YA Fantasy – Page 18 – Amy Leigh Reads

Girls of Storm and Shadow Review

March 13, 2020March 13, 2020by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

43558747 Lei and Wren have escaped from the confines of the Hidden Palace after the Winter Ball and are now sequestered in the mountains waiting or Wren’s father to arrive and explain their next step in the plans to overthrow the King.

I liked the direction the plot is going, we’re introduced to a plethora of new characters and this found family dynamic they have going on was endearing. Bo and Nitta brought some much-needed spark to the storyline. I loved Bo’s constant chatter and comic relief that contrasts starkly with the overall tone of the storyline. Nitta didn’t really hold any interest for me, other than being Bo’s sister we aren’t really given much insight into her character and what role she plays. I’m hoping in the next book we are given the opportunity to learn more about her and Bo and why they were exiled from their clan.

Merrin was a little annoying for me at the start. His sassiness came across a little arrogant at first, but his development over the course of the plot was wonderful. His banter with the leopard siblings was entertaining and when he finally accepts his feeling for Bo we really see a different side to him. Even though he made a few decisions that didn’t seem wise you can definitely relate to why he did what he did. I loved that he called out Wren and her father and made Lei see what they were actually doing. She even said that what he was saying was correct and she couldn’t dispute it. I hope he is given some level of redemption in the next book.

Lei kind of got my nerves throughout the book as well. I think her love for Wren really blinded her from what was actually going on. She knew that they were keeping secrets from her and despite being Moonchosen she doesn’t demand answers until the very end when it feels like it may be too late. I wanted her to be more of a commanding figure and stand up for herself a bit more! Her need to throw herself into unnecessary danger also irked me, I get she is trying to overthrow the oppressive hold the king has on everyone but she needs to pick her battles a little better.

Though Wren’s character is constantly surprising me and is turning somewhat morally gray I’m sort of starting to feel a bit ambivalent towards her. I can’t condone her actions and I feel like her ultimate goal has taken over her sense of right and wrong.

I enjoyed the fact we are still given some perspectives from those still in the Hidden Palace. Finding out that Lill is still alive and Mistriss Azumi is the contact inside. I’m interested to see how Aoki is going to react to her families demise and how the King is going to influence her over her friendship with Lei. I have a feeling that is going to be crucial in the next book.

⭐️3/5 Epic journey, dark magic, heart-breaking betrayals!

Reviews

Fire Review

March 6, 2020March 6, 2020by amyleighreads2 Comments

6137154 This book revolves around a half-human half-monster girl named Fire who is incredibly beautiful and able to control the minds of those around her. In the Dells human monsters are very rare and this has led to Fire leading a quite isolated life trying to keep her compulsions away from everyone. That is until an unknown hunter shows up in the forest bordering her land and shoots her, thrusting her into the war that is ravaging her country.

I really liked Fire; she’s not naïve at all which I think is a rarity among female protagonists in a lot of YA. She definitely pushes away others and doesn’t express her feelings well at the start of the story then we see her undergo this wonderful transformation over the course of the plotline and she really shines. I just think she played a lot with Archer’s feeling and maybe unintentionally led him on. Saying she was in love with him maybe wasn’t the right thing to say when he’s baring his soul to you. Archer though kind of got on my nerves as well. He was very possessive over Fire and went a little overboard in his protectiveness.

I just have to say that I loved Brigan right from the start. His standoffishness and brash nature really made me gravitate towards him in the book. I wish he was a little more present in the story though, he just kind of flits in and out in the pivotal moments. He did share some really poignant scenes with Fire when they both couldn’t sleep that I think really laid the foundation for their relationship. I just thought the moved a tad too fast for the amount of scenes that we see them together. They are however goals.

The whole situation with Leck felt like it came out of nowhere to be honest. I thought it was quite rushed and didn’t really make a lot of sense. I’m just having trouble understanding the meaning behind his addition to the story.

The actual plotline was ok; at times I thought the pacing was quite slow. The interrogations of the captives and the political intrigue unfortunately didn’t really interest me all that much. I wanted a bit more fantastical elements and us actually seeing Fire use her powers a lot more throughout the establishing phases of the story.

⭐️3/5 stars Highly engaged one minute, kind of bored the next…

Reviews

The Ten Thousand Doors of January Review

January 17, 2020January 17, 2020by amyleighreads6 Comments

43521657 I didn’t think portal fantasy would work for me but this was ok!

The Ten Thousand Doors of January is about a young girl called January who stumbles across a doorway to another world, setting off a chain of events that will change her life forever!

At first the story was a quite dry and hard to get into. It was a little on the slower side and it wasn’t gripping my attention as much as I wanted it to. It was a kind of info dumpy at the start and it was hard to focus on what was going on. Though, as the story continues and the dual timelines start to come into play, I became really invested in the story.

