Take a photo of a barcode or cover
874 reviews by:
ambeesbookishpages
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the opportunity to review this book!
I want to start my review off with this: The Last 8 is a book that you aren't going to want to miss this year. This book is being marketed for fans of The 5th Wave and anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE that book and movie with all my heart. The Last 8 exceeded all of my expectations. Filled with finding friendships, aliens, finding yourself in the face of disaster The Last 8 is the perfect way to bring in 2019 and alien invasions.
All of Clover's dreams and actions for working for NASA are thrown of the window when the aliens invade earth and kill off most of earth's population, all except for Clover and seven other teenagers who have been hanging out in Area 51 since the invasion. When Clover hears a radio message that leads her to Area 51 and the other teens, she finally feels like she has a chance to fight back, only: everyone is pretty content with just existing and playing video games and staying safe. Clover isn't having it though and after uncovering some dark government secrets learns that everything isn't exactly what they thought and there might be hope for them after all.
*This paragraph is going to discuss Clover's suicide attempts if you would like to skip a head to the next paragraph!*
I love Clover's character. Clover is a seventeen year old ace/aro pilot who longs to be in the sky even when it is no longer safe. From the beginning of the novel we see how intelligent and resourceful Clover is and how she continues to be through out the entirety of the novel. Though I know not many people are going to take lightly to the talk over Clover's suicide attempts I did actually appreciate them in the novel. Clover doesn't shy away from the fact that she has had struggles since the invasion, that at times she felt like life wasn't continuing. I loved the part where she acknowledges the fact that Adam is developing feelings for and she explains to him how something between them will never happen because she identifies as bisexual and aromantic. I enjoyed the fact that The Last 8 didn't need a romance aspect to move the plot forward.
I never expected a book about aliens to make me tear up but the friendships built between the characters definitely pulled at my heart strings a little bit. The plot of The Last 8 was fast paced and didn't stop for one moment. Each chapter was a new development in the plot to drive it forward. Overall I really enjoyed The Last 8 and I can't wait to see where Pohl is going to take this gang of characters next!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the opportunity to review this book!
I want to start my review off with this: The Last 8 is a book that you aren't going to want to miss this year. This book is being marketed for fans of The 5th Wave and anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE that book and movie with all my heart. The Last 8 exceeded all of my expectations. Filled with finding friendships, aliens, finding yourself in the face of disaster The Last 8 is the perfect way to bring in 2019 and alien invasions.
All of Clover's dreams and actions for working for NASA are thrown of the window when the aliens invade earth and kill off most of earth's population, all except for Clover and seven other teenagers who have been hanging out in Area 51 since the invasion. When Clover hears a radio message that leads her to Area 51 and the other teens, she finally feels like she has a chance to fight back, only: everyone is pretty content with just existing and playing video games and staying safe. Clover isn't having it though and after uncovering some dark government secrets learns that everything isn't exactly what they thought and there might be hope for them after all.
*This paragraph is going to discuss Clover's suicide attempts if you would like to skip a head to the next paragraph!*
I love Clover's character. Clover is a seventeen year old ace/aro pilot who longs to be in the sky even when it is no longer safe. From the beginning of the novel we see how intelligent and resourceful Clover is and how she continues to be through out the entirety of the novel. Though I know not many people are going to take lightly to the talk over Clover's suicide attempts I did actually appreciate them in the novel. Clover doesn't shy away from the fact that she has had struggles since the invasion, that at times she felt like life wasn't continuing. I loved the part where she acknowledges the fact that Adam is developing feelings for and she explains to him how something between them will never happen because she identifies as bisexual and aromantic. I enjoyed the fact that The Last 8 didn't need a romance aspect to move the plot forward.
I never expected a book about aliens to make me tear up but the friendships built between the characters definitely pulled at my heart strings a little bit. The plot of The Last 8 was fast paced and didn't stop for one moment. Each chapter was a new development in the plot to drive it forward. Overall I really enjoyed The Last 8 and I can't wait to see where Pohl is going to take this gang of characters next!
