Tag: fantasy

Reviews

The Hobbit Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on The Hobbit Review

Adobe Photoshop PDFI mean this book is pretty well known but if you haven’t heard it’s about a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who enjoys a comfortable and quiet life. His contentment is disturbed one day when a wizard named Gandalf and a bunch of dwarves arrive on his doorstep to take him away on an adventure.

I was just in the mood for a stand-a-lone fantasy that I would be able to loose myself in and as I was perusing my shelves I realized I haven’t actually read The Hobbit. I dove straight in and found it a little bit difficult to comprehend at first. There is just something about J.R.R Tolkien’s writing that makes it difficult for me to stay focused, which was similar to my experience reading The Lord of the Rings Trilogy as well. After about the first 100 pages or so I was more familiar with his style and I was able to focus on the actual plot.

Bilbo started off quite a bit blustery and rigid. He definitely goes through a transformation over the course of the plot and we see him become a lot more forward and direct. At time he can be very selfish and I grew weary of him dwelling on his homesickness but it doesn’t stop him from moving forward.

I really wish we would have followed Gandalf and his journey in banishing the necromancer with the rest of the wizarding council. He is such an interesting character that is always weaving in and out of the story and I really would of loved a few chapters from his perspective exclusively.

All of the dwarves were interesting though none really had any depth. I found J.R.R Tolkien never really gave any of his characters other than Bilbo much substance. Their own personal history and personalities are quite shallow. I would of been a lot more invested if we are given a more in depth look into their characters and how they distinguish from each other.

The overall plot was very entertaining and interesting. There is definitely more of a focus on the world building and the establishment of the different creatures that live in Middle Earth as opposed to any character development in my opinion. There were times that the story felt a little rushed but it was exactly what I expected and needed to read at this time!

⭐️3/5 stars Enchanting, adventurous, classic!

Reviews

Warbreaker Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Warbreaker Review

51zg32xJdLL__SX325_BO1,204,203,200_Warbreaker is about two sisters who are princesses of a small kingdom. Vivienna is the oldest and her whole life she has been groomed to marry the Godking of the neighboring Kingdom as part of a peace treaty but at the last minute her father decided to send the youngest daughter Siri instead.

Siri was a little too carefree and naïve at the start of the book but I loved seeing her transformation over the course of the story line. I found it quite cruel that her father decided to send her instead of her sister. I understand how difficult the situation was but he literally just sent her in blind with no hope of survival.

Vivienna kind of bugged me. She came across a tad arrogant, but I appreciated how most of her beliefs are challenged and she really had to evaluate who she was as a person and how she perceives the world. She is really brought down to her lowest possible point and still perseveres and comes out a lot stronger than what she was previously.

Lightsong’s character was a little dull to be honest. I knew that he was integral to the story and would ultimately have a purpose he would need to fulfill, but the journey to that moment was a little tedious. I enjoyed finding out more about his background and who he used to be and why he was chosen as Lightsong the Brave but everything else I really wasn’t invested in.

I found the magic system to be very unique but kind of confusing at times. It was definitely explained in full but the whole concept of the returned at the different levels was hard to wrap my head around. The way things were explained went into detail but I found it all to be a little dense to be honest.

Overall I really enjoyed all of the action and the intrigue. I had no idea which direction the plot was going to go in and I highly enjoyed all of the twists and turns incorporated into the plot. I just think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if it wasn’t as long as it was. If it was condensed to around 400-500 pages instead of nearly 700 I feel like I would of be way more invested than what I was!

⭐️3/5 stars a very slow burn!

Reviews

The Ten Thousand Doors of January Review

by amyleighreads6 Comments on The Ten Thousand Doors of January Review

43521657I didn’t think portal fantasy would work for me but this was ok!

The Ten Thousand Doors of January is about a young girl called January who stumbles across a doorway to another world, setting off a chain of events that will change her life forever!

At first the story was a quite dry and hard to get into. It was a little on the slower side and it wasn’t gripping my attention as much as I wanted it to. It was a kind of info dumpy at the start and it was hard to focus on what was going on. Though, as the story continues and the dual timelines start to come into play, I became really invested in the story. 

I didn’t really like January’s character at the start of the book. She was very placid and didn’t stand up for herself enough for me. In hindsight it does make sense why she would just do nothing but it was sooo frustrating in those moments when I felt like she just didn’t even try.

