Tag: Fantasy Series

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✨Witchlands Series Reread Update✨

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on ✨Witchlands Series Reread Update✨

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I just finished Bloodwitch and I am all up in my feels again! The majority of the first half I had a vague idea of what was happening and the direction the book was going but I completely forgot the second half of this book as it’s been over 2 years now that I read it. I loved that we get so much more of Aeduan and his point of view and we learn more about his background. Him finding out who his father was and then the flashbacks to his childhood and how out of control of his powers he was and the subsequent ostracization. Seeing him slowly fall in love with Iseult is just so precious, trying to deny his feelings because he believes he actually can’t feel because he is this monster. Then coming to the realisation and accepting his feelings, telling Iseult and then being dragged apart again. One thing I have found about this book was that it was a little hard to visualise what was happening at the end. It was all a little frantic and rushed and I couldn’t picture the setting at all and how the doors in the mountain was set up. Where exactly the standoff with Merik and the Fury was taking place at and how they ended up there in the first place. I was taking my time and reading quite slowly to try and take everything in but I was still just that little bit confused. Other than that I love the progression of all of the character and where they have ended up and I am sooo excited to finally be able to dive into Witchshadow fresh and updated.

Reviews

Malice Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Malice Review

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC for review!

Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse. But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world.

Alyce’s character and background is just so intriguing. How she was found on the streets and handed in to the crown, who is her family and why is she different than the other graces. We really got quite an in depth history of the lands of Briar and Etheria and also Malterre. I really enjoy that we get the backstory and understand the prejudices that Alyce has had to deal with her whole life. I honestly think she was justified in how her arc progressed, finally finding happiness with Aurora and then having it snatched away by the Briar King.

The Graces were an interesting addition to the plotline. I liked that this was something completely new that was added into this fairy-tale that was unique and compelling. The contrast between the graces and Alyce really drove home how ostracised and looked down upon she was even though she was stronger than them. Just seeing how controlled they were from the crown and the length that these graces would go to secretly to ensure that they don’t fade.

Aurora’s character I didn’t feel as much a connection to as I would of hoped. I think she’s a product of her environment and means well but doesn’t understand the depth of hatred the realm has for Alyce. I think she really should of known that her father would blackmail Alyce into working for him especially after she seen what she could do with her powers. Kal on the other hand I felt like was almost too good to be true. He just seems to have all the answers for Alyce which immediately made me not trust him. I knew there was more to his story than what we were being told but the way his storyline played out seems a little rushed.

Overall I was highly invested in this storyline. The magic system and the world building was descriptive and pretty easy to understand. I would definitely appreciate a more in depth look at Vila magic and what the limitations are like we’ve gotten about the Graces. The pacing was a slower at the start and then felt rushed right at the end. But I was highly entertained, I was invested in Alyce and there were some twists and turns along the way that kept me turning the pages!

⭐️4/5 stars Can’t wait to finish off this duology and see what will happen next!

Updates

✨Witchlands Series Reread Update✨

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on ✨Witchlands Series Reread Update✨

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Look what I finally received in the mail!!! I am soooo beyond excited to finally have Witchshadow in my possession and I am going to be able to continue this series in the very near future. I still have to reread Bloodwitch which will happen hopefully this week or even next week and then I can finally move on and see where the series will go next! I’m not quite sure how many books are going to be in this series, but I’m pretty sure there is going to be another one after Witchshadow. There are so many storylines still up in the air and so much is happening at the moment that I’m sure Susan Dennard could potentially stretch this out to even  8-10 books which I am definitely here for and will continue to read I’m sure! 

Updates

✨Witchlands Series Reread✨

by amyleighreads1 Comment on ✨Witchlands Series Reread✨

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I think similar to my first experience reading this book it was a great insight to a lot of the lore and historical aspects of the Witchlands and the history of the magic. Even though this was quite short I feel like this book really laid the foundations for the rest of the series. Finding out about Eridyisa and how she was a sightwitch and the doors she created and the 12 paladins was very interesting and I was very much engaged in her diary entries. I wasn’t as engaged with Ryber’s point of view as what I probably should have. Again super interesting seeing all the other sightwitches being called and her having to delve into the mountain on her own to find out the cause. But once she goes down there it was just a little difficult for me to actually envision the whole scenario. I highly appreciated all of the illustrations that were added in, they were illuminating and gave me an idea of what was actually chasing her through the mountain. If this was a full length novel that really went in depth about sightwitches and how Ryber found them and a whole comprehensive storyline I think I would of definitely loved this a lot more than I do now.

Reviews

Namesake Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Namesake Review

*SPOILER ALERT*

With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and the rest of the crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when Fable becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination, she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems.

Fable in this book just goes from one predicament to the next. I feel as though she is very much in over her head for the majority of the storyline, but she does manage to pull it together and ultimately get everything she wants, albeit at the expense of the other crew members of the Marigold. I appreciate that they called her out for her selfishness and she does acknowledge that.

We get to learn a lot more about the dredging in this book which I appreciated. Seeing the whole process of the diving and all the variables that go with it. I liked seeing how Fay and Koy establish a bit of a mutual respect as Jevalis even though they had their differences in the past. With that connection coming fill circle when they create a trade port in Jevali.

West really goes above and beyond the protective and loving boyfriend trope. He made some decisions in this book that were just too full on and should have been discussed with everyone beforehand. Especially when he wouldn’t let the crew vote on whether or not to join Fay to find Midnight and then signing Holland’s contract on Fay’s behalf. His heart is in the right place but he just keeps alienating everyone in an attempt to protect/save them which wasn’t really necessary.

The relationship between Fable and Saint is what bumped up my rating for sure! We are never really know what Saint’s motivations are throughout the course of the duology, does he actually love Fay or does he scorn her for being alive when Isolde perished? We are finally given all the answers to the questions that kept building up in the plot as to why he did what he did. Clove was a great source of information and made us realise that Saint was actually in the midst of running more schemes than what we initially thought. When everything came to a head at the meeting and he finally stood up and acknowledged Fable as his daughter was a beautiful moment that had me glassy eyed for sure!

⭐️ 3/5 stars Daring, adventurous and swashbuckling!