Tag: review

Reviews

The King of Attolia Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on The King of Attolia Review

untitledThis book was great!

Gen has managed to become the King of Attolia. Though he always maintained that he was in love with the queen and not the crown and he made his thoughts known throughout the Attolian court. Not paying attention during meeting, wandering around, acting indifferent towards the queen. Then he drags a young naïve guard into the middle of his political maneuverings. Cortis hates the king he is a staunch supporter of the Queen and feels like Eugenides has stolen the crown. Little does anyone know Gen is not someone to be trifled with and he will find a way to come out on top.

I loved the introduction of our new character Cortis. I like that he isn’t a fan of Gen and we slowly over the course of the storyline see his feelings and loyalties start to shift. I loved seeing the inner workings of the guards and attendants and how the interact with each other; the little ongoing rift between them added a nice spark to the storyline.  I thought Cortis was quite honourable and likable, he doesn’t just blindly accept rumors or speculation, even though he wants to. He sees what kind of person the King is and can’t help but grudgingly respect him.  

Gen was once again simply fantastic. I loved that we get to really see how he is portrayed through different perspectives. Because we don’t see his every move you can’t help but think something else might be going on. Nothing is really ever as it seems with Gen, he might make you think a certain way or give the impression of something but the truth is totally different. We get to see so many different sides to him in this book and he had me second guessing his character for a bit there but I knew that he had to have something up his sleeve. I like being surprised by him on a regular basis; it keeps me invested in the plot.

The whole premise and continuation of this storyline was fantastic. I think Megan Whalen Turner definitely went in the right direction and totally sets up the rest of the series beautifully. There are so many different directions the plot can go now that Gen has stepped up and finally become the true King of Attolia. Seeing all the little intricacies in his plans and how it all came together in the end was masterful. I honestly loved this book and I am very excited to continue on with this series very soon!

⭐️4/5 stars Political intrigue, plot twists and conspiracies!!! 

Reviews

Wundersmith Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Wundersmith Review

9780734418227This was a great sequel!

This book really delved so much deeper into the land of Nevermoor and we are beginning to see some of its fantastical elements. I love the trick lanes and their classifications, especially since we are made aware of them early on in the book with no explanation.

Morrigan had such a hard time in this book and it really had me cheering for her. Nobody really knows what she has to deal with being a Wundersmith and having that stigma attached. So when she is still constantly told that all of the Wundersmiths are horrible and evil of course you would start to second guess yourself. Thank goodness for Jupiter who mostly was always there to support Morrigan and tell her that she is good. I loved how he scoured the city to try to prove to her that there was some good Wundersmiths in the past, which really cemented how good and honourable and supportive he is.

I love the unit element as well. How these nine kids who only met during their exhaustive trials would somehow connect and become a family. And to have their bond tested so early on with the blackmailing was a great twist. Miss Cheery was a wonderful character as well, I really loved her. She was a constant in these kids’ lives, when they needed a bit of stability she was there. She really proved how loyal and supportive of Unit 919 she is and it really showed throughout the course of the storyline.

The Wunder Society kind of got on my nerves for most of the book. How they decided to just quash Morrigan’s knack and not give her the tools to control it. She knows almost nothing about being a Wundersmith and is forced to just deal with it on her own. Jupiter is off trying to figure out the disappearances and he can’t intervene on her behalf, so she has to weather the storm on her own. She acted exactly how I would have in her situation so that made me like her even more! They did sort of redeem themselves at the end though so I’ll give them that. Forcing Morrigan to reveal herself sort of forced them into action and teach her the proper way to handle her knack.

This was a fantastic read. It is very fast paced and with every turn of the page there is something going else going on. All of the components are established very early on in the storyline and they are just weaved throughout the book so well that when the reveal happens you didn’t see it coming at all. I couldn’t predict what was going to happen next in this book which really kept me invested and interested.

⭐️4.5/5 Please read this series you won’t regret it!

Reviews

The Wicked King Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on The Wicked King Review

26032887Similar to my experience reading The Cruel Prince, I just didn’t really gel to this book.

Its five months into Cardan’s reign and Jude has been running the kingdom under the guise of his Seneschal. With Cardan under her command she has complete control over the land and is finding it difficult to manage. Cardan is finding ways to undermine her orders and she has to circumvent many plots against the throne, her life as well as her king’s.

Jude again really got on my nerves in this book. I don’t know what it is about her but I can’t seem to warm to her. I thought she was a lot more thoughtful in her planning and processes in this book, but her lack of modesty in the sense that she feels like she’s untouchable just grates me. Like the fact that she’s warned time again to have a guard with her at all times and she rides off to Madoc’s property by herself and gets ambushed. She is told that someone she trusts has betrayed her by a Fae who cannot lie and all she does is speculate as to who it might be, she doesn’t actively try to pin point who… Little things like that where she thinks she is smarter than everyone else and can do things on her own. I enjoy a strong, powerful female protagonist who doesn’t need a man beside her to help her but Jude is on the other side of the spectrum to the point where I don’t care what happens to her. Every bad decision she makes that results in something bad happening to her I think well she deserved it.

