Tag: Fantasy Series

Reviews

The Storm of Echoes Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The Storm of Echoes Review

*SOME SPOILERS AHEAD*

The distrust between them has been overcome and now Ophelia and Thorn love each other passionately. However, they must keep their love hidden. Only in this way can they continue their journeys toward an understanding of the indecipherable code of God and the truth behind the mysterious figure of the Other, whose devastating power continues to bring down entire pieces of arks, plunging thousands of innocents into the void.

Ophelia’s journey to the truth about who the other is was really dragged out throughout the course of this book. I just felt like not a lot happens throughout the course of the storyline even though the book was over 500 pages. We are mainly focused on Babel again and even though we discover more about the Ark and venture into the Observatory we are mainly in Ophelia’s head struggling to figure out how to get to the horn of plenty and who the other is.

We get a few chapters from Victoria’s perspective that I didn’t quite understand. What were the reasons for having them? Sure we get to see the infamous LandmArk and see the interactions between Archibald, Janus and God but I was left more confused than anything. Why was Victoria able to see these things, how did she come to be on the Other side and how did she end up at the bottom of the well for Thorn to find.

I struggled more than anything with a lot of the terminology in this book. I understand that its a translated book but a lot of the phrases of what was happening to Ophelia at the Observatory just didn’t register with me. The concept of the crystallisation creating the echoes and having these revelational moments just went over my head and I couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

I think what was the issue is that this book really veered so far away from where I was envisioning the story to go and I was disappointed with how it ended. The fact that Thorn gets stuck in the Other place and we don’t get to see him and Ophelia truly get to live in peace as husband and wife really irritates me after being kept apart or having to pretend they didn’t have feelings for each other this whole time.

This was definitely my least favourite book in this series. I wasn’t all that invested or interested in the direction the plot was going and it took me a while to get through it. If this wasn’t the last book in the series and me being a completionist I probably would of DNF’d it at 30%.

⭐️2/5 stars I’m just disappointed and underwhelmed.

Reviews

Empire of the Vampire Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Empire of the Vampire Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Twenty-seven years have passed since the last sunrise, and for almost three decades, the creatures of the night have walked the day without fear. Once, humanity fought bravely against the coldblood legions, but now, we exist only in a few scattered settlements—tiny sparks of light in a growing sea of darkness. Gabriel de León is the last of the Silversaints, a holy order dedicated to defending realm and church, now utterly destroyed. Imprisoned for the murder of the vampiric king, Gabriel is charged with telling the story of his life.

So first of all I loved the format of the story. Gabe being forced to tell his life story and we see how all of the actions and decisions he has made in his life has led him to this moment and it makes me excited to see what has happened and how he has ended up here. I also low key like to be spoiled when I’m reading epic fantasy so knowing that Gabe isn’t going to die is reassuring but also the fact that everyone around him could potentially is engaging!

As a character I find Gabe to be quite complex. We see over the various timelines that he evolves and changes quite significantly but in a way that shows growth for sure. He maintains a quite arrogant, unlikable attitude that honestly appeals to me, I know a lot of people probably would hate him but I’m here for it!

I am very must invested in the dual timelines. Each were at such pivotal moments in Gabe’s life that there wasn’t one over the other that I preferred which is usually what happens. I was both equally invested and eager to find out what was going to happen to all of the characters in each period.

The world building was pretty epic and descriptive and the scale is definitely shown through the amount of time it takes the characters to traverse the country throughout the course of the storyline. The magic system surrounding the vampires and their hierarchy is fascinating and unlike anything I’ve read before. The whole history of the Silversaints and how they control their urges and the seductive nature of smoking and how debilitating it can be when they go without was a unique twist and I certainly can’t wait to see what is going to happen next.

⭐️5/5 stars Gabe is everything I needed!

Reviews

The Stone Sky Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The Stone Sky Review

*SPOILERS BELOW*

This is the way the world ends… for the last time. The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women. Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe. For Nassun, her mother’s mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed.

Essun in this final instalment of the series fell a little bit flat for me. Although we see her breakthrough and really start to become more invested in her Comm I found the majority of her storyline travelling with them to be tedious. She is unable to wield her powers as much as she could previous because she was turning to stone and I found when she is finally reunited with Nassun she could of tried harder to stop her instead of giving in.

Nassun’s character is quite morally grey but again she is only 10 years old for the majority of the storyline and was quite indoctrined by Schaffa. She puts her love for him above everything else and is willing to risk all of humanity just to keep him alive. I feel as if she should have more of an emotional connection to her mother than what is shown when they do reunite.

I think the twist with the Stone Eaters was a great addition to the storyline and gave us that much needed context as to why they keep popping up and are so invested in Essun and Nassun. I honestly can’t blame them for what they did and it was gratifying to see how their story came full circle and we understand why.

