librarianlayla's Reviews (954)

I was lucky enough to receive an eARC copy of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fast paced action from start to finish.

An insightful story on toxic relationships and the hold someone can have on another. I really enjoyed that despite the fact that Aina was depicted as a strong character it also showed that you can be strong but also susceptible to manipulation.

Diamond City gives you fast paced action, it gives you internal struggles, conflicting emotions, strained relationships, wavering beliefs.

I truly enjoyed the diversity of the characters. I feel a little more could have been done with regards to character relations as to why the 4 stars. But overall a rich world, with layers of misdirection and turmoil.

I can't wait to see where Aina's story will take her.

3.5 stars.

This story wasn't what I was expecting and I'm not sure if that is the main reason why I didn't enjoy it as much, or not.

It is extremely well written, however it reads more like a historic biography than a work of fiction. Which I think is what threw me off. It is historically factual and centre's a lot on religion, status and race. And whilst that is a very interesting and new take on a 'retelling', I at times found it to be a little bland and monotonous.

If you are looking for magic, you will not find it within these pages. Prepare for raw emotion, despair, desperation and often times bleak situations. There are few light notes to this story.

I really enjoyed the history that this story brings to the world that Audrey created with Of Fire and Stars.

There is a lot of action in this, and it is quite a fast paced story of self discovery, love and betrayal.

The only reason it doesn't get the full five stars, is that I felt the characters lacked a little bit of depth. I want to be able to put myself into the shoes of the characters, I want to feel, I want to be emotional about their success' and their failure's and sadly that didn't happen for me with this book. It fell a little flat in that department.

But still stunning descriptions, and a fantastic look at the history of this world.

Possibly one of the best murder mysteries I have read in the last five or so years.

Deception, intrigue, action, twists and turns in every chapter. I found it very hard to put down.

Fans of Hunger Games, Divergent, Sherlock Holmes and Doll House will love this fantastic story, that slowly sucks you in and then holds you within it until the very end.

This was a 4/4.5 star read for me, I haven't quite made my mind up on a definitive rating.

It was a slow starter for me, but it certainly picked up in the latter half of the story, and it has left me wanting more.

The world building is fantastic, very rich and immersive, I feel that more could have been done on the character side of things though. Especially with regards to the female lead character, and one of the male characters that appears in the beginning of the story. I wanted to feel more. There were some great moments for emotion, and yet, I didn't really feel anything, which was a little disappointing.

2.5/3 stars.

I struggled so hard to get into this story. It had the premise of everything I love - espionage and drag queens - and yet, it fell short for me. I picked up and put this book down over and over again, if it hadn't been perfect for a readathon prompt, I may not have tried to pick it up again until next year.

I can see this being far more engaging if it were made perhaps into a cheesy movie, or a tv series. It just didn't do it for me, the writing tone at times was so juvenile, and it kept trying to be more adult by including as many casual sex/genital references as possible.

I loved that there was a wide variety of ethnicities, sexualities and gender identities. But the execution of it, really fell flat. The vast majority of the characters lacked any depth at all, especially the main character.

4.5 stars.

I was so happy to be re-immersing myself into the rich world that Julie Kagawa has created. I didn't enjoy this as much as I did Shadow of the Fox, but I know that is largely in part to do with the fact that Tatsumi isn't featured as much in this book, but I still loved it.

A rollercoaster of emotions, jam packed with action and wonderful Japanese folk lore. Truly fantastic. Fans of the Inuyasha anime/manga will be huge fans of this story.

If you enjoy hurting yourself, then please pick up this work of heart wrenching beauty.

As with all of Jay and Amie's works, they are designed to destroy your soul. And this is no different. It's a Sci Fi heartbreak you'll love to experience.

A fantastic collection of different personalities, forced together and made into a whole. I love the queer/handicapable representation that shines through in this. Inclusivity at it's best.

I can't wait for the sequel, until then I'll be drowning in my own tears - thanks.

4.5 stars

What a rollercoaster of conflicting emotions.

This was a very slow starting book, I'll be honest it took me until around Chapter 10 to really get into it, but after that, I struggled to put it down.

I feel that the slow, and at times, tedious, start to this book, is 100% necessary for character development. Nadya's character needed to be pushed, broken and reassembled for this story to really take hold of the reader. I'm very glad that I pushed through because the latter half of this story is heart wrenching, it will make you question everything, and I adored it. I cannot wait for the sequel.

3.5/4 stars.

A beautiful retelling of Snow White/Evil Queen, that gives me Game Of Throne's vibes.

The only thing that didn't quite make it a five star for me was that I felt it lacked depth to it's main character, which I suppose was the whole point, however it just made for a rather unfeeling read. I like to feel emotions from the characters and I just didn't.

But the world is beautiful and rich with it's history and lore. And that was what kept my interest.