The Priory Of The Orange Tree: Review

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29774026-the-priory-of-the-orange-tree

“A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep. “

There are not enough words to describe this book or how amazing it is. 25 pages in I was already so in love with the rich storytelling in this book and as the pages carried on it only got better. This book is a DESERVES the title of HIGH FANTASY, it was magical, it swept me off my feet, I felt rooted in this world and I didn’t want to come out. This quickly became my all time favorite novel, I honestly can’t explain why but I can definitely give you some insight into why this book is PURE magic.

When a journey this amazing, breathtaking, exciting and jaw dropping ends you can’t help but feel a little sad. Across 804 pages I felt things I never thought I would feel. I experienced Dragons that fly with and without wings, Kingdoms that worship them and Kingdoms that do not. I met characters that filled my heart with sadness, joy, laughter and love. All the while watching the world around them grow and change with magic and faith. This journey isn’t over, it’ll live on in my heart for quite a while. I’m still lost in the pages of this book, my heart racing with excitement. This book was 100% worth every minute that I’m tempted to go back and start all over again.

PLEASE NOTE: SPOILERS AHEAD (Character, Setting and Plot Related) 

Characters:

“He might be the very picture of a lambkin,” Ead said, “but monsters often have soft faces. They know how to mask themselves.” She looked them both in the eye. ” We will watch her. We will listen well. Remember why we wear blades as well as jewels.”

Pg 246

Ead – Ead is probably my favorite character in the book…next to one of the Dragons who I will talk about Later. I loved her character and her back story. She is an orphaned mage from the Priory of the Orange Tree who is sent to infiltrate the Inysh Court to protect Sabran the Ninth. When we meet her in the story she is assassinating cut throats that are attempting to kill Sabran. As we dive deeper into her character we see her grow as a person but also advance in Sabran’s court eventually becoming a lady of the Bedchamber. Soon after we see Ead begin to have these feelings she doesn’t understand but soon comprehends as love. For her love though she gets banished and returns to the Priory begging for helps in protecting Sabran. She discovers a snake among her people and the true culprit of who was trying to kill Sabran. In the end we see Ead to grow to be more accepting of others with different faiths, her heart has grown and she becomes a leader of the Priory. I feel we got to see a lot of Ead which I enjoyed because she was interesting to learn about. Her magic comes from the Orange tree. She has a very forward personality, if she doesn’t agree with something we know it and I think that really lent a hand to telling the story properly.

“She did not die needlessly,” Tane said, her gaze blank. “With her dying breath, she restored the joy of a dragon and. in doing so, restored the world. Is there a more honorable thing to do with a life?”

Pg 412

Tane – Tane…Tane…Tane… I think we all have a little bit of Tane in us. Someone who wants everything to go smoothly so she can achieve her life goals. Tane takes a risk at the beginning of the book that could ruin her chances of becoming a Dragon Rider. She takes in a foreigner, which is forbidden due to the Red Sickness. Tane passes the foreigner off to her friend who delivers him to Niclays and she pays for this in the future. For the time being Tane gets her wish and gets to train to be a Dragon Rider. Upon discovering that Tane sheltered the foreigner the Warlod of Seikii strips her of her title and sends her to feather Island where she is to spend her life as a scholar. Tane’s friend died, she thought she lost her dragon and she only blames herself for everything that happened (which really it was her fault). Just when she thinks her hope is gone she finds the Waning jewel stitched into her side and discovers her ancestor is Neporo a woman who was to be immortal until she died. Tane is a great fighter but she struggles inwardly with all the choices she makes. She wouldn’t have gotten anywhere in the story if not for the choices she made.

“Of course not. I delayed it for you.” Margret took back the cup. “I had no idea what a tiring affair it would be. Mama wants me to wear white now. Who in the world wears white on their wedding day?”

Pg 719

“We are not supposed to question, Meg. Faith is an act of trust in the saint.”

Pg 607

Arteloth & Margret –  These two siblings who are son and daughter to the Earl of Goldenbirch can often be found in the midst of Sabran and Ead who are their most precious friends. Areteloth or Loth as we know him goes through quite the ordeal throughout the course of this book but he remains strong through most of it. I was annoyed with him a few times because when he found out there were good Dragons his faith was shaken and he kept remarking how things couldn’t be true, but slowly his heart and mind opened up to the possibilities and he learned the truth of the world. Margret though stuck in the castle most of the time was valuable in the story, for without her Ead would mostly likely have been dead. Margret is one of the only characters to get a true happy ending with her Knight Lintley.

“So you see, Ead,” the queen said, “I do not sleep because I am not only afraid of the monsters at my door. but also the monsters my own mind can conjure. The ones that live within.”

