Tag: ya review

Reviews

Muse of Nightmares Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Muse of Nightmares Review

51iEa42ZjfL._SX328_BO1,204,203,200_This was fantastic!

I really enjoyed how the story unfolded and developed in this sequel, the world was really expanded and we got a lot more information about the gods and how they came to be and what their motives were.

Sarai has fallen to her death but has returned as a ghost and is under the control of Minya. Lazlo now faces the unthinkable decision to either fold under Minya’s demands to raze Weep to the ground or let the woman he loves evanesce into nothing.

I feel like Minya really shined in this book a lot more. She is still as unlikeable as she was in Strange the Dreamer but we now have reasoning for her tenacity and unforgiving nature. The way that Serai had to intricate herself into Minya’s drug induced dreams and discover how much the past has a hold of her and still want to somehow help and reduce her pain was wonderful to read. I really enjoyed those discoveries of what happened that day and finally uncovering the truth and having Minya be released of the burdens of the ghosts and finally become whole was gratifying.

I also really enjoyed the fact that the others had a purpose that they fulfilled in the book. Ruby, Sparrow and Feral weren’t that interesting to me in the past, I just kind of felt like they were filler characters but in this book they are really came into themselves and became a lot more distinguishable. Each of them really had pivotal scenes in the book that had an everlasting effect on the storyline.

Getting the back story to Kora and Nova and seeing what they have had to deal with and overcome really enriched the story and added another layer to the plot. I loved the interaction between the sisters and how much loyalty and dedication they have towards each other. Seeing the journey that Nova had to undergo over the course of 2 centuries and still not getting to Weep and her sister in time was heartbreaking. I loved every second of it, I was really rooting for Nova and Kora to be reunited but making that connection early on about who Kora was I knew that that wasn’t going to happen so I had time to brace myself for that scene.

 I loved everything in this book honestly. I relished finally getting all the details about the gods and how they discovered Weep and what happened to the rest of the children over the years. The way the information was given felt very organic and wasn’t rushed at all. I thought the pacing of the story was very well done and the way Laini Taylor writes is just so lyrical and descriptive you can really sort of loose yourself in the book!

I thought this was absolutely beautiful and wrapped itself up very well yet there is still room to grow and expand even more should more books come out which I found very impressive. I also kind of liked the little nod to the Daughter of Smoke and Bones series and how it kind of interconnect, even though I wasn’t a fan of that series I thought it was a fun way to refer back to her previous work.

⭐️4.5/5 stars highly recommend I loved every second of this book!

Reviews

The Queen of Attolia Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on The Queen of Attolia Review

40158I was entertained from beginning to end!

The political intricacies and the unpredictability of Eugenides really kept me reading throughout the course of this book.

Having lost face after Eugenides stole Hamiathes Gift, the Queen of Attolia will stop at nothing to reassert her power and her reputation and finally capture and secure the slippery Queen’s Thief of Eddis.

This book was a rollercoaster from beginning to end. There were multiple twists and turns that I could not see coming and the eventual ending had me shook!

I loved the transformation of Eugenides from the first book to now. He has gone through so much in such a small amount of time and its nice to see that he doesn’t automatically pick himself up and is back to normal. It’s refreshing to see that he was affected by what happened to him and that he needed time and space to wrap his head around his injury and kind of reevaluate his life. All he really wanted to do was assist and to be of service to his Queen and now that he can’t in the same capacity as he once could he’s had to adapt and delegate.

I also really enjoyed the relationship between Queen Eddis and Eugenides. Having two main protagonists working closely together with no romantic overtones, just a genuine friendship full of honesty and compassion. We really get a sense of how much the Queen cares for Eugenides and the lengths she would go to protect him.

The Queen of Attolia is a character that I didn’t really like at the beginning especially after everything that happened with Eugenides. But after her story unfolded and we get more knowledge about her and how she has maintained her rule over Attolia, I found myself slowly beginning to thaw. I like that Megan Whalen Turner gave her a backstory and reasoning for her actions. I found her to be very multifaceted and quite an engaging character. She is callous and ruthless at times but not as cold-hearted as she makes out to be.

The plot progressed quickly and the world really opened up a lot more in this novel. Seeing the complexities of war and the shifting of allies and the weight of every decision really kept the stakes high. I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this book. There were regular twists and turns that occur throughout the storyline and having a romantic aspect that was expertly crafted to not be too cheesy or insta-lovey.

⭐️4/5 stars definitely need to pick up The King of Attolia to see what will happen next!

Reviews

Two Dark Reigns Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Two Dark Reigns Review

y648I really enjoyed this!

Because I marathoned both Three Dark Crowns and One Dark Throne earlier this year it took me around the first 100 pages to get acclimated to the world again. Once I was situated back into the plot I demolished this book!

Two Dark Reigns picks straight up in the storyline with Katharine reigning over Fennbirn with Pietyr by her side. Arsinoe and Mirabella have made it safely to the mainland with the help of Billy and are trying to carve out a life for themselves there but the island beckons.

I am loving the relationship that we see between Arsinoe and Mirabella and how that has grown and developed over the course of the books. I am also enjoying having Billy thrown into the mix and him having to deal with his mainland issues as well as the abdicating queens of Fennbirn. 