I’m still thinking on the rating for this one. Quite honestly I was bored and there wasn’t much that kept me intrigued. :/
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
Thank you so much HMH Teen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review ONLY ASHES REMAIN!
I really enjoyed Not Even Bones so I was super excited when HMH Teen approved me on NetGalley for Only Ashes Remain. After the end of Not Even Bones I was eager to see where Nita's story was going next. She destroyed the black market. She's "safe." But she is now in protective custody with Fabricio, the boy who sold her to the black market. Let the revenge begin.
Only Ashes Remain took a dark twist real early on in the book. The whole book was dark actually. The destroying black market and the things Nita had to do to save herself and Kovit toughened her. We see the darkness inside Nita come to the surface and how she battles and embraces it. Where in the first book she simply dissected the bodies her mother left for her, in Only Ashes Remain, Nita does her fair share of killing.
I think the moral dilemma between Kovit and Nita was interesting to watch. Kovit is a Zannie, which means he feeds off of pain and if he doesn't he will weaken or die. Kovit use to be part of a Mob Family and was forced to do terrible things, not all of which he enjoyed. But Kovit has one rule: He won't cause pain to people he knows. Though Kovit doesn't seem to have a moral compass because of what he is, he does. The struggle between Nita's and Kovit's relationship is how Nita can kill who ever she wants, whenever but it bothered her when Kovit would torture to feed. It's messy and I am probably not describing it well, but I really enjoyed how Shaeffer included it all.
Overall, I can't say too much about Only Ashes Remain with out spoiling it but I hope to see these characters again soon. There are a lot of unanswered questions and things that I am still eager to see resolved.
Thank you so much HMH Teen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review ONLY ASHES REMAIN!
I really enjoyed Not Even Bones so I was super excited when HMH Teen approved me on NetGalley for Only Ashes Remain. After the end of Not Even Bones I was eager to see where Nita's story was going next. She destroyed the black market. She's "safe." But she is now in protective custody with Fabricio, the boy who sold her to the black market. Let the revenge begin.
Only Ashes Remain took a dark twist real early on in the book. The whole book was dark actually. The destroying black market and the things Nita had to do to save herself and Kovit toughened her. We see the darkness inside Nita come to the surface and how she battles and embraces it. Where in the first book she simply dissected the bodies her mother left for her, in Only Ashes Remain, Nita does her fair share of killing.
I think the moral dilemma between Kovit and Nita was interesting to watch. Kovit is a Zannie, which means he feeds off of pain and if he doesn't he will weaken or die. Kovit use to be part of a Mob Family and was forced to do terrible things, not all of which he enjoyed. But Kovit has one rule: He won't cause pain to people he knows. Though Kovit doesn't seem to have a moral compass because of what he is, he does. The struggle between Nita's and Kovit's relationship is how Nita can kill who ever she wants, whenever but it bothered her when Kovit would torture to feed. It's messy and I am probably not describing it well, but I really enjoyed how Shaeffer included it all.
Overall, I can't say too much about Only Ashes Remain with out spoiling it but I hope to see these characters again soon. There are a lot of unanswered questions and things that I am still eager to see resolved.
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
Thank you so much Knopf Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review AURORA RISING!
It's been a solid three days since I finished Aurora Rising and I still don't have words. Well, I have words. Just just aren't professional enough for the blog. Because currently my brain is: ASDFGHJKL and basically my emotions are all over the damn place. To say that Aurora Rising exceeded all of my expectations is the understatement of the year. Whether you are new to Jay and Amie's writing or you are already familiar with the writing duo from the Illuminae Files, their newest novel does not disappoint.
After rescuing Aurora O'Malley from the Fold and her impending death Tyler Jones misses out on recruiting the squad of his dreams. Instead he is stuck with the recruits that nobody wants. Aurora Rising is told from the POVs of each of the squad mates: Tyler, Scarlett, Cat, Aurora, Kal, Zila and Finian. Each character has their own unique voice and their own internal battle as they race across the galaxy to stop an impending war and seek answers to the lost Octavia Colony and keep Aurora out of the hands of the authorities who are bent on killing her.