I was really invested in Adelaide and Eul’s story! I kind of wanted the focus to be more on them and less on January to be perfectly honestly. I would have loved to follow Adelaide more closely as she traveled the world trying to find the right door. She was tenacious and driven and would do absolutely anything to get to her goal, which contrasts quite starkly with January.

The inclusion of the ‘vampires’ was a little strange to me. It didn’t go into enough detail as to what the creatures actually were and they felt like a last minute addition to create an antagonist for January to be running from. Even though the overall story was fantastical that element seemed a little too supernatural and was quite jarring for me.

Overall I did get swept away into the story! The characters were all very distinct and interesting. The few plot twists that were thrown in did take me by surprise and in the end it was entertaining!

⭐️3/5 stars Good, could of been great!

Reviews

The Starless Sea Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on The Starless Sea Review

39834986._SX318_The Starless Sea is a very whimsical, lyrical fantasy novel revolving around a man who picks up a book in a library and finds a story from him childhood in the pages.

To be totally honest I was completely lost for the first half of this book. It was really hard for me to stay focused on the story and actually comprehend what was happening. It jumps back and forth so often between Zachary’s point of view and the fairy tales that it came across a little nonsensical to me. However, after that half way point I really got settled into the story and was able to understand and appreciate how everything was tied together.

All of these characters in this book are very diverse and distinct. Each one of them has a purpose in the novel and interconnects in such a fascinating way.  I really liked Zachary; he was very relatable and realistic to me. He was naïve but still questioned everything that was happening around him which I appreciated. Dorian I was a little skeptical about at the start. We aren’t given a lot of background information about him and I wanted to learn a bit more about where he comes from and what he did with Allegra all those years.

The romance aspect came across a little insta-lovey to me. They didn’t have enough substance for me to fully commit to that story line, however I was able to appreciate how they come together after experiencing everything that happens in the harbor. I was more fascinated by the Keeper and Mirabel; I wanted more interaction between them and to learn more about their history as well.

I have come to the realization that I don’t really like this kind of fantasy novel. There is not really any structure to the magic system and there aren’t really any rules or restrictions that are explained. You kind of just have to go with the flow of the novel and accept what were given and learn things as we go. This whimsical style just doesn’t gel with me personally.

Once I was able to really get my bearings in the story, I was very much engaged and wanted to know what was going to happen next. There is definitely a level of unpredictability and tension on the book was kept me invested in that second half of the plot. I was still a confused at the end about how the new harbor would be established…. especially since they are now on the surface? I definitely think this is a book that I will need to reread just to get everything to sink in!

⭐️3/5 stars confusing yet whimsical

Reviews

Royal Assassin Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Royal Assassin Review

51ht4hrpk9lLiked didn’t quite love.

Royal Assassin continues pretty much straight where Assassin’s Apprentice left off. Fitz is still in the mountains recuperating after his bout of poisoning at the hands of Prince Regal, ponding whether to remain for the Winter or start the trek back to Buckeep and the burden of being the bastard.

I like how this sequel we delve so much deeper into the backgrounds of a few of the characters and their reasonings behind where their loyalties lie. Which I feel was really the main focus of the book. There are various situations where Fitz finds his faith and trust for his king pushed right to its limits. He even at times I feel circumvents his oaths in a way that still isn’t treason but is better suited to his point of view. We do see some growth throughout the storyline but I feel there is still so much more that he is capable of and hasn’t shown his full potential yet.

I find Molly to be a little bit unlikable. I see the reasoning behind her character and how Robin Hobb utilised her as a way for Fitz to truly display either his love and commitment to her or to the Farseer line. I felt she went into the whole situation well aware of how she will be perceived and accepted the inevitable for what it was yet still she demanded Fitz to choose her knowing he wasn’t going to. I think it was the back and forth that bugged me the most. One day she will be accepting of Fitz’s situation and would just live for the moment and try to be happy and other days she would reject him completely and not be open to any kind of compromise. 

The pacing of the story was a little off for me. There were certain sections that were very action packed with high intensity and then the plot would become stagnant and a little dry. This is a very politically driven plot with a few fantastical elements thrown in, whereas I would prefer the reverse. I felt like it was just a little too long as well, not enough happened for me to justify the book being 648 pages. I think had this book been around the 400 page mark I would of been a lot more engaged.

I want to know more about the mysterious Elderlings, I want to see Fitz utilise more of his assassin abilities and have a few more covert missions. There just wasn’t enough oomph in this for me.

⭐️3/5 stars still a solid fantasy read, just not entertaining enough for me, I’m hoping for an explosive ending!