I don’t fully know how I am feeling about Katharine yet. I kind of hate her and then I think about her upbringing with the poisoners and how she has always been destined to either kill or be killed and I can understand why she’s made some the decisions she has. So I’m kind of in two minds about her at the moment.

I don’t trust Pietyr at all, especially after he pushed Katharine into the Breccia Domain. He said he had her best interests at heart but that’s always made me wonder how far he is willing to go. Especially after he propositioned Madrigal without Katharine’s knowledge.

Everything that happens with Jules and Emilia and the rebellion wasn’t my favourite of everything that happened. I think the cause of most of it is Emilia. I didn’t particularly like her character. She was a bit too pushy for my liking. I did enjoy learning more about Jules and the prophecy about her legion curse and seeing it in its full grandeur after it was unleashed.

There was a lot more history about the island and how the mist was created which I thought added a lot more depth to the story. It was nice to have a bit more understanding about the world and the backstory of some of the superstitions of the island.

This series is so captivating. The premise is so dark and mysterious and the storyline that Kendare Blake has managed to concoct is fantastic. I didn’t know that there was going to be another book in this series, I thought it was just going to be a trilogy so I am kind of excited to continue on and see where the story will go next. There are a lot of questions that have been left unanswered and I cannot wait to see what is going to happen next!

⭐️4/5 stars highly entertaining, dark and twisted!

Reviews

Ignite Me Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Ignite Me Review

Ignite_MeI thought this was a solid ending; it just didn’t really excite me though or have me on the edge of my seat.

This is the third novel in the series and it kind of left me underwhelmed. I haven’t really built an emotional connection to any of these characters and I think that’s why I didn’t really have any outstanding emotions after I finished the book.

Ignite Me focuses on the aftermath of the war. The Reestablishment won and now we see Juliette siding with Warner to kill Anderson and restore peace to the world. She finds a few who survived the attack including Adam and she now is forced to face the truth and ultimately choose which brother she wants to be with.

The only thing I really actually enjoyed in the book was Juliette’s friendship and witty sparring with Kenji. I like how their relationship has grown so much over the course of the three books and how he has opened up and given so much of himself. I also like the fact that Juliette is so raw and honest with him, I feel like most of her conversations with Kenji should of happened with Adam that way she could of explained the situation a lot more better and caused less grief on both their parts.

I just feel like she handled the situation wrong and Adam had a right to feel and react the way he did, sure he went a bit overboard, but I felt like she just didn’t care about his feelings and was a bit selfish. I get that she has grown and matured and become more self assured but I feel like she completely disregarded their history and cut him off. I think she was mean and very in your face about her new burgeoning relationship with Warner and that kind of made me like her a little less.

I do still enjoy Warner in this book though. He has stayed pretty much constant throughout the series we have just delved a bit deeper into his history and he has shown a bit more of himself. Having everything explained added a lot of context to his actions and really painted a different picture of who he is as a character, which I enjoyed.

I am a bit in two minds about this book. It was a little slow in some sections and then felt a bit overly rushed in others. We don’t have many different settings and it became a little stagnant for me. For what I think was supposed to be the conclusion to a trilogy I felt it was definitely lacking in oomph. I’m not quite sure what Restore Me has to offer but I’m still waiting to be wowed.

⭐️3/5 stars just a bit lacking for me…

Reviews

In the Afterlight Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on In the Afterlight Review

Book_3_CoverKind of just meh.

I’ve finally come to the conclusion of this series and I’m a little disappointed to be quite honest. I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Ruby and the remaining few who survived the attack at Los Angeles travel north to the ranch to meet up with Cate and regroup. With Clancy in tow under Ruby’s control for now, she unites with Cole to somehow try to save all the kids that are still under lock and key in the camps.

I found Ruby to be very unlikeable in this last book. Every decision she made and every time she sided with Cole over Liam just grated my nerves. Every time Liam, Vida or Chubs would confront her about keeping secrets and making plans with Cole without their input she would always deflect and say they wouldn’t be able to understand. I get that her heart is in the right place and she does genuinely want to save the children but she just really rubbed me the wrong way throughout the course of the storyline.

I did like how we have the meeting between Vida and Zu and how Vida is jealous that Ruby has kind of forgotten about Jude. I did say in the last book that I thought Jude kind of felt like a replacement Zu to me. But I like that we gradually see them grow closer and how Vida helps Zu gain the confidence to speak again. That was a touching moment.

All of the maneuvering and scheming at the ranch was kind of slow paced to me. It wasn’t as engaging and exciting as I expected it to be. I wanted more action and adventure and a grand scheme that is slowly orchestrated with several layers and manipulations involved. It kind of just felt like they didn’t know what they were doing half the time and a lot kind of happened outside of the ranch that we don’t get to see. It’s a lot of reactions and emotional turmoil and it was a little boring.

I did like that the ending wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows that there is still progress to be made in the world but for now they were safe and together. I’m happy that Ruby gave Clancy the chance to live a normal life especially after everything that he’s been through.

⭐️3/5 a bit too slow paced and not enough flair, kind of average for me