Tyler: I really really loved Tyler's character growth from the beginning to the end of the novel. We see him and his anger towards having to have the bottom of the barrel recruits. But through out the book we see how his views of each of his squad mates change and how he learns that each has their own individual asset that they bring to the squad.
Aurora: The girl who started it all. After being in cryo-freeze for 200+ years Aurora was expecting to wake up on the Octavia Colony and not in a cell on an intergalactic space academy. But soon things are turned upside down when the authorities want her, and we learn that Aurora plays a bigger role in the sake of the universe then just being 216 years old.
Scarlett: Scalett is Tyler's older sister and complete sarcastic wise ass and I loved every moment of reading from her POV. A lot of times we see characters go from weak to strong, but not Scarlett. She was strong from the moment you meet her. I loved the fact that everyone just embraces the fact that Scarlett has dated A LOT of guys. No one shames her for her and she doesn't shame herself. I absolutely love that! Also, do I smell a crush brewing?
Kaliis "Kal": Kal is one of the alien species that we get to meet in this book. After his home planet is destroyed he joins Aurora Academy to make a difference for himself and his species. Kal was one of those characters that grew on me, the more you got to know him the more you understood why he behaves the way he does. I am really excited to see where Jay and Amie are going to take Kal in the next book.
Finian:I found Finian to basically be the male version of Scarlett. In short: Finian is a brilliant wise ass. He is the other alien species that we are introduced to in Aurora Rising. After over coming a virus when he was a child Finian has to wear a mechanical exoskeleton to function in his day to day life. I found to crack up at a lot of the things he said. I enjoyed seeing Finian grow throughout the novel and overcome some of his limitations.
Cat: I didn't realize how much I loved Cat's character until the final chapters of Aurora Rising. Cat is hard core and isn't going to take shit from anyone. We see through her chapters how she is in love with Tyler but how they could never be together because he is her superior officer. I am intrigued to see where Cat's character is going in the next book considering the end of Aurora Rising.
Zila: I LOVED Zila's character. I related to her on a deeper level on how she doesn't have a group to fall back on. I also really loved the fondness she had for shooting her squad mates at the most inconvenient times. But Zila gets shit done and I am so ready to see her in book two. I just wish there were more chapters in her POV.
There is so much I want to talk about but I can't because of spoilers. *sobs*
I really loved how the story is seamless. Amie and Jay said that they each wrote specific characters but you can't tell who wrote who. A lot of times in books that are co-written they don't flow seamlessly and you can tell the difference in writing styles. In Aurora Rising you can't tell the difference and I loved that.
Each chapter held unexpected surprises that moved the story forward in cool and unbelievably cool ways. Though the ending ripped my heart out, it was interesting the see the alien plants and how they have a a hive mind and are a singular entity. Overall I really loved Aurora Rising and I can't wait to see what this writing duo has in store for Squad 312!
Thank you so much Knopf Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review AURORA RISING!
It's been a solid three days since I finished Aurora Rising and I still don't have words. Well, I have words. Just just aren't professional enough for the blog. Because currently my brain is: ASDFGHJKL and basically my emotions are all over the damn place. To say that Aurora Rising exceeded all of my expectations is the understatement of the year. Whether you are new to Jay and Amie's writing or you are already familiar with the writing duo from the Illuminae Files, their newest novel does not disappoint.
After rescuing Aurora O'Malley from the Fold and her impending death Tyler Jones misses out on recruiting the squad of his dreams. Instead he is stuck with the recruits that nobody wants. Aurora Rising is told from the POVs of each of the squad mates: Tyler, Scarlett, Cat, Aurora, Kal, Zila and Finian. Each character has their own unique voice and their own internal battle as they race across the galaxy to stop an impending war and seek answers to the lost Octavia Colony and keep Aurora out of the hands of the authorities who are bent on killing her.
