Cleo I think is really starting to come into her own. I just think she is still too trusting of people. She let Nic and Kurtus get into her head about not trusting Magnus when she knew all along that her best chance to overcome Gais was to side with him. She really took charge and wouldn’t back down to anyone when they stood in her way!

Lucia is getting on my nerves. I think she is entitled and selfish and deluded into thinking she is in charge of the situation. Her attitude throughout the plot and her disregard for innocent lives definitely strengthened my previous feeling about her. Yes her arc is interesting and we are getting answers to a lot of questions but at the same time I don’t really care about her at all…

Jonas is still such an endearing character to me. He has managed to escape so many life-threatening situations and honestly shouldn’t be alive. I definitely felt bad for him in this book, especially after everything that happened with Lys. I honestly thought they would end up together in the end and now that Cleo is out of the equation as well I wonder what is going to happen with him next.

There were soo many power moves and schemes happening in this book that at times it was a little hard to keep up with it all. I am very much invested in all of the characters and I am eagerly anticipating what is going to happen in the final two books!

⭐️5/5 MAGNEO!!!!

Reviews

Girls of Storm and Shadow Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Girls of Storm and Shadow Review

43558747Lei and Wren have escaped from the confines of the Hidden Palace after the Winter Ball and are now sequestered in the mountains waiting or Wren’s father to arrive and explain their next step in the plans to overthrow the King.

I liked the direction the plot is going, we’re introduced to a plethora of new characters and this found family dynamic they have going on was endearing. Bo and Nitta brought some much-needed spark to the storyline. I loved Bo’s constant chatter and comic relief that contrasts starkly with the overall tone of the storyline. Nitta didn’t really hold any interest for me, other than being Bo’s sister we aren’t really given much insight into her character and what role she plays. I’m hoping in the next book we are given the opportunity to learn more about her and Bo and why they were exiled from their clan.

Merrin was a little annoying for me at the start. His sassiness came across a little arrogant at first, but his development over the course of the plot was wonderful. His banter with the leopard siblings was entertaining and when he finally accepts his feeling for Bo we really see a different side to him. Even though he made a few decisions that didn’t seem wise you can definitely relate to why he did what he did. I loved that he called out Wren and her father and made Lei see what they were actually doing. She even said that what he was saying was correct and she couldn’t dispute it. I hope he is given some level of redemption in the next book.

Lei kind of got my nerves throughout the book as well. I think her love for Wren really blinded her from what was actually going on. She knew that they were keeping secrets from her and despite being Moonchosen she doesn’t demand answers until the very end when it feels like it may be too late. I wanted her to be more of a commanding figure and stand up for herself a bit more! Her need to throw herself into unnecessary danger also irked me, I get she is trying to overthrow the oppressive hold the king has on everyone but she needs to pick her battles a little better.

Though Wren’s character is constantly surprising me and is turning somewhat morally gray I’m sort of starting to feel a bit ambivalent towards her. I can’t condone her actions and I feel like her ultimate goal has taken over her sense of right and wrong.

I enjoyed the fact we are still given some perspectives from those still in the Hidden Palace. Finding out that Lill is still alive and Mistriss Azumi is the contact inside. I’m interested to see how Aoki is going to react to her families demise and how the King is going to influence her over her friendship with Lei. I have a feeling that is going to be crucial in the next book.

⭐️3/5 Epic journey, dark magic, heart-breaking betrayals!

Reviews

Permanent Record Review

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Permanent Record follows the story of Pablo who has dropped out of NYU and accrued a lot of debt over the course of the year he was there. He is currently working at his local 24hr health food store contemplating his life when in walks Leanna Smart the most famous pop star in the world.

Pablo got on my nerves for the majority of the book; he blows off all of his responsibilities and chases after Leanna. He just ignores all of his bills and pushes away his parents, friends and his brother to be with Leanna who is living a completely parallel life. I think the reason he is so taken with her at first is because of her fame. We see it constantly throughout the course of the book where he is disappointed he can’t post about her on his Instagram or when she buries the paparazzi photos of them. I liked that Leanna called him out on that.

Leanna on the other hand I think is quite selfish… she just expects Pab to just drop everything and follow her around the world and just sit around and wait for her. I wouldn’t even be able to imagine the pressure and weight of expectations she has on her shoulders but like Pab says she’s living in a completely alternate world to him and she has the power to change things if she truly wishes.

Everything happened a little too fast in terms of the timeline for their relationship. Literally the second time Leanne saw Pab she’s inviting him to LA with her. She just met this guy and talked to him for a couple of hours in a Deli… it just seemed a little unrealistic. There is a whole lot of miscommunication going on throughout the story as well. I just wanted Pab and Leanna to sit down and actually hash everything out and explain themselves and what they actually want out of the relationship.

Overall I was a little frustrated by this book. I didn’t particularly like Pab or Leanna as out main characters. Pab neglected everyone around him and Leanne wasn’t relatable at all.

⭐️2/5 stars just wasn’t my cup of tea…