Tag: YA Fantasy

Reviews

Cinderella is Dead Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on Cinderella is Dead Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Its 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sophia’s character was likeable. She wasn’t like a new all-time favourite or anything but I appreciated her for what she was. She’s very spirited and grounded in her beliefs and won’t be compromised by what the societal expectations are of her, even though it is very dangerous. I think she was still just a little naïve in her approach, not listening to reason and just flying off the cuff with no plan at the start. I think over the course of the story we see her evolve and become a lot more patient and willing to see other perspectives than her own.

I would have liked to see Sophia and Erin’s relationship a little more before the opening scene if that makes sense. We are just kind of thrust into the story and we see Sophia bearing her soul to this girl get rejected and then the next girl that comes along Sophia falls for her. Sure we see her battling with her emotions and she has to go and say goodbye to Erin closing off that relationship but I just thought her rushing into the next romance was unnecessary. I don’t think she needed to be in love with Constance at all, it didn’t really add anything to the plot and I think I would have liked it a lot more if she was just friends with Constance and didn’t just write off Erin.

I thought the concept of the story and the retelling aspect to be compelling; I just thought the execution was a little underdeveloped. I would have appreciated going a lot more in depth with all of the characters and their backgrounds. I felt it was a little lacking in the atmosphere of the story, it was quite bleak and one dimensional for me. I never really made a connection to anyone I just kind of along for the ride.

Overall I just think the novel as a whole read a little younger. The characters are all pretty juvenile and one dimensional. The twists that were thrown in were entertaining but still predictable. There was nothing in there that really took me by surprise and shocked me in any way. I appreciated the diversity in the characters and the topics that were discussed but I wasn’t wowed in any way by this story.

⭐️2/5 didn’t love it, kind of average…

Reviews

The Missing of Clairedelune Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on The Missing of Clairedelune Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The Missing of Clairedelune continues pretty much straight after the events of A Winter’s Promise. Ophelia has now been thrust into the spotlight by Farouk and promoted to vice-storyteller where she has to perform stories for Farouk and the entire court every evening.

Ophelia really goes through an emotional and psychological journey throughout the course of the story line. We see her overcome so many obstacles and try and manoeuvre her way through this completely foreign and at times dangerous court. I loved the fact that she finally stands up for herself, from telling Thorn how she truly feels and stepping out of her mother’s shadow and becoming her own person.

I liked that we see some repercussions from the first story filter into this book. In particular the murder of the Dragons and the food shortage that is a result of that. We see just how important Thorn’s job is and the scope of what he has to deal with on a daily basis.

I still wish we could learn more about Thorn. Even though he is one of the main protagonists we still don’t really know him. He is pretty much always there in the background but there is still this air of mystery surrounding him and we don’t truly know where his loyalties lie. He does open up more and eventually explains to Ophelia what his plans are but again we just don’t get enough of them together for me to truly believe in his love.

The direction the plot went in was a complete surprise to me. To be perfectly honest I wasn’t all that interested in Farouk and his origin. It does add a layer of intrigue and mystery but I was much more interested in Ophelia and the investigation surrounding the missing.

The structure of the story was a little strange to be honest. Although I was completely invested in what was happening it felt disjointed and a touch nonsensical at times. I found I really had to focus on what was going on at all times otherwise I would end up completely confused.

A solid continuation of the storyline, I still have so many unanswered questions. I am highly anticipating the release of The Memory of Babel next month.

⭐️4/5 I’m still intrigued, engaged and want to know so much more!!

Reviews

The Kingdom of Copper Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on The Kingdom of Copper Review

*SPOILERS INCLUDED*

The Kingdom of Copper takes place about 5 years after the events of The City of Brass. Ali is trying to make the most of his banishment while his mother is manoeuvring for him to come back home. Nahri is trying to make her life bearable after marrying Muntadhir in the form of establishing a hospital in the city.

I like the fact that the main plot isn’t focused solely around Nahri like I felt the first book was. It really went more in depth with a few more of the side characters.

Though Nahri’s situation is pretty precarious I still wish she would of stood up for herself a little more in the book. When we see her go toe to toe with the King was when I felt she really shone in the book. I love that we get to see her commitment and passion go into this hospital project and seeing how hard she fought to have the Shafit included really displayed how at the core she is still just that thief from Cairo standing up for her beliefs.

Ali’s character development in this book was interesting to read. From his banishment and how he has had to adapt to the harsher way of life in the desert and then thrust back into the court life at Daevabad was entertaining. Now that he has fallen out of favour with his father every thing that he does definitely has higher stakes and there is the very real threat of him being assassinated hung over his head from every angle. The magical aspect of his plot line was very intriguing as well. From his family connection to the Narid and then disclosing to his mother what was happening to him and then trying to figure out what kind of powers he inherited when they took over his body.