Tyler: I really really loved Tyler's character growth from the beginning to the end of the novel. We see him and his anger towards having to have the bottom of the barrel recruits. But through out the book we see how his views of each of his squad mates change and how he learns that each has their own individual asset that they bring to the squad.
Aurora: The girl who started it all. After being in cryo-freeze for 200+ years Aurora was expecting to wake up on the Octavia Colony and not in a cell on an intergalactic space academy. But soon things are turned upside down when the authorities want her, and we learn that Aurora plays a bigger role in the sake of the universe then just being 216 years old.
Scarlett: Scalett is Tyler's older sister and complete sarcastic wise ass and I loved every moment of reading from her POV. A lot of times we see characters go from weak to strong, but not Scarlett. She was strong from the moment you meet her. I loved the fact that everyone just embraces the fact that Scarlett has dated A LOT of guys. No one shames her for her and she doesn't shame herself. I absolutely love that! Also, do I smell a crush brewing?
Kaliis "Kal": Kal is one of the alien species that we get to meet in this book. After his home planet is destroyed he joins Aurora Academy to make a difference for himself and his species. Kal was one of those characters that grew on me, the more you got to know him the more you understood why he behaves the way he does. I am really excited to see where Jay and Amie are going to take Kal in the next book.
Finian:I found Finian to basically be the male version of Scarlett. In short: Finian is a brilliant wise ass. He is the other alien species that we are introduced to in Aurora Rising. After over coming a virus when he was a child Finian has to wear a mechanical exoskeleton to function in his day to day life. I found to crack up at a lot of the things he said. I enjoyed seeing Finian grow throughout the novel and overcome some of his limitations.
Cat: I didn't realize how much I loved Cat's character until the final chapters of Aurora Rising. Cat is hard core and isn't going to take shit from anyone. We see through her chapters how she is in love with Tyler but how they could never be together because he is her superior officer. I am intrigued to see where Cat's character is going in the next book considering the end of Aurora Rising.
Zila: I LOVED Zila's character. I related to her on a deeper level on how she doesn't have a group to fall back on. I also really loved the fondness she had for shooting her squad mates at the most inconvenient times. But Zila gets shit done and I am so ready to see her in book two. I just wish there were more chapters in her POV.
There is so much I want to talk about but I can't because of spoilers. *sobs*
I really loved how the story is seamless. Amie and Jay said that they each wrote specific characters but you can't tell who wrote who. A lot of times in books that are co-written they don't flow seamlessly and you can tell the difference in writing styles. In Aurora Rising you can't tell the difference and I loved that.
Each chapter held unexpected surprises that moved the story forward in cool and unbelievably cool ways. Though the ending ripped my heart out, it was interesting the see the alien plants and how they have a a hive mind and are a singular entity. Overall I really loved Aurora Rising and I can't wait to see what this writing duo has in store for Squad 312!
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF RESTORE ME. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ RESTORE ME AND DO NOT WANT IT TO BE SPOILED FOR YOU, PLEASE DO NOT READ ON!***
Excuse my while I shriek until I can read Defy Me. If you are new to The Book Bratz you should know that all three of us are HUGE Shatter Me fans and are totally obsessed with Warner. After Restore Me's explosive ending (ha, see what I did there?) we were left scrambling to gather ourselves and pretend that we were okay. Then, we learned that our favorite side character was getting his own novella and for a little while that patched the hole Mafi had left in our hearts.
Let's get down to why I been screaming and texting Emily and Jessica in all capital letters since I read Shadow Me. At the end of Restore Me, Juliette is captured and shipped off to another country. But before that, she accidentally slaughters a room of 600 people. WTF. This is why we have been screaming over a year, because everyone is going to be out for Juliette now and poor Warner. Have I mentioned that we LOVE Warner? In Shadow Me we see this exact scene from a new perspective. This scene isn't as black and white as Mafi made it seem. In my opinion, this scene from Kenji's POV is brilliant.
