Tag: YA Fantasy

Reviews

Cinder Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Cinder Review

*Non Spoiler Review*

Why didn’t I read this sooner?

36381037I loved it from start to finish. There was action, heartbreak, cringiness, and revelations. I honestly didn’t know what to expect and I am pleasantly surprised!

This book follows Cinder who is a cyborg and the best mechanic in all of New Beijing. She has built a reputation around her name so much so that Price Kai has shown up at her booth requiring her services to fix his broken android before the annual ball. She has all intention of fixing his android and returning it to him but all her plans are derailed as her younger sister is infected by the deadly plague that has been devastating Earth for the last decade.

Cinder is just wonderful. I like the fact that she was so real and you could sort of relate to her in a way, being different from the rest of her ‘family’ and seen as a freak and non-human and having to deal with that on a daily basis. I love how we watch her try to overcome her insecurities about being a cyborg and just being comfortable in her own skin. The gradual strength that Cinder emits over the course of the book was great to read. Kai was hopelessly oblivious to the fact that Cinder is a cyborg and I loved him for that. He didn’t see her as anything other than who she is and that really shone through in their burgeoning romance.

I just want to say that as soon as we kind of got into the sub-plot about Lunar and the royal family I started to get inclinations. Especially after Cinders trip to the royal laboratories. It really kept me on the edge of my seat and it was gratifying to have my theories proven right in the end (which usually never happens).

As this was a retelling of the classic Cinderella fairytale I enjoyed the comparisons in the two storylines, but I feel that Cinder really branched itself out enough where it can stand apart and was refreshing. The sci-fi elements really brought forth a different aspect to the book that I’m certainly not used to and it made it more interesting and kept me intrigued throughout the book.

The dialogue was easy to comprehend and quite witty but there was a lot of underlying and indirect action taking place along the way. The storyline was a little bit predictable but I will absolutely look past that as this book was just an engrossing, engaging read and I will be definitely picking up Scarlett in the very near future and continuing on in this series!

⭐️4/5 stars! Unexpected!

Reviews

Caraval Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Caraval Review

*Kind of Spoilery*

27883214Ok…. I was highly entertained throughout the course of the storyline but the magic system really fell flat for me here. It was mentioned a lot in the context of the story however it wasn’t fully explained.

Caraval follows Scarlett and her sister Donatella who live under the rule of their terribly abusive and manipulative father. For years Scarlett has been writing to the leader of this magical travelling carnival called Legend, wanting him to travel to her island so she can attend with her sister to kind of escape reality for a while. For years and years she had no replies until suddenly 10 days before she is to be married to a count that her father arranged she received a reply and 3 tickets to attend. This is really where the story takes off.

I am kind of in two minds about Scarlett as the main character. She seemed a little too naïve to me and she had gotten so many reminders about Caraval and how she shouldn’t believe anything she sees or trust anyone while its taking place, and she continually disregards them and continues to make decision that I was kind of like ‘why?”. But I did think she redeems herself towards the end of the book, especially during the confrontation scene with her father and her fiancé. Her character arc over the 5 days she was in Caraval and her show of strength especially after she was at her lowest point was really commendable. I am also kind of in the same boat about Tella; I didn’t find her to be terribly likeable. She kind of seemed a little bit selfish and brash to me. But we really see a different side of her at the end of the novel especially after she explains herself to Scarlett and shows how much she loves, cares and trusts her.

That being said I still enjoyed the storyline, I really couldn’t anticipate or predict what was going to happen next. The atmosphere is really kind of dark and mysterious and the prose was actually nicely descriptive and sort of lyrical. I did like the gradual relationship Scarlett shared with Julian and the role that he played in the story really enraptured me and completely took me by surprise. I was intrigued enough by the premise of the book that I couldn’t put it down and finished it pretty quickly. I was disappointed that the magic system wasn’t expressed or shown more clearly in the book. It was mentioned various times and we see glimpses of magical elements but there is nothing really solid that was shown.