I didn’t really like January’s character at the start of the book. She was very placid and didn’t stand up for herself enough for me. In hindsight it does make sense why she would just do nothing but it was sooo frustrating in those moments when I felt like she just didn’t even try.

I was really invested in Adelaide and Eul’s story! I kind of wanted the focus to be more on them and less on January to be perfectly honestly. I would have loved to follow Adelaide more closely as she traveled the world trying to find the right door. She was tenacious and driven and would do absolutely anything to get to her goal, which contrasts quite starkly with January.

The inclusion of the ‘vampires’ was a little strange to me. It didn’t go into enough detail as to what the creatures actually were and they felt like a last minute addition to create an antagonist for January to be running from. Even though the overall story was fantastical that element seemed a little too supernatural and was quite jarring for me.

Overall I did get swept away into the story! The characters were all very distinct and interesting. The few plot twists that were thrown in did take me by surprise and in the end it was entertaining!

⭐️3/5 stars Good, could of been great!

Reviews

The Starless Sea Review

January 13, 2020January 13, 2020by amyleighreads1 Comment

39834986._SX318_ The Starless Sea is a very whimsical, lyrical fantasy novel revolving around a man who picks up a book in a library and finds a story from him childhood in the pages.

To be totally honest I was completely lost for the first half of this book. It was really hard for me to stay focused on the story and actually comprehend what was happening. It jumps back and forth so often between Zachary’s point of view and the fairy tales that it came across a little nonsensical to me. However, after that half way point I really got settled into the story and was able to understand and appreciate how everything was tied together.

All of these characters in this book are very diverse and distinct. Each one of them has a purpose in the novel and interconnects in such a fascinating way. I really liked Zachary; he was very relatable and realistic to me. He was naïve but still questioned everything that was happening around him which I appreciated. Dorian I was a little skeptical about at the start. We aren’t given a lot of background information about him and I wanted to learn a bit more about where he comes from and what he did with Allegra all those years.

The romance aspect came across a little insta-lovey to me. They didn’t have enough substance for me to fully commit to that story line, however I was able to appreciate how they come together after experiencing everything that happens in the harbor. I was more fascinated by the Keeper and Mirabel; I wanted more interaction between them and to learn more about their history as well.

I have come to the realization that I don’t really like this kind of fantasy novel. There is not really any structure to the magic system and there aren’t really any rules or restrictions that are explained. You kind of just have to go with the flow of the novel and accept what were given and learn things as we go. This whimsical style just doesn’t gel with me personally.

Once I was able to really get my bearings in the story, I was very much engaged and wanted to know what was going to happen next. There is definitely a level of unpredictability and tension on the book was kept me invested in that second half of the plot. I was still a confused at the end about how the new harbor would be established…. especially since they are now on the surface? I definitely think this is a book that I will need to reread just to get everything to sink in!

⭐️3/5 stars confusing yet whimsical

Reviews

The Beautiful Review

December 16, 2019December 16, 2019by amyleighreads2 Comments

42265183 The Beautiful is set in the year 1872 and revolves around a 17 year old girl named Celine Rousseau, who has run away from her dark past in Paris to rediscover herself in the city of New Orleans.

I didn’t really like Celine’s character at the start of the book. She came on a little too strong and I found her to be a little too arrogant and brash. She kind of thrust herself into situations that I felt wasn’t necessary, for example when she first met Bastien. Stepping in like that even though she was with her friend who clearly did not want to be involved just to satisfy her own need to feel powerful wasn’t the best way to make me like her. Granted she did grow on me over the course of the plot line but even still she ultimately doesn’t think things through completely and she doesn’t really take into account other people’s feelings.

The romantic aspect I actually did enjoy. I’m usually not a big fan of love triangles but the way this plot lines seems to be headed actually appeals to me. I like that hate to love trope and mixed with the star crossed lover’s piques my interests. It was a little obvious but still I liked their banter and the chemistry between all three characters involved!

Other than that I actually really liked all the rest of the characters in the story. I thought they were all very distinct and diverse. Bastien and his court of Lion’s were very intriguing. It kind of didn’t go in depth enough for me though; I could have definitely used more information on each of them. Where they come from, how their powers differ, how did they end up in New Orleans.

The pacing of the book was kind of up and down for me. The start was a little bit slow and it took me at least the first 100 or so pages before I was actually invested in the plot. The fact that Celine wasn’t a favorite of mine kind of stalled my progress for a while and made it harder for me to fully loose myself in the story.

I thought the atmosphere and tone of the book was fantastic. You are kind of transported into that time and place and it felt very realistic and what I felt was an accurate representation of the time.

⭐️4/5 stars Dark, mysterious, a slow build!