Why am I shrieking at how this novella ended? Because. Shadow Me is is essential to read if you plan to continue on in the Shatter Me series. It holds some secrets and ties some loose ends up that we saw in Restore Me. There is also something *SUPER* important that happens that is going to play a huge role in Defy Me.
Well friends, thanks for reading me rant/vent/review/sob session for another Tahereh Mafi book. Once again, she managed to put me in my feels. I can't wait for Defy Me!
***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF RESTORE ME. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ RESTORE ME AND DO NOT WANT IT TO BE SPOILED FOR YOU, PLEASE DO NOT READ ON!***
Excuse my while I shriek until I can read Defy Me. If you are new to The Book Bratz you should know that all three of us are HUGE Shatter Me fans and are totally obsessed with Warner. After Restore Me's explosive ending (ha, see what I did there?) we were left scrambling to gather ourselves and pretend that we were okay. Then, we learned that our favorite side character was getting his own novella and for a little while that patched the hole Mafi had left in our hearts.
Let's get down to why I been screaming and texting Emily and Jessica in all capital letters since I read Shadow Me. At the end of Restore Me, Juliette is captured and shipped off to another country. But before that, she accidentally slaughters a room of 600 people. WTF. This is why we have been screaming over a year, because everyone is going to be out for Juliette now and poor Warner. Have I mentioned that we LOVE Warner? In Shadow Me we see this exact scene from a new perspective. This scene isn't as black and white as Mafi made it seem. In my opinion, this scene from Kenji's POV is brilliant.
Why am I shrieking at how this novella ended? Because. Shadow Me is is essential to read if you plan to continue on in the Shatter Me series. It holds some secrets and ties some loose ends up that we saw in Restore Me. There is also something *SUPER* important that happens that is going to play a huge role in Defy Me.
Well friends, thanks for reading me rant/vent/review/sob session for another Tahereh Mafi book. Once again, she managed to put me in my feels. I can't wait for Defy Me!
I’m teetering between 3 and 4 stars on this one. 3.5 just doesn’t seem right? I have to give it some thought.
Fans of JLA are going to love this one. I think compared to her other writing this one could have been something more and I’m a little disappointed... 😕
RTC!!!
Fans of JLA are going to love this one. I think compared to her other writing this one could have been something more and I’m a little disappointed... 😕
RTC!!!
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF RESTORE ME. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ RESTORE ME AND DO NOT WANT IT TO BE SPOILED FOR YOU, PLEASE DO NOT READ ON!***
After the quite literal explosive ending of Restore Me the waiting game for Defy Me was an emotional roller coaster. Tahereh would post excerpts, do Q&As and it was such a tease. I read Shadow Me which is a novella from Kenji's POV and takes place right as Restore Me ends and Defy Me begins, which held me over until I had Defy Me on my kindle. I finished Defy Me in under twenty four hours and that was with taking breaks because my heart was going to explode with the anticipation of what was going to happen next.
The Shadow Me series has come a long way since book one. When Tahereh revealed there would be three more books I never imagined that the series was going to be taken in this direction. In the end of Restore Me we learned that Juliette was never actually Juliette a girl born into abusive parents with no clue of her power. Juliette is actually a girl named Ella, who also happens to be the Commander of Oceania's daughter. We learned that her parents donated both her and her sister, Emmaline, to the Reestablishment as part of an experiment.
Where I found pieces of Restore Me predictable I found nothing about Defy Me predictable. The secrets that are uncovered and the more we learn about Warner and Juliette's tangled past, things that we questioned earlier in the series start to fall into place. I loved how Tahereh used Defy Me as an opportunity to shed a little more light into Warner and Juliette's past. I loved seeing their interactions from the pre-Shadow Me series and everything that led up to the now.
Mafi didn't fail to deliver on the cryptic secrets of the Reestablishment and astounding her readers. We come face to face with some characters we didn't think we would see again and some new characters that we aren't too sure about. The Omega point gang makes an appearance and Kenji is as lovely and delightful as we all remember. Do I smell a love interest for Kenji?
