husnaibrahim_'s Reviews (393)

While reading this, I kept thinking how this book reminded me of another book but I couldn’t quite figure out which book it was. Then when I started already guessing the whole plot, I realised that I read this book back when it came out. I enjoyed it back then and now.

I really liked this book. I think what made it better this time around was that some parts of this book was way more enjoyable while reading and listening to its audiobook because the narrator did a great job! I mean some parts just hit way better while doing both too. The reactions of the survivors were very realistic.

With Simone we see her doing everything to forget the mall attack and that just worked well with who she was. Even before the tragedy, I got the impression that she wasn’t so sure of herself and what she wants to do with her life. Her character development was one of the best honestly. Although it sometimes felt like we didn’t see more or enough of her even though we did and I think that’s what made it better. It somehow felt the same with Reed too.

I liked how met again. It felt like they knew each other already but not in the way it should have been. So when he went to the island I was really looking forward to seeing how they’ll meet each other once again. I think the fact that he met CiCi first made the whole thing better. While reading the book you kind of realise that CiCi is such a big part of who Simone is, so this worked well. Overall this was a great book.

I just wish Patricia didn’t end up dying that way. It didn’t feel enough. I really needed to see her interrogated and then locked up! Eve Dallas style would have been perfect here honesty. Patricia was just such a cruel and twisted person honestly. The only person she killed and I didn’t feel bad for was Seleena. I mean she didn’t deserve to die but I just didn’t like her at all. She gave me British tabloid vibes. She was just written in such a way that when she was killed you couldn’t help but think ‘well good riddance!’

This book is proof that sometimes when you love someone you can really be blind to all their faults till it becomes ridiculous. I know Laurel was supposed to come off as the type that loves unconditionally but she was really annoying when it came to Louis. Yes he was her first love and she had a soft place for him but this man was a suspect and was also connected to potentially three murders and she was still denying he could have done it. I mean all the evidence literally pointed at him. I know  her trust and support for him was supposed to be wholesome and all but I just found it really annoying.

I really did enjoy this book though. I somewhat already concluded that the murderer was definitely one of the siblings so I wasn’t too shocked at the ending. I also really liked how Matthew and Laurel didn’t bullshit their feelings for each other. I mean they’ve been playing cat and mouse for a while claiming to hate each other so it was nice that when she did realise how his behaviour towards her slightly changed, she didn’t waste anytime lying to herself about it. The fact that they were reporters instead of detectives definitely made reading this sort of book more interesting.

I think the fact that I wasn’t a big fan of detective Kaga in the previous one made me enjoy this book way better. I went in thinking it would just be like the first book in this series and I wouldn’t really connect with Kaga again but it was the complete opposite. I really enjoyed him in this book. It was probably because he is the ‘newcomer’ here and so we can kind of get settled in along with him. 

I loved the multiple pov’s thing because it definitely made the gradual unfolding of the murder case enticing and confusing at the same time. I didn’t even suspect the real murderer at any point in time while reading and that made reading this much more enjoyable. This book was however slightly different to the author’s other books that I’ve read. We usually go in connecting more with the suspect/murderer and even occasionally wishing they don’t get caught but it’s not like that at all in this book. Now I really have to check the audiobook out too.

I seriously loved this book! It’s not really that the writing was overall perfect but it’s the way the story was told and how you’d need to kind of slow down a bit to process it but not in a bad way. 

I think the whole historian thing and how overwhelming it was for just one person to carry the burden, especially after we got to see how Yetu had lost so much of herself during her time as one, was so unique and written so well. We could sympathise with her and still understand why it was done that way in the past. 

I also really liked that we got to see the relationship she had with her Amaba was different before and during her time as a historian. It felt like a very realistic depiction of a west Africa Mother-daughter relationship in some way. 

This book felt so short but I think it was also properly done. I would definitely be recommending and reading this book again

This was such a great read. I loved almost everything about this book. I loved that it was practically a world where women ruled, I loved that Daleina wasn’t automatically perfect. She was so bad at controlling the spirits that, it was really refreshing and somewhat endearing. I also loved that it was really hard for her to get through the academy and an even tougher job to become one of the heirs. I mean we saw her struggle and it just made everything so realistic and I think that’s why the ending was great because against all these odds she still rose to the top of the pyramid. Most importantly I loved how different Aratay was. 

 “Don't trust the fire, for it will burn you.
Don't trust the ice, for it will freeze you.
Don't trust the water, for it will drown you.
Don't trust the air, for it will choke you.
Don't trust the earth, for it will bury you.
Don't trust the trees, for they will rip you, rend you, tear you, kill you dead.”

The world building in this was done well honestly. The way we got to see how even though the candidates are trained to control the spirits, greed for power will sometimes make it possible for the spirits to control you instead. That was what made the Queen seem very human I think. The way the story is written, the people of renthia and Aratay see her as this superior and untouchable being but from the candidates pov, especially Delaina’s we see how it’s not all what it seems.

What I didn’t like was how Champion Ven behaved when it came to the queen. It was so annoying! I felt like grabbing and shaking him so he’ll come back to his senses. She was so terrible to him, exiled him, intentionally ruined his reputation and yet he still went back to her. He was always making excuses for her even when she didn’t deserve it. I think he also fed into the system of seeing her as this superior being. Then you add the fact that he’s in love with her and this blinded him too much.

Based on that ending, I will definitely be reading the second book. So much happened at the ending in so little time. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how Delena handles this new responsibility since we know she takes a different approach with controlling the spirits it and how hard it all is for her. Also queen Merecot?? I mean I didn’t see that coming but I definitely should have.

This book was so different from what I usually read but I loved it! It felt slow in some parts but I think that worked well with how Evan is. I liked that we didn’t just see him as this perfect unconventional hero all the time but we also got to see how he didn’t start off as the good guy but kind of went rouge in a good way after Jack was gone. I also like that even after all his training with Jack he was bound to lose his cool once things got personal. It was a great way of making him seem more human and not just this well trained and untouchable hitman

The first time I read this book I liked it enough and thought the author did well with the whole cozy fantasy thing. This time around however I really enjoyed it. I think the fact that I was reading and listening to its audiobook at the same time made it a much better experience. It definitely felt a bit dragged out and somewhat slow at some point but I think it worked well with the plot. 

I’m hoping we get a second book sometime in the future since the ending kind of gave us the impression that the other swords are still out there. It would be nice to see Sarkis get some closure on that end.