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Reviews

Mexican Gothic Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Mexican Gothic Review

This was definitely not was I was expecting.

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

This books takes place in the 50’s I believe and the societal expectations of the time really gets on my nerves. The fact that women aren’t allowed to really do anything for themselves, where it’s considered rude to interrupt when men are speaking and when the main protagonists doesn’t have any authority to do anything is so annoying. I think this was the most frustrating part of this book for me. Noemi not being able to visit her cousin even though she came all this way to see her having to abide to such stringent rules without any reasoning. I liked that she pressed against these rules and still did what she wanted but all of the restrictions bugged me.

I really liked Noemi. She doesn’t take no for an answer and seeks out proof rather than just accepting Virgil’s version of events. I think she was a little disrespectful at the start smoking in the house when it was requested that she didn’t but still had I been in that situation and was greeted the way she was I probably would of acted the same. She refuses to be intimidated by the Doyle’s and keeps asking questions and delving deeper into what is going on at High Place and what it has done to Catalina.

The pacing felt quite slow at times but I found I was so enthralled that I got through it quite quickly. There is definitely an atmospheric tone to the story which made it even more gripping. I have to admit having a unreliable main protagonist isn’t my favourite trope in terms of the hallucinations and trying to figure out whether or not she was dreaming. But I can appreciate how it added that layer of unpredictability to the storyline.

This was an intriguing, dark, weird and twisted tale that didn’t shy away from shocking the reader. I appreciate how far Silvia Moreno-Garcia was willing to push the plot and take it to a place that I wasn’t able to predict for sure. This was highly original and in the end quite thrilling and action packed.

⭐️3/5 stars haunting and creepy!

Reviews

Lightbringer Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Lightbringer Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Queen Rielle, pushed away from everything she loves, turns to Corien and his promises of glory. Meanwhile, whispers from the empirium slowly drive her mad, urging her to open the Gate. In the future, Eliana arrives in the Empire’s capital as a broken shell of herself. Betrayed and abandoned, she fights to keep her power at bay—and away from Corien, who will stop at nothing to travel back in time to Rielle, even if that means destroying her daughter. But when the mysterious Prophet reveals themselves at last, everything changes, giving Rielle and Eliana a second chance for salvation—or the destruction their world has been dreading.

I am once again torn by Rielle’s character and her arc throughout the course of this series. I hated her in the last book and honestly didn’t think she deserved any kind of redemption but the way her storyline played out in this finale surprised me but also left me feeling satisfied. She made a decision at a crucial point in time and finally was able to free herself from Corien’s grasp and see clearly for the first time in a while. She definitely succumbed to the temptation of her powers and did evil things but looking back she definitely was coerced for the majority of the time and she paid the price for it eventually giving up a future with her daughter.

Eliana again I enjoyed her plotline so much more than her mothers. She is definitely put through the ringer in this book, having to endure that torture from Corien for months and months. She has so much put on her shoulders and in the end has to blindly follow the words from a mysterious prophet to stop herself from going mad. Her strength and stoicism is really displayed and her loyalty and trust wavered so much that I was just gripped.

Simon really put me through it. From his betrayal in the last book and then being witness to the brutality that is being given to Eliana day in and day out and not reaching out to help her whatsoever really killed me. For a good majority of the book I was doubting him heavily and really thought he was completely on Corien’s side. It was the introduction of the prophet that made me pause and think maybe… and thankfully I was right! His character and the way he had to fool everyone in order to eventually save Eliana was a stroke of mastery. I really didn’t want to hate him and I was glad he got to have a bit of happiness before sending Eliana back.

There were a few twists that I predicted and there were many that took me by surprise. This book really blew open all of the storylines and wove them all back together so wonderfully. We learnt so much more about the Empirium and how it affects Rielle and why she was such a loose cannon, how seductive and all encompassing it is. I loved how the two timelines merged in the end and we see how much effect Eliana had on her mother after their failed attempt earlier in the series. The ending was just so satisfying and not the fairy tale I was expecting which was pleasantly surprising!

⭐️5/5 This was just perfection!

Reviews

The Empire of Gold Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on The Empire of Gold Review

*Spoilers Below*

Daevabad has fallen. After a brutal conquest stripped the city of its magic, Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and her resurrected commander, Dara, must try to repair their fraying alliance and stabilize a fractious, warring people. Having narrowly escaped their murderous families and Daevabad’s deadly politics, Nahri and Ali, now safe in Cairo, face difficult choices of their own. 

Nahri’s character remained pretty consistent throughout the course of the series, this finale was just all about finding answers to her past and how she came to be in Cairo in the first place, her parentage and why her appearance was altered. I liked the fact that even though she wanted to fly back to Daevabad and kill Dara after poisoning her brother she chose to not go through with it and actually stay and work out a plan. I feel like it definitely showed growth in her character and we see just how far she has come from stealing on the streets.