One year ago my anxiety was so crippling that five minutes alone with my own mind would leave me spiraling for days. I relied entirely upon my routines and schedules to keep me tethered to the endless horrors of my job and its demands. I spent nearly all my free hours either exercising, in my shooting range, or in the bowels of Sector 45, running training simulations.
I love being inside Warner's mind. Learning in Restore Me that Warner suffers from anxiety and witnessing him have a panic attack in the pages of Restore Me gave me a whole knew love for my favorite character. In Defy Me we see is a change in Warner, not a bad change, but I change that Warner has needed for a long time. I am so happy that Mafi took the time to use to pages of Defy Me to shed more light onto Warner's struggles with anxiety and how far he has come as a character since page one of Shatter Me.
Overall I really enjoyed Defy Me. My only complaint is I feel like there were some things that Mafi could have explained and expanded on rather then brushed under the rug. Did we forget that Juliette killed a room of 600 people? Besides that I am really excited (but also sadly) looking forward to the conclusion to the Shatter Me series. My fingers are crossed for a happy ending for my favorite characters.
***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF RESTORE ME. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ RESTORE ME AND DO NOT WANT IT TO BE SPOILED FOR YOU, PLEASE DO NOT READ ON!***
After the quite literal explosive ending of Restore Me the waiting game for Defy Me was an emotional roller coaster. Tahereh would post excerpts, do Q&As and it was such a tease. I read Shadow Me which is a novella from Kenji's POV and takes place right as Restore Me ends and Defy Me begins, which held me over until I had Defy Me on my kindle. I finished Defy Me in under twenty four hours and that was with taking breaks because my heart was going to explode with the anticipation of what was going to happen next.
The Shadow Me series has come a long way since book one. When Tahereh revealed there would be three more books I never imagined that the series was going to be taken in this direction. In the end of Restore Me we learned that Juliette was never actually Juliette a girl born into abusive parents with no clue of her power. Juliette is actually a girl named Ella, who also happens to be the Commander of Oceania's daughter. We learned that her parents donated both her and her sister, Emmaline, to the Reestablishment as part of an experiment.
Where I found pieces of Restore Me predictable I found nothing about Defy Me predictable. The secrets that are uncovered and the more we learn about Warner and Juliette's tangled past, things that we questioned earlier in the series start to fall into place. I loved how Tahereh used Defy Me as an opportunity to shed a little more light into Warner and Juliette's past. I loved seeing their interactions from the pre-Shadow Me series and everything that led up to the now.
Mafi didn't fail to deliver on the cryptic secrets of the Reestablishment and astounding her readers. We come face to face with some characters we didn't think we would see again and some new characters that we aren't too sure about. The Omega point gang makes an appearance and Kenji is as lovely and delightful as we all remember. Do I smell a love interest for Kenji?
One year ago my anxiety was so crippling that five minutes alone with my own mind would leave me spiraling for days. I relied entirely upon my routines and schedules to keep me tethered to the endless horrors of my job and its demands. I spent nearly all my free hours either exercising, in my shooting range, or in the bowels of Sector 45, running training simulations.
I love being inside Warner's mind. Learning in Restore Me that Warner suffers from anxiety and witnessing him have a panic attack in the pages of Restore Me gave me a whole knew love for my favorite character. In Defy Me we see is a change in Warner, not a bad change, but I change that Warner has needed for a long time. I am so happy that Mafi took the time to use to pages of Defy Me to shed more light onto Warner's struggles with anxiety and how far he has come as a character since page one of Shatter Me.
Overall I really enjoyed Defy Me. My only complaint is I feel like there were some things that Mafi could have explained and expanded on rather then brushed under the rug. Did we forget that Juliette killed a room of 600 people? Besides that I am really excited (but also sadly) looking forward to the conclusion to the Shatter Me series. My fingers are crossed for a happy ending for my favorite characters.
