If you are unaware what the Buzzword Readathon/Challenge is see my prior post HERE. Last month the buzzword was a location in the title and for that I read The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley which was a dramatic ride. With April the prompt is to pick a book with size related words in the title and I already know what I am going to read for this and it is:
Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaiporta & Dhonielle Clayton
Eighteen-year-old Ziva prefers metal to people. She spends her days tucked away in her forge, safe from society and the anxiety it causes her, using her magical gift to craft unique weapons imbued with power. Then Ziva receives a commission from a powerful warlord, and the result is a sword capable of stealing its victims’ secrets. A sword that can cut far deeper than the length of its blade. A sword with the strength to topple kingdoms. When Ziva learns of the warlord’s intentions to use the weapon to enslave all the world under her rule, she takes her sister and flees.
Ziva’a character was definitely interesting. It was nice to hear about how she learnt how to become a blade smith and the process in which she creates her weapons. It went into a lot of detail about how she imbues her magic into the metals and how she incidentally comes up with the various abilities for each weapon. I think she is a very relatable character though I felt like a lot of the guilt she holds in relation to her sister and her upbringing was unnecessary.
Temra I think holds a lot of resentment to Ziva for being too protective over her and for making them have to uproot and flee. But I think again this was very relatable, her sister is the one with the magic powers and the infamy and I can understand why she would want a little bit of separation from that and be her own person. Though I don’t think it was very fair of her to throw that back in her sister’s face.
I like that there was a bit of depth to each of the characters. Kellyn wasn’t just a muscly mercenary, there was more to Petrik than what we are initially told so that kept me intrigued and interested in finding out more about them all. I liked that through their travels they all formed a bond of friendship before the romance started. The romance aspect was a little cringe for me to be honest. Because she has sheltered herself from the world so much Ziva’s social skills aren’t the greatest so her trying to process her feelings for Kellyn was a bit exhausting. I was glad when she just accepted that he might actually like her and moved forward. It just felt a little juvenile in that aspect and then right after we would get quite a graphic fight scenes so that juxtaposition would pull me out of the story.
I’ve found all of Tricia Levenseller’s books to be quite fast paced and action packed and this was in that realm. I think there was just so many scenes were they are just travelling from town to town trying to escape the warlord that I didn’t feel particularly rooted in the story. Though I’m looking forward to learning more about the magic system and this world as the series progresses and we find out what is going to happen next.
⭐️3/5 stars I was expecting more but enjoyed it for what it was!
For the last couple of years I’ve been listing 5 of my favourite stand-alone books that I read in the year previous. So I figured why not continue on with that tradition!
5 more of my Favourite Fantasy Stand Alones are:
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould
Gallant by V.E. Schwab
Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.
I really liked Olivia as our main protagonist. She has a bit of a petty streak that I really appreciated from her, it definitely made her more of a realistic character to me. She is very relatable in her yearning to belong and how excited she was at the prospect of being a part of a family even though her mother warned her about going to Gallant.
I kind of wish this was a dual perspective with Matthew. I think seeing how his mind comprehends Gallant and the duty the Priors have held and how it has crippled their family. To see how the whispers have driven him nearly to death and why he was so adamant in sending Olive away when she first arrived. I think we don’t get enough interaction between the two of them and the ones we do get were so poignant and touching.
I love a haunted house setting and this book really brought that spooky atmosphere for me. The ghouls were a great addition to the plot and really cemented the history of this estate and how much this family has sacrificed for the greater good. I really enjoyed the contrast between the two worlds and how Olivia’s magic changed with the different settings.
I liked the overall concept of Gallant and what is expected being a Prior. Learning how Olivia was lured back and how she unintentionally followed in her mother’s footsteps going across the wall was fascinating and compelling. I was very much invested in the storyline and wanted to know how everything was going to come together in the end. I was very happy with how this wrapped up and the fact that it wasn’t the fairy-tale ending I was expecting made it even more satisfying to me.
⭐️4/5 This was fantastic!
If you are unaware what the Buzzword Readathon/Challenge is see my prior post HERE. Last month the buzzword was pronouns/possession words and I ended up completing Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca which was a memorable book for sure. With February the prompt is to pick a book with a location in the title and I already know the book I am going to read which is:
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
Amy Leigh Reads 