YA Fantasy – Page 9 – Amy Leigh Reads

Shadowcaster Review

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

Alyssa ana’Raisa is the reluctant princess heir to the Gray Wolf throne of Fells, a queendom embroiled in a seemingly endless war. Hardened by too many losses, Lyss is more comfortable striking with a sword than maneuvering at court. After a brush with death, she goes on the offensive, meaning to end the war that has raged her whole life. If her gamble doesn’t pay off, she could lose her queendom before she even ascends to the throne.

One thing I love about Cinda Williams Chima’s books is that there isn’t one main focus or character. We are introduced to a plethora of new characters in this instalment of the series and we get to see what is happening in the Fells while Adrian is worming his way into the Arden court. I love that we see repercussions of what’s happening in Arden in real time and how Lyss is dealing with everything.

I can sympathise with Lyss and the position she finds herself in having to step up and be the reluctant heir to the Gray Wolf Throne. Even though she is secure and confident on the battlefield and giving orders she is still insecure about the role of being a princess and dealing with the political side. We see her go through a lot of emotional turmoil throughout the course of the plot and we really get a good sense of what kind of character she is. I am highly engaged and invested with her, almost more so than Ash and I am excited to see where how everything is going to come together.

Hal I could tell straight away when he is introduced that he is going to fall for Lyss, especially after she saves him from the mages. I can see how he is useful to the plot and his connection to the King through his father, but I can’t help but think he is only in the story as a love interest. He doesn’t really add anything else in particular to the storyline. I am hoping that we more of a sense of who he is in the coming books and he makes more of an impact, because right now he isn’t really doing anything for me.

I am loving this side plot with the Empress and the mage marks. The introduction of Breon and his Shadowcasting abilities was very intriguing and I was also very much invested in his character as well. Who is he really, what does his mage mark mean and what is the connection back to the Empress? Why is she chasing them and how is she able to locate them so quickly. I am left wanting to know more and this makes me want to pick up the next book in the series immediately!

⭐️ 4/5 star The plot is expanding and I have so many questions that need answering!!

Reviews

The Year of the Witching Review

May 19, 2021May 19, 2021by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

This was completely different to what I was expecting.

The daughter of a union with an outsider that cast her once-proud family into disgrace, Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol and lead a life of submission, devotion and absolute conformity, like all the women in the settlement. But a chance mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood that surrounds Bethel – a place where the first prophet once pursued and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still walking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the diary of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.

I really liked Immanuelle’s character right from the start. She was that little bit sarcastic and resistant to all the rules and regulations she has to live by. Even though she complies most of the time she still questions the decisions and isn’t afraid to break the rules and dig a little deeper into the history of Bethel. We see her evolve over the course of the storyline and come to terms with who she really is and how she can change the way things are run in this town.

I would of really been more invested if this story was a dual perspective and we got to see more from Ezra’s point of view. Having him deep within the institution as the Prophet’s son and seeing what he has had to endure over the course of the years to make him rebel would of given me a lot more context I think. I appreciated how committed he was too helping Immanuelle but I think their relationship could of been drawn out a little longer. I just wish they would of had a few more scenes together in more of a group setting where we could see the tension and attraction between them.

This was a lot more religious and pious than what I was expecting. It took me out of the story a little, granted this is my own fault for going in blind. I was expecting witchiness and spells and magic and this very different to that. I’ve seen this pitched as The Handmaid’s Tale for a new generation and I completely agree with that statement. It’s definitely thought provoking and starts a conversation but I was thinking it would be a more fantastical tale.

⭐️3/5 highly engaging and original, just not what I was expecting!

Reviews

The Girl and the Stars Review

April 22, 2021May 4, 2021by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

On Abeth the vastness of the ice holds no room for individuals. Survival together is barely possible. No one survives alone. To resist the cold, to endure the months of night when even the air itself begins to freeze, requires a special breed. Variation is dangerous, difference is fatal. And Yaz is not the same. Yaz is torn from the only life she’s ever known, away from her family, from the boy she thought she would spend her days with, and has to carve out a new path for herself in a world whose existence she never suspected. A world full of difference and mystery and danger.

This was a little unexpected. I didn’t read the blurb and didn’t know anything about the plot going into this story simply because I wanted to be surprised and Mark Lawrence hasn’t done me wrong yet. However, this fell a little flat for me. I was immediately enraptured by the Book of the Ancester’s series and how raw and merciless it was. This was like a watered down version of that in a way. It still had all the elements there and could of been great for me but it just was lacking the oomph!

Yaz’s character definitely goes on a journey throughout the course of this book. She stars off quite young and naïve and then her eyes are opened to the harshness of life below the ice and becomes a lot more hardened and willing to make more difficult choices. I think her decision to find Zeen blinded her from realising how much she was willing to sacrifice and the guilt that she would inevitably feel having put people in danger.

I just don’t feel like the whole love rectangle was really necessary. Sure she is coming into adulthood and the relationship with Quell was already established, but gaining those feelings for Thurin and Erris so quckly kind of pulled me out of the story. In terms of the plot I didn’t think it added anything to the storyline except for confusion.

The concept of the stars and how Yas somehow has power over them and the path was interesting and was a nice nod to the previous series. There was just a lot of info bombing happening and it was a difficult to keep track of everything, especially when Yas fell in the city. The way it was told it was difficult for me to picture everything and see how it was all unfolding. I am still somewhat invested though and definitely want to find out what is going to happen next so I am excited for the next book in the series to be released!

⭐️ 2/5 stars Underwhelming unfortunately…

Reviews

These Violent Delights Review

April 14, 2021April 15, 2021by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

*SPOILERS BELOW*

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery. A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

Juliette is definitely a breath of fresh air in terms of female main protagonists. I think it was the fact that she wasn’t afraid to be the bad person in the situation. When she came back from America she was fully committed to being the heir to the Scarlet Gang and would bully and intimidate her way through the ranks and gain the respect of the others members even though she is a woman.

Roma I felt like we didn’t get to know him enough for me to be invested to him as a character. The book was kind of more focused on Juliette even though it was dual perspective and I don’t feel like I was able to make much of a connection with Roma as I was with her. He is intriguing and the predicament that he finds himself in being in love with Juliette and having his father find out and use that information against him was gripping. But I want to say the whole situation was a little too predictable but then again this is a retelling so I can only expect so much.

The mystery aspect with the monster and finding out who was behind the vaccine and finding the lakspur was tedious. There really wasn’t any urgency until Roma’s little sister was infected and then I feel like everything came together too easily. Like all the factors were there and they just couldn’t see it until it really started to matter.

I liked the fact that we are given insight into the other characters and it just isn’t all about Juliette and Roma. I was also highly invested in the two gangs and the way they differentiated from each other. Learning about the blood feud and why the two gangs are so willing to kill each other when they breach each other’s territories gave much needed depth and excitement.

⭐️ 3/5 stars Just ok, will definitely be continuing on!

Book Lists

5 Fav Fantasy Stand Alones

March 22, 2021by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment

For the last couple of years I’ve been listing 5 of my favourite stand-alone books that I read in the year previous. So I figured why not continue on with that tradition!

Another 5 of my Favourite Fantasy Stand Alones are:

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller