Tag: ya review

Reviews

Night Study Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Night Study Review

16130759I liked how the story progressed from the last book to now.

Yelena is still dealing with the ramifications of loosing her magic and once her pregnancy has been confirmed she is in even more danger. Valek will stop at nothing to protect her even if that means disobeying the Commander, something he has never done before.

The stakes have risen once again and they remain at an all time high throughout the course of the book. The struggles and situations that Yelena and Valek find themselves in constantly have evolved and become a lot more serious which I enjoy. This evolution of the storyline over the course of the five books is excellent. We see Yelena go from a struggling, beaten, morose young girl, into the strong, resilient, loyal woman she has now become.

I also loved seeing this other side to Valek come through. Finally accepting that Yelena and his love for her has become more important to him than the Commander. I thought the scene where he finally made the decision and proposed to Yelena was super emotional and beautiful to read. The changes we have seen from Valek are probably the most drastic and the growth of his character has been steady over the course of the series. I loved reading from his POV, seeing how he thinks and experiencing the situations through his eyes really helped to engage me in the story.

The plot was constantly ebbing and flowing, being super fast paced at times with a lot of action and then having the dips in between that helped to maintain the setting. The characters are on the move constantly so we really get a firm grasp on the world and really broadened the scope of the story.

Night Study really delved a lot deeper into the details that were sort of glanced over in the other books. I liked that we actually got to meet Valek’s spies that he has placed around Ixia and Sitia and how he utilizes them in various situations. Seeing how loyal his corps are to him and the lengths they will go to satisfy him was another point I enjoyed.

All in all I thought it was a solid book. It progressed and established the plot more quickly I feel which made for an easy read. There were still some surprises and plot twists thrown in to keep me engaged and immersed, which helped to propel the story forward.

⭐️4/5 stars I really enjoyed it! Evolving storyline, high stakes, plot twists, magic!

Reviews

Wildcard Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Wildcard Review

29386918I liked how the plot progressed in this book!

Now that Emika knows the truth about the Neurolink she can no longer trust Hideo. But after someone in the Dark World puts a bounty on her head she is no longer safe. Having to put her trust in the one person she never thought she would in Zero and his merciless crew the Blackcoats.

I thought the pacing in the story was very well done and I was highly entertained throughout the course of the storyline.

Emika didn’t really have a lot of growth I feel for me in this book. She stayed pretty much the same as we seen her in Warcross and I kind of wanted a bit more from her. Granted she was still an essential character there was just something lacking from her. She doesn’t take control as much as I wanted her too being the badass bounty hunter; I felt she was more so reliant on the other characters.

I loved the inclusion of Jax into the plot. She is strong, powerful, yet still empathetic and helpful. I thought she contrasted with Emika perfectly. I loved how multi-faceted she is and how much of an impact she had on the plot in a short amount of time within the story.

Learning everything about Zero and Sasuke was a twist that I honestly could not see coming. I thought it was very well thought out and made a lot of sense. I could truly see some scientist who has a skewed ethical compass actually doing this to someone and that’s one of the things that I liked about it.

I also like that we see this morally gray side to Hideo that was hidden in the first book. We knew why he established the Neurolink but I didn’t really fathom how far he would go once he realised he still hadn’t found Sasuke. Creating the algorithm to try to trace the kidnappers was kind of genius and really threw into the light just how dedicated he is to his cause, which I low key found admirable.

The action ebbed and flowed nicely for me in a way that I remained very invested in the story. Having that count down hovering over their heads was another factor that I felt kept the tension high and the stakes even higher.

⭐️4/5 stars I was invested in the characters, the action was entertaining, really enjoyed it!

Reviews

Shadow Study Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Shadow Study Review

shadow-study-the-chronicles-of-ixia-book-7-1I like this so much more than Fire Study!

It has been about four years since everything happened in Fire Study and Yelena and Valek have been trying to balance life between Sitia and Ixia. Valek still being very much committed to the Commander and Yelena back at the keep with the rest of the magicians.

I think it was the multiple POVs that captured my attention more so in this instalment of the study series. It wasn’t as focused on Yelena as the rest of the books and I think that’s why I enjoyed it a lot more. She is still an integral role to the storyline but we see how the other characters intersect and have an impact on the plot. 

I love that we have more of a spotlight on Valek and his backstory in this book. Learning about his past and how he came to be an assassin and associated with the Commander has always interested me and I was gifted with various super entertaining scenes of Valek contemplating his past decisions and seeing how they differ to the person he is now. It was wonderful!

Ari and Janco are always charming and help to perk up the plot with their banter and liveliness. I love their camaraderie and how they interact with the others yet also are very committed to Valek.

The plot was a lot more engaging in this book than the others because I felt that the stakes were a lot higher. Yelena loosing her powers early on in the storyline and becoming susceptible to magic, which she has never had to experience before, was a nice twist and had me intrigued early on. Also having the knowledge of who the assassin was up in the air for most of the book it was nice to try and figure out along the way who it could possibly be.

Having the relationship between Valek and the Commander in question was also another aspect of the plot that I really enjoyed purely because it caught me by surprise. I honestly didn’t think that the Commander would stoop to that level and I was happy to see some divergence in their storyline.

It kind of just always seemed like Yelena was off chasing someone, putting herself into unnecessary situations that was just frustrating to read. It was all becoming a bit stale and boring and this book has brought back a little bit of suspense and unpredictability.

⭐️4/5 stars If that ending doesn’t have you picking up the next book I don’t know what will!

Reviews

Archenemies Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Archenemies Review

35425827My expectations have been surpassed!

Archenemies continues a few weeks after Renegades ended. Nova has been given the task by Ace to secure his helmet and to get even closer to the adopted son of the Dread Warden and Captain Chromium in Adrian. But is she really just pretending anymore or are her feelings and loyalties starting to shift?

Everything about this novel was phenomenal. The pacing is done so well and the build-up of anticipation throughout the course of the story was fantastic.

Nova has once again proven how much of an awesome female protagonist she is! I love that after the announcement of Agent N, she lets her feeling be known to the whole organisation. She is still advocating for the rights of prodigies in a positive way without destruction and mayhem like her uncle. Being infiltrated within the Renegades has allowed her this position to instil her thoughts and opinions into a chosen few who may be able to make a difference. I enjoyed the internal struggle she has to deal with on a day to day basis. Being accepted and looked up to from the Renegades and seeing the potential but also having the other Anarchists on her back making sure she stays true to their course.

Adrian is such a wholesome character that you really want to barrack for. He is so endearing and charismatic especially after he works everything out with the Vitality Charm and how he finally gets to act as the overbearing older brother to Max. That scene where he gets emotional just be being able to put his arms around Max’s shoulders was so moving, something so small and innocuous that we would take for granted has become so much bigger because they’ve never been able to do that before. I love the relationship that Liam shares with Max and we really see the scope of it at the end of the book.

A lot of the minor characters really played a bigger role in this book. Having Dana kind of see through Nova and start to not to trust her was an interesting development. Now every time Nova spots a butterfly she has to kind of stop and wonder if it’s Monarch. I also enjoyed seeing the relationship of Ollie and Ruby grow. When Ollie grabbed Nova for a dance to ask for dating tips was incredibly cute!

All in all I absolutely loved this book. I was immediately sucked back into this world that Marissa Meyer masterfully created and I was highly entertained for mostly all of it. The overall grand scheme really sets up the books for a massive ending and I cannot wait for it to come out so I can continue on.

⭐️4.5/5 stars plots and schemes, love and loss, hidden agendas, amazing characters!

Reviews

Queen of Air and Darkness Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Queen of Air and Darkness Review

*Spoilers, Spoilers, Spoilers*

81GINBuWPOLThis was absolutely amazing!

This is going to be really hard to write all of my feelings down for because there was so much going on in this book all at once it seems. The pace was constantly fast and there was always something hovering over all of them that kept the stakes high throughout the course of the book.

Julian and Emma were the stars of this book I found. Their struggle with the parabatai curse and having to hold back their emotions or even cut them off all together in Julian’s case was heart wrenching. I really didn’t envision a solution for them, I truly thought that we would get an ending where they wouldn’t be able to be together or they would be exiled away from their families. The way that Cassandra Clare was able to navigate around that was very smooth.

Ty and Kit were probably one of my favourite sub plots of the book. Their relationship and how it evolved after Livvy’s death was wonderful to read. Ty having this advantageous plan that could reap some serious consequences on the universe and Kit knowing they shouldn’t go through with it but allows it because he knows how much this means to Ty. Then right when Ty is about to go through with it Kit finally speaks up…uh I loved it so much!

I was definitely intrigued by Kit and how much everyone seemed to be invested in him. Tessa and Gem always popping up to see how he was and making Emma swear to watch over him and keep him safe. Then having Jace come in and sort of mentoring him and being kind of like an older brother I thought was very touching. There was one scene in particular when Kit asks Jace for a weapon of his own and the exchange they had after was just the cutest!

The whole clave aspect of the Shadowhunter world was always something that I didn’t enjoy. I found that when they convened the Shadowhunters were always very selfish and prejudiced. Save for the few who actually care about the downworlders and live side by side with them the majority don’t care and are susceptible to the vitriol that the cohort would spew once they sprang up. Finally seeing a change and growth from the clave and the Shadowhunters as a whole towards the end of the book was satisfying!

The ending was another aspect I didn’t quite enjoy of the book. The fact that the majority of the Shadowhunters just acquiesced to their demands was unfulfilling in my eyes. I know that for the majority of the time they aren’t living in Idris, but that is their ancestral home and the fact they would just let it go without some form of a fight was kind of strange.

That being said I was still very much in love with this book. The few little flaws that I picked up along the way were definitely outweighed by the sheer mass of the plot and characters and world. It was so full of intense action, emotional turmoil, grief and love. It is again everything I love about a fantasy series.

⭐️5/5 stars HIGHLY RECOMMEND! This is a wonderful series that any fantasy/non fantasy lover will enjoy!