Pg 203

Sabran – Sabran the Ninth, I think out of all the characters her story ends up being the most tragic. She faces two times the amount of hardships any character does and while it doesn’t weaken her character it definitely affects her sanity. We find out the Sabran hasn’t seen her people in years due the brutal and un-necessary death of her mother. She is being pushed to marry for political alliances but also because she needs to breed an heir to ensure the Berethnet line so the nameless one will not rise. After much consideration and fighting she picks someone only to watch them die after finding out she’s pregnant. Her world is shaken and her emotions a mess, but the hits keep coming and she loses not only her baby but her fertility when the White Wyrm attacks Ascalon. Between all this Sabran slowly falls in love with Ead and becomes attached to her, but fears losing her as she has lost everyone else. Sabran is a strong character though she is faced with so much death and destruction she perseveres in hopes of making her Kingdom of better place.

” I offer you a fair bargain,” he said. “I will leave here tonight and say nothing of your involvement with Sulyard. In exchange for my silence, you will bring me blood and a scale from your dragon.

Pg 305

Niclays – This is the one character I absolutely could not stand! I didn’t like his motivations, I didn’t like his attitude. Niclays is so self centered and while this changes throughout the course of the book I was left with a feeling of hatred towards him throughout most of it. He manipulated people and lied to further his goals and stay alive. While he did some it in the name of his great love, it doesn’t mean it was right.

“To be kin to a dragon,” Nayimathun said, “you must not only have a soul of water. You must have the blood of the sea, and the sea is not always pure. It is not any one thing. There is darkness in it, and danger, and cruelty. It can raze great cities with its rage. It’s depths are unknowable; they do not see the touch of the sun. To be a Miduchi is not to be pure, Tane. It is to be the living sea. That is why I chose you. You have a dragon’s heart.”

Pg 680

“I offer you one chance to pledge your fidelity to my master and name yourself Flesh Queen of Inys.” Fire roared behind his eyes. “Come with me now. Give yourself up. Choose the right side, as Yscalin has. Resist, and you will burn.”

Pg 113

Dragons (Fyredel & Nayimathun) –
My absolute favorite character in this book was a dragon.  The great Nayimathun to be exact. There are two different types of dragons: The Westerners who are large with wings and breath fire and the easterners who are snake like without wings, fly due to an organ atop their head and need water to survive. We saw many across the pages of this book but the two I am speaking of were most often seen. Fyredel the right wing of the Nameless one is a cruel an heartless dragon. He controls humans to prepare for the return of his master, and razes the world to warn them of their coming doom. Nayimathun on the other hand is an honorable dragon worthy of her title. She helps Tane to achieve her goals and more than once admits to why she chose her and still fights for her. While these dragons are both incredibly different they are both intriguing and interesting to learn about. You will get all sorts of dragon goodness in this book!

Setting / World Building:

As you can see from the maps above this world is absolutely massive and we nearly span the entire thing during the story. Seeing these maps really helped me grasp the distances that were traveled by certain characters. If you enjoy maps and fantasy settings you will be in for a delightful surprise in this book! The world building runs deep I was so involved in it at the end of the book I didn’t want to leave! I am absolutely floored by the amount of detail we get in this book. I learned and grasped so many parts of this world. For the most part I don’t want to spoil too much of the world building because I think this is something you should really discover yourself. The moment I started this story I was sucked in and I’m still left wondering about it today.

Plot:

The plot! It’s clear from the very start of this book that we know exactly where this plot is going. That’s not a bad thing to know how this story might end and I think it almost allowed the ending a better chance. This book is JAM packed with the plot! While we mostly center on the long awaited return of the Nameless One so many things happened in this book it would be hard to talk about them all so I will talk about a few of my favorite plot points that aren’t majorly spoilers. I loved the Priory! When we got to go with Ead to the Priory and experience her taking of the fruit, becoming a Red Damsel and discovering treachery among them I was soaking it in. I absolutely did not want to set the book down at any point during that length of book. Another of my favorite parts was the trials Tane faced to become a Miduchi. She fought long and hard and earned herself a great dragon who cared for her deeply. To mention one more while the scene was short I loved Sabran’s wedding scene. I loved learning the vows they took and that they called their loved ones Companions. It gave me all the feels

Author’s Writing Style:

I think you see the pattern already. I LOVED this book and I LOVED Samantha’s writing style. I never once felt bored or wanted to set the book down! From the moment I started I was wrapped up in the story, I was involved and her writing kept me hooked. I understand that some of the characters and things might not be easy to understand however I felt she did a well enough job that I never felt that affected the way I took in the story. Samantha so graciously includes some amazing bonuses at the end of the book as well! There is a Glossary, Timeline of Events and Characters section where you can learn even more about this Goliath of a novel. While I didn’t feel as hooked with her other book series I now want to go back and try to read them again because I am simply floored with how amazing this book is.

