Tag: ya review

Reviews

The Darkest Minds Review

by amyleighreads4 Comments on The Darkest Minds Review

* No Spoilers*

61Wez2fWMIL._SX344_BO1,204,203,200_I liked it! Not what I was expecting but definitely captured my interests from the start.

This was a very well developed book! I enjoyed the pace, it was a little slower than what I would expect from this kind of a story but it still kept me interested and invested.

The Darkest Minds follows Ruby a 16 year old who is currently imprisoned in a government camp called Thurmond. When Ruby was 10 years old there was an outbreak called IAAN that killed most of the population of children. The ones who were fortunate enough to not succumb to that illness had somehow managed to evolve and develop powers. The government thought these children posed a threat so they rounded them all up into camps.

I’m kind of in two minds about Ruby. I thought her progression throughout the storyline was impressive. Being in the situation that she found herself in at such a young age, I thought she held herself together pretty well. At times you can definitely see some of her naivety on full display and she made some choices that kind of got on my nerves a little, but I felt her that made her character more real and honest.

Liam was so genuine and heartfelt; I really like him as a character. I thought he was a good buffer for Ruby as she is always so on guard and untrusting of the world and he really kind of breaks her out of her shell.

Chubs was another character that I highly enjoyed! Again I thought he was very authentic and candid. He was very straightforward with Ruby from the start and I appreciated the gradual build up of their friendship. I like that we see that he didn’t trust her and how she kind of had to prove herself to him before he really let his guard down.

I thought this was a strong start to the series. I felt it was more of a developmental novel that really laid down the foundations for the rest of the books. There was a lot of action, adventure and scheming going on that made for a highly entertaining read.

⭐️4/5 stars I have questions that need answering so I’m looking forward to Never Fade

Reviews

Our Dark Duet Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Our Dark Duet Review

*Spoilers!!!*

y648That ending had me shook!

Oh my goodness this was fantastic. The continuation of the storyline was spectacular. The introduction of the new characters as well as the growth of the existing characters, it was all woven together wonderfully!

Our Dark Duet continues on 6 months after This Savage Song ended. Kate is now in Prosperity hunting and killing monsters and August is back in Verity taking up the role of commander of the FTF a role that became vacant after he reaped Leo’s soul. Kate has managed to integrate herself into an established group of people called the Wardens of Prosperity who monitor and track down monsters. Kate is in the middle of a mission when she comes across a new monster she has never seen before and she makes her priority to hunt it down and kill it, thus leading her back to the place she was running from, Verity.

August is definitely one of my favourite characters from this duology. I love that we see how he’s changed in the last 6 months he’s been at the forefront of the FTF and how that responsibility weighs on him. I love that internal struggle we witness throughout the plot of how he thinks he should be and act as a monster and discarding that human aspect of himself and how eventually he makes his way back to who he truly is.

Again I just think that Kate is such a badass. She has become so much more focused and driven in this book compared to the first. We see her passion to rid the world of these monsters and try to save her city that she loves so much. She was really the one to give August that reality check and had the balls to say ‘what happened to you’. I also like that she took responsibility for her actions and when Alice finally caught up with her she knew she had to be the one to kill her.

This book was a very fast paced, entertaining and interesting read. I like how not all the characters are safe by any means; I think that gave it a bit of an edge. There was an element of danger and uncertainty that is laced throughout the storyline and I felt that really drove the plot forward.

The ending kind of broke my heart. I sort of wanted Kate and August to have the fairytale ending I think they deserve after what they’ve been through. But also the fact that it wasn’t all wrapped up nicely with a shiny bow and a happy ending made it more endearing and real.

I’m still kind of left wanting more though…

⭐️4/5 stars, adrenaline rushing, tear-jerking finale!

Reviews

Godsgrave Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Godsgrave Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

91UQ-+Pv3RLThis was absolutely amazing. It was honestly everything that I love about fantasy! An immaculately detailed world, characters that I love/hate/love to hate, a magic system that is unique and intriguing… WONDERFUL!

Mia really had me guessing for the majority of this book. Some decisions that she made or actions that she took really had me going ‘hmmm, I don’t know about that’. Then she would turn around and redeem herself and I would fall back in love with her again! Some stages she is completely hostile and staunch and totally without empathy and other times she is compassionate, loving and loyal. It is so entertaining to read and she has really shined in this story for me.

I still don’t know whether or not I trust Ashlinn yet. I can’t help but remember everything that happened in Nevernight and how she betrayed Mia and the Red Church. Something about her throws me off a little and I was surprised that Mia decided to believe her. I am still on the fence about it even though I feel she has more than made up for her mistakes by helping so faithfully. I think it’s mostly to do with Tric. I really liked him with Mia, I thought their relationship was genuine and pretty honest in their circumstances and for Ash to then kind of swoop in and replace him kind of stoked my ire for her. I’m not sure how I feel about their relationship either. I think it kind of makes sense being in the situation they are in at that time, but it’s just not my favourite.

