⛈ Stormlight Archives Series Reread ⛈

I have decided what my next series I am going to be rereading and it is the Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson. Rhythm of War came out late last year and I have gotten around to reading it yet simply because I feel like I will definitely be needing a refresher on these books as it’s been over a year that I finished Oathbringer! I am very excited by also a bit nervous as these are very large books and I don’t know if I’m in the right reading space right now to tackle them but nevertheless I am definitely going to try because I am desperate to see what is going to happen next in the series! I know a lot of people love Dalinar but Kaladin is my absolute favourite and I need to relive everything again!

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!

My Favourite Books of 2018

This is going to be the books throughout 2018 that I rated the highest and loved the most. There were sooooo many fantastic books I have read this year and I am so proud of my progress and how many books I managed to get through!

91FZ41RwZzL917AnD4pjfLThe first two books on this list are The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson! I absolutely love everything about The Stormlight Archives. I kind of picked up The Way of Kings on a whim earlier this year as I have heard nothing but good things about this series and of course after getting into them I am hooked! I highly recommend anyone who likes fantasy/high fantasy to give them a read as they are just simply AMAZING! Both ⭐️5/5 stars

978140888797433590260The next books are both by Sarah J Maas and they are Tower of Dawn and Kingdom of Ash the last two books in the Throne of Glass series. I absolutely loved these two books! I thought Tower of Dawn was like a breath of fresh air, the new characters mixed with a few of our old favourites in a completely new setting and having this epic conclusion in Kingdom of Ash that I found to be very befitting and deserving of this long, arduous  journey that Sarah J Maas has taken us on! Both ⭐️5/5 stars absolutely loved them!

35707056The next book on my top 10 is Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson. This was unexpectedly great! I did see this book all over my feed on Instagram and on booktube and from what I heard of the premise I was intrigued. Then I picked the book up and gave it a read and fell in love with it! Mila is so feisty and true to herself even though it distinguishes her from the rest of her peers. She is an amazing friend who will literally stop at nothing even death to figure out the mystery of her best friend’s apparent suicide. ⭐️4.5/5 stars

51xXXt6Yw2LA Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab I read way back in January and it was the start of this lovely journey into discovering Victoria Schwab’s writing! I hadn’t read any of her books until I picked up the Darker Shade of Magic series and I haven’t looked back since. This magic system was unique and intricately detailed and the plot was highly entertaining and fast paced. Kell was definitely a stand out for me in the series, I loved how endearing he was and the relationship he shared with Rhys was a joy to read! ⭐️4/5 stars

29589074Another book I really loved this year was Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. I don’t get around to reading a lot of mystery thrillers and when I picked up this book I was just in the mood for something different and this really captivated me. I enjoyed the flashbacks from the time of the kidnapping to present day and how we have a new set of crimes occurring in the same setting. It has you second guessing every character and their motives and really had me turning the pages! ⭐️4/5 stars

51VFrzslYiL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of those cases where the books really lives up to the hype! This story was beautifully written, highly engaging, fast paced, gripping, with a twist at the end that you just can’t predict. Evelyn as a character is wonderful. She is sassy, cut-throat, yet still relatable. Highly reccomend you give it a read if you haven’t already! ⭐️4/5 stars

186074The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss was simply amazing! This is an epic fantasy novel following the life story of Kvothe. It jumps from present day time where he is retelling his life story to a chronicler and to his childhood and his many hardships and strife he’s had to endure over the years. The world is huge and the magic system is unique and interesting. I fell headlong into this book when I read it back in March and I still find myself thinking about it every now and then. ⭐️4/5 stars

81GINBuWPOLQueen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare was my most highly anticipated release this year and I absolutely loved it! The plot was expansive and adventurous and the characters are complex and diverse. I loved that Cassandra Clare gives us so much representation in this series and incorporates them genuinely into the storyline. This book epitomises everything that I love about the fantasy genre. It ticked all my boxes and if you liked her previous work but haven’t picked up the Dark Artifices series yet I HIGHLY recommend that you do! ⭐️5/5 stars

My Least Favourite Books of 2018

I feel like I had a pretty good reading year. I haven’t rated anything under a 3/5 stars which I think is pretty solid. This is kind of like a part 2 because I did my 10 Lowest Rated Books of 2018 so far a few months back so I’ll try not to double up on those books but feel free to check that one out as well as my feeling haven’t changed on those books either.

So with that being said my lowest rated/least favourite books of 2018 are:

31076583A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas – I think this is mostly my fault, I went into this book thinking it was going be as in depth and plot driven as the other books in the series and being a novella I just didn’t get any of that… It was a little uneventful and there wasn’t as much action or adventure that I was yearning for. So it was a bit average and boring to me. ⭐️3/5 stars

The first three books in the Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi – I had pretty high PicMonkey Collagehopes for this series, when Restore Me came out earlier this year everyone was scrambling to pick it up and were hyping the series up but when I read them it wasn’t as good as what I thought. The premise of the books is really intriguing but the execution didn’t surpass my expectations. Shatter Me ⭐️3/5, Unravel Me ⭐️3/5 and Ignite Me ⭐️3/5

darkest-minds-giveaway-featureThe Darkest Minds Series by Alexandra Bracken – Another series that was super hyped when the movie adaptation came out earlier this year as well as a new paperback set… Again I felt like the premise of the books was super interesting but as I was getting into them I was just bored. I gave the first book a 4/5 as I liked the introduction of the characters and there was a few action sequences that kept my interest piqued but as an overall series it didn’t do it for me. The Darkest Minds ⭐️4/5, Never Fade ⭐️3/5 and In the Afterlight ⭐️3/5

1966969Fire Study by Maria V Snyder – I loved the first two books in the Study Series soo much that I went into Fire Study with those same expectations and unfortunately it didn’t work out for me. There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with this book it just was really hard to finish. There was everything there that would otherwise keep me entertained but the pace of the book was a little slow and I had to kind of force myself to finish it which kind of spoiled the book for me. ⭐️3/5 stars

81SuJQI8uNLEdgedancer by Brandon Sanderson – I liked Lift as a character but after the immensely intricate, convoluted and expansive world of the previous books in the Stormlight Archives I found Edgedancer to be a little too confined and slow paced. I am an epic fantasy lover so I relished reading The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance and I wasn’t as equally thrilled at the end of Edgedancer as I was with those book. ⭐️3/5 stars

Oathbringer Update

So I am only about 200ish pages into Oathbringer which is only 16% of the book 😳. I am loving the story so far but the size is kind of getting to me. I’m not really in the mood at the moment for a super long marathon read so I think I will be putting this book down for the time being and picking up some of the other books on my TBR for this month and getting some fun quick reads done. I do plan on finishing Oathbringer by the end of this month but for right now it will have to wait!

Happy Reading📚

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