Conclusion:

To wrap this all up I gave this book a 5/5 GLORIOUS GOLDEN STARS. This book was an absolute joy to read and while the page count seems intimidating you won’t even be counting when you dive into his story. If your looking for an exciting High Fantasy that includes Dragons, Magic and some Court Politics you should definitely check this out. I can’t express how much you should read this book. This was my most anticipated novel of 2019 and it lived up to EVERY SINGLE EXPECTATION.

Geekerella: Review

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30724132-geekerella

“Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic science-fiction series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck and her dad’s old costume, Elle’s determined to win – unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons – before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he has ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake – until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again?

Part-romance, part-love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.” 

Geekerella was an adorable contemporary romance novel with a fun twist! I loved the fact that it mentioned so much to pop culture, it helped me to enjoy the book more especially when I find contemporary to be a genre I rarely enjoy books!

Characters:

Danielle “Elle” Wittimer: Elle was definitely one of my favorite chracters and for good reason. I’m a geek myself and I easily connected with her based on that alone. The passion she feels for her fandom resonated with me so easily! While at first she lets the death of her parents hold her back she transforms over the course of the book and becomes more open with her emotions and feelings. She leaves behind her past and changes her life for the better. I loved her transformation and I love her energy. She was very quick witted and I loved how sassy she was with Darien especially upon first meeting him in person.

Darien Freeman: I was totally ready to Hate Darien but he had a deeper character than what scratched the surface. He still irritated me a little bit though as he was always complaining about things. While I understand he was forced to do a lot we don’t want to do that’s something everyday people do it should have been more of an acceptance. He definitely evolved to that throughout the book but before that he Irritated the CRAP out of me!

Setting:

The setting of this book was very fun! We had multiple different places that we got to explore but some we got to know really well. We learned about Elle’s parents house and the way it changed over the years and after her parents died. Her room was interesting as well we learn about the posters on her wall and how deep her love for Starfield and how it’s affected who she was. We got to spend some time in the Magic Pumpkin, exploring where Elle works and learning about her new found friendship with the owner’s daughter Sage. The most exciting place for me was definitely Excelsicon. I myself am an avid Con goer and it was really fun to read about it giving me an alternate perspective through the eyes of someone famous. Overall while the world was based on something real I really felt lost in somewhere entirely different. I loved learning about Starfield and hearing about the elaborate sets that Darien performed stunts on to the bustling convention. I felt engaged and the setting drew me into the story adding elements I was glad to have.

Plot:

This is nothing insanely new which I already knew coming into it. This story is based off of the story of Cinderella. We all know how that one goes: Girl whose parents die, girl wants to meet prince, they fall instantly in love, girl runs away, boy finds her with shoe, happily ever after. This definitely changed it up a bit by making it in the modern world and adding the twist with the convention making it feel still fantasy but centered in the real world. Elle has a stepmother who hounds her to do everything and anything she asks, she’s constantly forced to make way for her step sisters and her step mom. She works for the Magic Pumpkin which is a vegan food truck and quickly befriends the Owner’s daughter who works with her most days and also turns out to be her Fairy Godmother in a way. Elle and Darien don’t instantly fall in love which is something I really enjoyed because real love is not instant and it doesn’t just happen like magic. Real love takes work and boy did these two have to do work to make their relationship pieces fit together. Overall the plot was heart warming and fun and the mixture of pop culture references gave it a fun real world feel that made me crave a little bit more of this geeky world, not that I don’t go to cons enough I just want to read more about them.

Author’s Writing Style:

I loved Ashley Poston’s Writing style a lot. She kept me engaged in the story and allowed me to feel like I wanted to keep reading even when I’ve already heard this story. She added a fun twist to a classic story. I found her perspectives quirky and it showed her true colors as a geek herself! I’m looking forward to her next novel that comes out this April : The Princess and the Fangirl

Conclusion:

Overall while this is a story I’ve already heard too many times I found this to be a fresh and exciting new take that kept me hooked until the end. It was cheesy and goofy and all around nerdy but it was exactly the kind of break I needed from the Intense Fantasy I’m used to reading. This got a 5/5 Adorkable stars from me and it deserved it for it’s light hearted fun and awesome pop culture content.

The Prince & The Dressmaker: Review

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34506912-the-prince-and-the-dressmaker

” Paris, at the dawn of the modern age:Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride―or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia―the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances―one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend? Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family. A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart. “

This was a fun and light-hearted graphic novel with cute illustrations and a great narrative! It was a quick read that had some funny and cute moments and one I won’t soon forget!

Characters:

Prince Sebastian/ Lady Crystallia: Sebastian is a male who loves to wear dresses, he enjoys dressing up in extravagant costumes. He hides his secret identity from all but Frances and his Butler. Sebastian quickly becomes more and more comfortable in his alternate form and starts to push friends away hoping they won’t reveal his secret. Initially this hurts his friendship with Frances but that all changes when he embraces who he is and hopes everyone else will as well. I enjoyed his transformation over the course of the book watching go from scared to dressing up to gliding with confidence. His change also helped to influence the change in his parents and the acceptance in their hearts to understand why Sebastian was who he was.