There were twists, revelations, romance, mystery, danger, bloodshed, a lot of aspects that come together to form this pretty good fantasy novel. I know that the sequel Legendary just came out recently and I definitely think I’m going to have to pick it up and see what else Stephanie Garber has in store.

⭐️3.5/5 stars it enjoyable and interesting but not one of my favourites.

Updates

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles)

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles)

img_1555A new purchase of mine! Cinder and the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer have been on my TBR for a looooooong time now and I’ve finally picked up the first book in the series to see how I like it! The Lunar Chronicles has been kind of a staple in the YA community and I’ve just never felt the urge to read them. As far as I am aware it’s a kind of sci-fi, fantasy retelling of classic fairy-tales… The premise sounds really interesting and I haven’t read anything like this is a while. I’m yearning for something new and different and I think a throwing that little bit of sci-fi in the mix will really help. I will definitely coming back to you with a review when I finish it!

Happy Reading 📚

Wrap Ups

August Wrap Up

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on August Wrap Up

This month I’ve had a lot going on and I haven’t been able to read as many books as I would have preferred. That being said I did complete 6 books this month that I absolutely loved and haven’t been able to stop talking about for the last couple of weeks. I do have reviews on all of these books up on my blog at the moment so feel free to click on the titles and check them out!

Ever the Brave by Erin Summerill – ⭐️4/5 stars

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner – ⭐️4/5 stars

Poison Study by Maria V Snyder – ⭐️4/5 stars

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo – ⭐️4/5 stars

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas – ⭐️5/5 stars

Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli – ⭐️4/5 stars

All in all it was a pretty great reading month for me. I lucked out and ended up pretty much loving every single book that I read. There is usually one or two books where I’m kind of like ‘eh’, but I honestly enjoyed my time reading every single one of these. Fingers crossed my luck continues onto next month and the rest of the year!

Happy Reading 📚

TBR

September TBR

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on September TBR

I’ve decided that September is going to be kind of a catch up month for me. I’m going to try to finish some books that are highly popular in their respective genres that a lot of people absolutely love that I just haven’t gotten around to reading yet. My goal for this month is 10 books, hopefully I’ll get through a good majority of them as they have been on my TBR for a long time now and the time if rife that I give them a read and see if they live up to the hype.

lunar-chroniclesThe first 4 books in my TBR for September are Cinder, Scarlett, Cress and Winter all by Marissa Meyer as part of The Lunar Chronicles. I don’t know a lot about these books other than it’s a YA fantasy/sci-fi fairy retelling of different fairy tales. That alone gives me cause to pick them up and start reading, and I’ve found that this series is really a staple in the YA community and a lot of people really love them. I also don’t read a lot of sci-fi so my interest has been piqued and I’m excited to get stuck in and see what these books are all about.

27883214The 5th book on my TBR is Caraval by Stephanie Garber. Another fantasy YA novel that I’ve been hearing a lot about since it came out earlier last year. A YA fantasy story featuring a carnival setting really brings to mind The Night Circus which I read earlier in the year and was kind of underwhelmed by, so I really want to read Caraval and see how it compares.

1265703The 6th book I would like to read this month is Magic Study by Maria V Snyder. A book I am highly anticipating reading as I just completed Poison Study last month and was blown away by it! I’m excited to continue on in the narrative and see what happens after Yelena is pretty much forced to flee to Sitia after having that execution order placed on her head. Cannot wait to read on and see what happens next!

28421168The 7th book I’m hoping to complete is also by Marissa Meyer and it is Renegades. This is another YA fantasy/sci-fi novel that a lot of people have been talking about and it has piqued my interest. I’ve heard it’s sort of similar to x-men? Human’s with extraordinary abilities and a lot of action. This premise is really interesting to me and I believe there is a sequel coming out at the end of this year so I definitely want to pick it up!

illuminae-filesThe last three books on my TBR are The Illuminae Files, Illuminae, Gemina and Obsidio written by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman. All I really know about these books is that it’s a sci-fi trilogy that is written in a unique format that takes place in outer space. I’m trying to dip my feet into the sci-fi genre and I’ve heard nothing but good things about the Illuminae Files so I figure why not, I may fall in love.