Tag: v.e. schwab

Book Lists

My Favourite Books of 2018

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on 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

Reviews

Our Dark Duet Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Our Dark Duet Review

*Spoilers!!!*

y648That ending had me shook!

Oh my goodness this was fantastic. The continuation of the storyline was spectacular. The introduction of the new characters as well as the growth of the existing characters, it was all woven together wonderfully!

Our Dark Duet continues on 6 months after This Savage Song ended. Kate is now in Prosperity hunting and killing monsters and August is back in Verity taking up the role of commander of the FTF a role that became vacant after he reaped Leo’s soul. Kate has managed to integrate herself into an established group of people called the Wardens of Prosperity who monitor and track down monsters. Kate is in the middle of a mission when she comes across a new monster she has never seen before and she makes her priority to hunt it down and kill it, thus leading her back to the place she was running from, Verity.

August is definitely one of my favourite characters from this duology. I love that we see how he’s changed in the last 6 months he’s been at the forefront of the FTF and how that responsibility weighs on him. I love that internal struggle we witness throughout the plot of how he thinks he should be and act as a monster and discarding that human aspect of himself and how eventually he makes his way back to who he truly is.

Again I just think that Kate is such a badass. She has become so much more focused and driven in this book compared to the first. We see her passion to rid the world of these monsters and try to save her city that she loves so much. She was really the one to give August that reality check and had the balls to say ‘what happened to you’. I also like that she took responsibility for her actions and when Alice finally caught up with her she knew she had to be the one to kill her.

This book was a very fast paced, entertaining and interesting read. I like how not all the characters are safe by any means; I think that gave it a bit of an edge. There was an element of danger and uncertainty that is laced throughout the storyline and I felt that really drove the plot forward.

The ending kind of broke my heart. I sort of wanted Kate and August to have the fairytale ending I think they deserve after what they’ve been through. But also the fact that it wasn’t all wrapped up nicely with a shiny bow and a happy ending made it more endearing and real.

I’m still kind of left wanting more though…

⭐️4/5 stars, adrenaline rushing, tear-jerking finale!

Updates

Our Dark Duet Update

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Our Dark Duet Update

Kind of hit a little bit of a speed bump in relation to my reading … haven’t really been in the mood or I’ve just been too tired but I have tried to push through and continue on in the Monsters of Verity duology with Our Dark Duet. I’m just a little over 150 pages so far and really enjoying the continuation of the storyline! I’m going to continue over the weekend and I’ll definitely be getting back to you with a review when I’m done!

Happy Reading📚

Updates

Our Dark Duet

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Our Dark Duet

IMG_1944I have just finished This Savage Song and oh my goodness was that a ride from start to finish! I totally enjoyed my time reading it, the premise is super original and unique which was kind of refreshing to read. The characters are all so different and interesting and I have found myself completely invested in them and what is going to happen next! I kind of have little ideas of what I think might happen next in Our Dark Duet and honestly this year most of my predictions for books have been way off so I’m just excited to get stuck in to this and see what else Victoria Schwab has up her sleeve!

Happy Reading📚

Reviews

This Savage Song Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on This Savage Song Review

*Careful, some spoilers…*

thissavagesongI loved this!

The start was a little slower paced for me and it kind of took me a minute to really get invested in the storyline but once I did I was hooked!

This Savage Song is essentially about a city that is divided by humans and monsters. We follow two perspectives of Kate Harker and August Flynn. Kate is the daughter of the kind of leader of the human side and August is a monster that is adopted into a family that is the leaders of the monster side of the city.

August was so different than the usual kind of male protagonists we see in YA fantasy. The fact that he is a monster but is trying so hard to abstain from that side of him and try to be more human and how he yearns for peace is so captivating.

Kate is kind of a badass. To start I didn’t really find her to be very likeable but as her story progressed throughout the book I started to be really empathetic and feel for the situation she’s in. All she’s really ever wanted to do was to live up to her family name and show the world and her father that she is worthy. To be feared and respected like him and show that she isn’t little Katherine anymore, she is grown up and can handle this life.

The premise of the book really blew me away. I don’t typically find myself picking up a lot of urban fantasy, I’m much more of a high fantasy kind of girl but I was super engrossed the more I read. The idea that monsters are literally birthed from violence and the different kinds of violence committed creates different breeds of monsters is so originally and creative. I liked hearing the history of Verity and kind of how the whole war began and the causes behind the division of the city and how August and Kate and their families are linked into all of it.

As I said the start and introduction into the story was a little slow at first and it took me a little while to get situated with the story, but after about the first 100 pages or so it really pulled me in. The action sequences were amazing and seeing the differing styles of attacks from the different monsters was so interesting and gripping.

I also really enjoyed the fact that the relationship between August and Kate was very organic and natural, it didn’t feel forced or contrived in any way. I like that there is also room for their relationship to grow and broaden especially after everything that happened!

⭐️4/5 stars highly enjoyed, super unique can’t wait to continue on in this duology!