Frances: is the wonderful dressmaker who makes the gorgeous gowns that Sebastian gets to flounce around in. Originally working in a sweatshop like dress shop, she finally gets the change to prove herself by being Sebastian’s personal seamstress. After making dresses for him for quite a while she is given the opportunity to present some of her designs to a renowned fashion house owner, but due to Sebastian’s insecurities is not properly given the opportunity. She definitely changes throughout the novel as well becoming more confident in her designs and who she is as a dressmaker. This is reflected in her work and helps her advance later on in the novel.

Both these characters together were a fun mix of crazy, youth and bad decisions. However together they grew as the story progressed and I found myself loving every minute spent with this novel.

Story:

The overall story was great I found myself enjoying it from beginning to end. The plot brought us super close to the characters and found us learning through their eyes as they grew. The romance was cute and grew as the story went on. I could definitely see it early on but I enjoyed seeing the love and acceptance grow not just for our main characters but all of them in this novel. There isn’t really much to dive into in terms of graphic novels as your only told the story through the perspective of characters speaking or small bubbles of information. The story was enjoyable though and I would absolutely pick this up again to give it another read.

Illustrations:

These were my favorite! I loved the illustrations in this novel, they weren’t hyper realistic (which I don’t enjoy in graphic novels) they had a cartoon element that added to the story and made it a more fun and interesting story. There were some funny panels that made me giggle. My favorite parts was seeing the crazy eccentric dresses that Frances created it really lended to the story to have visuals. If this were just a normal novel I don’t the effect would have been as strong as this was.

Overall this was a great Graphic Novel with some light hearted fun and a lesson that everyone would love to learn. If you have a couple hours I definitely encourage you to check this out!

Crown of Feathers: Review

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35715518-crown-of-feathers

“I had a sister, once…

In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders—legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire—until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart.

I promised her the throne would not come between us.

Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders—even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks.

But it is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled.

Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders’ return and intends to destroy them once and for all.

Sometimes the title of queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken”

This book received 4/5 Fiery stars from me! There were a couple flaws that I found with the beginning, however deeper into the book it was so fun and exciting I just didn’t want to come back from it! Now that it’s over I will admit I have a slight book hangover but it won’t deter me from my reading schedule! Make sure to keep reading to see what I thought about the book!

Characters:

In this book we get 3 Individual Perspectives though one is much heavier than the other two for good reason. We hear from Veronyka, Tristan and Sev. Veronyka is our ULTIMATE protagonist the story revolves around her and the challenges she faces, both Sev and Tristan offer welcome information however I found their chapters to be short and succinct which I enjoyed because I just wanted to get back into Veronyka’s mind. Veronyka is a fierce and strong female who pretends to be a male to join a new found rank of phoenix riders and I loved her story and what we learned about her. Because you don’t get much about Sev or Tristan in the synopsis I don’t want to reveal too much about their characters just know they’re important and they really help make the story whole and complete. We had some exciting side characters in this book as well including Veronyka’s sister Val and our in depth look at some of the phoenixes.

Setting:

I loved the Golden Empire. it was an exciting and breath taking place to explore. Because of the particular way the story is told with snippets of past queens and rulers it really gives us an in depth look into this world and it’s past. The world building that Nicki did was intense and it definitely made me want to fall right back into it. Learning about these Phoenixes, the history of their world it all drew me into a story I never wanted to leave. Not only that it perfectly set up the tone for the next book in the series. Yes this is a series of books and sadly the next book is set for release sometime next year which means a whole ton of waiting in between. I think it will be worth the wait thought because that ending was a gut punch to the feels.

Plot:

This was yet again another book where I had an issue with the plot. The biggest issue I had and the reason this only has 4/5 stars was because of the massive Info dump at the beginning of the book. While I understand this is a new series and we’re introduced to a new world but I felt like it was too much too fast. I would have preferred the information about this new world to be more spread out through the book and introduced at proper times. However the overall plot of the book was fantastic there were some fantastic twists and turns and a lot of fun moments. The story is very nicely paced and I never felt bored, if not for the Info dump this would have been 100%.

Author’s Writing Style

Nicki is a wonderful writer! I am blown away by her Debut novel and I look forward to reading more of her books. She has a way of hooking me into the story and not letting me down easy! That ending was so amazingly thrilling and I just want to dive right back in.

Overall this was a FANTASTIC book and worth the read, 2019 has been a great year for fantasy so far and this hits that bar. If your looking for a new fantasy series definitely check this out! It’s fresh and fun and who doesn’t want to ride a Phoenix!