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
I took me a while to get through this one. I originally received a copy of The Priory of the Orange Tree at BookExpo in 2018 and I was super excited to start it. In August my family was taking a road trip to move my sister into college and it was a 9+ hour ride there so I figured it was the perfect time to read this beauty. Sadly I struggled with it and I think it was mainly intimidation of seeing that I read what seemed like so much, but had so much more to go. After The Priory if the Orange Tree was released I bought a copy for my kindle and found it a lot easier to read. This time I finished and I adore this book and every character in it. (Except Niclays, I just don't like him. *Shrugs*)
The Priory of the Orange Tree is not a Young Adult novel. The characters range from 19 and one character being 64. Though the characters are older I found Priory to read as a young adult novel would. I didn't find it to be too graphic content wise. Naturally there is blood and murder, but nothing too to an extreme. Sexual content wise there is when slightly detailed sex scene, but there plenty of those in upper YA novels. If you are going to recommend this as Young Adult to a reader, I would definitely say it is for more upper YA readers. But again, Priory is categorized as an adult novel.
Priory is complicated to talk about with out ruining bits of it. I think the world building is fabulously done. Shannon didn't waste a page to describe this lush world. The different cultures, traditions, regions and species. From the Queendom to the Dragon Riders, Shannon made it as if I was standing beside this characters in their journey. In the beginning Priory is overwhelming, there are a lot of names and places being mention but until I got the hang of it, and after I did, the story is easy to follow. Its broke up into four POVs. Ead, Tane, Loth and Niclays. I do wish we got a point of view from Sabran, she is one of my favorite characters in the novel and I loved her story and the complexity of it. All characters face their own battles as the Nameless One looms on the horizon, but can people from radically different parts of the world come together to save the world?
Overall Priory is an intimidating book to dive into but with its beautiful writing and complex characters you'll soon be enthralled by the tale. I hope Shannon revisits this world again eventually, where 800 pages was a lot, it also felt too short for these characters. I would love more. Especially of Ead and Sabran.
I took me a while to get through this one. I originally received a copy of The Priory of the Orange Tree at BookExpo in 2018 and I was super excited to start it. In August my family was taking a road trip to move my sister into college and it was a 9+ hour ride there so I figured it was the perfect time to read this beauty. Sadly I struggled with it and I think it was mainly intimidation of seeing that I read what seemed like so much, but had so much more to go. After The Priory if the Orange Tree was released I bought a copy for my kindle and found it a lot easier to read. This time I finished and I adore this book and every character in it. (Except Niclays, I just don't like him. *Shrugs*)
The Priory of the Orange Tree is not a Young Adult novel. The characters range from 19 and one character being 64. Though the characters are older I found Priory to read as a young adult novel would. I didn't find it to be too graphic content wise. Naturally there is blood and murder, but nothing too to an extreme. Sexual content wise there is when slightly detailed sex scene, but there plenty of those in upper YA novels. If you are going to recommend this as Young Adult to a reader, I would definitely say it is for more upper YA readers. But again, Priory is categorized as an adult novel.
Priory is complicated to talk about with out ruining bits of it. I think the world building is fabulously done. Shannon didn't waste a page to describe this lush world. The different cultures, traditions, regions and species. From the Queendom to the Dragon Riders, Shannon made it as if I was standing beside this characters in their journey. In the beginning Priory is overwhelming, there are a lot of names and places being mention but until I got the hang of it, and after I did, the story is easy to follow. Its broke up into four POVs. Ead, Tane, Loth and Niclays. I do wish we got a point of view from Sabran, she is one of my favorite characters in the novel and I loved her story and the complexity of it. All characters face their own battles as the Nameless One looms on the horizon, but can people from radically different parts of the world come together to save the world?
Overall Priory is an intimidating book to dive into but with its beautiful writing and complex characters you'll soon be enthralled by the tale. I hope Shannon revisits this world again eventually, where 800 pages was a lot, it also felt too short for these characters. I would love more. Especially of Ead and Sabran.