Ali in this book wasn’t as impactful to me and his storyline with the Marid’s I wasn’t as invested in to be honest. Sure he goes on this journey of discovery into the ocean and discovering his lineage with Sobec and the Marid’s but the timing just seemed too convenient to me. I did however loved watching his budding romance with Nahri and seeing how they fumble over their obstacles and smother their feelings, trying to do what’s right for Daevabad.

Dara is a tricky one. On one hand I loved the person he was when he was with Nahri I don’t like who he became when he sided with Manizeh. He became the scourge all over again and started to actually believe it. He had so many moments of clarity when he knew Manizeh wasn’t doing the right thing and seen how she was changing and yet he still stayed somewhat loyal. I would of been more on his side had he done a little more to undermine Manizeh but given his circumstances I think he did the best he could. I appreciated how his relationship with Nahri came to a close and I think he made the best of his current situation in the end.

I liked the travelling elements, I think it expanded and already pretty large world and made this series as a whole feel a lot more epic. It was nice to have a new setting and revisiting where it all began back in Cairo and seeing what might of been had Nahri and Ali stayed. I have to say I am extremely satisfied with how this series ended. I wouldn’t say it’s my new favourite book I’ve ever read but I am just left feeling content with this series as a whole.

⭐️4/5 stars this series is a MUST read!!!

Reviews

Down Among the Sticks and Bones Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Down Among the Sticks and Bones Review

There is something about Seanan McGuire’s writing that is both whimsical and compelling. I found myself lost in the story and enraptured by the world of the moors.

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline. Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you’ve got. They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

Jack and Jill just aren’t my favourite protagonists. They just grated my nerves which makes me unable to connect with them. I mean they were only 12 when they stumbled into the moors and they had to adapt to survive but I just found them both to be unlikeable. It was interesting to see their choices about who they wanted to stay with and how they reacted to each other’s choice and the subsequent way their lives devolved.

There is a discussion to be had about their parents and the dismal childhood they had to endure, being regimented into the roles they deemed where appropriate and being unable to grow, change or evolve out of those roles. They cared more about how they were perceived by their peers rather than catering to their children’s needs first and that really made me dislike them.

These novellas I don’t think are going to gel with me as a reader simply because I need more substance. I want to learn all about the world and find out what actual creatures and monsters inhabit the moors. I want to know how everyone came to be here and the way the Vampires took over. Is there a magic system and how does it work, what is the history? Whereas I think these books are just supposed to touch on the individual characters experiences in their worlds and how it changes them before coming back to the real world where they are supposed to readjust.

Overall it was an interesting reading experience.

⭐️3/5 stars I just want to know more!!

Reviews

Burn Our Bodies Down Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Burn Our Bodies Down Review

Ever since Margot was born, it’s been just her and her mother. No answers to Margot’s questions about what came before. No history to hold on to. No relative to speak of. Just the two of them, stuck in their run-down apartment, struggling to get along. But that’s not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And she just found the key she needs to get it: A photograph, pointing her to a town called Phalene. Pointing her home. Only, when Margot gets there, it’s not what she bargained for.

I can’t say I was immediately drawn into this book because that was not the case. Margot’s living conditions at the start and her relationship with her mother didn’t really impress on me a need to continue on. The mystery surrounding her family in my opinion didn’t warrant Margot’s actions and running away after speaking to her grandmother for two minutes wasn’t really good enough for me. I did stick it out though and once we get to Phalene things definitely pick up.

Margot’s perspective is a little erratic. Her thoughts spiral a lot and every time she is given new information she doesn’t really let things sink in she just jumps to conclusions that are never correct, because at every turn in this book there was something unexpected popping up. Being on the cusp of knowledge that people are withholding is very frustrating and I could sympathise with Margot on that. It seemed that every person she met knew something about her family that she didn’t but no one would tell her anything, I would probably react in the same way if I was in that situation.

I really liked Tess and Eli, I could see why Tess was integral to the book but Eli’s presence wasn’t really necessary and he didn’t really add anything to the plotline. I wish we could of spent more time with both of them and seen from their perspective what it would of been like living in Phalene under the shadow of Fairfield.

I honestly didn’t predict anything that happened. The plot veered in a very different direction than what I was expecting and those factors definitely brought up my reading experience. I was just starting to get a little bored and then things started to get weird and we started to get answers and I was just left reeling. The premise was highly original and unlike anything I’ve ever read before and the shock factor ending alone was enough to leave me satisfied.

⭐️3/5 stars shocking, twisted, strange!