King of Scars: Review

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36307634-king-of-scars

“Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.”

As a writer myself I’m often very critical of the books I read. I want to be gripped from the beginning and told a fantastical tale of impossible proportions. King of Scars had that hook for me right in the first chapter and despite feeling the book went by too quickly, it was MOSTLY perfect. I found some things to be a little bit off therefore earning it a rating of 4.5/5 stars for me. Interested enough to want to know more? Keep reading to see what I thought about the elements of the book.

Characters:

First off let me start by saying Nikolai is my favorite character of all time written by Leigh Bardugo. I don’t like the Darkling I never did, Alina did not make me jump for joy and I hated Mal with a furious passion. I didn’t read the Six of Crows Duology so I cannot speak for those characters, however even without reading all of Leigh’s previous Grishaverse novels I felt a strong connection to some of the characters in this book. Nikolai is AMAZING. I love that he’s sassy and smart but he also has a broken part of him he’s constantly trying to fix. It makes him more human, more relatable and so much easier to understand his motives. He tries to be a hero and pulls it off effortlessly letting his cool confidence show and allowing people to trust in his ability to rule Ravka.

In this books we get 4 separate perspectives: Zoya, Nikolai, Issak and Nina. While I was upset at first about the fact that it seemed we were getting more Zoya and Nina than Nikolai it really made sense for the overall story. I’m just happy that it focuses on Nikolai and how he deals with the events laid out before him. I felt like we got a lot of development with all the characters. We saw Zoya become stronger, Nikolai become wise and Nina become more ruthless. I really enjoyed reading from Zoya’s perspective, I have anew found respect for her as a character and I really liked getting to know more about her. Nina was also interesting as we got to see her internal struggles as she moved on with her life. Issak came very late to the came so I don’t want to reveal too much about him. I thought he was a welcome addition though not a completely necessary one. Overall I think that these 3 perspectives were a great way to tell the story that needed to be told, I personally loved all the characters…minus the bad guys I just hated them.

Setting:

This is a tough category to really judge. Technically we have ALREADY been in the Grishaverse for 5 books so we know and love this world even though it has changed. There are some new exciting areas we got to explore however as I said the world has already been built so it’s just building on the foundation that was laid down. I enjoyed returning to Ravka and exploring more of what it had to offer and I look forward to learning even more in the future.

Plot:

I struggled here. The book felt very focused on only a few events, and we sometimes spent pages in one place just treading water. While I still enjoyed the plot and the story-line of the book I felt lost sometimes. There was more than enough action it just felt like sometimes we were trying to prolong the inevitable. At one point in the book I was thinking that Leigh was only adding the fluff to up the page count.

Author’s Writing Style:

There is not doubt about it, I absolutely adore Leigh’s writing. If I’m being 100% honest the only reason I picked this up and wanted to read it was because of Leigh Bardugo. I love her world building skills I love the way she describes and introduces her characters to her hearts. This book was no exception, while I was bored sometimes with things going on I was for the most part enraptured in the story and the book. She writes in such a way that everything feels like it’s flying by.

Overall I loved the characters and the writing style of the book. I felt there were some unneeded parts in the plot of the book however that’s a minor compared to the overall plot. The setting wasn’t anything new but I already knew this going into it and that is why I wanted this book, I wanted to know more about the Grishaverse. So with the small boring parts of the book I gave this one an overall rating of 4.5/5 stars because I still enjoyed this
A LOT! And that ending though!

Gantz: Review

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantz

“Gantz is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. Gantz tells the story of Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, both of whom died in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous “game” in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens armed with a handful of futuristic items, equipment, and weaponry.”

MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT! TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS SERIES – SEXUAL CONTENT (Nudity, Rape), VIOLENCE (Gore) AND DISTURBING MONSTERS (Like really…some of them are nasty).

Overall this series receives a 4/5 Star average rating from me. There were some fantastic chapters and some not so much. However for the most part it was a solid story I strongly enjoyed and now look forward to re-watching the Anime movie to get the most out of it (since I understand what’s happening now).

The series focuses on a group of people who die and come back to life in a room with a Black Ball called Gantz. This ball sends them on missions to kill aliens. If they die on a mission they stay dead however if they manage to accumulate 100 points they get 3 options
1. BE set free and have your memory wiped
2. Receive a powerful weapon
3. Resurrect a dead team mate from Gantz’s menu

The story mainly focuses on Kei Kurono and Kato and shows their need to survive to defend who they love. It starts off. A little odd and gets better but ends on a very strange note. The middle of the series is what I’d consider the best.

It’s not a crazy long read a lot of it is panels with sounds and illustrations to look at so they volumes flew by quickly! It’s worth a read if your into something quirky and interesting! The monsters can be weird looking and do strange things so be forewarned but as I stated the core story I considered pretty good.

