Tag: book review

Reviews

House of Salt and Sorrow Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on House of Salt and Sorrow Review

39679076Very Atmospheric!

In this book we are following the perspective of Annaleigh who lives in a manor by the sea with her father the Duke and her 7 sisters. The mainlanders believe that Annaleigh and her family are cursed because four of her sisters have recently died under mysterious circumstances.

I liked Annaleigh though at times I found her to be a little naïve and I felt she read a lot younger than what her age really is. I’m guessing because they are so sheltered at Highmoor and haven’t had a lot of interaction with boys her age, the whole blushing routine whenever she has a conversation with someone of the opposite sex got a little tedious for me. We do see her evolve and take more of a stand throughout the course of the book and I liked that she showed her stepmother a little empathy even though she definitely didn’t deserve it!

I thought the atmosphere of the book was fantastic. It was definitely eerie and mysterious. I enjoyed how what I would assume the origin and the lore of the original story was woven into this adaptation. I have heard of the twelve dancing princesses before but I haven’t actually read it.

The mystery aspect at first I thought was very well done but when it actually got down to the wire about who was responsible it was pretty obvious to me. It didn’t really take any of my enjoyment out of the experience but all of the predictions I made throughout my read by and large came true.

The pacing was a little bit off at times. The beginning I thought really captured my attention and was very engaging and then there were a few sections in the middle of the story that was a little harder to get through and then the ending felt a little rushed to me. It felt like everything was kind of exposed suddenly and then wrapped up equally suddenly.

However, I really enjoyed this book. It ebbed and flowed and had me intrigued enough to finish it quite quickly!

⭐️3.5/5 Dark, trippy, twisted!

Reviews

An Anonymous Girl Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on An Anonymous Girl Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

39863515._SY475_Good not great!

An Anonymous Girl follows the perspective of a girl who decides to participate in a psychological test study headed by a mysterious professor on morality and ethics.

Jessica’s character was at times a little morally ambiguous, which I guess feeds directly into the plot and keeps the audience guessing. Sometimes she will be willing to do what Dr. Shields asks of her with no complaint and other times she will stand up for herself and refuse, but usually she will get talked into doing it anyway. I like seeing her putting the little pieces together and figuring out what is really going on, seeing her paranoia build up and trying to investigate what Dr. Shields is hiding. She was a little on the naïve side for most of the book and that kind of soured her a little for me, so by the end I wasn’t all that invested in the outcome.

Dr. Shields was an interesting character. I like that she genuinely thought what she was doing was ok and not at all on the psychotic side of things. Going through with the actual case study even after what happened with her previous participant just to keep trying to catch her husband in a lie. She was manipulative, cold and calculating and she had an answer for everything! I like that we are given a bit more background into her life to acknowledge that her behavior has really grown and evolved over time, but it was always present!

The pacing of the book was pretty fast and I was able to get through it really quickly. There were enough twists and turns that it kept me engaged and entertained, however, there were sections of the story that felt like I really had to drag myself through. There was a nice build-up of tension and anticipation and the ending was actually quite explosive. I just wasn’t all that interested by the end. I found that this isn’t really the kind of thriller that I personally enjoy as much as others!

⭐️3/5 ok just was a little meh…

Reviews

Rebel Spring Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Rebel Spring Review

16000044This series is starting to give me serious Game of Throne vibes but like on a YA level. There is quite a large cast of characters and we get different povs from these characters throughout the book. Also, Morgan Rhodes really isn’t afraid to kill off characters that I thought were quite integral to the overall plot and would just introduce new characters who fit in quite organically to this already established cast. It makes every scene really engaging and the stakes are at an all time high!

I like the introduction of Lysandra to the book. I thought she added a much needed feminine touch to the rebels. She is also very spirited and motivated to shut down the blood road and save her people. I thought when she first met Jonas and Brion she was a little too pushy and wanted things to be her way but she really proved herself over the course of the book how necessary she is. I like that she holds Jonas accountable and questions his decisions when she feels like he’s not doing what is right. She really established herself as quite an important factor in the rebels and I feel she has earned the right to speak up and make herself heard!

The only thing I’m not too jazzed about in the series is how insta-lovey a lot of the romance is. Take Cleo for example she was in love with Theon after 5 minutes and then she kissed Jonas after hating him and starts to feel something and then she marries Magnus who she hates as well and 5 minutes later he kisses her and suddenly she thinks there’s something there as well. Also Jonas kisses Cleo after wanting to kill her and then she goes back to the palace and suddenly its like he see’s Lysandra for the first time and how beautiful she is. I just want there to be a little more of a build up and not jumping around from person to person. Don’t get me wrong I like how all of the characters are intermingling and interacting with each other but it’s getting a little too all over the place.

