Tag: YA Fantasy

Reviews, Updates

The Damned Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on The Damned Review

Following the events of The Beautiful, Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The treaty between the Fallen and the Brotherhood has been broken, and war between the immortals seems imminent. The price of loving Celine was costly. But Celine has also paid a high price for loving Bastien, loosing her memory of him completely.

I liked that we got a more in depth look at the supernatural beings in this book. We learnt all about the Court of Lions and how they all came together and formed this family under Nicodemus’s charge. We are definitely given a lot of context and background around the war between the vampires and werewolves and how they all came to be in the mortal realm in the first place after being banished 400 years ago, which was what I was missing from the first book.

I was highly invested in Bastien’s character throughout the course of this book and I found he really took over most of the plot. I was a lot more interested in his point of view as opposed to all the others. It was entertaining seeing the shift from his human self and what he thought he wanted from his life to now being one of the Fallen wanting to be better and fix his flaws. Going on the quest to try to be unmade so he can reunite with Celine was adorable and commendable.

Celine again is not a favourite character of mine. I liked her more in this book than The Beautiful for sure, yet she is still a tad bland for me. There is nothing about her that captures my attention and she isn’t really differentiated from any other main female protagonist out there in the literary world. I appreciate her need to find the truth and I was surprised by the reveal of who her mother really is. I liked the call back at the end to her life back in France and what she was running from in the first place. I definitely think she owed Michael and explanation and she should of probably told him the truth from the start about her feelings for Bastien instead of just disappearing with him for weeks.

There were times when I thought the plot rushed through a lot of important events that could of been explored and explained a lot more. The first half of the book was a lot slower paced with not a lot happening and then it feels what should of been two thirds of the book condensed into the last 150 pages or so.

⭐️3/5 stars I’m left with a lot more questions than answers

Updates

⚔️ An Ember in the Ashes Series Reread Update ⚔️

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on ⚔️ An Ember in the Ashes Series Reread Update ⚔️

I just completed the second book in this series A Torch Against the Night a few days ago and I have thoughts. For one I loved that we get some new perspectives in this book, especially Helene’s. I loved seeing how drastically her position has changed over the course of the storyline and how she has had to make some immensely difficult decisions which could lead to ramifications either for her or the ones she loves. I loved getting more of an insight into her character and the depth of feelings she has for Elias and how she has had to quell them and put her family and her Gen first. Second the world expands so much more in this book as we follow Elias and Laia on their journey to Kauf. The amount of time it actually takes for them to reach the prison gives us more of a scope of just how big the empire is. Speaking of Elias and Laia it was great to see them grow closer and come to trust each other completely and how unfair it is that they have to keep each other at arms length. Elias’s whole storyline I am not a fan of simply because I am yearning for them to be able to be together but alas that is not going to happen any time soon. Reading this the second time around I completely forgot about the twist involving Keenan. It was a nice experience to kind of be surprised again and connect all of the dots that were littered throughout the storyline. I wasn’t as in love with this book as opposed to the first simply because there wasn’t as much going on in this book. The stakes were definitely there and there is a lot of context given but it felt like a filler book for the series. It sowed the seeds that are definitely going to come into fruition as the series continues and I am excited to read on!

Reviews, Updates

Blood Heir Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Blood Heir Review

Anastacya Mikhailov is the crown princess of the Cyrilian Empire and is one of the Affinities; gifted with abilities to control the world around them which are deemed unnatural and dangerous in their society. Ana’s affinity is one of the deadliest and most abhorred the ability to control blood.

Ana is one of those female protagonists that acts without thinking and lets her emotions get the better of her, which really annoys me. If she would have just stopped and thought about the consequences of her actions there wouldn’t have been as many obstacles for her to manoeuvre around in order to find who she was looking for. She has definitely had a lot of trials in her life but she has also a bit unrelatable because up until a year ago she was a princess. I did appreciate how she became aware of everything that is going wrong in the empire and how affinities are being treated and forced into slavery.

I really enjoyed Ramson’s character. I liked that we actually got a lot of his background and how he came to be in Cyrilia. There is a reason behind why he has made some of the choices in his life and we see the repercussions of his decisions continue to affect him now. It was obvious to me that he would end up with feelings for Ana but it was gradual and made sense in the context of the story.

I was invested in these characters right away and wanted to find out what was going to happen next. The pace was just a little up and down and pulled me out of the story a little bit. I appreciated the world building that was included as well, how descriptive the prose was really immersed me into the story line.

I found the plot to be predictable yet still entertaining. I think the spin on the original tale was quite refreshing in this fantastical setting. It was a solid start to a new series and I am left wanting to know more which is always a good sign. I feel there is definitely room for this tale to expand and become even more compelling!

⭐️4/5 stars Pretty much what I was expecting!!

Updates

⚔️ An Ember in the Ashes Series Reread ⚔️

by amyleighreads2 Comments on ⚔️ An Ember in the Ashes Series Reread ⚔️

I’ve just recently completed An Ember in the Ashes and I liked it better this time round. This is only the second time I have read this book since I first bought it two years ago and having read hundreds of other fantasy novels in the meantime made me appreciate this story even more! Right from the start I was highly invested in our two main protagonists and with the stakes gradually rising as the story continues there was never a point where I wanted to put the book down. This time around I was surprised by how much the deaths of all the masks affected me during the third trial. Seeing Elias’s anguish and torment with killing all of his friends and how willing some of them were to die really hit me in the feels. I love the Romanesque feel of the world and the war focused society and can’t wait to become more re-established as I continue on with the series. We get a little taste of the magic system and the lore surrounding the ghuls, ifits and djinn enough to keep me engaged but I’m definitely left wanting more. Overall I think this was a perfect introduction to a new series, we have high stakes, twists and turns and characters you can’t help but love.

Reviews

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on A Song of Wraiths and Ruin Review

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin follows two perspectives Malik and Karina. Karina is hell bent on bringing her mother back from the death after she was assassinated and Malik is trying to kill Karina in order to save his younger sister from an evil spirit who has kidnapped her.

I was really invested in Malik’s storyline right from the start; from his backstory with his sisters and how they came to be in Ziran, to his magical abilities and his journey over the course of the storyline. I loved seeing how he has had to overcome his insecurities and anxiety and step up and do the right thing in order to save Nadia.

Karina was a little unlikeable at the start to be honest. I can understand the situation she is in and the pressure that has been placed on her since the death of her sister, but she came across as whiny and selfish to me. She does evolve and see the error of her ways and kind of comes to terms with the fact that her family are never going to come back but still she just wasn’t a favourite character of mine. It didn’t impede my enjoyment of the story at all, just something I wanted to note.

The world building was great even though we are only in this one city for the majority of the book I can see the potential for growth in the rest of the series. The history of the royal family and the kingdom was very interesting and I definitely want to learn more about Karina’s family and faceless king in the coming books as well. The magic system we didn’t really learn that much about. I am looking forward to Karina and Malik figuring out how to control their powers and trace back to their origins.

I liked the concept of the book I think it is highly original and engaging. The use of the competition kept me highly invested in the plot and eager to find out what was going to happen next.

⭐️3/5 stars Great introduction to the series, I’m looking forward to continuing!!