The pace of the book was a little off for me as well. I found the first half of the book to be very slow but it did pick up towards the tail end of the story. Around the last 100 pages or so I did actually enjoy the plot and how things were unraveling but it took too long to get there. There were a few twists in the plot that I liked and piqued my interests, but they were too few and far between to keep me thoroughly entertained and intrigued.

I just think maybe this series isn’t for me right now. If you read The Cruel Prince and liked it you are probably going to really like The Wicked King. I tried The Cruel Prince and thought it was just ok and now I’ve read The Wicked King and again it’s not my cup of tea, I don’t know yet if I’m going to pick up the next book in this series…

⭐️2.75/5 unfortunately this book/series just isn’t for me…

Reviews

Nevermoor Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on Nevermoor Review

9780734418074This was fantastic!

We follow the story of 11-year-old Morrigan Crow who has known all of her life that she is cursed, anything bad that happens to anyone around her, she is immediately blamed. With this curse comes the knowledge that on the day of Eventide on her 12th birthday she will die. To her woe Eventide comes a full year early and as Morrigan tries to reconcile that she is to be killed a man shows up proclaiming to be her patron and saves her.

I loved everything about this book. I thought it was so cleverly written, the magic system is intriguing and interesting and the world is very whimsical. The whole premise of the story really enraptured me; I loved the whole process of the trials and the anticipation between each one.

Morrigan was wonderful. The fact that she has accepted that she is a cursed child and has that engrained so much in her mind that she believes that everything bad that’s happening is still her fault is so endearing to me. I like that she second guesses herself so much but when the time comes for her to prove herself she digs deep and trusts her gut.

Jupiter is so enigmatic. I found myself really wanted to discover more about him and his past and how he has come to own the Deucalion and become a member of the Wunder Society. All of his disappearances and adventures fascinated me and seeing how the rest of the society kind of has a respect for him really piqued my interest. I definitely want to know more about him and his knack.

Jack’s character I also quietly enjoyed. I like that he sort of clashed with Morrigan I thought it added some much-needed spark to the storyline. The banter and light competitiveness between them was entertaining. Again I want to learn more about him and what he gets up to at his school, what they learn and who his friends are.

I loved the diverse cast of characters that live at the hotel as well, especially Fen! I found her super relatable in a way and the fact that she’s a basically a giant talking cat is so much fun.

The plot was very fast paced and I was entertained from the first chapter to the last. The premise of the book is so unique and the execution was very well done! The twist at the end was everything that I needed it to be and it really set up the sequel quite nicely as I have an abundance of questions that need answering. I am for sure picking up Wundersmith and I am excited to continue on in this series!

⭐️4.5/5 This was wunderful 😉

Reviews

Oathbringer Review

by amyleighreads6 Comments on Oathbringer Review

91x4fchgt2lThis took me a bit longer to read!

The pacing in this third installment of the Stormlight Archives was a little bit slower I felt. We delved so much deeper into the lore and legends of the Heralds and the Radiants and I feel we are on the cusp of a lot more action and adventure, even though so much has happened already.

I like the internal struggle that Shallan had to deal with over the course of the storyline. Seeing how she has split herself into these different personalities whist shadow-weaving was interesting. I really enjoyed how we kind of see her break and then having to struggle to get a grasp of who she really is. I liked how it manifested physically in her sketches, occasionally only being able to draw crude, rudimentary sketches way below her skill level.

I also really loved Dalinar’s storyline and how it progressed in this book. To see him slowly get his memories back and we find out everything about Evi and what happened to her was very gratifying to read! She has been a mystery for the last two books and I was always intrigued by her and why Dalinar went to see the story-weaver. I loved having those flashbacks to a younger Dalinar and seeing how he differs from present day Dalinar, the comparisons were stark that’s for sure!

Kaladin was once again so entertaining to read. He really encompasses the role of the Radiant, being so honourable and just. Having him go behind the lines of the parshmen’s camp and travel with them and see that their cause is quite justified and going to back to Urithiru and having that same rhetoric of all parshmen are evil reinforced in his mind and then being confronted by both sides at the battle in Kholinar was a profound moment.

I feel in this book Brandon Sanderson has expanded this world so much more than the previous novels. Because of the oathgates we are able to get a glimpse at the different cities and civilisations across Roshar, seeing the differences in the kingdoms, be it their languages, clothing or fighting styles. Also the fact that we got to see a lot more of Shadesmar was very interesting. I loved seeing all the different kinds of spren and how they manifested in their world compared to the physical realm.

Having so many POVs can be a little disorientating, especially since it was a few months since I read Words of Radiance, it took me a minute to get back into the swing of things. But once I did, it was really easy to get lost into this world and see the storyline slowly unravel and reveal itself. I love that some of the minor characters still make a significant impact on the storyline, that really keeps me invested in the plot as I know whatever is happening now is definitely going to have a consequence later on in the series, so you really need to pay attention to every little detail.

 There is sooooo much action, adventure, political manipulations and maneuverings, twists and turns. I would love nothing more than to break down every single plot point in this book but that wouldn’t be practical. I also don’t want to spoil anything so if you haven’t read the Stormlight Archives yet and you are a lover of epic fantasy I 100% recommend this series!

⭐️5/5 stars JUST READ IT!