Dara realty took a back seat in this instalment of the series. I found when we came to his perspective I wasn’t all that interested in what was happening. I thought the twist about Nahri’s mother being alive was very interesting and added another layer to the storyline, but it was too shrouded in mystery. Dara not being in complete control of his situation and not knowing what Manizheh was planning I found to be frustrating at times.

With all that being said I thoroughly enjoyed where the direction of the plot was going. It was a little slower paced at time and I felt like the ending was a little rushed but I overall enjoyed the build up of anticipation of the book. There were a lot of twists and turns along the way and it was very unpredictable. There are various plans and threads being woven throughout the course of the story and it was gratifying to see how it ended.

⭐️4/5 stars I can’t wait to read The Empire of Gold!!

Reviews

Aurora Burning Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Aurora Burning Review

*BEWARE OF SPOILERS BELOW*

40516960Aurora Burning continues pretty much straight after Aurora Rising finishes off. Tyler and the rest of Squad 312 are trying to figure out their next move, find out what the weapon is that the Eshvaren left and save the universe.

For me it’s not so much about their main goal, which is to inevitably save the universe but the little adventures they find themselves in on the way. I love seeing our rag tag crew come together and become more comfortable around each other. Figuring out how they each fit in the squad and seeing the bonds they create with each other is wonderful to read.

Grief is definitely explored a lot more in this book, especially as Tyler and Scarlett come to terms with what happened to Cat. Having her reappear later in the plot to torment Tyler and for him to let her go was a touching moment.

I am so happy we get more of an in depth history about Ziva in this book. What happened to her parents and how she was able to save herself. Her perspective was so completely different from the others it was like a breath of fresh air in the plot. She really opened up a lot more in this book and we see her form more of a connection with her squad mates.

Kal is still one of my favourites. I am so glad we also got to find out more about his family and what he has had to endure during his life. Especially with the introduction of his sister and the integral way she is thrust into the storyline. It was a little obvious to me who his father was going to be, kind of predictable and the ensuing argument was frustrating. But his relationship with Aurora is so pure and precious and I can’t help but be enraptured by him.

Aurora, though I am glad she is able to control her power and is able to understand how it works, I think the change in her is too drastic and it kind of pulled me out of the story. Walking straight up to the Starslayer completely sure she was going to succeed was a tad arrogant to me and I wish she wouldn’t have been so quick to write Kal off, they might have been able to come up with a better plan.

Overall there so many shocking twists and turns and moments that broke my heart. Some of the choices the characters make didn’t really sit right with me and I wish they would of went about things differently but it definitely raised the stakes and kept me engaged in the storyline. I am left with soooo many questions still and honestly I can’t wait to find out what is going to happen next!

⭐️4.5/5 stars I am still trying to process my feelings after that ending…. 

Reviews

Into the Crooked Place Review

by amyleighreads4 Comments on Into the Crooked Place Review

43550637._SY475_Into the Crooked Kingdom follows a girl named Tavia who sells dark magic on the streets for her Underboss Wesley. Until one day she uncovers a sinister plot that could detroy the whole realm and all the people in it.

I really enjoyed all of the characters in this book. They were all very distinct and you could differentiate between them easily. All being from different parts of the realm and having such varying backgrounds was really intriguing and definitely brought more depth to the storyline.

Tavia was one of my favourites. I think because she essentially introduced us into the storyline I was more attached to her character in particular. Her love/hate relationship with Wesley was very entertaining, I kind of wish they would of acted on their feelings or maybe communicated a little bit better. Wesley for a minute there seemed open to that idea but Tavia shut him down and walked away. I think if we had a little more romance in the plot I would have been more engaged.

Unfortunately there were times throughout the book where I wasn’t all that interested in what was happening and didn’t really care. Although we are given pretty high stakes and there was definitely a lot of twists thrown in there were long periods of not a lot happening and it made me zone out a little.

I also wish we delved deeper into the magic system and how it works. We are kind of given a lot of information but I felt like it wasn’t enough. Maybe if we were given the origin of the world a little more and how the different charms work. How the Kingpin came to power in the first place or learning about the different people in the world would of helped. How the crafters came to be and how many different clans of the Kin there are.

I came out of this book a underwhelmed. I felt like the bones were there for a great fantasy story and there were elements I really loved. The found family, the intriguing magic system, an evil overlord they need to defeat, but it didn’t wow me in any way. I am still interested enough in the characters where I think I will be picking up the next book but it’s not something I’m dying to read.

⭐️3/5 stars Not gripping enough for me…