Overall I was still highly invested in the storyline and wanted to know how it was all going to wrap up and honestly I can say I was content! I just wish there was a little more action to make it more gripping. It was still just a lot of history and terminology to wrap my mind around. Loved the twists and all my questions pretty much got answered which is all I can ask for!

⭐️4/5 stars Solid ending to this great series!!

Reviews

The Obelisk Gate Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The Obelisk Gate Review

*Some spoilers*

This is the way the world ends… for the last time. The season of endings grows darker as civilization fades into the long cold night. Alabaster Tenring – madman, world-crusher, saviour – has returned with a mission: to train his successor, Essun, and thus seal the fate of the Stillness forever. It continues with a lost daughter, found by the enemy. It continues with the obelisks, and an ancient mystery converging on answers at last. The Stillness is the wall which stands against the flow of tradition, the spark of hope long buried under the thickening ashfall. And it will not be broken

I took me quite a few chapters to be situated back into the story simply because I read The Fifth Season back in February and some of the finer details and characters eluded me. But around the first 100 page mark I was pretty much reintroduced to everyone and very much invested back into the storyline.

Essun I think has evolved even more in this book than the first. We’ve learnt nearly all there is to know about her and her background and now we get to see how her previous experiences affect her choices moving forward. I think we definitely see how the Fulcrum has influenced her and from her run in with the Guardian we see that her old relationship with Schaffa has definitely left some scars. I like how committed she becomes to her new Comm and the banter between her and Ykka is very entertaining. She truly comes into her powers in this book and I can’t wait to see where she will go next!

I liked the inclusion of Nassun’s point of view. From her reaction to her brothers death and then the subsequent journey with her father afterwards and how she manipulates him through his love for her. It’s definitely an act of desperation to cling to the only parent she actually loves but we can see how it skews her perception of what a proper relationship with a father figure should be and why she latches on to Schaffa who actually listens and tries to understand her. Even though some of the choices she makes is questionable I remember that she is only 10 years old, incredibly impressionable and just a product of her surroundings. I can’t wait for the reunion she is going to have with her mother and I am excited to see their reactions to each other.

The Stone Eaters are what intrigues me the most. They’ve been very much present throughout the course of the series so far and we’ve only just started to learn more about them and their history. I’m still unsure of their motivations yet, we have some like Hoa and Antimony who are helping the Roggas and others who want the human’s to go extinct. Is Hoa actually being honest and honourable with his intentions or is he going to double cross Essun?

I find this book to be quite a bit slower pace wise than the previous. I found the writing to be a little bit harder to get into than what I remember from The Fifth Season as well. It’s very descriptive but there’s a lot of terminology to try and get your head around which I struggled with at times. Overall though I think this was a great continuation from the first book and I am for sure picking up The Stone Sky whilst everything is still fresh in my brain!

⭐️4/5 stars Immersive, surprising and ever evolving!

Reviews

Witchshadow Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Witchshadow Review

*A little Spoilery*

War has come to the Witchlands . . . and nothing will be the same again. Iseult has found her heartsister Safi at last, but their reunion is brief. For Iseult to stay alive, she must flee Cartorra while Safi remains. And though Iseult has plans to save her friend, they will require her to summon magic more dangerous than anything she has ever faced before.

The structure of the plot wasn’t a favourite of mine to be honest. I didn’t really like that we lost all of that time right at the start and then have to have flashbacks throughout the course of the plot to find out what happened. Once again Safi and Iseult have been torn apart and even though they are evolving and distinguishing themselves as characters we don’t see them together enough anymore.

I feel like this was definitely Iseult’s book as she figures out what it means to be the new puppeteer and her voidwitch powers. We witness her struggle with the guilt of having to kill so many people and being able to do it so easily and not giving in to that ‘monstrous’ side of herself that she feels is within her. She has many revelations and epiphanies and we learn so much through her about the truth of who the paladins actually are.

Safi’s storyline was a little stunted to begin with. I didn’t really care about the Emperor at all and I wasn’t as invested in what was going on with that. I did like the fact that we learnt more about the Hell-bards and their history and the restrictions that they have now that Safi is one of them.

Vaness and Vivia was a storyline I wasn’t sure where it was going. Definitely didn’t think that they would actually form a relationship which seems to be the direction it’s going. Having that weaved into Stix and Ryber and their adventures was very entertaining and had me wanting to find out what was going to happen next.

Overall the Paladin’s and Exalted Ones were brought into the story way too quickly for me. Had they been introduced right from Truthwitch at maybe I would be on board but right now I’m kind of confused as to who is who. You absolutely need to read Sightwitch to have any indication as to what was going on in this book and even though I only reread it a month ago I was still kind of like huh?

The only thing that is really pushing me forward is Iseult and Aeduan finally being reunited and Merik’s little appearance right at the end with those mysterious sisters. I have no idea what is going to happen next I just hope Iseult and Safi get a chance to sit down, catch up with us and let us as a reader take a breather.

⭐️3/5 stars I’m invested, the story just veered far from what I was expecting