Enchantee DNF: Review

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36613718-enchant-e

“Paris in 1789 is a labyrinth of twisted streets, filled with beggars, thieves, revolutionaries—and magicians…

When smallpox kills her parents, Camille Durbonne must find a way to provide for her frail, naive sister while managing her volatile brother. Relying on petty magic—la magie ordinaire—Camille painstakingly transforms scraps of metal into money to buy the food and medicine they need. But when the coins won’t hold their shape and her brother disappears with the family’s savings, Camille must pursue a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

With dark magic forbidden by her mother, Camille transforms herself into the ‘Baroness de la Fontaine’ and is swept up into life at the Palace of Versailles, where aristocrats both fear and hunger for la magie. There, she gambles at cards, desperate to have enough to keep herself and her sister safe. Yet the longer she stays at court, the more difficult it becomes to reconcile her resentment of the nobles with the enchantments of Versailles. And when she returns to Paris, Camille meets a handsome young balloonist—who dares her to hope that love and liberty may both be possible.

But la magie has its costs. And when Camille loses control of her secrets, the game she’s playing turns deadly. Then revolution erupts, and she must choose—love or loyalty, democracy or aristocracy, freedom or magic—before Paris burns… “

This book was never on my ORIGINAL pre-order list, I skipped right over it because I had no interest. However, the cover kept calling to me and asking for me to read it and I felt a pull to at least give it a chance. While I really tried to enjoy the story and prolong my experience, more than often I found myself lost and drifting from the book. It felt like too much was going on and there just wasn’t enough exciting things happening to keep me interested. Once Again this review is based SOLELY on what I read on not on the entirety of the book.

Characters:

I really wanted to love Camille and I truly did at the start but the more I read the more of a shallow character I felt she was to the point where when I got to that 55% I just didn’t care about her at all. I felt her choices made no sense and she was doing things just because with no motive, which felt very wrong to me as a book character. I loved Sophie and her energy, but she was more than anything a character that was just in the background. My most favorite character was Lazare and I was intrigued to find out more about him but the fact that the plot wasn’t pulling me in really made me stop. While all from Camille’s point of view I found myself longing to get out of her head which is definitely something different for me when I really enjoy single POV books.

Setting:

Paris 1789 – Pre-Revolution. I am all for historical fiction, one of my favourite historical fiction books is Outlander. This setting though felt so drab. I feel like the magic of Paris was lost in translation. I didn’t feel enchanted or drawn in. From the stand point of a reader I felt like I was on the outside of the story and I was looking through a window asking is something interesting going to happen? Is that all Versailles really is? While I liked the small elements of world building such as the Magic and the balloons etc, I just felt like there was something missing.

Plot:

The plot felt very flat. I read 55% of the books and there were often times I kept asking okay when is something going to happen. Nothing really did. Nothing really hooked me to keep reading hence why I stopped. In the beginning I understood the slow parts because your introducing us to the world and the characters but I felt as though we never left that stage. I sound like a broken record but honestly something was missing.

Author’s Writing Style:

This may have been my biggest issue and the reason I didn’t finish the book. I really didn’t like Gita’s writing style. A year ago I would have read any book and been like oh that was good or okay. Now reading a ton of YA books and really enveloping myself in the genre I’ve started to develop a taste for what I really like and don’t like and unfortunately this didn’t fit the bill. There were a lot of issues I had with the French parts of the book. I am not French so I don’t understand a lick of it. Gita did include a glossary which I was very thankful for…until I found out that half of the french words the characters were saying weren’t in the glossary. This left me feeling sad and disappointed. I wanted to understand what was being said so I could get the context. I feel someone who can understand French would probably get a better experience from reading this book. One of the things I also disliked was that the synopsis stated she delved into the world of Marie and King Louis, however we hardly saw either of them in the half I read.

I could be wrong and this book could be amazing, however to me it fell very flat. There was no clear antagonist, no real action and something was truly missing from the storyline. I wanted to love this book, I adored the cover but it just didn’t work for me.

There will be no Recap since the story was not completed.

The Darkest Star: Review

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34221193-the-darkest-star

“When seventeen-year-old Evie Dasher is caught up in a raid at a notorious club known as one of the few places where humans and the surviving Luxen can mingle freely, she meets Luc, an unnaturally beautiful guy she initially assumes is a Luxen…but he is in fact something much more powerful. Her growing attraction for Luc will lead her deeper and deeper into a world she’d only heard about, a world where everything she thought she knew will be turned on its head… “

WOW! I never read Jennifer’s first series based in this world and I don’t think I will. I LOVED THIS! I know that it wasn’t anything revolutionary but I fell for the characters, story and plot. She had from beginning to end, hook line and sinker! I can’t wait until book 2 comes out later this year in October. Let’s dive into this review shall we?