Other than that I love the direction the plot is going. In this book I feel like it set the foundation for the rest of the series. Falling Kingdoms was really like the introduction and Rebel Spring really developed a lot more of the lore and established the setting and the overall goal that theses characters are moving towards!

I can forsee a lot more action and intrigue and adventure and I am just really excited to be delving into this world and figuring out what these characters are going to do next!

⭐️4/5 Highly entertaining, I’m addicted!

Reviews

Darkdawn Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on Darkdawn Review

23264672This is the third and final book in the Nevernight Chronicles. We follow on immediately after the events that took place in Godsgrave with Mia having just murdered Cardinal Duomo and barely escaping with Jonnen.

The direction that the plot went with this book again completely surprised me! We dig a lot deeper into the history of Itreyan and the legends surrounding the gods and how it correlates back to Mia and being a darkin.

I like that we head back to the mountain and the Red Church where everything really originated. It felt like we came back full circle and it was gratifying to see how much Mia has changed from the first time she walked in those doors. It was a nice nod to the first book and I really liked how everything tied together.

Mia’s character is just super entertaining and very multifaceted. She’s strong, crass, murderous, sometimes completely without mercy and other times she’s vulnerable, lonely and scared. She’s such a well rounded character in my opinion, not without her faults but she will be the first one to own up to them. I absolutely loved her growth and evolution over the course of the series and I am sad that this will be the last we see of her.

From the start reading the prologue and knowing that she is going to die really had me on the edge of my seat throughout the book. I honestly didn’t know how Jay Kristoff was going to top everything that happened in Godsgrave but I will say that it was pretty up to par. The pace of the book was very quick and there were copious amounts of action and adventure and an element of mystery that keeps you engaged and eager to read on.

The love triangle element wasn’t a favourite of mine. Again now that Tric was back in the picture I honestly thought Mia would gravitate back to him and leave Ash. I guess the bond she creates with Ash was too great for Tric and it really shows in the book how much they love each other. There was some really open and honest conversation about their feelings, which I appreciated and at the end of the day Ash was the one that Mia couldn’t live without. The sacrifice Tric makes for Mia was beautiful and again really displayed the depths of his love for her, which I kind of think she didn’t appreciate enough.

Once again the scope of the world really blew my mind. The amount of detail and context put into the book amazes me and I really loved every single minute of it!

⭐️4.5/5 stars a fitting ending!

Reviews

The Turn of the Key Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on The Turn of the Key Review

40489648Creepy!

The Turn of the Key follows the story of Rowan who is a nanny. When she comes across an advert for a live in nanny position it looks too good to pass up.

I like the format of the book, the use of the letters at the start to kind of establish all of the details and then backtracking to find out how Rowan came to be in this situation. There was quite a short time frame that the book focuses in on which I appreciate. I think the whole story was over the course of a week, which really enabled the plot to go into the minute details of all the events that take place! 

I really enjoyed Rowan’s character. She was definitely self-aware and wasn’t at all arrogant or above anyone else, I found her to be super relatable and I could find myself really connecting with her and all the events that happen at Heatherbrae. I thought she wasn’t the most likable of characters and I think that endeared her to me even more.  I like the fact that she swore and but some of the thoughts she had in regards to the girls were a little off-putting and didn’t really enable me to trust her completely as a character. Especially when she was supposedly this highly regarded nanny and childcare worker, so I kind of picked up on that and it made me a little wary of her.

Ruth Ware really has a way of creating this completely chilling and creepy ambiance out of a perfectly normal scenario. The atmosphere was a little off kilter from the start and I liked how the technology was incorporated as a way to make Rowan a little more paranoid. The way that Ruth weaves the story definitely had me on the edge of my seat and really had me concentrating on what was happening and when in order to figure out how everything goes down.

The only qualm I had was that the ending felt a little rushed to me. We had this whole, long drawn out, build-up of suspense and in the end Rowan was really just stumbling around while the events took place. I get that she didn’t really know what happened from the start but we are really just told and not shown what actually took place. It was still a great twist and I didn’t see it coming at all, I just thought it would have been explained a little more in detail.

Still a fantastic, nail-biter of a psychological thriller and I will definitely be checking out a few more of Ruth Ware’s backlist titles in the near future!

⭐️4.5/5 stars Dark, unsettling, spooky!