aprilthebookqueen's Reviews (211)

This was such a fun and fast paced read. I will admit I’m getting a little impatient at some of the recurring things. How many times can some of the characters have the same fight? Apparently a lot. 

But this book and the last couple have made me realized why the series is so popular. It’s fun. The characters are ones you want to root for but they’re morally grey and that’s awesome. The backstory and world building is interesting. 

The writing also feels so much better than the first book. I can’t seem to stop reading this series! 

I went into this blind, and it was a fun experience. 

It had a bit of a slow start in my opinion, but as the world building came together, I began to really enjoy it. The main character was especially interesting to me, as well as the princes. 

I loved the complex, morally grey characters and the foreshadowing. There was a plot twist at the end that I actually didn't see coming. Maybe it was obvious to others, but my jaw dropped and the sadness I felt about it was intense. 

The lines blurred in this book between the opposing sides, and that's the way I like it honestly. It didn't seem so black and white because you can see the viewpoints of most of the characters, even if they're the opposite of the other characters. 

A lot of your usual fantasy tropes, but I thought it worked and kept my interest. A good read! 

I’ve seen this book recommended a lot and I finally got around reading it in an online book club. 

It was a fun read. Trying to piece everything together and understand and watching as it all unfolded was very interesting. 

I found it slow at parts but it really, really picked up for me

when we met Rocky. The relationship between him and Ryland was my favourite part. I loved seeing them connect and figure each other and their culture out.

I had a lot of strong emotional feelings near the end and overall really enjoyed this 

This book was so intense. There was so much that happened and I’m not sure how I feel about all of it. 

I am loving seeing the relationships change and develop between the characters and the plot feels like it’s picking up. And I still really love the twins as main characters. I love their attitudes and their loyalty and just their characters in general. 

There are so many things to sort out and I’m so anxious and hopeful that they do. I’m so anxious to see where it all goes. 

This book just wasn't for me. The author's writing was beautiful, and it was such an intriguing concept but I was just... bored. I really, really wanted to like it. I know it's a favourite of a lot of people's and this isn't going to be a popular opinion. But in this case, it's really just a personal preference. I felt like there was so much time where nothing happened. I felt like we got told the same descriptions and information over and over again, and I found it hard to follow. I think I only found it hard to follow because I was bored and couldn't focus. 

There were tragedies that happened to the characters, and I felt nothing because I felt no attachment to the characters and I had a really hard time pushing through this book. 

I can really see why people like this book though. It is well written, and it's beautifully written even. The characters are interesting, even if they fell flat to me. 

Overall, a really great and amazing book, just not for me. 

So, I meant to read just a little bit before bed and now it’s 2 am and I am finished. 

This book was so addictive and had me so tense at points wondering how everything was going to play out. 

I absolutely loathed the villain in this one. I just actually wanted him to pay for what he did and the worry he’d just get away with everything was so strong. I won’t spoil how it turns out but the twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat. I think what really strikes me is he feels real. Villains like him absolutely exist in real life. This makes the emotions so much stronger. 

Pacing was a little slow at first but once it started getting into everything, it was fast paced and hard to put down. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

This book was voted for our book of the month in our indie author book club and I am so excited that it was. 

This was such an amazing read. The characters were intriguing, the plot was addictive and the plot twists were a lot of fun. 

One of my favourite exchanges was: 

‘He thought for a moment. “Do you have any friends? Anyone you can rely on?”

 “No.”

 “Why not?” 

“Assassins don’t make the best of friends.” 

“I disagree. Who better to have on your side than someone who would kill for you?” 

Bonnie had no reply’

There were a lot of fun moments and moments that made my heart go “awww”. Who knew someone leaving someone half the cooked fish would give me feelings?

I loved the role the animals had in this, and getting to figure out more about our main character and the mystery surrounding here was fun to figure out. 

I also liked how it ended. It wasn’t too much of a cliffhanger. It was a satisfying ending but yet you’d definitely want to read a sequel if it came out! 

A really fun read! 

Overall, I’d give this 3.5 stars. It was a fun and addicting read. 

The banter was really fun to read, and the book was in a lot of ways “cosy” to me despite being about zombies. 

The main character was fun, and I mean… using a burrito as a weapon? Kind of iconic and fun. 

I ended up really liking a couple of the side characters that came in too. 

The pacing overall was good, but at times it felt a little rushed. It definitely wasn’t boring or slow at all though so I had a hard time taking a break from reading! 

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. 

This was a fun and quick read with an intriguing plot and amusing characters. 

Okay, so my plans for today were to read a couple chapters, get some stuff done and then continue on with the paperback I started yesterday. That is not what happened. I applied for an ARC for this because the premise sounded interesting, and I loved the cover. I thought it would be an enjoyable read, but I did not expect it to blow me away the way it did. 

I could not put this down. I ended up finishing the book today and it is pretty much all I focused on today. I loved the writing style and the characters and world instantly drew me in. There were a lot of great quotes that I saved, but will not be sharing due to this being an ARC copy. I will likely be sharing them once I get a copy of the book when it's published though. 

Getting to switch between different POVs was really interesting, and really offered another perspective on things. There were times I didn't know who I was rooting for. The characters were morally ambiguous and I loved that. There was no obvious good side or evil side. Both had good and evil, and it really depended on whose lens you were viewing the world through. This book felt really dark, but beautiful at the same time. The world itself was dark. The violence, the threats and the bad things that happened. But the characters and the relationship between Sam and Ari was so beautiful, and the writing style really made everything feel beautiful. 

The complexity and depth of the world and characters was really well done. I really loved Sam, and I really loved Ari. The side characters didn't really stand out to me, but that was probably because of how amazing the main characters were. Seeing their struggles with each other and with their decisions and lives was intriguing. Sam I found especially interesting because something you see as a negative at the beginning (her being unnoticeable) is actually something that becomes a power to her. 

There were parts of this book that made me a bit squeamish, but I mean this in a good way. The wording and imagery painted was really fantastic and well done. 

I don't read a lot of urban fantasy books, but I am so glad I read this one. 

This book absolutely amazed me. One thing I hate about ARCs is having to wait that much longer to read the next book! But I will absolutely be watching for the release date of that one and will be immediately scooping up a copy of this one when it officially releases. 

Thank you so much to Tor and NetGalley for this ARC! All thoughts in this review are my own! 

This one wasn't my favourite honestly. It was a good book, and the writing was well-done. I still adore the characters and loved getting to learn more about them. 

I just had a really hard time getting through this one. I'd find myself procrastinating reading it because I was so bored when I was reading. 

I love this series, and Sanderson's books. This one just wasn't for me I think.