Characters:

I loved Evie as a character, I felt she was complex and that her emotions were real. She was drawn to Luc but wasn’t, she struggled with truths she never knew and she evolved over the course of the book. I’m truly excited to see her evolution as a character in the next book. Luc was a sexy bad ass I fell for almost immediately! He was arrogant and had a certain swagger but he was definitely someone I loved to hate and then just loved. He has a very deep backstory due to the fact that he came from her previous series and I loved learning what I could about him in this book. I loved learning about these unique aliens and how they came to be on this planet. I felt that even though I didn’t read the other series I still grasped the characters well enough. There were some great side characters in here as well. Zoe was fun and I really hope we get to see more of her. The antagonist had an understandable motive and we definitely got a look into him before the end of the book. I enjoyed reading from a single POV after reading so-many books lately with multiples, it was refreshing to JUST hear the story from Evie’s point of view and not wonder when we would get to return to her.

Setting:

This may be the one thing that was slightly lackluster. There wasn’t a ton of details about the different setting we were in. There was the odd description of the room or the environment. HOWEVER I feel that the world building really picked up on that. We got to see how the world had changed after the Luxen came and understand what happened while they were there. We got an in depth look at the past and how it brought about the present and that really nailed it on the head for me. I felt the world was real and inviting and I wanted to be a part of it. This was absolutely a little bit trashy, but I LIVED for it and I won’t regret a second.

Plot:

The plot was freaking FANTASTIC and we literally jumped into the action in the first few chapters. Everything was a progression of quick action scenes and character/world building and It really truly brought the whole book together! I saw the plot twist coming from a mile away however I’m really not upset with that because I think knowing about the plot twist really added to the story. You got to see how the characters interacted even though you knew the twist would come eventually. When it did there was still that imminent explosion of emotions. The story was well paced and interesting and I was always thirsting for more every time I put it down.

Author’s Writing Style:

I love the way Jennifer writes and if this is how all of her books are I definitely want to read more. While I may not dig into the archives of her books I will definitely be keeping a lookout for any future ones! I found her writing style refreshing and fun, she has a lot of funny little moments that left me giggling and wasn’t afraid to reference real life things. Her storytelling made the book flow smoothly and I look forward to a future with a shelf full of books by her.

Overall I found this book to be AMAZING! I loved the story, the characters and the writing style. While the setting fell to the side a bit I felt it was so minor in the wonderfully written novel that I can’t even complain.

Want a recap of the entire plot? Check out my Spoiler Filled one below:

https://booklecticreviews.home.blog/2019/02/02/the-darkest-star-recap/

The Cerulean DNF: Review

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29751998-the-cerulean

“Sera has always felt as if she didn’t belong among her people, the Cerulean. She is curious about everything and can’t stop questioning her three mothers, her best friend, Leela, and even the High Priestess. Sera has longed for the day when the tether that connects her City Above the Sky to the earthly world below finally severs and sends the Cerulean to a new planet.

But when Sera is chosen as the sacrifice to break the tether, she doesn’t know what to feel. To save her City, Sera must throw herself from its edge and end her own life. But something goes wrong and she survives the fall, landing in a place called Kaolin. She has heard tales about the humans there, and soon learns that the dangers her mothers warned her of are real. If Sera has any hope to return to her City, she’ll have to find the magic within herself to survive. “

Before I start this review, I would like to preface that I Did Not Finish this book. There were multiple things I found unappealing, and the whole book became a hard pill to swallow. I wanted to finish this book however I came upon a point where I just couldn’t bring myself to do so. This is a spoiler free review so I will just tell you why I didn’t like it in terms of the actual written content. This review is based SOLELY on what I read and not the entire book.

Characters:

I LOVED Sera, I thought she was a wonderfully written character and I enjoyed exploring her thoughts and emotions. I only got to the point in the book where there were 3 POV’s, however I have heard that there are a total of 4. The other two POV’s whom I got to experience I ABSOLUTELY hated. LIKE LOATHED. I felt nothing for them, didn’t feel they were vital to the story. In fact most of the time they both annoyed me to a point I wanted to shut the book sooner than I did. The one character is a sexist jerk and the other POV character is “Different than other girls” which in this day and age seems more disrespectful than anything I’ve read otherwise.

There were a few interesting side characters including one I would have rather had a POV from than the other two that I had. Again I don’t want to reveal too much, but I felt zero connection with any of the characters and will not regret taking the book back to the store I purchased it from.

Setting:

WHAT A SHAME! WHAT A SERIOUS SHAME! We start off in the “City above the Planet” where the Cerulean’s live and we get very brief if not limited descriptions of this “alien” floating city. Like EXPLORE IT MORE! I want to know more about the aliens, not the humans down below. I don’t care that they have islands and vehicles and houses. I have those things, show me something new and astonishing. Honestly the world building was so lack luster it really brought this book DOWN! You have a race of aliens that survive off of being tethered to planets, please explain this more thoroughly before you effectively eject our MC from their society.