Speaking about Tric for a second OH MY GOODNESS! I knew it… I just had a feeling because his body was never recovered that his arc wasn’t complete. And for Jay Kristoff to have my thinking throughout the whole book that the case was closed and he wasn’t coming back was cruel but sweet at the same time. I loved that twist and it really cemented my need to pick up the next book when it comes out next year.

The plot was just so cleverly constructed and super detailed, I was engrossed right from the start. I liked the introduction of the new characters, I thought they were all fresh and interesting. The fact that they all had a detailed back story added so much depth and meaning to the storyline. The scope of the world has grown so much as we learn where eveyone is from and how different yet similar they all are.

I honestly thought this was a duology and when everything happened at the end I was like there’s no way that this is done, I still have so many questions and I need answers!

⭐️5/5 stars moving its way up my list of all time favs!

Reviews

The Raven King Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on The Raven King Review

*SPOILERS*

51LlOUzjzYL__SX329_BO1,204,203,200_This took a turn to the unexpected!

I really couldn’t guess what was going to happen in this final book of the series.

There was a really slow build-up of pace in The Raven King. There was kind of just a whole lot of drama and confusion in the first half of the book and then everything kind of happened all at once. It was a little unclear for me in certain sections. I had to kind of go back and reread paragraphs or sentences because I thought I had missed something…but I hadn’t and yeah that kind of threw me off a couple times.

That being said I did still really love the storyline. How these characters have progressed from The Raven Boys til now has been great to read. I think Blue has really come into her own in this book. She is refusing to accept the future she sees for herself and is trying to work out a way to change the outcomes she eventually sees for herself and I think that’s very relatable. Even amidst all of this magic and drama and danger she is still thinking about her future and what she wants out of life and that’s admirable.

Gansey is just one of those characters that are always so much fun to read. He is so multifaceted and complex and yet his wants and needs are so simple. I find he’s managed to become more self-aware and present in this last book than the previous. We get some really emotional scenes from him and he’s a lot more honest and open with Adam and Ronan in this book and that’s something that I loved about this series was their camaraderie.

Can I just talk about Ronan and Adam for a second because I was really caught by surprise! When we were reading from Ronan’s perspective there were ways that he phrased things while he was in Adam’s presence that kind of had me questioning whether or not he like liked him, but I didn’t get any reciprocal feelings back from Adam so I was kind of just like no… they’re just best friends. But then BAM! I loved this! I thought it was super cute and we see a side of Ronan that we have never seen before. He’s a lot more open and honest but still maintains that unapologetic bad boy vibes that he portrays constantly! It didn’t really compromise their friendship in any way either it just felt right!

The Raven King was definitely a lot darker than the other books, the tone was a lot more serious at times and the intrigue and anticipation grew steadily throughout. I was still deeply immersed in the book and highly invested in the characters and the plot to the point where I couldn’t put it down! I loved all of the books in the Raven Cycle and it definitely evolved from where I thought the plot was going to go which kept me interested in the series as I read them.

⭐️4/5 stars, captivating, entertaining, unexpected, what an ending!

Reviews

Nevernight Review

by amyleighreads4 Comments on Nevernight Review

*No Spoilers!*

51GGgNUKG0L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_I really, really enjoyed this!

This story follows Mia Corvere who wants to attend a prestigious and highly secretive school for assassins. She is seeking revenge on those who captured and murdered her family after her father failed to incite a rebellion, eventually leading her to become orphaned and hunted by her father’s former comrades.

This was highly entertaining! I liked the steady pace of the storyline. At the start it was a little overwhelming especially with the addendums on top of all the information that Jay Kristoff was giving us in the plot. I like a nice background and history of the world but this was a bit too much for me. So I pretty much ended up skipping or skimming through most of those and just sticking to the actual plotline.

Mia is a great character. I like that she endured all the trials and the training and yet still managed to maintain her true self through all of that. She is strong, resilient, stubborn and highly capricious but is still kind of naïve at times which reinforces how young most of these characters are. I also really enjoyed Tric as well, I found him to be a good equal to Mia. He speaks his mind when he thinks she is wrong and isn’t afraid to act when he feels the need.

I like that the magical abilities vary from character to character. Some are more subtle and then others like Mia are definitely utilised more blatantly. We really learn more about Mia’s abilities as she discovers them herself, I like that she kind of has to go through that journey to finding out who she is and what she can do. I thought that her abilities were really original and unique and it was interesting to read.

There was a lot of action and gore throughout the course of the book, but being a book predominately about assassins it was to be expected. I thought it added a layer of suspense as everyone is susceptible to being killed, no one was safe. I kind of liked that it was super intense and hard-core and the stakes were always really high, it kept the whole plot moving very quickly and was very entertaining. I couldn’t predict what was going to happen at any stage of the story either so that kept me on my toes as well.

⭐️4/5 stars the twists and turns and that ending OMG!