Plot:

SLOW, SLOW, SLOW. Where’s the action, the drama, the intrigue? A Huge reason I put this book down was because I was bored and was no longer enjoying my reading time with it. Late last night when I was reading it I got to the middle of a chapter and had to ask myself why the heck am I putting myself through this? I really don’t want to drag this book through the mud, but I really did not enjoy it. I hope that you would be able to enjoy it better than I did.

Author’s Writing Style:

I did not enjoy Amy’s writing style at all. Her words were very plain and simple, there was no descriptiveness. At one point very early in the first chapter she referred to the planet below as a “blue-green-brown orb”…like WTH. Sorry that kind of description really doesn’t get my imagination flowing, it makes me think that planet must look super boring from all the way up here, yet in the same chapter Sera described the fact that she could see the shapes of Kaolin and Pelago. Not a Fan.

Overall I found this book to lack the pull and attraction that I got from the cover. I adored the cover and that was the main reason I bought the book. This book definetely applies to the rule “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”.

If your interested please check out the spoiler filled review:

https://booklecticreviews.home.blog/2019/01/31/the-cerulean-spoilers-dnf-review/

YA Books Releasing in February 2019

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Books I’ve Pre-ordered:

I pre-ordered only 3 books this month and below are a short synopsis and a reason why I am looking forward to the book.

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1. Enchantée:

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Set in Paris 1789 (So many 2019 books set in Paris!) This book has a historical fiction element combining magic with the French Court scene including Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.  It sounds super intriguing and right up my alley! I am very excited to see what It will be like!  It releases on February 5th.

2. The Priory of the Orange Tree:

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There are not too many words I need to use to describe this book.  Dragons, Kingdoms, War…Fantasy…If you know my book tastes you know I’m a fantasy FREAK! I love this stuff and can’t wait to consume this story! The only intimidating this is how freaking huge the book is, but we’ll get through it together! It Releases on February 26th.

3. Warrior of the Wild:

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A Viking Inspired Coming of age tale about finding honor it also has a bad ass warrior woman so you know who could resist.  I loved Tricia’s other series the Daughter of the Pirate King and I refuse to pass up on her books now! It releases on February 26th.

Other Books Releasing:

These books I decided not to pre-order for various reasons which will be explained below.  They just didn’t have that pull for me. That being said I could be wrong if you think I should get some of the books below please let me know. 

1. Bloodwitch (The Witchlands, #3):

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Bloodwitch is the 3rd book in a series with characters that have unique abilities.  While I know it’s fantasy I tried reading the first book Truthwitch and just never managed to get through it.  Seeing as I haven’t read any of the other books in the series completely I don’t quite see a point in investing time to catch up and read Bloodwitch.  Sadly this series will be a pass for me in the mean time. It Releases February 12th. 

2. Four Dead Queens:

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I’m not even going to get into the plot for this one…I feel like too many similar styled books like this have been releasing lately and again while it’s a fantasy story it didn’t peak my interest in the slightest.  I will give you the little blurb directly from good reads. “A divided nation. Four Queens. A ruthless pickpocket. A noble messenger. And the murders that unite them.” It Releases February 26th.

3. Crown of Feathers (Crown of Feathers #1) :

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From what I gleaned from the synopsis this book is about two sisters who are fighting for the title of being a queen.  They are phoenix riders and can ride on the backs of phoenixes. It honestly does sound interesting however I just don’t feel the need to get this book.  It isn’t calling to me, the synopsis doesn’t scream pick me up. It releases February 12th. 

4. On The Come Up:

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Everyone is going to disagree with me on this one.  I HATE contemporary.  I hate reading about real life.  I want to escape to a fantasy or imaginary world, not something based on the real world.  It’s about a girl that wants to become a rapper and after her mom loses her job it’s no longer a choice she now must become one to save her family.  I’m not gonna lie that does interest me however I am just not a fan of Contemporary and therefore will not be reading this one. It releases February 5th. 

5. Courting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology, #1):

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Assassins whom are the “Daughters of Death”, french court politics etc etc.  I had to pass on this one too the synopsis just didn’t catch me at all. Who knows maybe it’s so amazing I’m missing out but too many books are already set in France and I don’t want to hear about France 3 times in 1 month.  It releases February 5th.

6. Lady Smoke (Ash Princess Trilogy #2) :

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The second book in the Ash Princess series.  I didn’t read the first one and I have so much to read I just don’t want to go back so for the time being this series will not be picked up by me. It releases February 5th. 

What will you be reading of the new releases this month? Is there something I haven’t listed your most excited for?  Let me know in the comments below and let’s discuss all the amazing books coming out in February.